The Root of Everything

This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. Welcome to All In with Pastor Jordan Easley. Today's message is about to begin, and we invite you to prepare your heart and mind to hear an inspiring message from God's Word. We hope and pray for God to speak to you today as you seek to live your life all in for Jesus Christ. And now from First Baptist Church in Cleveland, Tennessee, here's Pastor Jordan Easley. Anybody fired up to be here today? Say amen. Come on, you have your Bibles, we're gonna be in Colossians chapter one today. Can we pray together as we prepare our hearts for this time? Lord, we ask that you meet us in this place. We thank you for what you've already done, what you're doing and what you're going to do. And God, now I pray that you would prepare our hearts as we open your Word, as we anticipate hearing from you. God, get me out of the way, speak directly to our hearts today, and it's in Jesus' name that we pray. And all God's people said. Amen. Amen. You know, I heard a story this week about a massive storm that blew through Northern California not too long ago.

And this storm, it took out hundreds, if not thousands of trees, redwood trees, pine trees, all of them were leveled in this entire region, except for one. There was this one tree that stood among all the other ones, it was the tallest tree, and it was the only one that stood firm after the winds blew and after the storm came through. When the arborist investigated the scene, they discovered that the roots of that particular tree extended over 100 feet deep into the ground, and they locked into a solid rock beneath the surface. Get this, every other tree gave way, but not that tree. It persevered through the storm and it stood tall because it was rooted in the rock. I mean, when I read that story this week, you know what I thought? I thought, that's what I want for you. That's what I want for me. That's what I want for our church. Because storms are coming, say amen, right? Storms are coming, and only what's rooted on the rock will remain standing. Hey, today we're opening up God's word to Colossians chapter one. We're about to walk through this book together. And let me just say as we're kicking it off that this series isn't about looking religious. It's not gonna be about behavior modification

or behavior management. It's not gonna be about surface level growth. This series is gonna be to strengthen what lies beneath the surface of our lives. Strengthening the root system of who we are because here's the truth. If you aren't deeply rooted in Christ, you will collapse in a moment of crisis. You will collapse in a moment of crisis. Have you ever known someone that was at one point a good Christian, church-going, Jesus-loving person, but then one day something happened, and you looked up, and that same person is now running away from the Lord? Have you ever seen that person turn a hard right or a hard left, and now they're living in sin, and they're rejecting the Jesus they once claimed to know? Man, I've known a lot of people like that over the years. And some people ask the question, how does that sort of thing happen? And I believe that the reason that happens is because certain people experience Jesus on some level. Maybe we have a spiritual high moment, or maybe we have an emotional moment with the Lord at some point of our life. And there's a lot of people who experience Jesus to some degree, but they never get to a point in their life where they fully engage in following Jesus, fully engage in trusting Jesus, submitting to the Lordship and the leadership

of Christ in their life. See, when you see someone's spiritual foundation crumble and collapse, it's because that foundation was never truly anchored in Jesus Christ. And that, unfortunately, is something that we see happen far too often in the church today. In this world, in this culture, we see that most people value speed over depth. We value image over integrity and over intimacy with God. But the truth is, if you do that, this is gonna be true. Shallow roots create a fragile faith. And if you live your life with fragile root system, understand that you are one moment away from that all changing in your life. A fragile faith is not what God has called you to. Whether you've been walking with Jesus for five minutes or five decades, understand this today. Jesus has called you to go beyond having a shallow root system or a fragile faith. And over the next several weeks, that is the goal. We're going to dive deep and we're going to dive deep into the gospel and into your soul and into the soil of God's word because he isn't calling us to a surface level Christianity. He's calling us to be rooted in Him. And so today we're gonna open to Colossians chapter one with the intention of asking the question, what does that look like to be rooted in Christ? So here's where we're going today in Colossians chapter one. We're gonna ask ourselves the question,

