Deep Roots | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Because we know that He is forever glorified, Lord.

We thank you, and we know that you are forever glorified.

We lift you up.

We say hallelujah, God.

We continuously give you the praise.

We will bless the Lord at all times, and your praise shall continuously be in our mouths.

That is our declaration.

And Father, it's with great expectation that we invite you in, God, knowing that you're going to speak to us, you're going to stir our hearts, you're going to change our lives as a result of what you do here today.

You're the guest of honor.

This is not a show, it's not a performance.

We're not trying to impress man, we're trying to move by the impression of your spirit.

So, Father, we ask for you to do what only you can do.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

Church, we put our hands together for the activity of God and what he's doing.

And you guys know how we do, man.

Let's show some love to our worship team.

Thank you guys so much for leading us in worship every single week.

We are so, so glad that you are here with us today.

You guys are welcome to take your seats, but as you're doing it'll turn around and say hello and welcome to someone around you.

Show yourselves friendly, smile, wave all the things.

I promise we do not bite.

My name is uh Keith and um my wife and I we have the incredible privilege of serving as the pastors here at Celebration Orlando.

We're so so glad that you're here.

Whether you're joining us in person, maybe you're part of our online family.

We're so glad that you're here with us today.

If you are part of our online family, we want to give you a special invitation.

And if you're ever in the area, um, please come by and check us out.

We would love to meet you in person.

If you're new here uh today, make sure you check us out at the front uh tent, man.

We would love to answer any questions, just connect with you and and just let you know that we're so so grateful that you are here with us today.

If you have your Bibles, I want you to go ahead and join me in uh Psalm 92.

Psalm 92.

While you're turning there, let me give you a little bit of of context and background.

We're in week two um of our uh of our series flourish.

And and really what the idea of this series is really meant to be, the idea that the heart behind it all is really for us to get an image and really grab a hold of what it is that God sees for every single one of us.

To grab this hold of what scripture says about us.

Let me let me paint this picture for you.

You'll find that next to God and man, the very next most mentioned thing in all of scripture is plant life, trees, flowers, next to God and man.

And what you'll find is that in scripture there are over 800 passages that directly connect mankind to plants, in other words, where the language from plants are associated with man, be fruitful.

Ideas like that, break up the fallow ground, things we're talking about just now.

This idea of God connecting, a very visual thing that we can understand and saying, like, hey, when you think of the idea of a flourishing garden, when you think of a beautiful garden with flowers and fruit and all these things available, that's what I want your life to look like.

God is painting this picture of what our lives are intended to be, but we also know in order for us to truly have a fruitful garden, it takes work.

The same can be said of us.

In order for us to truly have fruitful lives, to have this life that God has for us, it takes work.

We have to break up the fallow ground, we have to do some things in order for us to truly do it.

To flourish simply means this: it means to sprout, it means to break forth, it means to be fruitful, it means to grow, to blossom.

Ultimately, it means to thrive.

Um, I I love my my daughter uses that word all the time.

Whenever I ask how she's doing, she says, I'm thriving right now.

That lets me know that she is being fruitful, she's in a good place, I'm thriving, I'm I'm in my happy place, I'm doing well.

What if I were to tell you that that's God's intention for every single one of us?

Is that when someone asks us how we're doing, man, I'm thriving.

I am doing incredibly well.

That's the image that God has for us.

Our foundation scripture is the passage that we're gonna spend some time in uh today.

I referenced it last week, but this is gonna be the main place that we spend today as we unpack this, is in Psalm 92.

Last week we spoke from this idea of what does it mean to be the Garden of Eden and being extensions of the tree of life.

So if you didn't get a chance to hear that message, go back and check it out because I think that sets the tone and the foundation for where we're going in this series.

Literally, every message will build on the previous one.

In Psalm 92, um, it continues in that thought process.

And so here's what it says, beginning at verse number 12.

But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow like the cedars of Lebanon, for they are transplanted in the Lord's own house, they flourish in the courts of our God, even in old age, they will produce fruit, they will remain vital and green.

This idea that that mankind's life, righteousness, means that we should we should grow like palm trees, flourish like cedar trees, and be planted in the house of God.

I think that there's some things there that God is trying to communicate to us today.

So, what I want to do today for our next few moments where we spend this time together, I want you to take notes.

And of course, we know at Celebration Orlando, we take notes because that's how you make it to heaven.

Um don't repeat that anywhere, but it seems right when I say it.

But I want you to write this message title down Deep Roots, deep roots.

Let's pray and let's get into it.

Lord, we thank you so much for your word.

