“Lessons from a Palm Tree”

**INTRODUCTION 

Hello and welcome to “Key to the Kingdom.” My name is Bret McCasland. In the midst of all of the trials and struggles of life, it is sometimes hard to hang on to one's faith. I have found that to be true in my life, and I am quite sure you have discovered the same thing. There are times when life seems to be overwhelming. Anxiety, worry and things that are out of our control can quickly cause us to get down or to react with fear. We don't know how to handle what invades our life and we wonder if we are even prepared for it. Perhaps we all know someone who gave up on the Lord or turned away from the Lord when they were about to be blown away. In today's lesson on “Key to the Kingdom,” we will consider some ways in which we can stand firm against the problems this world presents. We will think about some Bible passages that inspire us to remain strong in our faith, when the troubles of life seem too great to bear. I encourage you to stay tuned to this station for the next few minutes as we open up our Bibles and study together.

**LESSON

The weather where I live is sometimes unpredictable. We don't know for sure what is going to happen from one day to the next, and perhaps you can relate to that as well. For example, on a cold winter morning we might find ice on the street and snow out in the grass, and it's about 25 degrees Fahrenheit. But by mid-afternoon the sun is shining, the ice is melted and the snow has melted as well. And it is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit, a change of almost 50 degrees. It's unpredictable. We don't know what's going to happen from one day to the next. And yet, there is something that it seems we can always count on where I live, and that is wind. Wind blows almost every day. Some days it is rather calm and not too obtrusive. But on other days the wind kicks up and stirs up all kinds of mess, and dirt, and dust, and it is quite miserable. And then there are those times when the wind becomes so strong, it stirs up what we call a tornado. And oftentimes those tornadoes cause a great deal of damage. There is destruction of homes and automobiles, and sometimes even people lose their lives. And it's a tragic thing. But wind is something that happens all the time where I live. And perhaps you can relate to that, as well. I am thankful, however, I do not live in some parts of the world where wind and water meet. That causes what we call a hurricane, or a tsunami. And perhaps we've seen that or have even been in one when it arrives. But we think about the damage that causes, as well. And oftentimes those hurricanes will hit on the coast of the United States, or perhaps in the Caribbean, or somewhere halfway around the world. And when those hurricanes, or when those tsunamis, begin to hit, oftentimes we have news clips or the Weather Channel® begins to report on such events. And the image that sticks out in my mind is a person standing there reporting on the storm. You see the wind, the effects of the wind and the waves back behind them. And oftentimes there is a palm tree in the background, and that palm tree is being blown back and forth, losing some of its leaves. And in fact, I have seen pictures where someone is even holding on to that palm tree so they will not be blown away by the storm. Well, palm trees are quite interesting. There are over 2500 different species of palm trees; and they, in fact, are very beautiful, beautiful green leaves, and they provide a great deal of shelter and shade. But they seem to really thrive in harsh weather. The depth of these trees, underground, oftentimes exceeds the height of the trees above the ground. And the reason is, those roots grow deep and they extend down. They are searching for water. The inner core, thus, of the palm tree is very strong. And when we look at a palm tree, we recognize that oftentimes they do bend, but very rarely do they ever break. They are strong. You might begin to wonder, why are you talking about palm trees in our lesson today? Well, in the Bible, we are introduced to a place called Jericho, which is perhaps the oldest living civilization, oldest living community that we are aware of today. It's been around a long, long time. But another name for the city of Jericho is the City of Palms. Many palm trees are in that city and they surround that beautiful area. When Jesus entered Jerusalem for the very last time, His triumphal entry, the people honored Him. They paid respect to Him by putting those palm branches down before Him as He rode in on a donkey. They respected Jesus. And so palm trees and palm branches are a part of the Bible; and we think about that perhaps from time to time. But the most important quality of a palm tree is its resilience. It seems to grow stronger when it is under attack. It can withstand those strong winds and the hot and arid and dry temperatures. You know, a palm tree reminds us of how a Christian's life is supposed to look. Listen to these words from Jesus in Matthew chapter 7. <“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."> When the storms of life come into our lives, and we know they will because they have in the past, how do we respond? How do we handle the storm or the trials of life that come our way? According to Jesus, our lives are to be built upon the foundation of God's Word; that, we are to stand firm and secure in our rock, Jesus Christ, so that when those storms come we are not blown away. The Apostle Paul wrote this, in Colossians chapter 1, verse 11: <May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His saints in light.> Paul reminds us of God's promise to give us strength to endure that which seems to be unendurable; and that strength spills over into great joy. That as we receive that strength, to handle the trials and the struggles of life, there is joy to know that we have overcome, that we are standing firm. And that has proved beneficial because we are not blown away when the storms of life come our way. James writes something similar to that in chapter 1, beginning with verse 2. <Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.> That's an interesting passage, isn't it? Consider it pure joy when trials come your way. What's James writing about? Well, it is not the joy that says, “Oh, look, here comes from trials and struggles. I can't wait.” Rather it is the joy that comes from the lessons we learn as those trials present. And as we pass the test those trials present, then there is great joy in knowing that we grew closer to the Lord in the midst of those trials, instead of drifting further away from Him; and that's important. And no doubt, we do not look forward to the trials and struggles of life. But yet, at the same time we can anticipate how we grow and how we mature as Christians in the midst of those trials. With those things in mind, I want to offer three things for our consideration today, to remember when the storms of life come our way. The first one is this: Don't let surface issues derail you. If we are not careful, that happens. Very easily we can be caught off guard when the storms come. And we lose our focus, we are distracted by all of the trials and struggles, and all of our attention goes to what's going to happen next; how will I handle this? And when that happens, we tend to lose our focus. We take our eyes off of Jesus. Colossians 3 verses 1 and 2 reads like this: <Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.> It is very easy to get distracted when the struggles hit us, when the trials come our way, and we focus on these earthly things. We focus on finding a solution and the answer to the problem. And Paul reminds us, set your mind, set your heart on things above. Envision Jesus seated at His Father's right hand and know that He will provide an answer in the midst of those storms. Here's a second thing to remember: God's willingness to promote you is in direct proportion to your ability to endure. Now, what does that mean? It means very simply, when we weather the storms of life, God will bless us in the midst of them. It goes back to what James wrote: As we cling to the Lord, there is great joy in discovering how we have grown in our faith by passing the test the trials present. And the greatest blessing the Lord has in store for us is, of course, that crown of eternal life, as James points out in chapter 1 and verse 12. If we want to weather the storms in our life, then we become like that palm tree. Our inner core is strong. We are resilient. We may bend, but we will not break. Listen to these words from 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, beginning with verse 16. <Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.