14 – For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15 – from Whom every family in Heaven and on earth derives its name.
16 – I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
17 – so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 – may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 – and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 – Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
21 – to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
No doubt because of all our talk about ROOTS in this year’s vision—I’ve been thinking a lot about a particular tree and ITS roots—specifically, the Sequoia Tree. I’ve never seen one up close—but the more I learn about these massive trees—the more I want to! Here’s some of the interesting facts I have gathered.
- The largest Sequoia is referred to as “The General Sherman Tree.”
It’s in the Sequoia National Park in California and is 52,200 cubic feet in volume—which makes it the LARGEST TREE ON EARTH.
- The General Sherman is 275 feet tall but Sequoias have been known to grow as tall as 310 feet. To give you some perspective that’s 45 Shaquille O’Neill’s.
- The trunk diameter of a Sequoia can be 40 feet or more. That’s about twice the width of my house!
- These trees can WEIGH nearly 2 million pounds. That’s a LOT of wood!
- But in my mind, the coolest thing about these giant conifers is their LIFE-SPAN. Sequoias have been known to live over 3,200 years.
Think of it. That means a Sequoia that old now—was just a sapling when the Greeks attacked Troy!
Well, the more I studied these massive trees—the more I noticed PRINCIPLES that apply to a church like Redland—principles that are found throughout God’s Word—including today’s text. And this morning as we gather to celebrate our church’s history and growth I want to use those principles to answer this question: “What is it that enables a church to grow and remain healthy and vibrant? More specifically—how can a church like ours CONTINUE to grow—50 years after it was planted?”
These Biblical lessons—reflected even in something like the biggest tree God ever made—are important for us as we seek to grow as individual believers and as a church in coming decades.
So—what can we learn from God’s Sequoia? Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up.
(1) First we can learn from its ROOTS.
I point this out because one of the most amazing things about a Sequoia is the fact that it is very resistant to things that other trees are not. For example, bugs and pests can’t really damage it. Fire is not that big of a deal to these giants of the forest. No—the only thing that could cause a Sequoia fear—if it could FEEL fear—is FALLING DOWN. And this can easily happen to a SOLITARY tree if there is ice and snow build up on its upper branches. I mean, something that tall is very top heavy so it’s fairly easy for it to topple when weight is added to the top—unless it had a deep root system—which the sequoia doesn’t. No—the roots of these massive trees only go six to twelve feet into the ground—about the same depth of a typical MUCH SHORTER tree. To anchor a tree that is 310 feet tall and weighs two million pounds—to make it stable enough not to fall with snow and ice on its branches—roots would have to grow much, much deeper. And as I said, Sequoia roots don’t. This is why these massive trees don’t typically grow ALONE. No, they tend to grow in GROVES—and the roots of each of these giants INTERTWINE with other Sequoia roots. By wrapping TOGETHER over a wide area—as much as 35,000 acres—this “vast root fellowship” helps each tree withstand high winds and heavy snows. The trees literally hold each other up.
a. This illustrates what I’m calling a church’s “root” of FELLOWSHIP.
Paul refers to this in verse 18 when he talks about “the power we have TOGETHER with all the Lord’s holy people.” The point I’m making is that to thrive and grow—to withstand the negative pressures of this fallen world—a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to us and our message—we need the strength and encouragement of each other. Christian fellowship is VITALLY important. We need each other to stand—we need each other to grow. A couple weeks ago I heard about Body of Christ Presbyterian High School in Nashville. A man named Ben Ellis has been teaching Bible and Latin to students there since 2008. A few months ago Mr. Ellis was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and after doctors recently told him his prognosis is not good the students of his school did something very special. They piled into buses—rode to Ben’s house, stood in the yard below his bedroom window and serenaded him with praise songs. They obeyed Ephesians 5:19 where is says, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” This story was featured on Good Morning America a couple weeks back. Watch this clip:
https://gma.yahoo.com/400-students-gather-outside-cancer-stricken-teacher-home-185904212–abc-news-house-and-home.html
The “root of fellowship” Ben Ellis enjoys with his Christian students and fellow teachers—helped him stand—literally. As he said, it made him feel like he wasn’t alone. Let’s have a show of hands. How many of you have experienced that kind of fellowship here at Redland over the years? You faced a crisis—it could have been a health issue—or the death of a family member—or a job loss—or pressure at work or school to embrace behavior or beliefs that are not in line with Scripture. And the FELLOWSHIP you had here helped you to stand. How many of you are thankful for the ROOT OF FELLOWSHIP—the “power we have TOGETHER with all the Lord’s people?” How many of you praise God for other Redlanders who helped you to mature spiritually—people who—through their friendship—taught you things that have helped you grow closer to Jesus?
