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Foreign. Rocks. Church, how you doing? It's good to see you. I love you. Church, you guys enjoying this series we've been in? If you're just joining us for the first time, couple things. First off, I want you to know what you're getting into. The first thing is this is we are very aware and we say it all the time because we want to make sure that you know that we know it. But we are just a bunch of messed up, imperfect people. But we love to get together like this and pursue and praise and hear from and be changed by our perfect God. And so what that means for you if you're joining us is no matter what, no matter what you may have been through or what has happened or what you're going through or what you believe, like, whatever, we're going to do everything we can in this church family to make sure you know, in this place you're going to be loved and welcomed and valued. We've been praying that you would show up. We've already been praying for you. And so we're so glad you're here. And I really mean this. Like, if you're joining us, you're not crashing a party. You're the guest of honor at this party. And we're so glad you're here. Church, can you make some noise? Help me welcome all the Denver based locations. We love you, Austin, Texas, Brussels, Belgium, and men and women at our correctional facilities. And everybody joining us online, we love you guys. High five, somebody. Have a seat. We're going to get this party going. If you, I know if you're at the Littleton campus, you heard Zach say it, but I want to make sure all of you hear it. If you haven't been here or missed one of the last two weekends, you've got to go get caught up. This is week three, our final week of our series, Next Gen Takeover. And I'm telling you, Casey and Lauren, oh my gosh, Church, can we say thank you to them? I was, I was at a basketball tournament with my son last weekend in Chicago. Like the Red Rocks families everywhere, guys. And a guy came up to me, like, emotional at a basketball game in Chicago and was like the series and those speakers. And he just kept going on and on and on about how good they were. In fact, he was telling me so much how good they were, I started to take it a little personal. I was like, all right, bro, I get it. They're good. But I'm coming back whether you want it or not. But so as we, as we end this series, it is my absolute honor to get to introduce this weekend's preacher. And I was looking at. I was looking at a picture as parents who want to make themselves sad often do. I was looking at an old picture and I saw this today. That is me, Jill, Ethan and Austin. That is six months after we started the church that is outside the front door of our church back in the back corner of Heritage Square. Austin was less than six months old. He was, in fact, that was the Sunday he got dedicated to God. And Ethan, there is two and a half. And I was looking at that picture today and it reminded me of a couple things, but one of them is, man, our God is so faithful church. And I don't know if you're going through something. I just want to challenge you. Hold on for dear life to your faith. Hold on for dear life to your God. Because there will be a day where you'll turn back and you'll look and go, oh, my gosh, look what God has done. He's faithful church, and he'll do more than we can ask, think, dream or imagine. And he loves doing it. And in that picture, I was looking at it today, in fact, and I thought, you know, Ashton wasn't even in the picture yet, hadn't even been born yet. But Jill was holding Austin. Put that picture back up. Jill's holding Austin. And I never would have dreamed the day that he'd be a senior in college and be so tall. I have to look up to him to scold him and have one of the kindest hearts of anyone I've ever known. And I couldn't have dreamed that that two and a half year old would grow up and not just run away from the church because his parents work at a church, but he would actually embrace the church and embrace his own faith and fall in love with God and fall in love with the local church, be one of our youth pastors here at the church and be this weekend's preacher of God's wor Red Rocks Church. Can you get on your feet at every single location and help me welcome my son, Pastor Ethan Johnson.
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Thank you. Thank you. I'm so excited and honored to be here with you guys wherever you're watching at any campus. Can you stay on your feet with me for just a couple more seconds? Because scripture is so clear that we are to give honor where honor is due. I know in about seven days for some of us, the rent is due, the mortgage is due. Today the honor is due. And I want to honor our lead pastors which I love doing. It always puts me in a little bit of a weird position because I'm like, are they Pastor Sean and Jill? Are they mom and dad? And so my parents, your pastors. I do. I want to honor you. And I think, yeah, we can clap for them. They're amazing. But I think. I think greatest compliment I can give you because I just got to live with you on and off the platform. And you're not just people I look up to as pastors, as leaders, as friends. But now as I am getting older, you're people I look up to. Is that's how I want to parent my family one day. And so I'm so grateful. Thank you. I love you. Love you so much. Thank you.
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Thank you.
