Latest / HBCWestminster / 6.18.23 Psalm 128 Pastor Danny Gardner

Transcript

6.18.23 Psalm 128 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Psalm 128 and verse 1, a song of ascents. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands. You shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house. Your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion.
• 0:29
  May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel. And Heavenly Father, today we ask that you would bless our earthly fathers for the many times they have reflected the love and strength and generosity and wisdom and mercy that come from you. Help them to put others' needs above their own convenience and comfort. Teach them to show courage and determination in the face of adversity.
• 1:01
  Give our new and future fathers the guidance they need to raise happy and holy children, grounded in a love for God and other people, and remind these new fathers that to fear you and to walk in holiness are the greatest gifts they can give to their families. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you, church. Well, Ian Bounds said, men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods, but God is looking for what?
• 1:32
  Better men. And I asked the question last week, will he find a better man in you? 1 Corinthians 16 gave us five characteristics of the godly highland man. We said that manliness has nothing to do with your physical stature or your ability to provide or the color and thickness of your beard. By the scripture's definition, true men are watchful. They're on the lookout, not only for their own souls, but also for the souls of others.
• 2:00
  True men are firm. They are spiritually predictable. We said what we believe today, we will believe 10 and 20 and 30 years from now, and they are willing to stand for the truth. True men are active. They are willing to do what no one else will. True men are strong, but we said that was a passive strength. Rather, be strengthened by the power and strength given to them by God. They are above all loving.
• 2:29
  Because without love, we would become harsh and militant, nothing but a clanging cymbal. We turn our attention now to the words of the psalmist. Psalm 128 is a song of ascents, verse 1 says, meaning that it was recited as one ascended the stairs to the temple mount. Upon every one of those stairs, you would...
• 2:55
  recite one of the songs of ascent and you'll notice they're all there together all grouped together you go back and look at just on the psalms on the page of your bible you notice they all start with that a song of a sense you you you recite one and then take a step and then recite one and take a step getting ever closer to the temple mount where you would worship and make your offerings as you no doubt have noticed psalm 128 follows psalm 127
• 3:24
  Do you see that? It's convenient that it was arranged this way. You're going to notice the ascending nature of these two songs taken together. Look with me at Psalm 127 in verse 1. It says, Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. In Psalm 127, that house was under construction. In Psalm 128, the house is already built.
• 3:52
  Psalm 127 speaks of a man's children. Look at verse 3. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Psalm 128 speaks, rather, of his children's children. Did you catch that? A generation has gone by. Now the man who was anticipating children has grandchildren. And so some time has passed.
• 4:19
  A verse five speaks of enemies at the gate. Verse five says in Psalm 127, blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them, that is children from his youth. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies at the gate. In Psalm 128, the war has been won and there is peace in his house. Thus we rise step by step and we sing as we go this.
• 4:43
  family hymn, a hymn of blessing and rejoicing. And church, make no mistake, that's what this is. Every time families gathered together to worship, to pray, to celebrate, they would sing this song together for marriage, for births, a song for any day in which a happy household has met to praise the Lord. And today is a family celebration day because today we celebrate our fathers. My own father was a funny guy.
• 5:13
  He was very intelligent and well-read, and not only did he read every genre of book, biographies, histories, novels, historical fiction, but he also read the newspaper every single day. When we'd go on vacation, he would save them all, and he would go back and read what he missed. He always knew what was going on in the world, in the country, and in the valley in which we lived.
• 5:40
  He was no fun at all to play Trivial Pursuit with because he always knew the answers. He was very smart. However, as is often the case with intelligent people, he at times missed what was right in front of his nose. Our wives all enjoyed a retreat last month. They left us all alone with our kids' lives hanging in the balance for a weekend.
• 6:06
  If your wife is like mine, and she really does this, she left you with a list of things to do and a list of food to eat. Anyone else's? I get two lists. Here are some things you could do with your sons. And here is what you should look for in the refrigerator. It is very clear so that I cannot miss it. And it's not because she doesn't trust me, but rather she knows that my mind may be occupied elsewhere and making sure that my sons eat is not a part of my normal duties.
