Echoes of Grace
Tree
- Duration:
- 31m
- Broadcast on:
- 18 Nov 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
and you have to ask yourself are we supposed to live like a tree in Romans chapter I forgot to add transitions but in Romans chapter 15 begin with me in verse 1 for the initial stage of a tree would be it's sapling and a sapling needs support right so if you go to Romans chapter 15 in verse 1 it says we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves let each one of us please up his neighbor for his good and build him up right so here in Romans chapter 15 it says the failings of the weak right let each of us please his neighbor for good to build him up so I think how does this have anything to do with our faith well just like young trees depend on states and ties right new believers or new Christians rely on mentors spiritual leaders and the church community to provide guidance and protection from the quote unquote spiritual winds all right and so here we have the failings of the weak right to build each other up right in Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 it says bear one another's burdens and soul fulfill the laws of Christ right and then first the Solonians 5 14 it says help the weak right so young saplings if you'll think about a tree with me for a moment a young sapling you know you drive by the road and you see all these trees are staked up right they don't they don't sway to and throw from the wind right they're not pushed over and whenever you think about that there's a lot of external pressure that comes on to a young tree there's a lot of external pressure that comes on to a young Christian right because there's the outside world and everybody in the world is seeking to turn you like them that's why we don't fit in that's why the world quote unquote hates us right so the external pressure can put a lot of strain on a new believer or on a young tree and so the young believer is then susceptible to doubt susceptible to temptation and if you don't have that proper support system if you don't have a older tree or you don't have stakes right then you you can fall behind or you can stumble right so the mature Christian as it speaks of in Romans 15 Galatians 6 and 1st Thessalonians 5 this is who it's speaking to is that mature Christian right we are to be patient and nurturing towards new believers or new Christians as their spiritual growth requires time and constant support we have to be able to support one another well then our next stage of life in a tree you deepen roots right and you're saying well how does this make sense well just like the roots must grow dripper must grow deeper for a tree to be stable believers must deepen their souls into God's work you must establish a strong foundation in scripture and in prayer we can go to Luke chapter 6 and Luke chapter 6 let's read verse 48 let's begin with verse 46 it says why do you call me Lord Lord and do not do what I tell you everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them I will show you what he is like he is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on a rock and want to flutter rose the stream broke out against that house and could not shake it because it had been well built but the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who builds a house and the ground without a foundation on the stream broke it against it immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great so what is it what does it say here right it says everyone who comes and hears my words and does them is like a man who is building a house on a rock he lays a foundation of rock right he builds a firm foundation so whenever the storms and the floods come he is not blown down and so you go from being a young sapling and what you need support and you deepen your roots and to a foundation so that you might not need those stakes anymore right and now as you think about a tree right roots absorb nutrients and water necessary for growth necessary for the survival of the tree right and if you think of your spiritual life as the tree that our roots are what provide us that growth they're what provide us the nourishment that's required and turn to Jeremiah chapter 17 with me and Jeremiah chapter 17 let's begin in verse 5 says thus says the Lord cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength who turns his heart away from the Lord he is like a shrub in the desert and shall not see any good come he shall dwell in the parched places of the waste of the wilderness and an uninhabited salt land verse 7 blood is to say it is the man who trusts in the Lord whose trust is the Lord he is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes for its leavens for its leaves remain green and it is not anxious in a year of doubt of drought for it does not cease to bear fruit right so it says two things here it says those who curse the Lord or trust in man and put all of their strength in man are like a shrub in the desert well a shrub in the desert has no nutrients and has no water so it does not send its roots down however those that trust in the Lord and who use the Lord as their trust are like a tree who sends its roots to the stream you will always have nutrients you will always provide growth even when times get hard it says in times of drought it does not fear because it is rooted properly right that is that is our goal as a Christian is to be rooted properly we're supposed to have resilience in trials right if you think back to a tree for me right whenever a big storm comes and a young tree might get picked up and blown away but if you have your roots deep then you don't have to worry about with standing storms because your firm and your foundation you understand what you're doing and whenever you turn and you apply that into your life you have to ask are my roots deep do I have a firm foundation of the Lord right then that's what you have to ask and it's so a deep felt a deep faith can help you to remain steadfast during life's trials and challenges well now you say okay well I don't necessarily need braces or anchors anymore and I have some deep roots well now we have to develop stability we have to become firm in our faith so as a mature tree you're able to withstand strong winds and rain mature believers should be able to discern and reject false teaching staying grounded and sound doctrine turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4 and Ephesians chapter 4 we're going to begin in verse 11 it states and he gave the apostles the prophets the evangelists the shepherds and the teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ until we all obtain until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine by human cunning by craftiness and deceitful schemes rather speaking in truth and love we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ so it says here we are no longer to be tossed to and fro by what by the winds of doctrine right so we have to develop this stability we have