Planted
by Darrell W. Johns
Atlanta West Pentecostal Church (Lithia Springs, GA)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Psalms 92:13-14, Ephesians 6:1, Ephesians 6:2-3, Proverbs 30:17, 1 Timothy 5:4, Mark 7, Malachi 2:15, 1 Corinthians 3, Philippians 4:8

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/darrell-w-johns--planted
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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all right Psalm 92 13. those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God they shall still bear fruit in old age they shall be fresh and flourishing I want to speak to you on the theme planted today and I'll just make one comment my voice is rough today I know I sound like I'm in a barrel but I'm in a happy Barrel on Mother's Day in Atlanta West God bless you please be seated as I was studying to speak to mothers I felt compelled to speak to children of all ages first so I have three things I want to say to children of all ages that are in the house first of all the Bible teaches us to obey our mothers amen Ephesians 6 and 1 children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right proverbs 30 said that the eye that mocks his father and despises to obey his mother the Ravens of the valley will pick it out sounds like a terrible thing to happen to disobedient children children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right it pays to obey the second thing the Bible says to Children is to honor your mother honor your father mother Ephesians 6 2 and 3 honor thy father and mother which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth honor your mother in the Bible the word honor carries with it the idea of wait it's a very unusual original word in the Hebrew or Greek that somebody that's weighty that has Authority that matters it's a way of showing respect to honor your mother I love the way we say sir and ma'am in the South and I hope you say it with respect by the way you speak to your mother and act toward her you are honoring or dishonoring her the third thing the Bible says about children's response bonds to their mothers is that you are to take care of your mother you're to obey to honor and to take care of your mother Jesus Christ had the weight of the world on his shoulders but when he was dying on the cross he did not forget Mary his mother you can tell by the context that he must have been the primary caregiver for his mother his father seems to have passed away his stepfather Joseph Mary's husband and Jesus had at least four half-brothers and at least two have sisters he was the son of God and the son of Mary according to the flesh but that Jesus took care of him but on the cross he looked down at his mother and he looked at his best friend John and he said woman I want you to behold your son son I want you to behold your mother and that day Mary went home with John and he took care of her the Bible is very clear First Timothy chapter 4 that widows are to be taken care of by their children if you have children or grandchildren Paul wrote to Timothy they are to repay their parents by taking care of them first Timothy 5 carries that same theme and then Jesus taught in Mark 7 and other places that children are not to use religious commitments as an excuse for not taking care of their parents of their mother in this case that you can't say well I've given this gift to God and so now I can't take care of my aging parents the Bible teaches that you are to obey your mother to honor her and to also take care of her her my wife and I had the privilege of taking care of her mother in our home for four and a half years we appreciate the wonderful people of our church family who helped us when we were taking care of her in the sickness that eventually took her life we had the privilege of caring for my mom for several months at a time as we took turns my siblings and I of taking care of my mom I know that God blessed us for that but it was a tremendous privilege and honor to take care of our mom and now I want to speak to the amazing mothers of Atlanta West and I just want to tell every dad that you're allowed to listen in and if you're not a parent you might pick up a tip or two along the way our text says those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the course of our God they're still going to bring fruit in old age and they're going to be fresh and flourishing even at the latter years of their life this Psalm is a promise that is started by a process the process is planting it teaches us that parents can plant their children in a place that will keep them spiritually healthy for their entire life this promise that starts with a process planning your children in the house of the Lord leads to a productive life that does not diminish with time and age the hard work of planting pays off but the reward of seeing your children live for God now to begin you have to see the end of your goal or your vision as a parent you should begin with the end in mind now I know some of us have raised our children and are now there for our grandchildren some of you have older teenagers younger teenagers we have people with children at all ages in our church family as well as people without children you may be in the process of raising your children and some of what I'll say today you may wish that you had gotten started earlier or done a better job as the Bible speaks to you about how to raise your children in the house of the Lord so they flourish in the courts of our God now I want you to look at this Psalm 92 12 and 13 that gives us three outcomes of the life of a person who is planted in the house of the Lord first of all they're going to flourish in the course of our God