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connection and when I decide with the
right attitude what I’m going through is
not going to take me down it’s going to
take me up I’m not just going to grow
roots of rejection and roots of of a
fence and roots that make me hate God
and bitter against God a root of
bitterness I’m not gonna be bitter
against people but I’m gonna bear fruit
of it he says I’ll do exceedingly
abundantly above all that you could ask
or think according to the power that
works in you
there is something that makes a plant
grow I’m not a botanist but if you look
it up there’s something in every plant
life whether it’s a tree a flower a bush
it has something called meristem the
meristem or the meristem line the mare
and stem line on every living tree or
plant is at the base of that tree where
it goes into the ground and it receives
the nutrients divides parts of those
nutrients and causes part of the tree to
grow up and it says to other nutrients I
don’t know how it does it but it says
you’ll go down and if you if you look
well enough you can see it sometimes it
looks like a knot sometimes it’s a
different color in the tree if you were
to cut the tree down and look at the
bark you would see this different
colored line that goes through it it’s
where a decision is made the particular
spot in the plant where the plant takes
what it’s given and determines that I’m
going to use this that I’m being given
to cause this to go down or go up to
cause you to go high or go low but the
decision is made at the mirror stem line
what’s interesting about it is is
similar to cells in our body the body
basically makes decisions from the sails
and the nutrients that are that it’s
receiving from from its mother the
nutrients coming to the infant’s body a
decision is made you would make a good
heart sail and at the stem cell line for
the body you would make a good eye sail
you would make a good ear sail and they
said that the cells that don’t get
identified can become dangerous sails
and actually can unidentified sails can
sometimes multiply into bands sales now
it’s what’s coming in and that can cause
can
sir if it’s not sent and put in the
right place so what I want you to
understand is simply this
it’s how the body handles what it’s
given it’s how the plant handles what
it’s given that determines if it’s good
or if it’s bad there is a decision that
is made it doesn’t have a lot to say
about what nutrients is given but it
decides you would make you would do good
I’m gonna let you take me up I’m gonna
let you go down I’m gonna let you take
me high I’m gonna let you take me low
and the tree makes that decision at the
mirror stem line the body makes that
decision at the stem cell line and it’s
an amazing thing and when you think
about it 2nd Corinthians 2 and verse 16
said that the gospel that is preached is
a savor of life under some and a savour
of death unto others in other words some
people can hear the gospel and take in
life and their family is blessed and
they grow and they get strong in the
Lord and their people under the sound of
my voice this morning who will hear the
same gospel and it does nothing for them
it’s possible that there are people who
are going through hard circumstances
right now and I’ve seen this I pastored
a long time and I’ve watched people go
through similar circumstances whether
it’s bereavement of the loss of a child
or husband or a wife or cancer diagnosis
or some tragedy that happens they go
through hard circumstances and what is
amazing is that some people get bitter
from it and some people get better from
it but it’s all according to what they
do with what they take in you can’t
choose everything life will give you but
what I’m saying to you is simply this is
not what happens to me it’s what happens
in me that makes the difference you’re
going to do something with the trials
you’re going through and they can either
take you up or they can take you down
they can either cause you to bear fruit
upward as Isaiah said or they can call
you two have roots that go downward and
Hebrews 12 talks about the root of
bitterness and there’s a lot of people
when something happens in their life
instead of letting it take them upward
and bear fruit and letting that even
though you wouldn’t choose that trial
you wouldn’t ask for that trial since
that’s what life is giving you and God
is allowing you have to make a decision
at the spiritual meristem line of your
soul I’m either gonna let this take me
up or take me down it’s either gonna
make me better or it’s going to make me
bitter and I make the choice not God I
do problems are going to come it’s what
your attitude is what are you going to
do with what life gives you a lot of
people go to church but that doesn’t
mean you’re going to get anything out of
it
what are you gonna do with what life
gives you what are you going to where
are you going to send it are you gonna
let it make you better or are you gonna
let it make you worse you’ll have 10,000
chances to get bitter in life somebody
will hurt you something will happen some
disappointment would take place some
injustice something will happen in your
life and you either at that moment at
the spiritual meristem line of your soul
you make a decision I am NOT going to
let this grow a root of bitterness and
Hebrews said by the way that out of that
root of bitterness you defile many it
doesn’t just affect you when you get
bitter not just at people but at God
when something happens a car wreck or
some tragedy and someone is taking or
some bad it’s easy to let a root of
bitterness and it can take you down or
that same I’ve seen the site I’ve seen
people go through almost the exact same
thing and instead of taking them down
into roots of bitterness they bear fruit
upward they grow more they go deeper in
God are you gonna are you gonna let it
