WEBVTT - Old Roots New Fruits (Holly Furtick) 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:07.640 Well, Merry Christmas. You guys look great. Welcome to everyone 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.480 here at Valentine and those of you who are at 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:14.520 our campuses are watching online. I am so glad that 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:16.680 you are with us today. I know that there are, 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:20.400 like Pastor Stephen just said, a thousand things that you 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:24.080 could be doing on this the very last Sunday before Christmas. 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:27.040 But there is no more important place than where you 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:32.440 are right here today. I love our church. Do you 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:39.400 love our church? I love this season at our church. 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:42.599 We've been talking about how last weekend many of us 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:46.600 participated in our year end offering, and I just love 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:50.320 watching everybody come and give cheerfully here at Valentine, and 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:52.040 I know that there were people giving online and at 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:54.160 all of our locations, and it's just it's one of 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:58.200 my favorite things to watch because giving is not like 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:01.760 buying something. It's not like spending money on something and 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:03.920 you're never going to see that money again. Giving is 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:07.480 investing in the work of God, and it's sowing a 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:10.640 seed and believing that you're going to see a harvest 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:13.800 for the future. And for a church this size, that 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:17.000 means that we have a lot of seed in the 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:22.280 ground going into next year. Right so the offering is 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.080 not over. Like you have heard Pastor Steven say and 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:26.840 Chad said, I just want to say it to you too. 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.959 You can still give. You go to Elevation Church dot 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:34.080 org click give and God's gonna bless you. And make 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:36.560 sure that you're making plans to join us for Christmas too. 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:40.800 It's an amazing opportunity to bring someone. I feel like 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.240 everybody's been saying this on stage. I just want to 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:47.000 say it too. Don't miss it. Bring your neighbors, bring 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:50.600 your people you work with. It's always a fun, worshipful 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:54.600 experience to be here with your family. And so make 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.200 sure you find out the times that your campuses are 0:01:57.200 --> 0:01:59.280 going to have your Christmas experience and when we're going 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:03.040 to be online and then here at Valentine's. So I 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:06.560 know our pastor just prayed, and sometimes I feel like 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:09.080 when he prays like that, I could just go home 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:14.840 because there's nothing like having somebody pray over you like that. 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:18.320 And I know that there are a million things on 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:20.880 your mind right now that you have a running list 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.359 of things that you need to get done. Maybe you're 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:26.000 stressing about how you're going to pay for Christmas. Maybe 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:30.119 you're stressing about you know, relationships, certain family members. Maybe 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:32.520 you still have gifts to buy and wrap and delivering 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.400 food to prepare. And so every time that I preach, 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:37.520 I just like to give people a moment to just 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.200 acknowledge that all of those things are on our minds 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:45.519 and just give you a moment to let them go. 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:48.160 And it just for the next few moments that we 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.000 have together. We just need to give God the space 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:53.400 that he deserves in the midst of all of the 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:56.480 chaos and all of the busyness of this season. I 0:02:56.560 --> 0:03:01.400 just want us to remember that Emmanuel's here with us 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:05.680 in this place wherever you're watching from. God is here 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.280 and he wants to speak to us today. So just 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:11.400 open up your hands like this. I know we already prayed. 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:13.840 We're gonna pray one more time, and I want you 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:19.200 to repeat after me. Lord, I'm ready to receive from 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:23.640 you now. I want to hear what you have to 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:30.359 say to me today in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:33.760 before you take your seat, I want to read our scripture. 