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You guys can go ahead. You can have a seat. Have a seat. If you are wondering what this is right here, it is true. Like father, like son. So it's just in case I get thirsty throughout the message. Never met. I've never met anyone more in my life who's drank more water than our pastor, Pastor Sean. I. Every point is 10 sips of water. So that's just in case. We can just leave it there. Thank you guys for setting that up for me. No, I am sorry. Sorry. You're all right. I'm so excited to be closing out this Next Gen Takeover series. And you covered it a bit. Up top. Pastor Casey, week one, preached a phenomenal message on what does it mean? Not just, like, why the next generation matters to God, but also what we can learn and glean from the next generation. And she challenged every single one of us to embody what our young adults and our youth students do so well of not just being the church in here, but being the church out there. And she challenged us to go reach lost people. And then last week, Pastor Lauren preached a message on why the next generation matters to God. And she talked about, how do we raise and steward and lead the next generation. And as I was listening to both of those messages, I think the problem for me, it's not that I don't care about doing those things. It's not that I don't care about reaching lost people. It's not that I don't care about pouring into the next generation. I think the problem for me is I almost hear those messages and I go, that's really great. But maybe for someone else, like, what would I have to give to the next generation? I understand that God has a calling for me, but if I'm being honest, it's not that I Don't want to do it. Sometimes I just don't feel worthy of it. And maybe some of you have been in the same boat. There's a book in the Bible, it's the seventh book of our Bible, the Book of Judges. And the Book of Judges, it records the life of the Israelites. And if you're unfamiliar with God's story and with scripture, that's okay. Okay, we're all in the same boat. But Judges records God's people. These were the Israelites. So in the book of Genesis, the first book of our Bible, God encounters this man named Abraham. And God says, I want to raise a nation out of you. I want to be your God and you will be my people. And so God uses Abraham to make a nation that he calls the nation of Israel. And then Scripture, as we continue reading, we see the nation grow, we see them turn into a great nation. And then they go into 400 years of slavery in the land of Egypt. And then God sends a man named Moses and says, I'm going to deliver my people from slavery. And God miraculously takes the Israelites out of slavery. And God says, I'm leading you to the Promised Land. In Scripture, the Promised Land was a place called. It was a place of milk and honey. It simply means to us this was a place of protection, a place of peace, and a place of provision. God says, I'm taking you, I'm taking my people, the nation of Israel, out of slavery and I'm bringing you into the Promised Land. And then we get the Book of Judges where the Israelites are living in the Promised Land. And the Book of Judges simply records this is what the Israelites did while they were living in the Promised land. And if you've read the whole Book of Judges, I almost think the Book of Judges feels like I'm watching my childhood in like a two minute movie. Like I'm good with my parents. Things are good, they like me, I like them. And hypothetically, I would never do it. But hypothetically speaking, I went into the backyard and caught a bunch of snakes and put them in the box and hid them next to a chair in the basement that I knew my dad would sit in and just waited for him to sit in that chair. And then I hypothetically, of course, got in a lot of trouble. And then I apologized to my parents and then we're back on good terms. And then you fast forward a couple years down the road and maybe I lit the garage on fire. And then I got in trouble again. And then I apologized to My parents again. And then I'm back in their good graces. And then, potentially, I sold my brother's electric scooter at a garage sale while keeping mine tucked away. And I got in trouble again. And I apologized again. And maybe I broke my brother's foot and sent the other brother to the hospital, throwing a roll of duct tape at him, hit him in the face, about five stitches. Think he still has the scar. And I get in trouble again, and I go, I'm sorry. They go, you're dumb, but it's okay. We love you. That is the Book of Judges. You just read the whole book, all 21. Check. You're done. You just read it. It's done. It's over. It is. The Israelites are good. And God goes, go inhabit the land. And things are good. And we've got protection, we've got peace, we've got provision, we've got all of it. And things are good. And then the Israelites fall away from the Lord. And then oppression comes. And then they go, we've abandoned God. And they cry out to God, God, would you save us? And God sends them a deliverer. And then things are good, and they fall away again. It's over and over and over. That is the Book of Judges. And I've read that book. And when I read it on paper, it just feels so simple in my mind. Like, if you guys had just followed God, if you had just stayed near, if you just didn't set the garage on fire, things would have been a lot better for you. But I can't help but wondering, as I try to put myself in their shoes, as I try to put myself in the story of Judges, it just. It does not make sense to me. Like, the people of God, the Israelites, that it's. It can't just be that one day they woke up and went, guys, you remember God, who. He said he'd be our God and we would be his people. Remember God, who delivered us from 400 years of slavery and captivity? Remember God, who led us through the wilderness? Remember God, who led us through 31 battles? Remember God, who gave us this land? He gave us everything. They couldn't have just woke up one day and said, you know what we should do? Not do anything that God said to do. And so I just asked myself, why? Because on paper, it seems so simple. And as I was studying for this message this week, I saw something that I had never seen in scripture before. It's in Judges, chapter 2, verses 10 and 11. And it says this. It Says after that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors. Can you leave that up on the