SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Life Series, a podcast from King Arden Bay Baptist Church, where we gather together to experience God's love, grow in God's love, and give that love back to each other.
SPEAKER_01: So we have a scripture reading.
SPEAKER_01: I said, planted in purpose.
SPEAKER_01: Now, before we even start, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: I can't gauge the room, so I don't know if you all believe that you are planted in purpose or not.
SPEAKER_01: But by the end of this, I pray that you are.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go to the word.
SPEAKER_01: The book of Jeremiah.
SPEAKER_01: I have my favorite Bible here.
SPEAKER_01: This is an oldie but a goodie.
SPEAKER_01: Um, this is the new recipe new revised standard version of the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Look at it.
SPEAKER_01: I love it because it has a concordance in everything.
SPEAKER_01: Um we're gonna go to the word, and even if you don't have this big old Bible up here, they're using NIV, which is fine.
SPEAKER_01: Um, we're gonna go to the word together.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Um, media team, I am adding an extra scripture here, so don't worry about it.
SPEAKER_01: Just let's just roll together.
SPEAKER_01: Let's start.
SPEAKER_01: Let's see, you all started at Jeremiah.
SPEAKER_01: Let's start at Jeremiah.
SPEAKER_01: But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
SPEAKER_01: They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
SPEAKER_01: It does not fear when heat comes, it does not fear when he comes, it does not fear when he comes, but his leaves are always green, it has no worries of the year of drought, and it never fails to bear fruit.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go before that in the pericope in the number of scriptures before it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna start at verse 5, and it says, Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord, they shall be like a shrub in the desert and shall not see when relief comes.
SPEAKER_01: They shall be like a shrub in the desert and not see when relief comes.
SPEAKER_01: They shall live in parched places of the wilderness and in inhabited salt land.
SPEAKER_01: God, speak to us like only you can today.
SPEAKER_01: Have your way, and let me be like the main character in this story, like a tree planted by the water, trusting you, delivering a word to all of your people.
SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' powerful name we pray.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Now, let me tell you, um, it's so interesting, and I'm excited.
SPEAKER_01: So if you all are not blessed by this sermon, don't worry, because I'm already blessed by it.
SPEAKER_01: God has already, all the hours of preparation have blessed me real, real, real, real good.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to tell you some stories.
SPEAKER_01: You all know when I come up here, it's story time.
SPEAKER_01: It is story time.
SPEAKER_01: And I have my my mom here, I have my my dad and my stepmom watching, I have my family, I have friends watching.
SPEAKER_01: But maybe you guys didn't know that my mom is here, and guess what?
SPEAKER_01: She has a green thumb.
SPEAKER_01: You didn't know that.
SPEAKER_01: She used to garden.
SPEAKER_01: When I grew up, she had plants all over the house, big plants.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, she's smiling.
SPEAKER_01: And by our window, she had so many pots, and even though we didn't live in a house, we lived in like a townhouse in a cul-de-sac, right?
SPEAKER_01: We had like a little back porch, and she used to have like little herbs and things like that in it.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I don't know what happened, Ma, but you didn't really pass down that green thumb to me.
SPEAKER_01: But it's all right, y'all heard Dr.
SPEAKER_01: Mike preach last week.
SPEAKER_01: He's all in the plants, and I that hasn't been my ministry yet, but we're gonna listen to the rest of the sermon and see where it goes.
SPEAKER_01: But the thing is, this one plant I remember, it was so tall and it was gaping, and my mother used to cut off the bottom of the stem and then put it in a new pot so that it could grow.
SPEAKER_01: And what I realized when I asked, because it grew so beautifully all of the time, and I realized that this one plant that grew so much, it was actually passed down.
SPEAKER_01: So my great-grandmother had this plant initially.
SPEAKER_01: Then she passed it on to her daughter, which is my my grandmother.
SPEAKER_01: My grandmother passed it on to my mom, and they passed it on to various members of the family.
SPEAKER_01: So, even right now, my godmom, when I went to visit and went to woman evolved last year, she has that plant still growing and has cut it up and sent it to different family members.
SPEAKER_01: And so I was thinking about that plant and thinking about Jeremiah and thinking about Psalm 1, which we'll read later, which also talks about this tall tree planted by the stream and the water, and how when the heat comes, it doesn't flinch.
SPEAKER_01: So I need you all to work with me.
SPEAKER_01: For the rest of this sermon, I'm not Pastor Alex Sean, not Chandria, not Minister Sean, I'm this tall tree next to the water with my roots planted deep.
