1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:03,440 Well, good morning, Christy Church. 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:08,039 How are you doing today? Oh, you look so good. 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,160 So glad to be here with you, be able to share God's word with 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,400 you. Welcome all of our locations 5 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,840 from all over this area. Everyone that's inside and 6 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,920 online as well. Thankful for all of you. 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:26,040 Hey, we're celebrating the 13th anniversary anniversary of the 8 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,920 Hannibal location. Let's just celebrate that 13 9 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:34,400 years. God has done so much at that 10 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,440 location. I wonder how many baptisms 11 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,760 they've had there over these 13 years. 12 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,040 I bet it's over 1000. Just absolutely incredible what 13 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:50,400 God has done at that location, how he's used whatever gifts 14 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,360 people have given back to him for that. 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,200 And I want a a reminder of you. You know, there's just been a a 16 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,400 real outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the crossing just 17 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,000 generally. And I think part of that is 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,680 because men have gotten very clear about their relationship 19 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,440 with the Lord. And I think that's happened. 20 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,000 A lot of that has happened through the Ministry of Uncommon 21 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:20,000 and Uncommon registration sign ups is now, you can do that now 22 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:22,840 and you do that now, You actually save money. 23 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,680 So it's a good time not only to register yourself and people in 24 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,080 your family, but also your friends because it's cheaper. 25 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:32,080 That means like you know, your money will go farther. 26 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:34,440 And I would even say you know people that you don't like very 27 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:39,680 much because if you if you register them, who knows, they 28 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:41,560 might end up being some of your best friends. 29 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,520 You just didn't even know that yet, you know, because God does 30 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:49,840 some pretty incredible things and he will with uncommon. 31 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:55,400 So we're in a series called Jesus is Better Than You 32 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:57,840 Thought. And the tagline that goes with 33 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,280 that is one you hear a lot at this church and that is God's 34 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,880 way is the best way. And no matter what the 35 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:10,280 circumstances is in life and I would imagine every single one 36 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,560 of us has had a time in our life, maybe experiencing it 37 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,360 right now. Maybe it's been more of a 38 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:18,120 chronic thing that we just didn't feel like we fit in. 39 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:22,880 Jesus is better than you thought, even when you don't 40 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:29,640 feel like you fit in. You know, when I was a kid, I 41 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:33,880 lived two separate lives. I'm going to describe this about 42 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,400 me, and I am not. I'm not going to be surprised if 43 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:43,320 it doesn't describe you too. So I had two separate lives that 44 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,040 I would live. Part of the part of my life was 45 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:51,880 lived with my school and neighborhood friends, and part 46 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:57,480 of my life was my church life. Now, the church life that I had 47 00:02:57,480 --> 00:02:59,920 when I was a little kid and growing up was definitely the 48 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,520 best part of me. I I loved learning from God's 49 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,760 Word. I loved having the approval of 50 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,840 my parents and loved that they were proud of me. 51 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,680 And it was true that at church there was a different standard 52 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,840 that that was there for kids and also their parents. 53 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,800 It was a safer environment. It was a more predictable 54 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,120 environment. It was definitely a more loving 55 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:30,200 environment and and I really appreciated that now. 56 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,640 School and neighborhood life was a very different place, and it 57 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:39,720 had very different rules. And I learned a lot in my 58 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,440 neighborhood life and in my school life, but it was seldom 59 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,760 good. I learned a different language. 60 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:50,760 Did you all learn a different language in your school and 61 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,880 neighborhood life? Different set of expectation, 62 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:59,720 different set of behaviors? And that was before junior high 63 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,440 or Senior High, Junior high and Senior High, all that just amped 64 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,600 up and there was a change up. There was a change up in my 65 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:11,000 heart in the comparison between, like, the schizophrenic life 66 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,240 that I was leading with, my church life and my school 67 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,600 neighbourhood life. And it was this. 68 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:22,520 When you get into junior high and Senior High, people start 69 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:29,240 judging, measuring, condemning each other on the basis of like 70 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,720 all sorts of things. Like, you know, what kind of a 71 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,400 house you live in, what kind of clothes you wear, the people 72 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,040 that you hang out with, all of that. 73 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,480 Right? And we were going to a large 74 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:46,440 church at the time and the the youth group in that church was a 75 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,560 