WEBVTT 00:00:06.139 --> 00:00:10.220 Psalm 1, verses 1 through 3. Let's read through 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:15.859 the text, then we'll pray. How happy is the man 00:00:15.859 --> 00:00:18.940 who does not follow the advice of the wicked 00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:23.379 or take the path of sinners or join a group of 00:00:23.379 --> 00:00:27.420 mockers. Instead, his delight is in the Lord's 00:00:27.420 --> 00:00:31.980 instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. 00:00:32.969 --> 00:00:36.090 He is like a tree planted beside streams of water 00:00:36.090 --> 00:00:39.469 that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf 00:00:39.469 --> 00:00:44.649 does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Let's 00:00:44.649 --> 00:00:48.710 pray. God, we thank you for this beautiful word. 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:52.869 God, our world is full of grief and sorrow and 00:00:52.869 --> 00:00:57.750 sadness, God. But what we desire is to be happy. 00:00:58.310 --> 00:01:00.990 And so I pray, dear Lord, that we would find... 00:01:01.289 --> 00:01:04.950 Happiness in Jesus Christ today. That we would 00:01:04.950 --> 00:01:07.810 find happiness in your word God. That we would 00:01:07.810 --> 00:01:10.450 follow the instruction that is set before us 00:01:10.450 --> 00:01:13.810 today. And that we in our life would make the 00:01:13.810 --> 00:01:17.230 right choice. So God I pray that you just be 00:01:17.230 --> 00:01:19.450 with us. Free us from our worries and distractions 00:01:19.450 --> 00:01:22.769 today. I pray that your Holy Spirit would just 00:01:22.769 --> 00:01:26.870 help us to hear from you. And all for your glory. 00:01:27.109 --> 00:01:33.319 In Jesus name I pray it. Amen. Life is full of 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:36.760 choices. Some serious, some not so serious, but 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:39.980 we make choices every day. If you ever go to 00:01:39.980 --> 00:01:44.140 Baskin -Robbins, you got 32 choices. Now, there's 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:46.540 really only one right choice. There's 31 wrong 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:48.319 choices. There's one right choice, chocolate. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:51.180 That's the right choice, and you got 31 wrong 00:01:51.180 --> 00:01:54.719 choices. But we all got choices, even now. Just 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.819 yesterday, I think, college football season kicked 00:01:57.819 --> 00:02:01.040 off. Hundreds, maybe, I don't know how many college 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:03.719 teams. This is a lot. You've got a choice. Which 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:05.859 team are you going to root for? Which team is 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:07.959 the best? Well, we all know the right choice. 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:15.659 It's LSU. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. Everybody 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:18.819 knows it's Ole Miss. Except for you Mississippi 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:21.400 State fans, right? There's lots of choices, and 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:24.419 we don't always agree on the choices, but we 00:02:24.419 --> 00:02:28.740 are faced with choices all the time. But really 00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:32.840 in life, we really only have two choices that 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:36.340 matter. There's only two options that we can 00:02:36.340 --> 00:02:39.520 choose between. And that's, I think, what this 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:43.759 psalm is about in some way. It's about making 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:48.120 choices. What's the choice? Here's choice number 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:52.000 one. Are we going to follow the ways of the wicked? 00:02:52.419 --> 00:02:55.159 Are we going to follow the paths of sinners? 00:02:55.780 --> 00:02:59.620 That's choice number one. To live in disobedience 00:02:59.620 --> 00:03:04.879 to what God calls us to? Or are we going to live 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:09.039 in obedience to God? Are we going to delight 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:12.740 in the Lord and His instructions and obey Him? 00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:17.939 Those are our two choices. To simplify it even 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:21.319 further, are we going to do what is right or 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:25.020 are we going to do what is wrong? That's a choice 00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:28.550 that we are faced with. multiple times every 00:03:28.550 --> 00:03:32.189 day. That's a choice that matters. What kind 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:34.110 of ice cream you like, it doesn't matter. If 00:03:34.110 --> 00:03:35.830 you don't like chocolate, I'll pray for you, 00:03:35.909 --> 00:03:38.030 but it's okay. You're not going to hell for that. 00:03:39.689 --> 00:03:42.889 But there are