What Grows Beneath

We're going to continue in that same spirit.

In Psalm 1, this is where we are studying in

this series. This series, Planted, is based off

of Psalm 1. And as I mentioned, again, last Sunday,

I invite everybody to meditate upon this psalm

in your devotion, in your prayer. Amen. I encourage

you when you pray to have your Bible open. Amen.

Or your app, whatever's convenient for you. And

then open up this psalm, Psalm 1. And then highlight

certain things there that stick out to you. You

might end up highlighting the whole thing, but

amen. And I encourage you to meditate on it.

I encourage you to memorize it. We might even

have some, like we used to do way back in the

days, some of you were even around, have somebody

come up and recite scripture. Maybe I might call

on somebody. Come up and recite Psalm 1. Now

I'm making you nervous. Praise God. We're not

going to do that today. But if somebody memorizes

it, then, you know, maybe we'll give you that

opportunity. Amen? We're going to begin reading

today at verse 2. Psalm 1, verse 2. But his delight

Psalms 1:2

is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he

meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree

planted by the rivers of water that brings forth

its fruit in its season. Whose leaf also shall

not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.

I'm going to speak today on the thought, what

grows beneath. What grows beneath. I'm going

to ask God to help me today. If I sound a little

congested, that's because the allergies have

gotten the best of me the last few days. I don't

know if anybody else there knows the struggle,

but we're doing everything we can to curb that.

But we're going to ask God to help us today.

How many are you going to pray for me right now?

Amen. God gives me the strength. Let's pray.

Father, I thank you for your presence that has

come and sat upon us today, God. The kabod, the

weight of glory. But God, we're asking that you

would speak to us now from your word. Grant us

the privilege, the opportunity, Lord, to receive

from heaven that manna that will nourish us,

that will strengthen us and edify us. I pray,

God, that you would anoint the hearing of every

person in this place, Lord, and that you would

anoint my lips of clay that I can speak this

word as you gave it to me, God. Give me the strength

at this hour. I give you all the glory and all

the praise in Jesus' name. Someone say amen.

Amen. God bless you. God bless you. You may be

seated. Last week, we began by comparing two

kinds of soil. Spiritual soil, toxic and healthy.

Toxic soil leads to decline. If I could just

give you a quick recap. Whereas healthy soil

fuels growth. But healthy soil comes at a price.

So we ended last week by looking at cultivation,

which involves breaking up the hard ground or

places in our hearts. But once soil is ready,

a seed can then be planted and allowed to grow.

A seed. not only represents the implanted Word

of God that brings forth life, but it also represents

you and I. Verse 3 gives us an image. It says,

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers

of water. Amen. I want you to, with me today,

as God helps us and illuminates our minds to

see how a seed is developed. And first thing

I want us to begin to look at is the tree or

this image of this seed that is planted in the

psalm and what that represents. we see that this

tree was not growing there by accident. Did not

appear there randomly. It was planted. Someone

say planted. It was planted. Now the reason why

that's important for us is because anything in

God does not grow in the wild. God doesn't establish

or God doesn't work that way. You might see something

in the natural world that's growing in the wild.

You say, I wonder how did that apple tree get

there? Now, it's possible that a seed may have

just by chance landed in that environment and

all of the conditions were ideal for it to thrive.

But for the most part, when you see a fruitful

tree or you see a tree that is thriving, it's

not there by accident, but it's there by intention.

I want you to understand today that planting

implies vision. That someone had an idea, had

a dream, had a goal, had a vision in their mind

of what would become one day. That tree that

we see in this psalm is not there haphazardly,

randomly. It's not a result of some spontaneous

thing that took place. It is there on purpose.

And spiritually, the same is true for you and

I. We, as the people of God, are not self -planted,

but we are divinely planted. God plants us. That

means that your existence, not only in this world,

but in the places that you may find yourself

in, the circumstances, are not on accident, but

your existence is by divine... God orchestration,

that God orchestrated and ordained our lives,

planted us where we are, even from the family

that we grew up in, the street that we grew up

on. All of those things are not by accident.