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:39.720 It's not a long one. It comes from Isaiah chapter eleven, 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:45.040 verses one and two. It says this a shoot will 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:49.240 come up from the stump of Jesse. From his roots, 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:53.760 a branch will bear fruit. The spirit of the Lord 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:57.840 will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:01.320 the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:04.520 the knowledge and fear of the Lord, and he will 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:08.400 delight in the fear of the Lord. Today I want 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:13.760 to talk to you about old roots, new fruits. Give 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:28.840 somebody a hug and take your seat. So I have 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:37.039 one silly Christmas obsession. I'm not actually a huge Christmas girl. 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:41.680 Sorry if that offends you. I don't care very much 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:45.360 for Christmas music. In fact, I can really I really 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:49.160 only like instrumental Christmas music. Like I'm not a big 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:54.240 Christmas music fan. Also, I'm sorry. Like I said, I've 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:59.000 never done elf on the shelf with my kids. I 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:02.160 know some people really love it and it's great, just 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.680 not me. We also have never gone to a tree 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:10.640 farm as a family to cut down our Christmas tree. 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:15.159 Just not into it. But there is one Christmas tradition 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:17.960 that I love. And if you know me, you know 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:24.160 that I love Christmas ornaments. Not these kind of Christmas ornaments. 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:30.600 These these are filler ornaments. Now understand. I have a tree, 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:32.920 a big tree in my living room, and I call 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:37.720 it the fancy tree, and it has all of the beautiful, glittering, 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:42.599 coordinating ornaments and you know, the sticks and all those 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:47.040 things in our living room. But in our family room 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:50.880 we have the family tree, and this tree has colored 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:55.680 lights on it and it is basically a documentation of 0:05:55.720 --> 0:06:01.159 the history of the Furdick family. So every year I 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.599 pick out an ornament for every person in our family. 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.360 Sometimes they get more than one ornament. It just it's 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:11.440 things that represents something that they love or they accomplished 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:13.680 in that year. So like I brought a few to 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:18.880 show you. So this was Elijah's ornament last year because 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:25.240 he got his driver's license. Okay, and then let's see, uh, 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:31.080 where's grams? Here's this one's grams from twenty eighteen when 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:39.720 he won the North Carolina State wrestling championship eighty five pounds. Okay. 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:43.120 This was Abby's ornament the year that she turned two. 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.719 She loved the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and she carried this 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.679 ornament around the house the whole Christmas season. She broke 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:52.440 the ear off. I couldn't get it to it glue 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:56.400 back on, so it's had tape on it since twenty thirteen. 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:00.960 That was Abby's This year, Steven he got, but he 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:06.800 got this because he wanted Grammy this year. Hello, we 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:10.160 couldn't let that go undocumented. On our Christmas tree. Even 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:14.280 Bo has an ornament with this little paw print. Okay. 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.800 I also document the places that we go. So if 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.320 I love gift shops when we travel, I am a 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:24.080 I am a gift shop tourist. And so you know, 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:28.520 here's here's our ornament from the Holy Land. Here's our 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:31.600 ornament from Steven and I went to Big Sur for 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:34.240 our twenty year anniversary. I always write everything on the 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:38.280 ornament to document the year and everything hold on. Here's 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:41.920 one from our family vacation Sullivan's Island. You know, all 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:45.720 of these things are the history of our family. And 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:50.360 this year, when we were decorating the house, I could 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:56.560 not find the travel ornaments anywhere, and I checked every tub, 0:07:57.000 --> 0:08:00.480 I checked in the attic for maybe like a missing 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:03.120 box that didn't get brought down. I checked all those 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:07.120 places multiple times. And I'm not I'm not proud of this, 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:09.160 and I can't believe that I'm actually telling you this, 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:15.040 But I cried because I had convinced myself that all 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:18.280 of our family memories had accidentally been thrown in the 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.720 trash when we were putting Christmas away last year, and 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:24.760 that we were basically gonna forget all the places that 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:27.840 we have been and all the things that we've done. 