Scripture: Psalm 1; Jeremiah 17:8
Theme: Spiritual Formation
Title: The Growing Tree
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
I want to talk to you today about trees.
That is right – Trees.
According to the latest statics there are over 3 trillion trees growing all over the world. That means that there are 422 trees for every person currently living on our planet. The Four largest countries with trees are:
1. Russia – with 642 billion trees (146 million – 4,397 trees per person)
2. Canada with 318 billion trees (38 million – 10, 027 trees per person)
3. Brazil with 302 billion trees (213 million – 1,418 trees per person)
4. USA with 228 billion trees (331 million – 689 trees per person)
I think it is easy to say that God loves trees. Why else would there be over 3 trillion trees growing around our planet.
The Bible is full of passages that speak about trees. More than 35 different trees are specifically mentioned in the Bible. Trees appear in the first chapter of the book of Genesis and in the last chapter of the book of Revelation. And we all know about some very important trees:
+The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis 2:17
+The Tree of Salvation – The Cross of Calvary – John 19:17
+The Tree of Life – Revelation 22:14
While it would be interesting for us to focus on any one of those three trees this morning, I want to focus our attention on the tree that we find in Psalm chapter one. That tree is wonderfully described in verse three:
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (ESV)
You have to admit that is a rather interesting tree. That is a rather out of the ordinary way to look at someone as a person. And yet, as the Psalmist shares his message he alludes to such a tree as a way of getting across his meaning.
Let’s take a few moments this morning and look at verse three a little deeper and see how this tree can help us understand how we can be such a tree/person for the LORD. Let’s see how we can be a tree/person that has a never ending supply of nourishment, that lives a limitless life of continual growth and be a person of great resource for all those around us.
The first thing that we notice is that we have to have:
I. Deep roots in the right place
This tree that is mentioned here in verse three is not one that resulted from a seed merely dropping from the beak of some bird or that landed somewhere on the wiles of the wind.
The Hebrew words used here by our Psalmist are particular in nature. The idea is that it is a tree that has been planted on purpose. It has either been planted purposely with a seed or is a tree that has been transplanted from one place to another.
Whatever is the case the idea is that it has been put there intentionally. Its location is not by accident. It’s by design. It has been put in a place where its roots can grow strong and deep.
Now, let’s take a moment right here and do some thinking. Let’s ask ourselves a question or two:
+Where are we sinking our roots?
Where are we taking root today – what type of soil do we find ourselves?
After all, positioning oneself means a great deal to our being able to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives. Positioning oneself has a lot to do if we are going to enjoy a successful and victorious life.
Take for example, in the world of business it matters a great where you place your business and who you want to target. It can mean all the difference between success and failure.
Let’s look at the Goodlettsville, Tn based retailer Dollar General.
Even in the midst of a pandemic, Dollar General did not sit on the sidelines. Dollar General opened up 1,000 new stores, remodeled 1,670 stores, relocated 110 stores and closed 101 units in 2020. That brought the total number of their stores to over 17,000 in 46 states all located within five miles of 75% of the USA population.
You would think that they might want to pause but this year (2021), Dollar General has 2,900 real estate projects in the pipeline, with plans to open 1,050 new stores, remodel 1,750 stores and relocate 100 stores. Their future plans are to have over 30,000 stores in operation and double their annual retail income from 33 billion dollars a year to over 70 billion dollars a year.
None of that growth will happen by accident. It will happen because they studied, the planned and they went out and planted store after store after store.
Where we sink our roots matters a great deal.
The same is true for people who play sports. They know that it matters where you stand in the batter’s box or where you stand in the outfield. They know that it matters where you take a basketball shot and it matters where you are when you try to kick a soccer ball into the net.
The same is even truer in our spiritual life. If we want to grow healthy we need to plant ourselves in the right spot; in the right environment.
The man of joy; the blessed man makes a deliberate decision to place himself and his family in a place that is near all kinds of godly influences. He places himself and his family in places that will enable all of them to grow spiritually mature. He avoids places that are wicked and that would damage him and his family’s spiritual walk. He avoids places and things that do not allow the Holy Spirit to have full control.
If this passage tells us anything it tells us that where we plant ourselves is vital to our spiritual growth.
Are we putting ourselves in places where we can receive life, hope, grace, joy and love?
Are we putting ourselves in places where the Bible is shared and lived out?
Are we putting ourselves in places where prayer is a priority?
Are we putting ourselves in places that missions/service are important?
Are we putting ourselves with people who are desperately trying to walk with God?
Are we putting ourselves around people who are strong enough for us to lean on in times of trouble?
For like a tree the longer we stay at a place the more roots we put down. And before we know it days have turned into weeks and weeks into months and months into years.
This is why it is vital for churches to create good soil all around them for families to come and put down roots. This is why it is vital for churches to create good soil and good space for others to come and be transplanted into their congregations.
