WEBVTT

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17, verse 7. We'll read these two verses, then

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we'll pray and get started. The man who trusts

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in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord,

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is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by

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water. It sends its roots out toward a stream.

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It doesn't fear when heat comes, and its foliage

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remains green. It will not worry in a year of

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drought. or cease producing fruit let's pray

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dear lord we come to you today and i pray that

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we would be those who are well rooted in you

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dear lord that we would be those who trust in

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you god that we'd be those who long to to to

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be uh sustained by you, dear Lord, to get the

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nutrients from you, to grow in you, dear Lord,

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in every way possible, that we'll be able to

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produce fruit, dear Lord, that we'll remain green

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in all seasons of our life, that we'll be well

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-rooted enough, dear Lord, that even in seasons

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of drought, that you'd keep us going. So I pray,

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God, that you would just... Help me to preach

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and teach in a way that brings glory to you.

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I pray that you take away any fear or pride that

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I have today. I pray that you would help people

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to hear your words today, dear Lord. Nothing

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I say, but only what you say. Let your spirit

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lead us and guide us, dear Lord. And I ask these

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things in Jesus' name. Amen. Has anybody in this

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room ever heard of Pawhuska, Oklahoma before?

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If you have, raise your hand. Alright, we got

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a couple of hands. Well, you've listened to hear

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of it today. You probably haven't heard of it,

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but you probably have heard of Pioneer Woman.

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Has anybody ever heard of the Pioneer Woman or

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watched her on TV? Yeah, that's a few more of

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you. Well, that's where she is from, Pawhuska,

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Oklahoma. Now, it is about as far away from here

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as you can get in the corner of Oklahoma. It's

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in the northwest corner, and when you get there,

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you are nowhere. When you get there, you are

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in the middle of... And I didn't really know

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about it. Allison had mentioned it, and I got

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to researching it. And we ended up going there,

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and it's a really neat place to go. The main

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town area is kind of stuck in the past. The hotel

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we stayed in was built back in the 20s, and it's

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not much there, but it's starting to grow because

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of Pioneer Woman, and she's got a store there,

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several stores there, and a few restaurants and

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a few other little stores, and so it's a sleepy,

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slow -paced little town in the middle of nowhere,

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but it's a lot of good stuff, too. And one of

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the things we saw while we were there was the

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Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Reserve.

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And that's where this picture is from. Now, this

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is not a picture I took. The grass is not that

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green. It's only a very little bit of green grass

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there at the tail end of winter. But as the spring

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begins to spring, the grass will begin to grow,

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and it'll get really tall, up to nine, ten foot

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tall, this grass will get. Now, this reserve

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where these buffalo live, that's really the only

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thing that's there, is about... 40 ,000 acres.

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It's only 40 ,000 acres. And you say, well, that

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seems like a lot. But it kind of paled in comparison.

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We had left the Pioneer Woman Ranch before we

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went there, which is 400 ,000 acres. And so this

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was just a small little portion of land out there

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in the middle of nowhere. And this land was not

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always a land where buffalo roamed. Several years

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ago, it's been quite some time ago now, they

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decided to make this a reserve a wildlife reserve

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and bring these buffalo in at the time there's

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lots of cattle up there and so for years and

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years and years there had been cattle on this

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land and once it was decided that they would

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set aside this portion of land for this wildlife

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reserve they they they let it lay fallow for

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10 years they took all the the cattle off of

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it and they let it just sit and get prepared

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for bringing in these buffalo that would come.

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Now, before they brought the buffalo into the

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land, they did a plant study to see how much

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plant life was growing there on the 40 ,000 acres,

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and it was about 30 different types of plants

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that were growing there. Now once they began

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to bring the buffalo in, some time went by and

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it wasn't long after that they did another plant

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study and discovered that there were over 700

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species of plants that were growing there. And

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that was because the ground was being tilled

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by the hooves of the buffalo. Now the grass can

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get up to 9, 10 foot tall, but very seldom does

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it because the buffalo are constantly roaming

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the land, eating the grass, tilling the grass,

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rubbing it up with their hooves, rolling around

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on it. And so very seldom does it get that tall

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in all of the spots, but in some spots it does.

