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Ephesians 3.

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We'll begin reading in verse 14.

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"For this reason,

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I bow my knees before the Father."

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For the reason that these Ephesians -

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all the reasons he's been establishing

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really through the whole book up till now.

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They're the chosen of God.

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They're being built together

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into a dwelling place for God.

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God has put His hand on these people.

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He's chosen them out 
of all the other people

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upon the face of the earth.

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He's saved them.

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He's shown them mercy

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and poured His love on them.

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"For this reason, I bow my 
knees before the Father,

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from whom the whole family

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in heaven and on earth is named,

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that according to the 
riches of God's glory

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He may grant you to be 
strengthened with power

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through His Spirit in your inner man,

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so that Christ may dwell in 
your hearts through faith..."

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This is what I want to deal with today:

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"...that you being rooted 
and grounded in love,"

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that right there -

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"may have strength to comprehend

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with all the saints what is the breadth

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and length and height and depth

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and to know the love of Christ

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that surpasses knowledge

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that you may be filled

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with all the fullness of God."

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So I want to deal with those last words

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there in verse 17.

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I don't want to just skip over that.

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In the original,

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if you were to read this 
right out of the Greek

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in the order of the words,

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what you have is you have

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three prepositional phrases back to back.

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So it literally reads this way:

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"the Christ may dwell

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through faith..." there's one.

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"...In your hearts;" there's two.

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"...In love

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being rooted and grounded."

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Christ dwells through faith

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in your hearts in love

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being rooted and grounded.

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Rooted and grounded,

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they are passive participles.

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This is something that is done to you

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when Christ comes in and dwells.

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And remember.

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Remember here right at the beginning.

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This prayer is for people

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who are already believers.

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This is not a prayer for the lost.

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So what the apostle is saying here

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is that if Christ comes in to dwell -

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now, if you're a believer,
you already have Christ in there,

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so obviously he's praying for an increase,

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an expansion of this.

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And as the increase comes,

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Christ comes in and settles down.

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There's more of a permanence.

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Christ dwelling in the heart 
of the believer by faith.

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And as that happens, the result will be

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that we shall be rooted 
and grounded in love.

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This is what I want to 
explore this afternoon.

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So the question arises right off -

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now think about this -

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rooted and grounded in love,

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or as in the order of the original -

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in love being rooted and grounded.

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In love. What love?

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That often arises when you find

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the concept of love in Scripture.

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The love of God or the love of Christ

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oftentimes, I have found through the years

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as I've studied different passages

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where that concept comes up,

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very often it's not readily apparent

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if it's the love that we 
have for God and others,

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or whether it's His love for us.

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And so the question arises,

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what love is this?

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Here at the outset, we want to ask this:

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What love is being spoken of here?

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Who's love for who?

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What is the love into 
which the mighty tree -

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rooted, that's the imagery -

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rooted - a mighty tree.

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It's roots go down into something.

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What love is the Christian life rooted in

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and anchored into

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and sends its roots down into

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when Christ comes in to dwell?

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Is this God's love to us?

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Is this our love to God and to man?

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Now, I want us just to think about this,

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and I'm going to actually throw

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some commentators at you.

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One of my favorite commentators -

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I make no qualms about this -

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I love Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

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But you know as I was reading through

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his commentary, I got to what he said,

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and I just put a question mark

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beside the passage there in the margin.

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Here's what he says:

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"Paul..." He says this dogmatically.

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If you read how he's leading up to it

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and how he says it,

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without proving it,

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he just dogmatically says this,

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and then once he says it,

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it's like that's the 
conclusion - case closed,

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and now he just goes on 
to preach the message

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as though that is a fact established.

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Here's what he says,

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"Paul is very specifically speaking

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about our love to Christ

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rather than about Christ's love to us."

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Just dogmatically says 
it - doesn't prove it.

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And then that's the basis

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for the whole rest of his sermon.

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I put a question mark there

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because I thought, I don't know.

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That does not seem right to me.

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But anyway, the question that

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immediately comes to my mind

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is how can he say that 
with such certainty?

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Now, another commentator, William Arnot.

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Anybody know that name?

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He actually has done 
a commentary on Proverbs

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that I have on my shelf

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which I think is the best 
thing I have on Proverbs.

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Arnot comes along and he says this

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with equal certainty,

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"The question admits of an answer at once

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easily intelligible and 
demonstrably true."

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In other words, Arnot comes along.

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He's going to say it's the exact opposite

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and he's going to say 
it's absolutely clear!

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"...That what we have here

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is the love in which the roots of faith

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strike down for nourishment

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is not human love;

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it's divine love."

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In other words, it's not our love

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Paul's talking about -

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our love for God or for Christ -

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but Christ's love to us.

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And I would just say yes.

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I think that's right.

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And here's the evidence.

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The evidence is two-fold.

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First, just notice the context.

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Notice where things go in verse 18.

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"That you may have strength

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to comprehend with all the saints

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what is the breadth and length

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and height and depth

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and to know the love of Christ

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that surpasses knowledge

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that you may be filled with 
all the fullness of God."

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I think that tells us;

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the context itself - very clearly,

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this has to do with Christ's love for us.

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Paul is praying that we might have

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strength to comprehend,

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not our love for Christ -

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we can comprehend that.

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And the truth is it's 
very faulty oftentimes.

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Didn't we just sing a song?

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We wish we could love God more.

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Our love for Christ is 
pretty comprehensible.

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What surpasses knowledge

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and is beyond our ability to grasp

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unless supernaturally empowered

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is Christ's love for us, right?

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I think that's apparent.

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But here's the other thing.

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The other thing is the imagery itself,

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when you start talking about being rooted

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and grounded -

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you know what grounded means?

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Grounded is the idea of a foundation.

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Do you want your whole superstructure

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built on your ability to love?

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Or His love for us?

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I mean, when you even start talking

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about just the rooted and grounded concept

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and begin to look at the imagery,

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I'm thinking if you're 
talking about our love,

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you have a pretty shaky foundation,

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and quite honestly, I don't want

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to build my foundation on anything

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that has to do with me.

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We're anchored - the roots.

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See, this is a picture of the roots

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going down into the soil.

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Not only for stability,

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but roots that go down into the soil,

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they draw up nutrients.

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Here's a third commentator -

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another guy I really appreciate.

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Alexander MacLaren.

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Anybody know that name?

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These guys are quality guys

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and you can find them online.

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I think this is the better solution.

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Listen to what he says.

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"Where Christ comes,

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He comes not empty-handed.

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He brings His own love

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and that love,

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when consciously received by us,

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produces in us a corresponding

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and answering love in our hearts to Him."

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See, I don't think we necessarily

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have to say it's one or the other.

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The issue is that when we're planted

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in the love that He brings,

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the very nature of the tree

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is to come up and draw from that

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and produce blossoms and produce fruit.

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He says, "So there's no need

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to ask the question whether love means

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Christ's love to me or my love to Christ.

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From the nature of the case,

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both are included -

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the recognition of His love

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and the response by my love

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are the result of His 
entering into the heart."

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And I would just say this,

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Scripture over and over again

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substantiates what MacLaren says.

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We don't have to argue.

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We don't have to fight.

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Because repeatedly, Scripture says

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that what we are in our love

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flows out of what He is in His love,

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does it not?

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I mean, I'm going to give 
you some verses here.

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Don't turn to these.
I'm going to move through them fast.

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1 John 4:10,

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"In this is love,

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not that we have loved God..."

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Now, I would just say this,

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John is saying this:

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when you really want to size up love,

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the starting point is never with us.

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When you start talking love -

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"in this is love, not that 
we have loved God..."

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that's kind of minor, miniscule,

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and a bad starting point.

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It doesn't start there.

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But where's the starting point?

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"In this is love, not that 
we have loved God,

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but that He loved us and sent His Son

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to be the propitiation for our sins."

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It always starts with Him.

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Again, 1 John, look a few verses later.

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"We love Him because..." why?

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See? He first loved us.

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You see, our love is a response.

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Our love flows out of;

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it's the result of.

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Or, you have this reality 
in 2 Corinthians 5:14.

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"For the love of Christ compels..."

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or constrains, or controls.

275
00:13:18,305 --> 00:13:19,909
What's the idea there?

276
00:13:19,909 --> 00:13:22,941
The love that He has for us -

277
00:13:22,941 --> 00:13:25,467
in the context, you can 
tell that's what it is,

278
00:13:25,467 --> 00:13:28,584
that He died for us.

279
00:13:28,584 --> 00:13:31,977
That compels us.

280
00:13:31,977 --> 00:13:33,960
It moves upon us.

281
00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,607
It creates a result in us.

282
00:13:36,607 --> 00:13:38,494
Or you have this -

283
00:13:38,494 --> 00:13:41,166
in John 15:9, our Lord

284
00:13:41,166 --> 00:13:43,133
is getting ready to go to the cross.

285
00:13:43,133 --> 00:13:45,961
He's giving final 
instruction to His disciples.

286
00:13:45,961 --> 00:13:47,748
And you know what He says?

287
00:13:47,748 --> 00:13:53,831
He says, "As the Father has loved Me,

288
00:13:53,831 --> 00:13:59,964
so I have loved you."

289
00:13:59,964 --> 00:14:01,301
And then He says this,

290
00:14:01,301 --> 00:14:04,441
"Abide in My love."

291
00:14:04,441 --> 00:14:07,947
Be planted in it.

292
00:14:07,947 --> 00:14:13,037
Only after that does He then say,

293
00:14:13,037 --> 00:14:14,748
"This is My commandment,

294
00:14:14,748 --> 00:14:16,211
that you love one another."

295
00:14:16,211 --> 00:14:17,869
You see, He tells them first,

296
00:14:17,869 --> 00:14:19,561
the starting point with all of this

297
00:14:19,561 --> 00:14:20,964
is the Father's love for Me,

298
00:14:20,964 --> 00:14:24,510
and as He's loved Me, so I have loved you.

299
00:14:24,510 --> 00:14:28,540
I have a love for you like the 
Father has a love for Me.

300
00:14:28,540 --> 00:14:30,345
Live in that love.

301
00:14:30,345 --> 00:14:31,712
Abide in that love.

302
00:14:31,712 --> 00:14:33,387
Be planted in that love.

303
00:14:33,387 --> 00:14:35,924
Send your roots down into that love.

304
00:14:35,924 --> 00:14:38,094
And then, and only then,

305
00:14:38,094 --> 00:14:40,342
does He turn to them and say,

306
00:14:40,342 --> 00:14:43,145
"Keep My commandment to love one another."

307
00:14:43,145 --> 00:14:44,596
You see, there's that flow.

308
00:14:44,596 --> 00:14:47,526
There's that progression in Scripture.

309
00:14:47,526 --> 00:14:51,029
Remember, come back to this all the time.

