Like An Olive Tree

Psalm 52.7-9

Psalm 52. 8 But I am like an olive tree

    flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God’s unfailing love

    for ever and ever.

We welcome readers this week from Germany, China, France, Brazil, Somalia, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Russia. God bless you guys!

Three significant trees in the Bible: 

Fig tree

Palm tree

Olive Tree

All of these had spiritual significance. The fig tree represents Israel. The Palm tree is used to describe the righteous.The olive tree here is used by David to describe  himself. 

The Olive Tree has been part of the history of Israel from its beginning.

Deuteronomy 8.8 Moses noted the large presence of Olive Trees in the 

land of Israel.

7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;

David said he was like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God.

David compared his life to an Olive Tree. What did he mean?

1. An Olive Tree

Some interesting things about the olive tree. Some you may know, others you probably do not know.

Fruit Producer of Olive Oil- symbolized the Holy Spirit

We use Olive Oil to anoint the sick with. James 5

It was used in anointing prophets, priests and kings.

It was used on shields to make arrows fly off them.

Not a large tree, rather small, not attractive, although leaves appear to have a silvery sheen in the sunshine.

I Corinthians 1.26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Psalm 128.3 sons will be like olive shoots around your table.

The olive branch was often a symbol of abundance, glory and peace. 

The Olive Tree

15 years to maturity, then bear fruit for centuries. The things you are doing for the Kingdom of God, if Jesus tarries, will have an effect here on this earth long after you have gone to be with Him. My Nana's prayers. Sunday School Teachers... My son-in-law, James' aunt DeeDee, my Dad, you

Prayers, giving, sharing God's Word, kindness, etc. are all things that will outlive you. Think eternally.

David said he was like an olive tree...

2. Flourishing In the House of God

You cannot flourish anywhere else- the Body of Christ. Romans 11.24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

Interesting quality- cut it down, it will grow back stronger and more plenteous...  Garden of Gethsemane, place of crushing. Jesus' words about dying and producing. Prophecy of Isaiah 11.1

Most of the Holy Land was covered with olive trees until  the Ottoman Turks decimated the groves to fuel their railway locomotives. Many grew back.

 Today, Israel also grows olives, and the the branches of the tree figure prominently in the Old Testament.

Jerusalem’s Olive Trees from Biblical Era Oldest on Earth 

Garden of Gethsemane 

Hebrew word for Flourish to be or grow luxuriant or fresh or green

Psalm 92:12

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,

He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord

Shall flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;

They shall be fresh and flourishing,

15 To declare that the Lord is upright;

He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

We know outwardly we are wasting away but our inner man, our spirit is being renewed day by day.

3. The Effects of This Fellowship with Christ

*Trust/ Faith

Rooted in Christ

It is interesting how our standing in Christ is tested, how it come under severe trials and yet out of that comes a deeper faith. The trees of the earth are tested in storms and winds, in droughts and floods, even disease. 

You can cut a Giant Sequoia down and the rings will not only tell years of the tree but it also gives a history. The rings reveal what kind of year it was for that tree. We are much more wonderfully made than those trees. God works through the most mysterious circumstances in our lives.

Praise

Isaiah 55.12

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 

Put our voice into it, our body into it from our spirit.

Hope 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15.13

We have hope! Christ Jesus is our Hope.

In the most despairing places today the LORD brings hope.

In natural disasters... At funerals of Christians... You will find grief but never despair. We do not grieve like those who have no hope.

I Thessalonians 4.Believers Who Have Died

13  We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of men,  who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. 15 According to the LORD’s Word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the LORD, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the LORD Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air. And so we will be with the LORD forever. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

What God Is To Us In Times Of Trouble

What God Is To Us In Times Of Trouble

Psalm 46.1

Franklin Graham wrote this week: Today my heart goes out to the people of Milwaukee who are caught in the middle of violence and unrest–the community is being described as a powder keg of volatility. My heart also goes out to the people of Louisiana and Mississippi who are again experiencing devastating flooding and loss. Some may wonder—where is God in all of this? The Bible tells us that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). He promises to be with us through the trials and difficulties we face in this life. 

God's people have their share of trouble on earth, some an overwhelming amount, more than they can handle.

C.S Lewis

Lewis struggled profoundly with despair after the death of his wife, Helen Joy, in 1960, after only three years of marriage.

He wrote:

... Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be — or so it feels — welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no lights in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?

I tried to put some of these thoughts to C. this afternoon. He reminded me that the same thing seems to have happened to Christ: 'Why hast thou forsaken me?' I know. Does that make it easier to understand?