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It was a great trip. I would love to go back

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and see when the grass is green and when it's

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tall, but we were able to see quite a few buffalo

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on the trip. great learning experience just to

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be out there in the middle of nowhere and as

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far as the eye could see just open plains and

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and it was it was a really good experience and

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we went to the Welcome Center at this wildlife

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reserve and what we found there was a little

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bit of information but the most the thing that

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struck me the most about this tall grass reserve

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is not that the grass is nine ten foot tall above

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the surface, but ever how tall the grass is above

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the surface, it is also that deep into the ground

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below the surface. It is well rooted. And that's

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why it's able to go and grow that high is because

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it's well rooted. And it can get the nutrients

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it needs to grow and to be lush and to be green

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and to be pretty. And when I saw the chart that

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they had there and the picture that they had

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there of how deep into the soil that those grasses

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were rooted, I thought to myself, you know, we

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as Christians should be well rooted. If we are

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going to grow in the Lord, then we have to be

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well -rooted. We can't just strive and desire

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to grow outwardly on the outside because we'll

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never grow as tall and as strong and as beautiful

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if we want to be if we are not well -rooted.

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We can only be as big and strong and tall outwardly

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as we are inwardly rooted in God. And so the

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question that we need to ask ourselves today

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is, are we rooted in God? And if we are rooted

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in the Word of God, if we are rooted in Jesus

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Christ, how deep are our roots going? Are we

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those who have just made that decision to follow

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Jesus Christ, but we've got our roots in the

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soil, but they're really not growing because

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they're not being fed. They're not receiving

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the nutrients that they need. Now, if you want

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something to grow, you have to work with it.

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You have to give it a little attention. It really

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takes a little bit of work. It takes some effort

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for things to grow. Last spring, we planted 179

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Eliagnus bushes around our whole property. Some

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of you have seen them when you drive by. And

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you can see that they are growing. And right

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before we left on the trip, my father and I,

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we went and we fertilized every one of them.

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And there's an irrigation line running around

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every single one of them. And they get water

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when there's a time that we go without much water.

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When we water them, when we fertilize them, guess

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what that does? It promotes growth. It helps

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those roots to get deeper into the ground. And

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the deeper into the ground, the more nutrients

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they get and the bigger they're going to grow.

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And our walk with the Lord really is not much

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different. If we neglect our walk with the Lord,

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If we neglect God, if we neglect God's word,

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if we neglect our prayer time, then we are not

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well -rooted. And we're not going to grow. We're

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going to stay stagnant. And even worse than that,

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if we don't put a little attention on our walk

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with God, then eventually we are going to shrivel

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up. And sometimes when plants begin to die, you

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say, uh -oh, they're in bad shape. They need

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a little attention. And maybe for some of us

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spiritually today, we need a little attention.

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There may be some things in our life that are

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dead and that are rotten that need to be chopped

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off. We need to fertilize our life and we need

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to water our life with the Word of God, with

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Jesus Christ. Our prayer life needs to improve.

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And the more we grow in those things, the more

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we will be better rooted in the Lord. And the

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more we are rooted in the Lord in our heart,

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the more that's going to change how we act and

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how we live. On the outside. So if you want God

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to change your attitude, to change your actions,

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to change the way you live, then you've got to

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let him change your heart. And that may begin

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with you saying, God, I'm not giving you very

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much attention. And I'm not very well rooted

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in you. But maybe we need to say, okay, I need

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to make some changes in my life. And in the same

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way that those buffalo came into all that land

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and began to till that soil and began to break

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it up, there was a flurry of new life that began

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to blossom out. And maybe that's what we need

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to allow God's Word to do in our life. We need

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to read it. And we need to read those words that

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we like for encouragement. Those are good. Those

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go -to scriptures, the happy ones, we like those.

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But then we need to read those that are a little

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rougher. They're a little tougher. They kind

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of cut to the core. Those are the ones that are

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going to begin to break through that hard surface.

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And the more we begin to read God's Word, the

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more it begins to kind of till our heart and

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begins to kind of soften it up. And then... When

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we begin to seek God, he can begin to grow us

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in ways that we never imagined. In areas that

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people might look at our life and say, boy, I

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never thought he'd have been that way or she'd

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have been that way. And that happens when our

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life is changed by God. And we see... Kind of

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the same type of language here in Jeremiah chapter

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17, verses 7 and 8. The man who trusts in the

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Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is

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blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water.

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It sends its roots out toward a stream. What

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about us today? Are we those who trust the Lord,

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who are planted by the streams of living water

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in Jesus Christ, who are planted in the Word

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of God? Where are we sending our roots out to

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today? If a tree, if a plant of grass is going

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to be sustained and going to be healthy, its

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roots have to reach down and grab some nutrients

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and grab some good soil and grab some water.