now flourish we know that word but it kind of went over my head so I I wanted some synonyms I wanted to know what it meant in the original language of the Bible so words like buds or blooms to be green fresh flowers fruit a tree that is flourishing is a productive tree it's a tree that is doing what it was intended to do by bringing forth fruit if it's a flowering tree it produces flowers if it's a fruit tree it produces fruit that's what it means to be flourishing it is vigorous it speaks of prosperity charity in life but then the Bible says that they will continue to be fruitful even in old age some people get old and unfruitful but if you're planted in the house of the Lord you flourish in the courts of your God even when you get older you have a source of life by where you're planted that produces Vigor and life and fruitfulness even in old age the Bible says this is the blessing of the Lord that even as you get older you don't lose your spiritual Vitality because of where you're planted even in old age the third thing this Psalm says that they will be fresh and flourishing even to the end of their life now this is similar to the second point but when you are planted in the house of the Lord you don't just come and go you're not a fly-by-night Christian you don't live on spiritual experiences alone you live on the relationship with God that produces deep roots in the house of the Lord that causes you to be spiritually vibrant and flourish all throughout your life even to the end of your life and that you're producing fruit even to the end that is the promise of Psalm 92. it reminds me of this man Caleb who was 85 years old and he had been promised decades before that he would be given an inheritance in the land of Canaan Caleb went to Joshua and he said I want you to see that I am as strong this day as I was in the day when Moses promised me my inheritance he said as my strength was then even so is my strength now for war to go out and to come in I have a feeling that Caleb took care of himself because of the promise God had given him even at the age of 85 he had spiritual and physical Vitality to make a difference in the kingdom of God wouldn't it be great to know that decades from now your children were living like that still serving God still successful in life still producing spiritual fruit that's the promise of Psalm 92 now begins with a process now when Mom's leave today Moms Only mom's in the house we have a plan for you it's a succulent they tend to be hearty little plants and we want you to take that as a reminder of this idea that we are to plant our children in the house of the Lord now who in the world will not be pleased with the outcomes that I just described from Psalm 92 and knowing that it's possible should motivate every parent to do their best to plant their children in the house of the Lord but obviously it takes a commitment to the process that produces those outcomes and today I really want to inspire every parent to think about the desired outcomes you have for your children when teachers design teachers design curriculum they're thinking about outcome what do we want our students to learn turn what do we want them to know at the end of this course I want you to think like that today about what you want the outcome to be of raising your children in our church we have some desired outcomes we ask the questions what we do we want our children to know be and do when they reach adulthood so we have curriculum and crowd excuse me in Chip's age for our children in crossover age for our pre-teens and the crowd age group for middle school and high school we have curriculum because we want to help our children succeed in life and spiritually for eternity so I want you to think today about the vision you have for your children if you're going to endure the challenges that come with every day life and the changes of seasons in life you have to get a picture and you have to begin with the end in mind now some of you recognize that phrase from the business world because it was Dr Stephen Covey in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People the second habit is to begin with the end in mind decide how you want things to end and that will tell you how things should begin it will determine the process between the beginning and the ending of whatever it is that you're doing it will motivate you to stay on track to not be lazy to not lose heart if you will get a picture of the future of what you believe God has in mind for you for what God sees for your children it will help you stick with the process yes so I want you to know today that it matters that you plant your children and it also matters where you plant your children they that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the course of our God thou shall be flourishing all the way to the end of their life so begin with the end in mind so just what is your vision for your children as they grow into adulthood what is the dream you have for what they will be when they reach their adult years if you don't have a clear picture maybe a composite of what they would be when they reach 25 let's say then today why don't you picture what you want your children to be instead of just functioning day to day week to week month to month and year to year keep that end in mind maybe write it down see what you want them to become it will help you in The Daily Grind of life when fatigue calls you to just kind of go through the motions and you forget how powerful parents really are I want to encourage you today that there is a promise that it started with the process and if you will stick with it even when you're tired God will help you amen so today I want you to pause and think