Luke 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

Recently I made a comment about this verse. I drew a conclusion but was it the right conclusion? Was it the only conclusion? Where else in scripture can I learn more about this telling tale?

Leviticus 19:23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.

As I pondered these verses together I began to draw lines between the verses and my own experience. There was a connection between the two which might not be obvious to all, may not apply to all, but in me I found relevance.

I was baptized in 1964. Immediately the deacons of the church started making plans for how they could use me. I was railroaded into becoming the county president of the Baptist Youth Fellowship. In this I had no foundation for promotion. I failed miserably. I even began to question my salvation.

I would have been better off if they had treated me as in Lev. 19:23 and treated me as uncircumcised until I began to bear fruit that indicated where my roots were formed. The BYF would have been better off also because I used up time which would have been more productive under the right leadership.

When we look to promote men and women within the church body the first requirement we look for is a history of devotion to the Word, to growth and the fruit which indicates where the roots are formed.

Numbers 24:11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.

Learn the lessons and apply them appropriately.

2 Corinthians 9:13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;

In high school our chemistry lab was under the gymnasium. One reason for this design was because of the experiments run in those labs. The one in which Sulphur Dioxide was produced left a pungent stench in the hallway to the lock rooms on our way to gym class.

I took two years of chemistry in high school. It is a very precise science. If one element of the experiment was off by volume, density, time or temperature, your lab would fail. The experiment in releasing Sulphur Dioxide was immediately obvious as to success because of the liberal distribution. Other experiments were not so obvious to the passers-by in the hall. They were meaningful only to those is class.

So it is with our experiment of ministration of the subjection of the gospel. The liberal distribution to all who pass by is meant to signal what is going on within. Some things are meant only for those who are part of the class. But the lessons of the class are meant to teach us how all the elements work together to serve the will of God.

Now think about this grand experiment in this way; of what value are all the elements if they are kept on the shelf and never brought into use? No one, inside or out of the church would ever see any results if you do not follow the instructions and run the experiment.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.