This morning I want to preach a message to you "Being rooted and grounded". This is a term that we hear a lot in Christian circles but what does it really mean? Proverbs 12:3, "A man is not established by wickedness but the root of the righteous cannot be moved". 

 Father, we thank you today for your word. Jesus we thank you that you are our righteousness, our hope and our creator. Father, may we decrease and may you increase, in Jesus name, amen.

I did not feel led to preach a patriotic message this morning. How many know lives are changed one person at a time, one root at a time, one life at a time? America will be changed one life at a time. All of us know that there is a big difference between a deep rooted Christian and a shallow Christian. The Bible talks often about those who are righteous. There's something special about the righteous. There is something special about a person who is surrendered to God and they are in right standing with God, those who are upright, who live moral, godly lives, who live according to the word of God. Those type of people shall not be moved and this is powerful. 

One of the things that I believe God is wanting to make sure of is that his people, those who know him, are solid and sound in Jesus. This has become in my life a strong urgency that I feel that God is doing in the body of Christ, not only souls being saved but people becoming solid in the Lord. Those who are rooted in God cannot be moved. Those who have roots that go deep cannot be shaken. Those that have roots in the Lord will grow and have a life that is thriving. 

The truth is this, as Christians we might be shaken. I have an oak tree in my front yard that has survived many storms. That tree is so deeply rooted, it has been shaken and has had some things done to it, but that tree is still there, it's standing strong and it is a tree that is not going to go anywhere. 

I want you to look with me at Ephesians 3:17-19. The truth is this, there are going to be storms in life and there will be things that will shake and things that you and I will go through but we will be rooted and grounded. Ephesians 3:17-19 says, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the width, the length, the depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God". Being rooted and grounded is important that we would know the greatness and the love of God so we can be filled with Christ. 

I'm amazed at the love of God, I'm amazed at the things the Lord has taken me through and has shown me his compassion and his heart. I am amazed that the savior of the world could care so deeply about me and could care so deeply about each and every one of us. How many in this room have known the love of God through the good times and the bad when he's wrapped his arms around us and graced us with his presence just knowing that he's as close as the mention of his name? God desires that we know all the fulness of who he is and that we are filled with all that he is.

Today we're going to look at what it means to be rooted and grounded like a tree is grounded and a building that is on a solid foundation. That is the kind of life that God wants every one of us to have. Listen, the place that we start being rooted in the Lord is in the love of God. Verses 16-17, "That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man". Now listen to me, the work that God does in our lives is deep. That term ?inner man' is talking about the part that really is uniquely you and me, the one that makes us who we are, the deepest parts of our being. Verse 17 says, "That Christ may dwell in your heart through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love". 

The work of love is an inside job, the work that God has to do within each and every one of us must go to the very core of who we are. The Lord who loves us does a work that is so deep and so moving. The most unstable people in the world are those who are unloved. People who really seem to drift to and fro throughout life, those that have the most trouble are those who aren't loved. 

I want you to hear me this morning, having counseled many people, I've watched husbands and wives struggle who aren't loved by their spouse. I've watched people become adults who did not receive the love they needed as children because parents didn't pour into their life. Those are people who become unstable because the love was not stable in them. Love is what stabilizes our life. Those who know the love of God, it can undo anything that any man has ever done to you through your childhood or your adulthood or whatever has taken place, it is the love of God that comes and roots and grounds a person. 

The truth is this, anyone who comes to Jesus and begins to walk in all that he has for them, as unstable as their life is will begin to get rooted. If you know that your life is unstable, if you can find that you're just drifting here and there, your thoughts are a mess, your actions are a mess, I want to encourage you, just begin to stop and stay yourself in the life that Christ has for you. Love will strengthen the inner man and the first step of real growth is receiving the love of God. 