310
00:14:51,029 --> 00:14:54,087
This is how an apostle prays for people

311
00:14:54,087 --> 00:14:55,931
who are already Christians.

312
00:14:55,931 --> 00:14:58,634
And when Christ comes in

313
00:14:58,634 --> 00:15:01,232
in increasing fashion, we are strengthened

314
00:15:01,232 --> 00:15:02,975
with the very power of God

315
00:15:02,975 --> 00:15:05,825
through His Spirit in the inner man,

316
00:15:05,825 --> 00:15:09,519
and Christ comes in and He settles down -

317
00:15:09,519 --> 00:15:11,727
deeply settles down

318
00:15:11,727 --> 00:15:14,533
in increasing fashion in a man's heart.

319
00:15:14,533 --> 00:15:18,678
Love is the very soil

320
00:15:18,678 --> 00:15:22,135
in which that man's life 
is going to be planted.

321
00:15:22,135 --> 00:15:24,464
The tree. What's the tree?

322
00:15:24,464 --> 00:15:27,600
The tree is my life.

323
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:29,683
It grows. How?

324
00:15:29,683 --> 00:15:31,560
Not by my effort only.

325
00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:33,895
Should I work out my salvation 
with fear and trembling?

326
00:15:33,895 --> 00:15:35,107
Absolutely.

327
00:15:35,107 --> 00:15:36,620
But you see those roots,

328
00:15:36,620 --> 00:15:40,869
they draw nourishment up out of the soil

329
00:15:40,869 --> 00:15:42,958
of Christ's love for me.

330
00:15:42,958 --> 00:15:45,718
Brethren, this is really 
the heart of Christianity.

331
00:15:45,718 --> 00:15:47,259
It's the heart of blessedness.

332
00:15:47,259 --> 00:15:49,399
This is the closest to getting to heaven

333
00:15:49,399 --> 00:15:50,895
on the face of the earth.

334
00:15:50,895 --> 00:15:52,522
I know one of the Puritans,

335
00:15:52,522 --> 00:15:54,120
he talks about assurance,

336
00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:56,552
but isn't it coupled together with this?

337
00:15:56,552 --> 00:15:58,635
I mean, when the roots of your life

338
00:15:58,635 --> 00:16:02,809
go down into the realities 
of Christ's love for you,

339
00:16:02,809 --> 00:16:06,853
assurance, certainty, security,

340
00:16:06,853 --> 00:16:10,740
an overwhelming sense 
of your belonging to Him

341
00:16:10,740 --> 00:16:12,707
and His being for you -

342
00:16:12,707 --> 00:16:15,934
it overwhelms the person.

343
00:16:15,934 --> 00:16:18,775
As I cling to His love

344
00:16:18,775 --> 00:16:21,081
by ten thousand tendrils

345
00:16:21,081 --> 00:16:22,965
at the ends of the roots

346
00:16:22,965 --> 00:16:28,063
that reach down into 
the riches of this soil,

347
00:16:28,063 --> 00:16:29,461
what happens?

348
00:16:29,461 --> 00:16:31,685
As it clings in that dirt

349
00:16:31,685 --> 00:16:34,683
and it finds its foundation there,

350
00:16:34,683 --> 00:16:36,264
I'll tell you what happens,

351
00:16:36,264 --> 00:16:38,578
such nutrients flow into me

352
00:16:38,578 --> 00:16:41,527
as bring forth realities in my life.

353
00:16:41,527 --> 00:16:43,590
And Scripture speaks about it as fruit.

354
00:16:43,590 --> 00:16:45,995
Again, that analogy of a tree.

355
00:16:45,995 --> 00:16:48,486
I mean, the blossoms come out

356
00:16:48,486 --> 00:16:50,695
and the fruit begins to hang heavy,

357
00:16:50,695 --> 00:16:52,896
and we prove the reality

358
00:16:52,896 --> 00:16:58,631
by bringing forth much fruit.

359
00:16:58,631 --> 00:17:01,553
This is the picture here.

360
00:17:01,553 --> 00:17:05,860
Christ's love being the very source.

361
00:17:05,860 --> 00:17:09,366
You see where this is headed.

362
00:17:09,366 --> 00:17:11,602
It doesn't just stop with:

363
00:17:11,602 --> 00:17:15,221
"Lord..." praying like Paul;

364
00:17:15,221 --> 00:17:17,517
Lord, I pray for this church,

365
00:17:17,517 --> 00:17:21,422
may Jesus Christ dwell 
in their hearts by faith

366
00:17:21,422 --> 00:17:25,279
more richly, deeper, more experiential.

367
00:17:25,279 --> 00:17:26,847
I know this,

368
00:17:26,847 --> 00:17:28,805
wherever Christ comes in to dwell,

369
00:17:28,805 --> 00:17:30,687
and I mean in saving fashion like this

370
00:17:30,687 --> 00:17:33,274
in the heart of a man -

371
00:17:33,274 --> 00:17:36,813
He does not come except 
He comes with His love.

372
00:17:36,813 --> 00:17:38,135
Always.

373
00:17:38,135 --> 00:17:40,550
The whole life will be like a tree

374
00:17:40,550 --> 00:17:42,907
planted in this rich soil.

375
00:17:42,907 --> 00:17:45,935
So the point is, we don't need to argue

376
00:17:45,935 --> 00:17:48,491
over which this is.

377
00:17:48,491 --> 00:17:52,845
Certainly, certainly, the soil,

378
00:17:52,845 --> 00:17:56,350
the starting point is His love for us,

379
00:17:56,350 --> 00:17:58,430
but it always produces the other.

380
00:17:58,430 --> 00:18:00,089
Always produces.

381
00:18:00,089 --> 00:18:01,194
And I would remind you,

382
00:18:01,194 --> 00:18:02,901
I want to keep coming back to this.

383
00:18:02,901 --> 00:18:04,775
Paul is praying for those

384
00:18:04,775 --> 00:18:06,731
who are already Christians. Why?

385
00:18:06,731 --> 00:18:09,722
He wants to see this reality 
increased in their life.

386
00:18:09,722 --> 00:18:12,888
He wants to see these roots laying hold

387
00:18:12,888 --> 00:18:15,098
in this rich soil

388
00:18:15,098 --> 00:18:17,726
and producing this reality.

389
00:18:17,726 --> 00:18:19,677
And I'll just say right off,

390
00:18:19,677 --> 00:18:20,913
how does that happen?

391
00:18:20,913 --> 00:18:22,962
I mean, yes, we have an analogy of a tree.

392
00:18:22,962 --> 00:18:24,881
We have an analogy of roots that go down

393
00:18:24,881 --> 00:18:27,159
and rooted, grounded, secure.

394
00:18:27,159 --> 00:18:29,631
There's security there.

395
00:18:29,631 --> 00:18:33,580
Have you ever seen a monstrous tree?

396
00:18:33,580 --> 00:18:34,866
I mean, sometimes trees,

397
00:18:34,866 --> 00:18:36,479
the roots begin to rot

398
00:18:36,479 --> 00:18:39,985
and so the tree falls over.

399
00:18:39,985 --> 00:18:42,701
But listen, I had a bulldozer one time.

400
00:18:42,701 --> 00:18:44,515
I borrowed it from Johnny Systma.

401
00:18:44,515 --> 00:18:47,025
I was out in the woods where I lived

402
00:18:47,025 --> 00:18:49,069
out south of town,

403
00:18:49,069 --> 00:18:52,848
and there'd be a hickory tree there.

404
00:18:52,848 --> 00:18:55,405
It might be six inches in girth,

405
00:18:55,405 --> 00:18:58,254
and I'd hit that thing with 
that big old bulldozer

406
00:18:58,254 --> 00:19:02,023
and it would stop 
that dozer in its tracks.

407
00:19:02,023 --> 00:19:05,664
Why? That thing had roots

408
00:19:05,664 --> 00:19:07,251
that went way down.

409
00:19:07,251 --> 00:19:09,834
In fact, if you could ever pull a tree up,

410
00:19:09,834 --> 00:19:11,798
some of these massive trees -

411
00:19:11,798 --> 00:19:13,647
Diego and I were just down in Ecuador.

412
00:19:13,647 --> 00:19:16,120
We saw some of these monstrous

413
00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:19,992
rainforest trees with monkeys way up there

414
00:19:19,992 --> 00:19:21,669
in those limbs.

415
00:19:21,669 --> 00:19:23,731
Monstrous trees and they come down

416
00:19:23,731 --> 00:19:24,866
and the root system,

417
00:19:24,866 --> 00:19:27,420
the trunk as it's approaching the ground

418
00:19:27,420 --> 00:19:29,208
just goes way out,

419
00:19:29,208 --> 00:19:31,475
and you can tell underneath the ground,

420
00:19:31,475 --> 00:19:33,063
if you could pull that thing up

421
00:19:33,063 --> 00:19:36,861
and just leave those roots 
absolutely undisturbed

422
00:19:36,861 --> 00:19:38,479
and turn that tree upside down,

423
00:19:38,479 --> 00:19:41,609
that root system is like 
another tree in itself.

424
00:19:41,609 --> 00:19:46,393
All those roots going 
down into the ground.

425
00:19:46,393 --> 00:19:49,904
And what Paul is praying 
for is for Christians,

426
00:19:49,904 --> 00:19:52,371
that that great big root mass

427
00:19:52,371 --> 00:19:54,173
would be down there

428
00:19:54,173 --> 00:19:56,200
and it would be embedded.

429
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,623
It would find its solid foundation;

430
00:19:59,623 --> 00:20:01,385
it would find its stability;

431
00:20:01,385 --> 00:20:03,386
it would find its nutrients

432
00:20:03,386 --> 00:20:07,856
in this soil of Christ's love.

433
00:20:07,856 --> 00:20:09,453
That's for us.

434
00:20:09,453 --> 00:20:11,845
Paul wants us to be strengthened

435
00:20:11,845 --> 00:20:14,955
that we might be able 
to endure this reality,

436
00:20:14,955 --> 00:20:16,811
that this might come -

437
00:20:16,811 --> 00:20:20,382
and the way we draw those nutrients up

438
00:20:20,382 --> 00:20:22,330
as Christians

439
00:20:22,330 --> 00:20:24,075
is by studying that love;

440
00:20:24,075 --> 00:20:26,019
it's by looking at that love.

441
00:20:26,019 --> 00:20:27,829
Like James was talking about,

442
00:20:27,829 --> 00:20:30,407
where does poisoning come?

443
00:20:30,407 --> 00:20:31,690
It's in the mind.

444
00:20:31,690 --> 00:20:34,272
Where does this come from?

445
00:20:34,272 --> 00:20:37,321
It's got to do with not 
just this knowledge

446
00:20:37,321 --> 00:20:38,985
that puffs up,

447
00:20:38,985 --> 00:20:42,496
but it's this knowledge of Jesus Christ.

