Story Time:
21 years ago yesterday everything changed for the Alberti’s. My dad passed away suddenly. I remember the ambulance lights coming in through my bedroom window and them taking him away. And as they took him to the hospital to try and save his life I remember laying in bed crying out “God save my daddy, please save my daddy.”
And in that moment I felt the embrace of Jesus covering me like a hug simply saying “Ive got you.”

This moment has been a defining moment for me throughout all of my years because no matter what the enemy trys to distract me with I have this tangible and vivid moment to rely on.

Its this moment that led me down a path to change the trajectory of my family and legacy. In that moment I became planted in God and no matter what the enemy throws at me I am rooted in him because I trust that He will settle everything.

What does it mean to be rooted in God?

Jeremiah 17:7-8
“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 we know that being rooted means that we trust in the Lord and our confidence is in Him.

To be rooted we need to Trust and have confidence.

What is trust?
assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.
Are you in a place where you have reliance on the character of God? Do you know his ability? Strength? Or His truth?

In order to have confidence you have to trust in God’s truth.

So what is His truth? That Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one gets to the father except through Him.

Trust and Confidence is built upon the understanding you have of Him.

If our understanding is limited so will our trust. God is trying to get us to a place where we understand.

Lets look at the parable of the sower:

Matthew 13:3-9
3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears,[a] let him hear.”

Explanation from Jesus:
Mark 6:14-20
14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.[a] 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

So how can we make sure that we are rooted in God?

Repentance
This is the turning away from something. Remember you can apologize to God and you can repent to God but they are not the same. Apologizing says Im sorry I did and I am gonna try not to do it again. Repentance is God, forgive me and help me to have the strength to continue to walk away from this no matter how great the temptation.

To make sure that the seeds of God get planted you have to accept Christ to uncover the soil. We must allow the goodness of God to draw us to a place of understanding that we need Him and only Him.

We must accept the vulnerability of the cross. In order to accept the authenticity of Christs sacrifice we must be painfully vulnerable in our repentance. It’s not lord I am struggling with lust, instead God forgive me for finding peace and comfort in porn. God I’m struggling with love of money, god forgive me because my money brings me the comfort and desires that only you can fulfill.

If there are seeds that are being sown that are immediately swept up then we have to ask are there things in my life keeping me from understanding the words of God?

Take an inventory of when you are desperate, do you reach for God or another source? What ever that other source is put it in its proper place and watch God move.

Dig In
The seed that bears fruit but it withers away because it has no root. How many of us have had an experience where we felt like everything changed and the a few hours, days or weeks later we were right back where we were. That means that what God didn’t take root. And that could be for a variety of reasons. But the two I want to focus on are 1. Not watering yourself. Romans says its “through the washing and watering of the word that our minds are renewed.” Wash and water. 2. Not being developed. Don’t be afraid to talk with someone that knows more so they can help you understand. You will grow deep roots.

Deliverance
Now this can be a real churchy word, but remember as Jason said a few weeks ago there are some old bones we need to get to. Deliverance is one of them.

Jesus says that its the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things enter in and choke out the word.

So its not that you don’t have roots but the weeds we have either allowed in or that were passed down to us through generational curses we are now battling. And remember it is not against flesh and blood we fight against but powers and principalities. If that is the cause then there are some things that con only be done through much prayer and fasting.

We need To let God come in as the King of Kings and rule and show his power against the enemy.

We have been told that we just need to starve the flesh. Well I want to challenge you that rather than starving the flesh saturate your spirit with God. Every hour praise him, every hour seek him, every hour rely on Him. God is moving His people to a place of unashamed obedience.

So today I would like our prayer team to come up. Because if you need to repent let's do it, if you need to dig in let's do it, if you need deliverance let's do it.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?