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.
In John 15 Jesus explained that IF we’re not growing - if we’re NOT bearing fruit - there’s something wrong with our faith. In John 15:4-5 Jesus said: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
In order to be useful to God we’ve got to be serious about bearing fruit. It’s about making it a priority to flourish as Christians; to GROW in Christ; and to live lives that point to God. As Jesus said: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
Now, a lot of people think that all they need to do is SHOW UP on Sunday’s, they figure if they show up and Sing some songs; Pray some prayers; Take communion; and listen to a sermon… if they do that, they can live however they want the rest of the week, and God will be happy with that.
BUT THAT’S NOT TRUE.
Do you remember what fruit tree in the opening illustration? It wasn’t bearing any fruit - so, what was the dad going to do with that tree? CUT IT DOWN! Jesus said something like that in John 15:2 “(God) cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit (He removes it).
And now, that’s the bad news - because I don’t want to be cut off. I don’t want to be removed. I WANT GOD TO USE ME. Notice in John 15 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” You’re the branch, Jesus is the vine. In order to bear fruit, you need to be attached to Jesus. If not… your faith will be crippled.
ILLUS: Think about it this way. Let’s say you have a vine in your back yard and on Sunday you see a branch growing out of it. And you say to yourself “Sunday is enough time for the branch to be on that vine.” And so you just CUT that branch right off that vine, and you throw it out back of the garage. BUT then – the next Sunday – you take some twine and tie that branch right back on that vine.
So, what’s that branch going to look like after awhile? Well, it’s going to be all shriveled up and dead, because it needed to be attached to the vine all the time - not just on Sunday - in order to grow and bear fruit. Jesus is the vine and you are the branches, and you need to be attached to Jesus… all the time.
In Psalm 98 – we’re told that, just like that Palm tree, we’ve been “planted in the house of the LORD”. PLANTED! That means that God ALWAYS wants us to be there with Him… not just on special days. Every day of every week. because He wants us with Him all the time.
And God wants you to serve Him. But if you don’t serve Him… if you don’t bear fruit… you can get cut down. And that’s bad news.
But that’s not really, much of a problem around here. So many of you do SO MUCH for God around here that there’s times I feel almost useless compared to what some of you do. But here’s the deal – you and I don’t have to ever feel useless, because God has something special just for you to do. And we don’t have to compare ourselves with what others are doing - we just have to find something for us to do.
ILLUS: I read about a woman who dreamed - having a conversation with God. She was angry about things that weren’t being done in the church. So she complained to the Lord. “Why don’t You do something about all this?” And God gently replied: “I did. I created you.”
God has something for US for YOU to do. Ephesians 2:10 tells us “we (you and me) are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
ILLUS: You’ve got something to do. You just have to get your head in the game. When an athlete is out on the court, or out on the field, and they can get distracted during the game. They can forget why they’re there! But then, the coach might tell them “GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME! Remember where you’re at. Remember what you’re doing. Get focused… and let’s win this game!!!!
You see, if your head’s not in the game, you’re not going to flourish for God; you’re not going to grow; you’re not going to bear fruit.
One last thought: We never got too old to be useful for God. One person said it this way: “You never “age out” on being able to be used by God.” You NEVER get too old for God to honor you. Psalm 92:14 “They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green…” God will do that for you if you let Him, He can make it so you do things in old age. As far as God is concerned, He’ll use you till you die. Your life will always have meaning.
ILLUS: Abraham’s wife Sarah was too old to have a child. She was 90 yrs old. But you what God made it so she gave birth to Isaac; Moses was 80 years old when God gave HIM a job to do and God gave him the power to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Caleb was 85 when he asked to be given the beautiful hill country in the south of the Promised land… and God gave him the power to conquer that land. Simeon was an old man in the temple when God gave him the privilege of holding the baby Jesus in his arms and prophecy about what Christ would do.
If you let Him, God will give your life meaning and purpose, and He will use you no matter your age.
CLOSE: I know I’ve used this illustration before, but the life of one woman in the nursing home in Hamilton, IN left a lasting impression on my mind. The woman had suffered a stroke that left the entire right side of her body useless. Even her face sagged from the stroke’s effects. It was painful to try to talk with her because she’d always cry – if I told her something good that happened at church, she’d cry. If I told her something sad at church, she’d cry. No matter what I told her, she wept, and it was very disconcerting for me. Then, one day I came in to visit her and saw her sitting up and writing something on the little table beside her bed. I asked her what she was writing and she told me “I’m writing letters of encouragement to the people at church.”
Invitation.