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:31.040 And Steven said exactly what he was supposed to say. 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:33.920 He was like, Holly, I'm sure they'll turn up. And 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:35.200 I was like, no, they're not going to turn up. 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:39.360 I've looked everywhere the Furdick family history has been erased. 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:43.400 We found them, of course, about an hour later, and 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:46.400 they're all safely on our tree. Our history is preserved. 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:54.120 That was my Christmas miracle. I know you're relief for me. Okay. 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:58.720 So in this passage, we don't have a beautiful tree 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:05.840 with shiny ornaments. We have a stump. And Isaiah is 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:10.320 prophesying to the nation of Israel, and he's telling them 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:14.760 that even though they're in captivity and their nation has 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:19.280 been reduced to almost nothing, he's saying, a messiah is 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:23.600 still to come. And when this Messiah comes, he's gonna 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:27.800 rule with wisdom and understanding. He's gonna be the ultimate 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:32.720 perfect king. When he judges, it's gonna be the perfect judgment. 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:35.880 And when he comes He's still gonna come through the 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:38.480 line of David. He says, a shoot will come up 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:41.720 from the stump of Jesse from his roots. The branch 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:46.400 will bear fruit. And some scholars believe that Isaiah used Jesse, 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:50.520 David's father, to symbolized even further how there would be 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:55.960 a complete absence of royal dignity in the House of Israel. 0:09:56.240 --> 0:10:01.720 By the time that the Messiah comes a stump from 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:09.680 the very thing that looks absolutely dead, there's a chance 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:14.520 of life. The Messiah, the perfect King, is gonna come. 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:20.920 So I was thinking, if Isaiah were here today and 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:23.280 he were to visit my home and he were to 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:27.400 look at my Christmas tree, I think he would ask me, 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:33.360 why why the tree go with me here? Because the 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:38.200 tree is beautiful and this tree is real. But actually 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:44.480 this tree is dead, like dead dead, because it has 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:50.400 been cut off from its roots. But boy, can we 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:53.680 make a dead tree look good? You know, like one 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:56.920 trip to hobby lobby and fifty percent off, and we've 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:59.719 got ornaments, and we've got lights, and we've got a 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.880 little basket thing around the bottom and a tree skirt, 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:07.080 and we put presents under it and it's beautiful. But 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:11.439 it is dead, dead, dead, And in about a month, 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:16.920 this tree's gonna turn brown and it's gonna fall apart, 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:21.440 no chance of life because it's been cut off from 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:27.440 its roots. If Isaiah was picking a symbol for Christmas, 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:33.720 I think he would pick a stump. Guess what, I've 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:38.600 got one that they're gonna bring out. Okay, so they're 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:45.000 bringing out my stump. Here comes shout out to Preston 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:49.440 Wilson from our Gaston campus and also our production team 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.960 here at Valentine. I have no idea how they got 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:58.640 this thing in here. This is a real tree stump, 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.200 and I think I'm gonna have you guys here take 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:06.440 my table and I'm gonna use this because I want 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:11.280 this to be front and center today. Oh here, take 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:20.400 the basket too. I'm done with that, thank you. Okay, stump, 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:33.079 don't look at them. It looks dead for all intents 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:43.360 and purposes. It is dead because everything that represents life, branches, leaves, blossoms, 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:49.440 fruits have been cut off and thrown away. But there 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:57.000 is life beneath the stump, because there's roots that are 0:12:57.040 --> 0:13:02.880 alive under the surface. When person said it this way, 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:07.160 he said, the spirit of Christmas is sentimental like my ornaments. 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:13.760 But the spirit of Christ is supernatural life where it 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:18.200 seems impossible. And it was about six hundred years from 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:21.440 the time of this prophecy to the time of its fulfillment. 