A Fruitful Harvest: He props

6.  He props

The gardener has planned, prepared, planted, provided and protected.  Another way he tends to his plants is to prop.

 

As the plants grow, they might need some support…some help….some propping up.  It might be that the stems are not strong enough to support the weight of the flowers or fruit.  It might be that the winds come in and topple them over.  Plants not getting enough sunlight will reach and stretch toward the light making their stems long and slender and weak.  Vines need support to climb upward out of the dirt and mud so they can produce more flowers and fruit.

 

As the gardener goes along among the plants, he will see those that need extra help and will use appropriate methods to give them the support they need.

He will use trellises, cages, fences, sticks, etc. to give them the strength they are lacking in themselves. 

 

~~ He will prop up the weak. 

ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

This is such a perfect picture of how God, as the Master Gardener, lovingly cares for us.

Because we are all different…all different kinds of ‘plants’ in His garden….we all have different needs.  Some are young and tender and need extra support as they grow.  Some are carrying heavy burdens and need the extra strength to keep from falling over.  Some are being blown and buffeted by the winds of adversity.  Some have grown weak from lack of the Sonlight in their lives.  Some were created as vines with a natural desire to climb higher and higher.

So God, knowing we all need propping up, will use different ways to support us. 

gHis Spirit

The Holy Spirit comes along side us to encourage, comfort, guide and instruct. 

John 14:16-17a  “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever-- The Spirit of Truth”

John 14:26  "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

 

gHis church

He has given us the church….the body of Christ….other believers…to stand with us, encourage us and support us when life blows storms our way that try to rip us apart.

Hebrews 10:23-25  “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;  and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

1Peter 5:10 “ In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.”

Ephesians 4:11-16   "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. (12) Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. (13) This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. (14) Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. (15) Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. (16) He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.


gHis Word

He has given us His Word of truth filled with direction, encouragement, hope, knowledge, wisdom, records of His past faithfulness and His promises.

Psalm 119:28, 50,105, 133, 165  “My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word….Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles…Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path….Establish my footsteps in Your word, And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me….Those who love Your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.”

Psalms 19:7-9   “The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living….The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair.”

gHis presence

Psalms 139:7-12   “I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence!   If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there.   If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,  even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me.  I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night-- but even in darkness I cannot hide from You.”

2Chronicles 16:9   “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."

Isaiah 41:10  “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Psalm 94:18   “ If I should say, "My foot has slipped," Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up.”

 

Are you finding yourself weak, battered by the winds of life, struggling to stand up and keep going?  Is your strength waning..are you feeling alone, abandonded, without direction or purpose? 

Let the Lord be your support…cling to Him and let Him hold you up and direct your path….let Him strengthen you and prop you up…

Through His Spirit…His church…His Word…His presence.

Hebrews 13:5   “…For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Fruitful Harvest: He protects

5.  He protects

In previous posts, I have talked about how the gardener has taken much care to plan, prepare, plant and provide for his plants.  Now we will look at what he does to protect them.

A proper gardener is constantly looking out for anything that will harm his plants:

~disease

      ~harsh weather

            ~insects

                   ~slugs and snails

                             ~caterpillars

                                    ~rabbits, raccoons, deer

He will cover the plants when frost is expected and provide shade from scorching heat.

He will take great care to protect from diseases like black spot, powdery mildew, rust, blight.

Insects, slugs, snails and caterpillars will be constantly trying to attack, so he must continually be on the lookout and use appropriate means to defeat them.

Rabbits, raccoon and deer love the plants, also…..they love to eat them!   So the gardener must use whatever ways he can to keep them from his beloved plants.

 One definition of a garden I found said that a garden is:  “A cultivated and protected place.”  What a beautiful picture of how God lovingly cares for us!  After He has planned, and prepared, and planted us....He will provide for us and protect us and continue to do so. 

He has given us His armor to protect us from the traps, schemes, attacks and temptations of our enemy.

Eph. 6:11  “Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 

Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.  In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

       God has given us these for our protection against the attacks of the enemy of our souls.  We are girded with His truth, covered in His righteousness, grounded by His peace.  He has given us the gift of faith  as a shield against the enemy’s arrows,  the knowledge of our salvation as our hope, and the sword  of His Word, from which the enemy must flee.

     1 Samuel 2:9  "He will protect His faithful ones”

 

 

     Psalm 121:7   The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.

 

 

     John 10:28   “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them   

                              away from Me.”

     1Thess. 5:24  “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

     2Thess 3:3     “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil

                                one.”

     Rev. 3:10   "Because you have obeyed My command to persevere, I will protect you from the 

                          great time of testing that will come upon the whole world”

 He has also given us His angels as ministers to protect us:

     Psalm 91:11 & 14 “For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go….I will rescue

                                   those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name.”

     Heb. 1:14 “…angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation."

Jesus prayed for us on the night before He was crucified: 

     John 17:11  ” Father, You have given Me Your name;
                             now protect them by the power of Your

                             name.”

We are the apple of His eye!

 We are His planting…His glory...His love! 

Just like plants in a garden, we cannot protect ourselves from the enemies who want to destroy us. 

Put your trust in Him....and Him alone!

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Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.”

A Fruitful Harvest: He provides

4.  He provides

After planning, preparing and planting the gardener now provides the necessary elements for the plants to grow.  They need food and water.

Food:

Plants need food to grow strong and healthy and to produce abundantly.  Without the proper nutrients, they will be weak, sickly and stunted.  They will never reach their full potential.