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But if the soil's not good, the roots aren't

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going to be good. If the roots aren't going to

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be good, then the tree's not going to be good.

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So where are you sticking your roots today? Where

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are our roots reaching out to today? Are we rooted

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in the things of the world? Are we rooted in

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our desires? Are we rooted in our pride? Are

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we rooted in our hatred? The list goes on and

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on and on. The Bible is, there's no shortage

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of list of sins that we commit and that we struggle

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with. And the question is, what are you rooted

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in today? If you are rooted into the things of

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the world, you are not going to grow and you

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are going to die. But God says he wants to give

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us life. He wants to give us eternal life. He

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wants us to be those who trust in him and those

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who are rooted in him and those of us who say,

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God, I want to put my roots. I want to reach.

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I want to stretch. I want to reach into the stream

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of living water that is Jesus Christ that I may

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receive life everlasting. So what are we rooted

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in today? What are we striving for? What are

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we reaching for deep down inside? What does our

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heart desire? Does it desire the things of God

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or does it desire our own selfish desires? And

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maybe we look at ourselves today and we say,

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you know what? I'm rooted in the wrong things.

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I'm rooted in things for myself. I'm not rooted

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in a life of God. But this is what's going to

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cause us to grow to be the men and the women

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that God wants us to be if we are rooted in Him

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and sustained by Him. And if we are, It says,

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as the scripture continues, it doesn't fear when

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heat comes, its foliage remains green. If we

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are well -rooted, we will be green. What about

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us today? Do we remain green? Are we a tree that's

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well -rooted, that's producing good fruit? Are

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our leaves green and our fruit desirable? What

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would people say about you in your life? Are

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you a person that people want to be around? Do

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you exhibit kindness and love and respect? Do

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you care for other people? Do people even know

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that you're a Christian by the way that you live?

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Not if your leaves aren't green. Not if we're

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not well rooted in the Lord. Our leaves are going

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to be as brown and as dead and as ugly and as

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useless as can be. And there ain't no good fruit

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that comes from a tree with brown leaves. But

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for the man and the woman who trust in the Lord

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who is well -rooted, their leaves will remain

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green. Now maybe you look at your life today

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and you say, there are some leaves on my tree

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that are starting to turn brown. Well, you better

00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:17.480
cut them off and you better seek God and you

00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:19.600
better check your root system and you better

00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:21.440
see what you're rooted in and say, God, I need

00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:23.299
some help. I'm seeing some brown leaves in my

00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:25.440
life. And they come. There's no way around it.

00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:27.080
They're going to keep coming because the sin

00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:30.139
comes and the temptation comes and it's a constant

00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:32.899
struggle. Anybody that's ever had plants, that's

00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:35.139
ever planted a garden, you know it's a constant

00:14:35.139 --> 00:14:37.139
struggle. You don't just plant it. They don't

00:14:37.139 --> 00:14:38.620
just grow and be beautiful, and then you say,

00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:40.620
that's it, and they're done for the rest of your

00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:43.350
life. It's a constant battle. You always have

00:14:43.350 --> 00:14:45.350
to maintain them. You always have to be looking

00:14:45.350 --> 00:14:48.009
for the bugs. You always have to be aware of

00:14:48.009 --> 00:14:49.970
the drought that may be around the corner. You

00:14:49.970 --> 00:14:52.289
always have to find those dead leaves. No matter

00:14:52.289 --> 00:14:54.769
how good you take care of them, eventually there's

00:14:54.769 --> 00:14:56.450
going to be a leaf or two that's going to die,

00:14:56.590 --> 00:14:59.110
a plant or two that's going to die. You always

00:14:59.110 --> 00:15:02.230
have to be on top of it, and so it is for our

00:15:02.230 --> 00:15:05.389
walk with the Lord. We try as hard as we can.

00:15:05.409 --> 00:15:08.250
We should. But the truth of the matter is we

00:15:08.250 --> 00:15:11.879
fail. And sometimes there are some spots in our

00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:14.980
life that are starting to turn brown. There's

00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:17.840
some bugs in our life. There's the enemy in our

00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:20.519
life that's starting to eat through and starting

00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:23.659
to cause trouble. And we have to deal with those

00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:26.559
things. And the only way that we deal with those

00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:29.580
things in our life is through Jesus Christ. The

00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:31.600
only way that we can be sustained and remain

00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.960
green in our life is when we are well -rooted

00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:39.419
in the Lord. It says at the end of the verse,

00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:42.759
it says it will not worry in a year of drought

00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:48.480
or cease producing fruit. Now here's the thing

00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:51.480
about life is that there are going to be seasons

00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:54.159
in your life that are going to be a drought.