We thank you for opportunities like this where we can come and gather in your name, uh, prioritizing you in our week, Father, allowing you to be glorified in all that we do.

So, God, I just pray um over the next few moments that you give us open eyes to see you.

I pray that you give us open ears to hear you and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

We honor you.

Holy Spirit, we invite you to speak to us, to stir us, to challenge us, to inspire us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen and amen.

You know, there's there's a couple of things um that I've learned in life.

You know, I've often heard it say, like true for the natural, true for the spirit.

And so there's some things that I've learned in the natural that I've also seen that translate in the spirit.

Case in point, I I've learned a lot of things and how God can move just through the simple process of a home building process.

You guys have heard me talk a little bit about that.

Somebody back there, you know what I'm talking about.

Like the home building process, it really does reveal a lot of things because you know you have to have a strong foundation.

You gotta go through all that.

But before you get the foundation, you gotta first be approved.

Come on, somebody, God approves us.

Like, so there's always these parallels that that help us to kind of make connections between what's happening in our lives, but what also is happening in the spirit.

So you have the foundation, you have structures, you have blueprints, like all those things you can you can pull from it.

Um, and so I remember for Megan and I, like it was nothing, it was like everything was a learning experience for us every step of the way when we built our house several years ago.

And so I just remember like in my journal, taking pictures of the lot and and saying and pulling out scriptures that support it.

It was all beautiful.

But then when you get kind of close to that closing date, you're like, yo, man, like the clock is ticking.

Like it was closing week, and I was like, yo, they got a lot of work to get done.

Like there were still a lot of things that got to get done.

So I'm like, yo, like, how are y'all gonna meet this timeline?

I gotta get out of this house, I gotta move into my house, so we gotta make this thing happen.

But the thing I think that was the most fascinating to me while they were doing all the work inside the house is that the landscaping still wasn't done.

Like everything was built, the structures were there, they were putting in the finishing touches, they were bringing in the refrigerators, all those things were coming in.

But man, like there still was nothing but dirt outside in the front yard.

So I'm like, I don't know how this is gonna work.

So I'm telling you that the the day before, the day before we were supposed to close, we rode by the house, and when we rode by, like it was beautiful.

Like I had not I had never seen anything like that where the grass was there, the trees were there, they even had the sprinkler, the water around them, like who's paying for that?

But it was like the water was running, like it was it was amazing.

It was like a it was like a garden oasis that just happened to take place overnight.

So I'm like, man, how how did how did this happen?

Because in my mind, I'm thinking the way that things grow is you plant the seed, you allow the seed to take root, you allow it to kind of break through, and that's the process of it.

But apparently, when you're building a house, that's not what they do.

They have a whole separate environment where they already have these things being taken care of, and then they just roll it out and roll it out in your front yard.

So literally they just rolled the grass out like it was a carpet.

So I'm like, this is awesome.

So we showed up on our first day at home, and our house looked flourishing.

It was great, it was what we called flourishing.

Well, a couple months later, across the street from us, another house was being worked on, and they were going through the same process.

And so I remember when the gentleman would come, like, man, they don't even have the yards.

And I'm like, hey man, let me tell you, I'm an expert.

It's gonna be okay.

They're gonna they're gonna show up, they're gonna roll it out, man.

You're gonna meet your clothes date, it's gonna be absolutely beautiful.

He's like, All right, man, I I trust you.

I'm like, you should, I'm a pastor.

So he he he trusted me, and and everything went good.

But here's the crazy thing that happened.

Um, they had moved into their home and they were living there probably about two weeks, living there about two weeks.

But of course, we live in Florida, so hurricane season came.

And so hurricane season comes, the wind's blowing, it's getting crazy outside, and here's what I began to notice for all those new homes where the grass hadn't taken root yet, that carpet slash grass started blowing off.

It was it was terrifying and hilarious at the same time.

Like it was like a bad toupee in a windstorm.

Like you just saw like this, the grass just holding on.

You're like, oh my god, like this is this is so ridiculous.

Trees were beginning to lean over.

Like it looked a hot nest, y'all.

Now, my yard was good because we got in there prior to our stuff began to take root.

But as I'm looking around the neighborhood at all these homes that I thought were further developed that had deeper roots, it comes to find out that when the wind blew hard enough, you began to really reveal what was rooted and what wasn't.

I could wrap this message up right now.

It looked good on the surface, it really did.

It looked beautiful, it was luxurious, it was beautiful.

The sprinkler systems were going strong, but all it took was a little bit of wind to reveal that what was on the surface was not what's happening beneath the surface.

It lacked roots.

And and my concern for many of us, we've gotten to be really, really good at flexing for the gram.