I want you to hear me this morning, if you feel like your life is unstable, you don't need to quit your marriage and move somewhere else, you don't need to ditch your kids and go somewhere else, you don't need to quit your job and go somewhere else, you don't need to move to another place and try to start over. The place where you start is with Jesus. I know that there are many, even in the body of Christ, their life has been a series of moves and of changes, really trying to find out what fits to make life work. Just stop and plant yourself in the love of the Lord. Begin to receive what he has for your life.

Those who are loved by God will receive deep healing of God that only he can give. This is how roots go deep. I don't care if your family has left you, the love of God is able to heal you. The damage that the world has done to you, the struggles that you've faced and the hurts that you've been through, if you will just stop and allow yourself to be rooted in God's love, you will begin to be nourished deeper than you've ever been nourished before. Wife, I want to tell you, your husband will never be able to fulfill that place that only Jesus fulfills. Husband, your wife will never be able to do that for you. Children, your parents will never fully be able to fill that place. Man, your job, when you go to look for that security and have that sense of fulfillment will never cause you to have that strong sense of peace and accomplishment that you have always hoped for. Only the love of Christ begins to do that.

The truth is this, those who are rooted in the love of God are not based on what's going on outside and all around them, their life is stable and secure because they are receiving life from the savior himself. That means no matter what happens, no matter what situation you find yourself in, you are always drawing from something that is deeper than you are, the life of God.

Those who are loved by God know they are accepted. Those who are loved by God aren't so greatly needy or easily offended. The truth is this, if you don't know that you are loved by the Lord and you don't have that security in your life, all someone has to do is ignore you in the hallway at church and you're going to feel like your whole life is falling apart. How many know you've got to have a little more strength than that? When the love of God is so deep inside of you, someone who may not like you and someone who you may have respected may come up and begin to say the nastiest things in your face that could tear you from head to toe but if you've got the love of God in your heart you won't be moved by what they say, you'll be rooted in love. No matter what happens in life, if the love of God is there you will know that he's there to care for you. 

Those who are rooted in love are not top heavy. I want to encourage you, If you're always looking to somebody else and having to call someone here and there so that you can have strength just to make it through your day then your roots need to grow deeper. A tree that is top heavy but not root deep will fall over in a heartbeat.

Those who are not rooted in love are top heavy, always reaching in another direction to collect what they need instead of going deep and finding what is there in the Lord. Listen, those that are rooted draw from the deep reserves of God and don't draw from what the world offers, they draw from the deep reserves.  One of the signs of being rooted in God is that he heals deep insecurities and past failures and hurts. Some of you have been hurt, some of you have been wounded and the Lord is there to heal. 

Church, I want you to hear me, the truth is that as we are fulfilling the vision and the call that God has for our church we are touching this world. God is going to bring into this congregation many hurting and wounded people. All the philosophy that we can give, all the counseling we can give, all the kind words that we need to offer are nothing compared to the love of God. I want to encourage us, as we begin to touch this world, we need to help them find deep roots in Jesus. That will only happen if you and I have those deep roots in the love of the Lord. 

Those with deep roots won't have open wounds for long. How many of you have ever been cut and wounded by somebody else? Everyone of us in this room. But those who have deep roots in the Lord, the longer a tree matures, the more that a tree grows, the deeper the roots go, the less it stays hurt. I remember there was a tree that had one of those cords wrapped around it in order to dry clothes on it. That cord had been stretched so tight that it began to cut into the tree. You know what that tree began to do? In just a couple months that tree grew around its hurt, it enveloped it and began to heal. You couldn't even see that there was something there anymore. It was impossible then to remove that cord, the tree had made sure that it was healed and that it was solid, nothing could take it down. Why? Because it was rooted and it went deep. 

I want you to hear me, you will absorb what you are planted in. Christian, you will become what you are planted in. if you plant yourself in bitterness and disappointment then that's what you will begin to exude. But if you are rooted in the love of God then no matter what happens to your life, no matter what goes on you will begin to show the love of God, it's a powerful thing. 

