We're going to jump in. Are you ready? No, are
you ready? Sometimes I say, man, we may be going
a little long today, but we'll order some food
in. Today, we may be going a little long, and
we're going to feed you right afterward, so no
complaining, all right? But get ready. There's
some tacos out there, along with some great fellowship
and opportunity for the kids to play. But we're
going to get into the Word. If you've got your
Bibles, turn on over to Colossians chapter 2.
Colossians chapter two, verse six and seven is
where we'll be today. Colossians two, verse six
and seven. You can turn in your Bibles. It'll
also be up here on the screen. If you're looking
for Colossians, it's gonna be in the back part
of your Bible, well past the middle part and
in the New Testament, surrounded by a few other
books, Ephesians, Galatians, right there. Colossians
chapter two. Verse six and seven reads, so then,
just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord,
continue to walk in him, being rooted and built
up in him and established in the faith, just
as you were taught and overflowing with gratitude.
I'm going to read that one more time. So then,
just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord,
continue to walk in him. Being rooted and built
up in him and established in faith just as you
were taught and overflowing with gratitude. This
is God's word, amen? One of the things over in
Uganda I found out is they like to say amen a
lot. After like everything. And so if I start
to say amen a lot today, just go with it, right?
They say amina. Amina I think is how they say
amen. But I'll probably just say amen. We live
in a world where people constantly feel like
there should be something more. More success,
more experiences, more relationships, more money,
amen? And we scroll through our feeds on social
media and we look at other people's lives. And
deep down, you may have wondered, is this it?
Was I made for more? And I believe that the Bible
answers that question with a resounding what?
Yes, you were made for more. But not the kind
of more that the world is chasing. You were made
for more in Christ Jesus. More life, more freedom,
more joy, and more purpose. And that's what this
new series we're launching into, Made for More,
is all about. Over the next few weeks, we're
going to walk through our discipleship framework
here at Village. This is what it means to grow
as a follower of Christ. And we're going to look
at four things. We're going to look at being
rooted in Christ, renewed in grace, shaped for
purpose, and sent to serve. This is what it means
to grow as a follower of Christ. And because
discipleship isn't about settling for a shallow
faith or just going through the motions, it's
about stepping into the abundant life that Jesus
promised when he said, I have come that you may
have life and have it to the full. Amen? Because
Jesus didn't just die and rise from the grave
so that you could limp through life, bored and
bitter and barely surviving. And so we have to
stop living the half dead when he is offering
us a full life. Because let me tell you, Satan
wants you to waste your life scrolling, sinning,
and just surviving. But Jesus wants you to actually
live. And too many Christians, they're living
on spiritual life support. They're hooked up
to Sunday morning, but they're flatlining the
rest of the week. Jesus came to give you an abundant
life. And what is the key? That kind of life
doesn't come from chasing Christ plus anything
else. It comes from going deeper into Christ
himself. And that's why our first message in
this series is called Rooted in Christ. Because
before you can do anything for Jesus, before
you can go and conquer the world for Jesus, you
must be first rooted and established in Christ.
Because it's hard out there. It's difficult.
And the world's going to come against you and
Satan's going to throw everything at you. You
need to be rooted. And you think about roots.
Roots, they're not flashy. You don't see them
on the surface. But they're what make all the
difference in the world. Because roots anchor
a tree in a storm and roots draw in nourishment.
And roots determine the fruit, the fruitfulness
of the tree. Have you ever tried to dig where
there's roots underneath? Anyone ever tried to
dig through roots? Is it easy? No, no, it'll
wear you out, right? You get that shovel and
you stab down and pretty soon you hit something
solid and you think, man, oh, this will take
me just a couple minutes. I'll get this root
out in no time, right? And you hit that root
and maybe you get that root out, but what comes
next? Another root, right? And then another root
and then another root and you're breaking a sweat
and you bend your shovel and pretty soon you're
saying three letter and four letter and five
letter words, right? Well, not you, right? You're
too holy for that. Why? Because roots are tough,
man. And that's where your life, what your life
is supposed to look like in Christ. The enemy
is going to try to push you over. The world is
going to try to dig you up, transplant you somewhere
else. Your own sin is going to try to trip you
up. But when your roots are sunk deep into Jesus,
they can't get you out. They can throw shade
on you. They can cut your branches off. They
can try to knock you down. They can send a storm.
