← ArchiveDeep RootsJesus Gives You Deep RootsDateApril 25, 2021SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamText—TranscriptMachine transcribed · click any line to jump0:00Thank you. Okay, welcome to the church that meets at 8332 Moody Parkway.0:30Okay, welcome to the church that meets at 8332 Moody Parkway. That's where you are. We call it Bethel Baptist Church. For those of you who are new-ish, for those that are watching online, can we just let our round of applause be their welcome? We're not going to come to your house. We're not going to sell you an extended warranty. We just want to welcome you and let you guys know that we appreciate who you are. An easy way to connect with us is to use that green card.0:57An easy way to connect with us is to use that green card. If you have a spiritual decision, prayer request, if you put that in the basket at the end of the service, we pray over every single guest every week. We pray over every single prayer request. And so help us pray over you and shepherd you well. So we are in a new series called Deep Roots. So our prayer for you today is if you know Jesus Christ, that you grow deeper roots today than you ever have in your life. That if you don't know Christ and you say,1:27That if you don't know Christ and you say, well, I'm just filling out Christianity. I had a friend invite me. I don't even know what I'm doing here. That something you would hear in the Word of God would stir your heart and that you would turn from your sins and that you would say yes to Jesus Christ. So those are our cards. If you're not a Christ follower, we are praying today that you will leave here a Jesus follower and that you would leave here with abundant life. And we don't apologize about that. That's just who we are. We want what God wants for you.1:57We want what God wants for you. To have life and eternal life. Not death and destruction. And to do that, Jesus is the only way. He is the only truth. He is the only life. So let me introduce to you today what I call, well, not what I call, what scientists call the shepherd's tree. I think it's behind me for you to look at. So the shepherd's tree is native to southern Africa. It's in the desert of the Kalahari Desert. For those of you who have been to Zambia with this church2:26For those of you who have been to Zambia with this church and partnered with Lifesongs is southwest of Zambia. Now here's what's fascinating about this tree. Its roots grow 230 feet deep. And they discovered that because they were drilling wells. And as they were drilling, they actually pulled up root sediments from the dirt, from the soil. The natives call this tree the tree of life. For several reasons. One, it can grow when nothing else can grow.2:55One, it can grow when nothing else can grow. But it has some fascinating results. So you can take the roots and dry them and grind them and make a coffee substitute. Which I think is great. Because I love coffee. If you don't want to do that, you can take the roots and pulverize them and you can have a breakfast just like porridge. So you can take half the root and have breakfast and you can take the other half of the root3:24and you can take the other half of the root and have your coffee. If there's a tree of life in this world, that's it. But you can also take some of the branches, some of the roots, and you can make an eye salve for cattle. So they can actually treat eye infections of cattle. So they're this multi-purpose. But it's interesting that this tree lives because it has deep roots, even in arid conditions. And I believe this tree is a picture of faith.3:53And I believe this tree is a picture of faith. It's a picture of what God wants from you. Listen, He doesn't want you to be a tumbleweed where you're blown based upon the winds of culture or based upon how you feel that day or you're blown based on how well the preacher preached or what you heard on TV. God wants you to be like a shepherd's tree, to have roots that grow deep and are growing over time where you are not blown away by life,4:19where you are not blown away by life, but that you are sturdy and deep-rooted. So today's message is simple. It's called Jesus Gives You Deep Roots. Jesus Gives You Deep Roots. So join me in Matthew 28. Matthew 28. Several weeks ago, we looked at why worship is vital for your soul to hear about the Lord over and over again.4:47to hear about the Lord over and over again. Last week, Pastor Jared delivered us a phenomenal message on why community is important. There aren't solo Christians. We are together. And that is good for our soul. And today we're going to see why you should have deep roots. Deep roots. Matthew 28, verses 16 through 20. This is Jesus about to speak. The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee,5:15The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they saw Jesus as Him, they worshiped. But some doubted. When Jesus came near and said to them, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.5:45and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, don't forget, I am with you always. Even to the end of the earth. Let's pray, Father. We often are forgetful people. We forget that you are near. We forget that you are with us. Father, thank you for reminding us again that you are with us. Thank you for the reminder earlier.6:14Thank you for the reminder earlier. Lord, who is like you? There is none like you. You are our warrior. You are the one who sets people free from their sins, free from their addictions, free from their brokenness. Oh, Lord, would you do something new in us today? Father, may our roots of faith grow. May we not leave here unaffected. But, Father, may your word grow deep in our lives, that we would grow deep into you,6:44that we would grow deep into you, that we would abide and bear much fruit for your glory, for our good. Lord, thank you that you sent your Son, Jesus, to help us grow deep roots. Lord, remind us of that today. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. And amen. So the following verses are unfamiliar to you. You're not alone. This section of Scripture is called the Great Commission. Now, a 2018 study of church-going Christians.7:13of church-going Christians. So these are people who said, I'm a Christian, and I go to church. They could have lied, but that's what they said. The surveyor asked them, what is the Great Commission? And 51% of church church-going Christians in the United States said, I don't know. So 49 of us would say, oh, I get that. That's the Great Commission. So if this is unfamiliar to you,7:41to you, you're not alone. Now, this is what I love about our Savior. Coaches, from Little League to the professionals, they go to extreme lengths to hide their play calls from the opponents. They encrypt their code through signs, through microphones, so that the other team will not hear their game plan. But Jesus is not that way. Jesus tells the enemy right here, hey, here's my plan.8:11hey, here's my plan. I'm going to send my people, they're going to go, they're going to make disciples of all nations, they're going to baptize them, and they're going to teach them everything. Why? Because Satan is already defeated. Jesus gives Satan a plan, he says, hey, here's the plan. I'm going to run this play and you can't stop me. I don't know about you, but I want to be on that team. That's the power of our Savior. That's where the faith of Christ, the living Messiah,8:40the living Messiah, works in us. So let's look at what Jesus says. He gives the Great Commission, his final mandate to a certain group of people in verse 16. They're called the 11 disciples. So don't miss this point. Jesus gives the Great Commission to 11 disciples. And you read this in a book written by one of the disciples named Matthew or Levi. And he wrote that for future disciples,9:10for future disciples, you. You see the connection? The Great Commission is given to 11 disciples written down by one of the disciples so that you, future disciples, would hear about this. Now, I find this almost overwhelming that when Jesus tells his current disciples to go make disciples of all nations, he was thinking about you. Let that sink in. that if you have given9:40that if you have given your life to Jesus Christ, Jesus was speaking about you in verse 19 and me. And I don't know who. I'm going to go one day and I'm going to ask in heaven. I'm going to try to trace. I wonder which one of the disciples of the 11 made a disciple who made a disciple who made a disciple who one day told me that God loved me. Think about where your roots of faith come. Is it Thomas? The one who doubted? I don't know.10:10I don't know. Is it the tax collector? Is it Philip? Maybe you come from the legacy of faith of Peter or John or Andrew. But there was a time where one of these men made a disciple who made a disciple who made a disciple and that person told you that God loved you and he sent his only son to die on the cross for you. I don't know who that person was but I'm so thankful that they believed that what God wanted them to do10:39wanted them to do was true and it was worth it. So, think of it this way. In the kingdom of God it is disciple or bust. In the Messiah's economy you're either a disciple or not. There's no other way. Jesus here doesn't he doesn't say well go out in all the world and add them to your friends list. Or go make subscribers of all nations. He doesn't say11:08He doesn't say go make fans. You know because this healing thing you get a lot of fans that way. He doesn't say go make zealots. Jesus doesn't say go make democrats of all nations. Or don't worry about them go make republicans. He says no he doesn't say that. He says go make disciples of all nations. And I also love that Jesus doesn't call us by our sin. He doesn't say go find the liars11:37go find the liars and make disciples. He doesn't say go find the gossips the adulterers. He said no go make disciples. Jesus doesn't call you by your sin. he calls you from your sin. It is disciple or bust. In the old English language it is discipul which means one who follows. So if you're freaking out right now thinking this is a lot of pressure. I have to be12:08I have to be a disciple. If that is you all you have to do is follow Jesus. If you don't know what to do follow. So where does that come from? In Matthew we see Jesus goes to Simon Peter and Andrew and this is the first words out of the Messiah's mouth to these early disciples. He says follow me. That's all. Follow me and I will make you fish for people. And the12:39And the next verse in that 20 says immediately they left their nets and they followed him. What did they know? They knew Jesus said follow and they said okay we're in. So if you're here and you think well I have to have it figured out before I can follow Jesus Christ he's given you enough. Do it. He just says follow to John who later writes about Jesus and to his brother it says13:09it says that the sons of Zebedee immediately they left their boats and they followed him. What did they know? They knew that Jesus was the son of God and they said if this is true we want to follow him. Disciple or bust. Later on John would also write to future disciples called the church. He would say in 1 John 2 6 the one who