Those who are rooted have a righteous life and a righteous thought life. We live what we think. Proverbs 12:5 says, "The thoughts of the righteous are right". Everything starts with a thought. How many know that Jesus knows your thoughts? He knows what you're thinking right now.  

So many times we look at the wicked or we look at Christians and we automatically think about what they're saying but there is something uniquely different because if you are rooted in Christ you are changed from the inside out. That means long before you begin to do, you will be and that is something that will affect what you think. "The thoughts of the righteous are right".

The root of many ideas start with our thinking and those that are rooted in Christ have the mind of Christ. They are drawing from what he thinks, drawing from what he knows and those who are not established, those who are struggling in life, those who do not have the peace of God in their life show that their thoughts are not wrapped around God.

Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you". What is perfect peace? It is the peace that doesn't leave you no matter what you're going through. Unperfect peace means that I'm ok this hour but I'm not ok the next hour. Then the next day I'm ok but the next day I'm not ok. Perfect peace is that peace that stays constant throughout your life. It is the perfect peace of God. Listen, "He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on the Lord". 

When you are rooted in Christ your thoughts will stay the same in the Lord whether you are going through the good times or the emergencies of life. The reason why so many things are unstable in our life is because our thoughts are unstable. We immediately go to the worst case scenario. It's interesting to me when I counsel Christians and they're just swaying in the breeze. If you are rooted in the love of God, instead of starting at the worst case scenario and working backwards, they start with Jesus and move forward with him in their life. If you'll do that, you won't get to the worst case. God will be with you.

Those who are rooted keep their minds fixed on the things of God and the ways of God. When we begin to waver in our thinking then we start to become unstable in areas of sin, areas of worry, doubt, unforgiveness and even panic. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things". We need more fixing our mind on Jesus.

Being rooted and grounded means a life that produces fruit. Do you realize that the only tree Jesus ever cursed, the only time that Jesus ever cursed anything was when he found a tree that didn't produce any fruit. He was hungry, he wanted something good, he found a tree that wasn't doing anything like it should, he cursed the tree and it withered and died. I want you to hear me, if a church doesn't produce fruit there will be nothing left. How many know we should be about the Father's business? 

All over America churches are withering and dying. Even in our city, churches that used to seat thousands that now only have about 50 people sitting in their big auditoriums. They weren't producing fruit. The reason why we see God doing a work here at Harvest is because we're producing fruit. May there never ever be a time when we don't produce fruit. I promise you that the moment this church stops winning souls, the moment we stop healing hurts, the moment we stop encouraging and helping people come to Jesus is the moment we'll have an empty sanctuary. I want you to listen to me, I don't believe that's God's will at all. How many are looking forward to the things that God is doing in this place? 

Being rooted and grounded means a life that produces fruit. Proverbs 12:12 says, "The wicked covet the catch of evil men but the root of the righteous yields fruit". What does it mean to be rooted and grounded? That our lives begin to produce fruit. The Lord showed me something last night, the wicked want what someone else has and they try to take it for themselves without doing the work that it takes to have what that person has. But the righteous dig in deep, they dig in deep to the God life and they grow into these things. Today, people look at the righteous and they want some kind of transferance from that person. There are no shortcuts with God. What they want is for someone to just lay hands on them so they can have it for themselves. That doesn't happen, that's lazy. Trees put down roots and they grow. Christian, put your roots down deep. 

Those established in Christ will have an evidence of the Lord in every area. First, there will be the fruit of love for others. If you're rooted and grounded in love, it's easy to love other people. Secondly, there will be fruit of a Godly self control and holy life. There will be evidence that you're a Christian. If you're a believer I probably didn't find you at your neighbor's house getting drunk with your neighbors. You may have been watching the fireworks but you weren't getting drunk with them. That's a sign of a holy life. How many know they're watching your life? 