> Sometimes when the trials of life hit us, we want to lose heart. We want to give up. We want to throw in the towel and just quit. We don't think we can handle what has been placed upon us. But the Apostle Paul reminds us, that's only temporary. It may seem it is a long time that you are being hurt by the trials and the struggles you are having to go through, all kinds of problems, but it will soon pass. It is all temporary compared to the eternal home that is waiting for us when we pass the test those trials present. And so Paul encourages us, here, to fix our eyes not on this, not on the struggles, but rather to focus our eyes on what is unseen; and that is the eternal home with God in heaven. Here's a third thing: God's plan for you is to go deep and to stay connected to Him. When we do, we may bend but we will not break. We find that strength which comes from the Lord. We are deeply grounded in the Word of God and our faith grows and increases. The Apostle Paul was dealing with some Christians in Corinth. He was frustrated with them because they were not growing in their faith and so he challenged them with these words, in chapter 3. <Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are worldly -mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.> These Christians were infants. They were immature because they had not grown in their faith. They were focused on the milk of the Word of God instead of on the meat of the Word of God. And so Paul basically calls upon them to go on to maturity, to grow up in the Lord. The Hebrews author did the same thing with the Jewish Christians to whom he was writing. He wrote in chapter 6 verse 1, “Go on to maturity. Leave some of those elementary things behind, and pursue a deeper and more mature connection with the Lord.” The storms of life basically reveal the depth of our faith. Is it shallow and on the surface, or is our faith deeply rooted in the Lord? And that's a question we need to ask ourselves when the storms invade our life. Is our deeply embedded faith able to keep us close to the Lord in those storms? Sure it is. But if it is only shallow on the surface, then we might be blown away. On a regular basis, our faith is put to test to determine whether it is hollow and shallow or if it is real and solid. When you see a piece of wood you think to yourself, “Well, that beautiful piece of wood would fit nicely into my home. I think I'll purchase it.” But you go up to that piece of wood, that table, whatever it might be, and you thump it and you think, “Oh, that's not solid. That's hollow. It's an imitation. It's not real.” And that's what the storms of life do to us. When they thump us, we find out if our faith is hollow and imitation or if it is real and solid. As we think about our faith in the Lord today, I would suggest three things for us to consider. Number one, great faith sees the invisible. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1 reads like this: <Faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see.> As Christians, we have confidence in something we cannot even imagine. It is invisible. We may not be able to see how things will work out today, but we have the faith that they will work out because we are walking with the Lord and we are putting our trust in Him. In chapter 11, there in Hebrews, the author goes on to list a number of people in the past who had great faith in God. But with each one of those people, the text tells us they demonstrated their faith by doing something. They acted upon the faith they had in God. And that's what we are to do. If we say we have great faith in God then it is demonstrated by standing strong in Him when the storms and the trials of life come our way. At the end of the chapter, we notice this: These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us would they be able to be made perfect. The ultimate reward for demonstrating and living by their faith in God was yet to be revealed. But now it is made possible for us, along with them; and that is, by faith, we know that we have an eternal home that is waiting for us. Here's a second thing: Great faith believes the incredible! In Matthew chapter 9 we find the story of a boy who was possessed by an unclean spirit. The disciples could not do anything with that and so he went to Jesus and asked Him to get rid of that evil spirit. And he states in verse 22, “Jesus, if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said, “If you can. All things are possible for him who believes.” With that, Jesus cast that evil spirit out of the boy. And then the father said, “I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.” You know, the father believed with great faith in Jesus Christ and what He did to heal his son, but he realized there was a deeper level of faith to which he must strive. By faith, we are to always look for ways in which we can grow in our faith in the Lord. Here's a third thing: Great faith receives the impossible! One chapter over, in Mark chapter 10 and verse 27, a rich man comes to Jesus and he asks Him a question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Evidently, this was a very wealthy man. Maybe he wanted to do something to help Jesus' ministry, or build a synagogue, or whatever it might be. And Jesus told him, well, “You need to keep your commandments that have been given to you.” “I've done that from my youth up.” And then Jesus said, “Go and sell all you have. Give your possessions to the poor, and then come follow Me.” But when the man heard that, he was unwilling to do so because he had great wealth. And the disciples wondered about that, and they asked the question about who then can receive salvation. And Jesus said, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter into the Kingdom of God.” “Who can be saved,” they asked. And Jesus said, in verse 27, “With man, it is impossible, but not with God. All things are possible with God.” You know, the impossible is salvation. And Jesus stated all things regarding one’s salvation is possible with God. Sometimes we've misinterpreted that by saying all things, no matter what they are. Jesus is simply answering the question in regards to who then can be saved. At times we may find ourselves in seemingly impossible situations, but by faith we believe God will bring about salvation for us, at just the right time. And only through our belief in Jesus can we respond like a palm tree when the storms of life come our way. And when they do, we may bend, but we do not break. Yes, in the midst of the trials and the storms and the struggles of life, we learn to be stronger. We learn to be prepared when the next storm does invade our life. We know how to handle that, because our life is firmly grounded on the foundation of Jesus Christ. We are walking with great faith. We have gone deep in our relationship with the Lord. And in the midst of all of that, we seek to learn what those trials and struggles of life need to teach us. I want to end with one final passage, which comes from Psalm number 92, beginning with verse 12. <The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.”> Well, that's a beautiful passage of Scripture, isn't it? And I hope we are the righteous people about whom this psalm is written. I trust we are firmly planted in the house of the Lord and that we are standing solid and firm on the rock of Jesus Christ. I pray that you will have great faith when the storms and the trials of life come your way. Yes, you may bend, but don't break. And you won't, if you're standing firmly in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

