Like a Tree By Rivers of Water

The title of today's sermon is, A Tree by Rivers of Water, Like a Tree by Rivers of Water. We're all about to go to the Feast of Tabernacles, as we heard in the sermonette. I want to speak to everyone here today, but especially to our youth, our kids, our teens, and our young adults. The feast is an amazing time, filled with memories you will carry forever.

But it's not only about fun and travel and good times. It has a deeper purpose, to remind us of the Kingdom of God, the greatest future you could ever look forward to. And in the same way, your life has a deeper purpose. It's not just about school and sports and social media and watching videos on the Internet, or even friends.

It's about discovering why you were put here. Discovering that you were meant for eternity, not just this life. And living to fulfill that purpose. During our teen years and our young adulthood, we discover who we are and what we're going to do with our lives.

Teen years into young adulthood, we often ask a question. Or questions. What am I going to do with my life? Who will I become? What will I do? Will I get married? Who will I marry? What is life all about? What do I stand for? What do I believe? What will I accomplish? Will I matter?

And most importantly, who am I? What's the purpose of life? And more specifically, what's the purpose of my life? The sooner you find the answer to that last question, the better chance you will have of being fulfilled in this life. When you're young, you have your whole life ahead of you. Life goes quickly. Just ask those people with white hair how quickly it goes. I mean, just blink.

Psalm 103, verse 15. Let's turn there and read it. Psalm 103, verse 15.

It says, As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. And its place remembers it no more. I've told you before, when my wife and I bought a house that we currently live in, we thought it was so big.

We were a couple with one little baby boy, and it was a mansion. I mean, more than we could ask for. And most of you remember Mrs. Johnson. Mr. Johnson was the realtor that helped us get the house. And Mrs. Johnson was doing a walkthrough with us. She told us, we were like, this is so big! She said, oh, don't blink!

Because in just a second, it'll be way too small you're going to bust out of this house. Oh, was she right? Oh, was she so right? So many people waste their lives because they don't realize how fast it goes. They look back on their life with regret. So how can you find your meaning in life now and start off on the right path and be fulfilled at the end of it?

By knowing your purpose and living for that purpose. Letting that be your priority in life. You are a child of God. You have an eternal purpose. Your purpose in this life is not just to live this temporary life. During a time that will come to an end. You are more than that. Know and live for your purpose. A chimpanzee would never become a great author. Never write blog posts or post anything on social media. Definitely never write a sonnet or a symphony or a short story, even. So why would it even endeavor to do so?

Why would a monkey or a chimpanzee even try? A test was done with a group of monkeys on keyboards, I've told you before, to see what they would type at random.

So they just put, it was in a college in England, and they went to a zoo, and I forget the kind of monkey it was, but they put keyboards plugged into computers on the outside, into the monkey cage. They barely typed anything. They didn't even type a two-letter word, like if. They barely even paid attention to the keyboards, and when they did, they usually hit them with rocks and then soiled them. Not good writers. Writing, not what a monkey does. So why would a monkey even waste its time?

Think about yourself. What is your purpose? Why would you waste your time on something that's not your purpose? A chimp or a monkey would never be a Shakespeare, so it doesn't even try. That's not the monkey's purpose. Life is short, and it would be easy to waste time doing what isn't your purpose. A lot of people do that. Then they get discouraged and they have regret. They seek some kind of comfort in something that they shouldn't be doing, like watching something they shouldn't be watching, or ingesting something they shouldn't be ingesting, to make themselves feel better.

And life is too short for that. It goes so fast, like King David said. So why would you waste your time pursuing things that won't fulfill your purpose? Spend your time, your life, on things that will bring you closer to that purpose in life. So how do you do that? How can you find direction that your life should go? Well, there's actually a lot of ways you could go about it. King David also talks about that. There's all these ways you can go about it, and one way you should go about it.

The one way that will guarantee you meet your purpose, and all the other ways that people try that end in regret. One of those ways is you could learn from the world. You could get a lot of ungodly advice, a lot of self-help.

You can take courses. You could get a college degree on psychology or something like that. Find out where you end up by listening to how the world tells you this is what your purpose is. Or you could just try anything you want until your body just can't take it anymore. King Solomon tried that. He said it was just a waste of time. He literally did anything he wanted. He was so rich. He tried everything.