A life that is rooted in Christ will be reflected in your speech. Proverbs 12:14 says, "A man will be satisfied by the fruit of his mouth". Good fruit is evident and it comes from abiding in God. He is the vine and we're the branches and apart from Him, the Bible says, we can do nothing. Think about that. God never expects you and I to be something that he won't equip us for. That's why it's important that we're rooted in who he is.

Listen, a fruitful life is evident. The idea that I want to say this morning of bearing fruit could be the whole message because when God equips us he expects results. John 15:16 says, "You did not choose me but I chose you and I appointed you that you should go bear fruit and that you're fruit should remain". That means that your fruit would last, that it would stay and be good fruit. Those rooted in Christ fulfill his appointment. The truth is that all fruit has seed and that one piece of fruit will produce alot more fruit. If you plant an apple seed you expect to get an apple tree that produces lots of apples, not just one apple. All fruit has seed. Good trees produce fruit that produce other trees that produce fruit. That's called disciple making. What you and I do in our lives to touch others, we will see others come to the Lord. 

Proverbs 11:30 says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life". That means that not only will your life be lived for the glory of God but the fruit that you and I give will begin to produce a life that brings glory to the Lord. 

A rooted life is a fruitful life that brings life to others and I think that is one of the most powerful things we could ever talk about. Let me ask you this morning, are you fruity or are you fruitful? Lots of us have met alot of fruity Christians. But a fruitful Christian produces life in others. A fruity Christian talks about producing life in others but does nothing, they do alot of goofy things in the name of Jesus and you're just wondering if their head is screwed on tight. Fruitful ones bring life. 

One proof of a firmly rooted life is that it produces good fruit and recognizes the difference between good fruit and bad fruit even if it looks similar. Those that are rooted and grounded in the Lord know the difference. Matthew 7:15-20, "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves". What does that mean? It means they're wrong, they look like a Christian and might smell like a Christian but they're not a Christian. You will know them by their fruits. "Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit and a good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them". 

Those who are rooted are not tossed around by every wind and fruity doctrine thats out there. They don't run to every so called move of God, they test it to see if its true. Those who are rooted are certain of what they know and of what they believe and they know the word of God. Those that are rooted in God don't have to go here and there to get a touch from God. They are already in touch with God because they are rooted and grounded in the Lord. I'm not telling you not to go to different meetings, there are great teachers and marvelous stuff going on out there but listen, you and I must be rooted in the Lord and those who aren't will be swayed every way and wind up confused by all the different teachings. Those who are rooted in the Lord will know the truth and they will recognize it.

Colossians 2:6-8, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with thnaksgiving". My prayer is that as Christians we will know true fruit. We are not called to be judgmental nor to be fruit inspectors but I want you to hear me, even a child knows the difference between an apple and a spoiled banana.

Lastly, those who are rooted and grounded are humble, they walk with Jesus. They remember where they came from and what God has brought them through and they never lose sight of it. How many of you this morning can think of one trial that God has brought you through? Something happens when you're rooted in the Lord. Trials may come but you've already been through and your roots are firm. Your tree won't be cut down, it's not going to be ripped apart, it's not going to be burned. It might be shaken but you've been through it. 

How many of you have a testimony of what God has done and are so thankful for what Jesus has done in your life? Part of that is that rooting and grounding. Something happens each time you go through something and you root in the love of God, the roots grow deeper, they get stronger, instead of reaching with an arm out here trying to find something in the world. If you think things are a little unstable in your life, a good tree when it needs more nourishment just puts down another root. That's a child of God that is rooted and grounded in the Lord, the tap root goes down so deep you can't touch it and it's putting down other roots because it needed the nourishment. That's what believers do thats rooted in Jesus. 

If you're a Christian you will face storms and you're going to go through seasons of drought but you will stand and produce good fruit. Thats what it means to be rooted and grounded. Some of you are amazed at the things that you've been through, storms that have left you a little windblown, maybe a little pruned but you're still intact, still on solid footing, still strong and healthy. I want you to hear me, that's a mature tree, one that stays and one that lasts. Listen, that is what it means to be rooted and grounded in Jesus. I want to tell you, that's what I believe God is doing in people's lives. I believe that God is bringing his people back to that kind of a faith, back to that kind of a grounding, back to knowing the word that's planted.  Remember last week we talked about the implanted word where it is so strong it goes down deep rooted and grounded in the Lord. 

