The Humble Planter

29 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Receiving Revelation

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Alex Haley, biblically obedient, born to loose, He had help, hearing only clubs, humble stature, humility, James 1:21, John Wimber quote, Norman Vincent Peale, reach our destination, roots, roots are partially grown words, seeds are words in their infancy, shelf life on God's word is limited, tattoo, tattoo on mind, the word implanted, turtle on a fence post, words sometimes come to us as seed or roots

“In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:21

It takes humility to accept a Gospel message which says you are a no good sinner.
It takes humility to openly receive a message which says you need to be told how to live your life.
It takes humility to accept counsel which tells you need to change your attitudes, your ways of thinking, your speech, and your behavior.

The Humble Planter begins their journey willing to accept instruction, correction, and reproof found in the Word. I really can’t say enough about this issue. In the Kingdom the person with a humble stature stands heads and shoulders upon the rest. This believer will receive the most and be in a position of favor. The tough part is remaining in this place.

Alex Haley, the author of “Roots,” had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked, “Why was the picture resting in such a prominent place?” Alex Haley answered, “Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words and think that they are wonderful… and begin to feel proud of myself… I look at the turtle on top of the fence post and remember that the turtle didn’t get there on his own. He had help.”

Without God’s help… we will not reach our destination either! We need the Lord in the beginning, the middle, and at the end of our journey.

James doesn’t stop with humility. James says, “Receive the word implanted.” What does he mean? Why are we to implant? Implant means to engraft the word. Sometimes words come to us as seeds and sometimes they arrive to us as roots!

I’ve seen my mother and my wife root certain plants in a glasses of water. When the roots begin to grow they “implanted” them quickly in fresh dirt. We like to use the word “transplant” when speaking today. The larger question is why does God talk about the word being “seeds” in one passage and words needing to be “implanted” in other passages?

In essence, they both are the same. The difference is in how they arrive to us personally. Seed words are in their infancy. When words come to us as roots they are already partially grown. The important issue is that those words from heaven find a home in our heart, mind, and soul.

When I was a new believer every word of God seemed to come to me in “seed” form. I was definitely a greenhorn Christian. Everything the Lord did in my life was brand new. Sometimes the Lord had to reissue those seeds because I wasn’t faithful with them. I have been a believer now for over thirty-six years. In my youth some teachings took a long time before they took root. Now, many things the Lord teaches me arrive in roots. He knows I will be more faithful with His precious truths.

Again, the big difference is not found in the root or seed… it is in what we do with God’s word. God knows in order for us to act and obey on His word… we must implant those words quickly, while they still have an opportunity to grow. The shelf life on God’s word is limited. As I have written before, the word will be stolen, choked, or starved out if we do not get them into our hearts and minds.

The fact is: if you don’t implant the Word, you won’t be doers of the Word. You will join one of those “Hearer Only Clubs“. We have enough of those people packing the pews today. They know plenty but act very little.

Norman Vincent Peale tells the story of walking through the twisted little streets of Kowloon in Hong Kong. He said, “I came upon a tattoo studio. In the window were displayed samples of the tattoos available. On the chest or arms you could have tattooed an anchor or flag or mermaid or whatever. But what struck me with force were three words that could be tattooed on one’s flesh, “Born to Lose.”

I entered the shop in astonishment and, pointing to those words, asked the Chinese tattoo artist, “Does anyone really have that terrible phrase, Born to lose, tattooed on his body?” He replied, “Yes, sometimes.” “But,” I said, “I just can’t believe that anyone in his right mind would do that.”

The Chinese man simply tapped his forehead and said in broken English, “Before tattoo on body, tattoo on mind.”

Everyday something or some words are being tattooed on your mind and heart. The only question is what are you allowing to be tattooed in your most holiest of places. Our Heavenly Father wants to tattoo the best of His words on your heart and mind. He is sending His seeds and roots your way. The only question is are you allowing this process to happen? Agree with King David and say… “Thy word I have treasured in my heart.”

Blessings,

Pastor

The High Cost of Low Level Complaining (Part 3) It Brings Chastisement

31 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Dying to Self

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another brick in the wall, challenged the throne of God, check your mouth, complaining, confess your sin, defection of the heart, discipline, gormandize yourself, graves of lust, jealousy and disbelief, manna, meat, Numbers 11:18-33, plague, quail, roots, satan, sick, Thomas Fuller quote

I am wrapping-up this three-part series on complaining with a somber note. I don’t believe God ever wants to discipline His children. As every parent knows, sometimes godly discipline is the best course of action. While we might not think complaining is a serious issue, God does. Why? Because low-level complaining is a heart issue. Complaining is an activity Satan participated in when he challenged the throne of God. When we revel in venting our displeasure, we mimic the demonic world. Thus a wall begins to grow between us and the Lord. Every time we choose to complain, gripe, and grumble, we lay another brick in that wall. Since complaining is a heart-issue… it develops into other sins. Complaining leads to rebellion, passing judgment on others, greed, jealousy, and disbelief. What we do not realize is a complaining spirit has roots which grow quickly into the fabric of our hearts. This wicked spirit eventually takes over and permeates our life. God knows the only way to correct the issue is by discipline and chastisement.

