1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:07,240 Hello. Good morning. 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:08,360 Good morning. Good morning. 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:09,920 They're like Ant and Deck, aren't they? 4 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:12,680 They're brilliant. The Christian, the holy version 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:16,200 of Ant and Deck. Hello. 6 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,160 Good morning. What a joy it is to be up here 7 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,760 with you guys. Such a privilege. 8 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:23,680 Yeah. Let me catch my breath. 9 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,480 Bear with Yeah, No, it's such a joy to be here. 10 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:30,280 Thank you for having me. I mean, I'm here every week, but 11 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:32,280 thanks for having me up here and for listening to me. 12 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,680 Yeah. So I'm doing Part 2 of this 13 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,800 series that we started a week and a half ago, started by 14 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,760 Claire. Do you know what's funny? 15 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,360 I just have to praise God because for a couple of weeks, 16 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,160 building up to this talk, I've had two dreams of sleeping in 17 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:51,200 until like 10:00. And then I wake up because Mark 18 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:53,520 from Australia is calling me and he's like, Yasmin, what you 19 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,200 doing? He's supposed to be up there and 20 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:56,560 I'm like, Oh yeah, yeah, I'm getting there. 21 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,120 And then I have to like, I just preach for the 11:30 service and 22 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:00,840 you know, whatever. Who knows what happens at the 23 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,239 9:30, but God got me here on time. 24 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,800 So praise God. He's always coming through for 25 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:08,960 us. He's always coming through. 26 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,880 But let's get down to business. I'm very excited. 27 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,240 Let's pray and then we can kick it off. 28 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:24,400 Yes, thank you, Jesus. Come, Holy Spirit, Lord, we 29 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:25,920 thank you for this precious time. 30 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,600 We thank you for the lovely sound effects of the rain as 31 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:32,800 well. Actually, we just thank you for 32 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:34,280 every heart that is in here today. 33 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,040 And we just pray that you will loosen our hearts and open us up 34 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,400 to what you have to say to us. And I just ask that you'll speak 35 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,840 through me. Anything is of me, Lord, Just 36 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:49,920 let it fall back onto the page. Lord, in your precious name, we 37 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:51,840 just ask you to move. Amen. 38 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,000 Amen. So today two of the Rooted 39 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,400 series. So two weeks ago, Claire walked 40 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:05,480 us through Colossians 1, chapter one, verse 1 to 8, and we 41 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,360 established that this is a letter from Paul to the church 42 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,039 in Colossae. And he begins by thanking God 43 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:14,840 for them, encouraging them in their love of the Spirit and 44 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,560 also how he heard about them through a man named Epaphras, 45 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:21,760 and also how much he's been covering them in prayer. 46 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,440 And we came to the conclusion, or Claire brought us through to 47 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,680 the conclusion, that being rooted in Christ, one, gives us 48 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:35,040 a new identity, 2, changes us from the inside out, and three, 49 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,400 enables us to be faithful followers. 50 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:40,960 So we're going to kind of go off track a little bit. 51 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:48,320 If you know me, Geo, go for it. You know, I love swamps. 52 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,400 You know, I love the outdoors trees, but particularly I love 53 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:54,320 swamps. Look at that. 54 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:59,400 Absolutely gorgeous. Anyway, my point being, these 55 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,560 trees, the biology, the way they look, the animals, all that 56 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:05,280 stuff, it's stunning. It's amazing. 57 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,720 It's a perfect example of like, God is real, you know? 58 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:14,240 And in places like this, like in the Everglades, these trees are 59 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:17,160 called bald Cypress trees. We can call them baldies for 60 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:19,360 short. And they grow in swampy, 61 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:24,360 unstable ground where it's salty and there's a lack of oxygen and 62 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,160 it's right in the hurricane territory. 63 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,960 And we all know that wind and trees are not a good 64 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:34,800 combination. However, because of their roots, 65 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,360 they can stand and grow to be hundreds of years old. 66 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:40,760 And these roots, you can kind of see them already. 67 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,880 They grow above ground. This is in the season when the 68 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,080 water's high up, but the roots are so they're massive, they're 69 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,120 huge, and animals live in them. They're so tangled and they are 70 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,080 so deeply rooted. But not only are they deeply 71 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,040 rooted, they are rooted together. 