Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Psalms, chapter 92. Psalm 92. I'm going to be looking actually
at verses 12 to 15. Psalms 92, verses 12 to 15. But I want to just read the first
two verses. of Psalm 92. It is a good thing
to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy
name, O Most High. To show forth thy loving kindness
in the morning and thy faithfulness every night. It's good to thank
the Lord. It's good to sing unto the Lord.
It's good to praise the Lord morning and evening. That's a
good thing. The Lord has done something for
His people. And Psalm 92 verses 12 to 15
tells us what they are. The Holy Spirit graciously moved
upon the mind and the hand of the psalmist to give the revelation
of the believer's true state in the Lord. Now this is the
way it is. Verse 12 says, the righteous
shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar
in Lebanon. There's a couple more of those
shalls that Brother Neal was just talking about. The righteous,
made so by the imputation of the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Those that the scripture reveals
to be created in righteousness and true holiness. Those that live and walk soberly,
godly, in an ungodly world. They shall flourish like the
palm tree." I got to thinking about that and I looked up, I
googled an oasis. And there was an oasis and there
was nothing but just sand everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. Death,
nothing growing, nothing that I could tell. And right there
in the middle of that desert, was a pool of water. There was a pool of water. And
lining that oasis all the way around it was just beautiful
grass and palm trees. That's what they were, palm trees.
Just palm trees all the way around. Flourishing. Flourishing. In the midst of a desert. Growing. And just drinking in
that water, the righteous shall flourish
like a palm tree and shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Here's a believer drinking from
the fountain of life himself. Growing like a cedar. Strong. Not in themselves. Oh, they'll
be the first to admit that. But growing in grace. Strong
in the Lord. Paul says, when I'm weak, then
I'm strong. That's when I... My strength
is not found in me. My strength is Him. Growing. in humility before God,
in love and faith, longing to ever be more submissive unto
the Lord. If a man is spiritually alive,
he's growing. There's a growth. There's a growth
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. This
is the believer's state. This is the righteous state. They shall flourish. As the Spirit of God teaches
them, the fruit of God's Spirit is manifest in them. And they
flourish like a palm tree and they grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Verse 13, those that be planted
in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our
God. The church is a garden. You know
that. Psalm 416 says, Awake, O north
wind, and come thou south blow upon my garden. The righteous
make up the bride, the church. And they are the Lord's garden. And they've been planted. That's
what Scripture says. Those that be planted in the
house of the Lord shall flourish. Those that be planted in Christ, they're going to flourish in
the courts of our God. Planted and rooted in Him. He's the vine. We're the branches.
And Almighty God has planted His people in Christ. The Lord
said in John 15, verse 1, He said, I'm the true vine and my
Father is the husband. He's the vine dresser. And it was the vine dresser,
the Father, who purposed and planted and accomplishes His
purpose to show mercy to His elect In the vine, we're the
garden. The Father's the vine dresser.
The Lord said, I'm the true vine. And you've been planted in me.
And we are the recipients of His mercy, His grace. He's given us life. He's given
us His Word. He teaches us by Spirit. We've
been eternally planted in Him. by the Father in electing grace. And you hath He chosen, you who were dead and trespassed
in sin. The Father gave a people to the
Son. And that's where they're going
to remain. And those that be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God. He's raised up some
courts. Now, they're planted in the house.
They flourish in the courts. Here's an oasis right here. We're
talking about an oasis. God has raised up an oasis of
mercy in this place. I've said before, Katy, West
Virginia. Katy, West Virginia. This is
the extent of Katy, West Virginia. I saw a little sign, it says
unincorporated. This is it. Little sign here,
little sign there, Katie. Where is this? Well, according
to the everlasting mercy of Almighty God, it's an oasis that God was
pleased to raise up over 60 years ago, and it's still here. And
the amazing thing is there's still some people here. There's
still some here that was here then. And as the Lord was pleased,
He raised up some more and kept them right here. They're going
to flourish. They're going to flourish. Because God's going to keep them.