very clicked youth group. So there were like the cool kids 76 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,040 and there were the other kids, and then there were other kids. 77 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:57,320 And I was trying to fit in. And the problem with that 78 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:02,000 environment for me was it just felt so hypocritical that people 79 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,360 really weren't living out their faith in those cliques, and it 80 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:11,320 made me gravitate more to my school and neighborhood life to 81 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:17,920 invest in that, especially my sophomore junior year, senior 82 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,280 year. And I was looking for a place 83 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,600 that I could fit in, but I wanted to keep my foot in the 84 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,200 door of my church life or my religious life. 85 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,360 So I still went to church. But I don't think I could be 86 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:34,000 accused of really living that out. 87 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,960 It was really on the side. College, to me was just more of 88 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,000 the same, and it just amped up. There were things that happened 89 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,760 my senior year, my first second year of college at Indiana 90 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:52,400 University. All I can say is I'm just really 91 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,080 thankful for the grace and mercy of God. 92 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,080 You know, the mercy of God is not getting what you deserve. 93 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,680 The grace of God is getting what you don't deserve. 94 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:05,480 And there was plenty of that for me. 95 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:07,000 But you know, that wasn't the truth. 96 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:12,960 With a lot of my friends, I feel like I dodged a lot of bullets 97 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,080 that would have completely redefined my life. 98 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:20,560 And I wasn't making good choices. 99 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:27,000 And it wasn't until I was 20 years old that God put his call 100 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:31,160 on my life. And I I wrote here in my notes 101 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,560 that, you know, my direction was back to pursuing God. 102 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:36,400 And I don't know if that's really true. 103 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:38,680 I think it's more that God had always been there. 104 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:43,400 And I just, I just kind of got my a little bit more of my sense 105 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,720 back. It's not like I'm running after 106 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:50,160 God and he's like way out there. It's like he's been there, was 107 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:56,640 there before I was there and waiting for me to kind of make a 108 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:02,040 decision to make him first. And my life has never been the 109 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,880 same after that moment till this one right now. 110 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,400 The reason I'm telling you that is it makes me think about how 111 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:12,440 our lives are affected by our choices. 112 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:19,240 You know, it could just be one choice or maybe just a series of 113 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,640 choices. And maybe most of those really 114 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,080 weren't what you would perceive as being dangerous ones. 115 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:26,080 But you made some of these choices. 116 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,920 And then what it did is it just shifted the trajectory of your 117 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,240 life. Maybe it isn't your choice or 118 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:33,440 choices. Maybe it was the choices that 119 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,360 other people made that affected you. 120 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,880 Some of you right now may be feeling very victimized because 121 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:43,040 other people made choices and you're living in the reality of 122 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:49,080 those choices, right? And you wonder, like I was 123 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,160 wondering as I was preparing this, if those choices or 124 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,560 experiences had gone a different way, how would that have 125 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,280 affected the direction of my life? 126 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:00,480 Because we all have a back story. 127 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,920 We all have a director's cut of the movie of our life, right? 128 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,960 We all have alternate endings, and they may have just been a 129 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:13,320 single decision away. Now. 130 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:18,440 I don't know how many of you were like, what kind of students 131 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:22,200 you were in high school or college, but I like math and I 132 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,760 like science. And how many of you took a 133 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:28,560 physics class? I want to see a show of hands. 134 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:29,840 Physics. Yeah. 135 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:34,440 People that took physics are kind of like, yeah, I mean, it's 136 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:41,480 not like, yes, I took physics. I kind of liked physics. 137 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:48,200 I liked the laws of physics. You know, Isaac Newton was kind 138 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:53,320 of the he's kind of started the whole idea of physics and he has 139 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:58,040 three laws of motion and some of, you know, the third law of 140 00:08:58,040 --> 00:08:59,440 motion. You didn't have to take physics 141 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:01,880 class to know this, right. Third law of motion is this 142 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:07,880 ready for every action. That's the third law of of 143 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,080 motion. For every action there is an 144 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:14,360 equal and opposite reaction. And the laws of life are a lot 145 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,200 like the laws of physics, because every action in your 146 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,360 life tends to have a reaction in your life. 147 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:26,720 You live in the reality of the results of the action of your 148 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,440 life. There's also laws of what's 149 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,480 called thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics 150 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,320 in physics is the law of entropy. 