TCJ eBible Lesson
OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Introduction:
Did you know that an oak tree can live 200 years or more? The largest oak tree of record is the Wye oak in the community of Wye Mill in Talbot County on Maryland's eastern shore in the U.S.A.
It is believed to be more than 400 years old, and it measures 32 feet in circumference. It is 105 feet tall, with a crown of 158 feet.
We're going to talk about OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
E.F. Schumacher: (blunt) "Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but acorns and that our greatest happiness will be to become something bigger, fatter, shinier acorns, but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something better: that we can become oak trees."
Read Isaiah 61:1-3
Jesus stood in the synagogue, and read these words to those in his hometown. These words are a commission to the servant of Jehovah. Two main verbs summarize his actions:
Jehovah was anointed & sent to do 8 things:
1. To bring good news to the poor
2. To heal the brokenhearted
3. To proclaim liberty to captives
4. To proclaim the time of salvation and judgment.
5. To comfort all who mourn
6. To give them a change for the better
7. To give them a garment of praise instead of despair
8. Help them to be Oaks Of Righteousness
Theme: In the last part of v.3 we find what is required to be an oak of righteousness
(Three things)
RIGHTEOUSNESS (Isaiah 61:3a)
"That they may be called trees of righteousness"
Our God is a righteous God, and I am glad that He is. How terrible for us, if He wasn't? What if His character was to do evil and terrible things to man-kind?
For us to live eternally with our God, righteousness is required.
That is why Jesus came. To pay for our sin debt, so that we could obtain a righteousness on the basis of faith.
Trusting Jesus as our Savior to cleanse us of our sins, and restore our relationship with our righteous heavenly Father.
We (through Christ) are to establish this righteousness, and walk in it all our days on our journey through this life.
Have you started on this journey?
Do it today, don't wait!
Have we (as Christians) maintained this righteousness? It is a challenge to maintain it. Our God in heaven is righteous, and so we as His children are to be righteous as well.
Ill. While in college I worked in a hardwood factory. Oak is a beautiful wood. Once cut, planed, and sanded, it is beautiful.
Despite its importance as a symbol of strength and virility, many oak trees are subject to serious and fatal diseases.
On condition, called sudden oak death, is caused by an infestation of near-microscopic mold, and can kill a healthy tree within days or weeks.
The application is clear: Sin kills! It kills our relationship with God.
What is killing America? Unrighteousness!
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." (proverbs 14:34) Living outside the will of God/
TS. The second requirement to be an Oak of Righteousness is....
MATURITY (Isaiah 61:3b)
"The planting of the Lord"
What the Lord wants when He plants us in Him as a tiny acorn, is for us to grow and mature. "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)
When we are planted in the Lord, like a gardener, He cultivates us, teaches us, to walk in righteousness. (Not easy)
Ill. I read that if a grapefruit tree doesn't produce the fruit, the gardener would take a board and whack it a few times.
At times the flowering hormone in the tree gets stuck, and no flowers appear. So the tree is persuaded to flower by shocking it. Has the Lord ever done that to you? He has to me. (i'm glad) The Lord plants us, and expects us to produce good fruit.
TS. The third requirement to be an Oak of Righteousness is....
PURPOSE (Isaiah 61:3c)
"...that He may be glorified"
All of us (even though we are all different) species, size, and shapes of oak trees, have one purpose:
To proclaim by our lives, God's power & handiwork in our lives.
Ill. Paul Benjamin writes: "The 40 year old Christian who has been consistently active in the normal program of a congregation since age 18, has been exposed to more than 4,000 hours of preaching and teaching.
What are we doing with all of this training? We should be confident to use what w e have learned and get involved.
Conclusion:
The goal of one who aspires to be an Oak of Righteousness is:
1. To maintain righteousness
2. Strive to mature in Christ
3. Fulfill our purpose
4. Glorify the Lord.
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