S5 E10 - Putting Down Roots

We have had an incredible amount of rain from the storms, which is good considering we just planted 150 trees on the farm. That's quite the process - you have to prepare the soil, firmly ground it, and make sure it's oriented properly - pointed in the right direction. 

As a matter of fact, this is the exact process we must go through in teaching others the gospel. We must prepare the soil to receive the implanted word, firmly ground them in the faith, and make sure they are oriented properly - pointed toward Christ. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

 Welcome back to season 5 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Let’s grow together! 

We’re a day late getting the podcast out, so thank you so much for your patience! It has been a crazy week between spring break and a trip to the children’s hospital with our oldest daughter – and we’re still playing catch up over here! But the thing we have caught up on the most over this past week has been the rain. It’s not news to anyone who lives in the United States to learn that there have been massive storms over the past several days. As a matter of fact, records were set this week. The total number of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings on April 2 was 728, making it the third recorded highest number of severe weather warnings in a day of all time. The total number of tornado warnings alone was 284, coming in 1 warning short of tying the second-place record. Needless to say, it’s been a monsoon that has no signs of letting up until Monday or Tuesday. But to be perfectly honest, the rain could not have come at a better time given what my Uncle Kerry and I did last Monday. Kerry called me up and asked if I would lend him a hand in planting some more trees on his property. He had ordered a good number of White Oaks and Persimmons trees, totaling 150 in all. I don’t think we quite planted the entire 150, but we came close. It was good, honest, hard work. 

If you’ve never planted saplings before, let me take you through the process briefly. First, you have to prepare the soil that it’s going to go into. You’ve got to dig a hole that is not too wide, but deep enough to get the sapling down into with just enough room for the roots to spread out below. So, we ended up taking a massive spike and driving it into the ground to make the holes. Sometimes that was easy work because the ground was soft enough that it took only 3-4 big drives into the ground to make the right depth of hole. But in other places, I had to break through some really hard, rocky ground to plant the tree. The white oaks have strong roots and will grow in just about any kind of soil, but it took extra work to prepare the ground to get it read to receive the tree. After you nestle the sapling into the prepared space, then you’ve got to make sure it’s firmly rooted and grounded. There can be no space or opening around the base of the tree, it needs to be tightly packed. I ended up with blisters on my toes from kicking the dirt and packing it in firmly around the base of each tree with my steel toed boots. If it wasn’t firmly rooted and grounded, it wouldn’t survive – so it was an important step to the process. Finally, as you made sure it was securely in the ground, the last thing you needed to do was ensure that the sapling was pointed in the right direction – straight up towards the sun. As you’re packing the base, it’s easy for the tree to become lopsided and end up leaning one direction or the other. If it does that, it won’t grow properly. It has to be pointed in the right direction. 

My time on the farm reminded me of just how similar the process is when someone is taught the gospel. In our efforts to bring others to Christ, there are some important things to remember as we sow the seed of the Word of God into the hearts of others. 

First, you have to prepare the soil. What do I mean by this? I think most of us are familiar with the parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, where Jesus compares the hearts of those who hear the word with different types of soil – the roadside, the rocky soil, the thorny soil, and the good soil. One thing that becomes clear through this parable is that there are many barriers that often prevent others from receiving the implanted Word of God. That is why James would say in his epistle, “Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21) To receive God’s Word, you have to prepare your heart – and that takes hard work. You have to dig deep, and in humility be willing to work through and remove barriers that are preventing you from submitting to God’s will in your life. Not only must we continue to do this ourselves as Christians, but also as we teach others the gospel we should help them to identify and work through what those barriers might be for themselves. This process takes time, kindness, gentleness, and a willingness to speak the truth in love. But take courage, the gospel is powerful – and it can thrive and change even the hardest of hearts. 

Second, you have to ensure that those who receive the implanted word are truly rooted and grounded firmly in Christ. In Colossians 1:21-23, the Apostle Paul would share this with the church, “Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him—if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.” In the same spirit of thought, Paul would continue in Colossians 2:6-7 and say, “So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.” I think that sometimes as we teach others the gospel, we can fall under the false assumption that after they have been baptized into Christ that our job is done. But nothing can be further from the truth – the great commission calls for us to not only baptize them into Christ but truly make them disciples – students of Jesus. This means that we must do the hard work of grounding new Christians in the faith. They need deep roots, so that they are secure in their faith and will not faulter when trials or storms come. If they are not rooted and grounded, they will not survive. This is such a vital step in establishing new Christians. 

Finally, as we ground them in the faith, we must ensure that they are being pointed in the right direction. In Ephesians 4:15, we read, “But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.” My friends, the goal of discipleship is not to make others like us, it’s to help them to become like Jesus. I have spoken to many brothers who have been involved with mission work over the years in some of the most remote places in the world, and this is one of the primary things they have stressed to me in our conversations. It is not their job to go and try and “Americanize” these new churches and Christians. It is their job to preach Christ and him crucified alone. But this is not simply a problem with mission work, it can be a mistake we make in our own local churches. We are not the standard – Christ is the standard. As we ground others in Him, let us be certain that we are pointing them the right direction – towards the Son of God, so that they can truly grow in every way into him who is the head. The goal of our instruction is never to make our own disciples, but rather disciples of Jesus. 

We have so much work to do. The harvest is plentiful. Let’s roll up our sleeves, wipe the sweat off our brow, and get after it! 

This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 5 episode 10 – and I’m so thankful that we had this time to grow together! A new episode is dropped every Friday, so be sure to tune in next week.  Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, give us a good rating or most importantly share it with someone else – it would help to reach others that I never could alone.  And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.