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Netarts Friends Church
7-11-2010
Netarts Friends “THE GARDEN OF GOD”
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 NIV
1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you
milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not
acting like mere men? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you
not mere men? 5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you
came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it,
but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who
makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each
will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field,
God's building.
INTRODUCTION:
A. This time of year it’s hard not to notice all the growing plants, the beautiful flowers, the
vegetables coming on, even if you don’t consider yourself a gardener, and I certainly don’t. But I
enjoy all the fruits and vegetables, and the beauty, and the vitality of what’s going on.
B. God often uses the natural world to get our attention, and since people have been growing
things since the earth was created, it’s understandable that the Bible uses plants and gardens and
fields as word pictures to help us understand our relationship with the Lord and each other.
C. The Garden of Eden was man’s first home, and where he got his first job and his first
relationship. Scripture suggests our final home will be a restoration of that garden without the curse.
D. So let me use the garden metaphor this morning to describe the Christian life, and maybe
as you are enjoying the vegetation around you, or trying to control it, you will be reminded of what
God is doing in your life.
E. When I talk about God’s Garden I’m using it to describe your relationship with Him, your
relationship with your family, your relationship with the church family, and your relationship with
unbelievers. It’s all about relationships, so with that in mind here are four horticultural observations
based on the word of God.
I. FIRST, GROWTH IS ORGANIC ‒ IT COMES FROM GOD.
A. Have you ever bought some potatoes and put them in a sack on the countertop, and then
ignored them for two or three weeks? What happens when you take them out? They’ve grown eyes
and often tubors.
1. Was that because of your hard work? No. All you did was leave them alone.
2. And the reality is, anything will grow given the right set of circumstances, because God causes
growth. It’s programmed into the DNA of the plant.
B. The Christians at Corinth were arguing over which of their teachers was more important:
Paul, Apollos, Peter. And Paul said, “We’re only workers in the garden. I planted the seed, Apollos
watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only
God, who makes things grow.” [vs.6-7]
C. There are many people who have impacted my life for good, who have taught me about the
Lord, encouraged me, helped me, corrected me, even carried me at times, and I value them so
much ‒ but behind the scenes God was directing things for my good. And the growth that
happened in my life was His doing.
D. This is such an important truth. If you tell someone how to know Jesus, and they make that
step, you are God’s instrument. But the decision to take that step is God’s work in their heart.
E. So we don’t have reason either to get puffed up or to despair. Maybe you’ve been trying to
teach your children about faith, but it doesn’t seem to be taking hold. You keep planting seeds, but
you can’t force growth. You are in partnership with God. He will stimulate growth of that seed. Don’t
get discouraged.
F. If you have a husband or wife, or other relative, who really needs to change something in
their life, how useful is scolding or nagging or belittling? How many of us keep trying, even though
the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result?
G. But love, and prayer, and humility, and gentle honesty, and good timing, give that seed the
circumstances it needs to grow. That way we are working with God instead of against Him, and we
can expect something good to happen.
H. Growth is organic. We become co-workers in God’s garden, and in due time we will see the
result of that work. But God causes the growth.
II. SECOND, WHAT’S BELOW THE SURFACE MATTERS.
A. Maybe you have visited a desert somewhere, and you can’t see any sign of water in any
direction. Everything is dry, dry, dry. But you look around and you can see green cactus. There’s
no lake or river nearby. But somewhere deep in the soil their roots have gone down to water, and
they are thriving on it, when you might be dying of thirst.
B. Jesus told the parable of the four soils, and he said in one case the farmer threw out the
seed but it fell on rocky ground. Right away it sprouted up, but because it didn’t have any root it
quickly shriveled up and died.
1. He explained it like this: “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once
receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”
[Mark 4:16-17]
2. Most of us know people like that, and we’ve been tempted ourselves at times.
C. So what is root? Root is what draws nutrients from the soil and gives life to the plant. It is
below the surface, hidden, but the plant can’t live without it for very long.
D. In the Christian life, root is our time alone with God: our times of prayer, reading the Word,
thinking about spiritual things, listening. It is telling God our most private thoughts and looking for
his replies.
E. I went to a Christian convention in Seattle once, and hundreds of people filled the
auditorium. Worship leaders and preachers sang loud songs and preached enthusiastic sermons
as if they had some special insider secrets God had only told them, and they were God’s chosen
prophets. In my opinion, they were manipulative and abrasive, and my heart sank as I looked for
any kind of reality and depth.