00:15:54.779 --> 00:15:57.559
It'd be great if every season in life was beautiful

00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:00.940
and good and no troubles, but the fact of the

00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:03.960
matter is is that sometimes we are humans and

00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:08.000
we sin and it causes us to get in a bad place

00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:10.980
spiritually and sometimes there are just seasons

00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:13.919
of drought and maybe the Lord allows us to go

00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:16.700
there to draw us closer to him. Maybe we bring

00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:19.559
ourself there because of our sinfulness and our

00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:23.679
disobedience, but that's a bad place to be. If

00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:25.600
you've ever been in a season of drought spiritually,

00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:30.159
it's a bad place to be. And we get there when

00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:34.899
we are not well -rooted in the Lord. But what

00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:37.720
does the Scripture say? That for the man or for

00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:40.200
the woman who trusts in the Lord, if we are well

00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:42.960
-rooted, if our roots are reaching for that living

00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:45.840
water, that even when the drought comes, we'll

00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:48.350
make it through. That even in those difficult

00:16:48.350 --> 00:16:51.330
times, even in those times we fail, even in those

00:16:51.330 --> 00:16:54.730
times where life is hard, if we are well -rooted

00:16:54.730 --> 00:16:57.149
in the Lord, we will not doubt Him, we will not

00:16:57.149 --> 00:16:59.230
question Him, we will not give up on Him, we

00:16:59.230 --> 00:17:02.730
will not turn to sin above God, but we will continue

00:17:02.730 --> 00:17:05.329
to seek God and we will continue to trust God

00:17:05.329 --> 00:17:08.269
and we'll say, God, I'm not where I need to be,

00:17:08.329 --> 00:17:13.750
so God, help me to be rooted in You. How deep

00:17:13.750 --> 00:17:18.829
are our roots today? If we want our tree, if

00:17:18.829 --> 00:17:21.210
we want our grass of our spiritual life to grow

00:17:21.210 --> 00:17:25.410
beautiful and tall, then our root system has

00:17:25.410 --> 00:17:28.890
to be as deep in our heart as it is on the outside.

00:17:29.990 --> 00:17:34.549
What is our heart rooted in today? Are we rooted

00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:37.970
in Jesus Christ? Are we rooted in the things

00:17:37.970 --> 00:17:41.470
of the world? Maybe today we realize that our

00:17:41.470 --> 00:17:44.190
root system is not as deep as it needs to be.

00:17:45.339 --> 00:17:48.200
Maybe today we need to say, God, I'm letting

00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:51.359
you in. I'm opening up the wildlife reserve of

00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:53.779
my heart that's nasty and dirty, and I need you

00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:55.759
to come in with your word and your Holy Spirit,

00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:58.019
and I need you to kind of trample on me, and

00:17:58.019 --> 00:17:59.920
I need you to break up this soil, and I need

00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:02.240
you to soften me up, and I need you to cultivate

00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:04.960
in me a new heart that's going to produce new

00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.299
fruit and better fruit and more beautiful things

00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:09.099
that are there right now because, God, there's

00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:12.460
not much good there. And we might not like to

00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:14.619
say that but sometimes if we examine our heart

00:18:14.619 --> 00:18:17.940
we realize that that is the truth. And so maybe

00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:20.940
today the Lord wants to work on you. Maybe today

00:18:20.940 --> 00:18:23.200
your heart's been hard. Maybe today there's sin

00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:25.460
that you've been struggling with. And maybe today

00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:27.960
the Holy Spirit wants to come in and shake you

00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.740
up and break you up so that God can begin to

00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:32.720
do a new work in you. But you must come to the

00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.180
Lord and repent and seek him and say, God, I

00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:37.480
need to be rooted in you. I hadn't been. But

00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:39.180
dear Lord, I'm going to reach out to you now.

