Introduction
1. For almost 8 months, we’ve been studying the ABCs of the Bible...
A is for Abundant...
B is for Beginning
C is for Capstone...
D i s for Delight...
and so on...
2. Tonight we come to the letter X...
Now, there’s not alot I can do with the letter X...
I could preach a sermon on King Xerxes...
Queen Esther’s husband...
But really, Queen Esther is the more interesting study...
So, I’m going to have to stretch a little bit to get a good “x” word...
and I’m going with the Greek Word “Xulon”...
“Xulon” is the Greek Word for Tree...
The Septuagint is the Greek Version of the Old Testament...
And doing a search for the word “xulon” yields 62 results...
I would like for us to look at one of those in particular...
Psalm 1:3...
Read Text: Psalm 1:3
“He is like a tree”...
Who is like a tree?...
who does this refer to...
It refers to person who is richly blessed in verses 1 and 2...
This person who is like a tree...
is define in Psalm 1 by 3 things that he DOESN’T do...
and 2 things that he DOES do...
1. 3 things that he DOESN’T do...
A. he doesn’t “walk in the counsel of the wicked”...
This whole chapter is getting at where our influence comes from...
who do we listen to?...
The person who is like a tree...
he doesn’t get his advice from wicked people...
He doesn’t look to the world for advice...
We are surrounded by people who are quick to give advice...
if you watch tv or listen to politicians...
they will be quick to tell you who to vote for...
On American Idol, Simon will be sure to tell you his opinion on who you should vote for each week...
Of all the candidates running for president...
they will be quick to tell you why you should vote for them...
Now, I’m not saying that you can’t follow Simon’s advice on who you should vote for on American Idol...
In fact, I don’t think it really matters that much in the larger scheme of things...
But it does matter who you listen to when it comes to seeking advice about how to act...
or the way we should live our lives...
or the types of attitudes that we portray...
When it comes to seeking advice for these important areas of our lives...
we don’t look to the non-Christian...
we don’t look to the world...
We don’t want our primary influence to come from sinful or worldly sources...
B. Another thing that this person who is like a tree DOESN’T do...
he doesn’t “stand in the way of sinners”...
in other words...
he doesn’t hang out where sinners hang out...
Proverbs 1 says...
if sinners entice you,
do not give in to them.
If they say, "Come along with us...
throw in your lot with us...,
do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;”
If we are going to be like a tree...
There are some things we don’t do...
and we don’t “stand in the way of sinners”...
Like the song we learned in Sunday School says...
“o be careful little feet where you go”.
C. And the 3rd thing that we avoid, if we are going to be like a tree...
we don’t “sit in the seat of mockers”...
In other words, when the group of people start mocking other people...
we don’t join in with them...
we don’t become a mocker because the other people around us are mockers...
we don’t become a gossip...because people around us gossip...
we don’t “sit in that seat”...
D. I want you to notice the progression here...
first, walking...
then, standing...
then, sitting...
Let’s say you are walking along...
perhaps somewhere you really have no business being as a Christian...
and something catches your eye...
so, you stop walking...
and you stand there checking it out...
As you are standing there...
that sin that has caught your eye...
that sin that has caused you to stop in your tracks...
it begins to call to you...
and suddenly you find yourself sitting down and joining in that sinful activity.
E. This progression relates to the progression along the road of sin...
usually, the Christian doesn’t just fall into deep, dark sin over night...
There is a hardening process...
perhaps as we are walking along our journey with Christ...
we begin to get our eyes on the world around us...
and it begins to entice us...
for awhile, we keep walking along...
but, we keep looking...
we allow that temptation to gain a foothold...
and then, we stop...
we give that sinful activity our attention...
we lust after it...
it appeals to us...
and then, we just join right in that sinful activity...
almost without thought...
because, over the course of time, we have desensitized ourselves to that sin.
2. Well, those are 3 things that we DON’T do...
A. But there are 2 things that we DO do...
First, the Christian DOES delight in the law of the Lord...
we delight in God’s Word...the Bible...
this is the exact opposite of “walking in the counsel of the wicked”...
the person who is like a tree...
they don’t find their advice from the world...
they find it in the WORD...
God’s Word is the guideline for the Christian...
Are you wondering who to vote for in an election?...
The Bible is the best voter’s guide there is!!
Are you wondering about major life decisions?...
what to do? where to turn?...How to live?...
All that is found in God’s Word...
If we are going to be like a tree...
we need to DELIGHT in the law of the Lord...
too often, I’m afraid that Christians approach Bible reading as a chore...
“O, I better get my chapter read...then I can go do something more fun”...
Reading the should not be a chore...it should be a delight!!!
We have the opportunity to hear the voice of the Lord speak to us by reading His Word!!!
B. And another thing we DO if we are going to be like a tree...
we don’t just DELIGHT in God’s Word...
we MEDITATE upon it...
we let it sink in...
it stays with us all day long...
we don’t just read our chapter and then forget about it until the next day...
we let it guide us...
we let it mold our thinking...
we let it affect our behavior...
I have found that the more that I am in God’s Word...
the more I look for answers to the questions in life from the Bible...
the more I meditate upon Scripture...
the more successful I am as a Christian.
3. Well, if we are going to be like a tree...then there are some things we DON’T do...
and some things we DO do...
A. And so, if we do the do’s...and we don’t do the don’ts...
what does it mean that we are like a tree?...
Verse 3 says that we are “planted by streams of water”...
we “yield fruit”...
and our leaves do not wither...
and everything that we do prospers!!
sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?...
when we send our roots down into the refreshing water of God’s Word...
that’s where we receive our nourishment...
if we are planted by streams of water...
then, when the dry arid times come...
we will still be able to be near the water source...
we will still be able to remain strong and nourished...
and because of the proper nourishment...
we bear fruit...
we reproduce ourselves...
we make more “Trees”...
that’s what discipleship is all about...
just like apple trees give birth to more apple trees...
so, we as Christians, need to give birth to more Christians...
and we can prosper in life...
Conclusion
1. As Christians, we need to be like a tree...
that means we don’t follow the ways of the world...
and we don’t stop and join in the ways of the world...
we get our direction from another source...
from God’s Word...
and when we do...
we are like a tree that is planted by a stream of refreshing water...
strong...fruitful...providing shade for the weary...
ministering to those who are in need...