We've gotten really good at presenting a version of our lives that looks really good, but I'm I'm I'm concerned that when a little bit of wind comes, you quickly find out that we're not rooted.

You you quickly find out that we're not rooted, or it's revealed what we have placed our roots in.

See, what I think we have to understand is this before we grow up, we gotta grow down.

I'm telling y'all, I'm just getting started.

Before we can be expected to produce fruit, we gotta we gotta first develop deeper roots.

This is why Paul, this is why the apostle Paul, when he is talking to the church in Ephesus, he says, Listen, I don't want you to be like small children being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.

You know what was happening there?

What was happening in the church of Ephesus is that people were showing up and sowing confusion into their belief systems.

And so instead of them being rooted in what they heard the apostles say, instead of them being rooted in the word of God, they were constantly being blown away by another person's opinion.

Isn't it fascinating that we got so many experts, but nobody wants to be a student?

Oh man, I got some things on my heart, y'all.

Everybody's an expert, right?

Everybody's an expert, but but nobody's a student.

And so because we're not students, which means we don't know how to sit still, we're constantly being caught to and fro by every new idea that shows up.

Man, like it's it's challenging to me when when I find myself going onto social media or more recently on TikTok, and I see these experts that come up with the most profound ideas as it relates to church.

Listen, I realize that we are a younger demographic, but I'm gonna call it what it is.

I love when I see a 24-year-old who's an expert at church when people have dedicated their entire lives to this idea, but you figured it out because you Googled it.

Yeah.

And what it says in scripture is by every new teaching, someone comes up with a new idea.

And so every time I turn around, there's a new idea.

Hey, let me tell you why the churches are relevant.

Are you kidding me?

You're 20.

And if you figured you've unpacked the idea of what does it mean to be a kingdom-minded person when people have lived decades trying to figure this out, but you got it all figured out.

What it's talking about, developing roots, is making sure that we don't allow ourselves to get caught up in the winds of new ideas and new philosophies that keep us from getting rooting and develop the growth that God truly has for us.

It's saying, I want you to be rooted in something beyond your opinion.

I want you to be rooted in something beyond the court of public ideas.

I want you to be rooted in something beyond your feelings.

I need you to be rooted in something beyond that because if not, you're gonna get caught to and fro.

Have you ever noticed how social media has the ability to take you on a roller coaster ride?

On one moment, I could be laughing at someone falling down the steps, and the next moment I could be infuriated by racism.

It's exhausting sometimes.

And it can keep us from having a sense of focus.

What I believe the scriptures are trying to paint for us is it's okay to be informed by things that are going on, but don't let it inform you.

Did you catch that?

Be informed, but don't let it inform you.

Don't let it begin to shape the way that you understand the world, because if you do, you'll be tossed to and fro.

The idea is for us to develop deep roots.

Where there's a lack of roots, that means that there's a lack of stability.

Where there's a lack of roots, that means that there's going to be the lack of true fruit.

The definition of what the root system is is that the roots are simply this it's the organs of the plant.

It serves as an anchor as well as the veins that transports all the nutrients into the rest of the body.

That's what the root system does.

So if that root system isn't strong, that means that you don't have an anchor and you don't have a source to get the nutrients to the rest of the body.

It's an incredibly important aspect of it.

Wherever you see a healthy tree, it's because they have healthy roots.

The roots determine the fruit.

If you're rooted in the right things, then it will produce the right types of fruit.

When the roots are deep, there's no need to fear the wind.

But when they're not, the wind begins to come and it begins to shake us and move us, and we find out that we're not rooted in the right things.

And I believe more than any other time, I believe that we're in a season where it's meant to reveal what you have placed your roots in.

What are you rooted in?

Because I'm I'm telling you, as a as a person that's been doing this for a long time, that's that's traveled around, I see that we're rooted in a lot of different things.

We're rooted in our ideas, we're rooted in our feelings, we're we're rooted in patriotism, we're we're rooted in politics, we're rooted in a lot of things.

And it causes us to go to and fro where we're not developing, producing the fruit that looks anything like the kingdom.

The scriptures that we see here in Psalm, it it preferences it by saying this, that a righteous person, a righteous person, that's how the passage starts off.

It makes this caveat of saying that I'm about to tell you something, but I'm talking to a select group of people, the righteous.

So when I'm talking about flourishing, when I'm talking about producing fruit, when I'm talking about thriving, the context is that you are a righteous person.

You can't cherry pick this thing.

You have to be a righteous person.

So let me help you to understand what the text means when it speaks about a righteous person.

A righteous person, by biblical definition, is a person who is in right standing with God.