with clarity about that question what's your vision for your children in their adult years if you are in a two-parent home you need to get the same vision husband and wife need the same vision you don't need to divide it home and if you are not or not on the same page with the vision you have for your children then I encourage you to get on God's page so you can be on the same page to raise your children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord as the Bible says what is the vision you have for your children as they grow into adulthood if you have a clear mental image of what your children what you want your children to become then I want to ask this how is that outcome how is that Vision aligned to the Daily decisions you make the practices that start early in the morning when you get up the habits that you are forming with your children the words you speak the disciplines you're forming the way you treat them the things that are important to your family amen are you living out that Vision by the values of your daily life and the actions that you take in your home let's make sure that we're not undermining that Vision by saying and doing things by values and practices and decisions behaviors and attitudes that actually are counterproductive and are undermining what we really want to produce is your vision for your child to see them get a great education that's good is your vision to see them be successful in their career that's good is your vision that they would marry well hopefully that means to you that they would marry a Oneness Pentecostal who is devoted to the Lord that they would marry in the faith so that there would be an equal yoke in that marriage that's what the Bible teaches the Lord said that your marriage was designed by God to produce Godly children let me show you Malachi 2 15. this passage is about marital Fidelity it proves that God hates divorce and the dividing of a home because he has a goal Malachi 2 15 didn't the Lord make you one with your wife in body and spirit you were his and what does he want Godly children from your union so guard your heart and remain faithful to the wife of your youth God instituted in marriage so marriages would produce children who would grow up to be Godly who would be planted in the house of the Lord so they would flourish in the courts of God all throughout their life now this is a church and this is a Bible and I am a preacher and I've come today to help equip you in parenting and to help every one of us beginning with the preacher to be more mindful about the desired result with the end goal in mind to help us back up to today and make adjustments and changes or keep on doing what we're doing if it's right amen my goal is not to step on your toes or to offend you my goal is to equip you I'm not trying to shame you or guilt you I'm trying to help us do better so that our generation of young people and children that we are raising are planted we want him to be planted in the house of the Lord do you have a desire a vision to see your children find their place in the body of Christ place of meaningful Ministry do you have a vision that one day when your children stand before God in the Judgment that God Almighty will look at them and say Well done good and faithful servant amen you've been Faithful over a few things I'll make you ruler over many inner into the joys of the Lord is it your vision that one day your child will enjoy an eternity in the presence of God forever amen none of us have a vision of our children going to hell so let's make the process match that Vision that we have to make sure everything we do is guided toward that Vision that they would be saved highest value greatest goal to see our children make it to heaven let's support that vision that end that we have in mind by what we say and do every day of Our Lives we know this that if our children achieve every Earthly dream that we have for them or they have for themselves and if in the end they are lost it doesn't matter at all you can't take those successes that money that education to hell with you it matters not at all it can accrue to Earth to Heavenly value if it's used to advance the kingdom of God Paul very clearly teaches that in First Corinthians 3. so I want you to think about the end result and to back up to the process to plant your children in the house of the Lord to seek first the kingdom of God then let God add to them a great education not corrupted by secular influences let them be successful in their career as an addition to seeking first the kingdom of God as they seek first the kingdom of God let them find a life partner that will complement and complete them but let's hold that mental picture that Vision that we have for our children as one that really matters for both Time and Eternity amen then let's make decisions that affect those outcomes that matter most for our children that they were flourished in the house of the Lord that they'll be continuing to be fruitful all throughout their life and that they'll have Vigor and vitality even to the very end it will last them a lifetime so look at let's look at the text again Psalm 92 13. those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the course of our God they shall still bear fruit in old age they shall be fresh just as if they were brand new and flourishing all the way to the end people flourish when they're planted people are productive when they're planted planted people do not decline with time in their Sunset years they're still productive have vitality and flourish that's what Psalm 92 teaches us that the investment is worth the outcome to see our children raised in the courts of God now today is Mother's Day and according to