number one, what is my life truly rooted in? Let's start there. If you were to answer that question honestly, how would you respond? What is your life currently rooted in? Is it your job? Is it your family? Is it your ministry? Is it your reputation? Is it your relationships? Is it your successes? Or could you honestly say that my root system, my foundation is the unshakable, unmatched, all sufficient name of Jesus Christ. Because if you're gonna build your life on Christ, here's what you've gotta do. You gotta know why. Don't say you build your life on Christ just because you were raised in church and you were told that Christ is the firm foundation. Ask yourself, why should I build my life on Christ? That's where we're going today. So join me in Colossians chapter one and we're gonna read this letter together. You know, this letter was written by Paul. It was written by the apostle Paul as he was in prison. Most likely he was in prison in Rome at the time. The Colossian church wasn't planted by Paul directly, it was planted by a guy that he led to the Lord, a guy named Epaphras, one of Paul's disciples.

So just imagine this scene. You've got Paul traveling around telling people about Jesus. He leads this guy to the Lord and then sends him back to his hometown, Colossae. And he says, we're gonna start a church and he does just that. But I want you to notice right away that Paul is writing this letter to that church. He's writing this letter with a sense of urgency. He didn't even know these believers. He had never met them face to face, but he's deeply concerned for them. And many people ask why. Well, history tells us that at one point, Epaphras went back to visit Paul while he was in prison. And as he visited Paul, he told Paul about the spiritual condition of this first century church. And what he would have said was, you know, this church was founded on the foundation of Christ. We came in preaching Jesus, but now when you look at the spiritual condition of this body, there are some things that have creeped into our fellowship that really have no business being there. And then he starts to list off what those things are. He said, we started off strong, but now you look around and man, we've got legalism in our church. We've got mysticism in our church.

People are worshiping angels. People are doing things to their body. People have all these manmade philosophies that have infiltrated who we are. And man, when you look at all the things that had infiltrated that church, you see all of them had one thing in common. They all made Jesus seem insufficient. So in that setting and within that culture, here's what Paul is gonna tell the church. Are you ready? He's gonna tell them, Jesus isn't just a way. Jesus is the way, right? He's not just enough. Jesus is everything, and there's a big difference. Paul's gonna say, he is your source. He is your lifeline. He is your purpose. He's the root system that holds you up and feeds you and keeps you grounded regarding your purpose. So once again, ask that question. What is my life truly rooted in? Is Jesus my purpose? Is he my foundation? And if he's not, why should he be? Today, Paul's gonna answer that question in Colossians chapter one. We're gonna see that beginning in verse 15. The first thing he tells us here is about Christ's position.

He's gonna show us, really, I believe, the grandest vision of Jesus in all of scripture. And he does that beginning in verse 15. He's gonna say, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things. And by him, all things hold together. So Paul begins right here by declaring that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. In the Greek, that word image is the word icon. Icon, and it means an exact imprint, or it means a perfect representation. So what that tells us is Jesus isn't like God. Jesus is God. He is God. It's the same thing we read in Hebrews chapter one, verse three. That verse says this. The sun is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his image. His being, the exact representation of His being. So He's not a reflection. No, the Bible says He's a revelation. And Paul goes on to say Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. Do you see that?

The firstborn. What does that word mean? Well, it doesn't tell us that Jesus was created. That word firstborn in the Greek literally means He is supreme in rank and authority. He holds the title deed of the universe. So Paul says all things are created by Him, all things are created through Him, and all things are created for Him. Don't miss this. He talks about the past, the present, and the future. He's the source, He's the sustainer, and He's the goal of all things. You say, Jordan, why is it so important that I know all these things about Jesus today? Listen, it's important because Jesus holds all things together so He can hold you together. This matters to you personally. You ever walk through a season where it seems like everything's falling apart? I'm looking around at some people who've lived some life. Have you ever looked up and you're like, man, is this seriously the season that I'm walking through right now? I mean, it just, everything seems to be going wrong. Hey, well, next time you're walking through one of those seasons, I want you to realize that the hands that keep the cosmos from unraveling