There is nothing, there's no barriers, there's nothing keeping me from being able to enter into the presence of God.

The beautiful thing is that the death of Christ has made us righteous.

It's not our behavior, it's not our act, it's our faith.

This is why Abraham is considered the father of the faith.

If we can be people that function with faith, that has put us in right standing with God.

If we believe, this is why at the end of every service we begin to talk about Jesus and we say, okay, this is how you come into faith.

Romans 10.

If you confess with your mouth and believe with your heart that Christ came, he died, and he rose from the dead.

That is what makes you a new believer.

That is what puts you into the family of faith.

That makes you righteous.

You're covered by the blood of Jesus.

And so when God sees you, he doesn't see you through the lens of your sin, he sees you by the blood of Jesus, the finished work of Christ.

That is what makes you righteous.

However, we're not righteous because of what we do, but because we are righteous, there are things that we do.

There's a difference.

My behavior doesn't make me righteous, but because I'm righteous, you should see a change in my behavior.

Does that make sense?

Because I'm because I'm a follower of Christ, you should be able to see it.

So I don't have to do the work to be saved, but because I am saved, you should see some work in my life.

You should see some fruit in my life.

There should be some evidence of it.

So when the scriptures are talking about a person who is righteous, it is talking about a person who has begun to orient their life around the things of God.

My life is oriented around the things of God.

We're in this series flourish, right?

So let me tell you a little bit about how the plant kingdom works.

There's this whole process called phototrophism.

I'm telling you, Google works both ways.

I got some information for y'all.

And and here's how that works: that means that whenever a plant is planted into the ground and it begins to break forth, that it's natural that it begins to gravitate towards the light.

So let's say, for instance, I'm the plant, this is my root system, and I finally have broke forth and the light is over here.

What that means is that the plant naturally begins to gravitate towards the light.

It begins to bend towards the light, it grows towards the light.

It's amazing how the leaves stretch towards the light.

You begin to see this process of the plant absorbing light, and so even if it's not perfectly positioned in it, it begins to orient itself and bend and stretch to reach the light.

Because it knows that I need the light to survive.

So I'm going to orient my entire being to absorb as much light as possible.

This is what it means to be a follower of Christ, that though I may be in the midst of darkness, I am orienting my life so that I can reach out and begin to bend myself to receive as much light as possible.

I may be in a dark job, but I've oriented my life to receive as much light as humanly possible.

That's what it means to be righteous, is that I've positioned myself to receive the light from God no matter where I am.

Where are you stretching to receive the light even if you're still in a little bit of shade?

This is the picture that the passage is painting when it talks about a righteous person, is that they've begun to orient themselves towards the light.

And it says that the person who does that, the person who has begun to orient their lives and bend it towards light, that there's going to be a byproduct that comes from it.

And one of it says is that you are going to flourish like a palm tree.

Now, again, we live in Florida.

Those who are joining us online, you may be visiting us from anywhere, but but here in our context, we're we live in Florida.

So we see palm trees all the time.

But it's important for us to interpret the scripture in the context in which it was written.

So the palm tree that the writer is speaking about, he's talking about a date palm specifically, because that was what was common to them back then.

The date palm.

And here's what you need to understand are some characteristics of the date palm at the time of this writing.

The date palm, it produced fruit.

That was known as the date.

The date was very sweet.

It was something that was used to not only sweeten drinks, it was also used as a fruit item to brought nourishment and strength to anyone that took it, including um, including animals.

In addition to that, the date palm, it could grow to be over a hundred feet tall.

It was beautiful, beautiful.

It was very visible even in the distance.

It was something that stood out.

Its bark was very, very tough.

That you could actually strip off some of the bark, and that's what they would make ropes out of, because it had the ability to not break under tension.

The Bible speaks for itself.

It's saying that our lives are going to be like a date palm, that we should be able to have the endurance and durability that we don't break under tension.

This is the image that the picture of the Bible is paying for.

The palms from the date palm tree would be woven together and they were used as a broom.

Imagine that.

That our lives are supposed to be something that has the ability to sweep the dust and the mess out of our lives.

It's it's speaking for itself.

It often grew and could live up to 200 years.

Talk about vitality and endurance.

But watch this the date palm, it didn't reach full maturity until it was 30 years old.

30 is when it was considered to be fully grown.

30 is the time when it continued, when it was considered to be mature.

I wonder if that's why Jesus didn't start his earthly ministry until he was 30 years old.

I think, I think, I love, listen to me, I love to see people who are young and fired up in the faith, but I believe you need to have some mileage and you gotta have some roots before you do it.

If Jesus was 30 before he started doing something, I believe that that should be a pattern.