151 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,800 Now you may not. If I would say, would you please 152 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:42,640 define entropy for me? You'd go, Oh yeah, yeah. 153 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:45,720 But you know what? You know what it is. 154 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,000 And that is everything in nature tends toward disorder. 155 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:53,800 It's a law of physics, second law of thermodynamics. 156 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,480 Everything in nature tends toward disorder. 157 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:00,800 Wood rots, metal rust. Your lawn is going to need to be 158 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:06,240 mowed again, right? Any of you have a junior higher 159 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,320 living in your house, Just look at their room. 160 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,200 It's the law of entropy. Everything tends toward 161 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,200 disorder. I don't know a parent that says 162 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,240 would you please stop cleaning your room? 163 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,240 Would you please stop picking up after yourself? 164 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:27,560 Because it just bothers me. Everything tends toward 165 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:33,360 disorder. For us it might be a decision or 166 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:34,920 a group of decisions that we made. 167 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,240 It might be decisions that other people made that have affected 168 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,560 us because we all have self-inflicted wounds, wounds 169 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:47,720 inflicted by others or some combination of those that result 170 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:54,680 in those two things, reaction and disorder, right. 171 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,960 It's interesting how those laws of physics actually are laws of 172 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:05,200 life. And that's why the story that 173 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,440 I'm going to speak to you about today is so incredibly 174 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:11,120 important. It's in John chapter 4. 175 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:14,040 It's so helpful. It's a story of a woman that 176 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:20,000 Jesus met at a well in Samaria. And this is what I want to 177 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,080 challenge you to do today with this story, because we tend to 178 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,800 want to read this story in the third person like that was she 179 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,000 did this, and then he did that, and then she did this, and then 180 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,440 the townspeople did that and the disciples did that. 181 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,120 No, I want you to read it and think about it in the first 182 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:41,160 person, and I think that's going to change the essence of the 183 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,880 story as it interfaces with your heart today. 184 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,440 That's what I want you to do. So let's begin now. 185 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,920 We're going to begin with this story in a place that most 186 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,920 people don't begin, but I think we need to because it sets up a 187 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,000 context to help you understand Jesus a little better. 188 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,800 In the story, it's in the first verse, John 41. 189 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:07,000 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was 190 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,720 gaining and baptizing more disciples than John John the 191 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,360 Baptist, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized but his 192 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,960 disciples. So he left Judea and he went 193 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,360 back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through 194 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:26,240 Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria 195 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,360 called Cycar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his 196 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,680 son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. 197 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,960 And Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the 198 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:39,160 well. And it was about noon. 199 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,680 So a lot of people will read this passage and they'll just 200 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:46,720 kind of read over that. And I don't want you to do that 201 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,880 today because it sets up a context that we need to hear 202 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,200 about Jesus. And the Samaritan woman by kind 203 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,920 of looking at Jesus's back story, Jesus is living under 204 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:02,240 threat. You know, the Pharisees hated 205 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,600 John the Baptist. The Pharisees, the religious 206 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:10,280 leaders of Israel at that time, did not like the influence that 207 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,240 John the Baptist was having on the people. 208 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,160 And what this scripture is telling you, that they they like 209 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:21,120 Jesus even less because he was making even more disciples than 210 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,120 John was. Jesus was living under that 211 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:25,720 threat. As a matter of fact, that threat 212 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:31,360 was so pronounced that he had to leave Judea and head back to 213 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,480 Galilee. He was in danger. 214 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:36,120 Now I want to ask you this question. 215 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:41,520 Do you think that Jesus's mind would have been occupied with 216 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:43,400 that, like that would have been important to him? 217 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,840 Do you think that he would be affected by other people 218 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,600 threatening his life? Because I think a lot of us, 219 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,680 when we read about Jesus, we we feel like, like he was 220 00:13:54,680 --> 00:14:00,360 impervious to that sort of stuff because he's God in the flesh. 221 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,280 So that's the question. Do you think it affected Jesus? 