If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn to the book of Ephesians chapter 3. As I mentioned this morning, it seems like we're going word by word and some words are so deep with depth, we cannot help but sit there and ponder it for a while. I don't know if you ever do that in reading your Bible. If you ponder just a single word or just a single phrase, Oftentimes when we read, we read, and keep on reading, and read, and read, and read. Yet there's so much to ponder in the depths of the Word of God. The Apostle Paul is giving a prayer of how he prays for the Ephesian believers, and it is a good model prayer of how we ought to be praying also. In verse 16, we're reminded that he's praying that God would grant these Ephesian saints And may this be our prayer, one for another, that God would grant us, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, or the inner person. That God would strengthen each and every child of His in the inner person. For what purpose? That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. Now we need strength in the inner person that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. We need strength in the inner person, that means we need to make room more for Christ in our hearts and in our lives. And just pondering this phrase over the past couple of weeks, Have you come to the realization, the reality, the actual living reality of Christ is living in my heart. No matter where you go, Christ is living in my heart. Sometimes we might lose sight of that because we get so involved and wrapped up in the life that we're living here upon this earth. But here it is a present reality. and having the knowledge of Christ that's living in our heart by faith. What does this mean? I truly believe it means that Christ is my all in all. Yet not I, but it's Christ that lives in me. The life I'm living now in the flesh, I've been crucified with Christ, but now I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. that realization and putting it into practice in everyday living makes a vast difference in a believer's life. It is his spirit that is at work within the child of God convicting us of things in our life and areas in our lives that need to be cleaned up and some things need to be kicked out that there might be more room for Christ in our hearts. Oftentimes we live a divided life, caring for the things of this world, and our minds are set on the temporal and not the eternal, when they should be set upon that which is eternal. But we need to get rid of certain things, and the Spirit of God is the one who convicts us of that, for the whole purpose that Christ may dwell Now you remember how we went over that last week, that Christ may be at home in your heart. In other words, if you love the things of this world, and you treasure up things that are temporal, and even things that are ungodly and maybe immoral, you treasure them up in your heart, Christ is not at home in your heart. There's not that dwelling which comes by faith. As we went over this morning, we will pick it up next week on Sunday morning, Jesus said this in verse 24 in Matthew 16, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. The Christian life is a life of self-denial. and it is a life of taking up the cross and following after our Lord Jesus Christ and desiring to be obedient unto his commands. In order that, notice as the prayer goes on, are that you, or in order that, you being rooted and grounded in love. Now here's the reason Christ needs to dwell in our hearts, that we will be rooted and grounded in love. What is Paul saying here? Why is he using the word rooted and grounded? Here are two terms that you can find some similarities in it, but what I see here is to be rooted and grounded in love, it's a necessity for us to be able to comprehend the fullness of the love of God. As he goes on to say in verse 19, and to know the love of Christ. So here when he's talking about that we might be rooted and grounded in love, as our knowledge of Christ grows, our love for Christ should grow. As you learn of him, you love him more. If your doctrine does not cause you to love Christ more, and love the brethren and sistren more, and to love the things of God more, something's wrong with your doctrine. Our lives should be saturated and identified by love. They'll know you are my disciples by the love you have one toward another. Your whole life, if you're a child of God, your whole being of your life should show forth love. Now that's a basic, I believe, Some things ain't so basic for others, but our lives ought to be identified with love. In other words, when people think of you, do they think of love? That's a good question. If somebody mentions your name to another person, does that person identify you as someone that is full of love? rooted and grounded in love. Now there is no doubt we love the Lord because he first loved us. If he had not set his love upon us we would not love him and we do love him because of that. This love that's found in verse 17, rooted and grounded in love, I believe it's speaking of not only our love for the Lord, but our love for one another and the love for the things of God. The child of God ought to love the things of God and ought to love one another. Everything that pertains to Christ. I want you to notice the analogy the Apostle Paul uses as he's writing. He is saying rooted and grounded. Very interesting two words. When you think of something rooted, I know Brother Connor's helping us out on the Good News Club and on Thursday, he tried to get the kids to name what is the biggest tree? What is the tallest, most massive tree? Does anybody know? Redwood, that would be the sequoia tree, right? Yeah. These things can grow up to 150 feet to 300 feet. They are massive trees. And have you ever looked at the root system? The root system only goes 5 feet to 14 feet down, but they can go 100 feet across the roots. Now think about these giant massive trees. Most of their roots are going this way