choices that do matter. There are 00:03:42.889 --> 00:03:47.250 choices that do separate us from God. Are we 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:48.849 going to choose sin, or are we going to choose 00:03:48.849 --> 00:03:51.810 the Lord? Are we going to choose what's right, 00:03:51.949 --> 00:03:55.310 or are we going to choose what's wrong? What 00:03:55.310 --> 00:03:58.569 does the first one say? How happy is the man 00:03:58.569 --> 00:04:01.370 who does not follow the advice of the wicked 00:04:01.370 --> 00:04:05.370 or take the path of sinners or join a group of 00:04:05.370 --> 00:04:09.509 mockers. Okay? So you're happy if you don't make 00:04:09.509 --> 00:04:12.729 the wrong choice. But what if you make the right 00:04:12.729 --> 00:04:15.090 choice? You're happy. Here's the right choice. 00:04:15.550 --> 00:04:18.589 Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction 00:04:18.589 --> 00:04:22.790 and he meditates on it day and night. Now let 00:04:22.790 --> 00:04:25.129 me ask you a question today. It's an easy one 00:04:25.129 --> 00:04:29.490 for you to answer. Are you happy in life? Maybe 00:04:29.490 --> 00:04:33.430 you are, and maybe you're not. If you're not 00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:36.870 happy in life, then this verse may be the key 00:04:36.870 --> 00:04:40.790 to all of your problems. Because happy is the 00:04:40.790 --> 00:04:44.589 man or the woman who delights in the Lord and 00:04:44.589 --> 00:04:47.660 follows His instructions. Now, if we're living 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:50.319 in obedience to God, there's a certain joy and 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.720 a certain happiness in our life. Even when things 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.639 are really tough, even when life is hard, there 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:59.019 can still be some happiness in our life if we 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:02.259 are living in obedience to God and delight in 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:06.240 His words and His instructions. If you're not 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.379 happy today, then I think the opposite of what 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:13.300 is stated is true. If you're not happy, it's 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:16.449 because you're walking and the ways of evil. 00:05:17.470 --> 00:05:21.629 That is, you're making the wrong choices. You're 00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:25.290 choosing things that do not bring you joy. There's 00:05:25.290 --> 00:05:27.490 a lot of things that we think bring us joy, that 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:30.410 we think will make us happy. And you know it. 00:05:30.490 --> 00:05:32.769 If we had time, I could ask everybody in there, 00:05:32.850 --> 00:05:34.529 has there ever been something you thought would 00:05:34.529 --> 00:05:36.170 make you happy, and you got it, and it didn't 00:05:36.170 --> 00:05:39.699 make you happy? We probably all have things like 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:42.060 that. We think, okay, if I just get this new 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:44.000 house, I'm going to be happy. If I just get this 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.240 cool new car, I'm going to be happy. If I get 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.339 this new gun, or if I get this new boat, or if 00:05:48.339 --> 00:05:50.740 I get this new technology, or if I get married, 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.939 or if I have a kid, or if I, whatever. The list 00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:56.980 goes on and on and on, and not every one of those 00:05:56.980 --> 00:05:58.959 things I mentioned, none of them are bad in and 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.019 of themselves. But the problem is, is that we 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:04.319 think that those things are going to make us 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:07.800 happy. And so we continue to make wrong choices, 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:10.800 bad choices in all the other areas, thinking 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.060 that if we just have the next thing, it's going 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:15.560 to make us happy. But that's not where our joy 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:20.759 comes from. Happy is the man or woman who trusts 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:25.329 in the Lord. That's the right choice. So God 00:06:25.329 --> 00:06:27.550 gives us choices all the time. God's word says, 00:06:27.649 --> 00:06:29.910 hey, here's some things that are right and good 00:06:29.910 --> 00:06:32.490 for you to do. And here's some things that are 00:06:32.490 --> 00:06:36.949 not good for you to do. You got the choice. If 00:06:36.949 --> 00:06:38.750 you make the right choice in the ways of God, 00:06:38.810 --> 00:06:41.430 you're going to be happy. If you're not happy 00:06:41.430 --> 00:06:44.170 today, then praise the Lord that we're here to 00:06:44.170 --> 00:06:46.990 look at this psalm. Because maybe the source 00:06:46.990 --> 00:06:51.069 of our unhappiness comes from our bad choices 00:06:51.069 --> 00:06:55.939 of living in sin. But there's good news today. 