Okay, let me move on.

I don't want to step on anybody's toes.

What I'm saying is we gotta be mindful that we're listening to voices that represent maturity.

We gotta be mindful that we're actually talking to people that have got some mileage on them.

Let me say this: before you put on a marriage conference, just be married for more than four years.

That's all I'm saying.

That's all I'm saying.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

Let me let me let me let me keep pushing.

Let me keep pushing.

Let me keep pushing.

I'm just trying to help you.

I'm trying to help you all.

Look, the palm, like the date palms, they were used, they were used in coronations.

That means that whenever a new king was inaugurated, they would have palms, which is why when Jesus came in on Palm Sunday, they actually had the palms.

It was a sign of ushering in the king.

So now the palm was meant to represent a form of worship.

It was used in imagery for the tabernacle, which was meant to draw visions from Eden and heaven.

You're seeing that this tree that is randomly mentioned in scripture has deep symbolism in it saying that our lives should look like that.

That we should be people that are recognized.

From a distance, that we produce a fruit that is sweet to the flavor, that will draw people to us, that we should be able to manage tension, but also be able to sweep the dirt out of people's lives, that we should be an example of what it looks like to be people who are tree of life, but also knows how to not mess, get caught up in any mess.

That is what scripture is painting for us.

In other words, the palm tree is a representation of the grace of God in our lives.

This is what the image that God is painting for us.

But then it goes a little bit further because not only does it speak about the date palm, but it then speaks about the cedar tree.

Now, the cedar tree is another fascinating tree.

It too gets to grow to be over a hundred feet, which means it's very visible, it's not hidden.

Again, if you're a follower for Christ, it shouldn't be hidden.

It shouldn't be something that's that's hidden under my life.

It should be very clear.

I can see you through a crowd that you are definitely a person that follows Jesus because I see it in the fruit of your life.

But not only does it grow to be a hundred feet, but it also has this sweet flavor, this sweet smell that the cedar palm, it act the cedar tree, actually has an aroma that when you would walk into the environment, it actually you could smell it all around.

If you find in some colognes and perfumes that has a strong, lasting smell, the base of it is often cedar because it has the ability to push through even a long day.

When I know I have a long day, real talk, and I know I'm not gonna be home, I may put on one of my fragrances that have a cedar base to it because I know I don't have to freshen up.

I'm just giving y'all facts.

What I'm saying is that that root of cedar, watch this, the aroma of cedar, it has the ability to endure the aroma of the world and still stand out.

Oh my gosh.

I I wish I wish y'all could see this the way that I do.

It's its aroma was delightful and refreshing, but I think one of my favorite things about the cedar tree is that it was literally an insect repellent.

Hey, I'm trying to I'm trying to get you to see it.

That the cedar tree that it creates an aroma that it literally repels insects.

Imagine if we lived our lives so rooted in the things of God that when the insects of sin and brokenness are trying to find a way to penetrate, that it repels it because of the grace and the power of God that's in our life.

I'm letting you know it's possible to live a life of righteousness even in the midst of brokenness.

It's possible to live a life where you can make a difference when even though the world is trying to make you to conform, but you've got to be rooted in the right things.

If we're rooted in the right things, we can actually repel the brokenness of the world.

The cedar tree represents strength and longevity, durability that we get from the Holy Spirit.

The palm tree represents the grace of God.

The cedar tree represents the presence of the Holy Spirit.

And this is the image of what our life is supposed to look like.

Flourishing with strength, being able to manage tension, knowing how to deal with dirt, being beautiful that attracts people that want to be a follower of Christ the same way that we are.

This is the image that God has for our life.

But in order to get to that point, it requires us to have deep roots.

It's impossible to get to that if we don't first establish deeper roots.

So, how do we get deep roots?

This is the crux of the matter.

This is where we're going to spend the rest of our time, the next five minutes and 48 seconds.

So we're going to move through this fairly quickly.

Um, this is how we develop those deep roots.

Here's the first thing I want you to write down.

It takes a seed.

It first requires us to have a seed.

You have to have that seed.

Now, a seed has two parts it has the embryo, and there's also the protective shell.

That that embryo is a glimpse of things to come.

It's the small micro dose of the thing to come.

You ever think about when you see the largest trees, it started off in a small seed form.

It's fascinating to me when I see these things that start off so small, but when they get planted and they're properly nurtured, they can grow into something so big.

So you have to have a seed.

You have to have a seed.

The idea of having a seed is understanding that you have to sow it.

Watch this.

You may have heard the phrase that you you reap what you sow.

That means that if I I have to sow it, if I expect to reap it.