72 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:00,400 So each of these trees hold each other down. 73 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,400 So throughout the hurricane seasons, bearing in mind they 74 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,280 withstand years and years and years of hurricanes, only the 75 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,640 top canopy of these trees are shaved off. 76 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,120 So the top branches might stamp off, but the trees themselves 77 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,800 will continue to thrive and grow through whatever storm comes. 78 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,839 Why? Because they are rooted and 79 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:21,720 because they are rooted together. 80 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:27,880 So not only we are basically, we are like these trees, OK, The 81 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,280 reason, my point being these trees are rooted and they're 82 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:34,040 rooted together. And we can take a lot of a lot 83 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,240 of not advice from the trees 'cause they don't talk. 84 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,520 But like a lot of you know, we can take some lessons. 85 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:42,200 Thank you. Take some lessons from these 86 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,000 trees because one, it is so important to be rooted in 87 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,840 Christ, but it is also so important to be rooted with one 88 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:51,560 another. If you're a Christian on your 89 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,880 own, my thoughts and prayers are with you 'cause it's not easy. 90 00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:59,800 And it's, that's why it's so important to be rooted together. 91 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,640 This is why the church is so important, and This is why being 92 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:07,600 rooted is so important. And also, if we are not rooted 93 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,240 in Him, then what are we rooted in? 94 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,040 Because whether we're rooted in Jesus or not, we will take root 95 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,200 in something. And whatever we are rooted in 96 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,400 will determine what kind of fruit we bear. 97 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,080 And you know, whether that fruit is good or whether it is bad, 98 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,080 because we will bear fruit regardless of what we do. 99 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:32,200 And it says in Proverbs 12, verse 3, no one can be 100 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,800 established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be 101 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,440 uprooted. So once we're rooted in Jesus, 102 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:42,680 we can't be uprooted. That's like a just just gotta go 103 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:43,760 for it. It's a safe bet, you know. 104 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,600 But yeah, so we're going to look at Colossians one, verse 9 to 14 105 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,240 today, and we're going to look at what else we can take from 106 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,760 being rooted and what else being rooted gives us. 107 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,280 So if you want to grab your Bibles or your apps, whatever 108 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:05,240 you've got, pull them out and we're going to read together 109 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:08,560 should be also on the screen as well. 110 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,280 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not 111 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:21,400 stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill 112 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:25,680 you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and 113 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:30,240 understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a 114 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,840 life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way. 115 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,520 Bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge 116 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,840 of God, being strengthened with all power according to His 117 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:46,680 glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and 118 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,920 patience. And giving joyful thanks to the 119 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,920 Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His 120 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,920 holy people in the Kingdom of light. 121 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,760 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought 122 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:06,400 us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have 123 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,400 redemption and the forgiveness of sins. 124 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,440 Amen. So what does a rooted life look 125 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:17,040 like? Well, reading this from verses 9 126 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:21,040 and 10 where it says, for this reason, since the day we have 127 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,160 heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. 128 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,040 What really stuck out to me was how He it's just straight onto 129 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,720 them. It's not like, hi, here's some 130 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:32,800 stuff about me anyway, how are you? 131 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,960 His heart is fully for them. And I was thinking of like a 132 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,640 cool story to attach to this And I have a little brother. 133 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:48,560 He's very funny, very handsome, Blessing 14, very sporty, quite 134 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,800 sarcastic, makes us all look silly in the house. 135 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:56,160 But he's brilliant. And when he was born, his heart 136 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,160 was basically wired the wrong way. 137 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,520 The, I think it was the, the ventricles or something. 