• 6:37
  I'm always impressed with the dads those weekends who not only keep their kids alive, but who also find a way to get their kids to church. And granted, sometimes those kids show up a little bit
• 6:51
  disheveled and worse for wear, and sometimes the little girl's hair doesn't look quite right. That ponytail's a little lopsided, and you better believe there are no French braids, all right? It's just whatever daddy can do. Praise God, we can just shave our kids, our son's heads, all right? We don't have to do that. But they find a way to get their kids to church, and we may do a lot of other things wrong, but it's these small but important victories that I think our wives should focus on when they come home.
• 7:21
  It reminds me of a story I was told about my own toddler years. Our family, when I was very young, lived in Littleton, Colorado. My mother must have went away for the weekend or at work or something. She left the care of my three-year-old self and my one-year-old sister to my dad. He woke us up on that Sunday morning, got us ready. He took us to church. Things apparently went well. The worship and the sermon were good. The service closed and my dad went home just like normal, forgetting two very important things.
• 7:52
  The story goes that my dad was at home that Sunday afternoon enjoying some peace and quiet when he got a knock at the door. He answered to find his three-year-old son standing on the front step by himself asking to come in. Apparently, I had walked myself home, a walk of a couple of miles across some rather treacherous intersections. Rather than apologizing and letting me in, the story goes my dad said simply, Danny, where's your sister?
• 8:24
  And I guess my response was to turn around and start walking back to church to pick her up, which, by the way, she has never thanked me for. You can imagine my mom's response when she got home. Chuck, that was his name. I can't believe you forgot them at church. I can't believe Danny walked himself home across all of those intersections. And I can imagine my dad's response back to her. Mayor, which is what he called her, I think you may be overlooking what is most important.
• 8:59
  I got them to church. This Father's Day, we're going to focus on what is most important. The enemy of our souls does an excellent job convincing us that we are lousy dads. Isn't that true? I've never met a dad who just said, you know what, I'm knocking it out of the park. I'm awesome. I'm so good at it. I've never met a dad who said that. Rather, dads that I talk to say, you know what, I feel like a horrible failure, but by the grace of God.
• 9:34
  But by the grace of God, I would be raising little hellions. I mean, I just have no self-control at all. Anything good in my offspring is because of God's grace and nothing else. It is not because of my successes. The enemy of our souls will tell us that we will never measure up. He will remind us consistently of our failures. But we're not concerned with perfection this morning. Only with what are the most vital aspects of being a good dad.
• 10:06
  What are the most important things that we can give to our families? And the answer is found in verse 1. Notice it says, Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord and who walks in His ways. Your fear of the Lord and your subsequent obedience to Him are the most important things you can give to your family. And the text says that the man who fears God and walks in obedience will be blessed. You see it there in verse 1.
• 10:35
  Blessed, the Hebrew word chesed literally means happy, happy. And here we see that the happy man is the one who fears God. Our wives will remain unimpressed by most of our fears. My wife has never been impressed with my fear of spiders. Your wife will not be impressed by your fear of snakes. She will remain unimpressed with your fear of heights and frogs and deep water and flying. But your fear of the Lord.
• 11:05
  is exactly what your wives and kids need in order to run your homes the way the Lord intended. Charles Spurgeon said it this way. He said, fear of God is the cornerstone of all true happiness. Think about that. You cannot be happy apart from fear of God. The man who fears God can be happy right now, for he realizes he is the child of a happy God. He is co-heir with Jesus Christ, whose heritage is not misery, but joy.
• 11:35
  And with this in mind, let's answer the question, what does it mean to fear the Lord? And specifically, how can we be both blessed and afraid? How can both of those things happen at the same time? There is indeed a fear which is not blessed and only terrified. This is the fear which those outside of Christ's sacrificial covering should experience. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 31 says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.
• 12:07
  If you are not in Christ, if you have not confessed him as Lord and repented of your sin, then terror is the only type of fear available to you. But this is not the fear referred to here in verse 1. That is not the fear of the Lord referred to here. How? Why? Because of the promise found in Jude 24. Look at what it says. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you, what does it say?
• 12:38
  blameless, to present you blameless before his presence with great joy. The fear of the Lord is a legitimate fear. It recognizes the power and majesty of the living God, but this fear of the Lord has no misery attached to it because the work of Christ on our behalf means that when we are presented before heaven's judge, we are presented, what does it say?