are the same hands that are holding you in your deepest, darkest seasons. That's what Paul just told this church. John 1 says, in the beginning was the Word, and through Him all things were made. You flip over to Psalm 33, six. It says, by the Word of the Lord, the heavens were made, for He spoke and it came to be. And yet, he connects it this way. He says, that God, that same God who holds all things together, the one who sustains creation by His power, the one who radiates the glory of God, the one who spoke the universe into being, the one that commands the heavens with His voice, that's the exact same God who wraps His arms around you when you're in those moments of desperation. So next time you're walking through this stuff, understand that the God of the universe holds you tight. He holds you when everything else feels unstable. He holds you when life doesn't make any sense. In verse 17, it goes on, He is before all things and by Him, check it out, all things hold together. So I might be talking to somebody today who's saying, man, I feel unstable right now. I feel unsure about a circumstance. I feel insecure about some things. Just remember this. You can look to the one who spoke Saturn into orbit and understand He understands your position.

He knows your situation, and He's not taken off guard. Listen, He is not overwhelmed by your situation. The Bible says He is over all creation. So Paul begins by writing this church, writing a letter saying, here is Christ's position. You need to know this about Jesus. The second thing we'll see is he talks about Christ's purpose. Christ's purpose, let's keep reading in verse 18. He is also the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross. In this part of the letter, you see Paul kind of shift gears a little bit. And he's moving here from talking about Christ as cosmic creator to now he's talking about Christ as covenant redeemer. He says, Jesus is the head of the body, the church. He's the head. I wanna make something abundantly clear today. You may be new to our church and you need to understand this. This church does not belong to you. This is not your church. This is Jesus's church. I just wanna make this abundantly clear that this church doesn't belong to a denomination or a pastor or a board of directors.

This church has one head and one chief shepherd and one cornerstone and His name is Jesus Christ. Amen? Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Verse 20 says that through Jesus, check this out, God reconciled everything to Himself. That word for reconciled, by the way, it means to restore that which was broken. So when you hear that Christ reconciled us, you have to ask the question, what was broken? We were broken. We were. Mankind was broken. And what broke us? Do you know? Sin. Sin broke us. So get this today, sin didn't just make us. Add, the Bible says sin made us dead. Ephesians chapter two, verse one says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins. You know what that tells us? It tells us that your greatest problem isn't that you were born bad. Your greatest problem is that you were born dead. And therefore, Jesus didn't come to make bad people better, he came to make dead people live, amen?

That's the gospel. You wanna know the gospel, that's it, in a nutshell. And just remember, why did Jesus come to the earth in the first place? Do you remember what it said in Luke 19? Jesus said, the son of man came to what? To seek and to save the lost. Now who was the lost? That's us. He's talking about us, that's the whole point of the cross. The cross wasn't exclusively intended to make you better, the cross was intended to make you belong. It wasn't just so that you could be forgiven, the cross was intended to adopt you into a family. And once again, how did that happen? Romans chapter five, verse 10 says, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his son. So personalize this today and get it. Jesus did that for you. Jesus died on the cross for you so that you could be reconciled to God once and for all. You know, for nearly 30 years, the Berlin Wall divided East and West Germany. And it didn't just separate geography, it split families and friends and freedoms. It was a wall of tension, a wall of fear, a wall of resistance. But on November the 9th, 1989, everything changed. That wall came down.

And when it came down, people rushed across, weeping and hugging and reuniting after decades and decades of separation. That was a historic day. But understand that what Jesus did on the cross was far greater. Because the wall that separated us from God, it wasn't built from concrete or stone. The wall that separated us from God was built from sin. And we couldn't tear that wall down no matter how hard we tried, but Jesus did just that. Ephesians chapter two, verse 13 says, but now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace who tore down the dividing wall of hostility. He tore it down. You know what that verse tells us? The blood of Jesus didn't just clean us up, the blood of Jesus brought us close. It brought us close. Jesus didn't just lower the wall, the Bible says he leveled the wall. And in leveling that wall, he reconciled us to the Father. Let me ask you, is that true for you? Have you applied the blood of Jesus to your life? Have you been reconciled to the Father? Are you walking in relationship with King Jesus today? And if you are and you would say yes, let me ask you a question.