screen for just a few seconds? So what's happening right now is the leader of Israel, his name was Joshua. Joshua led them into the promised land through 31 battles. And Joshua then dismissed them. He said, go home, get the U haul, pack up, move in, let's go. And what the Bible says is that Joshua and the people who were with Joshua, they served the Lord faithfully. But then that generation, that generation who was with Joshua, they were gathered to their ancestors, Israel ancestors. In other words, they passed away. And then it says another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. What if the problem for the Israelites wasn't that the people were imperfect? What if it wasn't that they just woke up one day and said, you know what would be a really good idea? Let's go light the garage on fire and see what happens? What if it was actually that the generation that saw what happened and they saw the miracles, they never passed it down to the generation below them, and a generation grew up that did not know God and did not know what he had done, and so they grew up and didn't know anything better, and then they fell away from the Lord. What if it was never that they were just broken and bad people, but what if it was that the generation above them never passed it down to them, and so they just didn't know what to do? If you're taking notes, the title of my message today is simple. It's called Pass It On. I believe that God does not just have a responsibility for us to pass it on to the next generation. I believe that God has a calling for us to pass it down to the next generation. And I believe that the Book of Judges is not just teaching us how and why to follow God. I actually believe that the Book of Judges serves as a warning for our church of this is what happened when we do not pass it on to the generations below, that we have an obligation to raise up the next generation. It's what I love about our church. We're not babysitting in kids. We're not throwing water balloons at teenagers and youth. No, we are raising the next generation to know God and know who he is and know what he says about them. Not so that the world would be just changed today, but that we would see God continue to change the world through imperfect people for decades and decades. And I don't Think the problem is that we don't want to pass it on. I think the problem is that I just feel like, what would I have to give? Like, as soon as I hear that God wants me to pass it on, I've got a list of reasons why I'm not the guy. Like, you want the guy who hid snakes in the basement. You want the guy who lit the garage on fire. You want the guy who sold his brother's scooter while keeping his. Like, I've got a list of reasons, and I think it's really funny when it's about lighting the garage, but it's a lot less funny when it's real. And I know for me it is. I remember last week as Lauren was preaching, I was thinking about this weekend, and I was just sitting right over there in worship going, God, why would you choose me? Like, I have nothing to give, I have nothing to say. And I wonder if there's some of us that that's how we feel today, like, God, I'm not the smartest, I'm not the most talented, I'm not the most gifted. Like, we have a list of reasons of all our inadequacies of why it shouldn't be us. Or maybe we do an audit of our past and we go, God, what would I have to pass on? Because when I look back at my past, I have not done this right. I have not lived this right. And we have a list of all the mistakes we've made. And go, it should be somebody else. I hope someone else does it, but it shouldn't be me. If that's you today, I feel like you are in the perfect place. Because I want to look at a story of a woman in Scripture in the Book of John. It's in John, chapter four. John is the fourth book of the New Testament recording the life of Jesus. And what I love about this story, it's famously known as the woman at the well. Most theologians, which theologian, Smart word for people who sit inside and study the Bible. Most people who sit inside and study the Bible, they actually believe that this woman was the first ever evangelist in all of Scripture. Evangelist simply meaning someone who encountered Jesus and passed it on to the people around her. And what I love about this woman's story is that on paper, this was a woman that everybody else would have passed by, like, from the world standards. This woman had nothing to give. Yet she has one interaction with Jesus, and Jesus looks at her and says, you. You are exactly who I'm looking for. You're exactly who I want. So if you're in the room today feeling like I don't know what I would have to give feeling like I don't know what I would have to pass on. I believe that this woman's story is going to help us see our own story and see why God doesn't just have a calling for us to pass it on to the next generation, but why God wants us. Why God wants you to pass it on. So I want to look into this woman's story, and we're going to jump right in. It's in John, chapter four, verse three. We start. It says, so Jesus. So he, he left Judea and he went back once more to Galilee. Now Jesus had to go through Samaria. I want to pause right there and give us just some quick historical context to what's going on. So Scripture says that Jesus, he's in Judea and he needs to get to Galilee. I don't have a map, and the last thing I wanted to do was make us feel like we're in school and throw one up there. So roll with me here. But if Judea is here, then Galilee would be somewhere right around here. And in between Judea and Galilee would have been Samaria. Now, for a Jewish person, this was so common. A Jewish person would never go from Judea to Galilee by passing through Samaria. Because at this point in time, 2,000 years ago, the Jewish people and the Samaritans, it wasn't just like, we don't get along. We are talking centuries of red hot racism. We are talking Jews and Samaritans. They would not marry each other. They would not talk to one another, they would not do business with one another. In fact, the Bible even records Jewish people referring to Samaritans as dogs. And so what Jewish people would do if they were going from Judea all the way to Galilee is they would walk all the way around, adding weeks to their journey simply to avoid being in Samaria. And I heard a pastor say once, he said, I wonder how many of us in our lives, we have some area of our life that we refuse