Rooted in Faith

Bottomline: When we are rooted to Jesus we are growing in grace.

Intro- at our core we want purpose, we want security, and we want love.

We plant in the spring so we harvest in fall.

Today we celebrated lives changed whom seeds had been planted, water, and worked on for years.

Roots don’t happen if planting doesn’t happen.

I have met alot of people who receive the Good News of Jesus but never root themselves in Him.

“The path of spiritual growth in the riches of Christ is not a passive one. Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Effort is action. Earning is attitude. You have never seen people more active than those who have been set on fire by the grace of God.”

-Dallas Willard

Jeremiah

The New International Version (Chapter 17)

5 This is what the LORD says:“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD.6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes.They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

To many people root themselves to things that don’t last and don’t bring fulfillment and wholeness, it is not surprising then they feel a lack of fulfillment and wholeness!

Jeremiah

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Not afraid of circumstances.

Growth isn’t dependent on the outputs but the inputs.

Bears fruit because of what/who is feeding it.

When we are rooted to Christ our growth is not based on our circumstances, our growth is based on our connection to Him.

When we are rooted in Christ we are loved, we are safe, and we are given greater purpose than we could imagine on our own.

Colossians

The New International Version (Chapter 2)

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.

Matthew

The New International Version (Chapter 25)

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.28 “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

What are you willing to invest for the Kingdom and the King?

Everybody can afford to invest something in the Kingdom and nobody can afford not to.

Small investments can make big impacts.

Look at the calls to commitment

If we want to experience the blessings of Christ and His community it will require commitment to them.

We are rooted to the Church because we are rooted to Christ.