But if your roots are in him, you're not going
anywhere. The thing is, with fruit, you can fake
fruit for a little while. Did you know that?
You can do the whole Christmas tree thing, right?
You can decorate the Christmas tree and make
it look like some socks or some glitter streamer
somehow popped out of your branches, right? My
wife said that wasn't funny, but I... I always
send my sermon through my wife and she strikes
things. And I was like, I'm adding that back
in. No one in first service thought it was funny,
by the way. But I knew my second service people,
right? You can play the Christmas tree. You can
decorate it and make it look like it's got all
kinds of things popping out. But you can't fake
the roots. You can't fake the roots. Roots take
time to develop. Roots take depth. And roots
are proven when? When the storm comes. That's
when you know. And that's why Paul says, be rooted
and built up in him, in Jesus. In other words,
the more deeply your life seeks its roots into
Christ, the more stability and nourishment and
fruit you will see. Dallas Willard once said,
the most important thing in your life is not
what you do. It's who you become. That's what
you will take into eternity. The most important
thing in your life is not what you do, but it's
who you become. Because friends, you were made
for more and it begins by being rooted in Christ.
Today, we're going to look at what that means
and what it doesn't mean. and how we can cultivate
the kind of roots that bear fruit that lasts.
Amen? Amen? Number one, if you're taking notes,
because we are a Bible -believing, note -taking
church, so if you're taking notes, wink, wink.
The first point is the foundation. Number one,
the foundation. Colossians 2 .6 says, So then,
just as you have received Christ as Lord, continue
to walk in him. You know this, but every tree
has a starting point. Before there is roots,
before it can grow, before there's fruit, a seed
has to be planted in the soil. And Paul says
that the starting point of the Christian life
is this, just as you received Christ Jesus as
Lord. That's the foundation. And notice what
Paul doesn't say. He doesn't say just as you
received good advice from Jesus. He doesn't say,
just as you received a spiritual pick -me -up
from Jesus. He says, you received Christ Jesus
as Lord. And that word Lord, man, that's a word
we don't like too much. Us Westerners, we don't
like Lord. Because Lord means master. Lord means
king. Lord means ruler. And to be rooted in Christ
begins with surrendering your life to him. Not
just in inviting him to be a part of your life,
but handing him the title deed to your life.
Why does that matter? Well, like any building
project or anything, if the starting point is
off, everything else down the way is going to
be off. Amen? If you think Christianity is about
adding a little religion to your schedule or
sprinkling a little Jesus on top of your already
busy life, you'll never grow roots. You'll stay
like a plant that's just sitting on the surface,
never planted deep. But when you truly receive
Christ as Lord, your life is planted in him.
He becomes your soil. He becomes your foundation.
He becomes your source. And it's from the foundation
up that a building is built right. The seed determines
the kind of plant. The kind of plant determines
the fruit. And that moment begins when you receive
Christ. Who you are is no longer defined by your
past, by your successes or your failures. The
Apostle Paul, he got this straight. He had to
look at his past, not only his successes, but
his failures. Not only his failures, but his
successes, and say they count for nothing in
Christ. Amen? They count for nothing. In Christ,
who you are is now rooted in him and who you
are becoming is already determined. And so I'll
ask, have you had that moment of being planted
in Christ? Have you received him as Lord, not
just admired him as a teacher or respected him
as a good example, but surrendered to him as
your Lord? Because you can't be rooted in Christ
until you are in. Christ. And the good news is
that when you receive him, he doesn't just forgive
you, but he plants you in true soil of life.
And you begin to receive the life abundant that
he promises. And from that point forward, your
roots have a place to grow. Have you received
Christ as Lord, not just a good teacher? Number
two, the picture. The picture. Colossians 2,
7 says, being rooted and built up in him, in
Christ, and established in the faith. Once the
seed is planted, what happens next? Well, roots
begin to form. And they start small, but they
begin to dig deep. And those roots make all the
difference. In verse 7, Paul said, being rooted
and built up in him. You notice the picture,
rooted and built up, rooted and built up. Roots
give stability. Being built up is about growth.