Christian, I want to tell you God is determined to make sure that you are solid in Him. If you will just plant yourself deeply in the soil of God's love you will not be moved. Your life will produce so much fruit you will be amazed at the lives you touch. Lives that will be changed because of your life being changed. I've watched the trials that God's people are going through. People come to me and say, "Pastor, it seems like it's stronger than ever before". I want you to hear me, you're not imagining things, it is. God, how can this be your will? Rooted and grounded in Jesus, he is faithful. Some of you are going through so many trials of life but you're still standing. The enemy would want you to look around and feel like you're a mess, like you're nothing. Listen, you're still standing. You've been rooted and planted and grounded and you're doing well. You've tapped into Jesus and you're still producing fruit in your life. That's awesome. The enemy wants to take that from you, he's a liar but your roots are deep in Jesus. He loves you, he cares for you. 

Some of you in this room, you've been kind of scattered, running here and there, bending this way and that way, a little top heavy, easily offended, easily hurt. You get cut and three years later you're still dwelling on the same hurt. It's time to put down roots into the love of God. Only you can do that, only you. This isn't a chastisement, this is an encouragement to grow. Allow yourself to go beyond that hurt, allow Jesus to heal that hurt, he will change your life and it will be powerful. 

Spirit of God, we thank you for being in this place today. Lord, we thank you that God we are able to have all the nourishment and help we could ever need. I thank you for your strength. We just put down the roots but in your faithfulness we find the nourishment. 

You may say, "Pastor, I'm one of those people who has hurts in my life and today I know I need to put down some roots. I'm ready to grow, I'm ready to receive the healing that God has for me". Jesus is going to do it. You may say, "Pastor, the enemy has been beating on me but I'm still standing. I've been getting discouraged but I recognize that I'm standing and I am strong. Jesus is my savior and I'm not going to let the enemy beat me anymore". If you need that maturity of God in your life and you recognize that today you need to grow deeper in Him, today you can commit all that, to allow your life to be so thoroughly rooted in Him because you want to be His. 

Jesus, I thank you for your presence in this place today. Lord, you saw every hand that went up and already, Holy Spirit, you've gone through this room. You've begun to touch the inner man of each person, strengthening, healing, encouraging, blessing. I pray today, Jesus, for that solid work to be done now. Heal the hurts, touch their heart, calm their mind, may they begin to look at life and see it beautiful again. Even in the midst of the trials that they have, may they recognize a beautiful day and recognize your provision. 

Jesus, I pray now for those who have been blown about but they're still standing and they recognize it. Lord, their branches have been a little tossed, they've been pruned but new life is beginning to come out of them. I pray Lord that you would begin to encourage them, instead of looking at themselves as the failure because they've gone through it, I pray that they would see that they've stayed. Lord, I pray now that as that revelation hits their heart, that Father, your love would just begin to surround them. Instead of feeling beat up anymore they would feel loved on, cared for. Jesus, may they begin to feel strong. They've gone through the battle, they're tired, but I pray your strength now would touch them so deeply that it would even begin to affect their countenance, that a smile would come on their face and they would walk a little taller and straighter, not because of pride but because of the confidence that you've put in them and the work that you've done. 

I thank you Lord that you keep us humble. Even those Christians that have been through things, as we lay hands, and we see fruit coming out of our lives, we remember where we come from, we remember our sinful past. We remember what you've delivered us out of. Jesus, none of this would be possible except for you. This morning we give you the glory for a changed life, for a solid foundation. I pray that as a church, we would produce fruit that would remain in our families, in this city and we'll give you the glory, Lord, not for fruitiness but for fruitfulness. We give you all the praise in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen