Raw and Real Pt-4

Jul 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Cursed Roots in Dry Soil, Blessed Roots by Streams

Trust isn’t about positive thinking—it’s about where you sink your roots. A shrub in the desert withers because it clings to human strength, but a tree by the stream thrives because its roots drink deeply from God’s faithfulness. Trusting God means throwing your whole weight on Him, not just leaning when it’s convenient. Drought reveals what’s underneath: shallow self-reliance or roots anchored in living water. The difference isn’t the heat—it’s where you’re planted. [34:48]

“Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
(Jeremiah 17:5–8, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been trusting in your own plans or strength this week? What would it look like to uproot one worry and “throw your whole weight” on God instead?

Day 2: Transplanted from Tight Places to Wide Open Spaces

God doesn’t leave us stuck in cramped, barren soil. He’s the gardener who transplants us from the tight places of self-sufficiency into the wide-open spaces of His kingdom. Like a rootbound plant moved to rich soil, this shift isn’t gentle—it’s disruptive. But only in His spacious grace can roots stretch deep. Your trials, church family, and even dry seasons are His tools to replant you where His streams flow. [43:02]

“They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green.”
(Psalm 92:13–14, ESV)

Reflection: What “tight place” (habit, mindset, or situation) has God been nudging you to let Him uproot? How might His kingdom’s soil feel unfamiliar but nourishing?

Day 3: Sending Roots Through Fasting When Life Feels Parched

Roots grow when the surface feels dry. Fasting isn’t about punishing the body—it’s sending roots deeper into God’s presence when life’s heat intensifies. Like a tree in drought drilling roots toward hidden streams, spiritual disciplines create space to tap into God’s sustaining power. Your hunger pangs become prayers; your cravings turn into dependence. What looks like lack above ground becomes lifeline below. [48:12]

“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.’”
(Matthew 17:19–21, ESV)

Reflection: What practical step (fasting a meal, social media, or a distraction) could help you “send roots” into God’s presence this week? How might emptiness create space for His fullness?

Day 4: When Heat Scorches Leaves But Can’t Touch Roots

Heat doesn’t ask permission—it comes. But flames that crisp leaves can’t burn roots tapped into eternal streams. Financial crashes, health scares, or relational droughts expose where we’re truly anchored. The blessed life isn’t fireproof; it’s fire-resilient. Your roots don’t depend on green leaves—they feed on the underground river of God’s “unmerited favor.” [56:01]

“That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love…”
(Ephesians 3:16–17, ESV)

Reflection: What current “heat” makes you want to focus on scorched leaves? How could shifting your gaze to Christ’s indwelling strength change your perspective?

Day 5: Fruit Grows When Roots Tap Living Water

Fruit isn’t a trophy for effort—it’s the overflow of roots drinking deeply. An apple tree doesn’t strain to produce apples; it simply abides in nutrients. Likewise, love, joy, and peace flourish when we’re rooted in Christ’s presence, not our performance. Your struggle to “bear fruit” might signal dehydrated roots. Return to the stream. [59:18]

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
(John 15:5, ESV)

Reflection: What fruit (patience, kindness, etc.) feels forced in your life? How might abiding—not striving—in Christ’s presence nourish it naturally?

Sermon Summary

Jeremiah 17 keeps life real simple when life has gotten way too complicated. God puts people in two categories, blessed people and cursed people. The cursed man trusts in man, makes flesh his strength, and lets his heart turn away from the Lord. God is not refusing to save that man, because whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, but that man cannot live under blessing while refusing to trust the God who gives it.

The blessed man trusts in the Lord, and his trust is the Lord. Trust is not just trying real hard for a little while and then quitting when the mess does not get fixed fast enough. Trust is throwing the whole weight on God, all the bills, all the children, all the marriage, all the health, all the future, the whole backpack full of stuff. Faith does not pretend the load is light. Faith knows God is strong enough to carry the load.