00:06:56.540 --> 00:06:59.199 There can be joy and happiness in your life through 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.060 Jesus Christ if we would choose Him and choose 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:05.439 to live in obedience to what God says. So we 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.420 have to look at our life. Okay, what are some 00:07:07.420 --> 00:07:09.180 bad choices that I'm making? Okay, I'm doing 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:11.860 something I shouldn't be doing. My attitude's 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:13.959 not right. I'm thinking in ways that I shouldn't 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:16.620 think. I'm just involved in stuff that I shouldn't 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:19.779 be involved in. And we keep making those choices. 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:21.800 Maybe today's a good time for you to reflect. 00:07:22.490 --> 00:07:24.449 Maybe the Lord brought you here for that purpose 00:07:24.449 --> 00:07:26.629 because it's already on your heart and you feel 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:28.990 that burden. And maybe today you need to say, 00:07:29.069 --> 00:07:30.910 you know what, I'm not going to make that choice 00:07:30.910 --> 00:07:33.689 anymore. I've made this choice time and time 00:07:33.689 --> 00:07:36.629 again. And we make these bad choices and we say, 00:07:36.689 --> 00:07:38.389 I just don't understand why I don't feel good 00:07:38.389 --> 00:07:40.430 anymore. I don't understand why I'm always having 00:07:40.430 --> 00:07:42.970 a bad attitude. I don't understand why I'm always 00:07:42.970 --> 00:07:46.420 stressed. I don't understand. Well, maybe the 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:49.779 problem is that we're making sinful choices. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:52.339 That affects us physically, emotionally, spiritually. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:57.079 It has an effect on us. So we have a choice today. 00:07:57.420 --> 00:08:00.220 We can do what is right and live in obedience 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:04.379 to God, or we do what is evil. It's going to 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:06.759 cause heartache and pain and suffering in our 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:11.740 life. So the choice is set before us. He calls 00:08:11.740 --> 00:08:14.980 us, the psalmist does here, to seek. The Lord. 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:18.879 What does he say at the end of verse 2? He says, 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:22.279 Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:26.439 and he meditates on it night and day. Okay, so 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:29.819 the happy person is delighted in the Lord's instruction. 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:32.899 For us, where do we get that from? In the Word 00:08:32.899 --> 00:08:36.080 of God. How happy is the one who delights in 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.779 the Word of God and meditates on it night and 00:08:39.779 --> 00:08:41.419 day. Now, when we talk about meditate, I'm not 00:08:41.419 --> 00:08:43.240 talking about sitting with your legs crossed 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:46.340 going, That's not what I'm talking about. Now, 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:47.740 there are people in the world that follow all 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:49.659 kind of meditation and do all kind of crazy stuff. 00:08:49.779 --> 00:08:53.200 To meditate simply means just to stop and to 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:57.399 pause and to think about the Word of God. Now, 00:08:57.500 --> 00:09:02.860 we need to be in the Word of God. You need to 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:05.659 read the Word of God. You need to get in the 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:09.080 habit of reading the Word of God. I understand 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:10.820 that we don't want to just do anything just for 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:12.679 the sake of doing it. Just say, oh, I read God's 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:15.340 Word today. Let me check that off. But we need 00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:17.179 to get in the habit, and even if we get into 00:09:17.179 --> 00:09:19.220 the habit for the wrong reason of just checking 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:22.220 the box, maybe even still we can hear from the 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:25.360 Word of God. We need to be in the habit of reading 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:28.080 God's Word. We need to want to hear God's Word 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:31.200 and to listen to God's Word, but we want to meditate 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:34.980 on God's Word. God's Word does not do us any 00:09:34.980 --> 00:09:38.059 good if we just read words on a page and go on 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:40.320 about our business. It doesn't do us any good 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:43.240 if we hear a sermon and we hear God's Word and 00:09:43.240 --> 00:09:45.840 we don't pay any attention to it. We need to 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:49.399 meditate on what we read. It's not a competition. 