222 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:06,840 Do you think it affected him at all? 223 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,120 You know, the whole book of the of John, the Gospel of John was 224 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,560 written for one purpose and that was to prove that Jesus is God 225 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:17,120 in the flesh, that he was the Son of God and God in the flesh. 226 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:23,160 And yet you read this scripture and it's talking about not just 227 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:25,960 the fact that he's God, but that his humanity. 228 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:30,480 Right. And I don't want you to lose 229 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:33,400 this, to take away the understanding that Jesus is 230 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,560 fully human. Verse six that we just read is 231 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:39,320 telling you that he was tired from his journey. 232 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,520 Jesus got tired. He's at a well, which means he's 233 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:46,400 what? Thirsty. 234 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:53,440 He's tired and thirsty. As a human being, he was dealing 235 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,920 with those feelings, with those realities. 236 00:14:55,920 --> 00:15:02,080 But does that humanity as human as he is, is that humanity stop 237 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,480 him from being fully into these upcoming moments? 238 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:09,960 And the answer is no. But the other thing that we need 239 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,480 to see is, is that Jesus understands what it's like to be 240 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:18,960 human. He understands what it's like to 241 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:25,000 feel certain ways, like maybe how this woman at the well would 242 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:31,280 feel. He knows what it's like for us 243 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,960 when we make bad choices, even though he didn't make them. 244 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,640 He knows what it's like when other people make choices that 245 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,880 make life harder for us. Because that did happen to him. 246 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,160 He just didn't let it control him. 247 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,320 He was there for a divine appointment. 248 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:58,360 John 4/4 says this now. He had to go through Samaria. 249 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:00,400 I want to. I want to. 250 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,040 I want to emphasize that word had like he had to. 251 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:04,760 Like really was. He was. 252 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,440 He was he forced to? Well, as a matter of fact, 253 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:09,720 that's really an interesting part of the story. 254 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:13,240 There were three different ways you could go from Judea to 255 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:17,600 Galilee, and the one way you didn't ever go was the way he 256 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,680 went. You never went through Samaria. 257 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:25,720 Samaritans and Jews hated each other, so there was a mountain 258 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:27,560 Rd. There was the King's Hwy. 259 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,680 There were two other ways to get up there. 260 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:35,280 They weren't as easy of a of a journey, but it was the way that 261 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,160 Jews went. But Jesus doesn't go that way. 262 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:47,920 Do you know why? Because he had a divine 263 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:50,720 appointment that he wasn't going to be late for with a woman who 264 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,920 was at a well in Cycar of Samaria. 265 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:57,280 Let me ask you this question. Do you think that Jesus has 266 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,600 divine appointments today? Yes or no? 267 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,960 Say it out loud. Do you think he has divine 268 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,960 appointments with you? He does. 269 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,040 But you know what? If we really look at our lives, 270 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,280 some of us, I think, actually think that he has more important 271 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,720 things to attend to than to bother with you. 272 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:26,599 I can assure you that Jesus never misses an appointment and 273 00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:30,400 you are every bit as worthy as the woman in this story. 274 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:34,600 The question isn't whether or not Jesus will be at that 275 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,160 appointment. The question is how do you 276 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:39,960 respond to those divine appointments when they come upon 277 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:42,880 you? Now, let's get into the bulk of 278 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,640 the story, OK? Starting in verse seven, it says 279 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:51,800 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 280 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:55,640 would you give me a drink? His disciples had gone into town 281 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,840 to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, 282 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:04,960 You're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman. 283 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,640 How can you ask me for a drink? For Jews do not associate with 284 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,440 Samaritans. Jesus answered her. 285 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:16,520 If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asked you for a 286 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,600 drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you 287 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,920 living water. Sir, the woman said. 288 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,600 You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. 289 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:27,960 Where can you get this living water? 290 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,880 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and 291 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,840 drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock? 292 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:38,680 Jesus answered. Everyone who drinks this water 293 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:42,280 will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I 294 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:46,800 give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them 295 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,600 will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal 296 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:55,240 life, the woman said to him. Sir, give me this water so that 297 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:58,320 I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water, 298 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:01,680 he told her. Go get call your husband and 299 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,120 come back. I have no husband, she replied. 