448
00:20:42,496 --> 00:20:44,001
It's coming to know Him.

449
00:20:44,001 --> 00:20:45,427
It's coming to know His love.

450
00:20:45,427 --> 00:20:47,622
It's coming to study more and more

451
00:20:47,622 --> 00:20:48,580
what He's done.

452
00:20:48,580 --> 00:20:50,276
It's coming to see more and more

453
00:20:50,276 --> 00:20:51,866
the sacrifice that He's made.

454
00:20:51,866 --> 00:20:53,744
Why do you think the Lord would have us

455
00:20:53,744 --> 00:20:57,093
go back to the Lord's Table 
over and over again?

456
00:20:57,093 --> 00:20:58,270
It's because He died.

457
00:20:58,270 --> 00:21:02,336
And He specifically says this is for you.

458
00:21:02,336 --> 00:21:05,082
It's very personal.

459
00:21:05,082 --> 00:21:07,956
He died for us.

460
00:21:07,956 --> 00:21:12,496
And that reality,

461
00:21:12,496 --> 00:21:15,886
this is the imagery Paul has in mind.

462
00:21:15,886 --> 00:21:18,090
This is what he's praying for.

463
00:21:18,090 --> 00:21:20,237
You want to be like one of these great big

464
00:21:20,237 --> 00:21:22,697
magnificent trees.

465
00:21:22,697 --> 00:21:23,977
I tried to look it up.

466
00:21:23,977 --> 00:21:29,356
What was the name of the tree killer?

467
00:21:29,356 --> 00:21:31,005
The killing tree.

468
00:21:31,005 --> 00:21:33,738
There's this tree down there.

469
00:21:33,738 --> 00:21:35,788
It's amazing.

470
00:21:35,788 --> 00:21:37,136
A tree's growing.

471
00:21:37,136 --> 00:21:44,116
This tree begins to grow

472
00:21:44,116 --> 00:21:46,709
from right around the 
base of the other tree.

473
00:21:46,709 --> 00:21:48,832
And it grows up around that tree

474
00:21:48,832 --> 00:21:52,716
and it will actually lift the host tree,

475
00:21:52,716 --> 00:21:54,854
tear it right up out of the ground.

476
00:21:54,854 --> 00:21:57,723
We saw one and a whole palm tree

477
00:21:57,723 --> 00:22:01,338
was just suspended in mid-air.

478
00:22:01,338 --> 00:22:03,637
But you know, we came to one

479
00:22:03,637 --> 00:22:05,249
closer towards the end.

480
00:22:05,249 --> 00:22:06,666
And the guy specifically said

481
00:22:06,666 --> 00:22:08,027
there's one right there,

482
00:22:08,027 --> 00:22:12,293
but the host tree, it was too big.

483
00:22:12,293 --> 00:22:16,363
And the roots were too firmly established.

484
00:22:16,363 --> 00:22:20,385
So when the enemy came along,

485
00:22:20,385 --> 00:22:23,605
it couldn't pull it out.

486
00:22:23,605 --> 00:22:27,866
See, Paul wants us to be strengthened.

487
00:22:27,866 --> 00:22:29,490
That's what he wants.

488
00:22:29,490 --> 00:22:33,231
When all these influences come along;

489
00:22:33,231 --> 00:22:37,424
when these parasites come along

490
00:22:37,424 --> 00:22:39,277
and they would steal us away,

491
00:22:39,277 --> 00:22:40,732
steal away our affections,

492
00:22:40,732 --> 00:22:42,236
steal away your life,

493
00:22:42,236 --> 00:22:44,407
steal away your time.

494
00:22:44,407 --> 00:22:45,929
Paul is praying we would be

495
00:22:45,929 --> 00:22:48,005
so established in this love

496
00:22:48,005 --> 00:22:49,581
that you can't be shaken,

497
00:22:49,581 --> 00:22:53,078
you can't be pulled up.

498
00:22:53,078 --> 00:22:55,580
We desperately need this.

499
00:22:55,580 --> 00:22:57,157
You know, once in a while,

500
00:22:57,157 --> 00:22:59,616
you come back and you just have to

501
00:22:59,616 --> 00:23:02,110
do a survey of the New Testament.

502
00:23:02,110 --> 00:23:04,515
Just think with me here.

503
00:23:04,515 --> 00:23:08,472
We're to walk as Jesus walked. 1 John 2.

504
00:23:08,472 --> 00:23:11,492
We're to love our enemies. 
Sermon on the Mount.

505
00:23:11,492 --> 00:23:14,665
We're to forgive as Jesus forgave.

506
00:23:14,665 --> 00:23:18,006
I mean, remember Him in shame,

507
00:23:18,006 --> 00:23:21,884
anguish, on that cross, looking down.

508
00:23:21,884 --> 00:23:23,734
They're blaspheming Him.

509
00:23:23,734 --> 00:23:25,703
They're murdering Him,

510
00:23:25,703 --> 00:23:27,053
and He prays for them.

511
00:23:27,053 --> 00:23:28,336
He forgave.

512
00:23:28,336 --> 00:23:30,579
We're to be aggressively kind

513
00:23:30,579 --> 00:23:33,376
towards those who despitefully use us.

514
00:23:33,376 --> 00:23:35,602
We're to pray for them.

515
00:23:35,602 --> 00:23:38,440
We're to love the brethren fervently.

516
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:40,682
We're to love, ladies, you're called upon

517
00:23:40,682 --> 00:23:42,668
to love your husbands and your children.

518
00:23:42,668 --> 00:23:44,727
Men, you're called upon to love your wives

519
00:23:44,727 --> 00:23:46,390
as Christ loved the church.

520
00:23:46,390 --> 00:23:48,467
We're to give our possessions,

521
00:23:48,467 --> 00:23:50,871
sell our possessions, give to the poor.

522
00:23:50,871 --> 00:23:53,001
We're to visit the widow and the orphan

523
00:23:53,001 --> 00:23:55,376
in their affliction.

524
00:23:55,376 --> 00:23:59,123
We're to visit the stranger

525
00:23:59,123 --> 00:24:01,295
by bringing them into our house.

526
00:24:01,295 --> 00:24:03,677
We're to visit the needs of the sick.

527
00:24:03,677 --> 00:24:05,930
We're to visit the needs 
of the imprisoned.

528
00:24:05,930 --> 00:24:08,223
We're to visit the needs of the hungry

529
00:24:08,223 --> 00:24:10,180
and the naked.

530
00:24:10,180 --> 00:24:12,722
In everything, by prayer and supplication

531
00:24:12,722 --> 00:24:15,001
with thanksgiving, we're 
to let our requests

532
00:24:15,001 --> 00:24:16,197
be made known unto God.

533
00:24:16,197 --> 00:24:18,058
We're to rejoice in the Lord always.

534
00:24:18,058 --> 00:24:19,878
We're to think on whatsoever things -

535
00:24:19,878 --> 00:24:21,735
James mentioned this - true, honest,

536
00:24:21,735 --> 00:24:23,475
just, pure, lovely, of good report,

537
00:24:23,475 --> 00:24:25,049
any virtue in them, any praise.

538
00:24:25,049 --> 00:24:27,370
We're to be holy because God is holy.

539
00:24:27,370 --> 00:24:29,544
The Savior says that if we believe,

540
00:24:29,544 --> 00:24:31,955
we're going to do greater 
works than He did -

541
00:24:31,955 --> 00:24:33,293
the same that He did

542
00:24:33,293 --> 00:24:35,567
and greater works than 
those we will do.

543
00:24:35,567 --> 00:24:37,595
He said if we believe in Him

544
00:24:37,595 --> 00:24:39,025
that rivers of living water

545
00:24:39,025 --> 00:24:40,788
are going to flow forth from us.

546
00:24:40,788 --> 00:24:42,831
We're going to stand out in bold,

547
00:24:42,831 --> 00:24:45,751
unmistakable contrast from this crooked

548
00:24:45,751 --> 00:24:47,402
and perverse generation

549
00:24:47,402 --> 00:24:49,204
and we're to shine as lights.

550
00:24:49,204 --> 00:24:50,858
We're to die to self daily.

551
00:24:50,858 --> 00:24:53,898
We're to bow our will to His will.

552
00:24:53,898 --> 00:24:55,876
We're to resign all

553
00:24:55,876 --> 00:24:57,843
and renounce all that we have.

554
00:24:57,843 --> 00:25:00,946
We're to set our 
affection on things above.

555
00:25:00,946 --> 00:25:05,431
I mean, I don't need to go further.

556
00:25:05,431 --> 00:25:07,628
Sometimes we need to look at our lives

557
00:25:07,628 --> 00:25:12,442
and look at the shape of the church.

558
00:25:12,442 --> 00:25:15,553
This is the measure of the Christian life.

559
00:25:15,553 --> 00:25:17,823
I mean, look, if this is the basis

560
00:25:17,823 --> 00:25:21,973
upon which we are to be judged?

561
00:25:21,973 --> 00:25:26,575
"Well done, good and faithful servant."

562
00:25:26,575 --> 00:25:30,168
He gathers those nations and He says,

563
00:25:30,168 --> 00:25:33,913
"I was sick and you came to visit Me.

564
00:25:33,913 --> 00:25:38,574
I was poor, and you sold your possessions.

565
00:25:38,574 --> 00:25:40,262
I was a widow and I was an orphan

566
00:25:40,262 --> 00:25:41,788
and you made the sacrifices

567
00:25:41,788 --> 00:25:45,493
to see that My needs were taken care of.

568
00:25:45,493 --> 00:25:50,958
I was your wife and you sought to love Me

569
00:25:50,958 --> 00:25:54,848
the same way I poured 
out My life for you."

570
00:25:54,848 --> 00:25:58,695
You go through all of this,

571
00:25:58,695 --> 00:26:03,432
and you recognize the 
standard is staggering.

572
00:26:03,432 --> 00:26:04,979
You know, you start to think,

573
00:26:04,979 --> 00:26:08,264
this is what we're called to do.

574
00:26:08,264 --> 00:26:09,765
Are you dying daily?

575
00:26:09,765 --> 00:26:11,302
Are you carrying your cross?

576
00:26:11,302 --> 00:26:13,671
Are you laying down your life?

577
00:26:13,671 --> 00:26:15,562
Are you living for Christ?

578
00:26:15,562 --> 00:26:17,278
Are you following Christ?

579
00:26:17,278 --> 00:26:19,738
Are you forsaking all to Christ?

580
00:26:19,738 --> 00:26:24,150
I mean, we can be 
staggered by this standard.

581
00:26:24,150 --> 00:26:25,500
And I think the thing is

582
00:26:25,500 --> 00:26:27,427
when you start to really think about it,

583
00:26:27,427 --> 00:26:31,123
it makes us aware of 
our own spiritual poverty.