become a bad cancer cell to your soul or
you can take that same circumstance and
say you’d make a mighty good heart cell
and you decide if it becomes a good
heart cell or
if it becomes a spiritual cancer sale to
your soul you decide I’m saying to you
today that God said to the tribe of
Judah the Assyrians are coming and you
are going to see them decimate my people
in this nation he said but there’s going
to be a remnant and out of that remnant
in Isaiah 34 out of that remnant will
come fruit that will take you upward and
roots that will take you downward there
is a place in a in our soul a spiritual
meristem line that whatever is going on
you can use it to cause you to grow
bitter or you can produce the fruits of
the spirit Galatians 5:22 he said fruit
that grows upward that bears fruit
upward Galatians 5:22 what fruit is that
the fruit of the Spirit is love joy
peace kindness gentleness goodness
faithfulness self-control God says if
you will allow the trials if you will
allow what life gives you I will not let
you just go through it and gain nothing
from it but out of it will come if you
let it it’ll take you up and instead of
getting bitter and hateful and cynical
and offended you can let it take you up
and produce love the fruits of the
spirit joy peace kindness I shouldn’t
bless you because you said something
that hurt me but I’m not gonna let it
take me down I’m gonna let it take me up
and I’m going to produce the fruits of
the spirit there’s a place in God where
we’re supposed to do that what you see
above the ground is what we love but
what happens underneath the ground is
what determines what happens above the
ground if your root system is going down
it’s a matter of time before your fruit
system starts bearing fruit up
you know that it takes 1,000 hours of
cold weather for a peach tree to bear
fruit and the reason that we have peach
trees in Georgia but they don’t have
them in a lot of other places is because
there’s too much sunshine and warm days
in order to produce the fruit of peach
you have to have at least 1,000 hours of
cold weather are you still interested in
bearing fruit then the Holy Spirit comes
along and says then they’re gonna have
to be some cold days it’s not enough
just to come to church and have blessing
blessing blessing blessing but God will
allow into your life cold days too but
it’s out of the cold days that we bear
fruit upward you know what this is
um this is not plastic this is a real
tree did you know you can take any tree
and you can turn it into a bonsai tree
you can take it this could be an oak
tree this could be a pine tree all you
have to do what they do is they let it
let they let it be birth it starts
growing at the mirror’s film line
there’s their sales that are being sent
nutrients that are being sent up
nutrients that are being sent down and
it’s growing in two ways but what they
do is at a certain point they take it
out of the out of the box and they take
a some shears and they take it and they
cut the roots and then they put it back
in the box and they keep trimming those
roots for a while until it just goes so
high and it doesn’t grow anymore the
bonsai tree is important because it
doesn’t die it’s not that you’re not
saved it just never grows it never gets
bigger it just stays tiny and dwarfed
because Satan just comes along and trims
those roots and keeps you where you are
and you never grow you never get into
your own walk with God in all yours
don’t go to heaven but man you sure
aren’t fulfilling the purpose you were
not God didn’t give you life to be a
bonsai tree Psalms ninety-two said they
that they that are planted in the house
of the Lord will flourish in the courts
of our God and they’ll be like one of
the Cedars of Lebanon this could speak
of your relationship with God you got
born again I’m so glad you did but this
is not the end of your Christian walk
Jesus didn’t bleed and die so that so
that you could just be saved and never
produce fruit and never have roots of
prayer and roots
it’s the unseen part of our life that
produces the outward fruit of our life
do you have a prayer life do you have a
word life do you have something in you
that’s going when we’re not together
that’s not seen the secret to a tall
tree is the unseen roots and he said
Judah you’re gonna go through something
and one when life gives you trouble and
life gives you trials you can either let
it drive you down or you can let it take
you up and bear fruit but it’s not God’s
decision it’s yours I wish you wouldn’t
have got the report I wish you wouldn’t
it wouldn’t have happened to your family
but what are you gonna do with it since
that’s part of life is you have to say
I’m not going to grow roots to
bitterness but out of this God’s gonna
make me more like Jesus cause Jesus
isn’t the the epitome of the fruits of
the spirit when they beat him when they
attacked him he just turns around and
Father forgive them they know not what
they do the devil’s got a lot of shears
he’s got a lot of scissors and he’ll
stop you from growing and bearing fruit
upward if he can cut you off from your
roots
whatever life sends you listen to me now
when it arrives at your spiritual Marist
land somewhere deep inside of your soul
when something happens that you weren’t
planning on you have to make a decision
this is not taking me down I’ll let I’ll
go through it God allowed it and I’ll
let the Holy Spirit take it and produce
in me through the cold days fruit that I
can’t get any other way let it develop
you bear fruit becomes stronger don’t
get offended what I’m saying to you is
it’s all in how you respond there are
two marks of a great person always two
marks of a great person number one they
give their givers I’ve never met a
person who is great who is not a giver
they’re just they’re just a giver you
they just give love they just killed
kindness they just give resource they’re