and they're interlocked with other big massive trees. And here's what the Apostle Paul is talking about as far as being rooted. He is talking about, notice he says grounded. The word grounded is more an allusion toward a building, having a foundation, having a solid ground. Now both of these, if you think about something that's rooted, You don't ever, I've never heard of a giant redwood or sequoia tree being uprooted and falling over. Can you imagine the thud that would make? It would be a massive crash. I've not heard of one falling over. It's because they're stable. And if you think about a building that's grounded, it's got a solid foundation, That means that building is stable also. It is something that is very deeply rooted as far as a tree. Something that is durable, it's going to last if it's grounded like a building. Now you can see the similarities of a tree being rooted. We're not talking about Y'all remember Gloria and Natasha. And Natasha, you remember, she's only about this tall. She'd come out from school Thursday, and she had this little cup. And in that little cup was a little, I'm not sure what it was, it was a little green thing coming out of some soil. And it was kind of leaning like that. And she had a little plant. Somebody had given her a plant. Don't know what kind of plant it was. By the time the Good News Club was over, that little plant was going over the cup like that. And I'm thinking like, oh, I sure hope that little plant lives for Gloria, because she was so excited about her little plant. And the next day, which would have been Friday, she was going to the pumpkin patch for a field trip. More plants. Very exciting for that little young mind. Getting a little sidetracked with her kids. When you think about the likeness, here is a plant. You see something that's not similar as far as a plant in a building. A plant, it's got life. I'm not sure how much life that little plant Natasha had at the end of the class or how much it's got today, but it has life as long as it's still living and growing. A plant is something that grows. A plant is something that gives off energy. And if it's something like a massive tree, If you ever, I've been out to California, but I miss them big redwoods. I don't know how I missed them. It's because I wasn't near them. Or if I was near them, I'd see them, and you would too. But can you imagine looking at something where you look like just a speck up against this big old tree? You see something that big, it's almost majestic what God has made. and how he's made something so massive. Now we know a building cannot grow. We know a building has no life. We know a building does not give off energy. And yet these are the two analogies Paul's using concerning love that we should be rooted and grounded in love. Look over in 1 Corinthians, if you would, 1 Corinthians chapter 3. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul uses this same type of analogy down in verse 9. In verse 9 he says, for we are laborers together with God. The believers there at Corinth, at that church at Corinth, they are co-laborers with God. You are God's husbandry, and that speaks of like a farm. you are God's building. Paul likens himself to a master builder. Paul likens himself to one who plants. You see this analogy Paul uses more than once, talking about the image of a tree as well as that which is a building. As you look at this image of a tree, and the root system, how widespread it is, this is an analogy for a mature Christian. One who's grown in the grace and knowledge of God, one who Christ dwells in their heart by faith, and is talking about the love in that Christian's life. Where does that plant, the tree, get its nourishment from? It gets it from the soil. The soil has the nutrients, what it takes to grow a massive tree. What is the soil that we grow out of? It is love. That's got all the nutrients and nourishments. As far as a believer, how we are to grow Love is the soil and love ought to be something very evident in every child of God's life. Can you think with me and imagine you're standing before one of them redwoods. You know what you would think? That tree is majestic. Something that God's created And if you saw it, it was probably one of them breathtaking type experiences like, wow! And yet, that's what a believer's life is likened to. Rooted and grounded. Rooted in the soil of love. Nourished by love. You remember what the Word of God says over in Romans chapter 8? that God is working in our lives to conform us into the image of His dear Son. God is presently at work in your life and my life and He's not finished with us yet or you wouldn't be here. and he's conforming you, he's shaping you, he's bringing things into your life and things, decisions you gotta make and situations you face, trials you face, all that he's doing to conform you into the image of his Son. Now if you're conforming into the image of his Son, that must mean you've got to be rooted in the soul of love. You've got to be rooted in Christ. Your strength as a child of God, my strength as a child of God, is based upon love. The love that we ought to have for him and also for one another. Listen to what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 1. In 1 Corinthians chapter 8, Paul says this, now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity, or that's the word agapitas, agape, love, edifies. Paul's saying you can get knowledge and knowledge and knowledge, but all knowledge does is puff you up like you're somebody. But notice what love does. Love edifies or it builds up. Love encourages. What was the biggest problem in the church at Corinth? Do you remember reading the first couple of chapters, three chapters in 1 Corinthians? You remember how there were divisions and schisms and boy they were divided. I follow Apollos, I follow Christ, I follow Paul. They were all at each other's throats. They were divided. They had knowledge and they had a lot of knowledge. But notice what knowledge did. It