Beat the Heat | Victory Church

That'd be great. Good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome to church. I hope you're excited for what the Lord has for us today. Welcome to the house of the Lord and let's get our heart ready for worship. I'm going to read a quick passage from Psalm 103 from verse one, it says, let all that I am praise the Lord with my whole heart. I will praise his holy name, let all that I am praise the Lord. May I never forget the good things he does for me. We did that at the first service. Could you just take a minute and think about one thing that the Lord did for you that, that gives you reason enough to praise him. If you don't have one, you've been forgiven of your sins. That's a great reason. And you're able to actually stand on your feet and lift up your hands for, for, for the Lord. Right? To worship. Verse three says, he forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the Eagles. Right before we start worship, would you just lift up your hands and just say thank you to the Lord. Let's just start worship with grateful hearts, with thankfulness. Lord was so thankful and we commend our souls to praise you, to honor you for you are good. And your mercy endures forever. Thank you, Lord. That's your, your love and kindness. David could say your love and kindness is better than life.

Better is one day in your course than a thousand elsewhere. Was so thankful to be chosen by you and Lord, may you receive our praise, our worship and all that we are today. We love you and we praise you in Jesus name and let the church say, amen. Let's get ready to worship y'all. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. We deserve each of those comments. ♪ All to hear is the sounds of the Savior's robe ♪ ♪ As He walks into the room where people pray ♪ ♪ Where we hear praises, He hears faith ♪ ♪ Oh, we let our faith rise ♪ ♪ We let our faith rise ♪ Come on, we sing that again, there is a sound. ♪ There is a sound, all of to hear ♪ ♪ Is the sound of the Savior's robe ♪ ♪ As He walks into the room where people pray ♪ ♪ Where we hear worship, He hears faith ♪ ♪ Oh, we give you everything ♪ ♪ We give you everything ♪ ♪ Awake, my soul, and sing, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Awake, my soul, and sing, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Yes, we sing Your praises, we sing Your praises ♪ ♪ All for You, God ♪ ♪ There is a sound that changes things ♪

♪ The sounds of His people on their knees ♪ ♪ Awake, I feel slumbering, it's time to worship Him ♪ ♪ Awake, my soul, and sing, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ We sing Your praise, awake, my soul, and sing, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ And when He moves, and when we pray ♪ ♪ Where stood a wall, now stands a way ♪ ♪ Where every promise is amen ♪ ♪ And when He moves, make no mistake ♪ ♪ The bowels of hell begin to shake ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord, all hail the King ♪ ♪ Hey, oh, oh let the King of glory enter in ♪ ♪ Hey, oh, fall down on your knees and worship Him ♪ ♪ Hey, oh, let His praise rise up, don't hold it in ♪ Come on, every voice, we make this our prayer today. ♪ Awake, my soul, and sing, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Awake, my soul, and sing, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, one more time we sing ♪ ♪ Awake, my soul, and sing, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ We sing your praises, awake, my soul, and sing ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, sing His praise aloud ♪ ♪ Sing His praise aloud, oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh ♪ Yes, God, yes, God, we sing your praises. Give you praise, forgive you all. Right before we go into the next song, can you just release a little, a loud praise, just sing His praise

as I count to three, one, two, three. Come on, praise Him, hallelujah. We praise you, Jesus. We sing your praise aloud. The conqueror of the universe, we honor you, we praise you. What an honor to worship you. Come on, you sing it, boast about your God, come on. Yeah, you sound so beautiful. Praise God. Age to age. Beginning and the end. Beginning and the end. The Godhead. The Godhead. Three in one. You are the Father, Spirit, Son. The Lion and the Lamb. The Lion and the Lamb. Come on, sing it out. How great is our God. Oh, sing with me. How great is our God. And all will see how great, how great is our God. We lift up the name above all names. His name is Jesus. Come on. You're the name above all names. You are worthy of our praise. And my heart will sing how great is our God.

Oh, we lift up your name, Jesus. You're the name above all names. You are worthy of our praise. And my heart will sing how great is our God. Oh, and how great is our God. Sing with me. How great is our God. And all will see how great, how great, how glorious, how mighty, how marvelous, how omnipotent is our God. How great, how great is our God. Sing with me. How great is our God. ♪ Come on and all will see how great, how great is our God ♪ Come on, let's exalt His name. ♪ You're the name above all names ♪ ♪ You're the name above all names ♪ ♪ You are worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ And my heart will sing how great is our God ♪ There's only one name worthy and His name is Jesus. ♪ You're the name, You're the name above all names ♪ ♪ You are worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ And my heart will sing how great is our God ♪ Oh, it's great, it's great, it's great. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. We lift up Your name, Jesus. We lift up Your name, Jesus. Your name is higher than cancer. Your name is higher than any disease. Your name is higher than any depression.

