God's Garden

Being a healthy disciple

Before setting out into the world to make disciples, God desires that we are healthy enough to reproduce. The two books of God, the bible and his creation speak volumes about the method of reproduction and being healthy.

Many of us, including myself, started out early with the idea that reproducing is easy and raising children is not difficult. That is terribly frustrating to those who know better and insist on an understanding of the health that is needed for the family that wishes to reproduce.

In the beginning, God’s creation focused down to the level of a healthy garden. The garden was to be tended by Adam and Eve with God walking with them.

It took me many years to understand that I am not the one who owns the fruit of the garden nor the one who decides the outcome of the fruit.

I am just a caretaker of the garden and am instructed to work alongside God’s pruning, growing, fertilizing, and nourishment.

God desires maturity before reproduction

Many of us have decided that as soon as we have become a believer that we are ready to reproduce. When we look into the world, we see many young couples who are longing for one another without having a firm foundation set in the world. While they may overcome that adversity and proceed with raising a healthy family, it takes much work to make that happen.

The natural passage of time allows the body to come into maturity to allow reproduction to happen. However, we fail in preparing our youth for the understanding of restraint to allow them to understand that a healthy disciplined life will yield fruit that will also be healthy.

God knows His Garden

In Jesus’ words, it is easy to understand that God knows within the hearts of mankind. We are too easily persuaded that we can hide our intentions and truth from one another without consequence.

How do we understand which person who claims they are a disciple is true or not. It is important to understand the passage of healthy reproduction to understand who God is looking for.

Matthew 7:15 NASB95

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

How are we to tell who is the ravenous wolf or the true prophet from God?

Matthew 7:16 NASB95

“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

Matthew 7:17 NASB95

“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

Matthew 7:18 NASB95

“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

Matthew 7:19 NASB95

“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 7:20 NASB95

“So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Matthew 7:21 NASB95

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Matthew 7:22 NASB95

“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’

Matthew 7:23 NASB95

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

3 Ways to be good tree

Become Mature in the Word

There is a balance to the method of reproduction in fruit trees. For example, take the apple varieties, of which there are hundreds. People who are growing apple trees are desiring the tree to produce fruit.

These trees do not just produce fruit as soon as they are planted in the ground. They must reach their mature stage in order to produce fruit.

1. You must become a healthy disciple in order to disciple others.

In the context of the passage of the healthy prophets and those who Jesus doesn’t know is the understanding that those who were only doing works in the world are looking to build themselves up instead of investing in others.

Invest yourself into the bible, which declares the truth of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the ones who created you and therefore, planting yourself in their instruction is how to become a healthy disciple.

Those of you who are healthy and discipling others remember the words you use to help prune the tough growth from the tree need to be the ones which aid in producing fruit instead of killing the tree.

Many people take it upon themselves to decide that the disciple they are helping to make doesn’t look anything like what they want it to look like.

God has given them an apple tree and they want it to look exactly like the cherry tree that they are. Variety of fruit complements God’s garden and He desires we learn how to grow the entire garden.

2. Healthy discipleship does not happen in isolation.

Many people throughout the ages have decided they can maintain themselves outside of the world in order to not become infected by it, loathing what they once were and not understanding their faith in God is the armor that helps them survive the pests, fire, and destruction that may come their way.

When a tree is mature enough to reproduce, it must have at least one other tree of its kind to allow cross pollination. God’s creation is wonderful in explaining what we are lacking in our understanding of our discipleship.

You cannot grow yourself isolated from the world. God desires you spend time with Him in order to understand your path into the world.

Once you understand what type of fruit tree you are, that is the type of fruit you will bear in the world.

Your testimony is the easiest way to own your growth. Understand what blights (temptations) will destroy you and allow the community of disciples surrounding you to aid in your growth.

An orchard of different varieties of trees will reproduce much more effectively than two or three of the same type.

What type of fertilization is required for your nourishment. In an orchard, understanding how the nutrients are effecting the growth of the tree aids in helping keep the tree healthy.

Discipleship is the same. We must understand what affects each other differently.

This is why it is important for intentional discipleship to occur. In small groups of growing and maturing by building up each other in the Word of God, we are then capable of understanding when each other needs the fertilizer necessary for our health to be maintained.

3. Only the strong rooted healthy disciple is capable of withstanding transplantation

A seed moved into a new area must be planted in the same type of conditions that were healthy for the parent tree to thrive. If we took a palm tree and planted it in the far north, it wouldn’t survive. Different “chill times” are acceptable for different trees.

When we take disciples and attempt to grow them outside of the environment of a healthy community and relationship building in the Word, how will they thrive. If we are disciple makers and we allow our fears to guide what we allow in our own families, how will the fruit be ready for the world.

The mature tree does not hold onto the fruit or it will whither and die or allow the pests of the world to consume it.

God’s intention is that we trust Him to plant us where He desires.

Healthy mature rooted trees are capable of being moved to another area. As long as they are healthy, their root system is established, and they are protected along the way, the will withstand the travel.

Once transported, it will take some time for the roots to reestablish themselves in that ground, learning how to survive in that environment. Afterwards, if surrounded by other healthy fruit bearing trees, it will once again reproduce.

Our missionaries in the world who are disciples of Jesus must understand their intention. Whether you are firmly planted here or are venturing out overseas for the intentional reach of Jesus into the world, your foundation must be built on Christ and Christ alone.

Healthy disciples make healthy disciples

Authority was given by Christ to make disciples in the Great Commission. Jesus then goes on to tell us exactly what the kingdom of God looks like and how to grow that kingdom.

There is a divide between those who allow the pruning shears of God to cut away the unnecessary from our lives in order to grow what God wants to see, the fruit of a disciple making more disciples.

Many of us believe that it must start out in the world overseas. The first disciples that you should be concentrating on are the ones in your own family.

Churches help the family by feeding those who grace its doors. That is the variety of fruit that God brings to the garden. Once again, the more fruit trees that are mature, healthy and blossoming to allow pollination to occur will enable families to grow healthy disciples.