**VIDEO CLIP

I live in a place where sometimes there is a really big windstorm. In fact, wind blows about every day where I live. But sometimes the storm becomes so heavy and hard and dramatic that it is called a tornado. And when that happens, people take cover. They're getting out of the way of the tornado because, no doubt, it can cause some great damage. They go to the inside of their home for protection. They go to another facility, where hopefully it is stable. And if that doesn't happen, they look for something that is stable and secure, perhaps even a tree, and they hang onto it with all of their might, because they don't want to be blown away. Sometimes the challenges and the storms in our life are like that, aren't they? They tend to blow us away. Something happens to us physically. We have problems and we don't know for sure where to go to hide from it. We want to hang on to something or to someone. And that's why it's so important to be deeply grounded and rooted in Jesus Christ. We hang on to the Lord. And when those challenging storms come our way, we are connected to the Lord. We hang onto Him, and He sees what's going on in our lives. And He provides the protection. He's not going to abandon us in the midst of the storm, but we can feel safe and secure knowing that He will provide the protection we need. The next time storms come into your life, I really hope that you find yourself grounded in Jesus Christ. Don't be moved. Don't let the storm move you away from the faith and the foundation that you can find in Jesus Christ.

**CONCLUSION

Thank you for joining us for today's broadcast. I hope this message reminded us to remain deeply grounded in the Lord and in His promises when the challenges of life come our way. This message is available on our website, if you would like to listen to or view it again. It, along with several other messages, can be found at keytothekingdom.com. Please feel free to download any lesson that might be of interest without any cost or obligation. On the website, you can also find a short one minute and two minute inspirational thoughts, which can be used for a weekly or even daily devotional. Other Bible studies and information are also available through the website. I hope you will take a few minutes to look at what is offered. Roku® Television, Facebook® and a free downloadable app are other ways you can have free access to this mass media ministry. Please take advantage of those that might be of interest. Thank you again for taking time to watch today's broadcast. And please, consider joining us again next week as we continue to study the Bible on “Key to the Kingdom.”