Feast or Famine – 3

Subject: The Dead Tree

by Rick Welborne

Proverbs 3:1-10 (NKJV) ¹  My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; ²  For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. ³  Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, ⁴  And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. ⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. ⁷  Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. ⁸  It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. ⁹  Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; ¹⁰  So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. 

Psalm 1:1-3 (NKJV) ¹  Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ²  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. ³  He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 

--Today we are continuing the series about feast or famine…about revival or backsliding…about how life is either really, really good or that it is almost not worth living.

--If you around me very long, you see that I talk about real situations and the lessons that can be learned from our accomplishments and our mistakes. The good and the bad.

--Before we went on vacation the trees in our yard were obviously past due on needing to be trimmed. Five acres of trees (3 ½ pasture and 1 ½ yard) is a little overwhelming with two small bow saws and a dull axe.

--The three days before we left (with Josh’s help) we trimmed limbs low enough we could reach…We had to make sure my daughter was not hitting her head as she rode her horse. The heat was crazy.

--A very kind family in our church (Simons) came over and trimmed the trees in our front yard and due to the goodness of their hearts they waited until we had left on vacation…oh man!!! What a blessing!!!

--When we returned from vacation I started again trimming trees. I must admit I was using it as a workout and in this Florida heat it was more than that. One Saturday after tennis I decided to take on this dead tree. Video!

--A few years ago I preached a message called The Parable of the Mountain Biker but today I want to speak to you a message…The Parable of the Dead Tree.

1. Something traumatic happened to the tree.

--The tree was standing among all the other trees…one day without warning, lightning strikes.

Life is just that way…everything is going well and suddenly something horrible happens. 

--You did not see it coming…you could not have predicted it and it does not quite seem fair…bad things happen to good people.

--We often forget that sin is still prevalent in this world and until Jesus puts all things under His feet (the last being death) bad things will happen to good people.

Matthew 5:44-45 (NKJV) ⁴⁴  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵  that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

--Because of our Western mentality, we totally misunderstand this verse…we assume rain is bad because it keeps us from being able to go out and play.

--In Biblical times, they were constantly dealing with drought so rain was good…good happens to the evil and to the good, bad things happen to the evil and the good. Life happens to all of us.

--Law enforcement officers are trying to do good, but as we see way too often, bad things happen to them. Lightning strikes. As I was preparing this message, another officer was killed.

--Why didn’t lightning strike one of the other trees…in actuality, another tree in the yard was hit that day and it died also. We have lost trees to lightning, to disease, to pests. Trees are lost to fires and some to drought.

--Actually, trees are so much like us or we are so much like trees…everything can be fine until one traumatic event changes everything. One strike, one disease, one fire, one disaster.

--You have often heard of my restaurant ministry…years ago I met a young lady by the name of Holly. I would share Christ with her. Eventually my whole family got to know her…for two years we witnessed to her.

One day as we were going to Moes to have lunch, Holly and her mom were coming out. We met her mom and she said we are coming to your church next Sunday…they came…Holly was gloriously saved. PTL!

--The following Thursday at age 22 lightning struck and Holly was killed in a car crash. Because of her new life in Christ, she tried to break up with her boyfriend, he drug her into his car and crashed into a tree going eighty.

--Of course we were in shock. Some said it wasn’t fair that she died so young after becoming a Christian…let me tell you what was not fair…God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to die for us. All of us.

--A fair and loving God gave Holly another chance to give her heart and life to Jesus Christ after two years of resisting…she did! And because she did, her name was written in the Lambs Book of Life.

2. The tree dies because of the trauma it experienced.

--Unless there is some outward destruction to the tree, you would think (at least for a while) that the tree is ok. 

--The tree planted by the waters still has it leafs and is still producing fruit but not the dead tree…after a while the leafs and the fruit begin to change.

--What we cannot see is that something on the inside begins to die and eventually the leaves begin to wither.

--When that traumatic event happens to us, if we do not trust the Lord with all our hearts, we can begin to die on the inside. We do not welcome the water of Holy Spirit to pour in us and thru us.

--One of the things Josh and I could not believe about this dead tree was how hard the wood or trunk was. It was like trying to saw thru steel or hitting concrete with an axe. 

--This tree is empty of all the life flowing ingredients that used to course from bottom to top and now it is dry, dead, and hard. Amazingly, it is still standing. Do you see where I am heading?

--It is no longer like a tree that is planted by the rivers of water. It is a tree that is still standing among all the other trees but is obviously dead. The leaves have withered and nothing is coming out…no acorns…no fruit.

Luke 6:43-44 (NKJV) ⁴³  "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴  For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

--So many are standing in churches Sunday after Sunday…maybe something traumatic happened to them or just maybe they allowed themselves to drift far from the Lord…The point is that they are dry, hard, and dead. 

--We think no one notices but it may be more obvious than you think.

--Think about it…when you look at a beautiful forest or even a small set of trees that are green and flourishing, it is not hard to look among those trees and see the one that is unproductive and dead.

--We keep coming, we keep pretending to be alive, we keep standing in church, and we keep lifting up our limbs (our arms) hoping beyond hope that no one sees how empty and dead we are.

Revelation 3:1-3 (NLT) ¹  “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. ²  Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. ³  Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief. 

--You sit thru sermon after sermon, may be even be a rare breed and come to Sunday School, you may even keep up your personal devotions but something is missing…you are not trusting God with all your heart.

John 5:39-40 (NIV) ³⁹  You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 

⁴⁰  yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

--That traumatic event (really the devil) has convinced you God is not good and your once productive life for Jesus has withered away. God is patiently waiting for you to come to Him so you can have life.

Ephesians 4:17-18 (NLT) ¹⁷  With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. ¹⁸  Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 

--Hear this strong Word…they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him…Every new storm or new test that comes we break off piece by piece…debris scattered all around you. People see!

--Tragically, churches are full of these people…they will not turn to God or seek Holy Spirit and they are angry and bitter…they no longer go to God so they take it out on people (usually family and church friends).

3. The tree is cut down.

--Again: Show the video without sound. Without sound because there is nothing funny about being cut down.

The destination for this dead tree is the burn pile in the back pasture.

--We have become so seeker sensitive in the church that we really do not want to tell people that there are only two options…Fire or Fire…Jesus had no trouble when He talked to religious people.

Matthew 3:7-11 (NKJV) ⁷  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹  and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

--Jesus says that we can either be thrown into the fire or we can be filled with Holy Spirit and fire…the two choices are still fire or fire.

--I am so glad Jesus would not give believers a similar choice…Really?

John 15:1-6 (NCV) ¹  “I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. ²  He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. ³  You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. ⁴  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me. ⁵  “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing. ⁶  If any do not remain in me, they are like a branch that is thrown away and then dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. 

--Keep playing the video over and over during the altar call but without sound!