But if we truly believe that there is a sovereign

God. who providentially places us in certain

times and seasons, that we must recognize that

God must have planted us where we are. In fact,

Isaiah says this about the people of God. He

calls the people of God trees of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord, that he may be glory.

See, God wants to get glory out of where he plants

you. Amen, somebody. I said he wants to get glory

out of where he plants. He plants you where he

does so that ultimately he may be glorified.

So when that seed eventually sprouts and becomes

the tree or the fruitful life that it is, God

will look down at that life and say, look at

what I did. Look at what I planted. Amen. And

so God, he plants people. Amen. He plants people

in places, in seasons, and environments where

their calling or their lives can grow. This is

essential for us to understand so that we can

with more confidence appreciate where God has

us. I want to tell you that you being here today

is not by accident. You're not at City Light

by accident. And if you truly believe that at

one point or another you walked through those

doors and you got planted here, it's because

God ordained it. God planted you here. He ordained

it. He ordered your steps. Amen. And that's encouraging

to understand that God is not simply reacting

to my life. God is not simply reacting or...

responding to the things that I do. If my life

is truly in His hands, then come hell or high

water, despite whatever circumstances are surrounding

me, if I am here at this moment, at this very

hour, then I've got to believe that it was the

hand of God that prepared my life in order to

plant me here in this soil. And once that seed

is planted, something begins to happen beneath

the surface. There is a hidden process that is

taking place called germination. Germination.

Germination is that moment where that dormant

seed begins to wake up. It's that moment when

the seed finds itself deep beneath the soil.

And with the right conditions, it begins to come

alive. And life begins to form. The seed begins

to crack open and the very first sign of life

is not so much the leaf reaching up, but the

root growing downward. In the kingdom of God,

your greatest growth happens in hidden places.

Are you hearing what I'm saying so far? I'm talking

about your greatest growth happens in hidden

places. Places where nobody else can see. Places

where no one else can evaluate and look at. It

begins underground. And this is what Psalm 1

is describing. It's describing a germination

process, a hidden growth. This is... Symbolic

of the hidden growth of the believer. And what

I want and what I believe the Holy Spirit wants

his people to understand today about growth.

Because everyone talks about growth. I want to

grow. I want to grow in God. I want my ministry

to grow. I want my marriage to grow. I want my

life to grow. My career to grow. Everybody wants

to grow. But, you know, but then they want to

post Instagram stories about it along the way.

Check in at the gym. If you check in at the gym,

God bless you. I don't check in at the gym because

I'm not there. Now, I'm not saying there's something

wrong with it. If you want to post your journey,

go ahead. But understand that true growth happens

beneath the surface. Away from the crowds. Away

from the public eye. That's where growth happens.

And so the idea that I want to cement in your

hearts today is that if you want to grow, then

we need to commit ourselves to those things,

those spaces and places in God that are hidden.

Because if we devote ourselves and we serve the

Lord and we're committed in private, then he

will one day reward us in public. But we have

a generation that has reversed that concept and

they want God, they want to work things out in

public. They want to become something overnight.

They want to be platformed before they've gone

through a process. But the ways of God always

requires us to go through a hidden period of

germination. So what does a seed... need to germinate

because it won't just germinate simply because

you put it in some dirt. It needs some elements

in order to thrive. For a seed to germinate and

thrive, first of all, it needs water. Somebody

say water. It needs water to live. Without moisture,

a seed will remain dormant. The outer shell.

will never soften. And the life will never awaken

inside of it. And the process of growth will

never begin. This is why someone says that the

tree was planted by the rivers of water. So that

that seed can draw nourishment and moisture from

the river underground. The seed doesn't go, doesn't

climb out of the soil and go take a drink from

the river. That's not how a seed is replenished

or receives moisture. All the moisture that the

seed receives comes from underneath the ground.

Because I guarantee that the river you see on

a surface is only part of the story. There's

usually an underground current happening. proliferating

through the soil and reaching those plants and

those trees and shrubs and flowers that are around

it. And so the seed needs to draw nourishment

and life from the water in order for it to grow

into that stable, fruit -producing tree. It needs

to be planted. I want to tell somebody today

that That if we are like that seed being planted

in the purposes of God, then we must make sure

that our lives are connected to the river. Now

unlike rainfall, a river speaks of continual

supplies of water. I'm going to alert you to

something. The issue that I see that God began

to show me about how people water their seeds

today. In the Spirit. The issue that I see is

that many believers depend solely on spiritual

rainfall. Hear me today. Spiritual rainfall.