Both happen at the same time. As you sink your
roots deeper into Christ, he builds your life
up on him. And you know when roots matter the
most? In the storm, right? Roots matter most.
When the storm hits. Because it's easy to talk
about faith when the sun is shining, isn't it?
But what about when tragedy comes? What about
when the storm rages? A couple of weeks ago,
our nation was rocked by the assassination of
Charlie Kirk. I will say that it was one of the
most tragic moments of our generation. There
have been many moments and many, many people
have died by various means, be it assassination
or murder, because of sin and sinfulness of the
world that we live in. But this was an interesting
moment because it was a moment where, at the
moment of his death, within a matter of seconds,
the whole world witnessed it live, unedited.
I didn't know about his death because someone
told me. I knew about it because I opened up
Twitter and I saw it happen. I witnessed as he
was shot and fell over. And not only did I, but
many of our young people, many of our older people
saw it within minutes. The graphic, unedited
video shared across social media. And then, Shortly
after that, what always happens happened, and
the noise started to rise. The noise came, right?
And there were both satanic celebrations mocking
his death. There were a whole lot of yeah, buts.
You know those yeah, buts? Yeah, I know he was
just killed or murdered, but do you know this
about him? Or do you know this about him? Or
do you know this about him? Or yeah, but, yeah,
but, yeah, buts. And then you even had Christian
leaders. This grieved my heart. I saw this in
Uganda as we were traveling to Uganda. And it
grieved my heart because you had Christian leaders
who were saying, if your pastor doesn't address
this this Sunday, you should leave the church.
And I'll just say, unequivocally, friends, that
is a misuse of the platform that those pastors
have been given. And I fear that anyone who drove
anyone away from their church fellowship will
one day have to stand before the judge, the one
true judge, and give an account for what they
said. And I'll tell you, at first, I didn't know
how to respond. I didn't know Charlie Kirk. I
didn't know anything about his faith. all I could
respond was what I saw, and I said, that is an
act of evil. That is evil. Regardless of who
he is. Regardless of what he believes or his
position, that is evil. But after listening to
his own words, thank you, after listening to
his own words, hundreds of videos and hearing,
from those who are closest to him, his pastor,
a well -known apologist, Frank Turek, and others,
I believe that it is right to say that Charlie
Kirk was a martyr for his faith. He was a martyr
for our faith. Because knowing the cost and enduring
constant ridicule and threats, He regularly preached
the good news of Jesus Christ and called people
to repentance. He pointed people to Christ as
what matters most in this world above anything
else. He also defended the sanctity of life even
in the womb. He upheld God's design for marriage
and sexuality. He stood against the idolatry
and demonic deception of the transgender ideology
that's being forced. fed to our children. And
it was those convictions which are rooted in
God's design and in God's words that motivated
the murderer to kill him. And yet, what has struck
so many more people was his wife Erica's response
afterward. In the face of unthinkable loss, She
publicly forgave the man who killed her husband.
And I'll tell you, her forgiveness of the man
publicly set off a chain reaction. More people
than in any other Sunday in recent history flooded
back to church seeking the Lord. Amen. Others
were confronted with the reality of what kind
of faith, what could cause someone to do this?
What would allow a woman to stand only days,
a week, two, week and a half removed and forgive
the young man who murdered her husband? Even
the comedian and actor Tim Allen took to Twitter
and he said, That seeing all this play out and
watching her forced him to confront the fact
that he had never forgiven the man who took his
father away at 11 years old through, I think,
a drunk driving incident. And that he'd never
been able to forgive. And seeing that she could
do that and she could stand on that, he took
to Twitter and said, now I'm ready. I'm going
to say it. And he typed it out. I forgive you
for killing my father. That kind of forgiveness
doesn't come from shallow roots. That is the
fruit of a life that is deeply anchored in Christ.