In other words, I have to sow it if I expect to reproduce it.

If I want to see it, if I want to experience it, I first have to have a small portion of it and I have to choose to sow it.

It's impossible to think that you're going to cultivate a strong marriage filled with love if you're not first sowing love.

You it's impossible to think that someone is going to show you respect if you're not first sowing the seeds of respect.

You have to sow it.

You have to have it in seed form and you have to sow it.

Here's why seed form is so important.

Seed form is so important because it's God's way of saying you don't have to have these grand gestures.

I think sometimes we can be so overwhelmed with outcomes that we forget that God delights in the beginning of something.

Here's what scripture says in Zechariah 4 10.

Despise not small beginnings, for the Lord delights in the beginning of a thing.

See, we live in a world where we want to microwave to the end results.

And so because we want to microwave to the end results, we're trying our best to get the outcome.

And when we don't get it within a week, we uproot and we move on to the next thing.

But when it's in seed form, it's understanding that I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna sow these seeds.

I'm just gonna sow these, I'm gonna do this every day.

And I'm trying to cultivate a new culture, I'm trying to strengthen my marriage.

And instead of me looking to do five quick steps to make my marriage better overnight, I realize that those practical things may be helpful.

But I'm just gonna sow seeds of kindness, I'm gonna sow seeds of love, I'm gonna sow seeds of servinghood, I'm gonna do that every single day, understanding that eventually it's going to take root, and when it takes root, it will begin to shoot up, and then I will begin to see the fruit of it.

But if you understand anything about agriculture, it doesn't happen overnight.

It starts in seed form.

I have to, I have to sow what I want to see.

I have to sow it.

I'm telling you, man, the past five years as a pastor for Megan and I have been very interesting.

Very interesting to say the least.

Let me let me give you the the the short version of it.

We served for 15 years at our church in Jacksonville.

And in that 15 years, we started off as coming to the church, and then we eventually started serving at the church, and then we started getting involved more at the church, and then we're on staff at the church.

So in that 15 years, we built up so many deep, meaningful relationships through small groups, through times of prayer, spending time with people.

So then when we became pastors of the church, you're not trying to convince anyone of your calling, you're not trying to convince anyone that you're anointed, you're not trying to convince anyone that God has really ordained you because they've been around you and they have watched you in seed form grow into a place of maturity.

But then when we move to DC, it's similar to what scripture says that then there came a king who knew not Joseph.

Well, we moved to we moved to DC, they didn't know our prayer life, they didn't know the anointing on our life, they didn't know anything about our character.

So when we're in DC and we're doing our best to continue to do what we've always been doing, they're like, Man, I don't know you.

You gotta you gotta prove it.

So once again, we're we're sowing seeds.

Every day we're just sowing seeds of kindness, sowing seeds of kindness.

And when we were in DC, we were in the middle of profound political tension, racial tension.

So our church in DC was deeply, was deeply, deeply diverse.

It's a beautiful thing.

But but let's let me be clear.

We weren't black enough for the black folks, and we were too black for the white folks.

So everything we said was man, what's your intent behind that?

I'm just a kingdom representative showing you what scripture says.

I'm just trying to preach Jesus.

But but you know that's the same thing that the liberals say, right?

I'm just trying to preach Jesus.

Well, well, you you know that you know that's the same thing that the conservatives say, right?

I'm just I'm just trying to preach Jesus, and we're just trying our best.

And you know what we had to do?

We had to keep sowing seeds.

That when people questioned your intentions, you had to keep sowing seeds.

Every time that someone challenged you, you had to keep sowing seeds.

When I went home and I was in my DMX moment saying they are about to make me lose my mind up in here, but we had to keep, we had to keep sowing seeds.

And do you know what ended up happening?

Those seeds began to take root, those seeds began to break free, and now we have incredible relationships there that even though we're gone now, that people still are connected to our lives, but it didn't happen overnight.

The literal same thing happened when we came here to Orlando.

We inherited a culture and a staff and a church that we didn't personally cultivate, but we knew that God called us to be here.

You know what we had to do?

Every day, plant seeds, every day keep showing up, every day keep being encouraging.

When people didn't understand you, when they didn't understand your motive, when they're trying to influence you, you had to keep showing up.

And what I'm telling you is now, three years later, we have the culture that we always wanted.

But let me tell you, it didn't happen overnight.

We had to be committed.

What God spoke to me is this you have to be what you want to see, you have to demonstrate what you want to experience, you have to sow what you want to see.

It's not gonna happen overnight.

That is what you have to do.

You have to have seed.

I'm trying to encourage some husbands, some wives with your children, with each other, sow the seed of what you want to see.