God's going to teach them. They have been planted in the
divine Himself, and they're the branches of His mercy. And Psalm
1-3 says this concerning the Lord and those planted in Him. Psalm 1-3 says that He, that
is the Lord, shall bring forth His fruit His people. In His season. And His leaf. Now He's the vine
and we're the branch. You look out on a branch here
and you're going to see some leaves. And His leaf shall not wither. It's not going to fade. His leaf
shall not wither and whatsoever He doeth shall prosper. All the elect are going to be
shown to be in Him, holy and without blame, before the Father,
before Him, in love, in Christ. And look at verse 14, Psalm 92. They shall. Now verse 12, the
righteous shall flourish It shall be like a cedar, those that be
planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish according to my
God. Verse 14, they shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing. They shall still. I was looking at that word again.
They shall still. He calls his people out of darkness,
and they're babes in Christ, and he teaches them, and he nourishes
them, and he puts them under the sound of the gospel, and
they listen, they hear, and the Spirit of God teaches them, and
the sheep come together. I told you this about going to
a rodeo. I was in Franklin. We'd go to the rodeo every year. And I'm trying to think, kids
rode these little sheep, mutton busters, I can't remember what
they're called, is that what it is Mike? They'd ride these
little sheep and I mean buddy they'd come out of that gate,
that sheep was flying and those kids just holding on, holding
on, holding on, they'd get them off, you know the sheep get them
off. And every sheep would go over there run off to the side,
and the next one come out, he'd run over there with them. Next
thing you know, you've got 10, 12, 15 sheep, and they're all right here. They're
just all right here. They're just together. God's people are with God's people. And God Almighty teaches them,
and they flourish, and they bring forth fruit. But here's the promise
that they have. They shall still bring forth
fruit. in old age. You know, there is
a vital truth and blessing found in aged, mature, grounded believers. They still bring forth fruit. God still teaches them. He still keeps them. Aren't you
glad? I mean, at what point? You know,
you think that they come to a point where they've heard everything,
they've learned everything. But a believer is one that God
Almighty is continually, until the day that they die, He's going
to still produce fruit in them of love and joy and peace and
longsuffering and meekness and kindness. I love talking to,
you know, when Brother Scott was here, you know, I mean, here's
his family and everything, but oh, I would just love to just
sit there and talk to him, just listen to him, and you know,
things that I would say that just, you know, to me didn't
carry any weight at all, you know, and he'd say something
and I'm thinking, you know, there is a quietness and stability
that is found in the aged, those that Almighty God continues to
keep by His power and grace. And contrary to the aging masses
of humanity that more and more exhibit their love for the dregs
of this world. You that know Him, you know,
look, now listen, we're getting older. We're getting older. Some of us are starting to realize
it more and more. Lord willing, just after this,
I'm going to preach out of Psalm 90. That chapter has got this,
you know, Lord, teach us to number our days. But this is the thing
about a believer. They know that we're going to
die. We know that. And Almighty God
just begins to settle and settle and settle. And a believer becomes
more resolved. But as he keeps them, and they
bring forth, they still bring forth fruit in old age, there's
a beautiful watchfulness that other believer has to watch them
believe God. I was talking to Paul Mahan yesterday,
and Brother Henry, He told me, he said, Brother Henry and Doris,
he said, they pray often. They pray every day, every day.
Lord, take me today. Take me today. If it be your
will. And Paul told me, he said, Marvin,
I told my dad. I said, well dad, you can't,
you can't, you can't will yourself to go. He said, I know that.
He said, I just, I pray the Lord be pleased to take me today.
