“THE TREES OF THE LORD ARE FULL OF SAP”
Ps 104:16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
Ps 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
God establishes or declares ownership or association
on this basis........
(The trees that are of his family are full of sap).
Sap is the lifes blood of the tree,
Sap in the natural life of the tree, corresponds to the spirit in the life of the child of God.
The spirit is not simply goose bumps or speaking in tongues, the spirit is the lifes blood of the christian.
It’s his joy, his peace, his love, his compassion, his power, his faith.
(everything about the christians life is determined by this flow of divine life, sap)
All through the book of acts it connects the fullness of the spirit to the fullness of faith, and fullness of joy. Etc.
Notice the words (Are full of sap).
This is descriptive of present tense condition,
Note there is no indication that there should ever be a time when we are not full of this sap.
*How can we be assured of continual fullness of this vitality of the spirit?
#1 we are the planting of the Lord, he is the husbandman, (he cares for us constantly).
#2 we are planted by a never failing supply of the the spirit, revealed as rivers.
That is to say, the divine supply is within reach at all times.
We are exorted or commanded in Eph 5:18 Be ye filled with the spirit.
The cedars of Lebanon are a picture of stability,
They are planted, their roots go deep, They are flexible they are able to bend without breaking
(It was the cedar tree that was used to build Solomons temple).
and they are known for their sweet fragrance.
All of these are marks of the spirit filled life, When we are full of sap, we are planted and strong and stable, we are flexible, we are a fit dwelling place for the presence of the Lord, and our lives send forth a sweet fragrance.
Ps 92:10-14 10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. 11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
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;
It is important that we guard ourselves against anything that would hinder or quench the flow of the spirit in our lives.
We must guard ourselves against anything that would deplete us spiritually.
Growing up in farm country I became familiar with this term of (suckers) they are branches that are attached to a tree or vine, but they are not fruit producing, they actually draw away from the fruit producing branches the nuourishment they need.
(They are sap suckers)
A good farmer recognizes these free loaders and cuts them off for the good of the tree or vine.
As there are sap suckers in the natural there are also sap suckers in the spiritual.
There are things that will try to come into your life and rob you of the sap and the vitality of the spirit. rob you of your joy, and your peace, they will quench the freedom and the liberty of the spirit in your life, and rob your life of the flexibility necessary to deal with life’s pressures.
Pr 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
One translation says: For it is the well spring of life.
Jesus said it this way:
Out of your bellies = heart innermost being, shall flow rivers of living waters.
There are attitudes that can attach themselves to us, and deplete the spirits presence in our lives until we find that we are no longer a sweet smelling savor, but we can actually be guilty of having an offensive odor.
Ecc 10:1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour:
That means that things that are dead, will cause even the things of God to stink.
We must not allowed ourselves to become occupied with dead things. Things that have no anointing, no joy, no peace, and bring no honor to God.
These things will become sap suckers and deplete the supply of the spirit in our lives.
The trees of the Lord are full of sap
Are you full of sap tonight, or have you been sapped?
Has life, and situations and circumstances, and attitudes, attached themselves to you and drained you of the spirits vitality.
Every one has been there at one time or another, The tragedy is when we don’t recognize it, or won’t admit it.
It is our responsibility to keep the well cleaned out, If we will keep the channel clear God will take care of the flow
The normal operating condition for the christian is (full of sap) full of the spirit.
David recognized his need for fresh oil, fresh anointings.
We also must receive fresh anointings: We must have the fresh touch of heaven upon our lives, Everyday the Israelites gathered manna from heaven, which tasted like fresh oil.
Life has a way of draining us, using up our oil, wearing us down, But God has a way of replenishing us, filling us up again.
And finally, there are those in the body of Christ who take on the same attitude as these fruitless branches,= (suckers) they produce no fruit, they give nothing back to the kingdom of God, and worst of all they attach themselves to fruit producing christians and try to pull them down, and drain the life out of them.
One of the most important things about being full of sap is being able to recognize those things that are draining the energy of the spirit from our lives, and cutting ourselves loose from them.
The trees of the Lord are FULL of SAP.