584
00:26:31,123 --> 00:26:33,186
But I can tell you this,

585
00:26:33,186 --> 00:26:42,478
I am weary of shallow
imitations of Christianity.

586
00:26:42,478 --> 00:26:48,579
I'm weary of people 
claiming to be Christians

587
00:26:48,579 --> 00:26:53,179
that they're barely trying 
to not do the bad,

588
00:26:53,179 --> 00:26:58,763
let alone to be examples 
of love in this world.

589
00:26:58,763 --> 00:26:59,906
"As I have loved you,

590
00:26:59,906 --> 00:27:05,076
so you are to love one another."

591
00:27:05,076 --> 00:27:08,103
There's so much mockery and sham.

592
00:27:08,103 --> 00:27:11,623
Listen, we are to be more

593
00:27:11,623 --> 00:27:15,312
than a little better than we use to be.

594
00:27:15,312 --> 00:27:18,652
And we're to be more 
than just a little better

595
00:27:18,652 --> 00:27:20,978
than the world out here.

596
00:27:20,978 --> 00:27:23,400
We're to be like Christ.

597
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:25,015
What Paul is praying for -

598
00:27:25,015 --> 00:27:26,848
this is absolutely essential.

599
00:27:26,848 --> 00:27:29,803
Every one of us who are already believers,

600
00:27:29,803 --> 00:27:32,551
we need Christ to so come 
in and settle down

601
00:27:32,551 --> 00:27:34,105
and bring His love in there

602
00:27:34,105 --> 00:27:35,422
that we are moved

603
00:27:35,422 --> 00:27:37,980
and that we are affected.

604
00:27:37,980 --> 00:27:39,960
We need this. We need this.

605
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:41,860
And you know the thing that's amazing?

606
00:27:41,860 --> 00:27:44,268
Is it doesn't say that we're 
rooted and grounded

607
00:27:44,268 --> 00:27:45,776
in any other perfection of God.

608
00:27:45,776 --> 00:27:46,799
It doesn't say that.

609
00:27:46,799 --> 00:27:50,114
Our Christian lives 
don't throw their roots

610
00:27:50,114 --> 00:27:54,516
down into anything but Christ's love.

611
00:27:54,516 --> 00:27:55,996
There's no other attribute.

612
00:27:55,996 --> 00:27:58,154
There's no other perfection of Christ.

613
00:27:58,154 --> 00:28:00,718
No other attribute, no 
other perfection of God

614
00:28:00,718 --> 00:28:02,806
that is said to be the soil

615
00:28:02,806 --> 00:28:04,853
and the anchor and the foundation

616
00:28:04,853 --> 00:28:06,115
of our lives.

617
00:28:06,115 --> 00:28:07,643
We're never said to be rooted

618
00:28:07,643 --> 00:28:09,534
and grounded in God's wisdom

619
00:28:09,534 --> 00:28:11,499
or God's truth or God's justice

620
00:28:11,499 --> 00:28:12,744
or God's holiness

621
00:28:12,744 --> 00:28:14,761
or even God's power.

622
00:28:14,761 --> 00:28:16,816
I think of Craig's message last week.

623
00:28:16,816 --> 00:28:20,588
Or even in God's glory.

624
00:28:20,588 --> 00:28:22,487
Why is that?

625
00:28:22,487 --> 00:28:24,522
Well, I'll tell you this,

626
00:28:24,522 --> 00:28:25,865
whatever perfections

627
00:28:25,865 --> 00:28:27,852
and whatever attributes of God

628
00:28:27,852 --> 00:28:33,017
we might talk about,

629
00:28:33,017 --> 00:28:35,540
if we don't have His love in there,

630
00:28:35,540 --> 00:28:38,920
you know what it tends to be like?

631
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:43,463
I know this about myself.

632
00:28:43,463 --> 00:28:46,620
There's something attractive to me

633
00:28:46,620 --> 00:28:50,164
about a hurricane or a tornado

634
00:28:50,164 --> 00:28:51,804
or an earthquake.

635
00:28:51,804 --> 00:28:53,402
There's something attractive.

636
00:28:53,402 --> 00:28:55,381
There's power in that.

637
00:28:55,381 --> 00:28:57,850
There's something magnificent

638
00:28:57,850 --> 00:29:00,655
and terrible about it.

639
00:29:00,655 --> 00:29:03,323
But it's destructive.

640
00:29:03,323 --> 00:29:04,608
And you know the reality is

641
00:29:04,608 --> 00:29:06,584
that whatever perfections and attributes

642
00:29:06,584 --> 00:29:10,587
we might talk about concerning God,

643
00:29:10,587 --> 00:29:12,481
we may see beauty in them;

644
00:29:12,481 --> 00:29:14,353
there may be some kind of attraction,

645
00:29:14,353 --> 00:29:17,695
but without Christ's love to lay hold of,

646
00:29:17,695 --> 00:29:19,761
you know what all those other attributes

647
00:29:19,761 --> 00:29:22,080
become to us? They become a terror.

648
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,802
They actually move us backwards.

649
00:29:24,802 --> 00:29:26,385
But His love...

650
00:29:26,385 --> 00:29:29,124
what can draw forth the roots

651
00:29:29,124 --> 00:29:31,434
of the tree of your life?

652
00:29:31,434 --> 00:29:37,626
I mean, you know,

653
00:29:37,626 --> 00:29:40,567
I have to be careful,

654
00:29:40,567 --> 00:29:44,423
because I have planted trees in my yard

655
00:29:44,423 --> 00:29:48,430
close to my water line.

656
00:29:48,430 --> 00:29:50,071
You know why that's dangerous?

657
00:29:50,071 --> 00:29:53,806
You know why I should 
never have done that?

658
00:29:53,806 --> 00:29:56,099
Plants have the ability,

659
00:29:56,099 --> 00:30:00,440
those roots, they look for water.

660
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,380
They look for good soil.

661
00:30:02,380 --> 00:30:04,181
In fact, that's another thing.

662
00:30:04,181 --> 00:30:05,732
I put a raised bed garden

663
00:30:05,732 --> 00:30:09,123
not too far away from a Sycamore tree,

664
00:30:09,123 --> 00:30:11,664
and I just know that 
thing is throwing roots

665
00:30:11,664 --> 00:30:14,382
down under there and up into the garden.

666
00:30:14,382 --> 00:30:15,921
It can find that.

667
00:30:15,921 --> 00:30:18,003
And if you think about that,

668
00:30:18,003 --> 00:30:21,463
what attracts the very tendrils

669
00:30:21,463 --> 00:30:25,687
of our hearts like love does?

670
00:30:25,687 --> 00:30:27,213
I mean, you think about it.

671
00:30:27,213 --> 00:30:28,788
It's true even on a human level.

672
00:30:28,788 --> 00:30:30,386
I can be really impressed

673
00:30:30,386 --> 00:30:34,654
by a guy's ability to play basketball.

674
00:30:34,654 --> 00:30:36,677
I can be impressed by a guy's ability

675
00:30:36,677 --> 00:30:38,369
to play guitar.

676
00:30:38,369 --> 00:30:39,776
There's all sorts of things.

677
00:30:39,776 --> 00:30:42,467
I may be impressed by 
somebody's knowledge.

678
00:30:42,467 --> 00:30:44,762
I may be wowed by somebody's ability

679
00:30:44,762 --> 00:30:47,283
to memorize Scripture.

680
00:30:47,283 --> 00:30:51,714
But what it is that 
really attracts and draws?

681
00:30:51,714 --> 00:30:53,039
Like that tree.

682
00:30:53,039 --> 00:30:54,887
That water line going through there

683
00:30:54,887 --> 00:30:56,151
and those roots.

684
00:30:56,151 --> 00:30:59,627
What moves your roots?

685
00:30:59,627 --> 00:31:02,999
The truth is nothing like love

686
00:31:02,999 --> 00:31:04,905
attracts those things.

687
00:31:04,905 --> 00:31:11,994
Nothing.

688
00:31:11,994 --> 00:31:16,855
All His other perfections 
without love to us -

689
00:31:16,855 --> 00:31:19,254
it's like the tornado.

690
00:31:19,254 --> 00:31:21,113
Wow, that's amazing!

691
00:31:21,113 --> 00:31:23,296
But if it starts coming too close,

692
00:31:23,296 --> 00:31:25,183
it's not so amazing; it's terrifying.

693
00:31:25,183 --> 00:31:26,983
Let's get out of here!

694
00:31:26,983 --> 00:31:30,885
(Incomplete thought)

695
00:31:30,885 --> 00:31:33,311
It's how we are.

696
00:31:33,311 --> 00:31:35,271
It's like, yeah, I think,

697
00:31:35,271 --> 00:31:37,863
well, I'd like to experience 
an earthquake sometime.

698
00:31:37,863 --> 00:31:42,619
But then when you're in it, it's 
like, no! I want out of here!

699
00:31:42,629 --> 00:31:46,012
I've actually thought about

700
00:31:46,012 --> 00:31:47,192
going to the coast

701
00:31:47,192 --> 00:31:49,393
when a hurricane was coming before.

702
00:31:49,393 --> 00:31:51,853
But you know what that's like.

703
00:31:51,853 --> 00:31:54,916
There's a curiosity. There's a draw.

704
00:31:54,916 --> 00:31:57,347
But where there's power,

705
00:31:57,347 --> 00:32:00,343
and where there's love,

706
00:32:00,343 --> 00:32:02,069
you don't get only so close

707
00:32:02,069 --> 00:32:03,725
and stop and hesitate;

708
00:32:03,725 --> 00:32:05,188
you keep going

709
00:32:05,188 --> 00:32:09,564
because there's something in His love

710
00:32:09,564 --> 00:32:11,806
like nothing else that can touch

711
00:32:11,806 --> 00:32:14,673
the heart of the Christian.

712
00:32:14,673 --> 00:32:16,217
We know this.

713
00:32:16,217 --> 00:32:21,496
We know this.

714
00:32:21,496 --> 00:32:23,361
I just think about when I was lost,

715
00:32:23,361 --> 00:32:25,708
the sports stars that I admired

716
00:32:25,708 --> 00:32:30,500
or Eddie Van Halen playing the guitar.

717
00:32:30,500 --> 00:32:32,678
But you know, as much as we can

718
00:32:32,678 --> 00:32:34,986
admire those things,

719
00:32:34,986 --> 00:32:41,665
our hearts are kept fairly intact.

720
00:32:41,665 --> 00:32:43,561
But you know, even when we're lost,

721
00:32:43,561 --> 00:32:45,360
where somebody loves us -

722
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,446
and oftentimes it was our mother

723
00:32:47,446 --> 00:32:49,692
or grandmother for a lot of us,

724
00:32:49,692 --> 00:32:51,098
but where you find a person

725
00:32:51,098 --> 00:32:52,273
that really loves you,

726
00:32:52,273 --> 00:32:59,127
there is a strong, 
strong attraction there.