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.520 And by the time that the Messiah comes, the people 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.720 of God as a nation look almost extinct. There is 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:33.360 just a remnant of people who still believe that the 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:38.040 Messiah is gonna come. And when Jesus enters the scene, 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:42.640 not as this glorious, shining king, he comes as a 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:48.240 baby whose birth is so overlooked that he's born in 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:53.920 a barn, a tender shoot. Isaiah says, this is Christmas, 0:13:55.760 --> 0:14:01.479 not this Christmas is about having hope for the places 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:09.959 where you feel stumped, your mistakes, your disappointments, the areas 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:13.520 where you feel like you're failing. Sure, we all have 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:18.640 wonderful accomplishments that deserve to be celebrated. And I love 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.560 reading people's Christmas cards and their messages on social media 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:24.960 when they post a picture of, you know, their family 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:28.360 Christmas picture. I love how people give updates. I guess 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:30.840 I'm nosy. I like to know what's going on in 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:32.800 people's lives, so I like when they talk about this 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:34.960 trip that they went on, or they moved to a 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.840 new neighborhood, or they welcomed a new grandchild and into 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:40.000 their family, they got a new puppy. All these things 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:44.040 are wonderful and we can celebrate them. But just know 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:47.760 that nobody talks about their stumps in their Christmas card, 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:53.840 and you shouldn't. We don't want you to. But the 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:57.720 message of Christmas is not about the shiny areas of 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:02.080 your life. The message of Christmas is that there's hope 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:08.080 for your stumps. How is this possible? I'm gonna give 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:11.920 you a quick science lesson. Thank you YouTube and this 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:16.760 little known channel that I found called Granny's Garden. Okay, 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:19.640 So Granny had a tree in her garden and the 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:22.720 tree was not doing well. Most of the branches were 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:26.480 dead and the dead branches were stealing nutrients from the 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:30.880 few remaining live ones. But the tree itself was in 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.760 an important location in her garden and its root system 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:39.800 was keeping a hill from eroding in her yard. So 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.200 she needed to save the tree. But in order to 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:47.160 save the tree, she had to cut it down and 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:51.040 grow it back from the roots. So she cuts down 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:55.280 the tree, knowing that what's gonna happen is that the 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:59.760 root system is going to spring into action. Because as 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.480 soon as the root system realizes no leaves, no branches, 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:07.160 that means no growth. So it's gonna draw from all 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.360 the nutrients down underneath the ground, from the farthest tips 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.640 of the roots, and it's gonna push up a tiny 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.680 baby shoot. I have an image of what this looks like. 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:29.000 This is our Christmas tree. When the thing that has 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:34.160 been tripping you up, the thing that you thought was dead, 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:42.800 that actual thing brings forth new life, baby, baby life. 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:48.760 But first we have to identify the stump. So we 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:52.680 had some dead trees along our driveway and we had 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:55.600 to have them cut down. And when the guy came out, 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:58.200 you know, he gave me some price options and he said, 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:01.760 you know, I can cut the tree down for X 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:03.880 amount of money, and it's really expensive to have a 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:06.800 tree cut down. It's like, I don't want to spend 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:09.800 my money on that, okay, And then he said, well, 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:13.760 but if you want me to remove the stump, it's 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:17.640 gonna cost even more. So of course I was like, well, 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:21.000 who cares about stump? I chose the cheaper option to 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:27.080 leave the stumps. The problem became that people didn't know 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:32.359 that there were stumps along our driveway and they would 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:37.359 accidentally run over them. Buck is smiling because I'm pretty 0:17:37.359 --> 0:17:39.320 sure it was him that one time I came home 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:43.680 and he was having to have his car towed. Sorry 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:50.880 about that, Buck. An unidentified stump will cause you problems, Okay, 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:54.280 you will. It will trip you up. So we've got 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:59.560 to go ahead and just acknowledge the stumps in our lives. 