Until even going to a comedian and listening to jokes wasn't funny anymore. He was so sick of it. Or you could take a totally different approach. You could sit back and just watch and wait, and not do anything. Just judge everybody in society, and especially the older generation. But if you do that, you actually go nowhere. And there's one other option you could take. In this next scripture, I want us to realize that the Hebrew word for blessed means happy. It's like being fulfilled when Joseph was the second in command of Egypt, and Jacob or Israel finally came down and realized his son was alive.

Pharaoh was so excited that Joseph was reunited with his family that Pharaoh wanted to meet Israel. Wanted to meet Jacob. So he calls this shepherd, which in Egyptian, let alone the Pharaoh, what almost never do is meet a shepherd. Shepherds were disgusting to the Egyptians in their culture. But this was Joseph's son, or father. So he wanted to meet with Joseph's father. And you know what Israel did when he went in? He blessed the Pharaoh when he went in, and he blessed the Pharaoh when he left.

What does that mean? It essentially means he thanked him. He praised him. Because blessing doesn't mean he did an incantation and Pharaoh received good health or wealth or something like that. And that's what we think when we read the word blessed. It really just means happy. Right? He made Pharaoh happy. He said something that made Pharaoh happy on the way in, and he said something that made Pharaoh happy on the way out. He thanked or he praised him.

When we bless the Lord, we're not giving an incantation that gives God anything. We're praising him. Okay, so understand the meaning of the word blessed. As we read these three things that David describes we shouldn't do in our life, and the one thing that we should do, and it starts with the outcome, the ending is, you will be happy.

The other three ways you will not be happy, and this one way, one path, you take your life down. You will be fulfilled. You will not have regret. You will be happy. Psalm chapter 1, verses 1 and 2. We'll read more of this at the end of the sermon. We're just going to read the first two verses right now.

Psalm chapter 1, verse 1. Blessed, in other words, happy, is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, doesn't take worldly advice. Oh, you get lots of advice, medical advice, health advice, but you always compare that to the Bible, because most of the time, the advice you get on how to treat your spouse, or finances, or that, or this, or the other thing, often comes from people that don't believe in God. And there's lots of financial and health advice in the Bible to guide you.

And you use that as your primary method. You do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Problematic path number two, nor stands in the path of sinners. It doesn't mean you walk in the path of sinners. It just means you stand there, one foot in the church and one foot in the world, pretty much doing whatever you feel like doing.

Remember, Solomon tried that, and it ended badly, where everything in life wasn't enjoyable anymore. So that's not the way to go. Third path that you don't want to go down, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. Now, somebody who sits isn't doing anything. You're sitting on the sidelines. And you're scornful. What does that mean? It means, instead of doing things for yourself, you're judging everybody else. So, you could be seeking bad advice from the world. That won't make you happy.

You could be trying everything you want to do, standing in the path of sinners. That won't make you happy. Or, you could sit on the sidelines, do nothing, and just say it's everybody else's fault.

That won't do anything for you either, as far as making you happy.

But, verse 2, blessed is the man, happy is the man. Verse 2, But his delight is in the Torah, the teachings of God, of the Lord. And in his Torah, his teachings, he meditates, in other words, thinks about day and night.

What guides your path, educates you on your purpose, and gives you a life that's fulfilling at the end, where you look back at your life and you don't regret it?

Following God's Word.

So, let's take a look into the Word of God and find out what it says about your purpose, just a broad overview today, and what direction you should take in life.

We're sticking with King Solomon and King David today, for the most part.

David was the dad, and Solomon was his son. And Solomon makes a very interesting statement in Ecclesiastes chapter 8.

He acknowledges that we live in an evil and very unfair world.

So he sort of starts out answering those who want to sit on the sidelines and scorn everybody else.

He acknowledges that your feelings are valid.

Well, it's not fair, so why try? Solomon's like, you know what? You're right.

It's not fair. It's evil, cruel, and dangerous out there.

He acknowledges that. He says, bad things happen to both good people and bad people. There's no rhyme or reason to it.

And then he says, in Ecclesiastes chapter 8, verse 15, So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry. For this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. You are about to go to the Feast of Tabernacles by the command of God.

What are you going to do there? Are you going to be worried about who's going to notice me, who's going to say hi to me, am I going to make friends or not?