Well—the irony of this root lesson is the fact that we aren’t the only ones who benefit from our fellowship. This fallen and falling world around us—the people with whom we are commissioned to share the Gospel—they are blessed by our “root” of fellowship.
They are drawn to the LIGHT of our love for God and for each other. This is why Ben Ellis’ story made GMA. It’s why tears were flowing on that secular set. I mean, even though people are often critical of Christians—they are drawn to the Christlike fellowship we enjoy. That’s the POWER of this “root.” It doesn’t just help us grow as individuals—it grows our church as well because it draws others to Jesus.
This week I read about a 1957 graduate student at Columbia University named Gordon Gould who first speculated on the power of a CONCENTRATED beam of light. He even NAMED this yet-to-be-invented device. He called it a LASER—his acronym for Light Amplification, by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Well, nearly sixty years later, we are still seeing the impact of this remarkable tool in healthcare—in communications—and in industry. Recently, Lockheed Martin boasted about their new laser, a ground-based prototype system that burned through an entire car engine in seconds. From a mile away. The company called his laser system the most “efficient and lethal” version on the planet. I think phasers like we saw on STAR TREK will soon be a reality! Well, from a spiritual perspective the laser represents the ultimate expression of the impact we can have TOGETHER in a world in need of light. The laser beam made up of concentrated LIGHT shows the stunning power of concentrated unity—the power we can have TOGETHER as bearers of the light of God. This is one of the things Jesus was referring to when He said, “Let your LIGHT SO SHINE that people will see your good works—your wonderful unity and fellowship—and praise Your Heavenly Father.” Let me put it this way—our world is going to fall more and more into sin—it’s going to get darker and darker in that sense—so it’s more important than ever for us to stand together and shine the light of our fellowship. That “root” of fellowship draws lost people to Jesus!
I love to hear stories like I’ve heard this weekend of the SWEET, SWEET, SPIRIT Redland has enjoyed—ways various Redland members over the years stood together in a tough time. Well—for us to continue to grow—that ROOT has to continue to be nourished.
Let me just give a word of warning. As I’m sure you know, over the past 50 years our culture has become increasingly hostile toward Christians and churches. There is a growing “us them” mentality in our culture. Well, the temptation is for Christians to feed this mentality by becoming just as hostile toward non-Christians as they are toward of us. I mean, so often believers fight back. I see this in FACEBOOK posts all the time and when I do—I wince because I know whenever we fight back and forth over temporary things—like presidential elections—our adversary rejoices. Not only do we LOSE opportunities to build relationships with people who are not the enemy—but VICTIMS of the enemy—but we weaken our unity as a diverse group of believers. This week at the Derwood Clergy meeting one of the local pastors complimented us on our diversity. His child plays Upward and he noticed the beautiful diversity of our congregation.
He told me he prays HIS church can become more diverse—ethnically, financially, etc. I praise God for comments like that because our diversity is part of our strength. We would be foolish to do anything to damage that. I mean, we each have to resist sinful urges to join the battle with our culture—because that battle could spread to Redland. Remember—churches don’t suffer when attacked from without—in fact, they grow when that happens. But they DO suffer from attacks that come from within! Listen! Our job as the Body of Christ is to proclaim eternity-impacting truth. Our job is not to win elections. How foolish it is then to threaten our unity and our witness over temporary things like the election cycle. As I’ve told you in the past—unity is fragile—so the vitally important “root of fellowship” must always be nourished and protected—if we are going to continue to be an effective tool in furthering God’s eternal kingdom.
b. Another “ROOT” I want to mention is what I will call “the root of TRUST.”
As I’ve said, the Sequoia Tree is HUGE—hundreds of feet tall—40 feet wide—weighing millions of pounds. It dwarfs everything around it—even things that seem big—until we put that big thing next to a huge Sequoia. Well—to survive and thrive as a church in coming years we need to constantly remember how INFINITELY BIG GOD is. This knowledge will nurture our TRUST in Him. Paul refers to this principle REPEATEDLY in our text. Listen to some of the phrases he uses to describe God’s unlimited greatness and power.
- Paul says, that God has “glorious riches.”
- He reminds us that God can “strengthen us with power through His Spirit in our inner being.”
- Paul says that he “KNEELS before God” because our God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”
- Paul says that God is so great that He “surpasses knowledge.” In other words, our little heads aren’t big enough to understand how BIG God really is.
- Paul goes so far as to say it takes God’s POWER for us to even begin to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”
In these verses, Paul is PRAYING that an accurate understanding of God’s attributes would a settled thing in our hearts and minds. He wants us to look at whatever comes our way both now and in the years to come from the perspective of God’s unlimited power and love.
Look at verse 17 where Paul tells us to “let our roots go down deep into the soil of God’s great love and power.” Paul is using this “root word picture” to say that this perspective of God’s greatness nourishes our absolute trust in God—a trust that empowers us to do great things for Him—even in the face of opposition. I mean, when we understand how BIG God is—our problems and challenges as individuals and as a church shrink by comparison.
Do you remember A. W. Tozer’s famous words? “What we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Louise quoted them a couple weeks ago in her testimony. Well, Tozer also said, “The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian CHURCH today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him and of her. In all her prayers and labor this should have first place. We do the greatest service to the next generation of Christians—by passing on to them undimmed and undiminished that noble concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of generations past. This will prove of greater value to them than anything that art or science can devise.”
And I agree! It is VITALLY important that we “present Redlanders” teach future generations of Redlanders WHO GOD IS—HOW BIG HE IS—HOW POWERFUL HE IS—HOW MUCH HE LOVES US! We need to help them understand that God KNOWS everything—that God is EVERYWHERE—and that there is NOTHING God cannot do. Only then will they be emboldened to do great things for God—even in the face of pressure. Mark Buchanan writes, “I need to know Who God is. I need to know Him, more and more, deeper and deeper, with Biblical clarity. If I am to go anywhere with God, to follow Him…I need more than textbook knowledge of Him. I need more than piety, more than erudition, more than good intentions. My conviction is that unless and until we REST in God, we’ll never risk for God.”
I am moved whenever I see Redlanders who obviously draw faith from their accurate understanding of God’s character. I’ve heard some amazing stories from people who were around in the early years. Those stories are so encouraging.
- I’m thinking of the early days when the first Redlanders borrowed money to build the chapel—and stepped out on faith to call their first full-time Pastor, Bob Rich.
- I’m thinking of other multi-million-dollar building projects as well as our first adult mission trips to Rwanda and Kenya.
- I’m thinking of all the new church starts Redlanders have been a part of over the years.
- I’m thinking of Redlanders through the years who have faced terrible diseases and even death with a peace and calm that passes human understanding.
If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to use our picnic this afternoon to share stories of the amazing things our BIG GOD has done over the years—and is doing right now. Let this be more than a lunch—let it be a time of testimony and praise! Do this because Redland has been and continues to be blessed by believers who have a ROOTED trust in God.
Listen—sharing the Gospel—the only message that brings healing and hope—it is only going to get more risky in the years to come. Our opposition is going to get BIGGER and BIGGER. It’s going to become more and more COSTLY to follow Jesus. So—we have to be able to TRUST God—and to trust Him we have to KNOW Him. We need to sink our roots deep into His character. We have to know that God is infinitely BIGGER than anything we face.
(2) The next lesson I want us to learn from the Sequoia concerns its BARK.
This week I read that the bark on these giants is three feet thick. This outer shield helps protect it from bugs and fire so that the tree can keep growing straight and strong—unlike other trees that are susceptible to bugs and diseases that make them look like this. Well, this thick Sequoia bark makes me think of the Bible—because an understanding of God’s written Word of truth does the same thing for the Christians who make up a church like ours—in that it protects us from false teaching, and other things that would halt or stunt our growth.
Psalm 119 refers to this principle. It says the Bible:
- is our “refuge and shield.”
- “preserves our life.”
- “keeps us from sin.”
- “strengthens us and keeps us from deceitful ways.”
- is a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path.”
As most of you know it is my custom every morning to read my Chronological Bible—and to swap e-mails about my reading with about 18 of you who are doing the same. I’ve committed to keep reading the Bible every morning like that with a group of Christians for the rest of my life—and please don’t misunderstand. I’m not bragging. I’m CONFESSING. I’m doing this because I know myself—I know that I NEED the truth of the Bible in my head every day. It keeps me looking up to God. I RELY on it to keep me looking at life from a Biblical perspective. I need it to keep me from sinful thoughts and attitudes and actions. I need the BIBLE to help me see that God is indeed able to, “do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”
My point here is that studying the Bible helps us ALL to think rightly. In this way it protects us and nurtures our growth as Christians—and as a church. And in my mind this is one reason Redland has been so healthy for these 50 years. I mean our church began as a Bible Study and the Bible has continued to be our guide and shield over the decades. In fact, I’ve often thought of Sunday as a “Bible-study sandwich” because we have two slices of Scripture-proclaiming-worship around an hour of in-depth Bible study. It’s sort of a Biblical version of “the Whopper!” I mean, we FEED ourselves on God’s Word around here EVERY Lord’s Day! And that’s good because we need God’s unchanging infallible written Word—to guide us—to keep us from drifting with the ever-changing morals of this fallen and falling world. We need to know the Bible. We need to be able to live it. We need to be able to explain it and teach it—especially in Montgomery County—a place that is filled with highly-educated people. And I believe we will need it even MORE as the years go by—because as I have inferred the sad truth is our culture is drifting farther and farther from Biblical truth. As Isaiah put it, humanity is like sheep that are going more and more astray.