the Bible mothers are the primary nurturers of the home from birth a child is naturally dependent on nourishment provided by their mother and that nurturing nature continues as a child develops from infancy into youth we know the power of fatherhood father's play a vital role in the development of their children but the focus of this day is Mothers and the amazing effect that moms have so I want to encourage every mother here today to use your god-given nature to plant your children in a place of spiritual security never be intimidated by secular models of motherhood that try to rob you of the Instinct and desire that God gave you to be the nurturer of your home mothers fill many roles they wear many hats but a high mother's highest calling is to create a climate in the home that is conducive to Spiritual Development moms are to be keepers at home they guide the home that's what the Bible says so let me share three things that moms can do to try to do what by God called you and equip you to do to plant your children in the house of the Lord the first thing is cultivate fertile soil because we're going to plant our children in the house of the Lord that's good soil if it grows now Jesus when he was teaching on parables of the kingdom of God spoke about the parable of the soils there were four soils that Jesus described and only one of them really produced a sustained Harvest he called it good ground for seed could take root grow down survive the scorching sun and would produce 30 60 and 100 fold so in a home fertile soil begins with parents who put God first in their life when you put God first it creates an environment for stuff to grow parents who have a healthy balance of sincerity and Truth create good ground for their children parents who have a healthy marriage create good ground for growing planted children for they can grow like Jesus did and increase in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and Men fertile soil in a home is created by spiritual disciplines of Prayer in the word of God of worship and fellowship a faithful Church attendance of active involvement in Ministry fertile soil is having parents who have achieved spiritual wholeness and are not deficit people who are not raising their children for what they can get out of it but selflessly guiding their children and planting them not vicariously living out their Lost Dreams in their children's lives but trying to get a vision for what God has for their amen fertile soil the spiritual development of children planting them in the house of the Lord if you want to do that cultivate fertile soil secondly protect the environment today in worshiping the first service I was thinking about rizpah whose Sons had died but she was fighting off those birds that were trying to come attack her sons mothers and fathers should do everything in their power to protect the environment of their homes in a real Garden a literal Garden weeds diseases pests can destroy the good thing that has been planted you've got fertile soil you've got a viable plant but don't just think the end is now because there's always something trying to destroy the crop that you are raising a good Gardener fights against unhealthy influences that will kill the crop and mothers and fathers have the daunting challenge of protecting the environment of the home more than ever there is an Insidious attack from every direction conspiring to undermine Christian character and conduct and values in our homes amen it's everywhere trying to infiltrate your home so to protect the environment create a holy home activities and media that do not undermine Christian character fight against all of that that would destroy your children Jesus was telling a parable about weed and tears and he said these guys planted weed in their field wheat but at night an enemy came while the farmers were asleep an enemy came in and planted weeds among the wheat and when it grew up there were weeds growing all throughout the wheat and the farmers asked the master who did this and he said an enemy has done this now the parable is about the Sorting of all things at the end of the world but I just want to tell you if you're sleeping spiritually you're allowing an enemy to come sow some things in the garden of your life that will affect the crop that you're raising so let's be spiritually awake not asleep at the wheel let's be prayerful Let's Be watchful let's have our eyes open let's be educated about the influences that come through every possible medium in our homes the nature of Satan has not changed he is determined to hurt our homes his motive is to steal kill and destroy so moms and dads but moms today should be vigilant to fend off the Insidious attack of the enemy amen without me elaborating let me give just a short list of influences that need to be vetted before sharing space with the precious plants in your home friends entertainment Games social media internet access literature our children are growing up as digital natives in other words they are very at home with all kinds of devices they're not afraid to make a mistake that is not evil in and of its success itself there was evil in the Garden of Eden before they had cell phones believe it or not the evil has always been there but now it is more easily accessible and it requires us to be more Vigilant personally and for our families amen the enemy's always trying to plant weeds of corrupt character in The wholesome hearts of children it's click bait and much more and mothers and fathers must stand together a unified front against evil in the home A House Divided cannot stand so Stand Together and I want to add that if parents allow ungodly media in their own lives that action alone tears