Author Gordon MacDonald writes about a certain AA group that he once attended. There was a woman by the name of Kathy that got up and shared her story. It was a grieving story of a woman who at the age of 21 had been a beauty queen but now after years of living the life of an alcoholic looked beaten up, weathered and haggard. No one would have ever thought she had ever been a beauty queen.
Kathy went on to share how she had been arrested, robbed and even raped. She had been homeless more years than she could remember. As she shared her story and her eyes were filled with tears she made a desperate confession that while she hated her life she just couldn’t stop drinking. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t stop drinking. She confessed that she didn’t think she would ever be able to put down the bottle.
It was at that moment an older woman by the name of Marilyn moved towards Kathy. She put her arm around her and spoke gently to her. She told her that she would be okay now. She told Kathy - You’re with us. We can deal with this together. All you have to do is to keep coming.
In essence, she was asking Kathy to pick up her roots and transplant them alongside this AA group of people. For where she had been placing her roots was poison. The soil was filled with alcohol, drugs, loneliness and pain. Here with this group the soil was filled with health and healing, acceptance, support and love.
When Gordon MacDonald wrote this story he ended it with wondering if the place where he was pastoring would have given Kathy the same invitation. He wondered if his church was that kind of soil where hurting people, people looking for help and healing could transplant their roots.
This morning, that has to be our aim whether it is a church or a small group Bible Study. Are we the kind of place where people can put their roots and are we the kind of place where people should put their roots?
With God’s continual help we can be and we will be.
Secondly, this tree showed:
II. Determined Continual Growth
This tree is one that is strong and vibrant. It is a tree that can stand up to whatever comes its way. It is a tree that experiences continual progressive growth.
Remember what I said about Dollar General a few moments ago. One of the things that the Dollar General Corporation has been able to do is to enjoy over 30+ years of continual growth.
It is one thing to start a company. It is another thing to have the company last for decades.
And while Dollar General has a great track record it pales in comparison to such companies as the Staffelter Hof. The Staffelter Hof is a family run winery, distillery and guest house located in the small town of Krov, Germany. It has been in continual operation since 862 AD. In case you are wondering that is 1,159 years and counting.
How did this company last so long? It has lasted that long because it made the right priorities and it did what was necessary to last. It has survived the Reformation along with WWI and WWII.
Talk about having good roots. Talk about being able to have some type of continuous growth. To survive and thrive that long is simply amazing.
But as long as the Staffelter Hof has lasted it pales in comparison to the top 10 oldest trees. Two of those trees has lasted for over 5,000 years (Old Tjikko and Methuselah -https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/10-oldest-trees-in-the-world-1470132974-1)
Now, what has all this to do with spirituality?
When we put our hearts, minds and souls into it we can experience determined continual progressive growth. It takes determination, consecration and commitment.
That is what is making Dollar General thrive. That is what is enabling Staffelter Hof to still thrive. And that is what is keeping those oldest trees alive after thousands and thousands of years.
Now, we may not last 100 years. That is up to the LORD. But our desire has to be the same as Caleb in the Bible. At the age of 85 Caleb had this to say:
Joshua 14:10-12
New International Version
10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
Now, that is a great spirit!
So, how can we have that same spirit as Dollar General, as Staffelter Hof, as Caleb or as this tree in Psalm 1?
+We do it by delighting ourselves in the LORD; relishing in His Presence and Power.
+We do it by meditating on God’s Word day and night; allowing our minds to be renewed by the Word, our heart’s strengthen and our souls encouraged.
+We do it by being purpose driven to grow closer to the LORD day by day.
If we are going to grow spiritually it has to be intentional. There is no holiness virus that we can just catch and instantly become holy. We have to desire to be more holy. We have to put ourselves in the way of holiness. We have to saturate our lives with God’s Holy Spirit.
All of this growing is going to take time. If we are going to grow spiritually we are going to have to understand that there is a time element involved. And that is where the rub is with some people.
Just like we want microwave meals and fast diets to do the trick we sometimes want to grow in the LORD quick. We want to quickly grow in the Lord and then rest on that growth for the rest of our lives.
But that is just not what happens.
Spiritual growth takes time. It takes time to our minds; our thought processes to be renewed. It takes time for the LORD to build us up, to prune us and to help us mature. It takes time for a human being to begin to live the Abundant Life and enjoy the riches of being infilled and led by God’s Holy Spirit.
Spiritual progress often comes in small increments. It comes step by step. It cannot be measured over hours, days or weeks. It comes over months and years.
Before President Garfield was elected our 20th President, he was a professor and president of Hiram College in Ohio. One day he was approached by a parent who wanted to know if there was any way the course of study could be simplified so that his son might be able to go through by a shorter route.