divided them one from another. It made them schismatic. It made them look at each other and think somebody's better than another person, somebody's better than another person. You see, knowledge puffs up. And that's what happened to the believers there at Corinth. They were puffed up with knowledge. They put an emphasis upon knowledge, but they didn't put an emphasis on love. They were very gifted. You remember Paul talked about how well God had gifted them. How they spoke in other languages, tongues. But the problem was, all that did was cause division. They were divisive. You remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, the greatest of these, faith, hope, and love. What's the greatest? It is love. It's not knowledge, it's love. Knowledge is important, and we should have knowledge. We should grow in knowledge, but that knowledge should bring us to know our Lord Jesus Christ better. And the more you know the Lord Jesus better, the more your love should grow, because He is love. God is love. Christ is love. Love has a name, and its name is Jesus. Therefore, as the more you love Him, the more you know of Him, the more your love should grow, not only like His love, but also as He displayed His love, that's how we ought to love one another. Does your knowledge lead you to a greater love? Brother Ross and I have been talking about this one for quite a while. Does your knowledge actually cause you to love greater? If not, your knowledge is out of whack. I want you to listen to just to the words. Here is a song. I'm not going to sing unless I get too happy. Then Facebook will cut us off because I'm Did somebody wrong with copyrights or whatever? But here was a song that was written based upon First Corinthians 13. And it goes like this. Love is patient. Love is kind. No eyes of envy. True love is blind. Love is humble. It knows no pride. No selfish motive hidden inside. Love is gentle, makes no demands. Despite all wrong, true love still stands. Love is holy. Love is pure. It lasts forever. It will endure. Love knows when to let go. Love knows when to say no. Love grows in the light of his sun. and love shows the world that the Son of Love has come. Love is loyal, believes the best. It loves the truth. Love stands the test. Love is God sending his Son. Love forgives all we have done. In this world where hatred seems to grow, true love goes against the flow and becomes so hard to show. In this world where push turns to shove, we have strength to rise above through the power of His love. Lord, we need to know the power of Your love. Love knows when to let go. Love knows when to say no. Love grows in the light of His Son, and love shows the world that the Son of Love has come. Boy, that's beautiful words. We ought to be growing in the love of God. You remember what Jesus said over in Matthew chapter 5? It's been many weeks since we covered that area of scripture. In Matthew chapter 5 and down in verse 48, Jesus said this, Be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Now, who in us here could be perfect? Is that talking about being exactly as God, perfect in all His ways? If you look at the context of the scripture, I want you to listen to this and hear what the Word of God is saying. In verse 38, you have heard that it has been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you that you resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue you at the law and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. And whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him too. Give to him that ask of you, and from him that would borrow of you, turn not away. You have heard that it hath been said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies. bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brothers only, what do you? More than others. Do not even the publicans the same? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. You know, in the context of that scripture, he's talking about the love of God. You ought to be perfect in love. Listen to what he said. Love your enemies. Did not God love us while we were yet sinners? Were we at enmity with God? Yes we were. And God showed his love toward us. So here what the challenge is, God saying, love as God loves. Love your enemies as God has loved his enemies and shown his love. You see what love does? Love edifies. Love builds up. If we ever get to a point where all we're doing is looking at each other, let me tell you something, we're in a heap of trouble. And if all we get to the point where all we're doing is nitpicking at each other, and nitpicking over doctrine, or nitpicking over this or that, let me tell you we're in trouble. Because it's love that needs to be displayed. Love in your life, love in my life, love for one another. Because love edifies, builds up, and it energizes. Do you know how love kind of gives you a little extra oomph? Let me give you an illustration. Think back in the Old Testament. You remember Jacob? Jacob saw Rachel and he was twitterpated. Jacob saw Rachel and man, it was love at first sight. Boy, you know what? He worked for his uncle Laban for Rachel. He worked seven years that wedding night He went in the tent and it was dark and that old scoundrel uncle Laban, you remember what he did? He put Rachel's sister in that tent instead of Rachel. And here's Jacob waking up the next morning, I don't know how he could have been so blind, but there's Leah. Oh, what have you done? Laban, what have you done? Come on, uncle, you scoundrel. You remember what Leland said? If you work for me seven more years, I'll give you Rachel. And you remember what the Word of God says? Those seven years seem like days unto Jacob. Why? Because he was so in love for Rachel, it energized him to work seven years. And boy, he was working because he knew he'd have Rachel. That's what love does. Love builds up. Love energizes. The Word of God tells us, Galatians chapter 5 and verse 6, that faith works by love. Faith works by love. You see the foundation