300 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,000 Jesus said to her, You're right when you say you have no 301 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,560 husband. The fact is you've had five 302 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,680 husbands and the man that you are now have is not your 303 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,480 husband. What you have said is quite 304 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,480 true, Sir, the woman said. I can see that you're a prophet. 305 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,800 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain. 306 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:29,600 But you Jews claim the place where we must worship is in 307 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:34,800 Jerusalem, woman, Jesus replied. Believe me, time is coming when 308 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,200 you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in 309 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,280 Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you 310 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,880 do not know. We worship what we do know, for 311 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:48,240 salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and now has 312 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:52,160 come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in 313 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,080 spirit and in truth, for they're the kind of worshippers the 314 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,680 Father seeks. God is spirit and his 315 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,320 worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth, the woman 316 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,720 said. I know that Messiah called 317 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,680 Christ is coming. When he comes, he'll explain 318 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,320 everything to us. And Jesus declared I the one 319 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:16,080 speaking to you. I am He. 320 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,320 Here comes the appointment. Everything about this 321 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,760 appointment makes the case that this woman does not fit in. 322 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,880 She knows it. She's coming to the well at 323 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,240 noon. Nobody comes to the well at 324 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,960 noon. They come at the crack of dawn. 325 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:43,480 But that's when all the other women come to the well, and this 326 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,800 woman is avoiding the confrontation that that brings. 327 00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:51,880 What Jesus prophesied about her was quite true, and it 328 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:56,640 definitely had something to do with her reputation. 329 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,640 As she points out, she's a woman and he's a man. 330 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:09,920 Women and men did not associate socially in any circumstance. 331 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:15,600 In the ancient world. Men stayed with men, women 332 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,400 stayed with women in about every circumstance. 333 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,480 She's a Samaritan and he's a Jew. 334 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:32,640 Jews considered them half breeds compromisers on faith apostates, 335 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:35,200 so they wanted nothing to do with them. 336 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:41,880 She does not fit into talking to Jesus, at least in her own mind. 337 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:46,800 And I think that many of us don't feel worthy to talk to 338 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,200 Jesus because that is what exists in our own mind. 339 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,040 Whether it's the life that you have now, whether it's the 340 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,080 results of the things that you've done in the past, the 341 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:02,280 choices you made, the choices that other people made, there's 342 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:10,000 something that just makes you feel like you just don't fit in. 343 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:16,760 You know, we really don't know much about her back story, but 344 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:20,680 I'm sure there were choices. I don't know why she was married 345 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,440 five times. I don't know why she was living 346 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:24,360 with the man she wasn't married to. 347 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:27,080 Maybe they weren't her choices at all. 348 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,200 Women didn't have a lot of choices in the ancient world. 349 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,280 Maybe they were other people's choices. 350 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,480 Maybe she looked back on her life and felt like it was very 351 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,480 unfair, like Clayton talked about last week. 352 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,680 Maybe it was a combination of others choices and her choices 353 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:54,520 that put her life into this place of reaction and disorder, 354 00:22:56,040 --> 00:23:03,280 which is definitely where she is, you know, that's why I think 355 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:07,800 we have to read this in the first person, because it might 356 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,720 be or could be every single one of us. 357 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,440 We look at this woman like like, you know, she's tainted, like 358 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:20,640 she's polluted. And I'm going really? 359 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:27,840 Are any of us any different? Why can't we look at this and 360 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:33,200 understand that in so many ways we resemble this woman? 361 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:41,120 In any case, Jesus comes up against this whole array of 362 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:43,840 defense mechanisms. Like, she starts talking about 363 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:48,040 religion, I mean, to someone she already recognizes as a prophet. 364 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:50,880 You worship in Jerusalem. We worship on this mountain. 365 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,960 How can you know you're a Jew? I'm a Samaritan. 366 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:55,520 She comes up with all this stuff. 367 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,160 Right? Let's go back to physics. 368 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,480 You know what Newton's first law of motion is? 369 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,600 The third law of motion is the law of conservation of energy. 370 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,160 Energy is conserved. That means every every action, 371 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:09,480 there's an equal and opposite reaction. 