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_02: We're gonna go back to our scripture in Jeremiah.
SPEAKER_02: So turn to Jeremiah chapter 17, verses instead of seven, we're actually gonna do verse five.
SPEAKER_02: But before that, I want to read something to you because I want to honor this prophet.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you see, I have my big old Bible here, and I love it because not only does it have scriptures, but it also has research and has commentaries, and so you learn so much more than what you're actually reading in the text.
SPEAKER_02: And something it says in here, it says the prophetic book of Jeremiah sears the soul, challenges the conscience, and promises hope to the wounded in body and spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Now that really spoke to me because I have experienced, and I know other people have experienced, feeling a little bit hopeless, maybe a little bit disconnected within yourself.
SPEAKER_02: And so it's so interesting that the things that we are studying and scientists are studying today were proven over 600 years ago, um, before 600 years before Christ was even born.
SPEAKER_02: But today, in modern times, now they're proving what those prophets already knew.
SPEAKER_02: And what they knew is that it is important to be planted in your purpose.
SPEAKER_02: So let's go to the scripture.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 5 says, Thus says the Lord, cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
SPEAKER_02: They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes.
SPEAKER_02: They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness and in uninhabited, salt land.
SPEAKER_02: The greatest fear of the people of that time was their future.
SPEAKER_02: Within themselves, they didn't know what was going to come the next day, the next week, the next month, or even the next year.
SPEAKER_02: They were confused, they were struggling, they were searching, they didn't know, and there was unknown.
SPEAKER_02: And I love the fact that in this illustration, Jeremiah compares again that small shrub to the tall tree.
SPEAKER_02: And what is interesting is that that small shrub is not just merely disconnected because it doesn't have water, but Jeremiah actually says it is disconnected because it is the drought has come, but it has not seen relief, even though it's on the horizon.
SPEAKER_02: So this goes to our first point: the drought, the heat, the dry season, the season where things are not as as as um fruitful as you would want them to be.
SPEAKER_02: And you feel like you're in the midst of this season, but again, class, we are here to learn to be the planted tree.
SPEAKER_02: So there is one point that I want you to write down.
SPEAKER_02: There is power in the heat.
SPEAKER_02: Now you remember these points from last week because I want to make it very easy and very practical for you.
SPEAKER_02: So say there is power in the heat.
SPEAKER_02: No, I need you to believe it.
SPEAKER_02: You said it, but now I need you to actually believe that in the midst of the heat that is going on in your life, God is still working on in the background.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: So there is still some powerful situations going on in the heat.
SPEAKER_02: So say there is power in the heat.
SPEAKER_02: Now, Acts is a great book because scholars actually say that this is now.
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna tell you, when I'm preaching, I talk a lot about scriptures.
SPEAKER_02: I talk a lot about the word because I think that it is so interesting that things were written thousands and thousands of years ago prophetically, and God inspired this word so that it can actually be relevant for us today.
SPEAKER_02: I think it's so amazing that what these people were going through and what these prophets were talking about is very similar to what we're experiencing today.
SPEAKER_02: So to me, this scripture just comes alive.
SPEAKER_02: And when I'm thinking about it, I'm not only reading the words, but I'm actually visualizing what were the people actually going through.
SPEAKER_02: I'm actually seeing in my mind what were their facial expressions, what were those family conversations that they had.
SPEAKER_02: These are real people.
SPEAKER_02: Yes, some of it is embellished, some of it is myth, some of it's allegory, some of it is poetry, but this is reality for them.
SPEAKER_02: And we're learning from the situations that they went through so that we can be able to cope better today.
SPEAKER_02: And I think that this should give us some comfort, everybody.
SPEAKER_02: It should give us some comfort to know that thousands of years ago, even though it's different situations, they didn't maybe have iPods, they didn't have iPhones, they didn't have the internet, they didn't have Wi-Fi, they didn't have AI.
SPEAKER_02: But they still had trauma.
SPEAKER_02: They still had death, they still had murder, still had grief, still had family division, still had situations where they felt like they were mistreated, downtrodden.
SPEAKER_02: Those things were still going on.
SPEAKER_02: So we have something that we can learn from today.
SPEAKER_02: And in order to reach the people, he said that even when the heat came in the form of fire, literally on their tongues.
SPEAKER_02: Let's if we even if we even skip forward to why we are here today.
SPEAKER_02: Pentecost, Pentecost Sunday.
SPEAKER_02: So turn with me to Acts.
SPEAKER_02: Turn with me to Acts 2.