727
00:32:59,127 --> 00:33:03,092
The thing I want you 
to see about v. 17 is this:

728
00:33:03,092 --> 00:33:06,166
Notice the order.

729
00:33:06,166 --> 00:33:10,374
Christ may dwell in your hearts,

730
00:33:10,374 --> 00:33:16,269
then, you are being rooted 
and grounded in love.

731
00:33:16,269 --> 00:33:19,815
This is critical.

732
00:33:19,815 --> 00:33:22,337
The love does not come first.

733
00:33:22,337 --> 00:33:25,905
Christ comes first.

734
00:33:25,905 --> 00:33:28,431
I say this for this reason.

735
00:33:28,431 --> 00:33:31,276
We can want the experience of love.

736
00:33:31,276 --> 00:33:33,190
We want to feel loved.

737
00:33:33,190 --> 00:33:35,948
We want to feel warmth.

738
00:33:35,948 --> 00:33:37,378
But if you start there,

739
00:33:37,378 --> 00:33:40,084
that's the wrong place to start.

740
00:33:40,084 --> 00:33:41,456
We may want a sense

741
00:33:41,456 --> 00:33:44,186
that somebody outside of us loves us.

742
00:33:44,186 --> 00:33:46,882
We may want a sense that God loves us.

743
00:33:46,882 --> 00:33:49,798
But if you start by looking 
for that experience,

744
00:33:49,798 --> 00:33:50,999
you'll never find it.

745
00:33:50,999 --> 00:33:53,027
Nor do you want to seek to try

746
00:33:53,027 --> 00:33:55,814
to love God first.

747
00:33:55,814 --> 00:33:57,955
Some people, you come 
along with the Gospel,

748
00:33:57,955 --> 00:34:00,163
and it's like, "well, I'm 
trying to clean up my life."

749
00:34:00,163 --> 00:34:02,200
"I'm trying to make myself 
presentable to God."

750
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,170
"I'm trying to do this," or 
"I'm trying to do that."

751
00:34:04,170 --> 00:34:04,974
No!

752
00:34:04,974 --> 00:34:07,092
That cannot come first.

753
00:34:07,092 --> 00:34:09,766
We must not seek the blessings

754
00:34:09,766 --> 00:34:11,751
that Christ can give to us

755
00:34:11,751 --> 00:34:15,242
apart from seeking Him and His salvation.

756
00:34:15,242 --> 00:34:18,692
Look, even if it's 
salvation that you want,

757
00:34:18,692 --> 00:34:20,469
you don't start by seeking salvation

758
00:34:20,469 --> 00:34:21,500
apart from Christ.

759
00:34:21,500 --> 00:34:22,771
You'll never end up there.

760
00:34:22,771 --> 00:34:25,417
That's what people are 
doing in religion all the time.

761
00:34:25,417 --> 00:34:26,752
Why do people get religious?

762
00:34:26,752 --> 00:34:28,405
Because they want to try to escape

763
00:34:28,405 --> 00:34:30,277
what their conscience is telling them

764
00:34:30,277 --> 00:34:31,430
is coming when they die.

765
00:34:31,430 --> 00:34:33,199
But you don't want to try to go down

766
00:34:33,199 --> 00:34:34,528
any road like that

767
00:34:34,528 --> 00:34:36,354
except you first start with Christ.

768
00:34:36,354 --> 00:34:38,622
Don't seek the blessings Christ can give

769
00:34:38,622 --> 00:34:40,053
apart from Him.

770
00:34:40,053 --> 00:34:42,491
We must not initially - anything -

771
00:34:42,491 --> 00:34:44,126
seek the ability to love others;

772
00:34:44,126 --> 00:34:45,937
we shouldn't seek holiness first,

773
00:34:45,937 --> 00:34:47,547
good fruit first,

774
00:34:47,547 --> 00:34:49,758
some deeper experience first.

775
00:34:49,758 --> 00:34:52,165
Don't seek revival first.

776
00:34:52,165 --> 00:34:54,590
We need Christ to come.

777
00:34:54,590 --> 00:34:56,470
We need Him. It's Him.

778
00:34:56,470 --> 00:34:58,941
See, when He comes, 
He brings all that He is.

779
00:34:58,941 --> 00:35:00,488
He brings all that He imparts.

780
00:35:00,488 --> 00:35:01,979
He brings all His love.

781
00:35:01,979 --> 00:35:03,815
But you've got to have Him.

782
00:35:03,815 --> 00:35:06,004
If you try to get all of the other stuff,

783
00:35:06,004 --> 00:35:07,881
anything else without Him,

784
00:35:07,881 --> 00:35:09,707
you totally missed it.

785
00:35:09,707 --> 00:35:11,922
All experiences of His love for you

786
00:35:11,922 --> 00:35:15,430
will come at once once you have Him.

787
00:35:15,430 --> 00:35:16,952
The experiences...

788
00:35:16,952 --> 00:35:18,313
The realities of it.

789
00:35:18,313 --> 00:35:21,604
Yes, I recognize, the experience itself,

790
00:35:21,604 --> 00:35:24,435
it ebbs and it flows.

791
00:35:24,435 --> 00:35:26,535
All ability to love Him,

792
00:35:26,535 --> 00:35:28,777
to love others, to grow spiritually,

793
00:35:28,777 --> 00:35:31,538
they flow from Him.

794
00:35:31,538 --> 00:35:33,984
He said, "Without Me you can do nothing."

795
00:35:33,984 --> 00:35:36,486
It's Him. Him.

796
00:35:36,486 --> 00:35:38,478
The roots have to go down.

797
00:35:38,478 --> 00:35:40,049
He needs to come in.

798
00:35:40,049 --> 00:35:43,317
The roots go down into His love.

799
00:35:43,317 --> 00:35:45,137
But see, that love,

800
00:35:45,137 --> 00:35:47,288
it's a package with Him.

801
00:35:47,288 --> 00:35:52,792
You can't go after the 
one without the other.

802
00:35:52,792 --> 00:35:56,814
"Whoever abides in Me and I in him..."

803
00:35:56,814 --> 00:35:58,191
See, I have to be there.

804
00:35:58,191 --> 00:36:00,253
I have to be in Him.

805
00:36:00,253 --> 00:36:03,486
That's the one that's 
going to bear much fruit.

806
00:36:03,486 --> 00:36:06,646
"For without Me you can do nothing."

807
00:36:06,646 --> 00:36:08,990
That's what He says. 
This is no small matter.

808
00:36:08,990 --> 00:36:10,846
Listen, I'll tell you this,

809
00:36:10,846 --> 00:36:13,499
if you look at the very heart and soul

810
00:36:13,499 --> 00:36:15,300
of everything that the Apostle Paul

811
00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:16,663
is writing to the churches,

812
00:36:16,663 --> 00:36:18,149
it always comes back to this.

813
00:36:18,149 --> 00:36:21,121
He is seeking to make Christ preeminent

814
00:36:21,121 --> 00:36:23,082
in the life of these churches.

815
00:36:23,082 --> 00:36:24,047
All the time.

816
00:36:24,047 --> 00:36:27,347
He's answering that reality.

817
00:36:27,347 --> 00:36:28,667
This is no small matter,

818
00:36:28,667 --> 00:36:31,992
because literally, every single problem

819
00:36:31,992 --> 00:36:33,701
in believers and unbelievers

820
00:36:33,701 --> 00:36:35,301
can be traced back to this.

821
00:36:35,301 --> 00:36:37,824
Looking for and seeking

822
00:36:37,824 --> 00:36:40,676
something other than Christ.

823
00:36:40,676 --> 00:36:43,452
Now, look, this is 
obvious with unbelievers.

824
00:36:43,452 --> 00:36:45,271
They're unbelievers precisely because

825
00:36:45,271 --> 00:36:49,368
they don't believe 
that Christ is everything.

826
00:36:49,368 --> 00:36:50,565
All in all.

827
00:36:50,565 --> 00:36:52,750
That He's their only hope.

828
00:36:52,750 --> 00:36:54,157
And if they do seek Him,

829
00:36:54,157 --> 00:36:56,209
it's not really that they're seeking Him.

830
00:36:56,209 --> 00:36:58,559
They're seeking money

831
00:36:58,559 --> 00:36:59,819
or happiness or something

832
00:36:59,819 --> 00:37:03,157
that they perceive that He can give.

833
00:37:03,157 --> 00:37:08,070
Listen, believers can go just as wrong.

834
00:37:08,070 --> 00:37:12,378
Just as wrong if they seek holiness first.

835
00:37:12,378 --> 00:37:16,503
Or if they seek some 
kind of morality first.

836
00:37:16,503 --> 00:37:22,462
Or some kind of perceived arriving

837
00:37:22,462 --> 00:37:24,961
at the keeping of the law

838
00:37:24,961 --> 00:37:27,253
or the commandments.

839
00:37:27,253 --> 00:37:28,534
They seek to love first

840
00:37:28,534 --> 00:37:31,196
or they seek any experience 
of the Christian life first

841
00:37:31,196 --> 00:37:32,879
except this experience:

842
00:37:32,879 --> 00:37:35,348
the experience of Christ 
coming into their hearts.

843
00:37:35,348 --> 00:37:39,513
And then He comes, and when He comes in -

844
00:37:39,513 --> 00:37:42,213
see this is the connection Paul's making -

845
00:37:42,213 --> 00:37:44,837
when He comes in,

846
00:37:44,837 --> 00:37:48,269
if you have Him settle down,

847
00:37:48,269 --> 00:37:52,187
He comes in bringing this aroma of love

848
00:37:52,187 --> 00:37:54,091
into your soul.

849
00:37:54,091 --> 00:37:57,017
And it's Christ residing and abiding,

850
00:37:57,017 --> 00:37:59,768
settling down. It's Him.

851
00:37:59,768 --> 00:38:02,009
And when we have Him, He's present.

852
00:38:02,009 --> 00:38:04,521
He's powerfully present, dwelling there.

853
00:38:04,521 --> 00:38:06,077
Then things happen.

854
00:38:06,077 --> 00:38:11,426
Listen, what you need 
to recognize is this:

855
00:38:11,426 --> 00:38:14,058
When Christ comes

856
00:38:14,058 --> 00:38:16,352
into the heart of the believer,

857
00:38:16,352 --> 00:38:20,165
He comes as a lover.

858
00:38:20,165 --> 00:38:23,252
And that struck me as 
I was thinking about this.

859
00:38:23,252 --> 00:38:25,422
He comes as a lover.

860
00:38:25,422 --> 00:38:28,906
We sing, "Jesus, lover of my soul."

861
00:38:28,906 --> 00:38:31,682
In the Song of Solomon, 
we find this captured.

