Having the Right Root to bear Fruit - David Mitts




"And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious." (Isaiah 11:10 NKJV)

We have been looking at being our BEST, experiencing breakthrough by being equipped spiritually. We looked last week at the first condition of heart that Yeshua described that keeps the seed of the Word of God from bearing fruit in our lives, 30- 60- 100-fold. We saw last week, that this heart attitude was established in the Garden of Eden in our hearts by the temptation of Satan to know good and evil and thus be “like God.” 


This manifests in our need to be right and judge, the foundation for our opinions. Our “opinion,” which is the definition for glory in the bible, doxa, forms the basis for traditions and these create alternate realities to the truth in our minds and hearts. In our carnal nature, which we inherit from the eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we have such an addiction to our opinions, our judgments, that they expose us; and when confronted by the truth, we feel shame and want to cover up with more opinion defended by pride. This entire drama is rooted in self-protection and is a stronghold that wars with us, keeping us from living our inheritance and destiny. Satan’s agenda is get us to stop trusting the love of God and trust in our own made-up reasoning; thus, keeping the seed of God’s Word inactive and merely something we know about in our minds, but do not allow to penetrate and transform our hearts.

Today I want to visit the second heart attitude that hinders our destiny, rootlessness. Let’s re-read Mark 4:14-17

The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. (Mark 4:14-17 NKJV)

The second heart attitude is paralleled to stony ground. This is a reference to a hardened heart. This heart condition is one that keeps the seed from rooting. Once we accept the reality of our opinions, the insecurity and need to cover up causes us to develop and shield from the world, and this hardens our heart. A hardened heart, then, is a place where the Word cannot take root and thus can’t go deep enough to bear fruit. Let’s look specifically at what rooting means so we can have a vision for where we need to go.

The Hebrew word for root is shoresh. It is first used in scripture in Deuteronomy 29
so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; (Deuteronomy 29:18 NKJV)


We see from this that, spiritually speaking, roots are defined by who or what we worship. Satan attacks our destiny by trying to tempt us to worship the power of things we can have if we will rely on ourselves or become connected to power sources in this world.

Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus *said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" (Matthew 4:8-10 NASB)

Worshipping God develops roots and Fruit of the Spirit. Worshipping other gods, like worry, anger, resentment, people, etc., develops roots and works of bitterness and other works of the flesh.
Works of the flesh are defined in Galatians 5:19-21:

Now the deeds of the flesh are clear: sexual immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, witchcraft, hostility, strife, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, just as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit God’s kingdom. (Galatians 5:19-21 TLV)

Notice the last words “inherit God’s kingdom.” Flesh works or deeds come from worshipping something else other than God. The initial impulse is to think we are as God knowing good and evil; but this takes root as an idolatry of some power source other than God.

Let’s look at Isaiah 40 beginning at verse 18 to see a picture of the contrast of our destiny with God and with our own self-effort.

To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter.

We can put all the effort we want into our own plans, thinking they will not totter. Let’s continue:Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.

Any root in our lives that is not of Him is an authority that He will blow away. We are the judges of the earth, thinking our ideas and opinions matter. He reduces rulers to nothing. This is the picture of the shallow roots that are built on our own wisdom. This again is rooted in our vain attempts to be like God knowing good and evil, right and wrong.

"To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?"
says the Holy One.
Here it is clearly stated. We are trying to be His equal.  We want to make the decisions and trust in our ability to know what’s right for us.
Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"?
When we think our opinions are right, they are exposed through how we think towards others and what comes out of our mouths.  This tends to make us want to hide like Adam and Eve from God.  We think our ways have escaped His notice.
 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:18-31 NASB)
This is the power of our destiny, to wait on the Lord.  This is where the true root lies.  He is our root!
Again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE." (Romans 15:12 NASB)
If we are to have a root that will bear fruit, it will come from yielding our heart to Him!
OK, so let’s deal with 2 issues that bring forth evil roots:
1.     Bitterness
2.     Love of Money
Bitterness:
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. (Hebrews 12:14-16 NASB)
Walking in bitterness, which is really just unforgiveness, over time, will keep the seed of the Word from bearing fruit to our destiny.
Love of Money:
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:10-11 NASB)
The love of money is a preoccupation with power through financial strength.  It is a very subtle idol that is rooted in vengeance over those who have hurt us.  We want justice but we want it through being right with financial power. Instead, we should trust in God who wants to bless us from His provision with a heart that is rooted in Him.
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NASB)

Activation:
As we face a New Year let’s write our goals for the New Year and commit them to the Lord trusting in Him to direct our paths.

Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. (Psalms 37:3-9 NASB)

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