The tree by the water shows what blessed people look like. God intentionally transplants his people, taking them out of the tight old planter of the flesh and putting them into the kingdom. A planted life cannot keep jumping from place to place and still expect roots to grow. The righteous flourish when they are planted in the house of the Lord, because what God grows underground determines what can stand above ground.

The roots make the difference. Roots go out through prayer, fasting, obedience, mercy, generosity, restraint, and the decision to keep trusting when nothing looks different yet. Leaves impress people, but roots sustain people. A shallow Christianity only serves when it feels good, but a rooted believer keeps swinging the axe, keeps praying through, keeps tapping into the stream of the living God.

The heat is going to come. Jeremiah does not promise a life without fire, drought, pressure, debt, sickness, shame, or fear. God promises that a rooted tree does not have to fear when the heat comes, because the flame may scorch the leaf, but it cannot touch what is drinking from the stream. The fruit comes from the root, not from flesh trying harder.

Grace reaches even the heart that looks clean on top but is still a dirt floor underneath. God is after the root, the heart, the hidden place. The call is not self-sustaining religion, but God-sustaining life, rooted in grace, repentance, and real trust.

Key Takeaways

1. Trust throws full weight on God Trust is not a religious line people say when life gets hard. Trust is the soul taking the whole backpack of worry and putting it on the Lord because the problem is too heavy for flesh. Faith does not make the burden imaginary, it names God as strong enough to sustain what the heart cannot carry. [36:20]
2. Planted people stop living transplanted The planted life lets God pull the heart out of the old tight place and put it in kingdom soil. A person cannot live half in the world and half in the kingdom and still expect deep roots. Purpose often appears only after a soul stays planted long enough for hidden growth to become visible. [43:02]
3. Roots sustain what leaves display Leaves may look good to people, but roots decide whether the tree survives. Prayer, fasting, mercy, obedience, generosity, and restraint are often unseen, but they are where spiritual stability is formed. A shallow life chases what glitters, while a rooted life keeps reaching for the stream even when trauma comes. [55:44]
4. Heat reveals the hidden root The heat is not always proof that something has gone wrong. Fire and drought often show what the heart has been drinking from. A rooted believer may feel the scorch on the leaves, but the life underneath remains held by God’s sustaining power. [56:36]
5. Grace reaches dirt-floor hearts Some hearts look clean because the surface has been swept again and again, but the floor underneath is still dirt. Sin does not always look loud, addicted, or obvious, because self-sufficiency can be just as resistant to grace. God’s grace goes deeper than appearance and calls the heart away from self-sustaining pride into God-sustaining life.

## [70:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[27:59] - Raw and Real Trust
[30:56] - Trust as the Antidote
[32:41] - Blessed People and Cursed People
[34:48] - Trust Produces Blessing
[36:20] - Throwing Full Weight on God
[39:45] - Planted, Not Lucky
[43:02] - Transplanted into the Kingdom
[45:35] - Planted in the House of God
[47:48] - Sending Out Roots
[52:04] - Keep Praying Until Roots Grow
[55:44] - Leaves Impress, Roots Sustain
[56:36] - Heat Cannot Touch the Roots
[63:20] - Strengthened by the Spirit
[70:44] - Grace for Dirt-Floor Hearts

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Jeremiah 17:5-8
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.’” [32:20]

Psalm 55:22
“Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” [37:36]

Psalm 92:12-13
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.” [44:13]

Colossians 2:6-7
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” [53:02]

Observation questions

In Jeremiah 17:5-8, what contrasts are given between the person who trusts in man and the person who trusts in the Lord? [34:33]
What are some of the “burdens” named that people are meant to cast on the Lord in Psalm 55:22? [37:36]
According to Psalm 92:12-13, where are the righteous planted, and what picture is used to describe their growth?
What are some specific ways roots were described as growing beneath the surface—things that may not impress people right away but still matter deeply? [55:44]

