WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:06.200 Hey, everybody, Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. This is 2 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:09.679 the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren and we're. 3 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:10.960 So glad that you've joined us. 4 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:14.320 Today we're gonna kick off a powerful new series called 5 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:19.280 radicalis Developing Spiritual Roots. And in this series, Rick will 6 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:22.000 show you how to grow deep in your faith, stay 7 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:26.120 grounded in God's word, and become everything He created you 8 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:28.359 to be. I don't know about you, but I can't 9 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.120 wait to get started. So here's part one of a 10 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.679 message called Radical Gratitude. 11 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:37.719 I want to begin with a letter that I received 12 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:40.600 recently that I think actually represents the way a lot 13 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.119 of people feel. And it goes like this, Dear Pastor Rick, 14 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:49.479 I am so tired of going through the motions. I'm 15 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:55.000 fed up with business as usual. Nothing really excites me 16 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:59.039 or energizes me anymore. I've been in a slump for 17 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:02.000 so long now I don't know if I can get 18 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:05.359 out of it. But I don't like it one bit. 19 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.120 I'm filled with a jumble of emotions. I'm frustrated, I'm bored, 20 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:15.840 I'm unfulfilled. I tend to focus on what's wrong, and 21 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:21.120 I can be cynical about everything. The bad news is 22 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:24.120 that I take out my frustration on the people I 23 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:24.560 love the. 24 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:28.760 Most, my family, Paster Rick. 25 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:34.719 I need a major change in my life. They need 26 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.000 a radical change in their life, is what they need. 27 00:01:38.599 --> 00:01:38.840 You know. 28 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.640 This week I had the TV on while we were 29 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:45.599 cleaning up, and there was this wonderful documentary on the 30 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:47.599 Sci Fi Channel on zombies. 31 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:50.079 Now. 32 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:53.120 As a pastor, I thought I need to know about zombies. 33 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:59.280 So I watched this spoof documentary on the Walking Dead, 34 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:05.680 and as I watched it, I realized a lot of 35 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:10.800 people in life are spiritual zombies. They're just going through 36 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:17.639 the motions. They're mindlessly sleepwalking through life. They don't really 37 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.319 have any plans, they don't really have any goals, they 38 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:23.719 don't really put their heart into what they're doing. They're 39 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:31.000 spiritual zombies. They're sleepwalking through life. Now, Friends, and if 40 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.599 I were to ask you, and you were to be honest, 41 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:38.000 would you change something looking back if you could, how 42 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:38.680 many of you'd say? 43 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:40.199 Yes, that's true. 44 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:42.919 Yeah, I think that's pretty universal all of us would. 45 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:46.599 The problem is you can't. You can't change the past. 46 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:49.120 You can't do anything about it. It's over, it's dead, 47 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.000 it's done with your past. Is past, and nothing is 48 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:56.400 going to change the past decade, but you can change 49 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:59.759 the next one. Are you going to be a better 50 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:03.039 person ten years from now you say, well, I don't know, 51 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:04.039 Well I can tell you. 52 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:04.879 If you say I don't know. 53 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:08.039 You won't be because it's got to be intentional. If 54 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:10.520 you want to grow, if you want to develop, if 55 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:13.439 you want to be better tomorrow, you got to make 56 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:14.719 some radical changes. 57 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:15.400 Now. 58 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:22.080 You need radical change in your life now. This word 59 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:25.319 radical is a word that's misunderstood today because people don't 60 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:29.639 know the original meaning of it. Today radical means fanatical. 61 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:32.800 We don't need any more fanatics in the world. We 62 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:36.400 need more radicals, but we don't need any more fanatics today. 63 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:39.280 Radical A lot of people think it means over the top, 64 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:43.840 It means excessive, it means extreme, It means on the edge, 65 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:47.960 either religious wise or political wise, that you know, they're 66 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.800 the extremists, they're the radicals. Or we use it as 67 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:56.240 a as a synonym for cool, for hip, for you know, 68 00:03:56.280 --> 00:04:00.840 that's rad that's radical. But actually the word rat comes 69 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:05.639 from the fourteenth century Latin word radicalus, which means from 70 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:09.840 the roots, and what radical means is to be rooted 71 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:15.879 in the original. That's what radical means rooted in the original. 