Marital breakups, death of loved ones, financial pressures illness are all troubling. Breakdown in all kinds of relationships add to this trouble today. More broken hearts today than ever before. Rudy and my conversation yesterday morning.

We are looking this morning at the LORD's help for us in times of trouble. What God is...

1. He is Our Refuge

A shelter from rain or storm, from danger, of falsehood

Our refuge. Our only, impregnable, accessible, delightful place of retreat is our God. Emma and I at Disney, Hall of the Presidents, watching the parade.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18.10

We are in a spiritual battle today. 

Satan hurls fiery darts at us. These are designed to take us out.

I think the big ones coming our way are discouragement and depression and the feelings of hopelessness. 

Satan is relentless. When a person is down often he heaps more troubling thoughts to their mind. He can get us to imagine some horrible scenarios. If we do not take refuge in the LORD Satan can actually immobilize us. The "What Ifs " of Satan.

At times we need a retreat due to exhaustion. Jesus did that.

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6.31 I think we need to listen to this more than we do. We need to find refuge in the LORD in this rapid paced world so we can regroup, have our soul restored and to go on with life.

Our quiet times with Him are a refuge provided by Him where we commune with Him and are seated with Him in heavenly places. How good it is to sit quietly and reflect upon God's goodness in our lives.

When trouble comes and it will  the LORD is our shelter in the storms of life. 

2. Our Strength

As we reenter the battle, come out of retreat, He is our Strength

might, strength

material or physical

personal or social or political

Prevail

Our strength. Our all sufficient, unconquerable, honourable, and emboldening strength is our God.

The LORD Himself is our strength. He is in us and we are in Him.

Troublesome times can wear us out. The tax our emotions, weigh upon us until we cast our burden upon the LORD.

Psalm 55.22 Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.

This trip to Florida last week reminded me of one I took 6 years ago this month.

In August of 2010, my family in Florida was in shock at the death of Christopher, my cousin Lee's son. Six years ago on that Sunday morning in my cousin, Lori's home, I got up early before we were to leave for church and was reading my Bible and journaling. The day before I was on a Southwest Airline flight out of MacArthur. I had been reading Psalm 50-70 while I waited. These are some of David's psalms of difficulty written while Saul was pursuing him and trying to take his life. I encourage people to read these psalms while going through deep grief. I discovered how much they can help from my own experience.

Suddenly Psalm 55.22 jumped out and grabbed my heart there in MacArthur Airport. That is the verse for my family I thought. I took my journal out the next day, on that Sunday morning and wrote down the verse, "Cast all your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you." I had no sooner written it than Lori my cousin, came out and greeted me with a "Good morning". She picked up what had been our Nana's (Rose Biggs) old Promise Box, full of scriptures,  the Word of God Nana had based her life upon.

Then my cousin Lori began to tell me a story about it.

She showed me how she had one card sticking out of it. She said that during a very difficult night in her life, she could not sleep, so she got up to clean. She was dusting and she accidentally knocked Nana's Promise box off. It fell on the floor and one card flew out. She showed it to me. It was Psalm 55.22 and I Peter 5.7. I showed my journal in which I had just written out Psalm 55.22 and how the day before as I began my trek to Florida the LORD had given this to me for my family there. And suddenly we realized we in the Presence of God and HE was speaking to us from His Word and our Nana's life.. We prayed, thanking God for the wonderful gift of our heritage. Our Nana had gone to heaven 22 years ago but the influence of her life lived on and the LORD was showing us that and that those promises were as true today as the day He gave them and the day our Nana read them and the night that card popped out. Our God is an Awesome God.

In the hospital 2 weeks ago and in my prayers that Sunday Evening for MaryLois and her husband, my cousin, John I reminded everyone of the Christian heritage we have. 

There are times when we find life's situations to be unbearable .Six years ago  I thought of Tiffany, Christopher's fiance. Wedding Invitations all sent out and now he is gone and what was to be three weeks of wonderful expectation has become difficult beyond description. Horatio Spafford and Joseph Scriven knew about this. They wrote, It is Well With My Soul and What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Scriven's fiance drowned the night before they were to be married. Spafford's entire family went down on a ship in the Atlantic. He went back to that place and wrote, "It Is Well With My Soul". We sang those hymns on the way to see MaryLois in the hospital 2 weeks ago this evening. God took her home that Friday but not before we had a wonderful time of talking about heaven. God was her guide right up to the end.

After 20 years of marriage my cousin's wife was taken from him up to heaven. In our losses when all is weakness within He is our Strength! He will be that for my cousin, for me, for you today.