1. As the convention went on, I became more and more discouraged.
2. But then a remarkable man began to speak. His name was David Ravenhill. Everything he said
had impact. His words had iron in them. He talked about how the children of Israel followed Moses
into the wilderness and drank from supernaturally supplied water, yet they died in the wilderness
because of their unbelief.
3. I found out later that David Ravenhill was a man with an amazing prayer life. He was deep, and
his words had impact, because he knew the Lord intimately. Where the other people seemed
shallow to me, this man had a lot going on below the surface.
F. Let me urge you to pursue your relationship with God like a plant going after water every
day, like your life depends on it. Because it does.
G. Our big spruce tree fell over in a windstorm a couple years ago. Some of the tree experts
in our church warned us about it, and sure enough, after it fell we realized there was rot in the
roots. Be sure your roots are healthy, and then the rest of you can thrive, too.
III. THREE, WE HAVE TO CULTIVATE THE SOIL.
A. My next-door neighbors have an amazing garden. I felt like I was fighting my way through
the Garden of Eden when I went to knock on their side door this week!
1. Both of them have serious physical problems and they have to hire some help to get everything
done.
2. But they obviously know what plants need what kind of soil, and what fertilizer, and what bug
repellant, and how to keep blight and mildew away. Their flowers are gorgeous.
B. In our community garden Mike has been away for a couple weeks, but neighbor Bob has
been working hard and you can really tell. Things are coming up everywhere, and he has been
weeding and watering and making sure everything is just right.
C. If conditions are right, the plants will grow. But we have a lot to do with making sure the
conditions are right.
D. Spiritually, if you are needing some answers from God, you can’t force Him to speak to you,
but you can make yourself available to Him so He can speak if He chooses to.
1. Suppose you hurt someone by something you said; Jesus said go make things right and then
come before God, so you can be accepted.
2. Husbands and wives need to resolve conflicts so their prayers aren’t hindered, the Bible says.
3. And sometimes we simply fill our lives with so much noise God couldn’t be heard even if He did
say something.
E. Another example of soil cultivation is in your family. I’ve watched parents lead their children
by example, correct them with gentle firmness, teach them with patience until they get it, pray with
them and talk to them openly about the Lord, and pray for them day after day behind the scenes,
and I’ve seen those children grow up strong believers, even if they go through some rough times
along the way. That cultivation pays off.
F. When a visitor comes to church here, how do we treat them? What kind of soil cultivation
do we do? When we are at our best, people initiate conversation with the visitor, find out their name
and remember it, introduce them to others, ask them what they like and maybe even get a sense of
how to love them in the Lord. But that takes effort, and it means paying attention. Don’t let a
newcomer stand around. Cultivate the soil!
IV. FOURTH, FRUIT IS THE GOAL.
A. When I was in the fourth grade I had a Sunday School teacher who must have seen some
potential in me, because she would take me aside privately and talk to me about the Lord, and
about the Bible, and she would pray with me.
1. I don’t remember a thing she said, and I don’t remember what she looked like.
2. But I remember her patient attention, and her godly attitude, and her faith.
3. Today I believe that one reason I gave my heart to Christ five years later was her loving
influence.
B. What would you do or say to someone today, if you knew your influence would change their
life?
1. One day, maybe years from now, when they are at a turning point, or in the middle of a crisis, or
making a life decision like who to marry, what you did, or what you said, will come back to them.
2. You planted a seed of faith in their heart, and now it’s sprouting.
C. Jesus said, “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will bear much fruit.” And
fruit can mean godly character, but it can also mean influencing the lives of the people around you.
1. A branch connected to the main vine eventually bears grapes ‒ and if it disconnects and doesn’t
produce grapes, it gets removed. Jesus said that, not me.
2. But if it stays connected, it will bear fruit. You can look at that branch and say, “It’s really
connected to the vine ‒ to Jesus ‒ because we can see the results.”
D. Every once in a while I get a call from someone I haven’t heard from in years, maybe even
have forgotten their name, and they will call and say, “Thank you for your influence on my life.”
That happened to me this week, totally out of the blue, and from someone who was hard to get
along with at the time, from what I remember!
CONCLUSION:
A. God loves to grow things. That must be obvious. He loves to grow people, families,
churches, relationships. If we work to provide the right conditions, growth will happen.