Your name is higher than any death. We lift up the name of Jesus. We exalt Your name. We exalt Your name. Oh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Come on, wherever you are, would you just say the name Jesus? Just say Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. The Bible says that He has received the name above every other name. That at the mention of the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that only Jesus is Lord. Come on, just say Jesus. We lift up Your name, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. There's no other name. There's no other name. There's no other name. We're intentional about lifting Your name. Jesus, oh, we lift up Your name. Oh, how great is our God. Let's sing that one more time. You're the name. You're the name above all. Yeah, you sound beautiful. Come on, sing it out. You are worthy of our love. Yeah, in my heart will sing how great Your name is. Yeah. Yeah.

Because Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All throats and positions, all powers and dominion. And dominion, Your name stands above them all. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All throats and dominions, all powers and positions. And positions, Your name stands. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. Come on, sing it out. Your name. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All throats and dominions, all powers and positions. And positions, Your name stands above them all. And the angels cry, holy. All creation cries, holy. You are lifted high. Holy, holy forever. And hear your people sing. Holy. To the kingdom of kings. Holy. And you will always be. Holy. Holy forever. You will always be. Holy. Holy forever. And you will always be. Holy. Holy forever. We exalt your name. And so Lord we keep you at the center of everything. We give you your rightful place. We let go of every worry and every stress and anxiety. And we focus our gaze on you. Maybe we've made this complicated. More than it was ever meant to be. Hasn't it always been about the same thing? Lord, bring us back to simple things. For you are the center of it all. My

heart belongs to you. My savior all in all. You're the one I hold on to. For the beauty of your name. My soul will live to sing. Jesus, I love you. Teach us to discern the moment. When to serve and when to sit here at your feet. Keep us awake to what's important. Just like Mary chose the better thing. Oh, for you are the center of it all. My heart belongs to you. My savior all in all. You're the one I hold on to. For the beauty of your name. My soul will live to sing. Jesus, I love you. For you and you. For you are the center of it all. My heart belongs to you. My savior all in all. You're the one I hold on to. For the beauty of your name. My soul will live to sing. Jesus, I love you. Oh, how I love you. Jesus, I love you. Oh, how I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. Oh, how I love you. Jesus, I love you. And my whole life, for your glory, my whole world, for you only, everything, for the honor of your name. And if my days tell a story, let it be ♪ Of you only, everything for the honor of your name ♪ ♪ My whole life for your glory, my whole world ♪ ♪ For you only, everything for the honor of your name ♪ ♪ And in my days, tell the story, let it be ♪ ♪ Of you only, everything for the honor of your name ♪ ♪ Oh, my whole life, my whole life for your glory, my whole world ♪ ♪ For you only, everything for the honor of your name ♪ ♪ And in my days, tell the story, let it be ♪ ♪ Of you only, everything for the honor of your name ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love you ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love you, Jesus, I love you ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love you with everything I am, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love you, Jesus, I love you ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love you ♪

♪ Oh, how I love you, Jesus, I love you ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love you ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love you, Jesus, I love you ♪ What an honor, Jesus, that we get to love you. We get to love you because you first loved us. And so this morning we receive your love afresh. And in return, we give our lives to you as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to you. May our lives be beautiful aromas that make you smile because you smile every time you look at us. So Lord, we're so honored and we love you. In Jesus' name we worship, we love you, God, amen, amen. Thank you for worshiping with us. Could you please turn to your neighbor and say you, you, you, Jesus loves you, you, you, you, you, Jesus loves you, you. Have a great service. Amen, Jesus loves you and you, you. Bye, guys. Everybody's laughing. Well, good morning, Victory Church, OKC. How are you guys today? We are so glad that you joined us. Man, if this is your first or second time here, maybe you're new to Victory, but we haven't had the opportunity to introduce ourselves or you to get to know us, we would love to connect with you. A couple of ways that we do that is on the screen behind me. There's a QR code that you can scan.

Just give us a little bit of information and let us know you're here and we will connect and reach out to you or you can swing by the Connect Center with the card in the seat back in front of you and just give us a little bit of information there. But let me tell you the pro tip on how to get to know Victory the best. And that is in our Discover Your Victory Circle. And we have another one coming up on August 9th and you can sign up on the Church Center app or get information from our Connect Center in the lobby as well. Also today in the lobby is a booth, a table with school supplies. We love our teachers here at Victory and we wanna support them and send them into the school year with a little bit of love and a little bit of honor. And so what we're doing is our circle's outreach is gathering together school supplies and they have a list out there. We'd love for you to be a part of that. You can get those things and bring them between now and August 2nd. And we will just begin assembling and packaging up, go back to school packages for our teachers. And if you're a teacher here at Victory and we don't know who you are, we don't have you on the list,