138 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,200 I'm looking at my mum for confirmation. 139 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:05,840 But the heart was wired the wrong way. 140 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:12,480 Tiny heart, this big, tiny chest, huge operation. 141 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,120 And praise God, like I said, he's, he's still here, he's 14 142 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:18,600 years old, praise God and he's thriving. 143 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,720 He's going for it, but without that surgery and all the 144 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:24,960 prayers, he wouldn't be here today. 145 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,560 And that's not an exaggeration. And I was thinking in a way, all 146 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,680 of us are born like that. All of us are born with a heart 147 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,799 that isn't fully functioning the way it is supposed to function 148 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,480 because of the world that we live in and because we are 149 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,880 flesh, we kind of grow up in this culture where we are 150 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,720 consumed by ourselves and we're kind of bent inwards. 151 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:47,880 And it is, you know, put yourself first. 152 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,600 What is this person giving me? All of that kind of stuff. 153 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,720 It's very self-serving and it's really easy to slip into that 154 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:56,680 mindset of self. I'm not saying we're all like 155 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:59,440 that, but it's very easy. We're kind of encouraged to 156 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,200 think this way and to always just think of #1 which is 157 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,840 ourselves. And when it comes to our 158 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:09,520 relationship with ourselves, it is very much the flesh wears the 159 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:15,440 trousers. And there's also this thing of 160 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,480 cutting people off when they don't serve you. 161 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,680 If they can't show up for you this one time, it's like call 162 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,760 blocked, see you later. That's it. 163 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,200 There's no kind of forgiveness. We run from discomfort. 164 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,960 But all of this makes this kind of love impossible. 165 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,040 But if we say yes to Jesus, who is pretty much like the heart 166 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:38,160 surgeon with a 100% success rate, he will give us that new 167 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,000 heart and he will, He will wire it up. 168 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,760 He will sort it out for us. We don't have to worry about 169 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,600 anything. And that's what we have to do. 170 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:47,720 Say yes to him, be rooted in him. 171 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:49,480 And that's what he will do. Give us a new heart. 172 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,520 And we see that with Paul here when he's praying for the Church 173 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:56,320 of Colossae. And these are people that he 174 00:09:56,320 --> 00:10:00,320 likely hasn't actually met and he's drenching them in prayer. 175 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,080 And it's not the polite, you know, thoughts and prayers are 176 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,600 with you. Kind of we'll do it when I get 177 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,920 home or at the end of the day. He's he's going for it and he's 178 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:11,520 praying for them. And he's also writing this from 179 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,120 a prison cell. And if I personally was in a 180 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:16,560 prison cell, I wouldn't be writing letters to people 181 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,720 showering love on them. I would be waiting to receive 182 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,320 the love and the pity. And I would be asking for 183 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,880 favours and, you know, protesting my innocence. 184 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:28,600 But he's there and he's loving these people and ferociously 185 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,440 praying for them, which is amazing. 186 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,080 He really cares. And why? 187 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,400 Because the love of Christ has rewired his heart. 188 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:39,880 And if you're new to Christianity, you might not be 189 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:44,200 familiar with Paul, but this man, he's got a quite a 190 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:49,600 colourful history and he began as a violent persecutor of 191 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,720 Christians. So he wasn't this holy, you 192 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,160 know, Sandals guy being friendly all the time. 193 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,120 He was pretty much a religious extremist and he was determined 194 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,640 to eradicate Christianity until he had this radical encounter 195 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:12,560 with Jesus on his road to exactly well done so. 196 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,440 And then from that encounter, he then became one of the boldest 197 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,400 preachers of the gospel. It was like crazy 198 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:24,840 transformation. This guy persecuted Christians. 199 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,840 It was his goal to remove Christians and then he not only 200 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:33,600 became one, but he became one who was then going out setting 201 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,080 fire to the rest of the world and spreading the gospel. 202 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,440 That is huge and that is not done by human strength. 