00:09:49.580 --> 00:09:51.980 It's not like, oh, I've got to read 20 pages 00:09:51.980 --> 00:09:54.600 in my Bible today. It'd be better to read one 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:57.259 verse and meditate on it for 20 minutes than 00:09:57.259 --> 00:10:01.120 to read 20 verses and not think about it. And 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.820 so we need to meditate on the Word of God. You 00:10:04.820 --> 00:10:06.480 need to pray for you to read the Word of God. 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:08.320 Say, God, I need you to help me to understand 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:10.960 this. Some scriptures are tough. There's some 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:13.860 scriptures that make us think a little bit. There's 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:15.539 some scriptures that we say, I don't know what 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:18.059 that means. There's other scriptures we read 00:10:18.059 --> 00:10:20.179 them and they pierce to our heart instantly. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:23.740 And we say, whoa, that's talking about me. If 00:10:23.740 --> 00:10:25.639 that ever happens, that's a good time to meditate. 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:29.580 That's a good time to stop. And say, God, wow, 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:33.659 your word is talking about me right here. And 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:35.740 just stop and think about what that word means 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:39.639 and how it applies to your life. Maybe it's a 00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:42.679 call to repentance. Maybe it's a call to rejoice. 00:10:42.860 --> 00:10:46.259 Whatever it may be, God's word speaks to us in 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:49.120 a variety of different ways. But so many times 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:53.919 we are too busy to stop and listen to it. But 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:56.350 we need to take a moment. in our life, maybe 00:10:56.350 --> 00:10:59.149 multiple moments throughout our day, that we 00:10:59.149 --> 00:11:02.610 stop and we read the Word of God and we think 00:11:02.610 --> 00:11:06.090 about the Word of God. And we've got to set aside 00:11:06.090 --> 00:11:09.250 a time to do that because if we don't make time 00:11:09.250 --> 00:11:12.090 for that, then we won't meditate on it. Because 00:11:12.090 --> 00:11:14.289 as soon as we get through reading it, the next 00:11:14.289 --> 00:11:16.149 thing is coming up. Oh, I've got to get the kids 00:11:16.149 --> 00:11:18.669 to practice. Oh, I've got something at the church. 00:11:18.750 --> 00:11:20.669 Oh, I've got something at work. Oh, I've got 00:11:20.669 --> 00:11:22.570 to do this. Oh, I've got a water pipe busted 00:11:22.570 --> 00:11:24.549 at the house. Whatever. There's always something. 00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:27.450 As soon as we read it, the devil is always there 00:11:27.450 --> 00:11:29.990 to yank that word away from us so that we don't 00:11:29.990 --> 00:11:33.750 grow in it. But God's desire is that we meditate 00:11:33.750 --> 00:11:37.110 on his word and think about it and just soak 00:11:37.110 --> 00:11:42.740 it up and live by it and live on it. Verse 3. 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:49.139 He is like a tree planted beside streams of water 00:11:49.139 --> 00:11:52.220 that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf 00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:58.100 does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. So 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:00.580 this is what we're compared to in the psalm. 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:04.220 The godly man or the godly woman is like a tree 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:09.279 that's got plenty of water. There is one thing 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:12.379 that everything in the whole world needs to survive. 