we'd love to bless you as well. So please join that table today. Let us know who you are so that we can honor you as well. We believe here at Victory that taking one step closer to Christ is an intentional decision. And so one of the ways that we see that being played out is in. Our service, when we serve and we do kingdom business, we have a lot of places to serve here at the church. It's a big church. And we would love to have your talents involved with those things as we do our best to share the gospel with people and provide a place where people can come and learn about Him. One of the areas I wanted to highlight today was on our VKids and youth teams today. The Next Gen is doing some exciting things. I mean, they're really doing some cool things. And so whether you have a desire to just hold babies or to hang out with some teenagers or to teach elementary kids, we would love to have your talents and love to have you a part of that. So you can use the Church Center app and sign up or be a part of Discover Your Victory coming up. Well, it is time to bring the tithe and offering today. Amen. Romans 10, 14 and 15 reminds us

that how will they know if they don't hear? And how will they hear if we don't preach? And how will we preach if we're not sent? And it reminds us that part of the process of going and doing and sharing the gospel is to be part of those processes. Either we're sharing or we're sending. We just received back from LA Dream Center, our youth missions team. They went out there and had a great time just being the church outside of these four walls. And the reports that I'm getting are that the youth kids that went, man, really grew in boldness in a few key areas. They really grew in their boldness to pray. Amen. They really grew in their boldness to share the gospel. They really grew in their boldness of understanding what God was doing with them. And that's really what that's all about is that we're equipping them to go share the gospel and making an impact. There was a story of a student group that went into a family and shared the gospel with a man who gave his life to Christ. They brought him back to the LA Dream Center and put him in a program to get him back on his feet. Amen. That is fruit. And so many of you are a part of that financially

and through prayers. That's what we're doing here is we are equipping to send. And part of what we do when we give is we prepare that process. So when you give today, you can do it online or you can drop it by the doors when you leave. We are a part of that process and that is fruit of what is going on today. So let me pray over the giving today. Father, in Jesus' name, we thank you for the opportunity to give into your kingdom. Father, help us to steward it well and to put it where it needs to go, Father, so that your name will be lifted up above all things and that you will draw all men unto you. We thank you for that today in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Hey, what's up, Victory Church family? I'm so glad that you're here. If you're at Edmond, if you're at Gravine or OKC, maybe you are at Glacier Campus or maybe you're just watching online, we welcome you. We honor you today. If you're a first-time guest, welcome to the house. We're so honored that you're here. If you don't have a church home, we would love to have you join this one. Michelle and I have been gone for a couple of weeks.

We have a few more weeks to go. We've had an amazing time of rest and relaxation and prayer over future vision, future sermons, and I wanna share a little bit with you about some of that future in just a moment. Michelle and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on June 30th and we went to France and I took her to Paris and had an amazing time. Quick story that I wanna share with you that leads into the direction we're going in the coming weeks and months. We were in Paris and Michelle and I had scheduled this tour. A gentleman came and just walked Michelle and I all through Paris, just showing us buildings, talking about history. He was very knowledgeable. He's a very eclectic man, young man, very knowledgeable in philosophy and religion and even Greek mythology. And I could tell pretty quick that he wasn't necessarily a believer. And at some point along the way, he found out I was a pastor and he asked me a question. We're standing by Notre Dame, the church there in Paris, and he asked me this question that just pierced me and took me down a path that will lead into the direction of where we're going for the next couple of months. And he said, so you're a Christian, right? And I said, yeah. And he said, what does that look like day to day?

What does it mean? What do you do? What practices do you discipline yourself in every day to be a Christian? And I think I gave him a good answer. I tried my best, but it really made me think. It really made me process. What do we do? We can't just say we're Christians. We can't just chant at the end of our services, we live life to the full, but not be able to articulate how we do, how we get there, how we're being. Coming that we're all becoming something. And so it just took me down this path of Questioning. Yeah, what are the practices of? The way and so we're actually gonna start a sermon season August the second that I could not be more excited about I want you to really lock in I know we're still traveling and getting busy ready for school But if you're in town, I want you to be in the house if you're not watch online We're gonna start a brand new sermon season called the way In the early church in the book of Acts long before we were labeled as Christians They labeled people like us as people of the way. I think that's interesting So in let me just read you a quick passage of Luke 9 Luke 9 23, this is Jesus and it says he said to the crowd if any of you wants to be my follower You must give up here. We listen to listen to this. You must give up your own way You must give up your own way. You must take up your cross daily and follow me. So To be a follower of Jesus to be Christian to be people of the way We have to give up our own way and this isn't about religion. It's not about performance It's about leaning in to what the Lord is leading us to do to take one step closer to Christ and to become All that God is calling us to become it's not about performance