B. And out of our lives God will bring fruit, life transformation, in us, and through us.
Netarts Friends “THE GARDEN OF GOD”
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 NIV
1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you
milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not
acting like mere men? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you
not mere men? 5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you
came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it,
but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who
makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each
will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field,
God's building.
INTRODUCTION:
A. This time of year it’s hard not to notice all the growing plants, the beautiful flowers, the
vegetables coming on, even if you don’t consider yourself a gardener, and I certainly don’t. But I
enjoy all the fruits and vegetables, and the beauty, and the vitality of what’s going on.
B. God often uses the natural world to get our attention, and since people have been growing
things since the earth was created, it’s understandable that the Bible uses plants and gardens and
fields as word pictures to help us understand our relationship with the Lord and each other.
C. The Garden of Eden was man’s first home, and where he got his first job and his first
relationship. Scripture suggests our final home will be a restoration of that garden without the curse.
D. So let me use the garden metaphor this morning to describe the Christian life, and maybe
as you are enjoying the vegetation around you, or trying to control it, you will be reminded of what
God is doing in your life.
E. When I talk about God’s Garden I’m using it to describe your relationship with Him, your
relationship with your family, your relationship with the church family, and your relationship with
unbelievers. It’s all about relationships, so with that in mind here are four horticultural observations
based on the word of God.
I. FIRST, GROWTH IS ORGANIC ‒ IT COMES FROM GOD.
A. Have you ever bought some potatoes and put them in a sack on the countertop, and then
ignored them for two or three weeks? What happens when you take them out? They’ve grown eyes
and often tubors.
1. Was that because of your hard work? No. All you did was leave them alone.
2. And the reality is, anything will grow given the right set of circumstances, because God causes
growth. It’s programmed into the DNA of the plant.
B. The Christians at Corinth were arguing over which of their teachers was more important:
Paul, Apollos, Peter. And Paul said, “We’re only workers in the garden. I planted the seed, Apollos
watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only
God, who makes things grow.” [vs.6-7]
C. There are many people who have impacted my life for good, who have taught me about the
Lord, encouraged me, helped me, corrected me, even carried me at times, and I value them so
much ‒ but behind the scenes God was directing things for my good. And the growth that
happened in my life was His doing.
D. This is such an important truth. If you tell someone how to know Jesus, and they make that
step, you are God’s instrument. But the decision to take that step is God’s work in their heart.
E. So we don’t have reason either to get puffed up or to despair. Maybe you’ve been trying to
teach your children about faith, but it doesn’t seem to be taking hold. You keep planting seeds, but
you can’t force growth. You are in partnership with God. He will stimulate growth of that seed. Don’t
get discouraged.
F. If you have a husband or wife, or other relative, who really needs to change something in
their life, how useful is scolding or nagging or belittling? How many of us keep trying, even though
the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result?
G. But love, and prayer, and humility, and gentle honesty, and good timing, give that seed the
circumstances it needs to grow. That way we are working with God instead of against Him, and we
can expect something good to happen.
H. Growth is organic. We become co-workers in God’s garden, and in due time we will see the
result of that work. But God causes the growth.
II. SECOND, WHAT’S BELOW THE SURFACE MATTERS.
A. Maybe you have visited a desert somewhere, and you can’t see any sign of water in any
direction. Everything is dry, dry, dry. But you look around and you can see green cactus. There’s
no lake or river nearby. But somewhere deep in the soil their roots have gone down to water, and
they are thriving on it, when you might be dying of thirst.
B. Jesus told the parable of the four soils, and he said in one case the farmer threw out the
seed but it fell on rocky ground. Right away it sprouted up, but because it didn’t have any root it
quickly shriveled up and died.
1. He explained it like this: “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once
receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”
[Mark 4:16-17]
2. Most of us know people like that, and we’ve been tempted ourselves at times.
C. So what is root? Root is what draws nutrients from the soil and gives life to the plant. It is
below the surface, hidden, but the plant can’t live without it for very long.
D. In the Christian life, root is our time alone with God: our times of prayer, reading the Word,
thinking about spiritual things, listening. It is telling God our most private thoughts and looking for
his replies.
E. I went to a Christian convention in Seattle once, and hundreds of people filled the
auditorium. Worship leaders and preachers sang loud songs and preached enthusiastic sermons
as if they had some special insider secrets God had only told them, and they were God’s chosen
prophets. In my opinion, they were manipulative and abrasive, and my heart sank as I looked for
any kind of reality and depth.
