A Tree By The River

"All I Need To Know About Life I Learned From Trees"

• It’s important to have roots.

• In today’s complex world, it pays to branch out.

• If you really believe in something, don’t be afraid to go out on a limb.

• Be flexible so you don’t break when a harsh wind blows.

• Sometimes you have to shed your old bark in order to grow.

• Grow where you’re planted.

• It’s perfectly okay to be a late bloomer.

• Avoid people who would like to cut you down.

TREES -

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

Blue Whale the largest manual on earth

- 100 ft long x 15 wide – weight 100-150 tons

- Small compared to the most massive living thing on earth

Sequoia tree called General Sherman Weighs 2,145 tons

• Circumference of 36’

• Height 275 ft.

• Age 2,300 - 2,700 yr. old

• Branch 6’ x 100’

Ps 1:3 Realizing What You Have In Christ

- The one who delights in the Word PLUS mediates on it

LIKE A TREE

- A tree? – That comes out of the ground, exposed to all kinds of weather, vulnerable to bugs & disease

- Yet it’s leaves & branches reach for heaven

- Literally “So he becomes”

- The consequence of delighting in the word

Leviticus 23:40 (AV)

40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.

Isaiah 44:2–4 (AV)

2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, (jih SOO ruhn) [a poetical name for the people of Israel - “the dear upright people”] whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.

WHAT MAY THIS TREE BE?

Rose-Bay Oleander= an evergreen that grows to 25 ft.

- By streams can be cultivated

- It has shiny, leathery evergreen leaves and large red to white flowers boughs bending like the willow

With Christ

Palm

- Palm tree is an evergreen

- Salt water tolerant

- Can flourish in the desert (Show where water is)

- Roots go deep

- The older the palm tree the sweeter the fruit

- Palm tree will not burn

Psalm 92:12–15 (AV)

12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

1. Prominence

And he shall be like a tree …

- A Tree – visible

- Strength - Stable

- He is seen and known

2. Permanence

… Planted by the rivers of waters …

- Planted - Chosen by design not a wild sprout

- Planted by choice in a place of nourishment

- Rivers plural – If one fail he has another

- Rivers of teaching, pardon, grace, promise, satisfaction, fellowship, comfort

3. Productive

… that bringeth forth his fruit …

- He is Fruitful

- Not just fruit but his fruit

- A blessing to all around him

- Like an apple tree in the cow pasture. Man, cows, birds and insects all benefited from the fruit off this tree.)

- You may never know just who is feeding off your life

- Giving refreshing shade

- Beauty

‎Ga 5:22 | ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ‎23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

4. Perpetual

… in his season; his leaf also shall not wither …

- This tree is not only evergreen but ever bearing so the leaves also do not wither

- In His Season

- There is patience waiting time