If that's true of your life, then why in the world would you ever choose to live like a stranger in your own home? Why would you walk around with your head down as if you've been defeated, as if you're living in the victory that only comes through Jesus? Why would you live in the shadow of your past mistakes and your past failures? Why would you walk around with shame in your heart when God says you should have victory in your heart? Listen, the Bible just said, and if you believe this, you ought to walk like this. It says if Jesus reconciled you, that you are no longer at odds with God. You are no longer at odds with God. God doesn't love some future version of you, he loves you just the way you are right now. That is reconciliation for the child of the king. And that was Paul's message to the church. God was, he was saying that God loves you, God is with you, God is for you. And he doesn't love the future version of you, he loves you right now. So that's what he said, Christ's purpose. It says he reconciles the fallen. Let's go to the third section, and that's Christ's presence. Christ's presence, he's talking about this at the beginning of verse 24. Said, now I rejoice in my suffering for you,

and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for his body, that is the church. I have become its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you to make the word of God fully known. At this point, Paul has already painted a perfect picture of Jesus Christ, of who Christ is. He's talked about his supremacy, he's talked about his sufficiency. He's also talked about his reconciling power. And now in verse 24, he kind of shifts gears once again, and he goes from who Christ is So now he's talking about what Christ has called him to do. He said, now I rejoice in my sufferings for you. Did you see that? That's not a throwaway line. I want you to remember that Paul's in prison as he's writing this letter. And yet, even in this dark cell, even in this hot, miserable place, he's not bitter. He's rejoicing. Now, why is that? Why is he rejoicing in this moment? Well, it's because he believes his suffering is a part of his ministry to the church. Right here, he's saying, if my hardship helps you grow in Christ, then my hardship is worth it. You know, when I read that, I'm reminded that God uses our hardship in the lives of other people. I can tell you my personal walk with Jesus, I have been inspired and I have been motivated in my walk with Christ, watching other people walk through difficult things. Anybody else?

You ever watch a family or watch a person that's just battling something that's just tough, and their faith is strong, and they're believing in Jesus, and they're going for it, and you're like, man, your attitude and your life and the countenance of your spirit, like everything on you is exuding God in a moment where you could be turning from God. Those moments have a way of inspiring the people around you, and Paul's recognizing that right here. He's saying this in verse 25, he's saying to the church, God has given me a mission to live this out, and to what? To make the word of God fully known, fully known. In other words, he's telling them my calling is not to comfort, my calling is to help you get rooted in the truth of God. So this isn't just Paul writing theology, this is Paul living out a testimony with scars on his body and chains on his wrist, and what he's about to reveal in the next verse, it unpacks the mystery of it all, and really explains to us the heartbeat behind Christianity. It's not just that Christ is above us, or that Christ is for us, he's about to remind us that Christ is in us. And I want us to get this in verse 26, he said, the mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to his saints. God wanted to make known among the Gentiles, the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Listen, that mystery, he says has been hidden for generations, but has now been revealed. And here it is, you ready? I want to say it again. Christ is in you, the hope of glory. Man, I know to us, that just sounds like a cute phrase, like a Christian coffee cup kind of phrase, or the lyrics to like a Christian song, you're like waiting for Forrest Frank to write this song right now, right? But I just want you to know reading that in context, that was a phrase that would have absolutely shocked first century Jewish readers. That would have been one of those things, like you're reading this letter in the first

century, you would have been like, wait, what did that just say? I'm going to back that thing up and read it one more time, just to make sure it's saying what I think it's going to be saying. And the reason is up to this point in the timeline, this point in history, the presence of God had always been housed in sacred places. They had read the word, they knew the presence of God had been in burning bushes, the presence of God was in tabernacles and temples. But now Paul is telling Christ followers in this church, the presence of God is in you. It's in you, which is a completely new thought in that day. Galatians 2.20 goes on to say, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Romans 8.11 says the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives where? In you. This is known by the way, as the doctrine of union with Christ. The doctrine of union with Christ. It's a doctrine that says this, that if you are in Christ, when God looks at you, he no longer sees your sin and your shortcomings. He now instead sees the righteousness of his one and only son. How good is that? You say, when Jesus looks at me, he's not looking at all my sins. Not if you're in Christ. Why is that? Well, because the Bible says you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. When God looks at your heart and to your soul, he sees his one and only son instead of all of your sin. Isn't that good? Listen, several years ago, I was invited to a ministry conference in a beautiful part of Southern California. This is one of those events where a bunch of preachers and ministers get together and there's moments of training and moments of encouragement and moments of networking. And I don't do that very often, but this was one of those retreats where I was like, man,