That's the picture. When you're rooted in Christ,
your life doesn't collapse under hatred or fear
or bitterness. Instead, his strength flows into
you and you find the ability to do what is humanly
impossible to forgive, to trust. to endure, and
to hope. I'm reminded this morning of our brothers
and sisters in Nigeria. Since 2009, over 100
,000 brothers and sisters in Christ have been
killed in Nigeria. 18 ,000 churches have been
burnt down, sometimes with the believers in the
church. And do you know what our brothers and
sisters did this morning in Nigeria? They got
up, they put their clothes on, and they went
to worship in the house of God. In the face of
that fear, in the face of bitterness and hatred,
they found forgiveness, trust, endurance, and
hope. Dallas Willard also says that spiritual
formation in Christ is not a matter of merely
trying to do what he said, but of becoming the
kind of person who naturally does. what he said.
And that's what roots do. They change you at
the level of who you are. You don't just try
harder. You grow deeper in Christ. The Puritan
John Stott said, Christian maturity is likeness
to Christ. And that likeness is cultivated as
you put our roots deep down into him through
scripture, prayer, and obedience. Remember that
roots don't grow in a day, but they grow every
single day. And discipleship isn't microwave
meal, it's a crockpot meal. Every day, sinking
deeper into Christ through his word, through
prayer, through obedience, and through the community
of the faithful. And so I'll ask you, what are
your roots sinking into? Because wherever you're
rooted is what will determine the fruit of your
life. If your roots are in money or success or
comfort or politics, that's the fruit you're
going to get. But if your roots are in Christ,
then you'll begin to see the fruit of the Spirit.
Love and joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control.
And the picture Paul gives us is clear. Don't
chase Christ plus anything else. Go deeper into
Christ himself. That's where the roots of discipleship
are found. Amen? Number three, the treasure.
All you type A's, three out of four. We're getting
there. Three out of four. Earlier in Colossians,
it says in verse three, in Christ are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. What a
statement. In Christ, not outside of him, not
beyond him, but in him are all the treasures.
Because the false teachers in Colossae, the city
that Paul is writing to here, they were saying
this to the people. They were saying, yeah, Christ
is fine. Good job. You love Christ. That's awesome.
But you also need something else to be full.
You need secret knowledge. You need secret knowledge
or you need a special code. You need a vision
from an angel. You need some ritual to perform.
You need Christ plus something else. And Paul
says, no. Stop searching outside of Christ. All
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in
him. And when Paul says, man. when he says that
they're hidden in Christ, Paul doesn't mean like
hidden, like concealed so you can't find them.
What Paul means is they're hidden like they're
stored up. They're kept safe. They're secure
in Christ. And if you are growing in Christ,
if you are walking with him, you will be discovering
them as you go. They're there for you. To discover.
You don't need a guru. You don't need a self
-help book. You don't need to chase after angels.
Or crack some spiritual code. You need to go
to Christ. Because in him nothing is missing.
Amen. This is where you have to be careful today.
Because we may not be tempted. To engage in angel
worship. You might be. But maybe not. But the
same lie shows up all the time. In different
churches. It's got the same roots. And sometimes
it looks like this. Some churches or some pastors
will push Jesus plus special insight. Oh, yes,
the Bible is good. His word is good. But you
need my special revelation. You need my hidden
code. You need my special key. The rapture is
going to take place on September 23rd and 24th.
God told me in 2018. Oh, the rapture didn't happen.
Well, it actually did happen on the 23rd and
24th, but we were using the Gregorian calendar
and it's actually the Julian calendar. Wait,
there's a Jewish calendar too? Maybe it's the
Jewish calendar. I don't know. Wasn't September
even named after a Roman god? Jesus plus special
insight. Or some will push Jesus plus a religious
ritual. Yeah, Jesus is good and he saves you,
but unless you keep our tradition, our way of
worshiping, or follow our rules, you're not really
spiritual. Or some will push Jesus plus experiences.
Yes, Jesus is good, but unless you have this
particular spiritual high, or this dramatic miracle,
or unless you speak in tongues, you're a second
-class Christian. Hope you get there someday.
