All right, we've been focused on the home and the blessings that God wants to give to it. Our text is Psalm 128. And today brings us to sermon four in a series that we have titled, The Holistic Harmonics of a Happy Home. In order for us to get right to our text this morning, I'm gonna ask you to go ahead and stand with me and let's read this Psalm together. Psalm 128. Starting in verse number one, everybody ready? The Bible says, blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands, happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children and peace upon Israel. And all the church said, Thank you, and you may be seated. Well, this Psalm begins in verse one by giving us the requirements for family blessings. And what are those? He that feareth the Lord and he that walketh in his ways. Friends, when we do that, then God adds the blessings of success found in this Psalm to our homes. Lesson two of Psalm 128 is the reach of family blessings. Verse one says, blessed is everyone, mom, dad, children, and grandchildren. When we do what this Psalm says, the blessings reach to the third generation. Lesson three of Psalm 128 is the results of family blessings. What are they? Well, there's the success of satisfaction. Now, many live in a structure called a house, but they are not very satisfied with the relationships that form a home. Friend, God wants to inject a dose of heaven-sent homemade happiness right into your homes. The Bible says in verse 2, happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. The second blessing is the success of supply. Verse 2 begins, for thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. When we obey the Lord, we get to eat of the fruit of our own labors. When we do not obey the Lord, then our money is funneled out and others come in and they take of the fruit of our efforts. Blessing three, the success of stillness. in the home and in the home country. The middle of verse five says, thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Then the end of verse six, and peace upon Israel. Now the picture here is that of a happy old man enjoying seeing with his very own eyes his kids and grandkids following the Lord in a land of peace. Blessing four, the success of your successors. Verse six says, yea, thou shalt see thy children's children. The psalmist sees the blessing as enjoying grandchildren. And so the children's children living in peace because of the legacy of a godly daddy and granddaddy. Friend, that's the results of family blessing. And that brings us to the final two blessings this morning. In church, they are the most choice of the bunch. Look at verse three, that's where they're both found. The Bible says, thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. Thy children, like olive plants, round about thy table. Well, let's begin this morning by seeing the success of the spouse. Look at the beginning of verse three. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. Now God here is using imagery by way of a vine. A good wife is like a good vine. vine and notice where the vine is it says by the sides of thine house not the head of the house but as we're about to see also not a doormat either church and extremely important part of the blueprint is the effect of the wife upon the home. Now a strange thing about a vine, it has the ability to hold things together or to tear things apart. The success of The spouse, a couple of thoughts here. First of all, I want you to see that she is fruitful in the home. She is fruitful in the home. Now what does a vine do? A vine grows upper. That speaks of progress. That speaks of advancement. Is your wife growing? Is your wife thriving? You say, well, no preacher, that's not my wife at all. My wife's just not that bright and she never does anything right. Okay, I hear you, but my friend, I want you to remember the next time you begin to criticize your wife's judgment, that she did marry you. and then measure your criticism accordingly. Amen? I'm gonna try to help the fellas out again. I love helping people, fellas. Amen? All right, thanks for being help. Thy wife is a fruitful, Is your wife growing? Is she thriving? If not, mister, you need to step up and do your job as the spiritual leader God put you there to be. Listen, the answer is not acquiescing to what your wife wants spiritually, it's assimilating what your wife needs spiritually. What's wrong with most homes today is that the dad, the man, has failed to lead spiritually. You say, but preacher, it's not easy. You think? You think I don't know that? You think your case is unique? You think God didn't foresee the struggles? You say, well, what shall I do, preacher? Are you listening? God wants your simple trust and obedience. Got it? Got it. Now, the godly wife is described this way, fruitful vine. Now, if it's fruitful, that means it's not only growing, but it's also breaking out into clusters. Now, the main purpose of the grapevine was to bear fruta. And so when we think about the imagery of the wife in the home, the fruitfulness here would refer to progeny and to productivity. First of all, to progeny. Childbearing. Now the Hebrews saw children as a blessing from God, and