72 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:20.680 You know, we get the word radish from the same 73 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.680 word radics in Latin is the word for root. We 74 00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:26.480 get the word radish, which is basically just a big root. 75 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:30.800 When we talk about eradicating something that means to pull 76 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:33.519 it up by its roots, it's the same word radical. 77 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:38.600 And in every area of life, radical doesn't mean extreme, 78 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:45.720 it means rooted in the original source. For instance, in medicine, 79 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:49.120 when we talk about radical surgery, that means you root 80 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:51.680 out the disease at its root. You are going to 81 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:53.600 cut it out. You're not going to let You're not 82 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:55.680 putting a band aid over it. You're rooting out the 83 00:04:55.800 --> 00:05:00.399 root source of the disease, radical surgery. In botany, the 84 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:03.839 radical leaves are the leaves closest to the root. They're 85 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:05.920 at the bottom of the stem. Those are called the 86 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:11.399 radical leaves on any plant. In mathematics, the radical number 87 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:14.959 is the root of the equation, and the radical sign 88 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:17.959 in math is the square root or the cube root. 89 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:21.199 The radical in math is the root of the equation. 90 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:27.920 In chemistry, a radical is two atoms. It's the smallest units. 91 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:31.879 It's the unit of the smallest amount. And a free 92 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:35.639 radical you've heard about that is an unpaired electron. It's 93 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:37.519 the smallest root you can get. 94 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:38.839 In a molecule. 95 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:44.720 In linguistics, the radical means two or three consonants that 96 00:05:44.839 --> 00:05:48.560 form the root of a word, and in grammar, the 97 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:52.000 radical word is the root word once you've taken off 98 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:57.000 the prefixes or the suffixes. What we need today are 99 00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:02.959 radical believers, not finatal believers, but radical believers who go 100 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:05.800 back to the New Testament, who go back to the Bible, 101 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:08.519 who go back to what God intended for us to 102 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:11.439 do in the first place, without all the trappings, and 103 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:13.560 out all of the traditions and out all the rules 104 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:16.720 and regulations and restrictions, to go back to the original 105 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:20.040 words of Jesus. That's a radical believer. And I want 106 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:23.480 you to be that kind of believer in the next decade. 107 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:26.560 When I wrote the book Purpose Driven Life in two 108 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:30.199 thousand and two, I personally paid for the cover. I 109 00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:33.639 hired an artist from the Midwest to design a woodcut 110 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:37.920 of an oak tree with the roots exposed. It's very 111 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.920 well known. Here is on the screen. You know that 112 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:44.240 oak tree with the roots exposed. When I showed that 113 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:46.560 to the publishing department at Zondervan. 114 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:47.879 They hated it. 115 00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:51.240 They said, those roots look ugly. You can't just have 116 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.279 roots flying out in the air. Why don't you just 117 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:56.199 have a pretty picture of a tree. I said, you 118 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:59.480 don't understand. This is intentional. This is a book about 119 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:04.120 the root of living. Purpose driven life is about being 120 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:07.480 rooted and the five purposes that God created every human being. 121 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.319 It's going back to the roots of Christianity. So I 122 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:15.800 want the roots exposed. It's intentional and purpose driven life 123 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:19.160 was about radical living. I just never used the word 124 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:22.519 because I didn't think people would understand it. But I 125 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.319 want you to be rooted in God, to rooted in love, 126 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:28.879 rooted in faith, rooted in hope. Now, the Bible has 127 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:32.319 a lot to say about having spiritual roots. If you 128 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:35.959 look on your outline, the Bible says in Colossians chapter two, 129 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:40.439 just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you 130 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:46.360 must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your 131 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:51.480 roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from him. 132 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:55.800 No notice, He says, just as you accepted Christ, you 133 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:57.920 live in in the same way. In other words, the 134 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:00.000 way you become a believer is the way you can 135 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.759 continue as a believer. The way you're saved is the 136 00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:05.600 way you live the Christian life. The way you've become 137 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:07.519 a part of the family of God is the way 138 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:08.439 you continue. 