Storyteller: The Languishing Fig Tree
Pastor Brian Schafer
June 30, 2024
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(1) Where are you PLANTED?

(2) Are you FLOURISHING?

Luke 13:6-8
Then Jesus told this story: A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he did not find any. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’The gardener answered, ‘Sir, leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’
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3 main characters in this parable: (1) The owner of the farm, (2) the gardener, and (3) the tree.

The most common analogy in the bible for symbolizing the flourishing of God’s People is

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Take your own notes here…

In psychology, there is a scale of mental health that spans from FLOURISHING to DEPRESSION. Right in the middle, between flourishing and depression, is

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A Fig Tree with no fruit is a picture of LANGUISHING
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APPLYING THIS PARABLE TO OUR LIVES
(1) DIG IT.
Take your own notes here…

What daily habits (Spiritual Disciplines) will you endeavor to practice in your life this week?

SPIRITUAL DISICPLINES
Habits of Abstaining:
(1) Solitude
(2) Silence
(3) Fasting
(4) Simplicity

Habits of Engagement:
(1) Daily Bible Study
(2) Prayer
(3) Worship
(4) Service
(5) Celebration
(6) Community
(7) Confession
(8) Submission

(For much more, check out Dallas Willard’s, Spirit of the Disciplines.)

Reminder: The goal of daily habits is to put ourselves in a posture of receiving the Holy Spirit afresh and anew, daily, in our lives. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. We are not saved through disciplines, but we grow in Christ as the Holy Spirit fills us and forms us into Christlikeness.
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Take your own notes here…

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(2) DUNG IT.
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Trials produce PERSEVERANCE. Perseverance produces CHARACTER. Character produces HOPE. (based on Romans 5:3-4)
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Don’t be in such a hurry to get out of a difficult situation that you never get anything out of a difficult situation.
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What difficulty are you walking through that is producing hope?

Take your own notes here…

What do you need to cut out of your life that is not producing fruit?