A Garden Enclosed
To experience real spiritual growth, we must die to self and let God create anew out of nothing.
A.B. Simpson emphasizes the transformative process of becoming a fruitful garden in Christ, contrasting it with the wilderness of our natural state. He explains that true growth requires the removal of self and natural inclinations, allowing God to cultivate a new life within us. The sermon highlights the necessity of dying to self in order to experience real life, urging believers to rely on God to accomplish this work. Simpson illustrates this concept through the cycles of nature, showing that new life emerges from death, just as spring follows winter. Ultimately, he calls for a complete surrender to God's creative power, making Jesus the center of our existence.
Text
The figure here is of a beautiful, fruitful enclosure, not a wilderness. Garden soil is cultivated soil, very different from the roadside or wilderness. The idea of a garden is culture. The ground has to be prepared, to be broken up by ploughing, to be mellowed by harrowing. All the stones have to be removed and the roots of all natural growth dug up. The good things we are seeking are not natural growths and will not prosper in our natural soil. We all feel we should try to improve the old nature, but that is not God's way. His method is to get self out of the way entirely, and let Him create anew out of nothing, so that all shall be of Him; and Jesus will be the acknowledged Alpha and Omega. The thing we want to learn here is to die.
There can be no real life till self dies.
And we dare not try to die ourselves, but ask God to slay us; He will make a thorough work of it. This the secret nature hideth, Summer dies and lives again, Spring from winter's grave ariseth, Harvest grows from buried grain.
Sermon Outline
- The Nature of a Garden
- The Nature of Spiritual Growth
- The Need to Die to Self
- Self must die for real life to exist
- We must ask God to slay us, not try to die ourselves
Key Quotes
“The thing we want to learn here is to die.” — A.B. Simpson
“There can be no real life till self dies.” — A.B. Simpson
“Summer dies and lives again, Spring from winter's grave ariseth, Harvest grows from buried grain.” — A.B. Simpson
Application Points
- We must be willing to let go of our old nature and allow God to create anew in us.
- We must ask God to slay us, rather than trying to die to self on our own.
- Our spiritual growth is dependent on acknowledging Jesus as the Alpha and Omega of our lives.