Where am I rooted?
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As I lowered the hood of the grill, I noticed Aaron walking down the street. Probably sixteen years old, he often walked back and forth down my street in the late afternoon. He usually stopped by to talk when I was grilling. I can hear his headphones as he walks over. We talk music for a while, then turn to school. I ask his plans for after graduation.
“I don’t know. I just want to live restless, you know?”
“I’m not sure I do. Could you tell me what you mean?”
“I just don’t want to be stuck where I am. Tied down. I feel restless, like I need to go and be somewhere else. Somewhere not here. I just want to live restless.”
He wanted to “live restless.” It was more than wanting to move out of the house or make his own decisions. These are typical feelings of teenagers approaching adulthood. He wanted to communicate more. He was restless. I could see it in his body language. But he wanted to live restless. I felt exhausted for him already.
Restless living...
Mika had been wanting to try and Indian resturant and I....was not…a few weeks ago I won the decision and avoided indian and instead got mexican....
Friday night I suggested we go to the place she wanted to we…we being me , yara and titus had indian food for what i percieve as the first time.
While we were waiting on our food we fought the battle every family fights…of stopping the whinning. I mean the resturant was completely empty and just super quiet.
We finally managed to get all three kids to be silent for a moment and im sitting by the window and take a peak through. Were on st andrews road across from harbor freight/goodwill/dollar general/ and KJ’s Supermarket.
I see a lady walking out of dollar general and would ramp into a speedily run toward her car.
I think very breifly about why she may be in a rush.
Maybe she was on the way to a birthday party and forgot a gift, a card, or she needed to pick up plates and forks for the cake later tonight.
Maybe she needed some diapers for her kid.
Maybe she had a friend stuck in the car with all her kids?
Ive been in all of those situations and when you are in the middle of it you are in a rush.
After my scenario run through ...
I uttered the words…People are so busy.
I then turned to mika and said it again.
“people get so busy, going nowhere. Then i added..Are we to busy and going nowhere...” we shrugged our shoulders and started a different conversation.
Today I want to examine ourselves, our walks, and our relationships.
Busyness makes time go by, and we all have a list of things to always do. But what does our list consist of?
Cleaning
Cooking
Working
Going to church.
All of these items are things to maintain a specific set of lifestyle goals.
Not proactive things of growth.
Today I want us to take a look at what our lifes have been growing.
Because what is rooted in us, will be produced through us.
Addiction is rotten fruit
Self control is tasty fruit
Ever ponder on the idea…if im renewed in christ then why do i struggle with the same things over and over? Addictions, poor attitudes, judgemental provoked thoughts....
Self-Described Christians dominate america but werstle with four aspects of Spiritual Depth
Obstacle 1: Commitment
Obstacle 2: Repentance
Obstacle 3: Activity
Obstacle 4: Spiritual Community
In a culture that rewards hard work and busyness, its not surprising that tens of millions of self-identified christians have confused religious activity with Spiritual significance and depth.
We dont achieve basic biblical christian disciplines like.
Spiritual Disciples
-Solitude
-Sacrifice
-acts of service
-silence
-scriptural meditation
We cant achieve these simple disciplines because we are so focused on actions. Many of us when attempting to obtain a spiritual discipline like reading there bibles each day fail because our minds are caught up trying to be busy for the lord, but going nowhere.
The ideology of world has integrated itself inside of the church.
That God would rather me do some sort of ministry than to sit in his presense.
We are commissioned to go..but we are called first to Him.
Today our conversation is exactly that.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Let me tell you something about today....pause....
“we choose not to be set free, because we choose to be lazy in our faith.”
God said to work it, God said to work it, God didn't say lay dormant in bed until i give you the all clear, God said to work it.
We sit in addiction, poor attitudes, judgemental provoked thoughts,
We choose to sit in victimized mindsets, and we choose to sit in the company of those spirits we have no buisness sitting with.
God said to work it, God said in your work to flee from it, God said let me cover you, God said let me save you, God said let me heal you, God said in all things, the things of yesterday , the things of today and the thing that may come your way. God said it is finished.
God didnt say it from a throne, God didnt say it over the phone, God said it in the presense of your enemies and in the presense of his Family. God said It is Finished, in a manner that would cause him to sweat blood, cry tears, feel pain and endorsed the suffering, God said it while he was cast down, ridiculed and mocked. God said it.
God said ill deliever you
God said ill be with you
Oh my gosh Can i get an amen because God has spoken somethings over you and its time not just to hear the words. but to work the Sovereign words of God into your life.
yall say work
Its time we WORK the sovereign words of God into your life.
Do you receive that this morning?
Because what is rooted in us, will be produced through us.
Come on…Whos ready for a word this morning.
When we speak of addiction, poor attitudes, and judgemental provoked thoughts and the fact that weve been stuck with them…we come to the passage of paul.
thorn in your side
idiom (also thorn in the side of someone)
someone or something that continually causes problems for you:
Money problems have been a thorn in our side since the day we got married.
Health inspectors are a thorn in the side of most restaurants.
I get what is being said here. but…hold on…because we take that context and apply the long term struggle that God just wont deliever me from....must be the thorn in my side.
Thats theologically WRONG
Wrong theology leads to a hollow faith. And in the church where we expect the fire to not only burn but to never stop, in this church where we are preparing to and will continue being the bride of Christ.
Incorrect theology inside of us....in unexceptable.
See Generally people are okay with holding onto the hope of Christ but live with the thorn of this world.
Lets say it again.
People are okay with belief in Christs work, but not okay with working out from under sin.
People are okay with receiving, but aren't ever able to reciprocate.
and it comes from a misunderstood passage.
But listen its all good. Today Holy Spirit has brought a word…a revelation…a transformative moment in your life.