SPEAKER_02: We have our scripture, yes.
SPEAKER_02: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
SPEAKER_02: Suddenly a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from the heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
SPEAKER_02: They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
SPEAKER_02: Now let me give you some background about this scripture.
SPEAKER_02: Remember, this comes, I told you the scripture is live, right?
SPEAKER_02: It's live in our hearts.
SPEAKER_02: Remember, Acts comes right after Jesus died, was resurrected, and so now it's all of these men and women, and Jesus told them to gather in Jerusalem, Jerusalem, on a in this room, in the upper room.
SPEAKER_02: And so they're gathered there for 10 days, and during this period of time, Jesus is actually coming to visit them.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is coming to visit them.
SPEAKER_02: And I ask myself, why, God?
SPEAKER_02: Why are you coming to visit them in this room?
SPEAKER_02: What is so important that they need to stay here together?
SPEAKER_02: And God in the scriptures revealed it's because they needed to be connected.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus' presence was so important to them because what they were about to face was gonna throw everything off.
SPEAKER_02: And so I want to put write down in your books, class.
SPEAKER_02: I want to write, I want you to write something down.
SPEAKER_02: And the word is dysregulation.
SPEAKER_02: And this is what happens when you're in stressful situations and you don't feel like you're able to manage the stress or control your emotional reactions.
SPEAKER_02: Have you ever felt like that?
SPEAKER_02: Have you ever felt like you're in a situation then all of a sudden I need you to be honest here and I need you to talk back to me because I know I'm not the only one who is maybe got a little upset as a child when maybe they did something innocent or someone said something simple to you at work, they actually give you an assignment you're supposed to do and you snap at them.
SPEAKER_02: Or there's a family situation, a family dynamic, and someone asks you for a favor and you just snap at them, leave me alone.
SPEAKER_02: Because the situations around us have felt like they're melting up so high that we don't believe that we're able to actually endure or to go through it.
SPEAKER_02: We're like that small shrub, dysregulated, disconnected from our source, not understanding how we're going to be able to go through the situation and what causes dysregulation.
SPEAKER_02: I named it trauma, adversity, stress, family conflict, toxic, invalidating environments.
SPEAKER_02: But that is what makes this message even the more powerful and relevant because God was giving universal truths and practical ways.
SPEAKER_02: But I'm talking, I'm talking to you today because I want you to get a practical, real thing to do.
SPEAKER_02: Who's ready to go to work?
SPEAKER_02: Who's ready to who's ready to go to work and put some of these things in practice?
SPEAKER_02: I am too.
SPEAKER_02: So I said there is power in the heat.
SPEAKER_02: Now let me give a real life scenario, a real life situation.
SPEAKER_02: I was going through something.
SPEAKER_02: Somebody said something to me and it upset me.
SPEAKER_02: Threw me off.
SPEAKER_02: Didn't like it.
SPEAKER_02: And so I felt myself starting to get worked up.
SPEAKER_02: I felt myself starting to feel hot and heat, and not that 40 plus women hot, but a different, you know, the other, the other guy.
SPEAKER_02: I felt myself getting hot and heated, you know, starting to get worked up.
SPEAKER_02: And then I remembered, and then God does this for anyone who's preached or spoken, you know that God will test you on what you're preaching about or what you're talking about.
SPEAKER_02: So in this situation, I said, okay, I'm sorry, I feel like I'm getting worked up, but I need to get rooted.
SPEAKER_02: I need to get planted.
SPEAKER_02: So what did I do?
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna take you through this scenario.
SPEAKER_02: What I did is I stopped for a second and I said, Am I actually in a position where I'm in danger?
SPEAKER_02: Is there a lion in front of me?
SPEAKER_02: And you're gonna see why I'm asking myself.
SPEAKER_02: I say, Is there a lion in front of me?
SPEAKER_02: No, there's no lion in front of me.
SPEAKER_02: But it feels like I'm in a lion's den right now.
SPEAKER_02: But I'm not.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, I'm not in a lion's den, so that means I'm safe.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, good.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so I'm safe.
SPEAKER_02: So now let me put my feet on the ground because I know that there's power in the roots, so I need to stay planted.
SPEAKER_02: So I put my feet on the ground.
SPEAKER_02: I imagine myself with my feet towards the ground.
SPEAKER_02: And after I put my feet on the ground, I said, okay, I'm planted, but if I'm not connected to any water source, then that brings nothing.
SPEAKER_02: But I didn't have any water around me.