What is spiritual rainfall? They rely solely

on occasional and seasonal showers. Downpours

of the Spirit. And as a result, they go from

experience to experience. From service to service,

conference to conference, just waiting for the

rain to hit them. And I love the rain. How many

of you love when God just rains on you? Come

on now. I said, how many of you love when he

just rains on you? I love the rain. I love the

rain. And there's something about the rain that

it comes at a moment where you maybe, you need

a boost of life. You need to be recharged or

you need just a reminder that God is with you.

And God is so good that he'll send the rain sometimes.

But I want you to understand something, believer,

child of God. I want you to understand that you

cannot be sustained in this life just waiting

for the rain to fall. Because if so, you will

die in the droughts of life. Because you will

go through seasons of parchment and seasons of

dryness. It's not always raining. It's not always

coming down from, oh, when it happens, we love

it. Rain on me, you know, melodies from heaven.

We love when those things rain down on us. But

that's not life. Those are moments. Those are

precious times. Those are seasonal times. But

if you're going to make it as a child of God

all the way and endure to the very end and be

fruitful throughout this life, you've got to

be planted near a continual water source in the

spirit so that you can thrive. You cannot thrive

on rain alone. And I have seen it time and time

again. Christians who think that they can survive

simply on the rain. And they think that they

can survive simply on Sunday to Sunday. You won't

make it if you go just Sunday to Sunday. Come

on, are you hearing me today? I said you won't

make it. Priest with me here today. You're not

going to make it just going Sunday to Sunday.

I'm just waiting for pastor. Man, I'm dry. I'm

tired. I barely made it to the house of God.

Pastor, I hope you've got a good one for me today

because I am dry. Well, what have you been doing

all week? I mean, who have you been talking to?

Whose advice are you getting? Where are you drawing

your water from? And for many people, they're

not drawing it from anything. And they show up

and their seed is dry and brittle. And no wonder

God can't touch you the way that he wants to.

But if you get planted by the river of the spirit

and you are sure, spend time in the presence

of God. Why don't we just worship the Lord for

a moment right now. Hallelujah. Somebody magnify

Jesus with me here today. The Bible describes

the Holy Ghost as a river. Jesus said, he who

believes in me, as the scripture has said, out

of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

In this he spoke of the Spirit. I've got to be

planted near the river. And I've got a concern,

especially for many of you here today. You're

young in the Lord. Or you are maybe the next

generation coming up. And you need to learn how

to get planted by the river. Because living for

God is not all youth camps, brothers. It's not

all conferences. And it's not all revival services.

And it's not all big moments. learning how to

be sustained by the river each and every day.

Oh, but you say, but pastor, that's not easy.

You better believe it's not easy. You better

believe it's going to be a sacrifice every morning

where you set your clock to 6 or 5 a .m. and

you get up and you forget everything else and

you spend some time with the Lord in prayer and

you let the river water your spirit. It's not.

No wonder the devil fights you for that. No wonder

he. He wants you to hit the snooze button. Because

they know that if he cuts off the water supply,

that he cuts off your life. I'm going to tell

you the reason why so many are defeated. It's

not because that Jesus didn't die for them on

the cross. Because the blood is not powerful.

It's because people don't pray. They don't pray.

Nothing is more concerning, nothing is more alarming

in this hour than a prayerless church. I'm talking

about being planted near the river. And we've

got to pray. You say, Pastor, that's easy. You're

the pastor. Excuse me, I like to sleep in just

like everybody else. Come on. But you do what

you got to do. Someone say, just do it. Like

Nike. Just do it. It's not easy. And you know

what? If it was easy, then everybody would do

it. But it's the hidden places. Rainfall Christians

are sustained by moments, emotional highs. But

river Christians are sustained by a connection,

by being constantly fed, a continual supply of

prayer. Amen. Worship. How many of you love to

worship God? I said, how many of you love to

worship him? You can't just worship him on Sundays.