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:03.200 There's there's big ones, there's little ones, but we all 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:06.240 have stumps. You might have a stump because of something 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:10.160 that was not your fault, something that was done to you, 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:14.399 an accident that happened, maybe an attack from the enemy 0:18:14.600 --> 0:18:17.439 to keep you from living out the calling that God 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:21.520 has placed on your life. You might have a stump 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:24.560 in your life that was completely of your own doing. 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:29.520 You know. Right now, I have two teenage boys, and 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.080 I was talking to a friend the other day about 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:35.439 the difference in the differences between teenagers and toddlers, because 0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:40.440 there's actually quite a lot of similarities. They sleep at 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:47.439 all the wrong times, they constantly want a snack, and 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:51.320 you're always trying to keep them from hurting themselves. The 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:54.879 difference is the stakes are so much higher with teenagers. 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.960 Let me illustrate this. I have a picture. These are 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:04.040 my toddler boys, and you can see my face in 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:08.840 the background, like that was the face that I constantly 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:17.119 had because these little boys were constantly climbing and jumping 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:22.080 and in danger of getting hurt. And I right there, 0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:25.360 I'm just envisioning us going to the er to get stitches. 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.119 This is what I have. Now I've got another picture 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:36.080 for you. Okay, Elijah has his driver's license, Graham has 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:41.680 his drivers permit. When they were toddlers, I was worried 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:45.960 about stitches. Now stitches are the least of my worries. 0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:51.640 People's lives are at stake, and I tell my boys 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:53.320 you can take the picture now. I tell them all 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:57.920 the time. I'm saying, you have to think, you have 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:01.680 to be aware of the decision that you're making, because 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:06.399 one dumb decision in a moment can alter the course 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:11.080 of your life. I'm just trying to keep them from 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:14.919 getting some stumps too soon in their life. And you 0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:17.440 might have a stump in your life today that represents 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:22.040 a bad decision that you made in a moment and 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:24.159 you don't know how you're ever going to recover from it. 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:29.360 But there's a third kind of stump, and it's perhaps 0:20:29.359 --> 0:20:33.560 the hardest one to understand, because it's when God creates 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:38.840 a stump in your life. John fifteen. Jesus is famously 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:42.240 talking to the disciples about the vine and the branches, 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.280 and he tells the disciples that the vine dresser he's 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:49.359 talking about God cuts off every branch that does not 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.000 bear fruit, the same thing that Granny was telling us, 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:57.200 the diseased branches, the dead branches, the suckers. Suckers, that's 0:20:57.240 --> 0:21:02.080 an actual gardening term, and it means that the non 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:06.879 fruit bearing branches are sucking the nutrients from the fruit 0:21:06.920 --> 0:21:10.200 bearing branches. And I know you didn't come to church 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:13.320 today for a science lesson, but Jesus said it. He 0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:17.280 cuts off every branch in me that does not bear fruit. 0:21:18.040 --> 0:21:22.440 So I came to tell you today, perhaps that relationship 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:29.000 was a sucker keeping you from bearing fruit. The dream 0:21:29.400 --> 0:21:33.399 that you had in actuality would be a nightmare, and 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:36.760 God was keeping it from you so that you could 0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:42.720 experience the fullness of life in Christ. So we've got 0:21:42.760 --> 0:21:45.439 to come to terms with our stumps today. And it 0:21:45.520 --> 0:21:48.320 doesn't matter how they're there. It doesn't matter if the 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:50.200 devil couset, or if you cause it, or if God 0:21:50.240 --> 0:21:54.880 caused it. It's there and it's painful, and it's disappointing, 0:21:55.000 --> 0:21:58.240 and it's tripping you up. The good news that I 0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:01.840 have for you today is out of the stump will 0:22:01.880 --> 0:22:07.560 come a shoot. This prophecy. It's about Jesus the Messiah. 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:11.680 But it is a truth from God's word for you today. 