no children as a blight from God. I think about the verse in the previous Psalm, in Psalm 127, in verse number three, where the Bible says, and lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb his reward. I've heard stories from women with large families in public where they've been told by other ladies in pity, oh, you poor thing. Folks don't wanna have children today. Why? Because they're trying to accumulate stuff. They're trying to have things. But we're gonna see at the end of this verse that children do not make a rich man poor, they make a poor man rich. But if there's a dear, precious lady, a sweet sister in the Lord, and she is not able to bear children, she is by no means barren from blessings. Because when we think about her fruitfulness in the home, it not only talks about progeny, but there's also productivity. a fruitful vine in that hot Middle Eastern climate, it produced something very refreshing, something very nurturing to others. And so a godly wife and a godly mother will not be a lazy, self-centered, aimless woman who spends all of her days in front of the television set watching quiz shows and soap operas. Nor will she spend her time surfing the internet, bogged down on social media, or sleeping in to 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning. No, she's industrious. She's going to be productive, laboring to provide a satisfying and nourishing home life for her family. Let me give you a few scriptures, Proverbs chapter 31 and verse 16. Speaking of this woman, the Bible says, she considereth a field and buyeth it. Proverbs chapter 31 and verse 13, she seeketh wool and flax, watch this, and worketh willingly with her hands. Proverbs 31 verse 24, she maketh fine linen and buyeth it. Sell it that time. I'm telling you, everything that this woman does is not at the expense of the home. Everything this woman does is an extension of the home. And so what I'm trying to tell you this morning is when a man is right with God, his wife will be a productive, working woman of valuable worth. The Bible says, who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies. Proverbs chapter 31 and verse number 10. This godly woman, she's not only fruitful in the home, number two, I want you to see that she's also faithful to the home. Now vines, thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine. Vines also encompass the thing that it grows on. Is your wife an encompassing influence on your home? If not, sir, there's a problem that deserves your attention. Faithful in the home, What a contrast to the promiscuous woman. She's mentioned there in Proverbs chapter seven and verse number 11. Speaking of her, the Bible says, she is loud and stubborn. Her feet abide not in her house. A godly wife, a godly mother has a commitment to her family. Titus chapter 2 and verse number 5 says, to be discreet, chase, keepers at home, good. This woman is not unhappy in her home. She doesn't need to be liberated. On the contrary, my friends, she is a part of everything going on in that home in a very significant and a very special way. Listen to this verse, Proverbs 31, verse 27. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and she eateth not the bread of idleness. Now, having said that, I sympathize with a single mother who has to work to make a home for her children. My heart goes out, your heart ought to go out, and my prayer is may God's grace be great and very gracious to her. But it's troubling to see those who have abandoned the home for a career. I'm thinking about the mother who works in order to provide more affluence to the home instead of being the influence on the home that God designed her to be. Sir, if you got your wife working, ma'am, if you're out there working so y'all can have more toys, then double shame on you. Why? Because you are robbing your home, your family of the blessings of God found in Psalm 128. A godly woman has a commitment to her home above her career, a commitment to her home above the desire for a higher standard of living. And she's not going to allow a daycare, she's not going to allow some school, she's not going to allow anything else to instill a worldview into her children. Friends, she's going to take care of that herself. She's faithful to the home, loyal. not only does a vine encompass, but you'll know that a vine also cleanseth. A good vine. the godly wife, faithfully clings to the house, the godly husband. And in doing so, the Bible says that the husband's response to that is this, Proverbs 31 and verse number 11, the heart of her husband does safely trust in her, and he shall have no need of spoil. There's peace in his heart. He doesn't want anything else. He doesn't want anyone else. He's found his trusted, his faithful, his friend, his lover, his companion, his help, Mithra. And so she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Proverbs chapter 31 and verse number 12. She does him good in all ways and she does him good always. And so as she leans and depends, he supports and strengthens. She clings to him and he clings to her. There's rock-like strength and tenderness brought together as one. the perfect harmonic balance in a God-blessed home. Sir, how wise it would be of you to give your godly vine, to give your wife room to grow, to let it be that encompassing influence on the entire home, just the way God designed it. It will richly repay the care and cultivation lavished on it. Men, the Bible says this to us. It says, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself. That's how we are to love our wife. Ephesians chapter five and verse 25. We're talking about the success of the spouse. We've seen that she's faithful in the home. She is fruitful to the home. Number three, I want you to see that she is fine for the husband. Now the figure of a fruitful vine also suggests that the godly wife will not just make her home attractive, she will also make herself attractive. Turn with me to the Song of Solomon, chapter seven. Song of Solomon, chapter seven. Now in that dry climate, nothing, nothing, no nothing was more beautiful for the eyes to behold than the sight of a fruitful vine. Song of Solomon, chapter seven, verse number one. The man speaking about his wife, look what he says. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O Prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor. Thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies. "'Thy two breasts are like two young rose that are twins, "'thy neck as a tower of ivory, "'thine eyes like fish pools and heshbron, "'by the gate of Bath-Ribbon, "'thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon, "'which looketh toward Damascus, "'thine head upon thee is like caramel, "'and the hair of thine head like purple, "'the king is held in the galleries. "'How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breast to clusters of grapes. I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof. Now also thy breast shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples. And the roof of thy mouth shall be the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak." Ooh, a very spicy. portion of scripture, as the man graphically describes the wife as a vine whose clusters very much satisfy the husband. I mean, she's an absolute delight for her husband to look at. And so he goes on to describe her thighs and her stomach. and her belly button, and her breast, more than once, and her neck, and her eyes, and her nose, and her hair, her overall shape and radiance, all of this and more is mentioned. I mean, this is a woman that's taking care of herself. She's not letting herself go just because she's married with kids. No, this woman is a knockout for a husband. And can I tell you, that's godly. Can I tell you this whole chase, why chase a street car when you've already caught an attitude is a very selfish one and it is an unwise one for a healthy marriage relationship within the home. Friends, God created it. and Scripture extols physical love within the marriage. Let me show you what the New Testament says, Hebrews chapter 13 and verse number four. The Bible says, marriage, marriage is honorable in all, and the bed on the field. but outside of marriage, any physical intimacy, any playing of house, friend, it is sinful, it is wicked, and it is evil, and the curse of God will follow you and everything and everyone else that you're connected to if you're involved in it. Verse three begins, thy wife. and there's no sweeter sound to mine ears, brother John. I don't want any other woman, just my Keshia, my wife. Well, does the Bible say, he that findeth a wife, findeth a good thing. Proverbs chapter 18 and verse number 24. So we're seeing this success of the spouse and the blessing on the home in that way. And our final point, she's not only faithful, she's not only fruitful, not only is she fine for the husband, number three, she is festive. to the household, festive to the household. Go to Judges chapter nine. Finally, I want you to see here that the vine points to the joy that this woman brings to her whole family. Judges chapter nine, look at verse number 12. Speaking of the vine, the symbol of the woman here in Psalm 128, Judges 9, verse 12. Then said the trees unto the vine, come thou and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? The fruit of the vine in the Bible is associated with gladness and with joy. Companion verse here, Psalm 104 and verse number 15, and wine which maketh glad the heart of man. And so what's the message? The message is, why should I leave what I'm doing in my home when it is pleasing to both God and my family? wine which maketh glad the heart of man." This woman is not a Debbie Downer, she's a picker-upper. Her disposition is not a negative one, it is a positive one. Now you may have thought of gladness and godliness as two things which are very incompatible, but my friend I want to tell you the truth is it is only the godly person that knows how to really enjoy life. so the godly mother makes sure that her home is an enjoyable place to be, and it's because of her effects that the husband wants to be no other place than at home with mama. It's because of her efforts that the children would rather bring their friends to no other place than to the home. And so on the Lord's Day, at Christmas, at Thanksgiving, on Easter, and on birthdays, and every day of the week, this woman is festive to the household. She's not tearing down her husband and others. She's building him up and seeing the good in them. See, his success out there in the marketplace depends greatly upon her success in here in the home. And this fella, he has no worries in the home. Therefore, his heart is free to go out on the job. He is free, he is burdenless in his heart and in his head, and he is able to Can I tell you, friend, there's no greater blessing of Psalm 128 than the blessing on the wife. Let me put this in right here before we move to our final point. The blessing teaches all girls everywhere to marry someone who is spiritually right with God and run from everybody else. Why? because of the assurance of blessings on her and the home she is gonna be a part of, the blessings of Almighty God. But oh, so many, so many have chased the chiseled hunk. instead of the Christ-like heart that was in love with Jesus Christ. And oh, the sorrow, oh, the grief that comes to those women, those girls who marry men who are in spiritual poverty. If you haven't learned anything, learn this this morning, that charisma, hamstiness, Good looks and wealth and charm does not assure the blessings of God on you and on your home in marriage. And so, when a man and a woman marry, a home is formed. And that relationship will always remain primary in that home. But if children are added, we also see at the end of verse three that there is a blessing on them as well. And so we come to the final blessing. We're talking about the results of family blessings. When we fear the Lord, When we walk in his ways, God says, I'm gonna give you the success of satisfaction. I'll give you the success of supply and stillness. You'll see the success of your successors. There'll be success upon your spouse. And finally, we see the success of the sprouts. Look at the end of verse three. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the size of thy house, thy children, Like olive plants round about thy table. Now let's think about this in four stages. Number one, the picture. We see the blueprint now includes children described as like olive plants. Notice, first of all, that these are not olive trees, they are olive plants. Now, in biblical times, in the Middle East, the olive was something that was very, very valuable, green and beautiful, productive, stable. Did you know that today there, in the Garden of Gethsemane, there are actually olive trees that were around when the Lord Jesus Christ was there? That's incredible. In the Bible, the olive is symbolic of fruitfulness, of righteousness, and ultimately, isn't that exactly what we desire for our children to be? Something beautiful, something productive, something stable. So not only the picture, number two, their place. Notice with me, round about thy table. how shocked a biblical time family would be if they took a visit to the modern family and watched as the parents and children scattered in all direction and never ate a meal together. Now, not as much as I would like, but friend, listen, my family, we eat meals together. It's a glue. It's galvanizing. And if that's not a practice that you are currently employing in your family, let me encourage you this morning to begin it at your very next meal. Their place, round about thy table, connected, included, not left to themselves. Not latchkey kids, not go to the back room while the adults talk. No, no. Connected and included. My friends, young plants left to themselves die. They fail to prosper. round about thy table, teaching them the way of God day by day, situation by situation, and circumstance by circumstance. The way of God, the things of God, that's what Christian adults should be talking about anyway, so there really is no need to send the children back to the back room so the adults can talk, now is there? I understand there are those adult conversations that have to be had, but my friend, listen, in our home, we wanted our kids right there soaking up the godly conversation of the adults. Round about thy table. That means they're being cared for. Friend, don't get the idea if you give them a smartphone and a pair of Jordans and pay for their tuition that you've done a good job. Friend, God has given us olive plants and we have to spend adequate time with them so they can grow up into stable olive trees. It's not quality, it's quantity. Try quality on a plant. and see what happens. I'm gonna spend a quality five minutes on my plant today. I'm just gonna go through all the leaves and make sure, I mean it's quality, just me and the plant. But then you're gone for a week, two weeks, three weeks. The average father in America spends seven and one half minutes a week with his teenage son and daughter in face-to-face relationships. Can I tell you the ponom and sponom mentality is not his ways. You know how to spell love? Love is spelled T-I-M-E. That's what it takes to weed and water. That's what it takes to fertilize and cultivate. Without it, the other, that little tender olive plant, my friend, it will wilt. Can I give you the tale of two very famous baseball players? The first one is Oral Hirschhiser. He pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitched for 15 years in Major League Baseball. He was a three-time All-Star. He set a scoreless innings record in baseball, if I'm not mistaken, still stands today. And he won a World Series against the Mighty Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGuire, Oakland Athletics, and shut them down. When asked for his strategy for success, he said this, and I quote, I give my credit to my personal submission to Jesus Christ. Each time I assess my major league career, I ask myself these questions. Am I still married? Are my children happy? Do they know that their father loves them and is committed to them and to their mother? And when I'm finished with my baseball career, my most important goal is not to make the Hall of Fame, but to see that my family is successful as the result of my influence on them. Boy, that pitcher hit a home run right there. This great man. This wealthy man, this Christian man says, I'm not trying to get into anybody's Hall of Fame. I wanna get into God's Hall of Fame because I raised my family the way I ought to. Listen, when a Christian uses his platform to glorify Jesus Christ, whatever that calling may be, he is gonna have the assurance of God's full blessing on that endeavor. But when a Christian does not use his platform, does not use his occupation or whatever it is that God has called him to do at that present time, he will always fall just a little bit short in what he does because he is not doing that thing for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. The other baseball player is Pete Rose. Everybody recognizes that name, the gambler. You gotta know it. No, I'm just kidding. the all-time hits leader in Major League Baseball history. They were doing a piece on him, and as part of that piece, they interviewed his daughter, and she said this about him. He's the worst father in the world. I'll never understand why he had never had any time for any of us. We really didn't expect anything from him. We just wanted him to like us. And she went on to say, even if I wanted to call dad, I couldn't. He wouldn't even give me his phone number. I would have to call his agent and then wait on the return call. When Pete Rose was asked about that, he said this, I don't know what she's complaining about. I bought her a brand new Mercedes last week and had it sent to her. Which dad are you? Those children are olive plants. And friends, they need your time. I got a text this week from my middle son, John. He's here with us today. And that text said this. It said, I just wanted to let you know that you're a great dad. And I'm happy the way I was raised. About a month ago, three weeks ago, my son played his final college baseball game in a conference championship up in Atlanta. And after the game, I was able to get with him there between the stands and the field. And he had tears streaming down his eyes, a lot of emotion, a lot of things going on. And I was able to get him and hold him and to embrace him. And he looked right up at me and he said this, thanks for everything. They all work 70 to 80 hours every week and have done so for the last 20 years. Friend, when it come to my three boys, I never missed a ball game of theirs. I never missed their birthday party. I never missed time in the home in the evening with them. I never missed dedicated time on the weekend with them. I never missed time together with them in the house of God together. And my message to you this morning is this, if I can do it with my schedule, then you can do it also. Jesus said, for with God, all things are possible. Not only the pitcher, not only their place. Number three, I want you to think about the patients. The patients. Now, like any plant, an olive plant is fragile. It's gonna require tender, loving care. And it's gonna take a long time for that olive plant to mature into an olive tree and for it to become profitable. But with patient cultivation, literally that olive tree is gonna produce crops for centuries. Now our children, listen, they require nurture. and care, patience and prayer, protection as they mature in years. Listen, the teenage years, can they be challenging? Absolutely, but they should never be dreaded. Because with the proper patience in that climate of grace, listen, the teenage years you're gonna find are gonna be the beginning of the productive years. But it's gonna take a strong and a gentle dad. Strong, but not afraid to hug the kids, to kiss the kids, to cry with the kids and in front of the kids, to love the kids, to speak softly and gently to the kids. Strong, but gentle. We don't need to whack at them in violence, in anger. Listen, that'll break the plant. Ephesians chapter six and verse number four says this, and you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. Do you see the negative and the positive there? The negative in that verse, provoke not them to wrath. In other words, don't exasperate them, don't frustrate them, don't badger them, don't wound them, don't humiliate. Don't drive them nuts. And then there's the positive. Bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. The things of God, the ways of God, the words of God, the gentleness of God are to be a regular