862
00:38:31,682 --> 00:38:35,616
Here's Christ speaking to His people.

863
00:38:35,616 --> 00:38:40,921
"Behold, you're beautiful, My love."

864
00:38:40,921 --> 00:38:42,537
Behold, you are beautiful.

865
00:38:42,537 --> 00:38:45,041
But those two words jump out.

866
00:38:45,041 --> 00:38:50,681
"My love."

867
00:38:50,681 --> 00:38:53,586
What happens when He comes in?

868
00:38:53,586 --> 00:38:57,313
He whispers peace to your soul.

869
00:38:57,313 --> 00:38:58,299
Peace.

870
00:38:58,299 --> 00:38:59,731
"My peace I leave with you -

871
00:38:59,731 --> 00:39:03,855
not like the world do I leave with you."

872
00:39:03,855 --> 00:39:05,935
Remember, He came and stood

873
00:39:05,935 --> 00:39:08,612
in the midst of His disciples,

874
00:39:08,612 --> 00:39:10,588
and they were all full of anxieties

875
00:39:10,588 --> 00:39:13,014
and fears and they were locked in there.

876
00:39:13,014 --> 00:39:14,804
And He suddenly shows up.

877
00:39:14,804 --> 00:39:16,630
And when He comes, what does He say?

878
00:39:16,630 --> 00:39:20,461
When He comes to His people,

879
00:39:20,461 --> 00:39:23,275
He said, "Peace."

880
00:39:23,275 --> 00:39:26,029
And do you know what else He said?

881
00:39:26,029 --> 00:39:28,784
"Look at My hands and My feet."

882
00:39:28,784 --> 00:39:32,042
Of course, Thomas kind of

883
00:39:32,042 --> 00:39:35,165
promoted some of that.

884
00:39:35,165 --> 00:39:36,650
But you know what He whispers?

885
00:39:36,650 --> 00:39:38,079
We have it in Scripture there.

886
00:39:38,079 --> 00:39:41,844
"I have you engraved

887
00:39:41,844 --> 00:39:44,236
on the palms of My hands."

888
00:39:44,236 --> 00:39:47,352
Or He whispers to us -

889
00:39:47,352 --> 00:39:51,958
look, greater love - there's 
no greater love than this,

890
00:39:51,958 --> 00:39:54,348
no greater love than when one

891
00:39:54,348 --> 00:39:58,308
would lay down his life for his friends.

892
00:39:58,308 --> 00:40:01,841
And He speaks to our soul. He says,

893
00:40:01,841 --> 00:40:05,509
"I'm the Good Shepherd.

894
00:40:05,509 --> 00:40:09,458
The Good Shepherd lays 
down His life for the sheep."

895
00:40:09,458 --> 00:40:13,126
When Christ comes in to your heart,

896
00:40:13,126 --> 00:40:16,180
it's "My love."

897
00:40:16,180 --> 00:40:18,206
You.

898
00:40:18,206 --> 00:40:20,174
It's very personal.

899
00:40:20,174 --> 00:40:21,841
I want you to know this.

900
00:40:21,841 --> 00:40:24,145
When Christ comes in,

901
00:40:24,145 --> 00:40:29,241
the roots go down into a love

902
00:40:29,241 --> 00:40:32,449
that is specific for you.

903
00:40:32,449 --> 00:40:33,796
You know when He comes in,

904
00:40:33,796 --> 00:40:35,822
He doesn't just say,

905
00:40:35,822 --> 00:40:38,784
"I died for all My people."

906
00:40:38,784 --> 00:40:43,221
He doesn't just say, 
"I died for the world."

907
00:40:43,221 --> 00:40:46,819
He speaks peace to you.

908
00:40:46,819 --> 00:40:52,387
He says, "You are My love."

909
00:40:52,387 --> 00:40:53,765
You.

910
00:40:53,765 --> 00:40:55,671
And I'll tell you this, Paul heard that.

911
00:40:55,671 --> 00:40:58,271
Have you ever read 
there in Galatians 2:20?

912
00:40:58,271 --> 00:41:01,361
"I live by faith in the Son of God..."

913
00:41:01,361 --> 00:41:03,521
not who loved all of His people;

914
00:41:03,521 --> 00:41:05,499
not who loves the world

915
00:41:05,499 --> 00:41:07,038
with this general kind of love.

916
00:41:07,038 --> 00:41:13,390
Paul specifically says 
as he's speaking there,

917
00:41:13,390 --> 00:41:15,263
"He loved me

918
00:41:15,263 --> 00:41:18,925
and He gave Himself for me."

919
00:41:18,925 --> 00:41:21,363
Brethren, do you not feel

920
00:41:21,363 --> 00:41:24,403
from the depths of your soul?

921
00:41:24,403 --> 00:41:27,887
Religion. Church. Christianity

922
00:41:27,887 --> 00:41:30,086
is nothing without this.

923
00:41:30,086 --> 00:41:31,514
It's vanity.

924
00:41:31,514 --> 00:41:32,788
It's emptiness.

925
00:41:32,788 --> 00:41:36,009
Unless, taken hold of in the heart

926
00:41:36,009 --> 00:41:41,144
and affections by this love.

927
00:41:41,144 --> 00:41:43,004
It's all powerless apart from that.

928
00:41:43,004 --> 00:41:46,086
This is what moves the people of God.

929
00:41:46,086 --> 00:41:48,512
This is the foundation.

930
00:41:48,512 --> 00:41:52,006
We sink deep down into this.

931
00:41:52,006 --> 00:41:54,928
See, the thing is, you can smell

932
00:41:54,928 --> 00:41:56,722
where Christ lives.

933
00:41:56,722 --> 00:41:57,834
Why?

934
00:41:57,834 --> 00:42:01,302
There's an aroma of love.

935
00:42:01,302 --> 00:42:02,405
There's a fragrance.

936
00:42:02,405 --> 00:42:07,741
The very atmosphere is 
one of this fragrance.

937
00:42:07,741 --> 00:42:10,769
It fills the heart and soul.

938
00:42:10,769 --> 00:42:12,603
And it doesn't leave us unchanged.

939
00:42:12,603 --> 00:42:15,803
Brethren, we need to be like these trees

940
00:42:15,803 --> 00:42:17,413
that send down those roots.

941
00:42:17,413 --> 00:42:19,861
Feed on that love.

942
00:42:19,861 --> 00:42:22,361
That's the thing, He has that love for us.

943
00:42:22,361 --> 00:42:24,102
He wants us to explore it.

944
00:42:24,102 --> 00:42:25,457
He wants us to love it.

945
00:42:25,457 --> 00:42:27,747
He wants us to delve 
into the depths of it.

946
00:42:27,747 --> 00:42:29,422
Dive in and swim in it.

947
00:42:29,422 --> 00:42:31,261
He wants us to be anchored in it.

948
00:42:31,261 --> 00:42:38,361
Seek to plant your affections 
down in that love.

949
00:42:38,361 --> 00:42:42,519
Listen, He can whisper to us in ways

950
00:42:42,519 --> 00:42:46,245
that only the true Christian knows.

951
00:42:46,245 --> 00:42:49,162
But so often, those whisperings

952
00:42:49,162 --> 00:42:52,539
come hand-in-hand with diving deep

953
00:42:52,539 --> 00:42:54,681
into the truth of His love.

954
00:42:54,681 --> 00:42:56,952
Seeking to span the depths of it

955
00:42:56,952 --> 00:42:58,815
through His Scriptures.

956
00:42:58,815 --> 00:43:00,203
Sometimes it's in song.

957
00:43:00,203 --> 00:43:02,061
Sometimes it may be reading things

958
00:43:02,061 --> 00:43:04,104
about His love or about the Scriptures

959
00:43:04,104 --> 00:43:07,127
or about His death.

960
00:43:07,127 --> 00:43:08,920
Sink your affections.

961
00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:13,118
Behold! Like John, 
"Behold, what manner of love

962
00:43:13,118 --> 00:43:14,961
the Father has bestowed upon us."

963
00:43:14,961 --> 00:43:16,529
I would say this too.

964
00:43:16,529 --> 00:43:18,204
Behold, what manner of love the Son

965
00:43:18,204 --> 00:43:20,283
has bestowed upon you.

966
00:43:20,283 --> 00:43:21,530
Behold it!

967
00:43:21,530 --> 00:43:23,608
Look at it. Consider it.

968
00:43:23,608 --> 00:43:24,856
Drink it in.

969
00:43:24,856 --> 00:43:29,564
Let that myriad of rootlets 
of your life sink down.

970
00:43:29,564 --> 00:43:32,015
I'll tell you, there is sweetness

971
00:43:32,015 --> 00:43:33,436
to be drawn up,

972
00:43:33,436 --> 00:43:36,173
and I don't know all how it happens,

973
00:43:36,173 --> 00:43:39,842
but I see the connection.

974
00:43:39,842 --> 00:43:42,217
We love because He first loved us,

975
00:43:42,217 --> 00:43:44,592
and His love compels us and constrains us

976
00:43:44,592 --> 00:43:46,804
and influences us and touches us

977
00:43:46,804 --> 00:43:49,480
and changes us.

978
00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:52,875
Listen, you see, what happens is

979
00:43:52,875 --> 00:43:56,297
we can oftentimes come to recognize -

980
00:43:56,297 --> 00:43:58,535
and we should recognize this -

981
00:43:58,535 --> 00:43:59,997
you know what the reality is?

982
00:43:59,997 --> 00:44:01,632
By nature, we are selfish.

983
00:44:01,632 --> 00:44:04,284
By nature, Scripture says, 
we hate each other.

984
00:44:04,284 --> 00:44:06,396
We're hated and hating.

985
00:44:06,396 --> 00:44:07,402
That's how we are.

986
00:44:07,402 --> 00:44:09,426
We do what we do, and if we have friends,

987
00:44:09,426 --> 00:44:11,871
and if we have family 
members that we're close to,

988
00:44:11,871 --> 00:44:13,964
we do it for the good 
we can get out of it.

989
00:44:13,964 --> 00:44:15,748
We do it for how it makes us look

990
00:44:15,748 --> 00:44:16,982
or how it makes us feel

991
00:44:16,982 --> 00:44:19,968
or how it's to our advantage.

992
00:44:19,968 --> 00:44:24,024
We do it because we want to.

993
00:44:24,024 --> 00:44:25,940
We're selfish.

994
00:44:25,940 --> 00:44:28,894
Our carnal man - 
it's not inclined to love.

995
00:44:28,894 --> 00:44:30,399
Yeah, we can get sentimental.

996
00:44:30,399 --> 00:44:32,647
You can go to a movie and you can cry.

997
00:44:32,647 --> 00:44:36,290
That's not love.

998
00:44:36,290 --> 00:44:39,336
Love is when there's 
a willingness to sacrifice.