You know why churches are becoming more entertainment

driven? Oh, it got quiet when I said that. No,

no, no, just look around. Now, I'm not against

all those. I mean, you know, if we had a certain

kind of building, maybe I would. Don't get mad

at me one day if we might have certain lights

and things like that. But the reason why we become

so entertainment driven is because people by

and large have not spent time in the river all

week. And so they show up to church and they

need the rain to fall. They need you to create

an environment for them. Excuse me? I read throughout

my Bible, hardly ever do you see it. Tell me

what kind of environment did Paul and Silas have

when they were in that Philippian jail? Did they

have smoke machines and fog machines and lights

and all that? I mean, hey, I'm not here bashing

on anybody. But did they have, what kind of,

I'll tell you the kind of environment they had.

They were getting ready to be executed. They

were all chained up. But the Bible says at midnight.

That's the type of river that you have when you

are connected to the Spirit of God. I will praise

you, God, on the mountain. I'll praise you in

the valley. Hallelujah. I said, how many of you,

I mean, how many of you really love your Bible?

I love the Word. How many of you love the Word?

Take everything you want. Take my iPad. Take

my iMac. Take my phone. But don't take my Bible.

I love my Word. Amen. But I'm going to tell you

something. You can't make it if you just go preaching

to preaching. You got to get your Bible, amen,

and you got to get connected to the river. The

washing of the word. Amen, somebody. And spend

time and reading the word. And for you ministers

here today, don't just read the word when you're

getting ready to preach or give a Bible study.

Amen. Deacons, ministers, are you hearing me?

Everybody. There are some preachers that they

only study when they're getting ready for a message.

No, no, no. You got to be in the word. Daily.

Oh, every word that proceeds out of the mouth

of God, that's what I'm living by. Your word,

that's my daily bread. Amen. What else does the

seed need? I can stay on that even longer, but

let me move on. The seed also needs roots. Someone

say roots. It needs roots to survive. It's got

to have roots. A root has got to grow out of

that seed. The first thing that emerges from

a seed through germination is the primary root,

which anchors the seed into the soil and establishes

its stability. It grounds it. It establishes

that seed firmly in its place, and it acts as

an anchor to that seed. And that anchor, that

primary seed, that anchor root is a picture of

Jesus Christ. Jesus is our primary root. In Isaiah,

Christ is called the root of Jesse. And in that

day there shall be a root of Jesse who shall

stand as a banner. To the people, for the Gentiles,

that's you and I, shall seek him, and his resting

place shall be glorious. There shall be a root

of Jesse, and it shall be glorious. The root

of Jesse, if you're not familiar with that biblical

term, let me explain briefly what it represents,

what it means. The root of Jesse is a title that

speaks of the origin and lineage of Christ. Put

the next slide up. Jesse was King David's father.

He was the father of King David. And from that

family tree, ultimately, through generations,

would come the Messiah. So when Christ is referred

to as the root of Jesse, it's talking about his

ancestral line. And that he came through the

Davidic line, which started there with Jesse.

But this prophecy reveals that the Messiah would

not simply grow from that line, but would be

the root that sustains that line. Even to this

day. Because of the kingdom of God, there is

no end. So what we have in Christ, in Christ,

is an unmovable and unshakable root. A primary

root. Christ then is the anchor to our soul.

The chief. Cornerstone, as Paul put it. He's

the same. See, to qualify as the root, the primary

root of our life, it's got to be immovable. It's

got to be unshakable. It's got to be in position

at all times. It cannot deviate from where it

is. That's who Christ is. Why? Because he is

the same yesterday, today, and forever. God never

changes. Come on. Does somebody believe what

I'm saying here today? I said God never changes.

And so because God never changes, he is the primary

root. He is fixed. He is solid. He is in place.

Hallelujah. How many of you are thankful for

the primary root? I can stand upon the rock of

the primary root. Oh. Things might change in

this world, but one thing remains the same. The

Word of God, Jesus Christ, never changes. He's

the primary root. But from that primary root,

obviously other roots start to grow and expand.