and daily part of their lives. You say, preacher, what do I do when they need to be disciplined? Are you saying cast aside discipline? Absolutely not. But my friends, and I did not always do this right, but when it's time to discipline, you need to get you under control before you can discipline your child properly. You don't discipline in the flesh. Wait until you're under control, and then you take your child, explain to them why they are being disciplined, discipline them, apply the rod of correction to the backside of learning, And then when it's over, hug them and assure them of your love for them despite their mistake. Okay? Strong. Listen, children are developing. They're not perfect. They're olive plants. They need time to develop in the soul, the nourishing soil of a God-fearing home. And they need to be allowed to make mistakes without rejection, to develop according to their unique God-given bents and desires. Nothing wrong with having high standards for your children. We had them for our children, but it's a mistake, a mistake, a mistake to demand perfection of them. Perfect kids, hey, may make us look good, but ma'am, sir, you're not perfect and neither are your children. Just learn to grow together as a family. In the Lord's ways, you're gonna find no better recipe, my friend, and it's gonna take time, so just encourage one another in the speech and in the deeds of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, seasoned with His love and mercy. The success of the sprouts, the pitcher, the place, the patience. Let's close with this, the prospering. The prospering. If cared for properly, the olive plant will prosper, but it'll be year seven before there's any berries. It'll be year 10 to 15 of constant care and nurturing and patience with them before it becomes worth much. But then, oh then, it'll need little supervision. Then it'll take care of itself. Then it'll continue yielding fruit to an extreme age. Growing children, fruitful children that can carry on the legacy of a God-fearing home. The olive plant is meant to replace the parent tree and to bear the fruit when it's gone. That's what David was talking about. Psalm 52 verse number eight, David said, I'm like a green olive tree. in the house of God, and I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. Here's the idea. You got a venerable old olive tree here. That's mom and dad. And around this old, venerable olive tree, there are little green shoots, little green olive plants that are coming up. That well-established olive tree is now refreshing, is now blessing with fruit for years and years to come. It's a thing of beauty. That's what God wants to give your family. The holistic harmonics of a happy home. Would you stand with me this morning? The vine and the olive plant. That's what we looked at today. The vine, a symbol of the godly mom. The olive plant, a symbol of the successful children. The vine and the olive plant. Listen, not food stables like corn and wheat, no, no. Rather, they are symbols of the abundant life, symbols of rich blessing. Jesus said this in John 10 and verse number 10, I am come that they may have life and that they might have it abundantly. Friend, that's the message here. The fruit of the vine, the oil from the olive, not necessary for survival in biblical days, but they made life so much That's what Jesus wants. God wants to enrich your life by blessing your home in these ways to make it so much better. You know, growing up, I thought I knew what success was. Growing up as a child, I thought success was doing well in school, and I made the Hall of Fame of school, I was successful. Doing well in baseball, I got a college scholarship to play baseball. Pleasing my mom and dad, I thought that was success. Then I became a young Christian, and I thought success was making money and providing for my family. But now, after 26 years of marriage, and having the unequaled privilege of being able to father a 23, a 21, and now an 18 year old, I have found and know that real success is being at home with my wife and my children and us all serving the Lord together. harmonics of a happy home. Friend, what I'm talking to you about this morning is stuff that makes it past the grave. That's what God wants to give. Are you ready for it? How about it, man? Are you ready to be that man that brings these blessings on his home? Have you made that commitment today? How about it, ma'am? Are you ready to be that encompassing influence, that festive life that brings happiness and joy to your home? Young girls, are you ready today to make that commitment that I am going to marry someone? Ladies, I am going to marry someone and only someone that is right spiritually with God because I want the blessings of God on me and the home that I'm gonna be a part of. How about it, young man, as you seek for that mate, Why don't you determine today to be a man, as verse number one says, blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord and walketh in His ways. You're going to make that commitment today. The blessings are ours. God has them stretched out. Oh, that we would take it. Let's pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father,