SPEAKER_01: Here to give you a message from the Lord from what I've seen and what I've experienced being this tree looking all around.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all with me?
SPEAKER_01: So in the book of Jeremiah, it's very interesting.
SPEAKER_01: I have been planted by this water, and I've had so many of my family members next to the streams.
SPEAKER_01: I am a tall tree, and I've seen a lot.
SPEAKER_01: And I know you all are reading the book of Jeremiah, you think it's just one prophet, that weeping prophet they call Jeremiah, who was so sensitive.
SPEAKER_01: But there are other authors of this book too.
SPEAKER_01: We just don't know exactly who they are.
SPEAKER_01: But this Jeremiah was so interesting because he used to come by me and just sit there and cry sometimes.
SPEAKER_01: He would sit there and it seemed like he was receiving a word from the Lord because there was so much tumult and devastation and chaos going on in Judah at that time.
SPEAKER_01: Now, you may not know it, but I watched it because I am that tall tree planted deep with roots.
SPEAKER_01: And my roots are not surface level, they go real deep into the soil and they eventually even connect to some other things.
SPEAKER_01: But what I've seen is the people were in disarray.
SPEAKER_01: They looked religious externally, but internally they were disconnected.
SPEAKER_01: Those are the people that Jeremiah was talking about.
SPEAKER_01: He was prophetent, he was being a prophet during the one of the hardest times in Judah's history.
SPEAKER_01: The political climate was unstable, the economy was unstable.
SPEAKER_01: Spiritually, the people were divided, and people were trusting and humans more than they were trusting God.
SPEAKER_01: Can you believe it?
SPEAKER_01: They had fear, they had anxiety, there was corruption going all around them, there was instability, there was confusion.
SPEAKER_01: And so Jeremiah said in verses five to six, cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and whose heart turns away from God.
SPEAKER_01: As the tall tree sat there giving him, I stood there giving Jeremiah shade when these words came to him.
SPEAKER_01: Jeremiah started in this book to contrast these two types of people, but he used my kind to explain the situation.
SPEAKER_01: He said that some people are like the shrubs that are in the desert who are wasting away and they cannot even see when relief comes.
SPEAKER_01: But then he also talked about me and my family and how we're the tall trees and we're planted strong.
SPEAKER_01: But the thing is, I know that Jeremiah had a heart for the people, which is why he was so sensitive to what was going on.
SPEAKER_01: So he was not making a comparison of them.
SPEAKER_01: He wasn't saying, oh, you're bad because you're a small shrub in the desert or you're good because you're tall, but he was making a comparison saying that the trees are different.
SPEAKER_01: And actually the shrub was in a desolate area, not only because of just sin, but more importantly, because that they trusted in humans more than they trusted in God.
SPEAKER_01: That tree that was planted by the water that represents the ones that trusted in God.
SPEAKER_01: But the tree is different from the shrub in the desert.
SPEAKER_01: It's very different.
SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you why, because the tree has roots.
SPEAKER_01: The tree has water, the tree has a source that is deeper than the surface level conditions.
SPEAKER_01: Now let's look at us in 2026.
SPEAKER_01: I am the tall tree, but I have relatives in your area.
SPEAKER_01: I hear that you're in the beautiful Virgin Islands.
SPEAKER_01: And so we have connections, and so I understand that some people are thinking that they can only survive in situations that are perfect.
SPEAKER_01: That when everything goes your way, then you believe that you are blessed.
SPEAKER_01: But Jeremiah came to tell you that no matter if you think things are perfect on the outside, there is something going on beneath the surface that has to be attended to.
SPEAKER_01: So who is the tall tree?
SPEAKER_01: The tall tree is planted by the water, and guess what?
SPEAKER_01: It develops differently than the trees that are planted on dry ground.
SPEAKER_01: Trees near the water grow deeper roots.
SPEAKER_01: They become more stable, they become more nourished, they become more resilient in storms and droughts.
SPEAKER_01: Their root systems.
SPEAKER_01: Our root systems stretch deep underground and they're searching for life.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because they are connected to a reliable water source.
SPEAKER_01: And because they are connected to that reliable water source, they can survive conditions that destroy shallow-rooted plants.
SPEAKER_01: That is what Jeremiah is trying to teach us.
SPEAKER_01: The tree survives because the roots found the water.
SPEAKER_01: So that leads us to our first point.
SPEAKER_01: There is power in the water.
SPEAKER_01: The tree extends its roots deep by the water.
SPEAKER_01: And even when adverse conditions come, the trees do not panic because it has access to the reliable source.
SPEAKER_01: Guess who that reliable source is?
SPEAKER_01: Yes, that reliable source is God.
SPEAKER_01: And if you've even been in church more than one day, you have heard that God is the living water.
SPEAKER_01: The reason the tree remains healthy, and if we go back to the scripture, the reason the tree remains healthy, the only reason we know the tree is healthy is because in oh let's go to Psalms.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go to Psalms 10.
SPEAKER_01: Psalms 1 through 3.
SPEAKER_01: Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that the sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers.
SPEAKER_01: But those who delight in the law of the war Lord and meditate on his law day and night, that person is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields fruit in its season.
SPEAKER_01: It does not wither.
SPEAKER_01: And whatever they do prospers.
SPEAKER_01: So right here we see that that tree is healthy.
SPEAKER_01: That tree is growing.
SPEAKER_01: That tree is prospering.
SPEAKER_01: That tree is doing more than what other people think that it really should be doing.
SPEAKER_01: So I could imagine some of the shrubs in the desert are wondering why is this tree so strong?
SPEAKER_01: Why does it look so beautiful?
SPEAKER_01: Why is it green and verdant like our beautiful hills here?
SPEAKER_01: It's not because the conditions are perfect, it is because the roots are deep.
SPEAKER_01: But deep roots mean nothing if it is not connected to a water source.
SPEAKER_01: So you have to be connected to that living water.
SPEAKER_01: I could stand here as tall and nice as it as I may be, but if my roots are not connected to a power source, a life-giving source, a water source, a source that's gonna sustain me when everything above the ground is shaking and waving and burning up.
SPEAKER_01: If I don't have connection to that water and I'm dehydrated, it means nothing.
SPEAKER_01: The reason the tall tree remains healthy is not only because it's flourishing.
SPEAKER_01: Who cares if you flourish if it's not in the in the in the in the stead of God and it is not moving forth God's position?
SPEAKER_01: The shrub has human trust instead of God.
SPEAKER_01: It relies on, let's talk about it, external validation, human opinions, involved in gossip, involved in circles that push it down rather than grow it up, in toxic work environments, and all of these situations that are making the winds and the waves blow, and their roots are not deep.
SPEAKER_01: So when those external conditions start to knock them down, they cannot prosper anymore.
SPEAKER_01: I asked the question to this tall tree.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Tall tree, who were the people listening to if they weren't listening to God?
SPEAKER_01: The tall tree couldn't give me the answer.
SPEAKER_01: I don't, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: But I asked the question to us.
SPEAKER_01: Who are we listening to?
SPEAKER_01: When life hits us, when trouble comes, when situations are not perfect, when things are not completely aligned like we wish that they would.
SPEAKER_01: Who are we listening to when we're in the midst of the anxiety trying to wash over your body, making you stop from pursuing that purpose that you know that God put in your heart?
SPEAKER_01: What is happening when that wind and that wave hits you up top?
SPEAKER_01: Are you like the shrub in the desert, disconnected from the water and disconnected from God?
SPEAKER_01: Or are you like the tall tree that is planted, rooted, maybe swaying on the top, but strong underneath the service?
SPEAKER_01: Who are you and do you realize that there is power in the water?
SPEAKER_01: Say there is power in the water.
SPEAKER_01: And not any water.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not talking about going to the sewage area and just scooping something up, going to the porter potty.
SPEAKER_01: That's water there too.
SPEAKER_01: Kool-Aid is filled with water.
SPEAKER_01: Is it the best water source?
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: So we have to know what source of water we're going to.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not talking about any source.
SPEAKER_01: So don't say Pastor Alexha, she said, just give me anything to drink.
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: Because what did they do to Jesus on the cross?
SPEAKER_01: They tried to hydrate them, but what did they give him?
SPEAKER_01: Vinegar.
SPEAKER_01: That's not gonna work.
SPEAKER_01: Point number two, there is power in the roots.
SPEAKER_01: Roots naturally grow towards what sustains them.
SPEAKER_01: I am the tall tree.
SPEAKER_01: I understand this more than anyone.
SPEAKER_01: If I want to continue my family line, my roots have to be deep.
SPEAKER_01: They can't just be a couple inches below the ground because if somebody comes and shakes them, then that's it.
