Good morning. Today, we are going to continue in our series The ABC’s & XYZ’s Of The Bible. Here is what we have looked at thus far:
- A Is For Abundant
- B Is For Biblical Mothers
- C Is For Creation
Now, a few weeks ago, I mention that we may not take a look at all 26 letters, and I was right. In fact, we are going to skip a few letters today.
In fact, we are going to skip the next 20 letters, and that will bring us to what letter?
Right, today we come to the letter “X.” And by doing that, we have our series title, The ABC’s & XYZ’s Of The Bible.
Now, there’s not a lot that I can do with the letter X. We could take a look at King Xerxes, he was Queen Esther’s husband. But really, Queen Esther is the more interesting study. So, I’m going to have to stretch a little bit to get a good “X” word, and I am going to do that by having us take a look at the Greek word, “Xulon.”
Any Geek scholars here this morning? Does anyone know what the word “Xulon” means?
No Greek scholars here today? Well, the word “Xulon,” is the Greek word for Tree. The Septuagint is the Greek version of the Old Testament. And after doing a search for the word “xulon,” I found that it appeared 62 times. And this morning, I would like for us to take a look at one of those in particular. If you have your Bibles with you, go ahead and turn with me to Psalm 1:3. It is in this passage, that we are reading about a certain tree. Following along, Psalm 1:3 says, “He is like a tree…” Now stop right there for a minute. Who is like a tree? Who does this verse refer to?
Well, it is referring to a person who is richly blessed in verses 1 and 2. So, all together this time, Psalm 1:1-3 says, “1”
This person who is like a tree, well, they are defined in this passage from Psalm chapter 1 that we just read. And in those 3 short verses, we find out that they are defined by 3 things that he or she DOESN’T DO, and 2 things that he or she DOES DO.
And that is what I want us to take a look at together in our time remaining this morning.
Before we do that though, allow me to open with a word of prayer. Let’s Pray!
During Super Bowl 37, FedEx ran a commercial that was a spoof of the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a deserted island for years.
Looking like the messy and stranded Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand.
When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he has survived 5 years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, “Thank you!” and takes the package.
But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, “If I may ask, what was in that package after all?”
She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, “Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds.”
I don’t know about you, but that would have been a devastating moment in my life. To think that what was in that package could have saved my life sooner, but I never bothered to open it to see what was inside.
Well, just like the contents in that package, the resources for growth and strength, and life are available for every Christian who will take advantage of them, and they can be found right here in the Bible.
And in our time together this morning, I want us to take a look at a few things the Bible tells us to avoid, and a couple things that it tells us to do, in order to be considered richly blessed.
First, Let’s See The Things That This Person Does Not Do:
# 1, He doesn’t, “…walk in the counsel of the wicked…”
This whole chapter is getting at where our influence comes from. Who do we listen to? This passage tells us that the person who is like a tree doesn’t get his advice from wicked people. In other words, he doesn’t look to the world for advice.
We are surrounded by people who are quick to give advice. In fact, if you watch TV, or listen to politicians, they will be quick to tell you who to vote for. Even on American Idol, Simon will be sure to tell you his opinion on who you should vote for each week. Each election year, all of the candidates running for President will be quick to tell you why you should vote for them.
Now, I’m not saying that you can’t follow Simon’s advice on who you should vote for on American Idol. In fact, I don’t think it really matters that much in the larger scheme of things. But it does matter who you listen to when it comes to seeking advice about how to act, or the way we should live our lives, or the types of attitudes that we portray.
When it comes to seeking advice for these important areas of our lives, we don’t need to look to the world, we don’t need the advice of the worldly people around us. We don’t want our primary influence to come from sinful or worldly sources, we need it to come form good Christian influence, and God. So, this person, “… does not walk in the counsel of the wicked…”
# 2, Another Thing That This Person Who Is Like A Tree Doesn’t Do, He “…Doesn’t Stand In the Way Of Sinners…”
In other words, he doesn’t hang out where sinners hang out. In Proverbs chapter 1 it tells us, “…if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, “Come along with us, throw in your lot with us, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths…”
So, if we are going to be like a tree, there are some things we don’t do. And one of those things, is that we “… don’t stand in the way of sinners…” It is the idea that we lean in the Sunday School song that says, “O be careful little feet where you go.”
When we allow ourselves to go places, and do things that we shouldn’t do, we are falling farther and farther away from the type of life that God desires us to live. So, the person we are talking about this morning, that person doesn’t, “… walk in the counsel of the wicked…,” and they don’t “… stand in the way of sinners…” But that’s not all.
# 3, If You Are Going To Be Like A Tree, There Is One More Thing To Avoid, And That Is, We “…Don’t Sit In The Seat Of Mockers…”
In other words, when there is a group of people mocking other people, we don’t join in with them, we don’t become a mocker because the other people around us are mockers, we don’t become a gossip, because people around us gossip. We don’t “…sit in the seat of mockers…”
If you have ever been around a group of people that are talking about someone else, then you know just how easy it is to be sucked right in. And before you know it, you are mocking, or gossiping, or spreading rumors, or tearing down other people in just the same way.
