Planted in the House of the Lord

May 16, 2021

A pastor told me, once he went to get a haircut. There was another man there who, hearing from conversation who the pastor was and what church he served, said “Hey, I go to your church!” The pastor had been at his church 6 or 7 years. He looked at this man and he had just never seen him! The guy probably meant, if I were to go to a church, it’s the one you pastor. Although I haven’t been there in quite a while.  

It’s kind of an interesting thing: “I go to your church.” It can be like, I go to a game, I go to a show, I go to church.  If you’re here today, you really do go to church! Pat yourself on the back. I’m glad you’re here! Right now, tell a few people around you, “I’m glad you’re here!” Today we’re going to look at Psalm 92, and how this ancient poem and song from the Bible can give you a vision that God can do something very special in your life. 

It’s good to go to church. But is that the highest thing God calls you to? No, God’s highest calling is to be conformed to the image of Christ, to be planted in the church, to be the church, a light shining into the dark world, a light that is sent out into the world. So instead of just going to church, God’s highest calling is spiritual growth and depth and connection to others and making the world a better place. 

Psalm 92 is a beautiful vision of a life lived for God. Verse 12 says, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.” Flourish is not a word we use much. It means to be in a vigorous state; to influence others, to thrive. It means here that the righteous will be spiritually growing and blessing others. 

The psalm writer says the righteous are like two types of trees: the palm tree and the cedar tree. Cedars trees were known for their durability. They were pleasing to look at and smelled wonderful! We are compared to the cedar tree: we are durable, pleasing and we smell good, why not? When Solomon built the temple, he made the columns, posts, beams and roof out of cedar because he wanted the temple to last for centuries. The wood of the cedar tree lasts!  

The palm branch of the palm tree was a symbol of triumph and victory! In the Corinthian Olympic games, whenever someone would win the games, they would be presented with the palm branch. When Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, they waved palm branches at him! It was a sign of victory! 

Both cedars and palm trees are evergreens, green all year long. The psalmist says the righteous will be durable, victorious, they will flourish. Who will flourish? Verse 13 says, those who are planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. If you are planted in the house of the Lord, you don’t just visit God. You are planting yourself in God’s presence. 

Verse 14 says, “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.” That’s encouraging to me as every year passes. Verse 15 says they will proclaim, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” No matter what the world throws at them, they don’t get knocked off their feet. God is their Rock and they put all their trust in him. 

I used to listen to the You Bet Your Garden show on the radio. The host would say, “Never plant a tree in memory of someone. You never know if it will make it!” Not every tree flourishes. Young trees have a struggle to survive. 

A paved path called the Riverwalk was put in Tamaqua along part of the river. It’s nice! They planted trees along the path. Well, I watched half of the trees die. The ones that didn’t do well were planted basically in the Boyer’s parking lot. We don’t like to give trees much room, and trees are stressed when the sidewalk or pavement is close to them. Tree roots go out a long way to the sides. A young tree that is stressed can struggle to survive. 

But some trees thrive. There is an old park behind my house, the East End Park. There is lots of play equipment, but nice shade, because there are big trees in the park. One tree is so big it takes two people to wrap their arms around it. At some point some years ago they put pavement all around this tree, right up to the trunk. I looked at this tree and the pavement, and thought, oh no, why would someone do this? This tree will die! But this tree is still thriving. Stress can’t stop it from flourishing, it is well planted! It must have great roots that we can’t see. 

I don’t want you to be one of those young trees that doesn’t make it, doesn’t grow spiritually. I want you to be the great big oak tree that yawns at stress. It just keeps flourishing! Most oak tree roots lie only 18 inches under the soil. They may spread to occupy a space four to seven times the width of the tree’s crown. The roots are deep, but not very. They are extremely wide. This oak tree’s roots must go way beyond the pavement. It’s doing great. The tree is planted and flourishing. 

God wants you to flourish! God wants more for you than that you go to church. God wants you so well planted that the troubles of this world don’t bring you down. 

Our church has a responsibility to come around and support a person new to faith. We need to put our best resources in Sunday school for kids, or Vacation Bible School. We need multiple people to volunteer to teach. When I was a kid, I was so impressed by my Sunday school teachers. There was the teacher in 7^th grade who took us on a trip to a synagogue. When I was in high school, I was so amazed when some college students taught us in Sunday school. I knew they had a lot to do, but still they taught us. It’s awesome when there are people who go beyond just going to church. It’s great when we help others flourish in their faith. At church we need to help adults who are new to faith put down roots and get planted in the faith. Everybody in church is important. But new people need extra attention so they can flourish and become mighty oaks of faith. When we are planted in the church, we are not spiritual consumers. The church does not exist for us. When we’re followers of Christ, we realize that we are the church, and we exist for the world.  

Here are two scenarios, Person A and Person B. Person A goes to church the first time and they love it. They say, “There was this song that spoke to me,” or “The message was like it was just for me,” or “Someone was so nice, the loved me.” “I felt guilt, but they accepted me.” “I recognized I needed God in my life, so I gave my life to Jesus.” But what doesn’t happen to Person A is they don’t ever really connect with other believers. They never take on the mission of the church for themselves. They go to church, but there’s no contribution, no real giving, there’s no real serving, there’s no real emotion to it. Over time, they come to church less and less. Maybe they come just for special occasions. And their personal life may suffer, there may be problems in their marriage, their kid may struggle, they may be overextended financially and they worry about their job. In other words, they’re not flourishing. They are saved, but not flourishing. 

Person B goes to church, and the same thing happens: the sermon speaks to them, someone was nice, God answers their prayer and the realize they need Jesus. But instead of not connecting, Person B develops some relationships, makes some friends, and someone else is praying for them, and they’re praying for someone else. When they miss a Sunday their friends call and ask if they’re ok. Person B recognizes God has given them gifts, and instead of just going to church, they use their gifts in church. And suddenly the church isn’t a destination they attend, it becomes part of who they are: “I am part of the family of God.” The roots grow deep and wide. And when life’s not perfect, when the storms come, the tree can withstand the storms, because the roots are strong. Person B stays connected to God. God’s highest calling is not that you go to church, God wants you to flourish. 

What I want you to do this week is to just try a little bit of reaching out, just pray for somebody, just give to somebody, just make a difference, just be a voice of encouragement, just serve somewhere. Help with Sunday school and pretty soon a kid looks forward to seeing you each week. Just welcome someone and pretty soon you get this high, this great feeling, and you feel like, “Here I am God, just call me.” You become God’s ambassador to the world.  

Life easily pulls us away from church and growing in God. But don’t settle for less than you were meant for! You were meant to flourish and thrive, planted in the house of the Lord and bearing fruit. When you’re planted, stress and trouble don’t knock you down, because you have your family at church and the strength of God blessing you. Put your roots down, deep and wide, be planted in the house of the Lord. Amen.