this sounds like a good opportunity because there was also one day scheduled for golf at a really nice golf course. And so I decided that the Lord was leading me in that direction. And so I went to Southern California for a few days, but I wanted to make the most of the time. And a lot of times when I travel like that, I bring one of our staff guys so that I can just hang out with our staff, invest in them, and just get to know them in a little better way. And so on that particular trip, I invited our local missions pastor, Frank Walker. You guys know Frank? Shake your head if you're tracking with me. Well, Frank agreed to go. He was excited about going, but let me just say this. I messed up. I made a mistake because I didn't tell Frank about the golf until we got there. And so when I told him that we were playing a championship golf course in front of all these people, I mean, he just looked at me. He was very honest. He said, pastor, I got to be honest, I'm not good at golf and you need to know that going in. And when we showed up, it was pretty clear that he was out of his element a little bit. You know, you look around, all these guys are all wearing their very best golf clothes. And you look at Frank, he showed up, he's wearing his hat backwards and his shirt's untucked. And on his feet, he's wearing Vans. Vans instead of golf cleats. And I was like, oh no, he's going to embarrass our family. All right. And so, I mean, it's just, I'm going into this thing. Oh no, it's going to be, I know it's not going to surprise you, but you know, Frank, everybody

falls in love with Frank. So when you show up at this conference and he knows every single guy by the golf day. And so he's had personal conversations with every single person in the room. And I found out later that in every one of those conversations, he apologized in advance for his golf. And I was like, hey, I'm not a golfer. You need to know that. I know we just met, but I'm not good at this game. And I don't know what I'm doing. And you need to be prepared to show me some grace when we're playing golf. But let me just tell you what happened. We showed up on that day and walked up to the first tee box. We were the first group to go off. And so behind us are 20 to 25 other guys in our group that are also waiting to follow us on that day. And so he has a gallery of people watching him as he's about to take his first tee shot. And so he steps up to the tee box. And like I expected, I mean, even the practice swings, you're like, dude has never played golf in his life. I mean, it's just ugly altogether. But then he tees the ball up. He takes one more practice swing and then grips it and rips it. And he hit that ball smack dab in the middle. It goes 280 yards right in the middle of the fairway. And everybody's standing around saying, you've got to be kidding me. How did that happen? They're like, did he, was he messing with us? Is he actually a great golfer? Is he about to challenge us for money? Like what's happening with it?

Why is he so good? And I'll never forget. He looks at me in that moment. I look at him in that moment. And I asked him, I said, bro, what just happened? And this is how he responded. With his eyes real big, he said, pastor, you got to fake it till you make it. Now here's the rest of the story. He faked it on that first shot, but he got exposed on the next hundred shots. It was bad. But I'll never forget hearing those words. You got to fake it till you make it. May I tell you something today? There are a lot of people in our culture who are living their spiritual lives just like that. They show up at church, they dress the part, they say the right things, they post the right verses, they serve in the right spots. They smile at the right time. But on the inside, they're exhausted. And the reason they're exhausted is because they're relying on themselves. They're trying their very best to live the Christian life in their own strength. They're faking it, hoping that one day they'll eventually make it. But may I just share some good news with you today? Listen, if you're in Christ, you don't have to fake it. If you're truly in Christ, you don't have to fake it. You don't have to manufacture peace. You don't have to force spiritual strength. Why is that? Well, because Paul just said, if you are in Christ, you have an all-powerful power source within you.