Interpretation questions

Jeremiah says the cursed person “makes flesh his strength.” What does that look like in everyday life, even for someone who still talks religiously? [33:21]
Jeremiah does not only say that a blessed person trusts in the Lord, but that “his trust is the Lord.” What is the difference between trusting God for a result and trusting God for who He is? [51:14]
The image of being planted in the house of the Lord suggests more than occasional attendance. What does a planted life seem to involve, and why is that important for real spiritual growth? [45:35]
The heat and drought are not presented as unusual exceptions but as expected parts of life. How can hardship reveal what a heart has really been drawing strength from? [01:02:19]

Application questions

What is in the “backpack” right now that needs to be thrown fully onto the Lord—bills, children, marriage, health, fear, shame, or something else? What would it look like to stop carrying that alone this week? [37:43]
A planted life cannot keep jumping from place to place and still expect deep roots. In what part of life is there a temptation to keep pulling up roots instead of staying where God has placed you? [42:25]
Roots grow through hidden choices like prayer, fasting, mercy, generosity, obedience, and restraint. Which one of those feels most needed right now, and which one feels most resisted by the flesh? [47:48]
There is a kind of shallow Christianity that only serves when it feels good. When has faithfulness become difficult lately, and what would it mean to keep praying and keep trusting even before anything looks different? [52:17]
Leaves impress people, but roots sustain people. Is there any area where the outside looks better than the inside right now? What might it look like to let God work on the hidden root instead of just managing appearances? [01:10:44]
The heat is going to come, and it does not always mean something has gone wrong. What “heat” is pressing on life right now, and how is it exposing either fear or deeper trust? [56:36]
Grace reaches deeper than obvious sin and also confronts self-sufficiency. Where is there a tendency to act like everything is fine, manageable, and under control instead of admitting the need for grace? [01:10:44]

Sermon Clips

44s

#RootedAndBuiltUp

“But we're to be rooted and built up in him so when I decide not to, my roots begin to grow. When I decide to keep my flesh in subjection instead of giving them a piece of my mind, my roots begin to grow. When I decide to not to respond because I'm freaking out, because life seems to crumble come on. I'm talking to somebody today that wants to send out some roots in Jesus' name. I'm talking to somebody today that's tired of the status quo, that doesn't just wanna go through the motions, that wants to be able to stand in the presence of God and watch his roots go out and to tap into something supernatural. The kind of sending out roots that changes who you are and changes your stability. Though they slay me, I will still serve the Lord in Jesus' name.”

40s

#PlantedInTheKingdom

“This word planted is Shital. It means to intentionally transplant by a gardener. He he wants to take you out of the world and plant you into the kingdom of god. But see, you can't be of the world and of the kingdom at the same time. You gotta choose to let god uproot you. Some of us go through droughts and we don't understand why but the truth is we need to be planted to the kingdom of god. We'll never experience anything because a planter was never intended to stay in. The planter was a we was intended to be transplanted in Jesus' name. Amen.”

40s

#TrustGodsIdentity

“And I might fall, but I'm gonna rise in Jesus' name. And there's some people under the sound of my voice, you need to quit listening to them at work. You need to quit listening to the executive. You need to quit listening to what's on the inside of you, what your mama said, and what your daddy said. You need to start trusting in God and planting roots in what his identity says you are. He says greater is he that's in me than me, that's he that's in the world. And you need to trust God for something better, something bigger. You don't need to be under the curse because we serve a God that reverses a curse and puts us back in the family of God. And he gives me status not because I earned it, but because of his unmerited favor. You know what grace is? Grace is his unmerited favor.”

46s

#ThrowYourWeightOnGod

“So when we look at this scripture, number one, blessed people trust the Lord. Boy, I'm gonna find a place to put this. Blessed people trust the Lord. What does trust look like? Well, trust, first of all, when you think about trusting, we are all he compares us to trees. Do you know you ought to grow as a Christian? There's a lot of symbolisms when it comes to it. But when he says, blessed is a man who trusts in the Lord, bar barak, this word blessed. Now the the this word means that he's a covenant favor or that it is to throw your whole weight on him. So blessed is covenant favor, Trust is to throw your whole weight on him.”