1. As the convention went on, I became more and more discouraged.
2. But then a remarkable man began to speak. His name was David Ravenhill. Everything he said
had impact. His words had iron in them. He talked about how the children of Israel followed Moses
into the wilderness and drank from supernaturally supplied water, yet they died in the wilderness
because of their unbelief.
3. I found out later that David Ravenhill was a man with an amazing prayer life. He was deep, and
his words had impact, because he knew the Lord intimately. Where the other people seemed
shallow to me, this man had a lot going on below the surface.
F. Let me urge you to pursue your relationship with God like a plant going after water every
day, like your life depends on it. Because it does.
G. Our big spruce tree fell over in a windstorm a couple years ago. Some of the tree experts
in our church warned us about it, and sure enough, after it fell we realized there was rot in the
roots. Be sure your roots are healthy, and then the rest of you can thrive, too.
III. THREE, WE HAVE TO CULTIVATE THE SOIL.
A. My next-door neighbors have an amazing garden. I felt like I was fighting my way through
the Garden of Eden when I went to knock on their side door this week!
1. Both of them have serious physical problems and they have to hire some help to get everything
done.
2. But they obviously know what plants need what kind of soil, and what fertilizer, and what bug
repellant, and how to keep blight and mildew away. Their flowers are gorgeous.
B. In our community garden Mike has been away for a couple weeks, but neighbor Bob has
been working hard and you can really tell. Things are coming up everywhere, and he has been
weeding and watering and making sure everything is just right.
C. If conditions are right, the plants will grow. But we have a lot to do with making sure the
conditions are right.
D. Spiritually, if you are needing some answers from God, you can’t force Him to speak to you,
but you can make yourself available to Him so He can speak if He chooses to.
1. Suppose you hurt someone by something you said; Jesus said go make things right and then
come before God, so you can be accepted.
2. Husbands and wives need to resolve conflicts so their prayers aren’t hindered, the Bible says.
3. And sometimes we simply fill our lives with so much noise God couldn’t be heard even if He did
say something.
E. Another example of soil cultivation is in your family. I’ve watched parents lead their children
by example, correct them with gentle firmness, teach them with patience until they get it, pray with
them and talk to them openly about the Lord, and pray for them day after day behind the scenes,
and I’ve seen those children grow up strong believers, even if they go through some rough times
along the way. That cultivation pays off.
F. When a visitor comes to church here, how do we treat them? What kind of soil cultivation
do we do? When we are at our best, people initiate conversation with the visitor, find out their name
and remember it, introduce them to others, ask them what they like and maybe even get a sense of
how to love them in the Lord. But that takes effort, and it means paying attention. Don’t let a
newcomer stand around. Cultivate the soil!
IV. FOURTH, FRUIT IS THE GOAL.
A. When I was in the fourth grade I had a Sunday School teacher who must have seen some
potential in me, because she would take me aside privately and talk to me about the Lord, and
about the Bible, and she would pray with me.
1. I don’t remember a thing she said, and I don’t remember what she looked like.
2. But I remember her patient attention, and her godly attitude, and her faith.
3. Today I believe that one reason I gave my heart to Christ five years later was her loving
influence.
B. What would you do or say to someone today, if you knew your influence would change their
life?
1. One day, maybe years from now, when they are at a turning point, or in the middle of a crisis, or
making a life decision like who to marry, what you did, or what you said, will come back to them.
2. You planted a seed of faith in their heart, and now it’s sprouting.
C. Jesus said, “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will bear much fruit.” And
fruit can mean godly character, but it can also mean influencing the lives of the people around you.
1. A branch connected to the main vine eventually bears grapes ‒ and if it disconnects and doesn’t
produce grapes, it gets removed. Jesus said that, not me.
2. But if it stays connected, it will bear fruit. You can look at that branch and say, “It’s really
connected to the vine ‒ to Jesus ‒ because we can see the results.”
D. Every once in a while I get a call from someone I haven’t heard from in years, maybe even
have forgotten their name, and they will call and say, “Thank you for your influence on my life.”
That happened to me this week, totally out of the blue, and from someone who was hard to get
along with at the time, from what I remember!
CONCLUSION:
A. God loves to grow things. That must be obvious. He loves to grow people, families,
churches, relationships. If we work to provide the right conditions, growth will happen.
B. And out of our lives God will bring fruit, life transformation, in us, and through us.