Get Planted
By Caleb Miller

Daily, we are surrounded by those who have felt a call of God for something deeper than the normal life, who have struggled and fallen trying to fulfill that call.   God began working in my own heart a few years back about the principles of being planted, and that’s what I’d like to talk to you about today.

Leviticus 19:23 – 25: ‘when you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. ²⁴ But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the LORD. ²⁵ And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God.

So what we’ve seen here is that the Lord gave a command to Israel to not touch the fruit of the trees they’ve planted for four years.  There’s a strong principle here and a number of things we can grab hold of. 

·      Immature plants yield immature fruit – A young apple tree will still yield apples, yet they’re often small, bitter, and not full of what they can be. 

·      Fruit that falls from the tree fertilizes the tree itself – as the fruit that begins to fall to the ground decomposes, it releases all the vitamins and minerals it contains, the very ones the tree used in creating the fruit, back into the ground, being absorbed by the roots and used as food in creating the next crop.

·      Timing is everything – 4 years is a period of growth, in which the tree has had the time to grow, mature, feed itself, and begin to produce mass amounts of fruit, as opposed to the first crops which are seldom anything to look twice at.

·      Mature trees not only offer fruit, but shade for other life that is growing.

I believe that what God’s saying here is that if we will simply plant ourselves in a place, allow his word to feed us in our initial growth, what will happen is that our own fruit will begin to feed us.  It will fall from our heads, hearts & hands and provide the growth for our spirit that only revelation and the Spirit of God can give.

The New Testament also has examples of this principle.  Paul tells us in  1 Timothy 3:6 that we are not to let a novice be in a pastoral position.  That word novice doesn’t mean they are new to ministry, it means they’re a new convert.  This is not a legalism, it’s grace being imparted to a young plant that needs the time to begin to grow, to send his/her roots down deep, begin to feed themselves first, and then move into feeding others.  This same principle is what Paul was talking about when he refers to being babes in Christ.  If we can’t feed ourselves, why would we even try feeding others! 

Don’t get bound up by that, if you’re receiving from the Holy Spirit, you’re feeding yourself.  I’m not saying that you should have no need for teaching; every plant needs food until the day it dies.  My dad has said that he desires to be receiving revelation until the day he goes home, yet he feeds himself on a daily basis.

Again in 1 Timothy, we see Paul addressing the issue of youth in ministry, this time from a different angle.

1 Timothy 4:12-13: Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

 Is Paul contradicting himself here? NO! What He’s literally saying to Timothy, is to give no one reason to despise your youth, be a good example to those who are still in this new growth period, and don’t let your fruit fall too far off your own tree until it’s had time to feed you!

Even the man who wrote our modern faith, the Apostle Paul, tells of how he took time to learn directly from the Lord (Gal 1:16-18) Paul tells us he did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, meaning that for a period of 3 years, he took the time to begin to listen to the Lord, and let his fruit feed himself before ‘unleashing’ it on the world!

Another interesting principle is that we would never uproot an orange tree in order to get the oranges to people, we simply pick the fruit and take it to them.  As you begin to step out into the full realization of that calling, God will always keep you planted firmly, and if we’ll be willing to let Him, He’ll cause our branches to grow even further, feeding everyone along the way

Let’s take these examples.  It’s never too late to plant yourself firmly in a church where you can begin the process of growth.  Allow the time of worship, teaching and fellowship to water your roots as you begin to grow, and before you know it, you’ll be feeding all those around you with the fruit that starts to grow. 

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There’s joy in the journey!