00:18:39.299 --> 00:18:42.299
I want to be established in you today. And we

00:18:42.299 --> 00:18:44.480
need to be in the word of God. Our prayer life

00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:47.599
needs to improve. We need to seek to be obedient

00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:50.250
to God. And we need to seek to follow. the example

00:18:50.250 --> 00:18:54.089
of Jesus Christ and when we do these things what

00:18:54.089 --> 00:18:56.029
you'll find is that your roots will begin to

00:18:56.029 --> 00:18:59.250
grow and grow and grow your relationship with

00:18:59.250 --> 00:19:01.349
God will begin to grow and grow and grow your

00:19:01.349 --> 00:19:03.529
attitude toward others will begin to grow and

00:19:03.529 --> 00:19:06.309
grow and grow and if you will allow God he can

00:19:06.309 --> 00:19:09.670
make you into something beautiful today if you

00:19:09.670 --> 00:19:12.990
would just be rooted in Jesus Christ let's pray

00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:16.039
God, we come to you today, we thank you for these

00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:18.759
good words, and I pray that you would help us

00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:21.839
to live by them. God, I think, I hope that everybody's

00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:24.819
desire in here is that we want to be that tree

00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:27.599
that's planted by the stream, that we want to

00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:30.180
be the one that remains green, dear Lord, that

00:19:30.180 --> 00:19:33.579
has nothing to fear. But dear Lord, even if that's

00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:36.920
our desire, sometimes we just fail. We want to

00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:38.660
do good. We want to do right. We want to live

00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:41.339
for you. And we try and sometimes we know better

00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:44.440
and we still just sin. And it's not okay, God.

00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:47.819
It's not good. But we just come to you and we

00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:50.319
need grace because we don't deserve it because

00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:53.559
we are sinners. But dear Lord, we just pray that

00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:56.500
you'd give us grace through Jesus Christ. So

00:19:56.500 --> 00:19:58.339
I pray, God, that if there is one today that's

00:19:58.339 --> 00:20:00.019
been struggling with the things of the world

00:20:00.019 --> 00:20:01.920
and the sins of the world and the struggles of

00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:04.200
the world, that they would just... seek you God

00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:06.279
maybe there are some in here today that have

00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:09.180
never been rooted in Jesus Christ maybe they

00:20:09.180 --> 00:20:11.039
know a little bit about scripture maybe they

00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:13.579
know about church but maybe they've never really

00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:16.019
just been planted in Jesus Christ maybe they've

00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:17.599
been living for their self maybe they've been

00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:19.599
rooted in their self and in the world but maybe

00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:22.819
today for the first time they want to plant new

00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:25.319
roots in Jesus Christ I pray God that even now

00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:27.799
that they would repent of their sins that they

00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:29.599
would ask to be forgiven that they would trust

00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:31.779
Jesus Christ that they would be rooted in him

00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:35.339
God, maybe there are some in here today and we

00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:38.039
need a little pruning. Maybe we're already yours.

00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:41.259
Maybe we need to be repotted today, dear Lord.

00:20:41.420 --> 00:20:43.819
Maybe our roots are kind of struggling. Maybe

00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:45.839
they need more room to grow. Maybe we need to

00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:47.640
be trimmed up a little bit, dear Lord. Maybe

00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:49.480
we need a little fertilizer, a little water.

00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:52.359
God, I pray that we'd receive that through your

00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:55.140
word, through the Holy Spirit. I pray that you'd

00:20:55.140 --> 00:20:56.980
work on us, dear Lord, that you'd help us to

00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:00.079
see the areas where we need to grow. Maybe we're

00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:02.829
not as well -rooted as we need to be. God, maybe

00:21:02.829 --> 00:21:05.250
we desire to be men and women who seek and serve

00:21:05.250 --> 00:21:07.470
and live for you, and maybe we fail, and maybe

00:21:07.470 --> 00:21:10.250
the reason why we fail as much as we do is because

00:21:10.250 --> 00:21:11.990
we're just not rooted in you the way that we

00:21:11.990 --> 00:21:15.369
should be. So I pray, dear Lord, today that we

00:21:15.369 --> 00:21:17.490
would seek you, that we'd seek your word, that

00:21:17.490 --> 00:21:19.930
we'd seek to listen to you, that we'd seek to

00:21:19.930 --> 00:21:22.069
follow the example of Jesus Christ, that we would

00:21:22.069 --> 00:21:25.390
be well -rooted, dear Lord, that we would be

00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:27.329
so rooted in you, God, that it would transform

00:21:27.329 --> 00:21:30.170
our life and transform our heart, that we would

00:21:30.170 --> 00:21:33.190
be a light to this world. that those around us

00:21:33.190 --> 00:21:35.890
will be able to see your beauty through us, through

00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:38.430
the work that you do in our heart. And I ask

00:21:38.430 --> 00:21:40.690
these things in Jesus' name. Amen.