Are You One of God's Plants? (1987)

In this part of the sermon: The sermon delves into the imagery of God the Father as a 'domestic gardener' or 'horticulturalist' who plants special plants. Every true child of God is likened to one of these…

Jesus likens God the Father to a specialized gardener or horticulturalist who carefully plants and nurtures special plants in his garden or greenhouse, emphasizing God's personal and sovereign involvement in salvation.

Look at them in the text. First of all, God the Father, who is likened to a domestic gardener, or we might say a horny culturalist, someone who is taken up in the planting and nurturing of exotic domestic plants. See how our Lord puts it? But he answered and said, Every plant or planting which my heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up.

10:18 - 10:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon explains the solemn prophecy that every plant not planted by the Heavenly Father 'shall be rooted up,' meaning utterly discarded. Matthew 13's parable of the wheat and…

Martin uses the analogy of pulling weeds by the roots versus merely cutting them down to explain the thoroughness of God's 'rooting up' of plants He did not plant, signifying complete removal and destruction.

Now you know kids the difference between pulling weeds up by the roots and merely hacking them off at the level of the ground. Our brother Rick Anger when he was still in the grass cutting business and hadn't moved up into the kind of work he's in now or moved into I shouldn't say up to demean the other kind of lawn care that he did. I wasn't speaking in a terms of snootiness but moved into a different field of work. He and his men used to cut our grass and last year they went into a section where weeds had encroached upon our lawn and they cut it back and they worked in one of the hottest per...

18:56 - 20:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin outlines five characteristics of all God's plants: a humbling discovery of their own lack of righteousness, a sight of God's perfect righteousness in Christ, turning from…

The parable from Luke 18 is recounted to illustrate the contrast between the self-righteousness of the Pharisee, who lacked a sight of God's righteousness, and the humility of the tax collector, who sought God's mercy and was justified.

with him that is his own gift to men after showing us we have no righteousness of our own through the gospel he displays to us his own perfect righteousness offered to sinners in the person and work of Jesus Christ this is why Paul could say in Romans 1 16 and 17 I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes for therein in the gospel is revealed a righteousness of God the heart of the gospel is the revelation of a perfect righteousness which God has wrought for sinners and God offers to sinners in his son the Lord Jesus Christ that's the gos...

31:10 - 32:38 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin outlines five characteristics of all God's plants: a humbling discovery of their own lack of righteousness, a sight of God's perfect righteousness in Christ, turning from…

Martin describes the Pharisees' religious traditions as acting like a 'spiritual drug' that kept them out of touch with reality, preventing genuine obedience to God's word and fostering self-deception.

says we love him because he first loved us you see it is the believing reception of God's love in Christ which alone subdues and inclines the rebel sinner's heart to love God and to keep his commandments and that's why Jesus said my sheep hear my voice and they follow me not everyone who says to me Lord Lord shall enter the kingdom but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven how do we know these Pharisees were not God's plants instead of obeying the word of God they were cancelling it they were transgressing it with what not by shacking up with whores not by blaspheming on the stre...

35:34 - 37:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near, and return to Him for mercy and abundant pardon.

In the context of an upcoming baptism, Martin describes the converts as 'weeds' from 'Adam's garden' that God, by His grace, changed into 'plants' and placed in His garden, illustrating the transformative power of conversion.

I would have him that my sins might be forgiven that I might be credited with a perfect righteousness I would have him that he would give me a heart to obey him and give me of your spirit that I may be made more and more like him oh friend I plead with you go to God the heavenly Father who alone can make you a planting in his garden go to him through Jesus Christ and beg of him to give you what only he can give you and you have his promise ye shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me with all your heart seek ye the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near that the...

44:22 - 45:50 Read in full sermon