Demonstrate what you want to experience, be it.

You have to do it if you expect people to follow and for it to take root.

It takes seed.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

That was I used all my time on one point, so let me move forward.

Let me move forward.

Let me move forward.

Okay, here's the next thing.

You gotta have seed, but you also have to have placement.

We're gonna move quick on this because we're actually gonna be preaching the entire message on this.

Megan's gonna preach a message in a couple of weeks that's gonna be incredibly powerful on this subject.

So I'm not gonna spend much time on it.

Megan, you come finish the rest of the message because apparently no one wanna hear me.

Um but I want to talk a little bit about placement.

We're gonna keep this very, very brief.

I want you to get this in your mind and then we're gonna move on.

You don't just reap what you sow, you reap where you sow.

You don't reap what you sow, you reap where you sow.

Here's a little bit of a glimpse of the things that come.

You know how when you watch a show and they're giving you a glimpse of the next episode?

Here's the episode of what Megan's gonna be preaching on.

Here's a quick glimpse of it that it's possible that you could be planting your seed in the wrong place.

The Bible talks about how we can either sow in the spirit or we can sow in the flesh.

And no matter how you sow, you're going to reap accordingly.

If you sow according to your flesh, you're gonna reap a harvest that is connected to the flesh.

If you sow in the spirit, you're gonna reap a harvest that comes from the spirit.

You don't just reap what you sow, you reap where you sow.

Let me help somebody right now, and then I'm gonna move on, Meg.

I don't even want to step on your message, but I'm gonna say it anyway.

Watch this.

The grass is not the greenest on the other side, it's the greenest where you water it.

It's the greenest where you water it.

I'm telling you, as a pastor, as a pastor who've sat and have talked with people, who have often got frustrated in their marriage, who've gotten frustrated in their relationships, who've been disappointed, and they're like, Man, I think I'm gonna have to give this thing up.

And I'm saying, okay, walk me through it.

Walk me through it.

What how what is your exit strategy?

Well, I'm gonna get an attorney, and then after I get the attorney, we're gonna start to begin to divide our assets.

We're gonna figure these things out.

They literally walk me through it.

And you know what I say at the end of it?

I'm like, man, that sounds like a lot of work.

I got an idea.

Why don't you put that same amount of work into restoring your marriage?

Because you're gonna spend that energy, effort, money, and work somewhere anyway.

Why don't you take that same energy, effort, and work and just put it into the marriage?

You reap where you sow.

So if you sow into divorce, you're going to reap a divorce.

Oh my god, I wish I had more time to help y'all today.

But if you sow into salvation, if you sow into restoration, if you sow into doing the work, then you will reap.

Oh my gosh, let me.

Daniera?

Okay, here's here's a third and final thing.

Vinny, y'all can come back up here, man.

We're gonna wrap this thing up.

We're gonna wrap this thing up.

Okay, here's the third and final thing, and then I'm done.

The band can play me off.

You have to be committed.

It requires commitment.

It requires commitment.

You're going to have to be committed.

The passage says is that when you are a person who is planted in the right things, when you're planted in the things of God, you're orienting your life and doing things God's way, that then you will produce fruit.

And it says this healthy green fruit, even in old age, that speaks about endurance.

That speaks about longevity.

That speaks to um that speaks to legacy.

It's helping us to understand that when I'm rooted in the right things, that even though I may get a little bit older, it's just a little bit more maturity.

This is this is a part of the maturation process.

We live in a world where we have so many options that we don't even know how to be loyal anymore.

That we we we just we okay, I'm just looking for the next thing.

Where can I get the best deal?

Where can I get the best feelings?

Where can I get the best whatever?

But if we can learn to be committed to one thing, if I can learn to be committed to God, if I can learn to be committed to my family, if I can learn to be committed to my friends, if I can learn to be committed to my church, then I will begin to see the fruit that comes from that.

That even in my old age, I will see that I am still fruitful because I haven't continuously uprooted myself.

I believe the number one strategy of the enemy is to keep us from getting deep roots.

That every time we get offended, let's get uprooted.

That every time I get upset, let's get uprooted.

But if we can just learn to be committed and say that I know that this is where God has planted me, and even though it's uncomfortable, we're gonna figure this thing out.

Even though I'm disappointed, we're gonna figure this thing out.

I remember, I remember just a couple of months ago, there was a sweet couple that was going through our premarital guidance, and at the end of the session, they said, What is the key to longevity in your marriage?

And my answer was simple we didn't quit.

I know that's not provocative, and I could certainly give you tips on communication and all these other things, but you know what I said?

You'd be amazed at what you can do when you just don't quit.