He gave strength to those hymn writers in the most troubling days they could have ever imagined. He is with us1

He is an

3. A Ever Present Help In Times of Trouble

Exceeding Abundant

Trouble= straits, distress, vexer, rival wife

Paul wrote to the Corinthians in II Corinthians 1.1-9a

 8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves... in our hearts we felt the sentence of death!

In this world you will have trouble!

He has overcome the world.

He never deserts his people in their time of distress. We may ask, "Why?" We may feel ( and that is an important term) like He has forsaken us but He never will.

Paul continued, II Corinthians 1.9-11 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God Who raises the dead, 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in Whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 

A dear friend who has been severely tested wrote this week: I would never know God the way I do without having been in the fire...in the valley...is where I have been closest to Him.

"He is found an exceeding, or superlative, help in difficulties."  AC

Our help. Ever near, sympathising, faithful, real, and powerful ruler is our God.

There will be times in our lives where we feel like we are going to die, we cannot go on. Then God comes and raises us up. He delivers us!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.

Have I Got News For You!

Have I Got News For You!

John 14.1-3

Surprising News... the announcement of a new baby coming... 

News of a visit from a dear relative or friend.

News of a windfall or inheritance.

 Jesus had ministered for 3 1/2 years with these men. They had watched Him perform miracles, preach the Good News and just this week allow His followers to proclaim Him Mashiach, the Hebrew word for Messiah. They were waiting for Him to restore the Kingdom to Israel.

This evening nationalistic feelings (which were hard to distinguish from spiritual feelings) were running very high. They had just celebrated an age old rite of their people, the Passover. It was a celebration of their independence from Egypt, well much more than that- their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. This Passover was different, very different. They had heard things they never had heard, words like the ones the Master spoke that night while they ate. 

All of a sudden Jesus began to talk about things that shook them up, about being betrayed, about them all leaving Him, about the days ahead. They were hit with news that night about their LORD that deeply troubled them.

This news Jesus gave was...

1. Sad News

I am going away. (John 16.5-6)

The thought of Jesus leaving them brought pain and sorrow to the hearts of the disciples. 

Verse Six describes grief that is filled to the brim. Overwhelming.

How could He leave when all was going so well and they were ready for Him to establish the Kingdom in Jerusalem? Where was He going? What was this about?

I think the big thing here was that they just loved hanging  out with Jesus much like we do. My friend Kim's comment: "I could sit here all day and enjoy the beauty God has created."

One of my favorite things is hanging out with the LORD. I love time alone with Him. It is the best part of my day. I also love hanging out with Christian friends. 

They were already missing Him!... and He had not left.

It was going to get worse. He was not just leaving. He was going to die.

Worse yet! He was going to die a horrible death at the hands of His own people and the Romans!

The questions they had that were not satisfactorily answered.  They had more questions as they talked. None of them were feeling peaceful, rather troubled. 

When we receive sad news, heartbreaking news we ask, "Why?" It is certainly okay to ask that. David did, Jesus as well. But seldom if ever do we get answer from God. People come up with answers that are far from being satisfactory. 

We need to listen to Jesus!

2. Glad News

I am coming back. John 14.3

He didn't say when.

If we have the assurance of seeing someone we love information of details is not necessary. I think of Mothers and Fathers who have sent sons and daughters to war, to defend our country.

I think of  the missionaries who have gone overseas over the centuries and have not known when they will return. In the days before mass communication months would go by without loved ones hearing from them.

But these waited in hope. They waited for news. Letters or telegraphs would arrive telling of their return. What wonderful news!

Part of the glad tidings of the Gospel was that Jesus would come again.

The Good News today included in the LORD's Supper and God's Word, the Bible is that Jesus is returning one day soon.

This Hope does things for us.

1. It encourages us  to continue.

If we know He is coming then we are motivated to go on. We will be on our watch. 

Mark 13.32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

2. It has a purifying effect on the church.

 on us!

I John 3. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

3. It prevents us from quitting.

When are tempted to "get away from it all" or throw in the towel when we think of Christ's return we look up, we go on, we keep running the race.

Hebrews 12.12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

4. It gives us a sense of urgency.

John 9.4 The night is coming when no man can work

3. Bad News

Those who do not know Him Sheep and Goats

Separation from God.

Outer Utter Darkness 

Paul tells us that they live for themselves

Their god is their stomachs.

As Christians 

How do we live?

I Thessalonians 4.18-5.11

Watching and Waiting

Working

Witnessing and Praying

Ready To Go in the Twinkling of an Eye!

Revelation 21.21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John,[a] saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”