Keep Your Eyes on the Trees

The message was brought by Rev. Jason Parks on 10/22/23.

Genesis 2:15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

I live in Colorado now.  Besides family, one thing I miss about living in Virginia  is the trees.  I live in the plains, not the mountains of Colorado. It’s more like a desert. Trees don’t do well.  Life is different for them. And then in the mountains, the environment is intense over 7,000 feet.  Trees are mentioned over 200 times in the Bible. I want to speak about a few of them and encourage everyone today to keep their eyes on the trees.

The first tree:  the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  This is mentioned in Genesis 2.  It was placed in the Garden of Eden. After creation man was also put in the Garden. Perfection.  Prior to sin, only perfection.  We can only imagine what that was like. Scripture records one rule:  don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  What was different about this one?  It probably looked similar to the other trees. Surely the difference was just that God said don’t eat of it.  What would happen?  They would die–physically and spiritually.  We know the story. Satan came to Eve in the form of a serpent. He tempted her to eat, telling her she would be like God and would not die. She gave in and ate and gave it to her husband Adam and he ate. They knew something was different. They saw their nakedness.  They became sinners. Life changed for the whole world.

How did this impact us?  Romans 5:12 says: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.  We all bear the guilt and penalty of sin; we’re born sinners.  I Peter 5:8 tells us Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.  Satan is still as active as always. He’s still on the prowl. So, the tree isn’t the problem. It was Adam and Eve.  They made the choice to disobey God. You and I, we are the problem.  We’re born sinners. However, we have a God-given conscience and we should learn as we grow. We are responsible for our own sin. Blaming someone else doesn’t work with God. Many people make the wrong choices, but no one is without excuse. Too many are living in open rebellion against God and choose their sin over him. That’s why most will end up in hell. It’s not too late.  If you’re lost, there is time and Jesus will save you. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil shows us we have a choice.

In Mark 11:11-14 we have the story of the fruitless fig tree. And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:  And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. This occurred the week leading up to the crucifixion of Christ. On the way to Jerusalem he saw a fig tree with leaves on it but no fruit.  To understand this better you need to know that a fig tree bears fruit before the leaves appear. What is Jesus telling us?  It’s not about the tree. Israel had the appearance of being spiritual but they were not. They were spiritually dead. The Pharisees were the religious rulers. They held the Old Testament in high regard. But they elevated their oral traditions above the scripture and added to what God said in the book of Deuteronomy.  They developed more laws but it was all for show. They were hypocrites.  In Matthew 23:27-28 it says Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. They didn’t practice what they preached. Eight woe were pronounced upon them.  No one can keep the Law.  The Pharisees misled the people about their spiritual condition; they were just a fig tree with leaves….no fruit about them.

This is a scary tree. Many live in open rebellion to God. However, many also think they’re saved but they are lost. They go to church. Some are members of churches. Salvation depends only on Jesus Christ. I’m convinced churches are full of people bearing leaves but no fruit. There are people in hell today who went to church. They never understood what it meant to be saved. Matthew 7:21-23 records some scary words:  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Examine yourselves. Psalms 139 teaches us to ask God to search our hearts. Has there been a change in your life?  These people are the most difficult to reach because they are deceived.  Keep your eyes on the trees. Don’t be a fruitless fig tree.

Psalms 1 gives us the tree planted by the rivers of water. It doesn’t have a name. It shows the spiritual condition of a saved person. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Look at what it says:  bears fruit; seeks to avoid sin (don’t actively place yourself where you can sin); avoid those who would drag you down spiritually; don’t seek wisdom from the world.  Do you find delight in reading the Bible? In America we take owning one for granted. Christians in some parts of the world have only small portions of scripture if any at all. Do you love to read God’s Word? Be honest with yourself. We can all spend more time reading the Bible. 

If you’re saved, you are a Christian. Sanctification is a process for the growth of a saved person. They are rooted in Jesus Christ. A newly saved person won’t be as rooted as someone who has been saved 50+ years. A tree grows as it ages; it gets more deeply rooted. Don’t be a baby Christian. Be more rooted in Jesus Christ. High elevation is an extreme environment for a tree, but despite those conditions trees do survive and grow. We live in a harsh world. Be firmly rooted in Christ. Don’t settle for the status quo. This results in being a weak Christian. Firmly rooted means you can face the attacks of the world.  We know that trees need pruning now and then. That’s a process of growth as well.  John 15:2 says Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. It’s not a fun process, but it is for our benefit. Trials come but they help us grow closer to God. Never waste your trial. Learn from it. Seek to find out what God wants to teach you. Are you firmly rooted in Christ? Keep your eyes on the trees.  Are you living in open rebellion to God? If this is you, turn to Christ. The world will let you down; he will not.  Some people think they’re saved but they are not. If you’re not sure, don’t be embarrassed. Come to Christ.

First Peter 2:24 mentions one more tree I want to talk about.  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Jesus bore our sins when he hung from a tree. Man planted a tree that was cut down for Jesus to die upon. He bore the punishment for our sin. He and he alone saves.  Do you need some pruning?  Do you need to be more firmly rooted?  Keep your eyes on the trees.