139 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:10.279 How did you become a believer? 140 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:14.319 Not by promising to do good, not by working real hard, 141 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:16.879 not by keeping a bunch of rules and regulations. There's 142 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:18.959 only one way to become a part of God's family. 143 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:23.000 Accept his love, accept his grace, accept his forgiveness. 144 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:24.800 Put your faith in his love. 145 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:27.920 And the Bible says, just as you were saved, you 146 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:30.480 live the Christian life the same way. It's not saved 147 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:33.440 by grace, live by works. A lot of people think, well, 148 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.559 accept God's love and I become a believer, then I 149 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:37.159 work real hard the rest of my life to prove 150 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:40.480 that I'm worthy of it. No, he says, just as 151 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.600 that means the same way you become a believer, you continue. 152 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:48.320 And what is it You're rooted in God's love. Most 153 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.519 people don't get this, Even people who've been believers for 154 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:54.399 a long time don't understand what it means to be 155 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:58.639 rooted radically rooted in God's love. Look of the next verse, 156 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:03.200 the Bible says, and Ephesians three May your roots go 157 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:09.200 down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And 158 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:14.200 may you have the power to understand how wide and 159 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:17.559 how long, and how high and how deep His love 160 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:21.279 really is. And may you experience this love in other words, 161 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:23.000 not just know it all. Yeah yeah, yeah, I know 162 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:25.240 God loves me, he says, May you feel it at 163 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:28.120 the gut level. I want you to experience. I want 164 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:31.159 you to experience daily what it means to really feel 165 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:35.360 loved by God, unconditionally loved by God, so that you know, 166 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:37.919 no matter what happens in your life, God is never 167 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:40.559 going to stop loving you, and you love him back 168 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:43.039 with that same kind of love. He said, That's what 169 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:46.120 it means to be rooted. May your roots go down 170 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:48.960 in the soil of his love. May you experience the 171 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:53.000 love of Christ. Though it is so great you'll never 172 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:57.080 fully understand it. Our brain capacity isn't big enough. But 173 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:00.279 he says, Then if you do these things, if you 174 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:03.480 your life radically root your life in how much God 175 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:06.360 loves you, and you think about that every day, he says, 176 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:12.120 then you will be filled with the fullness of life. 177 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:16.960 That means a fulfilling life, a meaningful life, a significant life, 178 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:21.639 a purpose driven life, a life of compassion and completion, 179 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:23.639 a life where you get up in the morning with 180 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:26.480 renewed energy and new vigor and new vim and new 181 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:30.240 vitality because you go, man, I know what my purpose is, 182 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:32.200 I know what God made me to do. And you 183 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:35.799 don't lose that spark. And you're not a spiritual zombie. 184 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.120 You're not just sleep walking through life, kind of letting 185 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:43.159 life tell you where to go instead of knowing where 186 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.000 you're going. He says, Then you'll be filled with the 187 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:49.879 fullness of life and power that comes from God. Most 188 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:53.080 people live powerless lives. They have no power to change 189 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.399 their habits, they have no power to change their circumstances, 190 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:58.440 they have no power to change their own lives. 191 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:02.600 Why because they're not rooted in the love of God. 192 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:06.080 Now, the Bible, as I said, has much to say 193 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:10.799 about growing spiritual roots. He says, I want you rooted, radically, 194 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:15.000 rooted in God's love. In fact, every single problem in 195 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:19.320 your life comes because you don't have the deep enough 196 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:22.759 spiritual roots. How do you know when you don't have 197 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:41.159 deep spiritual roots? Worry, fear, anxiety, stress, guilt, shame, boredom, loneliness, resentment, bitterness. 198 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:46.240 These are the results of not having deep spiritual roots. 