203 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,800 Talk about a glow up. And even when he corrects, 204 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,120 thanks. Even when he corrects the Church 205 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:50,680 of Colossae, the letter is a correction because some people 206 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:53,400 call this the Colossian heresy where it's, you know, the 207 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:58,000 current climate of Colossae. There's a lot of, you know, they 208 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,720 like to kind of remix the face. That's the kind of stage they're 209 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,200 in. As Claire was saying a few weeks 210 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,000 ago, there's Jesus. But sometimes things were coming 211 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,160 in and they were adding things. This letter is not a letter of 212 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,360 condemnation. It's full of love and 213 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:13,640 encouragement. So it shows us how to correct 214 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,560 each other as well. And we are called to this kind 215 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:18,760 of Kingdom love. It's not a worldly love. 216 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,160 There is a big difference. And what is Kingdom love? 217 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,200 It's sacrificial, it's supportive, and also it is 218 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:30,040 sharpening. So sometimes it may not, we may 219 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,640 not like this Kingdom love, but actually it is for our own good. 220 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:35,360 And it is. It's the pure love. 221 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:39,760 It doesn't keep score and it's not transactional, but it does 222 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:43,960 correct and call us higher. And in a world where we are 223 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,120 calling people out, we should be calling people up. 224 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:48,840 We should be calling each other up. 225 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,560 Kingdom love sounds so ideal and it's very on brand for us 226 00:12:55,560 --> 00:13:01,000 Christians and it's very easy to preach about up here, but it's 227 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,440 actually not that easy to do. And I'm going to be completely 228 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,560 honest, this kind of love for me can be exhausting as a pastor, 229 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,240 as a human, it can be exhausting. 230 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:14,960 You know, it's, it's fun and games when the person you love 231 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,480 is doing everything you want them to do and saying everything 232 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,200 you want them to say. But when they, you know, when 233 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,720 they ruffle your feathers a little bit, suddenly it's really 234 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,840 hard. It's loving the people that get 235 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:27,240 on your nerves. It's loving the people that 236 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,760 smell. It's loving people when they 237 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:33,040 don't change. It's loving people when they 238 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:36,160 don't change overnight. Because a lot of us, we don't 239 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:37,880 change overnight because things take time. 240 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:40,800 And so I'm so grateful for this next point. 241 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,640 Because if we all, all we had was a new heart and no strength 242 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:48,920 behind it, we would burn out. So being rooted in Christ 243 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:52,120 doesn't just show us how to love, but it also keeps us on 244 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:57,520 track to sustain it. Which brings me to point #2 can 245 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:06,680 I have a sip of my coffee? Great being rooted in Christ 246 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,440 keeps us on track. So in verse 11 it says being 247 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,640 strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, 248 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,040 so that you may have great endurance and patience. 249 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,560 The word Paul uses for strengthened here is dunamayo, 250 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:25,680 which is similar to the word dunamis and it means to be 251 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,320 infused with strength. It doesn't mean you originated 252 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,360 with that strength. It means you are infused with 253 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:33,440 that strength. God confirms that strength in 254 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,160 you. And this kind of strength can't 255 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:42,920 be built with self-discipline. You know, YouTube talks, protein 256 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,520 shakes, chest days at the gym. It can't. 257 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,880 This strength doesn't come from us, and we can't manifest it. 258 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,040 It's our Father, the Creator, the King, the protector, our 259 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,320 best friend, who confirms our strength and who puts that 260 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,480 strength in US. And what are we strengthened 261 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:01,200 with? We are strengthened with the 262 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,960 power beyond our human ability. Again, beyond our ability. 263 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:10,000 And what is this power for? As it goes on to say, great 264 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:14,400 endurance and patience. The Greek word for endurance is 265 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,160 who? Pomene meaning uncompromising 266 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:22,800 steadfastness and it's described in Sayers lexicon as the 267 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,320 characteristic of not being swerved from your deliberate 268 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:31,320 purpose and loyalty to faith by even the greatest trials and 269 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:33,720 sufferings. So it's not a passive word. 270 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,560 It's not a passive endurance where we just sit and let things 271 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,040 happen. It's a clinging on to God 272 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,680 through everything we go through, regardless of how hard 273 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,560 the times