It's not about earning God's love, but what are the practices? So we're gonna drill down It's gonna be a very practical sermon season. We're gonna talk about prayer. We're gonna talk about fasting We're gonna talk about generosity We're gonna talk about all of the practices of what it means to live a life as a follower of Jesus I could not be more excited about this. I want you to get excited If you're not get out your calendar We're gonna be doing 13 weeks from April the 2nd all the way to the end of October We're gonna lean in and talk about the way I want to thank the staff I want to thank our church that you are a church that honors your pastor and my ability to rest and rejuvenate a Love that our culture is that is that we are built on the sacrifice of the many Not the talent of a few a love that our church shows up hungry to receive a word Even when it's not the lead pastor bringing it and I could not be more thankful For pastor Oscar and pastor Rhonda and pastor Wade and all of the ministry that's happening even while I'm away I love you guys so much. I cannot wait to be with you on August the 2nd. I love you, and I'll see you soon Did anybody Peek pastor John's dog Remy in the background right at the door. I feel like he heard the way He was ready to go for a walk, you know It's so good to be with you And I just want to welcome our Edmund campus our grapevine campus any of you who are watching online It is a privilege to worship with you today, and we have already felt God's presence so tangibly with us Today, and I'm so grateful So if you were here about a month ago, or maybe you have been Following online through this summer season pastor John preached a message About hearing God when nothing seems to be happening. Do you remember that and he challenged us to think about what season of life we're in and What God could be doing in this season? He compared it to our natural seasons that we experience and that sent me down a road just Examining that in my own life. What season am I in? What is God really really doing in my life in this season and

Just made me start thinking about how things grow and all of that and I grew up in Southwest, Missouri Not that far from here in Joplin, Missouri. That's where I grew up was raised there went to college in that area and we had seasons there and Not long after school starts the the air gets a little bit crisp and things start to change And you feel like fall is coming and it was my favorite time of year and then about 13 years ago I moved to Fort Worth, Texas Yeah, and there are no seasons there there's no crisp in the air there There's really just two seasons. There's summer and there's a couple of days of ice storm and Then it's summer again And so to be honest with you the summer's been hard for me since I moved there and really just Personally the summer months can be difficult for me the long heat of the summer growing up a lot of Decisions were made in the summer around my my dad's work And so there was always potential transition in the summer and then even since I've been married all of our There are big, big, major transitions, some planned, some unplanned, have been in the summer months, so it starts to get hot, and I just feel like my body is bracing for it, right? So, in my yard, when the summer hits my yard, and all of my plants start to die, it feels a little personal. And I get so frustrated with it, I get angry with the weather, and my husband Daniel's like, Rhonda, you can't be angry with the weather. It hasn't done anything to you, it's not helpful, but I just am, I'm so angry, and everything in my backyard is dying. I brought, just to prove it,

this is what it looks like. This is so embarrassing, so shameful for me to bring this here. This is what it looks like, I think I have another one, I had a fern hanging, and yeah, I know, feel sorry for me, and the fern. It's like half of it's doing really well, and the other half is just, well, you know. And so I even had some landscapers come to my house, and I said, okay, I just need your help, I need kind of a reboot. And I had these rose bushes in my yard, and I said, I just, I said, I just want you to prune back everything that's dying, or that's already dead, and so then this is what I was left with. Yeah. It's just, I thought, what? The guy left, and I thought, that was a whole rose bush. And I just kind of have these two stalks there, the plants, they're just trying their hardest, you know, in this heat, and so am I. The heat seems to be getting the best of both of us, and living in this kind of summer heat can be difficult, it's hard for me to keep things alive

in the middle of drought. And these are the pictures that came to my mind when I came across our passage of Scripture for today, we're gonna be in Jeremiah 17. And I love the way that Scripture uses pictures and things that we can relate to naturally to help us understand our relationship with God. And so often, God will use the way He has designed and created things to naturally grow to help us understand how we can live and grow in Him. So I wanna set the stage for you here in Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a prophet of God sent to the people to speak to them about the ways that God wanted them to live. And in Jeremiah 17, the first few verses of this chapter, Jeremiah is really giving a rebuke to the people because they continue to go after the devices and the desires of their own hearts. They keep going after false gods and they keep relying on foreign countries to bring protection of them. So he's kind of giving them a rebuke in these first few verses, but then we get to this poetic stanza in verse five. This is what the Lord says. Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands. They will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. So today we're gonna talk a little bit about our lives in this imagery. We're gonna talk a little bit about what it looks like when we are relying on our own strength, when we're not trusting so much in the Lord, and we're gonna talk about what it looks like when we are trusting the Lord, what it looks like to be fruitful in every season. So today we're gonna talk a little bit just about how to beat the heat together a little bit. So let's pray. Lord, we just invite you to be here. You are so kind and you are so faithful to come when we ask. So we say, come Holy Spirit, be present with us today. Let this be a dialogue with you today. And let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you. In your name, Jesus, amen. So this versus five and six, this, this book Bush in the wasteland is probably a picture of an Acacia tree. I have a picture of an Acacia tree here, and this is a tree that

you could find in the Judean wilderness. And it it's a lot like this. You'll see a tree here and then there'll be a long distance and then there'll be another Acacia tree in the wilderness. And these trees kind of become a forest of one. This is probably what Jeremiah had in, in his mind. And they're, they're kind of, they're all by themselves. There's so little water. There's so few nutrients to go around that the Acacia tree has to kind of do everything it can to keep all of that to himself. So only one can survive at a time. And I think that's a pretty good picture of what our life looks like. Sometimes we, we feel like there's only so much to go around. So I got a hoard mine. There's only enough for me. I know best, right? The paraphrase of the message says versus five and six, they read like this. Cursed is the strong one who depends on mere humans, who thinks he can make it on muscle alone and sets God aside as dead weight. He's like a tumbleweed on the Prairie out of touch with the good earth. He lives rootless and aimless in a land where nothing grows more and more. I feel when I read the old Testament prophets, I feel like these are words that could be written to us this week. Do you feel like that? Every time I look at my feet online, it's all about how I can do it myself. And I just need the right hack. Now I need the right prompt because apparently I'm using the wrong one or I need the right routine. Strength can be found in myself if I just try hard enough. And it is fascinating to me the way the world around us would tell us that when our strength is failing, what we really need to do is lean in a little bit more just to more self care. And it is fascinating to me the way I see people around me who are using spiritual practices really, but not so much for transformation into Christ likeness, but in a way to make ourselves stronger. This isn't a new thing and it can just be really subtle. Not long ago I was in a restaurant and there was a group of friends who were having a meal next to me. I was by myself and I wasn't eavesdropping. I'm not going to say I was eavesdropping, but they were speaking very loudly and I was listening to them talk. And it seemed like it was a little, they were a little bit of a hot mess. They were just all kind of talking about how they need to get their life together. It was this whole conversation. They need to get their life together. And one of them I heard say, you know what I think I'm going to do? I think I'm going to take one day a week. I'm not going to do anything. No work. I'm not going to work. And I'm just going to think about myself. It's just going

to be for me. It's a day just for me, for me to take care of myself. And I thought, that sounds a lot like Sabbath keeping, but not in a way that puts Jesus at the center and is about intense love of Jesus and reminds us that we don't have to work hard because he's always working on our behalf. Just in a way to make ourselves feel a little bit stronger. One of them said, you know, I think I found this app and what I'm going to do when I feel overwhelmed is I'm just going to stop and I'm going to turn this on and I'm just going to center myself on my truth. And I thought, that is very interesting. So many times scripture talks to us about meditating on the word of God. It talks about renewing our mind, right? Prayer in so many forms brings us back to Jesus, right? Not in a way to make ourselves stronger, but in a way to remind ourselves that we are not the God of our life. So you see, it's subtle, these substitutes. They're just subtle. And I'm not, I'm not trying to belittle the fact that we are definitely in a crisis of mental wellness, anxieties off the charts. We're having post-traumatic responses. So many things that have been happening in the last years. That's not what I'm saying What but what this is what I know the truth of what I know is we can never self-care ourself back into wholeness That's what Jeremiah is talking about here about this bush in the waistline that cast God off like dead weight I just believe in myself I can do it So why do we end up here? Why do we keep reaching for substitutes instead of the source? You know, I don't I don't think it really starts so much with arrogance I Don't even think it starts with some kind of radical dismissal of God Especially for those of us who are really trying to live the way of Jesus. I Don't think that's it. I don't think we just turn away and walk the other direction I think that it can just sometimes start with weariness We're weary And there's something about a long summer that can do something to us on the inside It's it's not just the heat but it's the relentlessness of the heat day after day It's the same forecast. I keep going to bed. Just praying that when I wake up It's gonna be in the 60s and it's just just never happens somehow

But even in our lives everything kind of starts to get the same Starts to feel flat and somewhere around the middle of July We find ourselves just giving into it We stop fighting it we're just enduring we're putting one foot in front of the other and I I think a lot of us know that feeling not Not just in our yard But in our lives and I remember feeling that way so acutely when my sons were small We were living far away from family In fact, it was at least a day's drive to get to the nearest family and we had moved across the country We had taken a ministry assignment and it was kind of a hard one we were following a major moral failure of leadership of a church there and we were called on to just come in and nurture and love those people in that community back to health and My boys were little my two oldest sons were just toddlers and By all Outward appearances my life was so full. I loved my son so much I loved those people so much and they loved us and God was moving and things were happening and it was wonderful but somewhere in the everyday Make the lunch and get up and go to work and come back home and do it all again and my family was calling on me in one way my work in my ministry was calling me and another way and Somewhere in the middle of all of that Something inside of me just went quiet It just went quiet I wasn't in a crisis I was going back to prayer I was doing the things that you're supposed to do. I was reading scripture like I was supposed to I Hadn't walked away from God, but I was tired in a way that sleep could not fix You ever been there? and I found myself just sitting there and I came back to prayer like I was supposed to and I just remember saying God, do you see me? Do you remember that I am here