SPEAKER_02: I didn't have this wonderful bottle of water that Deacon King gave me.
SPEAKER_02: I didn't have that.
SPEAKER_02: So what did I have to do?
SPEAKER_02: I had to swallow my saliva because that is the closest water I could get to.
SPEAKER_02: And when I did that, I started to feel a little bit more calm.
SPEAKER_02: And so then when I started to feel calm, then I said, okay, God, I guess I'm okay now.
SPEAKER_02: So what should I do next?
SPEAKER_02: And I thought that this was so interesting.
SPEAKER_02: So then I tried it again because he came another day.
SPEAKER_02: And I stopped and I said, Okay, is the lion in front of me?
SPEAKER_02: No, it's not.
SPEAKER_02: But I feel like I'm in danger, but I'm actually not in danger.
SPEAKER_02: I just don't like what this person said to me.
SPEAKER_02: And so then when I said I don't like what this person said to me, then I was like, okay, I'm safe.
SPEAKER_02: I don't like this situation, but let me put my feet planted.
SPEAKER_02: I put my feet planted on the ground again, and then what happened?
SPEAKER_02: I didn't have any water, so I took another swallow.
SPEAKER_02: I took the swallow, and then what happened?
SPEAKER_02: God gave me the solution that I needed.
SPEAKER_02: And I kept repeating this every time the heat came.
SPEAKER_02: And then I realized when I talked to different people, if I realized over my life and I looked at the scriptures, the times of my life when I didn't know what to do, the times in my life when I started ruminating, the times of my life when I started snapping on the people, the times of my life when I started stopped going to church or isolating myself or not being connected is when I was not connected with God when I was going through the heat.
SPEAKER_02: And so this is a real practical application that is backed by science, people.
SPEAKER_02: It says it in the scriptures thousands of years, but today neuroscience is proving what they have here.
SPEAKER_02: If you stop what you're doing, if you say to yourself and you calm, and you know, I was talking about this little thing in my head.
SPEAKER_02: Media team, I think they hopefully pulled up the picture for me.
SPEAKER_02: There's this thing in our mind, and it's called the amygdala.
SPEAKER_02: Now I'm not no doctor here.
SPEAKER_02: We have doctors in the building.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not a psychiatrist, that's doctor, psychologist, that's Dr.
SPEAKER_02: Mike.
SPEAKER_02: But what I like to do research, and I like to do research based on what I did, and I like to do research based on what is scripture.
SPEAKER_02: And so you see here, the amygdala, small little thing in our brain, and it regulates our our our fight, our flight, our calm response.
SPEAKER_02: Now I'm not going to, I told you I'm teaching y'all, it's the sympathetic nervous system, it's a parasympathetic nervous system.
SPEAKER_02: Am I right, doc?
SPEAKER_02: I'm right, doc, right?
SPEAKER_02: But we have this amygdala and it's our in our brain.
SPEAKER_02: And then we have this almond here.
SPEAKER_02: This is an almond on the, what is this, y'all's left?
SPEAKER_02: And this is the amygdala on the right.
SPEAKER_02: Now it's so amazing that God has made this thing in our brain to look like an almond.
SPEAKER_02: What does an almond come from?
SPEAKER_02: A tree.
SPEAKER_02: And we know that because I see Sister Ernie smiling, because she be picking those almond trees, wrapping them in sugar, and giving and forcing it down our throats every Sunday.
SPEAKER_02: No, I'm just joking.
SPEAKER_02: But it comes from an almond tree, and we have almond trees planted right outside this church.
SPEAKER_02: There is a connection in everything that God does.
SPEAKER_02: God is saying, I have this tree inside of you that will help you regulate the situations that you're going through.
SPEAKER_02: So, yes, you may be in the desert.
SPEAKER_02: Yes, you may feel like that small trouble, but I need you to not be disconnected.
SPEAKER_02: I need you to stay grounded in me, get control of this little almond in your mind.
SPEAKER_02: And I call my little almond Nikki.
SPEAKER_02: When I got to calm her down, that's that's her nickname.
SPEAKER_02: Nikki, we okay.
SPEAKER_02: Nikki, we safe girl.
SPEAKER_02: Nikki, don't worry about it.
SPEAKER_02: Nikki, you are not in danger.
SPEAKER_02: Nikki is no lion.
SPEAKER_02: Nikki, don't snap on that person.
SPEAKER_02: Don't do it.
SPEAKER_02: Because you really have to get in control of this little almond in your mind.
