LIKE A TREE

LIKE A TREE Psalm 1 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Bill Hybels, Making Life Work, chapter one; Os Guinness, Steering Through Chaos; Patrick Morley, The Seasons of a Man's Life; Haddon Robinson, The Wisdom of Small Creatures; Donald Williams, Which Way Are You Going? December 5, 2004 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory What's the difference between a fencepost and a tree? Even though they are in some ways similar-they're both made of wood, they're most functional when they are standing vertically and they are both usually protruding from the ground-they really are quite different, aren't they? For starters, one is dead and the other is alive. They are both in the ground all right, but underground there is a huge contrast. One goes down a couple of feet at the most and usually ends in a small casing of concrete to hold it in place during the heave and tug of seasonal changes. And no matter how much you saturate it with penta or creosote, it will soon rot and turn into the same soil that holds it up now. But living trees don't rot in the ground. And the main reason that is true is that trees grow roots down into the soil, spreading out gathering nourishment and grabbing hold of that soil at thousands of points. Thus the tree is secure against the wind and rain other natural ravages that might conquer a fence. Roots make otherwise pieces of inert wood into a growing, thriving, fruitful living thing. Roots are the big difference between a tree and just a post. Spiritual roots turn otherwise normal, sinful human beings into godly, maturing, fruitful servants of the Lord. This sort of person is happier, more productive and more prosperous than the ordinary fencepost variety. Look at Psalm 1 with me and see what I mean-better yet, let's see what HE means . . . Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight  is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in  season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Transition: I count at least three roots that nourish and stabilize the person who is described as being "like a tree." The First Root - Godly Companionship I know-you don't find this expressly stated in the Psalm, but look at the way the psalmist comes at this topic negatively. Tree people don't hang around with ornery, ungodly, scornful and hateful people. Eugene Peterson translates verse one this way: "How well God must like you-you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College." There is so much to be said about hanging around with people who will help to build you up rather than tear you down. I can't take time to cover this topic well, but listen carefully to the Lord's warning-people who want to be godly (that is. who want to please God) simply do not spend their leisure time with hoodlums. Dallas Willard tells of an experiment done with mice a few years ago. A researcher found that when amphetamines are given to a mouse in solitude, it takes a high dosage to kill it. But, give it to a group of mice, and they start hopping around and hyping each other up so much that a fraction of the dosage is lethal -- so great is the effect of "the world" on mice. In fact, a mouse given no amphetamines at all, when placed in a group on the drug, will get so hyper that in 10 minutes or so it will be dead. The negative effect of the behavior around you will get to you. The apostle Paul said exactly this in 1 Corinthians 15:33 - "Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Nur Malena Hassan moved out of her home and into a glass box. This new residence was going to be temporary for the 24-year-old Malaysian woman-in fact, if it went according to her plan she would live there for at least 32 days. You see that's how long it would take for her to break the world's record for staying in a glass room in the company of 6,000 scorpions. On August 21, 2004, the crowd at the shopping mall in Thailand witnessed Hassan step into the box, showing no outward signs of fear. The glass box was filled with 6,069 volunteers who quickly covered Hassan's body. She was allowed to leave the box for 15 minutes each day, Hassan made it home for 36 days. She emerged on September 25, 2004 with the new world record. Not surprisingly, Nur Malena Hassan suffered 17 stings. That's what happens when you lie down with scorpions. You know that as Christians God wants us to be influencers in the lives of others who don't yet know Christ, and to do that we have to spend some time with them. But there is a very important difference between being an influencer and be being the influenced. We are to be in the world but not of the world. I want to suggest two clear warnings about when you are spending dangerous limits of time with the ungodly. First, as soon as your attitude begins to change. You won't know it, but those believers who know and love you will. Ask them. In a very enlightening discussion at our men's breakfast yesterday morning, it was suggested that we open our lives up to trusted others who will confront us when they notice something wrong like that in our lives. They'll do it in love, but they won't be afraid