• 13:06
  Blameless. And listen, friends, everyone will be presented before the Lord someday. Everyone will stand before Him, but only those who are in Christ will be presented blameless. Blameless. And that is the good news of the gospel. All earthly fears pale in comparison to this great fear of the Lord because God is the scariest being in the universe.
• 13:38
  Isn't that true? God is the big gun. There's no gun bigger than God. Amen? He is omnipotent. He has absolute control and power over all things, and He is absolutely holy. Infinitely so. Which means, and follow me on this, which means that when we sin, and we sin specifically against Him,
• 14:05
  Our finite sin offends him infinitely because he is infinitely holy. And so that giant, holy, omnipotent gun is pointed at us in judgment. But if you have been justified by faith, that giant, holy, omnipotent gun turns away from you and toward your enemies. Has he lost his power and his majesty?
• 14:39
  power that strength that would cause us to revere him no he hasn't lost any of it but rather than the gun being pointed our way it's pointed away and that is the good news of the gospel the most powerful being in the universe is now for you the scriptures say instead of against you the fear of the lord but notice it continues in verse one blesses everyone who not only fears the lord but who walks in his ways we notice the right off the word walk
• 15:09
  The Christian life, which is blessed, is not just emotional or intellectual. Certainly it is those things, but it is also intensely practical. It's more than mere religious theory. Our confessions and our creeds are more than mere lip service. It's not just words we recite and songs we sing. If we are to be happy, then our beliefs must become not only what we say, but who we are. I believe it to be idle speech.
• 15:37
  To confess the deity of Christ and the veracity of the scriptures and then to act as if every other day there is no God at all. What is the value of our religion? If it only resides in our hearts and in our homes on Sunday mornings, if we come here and sing and we raise our arms and we close our eyes and we sing about the goodness and faithfulness of God and we read from the scriptures, but then on Friday nights and Saturday nights we're going and living as if we are completely godless.
• 16:07
  That makes no sense. It's idle. It's futile. How can it be true that we would act in ways that are similar to our unbelieving co-workers who are still enemies of God? How can it be true that we who have been called out of the world would still use the world's language, listen to the world's music, and watch the world's movies and television shows?
• 16:34
  openly profane the Lord. Now listen, I am not saying that you can only listen to Christian music and you can only watch Christian television. That's not what I'm saying. But we cannot participate and enjoy and be entertained and certainly bolster things for which Christ died, things which openly profane and blaspheme Him. We can't participate in those things. Again, the prince of preachers said it this way.
• 17:01
  If the heart is joined unto God, the feet will follow hard after him. A man's heart will be seen in his walk. That is good. The blessing will come where heart and walk are both with God. We cannot expect heaven's blessing and happiness while our hearts and minds are caught up on earth. Allow me to say that again. We cannot, indeed we should not, expect heaven's blessing and happiness
• 17:31
  while our hearts and minds are caught up on earth. Colossians chapter 3 and verse 1, if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Again, when it's said to enjoy the divine blessing, we must be active and walk. We must be methodical and walk in certain ways, and we must be godly and walk in the Lord's ways. And so Highland Fathers, allow me to address you for just a moment.
• 18:02
  Is your walk active, methodical, and godly? If it is, you can also expect it to be happy. That's the good news. You can expect the blessing of God because you are not only fearing the Lord, you're also walking in his ways. And according to Psalm 128, you will be blessed.
• 18:27
  You notice the next few verses describe the results of fearful, holy living. What will happen if our walks are active, methodical, and godly? What aspects of our lives will the Lord bless? And you see first in verse 2 that God will bless your labor. Your work will be blessed by God. Verse 2 says, you shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands. You shall be blessed and it will be well with you. Physical exertion, our work.
• 18:57
  brings glory to god the work is honoring to the lord if it is done as unto the lord colossians chapter 3 and verse 23 says it this way i'm going the wrong way apologies one more there it is colossians 3 and verse 23 whatever you do work heartily as for the lord and not for men and notice what is the first word of that verse whatever you do there's no job title ascribed there's no job description given do you catch that
• 19:28
  Whatever your work is, he says, work heartily as unto the Lord and not for men. Your work done unto the Lord will be rewarding. And there is no divide here between sacred work and secular work. All work done for the glory of God is considered sacred. There are not some professions which are ministry and others which are profane. In fact, I don't even like ascribing those words to them.