Some push Jesus plus self -help. Yeah, Jesus
matters. But you know what? You also need this
new productivity system. This new way of arranging
your life. This new political agenda or this
financial strategy. Don't you see it? It's always
Jesus plus. And Paul's answer to that is the
same. Jesus is enough. He is supreme. He is sufficient.
He is the treasure chest of all wisdom and knowledge
you need to find is in him. Amen. And this is
why Paul later says in verse 10, you have been
filled by him who is the head over every ruler
and authority. He didn't say you will be filled
if you find the secret code or you decipher the
way to read just right. He said, you have been
filled. You've already been filled in him. And
that's the treasure of being rooted in Christ.
You don't need to keep searching outside of him.
You don't need Christ plus. You already have
everything you need in him. So number four, the
practice. Being rooted and built up in him and
established in the faith just as you were taught
and overflowing with gratitude. So how do roots
actually grow? Well, Paul says we are rooted
and built up in him, established in the faith
as we are taught and overflowing with gratitude.
In other words, roots don't just automatically
grow. They grow as we keep sinking deeper into
Christ. And so let me give you four ways that
God grows our roots. The first one is through
his word. Jesus said, if you remain in me and
my words remain in you, Ask whatever you want
and it will be done for you. The word feeds our
soul the way water feeds the soil. Paul says
in Colossians, just as you were taught, roots
grow deep through sound teaching of Christ through
the word. Some of you guys know it says Psalm
1. Beginning of Psalm says, Blessed is the man
who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates
on his law day and night. He is like a tree planted
by streams of water which yields its fruit in
season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever
he does prospers. The one who delights in the
law of the Lord meditates on it day and night.
If your roots are in the word, you won't dry
up when the heat comes. You won't topple when
the storm hits. You'll be steady and nourished
and fruitful. But some of us, man, some of us
wonder, man, why does my faith feel so weak?
Why does my faith feel so weak? But you know
what? You've got your roots in Instagram. You've
got your roots in Netflix. You've dug your roots
into ESPN. Men, and ladies too, I'm sure. But
men, your roots are firmly planted in fantasy
football. And you can tell me every stat and
every algorithm and who's winning and why. And
I'm going, and you can't memorize scripture?
You know, every player on a team, on your team,
you went through the draft. You felt like a GM,
right? Some of us take pride in the fact that
the Chargers are on top of our division and beating
the Raiders. I said this in first service, but
I will know that my gospel work is done on this
earth when the final Raiders fan is converted.
Until then, the rapture can't happen and Jesus
won't come back because there's still Raider
fans out there. But don't get me started on 49er
fans. There may be no hope. I'm just kidding.
No, some of us have our roots in all other places,
don't we? I'll tell you, some of you guys, you
can't wake up without checking the news. Before
you pray, before you read the word, you check
the news. And you can feel the anxiety, you can
feel the anger, you can feel the bitterness,
the hatred, whatever it is. Pick your emotion.
You probably felt it all. It's the first thing
you do. I've been there. I've been there. Sometimes
I want to throw the phone out the window. But
we wonder, man, why does my faith feel so weak?
And then you check the roots and you're like,
oh, I'm drawing on TikTok to feed me. For two
hours, the last two hours I've been asking TikTok
to feed me. And I feel weak. I feel like I can't
stand. I feel spiritually dehydrated. I've binged
on junk food all week and I expect to look like
an athlete at the end of the week. It's the same
with your soul. Roots that are fed on the word.
A pastor, Joby Martin, he's one of my favorites.
He says this all the time. He says, the word
of God does the work of God in the people of
God. The word of God does the work of God in
the people of God. And he's right. You don't
need a special formula. You don't need Christ
plus hidden knowledge. You need the word day
after day going deep into your heart. Amen? Roots
don't grow in a day, but they grow every day.
And every time you open the Bible, every time
you sit under sound teaching, every time you
delight in the word of God, every time you meditate
on a verse, those roots are growing and they're
growing deeper. Amen. You may not see the growth
right away, but one day when the storm comes
or when the drought hits, you will wonder why
it didn't topple you. And you'll remember that
you were fed by his word. Number two, ways that
we grow those roots is through prayer. Prayer
is how we draw life from God. When I was in Uganda
and I was teaching the pastors, I told them that
ministry breathes with two lungs, just like we,
most of us have, hopefully. Two lungs, right?