When we allow ourselves to sit in that seat, we are pulling ourselves away from God. So, we have to make sure that we do not, “… sit in the seat of mockers…”
Now, I want you to notice the progression here. First, walking, then standing, and finally, sitting.
Let’s say you are walking along, perhaps somewhere you really have no business being as a Christian, and something catches your eye. So, you stop walking, and you stand there checking it out.
As you are standing there, that sin that has caught your eye, that sin that has caused you to stop in your tracks, it begins to call to you. And suddenly you find yourself sitting down and joining in that sinful activity.
This progression relates to the progression along the road of sin. Usually, the Christian doesn’t just fall into deep, dark sin over night. Usually, there is a hardening process. Perhaps as we are walking along our journey with Christ we begin to get our eyes on the world around us, and it begins to entice us.
For awhile, we keep walking along, but we keep looking at it. We allow that temptation to gain a foothold in our lives, and then, we stop. We give that sinful activity our attention. We lust after it, it appeals to us, and then, we just join right in that sinful activity. It is almost without thought, because over the course of time, we have desensitized ourselves to that sin.
But, the person who is a tree, the person who is richly blessed by God, that person avoids, “walking in the counsel of the wicked… standing in the way of sinners… and sitting in the seat of mockers…” Well, those are 3 things that we shouldn’t do, but what is it that this person DOES DO?
Secondly, Let’s Consider The 2 Things That This Person Does Do:
# 1, The Christian “…Delights In The Law Of The Lord …”
We need to delight in God’s word, the Bible. And as you look at this aspect, realize that it is the exact opposite of “…walking in the counsel of the wicked…”
You see, the person who is like a tree, they don’t find their advice from the world, they find it in the WORD. God’s word is the guideline for the Christian.
Keep this in mind in the future, as you are wondering who to vote for in an election. The Bible is the best voter’s guide there is. Are you wondering about major life decisions? What to do? Where to turn? How to live? Well guess what, all that is found in God’s word.
If we are going to be like a tree, then we need to DELIGHT in the law of the Lord. However, too often I’m afraid that Christians approach Bible reading as a chore. We think to ourselves, “I better get my chapter read...then I can go do something else.”
Reading the Bible should not be a chore, it should be a delight! We have the opportunity to hear the voice of God speak to us by reading His word.
# 2, Another Thing We Do If We Are Going To Be Like A Tree Is This, We Not Only Delight In God’s Word, But We “…Meditate Upon It…” As Well.
In other words, we let it sink in, it stays with us all day long, we don’t just read our chapter and then forget about it until the next day, we actually allow it to guide us. We even allow it to mold our thinking, and most of all, we let it affect our behavior.
A young boy told his Grandpa, “It is useless to study the Bible. I can’t remember anything. And besides that, the Bible is just a book of begets, “ ... so and so beget so and so…” Reading it does me no good!”
The Grandpa pondered this for a moment, and then he said to the boy, “Get the basket we carry coal to the stove in, and run to the river and get me a basket of water!”
So, the young boy grabbed the dirty old coal basket and ran quickly to the river. He dipped the basket in the water and ran home. But by the time he got home, the basket was empty.
Grandpa scolded the lad and sent him back to the river for water. And again, the basket leaked all the water out before he could get home. The third time was the same.
Finally, the boy said, “It’s no use Grandpa, I can’t get the water to stay in the basket!” And Grandpa replied, “Look at the basket!”
The boy looked and the dirty coal dust in the basket was washed out and the basket was now clean.
Grandpa said, “That is the way the word of God is, you may think it is not accomplishing it’s purpose, but it will wash you clean, and change your attitudes.”
You know what, you may not understand everything when you study the Bible. You might even forget a lot of what you study. But if you will continue and be faithful to studying the Bible and applying it to your life, then God will use you to bring Him glory.
I have found that the more I am in God’s word, the more I look for answers to the questions in life from the Bible. The more I meditate upon scripture, the more successful I am as a Christian.
If we want to be like a tree, we not only delight in the word of God, but we also meditate upon it, and apply it to our lives.
So, if we are going to be like a tree, then there are some things we DON’T DO, and there are some things we DO. So, if we do the do’s, and we don’t do the don’ts, what does it mean that we are like a tree?
Verse 3 says that we are “…planted by streams of water… we yield fruit… and our leaves do not wither… and everything that we do prospers…” All of that sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
When we send our roots down into the refreshing water of God’s word, that’s where we receive our nourishment. If we are planted by streams of water, then, when the dry times come, we will still be able to be near the water source. We will still be able to remain strong and nourished, and because of the proper nourishment we bear fruit, we reproduce ourselves, we make more “Trees.”
That is what discipleship is all about. Just like apple trees give birth to more apple trees, so, we as Christians, need to give birth to more Christians. And when we do that, we can prosper in life.
So, in closing, as Christians, we need to be like a tree. And that means we don’t follow the ways of the world, and we don’t stop and we don’t join in the ways of the world either. Instead, we get our direction from another source, from God’s Word. And when we do, we are like a tree that is planted by a stream of refreshing water. We become strong, and fruitful, providing shade for the weary, and ministering to those who are in need.
And as a result of that, we help in developing other trees.
Let’s Pray!
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