Grow Like A Palm Tree Series

OPEN: There’s a story about a little boy who had a special hiding place in the back yard. It was an old fruit tree. It had lots of leaves, but it hadn’t produced fruit in years, but the little boy didn’t care. He’d climb up in those branches, and hide amongst the leaves, and for hours he’d pretend to be Tarzan of the jungle, or the commander of a space ship, or anything else he might dream about. And it was also a place where he could hide when he felt mistreated or misunderstood. IT WAS HIS TREE. But then one day he HEARD his dad telling his mom, “I think I’ll cut down that old fruit tree. It hasn’t borne any fruit in years.” The boy was shocked! This was HIS tree. This was HIS hiding place. What was he going to do! But then suddenly he had an idea. In a nearby field there were some apple trees, so, that evening while his parents were busy, he and his best friend went over to that field and they gathered a whole basketful of apples and tied their stems to almost every limb of the old fruit tree. The next morning his father went out to cut down the old tree but came back with a twinkle in his eye and said to his wife: “You’re not going to believe this, but a miracle took place last night. That old fruit tree it’s full of apples.” His wife smiled and said “really?” “Yes,” the father answered, “but what makes it even more miraculous - it’s not an apple tree. It’s a pear tree.”

In our text today, Psalm 92 tells us that “The righteous flourish like the palm tree...” In the desert, Palm Trees flourish. They often grow up around an oasis where they’re a welcome sight to travelers because they often signaled water.

According to one historian (Gibbon) the natives of the nearby nation of Syria tell us that there are 360 uses the Palm tree. Now, I’m not going to list ALL 360 uses of the Palm tree but the most obvious of their advantages is that - It gives shade from the harsh sun. Gives its fruit to restore the strength of the weary, and when seen from a distance, it announces the presence of water.

To the ancient Jews, Palm trees were a symbol of hope, joy, and even victory. In ancient Israel, these palm trees were so prized that the Psalmist here wants you to see yourself like a Palm tree that’s been planted in the house of the LORD; and flourishing in the courts of your God.

It’s like God is painting a picture here And He’s telling us… that you and I are HIS people - we are God’s prized possession. In fact we are SO special to God that we’ve been given a special place in HIS house/ in HIS courts. And we are there because He wants to be near us!

In the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 God describes us this way:

“your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Romans 8:38-39 I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In 1st Corinthians 3:16, Paul writes, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

You are special to God, and He wants you to be near Him. And THE reason He wants you near to Him is told us in Psalm 92 “(the righteous) FLOURISH in the courts of our God. They still BEAR FRUIT in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, TO DECLARE that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

God wants you near Him so you can flourish so you can grow, so your life bear fruit, and this will change your life so that you can declare that you have a God, and your God can do stuff in your life.

Now, our sermon series this month is built around the “Witness Bracelet”. The Black bead represents – the deep darkness of our sins; Red – the power of Jesus’ blood to forgive our sins; Blue – the point of forgiveness (faith / repentance/ confession/ baptism); White – the cleansing we receive from God when He purifies us with Jesus’ blood… and now GREEN. Green represents our GROWTH IN Christ.