THE VALUE OF A TREE
Luke 8:5-8, 15
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown."
Luke 8:15
But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
THE GOOD SOIL
I want to focus on the seed that fell on good soil.
We are the good soil that the seed of God has fallen.
We were chosen before the foundation of the earth as the good soil
Eph 1:4-6
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight.
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
THE TREE; A SYMBOL OF MAN
Through out the Bible God uses the tree as a symbol of goodness and strength.
After the creation of the earth, God planted trees in the Garden of Eden.
Gen 1:29
Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
Gen 2:8-9
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God gave trees two purposes: To be pleasing to the eye and good for food. It was the trees that had seeds that He gave Adam to eat.
IMPORTANTS OF THE TREE
They make life possible. They provide shade, beauty, tires
for our cars, lumber for our houses, and aspirin for our healing.
God compares us to His trees. Trees that are seed bearing.
Psalm 1:2-3
But his delight is in the law of the Lord ,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
LIFE CYCLE OF A TREE
We all have a life cycle. From a seed to a baby,
From a baby to a child. From a child to a teenager.
From a teenager to an adult. From an adult to death.
During our life cycle we have the opportunity to influence others,
A tree is no different. Through out its cycle, it influences
Man through it beauty and the fruit it produces.
God planted the first tree. We do not know whether God started with a full
grown tree or not. But we do know by observation how a tree grows today.
It starts with a seed planted in the ground. The first trees in the garden
Of Eden were watered by the moisture in the ground.
The seed in the ground germinates and roots go down in the soil
Look at the parallel; Jesus died was buried and was resurrected.
We died to Jesus and are resurrected in newness of life.
Eph 1:13-14
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory.
THE ROOTS OF SALVATION
Roots have to go down in the soil to find moisture
When we study God’s Word we seek the moisture in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said any man in me will never thirst.
That’s why the seed that fell on the rock could not grow because there
was no moisture. It could not develop roots.
Eventually a shoot come out of the ground from the seed
The seed is the Word of God which is planted in us by hearing.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Isa 11:1-2
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him.
That shoot is the Jesus in us.
The more we study and meditate on the Word of God the deeper the
roots. The Word reveals God’s will for our lives.. From the Word we
get purpose and directions.
REACHING FOR THE SON
As the shoot grows it reaches toward the sun.
The Sun provides photosynthesis. the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. Photosynthesis in plants generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct.
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
GROWING IN THE SPIRIT
Healthy, mature trees have roots that travel down in all directions seeking
water and nutrients.
We need the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments.
Every Word of God provides the direction for our lives
We need the Old Testament to understand the New Testament.
We need the Gospels to understand the other 24 books of
The New Testament.
Every word in the Bible provides nutrients for the soul.
The deeper and wider the roots of the Word, the more we are able to
withstand the trials, troubles and droughts of life that comes our way.
The stronger the winds of life, the deeper our roots need to be.
Wide deep roots provides the tree with stability in hurricane type winds.
God has some storms for our lives that can be weathered with wide
deep understanding of His Word.
Prov 3:18-20
She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
19 By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;
20 by his knowledge the deeps were divided.
THE BEAUTY OF THE TREE
From the roots flows the moisture and nutrients to the top of the
Tree.
The leaves grow up and out. The leaves captures the sun light and
glisten. People see the outside and are drawn to the shade of the
Lord you provide,
Rev 22:2
And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
In you, the tree of God, are words of comfort and encouragement.
Words of wisdom from deep in you flow easily to others.
THE FRUIT OF THE TREE
Mature trees are productive and produce fruit in their seasons.
All believers are given fruits of the spirit.
Gal 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Others are drawn to the tree, because in you is the life of God.
John 15:16-17
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
THE GLORY OF THE TREE
God started man off in the garden of Eden with trees and our
Eternal life is blessed with the Tree Of Life.
Rev 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
THE WORK OF THE TREE
God gave each of us gifts of the spirit through with the fruit of the
Spirit blossoms.
1 Cor 12:28-29
And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
The purpose of the tree is to promote the work of God.
John 6:28-29
Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
The deep roots, wide branches, glistening leaves and resulting fruits
Cause us to look towards heaven and eternity.
In the life cycle of a tree, when it becomes mature it produces fruit
That drops to the soil and provides seeds for another cycle.
We are the trees that God has planted on earth to spread seeds
for those drawn to Christ.
IN SUMMARY
Gen 1:29
Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
Gen 2:9
And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.
YOUR POSITION Seed bearer; proclaim the Word of God
YOUR CHARACTER Be pleasing to the eye:
Love. Tolerance, forgiving, patience,
generosity, compassionate , humble spirit
YOUR PURPOSE Bear fruit that is good for food.
John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who
comes to me will never go hungry, and he who
believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:29
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe
In the one he has sent."
The work of God is making disciples, by teaching
and preaching the Word of God
YOUR SUCCESS Fruit bearing Luke 6:15
It (seed) came up and yielded a crop, a hundred
times more than was sown."
Rev. M. Mitchell
1/13/2013
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