to confront sinful behaviors and slipping attitudes in us. Secondly, when you are among unbelievers and you are outnumbered, get out and go home. Why do I say that? Because very rarely will you be the influencer in that setting-you will almost always be influenced by the crowd. And there is no good spiritual sense in hanging around temptation-it will eventually snare you. On the TV show "Hee Haw", Doc Campbell is confronted by a patient who says he broke his arm in two places. The doc replies, "Well then, stay out of them places!" He may have something there. We cannot regularly put ourselves in the face of temptation and not be affected. When faced with the problem of temptation, we need to take the good doctor's advice and "stay out of them places." Spend your quality time with quality people. Get among some others who love and serve the Lord-fellow believers who are as interested in growing in their faith as you are. Learn to love one another and rely on each other for prayer, support and encouragement. The smaller the group the better-less intimidation and more of a tendency to stay serious and on track spiritually. Do you have a couple of good friends like that? People who are not wicked, sinful and mockers? People who are committed to Christ and prove it every day in their speech and behavior? If not, pray that you will find them. Get out and try. Stop trying to be a lone ranger Christian. Face it, you will just not be able to do it on your own. Join a Life Group; step out in faith and make new friends, good friends. I urge you to sign up for a Life Group and get serious with some other tree people. The First Root - Godly Companionship The Second Root - Wisdom from the Word of God Verse two reveals another healthy root in the lives of tree people. If you want to be well-nourished spiritually, and you want spiritual stability, you simply must do all you can to get the truth of the Word in you. The Bible is such a precious commodity to us believers. There God has stored, not all of His knowledge and wisdom, but all that He knows we need. Think of it-the living God, the Master of the Universe, deliberately and lovingly recorded His wisdom for us so that we could live happy, healthy and prosperous lives! The fact is, we're pretty dumb, we rebels from God, we proud consumers of forbidden fruit, we lost residents of condemned humanity. Without God's wisdom shared with us, where would we be? We'd be dumb as rocks, spiritually starved and bound for a Christless eternity, that's where we'd be. But God has revealed His love and salvation for us to save us, and to teach us how to live in His wisdom. And there's a lot more treasure in this Book that we need to learn! Abraham Lincoln wrote these humble and helpful words: I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day. Have you read any of the Dummies books? You know, Parenting for Dummies, The Internet for Dummies, Fishing for Dummies. And now there is the other series the Idiot's Guide books. The idiot's Guide to sail boating, The Idiot's Guide to Plumbing, The Idiot's Guide to Microsoft Word. Actually they're great books-they are designed to give a basic, well-organized introduction to the given topic to people who don't have a clue about that topic. One guy said he buys these books because they "take the intimidation out of the learning process. Whatever the subject matter, they spell it out to me in simple terms. They make the complex understandable…" That's exactly what the scriptures do-they teach us solid practical wisdom on how to live for God in a complex, sin-soaked world. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline." So says Proverbs 1:7. The entire sum of the wisdom we need to make life what it ought to be in revealed to us from God in the Bible's pages. Psalm 1 says that the godly person relates to the truth of the Word in two ways: he loves it (his delight is in the law of the Lord) and he meditates on it day and night. (Vs. 2) Do you want to become truly wise? Learn directly from your Maker by reading and studying your Bible. It's all there for you. In southern Palestine there is a city named Eshtemoa (actually mentioned in Joshua 21:14). A few years ago some excavation was going on there and they unearthed a buried treasure that included over 60 pounds of artifacts made out of pure silver, along with roughly $5 million worth of jewelry, dated from the mid-15th century. Here's the thing-all of that treasure was only 18" under the dirt floor of a little house. Think about it. For more than 500 years poor Palestinian families lived in that little house with the earthen floor-and all of them were just inches away from riches that would have blessed them and their posterity for generations. We, too, are living right on top of a buried treasure that can make us genuinely rich. All we have to do is dig a little for it. Brothers and sisters, we "tree people" have access to the generous flow of the life-giving sap that will make us healthy and happy and fit for eternity. We need to get into the truth of God's Word, so that we can get the truth of God's Word in us. Do you know what made Solomon such a wise