999
00:44:39,336 --> 00:44:40,866
And love can always be measured

1000
00:44:40,866 --> 00:44:42,956
by the sacrifice.

1001
00:44:42,956 --> 00:44:44,476
God so loved...

1002
00:44:44,476 --> 00:44:46,452
The "so" - see, that's the measure.

1003
00:44:46,452 --> 00:44:47,663
How much?

1004
00:44:47,663 --> 00:44:49,945
Well, He so loved the world

1005
00:44:49,945 --> 00:44:52,098
that He gave His only begotten Son.

1006
00:44:52,098 --> 00:44:53,669
You see, you measure love

1007
00:44:53,669 --> 00:44:57,389
by what that love is willing to give.

1008
00:44:57,389 --> 00:45:01,232
That's why Jesus is talking about:

1009
00:45:01,232 --> 00:45:03,428
This is love...

1010
00:45:03,428 --> 00:45:06,457
to lay down your life.

1011
00:45:06,457 --> 00:45:10,162
That's how it's measured.

1012
00:45:10,162 --> 00:45:13,329
Part and parcel of our miserable nature -

1013
00:45:13,329 --> 00:45:17,848
lost - we are selfish and unloving people.

1014
00:45:17,848 --> 00:45:19,806
Just part and parcel of our miserable,

1015
00:45:19,806 --> 00:45:22,420
sinful condition.

1016
00:45:22,420 --> 00:45:25,007
We don't love anyone as we ought.

1017
00:45:25,007 --> 00:45:26,863
And you know, the reality is,

1018
00:45:26,863 --> 00:45:30,136
look, we need this in the Christian life.

1019
00:45:30,136 --> 00:45:35,941
Look, you can apply this in your own life.

1020
00:45:35,941 --> 00:45:38,258
But I recognize this,

1021
00:45:38,258 --> 00:45:42,781
I can preach because it's my work.

1022
00:45:42,781 --> 00:45:44,951
It's my task.

1023
00:45:44,951 --> 00:45:47,226
You pay me to do this.

1024
00:45:47,226 --> 00:45:49,090
I may preach somewhere

1025
00:45:49,090 --> 00:45:50,829
because I'm under some constraint.

1026
00:45:50,829 --> 00:45:52,288
I told somebody,

1027
00:45:52,288 --> 00:45:54,804
"Yes, I'll do that conference."

1028
00:45:54,804 --> 00:45:56,467
Maybe it's because I want to

1029
00:45:56,467 --> 00:45:59,507
do someone a favor.

1030
00:45:59,507 --> 00:46:00,890
I mean, somebody could do it

1031
00:46:00,890 --> 00:46:04,158
because they want to get paid.

1032
00:46:04,158 --> 00:46:07,710
Or because there's just this expectation.

1033
00:46:07,710 --> 00:46:09,472
Or because I don't want to disappoint

1034
00:46:09,472 --> 00:46:12,688
somebody whose opinion I care about

1035
00:46:12,688 --> 00:46:14,307
and before whom I want to have

1036
00:46:14,307 --> 00:46:16,232
a good reputation.

1037
00:46:16,232 --> 00:46:18,215
But how different it is,

1038
00:46:18,215 --> 00:46:19,588
you know, if it's like,

1039
00:46:19,588 --> 00:46:21,336
well, I need to do that

1040
00:46:21,336 --> 00:46:22,881
because it's expected of me,

1041
00:46:22,881 --> 00:46:24,030
and that's what I do.

1042
00:46:24,030 --> 00:46:28,077
But how different it is

1043
00:46:28,077 --> 00:46:32,435
when a man is motivated by love -

1044
00:46:32,435 --> 00:46:37,427
by a love that has roots

1045
00:46:37,427 --> 00:46:40,497
that are down in the love of Christ,

1046
00:46:40,497 --> 00:46:43,323
and it produces the flowers and the fruit.

1047
00:46:43,323 --> 00:46:45,568
A man stands in the pulpit and he preaches

1048
00:46:45,568 --> 00:46:47,937
because he loves the souls 
to whom he preaches.

1049
00:46:47,937 --> 00:46:50,121
And there's a difference.

1050
00:46:50,121 --> 00:46:52,255
Let's talk about pastoring.

1051
00:46:52,255 --> 00:46:53,585
Pastoring itself.

1052
00:46:53,585 --> 00:46:56,906
A man could pastor because 
it's expected of him.

1053
00:46:56,906 --> 00:47:01,150
A man can pastor because 
it's his responsibility.

1054
00:47:01,150 --> 00:47:03,597
If he doesn't do it, 
he'll be seen as a failure.

1055
00:47:03,597 --> 00:47:06,254
He'll be seen as stepping away.

1056
00:47:06,254 --> 00:47:08,781
If he doesn't carry forth his duties,

1057
00:47:08,781 --> 00:47:15,281
he feels like he needs 
to perform his leadership.

1058
00:47:15,281 --> 00:47:17,230
Or a man likes the power,

1059
00:47:17,230 --> 00:47:18,789
the prestige, the position,

1060
00:47:18,789 --> 00:47:20,327
the prominence that he perceives

1061
00:47:20,327 --> 00:47:21,924
will come with that.

1062
00:47:21,924 --> 00:47:24,752
That can inspire and drive a man.

1063
00:47:24,752 --> 00:47:27,175
But you think about our Lord.

1064
00:47:27,175 --> 00:47:28,652
What does it say of Him?

1065
00:47:28,652 --> 00:47:30,402
He saw the crowds.

1066
00:47:30,402 --> 00:47:31,903
He had compassion for them

1067
00:47:31,903 --> 00:47:33,941
because they were harrassed and helpless,

1068
00:47:33,941 --> 00:47:36,078
like sheep without a shepherd.

1069
00:47:36,078 --> 00:47:37,679
See, that's what it is to pastor.

1070
00:47:37,679 --> 00:47:39,560
It's to be a shepherd.

1071
00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:41,232
That doesn't specifically say there

1072
00:47:41,232 --> 00:47:44,305
that He is shepherding them,

1073
00:47:44,305 --> 00:47:45,700
but that's what's implied.

1074
00:47:45,700 --> 00:47:47,099
He sees the people

1075
00:47:47,099 --> 00:47:48,978
as though they don't have a shepherd,

1076
00:47:48,978 --> 00:47:51,866
and He's moved out of compassion.

1077
00:47:51,866 --> 00:47:53,862
Huge difference when a man pastors

1078
00:47:53,862 --> 00:47:56,354
because he's moved from this kind of love.

1079
00:47:56,354 --> 00:48:00,904
You see, this is such a practical reality.

1080
00:48:00,904 --> 00:48:03,703
We desperately need Christ to come in

1081
00:48:03,703 --> 00:48:05,342
and bring that love

1082
00:48:05,342 --> 00:48:08,418
for the roots of our life to go down to

1083
00:48:08,418 --> 00:48:09,826
that we might draw up

1084
00:48:09,826 --> 00:48:11,193
and have this foundation

1085
00:48:11,193 --> 00:48:13,932
and be affected in this way,

1086
00:48:13,932 --> 00:48:16,231
that our lives are producing

1087
00:48:16,231 --> 00:48:18,317
that same aroma that He brings

1088
00:48:18,317 --> 00:48:19,791
into the heart.

1089
00:48:19,791 --> 00:48:21,904
That we're doing what we do out of love.

1090
00:48:21,904 --> 00:48:23,235
It's very impactful.

1091
00:48:23,235 --> 00:48:26,290
How frequently the word "compassion"

1092
00:48:26,290 --> 00:48:29,336
is used in connection with our Lord.

1093
00:48:29,336 --> 00:48:30,714
Look at Him.

1094
00:48:30,714 --> 00:48:33,342
His miracles, His works.

1095
00:48:33,342 --> 00:48:35,976
Kindness just permeated.

1096
00:48:35,976 --> 00:48:39,181
He relieved the sick and the suffering.

1097
00:48:39,181 --> 00:48:42,509
Do you remember?

1098
00:48:42,509 --> 00:48:46,008
There would at times be groans there.

1099
00:48:46,008 --> 00:48:48,070
He's raising Lazarus from the dead.

1100
00:48:48,070 --> 00:48:49,244
He's weeping.

1101
00:48:49,244 --> 00:48:51,357
There's people hard of heart

1102
00:48:51,357 --> 00:48:53,253
when the man has a withered hand,

1103
00:48:53,253 --> 00:48:56,403
and He just sighs. He's groaning.

1104
00:48:56,403 --> 00:48:58,511
He feels for people.

1105
00:48:58,511 --> 00:49:02,507
I mean, can you imagine,

1106
00:49:02,507 --> 00:49:04,778
there's that leper:

1107
00:49:04,778 --> 00:49:08,260
"If You will..."
"I will."

1108
00:49:08,260 --> 00:49:13,724
He's moved.

1109
00:49:13,724 --> 00:49:15,874
That compassion, that love -

1110
00:49:15,874 --> 00:49:17,562
that energized,

1111
00:49:17,562 --> 00:49:20,075
that provided the motive for Him.

1112
00:49:20,075 --> 00:49:22,714
That was the power that led Him on.

1113
00:49:22,714 --> 00:49:25,384
The great tree of the Christian life

1114
00:49:25,384 --> 00:49:28,161
is to be like that and rooted in that.

1115
00:49:28,161 --> 00:49:31,904
I had a Maple tree in my front yard.

1116
00:49:31,904 --> 00:49:35,258
The contractor put three 
Maple trees in my yard,

1117
00:49:35,258 --> 00:49:40,044
but for some reason, 
I don't know what it was,

1118
00:49:40,044 --> 00:49:42,958
there was one - it was sickly.

1119
00:49:42,958 --> 00:49:43,974
It was bad.

1120
00:49:43,974 --> 00:49:45,552
The leaves looked bad.

1121
00:49:45,552 --> 00:49:48,235
The tree just was not growing

1122
00:49:48,235 --> 00:49:51,177
near as well as the other two.

1123
00:49:51,177 --> 00:49:56,178
And I watered it, but it looked bad.

1124
00:49:56,178 --> 00:50:00,391
In fact, I recognized, 
it's really close to dying.

1125
00:50:00,391 --> 00:50:04,453
But then, I brought the compost in.

1126
00:50:04,453 --> 00:50:07,194
I brought the compost in

1127
00:50:07,194 --> 00:50:10,402
and it just totally revived.

1128
00:50:10,402 --> 00:50:12,368
It totally turned around.

1129
00:50:12,368 --> 00:50:13,602
For a number of years,

1130
00:50:13,602 --> 00:50:16,821
I kept making amendments to that soil

1131
00:50:16,821 --> 00:50:19,876
till that soil all the 
way around the roots,

1132
00:50:19,876 --> 00:50:22,911
it was rich and full of nutrients.