are. And it's also the same word 274 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:50,160 hoopominate, used in Hebrews 12 verses one to two, where it 275 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,360 says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud 276 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:58,120 of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the 277 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,640 sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with 278 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:07,560 perseverance, the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on 279 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:10,000 Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 280 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:13,920 For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its 281 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,560 shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 282 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:20,840 So you'll see it. It uses the word, but it also 283 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:25,160 says the race run, the race marked out for us. 284 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:27,000 So once again, it's not a passive action. 285 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:28,880 We are running. There's nothing passive about 286 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,800 running. It's hard takes it, you lose. 287 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:34,480 Yeah, running's not my favorite thing to do. 288 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,920 You see me at the gym, I will avoid the treadmill like the 289 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:43,120 plague, but it does come with benefits and that's what running 290 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,840 with endurance and perseverance is with Jesus. 291 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:54,280 Now I have a very, very hard story to share about suffering. 292 00:16:54,720 --> 00:17:02,920 So it's Monday morning this week just gone, and it's day like 302 293 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:11,040 of no sunlight and I wake up. I wake up, I get dressed or I 294 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:13,000 don't get dressed. Actually shower, you know, you 295 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,119 lay out your outfit on your bed and you're like, cool, this is 296 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:17,400 what's going to happen. You know, I've lived this day 297 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:22,800 100 times and I put on my trousers and we get to about 298 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,760 here and they're not, they're not going up. 299 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:30,920 They're not doing up. And you know, I think we can 300 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,160 all, there's only one reason for it. 301 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,400 And it's like, I've had too many doughnuts on a Sunday. 302 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,640 So we have that to blame. So my trousers aren't going up. 303 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:43,680 So, you know, I'm very offended, very hurt, limping, you know, 304 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,880 fighting back the tears. And I go downstairs very 305 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,920 offended, very fragile. And I go to make my healthy 306 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:52,280 morning smoothie. I've started to have this 307 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,440 healthy green smoothie of gunk that is supposed to make me 308 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,400 healthier. And it's like my one small 309 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,120 attempt at slowly, gradually being able to fit back into 310 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,440 those jeans. So I get there, I get my 311 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,240 smoothie, and I can't. You know what? 312 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:11,600 I can't, because do we have any Caribbean people in here? 313 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:13,320 Yeah. Nice. 314 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,200 Yeah. So you will know. 315 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:18,160 You'll know about, like, jerk chicken. 316 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:20,640 Yeah, we all know about jerk chicken. 317 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,240 It's delicious. And that, that, that jerk, that 318 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:27,320 sauce, it's delicious, but it's incredibly spicy. 319 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:29,000 If you smell it, it makes your eyes water. 320 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:32,400 It's a very strong flavour. And you know why I couldn't make 321 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,720 my smoothie that morning is because my lovely father, whom I 322 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:42,520 love, he, he used my blender to make this jerk sauce over the 323 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:46,520 weekend. And I said to him, I said, Dad, 324 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,120 no, please don't because it's going to make the blender smell 325 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:51,120 and taste of jerk. And I'd use it for my smoothie. 326 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:54,520 And he was like, don't worry, Princess, I'm going to clean it. 327 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:58,440 And I'll I was like, OK, anyway, he did clean it. 328 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:00,880 He cleaned it. But go downstairs Monday morning 329 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,160 tried to make my smoothie and I gave it a sniff and I was like, 330 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,560 I may as well be having jerk chicken because it not only did 331 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:08,680 the source marinate the chicken, it marinated the smoothie 332 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,960 blender. So that was it was the last 333 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:13,840 straw for me. You know, my trousers didn't 334 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:15,560 fit. I was upset. 335 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:20,200 I was emotionally undone, much like my trousers and, and I just 336 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:24,080 started crying and I went in to the living room and I just, I 337 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:26,360 was, I just can't do it. I can't do it. 338 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,640 I've been awake for a couple of hours and this suffering is 339 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:34,520 enough. I couldn't endure it anymore. 340 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,960 I was done. I think it was 8, wasn't even 8. 