You'd be amazed how far you can go when you don't give up.

I believe that we're in a generation where we just love to give up because we love to idolize our feelings.

But if I can make a commitment that there are going to be seasons where it's uncomfortable, but I'm in this thing for better or for worse.

We're rooted and connected in this thing together.

Let me tell y'all, a couple of years ago, Megan and I made a decision.

We said, you know what?

This is ridiculous, but it's gonna help.

Watch this.

Here's what it does we made a decision that you know what, Megan?

We need to figure out which airline is the airline for us.

Because of course I like getting the best deals that's available.

Absolutely.

But man, like I'm learning that we're we're spreading our loyalty all over the place and it doesn't actually translate into anything.

But if we can just find the airline that's our airline and we fly through them, it may not always be the most convenient, but we're getting loyalty points that we can then translate into something much bigger later.

What I found in the two years of us being dedicated to one airline, we accumulated so many points that even though we just came back from vacation, your pastor didn't have to pay a single dollar because I was able to hash in some of my transaction points.

What I want you to understand is that when you know how to be loyal, you can accumulate so much grace that it doesn't even cost you anything when you want to go to your next level.

I'm trying to get somebody to understand that if you can just be loyal, if you can just be rooted, if you can just be committed and trust God with the process, you'd be amazed at how far He can take you.

Man, it's amazing what God can do.

As we prepare to close, I got this, I got this thought though.

Because what the scripture paints for us is that even when it's dry, even when we go through a drought, that for the believer, we shouldn't be wrecked with fear.

I mean, when you think about what droughts do, what droughts do to plant kingdom, when there's no more natural resources, and it begins to feed on itself, eventually it withers up and it dies.

But that's not what it's supposed to be for us.

Jeremiah 17, verse number eight.

It's not going to come on your screen, but I want you to write it down.

I saw this the other day, and I was like, My God, it should be different for us.

It says, They are, they being the righteous, are like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by the long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing fruit.

Imagine that, that even when it's hot outside, that even when it's a drought, that the image that God has for our lives is that we still are unbothered because we are planted by streams of water.

This is what happens when a tree is planted by streams of water.

That stream of water affects the entire region.

So what ends up happening is the root system, when there's a drought and they're not getting it from its natural source, the roots begin to dig deeper.

And if you ever look at roots, you can see they look like arms stretching out, stretching out.

What it begins to do is that when there's a drought coming from outside, it begins to dig deeper on the inside and it begins to stretch even more, and it taps into a water source because it's right planted next to the streams.

What it's helping us to understand is that when you are planted in the things of God, that it actually causes us to go a little bit deeper, stretch a little bit further, but we will not wither, we will not die because we are planted in the things of God.

I am so tired of seeing defeated, deflated Christians because we're planted in the world, we're planted into our ideas.

But if we can plant ourselves into doing things God's way, it may stretch me, but it strengthens me.

It may be a little uncomfortable, but I'm still gonna be able to produce fruit.

This is the image that God has for your life.

This is the image that God has for your family, this is the image that God has for your children and your children's children and your kids, kids, kids.

This is the image that God has for your resources because I am planted in the things of God that while everyone else is experiencing drought, I am still flourishing here.

As for me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord.

As for me and my house, we still good.

As for me and my house, we're still abundantly blessed.

As for me and my house, we more than heaven and not the tail.

As for me and my house, we are healed.

As for me and my house, we are victorious.

As for me and my house, we're more than conquerors.

I will not be bothered by the heat.

I will not be bothered by the dreadful because I am planted into the things of God.

I am victorious, and no weapon that is formed against me shall prosper in Jesus' name.

Can we give God some praise?

Y'all got a part of me, man.

I just came back from vacation.

I'm fired up.

I'm refreshed.

I'm planted by those streams, and I believe and I want us to grab a hold of what it is that God has for us.

With every head bowed and every eye closed, I want to pray for you.

Heavenly Father, I thank you.

I thank you that you have invited us to be planted in your house, that you've invited us to be connected to your family, that you've invited us to be rooted in the things that look like you.

God, the prayer of my heart is that we can begin to plant ourselves and to develop the roots that allow us to be nourished by your presence and your community.

I pray for everyone under the sound of my voice that you give them the ability to be rooted and committed, that we take the seed, that we sow it, that we sow it in the right place, we stay committed to the process and watch the fruit that comes from it.

Father, I pray that we're not double-minded, but I pray that we anchor ourselves in your truth and watch the fruit come from it.

Lord, I thank you.

And I pray for strength, grace.

I want our lives to reflect the praise of the palm and the power of the cedar.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks again for listening.

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