You notice other people. You say hi to other people. You go get something good to eat. You enjoy yourself, and you will be fun to hang around with. Take care of other people you will be taken care of.

So Solomon is saying that our purpose is we have nothing better to do than to fulfill our desires. Is that his point? That's not his point at all. God does want you to have the desires of your heart, however, as long as you don't hurt yourself or others along the way.

So God's way is enjoy yourself without hurting yourself. Hey, that makes sense. Hey, that makes good sense.

Enjoy yourself, but don't take it so far that you destroy yourself. We often make the mistake of thinking that sin doesn't hurt us because it feels good at the time. That's a big mistake.

Solomon wasn't saying fulfill every desire you have. He was saying the world is unfair and unkind. Have fun, but be careful. That's really good advice.

In chapter 9, he makes a very sobering point. Let's turn over to chapter 9, verse 3. I'm going to read this from the net version. I'm skipping around. I'm going to read from the New Living in just a minute, too.

This is Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 3, net version.

This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth. The same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil and their folly is in their hearts during their lives. Then they die.

Solomon kind of sums up in a very sobering way the human experience and why it's so important to choose the right path.

Because we have a proclivity as human beings to do the wrong thing, to make the wrong choices, to go down the wrong path, and not once or twice, constantly, all the time.

So God gives his word to guide us to stay on the right path. Enjoy yourself, but not to the harm of yourself or other people. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Because there's evil in the world, in our hearts, there's danger out there, and then we die. So walk carefully on the right path.

That's what Solomon is telling us in the rest of the book. He starts by saying, be loyal. Be loyal and enjoy good things.

You know what? When you do that, life can be really fun, even when it's challenging.

Please ask these nine, verse nine.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain, in other words, temporary, vapor of a life, which he has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity, your temporary life.

For this is your portion in life, in the labor in which you perform under the sun. And then he says something that I would like and encourage you very much to take with you to the Feast of Tabernacles, verse 10.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Listen in services every day at the feast with all your might.

Order something good off of the menu with all your might. Read that whole menu.

Play at all the activities with all your might.

Wear yourself out and hit that pillow at night with all your might.

Because you've got to start over the next day and do it all over again.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.

Then he harkens back to what he was saying, that we all are going to die.

For there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

A lot of people think you die, the soul doesn't die, you immediately transform to heaven.

That's not what the apostles taught, because they understood what King Solomon and King David wrote about the condition of the dead.

When we're dead, we are out cold asleep waiting for a resurrection.

Yes, we're with God. Solomon says that in Ecclesiastes chapter 10. But we're asleep with God.

The dead know nothing.

So when you're on this path in life right now, do it with all your might.

Good advice along the way. Get some advice. Take advice.

But make sure the advice you take is godly advice.

Let's go to something else Solomon wrote in Proverbs, Proverbs 15, verse 22.

Proverbs 15 and verse 22. Without counsel. In other words, getting good advice.

Plans go awry. Oh, you want to do something and you plan for it, but it messes up.

Why did it mess up? Because you didn't know it was going to mess up. But guess what? Somebody else did.

Somebody else probably has already tried that, or something like that in the past.

And they can tell you what to avoid. Without counsel, plans go awry. But in the multitude, not just one advisor, but a bunch of them, in the multitude of counselors, they are established. Hey, this is good advice for all of us, not just the youth.

You start out on an adventure, get advice.

Get a lot of advice. Plan wisely. God calls you to be a steward of your life. What does it mean by steward? It means manage things that God gave you carefully. God gives you stuff. God gives you people in your life. Manage your stuff and your relationships carefully.

Don't do things that would lose your stuff, or lose the people in your life.

Far too many people live by no plan or no advice at all. Get advice. Set a goal or two. Stick to the plan. Don't waste your time in life on not planning. What I mean is, don't dwell or pout on things you don't have.

If you don't have them, life is short. Make a plan and go get them.

That was Solomon's advice. If you do that, if you pout, if you blame, if you sit on the sidelines, life is too quick. It will pass you by.

So, do not wait for someone else to fix your problems.

Move on. Either abandon that problem or fix the problem, but don't wait. Don't wait for the perfect day to come in. Well, I'm not ready yet. Then you'll fix the problem or overcome the challenge. But you never will. Do it now.