Are you even listening to me or are you just listening to them? and My husband's written about this a little bit and I've been reading this book called what grows in weary lands And I have found out that the ancient mothers and fathers of the church the desert mothers and fathers and ancient monks had a word for this feeling this kind of Song the psalmist calls it great exile It's called a Cedia The desert fathers and mothers called it the noonday demon It's not the darkness of the middle of the night at 3 a.m. It's not The crisis the trauma of crisis it it's just that flat gray relentless weight of life When it's supposed to feel meaningful, but mostly it just feels like another Tuesday afternoon in the middle of July that feeling It doesn't announce itself, but it just quietly convinces us that our spiritual rhythms aren't working That he's not listening That it's true that he's not is distant, that he's listening to everyone else and something must be wrong with me. And when that restlessness sets in, the inside of us starts to feel dry and we reach for anything that makes us feel something. That's when we start endlessly scrolling. Or maybe it's just me, but those dog videos when they're wearing shoes, that gets me every time. But we just start scrolling nothingness. Or maybe we reach towards something in our past that made us feel successful. We fill every moment of quiet with words and sounds. We reach for those substitutes and distractions slowly and quietly, one reasonable weekday at a time.

Until we look up one day and we say, something just isn't right. I am like a tumbleweed on the prairie and we can't quite remember how we got there. But that's why I'm here today. Because that's not all Jeremiah has to say. That's not the end of the story. And this is the truth that I know. Whether we die or thrive in the heat depends on where we look for help. That's the truth. And right here in verses five and six, he's talking about someone who doesn't trust in God, who's only leaning into human strength. And then it's like the page turns and Jeremiah starts talking about a life that's like a tree that sends out roots to a source of water and what it can look like when we trust God. And here's what Jeremiah could only see from a distance, from where he was writing. When he turns the page and he starts talking about our life like this beautiful, fruitful tree, that stream that he starts talking about has a name. And in John chapter seven, Jesus stood up in a festival and he said, anyone of you who is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. So the truth is, and what Jeremiah could only see from a distance, is that when we reach toward a source,

it changes everything about what these verses mean. We're not just reaching toward better habits or stronger self-discipline. That's not what we're reaching for. We are reaching towards Jesus and he has already begun reaching back toward us. Jeremiah 17, these verses say this, but blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It doesn't fear when heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. So let's turn the page here. We've understood what it is to live in that kind of gray, lack of trust, human striving. We understand that. Let's turn the page. What does it look like for us to trust in the Lord? Well, the first thing he tells us is we send our roots to the source. And I'm just warning you, I nerded out a little bit this week about trees. So I have a lot of things to say. But what I found was, the first thing was simple. It was so obvious. But it's the truth and it's staying with me. And that's just, as the root goes, so goes the tree.

We know that, right? If the root system of a tree is healthy, the branches are healthy, the leaves are healthy, the fruit is healthy, everything we see above ground is a direct result of what is happening underground where no one can see. Think about that. The most important work a tree is doing is the invisible work. So roots do a couple things for a tree. One is they provide anchorage, right? So the landscape can change around the tree. Winds can come, storms can come. But the tree knows where it is because its root system is strong enough and held by something beneath the surface that goes deeper than the storm can go. So they provide anchorage. They're also conduits. Roots are the pathway through which everything the tree needs to survive actually travels. That water in the stream Jeremiah is talking about doesn't just jump from the stream into the leaves of the tree. That would be very strange to see. But it passes and moves through the roots. They are both the connection. to the source and the storehouse. So the roots of the tree take the water and the nutrients that it needs

and it stores it there for a day when the rain doesn't come. So here's what Jeremiah is telling us. When we trust in the Lord, when we actually place the weight of our lives on him rather than our own understanding, we begin to send roots out to the only source that never runs out. Not towards our own strength, not toward what people say about us, not toward what our bank account says or does not say, not what our calendar looks like or what the comment section says, but towards him, toward a person who is the author and the giver of life. And this is where I wanna be really practical with you because I know what it feels like for someone to look at you and say, just trust God more. Like, thank you. That's what I felt like in that season that I was talking about. Like, just trust God more, Rhonda. Well, you know, wow, thanks. How did you come up with that? You know, it's trusting God more looks like something. When I don't know what to do with my circumstances and the environment that is around me on an average Tuesday afternoon, sending roots out looks like something.

It looks a lot like what Pastor John was talking about that we're gonna be discussing in the fall with the way. It looks like those spiritual rhythms that guide us looks like returning to prayer when it feels like God isn't even listening or coming back to Scripture before we open our phone and let other voices enter into our lives. It looks like showing up to community on a day like today when you really just felt like staying home in your pajamas. That's what it looks like. These rhythms and these practices and the way that we show up to our faith, they're not the water, but they are what connect us to the water. They work because Jesus is on the other end of them. And when we keep sending it out, when we keep building a root system, the deeper the anchorage goes until one day the storm comes and the heat comes and the drought comes and we look up and we realize, oh my goodness, I am not as fragile or as movable as I was afraid I was. All of that work has been happening as we send our roots to the source. So we do that. We also, we don't fear the heat. It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves are always green. Trees are remarkable and I am enjoying learning about them even though I obviously cannot keep them alive.

