God is not done with his work when we first believe and are saved. He intends day by day to make us into what we already are in Christ.     We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; - Oswald Chambers     We have been talking about growth for the past several Sundays. And when we think of Growth we often skip to looking at the final product and forget the work and commitment it takes to get there.   I can think of people that I have spoken with in ministry that can relate to my experience with the garden. You grew, and now all you see are weeds……..     It’s not the Garden, it’s the Gardner 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 New International Version (NIV) ²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.   ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.   ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,   ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.   ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[a]   In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 it’s great to see that our Gardner, Jesus Christ, never changes. In fact, there is nothing Good in me but Jesus. He is our Righteousness, Holiness and Redemption.     When things begin to go wrong in my Christian life, the weeds begin to grow, my passions and desires begin to fade. The first part of seeing growth again is realizing it is me, not anyone or anything else.   I was told by a wise man a long time ago….. never allow anyone or anything to come between you and your relationship with the Lord. And if you do, don’t blame the church, the person, nor the situation, look only to you for the blame.     NOTHING should get in the way of your relationship with God.     It’s not the Garden, it’s what you allow inside the Garden     For if you and I are not careful, we will allow things in our lives that will lead to the demise of our walk with the Lord.   1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.     Every person that truly believes in Christ is increasingly transformed into his likeness. When we begin to see the things that are hindering our garden from growing, and THEN we are willing to remove that which is hindering it.     The problem is the flesh likes these things. And when the ground is tilled for Godly growth, the enemy loves to sneak in some devilish seed to hinder the growth. WE MUST KICK IT OUT.       It’s not the Garden, it’s the results we really want.       Our spiritual life is no different than the Garden. When you don’t work your garden, the results are not good.     All of us want the fruits and vegetables out of the garden, and all of us say we want to GROW spiritually, but we must learn to crave the things of God.   Once we taste and see the results we cannot get enough. You will be willing to do whatever it takes to produce THAT type of fruit.     Growing in your salvation is when you taste something that you know is good, you bend your wills and desires to make sure that you get the results Christ desires.       It’s a craving that comes and we love and we want more of it. And when we experience it, the more we receive, the more that we grow. The deeper we go the more fruits come out.