God Takes Action…The People Became Sick

18 Say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” Numbers 11:18-20

How did God know the people would get sick eating meat? It wasn’t tainted. It was good meat. The Lord knew they would treat the quail like they treated the manna. They would run, snatch, and grab. Each quickly grabbed up 10 homers…that is 10 donkey loads. As one commentator noted, a homer is an “ass load.” What a description. They spread their loot around camp and commenced eating.

Have you ever fasted for any length of time? I have. It is always a delicate issue coming off a lengthy fast. My stomach always needs a transition period. If I stuff my belly full after fasting… I will be one sick puppy on the backside. God knew his children would sicken themselves. God didn’t have to do anything… He simply didn’t warn them about the dangers of eating too much… too fast. They had a steady diet of manna for a while. He knew they would gormandize themselves with the new-found meat. They did! Moses and the nation buried these folks where they died. Listen to the description….

33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague. 34 So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy. Numbers 11:33-34

For the record, not everyone was struck with this plague. Only the greedy were touched by it. They named this burial site, “the graves of lust” or “graves of those which lusted.” How would you like this epitaph on your marker? As noted before, complaining doesn’t evaporate into thin air. Complaining leads to “bigger and badder” sins. It causes a defection of the heart. God knows it must be dealt with immediately or our sin will eventually affect our family, church, friends, and world.

The good news is you can do something about a complaining spirit right now. You can confess your sin and ask God to help you check your mouth and heart. He will. The Holy Spirit will remind you early and often when that ugly spirit begins to rise up with in you. Take action do today… while it still is today.

Blessings,

Pastor

Keep Growing. Do Not Quit!

25 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by eisakouo in Our Spiritual Process

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bamboo, creation, fern, God, quit, rise as high as you can, roots, seeds, talk with god, years pass

When you think about giving up, remember the Lord has not given up on you. It takes the Lord more time to develop some us. Listen to the story below.

One day I decided to quit… I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality… I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

“God“, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?” His answer surprised me…

“Look around“, He said.. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?” “Yes“, I replied.

“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.”

“In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit..”

“Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant… But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”

He said to me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots. I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don’t compare yourself to others ..” He said. “The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern … Yet, they both make the forest beautiful.” Your time will come,” God said to me. ” You will rise high! ”

“How high should I rise?” I asked. “How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return. “As high as it can? ” I questioned. ” Yes. ” He said, “Give Me glory by rising as high as you can.”

Blessings,

Pastor

Has the Lord Given You the “Dung” Treatment Lately?

02 Tuesday Aug 2011

Posted by eisakouo in Our Spiritual Process

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dung treatment, real friut, repentance, roots, spiritual growth

“A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. ⁷ And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; ⁹ and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9

All parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. Here are the working parts of this parable:

The Owner of the vineyard is God.

The fig tree is you.

Roots are all of your physical and spiritual senses which allow you to understand truth and growth.

Fertilizer is refuse, compost, and manure. It is anything (good or bad) that comes into our life that stimulates real spiritual growth.

Just think, God loves you so much…He plants your life in the middle of manure to assure growth. How do you smell today?

According to this parable, the Father is always searching for real fruit in our lives. The first type of fruit He desires to see in us is repentance. In short, repentance is the belief, confession, and outward evidence that you have turned from sin. The angels rejoice when we repent. There is no need for anyone to stay in sin. Real repentance is a fruit we all should be consistently bearing.

If the Father doesn’t discover fruit in our lives, He takes this corresponding action:

He tills around our roots and exposes them to water, air, and nutrients. This may shock our system as it does most plants, but it is just what we need.
Next, the manure is piled on! Nutrient rich and easily digested truth should bring growth to our lives. Since our destiny is to produce fruit, this is just what we need.

Understand, God always approaches us privately about our sin and the need for repentance. When this does not work, His confrontations become more public. If you stink today from God’s dung treatment, it is not because the Lord wanted it this way. He would rather you live fertilizer free.

Decide now to be quick in your obedience to the Lord. Your spiritual growth and well-being depends upon it. Smell well, my friend!