Let me tell you something from the Bible. There is never a perfect day to do anything.

The perfect day to do it never comes. Do you know when's the best time to plant a tree? Ten years ago.

You know when the second best time to plant a tree is? Today. Don't wait. Trees and your plans take time to grow. Get on them. Ecclesiastes chapter 11. I'm going to switch to the New Living Translation. I love how the New Living Translation translates this so accurately.

Ecclesiastes chapter 11 verse 4. Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, you cannot understand the activity of God who does all things. Plant your seed. Okay, he's saying, there will never be a perfect day. And you sit there, and you'll wait, and you'll contemplate.

And God's saying, just do it. You'll figure it out.

Plant your seed in the morning. Keep busy all afternoon. So don't just do a little effort. Work all day long, every day. For you don't know if profit will come from one activity or another. Or maybe both.

Great advice. Don't wait for the perfect day. Point is, the perfect opportunity will never come unless you make it. Plan, get advice, but do all things in life. Now. Now is the time. Learn as much as you can learn. Now. Work as much as you can work. Now. Accomplish as much as you can accomplish. But do it now.

Fear. Fear is one of the biggest things in life that you should avoid. Fear of rain. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure.

Fear to try something new. Ignore your fears. Try something you've never done before, you've never accomplished before. Try it! Will you fall down and make mistakes? Oh, yes. Oh, yes you will. And you know what'll happen? You'll get up, you'll dust off your knees, you'll learn from your mistake, and you'll try again. One of my favorite presidents, Abraham Lincoln, and this is a spiritual point, not a patriotic point, he's one of my favorite presidents because he failed so much. And he never gave up. And he became a president that did something outstanding.

I would say righteous for our country. Just about everything he tried, until he became one of the most important presidents in the US history, was a failure. But he wasn't afraid of failure, and he didn't quit. He simply kept going. Do you know, before he was a president, he was a lawyer? He was a terrible lawyer, apparently, because he failed at it. And then he was a congressman. And apparently he wasn't a very effective congressman, because he lost elections constantly. He kept trying. He was a man of principle, and he knew, there's no such thing as a perfect day to try, you just try it today. And he kept going. And through his effort, by keep trying and keep trying and keep trying, God placed him in the right place at the right time to end slavery in America. One of our most unrighteous sins that we committed as a nation. God used a man. He wasn't a perfect man. Most of his time would say, wasn't a great man, but did one of the greatest things that a president has ever done. So don't give into your fears, that's the point we're making here. But also, you have to be cautious. So there's a balance, there's a path you're on, and Solomon's point and King David's point is to stay in the middle of the path. Don't jump over into the fear path, and don't jump over into the indestructible path. Neither will leave you where you want to go. Make a mental note to yourself that every action has a consequence. It doesn't mean you give into fear, but you are to be somewhat cautious. So where's the balance? How do you find the balance? We're still in Ecclesiastes chapter 11. Solomon gives us some balance. He says, verse 9, young people. Still a new living translation. It's wonderful to be young. Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do. Take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.

Account to God for everything. You own the consequences of your actions. I've known several people my age when I was a boy or a teenager growing up who accidentally died doing something they shouldn't have been doing.

Like careless hunting accidents, careless car accidents, careless electrical accidents, and so many other things that I'm not going to go into today. And you know what? Being young didn't save them. Your body is just as fragile as anybody's body.

So have fun with your life, but remember, there are consequences to every action. You are not indestructible. So let me just give a little advice, maybe uncomfortable advice, good advice nonetheless. To the young ladies, be careful. Don't try to attract every boy or every man on the planet. Be careful. There's danger there.