a giver if you want to be great there’s
two marks of a great person they give
and they forgive the only way you’ll
reach greatness in the kingdom is if you
give and you give and you give not just
to the people who do you good but even
to your enemies even to those that you
could crush you give and you forgive
that’s the marks of greatness
it’s my attitude
it’s my attitude not my achievements
that give me happiness
it’s my attitude I can take the same Sun
that melts butter hardens clay and I can
either get Harden or I can get soft and
tender bear fruit love joy peace
kindness gentleness patience
long-suffering or I can get offended and
mean and angry and mad and go around
like a victim all the time and it’s the
same thing to people going through the
same thing and one gets better and one
gets better and it all happens at that
spiritual meristem line where somebody
says I didn’t ask for this but I like
what I like what Paul said he said but
these light afflictions are but for a
moment they work in us an exceeding far
great and eternal weight of glory let me
finish this message but listen Ephesians
chapter 3 verse 17 that Christ may dwell
in your hearts through faith listen that
you being rooted and grounded in love
may be able to comprehend with all the
saints what is the width and the length
and the depth there’s you there’s your
roots downward and the high there’s your
fruit upward of all the fullness of God
what the love of Christ is and to that
person verse 20 says now unto him who is
able to do exceedingly abundantly above
all we could ask or think according to
the power that works where you mean
God’s exceeding power is waiting on the
decision that I make it my spiritual
meristem line and when I decide with the
right attitude what I’m going for
who is not going to take me down it’s
going to take me up I’m not just going
to grow roots of rejection and roots of
of a fence and roots of you know just
just upset and root stuff that make me
hate God and bitter against God a root
of bitterness I’m not going to be bitter
against people but I’m going to bear
fruit upward he says I’ll do exceedingly
abundantly above all that you could ask
or think according to the power that
works in you what you’re going through
right now will either take you up or
take you down the trial your marriage is
going through right now it can take your
marriage down or it can take it up and
God’s Word to you today is you’re not
going to grow if you allow the enemy to
do what he wants to do through your
trials but when you submit to God and
say Lord I’m yours he said you will grow
roots downward it’s like the tree
planted by the rivers of water it will
not be new and you’ll bear fruit upward
and I thought about the family tree
what’s your family tree of faith like
the enemy wants you to be saved and none
of your children to be connected to your
salvation but when you allow it Jesus
will take your roots downward and your
fruit upward and when he does it will
not just affect one generation but it
will affect your children and your
children’s children and your children’s
children hallelujah
how many of you believe that I want you
right now before we do anything else to
lift up both hands toward heaven and I
want you to say Lord the stuff that’s
coming at me I’m going to make a
decision I’m going to have this attitude
that is not going to take me down I’m
going to bear fruit upward it’s going to
cause me to go higher if I’ve got deep
roots it’s only because I’m going higher
in fruit in Jesus name there is no doubt
in my mind that I’m talking to people
right now that you never dreamed you
would be where you are going through
what you’re going through and this is a
word in season for your life it doesn’t
have to take you into bitterness anger
but the same situation that causes one
to go one direction down can cause the
same person or another person to go
straight up and bear fruit I’m saying to
you that Romans 8 said all things work
together for the good to them that are
called according to his purpose has to
pray for me I would like to receive
Jesus Christ as my savior I want to
embarrass you I’m gonna pray for you but
he never comes where he’s not invited
pray for me pastor I want to see your
hand if that’s you here in this room up
in the balcony in the overflow raise it
high pastor I want to receive Jesus as
my savior I want to be forgiven I want
to be cleansed that’s awesome I see
those precious hands every one of you
that raised your hand slip right out of
your seat don’t talk yourself out of it
you can bring a friend if you want but
get out of your seat and come stand
I’m gonna pray a prayer with you no one
moving come on they’re coming clap your
hands chains are breaking prison doors
are opening
victory is being declared over people’s
lives you don’t have to live in that
addiction you don’t have to leave in the
past you don’t have to see your life
decimated by the enemy there’s a remnant
that will grow roots down and bear fruit
up anyone else wonderful wonderful
wonderful wonderful everybody let’s pray
this prayer together are you ready those
of you come forward to say these words
Lord Jesus I surrender my life to you
I believe when you died on the cross
your blood was precious blood it
cleanses me from all sin I receive that
forgiveness I don’t earn it I don’t
deserve it I just receive it and that’s
your gift to me I am forgiven I am loved
I am chosen and I will grow upward and
bear fruit people will see Jesus on the
outside because I’ve got roots that are
unseen on the inside thank you Lord that
you give me life and you give me
forgiveness from this day forward I
belong to you let’s give Jesus the
biggest cheer of the morning
Oh hallelujah to God be the glory
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Franklin
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