199 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.120 One of Jesus' most famous stories in the Bible is 200 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:53.519 called the Parable of the Sower, and he tells this 201 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:56.200 story about a farmer who goes out onto his field 202 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.039 and he takes his seed and he's kind of throwing 203 00:11:59.080 --> 00:11:59.320 it out. 204 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:00.639 He's broadcasting the seed. 205 00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:02.720 He's not planning one at a time, and he says, 206 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:05.799 says he throws the seed out on his field, it 207 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.039 falls on four different kinds of soil, and Jesus said, 208 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:12.639 this represents four kinds of hearts of receptivity we can 209 00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:15.440 have toward God. He says, there's the hard heart that 210 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:17.879 doesn't even let the seed grow. And he said, there's 211 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.960 the shallow heart that the roots don't go down deep enough. 212 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:24.720 And he says, there's the crowded heart where the roots 213 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:26.720 get choked out. And he says, then there's the good 214 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:30.919 soil where deep spiritual roots are built. And Jesus says, 215 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.759 the reason why people start off good in life and 216 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:37.039 then blow it, why they start off so well and 217 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:39.080 then they lose their joy and they get stuck in 218 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:43.480 a funk and they get in this spiritual zombie thing, 219 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:48.559 is they don't have spiritual roots, so they're blown away 220 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.279 by everything that happens. Notice this verse on the screen. 221 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:54.679 The Bible says in Matthew thirteen, Jesus said they don't 222 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:56.360 have deep roots. 223 00:12:57.080 --> 00:12:58.440 So they don't last very long. 224 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:03.200 As soon as life gets hard, like a recession, or 225 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:07.200 the message gets them in trouble, they give up. You 226 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:10.159 ever felt like giving up? Whenever you feel like giving up, 227 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:14.679 it is a sign your roots aren't deep enough, Your 228 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.879 spiritual roots aren't radical enough. They're not ingrown into the 229 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:22.840 soil of God's loving up. If you've been feeling like 230 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:24.200 giving up, and a lot of people do at the 231 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:27.559 end of the year, For December is often the most 232 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:30.039 depressing month for many people because they look at all 233 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:32.399 of what they didn't get accomplished. They feel like giving 234 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:35.120 up on their marriage, are giving up on their dream, 235 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:37.720 or giving up on their desire to ever get married 236 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:39.799 or have a baby, or giving up on their desire 237 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:41.240 to have some big. 238 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:46.039 Goal in life. Don't do that. I can help you 239 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:47.840 develop spiritual roots. 240 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:51.159 Now, contrast the person who has no roots, who says 241 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:54.799 he just withers and wilts whenever problems and difficulties and 242 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:58.440 trials and troubles and temptations come. Contrast that with a 243 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:02.360 person who has deep spiritual roots. Jeremiah talks about that 244 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:05.960 kind of person in chapter seventeen of Jeremiah on the Screen. 245 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:08.720 Here's what he says. By the way, this verse Jeremiah 246 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:12.840 seventeen is the first verse in purpose driven Life. Before 247 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:16.240 the first chapter, I was writing about this, I just 248 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:20.360 wasn't using the word radical. The Bible says, Blessed are 249 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:23.120 those you want to be blessed by God. Blessed are 250 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:27.279 those who trust in the Lord and have made the 251 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:28.120 Lord their. 252 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:28.799 Hope and confidence. 253 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:31.320 In other words, their confidence isn't in their job, their 254 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:35.120 hope isn't in their marriage, their trust isn't in other people. 255 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:37.679 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have 256 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:40.519 made him their hope and confidence. And then he gives 257 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:44.840 a metaphor. He says, they're like trees planted along the 258 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:49.279 river banks. He said, with roots that reach deep into 259 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.759 the water. And then he says, people who have deep 260 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:55.159 spiritual roots, there are four things you can see in 261 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:57.480 their lives. And he gives it here in this metaphor. 262 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.240 He says, such trees who have deep roots, he says 263 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:02.679 they're not bothered by the heat. 264 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:04.080 Number one, he said. 265 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:07.360 Number two, they're not worried by long months of drought. 266 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:12.759 He said, Number three, their leaves stay green. And number four, 267 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:17.679 they go right on producing delicious fruit no matter what happens. 