I just want to go home. Paul said, you know Marvin, I
think I know something, maybe, about why my mom and dad's still
here. He said, so that people like
me, he said, can watch them believe God. And it'd be an encouragement
to me. Just to watch them just wait
on the Lord and just say, you know what, if today's the day,
I'd be so glad. I'd be so glad to go home. They shall still bring forth
fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing. I know fat's kind of a bad word,
you know, to us, this, that, and the other, What it is, is
they're going to be full of sap. They're going to be full of the
moisture of God's grace. Oh, their strength fails. I told some of you laughingly
and stuff like that. I used to be ten feet tall and
I was bulletproof, I thought. But I'm not. I'm not. Our eyes begin to dim and our
hearing fades, but the aged, they're going to still bring
forth fruit and they're going to be fat and flourishing. The
Lord is going to see to that. They're going to continue to
walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful
in every good work. and increasing in the knowledge
of God. Now you ask them, ask them if
that's being accomplished in them. And they'll say, well no,
to be honest with you, I just don't see that. I see it in others,
but I don't see it in me. All of these evidences of grace
that have been revealed by the Holy Spirit have been produced
within the believer for one reason, one reason. I entitled this message,
What Does a Believer's Faithfulness Prove? What Does a Believer's
Faithfulness Prove? And so here's the reason that
the Holy Spirit has been pleased to reveal that this is the way
God's people are. They flourish like a palm tree.
They grow like a cedar. They're planted in the house
of the Lord. They flourish in the courts of God. They shall
still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourish. You know why? You know why that's
so? Here it is, verse 15. Here it
is. To show that the Lord is upright. to show that the Lord is my rock. There is no unrighteousness in
Him. You know why the Lord has been
pleased to show that this is the way He's made His people
to be? It's to show that He's faithful.
Not to Him. Not to Him. A believer has no
boasting in himself. 1 Thessalonians 5, 24, faithful
is he that calleth you who also will do it. Let me just read
something out of 1 John. 1 John 3, 9. Now listen to this. Listen to this. 1 John 3, 9.
We've read this before. Now listen. Whosoever is born
of God doth not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him,
and he cannot sin." He cannot sin because he is born of God. Now there is a new man. There
is a new man. Created. This is the righteous
I'm talking about. One that's going to flourish.
He's going to grow like a cedar. He's going to flourish like a
palm. God Almighty is going to reveal
him to be still manifesting fruit, producing fruit in him in his
old age as a new man. I'm not talking about that old
man. I'm talking about that new man. Born from above as a new
man. And that new man does not sin.
He does not sin. Do you see him? I don't either. What I see, sin's mixed with
everything. But that new man does not sin. Listen to what John Calvin said
concerning that new man, that righteous man. He said, Our thoughts, they're pure and holy. Our affection for the Lord and
for each other, that new man that does not sin, he doesn't
sin, he cannot sin. Our affection for the Lord and
for each other are right and properly regulated. And he said,
are dedicated to good works. Lord, as you say it is, it is. And help me to believe that. Lord, as you say, I am, I am,
and as you are, you are. But I can tell you this, the
only way that can be so, and I know it is, is to show that
the Lord is upright. that what God Almighty has done,
He's done for me in Christ. Philippians 2.13 says, For it
is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good
pleasure. The psalmist says, He's my rock. He's the rock of
His people. I know that. He's the rock of
His elect. I know that. But I want to know
that He's my rock. You know why? I'm going to stand
before God. I'm going to stand before God.
And in that day, I need to be standing upon Him alone, His
righteousness alone. He's my rock, just and right
as He, steadfast, unalterable. In all His generation, He doesn't
change. He's just and He's right because
He doesn't change. I'm not consumed. And there's
no unrighteousness in Him. There's nothing, nothing that
He's done that's not right. When He chooses to show mercy
to one and leave another to Himself, He's right. There's no unrighteousness
with Him. And His providential dealings
with this world are His people. If He makes me to be lying on
a bed for the rest of my life, Coughing for a next breath. Carl,
he's right. He is right. There's no unrighteousness
with him. He may allow the wicked to prosper
in this world and cause an object of his mercy to struggle for
the rest of their life. There's no unrighteousness in
him. This is the state of a believer. And the reason God Almighty done
this for him and in him is to show that he is righteous and
just. Lord bless these words to our
heart for Christ's sake.