SPEAKER_01: And if you all were here last Sunday, you saw Dr.
SPEAKER_01: Mike's presentation, he had different pots up here.
SPEAKER_01: If the wind and the rain came, it would be very easy for me to grab that stem, pick up that plant, and throw it away.
SPEAKER_01: But if the wind and the rain comes, is it gonna be easy for any of us to just have our hands go out to one of those palm trees, pick it up and throw it?
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_01: And why?
SPEAKER_01: Because there are power in the roots.
SPEAKER_01: Deep roots provide stability, nourishment, resilience, anchoring, and survival where shallow roots dry out quickly, but deep roots are hidden.
SPEAKER_01: They are hidden and they have hidden water reserves long after the surface soil appears dry.
SPEAKER_01: So can you imagine in your life there's some things that don't seem all juicy and moisturized and nice and going your way, right?
SPEAKER_01: Seems dry.
SPEAKER_01: You're wondering why am I still in this situation month after month?
SPEAKER_01: Why am I still dealing with this?
SPEAKER_01: Why are the things in my life not moving along?
SPEAKER_01: Why does my life feel like it's dry?
SPEAKER_01: It's because I'm a maybe.
SPEAKER_01: I need to go a little bit deeper.
SPEAKER_01: And spiritually, some people have surface level faith, but others have roots that they have learned to go deeper.
SPEAKER_01: And just like Jeremiah, who was the weeping prophet, the sensitive prophet, Jeremiah was also afraid.
SPEAKER_01: We often talk about Jeremiah 1, for I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper.
SPEAKER_01: But if you go to keep on going to verse 8, when God when He says, Lord, I am afraid.
SPEAKER_01: I am afraid to speak to these people who don't want to listen to me.
SPEAKER_01: I am afraid to speak to these people who are shallow in their thinking and not deeply connected to you and going through religious routines.
SPEAKER_01: I am scared to talk to them.
SPEAKER_01: But what does God say?
SPEAKER_01: He says, I will put my hands on your lips.
SPEAKER_01: And that is so important because we already talked about water, but if you talk about the roots, the roots go down to the source of God and they come up and they go up your body, and what do they touch?
SPEAKER_01: Your lips.
SPEAKER_01: So literally, the deepest part of the roots of your life.
SPEAKER_01: The deepest part of your roots still leans and lends to God cultivating your voice and the purpose that you have in your life.
SPEAKER_01: You are connected with deep roots, but do you see it?
SPEAKER_01: Do you perceive it?
SPEAKER_01: Do you perceive the move of God in your life, or are you like that?
SPEAKER_01: Those verses ahead in verses 5 and 6 of Jeremiah 17, where the shrub did not even perceive when the heat was coming, when the relief was coming.
SPEAKER_01: We can be going through situations in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: Heat hitting us, devastation hitting us, tragedy hitting us.
SPEAKER_01: And we're wondering what do we do with that, God?
SPEAKER_01: What do we do?
SPEAKER_01: How can I stay uprooted?
SPEAKER_01: And God is saying, I know it's hard, I know you felt shallow, but I need you to plant your roots deep in me, and it is never too late for you to do it.
SPEAKER_01: It's never too late for you to connect to the water source.
SPEAKER_01: It is never too late to ask God to make my roots deeper so that I can connect you, so that I can have stability to go through all of these things that I'm facing in life.
SPEAKER_01: The truth is there's another set of people that are in this church, that are in the community, that are around the world, and the top of their tree looks beautiful, and they get talked about because of it.
SPEAKER_01: They get shamed because of it.
SPEAKER_01: They're the ones who are just doing what God told them to do.
SPEAKER_01: I am the tall tree, and God has given me a purpose to give shade to others.
SPEAKER_01: But people don't realize and wonder how do you survive when everyone else is struggling?
SPEAKER_01: It's because the roots beneath are working overtime.
SPEAKER_01: So that yes, you see my beautiful, verdant, billowy leaves.
SPEAKER_01: You see that I'm still doing my purpose and giving out shade and giving out fruit and giving out sustenance to the pollinators, the bees, the butterflies around me.
SPEAKER_01: You see me still carrying out my will, but it's just because, not of anything I've done, but just because my roots are deep.
SPEAKER_01: They connect with water, and when the wind and the heat comes, I know I can go to the source.
SPEAKER_01: The tall tree sometimes gets judged.
SPEAKER_01: But God is the one who studies the root.