2 Corinthians 12:5–10 (NIV)
5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.
6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say,
7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(could i come up with a funny story?)
living in constant torment, living in agony, living in momentarily satisfaction living to self please this is the break of our command to Love the Father.
Today i wanna break this cycle.
Living in addiction, living under emotional rule, living in between the scriptures, isn't a thorn its a life of disobedience to God.
Paul doesnt say there is a sin in his life he cant rid of. He says there is a demon whispering in his ear he hope to get away from.
The temptations aren't the sin, the acceptance of terms to the voice is the sin.
There is a life, worthy of living, that separates you, life that breaks you off from addiction and it come at the name of Jesus.
This isn't a new testament issue either. God says this..
its repeated or rather originally stated in
55 “ ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.
thorns in the flesh is biblically derived from the above verse
this above verse is the greatest argument for the fight that there are just some sins you cant get rid of...
But its as we take two verses out of the power of God and hear what we want to.
IF we take the entire word of God into account then in the same book, the same author, the same life just 5 or 6 chapters before said in
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
God is saying…if you allow the voice to live rent free in your mind you will set yourself up for trouble in your land.
and paul is saying the enemy continues and continues to come back setting up camp inside of his mind over and over again.
come on.....
So what do we need to live in freedom..not in our headspace…but in real life.
Because what is rooted in us, will be produced through us.
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Rooted in Christ....
Because what is rooted in us, will be produced through us.
How do we root ourselves in God?
So how do we do this?
By being rooted
Built up
Bonus here…that we may overflow.....
The warning....
By being rooted
By being rooted
Built up
Built up
Being built up means that God ordains our steps. We do not have the right nor the ABILITY to do a step without the command of God. There is no ministry you can do without the instruction from God.
Rank by Rank. “The Church should be like a ordered army, rank upon rank, with every man in his appointed place, ready and willing to obey the word of command.”
Because what is rooted in us, will be produced through us.
Again roots produce what? Fruit.
Self control is good fruit, Adultery bad fruit, addiction bad fruit, Generosity good fruit
The question here isnt what fruit are you producing, its what roots have been built inside of you?
we choose not to be set free, because we choose to not work in our faith.
Lets see what scripture has to say about this.
14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.
if anyone regards.
Regards: consider or think : attention to or concern.
As sons and daughters of the king we arent in this alone. God is a transformative God. He isnt waiting on you to age 3-4 years…he is waiting on your next submission.
God isnt waiting for you to understand, He is waiting on you to kneel again.
David says Psalm 119 11
11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Strengthened
Strengthened
These simple truths we just learned…should strengthen our hearts.
Human strength come from a busyness of schedule.
Spiritual strength comes from submission.
Bonus here
…that we may overflow.....
…that we may overflow.....
overflow....
in my old life i needed an overflow of money to be happy, an overflow of earthly experiences to be fulfilled,
in my new life…the more spiritual revelations i recieve the more my life can walk in faith.
7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
the messenger of satan has come to come AGAINST my Surpassing Spiritual Revelation!
john 3 12
12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
Our overflow is a double edged sword.
On one end we have Spiritual Revelations: a spiritual understanding...
on the other hand
We have a very real spiritual enemy speaking to us, hoping to take over those revelations with hollow arguments.
but wait now..because with our bonus comes a warning...
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
The enemy will attempt to teach you items to add on to christ. Which teaches us subconsciously that Jesus Christ himself than isn't enough.
Takes you: that means by giving into the thought of the captivating voice speaking..on which you will then sink back into the headspace of physicality
Listen A work of Grace is followed by an attack from the enemy. Be careful to present your self to a ear that pays attention to the depths of God not the aspirations of man.
the world will offer a clever teaching, near enough to the truth to be apparently respectable and yet far enough away from it will be devastating in its effects to an individual and to the body as a whole.
The theme of the book of colossians is Clear and Straight thinking.
When the enemy speaks to you he will present to you a hollow theology.
A folk depth of Christ.
Then on the building will come a deceptive teaching based on HUMAN traditions…and “Elemental” or basic spiritual “ Forces”
Rather than Christ....
We must be careful as men and women of God to not draw a sword ready in battle without a solid wall of defense “which is christ” around us.
we must be careful....if our roots are in this world…we will protect our government more than our God.
if we are rooted in brokeness…then we will tear down through judgemental provoked thoughs
if we are rooted in hurt…then we will be disconnected and hurt others
if we are rooted in chaos…then we will do evil things to satisfy an itch
if we are rooted in lust…then we will find new ways to sexually be satisfied
if we are rooted in abandonment then we produce broken generations
if we are rooted in confusion......then we will be lyers and never speak truth
if we are rooted in anything other than christ…then our action will be disobedience…and the results will be: slaves to sin.
When we are rooted in the blood of christ …then we become stronger than all else.
Because what is rooted in us, is produced through us.
(Worship Team come up)
Conclusion:
Let me tell you how you know if you have christ rooted inside of you.
your life is Him, you think about Jesus all day long.
You wake up thinking jesus, in the middle of your day you think Jesus, and at the end of the day as your thinking about Jesus.
Your not just thinking him, but you are always yearning to Worship Jesus. Your life revolves around worship, When you come into your worship and prayer times your not a dormant soul, sitting and repeating but you are creating and deepening in his presense.
You sit in His satisfaction and humble your own.
If the Holy spirit is working in you then Jesus Christ becomes your everything.
If you have that this morning then say amen.
If you want that this morning then agree with me and say amen.
Its time to wake up o sleepers, its time to excavate those old roots, not saving even the tinys of reminders of who we once were.
Its time o children of God to till the soil, accept the brokenness we once were. Its time to satisfy the heart of God.
Its time to break out in worship, its time to break chains of our captor. Its time to come back to our first love.
16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.
11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”