• 19:59
  And people will often say, well, Pastor Danny, your work matters because you're in the ministry. Your work has eternal consequences. I just do this. I'm a machinist or a mechanic or an accountant. And I will be very quick to correct that error in thinking. It's not true. If your work is done unto God, then your work is also ministry. If it's done unto the Lord and not for men, then your work will bring glory to God.
• 20:29
  Again, one has said if one works by the sweat of his brow and the other by the sweat of his brain, there is no difference in the blessing. It doesn't matter what you do. This says whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord. Whatever, verse 2 says, you put your hand to will succeed. You will eat the fruit of your own labor. He uses a farming analogy, which I'll continue. Think of it this way, that insects and drought will not claim your reward.
• 20:59
  No enemy will come and steal it. No blight will cause it to rot. But you also notice the promise is not that our work will suddenly become easy. That's not what this says. Only that our labor will be blessed. In Greek mythology, there was a certain class of female goddesses called the Hesperides. They weren't necessarily immortal, but they lived a really long time.
• 21:29
  They were typically tasked, these Hesperides, with the care of nature. They tended gardens, they watched over sunsets, that sort of thing. The Hesperides, according to Greek mythology, were responsible for tending a certain garden in the western end of the world near the Atlas Mountains in Africa. This so-called Garden of the Hesperides belonged to a higher class of goddess named Hera.
• 21:55
  In that garden, there was a grove of apple trees that bore golden apples. The golden apples were believed to give you immortality. If you could find one and eat it, you would live forever. And so they were highly coveted. Not entirely trusting the Hesperides' ability to guard those apples on their own, Hera, this goddess, placed a hundred-headed dragon named Ladon to watch over the apples, and that dragon never slept.
• 22:22
  According to the story, one of those apples was stolen. Another goddess named Ares, who was the goddess of strife, broke in, killed the dragon, and stole one apple. She inscribed upon that apple the words, to the fairest, and then she spitefully threw the apple into a wedding feast that she was not invited to. So she breaks in. Again, she's the goddess of strife. She grabs one of these apples that everybody wants. She throws it into the middle of this wedding feast to see what would happen.
• 22:53
  The apple was found by Paris, who was a prince of Troy. Paris gave it to Aphrodite. Now these are names probably that you're starting to recognize. Aphrodite promised in return to give him Helen as a wife. Thus triggered the events of the Trojan War. King Agamemnon and Achilles and others. Now I tell you all of that to make this next statement make sense.
• 23:22
  In order for us to enjoy our labor, in order for us to be blessed by the work of our hands and to find satisfaction in our toil, if you want to go back to that story, in order for us to claim the golden apples of the sweat of our brows and brains, we must first slay the two-headed dragon of laziness and sloth. It's Proverbs 24 and verse 33, which says this, a little sleep.
• 23:54
  Right? How much sleep? A little. A little slumber. How much? A little. A little folding of the hands to rest. Anybody know the end? I know he does. He quotes it at me all the time. I don't know what that's supposed to reflect about my own character. Poverty. Poverty will come upon you like an armed man and want like a thief.
• 24:21
  just a little bit of laziness that's what he's saying just a little bit of rest a little bit of slumber when you should be working and poverty will come upon you like an armed robber and want like an armed man anything that can be got without work will be less appreciated and less enjoyed
• 24:39
  We use that phrase, easy come, easy go, right? Money easily made is money easily lost. Isn't that true? Anything that can be easily got is easily lost. It will be less appreciated and less enjoyed than my 13-year-old son Chase mows the lawns of some beloved friends and members here at the church. They're beloved. They're good friends of ours and they're neighbors. They've been involved here as long as we have.
• 25:05
  They've called. Back when my son Pearson was in junior high, Pearson used to ride his bike down to their house. He would mow their lawn and come home. They'd give him a few bucks for it, right? He'd mow, clean up after their dog, mow, and then edge and come home. A little while later, a few years...
• 25:19
  went by and Pearson handed that down to Zach. When Zach was in junior high, Zach's been doing it the last few years. Only this last summer has it transitioned from Zach to Chase. It's now Chase's job to ride his bike down the street, to mow their lawn, clean up after the dog, and edge. It takes him about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. A few weeks ago, Chase went for the first time this summer. After everything was done, an hour and 15 minutes later, like I said, this friend, this overly generous friend handed Chase a $50 bill.