man? He realized how little wisdom he had and how badly he needed God's wisdom. God told him to ask for whatever he wanted as this young Solomon was handed the kingship over Israel. He asked for wisdom. Well, God congratulated him on his request and promised that since he didn't ask for wealth and fame and power, He would not only grant his request for wisdom, but give him all the rest as well. That is precisely what He does for "tree people" today. Look at the promised results of seeking God's wisdom. Verse three says we will indeed be like a tree planted by streams of water. We will yield fruit every season, verse 3 promises, which means we will be successful in our service for Him (and there is nothing more rewarding that that!). Further, when we walk in the wisdom of God from the Word, we will not lose any of our leaves. No autumn and winter for tree people! Always in bloom, always green, always abounding in the grace of the Lord! Not only that, but the last part of verse three says of the tree person, Whatever he does prospers. Not a bad career, being tree people! George Washington Carver nicknamed his laboratory "God's Little Workshop." It was there, he says, where the famous scientist knelt and asked God in prayer to help him discover the as-yet-undiscovered uses of the ignoble crop, the peanut. "Dr. Mr. Creator," his prayer began, "please tell me what the universe was made for." "Ask for something more in keeping with that little mind of yours," is how he sensed God answering him. "Dear Mr. Creator, what was man made for?" And again the Lord answered, "Little man, you ask too much. Cut down the extent of your request and improve the intent." So Dr. Carver, the scientist, tried once more: "Then, Mr. Creator, will you tell me why the peanut was made?" "That's better," the Lord said, and beginning that day, George Washington Carver discovered over 300 uses for the lowly peanut. This is another good reason to sign on and get involved in a Life Group. It's a place where there is relaxed group instruction in the Word of God. Lay hold of the wisdom that comes from mixing it up once a week with a small, friendly group of Word-hungry companions. It is guaranteed to be a place of healthy growth. The 1st Root - Godly Companionship; The 2nd - Wisdom from the Word of God The Third Root - Unwavering Hope In verse four we find the emphatic statement that the wicked (unredeemed) are not strong like trees planted by the streams of water. "Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." In January 2000, leaders of Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, "We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you." So he agreed. After wonderful things were said about him, Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, "I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of each passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his other pocket. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat by him. He couldn't find it. The conductor said, 'Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it.' Einstein nodded appreciatively. "The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry. I know who you are. No problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one.' Einstein looked at him and said, 'Young man, I too know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going.'" Billy Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing? It's a brand new suit. My wife, my children, and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am, I also know where I'm going." If you trust in Christ and you are living in Him, you have the rock-solid confidence to live without fear or guilt or regret. You are going to heaven! That's right, when this nano-second of time we call life is over, it ain't over-it's just beginning. It is ours, no question about it. This is the promise of God to His children in Christ. You can be confident you are going to be there where there are no tears or pain or sorrow or death any more. And one more thing. Because you know where you're going, you have the confidence and courage to bear with anything this world throws at you. You are not like the wicked and the sinners and the mockers. By God's grace you have been transformed. You are now a person of hope, and you can say with the apostle Paul, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us", because when that day comes we will be "brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." (Romans 8:18,21) I like most food, and I'm usually not too finicky when I eat out. But there is one meal I won't order at a restaurant. I will never order meat loaf. It's not that I don't like meat loaf-in fact, I love good meat loaf. It's just that my wife Charlotte makes the best meat loaf-she really does-and I want to save myself the deep disappointment of having to eat someone else's meat loaf that I now is going to be inferior to hers. My fellow tree people, God has something better for you tomorrow. And He has something incomparably wonderful for you in your destination, heaven. Don't settle for anything less by falling in love with this world.   [Back to Top]