SPEAKER_01: So if you felt like that before, people are looking at you like, how does he do it?
SPEAKER_01: How does she do it?
SPEAKER_01: You just gotta tell them it's because my roots are working overtime underneath the surface.
SPEAKER_01: Has the tall tree you can tell them too?
SPEAKER_01: Because it's about who you identify as, right?
SPEAKER_01: Today I'm identifying as a tall tree, but let the truth be known.
SPEAKER_01: I have identified as that bush, that shrub in the desert, alone, desolate, dry, and just waiting for some nourishment from God.
SPEAKER_01: So today is a choice for you.
SPEAKER_01: I'm giving these two examples to you of me as a tall tree and as the shrub so you can understand and be accountable to where you are today and make the choice of where you want to be after you walk out these doors of the church.
SPEAKER_01: We not wait until Monday.
SPEAKER_01: After you walk out of the doors of this church, the tree says you did not see the drought that actually taught me how to put my roots deeper.
SPEAKER_01: Life will happen to every single person in here, and it is a matter if you make the choice that, hey, I'm being shaken up top, but God, I need my roots to become deeper in you.
SPEAKER_01: And not only do I want those roots to become deeper, I want to learn your way.
SPEAKER_01: I want to learn your word.
SPEAKER_01: I want to discern and listen to you where all of the instability is happening around me, all of the talking is happening.
SPEAKER_01: They got me in the WhatsApp chaps, they're gossiping about this and that.
SPEAKER_01: And God, I'm just trying to live out the purpose.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just trying to understand if this purpose you gave me is real.
SPEAKER_01: So, God, I need your water.
SPEAKER_01: God, I need these deep roots, but also, God, I want to understand that there is power in the heat.
SPEAKER_01: The tall tree did not have an Eden experience.
SPEAKER_01: This tall tree is right about 500 to 600 years before Christ.
SPEAKER_01: That's the time.
SPEAKER_01: This is like, you know, people talk about the Bible and think, oh, are these just stories?
SPEAKER_01: And it's a compilation of different things, but this is a historical account.
SPEAKER_01: What I'm talking about literally happened.
SPEAKER_01: It's in history books across the world.
SPEAKER_01: There was a uh a people there were people called Judah, right?
SPEAKER_01: This really happened.
SPEAKER_01: There were kings and queens at the time, there was political upheaval at the time.
SPEAKER_01: So this is not something that is just allegorical.
SPEAKER_01: This is real.
SPEAKER_01: And I think in 2026, we can understand what it means to live in instability, not understanding what is happening around us, where the world just seems like it's changing so fast, and and traditions are being uh abused, and and we're seeing that um political upheaval.
SPEAKER_01: There's so much going on, just like these people in the book of Jeremiah.
SPEAKER_01: They had heat, but there was so much time in between, you know, on the tall tree.
SPEAKER_01: My forefathers in Eden, when everything was idyllic and perfect.
SPEAKER_01: But too much happened over those years, over those thousands of years.
SPEAKER_01: Too much violence, literally, literally, just like those trees, those small shrubs in the desert, those early families, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: They were supposed to trust God too.
SPEAKER_01: They were supposed to live in bliss, happiness, Eden, paradise.
SPEAKER_01: But what did they want to do instead?
SPEAKER_01: They wanted to trust each other, they wanted to trust humans.
SPEAKER_01: And so what happened?
SPEAKER_01: The whole world shifted because of it.
SPEAKER_01: God has been telling us, you, we, this message from the beginning.
SPEAKER_01: Trust me, and I will give you life.
SPEAKER_01: Stop trusting each other and the cagling and the and the backbiting and the not understanding.
SPEAKER_01: Just connect with me and trust me, and I will be there with you when the heat comes.
SPEAKER_01: The season, that season of Eden has passed, people.
SPEAKER_01: It's passed.
SPEAKER_01: Too much has been said, too many words have been spoken, some unspoken, but the the tree knows that the heat is coming, but it does not fear.
SPEAKER_01: That's what I want to just stop right here and say.
SPEAKER_01: The heat is gonna come to the just and the unjust.
SPEAKER_01: The heat is gonna come to those who come to church every Sunday, and the heat is gonna come to those who are at the club and the bar on Saturday.
SPEAKER_01: The heat is gonna come to the young, the heat is gonna come to the old, the heat is gonna come to everybody in the gap in the middle, the heat is gonna come.
SPEAKER_01: But the question is, are you going to fear the heat?