268 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:22.039 Now this verse, God is talking about you, and he's saying, 269 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.759 there are four things here that if you'll develop deep 270 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.799 spiritual roots, will be true in your life. 271 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:28.080 He said. 272 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:32.080 Number one, he says that when the heat's on, you 273 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:37.120 don't wilt. He says, they do not. They do not wilt. 274 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:40.480 They do they're not bothered by the heat. And what's 275 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:42.120 he talking about there? He's talking about pressure. 276 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:45.559 How do you know when somebody doesn't have spiritual roots, 277 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:53.320 they crumble under stress, They cave in under pressure. When 278 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:57.399 you don't have deep spiritual roots, pressure comes on and 279 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:01.399 it baffles and batters and bushes you around and you 280 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:04.200 just get drawn along like a tumble weed because you 281 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:06.279 don't have any roots, and you get blown this way 282 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:08.039 and that way, and this way and that way, and 283 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:11.559 the pressure's on and the heat's on, and you get fried. 284 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:16.519 He says, if you got deep roots, heat doesn't bother you. 285 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:19.320 Bring it on. I can handle the heat. Why because 286 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:22.279 I've got deep roots. I'm not depending on it to rain, 287 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:25.320 he said. That's the second thing he said, not only that, 288 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:29.519 they're not worried by drought. People have deep spiritual roots. 289 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:32.120 They're not worried about the recession. They don't care if 290 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:34.600 it goes on ten years, because their source is not 291 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:38.720 in their job. Their hope is not in the economy, 292 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:42.159 their trust is not in the stock market. Their roots 293 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:43.919 are in the love of God. And he goes, when 294 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:46.759 the drought's on, I'm not worried about it. Why because 295 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:50.159 my source of nutrition and nourishment and strength and refreshment 296 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:54.080 is coming from the river, not from the rain. And 297 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:57.600 we don't know when it's going to rain again. He says, 298 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:00.759 you're not baffled by circumstances, and you got roots. 299 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:03.679 And he says, your leave stay green year round. You're 300 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:04.359 in evergreen. 301 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.079 You don't dry up in the winter, in the fall, 302 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:09.640 and he says, you keep on producing fruit. 303 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:11.279 That's what God wants to do. 304 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:13.799 He wants you to be productive year round, no matter 305 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.599 what kind of circumstances you're going through. Now, what is 306 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:19.519 the fruit that he's talking about here? The Bible calls 307 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:24.960 spiritual fruit the fruit of the spirit It's listed in 308 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:27.359 Galatians five, twenty two and twenty three, and there are 309 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:40.359 nine qualities. The spiritual fruit are love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, meekness, 310 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:46.400 self control. I want to have more self control. I 311 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:49.599 want to be more joyful. I want to be more 312 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:52.440 at peace. I want to be more loving. I want 313 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:57.319 to be overflowing in patience. That's spiritual fruit. How do 314 00:17:57.400 --> 00:18:00.720 you know when somebody has spiritual roots real you can 315 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:08.200 see the fruit. Here's the equation. No root, no fruit. Okay, 316 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.680 really hard to understand. No root, no fruit. Any garden goes. 317 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:14.200 You got the root off a plant there, it isn't 318 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:17.640 gonna be fruit on the vine. And if you don't 319 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:20.599 have spiritual roots, you will have no fruit of love 320 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:25.880 and joy and peace overflowing in your life. Our culture 321 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:30.119 is spiritually rootless, and as a result, we get blown 322 00:18:30.119 --> 00:18:33.359 away by this bad and that therapy and that instance 323 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:36.720 and that circumstance and that problem. And we can see 324 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:40.400 society decaying in many areas. We can see conflict in 325 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:42.640 many areas, we can see crime in many areas. All 326 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:45.880 these things it comes from a lack of spiritual roots. 327 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:50.440 So what we're gonna do in this series is talk 328 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:57.400 about radical living, not fanatical, radical living rooted in God's love. 329 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:01.480 So you're stable, you're strong, you can take anything that 330 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:03.119 comes at you, no matter what happens. 331 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:04.480 And none of us knows what's gonna happen. 