372 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:14,880 First law of motion is this. An object at rest stays at rest. 373 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,760 Yeah, you know that, right? OK, well, that's how we are in 374 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,320 our lives. We're just the same way. 375 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,920 Don't move my keys. You know I don't. 376 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,640 I think my life is pretty lousy. It's pretty crummy. 377 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,600 But, you know, at least I know how to live it. 378 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:33,400 At least I know what the rules are in it. 379 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:36,760 So I'm just going to stay here and quit trying to mess me up. 380 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:40,200 Quit trying to change stuff. This woman is resisting. 381 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,120 Jesus. She doesn't want her life 382 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:43,160 changed. Why? 383 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:44,800 Because at least it's predictable. 384 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:48,040 At least she knows where she stands and whatever this guy's 385 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:49,840 doing. I don't know, You know? 386 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:51,960 And I really, I really don't want that. 387 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:54,960 So she puts up all these defense mechanisms. 388 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:58,440 We want to protect our lives from change. 389 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:03,440 Even though change is what she needed the most, we get used to 390 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:10,400 not fitting in. So when Jesus comes up to you 391 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:15,400 and he has a divine appointment with you, what defense 392 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:20,200 mechanisms does he run into? What do you put in front of him? 393 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,560 Look at the 27th to the 30th verse, it says. 394 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,840 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised. 395 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:34,160 The Bible's so full of understatement, to find him 396 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:39,320 talking with a woman. But no one asked what? 397 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,600 What do you want or why are you talking with her? 398 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,520 They're all saying it in their mind and you know, in their 399 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:47,440 heart, but they're not going to say it to Jesus. 400 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:53,080 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and 401 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,600 said to the people, come see a man who told me everything I 402 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,480 ever did. Could this be the Messiah? 403 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,000 And they came out of the town and made their way toward him. 404 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,640 This is my favorite part of the story. 405 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:14,320 She left her water jar. You see, that was the whole 406 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:18,520 point of her being there. She had an agenda. 407 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:21,400 There was something she was supposed to do, even though it 408 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,120 was noon. She was supposed to get water 409 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:27,040 and bring it back home. From her point of view, that was 410 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:29,240 what the day was about. That was what that moment was 411 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,120 about. She needed water and she wanted 412 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:34,720 to get that water and not of and avoid conflict. 413 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,680 And it makes me ask this question, how many of us spend 414 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:44,560 our whole lives just filling up water jars that you just do it 415 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,760 this way because you always did it that way, because that's just 416 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:49,920 what you do at this particular time of day. 417 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,640 Like you're kind of into this groove, you know, no matter how 418 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,920 you judge yourself or what the circumstances are, you're just 419 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:01,680 filling up the water jar. And I want to ask you this 420 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,480 question right now, right now, what are you filling your water 421 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,920 jar with? I've seen people put out so much 422 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:14,160 effort to fill their lives with things that they don't need and 423 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:15,760 that things that will never fulfil them. 424 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,920 How about you? And yet keep going back to that? 425 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:29,280 Well, we keep lowering that jar. We keep filling it up thinking 426 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:34,160 that something will change. You know, Jesus, what he says to 427 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:35,880 her. Everyone who drinks the water 428 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,200 from this well are going to be thirsty again. 429 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:45,520 Everything that you fill up your water jar with, it's not going 430 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:55,840 to satisfy people. Sell out for that next jar of 431 00:27:55,840 --> 00:28:00,280 water. Take a lesson from this lady. 432 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:06,320 It's time to leave the water jar behind and capture something 433 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,240 greater. Second thing that's so 434 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:13,520 incredible about this part of the story is how instantaneously 435 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,000 Jesus turns her tragedy into her testimony. 436 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:22,520 It's awesome, you know, that there wasn't a single thing that 437 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,400 changed about her past circumstances. 438 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:29,560 All those choices, whether she made them or other people made 439 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:35,120 them or they were some, you know, group of those, none of 440 00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:38,800 that changed. What did change was her attitude 441 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:43,520 toward them. Her attitude had changed. 442 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:48,200 There was plenty in her life to be ashamed of, but now there was 443 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:50,360 something that was greater than her shame. 444 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:53,960 There are plenty of things in your life and in my life to be 445 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,800 ashamed of, but there is something here in this room and 446 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,840 in all of our rooms that's greater than our shame. 