”The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree” (Psalm 92:12).

There are many ways in which the Bible communicates to us spiritual truths. One of those ways is by taking the subjects and objects of nature. God often draws our attention to certain things of nature for the purpose of illustrating a spiritual truth. Today I want to draw your attention to one of those objects and that being the palm tree. There are 60 references to the palm tree in the Bible.

There are more than 2,500 species of palm trees. The palm rises upright with a slender stem 40 to 50 feet, and at times, even 80 feet. Its only branches are the feathery green fronds that spread out from its top to a length of 6 to 12 feet. When we consider the palm tree, there are many features of the palm that could illustrate a spiritual truth. In our consideration of the palm tree I want to limit our focus to our promise text   ”The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree” (Psalm 92:12).

THE PERSON THAT IS DESCRIBED AS A PALM TREE!

The Bible speaks of the ”righteous” as the ones that are being compared to the palm tree. As believers we are made righteous in Christ. We are declared righteous in the finished work of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Romans 5:19, ”For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” The only way a person can be right with God (saved) is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we must depend on the Lord Jesus and His righteousness to be saved or made right with God.

Because we are righteous, we are to live righteous. Or to put it another way, since we are saved, we are act like we are saved.

In Jewish literature, the ”righteous” was those marked by possession of certain qualities and by the absence of other qualities. Some of the positive qualities named were mercy, benevolence, love of neighbour, truthfulness, honour to parents, and chastity. Negative traits of the righteous include: freedom from bloodshed, violence, and envy. When Psalm 92 compares the righteous to the palm tree it is speaking of someone that is righteous and therefore lives a righteous life. There are certain qualities that are present in their life and certain qualities that are absent in their life. The righteous is one who says they are saved and as well shows they are saved. Our walk matches our talk.

 THE PROSPERITY THAT IS DEPICTED IN THE PALM TREE!

The Bible speaks of “flourishing” to imply a Christian life that is prospering spiritually and a spiritual prosperity that is manifested in certain ways in the Christian. The use of the word suggests a Spiritual Progression. By spiritual progression I refer to spiritual growth. The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:2, ”As new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby.” The Christian life is to be one of spiritual growth.

I think one of the great examples of spiritual growth in the Bible is found in 1 John 2:13, ”I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.” If you notice the verse carefully you see that three levels of maturity are depicted in the verse. There are little children, young men, and then fathers. At one stage in our life we are little children. But as we age, grow and mature we become young men. Then there is the point that we become fathers. It is a picture of spiritual growth.

Spiritual growth means that I am learning more about Christ. It means that I am constantly maturing in my walk with the Lord. It means that I am growing in my comprehension of His will for my life. It means that I am growing spiritually stronger. Can I challenge you to ask yourself several questions? Let’s each of us ask ourselves:

• Am I closer to the Lord today than I was this time a year ago?
• Has my knowledge of God’s word and will increased over the past year?
• Am I stronger and more able to deal with the temptations that cross my path day by day?
• Am I becoming more like Christ in how I act and react?
• Do spiritual things have a greater involvement and interest in my life than this time a year ago?
• Is my faith in God’s promises stronger and growing stronger each day?
• Do I find myself becoming more faithful to God’s house, God’s word, and God’s work?
• Do you find yourself becoming spending more time in God’s Word and more time with God in prayer?
• Do I find myself sharing my faith with others more frequently and less fearfully?

If we will answer those questions honestly, the answers will tell us much about how we are growing spiritually. Our text tells us that the righteous shall flourish. There will be spiritual growth and progression in our Christian life.

Secondly, the various uses of the word not only suggest the thought of spiritual progression but also of Spiritual Production. When we think of the righteous flourishing we think of one that is fruitful and productive in their life. Their life is not marked by barrenness. Take the date palm for example. It is a very productive. A healthy male date palm can produce 300 to 600 pounds of dates per year. A female date palm may bear 200 to 1,000 dates in a cluster. The Lord Jesus never intended the Christian life to be barren and unproductive. Jesus has chosen us that we should go and bring forth fruit (John 15:16)

THE PICTURE THAT IS DRAWN FROM THE PALM TREE!

We have considered the words ”righteous” and ”flourishing.” In closing let’s look at the words, ”like a palm tree.” Our text tells us that the righteous will flourish like the palm tree. How does the palm tree flourish? Let me share with you a few things about the palm tree and how it flourishes.

1. Where the Palm Tree Flourishes: Palm tree survives and even flourishes in the most adverse circumstances. You find the date palm in the desert. You find it in a place where most other plant life is absence because the desert heat by day and cold by night. You find the palm tree in a place where there is little rainfall, yet it still flourishes. This picture is of a believer flourishing in the midst of difficult and adverse situations and circumstances. Tragedy does not stop them. Adversity does not cause them to wilt. The difficult times do not stop them from serving God and bearing fruit unto the Lord. No matter what they are going through and where they are at, they flourish like the palm tree.

1. When the Palm Tree Flourishes: The seeds of the date palm normally take 4-5 months to germinate. It is in the eighth year that the tree begins to bear fruit. The picture is of a young believer growing spiritually and as they grow they began to bear spiritual fruit. A single date palm can bear up to 600 pounds of a year. The female date palm may bear 200-1,000 dates per cluster. Even more fascinating is that the date palm will bear fruit annually for well over 100 years. The Bible says, “The righteous will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (Ps. 92:14).

1. Why the Palm Tree Flourishes: The reason the palm tree can survive in a desert environment is because of the root system. The date palm does not have a tap root, but thousands of little rootlets, most no thicker than a human finger spread out and down beneath the surface. The roots may be small but they are so firm that it can stand even in a monsoon. The large number of roots allows it to reach out and down and draw the water and nourishment it needs to survive and flourish.