to become confident in our faith if you would right so whenever you have stability in your faith well this leads to confidence and God's promise and you become you gain the ability to withstand what we'll call spiritual attacks people that come and they say well why do you believe this or how does this work and this doesn't work great and you begin to no longer have doubts whenever you have stability never you are confident in your faith turn with me to Colossians chapter 2 and Colossians chapter 2 we have verse 6 this world will begin says therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you were taught abounding and Thanksgiving what does it say here it says as you receive Christ walk in him you are to be rooted and built up right this rooted and built up as you are to be stable in the Lord you are to understand where you came from and what you need and that you need him right so a stable and mature Christian serves as a role model you demonstrate strength and reliability that comes from deep rooted faith now your role model both to those at your same level and to those under your level and in a lot of cases you're a role model to those over you as well because if you can do it through the times in urine and you can continue to grow then so can we all you will be a role model well then you think well so we have a stable tree that doesn't need brackets or stakes to hold it up we have deep roots so we continue to get our nourishments and we're starting to get a bigger trunk to be more stable well now what well if we continue to think of a tree trees do what well they reach to heaven the trees reach to the heavens and so as a tree grows it always grows towards the Sun so no matter if there's something in the way or they've been blown by the wind right yet your tree go up and it gets blown by the wind and now it's being sideways and then it always continues to go up it always continues to reach toward the Sun or reach towards the heavens so as you deepen your faith you must continue to reach toward heaven you must continue to grow in your faith just like the tree continues to grow go to Ephesians chapter 3 with me Ephesians chapter 3 begin in verse 14 says for this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit and your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with the fullness of God all right this says here that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith all Christ can't dwell in your heart through faith if you don't have a firm foundation if you don't have a good deep faith right but then it says being rooted and grounded in love once again that rooted and grounded and what and love that we might have the strength to comprehend the what the Word of God says right the breadth the height and the depth and the length and we have to be grounded in our faith so that we might have that so as trees reach towards the sky we as Christians must aspire to always reach towards God to always grow closer to God that doesn't mean you always have to try and get taller right don't go by yourself some stilts to say well I've got to get closer to get that's not how it works but you get closer to God in your hearts right let Christ dwell in your hearts through faith in order for that to happen you must continue to deepen your faith and how you do do that well you seek his presence and you just you learn to understand you learn to read the scripture that can be study prayer and asking for support then we have Colossians chapter 1 verse 3 and Colossians chapter 1 and verse 3 it says I'm sorry in verse 23 Colossians chapter 1 verse 23 start with me in verse 21 it says and you who once were alienated and hostile in mind doing evil deeds he has now reconciled his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and a blah and above reproach before him if indeed you continue in the faith stable and steadfast not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven of which I Paul became a minister so what does that say here it says if you continue in the faith stable and steadfast if we think to our tree right the tree has to continue to grow when it can't do that unless it is stable unless it is steadfast it will be where it's going to be and it will continue to grow it doesn't move side to side right it's not going to say well I want to be over here now all right it is stable and it is steadfast right that is you have to continue in the faith stably in order to continue to deepen it in order to fulfill yourself or fulfill the word of God right go with me to song chapter 1 and Psalms chapter 1 we'll read all of it Psalm chapter 1 verse 1 through 6 it says blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers 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 that yields fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither and all that he does he prospers wicked are not the wicked are not so but are like chaff that in the wind drives away therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor centers in the congregation of the righteous for the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish so it says what it says he is like a tree planted by streams he being who blesses the man that walks in the council or walks not in the council of wicked right blessed is the one who follows Christ who walks towards God right blessed is that man for he is like a tree planted by streams right he continues to yield food his leaf does not wither and in all he does he prospers right but then it says wicked are those that are not like that wicked is the one that doesn't follow God that doesn't reach towards the heavens if you would right for he's like chaff in the wind he just gets picked up and blown away he might be here one day and they're the next and so as a tree's growth leads to fruitfulness we in our spiritual growth must be like this tree planted by streams of water we must deepen our faith so that in all we do we prosper so that all of our good works should produce the fruit of the spirit right that is how we must strive to be when you say okay well now or we know where a tree reaches towards heaven well now we have a mature tree and the mature tree begins to provide support for the other trees right it might block wind right it might provide shelter in storms or rain rain and so as a mature believer you are to provide that shelter that shade that strength to others you are to be the stake against the wind and Matthew chapter 13 Matthew chapter 13 and verse 31 we have the parable of the mustard seed 11 but we'll just read verse 31 and 32 it says he put another parable before them saying the kingdom of heaven is like the grain of a mustard seed that man took concern in his field it is the smallest of all seeds but it when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree so the birds of the air may come and make nests in its branches right it says it was small and yet it becomes the largest tree in the garden for it becomes a tree and the birds come to make