SPEAKER_01: The question is, what are you gonna do when the heat comes?
SPEAKER_01: The question is, are you going to literally burn up and not fulfill your purpose, or are you going to realize that there is power in the water, there's power in the roots, and you can dig deep when the heat comes.
SPEAKER_01: The scripture never said that the heat will not come in your life.
SPEAKER_01: So please stop thinking that you are not blessed because heat comes in your life, or that you are cursed because you are going through a challenge.
SPEAKER_01: That is not true.
SPEAKER_01: God is saying the heat will come.
SPEAKER_01: I just need you to be grounded in me very deep so that when it comes, you can still prosper anyway.
SPEAKER_01: That is what this scripture is reminding us.
SPEAKER_01: That in the midst of the heat, in the midst of the nonsense, in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of the environment you're going through, guess what?
SPEAKER_01: I will still be with you.
SPEAKER_01: I will still call you.
SPEAKER_01: You still can bring forth fruit.
SPEAKER_01: You still can live on purpose, you can still flourish.
SPEAKER_01: I am not saying it as a tall tree.
SPEAKER_01: Chandria is not saying it.
SPEAKER_01: It is right here in the scripture.
SPEAKER_01: The tree remained fruitful when the heat came.
SPEAKER_01: It didn't stop moving because it was confused.
SPEAKER_01: It kept going and listening to God and depending on God and trusting on God.
SPEAKER_01: And even though it was hot, I was I have to break into something.
SPEAKER_01: Because at this age in my life, I'd be so hot, y'all.
SPEAKER_01: Be hot, y'all.
SPEAKER_01: I had to buy a fan yesterday.
SPEAKER_01: I'd be hot, y'all.
SPEAKER_01: I was scared to wear this today because I was like, I'm gonna be so hot.
SPEAKER_01: But then God reminded me when the heat comes.
SPEAKER_01: I need you to remain on purpose, Chandria.
SPEAKER_01: I need you to remain on purpose.
SPEAKER_01: Because you got to do some pollinating.
SPEAKER_01: These people have to understand that I have called them to bloom.
SPEAKER_01: There is power in the heat, and when the storms come, and I know that we understand this because many of us were here for Hurricane Irma and Maria, right?
SPEAKER_01: As a tall tree, even though I'm way back in Jeremiah times, I knew my relatives were gonna be in the BVI with you.
SPEAKER_01: You didn't know that, did you?
SPEAKER_01: They're called the mangroves.
SPEAKER_01: And they're right there, planted strong by the water, roots deep.
SPEAKER_01: Even though it's external pressure, even though the storm came, the mangroves, just in case you didn't know, are one of the most resilient trees in the world.
SPEAKER_01: Right here in your backyard, you have examples of strong trees with deep roots planted by water that is still bearing fruit.
SPEAKER_01: Now we may say, but you know, the mangroves, they're supposed to, you know, survive near the water, they're supposed to protect the shorelines, they're supposed to reduce erosion and rebuild ecosystems after the storm.
SPEAKER_01: But what I need you to understand is that one of the most powerful things about the mangroves is that the roots are interconnected beneath it.
SPEAKER_01: So you don't see just what's on top.
SPEAKER_01: There is a whole ecosystem beyond that is interconnected.
SPEAKER_01: It's not just one root, it is many roots that are tied to one another, and that is how they survive, even at the storm.
SPEAKER_01: So underneath the surface, beneath the water, the roots are intertwined, supporting each other.
SPEAKER_01: But I also need you to know this: I don't know who this is for.
SPEAKER_01: But you are a strong tree.
SPEAKER_01: Your roots are already deep.
SPEAKER_01: And you're wondering why you're still facing these hurricanes in your life.
SPEAKER_01: The reason is because even the strongest resilient backbones of the community are shaken up too.
SPEAKER_01: Even them are shaken up.
SPEAKER_01: So if you're a new babe in Christ and you just gave your life to Christ and you're looking like, but why is this person who's been in church 20 years still having struggles?
SPEAKER_01: It's because none of us are perfect, and every single person will feel the heat.
SPEAKER_01: It is what you do in response to the heat that matters.
SPEAKER_01: And how you respond is based on how deep your roots are and how much you are connected to that water.
SPEAKER_01: As we support each other, that is what community looks like.
SPEAKER_01: That is what church looks like, that is what lineage looks like, that is what intercession looks like, and that is what collective healing looks like.
SPEAKER_01: That we rebuild together because of our interconnected roots.