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:14.919 It's water. You have got to have water. If you're 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:17.220 a human, you go three days without it, you're 00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:18.659 going to be in bad shape. You're not going to 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:21.799 make it very long. We have to have water to be 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:24.879 sustained. And this idea and this language, this 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.620 imagery, it's not just here but throughout the 00:12:27.620 --> 00:12:31.700 scripture that is symbolic language that we are 00:12:31.700 --> 00:12:35.639 like a tree. And we need to be soaking up the 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:39.139 word of God, the presence of God, the love of 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:42.080 God, the grace of God. God needs to be in our 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:44.799 life that we're soaking that up because that's 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:49.940 what's going to sustain us. Now, I was doing 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:52.960 some research this week about trees and their 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:58.259 need for water. I was amazed at how much water 00:12:58.259 --> 00:13:02.179 a tree needs. I was also amazed at how much water 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:05.899 falls on the ground. Did you know this? That 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:09.860 if you have an acre of land and one inch of rain 00:13:09.860 --> 00:13:14.399 falls on that acre of land, did you know that 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:19.360 that is 27 ,154 gallons of water? Did you know 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:22.879 that? That's a lot of water from one inch of 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:27.299 rain. Did you know that in one square mile, that 00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:29.399 if an inch of rain falls, you're not going to 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:35.720 believe how much water falls. 17 .4 million gallons 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:41.080 of water from one inch of rain. That water falls 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:43.960 from heaven. It is given to us from God, and 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.679 it hits the ground, and it soaks into the ground, 00:13:46.820 --> 00:13:49.700 and it goes deep into the ground, and it is necessary 00:13:49.700 --> 00:13:53.179 for everything to be sustained, even the trees 00:13:53.179 --> 00:13:56.019 that we see. Now, you may say to yourself, that's 00:13:56.019 --> 00:13:59.019 a lot of water. How could anything ever drink 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:02.139 that much water? Well, I'm going to tell you 00:14:02.139 --> 00:14:04.820 how. I'm going to tell you about some trees that 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:06.399 you may know. This is incredible information. 00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:08.500 This will be on the test, so you all remember 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:12.399 this. All right, here's some facts for you all. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:14.820 The mesquite tree. Now, I don't know if we have 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:16.960 those around here or not. Mesquite tree, a good, 00:14:16.980 --> 00:14:20.740 healthy, mature mesquite tree can soak up 25 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:24.720 gallons of water per day. That's a lot of water 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:29.399 for a tree, 25 gallons a day. A poplar tree can 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:34.840 soak up 50 gallons of water a day. An oak tree 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:40.700 can soak up 100 gallons of water per day. Pine 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:46.860 tree, 150 gallons of water a day. Those big giant 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:49.220 sequoias, some of y 'all have probably seen those 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:53.440 before. They can soak up... 500 gallons of water 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:57.220 in a day. And listen to this. A cypress tree 00:14:57.220 --> 00:15:04.740 can soak up 880 gallons of water in a day. And 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:08.720 our land, our earth, is full of these trees and 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:12.000 many more. And to make a good and healthy tree 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:17.840 requires a lot of water. But what happens when 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:20.649 there's not a lot of water? There's a lot of 00:15:20.649 --> 00:15:22.450 water in the ground. It takes a little while 00:15:22.450 --> 00:15:25.230 to soak up 17 .4 million gallons in a square 00:15:25.230 --> 00:15:30.230 mile. But you go for a while without rain. A 00:15:30.230 --> 00:15:33.830 week, in a month, two months. Trees are pretty 00:15:33.830 --> 00:15:36.889 resilient. They can hold up for a while, but 00:15:36.889 --> 00:15:39.789 as many of you probably remember, a few summers 00:15:39.789 --> 00:15:43.269 ago, we had a really bad drought. We went a long 00:15:43.269 --> 00:15:46.629 time without rain. And what do we see all around 00:15:46.629 --> 00:15:55.799 now? Why? Because they did not have a source 00:15:55.799 --> 00:16:00.639 of water. But some survived. Some trees survived. 