Garden of the Heart Chapel
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1) Introduction
a) Scripture abounds with all sorts of metaphors: bodies, towers, yokes, gardens, etc.
b) What do you think of when people mention a Garden in the Bible?
c) A garden is a place of careful cultivation
d) We are God’s garden
2) Garden Metaphor in Scripture
a) Prophets
i) [CLICK for slide]
The vineyard of the LORD Almighty
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the garden of his delight. (Is 5:7)
(1) Gardens are a place of delight. They are a place of joy and rest. We are the place the Lord delights himself in.
He rejoices in your heart.
ii) [CLICK for slide]
For the LORD will ransom Jacob
and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. …
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more. (Jer. 31:11-12)
(1) Gardens are places of intentionality. Gardens don’t just happen. They are tended, watered, and weeded.
As a result they produce good things. Likewise, we must be intentional about the state of our hearts.
We must tend it, water it, and weed it.
b) Song of Songs
i) [CLICK for slide]
You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. (Song 4:12)
(1) The King’s garden was closed off from the public. It was a protected place. People could not just come and go as they please.
The garden was meant for his pleasure alone. Your heart is not for anyone who comes along.
The King of the Universe wants it for his own. You must learn to protect it and be careful about what gets planted in it.
c) Jesus
i) [CLICK for slide]
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1,2)
(1) Gardening is work. It involves pain. No one likes being pruned. But we willingly submit knowing the Gardner is good and he has our best interests in mind.
3) Sowing and Reaping - How you know whether your garden is doing well
a) Every garden needs constant attention. Without proper care weeds come up and choke out the fruit in our life
b) You can tell the state of your heart by looking at what your life produces.
c) [CLICK for slide] Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. People reap what they sow. Those who sow to please their sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Gal 6:7,8)
i) If you don’t like the way your heart looks, then you have to change what you plant in it. Your thoughts and words are the seeds. You cannot grow purity and righteousness by planting vulgarity and violence. It just doesn’t work that way.
4) Recognizing the Fruit
a) [CLICK for slide] "…By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matt 7:15-20)
b) [CLICK for slide] What your life produces reveals the state of your heart.
i) This is not to say that your heart will only be good fruit or bad weeds. It’s more complex than that.
ii) We take note of the fruit and encourage those areas of our lives.
iii) We notice the weeds and change those areas of our lives.
c) [CLICK for slide] What fruit looks like:
i) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22,23)
ii) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Cor. 13:4-7)
d) [CLICK for slide] What weeds look like:
i) The opposite of the fruit of the Spirit.
ii) Sadness, frustration, hatred, meanness, bitterness, unforgiveness, lying, cheating, lack of self-control, envy, boasting, rudeness, anger, and the list goes on.
5) [CLICK for slide] How to pull the weeds and prune your heart.
a) First, we ask the Lord to show us the weeds in our heart.
i) weeds of bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, lust, apathy
b) Next, we bring them into the light. We confess them and speak truth to them.
c) We ask God to change our hearts
d) We purpose in our hearts to wage war against that sin in our life
e) When we fail, we confess it, and continue to fight against that sin
6) [CLICK for slide] How we tend our heart.
a) It takes diligent consistent work.
b) Reading the Bible on your own
c) Praying on your own
d) Community: journeying with others
e) Fasting (it speeds up the process.
f) [CLICK for slide] If left to itself, the heart goes to weeds within a matter of weeks.
Garden of the Heart Chapel
a) Scripture abounds with all sorts of metaphors: bodies, towers, yokes, gardens, etc.
b) What do you think of when people mention a Garden in the Bible?
c) A garden is a place of careful cultivation
d) We are God’s garden
2) Garden Metaphor in Scripture
a) Prophets
i) [CLICK for slide]
The vineyard of the LORD Almighty
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the garden of his delight. (Is 5:7)
(1) Gardens are a place of delight. They are a place of joy and rest. We are the place the Lord delights himself in.
He rejoices in your heart.
ii) [CLICK for slide]
For the LORD will ransom Jacob
and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. …
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more. (Jer. 31:11-12)
(1) Gardens are places of intentionality. Gardens don’t just happen. They are tended, watered, and weeded.
As a result they produce good things. Likewise, we must be intentional about the state of our hearts.
We must tend it, water it, and weed it.
b) Song of Songs
i) [CLICK for slide]
You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. (Song 4:12)
(1) The King’s garden was closed off from the public. It was a protected place. People could not just come and go as they please.
The garden was meant for his pleasure alone. Your heart is not for anyone who comes along.
The King of the Universe wants it for his own. You must learn to protect it and be careful about what gets planted in it.
c) Jesus
i) [CLICK for slide]
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1,2)
(1) Gardening is work. It involves pain. No one likes being pruned. But we willingly submit knowing the Gardner is good and he has our best interests in mind.
3) Sowing and Reaping - How you know whether your garden is doing well
a) Every garden needs constant attention. Without proper care weeds come up and choke out the fruit in our life
b) You can tell the state of your heart by looking at what your life produces.
c) [CLICK for slide] Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. People reap what they sow. Those who sow to please their sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Gal 6:7,8)
i) If you don’t like the way your heart looks, then you have to change what you plant in it. Your thoughts and words are the seeds. You cannot grow purity and righteousness by planting vulgarity and violence. It just doesn’t work that way.
4) Recognizing the Fruit
a) [CLICK for slide] "…By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matt 7:15-20)
b) [CLICK for slide] What your life produces reveals the state of your heart.
i) This is not to say that your heart will only be good fruit or bad weeds. It’s more complex than that.
ii) We take note of the fruit and encourage those areas of our lives.
iii) We notice the weeds and change those areas of our lives.
c) [CLICK for slide] What fruit looks like:
i) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22,23)
ii) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Cor. 13:4-7)
d) [CLICK for slide] What weeds look like:
i) The opposite of the fruit of the Spirit.
ii) Sadness, frustration, hatred, meanness, bitterness, unforgiveness, lying, cheating, lack of self-control, envy, boasting, rudeness, anger, and the list goes on.
5) [CLICK for slide] How to pull the weeds and prune your heart.
a) First, we ask the Lord to show us the weeds in our heart.
i) weeds of bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, lust, apathy
b) Next, we bring them into the light. We confess them and speak truth to them.
c) We ask God to change our hearts
d) We purpose in our hearts to wage war against that sin in our life
e) When we fail, we confess it, and continue to fight against that sin
6) [CLICK for slide] How we tend our heart.
a) It takes diligent consistent work.
b) Reading the Bible on your own
c) Praying on your own
d) Community: journeying with others
e) Fasting (it speeds up the process.
f) [CLICK for slide] If left to itself, the heart goes to weeds within a matter of weeks.
Garden of the Heart Chapel