SPEAKER_01: So we're all sitting here in this church.
SPEAKER_01: Even those, especially those who are watching online, they're connected through the what?
SPEAKER_01: Internet.
SPEAKER_01: Internet, interconnectedness.
SPEAKER_01: So we're sitting in these chairs, but just imagine at the bottom of your of your feet, there's a deep root system, and your root system is connected to your root system.
SPEAKER_01: Your root system is connected to yours, which is connected across the aisles.
SPEAKER_01: Each one of our systems are connected.
SPEAKER_01: So we must understand that even the strongest trees experience storms.
SPEAKER_01: And finally, we know that there is power in the water.
SPEAKER_01: We know that there is power in the roots, and you got to have those deep roots.
SPEAKER_01: We know that there is power in the heat because the heat is just gonna help you grow and it's just gonna normalize so you know that you are not the only one going through something, but there is also power in the bloom.
SPEAKER_01: Say there is power.
SPEAKER_01: No, I need I said power, I didn't say there is weakness, okay?
SPEAKER_01: I said there is power in the bloom.
SPEAKER_01: There is power in the bloom to literally, you know, I love a definition.
SPEAKER_01: To bloom literally means to flourish, to regenerate, to produce growth, and to bear fruit.
SPEAKER_01: What it means, and if you don't get anything from this message, this is what this whole thing was curated for, is so that God can remind you, as the tall tree, that you must come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: I know that you have felt like that tree in the shrub, dead, despondent, not able to produce any purpose, just going along to get along, coming to church every Sunday just because it is a thing to do.
SPEAKER_01: What do we talk about at the gap?
SPEAKER_01: We talked about moving away from routine.
SPEAKER_01: I know that you have felt pressure from life.
SPEAKER_01: I know that the economic times are just making you worry, but God is saying, I don't want you to abort this dream I have placed inside of you.
SPEAKER_01: I need you to come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: Come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: Come alive again, come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: That purpose, come alive again, that dream, come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: That word you're supposed to speak to somebody.
SPEAKER_01: Stop closing your mouth, open it up because God has given you something to do.
SPEAKER_01: Come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: That is what the resurrection is all about.
SPEAKER_01: We talked about this tree in the beginning, but I know another tree.
SPEAKER_01: I know another tree where Jesus was hung on.
SPEAKER_01: And that tree is so strong.
SPEAKER_01: That tree is so powerful, that tree has deep roots, that tree is connected to the water, and you know how strong that tree is?
SPEAKER_01: That tree is so strong that it can carry every single one of your sins on it.
SPEAKER_01: That's how strong the tree is.
SPEAKER_01: So the question is: are you gonna connect to that tree or are you gonna be disconnected like the shrub?
SPEAKER_01: That is the connection, that is the plea.
SPEAKER_01: As Jeremiah, I cry out to you.
SPEAKER_01: Please come alive again because the world needs you.
SPEAKER_01: We need you.
SPEAKER_01: We need your purpose, we need your experience, we need your voice, we need your commitment, we need your dedication, we need your ideas.
SPEAKER_01: People need you.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know who told you that you're not needed.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know who told you you're not worthy.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know who told you you're not valuable.
SPEAKER_01: But today is the day that the seed is planted to know that you have purpose within you, and God has planted you strong, tall, broad, and ready to show God's glory every single place that you go.
SPEAKER_01: So it's not just about being nice and pretty to look at or looking like you have it all together.
SPEAKER_01: It's about digging the roots deep and knowing that God planted you for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: How dare you hold back what God has placed on the inside of you.
SPEAKER_01: It gives so much injustice to those who unfortunately cannot be in the room today.
SPEAKER_01: God put you in the room for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: So come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: Get up and come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: Get on your feet if you are ready to bloom, to blossom, to come alive if you understand that God has planted you in a purpose.
SPEAKER_01: I cannot make the purpose grow in your life.
SPEAKER_01: But you know what I can do?
SPEAKER_01: I can plant that seed, I can give you that seed, I can throw it your way, and I can ask God, just like we say, the roots go to what is close to them, but also the tree does too.
SPEAKER_01: The plant will move towards the sun so that it can grow.
SPEAKER_01: I'm speaking to you as Chandria now, not as a tall tree.
SPEAKER_01: Move towards the sun, move towards the sun.
SPEAKER_01: Forgive yourself for being disconnected from God.
SPEAKER_01: Forgive others for being disconnected from God and use this as an opportunity to know that you deserve to bloom.
