January 18 2026 Rooted Not Rushed

``Before the crowds, you know what Jesus would often do? Some of you who are reading with us in the in the New Testament ninety days, if you read through the book of Mark with us over this past week, Mark really draws this out. Mark is a book of action. It jumps right in. There's no Christmas story. There's no shepherds. There's none of that. Mark's like, forget it. Let's get right to Jesus' story. And when he starts, he starts talking over and over again about how Jesus did this, but then Jesus did what? He withdrew. Jesus did this then he stepped aside to pray. Jesus did this then he pulled away from the crowds. You see before the crowds, before miracles, before the cross, what did Jesus do? He spent time with the father in prayer. He spent time staying steady and rooted in his father. You see, Jesus lived deeply before he lived publicly. And that matters. [00:31:04] (48 seconds)  #DeepBeforePublic

Come back with me to scripture. We're gonna go back to Psalm one in a second but scripture actually names this. You know what God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah? God said this in Jeremiah chapter two. He says, my people have done two things. They've walked away from the spring of living water and they've dug their own cisterns. Broken ones. Ones that can't hold water. And that is a very revealing picture to us because these people weren't going after something evil. They were trying to quench their thirst. They were trying to find a way to nourish themselves. But they were choosing sources apart from God that could not sustain life. They were still just as thirsty and they were still just as empty as they were before they found water. Why? Because they were not getting it from the proper stream. [00:11:13] (44 seconds)  #ChooseLivingWater

Why didn't you try harder to stay planted? It's not about that. This message is an invitation to stop carrying the responsibility of sustaining your own life. You were never meant to sustain your own life. You don't root yourself into God's love. You don't earn that place. You can't manufacture stability. It's given by grace. It's given by grace. And maybe that's the invitation this morning. So often, wanna fix everything. We wanna prove stuff. But we have to remember who it is we're remaining in. It's Jesus. He's the ultimate rooted one. He's the ultimate tree planted by the water. We remain rooted in him and by grace, his life becomes ours. [00:33:37] (46 seconds)  #GraceNotSelfSustained

That type of living has bled into the way we seek God. If God is doing something in my life, it's gonna happen quickly. How often does that happen? If I'm serious about this, then I should feel some pressure. Fast decisions, fast spiritual turnarounds, those things do happen. Don't get me wrong. I've heard stories of people who their life was one way. I knelt at an altar. I prayed and I got up and nothing was ever the same. Those are true. Those are true stories. But so often in life, the way God works within us, it's a little slower than that. Yes. The moment we turn to faith in him and believe, something changes within us. We are brought from death to life. But there's a lot of that old way of living that God has to work through a sanctifying process within us to remove from our lives. We have to relearn. That's why he says, do not be conformed but be transformed. If we are gonna be transformed, sometimes that is a slow process. [00:14:42] (58 seconds)  #SanctificationTakesTime

I'm not talking about in ideal conditions. We know that there are ideal conditions. If you want to plant a garden, there's ideal conditions. We need the soil. We need the water. We need the sun. Right? Is that your life? Is your life ideal conditions? Mine isn't. What does it look like in real life to actually be formed by God? Can I give you a couple instances this morning? First thing is this, remaining present when nothing feels especially powerful. Here's what I mean by that. You show up to worship. You sing. It just didn't hit the way it used to. It just doesn't feel the way I thought it should feel. You walk out thinking, you know what? That that was fine. I was at church but did it matter? Can I tell you something? Formation looks like staying anyway. It looks like returning week after week not because you're chasing a feeling. Not because you're chasing a feeling but because this is where life is rooted with other people who are seeking to do the same thing. No, it might not feel especially powerful every Sunday morning but staying rooted is remaining, constantly abiding with others and being formed together as the church. It's also choosing to keep showing up and this is I'm not talking about just in a space like this right now. But keep showing up even when the emotion isn't there. [00:26:10] (79 seconds)  #StayWhenItFeelsFlat

Why does the tree flourish? Because it's impressive? No. Because it's disciplined? No. Because it's relentless? No. It's planted. It's planted where it needs to be. You know, when we read about flourishing in scripture, often when we read about flourishing in scripture, it is often tied to not how hard someone is trying but it is all often and almost always tied to how someone is rooted. And that's what this picture in Psalm 92 and in Psalm 91 it shows us. That stability is not always in this outward effort and that's where we think it is in life. Stability is in this inner centeredness and rootedness where? Where we need to be seeking God first. Putting ourselves in the proper posture and position with Jesus [00:12:43] (47 seconds)  #RootedNotRelentless

Now, what I mean by that is that we're not tossed back and forth by the waves of life because sometimes we know. But hope is said to be what? It's an anchor for the soul. Peace is what? It comes in the midst of chaos. Who's never had calmness in the face of trouble? We we know what this looks like. The people that Paul is writing to, what Paul has actually experienced in his life, overwhelming trouble, persecution, beatings, imprisonment, all of this stuff. And yet, he can write this. If you read the book of Philippians, he talks about this peace that passes all understanding. Why? Because he was rooted, because he remained, and because he was steadfast in Jesus. [00:20:08] (38 seconds)  #RootedPeace

It's about making sure the life we're living is drawing nourishment from something that can actually sustain it. Remember again, this is a tree in Psalm one whose leaves don't wither. Not because life is easy but because the source of water didn't disappear. The stream didn't dry up. The roots didn't panic. The growth wasn't rushed. And the picture that scripture gives us over and over for the faith that God has for his people is not a frantic faith. It's not a panicked faith. It is a steady faith. It is a rooted faith. [00:25:13] (35 seconds)  #SteadyRootedFaith