says he remains in Jesus should walk as he walked. You know13:39You know that was the original lyric to walk this way. Talk this way. And you're in doubt you walk as Jesus walked. Talk as he walked. That's what Jesus people do. Jesus people follow Jesus. And so if you are not following Christ right now let me say this very clear because to be unclear is to be unkind. If you are not following Jesus and what he asked you to do you cannot call yourself a Christian. You14:10You can call yourself moral you can call yourself a good person you can call yourself a lot of things. You can call yourself Baptist for all I care. But if you are not following Jesus Christ you cannot call yourself a Christian because Jesus people follow Jesus. In the kingdom of faith it is disciple or bus. There is no other middle grounds. So I14:41So I ask you right now take inventory of this week. have you been following him? Now notice what Jesus doesn't say. He doesn't say be perfect and follow me. He says follow me. There will be moments in your life where you blow it. And when you do you don't pick yourself up by the boot strap so I try harder you say Lord let me look to you again because you're the only hope15:11hope I have. Let me follow you. God when I fall down I'm going to get up and I'm going to follow you. Lord when I fall down I'm going to get up and I'm going to follow you. How is your following meter this week? If you say well it hasn't been that good would you just stop right there and would you ask God to forgive you? Would you repent of that if you're a Jesus follower? If you are not a follower15:40follower of Jesus Christ as your Messiah as your Savior would you ask to follow him today? Maybe you're struggling to follow Jesus because you're not a follower. Maybe you're a fan or a subscriber or maybe you've added him to your friends list but you realize Jesus hasn't added you because you haven't submitted your life to him. Would you do that today? Would you surrender your life to the only one who can forgive you of your sins and16:09and bring you into the kingdom of God? Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it like this Christianity without discipleship Christianity without following Jesus he said is Christianity without Christ. I love what the old hymn from India says. It's actually from the territory of Assam India. It goes like this I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No16:39No turning back. No turning back. One day I'm going to join with my Indian brothers and sisters in heaven and I'm going to say hey you know that old Indian hymn you taught me? Let's sing it again. Because he's worth following. And if I have decided I want to follow him. It is disciple or bus. Church no turning back. No turning back. So with that then Jesus launches into what disciples17:09disciples should do. So seeing their apprehension because some worshipped and some doubted and we don't know who that is. We don't know who the some are. But I'm thankful that when I doubt there were disciples who were with Jesus that also doubted. That gives me hope. Maybe you're perfect. I'm not yet. There are times in my life where I say God why does Alzheimer's exist? God why does ALS God can't you just17:39you just eradicate cancer? God why? And God says Josh you don't understand right now but one day I will make all things right. Do you trust me? And so Jesus takes the first step. Look what happens when he saw that they doubted. Verse 18 what does Jesus do? Matthew 28 verse 18 I'm reading from the CSB it says the same thing in the King James18:08King James Jesus does what? He comes near. It's the reminder that before we take a step towards Jesus he comes to you first. And the presence of Christ is a reminder a constant reminder of the power of our Lord and Savior. And it's a reminder for disciples that we have a spiritual18:38a spiritual mandate and a spiritual burden. So here's how I think about this. When Jesus comes near he also says go right? Jesus comes near to them and he says go. Now I didn't plan this but I'm going to throw my father-in-law under the bus. This is free of charge today. So my father-in-law he's traveling a lot of the world and he goes on missions. And he'll learn some words at the different countries he goes to. So one time he went to Ecuador and he learned19:08he learned the word for, he thought it was go away. But he would say ven aca which is come here. So when the little street boys and girls would swarm him he would tell them this. He would say ven aca which means come. But he would say ven aca. Come here. Come here. And they were like this. They didn't know whether19:37know whether to go or to come. But Jesus is doing that right? Jesus is coming near and what does he say? He says go. So he's bringing the disciples near and he's telling them to go. But it's a reminder in our lives. Listen to this if you're a disciple. The closer you get to the Savior the further you will go for him. It's this tension. We want to be really close with our Savior so we can go20:07we can go really far for him. This word in chapter 28 verse 19 is very profound in the Greek. The word go in Greek. You know what it means? Go. Go. And it's the reminder for us that if you're a disciple you will never be satisfied standing still. You'll never be satisfied standing still. And I20:37And I believe there are many dissatisfied disciples because you're idle. And you're frustrated. And that's good because Jesus wants you to be frustrated. Because he says Josh I didn't say in the Great Commission come here in my big spiritual snuggie and I will make you comfortable. He says go and make