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:04.399 And do you know why they survived? Because they 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:07.799 had a root system that reached far enough into 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:11.179 the earth that they could reach the source of 00:16:11.179 --> 00:16:16.360 water and the source of life. The psalmist says 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:19.960 that we... Who trust in the Lord are like a tree 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:24.279 who is firmly planted with its roots right in 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:29.179 the source of living water. And the scripture 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:33.360 says that Jesus is that source of living water. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:38.179 John chapter 7 verses 37 and 38 says, On the 00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:40.779 last and most important day of the festival, 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:44.419 Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone is thirsty, 00:16:44.700 --> 00:16:48.519 he should come to me. and drink. The one who 00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:51.240 believes in me, as the scripture has said, will 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:56.720 have streams of living water flow from deep within 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:01.600 him. If we do not have the Lord in our life, 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:07.279 we are in trouble. We are not going to be a healthy 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:10.960 tree. We are going to be a tree that is going 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:14.099 to die. We are going to be a tree that does not 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:16.299 produce fruit. The one who trusts in the Lord 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:21.000 is like a tree who produces fruit. But what did 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:24.500 Jesus say in the New Testament? He said of the 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:27.619 tree that does not produce fruit, it should be 00:17:27.619 --> 00:17:32.480 chopped down and thrown into the fire. So what 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:36.400 kind of fruit are you producing today? Are you 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.000 rooted in the Lord? Are you deeply rooted in 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:40.660 the Lord? Because there are going to be some 00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:42.400 droughts that are going to come in your life. 00:17:42.660 --> 00:17:44.500 There are going to be some seasons that are going 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:47.460 to be dry. But look, you can look up online. 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:50.400 This is true. There are trees in the middle of 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:52.039 the desert. There won't be nothing else around. 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:54.180 And every once in a while, you'll see a tree 00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:56.960 that is thriving in the middle of the desert. 00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:01.490 And do you know why? Because it's got roots that 00:18:01.490 --> 00:18:05.190 are deeply ingrained into the middle of the earth 00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:09.089 where it can be sustained by water that flows 00:18:09.089 --> 00:18:13.470 from within. And so it will be for you and I. 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:17.809 That we are to be trees that grow and produce 00:18:17.809 --> 00:18:21.529 fruit. That we are to be those who meditate on 00:18:21.529 --> 00:18:25.109 the Lord. That we are to be those who are well 00:18:25.109 --> 00:18:30.380 rooted in the Lord. That we have made the right 00:18:30.380 --> 00:18:34.940 choice in our life. That we have chosen Jesus 00:18:34.940 --> 00:18:40.519 Christ. Some of you are thirsty today. You may 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:44.660 not know it. You may have been living this life 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:46.759 with all of its struggles and its strains and 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:49.579 its difficulties. And you've just been trying 00:18:49.579 --> 00:18:51.980 to find happiness in all the ways of the world. 00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:54.599 And you have failed. But I want to tell you today, 00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:58.690 your soul is thirsty for Jesus Christ. You may 00:18:58.690 --> 00:19:01.549 not know it. You may be dying right now. You 00:19:01.549 --> 00:19:03.789 may be in the middle of a drought in your life, 00:19:03.910 --> 00:19:06.230 but I want to tell you today that Jesus Christ 00:19:06.230 --> 00:19:09.430 has died on a cross for you so that you can come 00:19:09.430 --> 00:19:12.190 and drink from Him, the source of our living 00:19:12.190 --> 00:19:15.490 water, so that you can be well -rooted in Him 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:18.809 today. Are you well -rooted in the Lord today? 