1133
00:50:22,911 --> 00:50:26,724
And the tree had its 
roots buried in that soil

1134
00:50:26,724 --> 00:50:29,823
and it thrived and it grew.

1135
00:50:29,823 --> 00:50:31,719
What a picture of the Christian life!

1136
00:50:31,719 --> 00:50:34,049
This is us. And this is 
what Paul's praying for.

1137
00:50:34,049 --> 00:50:35,759
And he's not praying for the lost.

1138
00:50:35,759 --> 00:50:36,892
He's praying for us.

1139
00:50:36,892 --> 00:50:41,190
He's praying for Christians - 
yes, the Ephesians,

1140
00:50:41,190 --> 00:50:43,765
but we can imply in that for all

1141
00:50:43,765 --> 00:50:46,076
that fit this condition.

1142
00:50:46,076 --> 00:50:47,368
This is what we need.

1143
00:50:47,368 --> 00:50:49,764
And he's praying for the power of God.

1144
00:50:49,764 --> 00:50:51,169
And where all this goes

1145
00:50:51,169 --> 00:50:53,166
is it's leading us somewhere.

1146
00:50:53,166 --> 00:50:55,336
It's leading us to the comprehension

1147
00:50:55,336 --> 00:50:57,309
that we might comprehend

1148
00:50:57,309 --> 00:51:00,788
the very breadth and length

1149
00:51:00,788 --> 00:51:02,309
and height and depth -

1150
00:51:02,309 --> 00:51:04,044
that's where all this is moving.

1151
00:51:04,044 --> 00:51:07,044
That's where he's going with this.

1152
00:51:07,044 --> 00:51:09,734
We need to have a right view, brethren,

1153
00:51:09,734 --> 00:51:14,487
of Christ's love.

1154
00:51:14,487 --> 00:51:21,581
We need a feel for 
where all this is going.

1155
00:51:21,581 --> 00:51:25,076
He wants us to have 
strength to comprehend this.

1156
00:51:25,076 --> 00:51:26,625
Because there's vastness here

1157
00:51:26,625 --> 00:51:28,285
that unless God strengthens you -

1158
00:51:28,285 --> 00:51:30,226
you know what one of the real issues is?

1159
00:51:30,226 --> 00:51:32,766
Sometimes it's not that 
you're not studied enough,

1160
00:51:32,766 --> 00:51:35,154
it's not that you haven't 
spent enough time,

1161
00:51:35,154 --> 00:51:38,674
it's simply that God has not released

1162
00:51:38,674 --> 00:51:41,537
the bounds of your mind

1163
00:51:41,537 --> 00:51:43,399
to be able to take it all in.

1164
00:51:43,399 --> 00:51:44,903
You need to be strengthened

1165
00:51:44,903 --> 00:51:46,751
to comprehend with all the saints

1166
00:51:46,751 --> 00:51:50,386
what is the measurement of this love.

1167
00:51:50,386 --> 00:51:54,757
And this is where all of this is headed.

1168
00:51:54,757 --> 00:51:57,300
And that's what's going to happen,

1169
00:51:57,300 --> 00:51:59,221
Lord willing, in the next few weeks.

1170
00:51:59,221 --> 00:52:01,450
We're just going to contemplate that love.

1171
00:52:01,450 --> 00:52:03,467
Why? Because I've been praying,

1172
00:52:03,467 --> 00:52:05,139
as we've been moving through this,

1173
00:52:05,139 --> 00:52:08,083
I'm praying this for this church.
I'm praying this for myself.

1174
00:52:08,083 --> 00:52:09,386
That we would have this -

1175
00:52:09,386 --> 00:52:11,416
Christ would come in and settle down

1176
00:52:11,416 --> 00:52:13,353
in a way that He never has before,

1177
00:52:13,353 --> 00:52:16,029
and that we would become more and more

1178
00:52:16,029 --> 00:52:19,381
anchored in this love,

1179
00:52:19,381 --> 00:52:20,800
and that we would see it

1180
00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:22,415
and be given this comprehension;

1181
00:52:22,415 --> 00:52:24,736
God would strengthen our minds,

1182
00:52:24,736 --> 00:52:27,233
our souls, our comprehension,

1183
00:52:27,233 --> 00:52:30,576
our capacity to know,

1184
00:52:30,576 --> 00:52:33,367
to where it would be stretched.

1185
00:52:33,367 --> 00:52:35,470
And how can I do that?

1186
00:52:35,470 --> 00:52:37,018
Unless God intervenes,

1187
00:52:37,018 --> 00:52:38,077
unless God helps,

1188
00:52:38,077 --> 00:52:39,814
unless God grants the prayer.

1189
00:52:39,814 --> 00:52:41,637
I can try to say things to you,

1190
00:52:41,637 --> 00:52:43,665
but it can just be a bunch of words.

1191
00:52:43,665 --> 00:52:45,609
Unless God takes it -

1192
00:52:45,609 --> 00:52:47,130
and you know how it is.

1193
00:52:47,130 --> 00:52:49,048
I know how it is.

1194
00:52:49,048 --> 00:52:51,145
You're studying along through God's Word,

1195
00:52:51,145 --> 00:52:52,955
and God opens up something to you,

1196
00:52:52,955 --> 00:52:55,274
some truth like you've 
never seen it before.

1197
00:52:55,274 --> 00:52:56,614
That happens all the time.

1198
00:52:56,614 --> 00:52:58,062
The more you study Scripture,

1199
00:52:58,062 --> 00:52:59,496
the more we should expect that

1200
00:52:59,496 --> 00:53:01,385
that kind of thing is going to happen.

1201
00:53:01,385 --> 00:53:03,815
And I'm hoping that will 
happen in the weeks ahead.

1202
00:53:03,815 --> 00:53:07,561
We'll really comprehend just the love.

1203
00:53:07,561 --> 00:53:13,094
This, if it happens,

1204
00:53:13,094 --> 00:53:16,382
what's going to happen is the result.

1205
00:53:16,382 --> 00:53:18,392
If you're anchored in that,

1206
00:53:18,392 --> 00:53:21,193
what it's going to do to the tree

1207
00:53:21,193 --> 00:53:24,523
will be vastly visible.

1208
00:53:24,523 --> 00:53:26,932
This is what we want.

1209
00:53:26,932 --> 00:53:30,738
This is maturity that he's praying for.

1210
00:53:30,738 --> 00:53:32,535
I want to see this church

1211
00:53:32,535 --> 00:53:34,068
to be like those massive trees -

1212
00:53:34,068 --> 00:53:36,443
I don't even know what 
the names of them were.

1213
00:53:36,443 --> 00:53:38,911
But those massive rain forest trees.

1214
00:53:38,911 --> 00:53:40,606
I've not ever seen the Redwoods,

1215
00:53:40,606 --> 00:53:42,688
but I think those were the biggest trees

1216
00:53:42,688 --> 00:53:44,926
probably I've ever seen.

1217
00:53:44,926 --> 00:53:46,322
Massive.

1218
00:53:46,322 --> 00:53:47,569
That's how we want to be,

1219
00:53:47,569 --> 00:53:49,544
like these great, stately,

1220
00:53:49,544 --> 00:53:52,231
impressive trees with roots

1221
00:53:52,231 --> 00:53:54,793
that go so far down in there.

1222
00:53:54,793 --> 00:53:56,379
This place is relatively close

1223
00:53:56,379 --> 00:53:57,802
to the Pacific Coast,

1224
00:53:57,802 --> 00:54:01,797
(incomplete thought)

1225
00:54:01,797 --> 00:54:02,815
I'll tell you this,

1226
00:54:02,815 --> 00:54:04,261
I never saw one of those trees

1227
00:54:04,261 --> 00:54:05,854
knocked over in those woods.

1228
00:54:05,854 --> 00:54:07,484
Now some of the smaller ones

1229
00:54:07,484 --> 00:54:10,159
were pulled up by those viper trees,

1230
00:54:10,159 --> 00:54:14,452
but we want roots like that.

1231
00:54:14,452 --> 00:54:15,615
Stability.

1232
00:54:15,615 --> 00:54:17,033
Down in that love.

1233
00:54:17,033 --> 00:54:19,222
So when the storms come,

1234
00:54:19,222 --> 00:54:21,114
you're not moved; you're not shaken,

1235
00:54:21,114 --> 00:54:24,847
but rather, the fruit is heavy.

1236
00:54:24,847 --> 00:54:25,892
That's what we want.

1237
00:54:25,892 --> 00:54:28,587
We want the boughs on those trees.

1238
00:54:28,587 --> 00:54:31,547
You come to my yard and 
you look at my peach trees.

1239
00:54:31,547 --> 00:54:36,452
Those things are looking kind of sorry

1240
00:54:36,452 --> 00:54:40,379
because they're bowed down so far.

1241
00:54:40,379 --> 00:54:43,036
Their branches are coming 
down to the ground

1242
00:54:43,036 --> 00:54:45,237
because they're so heavy 
laden with peaches.

1243
00:54:45,237 --> 00:54:46,234
That's what we want.

1244
00:54:46,234 --> 00:54:48,465
We want to be bowed down.

1245
00:54:48,465 --> 00:54:50,226
That's a good picture.

1246
00:54:50,226 --> 00:54:53,634
Bowed down, but then so 
heavy laden with fruit

1247
00:54:53,634 --> 00:54:56,205
that your branches -

1248
00:54:56,205 --> 00:54:59,522
some bring forth a hundred fold.

1249
00:54:59,522 --> 00:55:01,603
Why shouldn't it be us?

1250
00:55:01,603 --> 00:55:03,352
If you jump up, out the door:

1251
00:55:03,352 --> 00:55:06,465
Yes! Hundred-fold!

1252
00:55:06,465 --> 00:55:10,971
You're not starting in the right place.

1253
00:55:10,971 --> 00:55:13,468
We need to be taking 
along with us all the time

1254
00:55:13,468 --> 00:55:18,596
and studying the love of Christ.

1255
00:55:18,596 --> 00:55:21,062
And then you're going to have the fuel,

1256
00:55:21,062 --> 00:55:22,751
you're going to be rooted in

1257
00:55:22,751 --> 00:55:25,132
the right substance

1258
00:55:25,132 --> 00:55:28,964
to reproduce Christ out there

1259
00:55:28,964 --> 00:55:31,223
and in here.

1260
00:55:31,223 --> 00:55:33,543
That's where we're headed.

1261
00:55:33,543 --> 00:55:35,506
Father, we just pray that You'd help us

1262
00:55:35,506 --> 00:55:37,482
and bring the reality of this

1263
00:55:37,482 --> 00:55:39,030
out in our own church.

1264
00:55:39,030 --> 00:55:42,549
I pray this in the name 
of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1265
00:55:42,549 --> 00:55:43,676
Amen.