Colossians 2:7 says, ”Rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.’ The secret to a flourishing life is our relationship to Jesus. In Him we find and draw the resources to flourish like the palm tree! God bless you. YOU SHALL FLOURISH LIKE A PALM TREE!

By My Spirit

Zechariah 4:6

The world-renowned evangelist Dr. Billy Graham once beautifully said, ‘you need the Lord Jesus for your eternal life and the Holy Spirit for your internal life.’ Every believer in Jesus Christ needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). It is impossible to live victoriously and serve the Lord effectively without relying on the Holy Spirit’s power. The divine standard that God has set for Christian living and service is so high that it is impossible to reach that standard without the enabling ministry of the Holy Spirit. Human ability and human genius are quite inadequate. It is “not my might nor by power; but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty (Zechariah 4:6)! Let us see briefly the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

1. He is the SECRET of the Christian’s victory
   The Christian life should not be one of failure but a life of victory and triumph. The One who lives this life out in us is the Holy Spirit, so that we are able, through His empowering to be victorious over sin, self and Satan. The Bible says, `live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Gal. 5:16). Days are becoming more and more difficult to live holy. But God has made full provision for a victorious life in giving us His Spirit. Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 brings the ministry of the Holy Spirit to believers into clear focus. Prior to this chapter, the Holy Spirit is mentioned only one other time in the entire epistle (Romans 5:5). But here in chapter 8, he is referred to nearly 19 times. Paul says that the Holy Spirit frees us, enables us, revives us, leads us, bears witness for us, intercedes for us and makes us more than conquerors (8:2, 4, 11, 13-15, 26, 37).He transforms us more and more like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18). By His Spirit, we have victory!
2. He is the SPRING of the Christian’s joy
   The Holy Spirit brings joy unspeakable. He is called the oil of joy, the oil of gladness (Isaiah 61:3; Psalms 45:7; 1 Peter 1:8). He turns our mourning into dancing. He lives within us to make us joyful, happy, radiant people. One of the fruit of the Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22). The disciples were filled with joy in the midst of adverse circumstances because of their walk in the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:41; 13:52; 16:25). The Holy Spirit comes in to lubricate your spiritual life, to make this life interesting and exciting. The Christian life will become a frustrating religion without the Holy Spirit. Paul writes, ‘The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking…but it is joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14:17)!By His Spirit, we have great joy!
3. He is the SOURCE of the Christian’s knowledge
   Jesus said, `the Holy Spirit will teach you all things’ (John 14: 26). The Holy Spirit is the best teacher of the bible because he is the author (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16). The Holy Spirit teaches us all that we need to know concerning our walk and our work, what we are and what we are to do (John 16:13). This does not mean we don’t need people and study materials. The Holy Spirit will turn all information into inspiration. When we study the Bible with the help of the Spirit, He will open your eyes to get a grasp of His Word (Neh. 9:20,30). He will illuminate our minds to understand the difficult passages of the Scriptures (Eph. 1:17, 18). He will quicken our understanding and give revelations from the Word of God. He will teach us comparing the spiritual things with the spiritual (1 Cor. 2:13; 1 John 2:27). How wonderful to have the divine Teacher instructing and guiding us into the truth, in order to please the Lord.By His Spirit, we have deep understanding of God’s Word!
4. He is SUCCOURER of the Christian’s Faith
   The Bible says that we are to live by faith (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 11:6). Therefore the Devil attacks our faith (Luke 22:31-32). We are subject to many trials and temptations, overwhelmed by sorrow (John 16:33), but the Holy Spirit is within us to succour us at such times.The Holy Spirit is called a Helper (John 14:26). One of His primary helps is in the area of prayer, because we are all weak in it. We do not know at times what to and how to pray for. In those times, the Holy Spirit not only helps is in our prayer but also intercedes for us and through us (Rom. 8:26, 27). Apostle Peter who faltered in his faith and failed in his prayer life (Matthew 26:40; 69-74) became a mighty man of faith and prayer after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 3:1, 6). By His Spirit, we become mighty in faith and prayer!
5. He is the STRENGTH of the Christian’s Service and Ministry
   We are all saved to serve, but Christian service is impossible in our own strength. In Old Testament times God called people to serve Him, giving them special anointing of the Holy Spirit to make them effective in service. Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God and so he became an extraordinarily skilled craftsman (Exo. 35:30, 35). Daniel and Joseph prospered in the strange lands which were hostile to their holy convictions because the excellent Spirit of God was upon them (Dan. 5:11; 6:3; Gen. 49:23-25; 41:38). Yes, when you are filled with the Spirit, you will be able to do your work exceptionally and extraordinarily well. A spirit-filled doctor will treat better, a Spirit-filled engineer will build better, a Spirit-filled teacher will teach better and a Spirit-filled student will study better! When a person is filled with the Spirit of God, even his seniors and superiors will come to him for counsel and guidance (Gen. 41:37-40).
   The Lord Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit when He began His public ministry (Luke 3:21-22; 4:18). The last recorded words of Jesus before His ascension was the promise of the Spirit’s power for global evangelization (Acts 1:8). About the early Christians we read, `they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly’ (Acts 4:31). The Spirit-filled believers are powerful means in the hands of God to convince and convict the sinners (Acts 2:36, 37). The Holy Spirit gives us the courage, charisma and charismata (spiritual gifts- 1 Cor. 12: 7-11) to witness for Him. He empowers us to emancipate those who are under the bondage of sin, sickness and Satan (Acts 10:38). Hegives us strength and power to accomplish God’s purpose in our lives. By His Spirit, we shall do valiantly (Psalm 60:12; 108:13)!