SPEAKER_02: And that is where there is power in the heat.
SPEAKER_02: Because when that heat comes, you actually have the power to connect to God so that you can bring yourself down so that you can actually be able to address this situation in the way that God would have you to do it.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: So, can you guys practice that?
SPEAKER_02: Think about a situation.
SPEAKER_02: Think about a situation that you were going through.
SPEAKER_02: Can you think and look back?
SPEAKER_02: Hmm, was I actually in danger?
SPEAKER_02: Or was I just imagining or thinking or feeling that I'm in danger?
SPEAKER_02: Now, I don't want this message to go over anyone's head because there are situations where people really do, and they really are in physical danger in situations.
SPEAKER_02: Now I don't know about, I don't know, Minister Esther, are there lions in the BVI?
SPEAKER_02: I don't think that there are lions in the BVI.
SPEAKER_02: She's like, there's some people who are lions, but we'll get to that in a second.
SPEAKER_02: Unless you're going on Safari, we're probably not gonna run into any actual lions.
SPEAKER_02: But at the beginning of this year, who do we talk about?
SPEAKER_02: We talked about Daniel.
SPEAKER_02: And where was Daniel?
SPEAKER_02: Daniel was right there in the lion's den.
SPEAKER_02: He was literally face to face with that lion.
SPEAKER_02: So I want to make sure that I that you all understand, I'm not asking you to be in the midst of a toxic situation, a physically dangerous situation, and think that you're just gonna breathe your way through it.
SPEAKER_02: That is not what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_02: Because that picture that was up there, that amygdala, what if you're actually in danger, that is going to fire off and you're gonna fly, fight, flee, or freeze.
SPEAKER_02: God has already put it in that situation.
SPEAKER_02: They've already put it in your body for that.
SPEAKER_02: But most of us are not going through those dangerous situations.
SPEAKER_02: But when that person is talking about you at work, when they are got your name in the group chat, it feels like you're in a lion's den.
SPEAKER_02: When you're in that argument with your partner, it feels like you're in physical danger or you're in that lion's den.
SPEAKER_02: But you're not, you just didn't like what they said.
SPEAKER_02: It just rubbed you the wrong way.
SPEAKER_02: So remember, number one, there's power in the heat, and what you can do is get control over that amygdala.
SPEAKER_02: You can ask your question yourself the questions so that you are not dysregulated.
SPEAKER_02: Two, there is power.
SPEAKER_02: Say there is power in the roots.
SPEAKER_02: There is power in the roots.
SPEAKER_02: In Psalm 1, verse 3, it says, That person is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in the season and whose leaf does not wither.
SPEAKER_02: Whatever they do, prosper.
SPEAKER_02: So, class on this Pentecost Sunday, this I want to remind you that the disciples did not fear the fire that came to them.
SPEAKER_02: They did not fear it, it just dropped on them.
SPEAKER_02: They did not fear the heat that was in the room because they were rooted.
SPEAKER_02: They had already been communing with each other for the for the 10 days before that.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus was already in the midst of them.
SPEAKER_02: So when this strange thing happened and they started speaking in these strange tongues, it wasn't them that was afraid, but guess who was afraid?
SPEAKER_02: Everybody on the outside.
SPEAKER_02: Everyone on the outside was talking to them when they saw them.
SPEAKER_02: Are you drunk?
SPEAKER_02: Is something wrong with you?
SPEAKER_02: Have these people gone crazy?
SPEAKER_02: And doesn't that happen in real life?
SPEAKER_02: You are minding your business, got your business opening, you know, your new business, or you got your promotion, or you got engaged, or you just had a baby, and all you hear is sneers when you are looking for congratulations.
SPEAKER_02: And people are going around thinking, is this person crazy?
SPEAKER_02: Why are they doing that?
SPEAKER_02: Why are they trying to do this?
SPEAKER_02: It's because that God has put something, some fire within them that they just cannot wait to get out.
SPEAKER_02: And those people who are on the outside, they didn't, they weren't in the room.
SPEAKER_02: They weren't in the presence of God for 10 days.
SPEAKER_02: They were not in the upper room, so they did not have that same connection with Jesus like those latter disciples did, who were only trying to do to promote the way.
SPEAKER_02: And that is what happened.
SPEAKER_02: They were dysregulated because they were disconnected to the source.
SPEAKER_02: And people who are dysregulated, myself included, I've been there, I've been that small shrub.
SPEAKER_02: It's very hard to create and be in a positive environment when you're filled with dysregulation.