447 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:13,400 If you can just capture it, you can just see it was greater than 448 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:18,680 her circumstance and God was letting her know that she fit 449 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:29,160 into his plan for the ages. Jesus made her into the catalyst 450 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:34,040 for the greatest gift that anyone could receive for all of 451 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,320 her townspeople. He can do the same thing for 452 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,880 you. Do you think that Jesus was 453 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:45,840 doing a gift assessment on her? Like, do you think that like she 454 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,080 was filling out a form and it's like, oh, here are the things 455 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,080 that you're actually good at. There wasn't any of the any, 456 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,120 none of that, that she was good at nothing, right? 457 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:58,440 Not from her point of view, But look what God did to her. 458 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:04,040 Look what God did through her. I want to ask you what tragedies 459 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:09,440 in your life can God turn into? Testimonies won't stop the 460 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:13,480 tragedy from ever happening in the past, but your attitude 461 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:18,720 toward it can change verses 39 to 42. 462 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,960 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him, Jesus, 463 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:25,840 because of the woman's testimony. 464 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:29,080 He told me everything I ever did. 465 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,400 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with 466 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,720 them, and he stayed for two days. 467 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:40,360 And because of his words, many more became believers. 468 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:45,280 Listen to this, they said to the woman, We no longer believe just 469 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,880 because of what you said. Now we have heard for ourselves 470 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:54,800 and we know that this man really is the savior of the world. 471 00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:01,800 See, this divine appointment began with this woman who was 472 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,840 far from God, but it didn't end with her finding faith. 473 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:07,840 That wasn't the end of the story. 474 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:13,760 We leave this story with a whole town, finding faith, finding 475 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:17,560 faith in Jesus. And while the Samaritans faith 476 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:24,240 is a great part of this story, Jesus has something greater in 477 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:25,480 mind. Why? 478 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:29,880 Because Jesus is better than you thought. 479 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:36,120 He's better than you thought. What are we seeing? 480 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:45,840 Faith comes when ownership shifts from the giver to the 481 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:47,800 receiver. I'm going to say that again. 482 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:54,280 Faith comes when the ownership shifts from the giver to the 483 00:31:54,280 --> 00:32:02,080 receiver. So Jesus was the giver, and the 484 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:06,040 woman at the well was the receiver, right? 485 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:10,600 That ownership shifted to her, and then it changed. 486 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:16,040 And then she became the giver. Come and see a man who told me 487 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,000 everything I ever did. And I can imagine there were 488 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,040 towns of people going, well, that's going to take a while, 489 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,040 yeah, You know, judging her, condemning her. 490 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,960 And then they did. She was the giver. 491 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:35,000 They became the receivers and they said it. 492 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,040 They go, now we don't believe just because of your testimony. 493 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:40,440 We believe because we've heard it ourselves. 494 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:44,640 And that faith was no longer her faith that found a home in them. 495 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:48,400 Now it was their faith. And even though the Bible 496 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,040 doesn't tell it, you know that these Samaritans took that story 497 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:54,800 of faith and shared it with others because that's the nature 498 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:56,560 of it. That's the nature of faith. 499 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:02,600 The ownership of faith continues to come as givers. 500 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:09,840 Share with receivers. Jesus is instructing his 501 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:15,000 disciples because this is what Jesus does. 502 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,200 He's just going to write another new story and another new story 503 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,440 and another new story in somebody else's life. 504 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:27,960 And in John 435, when he's teaching his disciples, he says, 505 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,240 don't you have a saying? It's still four months until the 506 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,480 harvest. I tell you, open your eyes. 507 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:39,680 Open your eyes and look at the fields. 508 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:53,120 They are ripe for harvest. Just look around you in all the 509 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:54,960 places where we are assembled right now. 510 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:57,520 Just look around you. Harvest is right there. 511 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,120 You're going to go to lunch in a little while. 512 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:04,720 Just look around. You might be hanging out with 513 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:07,160 your family later on. Just look around you. 514 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,199 You're going to go to work maybe tomorrow. 515 00:34:10,199 --> 00:34:12,159 Just look around you. You're going to go to school. 516 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:17,239 Just look around you. It's all around you, all right 517 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:21,000 now. And you, if you can be the 518 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,159 receiver, can then become the giver. 519 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:30,800 We're moving to a time of decision. 520 00:34:37,989 --> 00:34:41,590 How many years ago did we launch Macomb Clayton 2000? 