there is the love that we ought to have, and faith works by that love. I asked you a simple question tonight. What motivated God to send his Son for a sinner like you to die on the cross for you? What is it that caused God to give His only Son? I'm giving you the verse now. John 3, 16. Four. Because. Because God so, there's an adjective, so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. It's because of the great love of God that you're a child of God if you're a believer. It's only because of His love, His great love that He had toward us. Wow! That motivated God to send His Son, His love. How much motivation do we have in loving others? God sent his son to die for rebels and sinners such as you and I. The Apostle Paul, you remember how he went through so much hardship in his life, but it seemed like he was always just a smiling. And if Jana lived with Paul, she'd want to smack that smile off his face. Anyway, what is it that drove Paul when he's in prison, when he's beaten, beaten to death with rods, shipwrecked, robbed, you name it. It about happened all to Paul. But he just kept going, kept going. What is it that motivated Paul? You remember over in the book of Corinthians once again, 1 Corinthians, he talks about, Paul says, the love of Christ constrains us. It is the love of Christ that is in control of our lives. Does the love of Christ constrain you? Does the love of Christ control you? Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. We have alluded to that already, but I want you to notice what it says in just the first three verses. 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 1. Though I speak with the tongue of men and angels, In other words, you could be the best speaker anybody's ever heard. You're fluent. Your diction is perfect. Your words or sentences are smooth. You could be like somebody just loves to hear you speak. Paul says, though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not agape love. I'm just a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. I'm just making a bunch of noise. In other words, it don't really matter. Though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, all knowledge, though I have all faith so I can remove mountains and have not agape love, I have nothing. Though I bestow all my goods, I give everything I've got to feed the poor. Though I give my body to be burned and have not agape love, it profits me nothing." That's saying a lot. Here's somebody that's totally sacrificed everything he's got. And what Paul is basically saying If it's not said in love and if it's not done in love, it's all in vain. Uh-oh. Sure is quiet in here. If what you say and what you do is not in love, it's going to profit you nothing. It's useless. The late Donald Gray Barnhouse said this, love is the key. In other words, love for the child of God should be your lifestyle. Well, I don't really want to show that person love. It's not a question of an option. Love is your lifestyle. Joy is love singing. What Dr. Barnhouse said. Peace is love resting. Long-suffering is love enduring. Kindness is love's touch. Goodness is love's character. Faithfulness is love's habit. Gentleness is love's self-forgetfulness. Self-control is love holding the reins. Boy, that's good. There we go right back to 1 Corinthians 13. If there's one thing people need to know you for, especially if they're sinners, is that you love them because you love the Lord. Are you known for your love? That's how we should be known. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one toward another. May God's word challenge us in areas of our life where we need to be challenged because oftentimes we neglect that in our everyday living. Is love in the words you say? Is love in the words you always say? I remember there was a lady at Ashton Avenue many years ago I think her name was Sister Tweet. Some of y'all might remember her. But she would go down to the, oh, I can't think of the name of the place, the Homeless Center. And I remember there was a man that come out. She took a group of us, young people, and taken us to the Hope Center to tour it. There was this rough man that come out with this woman. And he started fussing at her and cussing at her. And she says, oh no, sweetie, I didn't say that. And she just sugared him to death. I mean, she was so sweet, there's just no way that guy could keep cussing at her. And he didn't. He was just stumped. Because she was filled with love. Every time I think about that, I think about 1 Corinthians 13. She always responded with kindness. Not snapping back at them. Always love. Does that mark your life? Love gets a bad rap in schools. Our kids, when they're in school, they'll make fun of you. Matthew was telling me their school football team got in a fight a couple weeks ago with another school, so it was kind of like a massive, a massive thing. Boy, they had to get out of there quick. Pray for our kids. It's hard to love those who hate you, especially if you're in your teenage years. It's hard to love when other people your age mock you, make fun of you. That happens frequently in our schools. Pray for our young people. It's a challenge. Pray for one another, that we can show the love of Christ, not only to one another, but to those who are enemies of Christ. People need the Lord. Let's stand and go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you for the truths of your word which challenges us in our everyday walk in life. And Lord, we all often fail. We often fall short. You challenge us to be perfect even as our Father in heaven's perfect. You have displayed perfect love toward us. Lord, we pray that we might be rooted in love, that others can see Christ in us, our only hope of glory. We thank you for what you've done, what you're gonna do in our lives, in the lives of this congregation. We ask that you work through this body, work in individual lives, to bring glory to your holy name for Christ's sake. Amen. Let us sing a couple of verses of Just As I Am.