SPEAKER_02: It becomes hostile, it becomes heavy, it becomes even dangerous, physically dangerous or emotionally dangerous sometimes because of all the backbiting and all the negativity that is around you.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus knew at that time because Jesus was there.
SPEAKER_02: He said, Maybe I died on the cross, but I am still ever present in your life.
SPEAKER_02: And I need you all to promote the way.
SPEAKER_02: I need you all to promote what I have died, what I lived for and what I died for.
SPEAKER_02: But I know that you're gonna be in this hostile environment.
SPEAKER_02: You see how good and how amazing and how foreknowing that God is and how foreknowing that Jesus is, that he knew he didn't want them to be in that negative environment.
SPEAKER_02: So he knew that they needed to be regulated, they needed to be grounded, they needed to be rooted in God so that they will be able to face the heat that was inevitably coming.
SPEAKER_02: And if you read the rest of um the rest of Acts and even throughout the New Testament, you see all of the persecution that the early Christians went through.
SPEAKER_02: This is not just something like they literally died trying to promote the way.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus was like, I know that you're gonna go into this.
SPEAKER_02: I know that you're gonna face trauma.
SPEAKER_02: I know that you're gonna face the heat.
SPEAKER_02: I know that people are not gonna believe in you, but I need you to stay rooted in me because that is the way that you can get through all this.
SPEAKER_02: Are you all ready to get through the trauma in your life?
SPEAKER_02: Are you ready to pass through it?
SPEAKER_02: Are you ready to connect to God to give you a real way?
SPEAKER_02: A real way out.
SPEAKER_02: So when there's power in the roots, what did I say?
SPEAKER_02: The first thing, just to recap, what is it?
SPEAKER_02: What did I do first?
SPEAKER_02: I asked myself the question.
SPEAKER_02: I got control of that tree in my mind, that almond in my mind, so I can calm myself down.
SPEAKER_02: And then I got myself rooted.
SPEAKER_02: I ground myself.
SPEAKER_02: I'm not just feeling my feet on the floor, but rootedness reminds you of who you are and who you are connected to.
SPEAKER_02: And that is what we need because when we get so worked up, am I in the wrong church?
SPEAKER_02: Is this a is this the church that doesn't get upset at anyone?
SPEAKER_02: I'm trying to, I'm trying to figure out.
SPEAKER_02: You all never get in conflicts?
SPEAKER_02: I'm some once in a while or never.
SPEAKER_02: Never?
SPEAKER_02: Once in a while, once in a while.
SPEAKER_02: You know the rating scale where it's like never, rarely, sometimes, occasionally, often.
SPEAKER_02: I don't know where you fit on this on the spectrum.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm not here to judge, because you and God know how many conflicts you get in on a day to day or week to week basis.
SPEAKER_02: That's your business.
SPEAKER_02: But what I do know is That God has an assignment for you.
SPEAKER_02: And it's very hard to carry out your assignment if you're in conflicts all the time with everybody around you.
SPEAKER_02: If you're just messing up the environment.
SPEAKER_02: Or if people are messing up the environment for you and you don't know what to do because you actually want to stay grounded and rooted in Christ.
SPEAKER_02: The thing is, when we ground ourselves, if we remember, the roots are underneath.
SPEAKER_02: Imagine you have this pulpit here, but my feet are planted and underneath it is just an interweb of connections of roots.
SPEAKER_02: And my roots connect to your roots.
SPEAKER_02: I said it last Sunday.
SPEAKER_02: Your roots connect to my roots, all under here.
SPEAKER_02: So actually, what you're feeling and what you're going through, I sense it too.
SPEAKER_02: I'll give you a real life scenario.
SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry, Minister Jay, I got to bring this up.
SPEAKER_02: I noticed Minister Jay, she was, God bless her, because she's such an amazing administrator.
SPEAKER_02: Give her a hand clap of praise.
SPEAKER_02: Give her a hand clap.
SPEAKER_02: But she was being like Martha today.
SPEAKER_02: Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy instead of like Mary, right?
SPEAKER_02: But because of the relationship we have, because underneath these feet are roots that connect to her roots, I was able to sense it.
SPEAKER_02: Because I the only reason, and I'm going to be very real, the only reason I was able to sense it is because I was rooted myself.
SPEAKER_02: Because if I was frazzled myself, if I was going around, I would have matched her frazzle.
SPEAKER_02: You frazzle, I'm frazzled.
SPEAKER_02: You gonna be frazzled?