These are secondary roots that begin to spread

out. These roots spread deeper. vein system into

the soil they don't replace the primary root

but they are extensions of the primary root and

they just solidify strengthen and secure even

more the placement of that seed and ultimately

the growth of that tree what could those primary

or secondary roots represent It can represent

the relationships that we have. The relationships

with the people of God. Amen. Roots in the word

of God. It can represent commitment to Christ.

Commitment to the church. These are all these

secondary roots that come out of that primary

root. Commitment to God. Commitment in being

faithful to God and the things that he, the more.

committed I am, the more faithful I am, even

in my giving, in my tithing, financially, all

of these things, the more roots extend from the

primary. Those don't replace the primary root,

but the more I extend from there, the more established

I am where God has me. And so what many of us

maybe not see is that we see a tree. We see maybe

a small tree that's coming up. And we think,

man, it must have shot. Little do you know that

beneath that tree, it's got a root system that

extends far. You don't know the price that that

tree has been paid. You don't know the sacrifices.

You don't know the commitments that that tree

has made through all of these secondary roots

that are spreading out and reaching into places

that maybe it thought it could never go. But

the more it begins to extend. God wants you to

get more. Listen here today. He wants you to

get more, not less, intertwined with the things

of God. More intertwined. Because the more intertwined

you get to the church, to the ministry, the harder

it gets to backslide. It's easier to backslide

when you have no roots, secondary roots into

the things I'm talking about. It's easier to

walk away from something when you have no skin

in the game. But when you have invested of your

life and of your time and your resources, I can't

just walk away. I can't just because I have extended

my root. I've got roots there. Sometimes people

may offer you, you know, something over there,

a job across the country. Come over here, you

know, we'll hook you up, you know, give you the

best offer you can imagine. And you got to think

about, well. But how can I establish myself?

And sometimes people say, well, I can't leave

because all of my roots are here. But people

with shallow roots are like tumbleweeds. You

ever seen a tumbleweed? Just drive down Highway

5 one of these days or 99 and you'll see some

of them going across the highway. A tumbleweed

has got a lot going on on the top, right? It

makes a lot of movement, but it's got no roots.

And people can become like that. You know why?

Because they get blown away with every wind of

doctrine. Blown away with every rumor. Blown

away with everything. With every circumstance.

Blown away with every trial. Blown away. Now

you see me. Now you don't. They get blown away

and blown away because they're not rooted. They're

not founded. They're not grounded in the things

of God. But the more rooted you are, the more

stable you become. Amen, somebody. I don't want

to be a tumbleweed. I don't want to be going

with every drift and every wind. in every trend,

in every fashion. I want to be established where

God has me. I don't want to be a tumbleweed.

But this is how some people are. They're tumbleweed.

They've got no roots. But God is calling us today

to grow not just upwards but down. You can't

grow up until you first grow down. And the further

down I grow in hidden places. Now, see, people

don't get too excited about this sometimes because...

Again, we live in a world that just wants to

see everything. But God does his greatest work

in hidden places. So it needs water. The seed

to germinate needs roots. And thirdly, before

I close, the seed needs darkness to grow. Somebody

say darkness. Most seeds germinate in darkness.

Once the seed is planted, it disappears beneath

the soil. It is buried, covered, hidden from

the light. And for a while there's no evidence

that anything is happening. No leaves, no fruit,

no outward sign. just darkness. And that dark

period of germination is the hardest part because

there is no visible progress. The most discouraging

part of the seed planting and growth process

is that period where nothing seems to be happening

because nothing is sprouting. Nothing is breaking

the surface. After time and work, labor and effort,

we live in a world that celebrates the visible.

We live in a world that wants immediate evidence,

instant results. But that's not how God works.

God works in dark places. God works in hidden

places, in secret places. And if you ever, if

you want to understand what the secret is to

a blessed life, to a fruitful life, then you

need to get comfortable with the darkness. You

need to understand the purpose of darkness. I

feel the Spirit of God right now. Purpose of

darkness. Not everything about darkness is bad.

I know we think darkness is, ooh, man, must be

evil. No. Not always bad. I've learned that that's

where God really forms you and reveals his glory.