disciples. And I believe some of you today are you're in disobedience and sin because you're21:07because you're not doing anything for God. And you feel like well I'm not where God wants me to be yet I'm not perfect so I can't go. And the reminder is these disciples weren't perfect and yet Jesus said go follow me and go. The closer you get to Jesus the further you want to go for him. So are you only willing to go so far? Have you21:38Have you said to Jesus I'll go I'll serve but I'm not going to serve with the kids because you they're tiny terrorists I'm talking about mine I don't know about yours or I'm not going to serve with that group or the senior adults or I'm not going to go to that neighbor because you know they have they're messy and then Jesus says but Josh you're not your life's not messy your life22:08life is not of sin I think some of us say Jesus I will follow you but I will only follow in this parameter are you only willing to go so far that we give God a blank check with our lives the closer you get to Jesus the further you want to go for him and so he says in the great commission go what does it mean in Greek go22:37go now you know Greek go and do the work of our savior go therefore verse 19 and make disciples it's a reminder that disciples are forged they're not left to fate you don't just by happenstance become a disciple Jesus people make disciples deep roots in the shepherd tree are formed and forged over years and seasons of continual growth not23:06not spurts of sunshine the tree doesn't say ah son let's grow and then when it rains again in the desert we'll grow again God wants you to grow through the good times and the difficult times that you trust in him that you lean on him only disciples can make disciples but every disciple makes disciples he said okay I'm in so where do I go and to whom do I share23:36share with that's a great question look at verse 19 go make disciples of all nations so the word here is ethnos it's not a political entity as much as it is a people group or a person so really Jesus is saying go and make disciples of all peoples all types of people red and yellow black and white because all of them are precious in his sight there's24:06there's not a single person that you will ever encounter that does not need the hope of Jesus Christ so you go and you find that person really Jesus is not saying go stamp your passport for me now I do believe that every Christian needs a passport because how can you tell Jesus I will go around the world if you have limits upon that but really what Jesus is saying go stamp the24:35the life of every person with the image of Christ and the good news go make disciples of all nations forged not faked and I love that in a world that is race torn and gender hyper focused that Jesus offers an invitation to the kingdom without discrimination do you see the qualifier that Jesus25:05Jesus gives here he says go make disciples of all the people who look like you of all the people who sound like you of all the people who cheer for your team no there is no discrimination in the kingdom of heaven he says go make disciples of all nations all nations are you rich this is for you are you25:35you poor this is for you are you educated Jesus is for you do you have no education Jesus is for you are you broken today Jesus is for you have you found restoration Jesus is for you is your marriage in the best place it's ever been Jesus is for you if your marriage is on the rocks and you are hanging26:05hanging on by a thread Jesus is for you are you here and your life is full because your family is in a great place Jesus is for you if you're here and you're struggling with infertility Jesus is for you there is no person on the planet that cannot by faith enter into the kingdom of heaven and26:34and we must be people who forge other disciples and so let me ask you who is your ethnos who is the person that God has put in your life to make a disciple would you pray for that person today so I don't know anyone that's not a Christian find them because they're here go to the store go to the ball fields hey go to church not everyone here is27:04is a believer and maybe I'm talking to you maybe you're the one who doesn't believe and God is calling you to come to faith today but who is the one who God has put in your life that you might make a disciple of them would we be held faithful and accountable disciples are forged not left to chance disciple or bus he also says this go make disciples of all nations27:34nations baptizing them how do you know if you're a disciple or not the sign of a disciple is baptism he says this is how you know disciples get baptized they show the world baptism is an outward sign of what God has already started in your heart I say it this way a lot we had this discussion with our family last night in our home worship I didn't have my wedding ring on not because we were fighting because I was cooking and neither28:02neither of us did I think Casey was planting flowers and I was chopping raw meat and so we asked the kids are we married they said absolutely all are I said we're not wearing our wedding rings and I said in the same way this wedding ring is a sign of the covenant I've made with my wife baptism is a sign of the covenant that Jesus Christ has made with you and if you've not been baptized as a sign of your faith I pray that God would do28:32do something to stir in you right now our next celebration baptism service is in June we would love for you to fill out a green card and let us know that you're in we're going to follow up with you if you can't wait we will baptize next week if we need to if you