We breathe with the word and prayer, the word
and prayer. These are the two lungs of ministry.
If you only use one lung, you'll be gasping for
air, and a healthy ministry requires both. And
so does a healthy disciple. We need to pray.
Jesus said, apart from me, you can do nothing.
Nothing. Not some things, not a little thing,
but nothing. And prayer is how you stop pretending
that you're strong enough on your own and you
start depending on the one who is. Some of us
are spiritually suffocating because we're trying
to do life without prayer. We're holding our
breath all week and then we're wondering why
we're lightheaded spiritually. That's like a
tree trying to grow without water. It doesn't
work. Roots don't just need the word, they need
oxygen and prayer is what allows them to breathe.
Every time you pray in your car, on your knees,
in your small group, you're drawing nourishment
from Christ. You're feeding oxygen to the roots
and to the word you've planted deep in those
roots. You may not feel it every time. You may
not even see it right away, but your roots are
breathing and your soul is staying alive in him.
Quickly, number three is through community that
we grow those roots. Because roots don't just
grow down, they also grow out. Some of you know
about redwood trees. Redwood trees are a part
of a group of trees, a kind of tree, that spread
their roots outward. And they grow in these groves,
redwood groves, and they spread their roots outward
and they intertangle with other trees' roots.
And together, if you were to take all the dirt
away, you would see this tangled mess of roots
intertwined. You wouldn't be able to separate
one tree's root from the other because they've
gone out and they've grabbed a hold of each other.
And you know what that does for redwoods? Those
suckers are tall, aren't they? It allows them
to grow tall and strong. and weather the storm.
Well, the same is true. In Ephesians, Paul has
said that we are to be rooted and established
in love together with all the saints. You were
never meant to grow alone. You grow best in the
soil of Christian community. And we'll talk more
about what community looks like and how it actually
causes us to be renewed in grace in our second
sermon on this series. But we'll leave it there
for now. And fourth, you grow roots through obedience.
James said, don't just be hearers of the word,
be doers. Every step of obedience drives your
root deeper. Every trial you endure with faith
and patience pushes them further down into Christ.
And sometimes the seasons of difficulty that
you would have never chosen are the very seasons
God is using to anchor you deeper in him. Amen,
you guys experienced that? God grows roots in
the dark before he shows fruit in the light.
Have you ever heard or read the word of God and
it challenged you? Have you ever read the word
of God and it offended you? You didn't like what
it said. Have you ever read the word of God and
it challenged you and offended you and you decided
right there, I think I'm good to just keep going
the way I've been going. We've all done it. He
decided to ignore it. I love this quote from
Francis Chan. He says, whenever I read the Bible
and I come across something I disagree with,
I have to assume I'm wrong. Whenever I read the
Bible and I come across something I disagree
with, I have to assume I'm the one wrong. Let
your roots grow as you walk in obedience to God's
word. And how does Paul end verse seven? Well,
he says, overflowing with gratitude. Why does
he say that? Because being rooted in Christ always
leads to fruit in your life. And you know what
one of the first fruits you'll see? Gratitude.
One of the first visible fruit you'll see in
your life is your life will become a life of
gratitude. you will find a thankful spirit alive
within you that says, Lord, everything I have
is from you and everything I need is found in
you. And when you feel and you see that growing
in your life, you'll know those roots are planted.
You're receiving that nourishment from Christ.
So how are your roots growing? Are you feeding
them in the word? Are you drawing? on God in
prayer? Are you connecting to the roots of others
in community? Are you walking in obedience even
when it's difficult? That's how God grows disciples.
Slow, steady, unseen at times, but always producing
fruit in season. And so in conclusion, I just
want to say you were made for more. But not more
money and not more experience and not more success.
You were made for more in Christ. And to live
the more, you've got to be rooted in Christ.
Roots don't grow in a day, but they grow every
day. And when your roots are in Christ, your
fruit will show Christ. Because roots determine
fruits.