In the same way, we also need spiritual food.  God’s Word is food for our spirit.  After we have been planted in Him, we need to feed on His Word so we can grow strong and healthy and bear fruit.  Without this food, we will be weak, sickly and stunted in growth.

       I Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babes, long for (crave) the pure milk   
                         of the Word, that by it you may grow in respect to
                         salvation.”

       Matthew 4:4 “Jesus answered and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man
                         shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the 
                         mouth of God.’”

      Jeremiah 15:16 “When I discovered Your words, I devoured them.  They are my joy and
                         my heart’s delight.”

      Psalm 119:97;103; 116 “O how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all the day…How
                         sweet Your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey to
                         my mouth…sustain my according to Your Word, that I may live.”

Water:

Water is essential.  Without it, the plants will wither and die. 
A deep soaking is always better than a light sprinkling.

Water is the vehicle that carries the food into the plants…it is necessary for them to absorb the nutrients.  Food and water work together to give life, health and growth.

       Psalm 1:2-3 “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in
                             His law he meditates day and night.  He  
                             will be like a tree planted by streams of
                             water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”

Water also helps to keep the plants healthy by washing the dirt and bugs from the leaves.

      Ephesians 5:25-26 “…Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her that He 
                        might make her holy and clean by the washing of the water of the Word.”

In Israel, flowing water was called ‘living water’. It was fresh and clean and life-giving as apposed to stagnant pools that were foul and carried disease.

      Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.  You will be like a well-watered garden like and ever-flowing spring..”

      As the Master Gardener, God lovingly provides all we need to grow and flourish and bear fruit.  His Word is our food… the Holy Spirit is the water.

      John 4:14 “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the 
                        water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to
                        eternal life.”

      John 7:38-39 “He who believes in Me, as the scripture says, ‘From his innermost being
                       shall flow rivers of living water.’ This He said of the Spirit, whom those who
                       believed in Him were to receive.”

Just as water is necessary to carry the nutrients into the plant, so also the Holy Spirit is necessary to carry the Word into our hearts so we can be nourished by it.  Without the Holy Spirit to give the understanding, the scripture becomes just words on a page to us.

      I Corinthians 2:11 “No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own
                     spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.  And we
                     have received God’s Spirit so we can know the wonderful things God has   
                     freely given us.”

      John 14:26 “The Holy Spirit…will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all
                     that I said to you."

      John 16:13 & 16 “The Spirit will guide you into all truth.  He will tell whatever He 
                     hears from the Father…He will take the things that are Mine and will reveal
                     them to you.”

~~Watering early in the day gives the plants what they need to carry them through the stress of the heat later on.

~~In the same way, we are better prepared to face the challenges of our day when we have taken time to feed on the Word and have allowed the Holy Spirit to bring it into our hearts.

                  Our Master Gardener has provided everything we need to

grow and be strong and fruitful!

~~~Are you taking the time to feed on His Word and to allow the Holy Spirit to bring the understanding into your heart?

~~~Are you allowing Him to wash you, revive you and refresh you daily?

      I pray you will see the importance of feeding on and drinking in what God has provided for your spiritual life…and that you will take time out for a periodic “deep soaking”… so your roots can go deep as you grow into all He has planned for you.

        Hebrews 6:7 “Ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth useful fruit, receives a blessing from God.”

       2 Peter 3:18 “Grow in the grace, recognition, knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

     

A Fruitful Harvest : He plants

In previous posts I have talked about how the gardener has the plan in his mind for his

garden.  He has a purpose for each plant.  Then he prepares the soil to be ready for

planting.   He breaks down the hard soil and adds amendments to make it soft so the seeds

will be able to put their roots down deep and grow up into healthy plants that bear fruit and

bring beauty. 

      Luke 8: 8 & 18 – “And other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great…And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit.”

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3.  He plants:
   ~Now he can begin to plant.  Each seed has been planned for and the soil has been

prepared. 

He buries each seed in the area of the garden that is just right for that particular plant. 

He waters, waits and watches.  Soon small specks of green begin to emerge from the soil. 

But what comes up out of the soil is not the seed!

When seeds are planted in the ground, an entirely new thing is born…the old part dies and new life emerges from it…something completely different. 

          ~So…how does this relate to us? 

                   ~How are WE planted? 

                            ~What does that really mean?

Col. 2:12-14 – “For you were buried with Christ…And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.  You were dead because of your sins. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins.  He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.”

In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born anew…not physically...but of the Spirit…a spiritual birth. 

      John 3:6 – “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

      I Peter 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

     ~ When we place our lives in Christ and trust in His death for the payment for our sin, God...the Master Gardener, plants us into Him.

Romans 6:5 – “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection”

     ~We are now identified with Christ in His death for us and we essentially have died to our old sin nature.  We are made a new creation…we have a new life by His Spirit now within us. 

2 Cor. 5:17 – “…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone a new life has begun." 

Eph. 2:4-6 – “But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”

I Peter 1:23 – “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable.” 

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     ~Are you planted  in Him? 
             ~Have you been buried with Christ ....
                          ...died to your old life....and been raised up to new life in Christ?

            My prayer for you is….

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend…

                          ~what is the breadth                                      
                                       ~and length
                                               ~and height
                                                     ~and depth

   and to know the love of Christ...which surpasses knowledge.”

Ephesians 3:17-19