332 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:07.599 In the next decade, we're gonna look at what does 333 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:12.599 it mean to radically follow Christ? What would happen in 334 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:15.400 your life if you really took Jesus seriously, I mean 335 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:19.400 not casually, but really took him seriously and God's plan 336 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:22.720 for your lives? What kind of fruit would happen in 337 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.440 your life? How productive would you be? How much more 338 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:29.720 productive if you had deeper roots. There's a story in 339 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.400 the Bible, in the Book of Second Kings about a 340 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:36.119 king named Hezekiah. He was the king of Israel and 341 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:39.200 everything was going wrong for Israel. But the worst thing 342 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:42.680 that was happening was the enemy nation of Syria had 343 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:44.759 a huge army, and they were coming at him, and 344 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:47.119 they were going to kick their butts, they were gonna 345 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:52.279 take over, they were gonna annihilate and uproot Israel. And 346 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:57.160 King Hezekiah is devastated, and he goes to the Temple 347 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:59.039 of God and he lays out flat on the ground 348 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:00.680 and he prays it goes God, you got to help me. 349 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.720 I'm in a no win situation. You know, time's up, 350 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:10.720 the last inning's over. We're in overtime and I'm way behind, 351 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:13.799 and we're gonna get We're gonna get killed. 352 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:16.319 So you got to help me. God, Please help. 353 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:21.519 And through God's prophet a man named Isaiah, God gives 354 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:25.480 Hezekiah this promise. It's a wonderful promise. Up here on 355 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:30.319 the screen. Second King's nineteen thirty. It says the surviving remnant, 356 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:32.720 those who make it through that tough year, whether it's 357 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:36.519 recession or war or whatever, the surviving remnant of Judah 358 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:45.039 shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. The 359 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:49.079 Bible says in Colossians, look there on your outline Colossians two, 360 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:54.440 verse seven, in God's Word translation, sink your roots into him. 361 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:58.880 Let's talk about Christ and build on him. Be strengthened 362 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:01.440 by the faith that you were taught. And read it 363 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:08.559 with me. Overflow with thanksgiving, circle overflow with thanksgiving. The 364 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:13.079 first characteristic of deep roots. How do you know when 365 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:16.240 somebody has deep spiritual roots? You can write this down. 366 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:22.400 Continuous gratitude the first characteristic that you know you are 367 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:25.119 not shallow, you are not superficial. 368 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:26.799 That you have deep. 369 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:34.519 Spiritual roots, is you are continually grateful. You overflow with thanksgiving. 370 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:37.759 Thanksgiving is not to be a day that we celebrate 371 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:40.000 once a year. It is to be a habit of 372 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:44.359 a lifestyle of the radical believer. If you have deep roots, 373 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:48.599 the deeper you understand God's love, the more grateful you're 374 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:49.039 going to be. 375 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:58.039 What a special message from Pastor Rick. And now let's 376 00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:01.720 hear how lives are changing through Daily Hope. Here's Rick 377 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:03.640 with a letter from one of our listeners. 378 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:04.319 Today. 379 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:06.880 I've got a quick note from a listener in Minneapolis. 380 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:09.160 His name is Bill, and Bill wrote to me Rick, 381 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:11.559 I want to let you know that I prayed with 382 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:14.319 you this morning, accepting God into my life. 383 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:16.079 Wow. That's great. 384 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:18.720 Daily Hope has become the way that I start each 385 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:22.880 day listening to your podcast. So much has changed in 386 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:25.759 my life over the past year. I had a job lost, 387 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:28.440 I had a transition, I had a divorce, my dad 388 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:33.680 passed away, cancer, and my faith all in the same year. 389 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:36.480 I'm so thankful for all that you do. Well. 390 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:38.960 Bill, I want to tell you I know you've been 391 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:41.680 going through some really tough times this past year, but 392 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:44.920 there's no greater news than hearing that you've accepted Jesus 393 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:46.960 into your life. And the fact that God used a 394 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:50.480 Daily Hope podcast to lead you to Him is such 395 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:53.160 a blessing. And I want you to know that as 396 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:56.680 you continue to study God's Word every day, you're going 397 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:59.400 to find that your faith is growing and you'll see 398 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:02.680 God actatively working in your life. And I really am 399 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.640 as excited to think about what the next year is 400 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:08.160 going to bring. Year two in your life will be 401 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:11.640