want to so let us know but the sign the biblical sign of your faith is baptism John Calvin says it this way partly that our baptism may be a pledge of eternal life29:02life before God29:09did you need to go all in for Jesus Christ and show the world that you are not ashamed this is the pledge and lastly disciples teach they don't trample disciples teach they don't trample again verse 20 baptize them in the name of the father son and the holy spirit teaching them to observe everything29:38everything what do we what do we not teach no there's nothing everything God has commanded you and remember I am with you always to the ends of the age every disciple is a teacher you say well I am not a teacher I can't speak in front of people your life speaks volumes and you are teaching people what you believe about your faith by the way that you live30:08live every single disciple is a teacher and some of the greatest disciple teachers in the history of the world are not people who had platforms and microphones but people who humbly submitted submitted submitted their lives day after day after day after day if you're a disciple you are a teacher listen to what Jesus did not say he did not say go baptize30:38baptize all nations in the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit and lecture them to death he doesn't say you know what go on social media rant that will win the nations but why do we do that why do we think if I just scream loud enough then they'll hear if I just grab them by the arms31:07arms and shake them then they will understand no you teach them and remember that for those who claim the name of Jesus Christ the Messiah every word every action every like on Facebook every tangential post every reaction in your life is a lesson about your faith to those who are watching disciples teach they don't trample and31:37and the beauty of the gospel is that it grows believers of every stage of spiritual maturity there's not a single person here if your roots are 229 feet deep there's not a single person here that doesn't need to grow deeper and if your roots are shallow and you think wow I don't know anything about Jesus Christ you can grow a little bit deeper today and again surrender your32:07your life follow him that's his desire for you and the joy of this room is that there are disciples of varied depth in this room and in the same moment and in the same Lord's day he is growing all of us in different ways for his glory don't32:35don't ask me how that happens I have no clue but I know the Holy Spirit does it I know how he's growing me let me tell you one thing that God has done in my life in this last year this week I finished my yearly Bible reading plan it took me a year and a half I'm an over achiever but I'm thankful even though it took me longer than I wanted I'm thankful I'm33:03I'm thankful that God could grow me in his word and if that's you maybe if you don't read the word like you want to on the way out we have some Bible reading plans a 21 day Bible reading plan you can pick that up on the table on the way out we will also post that on social media it's one chapter in the book of John a day and we're going to give you a rest day next week and so would you just commit to read the Bible one chapter and say God let me grow deeper roots33:33roots of faith today so let's go back to the shepherd tree remember that image God wants you to grow deep roots of faith so how is God growing you today maybe for you that's you recognize that you have sinned this week you've either been in willing active disobedience or you've been in passive disobedience you've done things that you34:03you know God doesn't want or you have not done things that God knows and you know that he wants for you the deeper roots are is confession to come right now maybe to the altar maybe where you sit and say God I'm sorry forgive me God I've been idle God I'm doing nothing of substance God I'm sorry because you want to go maybe for you it's coming34:32coming to the altar or sitting standing and praying for your neighbor praying for your spouse praying for your ethnos praying for your daughter or your son or your sports team praying for your coworker who doesn't know Jesus Christ and you realize today wait I am in their life because they're the disciple that God wants me to make you are here today because someone found you valuable and found you worth it would35:00would you be that person to someone else would you fight the spiritual battles for them would you intercede for them disciples go disciples are forged disciples teach and it's disciple or bust maybe you're here today you've never given your life to Jesus let me make it really simple how do you do that you say yes and you follow but understand to say yes35:30yes to Jesus Christ is to say no to yourself would you do that today would you pause and pray and say God today I'm saying no to me and my sin and I believe Jesus died on the cross I believe he rose again I believe and today is the day I will follow but you do that I would love to hear how God has changed your life if that's you I'll be down front you can come speak to me or pray with me36:00me during the time of response I'll be here after the service maybe for you that step is baptism whatever God is doing would you commit to grow deeper roots today than you ever have go make disciples of all nations baptizing them and teaching them to do everything that I've commanded you and by the way36:30way here's a reminder church don't forget Jesus is with us he came near and he will stay near and the closer you get to Jesus Christ the further you will go for him let's pray father