Let me point you to a verse that recently has

spoke to me, and I pray that it ministers to

you. Isaiah 45 and verse 3. Says, and I will

give you the treasures of darkness. And the hidden

riches of secret places. So that you may know

that I, the Lord, who call you by your name,

am the God of Israel. How many think that's a

powerful verse? Can I tell you that there are

treasures in darkness? I said there are treasures

in darkness. There are some things that you won't

see in the light, you can only see in the dark.

Some things you'll never see in the light, you

only see in the dark. Treasures. Now to the outside,

it may not look as so. But when you find yourself

there, you realize that in that dark place, and

there might be somebody here today that finds

himself in that dark place somewhere in your

life, in that dark place. You need to know this,

that God has not forgotten about you. God placed

you where he did for a purpose. Remember, God

doesn't do anything by accident. Come on now,

somebody. He didn't put you in that family by

accident. He didn't put you in this church by

accident. He didn't put you in your marriage

by accident. He didn't put you in your ministry

by accident. You're there because God wanted

you there. Now it's dark and there's no light

and it feels like you're being buried. No, you're

not being buried. You're being planted. Come

on now, somebody. It's not a funeral. It's a

celebration of what God is going to do in your

life. Would you stand with me at this hour? Hallelujah,

God. Oh, my Jesus. Hallelujah, God. I need a

minister here for a moment. I don't want you

to play too much or too loud yet. I need a minister

here for a moment. I feel the Holy Ghost moving

in this place right now. Can I talk to you for

a few more moments? Is that all right? I've got

to share some things with you right now in my

spirit. Put the verse back up. I need everybody

to see this again. Put it back up. Isaiah. The

one right before that. I can preach a message

just on this one verse. Listen. I will give you

treasures of darkness. You know why? Because.

Nobody puts a treasure in a visible place. What

makes it a treasure, Brother Kevin, is because

it's buried somewhere. The moment that it's not

buried, it's no longer a treasure. It's free.

Some of you have been praying for the treasures

of God, but you won't let him plant you. What

is that treasure for you? For some of you, it's

a new job, a new relationship, a new ministry,

a new blessing. Let God plant you. It might get

dark. But watch what it begins to say. In the

hidden riches of secret places. The secret place

of prayer. Oh, where nobody's seen. It's not

postable. It's not Instagram worthy. But that's

all right. God's forming you. When you're practicing

in the secret place. Where are the musicians

at, brother? When you're practicing. You're preparing

yourself in the secret place, right? You don't

got the cameras on while some people do, but

you know, you're preparing yourself. You're getting

ready in the secret place. But watch this. There

comes a point where you're in that dark place,

the seed, where I think the seed starts wondering,

like, okay, okay. Like, I get it. I get it. You're

trying to teach me something. Obviously, I'm

not learning. Here I am again. I'm back in the

same place emotionally. I'm back in the same

place spiritually. So what is it? And so you

get to a point where you're almost about to lose

your mind. You're like, okay, God, how much more

can I do? How longer could it be? And then you

almost start to entertain these thoughts in your

mind. Like, well, maybe God has just bypassed

me. Maybe. Maybe he's moved on. It gets to a

point when you're serving and you're working

and you're doing things behind the scenes with

no credit, with no applause of men, and you're

striving and you're forming and you're building

and you're in the workshop and you're in the

garage or you're in your room and you're not

getting any kind of attention for it and you're

just serving. Sometimes it's week after week.

Sometimes it's year after year. And you're just

working, and you're in that dark place, and you

begin to wonder, did you ever, did you really

call me, God? Did you really call me? But I want

you to know, brothers and sisters, I feel this

in the Holy Ghost, that while you're up in your

house cleaning and doing, on the job, commuting

back and forth to work, and maybe you don't feel

a appreciated, or maybe you feel like you're

wasting your time, you're grinding your wheel.

Maybe you feel like you're not getting where

you need to go. Maybe you feel like God has forgotten

about you. Maybe you feel like time has passed

you by, and it's too late now. I've come to tell

you that even in those dark moments, you've got

a God that still knows your name. I said God

knows your name, and he still calls you, and

he still loves you.