down the firewall of moral Purity that protects their children I know that children can have their own issues but let's not tear down the firewall of Spiritual Authority and Leadership and moral Purity if you have trouble with pornography if you have trouble with ungodly media cleanse your heart first so you can plant your children in the house of the Lord so they will flourish in the course of our God and spend a lifetime an eternity in the presence of God so in short practice what you preach protect the environment be wise unto that which is good and simple concerning evil understand the influences what you should and should not allow in your home and when in doubt go to the Bible Philippians 4 8. this would affect everything we watch read see hear think about amen not everything is blatantly sinful there's a lot of stuff that is subtle in movies and media that plants ungodly thoughts and ideas into the hearts and minds of people including adults so the Bible finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just let me stop right now to say well that really limits it a lot yes it does it might mean that you can't use the television to be the babysitter whatsoever things are pure but so ever things are lovely when I say television that thing that has all kinds of stuff streaming to it you understand whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be anything of virtuous if there be any praise think on these things so garbage in garbage out let's take the garbage out and let pure things come into our lives and to our children I'm talking to you today about planting your children in the house of the Lord so they flourish in the courts of our God all their life and for eternity cultivate fertile soil protect the environment last thing be patient the Bible gives promises to parents plant their children in the house of the Lord planting is training a child in the way they would go so when they're old they would not depart from it children who are planted in the house of the Lord bear fruit throughout their life they're flourishing into adulthood in old age successful parenting requires a lot of patience because training is not an event training is a process that takes a lot of time for a long time don't think that you can be the one minute parent you need to spend quality time with your children which means be where you're at when you're there you need to spend quality time and quantity time parenting is time consuming parenting means you've got to get off the stuff that's distracting you and fully engage with your children I know I'm getting really direct right now training is a process I'm saying it again that takes a lot of time for a long time years of time James spoke about farmers he's talking about the Lord but he gives this example that farmers have long patience waiting for Harvest to come you're not going to see the results of training your children in a day or week or a year it's over a lifetime for a while they may struggle against that they may not do well for a season every parent has been through a time that they were worried about the outcome but stay with it don't compromise don't cash in don't throw don't throw in a towel cash in is the wrong phrase don't throw in the towel don't give up the Bible says we reap if we don't faint if we don't give up so every day keep at it and if you have a bad day don't have two bad days but if you have two bad days don't have a bad week but if you have a bad week don't have a bad month in other words go back to your vision that you have for your children and get back to the process of daily doing the right things that produce the right results don't give up be patient stay with it and if you mess up fess up if you lose your temper if you become impatient apologize for it make it right that's a good example for your children to do the same when they mess up don't be insecure that's what Biblical wholeness is about that you've laid your security down at the cross of Jesus Christ and you're completing him you're not a deficit person trying to make everything flow to you you're able to be generous and serve because you're concerned about planting them and the long-term outcome of what parenting does amen make planning a priority your children need your nurturing nature moms children need to see that you're in it to win it you're in it for life to help them but I also know that parenting is ultimately a spiritual endeavor you know I know people that are not Christians can have kids that turn out to be good citizens and productive in life but our values are even higher than that our values are to raise our kids to be planted in the house of the Lord to flourish in the courts of our God all the days of their life so that's why we cultivate fertile soil that's why we protect the environment that's why we're patient in the process but on our best day we cannot do this without God that's why I encourage you parents for all the stuff I just said about parenting you have to take time to nurture your own soul to plant yourself in the house of the Lord so that you have the resource of a walk with God out of which to parent your children we need the Lord to equip us his word does that we need the Lord to enable that us that comes through his spirit this spiritual component of parenting is so vital coming to church worshiping God spending time with God in his word we'll give you the fortitude give you the strength that you need to be able to parent to plant your children in the house of the Lord now earlier my message I said it is important that you plant your children but it is even more important where you plant them where you plant them Psalm 92 13 says those who are planted everybody say in the house