But one of the things that I learned is that trees can undergo heat stress. And that happens when the temperature gets so high that the cells of the tree are unable to absorb the energy and the oxygen that they need to bear fruit. They start to shut down at a cellular level. And the very thing the tree was made to do, grow and flourish and bear fruit, it gets interrupted by this relentless pressure of the heat. And I think a lot of us know what that's like. We experience our own heat stress. Heat, it comes for all of us. It comes in the form of a diagnosis we weren't expecting. Or in the form of a relationship that is drawing more from us than we feel like we are able to give. Or in a grief that just won't lift. Or even just in a dull weekday of our life when acedia is setting in. So this passage is not saying that this tree that trusts in the Lord that lives by the water never experiences heat. In fact, if we really listen closely, it's practically promising that heat will come. But look at the text carefully. Even though heat comes for this tree, the difference is what the heat finds when it arrives. When our roots have gone deep, when they've been consistently reaching towards the source. We don't have to fear those seasons.

It's not because the heat isn't real or because the drought isn't real, but because we have been drawing from something. Heat cannot touch and when the environment around us tells us that we should be dying We continue to flourish The tree keeps going and that promise is available to us. It's not immunity. It's not immunity from hard things It's not immunity from difficult seasons or drought seasons or difficult relationships all of those things But what it is saying is that when our rootedness goes deep when the heat comes and it will come We don't have to fear it We don't have to live in terror of what is coming We don't have to brace ourselves and white-knuckle it just hoping and praying that this season isn't the one that will take us out When we trust in the Lord we flourish in conditions that should kill us That's what Jeremiah is talking about And it's not just better self-discipline. This isn't a self-help strategy. This is a miracle That is available to us in the person of Jesus So we send our roots to the source. We don't fear the heat and we bear fruit in every season It says it has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. I Want you to notice something about that phrase it has no worries That word that Jeremiah is using there for worries is the same word that we use for anxiety and Not not just low-level concern not just oh, I'm a little concerned about that Am I gonna be a little late not that not that kind of concern But the anxiety that wakes us up at 3 a.m The kind that follows us into every room that we go in The kind of anxiety that if we will let it starts to cause us to feel hopeless that kind that kind of worrying but Jeremiah is saying here and A year with no rain in a year of drought We don't have any of that Not this tree not this life. Not this one. It continues to bear fruit That trees entire purpose is to bear fruit. That's what it's made for and The truth is when we observe a tree in our yard the first place that we see root damage

Actually is in the leaves or in the fruit Because we can't see underneath the surface and what is happening But the truth is everything that is under the surface in the invisible will always Become visible What's happening at the root will always find its way to the surface. So so that means that the fruit of our life The way we show up for our family the way we lean into our work and our vocation The way we serve when no one is watching the way we show up under pressure pressure that fruit is not produced by willpower as Much as we would like it to be It is produced by roots. It is the overflow of what we have been drawing from So when there's damage at the root level guess what all the people around you know Because the fruit of our life is what demonstrates it so this is what I need you to hear I Don't want to say it as clearly as I can Again, this passage isn't promising No heat and always rain in fact, it's acknowledging real life and That life happens drought comes But the question Jeremiah is asking is not whether the hard seasons will come But what he is asking is what will we be drawing from when they do? Because the roots have gone deep When they have found the stream when they've been reaching toward Jesus the living water We don't stop bearing fruit just because our circumstances Stop being desirable We bear fruit in the confusion we bear fruit in the middle of the drought we bear fruit in the in the reasonableness of the everyday in the dull days of life when Ascetia sets in and whispers to us that nothing that we're doing matters and that God cannot hear us That is when we bear fruit This passage is so similar to Psalm chapter 1 that says bless It's the one who does not walk and step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on this law

day and night. That person is like a tree, again, same imagery, planted by streams of water, which yields fruit and season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever they do prospers. Not just what they do perfectly, but whatever they do, that's abundant life. That is this life to the full that we're always talking about around here. That is bearing fruit in every season. That is a person who's done the deep work, who keeps drawing from the source, even when they feel like nothing isn't happening, right? When we trust in the Lord and stop trying to muscle our way through, we bear fruit. But we have a choice on what tree we're going to be. I have one more picture that I want to show you from my backyard. And I have this flower pot in my backyard that I didn't plant anything in this year because obviously I don't have a very good track record. But I was outside in my yard and I didn't plant, in fact, I haven't planted anything in it in two years, but about a month ago, a petunia flower started growing in it. And don't judge my pruning skills. I know that I need to do some work on it. But it started filling that whole pot. It's not a tree, but I think you get the point. And it's pretty beautiful. Here's the thing. I planted petunias in this pot two years ago. And I haven't planted anything since. I didn't do anything. I didn't plant it. I didn't even tend to it. I didn't even notice it until this petunia flower started growing. And honestly, this summer has been a tough one for me. And just because pastor's after my name doesn't mean I don't ever battle discouragement or doubt.