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna be frazzled.
SPEAKER_02: Let's be frazzled together.
SPEAKER_02: Right?
SPEAKER_02: But because I was rooted, I was able to, hey, there's no lions, we're safe, there's no danger.
SPEAKER_02: I'm planted, she's planted.
SPEAKER_02: Hey, are you okay?
SPEAKER_02: And I can then go meet my sister's needs exactly where they are.
SPEAKER_02: So I know it seems maybe a little bit out there what I'm talking about today, but it's real practical application, how this thing happens in life.
SPEAKER_02: And I would love when I'm going through when I happen to be that little shrub, I happen to be disconnected, I would love for one of you to say, Minister Sean, I need you to plant your feet.
SPEAKER_02: Or say it to one another.
SPEAKER_02: It is okay.
SPEAKER_02: You don't have to have a title to be connected.
SPEAKER_02: There is no higher hierarchy on your rootedness, it just means that you are connected to the source.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: So there is power in the heat, we're getting control over our mind.
SPEAKER_02: There's power in the rootedness, we're staying connected, and also there is power in the water.
SPEAKER_02: John 7, write this down, class.
SPEAKER_02: John 7, 37 through 38.
SPEAKER_02: Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
SPEAKER_02: Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow within them.
SPEAKER_02: Deep, stretched out roots.
SPEAKER_02: Do not mean that if you are not connected to water, then water still cannot connect to you.
SPEAKER_02: I have water here.
SPEAKER_02: I can take a pause, I can drink it.
SPEAKER_02: But everybody in here does not have the water in their hand.
SPEAKER_02: But there is some water that you do have.
SPEAKER_02: The body is made of 50 to 75% of water.
SPEAKER_02: So, what did I tell you before when I was going through that situation?
SPEAKER_02: I didn't have any water to give, but God had already put some water inside of me.
SPEAKER_02: But what did I have to do, class?
SPEAKER_02: I had to connect to that water source in order to make it real in my life and to make it practical in my life.
SPEAKER_02: I had to get grounded.
SPEAKER_02: I had to ask the question.
SPEAKER_02: And so I ask you the question: are you running through life dehydrated, disconnected to your water source?
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you got those deep roots.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, maybe you have calmed yourself down, but what differentiates ourselves from other people is that we are connected to that living water.
SPEAKER_02: So instead, and I know it sounds like a little nasty, like if I say saliva or if I say spit, but it is a biological reality that we have to all go through.
SPEAKER_02: And we go through it all the time and all day, right?
SPEAKER_02: And we don't even pay attention to it, like we pay attention to our breath.
SPEAKER_02: And so it's interesting.
SPEAKER_02: So when I kept repeating this practice or this protocol over and over, I was like, why am I getting calmed down?
SPEAKER_02: So of course I did some research and realized that animals, when they're running, when they're running away, they actually do not swallow.
SPEAKER_02: Did you all know that?
SPEAKER_02: Okay, the doctor knew that.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, maybe she knew that, but I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm not an animal, I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_02: But I well, yo, you all do know that I used to run track, and I can remember breathing in track.
SPEAKER_02: I remember focusing on my breath, but I do not remember swallowing when I am running the race.
SPEAKER_02: But I do remember being thirsty and my throat being dry at the end of the race.
SPEAKER_02: And I think for us here, we are running races every single day, not focused, not paying attention, life just going on as it is.
SPEAKER_02: But God is putting a reminder to you today, and I am planting a seed that stop.
SPEAKER_02: Connect within yourself because there is actually living water within you.
SPEAKER_02: We say that Christ lives inside of us.
SPEAKER_02: So if Christ lives inside of us and living water is inside of us, then we actually don't have to go to any other human or go anywhere to get exactly what we need because God has already given us everything we need, and it's inside of us today.
SPEAKER_02: So, class, what are we doing?
SPEAKER_02: We are we there's power in the heat, we're getting in charge of our amygdala, we're getting planted, meaning we're getting connected to God, and we are realizing that we have this connection with the living water in us so that we can stay hydrated and so that we can stay connected.
SPEAKER_02: Let this be a physical act of remembrance, saying that living water is inside of me and I can connect to the source and I am not dry.
SPEAKER_02: And our last point here there is power in the bloom.
SPEAKER_02: Some people are sitting here quiet, asking God for direction in their lives, trying to get a sense of relief in the situations that they're in.
SPEAKER_02: And this month's theme for some people has been actually a relief.
SPEAKER_02: It's been confirmation because God has been telling you and whispering for some things, and you've just been kind of waiting for permission to go.
SPEAKER_02: But for other people, they're still wondering what this purpose could mean in their life.
SPEAKER_02: At this stage in my life, what does it mean to have purpose?
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
SPEAKER_02: So for you, especially, I want you to write down this scripture.
SPEAKER_02: Galatians 5, 22 and 23.
SPEAKER_02: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
SPEAKER_02: What can grow from this?
SPEAKER_02: If you're somebody who is searching for what your purpose is, that's okay.
SPEAKER_02: Start here.
SPEAKER_02: You don't have to start with a 10-point strategy plan or a business or a proposal or anything like that.
SPEAKER_02: You start right here with the fruits of the spirit.
SPEAKER_02: That is literally what Jeremiah is talking about and Psalms is talking about.
SPEAKER_02: God wants you to bear fruits.
SPEAKER_02: So why not bear the fruit of the spirit?
SPEAKER_02: What can grow from this?
SPEAKER_02: This is where the emotional regulation and faith come together in the most beautiful way.
SPEAKER_02: That is because emotional intelligence teaches us that self-regulation and the ability to manage your internal state before you respond is the foundation for every healthy relationship in your life, every sound decision that you make in any form of real leadership.
SPEAKER_02: So, again, if you don't know what your purpose is, just come within and just realize and reveal those fruits of the spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Start from there.
SPEAKER_02: That is the best place that you can start because everybody around you will benefit from it.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus needed the disciples and these brand new followers of the way to be good leaders.
SPEAKER_02: He needed them to be listeners, he needed them to have courage, he needed them not to fear the heat or the fire coming within them.
SPEAKER_02: And yes, you are not thousands of years ago when Christianity was just starting, but you have your own situations that you're going through right now.
SPEAKER_02: And God already knows the heat that you will experience.
SPEAKER_02: And God is saying, I know that you're going to experience heat, but I need you to bloom and I need you to come alive again.
SPEAKER_02: I don't want you to stay stagnant.
SPEAKER_02: I don't want you to stay isolated.
SPEAKER_02: I don't want you to stay so despondent that you're not working on the things that I have called you to do.
SPEAKER_02: Because I have a purpose for you, I have a plan for your life, I have a future for you, and I have something new for you.
SPEAKER_02: But will you connect with me enough not to be dysregulated?
SPEAKER_02: Will you have enough emotional intelligence that you can understand and have those healthy relationships because that is how the community grows, and that is what happened at Pentecost.
SPEAKER_02: That fire came down not so that they could stay in their little circles amongst themselves, but so that they can reach every different type of person.
SPEAKER_02: They spoke every single language of the people who were outside of the building so that they could connect, so that they can have relationships, so that they can further the mission and the plan and the way.
SPEAKER_02: God does not want us to abort our plan or our mission.
SPEAKER_02: God wants us to grow from it.
SPEAKER_02: God wants us to be connected to it.
SPEAKER_02: God wants you to be connected to Him so you can face that fire in your life.
SPEAKER_02: After this sermon, think about the fire and the heat and the situations that give you pause and make you just want to stop and give up.
SPEAKER_02: And put this protocol into practice.
SPEAKER_02: Stop and get in control of your mind.
SPEAKER_02: Ask yourself the question: Am I in real physical danger right now?
SPEAKER_02: Nine times out of ten, the answer is gonna be no.
SPEAKER_02: So when you're not in physical danger, don't over-spiritualize it and say, Oh, well, I'm too blessed to be stressed.
SPEAKER_02: No, name that stress.
SPEAKER_02: Say that stress that's happening in your life.
SPEAKER_02: Call it out, but then let it know you don't have power over me because I'm planted.
SPEAKER_02: I'm connected to God.
SPEAKER_02: And not only am I connected to God, I got a water source.
SPEAKER_02: And if I can't get a water source, I'ma swallow.
SPEAKER_02: I'ma swallow that Holy Spirit so that I can be able to have the nutrition and the hydration to in order to cope to the next day.
SPEAKER_02: I am going to connect to that living water.
SPEAKER_02: And when I connect to that living water, I'm gonna understand that even if I'm in the middle of the heat and everyone is around me is trying to downplay me and try to dim my light and try to make me be dysregulated again, there is fruit that needs to be produced.
SPEAKER_02: And the fruit is not for you, the fruit is not for me, the fruit is for the next person, the next generation, your children, and for the lineage to continue.