of the Lord where are you going to plant these kids house of the Lord right the promise of productivity success is contingent on where you plant your children those that are planted in the house of the Lord flourish this is a beautiful word picture Psalm 92 of a house that has a courtyard anybody ever been to a house that had an open courtyard raise your hand you've been in a house that has a courtyard see there's a lot of Central America South America anybody ever been to a big building a business and they had an open courtyard in the middle they have trees and plants that were growing and it was open to the sky that's what this is a picture of a word picture of it this is a pretty amazing picture because these plants these trees are planted in the house of the Lord so they can flourish in the courtyard the courts of our God so they have open access to Sun and rain but they're protected from a lot of wind they've got people attending to them they're in close proximity to people who see them all the time they're not stuck off on an island somewhere they are planted in the house of the Lord so they have the protection of the surrounding structure they have the constant care of the attendants who are never far away access to Sun and Rain protected from the wind as they grow we don't take our children and throw them out to be exposed to the elements and say good luck have a good life we protect them we nurture them we guard them from influences we do everything we can to plant them right and we plant them in the church that's why we have children in the power Zone that's why we have crossover to help our pre-teens prepare for adolescence that's why we have crowd for our middle school and high school students and hyphen leading to adulthood that's why we're intentional with what is taught in those venues because we want to be a resource to parents but parents have to choose to plant your children in the house of the Lord they probably are not driving themselves here at the age of four you have to plant them here and if you're not here and they're not here they're not going to be planted in the house of the Lord so keep bringing them don't allow the pressures from without or within to deter you don't allow the feeling it comes with fatigue to drag you down a late night once a week plant your kids and plant yourself in the house of the Lord now I know that all sounds good right but let me ask you this pointed question where are you planting your kids where do they spend most of their time where do they spend their discretionary time I'm not preaching today about against school events I'm not preaching against all sports activities or extracurricular activities or clubs but I want you to think about the priority of that I had a family today tell me after the morning service that we've made a decision to never miss church for sports we've told the coaches that that church is the priority in our life here's what's very powerful about that if you make Church the priority then you make sure they are planted here and that you're not unintentionally transplanting them somewhere else because they're going to put down Roots somewhere and what you make a priority and where they spend their time is where they're going to sink their Roots down it may not be an evil thing but it's certainly secondary to the house of God and if you make church and God and godliness a lower priority if you push God to the perimeter of your life instead of making him the center of your life then no wonder your children are not planted in the house of the Lord and no no wonder they're not flourishing spiritually as they grow up hey that are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of our God they're going to be fruitful and flourishing all throughout their life the promise of Psalm 92 that challenges us with the process that gets us there let's bow our heads and pray right now and let's ask God to help us be planted and to plant our children in the house of the Lord would you make a commitment to that right now dear Lord God I pray I pray for every parent here today and every Guardian I pray for our single parents today Lord who worked so hard to plant their children I thank you God for the parents in this church who have made the spiritual education of their children a high priority that they're intentional Lord about the decisions they make about the activities in which they are involved about ensuring that their children are in the fertile soil so they can put down deep groups I pray God for every parent that you would begin to speak to them now maybe there are some attacks against their children against their home they've not seen them Lord but today I pray that you would bring them to mind that you would help them be vigilant Lord and stand guard over their home I pray Lord today for parents that may be weary and well doing they're doing their best Lord but work and activities and just the rigors of Life have worn them down I pray today God that you would help them catch their breath give them a second win spiritually help them redouble their efforts help them purpose today Lord to stay the course to not give up I pray Lord today for parents who have been affected by models of parenting models of living success in the world Lord that is not spiritual success pray that you would help those pairs today Lord make a true course correction not just a Lurch or not just a momentary feeling of guilt true commitment Lord to make necessary changes so that their children are saved as well as successful in Jesus name I pray help me o God as a man a husband a grandfather a father of adult children practice what I preach to influence where I can eternity that matters most Jesus name Lord