341 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,640 It was 7:40 in the morning. And I just said I was like this 342 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:44,040 Lord, this life is not for me. It's I can't do it. 343 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:45,880 And I was ready to call it a day. 344 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:47,320 I was ready to cancel everything. 345 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:49,640 I was going to message Claire, my manager and be like, hey, I'm 346 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,520 sorry, I can't make it in the office today because, you know, 347 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:54,640 trousers and smoothie, I can't endure. 348 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,760 But this, you know, this is not actually that kind of endurance 349 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:02,640 and that kind of suffering. This is not hoop Pulmane. 350 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,440 This is a minor inconvenience, however traumatic it was for me. 351 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,520 This is not hoop Pulmane. My endurance left the building 352 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,080 over a tiny inconvenience. But I know that some of you. 353 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:17,600 Maybe a lot of you are really walking through that right now. 354 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:21,920 You are walking through real suffering and you are really 355 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:27,000 having to persevere. And so I was trying to think of 356 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,320 a serious story, you know, to use for endurance and faith. 357 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:36,120 And my grandparents came up. I've just pressed the wrong 358 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:41,520 button there with my grandparents came up and bless 359 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:47,120 them, they came over here in the 60s on a boat. 360 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,680 Does anyone have any relatives who came over as part of the 361 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:55,000 wind rush generation, anyone? Yeah, love that. 362 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:01,960 So they came over on this boat, you know, fifties, 60s, and they 363 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,600 had to leave everything they've ever known. 364 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,560 They had to leave their community, their family, their 365 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:11,360 culture, everything. They had to come to this cold 366 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:17,880 rainy place you know completely unknown and what they walked 367 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:22,760 into it was not comfort at all and they walked into hostility, 368 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:28,520 racism, rejection, struggle, just constant struggle, constant 369 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,080 hardship. They were trying to build a life 370 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,960 and earn a living in a country that didn't always want them 371 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,640 there. Also raising what came to be 7 372 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:43,720 kids and also Co founding a church from the ground up and my 373 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,600 nanny was constantly praying like Paul for her family and for 374 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,200 her community and for her grandchildren. 375 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,920 That is what I call who promenade that was that is 376 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,480 endurance that is clinging to Jesus. 377 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,160 Some of the stories she shared and I'm sure some of you know 378 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,280 maybe first hand or from your relatives. 379 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,480 It's horrible and there's plenty of other people that have been 380 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,200 through something similar or you are now. 381 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:09,840 And it really takes that strength. 382 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,480 It really takes the supernatural strength of Jesus to carry you 383 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,200 through and to keep your hands clinging onto him. 384 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,000 And my nanny had actually said before, she said she would not 385 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,800 be here without Jesus. He was their strength. 386 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:26,640 He was their endurance, and she was rooted in him and he gave 387 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,240 her the strength. And it's through that endurance 388 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:31,480 that there's been so much fruit from us as a family. 389 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,440 And that just goes to show that how you cling to Jesus will not 390 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,200 just affect you, but it will affect generations to come. 391 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,120 So this who pominae this endurance, it gives us the 392 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:50,320 strength to serve when we feel unseen, to keep praying when we 393 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,760 feel like God is silent, and to keep loving someone when they 394 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:55,240 are the most annoying person in the world. 395 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,680 And to also stay pure when compromising yourself would seem 396 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:02,000 easier and more gratifying in the moment. 397 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,080 The same God who strengthened my nanny and granddad is the same 398 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,000 God who rescued them. Because endurance alone isn't 399 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,720 the gospel. The rescue is the gospel. 400 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,880 And that's what Paul shows here in our Third Point. 401 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:27,590 One SEC. Hydration. 402 00:23:28,790 --> 00:23:32,230 Being rooted in Christ makes the impossible possible. 403 00:23:33,310 --> 00:23:34,550 Woo. Amen. 404 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:40,440 So verse 12 to 14 and giving joyful thanks to the Father who 405 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,560 has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy 406 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,320 people in the Kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the 407 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,840 dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son 408 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,560 he loves, in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness 409 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,520 of sins. So if you see here, it doesn't 410 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,120 say we qualified off our own merit. 