SPEAKER_02: What fruit will you bear?
SPEAKER_02: Is the question.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus said, I will never leave you.
SPEAKER_02: I won't leave your side.
SPEAKER_02: But sometimes you leave me.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes you disconnect from me.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes the heat feels like it's too much, and you just want to be alone.
SPEAKER_02: You won't want to be bothered with me anymore.
SPEAKER_02: But Jesus is saying, No.
SPEAKER_02: Today on this Pentecost Sunday, I need you to come alive again.
SPEAKER_02: I need you to bloom because there are people outside of this church, there are people in your families, there are people at your jobs that need to see the fruits that you have prayed over, you've labored through, that you've got control of your mind about.
SPEAKER_02: There is a God who loves you, there is God who sees you, and most importantly, is a God who gives you relief.
SPEAKER_02: What do you see when the relief comes?
SPEAKER_02: Please stand to your feet as we close.
SPEAKER_02: There's power in the heat, there's power in the roots, there's power in the water, there's power in the bloom.
SPEAKER_02: This is not on the notes, but there's power in the tree.
SPEAKER_02: I ended with this last Sunday, and I'm gonna say it again real soft this time.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus was hung on a tree.
SPEAKER_02: Tree, wood, grounded, planted, and that tree holds every single one of our sins.
SPEAKER_02: That tree holds all of our prayers, that tree holds all of our tears, that tree holds all of our sin.
SPEAKER_02: That tree holds all of our pain.
SPEAKER_02: So my question is if Jesus died on that tree and came back again, how can we show God that we will live for God today?
SPEAKER_02: How can we show God that we are so thankful for the sacrifice?
SPEAKER_02: How can we show God that we do not take for vain or for granted everything that God has done in our lives?
SPEAKER_02: How can we stay connected in the midst of the heat?
SPEAKER_02: How can we remain planted?
SPEAKER_02: It is by regulating ourselves to that Holy Spirit, that sweet, sweet sound that is in our hearts, that's in our souls, that we can call on at any time.
SPEAKER_02: Are you ready to be planted?
SPEAKER_02: Are you ready to bloom?
SPEAKER_02: Are you ready for God to do something new in your life that you have never experienced before?
SPEAKER_02: For me, the answer is yes.
SPEAKER_02: So you can bow your heads, close your eyes.
SPEAKER_02: Is there anyone in the room where you're ready to start getting control over your emotions, over your body?
SPEAKER_02: You're ready to get through the toxic situations that have been plaguing you.
SPEAKER_02: If you need prayer, I'm not even gonna ask you to come up.
SPEAKER_02: Just raise your hand.
SPEAKER_02: Just raise your hand if you are ready to bloom.
SPEAKER_02: But you need a little help.
SPEAKER_02: You need a little help.
SPEAKER_02: And then there are others in the room who they're already, they know their purpose, they are just trying to get courage.
SPEAKER_02: Put your hand up if you need prayer for courage.
SPEAKER_02: To just face another day and to actually take on the assignment that God has given you.
SPEAKER_02: We see those hands.
SPEAKER_02: So now it's your turn.
SPEAKER_02: It's your turn to be the tree, it's your turn to be planted, it's your turn to bloom.
SPEAKER_02: God, we just pray over your sons and your daughters, over the assignments that you have.
SPEAKER_02: Each one has a different assignment.
SPEAKER_02: And God, I just pray that you make it clear to them.
SPEAKER_02: Like Jeremiah, I actually pray that after this sermon, they can't stop thinking about the fire that is shut up in their bones.
SPEAKER_02: And I pray that you, God, just have a wind rushing of your power in their lives.
SPEAKER_02: But God, most importantly, I pray that we are connected to you.
SPEAKER_02: You didn't give us this lesson thousands of years ago for us to just toss it aside.
SPEAKER_02: You gave us the blueprint for this mission.
SPEAKER_02: You gave us the blueprint to be planted.
SPEAKER_02: And so, God, I just pray for the connection.
SPEAKER_02: I pray that we can get control over our minds.
SPEAKER_02: I pray that we can get control over our bodies.
SPEAKER_02: I pray that we can connect to you with our souls, God, and that your sons and daughters here are working on assignments so they can carry out the fruit that you have for them that is not for them, but is for the next generation.
SPEAKER_02: God, have your way like only you can.
SPEAKER_02: And God, we love you, we thank you, and we honor you.
SPEAKER_02: In Jesus' powerful name we pray.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: Give God a hand clap of praise.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for worshiping with us today.
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