nests right they come for shelter as a mature Christian you want to be the shelter for those who need it the birds come and make nests right we are to mature mature believers to actively mentally to actively mentoring to cycle others and to share our experiences and wisdom through understanding and patience right and Galatians chapter 6 now Galatians chapter 6 read with me verse 9 and 10 it says and let us not grow weary of doing good for a due season we will reap if we do not give up so then as we have opportunity let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are in the household of faith it says what it says do good to everyone that doesn't mean you see somebody on the side of the road go buy him a candy bar give them five dollars and although that is seen as a good work there's a lot of good works that we can do that aren't necessarily scriptural and don't always fulfill what you need all right and so to do good to everyone you're supposed to but you're supposed to encourage each other right do good in a spiritual or mental emotional state right sharing wisdom is doing good it says especially to those who are in the household of faith to us so especially to those younger Christians right or older Christians that especially to Christians you're to do good share your wisdom right share your experiences so that people might not be caught up and tossed to and fro right so a tree can become a focal point of nature as well right as it says here on Matthew right the birds come and make nests right so a tree is a focal point in nature it makes a difference now whenever you're a mature Christian or a mature believer you play a crucial role in building and nurturing the church as a whole not only that you should stand out among the world right you should be like that mustard you see you should be the biggest in the garden right and then trees do one other thing I don't know if you've ever been to California or seen those giant trees but they continue to grow that's what trees do they continue to grow right now if trees stop growing one of two things can happen they either die or they become sick or unhealthy and similarly we whenever we become complacent we risk spiritual decline and stagnation go to Luke chapter 13 with me Luke chapter 13 will read verses 6 through 9 this is the parable of the barren fig tree beginning in verse 6 it says and he told this parable a man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none and he said to the vine dresser a look for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and I find none cut it down why should it be used up the ground and he answered him sir let it alone this year also until I dig around it and put in manure then if it should bear fruit next year well and good but if not you can cut it down so we have what we have a fig tree right and if and he's common he's looked three years on our own he's had no fruit I know growth that has become stagnant and a servant says leave it be for one more year let me put manure around it right let me kind of encourage it let me give it some nutrients it needs and if it bears fruit good don't cut it down right it's no longer a stagnant tree but if it does not bear fruit you can cut it down right so we have this stagnation in this fig tree right where if it doesn't bear fruit you're gonna cut it down it's no longer useful right he says why should it use up the ground right get rid of it if we've become stagnant then we're not useful why or should we continue to use up say a pew and the church building right why should we continue to be here if we don't care to grow if we aren't out there to produce fruit right but then you have the servant that says stop right it doesn't mean it's dead it just means it needs some help right and so we are to give it help go with me to John chapter 15 now John chapter 15 verse 1 says I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it may bear more fruit so just as trees or vines need pruning right they need to be taken care of to remove the dead branches or the unproductive branches right we must allow God to prune the areas of our lives that have become stagnant had have died so we may continue to grow right so we might continue to bear fruit right and then we also have accountability as Christians within the church to encourage continued growth and prevent complacency right so so we have this accountability to be like the servants there on Luke chapter 13 to say stop right let's nurture it a little more and see if we can't get it to bear fruit let's see if we can't pick it back up right because the fact that it's gotten this far means there's something right and so we have that responsibility to do and in Revelation chapter 3 Revelation chapter 3 and verse 14 is where we'll begin this is stagnation it says into the angel of the church of Laodicea right the words of the Amen the faithful and true witness the beginning of God's creation I know your works you are neither hot or you are neither cold nor hot that you were wood that you were cold or hot so because you were lukewarm and either hot nor cold I will spit you out of my mouth for you say I am rich I have prospered and I need nothing not really realizing that you are wretched pitable poor blind and naked God says here right if you are not cold and you're not hot right if you are not following God but you're not following that either then you're lukewarm it's gonna spit you out of his mouth because you're not doing what he says right because you're doing just enough that you appear to be a strong Christian right you're that sheep and wolves clothing you're the terror among the wheat right so we have an accountability to continue to grow and if you don't continue to grow God's gonna spit you out you don't you're not useful for him anymore so as I conclude the lesson listen to this the journey of a believer or a Christian spiritual growth can be illustrated by the life cycle of a tree right from the tender sapling needing support to the mature tree providing shelter each stage reflects our spiritual progression as we just went through so as new believers require the guidance and encouragement of more mature Christians to help us withstand the initial challenges of our faith journey and as we deepen our roots through consistent engagement with God's word and prayer we develop the resilience needed to face life storms this deep foundation on our faith allows us to stand firm against full doctrine and remain steadfast in our beliefs right however we must always stay village in against complacency this test trees that stop growing can become unhealthy and face the risk of being cut down we must continue to seek spiritual growth and allow God to prune away anything that hinders our progress if you were sitting in this crowd today and you feel like you need the pruning of God that you need to ask that for prayers for strength support shelter or just continued growth if you'd come as we stand and we sing the song [BLANK_AUDIO]