Speaking of drifting astray, this week I read that the continent of Australia is moving which isn’t so surprising—all the continents are on the move—and Australia drifts 70 millimeters to the northeast every year. Well, this drift is starting to mess with systems that rely on pinpoint accuracy—specifically GPS. The Australian GPS system was last updated—recalibrated—in 1994 but the entire country has moved a little more than five feet since then. Can you imagine the problems that would come to Australian drivers using GOOGLE MAPS or AMAZON trying to use a drone to deliver a package in the land down under? Listen. Everything on earth changes, including the mighty continents. But as believers we know God doesn’t change and neither does His Word. The Bible is our GPS as we seek to live righteous lives in an increasingly unrighteous culture. In the same way that the bark of a Sequoia keeps it growing straight—the Bible helps keep us on the straight and narrow.
(3) The last thing I want to mention is the principle of growth and health we can learn from a Sequoia tree’s BRANCHES.
To me their lofty branches illustrate the last verse of our text where Paul says that our purpose as Christians is to bring glory to God, “in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” In other words, like the huge spreading branches of a tree like the Sequoia we are to spread the good news of God’s love throughout the world. Strengthened by the root of fellowship—encouraged and emboldened by the root of trust—protected and nurtured by the “bark” of Scripture—we are to be passionate about sharing our faith in every way possible so that God’s kingdom grows! Now—of course, we can’t do this on our own—we need God’s Help but that’s okay because He promises to give it. Do you remember Jesus’ words in John’s Gospel? “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” In other words, it’s all about Jesus—with Him in us—we can bring God glory—we can spread the Gospel. We can bear fruit—we can grow as a Church. But on our own—we are powerless. We can do nothing.
In fact, that outward “abiding-in-Jesus-focus” is the KEY to church health. When a church just looks inward—it will die. I like how Luis Palau put it, “The church is like manure. Pile it together and it stinks up the neighborhood. Spread it out and it enriches the world.” That is so true. Only when a church like ours looks OUTWARD to the needs of the community and world around it does it thrive. This outward focus is why Redland has grown. I mean, the key to our growth—the reason we celebrate 1500 professions of faith—and 12 new church starts—is a reflection of an outward focus.
I remember stories of Bob Rich driving around following moving vans in the late 60’s—inviting the new Derwood residents to church. I love testimonies of Redlanders who—yearning to see God’s kingdom spread—-have gone on these 40+ adult mission trips. I’m moved when I look at our poster and see so many examples of this church’s OUTWARD focus over the years—Kairos, the CDC, the Carpenters Hands, the furlough house, RUMPUS—UPWARD basketball, I could go on and on—but it is this OUTWARD LOOK that has forced us to ABIDE in Christ. It’s what has enabled Redland to do things that only GOD could do! This is what has kept fresh and vibrant and healthy and strong and growing.
Well, we need to CONTINUE that focus in the years to come—and if the difficulties of sharing our faith in an increasingly hostile world scare you—then there’s another lesson we can learn from the Sequoia. You see the only way a sequoia tree’s seeds germinate—is by fire. That heat is what makes them pop open so they can sprout. The same thing is true of the church—and of Christians. History shows that when we cling together to the truths of the Bible—persecution only makes us grow.
I don’t know about you—but I’m inspired by people who rely on Jesus and share the Gospel even in the face of fiery persecution and death. Here at Redland, thanks to our Furlough House, we know firsthand many Christians who are sharing the Gospel message in lands where they risk their lives to do so.
Before I finish—I want to say that as amazing as the sequoia is—there’s another “tree” that is infinitely better as a teaching tool. I’m referring to the CROSS—the “tree” Jesus hung on to pay our sin debt. If you’re here this morning and you’ve never responded to Jesus’ death on that tree where He paid the price of your forgiveness—if you’ve never asked Jesus to come into your heart and life—-why not do so today? We would rejoice in that—much more than we rejoice about our 50 years! Leave your seat and come forward. Kevin and I would love to talk to you about that all important decision. If you’re a Christian looking for a church home—a place to spread your roots—we would love to have you join THIS one. As we sing about the grace of God—come as God leads.