Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Have you ever heard of the Shepherds tree? It’s native to the Kalahari Desert. It has for centuries been a shaded shelter of choice for shepherds guarding their sheep or goats in the hot sun. It actually can be a nourishing supplement for humans. The Shepherd’s tree is often referred to as the “tree of life”, as nearly every part of it could be used or eaten by humans or animals. The roots, when dried, roasted and ground, act as a substitute for coffee or can be pounded into a white meal to make porridge. But one of the most interesting things about this tree is that it has the deepest documented root system. Its roots can go approximately 230 feet deep. It’s not a very big tree and fairly small in stature but it is certainly very well rooted.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
In like manner in the church we want our roots to go down deep, being rooted both in the truth of God’s Word, and the love of Christ.
Ephesians 3:17-19 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
The Apostle wants us to be rooted and grounded in love in the Christian church. When you are well rooted, it means you are firmly planted and established, and have deeply rooted opinions and feelings. People who are well rooted believe or feel something extremely strongly and are unlikely to change. One definition says strong and difficult to change. In the church, we need to be well rooted in love.
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
God cares for us very much. He doesn’t want anybody to perish, but rather to believe in his precious Son, whom He sent into this world, to teach us about divine love.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
God is love, in its most perfect form. We currently live in a world that is void of love. In the church, each of us is supposed to be a beacon of love to this world. We are called to care for others, the way that God cares for each of us. We learn what love is by looking to Christ.
1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
When the seeds of hatred and malice surround each of us day by day out in the world, you have to be well rooted in love. Like the shepherds tree, we need deep roots that are grounded in love, not only for each other in the church, but for others out in the world as well. God cared for us and loved us, even before we believed in Him.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
He says while we were yet sinners. We hadn’t even gone through a conversion yet or undergone a change yet. We hadn’t even become transformed yet, but still he died on the cross so that we could have forgiveness with Him. That is divine love. It is what holds a church together. Love is merciful and kind and forgiving.
1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Jesus loved his own disciples so very much that He gave them the things of His heavenly Father. Day by day He helped them to grow in their faith and was constantly educating them and helping them to mature. Love speaks the truth and Jesus gave his disciples the truth of God’s kingdom.
1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Eph 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Just like a root will go deep into the ground and draw nutrients and water to help it survive, when we go to the church, we get filled up on the things of God. We understand how much He loves and cares for us, and draw nutrients from the preaching of God’s Word.
It’s very interesting when you read about the four main functions of plant roots. One is absorption of water. The second is anchoring the plant body to the ground and supporting it. Thirdly, it stores food and nutrients and lastly, it’s a transport system to bring water and minerals to the stem. Interesting enough, these are all functions of the church! For example…..
When we go to the church, we hear God’s word and we absorb the preaching and teachings of Scripture into our hearts and our minds. The church anchors and supports us as we walk through this sinful world. The church is like a root because it is a storage place for food and nutrients found in the teachings of Scripture. Lastly, it provides water and minerals to the stem, which is us. It’s very interesting how the Lord describes it in John 15
John 15:1-5 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
The word abide means to stay with and to remain. It means to adhere, execute, obey, perform, or otherwise act in conformity with. Just like the shepherds tree, we want to be rooted and grounded in love.
………that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.
Faith is defined as complete trust and confidence in someone or something. When you have faith in God, it has to do with trusting him. If you possess faith, it means you rely on the truth of the things that Jesus taught.
Prov 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Ps 13:5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
Ps 40:4 “Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust…
Ps 31:14 But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God.
The Apostle wanted Christ to dwell in the hearts of the church people. They needed to trust and have faith in the teachings of the church. They needed to be rooted and grounded in love, not only for each other, but for Christ and the things that he taught.
……..may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length and depth tonight, and then know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.
When you comprehend something, it means you grasp mentally and understand it. You grasp the nature, significance or the meaning of something completely. The Apostle wanted the church to grasp the great measures that God has taken to show this world His love. He wanted them to understand completely what Jesus did for us at the cross. The Apostle wanted us to understand how big and large God’s love is for each of us.
You can read about the size of a mega tanker, but until you watch it as it comes into a harbor, it’s hard to comprehend how big it really is. You can read a book about the size of the Rocky Mountains but until you are right next to them it’s hard to understand how huge they actually are.
The Apostle wanted us to understand how big God’s love is. It’s truly the biggest thing that I think that you could ever know. It’s understanding completely how much he cares for you. When we truly come to understand how much God loves us, and truly start to comprehend the size and the vastness of His heart towards us, then we can receive it and be filled with all the fullness of God. When we are filled up with His love, we can show that love to others.
As I said already, the church is supposed to be a beacon of love. The world is in a sinful state and does not understand love. The world’s form of love and divine love are two completely different things. We need to return God’s love back to Him through an obedient and faithful heart, and then show that love to the world through the truth.
Because this world lacks compassion, mercy, and love, it can slowly wear you down. This is why we need to be filled up daily with scripture. We need to draw our nutrients from Christ, well rooted in the Word of God and the love that He has shown us. We’re going to need to develop some deep strong roots just like…..
….. Shepherds Tree
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms, or by getting our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
tlkjbc.com
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 