SPEAKER_01: You deserve to blossom, you deserve great things in your life, but just know great things are just gonna come very easily.
SPEAKER_01: There is gonna be some heat.
SPEAKER_01: So as I close and our ministers come for prayer, you have something that you want to give.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to drop a seed, if you just want to say, God, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: I'm ready to bloom.
SPEAKER_01: I've been despondent, I've been dead, I've been hiding, I've been in secret, but now I'm ready to be revealed.
SPEAKER_01: I'm ready to bloom.
SPEAKER_01: Come up and we will pray for you.
SPEAKER_01: There are also some people here who are in seed form.
SPEAKER_01: You're not even sure about this purpose that I'm talking about today.
SPEAKER_01: But you're ready to just try to experience what you think that God may have for you.
SPEAKER_01: Because at least the thing you know is that God has something for you.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Come on up.
SPEAKER_01: And as those are preparing, we also have a bake sale after, so I see the ladies are getting prepared for you.
SPEAKER_01: Your spirit is fed, and they are gonna feed your bellies.
SPEAKER_01: I wanna say that again, this message that God gave and the voice of the tree blessed me so much.
SPEAKER_01: And even though I didn't have that green thumb, I'm ready.
SPEAKER_01: So, ministers, you can pray for me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm ready to bloom.
SPEAKER_01: I've been quiet too long, I'm ready to bloom.
SPEAKER_01: I'm ready to bloom, and I know that there are so many other men and women in here who are ready to bloom too.
SPEAKER_01: And so, somehow, somehow, I don't know how I'm gonna get my plant from, you know, my family members in Atlanta, but I'ma get that plant and I'ma nourish it, and I'ma water it, and I'ma make sure it's in a pot that's in the size of it that it needs.
SPEAKER_01: I'ma make sure it gets sun.
SPEAKER_01: But I'm not gonna do it for me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna do it because my daughters, my son are gonna be watching me nourish the gift that God gave me.
SPEAKER_01: And my mom, she says she's gonna be, she's gonna be watching me too.
SPEAKER_01: So the plants and your purpose is not something that's random.
SPEAKER_01: It's actually the gift that God has placed on the inside of you.
SPEAKER_01: And so I leave you with this question: what are you going to do with that gift?
SPEAKER_01: What are you gonna do with that purpose?
SPEAKER_01: Because it's truly not about you, it's about the legacy.
SPEAKER_01: And that tall tree couldn't speak to you today if it didn't have legacy, if it didn't continue to reproduce its leadership, its fruit, and its love.
SPEAKER_01: You lift me, you lift me up like that tall tree.
SPEAKER_01: You lift me.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we just pray for every single seed in this room, God.
SPEAKER_01: God, you have called your children, you have seen it, you have used the musicians, you have used the psalmist, you have used the worship leader, you have used me to just remind them and to encourage and to empower your people to come alive again.
SPEAKER_01: Don't stay in that quiet place.
SPEAKER_01: It was a place to nourish you, to get you to put your roots deep in God.
SPEAKER_01: And God, I know for a fact that you don't want us to be in any bad, toxic environments.
SPEAKER_01: So I ask for wisdom of your people, so that no matter what they're going through, and no matter what their heat situation is, God, that you be with them, that they know that they're not alone, but you give them the wisdom, the resources to connect to the appropriate water source, God.
SPEAKER_01: Be with them, hold them in your arms.
SPEAKER_01: But most importantly, God, let them live so that they can produce again.
SPEAKER_01: Live so that the next generation can be blessed.
SPEAKER_01: Live so that they can pour, God.
SPEAKER_01: God, we love you.
SPEAKER_01: And on, I just intercede on behalf of every single person in this room, and I pour out my heart, God, be with them, be with them, be with them so that they walk out of this room never the same again.
SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' powerful name we pray, amen, amen, amen, and amen.
SPEAKER_01: You will bloom again.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for worshiping with us today.
SPEAKER_00: If you'd like to go deeper in your walk with Christ, we invite you to contact us at 284 442 4222 or email us at 2842.
SPEAKER_00: At cgbbc.org.
SPEAKER_00: Visit our website at cgbbc.org.
SPEAKER_00: Be sure to subscribe and share this podcast so others can be encouraged and blessed as well.
SPEAKER_02: We have a pro at gate.
SPEAKER_02: That is what we do.
SPEAKER_02: We have a pro at gate, and I will shake you.