521 00:34:45,389 --> 00:34:47,070 Seven. So 1717 years ago. 522 00:34:47,949 --> 00:34:51,389 Gosh, you're a lot older. I'm not. 523 00:34:51,389 --> 00:34:56,360 Huh. So I don't know how many of you 524 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:01,680 know this or not, but Macomb and Quincy share one wonderful 525 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,760 thing. They both have an El Rancho Rito 526 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,120 people ready. Come to the steps right now. 527 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:15,880 And so we hadn't launched the. We hadn't launched the location 528 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:17,480 yet. It's one of my favorite stories 529 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:21,680 about Macomb. And we went to lunch at about 530 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:24,480 just about two blocks from the church on the same side of the 531 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,600 street as the El Rancherito and back. 532 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:31,640 Back then McComb felt like a long way away 'cause there 533 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:35,240 wasn't a four lane highway, it was a two lane Rd. back then and 534 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:39,160 and we were cleaning up a building that was pretty nasty 535 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:42,320 at the time. And there's a lot of hard work 536 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:47,240 that went into that. And we were in the process of 537 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:53,240 that, had a brand new young team there that I don't think anybody 538 00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:58,280 would have ever thought could ever do anything worthwhile. 539 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:03,920 And it was amazing what God did. But I remember taking that team 540 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:06,960 and some people that were working to that El Rancho Rito 541 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:12,360 that day and here we are feasting on chips and salsa and 542 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:16,960 it was it was during the school year and so is packed. 543 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:19,120 Was just completely packed with people. 544 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:25,280 And I don't know, it's before or after we prayed or maybe we'd 545 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:26,760 already ordered. And I said I want you to just 546 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,280 look around, just look around, look around you right now. 547 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,560 And so they did. They probably thought and I am 548 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:36,920 pretty weird. So they probably thought, you 549 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:38,120 know, that's weird. Why am I looking at all these 550 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:42,120 people? And I go these people they don't 551 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:50,080 even know. They have no idea what God is 552 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:54,680 going to do in their midst. They have no idea. 553 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:07,760 We had no idea. But I can tell you this Jesus is 554 00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:14,840 better than you thought. And he has done a great work 555 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:21,240 over those 17 years in that place, and he's done great works 556 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:24,760 in a lot of other places, right? And we're thankful for that. 557 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:33,880 But what about in this place, your place, your heart? 558 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:40,200 What is he doing there? How about right now? 559 00:37:48,010 --> 00:37:53,130 In the words of Top Gun, it's time to quit kicking the tires 560 00:37:53,130 --> 00:38:05,840 and start lighting the fires. Quit attending church thinking 561 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:08,720 that if I bring my water jar, I can fill it up. 562 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:19,840 Just quit that. Leave your water jar and find 563 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:24,640 the living water. Find Jesus himself in an 564 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:28,160 intimate, personal relationship. If you're here and you've never 565 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:33,120 made that decision, there's going to be somebody right over 566 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:36,160 there by that baptistry. Would love nothing more than to 567 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:37,800 talk and pray with you about that? 568 00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:41,080 How in the world can we be in an environment where we saw 32 569 00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:45,320 people accept Jesus Christ to be baptized last week and not 570 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:49,560 realize that we're in a life changing environment, eternity 571 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:51,840 changing environment? And why does that have to be 572 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:56,040 everybody else? Why does the object at rest 573 00:38:56,040 --> 00:39:02,320 always have to stay at rest? It's the time to move. 574 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:09,480 If Jesus can come all the way from heaven to earth to be in 575 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:12,840 this room, to be on the other side of your computer, if you're 576 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:21,560 online or in that prison right now, you can make up that little 577 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:29,320 difference of space and just walk up to him and he will 578 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:33,280 change your life every bit as much as he changed that woman in 579 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:37,320 Psycharf, Samaria. And many of you are here today, 580 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:39,960 and you've made that decision for Christ. 581 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:42,480 But you're carrying all these burdens. 582 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:45,360 You're trying to be tough enough. 583 00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:49,160 You're trying to be strong enough, trying to do it on your 584 00:39:49,160 --> 00:40:00,000 own when you will always be a child in his eyes and to just be 585 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:07,600 that child and come to your father, come to your savior, and 586 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:10,160 pour out your heart. That's what these steps are for, 587 00:40:10,720 --> 00:40:15,160 Just to pour out your heart and to move. 588 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:27,840 Would you stand with me, Heavenly Father? 589 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:37,880 I'm reminded of a good friend who who taught taught me to not 590 00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:43,480 say God showed up because God never does. 591 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:47,600 He never left. It's not us that need to wait 592 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:52,760 for God to show up. He's waiting for us to show up. 593 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,280 And your son Jesus, he never misses a divine appointment. 594 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:04,520 But I pray that we won't let this one go by and that we will 595 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:09,480 show up for you right now in Jesus name. 596 00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:11,320 Amen.