“Certainly.” Garfield replied. “But it all depends on what you want to make of your boy. When God wants to make an oak tree, He takes a hundred years. When He wants to make a squash he requires only two months.” (https://www.family-times.net/illustration/Success/200023/).
It we take the time to study most successful companies we will notice that the majority of them are not over night successes. We will notice that instead they are a great deal like a tree. A tree grows, but it doesn’t go from being a sapling to a full tree overnight. It takes time and consistency.
It takes the same for a person who wants to live the life of a Psalm 1 Disciple. It takes putting down deep roots. It takes getting into the Word day after day. It takes allowing God’s Holy Spirit to prune and burn off the dross. It takes a person being determined and dedicated to learn how to walk with and in the Holy Spirit.
But the payoff is worth it all. When we commit ourselves to having deep roots and when we do what is necessary for us to experience continual growth then we see the result. The Result is a Life that is:
III. Productive and Fruit Bearing
We need deep roots.
We need dedicated and determined continuous growth.
And we need a life that is Productive and Fruit bearing. The Bible tells us that we can have a life that is a resource for ourselves and for others. We can have a life that not only benefits ourselves but is a benefit to all those around us.
Remember the story of Jesus and the fig tree?
We find the story of that tree in Mark chapter 11. It is a simply story. Jesus walks by a certain fig tree. He looks for some fruit but the tree is barren. Jesus curses it for its lack of fruit. The next day the Jesus and the disciples see the tree again only by this time the tree has withered and died.
Why did all of this happen?
Did Jesus simply not like the tree?
No. Jesus wanted his disciples to understand some very important truths:
+When God plants, He expects to receive a harvest.
+When God saves, He expects us to be fruit bearers of His glory and image.
All of here this morning are made in God’s image. We are to reflect His Glory and His Honor. We are to be like Him. We are to bear His fruit:
Galatians 5:22-23 - New International Version
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
All those “words” are not just words written down by the Apostle Paul on a sunny Saturday. They are words that describe some of the fruit that we are to be able to produce in this life in Christ. Fruit that will not only reflect a change in our own lives but fruit that will make the very atmosphere around us experience transformation.
This morning:
+ You and I will live our lives. What we do with them will determine what fruit we bear and what fruit we leave behind.
+ If we are not careful we will live life to just finish the job and pocket the paycheck.
+If we are not careful we will live life to just fix up a house.
+If we are not careful we will live life to just drive the right car.
+If we are not careful we will live life to please ourselves and leave nothing behind but a pine box or an urn full of ashes.
Sometimes we get so caught up in everyday living that we are tempted to forget that we are to leave behind a spiritual legacy. What we do with our lives greatly affects other people..
How we use our voices and how we use our hearts, minds and our hands will determine whether we are fruit bearers or time wasters.
One person has said that in this life we will find ourselves doing one of two things:
+Helping people find a life raft on the Titanic helping them to safety or
+Arranging the chairs for people to sit on as the water rushes over the boat
I don’t think any of us want to just be known as people who arrange chairs as people’s lives are being destroyed. I don’t think any of us wants to use the life that God has given us for our own selfish needs and wants.
I think all of us want to be the people that others can look to help them find the LORD, live a great life and be ready to live on the New Heaven and Earth. I think all of us want to be the people that can help others find peace, love and joy. I think all of us want to be people that can help bring others encouragement, support, unconditional love, connection and belonging.
All of this – deep roots, continual growth and being a productive resource person never happens by accident.
It happens when we co-partner with God.
It happens when we open our hearts to the LORD for redemption, salvation and sanctification.
It happens when we walk in the Spirit and practice the art and ministry of spiritual disciplines.
It happens when we begin to love people so much that we seek out ways to help them emotionally, socially, physically, financially and spiritually.
It happens when we allow the Holy Spirit within us to show us how to be Jesus to all those around us.
What a great chapter we find here in Psalm 1.
What a great verse we find here in Psalm 1:3.
What a great challenge for all of us.
What a great life presented for us to emulate and live.
Today, I want to invite some of you who have not done so to begin this journey. I want to invite you to accept the LORD Jesus Christ as your Personal Savior and LORD and begin this wonderful walk of holiness with Him.
For others, I want to challenge you to continue the journey. I want to challenge you to continue the journey of reflecting God’s Glory and Honor. I want to challenge you to continue the journey of putting down deep roots, experiencing continual progressive growth and becoming a person that others find encouragement, support, unconditional love, motivation, joy and peace.
And for all of us, I want us to pick up the challenge to be a Psalm 1:3 tree at work, at home, at the school, in the office, at the factory or wherever we find ourselves.
Closing:
The Lord’s Supper/Invitation/Blessing
I am indebted to https://sandyadams.org/media/pdf/2376.pdf for some of the illustrations and main thoughts.