68s

#LetGodCarryTheLoad

“And some people that I know, you say, oh, it's just money. No. I'm talking about people that's put fifty, sixty years in working their tail off and putting their money in four zero one k and have hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they watch 10 or 20% leave in one day. That takes trust to give that to god. That's discouraging to think that is a load. But how much more of a load is it when you're sitting in a hospital bed? Some people that are listening to us today are sitting in a hospital bed or they're sitting in a nursing facility, and and they don't know if they're gonna be mobile again. And some of us were sitting in the hospital last week, but bless god, they're in church today in Jesus' name. But there is a trust that you have to throw your entire weight upon him. And some of us well, I'm getting ahead of myself, but some of us are having too much anxiety because we're trying to handle everything ourself. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. Faith isn't pretending that your load is light, but faith is knowing that God is strong enough to carry the load. I don't have to carry the load. He carries the load, but but faith is what trust is. And then by and by the way, number two, blessed people are planted.”

50s

#AbundanceNotFear

“So to have an abundance mindset is what I've been working on all of my Christian life. I can hardly stand when someone starts complaining and fearing the heat because the heat's gonna come. It's gonna come. And sometimes it comes in small amounts, and sometimes it comes in big amount. But you know what? The Bible says that he reigns on the just and the unjust alike. The worst thing you can do under the sound of my voice is when the heat comes, think that you've done something wrong. No. When the heat comes, it can reveal your roots. But God never sent any heat that we couldn't sustain. He never intended for us to sustain sustain it on our own. My goodness. Notice God never promised there wouldn't be heat or drought. He promised his people could flourish in the middle of it. That's what the scripture says.”

52s

#RootsOverLeaves

“Because if I'm tapped into the stream of the living God, it can't burn what's underneath the soil. It can't burn what's God's beginning me. I've been through too much now for the heat to scare me. I've I've seen the days when I laid in bed and thought, what's my god gonna do? I've laid in bed and thought, am I ever gonna get sleep again? I've laid in bed long enough for three or four days and wondered, what if I show up and no one sits in the church, but I've served God long enough to say that I'll sustain you in the midst of the fire. I'll sustain you wherever you are. I'll be a God to you when the heat comes. I'll be a God to you in the mountaintop. I'll be a God to you in the valley. I'll be a God to you in whatsoever state that I am. Paul said, I've learned how to be abased, and I've learned how to be abound. So heat let the heat come because my roots are not so my leaves are not what sustains me, but it is the roots that sustain me.”

73s

#ServeThroughTheHeat

“Though they slay me, I'll still serve the Lord. Though it's not like I expected, I'll still serve the Lord. Leaves impress people, but roots sustain people. We need a sustained root. Blessed people don't fear the heat. You know what? The heat's gonna come. No matter what you do, the heat's gonna come. The heat's coming. You can say, I don't want the heat to come. I don't want the heat to come. The heat's coming. You you can you can pray the heat don't come, I'm telling you the heat's coming and it's gonna come. And, you know, it's gonna someone says, no. Don't worry. The heat's gonna come. It's gonna come. And then sometimes you think, I don't want the heat to come, and then God says, the heat's coming, and it's gonna come. You can feel that, can't you? The heat's coming. But see, I'm not afraid of the heat like I used to be. Because now when the heat comes, it might burn my leaf, but it can't touch my roots.”

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Raw and Real Pt-4

Devotional

Day 1: Cursed Roots in Dry Soil, Blessed Roots by Streams

Day 2: Transplanted from Tight Places to Wide Open Spaces

Day 3: Sending Roots Through Fasting When Life Feels Parched

Day 4: When Heat Scorches Leaves But Can’t Touch Roots

Day 5: Fruit Grows When Roots Tap Living Water

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Raw and Real Pt-4

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