So pray about it. Ask your parents and be careful. Young men, be careful. Not unfriendly. Be friendly. But don't try to go out with every girl or every woman on the planet. Be careful. Enjoy life. But there are consequences. Life is fun, but be aware of it. So verse 10, putting it all together. Please ask these 11, verse 10. So refuse to worry. Get the fear and the worry out of your head. Refuse it. And keep your body healthy. That's remembering the consequences. But remember that youth with a whole life before you is vanity, is vapor, is temporary. Don't forget what King David said in the psalm that we read. I believe it was 103. Life is like grass. Here today, gone tomorrow. Life goes fast. Let's move on to Ecclesiastes 12, verse 1. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 1. Here is the psalm of it. Solomon brings it all into balance and into focus. Remember now the Creator and the days of your youth. Remember we started this by asking, What's your purpose in life and how do you find it? You are your father's child. Your purpose is to live forever in his family. That's your purpose. Don't let anything distract you from that purpose. Listen to what Solomon says. Remember now your Creator and the days of your youth while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh or near the years of old age. He's talking about old age before old age creeps up on you. When you shall say, I have no pleasure in them, while the sun or the light and the moon and the stars are not darkened, in other words, your eyes don't grow dim, nor the clouds return after the rain. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, your legs get weak. It's hard to walk. Your back hurts just for sleeping. You get penalized for sleeping too long and you have to get out of bed. Then your back hurts because you're standing up too long and you have to lay down. That's what that means. And the strong men shall bow themselves. Your arms just won't pick up the stack of wood anymore like it used to. And the grinders cease because they are few. Yes, those are your teeth. Remember your creator now. And those that look out of the windows will be darkened. And those are your eyeballs.

Let me read verse 1 of Ecclesiastes 12 from the New Living Translation. He says this, Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say life isn't pleasant anymore.

Then Solomon describes the woes of old age. And then verse 6, Yes, remember your creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. In other words, before you die, Don't wait until the water jar is smashed and the spring of the pulley is broken at the well. Then from dust you will return to the earth and the Spirit will return to God who gave it. Yes, you will go back to God. But remember in chapter 9 you go back to God completely asleep, waiting for the resurrection.

Then Solomon gives the conclusion of the matter in verse 13. I'm going to read this from the New Living Translation. Ecclesiastes 12, 13. That's the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion. Fear, in other words, respect God and obey His commands. This is how you stay on the path that will make your life full and happy. Yes, even in this evil world that's completely unfair and dangerous and scary, and you'll be fine. Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone's duty. God will judge everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. So what is your purpose? To fulfill all your desires? No. To have no plan? Just to go out and have fun? No. That's just vapor. That's just a breath. Fear for a moment and then gone. God wants you to be happy. When you look back at your life, to be happy. John 10, verse 10. Speaking of wanting you to be happy, John chapter 10, verse 10. Jesus said, A thief does not come out except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. That's not why he came. Listen. I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly. He wants you to have everything. He just doesn't want you to get hurt or to hurt anybody else along the way. Your life is not to be spent on passing pleasures. Your purpose in this very short temporary life is to learn, listen to this, how to not be temporary. How to be eternal. How to be happy. And to help others be happy and live forever. To learn to love others despite their faults. That's a big deal. Learn to love others and not judge them. But they're a mess! Oh, yeah. It's because they're people.

Guess what you are. And they will learn to love you back, some of them. And that love will never end in the kingdom of God. Your purpose is so much greater than a chimpanzee or any other kind of animal. Your purpose is to be a son or daughter of God. So seek now while you are young. Seek God while He may be found. Life doesn't allow you to turn back the clock. Every day that passes is gone forever, which is why it is far better to use your time wisely and live for your eternal purpose and keep that in your mind now.

So that when you look back, you will not be filled with regret but gratitude. You will thank God for life.

Remember your Creator while you can. Learn about Him through His word, through sermons, going to Bible studies, seeking the wisdom of those who have walked with Him faithfully for many years.

And be loyal and be diligent, faithful to God who is placed in your life. The people, I mean, that God has placed in your life.

Work really hard with all your heart at every task that's set before you, knowing that what you do now shapes both your character and your future.

And never forget this. Your ultimate purpose is not temporary, it's eternal. God's created you to live forever as His child.

Psalm chapter 1 paints the picture of that purpose. Let's go back there. Psalm chapter 1, we'll just read a little further than we did before. Verse 1. Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, but delights in the law of the Lord.

He will be like a tree planted by rivers of water, bringing forth fruit in its season, whose leaf does not wither, and whatever He does prospers. Oh, you want to be like that tree.

That's what God wants for you, to be firmly rooted in Him, to flourish, to bear lasting fruit, like a tree by rivers of water.

Your life can stand strong, nourished by God, and productive for all eternity.

So choose that path and remember your Creator. Live with loyalty, live with diligence, and above all, hold fast to your purpose. Walk with God now and live with Him forever.