And I was in my yard having a real good chat with the Lord. You ever have one of those? I mean, a real good one. And I was watering my half-dead plants, and I was asking him, what about all that stuff we talked about before? There were some things in me that I just felt like he should be doing in and for me. And I wasn't seeing it, and I wasn't sure, and I was feeling discouraged, and I wanted to give up. Acedia had crept into my life. And I was watering my plants, and I looked down, and I saw this pot of flowers. And it was just like the Lord just whispered. I didn't know the roots were still there. But the rains that had come in DFW early in the summer, that flower from two years ago started drawing on something that I didn't produce. So I don't know what was planted in you two years ago, or five years ago, or last week. Maybe a word from the Lord, like a promise from him, or a dream like I was experiencing that maybe you've just started to kind of let go of a little bit. Maybe there's some things that you have written off as dead in your life. But the truth is, as you keep coming back to him over and over and over again, he is bringing the water. So let's not give up on what God has plans to renew. This is the God we're talking about today. The one who brings things to life. The one who sustains our life in a drought season. When all of the circumstances around us, and the news that we're getting, and the world that we're in tells us that it should be killing us. The God that we serve says, no. You are drawing from me, and you will bear fruit in every season. Would you close your eyes with me? I want you to just picture your life like a tree.

Let it come to your mind. And our campuses, our campus pastors are going to be joining on stage for this prayer. I want you to imagine your life like a tree. tree. What does it look like? What does it look like? This life? Is it suffering a lack of nourishment? Are the, is the fruit and the leaves withering a little bit? In your life, have you been striving a little bit on your own? Trying to do it in your own strength? If that's you today, just lift a hand to me. I'd love to pray with you. I know what that's like. Yeah. It's not too late. You can start to send roots out today. Maybe if you look at that tree of your life, maybe the stress of the environment is causing it to wither. And maybe you're living in some fear of what's to come. You can almost feel it in your body. You can feel your body bracing with the anxiety of what could be coming. If that's you, lift a hand to me too. Yeah. There's an answer to that fear and that worry. Maybe you look at your tree and it is overflowing with fruit. It, the, the branches are bent over with harvest because your life is one that keeps drawing from the source. My question for that tree is with whom are you sharing this abundant harvest? There's someone who's struggling and they need some of the fruit that you have to offer. So let's take this to the Lord. God, you see us. You see the lives that we're living. The, the ones that you've designed, the ones who have been leaning on you and those who have not, wherever we are, you are there too. So God, I pray for every person who feels like they're in a drought and nothing they can do on their own can beat the heat that is on them. God, I just pray that in your kindness and your goodness, as they reach toward you, you would reach toward them with that water that never stops with the life that never stops. So we surrender today. We surrender and we call on this promise in our lives. And we ask that you would continue to make us new. Show us people and places and spaces for us to share the abundance of the life that you provide. Amen. Now still with your heads bowed and eyes closed, there may be some of you that are hearing me today and you're saying, Rhonda, that sounds great. I am so tired of doing this on my own. And I would love for you to introduce me to Jesus. I need to know the one who is the source of life. And if that's you, would you raise a hand? I would love to pray with you and introduce you to him. All right. Just let's repeat this prayer after me so that no one is praying this prayer

alone. Lord Jesus, I am grateful that you gave everything for me. And I believe this message that you laid down your life so that I can live. So today I surrender all of it. All of my life, all of my striving. And I welcome you as Savior. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Pastor Rhonda, for an encouraging and challenging word. Amen. Give her another great big hand. She did awesome. If you're here today and you made that decision, and you said, today's the day I follow Jesus, I want to start that journey. We have we have something we'd love to put in your hand. This is a 21 day devotional called Journey with Jesus. It walks you through the process of the decision you just made, and gets you on a track of creating those practices, learning how to hear God's voice, learning how to follow after Jesus. These are available immediately following the gathering on the right, right. right over there where the bistro tables are. You'll be able to meet somebody who'll give, put one of these in your hands and let you know about a Journey with Jesus class that we do just to help you along. We're all in this together and we hope that you'll be a part of that. Also, after the gathering today, right over here to my right is going to be our prophetic team. So if you're in need of additional ministry and would like to be over there for that, they'll be available for you to pray. Will you stand with me today? We've had a wonderful Sunday. So glad that you guys joined us. As you leave today, there's a table in the lobby from our friends at Karras Bible College. Stop by there, see how they are equipping people to engage more with God, more intimately, and to impact their communities and their families for the cause of Christ.

They're available to talk with right outside in the lobby. God bless you. We're so glad you joined us today. We look forward to seeing you next time. And remember, in Christ we live life to the full. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.