• 25:48
  50 bucks for an hour, hour and 10 minutes worth of work. Chase rode his bike home with glee in his heart, a spring in his step, 50 bucks, right? He told me about it and I let it go because I thought, oh, maybe it was just really long grass or whatever. Maybe he's thinking he's going to pay him every other week. Chase went again last week, mowed the lawn, came back home with another $50 bill.
• 26:14
  And so now my 13-year-old son is doing the math for the remainder of the summer. If I mow every week, then I'm getting 50 bucks a week. And maybe I'll offer to mow twice, right? If I'm getting 50 bucks, I mean, he's just seeing dollar signs. Like, this is unbelievable. You know, I told him $50 for an hour's worth of work. If you ever have to call in sick, daddy's going to go. You know, like, I am happy to go mow their lawn. I spoke actually to the husband who, like I said, is a good friend. I just said, man, this is just too much. It's too much money.
• 26:43
  It's too much money. It's unnecessarily generous. He's 13 years old. He doesn't need that kind of money. I broke it to Chase when he got home after the second week. He now had his second $50 bill. I broke it to Chase. I said, oh, you know what? That's great. That's really kind of him. You can thank him. But you know what that means? And he said, what? That means on your next one, every third one, you're going to knock on the door and say, hey, this one's on me. You've already paid.
• 27:08
  I'm not taking three $50 bills in a row. Every third one is free. And you could see his countenance fall. Now he's redoing the math. He's backtracking. And he just said, for free? I said, yeah, but you know it's not free. He actually did pay you. He just paid you too much. My youngest son, Chase, goes to my oldest son, Pearson, who comes home from work. He explains the whole story to him. I think he thought he would get backup and support from his older brother. Pearson comes home from work. Chase says to Pearson, Pearson!
• 27:38
  I got 50 bucks, 50 bucks, two weeks in a row for mowing the lawn. And Pearson just said, there's no way dad's letting you keep that and walked upstairs. That's it. There's no way. There's no way. Verse two says, work hard. Work hard unto God and then find satisfaction in your work and claim its reward. God will bless your labor. But not only that, verse three says, God will bless your marriage.
• 28:10
  Verse 3, your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house. Perhaps the greatest blessing ever provided to man apart from his salvation is woman. The Lord knew the man needed a helper when he was in paradise. And certainly his need for help has not been lessened now that paradise has been lost. If anything, his need for help has been heightened.
• 28:37
  Proverbs 18.22, one that you're familiar with. He who finds a wife finds a good thing. Can I get an amen? Amen. The man who is married and fears the Lord shall find that his wife not only shares in his blessing, but actually increases his blessing. She will be like a fruitful vine. Hard as it is for us to believe, Hallie and I, we are coming up on our 30th high school reunion. 30 years. 20 years ago, for our 10th reunion, Hallie and I drove to her alma mater.
• 29:07
  and celebrated with all of her late 20s-ish friends. I didn't really know any of them. I still don't. I just hung around the back. Hallie was right in the middle of the mix. She went to a small high school, a couple dozen graduates. They all knew each other really well. After a couple of hours, another of the graduates showed up, a woman right around 28 years old. Everyone greeted her warmly. Hallie told me later she had been the prettiest girl at the high school.
• 29:38
  She said all the guys liked her, but you could tell now that she was 28 that the previous 10 years had been hard on her. Whatever she'd been doing, the people she'd been with, the decisions she had made had made her look tired and really old. In fact, I remember thinking, man, she looks like she's in her 40s, which is kind of ironic now that I'm in my 40s.
• 30:01
  It's funny, you know, she came in bragging about her career as an ER nurse. And we'll be prone to do this. You go back to your reunion. You haven't seen people in a long time. You want to show up a success and not a failure. And so she began bragging about her work as an ER nurse. She talked about how many surgeries she had assisted. And everybody was very impressed after the party dispersed. And I don't even know how Hallie found out. But Hallie later told me that everything she had said was a lie.
• 30:30
  Everything had been fabricated. None of it was actually true. It was really sad. It was heartbreaking because I remember looking at this girl who, when she was 18, everybody had a crush on. Everybody wanted to be with. And now, a mere 10 years later, you could tell that her best years were behind her, and she was still clinging to her past. You look again at verse 3. Your wife...