It's not on the outside of you. He said it is within you. That's what verse 27 means. It says, you have Christ in you, the hope of glory. In other words, when Jesus moves into your life, He doesn't just bring forgiveness. He also brings His power, He brings His presence, and He brings you a brand new purpose. You're not faking it until you make it. You're living from a new source because the Bible says Christ lives in you. You anybody grateful for that today? Listen Paul says this is Christ position. This is Christ purpose This is Christ presence. He lives in us and lastly he talks about Christ's people Christ's people and if you're one of Christ's people he's talking to you today Christ's people verse 28 says this we proclaim him I Pause there for a purpose. I want you to think about what he's saying to us today. We Proclaim him warning and teaching Everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone mature in Christ Paul said I labor for this striving with his strength that works powerfully in me He said yes, I know Jesus. Yes. He is in me. Yes He's given me his power and his presence but he's also given me a purpose and our purpose as followers of Jesus Christ as to what is to proclaim Jesus to Everyone to proclaim him you you can sense Paul's passion in these words. He's not just casually Tossing out some spiritual ideas. He's not interested in inspiring people for just a moment Paul says I don't want to just preach a message I'm pouring my life out for a mission and those are two completely different things You see this wasn't a job for Paul. This wasn't just for a stage or a spotlight. This wasn't for just a moment Paul is saying Paul is saying listen. I want you to understand. This is what my life is for This is my calling and he carried it out with urgency Because he believed Jesus isn't just worthy to be known. Jesus is worthy to be proclaimed

When you think about it, that's the sin the center of the Christian message The center of the Christian message is this Jesus didn't just save you so that you can live a better life He saved you so you could share him with the people in your life That's what it means to proclaim Jesus that you should share him with the people that God has placed you around You know in Colossians 2 to Paul goes on to say this. I want their hearts to be encouraged and Joined together in love so that they may have the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery Christ in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge As I was reading that this week. I just wrote this down in my notes. I said if Christ is alive in you The world should see him through you. Hey personalize that this week if Christ is alive in you Is he if he is? The Bible says the world should see him through you why because you got the presence of God You've got the power of God. You've been given a purpose by God to what to proclaim him So that more people could know him so that we could walk in maturity Pursuing him and guess what if you're in Christ, no one here is off the hook That tells us if you're a parent your job is to proclaim Jesus to your kids If you're if you're a student your job is to proclaim Jesus to your classmates If you're an employer your job is to proclaim Jesus to your employees Guess what? That's all of us that know Christ St. Francis of Assisi once put it this way. He said preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words, right? if necessary But if you didn't even say any words the world ought to know that Jesus has changed your life. I Mean that's what it means in every area of your life. We should be proclaiming Jesus Our life should be a platform of proclaiming the magnificent story of the one who miraculously changed our life So let me ask you a question today a personal question Can people tell by your fruit? That Jesus is your root. I Want you to think about this? Can people around you tell by your fruit that Jesus is your root

Because the Bible says that's your job that is your job as a follower of Jesus Christ Maybe that's a frustrating question for you today because you say man I'm just at the beginning of my journey with Jesus and I haven't gotten everything figured out Or maybe you're in a season where you're not necessarily walking with the Lord in it and it bothers you that you don't see that Spiritual fruit that you once saw or that you could potentially see Hey, I don't want you to be frustrated by this question today I'm not asking if you're a perfect person that never slips up or makes mistakes the question I want you to consider is this am I pointing my life at a perfect God and Doing my very best to be filled with his presence Fulfilling my purpose while I'm here on the earth Am I doing what God has called me to to do as I'm being the person that God wants me to be. You know, I read about a species of bamboo in China. It's called the mosso bamboo. And this specific species is interesting because you water the seed that you planted, you water it, you fertilize it, you take care of it, and for years you don't see any evidence of growth. In fact, as I was reading the story, it says for five years, nothing even comes up out of the surface. For five years, it appears as nothing is happening. But then check this out. In the fifth year, there's a moment in this plant's life where it grows up to 90 feet in six weeks. For five years, you've got nothing. And then in six weeks, it crawls up a nine-story building. 90 feet. I was like, no way. And as I read that story,