0:22:12.680 --> 0:22:16.280 One version of Isaiah eleven one says, a new branch 0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:21.760 bearing fruit from an old root. I want you to 0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:25.160 know today that a new fruit is going to come 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:30.960 from an old root. There's time where you plant seeds 0:22:31.000 --> 0:22:36.120 and you do a new but today new fruit from 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:42.520 an old root. Jeremiah seventeen seven. This is one of 0:22:42.520 --> 0:22:44.480 the best verses in the whole Bible. In my opinion. 0:22:46.000 --> 0:22:48.160 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:51.359 confidence is in him. They will be like a tree 0:22:52.040 --> 0:22:55.400 planted by the water that sends out its roots by 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:59.200 the stream. It does not fear when heat comes, Its 0:22:59.359 --> 0:23:03.560 leaves always green, It has no worries in a year 0:23:03.600 --> 0:23:07.720 of drought, and it never fails to bear fruit. If 0:23:07.760 --> 0:23:11.760 you are a believer in Christ, today, I want you 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:17.200 to know that your roots are there. You just have 0:23:17.280 --> 0:23:21.639 to tap them. When the tree gets cut down, what 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:25.959 are the roots do? They spring into action. It's like 0:23:26.320 --> 0:23:29.800 quadruple time the work that it normally would do, and 0:23:29.880 --> 0:23:34.800 it draws up everything it can. But you know what 0:23:34.880 --> 0:23:39.119 I do a lot of times with my stumps, I 0:23:39.280 --> 0:23:44.359 just pretend like they're not there. I numb whatever it 0:23:44.440 --> 0:23:46.600 is you do to numb. You know, we watch TV, 0:23:46.960 --> 0:23:53.080 or you avoid, you chop, you scroll, And honestly, scrolling 0:23:53.359 --> 0:23:57.240 is the worst thing that you can do because when 0:23:57.240 --> 0:24:04.359 you're scrolling, you're looking at everyone else's beautiful life and 0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:06.600 you start to think like, well, I'm the only one 0:24:06.640 --> 0:24:10.160 that has stumps. But of course they're not gonna put 0:24:10.160 --> 0:24:13.280 their stumps on their Facebook page. And if they do, 0:24:14.359 --> 0:24:16.639 this is really bad. I mean, we don't. Please don't 0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:23.840 put your stumps. But don't compare your stump to someone 0:24:23.880 --> 0:24:34.080 else's tree. Don't ignore it, don't compare it, just acknowledge it. 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:38.560 And I've got roots. You're like a tree planted by 0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:41.000 the water. You might have been cut down in an 0:24:41.080 --> 0:24:45.080 area of your life, but you're rooted. There's life that's 0:24:45.119 --> 0:24:49.960 still there. So I put together a list of ways 0:24:50.000 --> 0:24:53.120 for you to tap your roots. And none of these 0:24:53.160 --> 0:24:55.439 things are gonna blow your mind. They're all sort of 0:24:55.440 --> 0:24:58.800 common sense. Sometimes you just need a friend to come 0:24:58.840 --> 0:25:03.000 alongside you and s hey, here's you can do this. 0:25:03.560 --> 0:25:05.919 Remember how you do this? And that's my goal today. 0:25:05.960 --> 0:25:08.720 So I'm gonna give you a couple of ways to 0:25:08.760 --> 0:25:10.719 tap your roots. They all start with the letter are 0:25:11.840 --> 0:25:18.240 are you ready? First one is remember? Can you remember 0:25:18.600 --> 0:25:23.840 the past faithfulness of God in your life? I feel 0:25:23.840 --> 0:25:27.080 like I say this every time I get on this stage, 0:25:27.119 --> 0:25:30.639 but maybe like, see me as your mom today. You 0:25:30.680 --> 0:25:32.600 know how your mom tells you the same things over 0:25:32.680 --> 0:25:36.600 and over again, But this time you're gonna listen. Okay, 0:25:37.440 --> 0:25:42.040 this is so important. Sometimes we have to recall the 0:25:42.200 --> 0:25:47.280 goodness when you when you're staring at the stump, recall 0:25:47.359 --> 0:25:50.360 the goodness of God in your life? Can you remember 0:25:50.400 --> 0:25:55.440 a time that He provided for you? Lamentations three says 0:25:55.520 --> 0:25:57.679 that this I will recall to my mind, and therefore 0:25:57.680 --> 0:26:00.200 I have hope. It is because of the Lord's great 0:26:00.280 --> 0:26:03.480 mercy that we are not consumed. His compassions fail not 0:26:03.840 --> 0:26:07.720 they are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness God, 0:26:09.119 --> 0:26:14.320 He's been faithful to you. Focus on his faithfulness. The 0:26:14.359 --> 0:26:18.640 next one is rejoice one of my all time favorite 0:26:18.840 --> 0:26:23.520 pastor Stephen quotes in twenty years of hearing him preach, 0:26:24.560 --> 0:26:30.200 is when he said, my joy is my job. I'm 0:26:30.240 --> 0:26:34.240 not waiting on someone to make me smile. I'm not 0:26:34.320 --> 0:26:38.720 waiting on something good to happen to me. I will 0:26:38.760 --> 0:26:43.080 rejoice right now. I will take time to be grateful, 0:26:43.320 --> 0:26:46.399 not only to look back, but to look around and 0:26:46.480 --> 0:26:50.800 to see the goodness of God right now in my life. 0:26:50.840 --> 0:26:53.800 I can focus on my stuff, what I don't have, 0:26:54.200 --> 0:26:57.400 or I can choose to rejoice and what I do have. 0:26:57.520 --> 0:27:00.680 God has been good to you. To put a smile 0:27:00.760 --> 0:27:03.600 on your face and sing a song and lift up 0:27:03.640 --> 0:27:07.080 your hands because He's been good to you. Rejoice in 0:27:07.119 --> 0:27:11.960 the Lord. And then there's requests. My dad taught me 0:27:12.119 --> 0:27:14.919 when I was a little girl that God's phone number 0:27:15.240 --> 0:27:19.320 was Jeremiah thirty three to three. It says, this call 0:27:19.480 --> 0:27:22.960 unto me, and I will answer you and show you 0:27:23.119 --> 0:27:27.600 great and mighty things that you do not know. I 0:27:27.640 --> 0:27:30.679 just want to say it might be time for you 0:27:30.720 --> 0:27:36.280 to stop talking to people about your problems and present 0:27:36.359 --> 0:27:42.160 your requests to God. He is the one who will 0:27:42.200 --> 0:27:45.520 show you the things you do not know. Cry out 0:27:45.560 --> 0:27:49.520 to him. Tell him what's in your heart. Ask him 0:27:49.560 --> 0:27:53.560 to show you the way forward. The Bible says, knock, 0:27:54.040 --> 0:27:58.199 and I will answer. Make your request to God. This 0:27:58.359 --> 0:28:00.879 next one is kind of counterinto it. Okay, it's a 0:28:00.920 --> 0:28:06.840 little bit harder to hear. Regard. Philippians too, tells us 0:28:07.240 --> 0:28:10.000 that if we are to be like Jesus, we are 0:28:10.000 --> 0:28:14.480 to not merely look out for ourselves, but also for 0:28:14.560 --> 0:28:19.240 the interests of others. Paul says, we must regard others 0:28:19.480 --> 0:28:26.320 as more important than ourselves. I know your situation is difficult. 0:28:26.440 --> 0:28:30.480