• 30:57
  It says we'll be like a fruitful vine within your house. And don't forget the ascent that has taken place from Psalm 127 to Psalm 128. In Psalm 127, they were having kids. Do you remember this? Now in Psalm 128, they're not having kids anymore. Now a generation has passed. She has aged. It's grandkids now and not kids. And yet she has not stopped bearing fruit. The fruit here cannot refer to physical offspring. She stopped bearing children.
• 31:26
  But that doesn't mean she stopped bearing fruit. And that is important. And listen, Christian women in the room, if your husband fears the Lord and is walking in His ways and you are doing the same, then no matter how old you are, your best years are in front of you, not behind you. No matter how much fruit you've already borne, you never have to stop bearing fruit. May I encourage you, wives?
• 31:56
  Continue to bear fruit in the Lord. The best thing, I think, about a woman whose husband fears the Lord is that her best years are always ahead. She never stops bearing spiritual fruit. Finally, not only does God bless our work and our wives, He also blesses our legacy, our kids. Look at verse 3. Your children, it says, will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
• 32:27
  The Lord bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel. Your kids, he compares to olive shoots. Olive trees are interesting. We were surrounded by them in Israel. Here's a picture of a very famous one. This one's in the Garden of Gethsemane. And in fact,
• 32:48
  If you will come with me to Israel next year, we're going again in June of 2024. That link, registration will actually open in the next couple of weeks. We finally have some pricing confirmed. But if you'd like to come, I'll show you this exact tree. This is in the Garden of Gethsemane, right next to the Mount of Olives, on the Mount of Olives. And this one is particularly interesting because of how old it is. Olive trees in the Old Testament represented or symbolized resurrection, life after death.
• 33:17
  Because olive trees are an interesting type of tree. Olive trees have a lifespan, just like all trees do. They are planted, they germinate, they grow, they bear fruit, and then they die. Just like every other type of tree, no tree lives forever. But olive trees, when they die, typically are cut off at the stump. The stump breaks open.
• 33:41
  As that stump breaks open and rain begins to fall on the roots, which are still alive, it will begin to send up new branches, new shoots out of its stump. And so here you can see a very old tree, and estimates are that this tree, this particular tree is right around 1,200 years old.
• 34:02
  That this tree, you see the old stump there, has died and split, you see the splits there, and now is growing new olive branches all over it. All of these branches are new. They're less than a generation old. Eventually, those will grow and die and split, and new ones will grow. In essence, an olive tree, if properly cared for, will never die. It will live forever. Unless something kills it, an olive tree will live forever.
• 34:31
  Forever. There are many olive trees around Israel that are better than a thousand years old. They die. Their shoots spring up out of their decaying stumps. Read again, verse 3. With that in mind, now this man and his wife have grown old. They've got not only kids, but grandkids. And he says, basically, may your kids become like olive shoots growing up out of your old decayed stump. Right?
• 35:00
  I don't mean to be offensive by that, but you understand what I'm saying, right? That there will be something about your legacy which will endure, which will actually outlive you. It's an interesting illustration, one that William Thompson comments on. He says, follow me into the grove. I'll show you what may have suggested the comparison, this comparison right here. He's got Psalm 128 open. He says, follow me into an olive grove.
• 35:25
  Here we've hit upon a beautiful illustration. This aged and decayed tree is now surrounded, as you see, by several young and thrifty shoots which spring from the root of the venerable parent. They seem to uphold it, to protect it, to embrace it. You imagine caring kids and grandkids. Now for the older generation in their family, that's exactly what they do.
• 35:49
  We may even fancy that they now bear that load of fruit which would otherwise be demanded of the feeble parent. The parent doesn't even have to bear fruit anymore. Now the kids, the grandkids begin to bear fruit. Thus, the good doing kids and affectionate children gather around the table of the righteous. Each contributes something to the common wealth and welfare of the whole. A beautiful sight.
• 36:14
  that God may refresh, may God refresh the eyes of every friend of mine. What this text says is that the man who fears the Lord and walks in obedience to him will have offspring who carry on his legacy, children who will walk in the fear and admonition of God. And listen, friends, what greater blessing is there than that? I can't think of one. How are we to cultivate these young olive shoots? One just small phrase right at the end of verse three, he says, around your table, around your table.
