ROOTED IN CHRIST
- Sermon By: Apostle Jackson Kgopolo
- Categories: Faith, God, Hope, Pray, The word of God
There is no way if you are connected to Christ you can be connected to other powers. Even the bible tells us that we cannot serve two masters for you will despise one and love the other – you will lift one up and look down upon the other. Same goes for marriage, if married to two women a man will adore one the most yet keep the other just for the marital status. There is nobody who can share the love. These the Apostle said as he unpacked his sermon titled “Rooted In Christ Jesus”.
People are controlled by circumstances. Their future and focus is dictated by conditions. Same goes for when they have money, which they permit to take over their senses, leading them to backslide, forgetting where God took them from. People are not living stable lives, when pain comes they go along with it, same goes for when prosperity comes. This the man of God says is by reason of not being connected to somebody higher than the world.
Say to your neighbor:
“Do not be controlled by the world”
Confession brings unto salvation whereas believing brings unto righteousness. Confess what you believe. Failure to confess your sins will have them eat you up and the devil will continue to use it against you. Everything you do enters into your heart, hence the book of proverbs tells us to take care of our hearts for out of it are the issues of life. Failure to take care of your heart makes room for evil to enter into it and take control of your heart.
Referencing the scripture in John 15:4, the man of God tells the congregants that the condition is for us to go to God first, for He(God) wants us to first come to Him, for when we come to Him He will surely come to us. Going to God is not just coming to church, for coming to church is just an act of answering the invitation. One can come to church yet not be fully convicted. Coming to church does not change anyone, but coming to Christ changes a lot – this the man of God says is the reason many regardless of the titles they hold in church, are still not genuine in their walk with God. What changes one’s character is Christ Himself. It is you going to Christ and Him coming to you. That is taking up the cross and following Him – dropping, breaking down and leaving behind some things that formed part of your lifestyle and character before answering His call. jesus Christ is the only one that converts, whereas people just convince.
Going down the same scripture, the man of God says that we are the branches and JesusChrist is the vine. There is no way the branch can live, breath, eat and bear fruits without the vine, for the vine is the one that feeds the branch. It is Christ who feeds Christians. We are strong not by our power or righteousness, but by the righteousness of God. When you see yourself diverting, know that you are not connected, because Jesus can never allow you to go to a place where He is not welcome. Bringing it down to the world we live in, the Apostle says that no parent can marry their child off to a partner that despises them as a parent. Having said this, the Apostle asks a question;
Why would you say you are still in Christ yet you are doing things that despise God?
Being connected to Christ should have your conscious awakened and always implore you to question your conduct towards those immediate to you. If you see yourself doing something, only considering yourself and not others, know that your conscious/ inner man is dormant and no longer connected. This he said quoting the book of John 15: 4. The man of God further says that the fruits of the spirit are righteousness, holiness and humility as according to the book of Galatians 5:22. Without being connected a branch will wither out and die, bringing forth no fruits. When connected, the vine brings forth all the necessary nutrients through the roots.
A question to ponder on:
Where are your roots?
Seeing yourself going back to your old ways signifies that you are now connected no more. You can never be faithful if you are disconnected from the vine. You will instead look for other means of survival. When a branch is disconnected from the vine, it is easily swayed off by the wind resulting in it withering off and dying. In this the man of God says it is the reason many change to the worst after leaving the grace. Anger, bitterness, jealousy and pride start to engulf them.
Taking it down to verse 5, the man of God says that when one waters a tree that its vine is connected to its branch, that water reaches to the branch aiding it with necessities to produce good fruits. Likewise, if you are disconnected yet in the church and reading the bible – you can read the bible from January to December but it will never change you. The devil knows the bible, but not the scriptures and can quote it from Genesis to revelations. Jesus does not only know the scriptures, but lives the word. If Jesus lives by the scriptures, we ought to as well live by and put into practice the scriptures. Do not only quote the scripture, but live it. Being disconnected from the vine is as good as not being alive.
Live a life that you will never be afraid to tell your children about.