I started connecting it to a lot of us. And I was like, you know what? That sounds like a lot of our stories when you think about it. I mean, this was a plant that a lot of people would have said is probably dead, maybe not even existent for five years. And the reason that happened was because for five years, it was building this vast and strong root system that was being established deep underground to prepare for this incredible, explosive moment of growth in its life. Think about that. Now, I can't help but think, maybe that's what God is doing in some of your lives today. Maybe you're frustrated or you're bummed out because you can't see the growth of your spiritual life right now. You can't see the evidence that pursuing Jesus is really worth it. Listen, don't be frustrated if that's you. In fact, I'd say this. Instead of measuring your fruit, just trust Jesus as your root. Don't measure your fruit. Trust Jesus as your root. You may feel unseen or unused or even unfruitful, but the Bible says if you are rooted in Christ, you are being prepared for something far beyond you can imagine. Listen, what are your roots today?

See, we can plant our life in the rock that never shakes. We can be rooted in the only one who reigns, the only one who reconciles, the only one who can reside in you and wants to be proclaimed through you. We can choose Jesus, or we can be rooted in things that are gonna wither away. But let me just tell you one last time. Jesus is the root of everything. He is the root of everything. And if he is your root, the Bible says, your life will bear fruit. So let me ask you a question. Is he your root today? And if he is your root, are you bearing fruit? Can you see the evidence in your life, or are you still in a process of trusting Jesus to build you up and to grow you up so that you can be used tomorrow? Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Listen, if you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, we don't want you to leave this place without having an opportunity to choose Jesus and say, I wanna build my life on the foundation of Christ. I want Jesus to make a difference in my life. I wanna be a child of God. And if that's you right now, and you're saying, man, Jordan, you're talking to me, would you just pray this prayer?

Say, Lord, I wanna be saved. I want to know you, and I want you to know me. So in the best way I know how, Jesus, I'm asking you to step out of heaven and to step into my heart and to change me from the inside out. I turn my back on my sin, and I turn to you as my hope for salvation and everything. So Lord, I wanna thank you right now for not giving up on me, but for saving me. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. The older I get, the more I realize how quickly time flies. It feels like we just started the year, and now we're approaching the end of 2025. As we prepare to close out the year, I wanna express my heartfelt gratitude for your generosity and also for your prayers. This has been an incredible year for the All In Ministries family. We've expanded our reach around the world, we've completed our second water well project in Africa, and we've just led a powerful fall prayer emphasis. But I believe we're just getting started. You know, God called me to start this ministry with the desire to help both believers and unbelievers fully understand and apply God's word to their lives. The Lord has opened so many doors during the early phase of launching this broadcast, and we are continually amazed by his kindness and favor. You may not realize this,

but All In is a 100% donor-funded ministry, relying on people like you. you to support us financially. Your contribution enables us to continue producing our weekly broadcast and also helps fund mission projects that right now are having a gospel impact around the world. Will you help us in continuing this important work with a generous year-end gift? Hey, I'd be honored to partner with you in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Hey, giving to all in is easy. You can donate safely and securely online or you can mail a check to our ministry offices today. The instructions are now on your screen to assist you in helping make your gift. Thank you in advance for helping us close out this year in a good financial standing. It takes significant funding to keep all in ministries moving forward, but we give all the glory to God for his generosity in connecting people like you to this ministry. Before I go, let me wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. I pray this season is filled with joy and happiness for you and all those you love. I look forward to meeting with you once again on this station next week. Until then, know that I'm praying for you and thanking God for how he's using you. Have a great week.

Hey, we never wanna end our broadcast without giving you the opportunity to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. If you'd like to make the decision to trust Jesus and wanna know more about what it looks like to follow Jesus, get in touch with me right now. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the screen so that we can pray for you and also put information in your hands right away. Today, we celebrate your decision and look forward to being a part of your personal journey of going all in with Jesus Christ. This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. We hope today's message encourages you as you strive to live your life fully committed to Jesus Christ.