00:19:18.890 --> 00:19:21.750 Maybe you know Jesus Christ, but maybe you hadn't 00:19:21.750 --> 00:19:24.309 been meditating on His Word and living by it. 00:19:24.390 --> 00:19:28.650 Maybe you've been making the wrong choices. Maybe 00:19:28.650 --> 00:19:30.930 you're not happy today because you've been choosing 00:19:30.930 --> 00:19:34.509 sin, and maybe today you need to choose Jesus 00:19:34.509 --> 00:19:39.470 Christ. For happy is the one who delights in 00:19:39.470 --> 00:19:42.990 the Lord's instruction. Do you delight in the 00:19:42.990 --> 00:19:46.150 Lord's instruction? Does God's word mean anything 00:19:46.150 --> 00:19:49.200 to you? Is it just something you come once a 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:50.980 week to church just to hear me read it so you 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:53.359 can mark it off your list and go on? Or is God's 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:55.779 word something that you desire and you hope for 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:58.200 and you just reach down, you want to be well 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:00.400 -rooted in it so you can get all the nutrients 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.039 out of it so you can thrive and be one who produces 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:09.880 good fruit? If we're looking for happiness in 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:14.619 our life today, it can only be found in Jesus 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:21.509 Christ. What are you rooted in today? Maybe today 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:26.230 it's time to make better choices. Maybe you've 00:20:26.230 --> 00:20:28.369 been choosing the world. Maybe today it's time 00:20:28.369 --> 00:20:32.890 to choose Jesus. Maybe you've been choosing sin. 00:20:33.269 --> 00:20:37.730 Today it's time to choose the Son of God. Maybe 00:20:37.730 --> 00:20:39.750 today you're in the midst of a drought in your 00:20:39.750 --> 00:20:43.150 life. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, I 00:20:43.150 --> 00:20:45.190 think the quickest way for us to get back healthy 00:20:45.190 --> 00:20:51.410 again It's to be in the Word of God. And there 00:20:51.410 --> 00:20:54.869 we find the news that we need, that the source 00:20:54.869 --> 00:20:56.869 of our life, that the source of our strength 00:20:56.869 --> 00:21:00.170 comes through Jesus Christ. There's living water 00:21:00.170 --> 00:21:03.309 available to us today. And praise the Lord, it's 00:21:03.309 --> 00:21:06.150 enough that if every one of us are rooted, that 00:21:06.150 --> 00:21:08.250 it's enough that we couldn't soak it all up in 00:21:08.250 --> 00:21:13.589 a lifetime if we tried to. You have a choice 00:21:13.589 --> 00:21:17.240 to make today. I hope you choose Jesus. Let's 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:20.559 pray. God, we come to you today. We thank you 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:24.400 for your good word. God, we want to be happy 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:26.920 today. Maybe we've been going about that in all 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:30.359 the wrong ways, but I pray today that we would 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:32.740 find happiness in Jesus Christ, that we would 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:36.000 be men and women that delight in your word today 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:40.579 and meditate on it. God, I pray that we would 00:21:40.579 --> 00:21:43.839 be a tree that is rooted. in Jesus Christ today. 00:21:43.900 --> 00:21:45.859 Maybe there are some that do not know Jesus. 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:47.940 I pray today that they would repent of their 00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:50.319 sins, that if they've chosen the world their 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:52.160 whole life, that today that they would choose 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:56.039 Jesus. Maybe there are some here today, dear 00:21:56.039 --> 00:21:59.900 Lord, and they've chosen Jesus, but they're in 00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:03.180 a dry season, God, and it may be because of some 00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:06.640 of the choices they made. It may be that they're 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:08.680 just not plugged into the source, dear Lord. 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:11.759 It may not be producing much fruit, but God, 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:15.599 You don't want us to stay in that shape. So I 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:17.579 pray today, God, that we would reach down, that 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:21.119 we would seek your word, that we would seek the 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:23.180 living water that comes through Jesus Christ, 00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:25.940 that we would be well -rooted and sustained and 00:22:25.940 --> 00:22:28.960 be a brother and sister in Christ that produces 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:32.960 fruit that is worthy of repentance, dear Lord. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:38.420 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.