411 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,040 The Father has qualified us. There was no test that we 412 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,960 passed. We didn't buy our qualification. 413 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,840 We didn't earn it by inviting a certain amount of people to 414 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,200 church. He just qualified us. 415 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,320 And not only did he qualify us, but he rescued us. 416 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:18,880 And the Greek word used in here, sorry, there's a lot of Greek 417 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:20,200 words. I found it very interesting. 418 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:24,720 The Greek word here for rescue is mazista me. 419 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,440 And it means to move, not just a slight shift or a little shake. 420 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,320 It's a dramatic, you know, stood here, now I'm stood there, or 421 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,040 what? More dramatic than that, and it 422 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,920 can be geographically or it can be socially in any circumstance. 423 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,200 And in the ancient world, when a king conquered a territory, he 424 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,000 would sometimes move the people out of their homeland, the place 425 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,800 that he had conquered, and move them into a new land as a 426 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,080 political move. And the goal was to ensure 427 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,160 loyalty to the new king and to distance the people from their 428 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,880 old homeland. And this is very similar to what 429 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,000 God did when he took the Israelites out of Egypt, moved 430 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,960 them to the promised land, even though it took a while, and also 431 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:07,800 what Jesus did by conquering the darkness and the sin and death, 432 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,680 transferring us from this Kingdom of darkness to his 433 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:16,200 Kingdom. And then in verse 14, the word 434 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:21,320 redemption, the word used here means released by payment, like 435 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,520 paying a ransom. And in the 1st century, slaves 436 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,520 could technically buy their freedom if they raised enough 437 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:31,320 money and then, yeah, pay their owners. 438 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:33,400 But I mean, the system's rigged. I'm. 439 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,120 I'm sure that was highly, highly impossible. 440 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,080 Yeah, it's impossible. And just like us, we can never 441 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:43,560 buy our own freedom. That's a fact. 442 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,720 We can't buy our freedom, and it's not in our strength. 443 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,360 And that is the way the human condition is. 444 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:53,560 Sin isn't just bad habits, it is captivity and you can't 445 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:56,680 subscribe your way into holiness, you can't manifest 446 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,240 your way out of darkness, and you can't self help your way 447 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,280 into freedom. It's purely Jesus. 448 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:06,080 It's only Jesus, always Jesus. And he paid what we could never 449 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,680 pay and did what we could never do, and he made the impossible 450 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:16,800 possible. So zooming out, rooted in Christ 451 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,560 means loving like you're loved because you are, regardless of 452 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,920 how you feel, enduring like you've strength like you're 453 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,960 strengthened through Him because you are, and living like you've 454 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,160 been rescued by Him because you have been. 455 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,160 Being rooted in Christ doesn't necessarily mean that life will 456 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,040 get better overnight, but it does mean that we are anchored. 457 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:41,080 And some of us are tired because we've been trying to produce the 458 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:43,120 Kingdom fruit without the Kingdom roots. 459 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:46,720 Some of us are discouraged because we're measuring 460 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,760 ourselves against the dead, rotten branches of the world, 461 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:52,720 which we're never going to measure up to because we're not 462 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:53,920 called to that, we're called higher. 463 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,240 And some of us are realising, maybe for the first time, that 464 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:03,040 we've been rooted in approval, in bitterness, inconvenience, in 465 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,480 control, and we're wondering why the storms keep knocking us out. 466 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,080 But just as Paul communicates in Colossians, Jesus doesn't shame 467 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:15,280 us for shallow roots, but he beckons us to go deeper with him 468 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:19,440 and in him. So staying planted, surrendered, 469 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:24,280 and connected to the life giver. And the question isn't, can I do 470 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:25,680 this? Can I be rooted? 471 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,080 The question is, what am I rooted in? 472 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,960 Because whatever you're rooted in will decide what fruit you 473 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:36,920 bear on a daily basis and how you stand when the storms come, 474 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:41,200 because they will come. Amen.