• 36:43
  Certainly eating together is important. Eating together as a family communicates something to everyone gathered around that table. Right? First, we're all the same. The same food nourishes every single one of us. I love eating around the same table. If you ever come to my house for dinner or lunch, you'll notice as often as I can, I will arrange one big old table, even if there's a whole bunch of us.
• 37:10
  Doesn't matter how long it is. I don't want a bunch of different cells. I want everybody together around one table. I've even told my wife my preference is always one-dish dinners. It's not that I don't like everything to be separate and everybody can choose what they want. Potlucks are great. But if I can, and think about the symbolism of this, cook everything in a potluck. Why? Because your kids don't get to be choosy. They scoop whatever's in the pot.
• 37:39
  Right? And the same thing that feeds me is the same thing that feeds you. You see, they're a community. It's the same thing we do with communion. We're all eating the same thing. We're all drinking the same thing. We're all the same. Second, we're all important.
• 37:53
  Except at Thanksgiving, out of necessity, there is no adult table and kiddie table. We're all the same. We eat around the same table. And third, we're all in the same fight. No matter where our days took us and what we did with them, we all end up in the same place. We're all pulling the same rope. If you're part of a family, may I encourage you to eat together. But consider this, the table is not the only place this happens. The purpose of the table is to set aside a time of intentional discussion and discipleship.
• 38:22
  That's what it's for. It's a place where you can look one another in the eyes and ask and answer questions. In other words, the purpose of the table is not the table itself. The purpose of the table and the reason he says around your table is not the table itself, but rather the table talk that happens around the table. You could have dinner together at the same table and never say a word and never make disciples.
• 38:49
  and yet you could never eat together around the table and still be intentional with the way that you talk to your kids and grandkids and have them grow in their fear and admonition of God. This table talk happens all the time. It can happen on road trips, and may I encourage you to drive when you can rather than fly. Cram your wives and your kids into 50 square feet for 10 hours, and a beautiful thing will happen.
• 39:19
  And especially, and dads, listen, you're going to be the least popular person in the car, but that was true before you got in, okay? If you really, honestly, if you really want to push this forward, if you really want to push it down the hook, collect everybody's phones when they get in. Anything over an hour drive. You know what? We'll watch a movie at some point, but right now, look outside. It's Utah. Right? And talk. And you guys, honestly, after so many hours, you'll find that you just begin discussing things that you never would have before.
• 39:49
  You have nothing else to do but sit and talk. Hiking, camping, backpacking, riding bikes all make for excellent table talk. Another really good one, play catch. I don't even care what you catch. It doesn't have to be a baseball. Throw a Frisbee at your kid. You know the best thing about that is they cannot hold a phone and play catch at the same time. They can't do it or they will get beaked. Bam.
• 40:15
  And the better aim you are, the more chance you have of hitting their phone out of their hand with that Frisbee. The point is table talk. There's a group of men who gather early on Tuesday mornings here at the church for encouragement, prayer, and accountability. We meet every Tuesday from 6.30 to 7.30 in the morning in the West Hall before we all go to work. You're welcome to come if you'd like to join us. It's an open invite. Show up Tuesday morning at 6.30. You'll be included.
• 40:41
  This week, we were challenged by one of those men to make sure we eat our pie. Now, honestly, I love pie, so he had my attention. I was disappointed to find out that pie is an acronym. He said, when you go home today, be present, be intentional, and be engaged. Be present, be intentional, and be engaged. It's the same idea. It's table talk. Make disciples invest in these young olive shoots around your children. And if you do, look at that promise. May you see your children's...
• 41:12
  Children, verse 6 says. Augustus William Hare, great name, has said it this way. Before the fall, paradise was man's home. But since the fall, home has been his paradise. And this Father's Day, give your family what they most need. Fear the Lord and walk in his ways. And if you do, your work will be rewarding. Your wife will be a blessing and your kids will be your legacy. Allow me to pray. God, thank you.
• 41:41
  Thank you for your love and mercy toward us. And Lord, may we as Highland Fathers answer this call and pick up this charge to fear you and to walk in your ways. Lord, as we do, bless our work, bless our marriages, and bless our legacy for your glory. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.