to walk through. And we'll do anything to avoid it. I'll do anything to walk around it. I will add stress, I will add anxiety, I will add isolation, I will add loneliness in my life, because there is some area of my life that I refuse to pass through. And I wonder if there's some of us in the room who maybe there's someone that we know that I'm supposed to forgive that person or I'M supposed to apologize to that person, but instead, I'm gonna avoid that area, and I'm gonna block them on social media, and I'm gonna make sure I don't see them in the workplace, and I'm gonna do everything I can to avoid them so that I don't have to go through. And what we end up doing is we end up holding on to anger, holding on to bitterness, holding on to resentment, because we're unwilling to go through that area of our life that we want to avoid. Oh, maybe for some of us, it's a person. Maybe for some of us, it's a habit. Maybe some of us have been avoiding confession, avoiding counseling. I don't know what it is for you, but Pastor Lauren said this last week. It was so good. She said, can we not mentor the next generation through the trauma that we've been unwilling to heal from? And what I know is true is that God can't heal the thing that you and I have been avoiding. So if we want to pass it on to the next generation, the first point of my message is we have to be willing to go through. Through Samaria. Scripture said Jesus had to go through Samaria. And so the question I have for you today is, is there an area of your life that you have done everything to avoid? And today God is saying, I need you to go through this area. I need you to go through this and invite me into this process so that the thing that you pass on is not trauma, is not anger, is not bitterness. But you pass on healing, and you pass on freedom and you pass on hope, because you were willing to walk through something that felt imposs, and God took you through it. Pastor Lauren said it last week. She said, let's let our healing become someone's freedom. We only do that when we are willing to go through that area. And then it says that Jesus, he passed through Samaria. And then I'm gonna paraphrase just a little bit. He passes through Samaria. And it says, he comes to a well. And it says, he sits down at the well, and he's tired from his journey. And he finds a woman sitting at this well. And he looks at her and says, will you give me a drink from Thirsty. The woman. In fact, she looks back at Jesus and she says, sir, are you talking to me? She's astounded that Jesus, a Jewish person, would even speak to her. Jesus says, can I have a drink? She says, are you. Are you talking to me? And this is how Jesus replies. John, chapter 4, verse 10. It says, Jesus answered her, for if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. Sir, the woman said, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock? So Jesus answered, everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. So the woman said to him, sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water. So Jesus responded to her, go call your husband and come back. I have no husband, she replied. But Jesus said to her, you're right when you say you have no husband. The fact is you've had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true. And I want to pause right here because I think we sometimes can read that story too fast. And I think that's one of the craziest interactions I've ever seen in scripture. Like, Jesus, what is it called, eq? Your emotional intelligence? None. Okay. Zero. Zero emotional intelligence. Like, think about this. Hey, hey, can I have some water? You talking to me? Well, if you knew who was talking to you, you would actually ask me for water, and I would give you living water that you would never be thirsty again. Sir. I love this water. This is the moment in conversation when Jesus, like, pull out the spiritual sippy cup, and here you go. She's saying, I want the living water that you have. And instead Jesus goes, go call your husband. And she says, sir, I have no husband. He says, you're right. You've had five husbands, and the man you're currently living with is not your husband either. And I have read this story time and time again, and I always thought that Jesus was, like, just giving this woman the craziest call out in all of scripture. But as I've come to understand what's happening in this story in the cultural context, I realize Jesus is not calling her out in this moment. In fact, he's calling her up. And what I know to be true is it's one thing to listen to the words of Jesus, and it's a whole other thing to understand what God is trying to say. I remember every report card I ever got. I Don't think I ever made it home from one of those parent teacher conference meetings without being grounded. Every time. Every time, it was the same. He's a fine kid. He doesn't listen and he doesn't shut up. And all my teachers were always like, you're doing the assignment wrong. You're not listening. You're not listening. Everyone in my life, all the time, you're not listening. Sometimes, that's fair. Most times it's, yeah, most times it's not that I'm not listening, it's that I just don't get it, okay? I just am confused. I don't understand it. And it's one thing for us to listen to Jesus, but it's a whole other thing for us to understand not just what God is saying, but what God is trying to do in our life. Point number two, we have to grasp what God is saying. Because in this moment, in this story, see, 2,000 years ago, a woman was not legally allowed to divorce a man. So when Jesus says, you've had five husbands before this, he's not saying you got divorced five times. He's saying, five times there have been men that have walked into your life and they have picked you up and they have spit you out and left you to figure it out on your own. Five times you have been rejected. Five times, maybe you have been manipulated. Maybe you have been used. Five times you have been hurt. And back then, 2,000 years ago, for this woman with her past and just the fact that she is a woman living in Samaria would have made it extremely difficult and maybe even impossible for her to get a job. So for her to live with a man that's not her husband might be a lot more about her safety and her security than it would actually be about her just wanting to live with someone else. So when Jesus takes this moment to pause conversation and said, you've had five husbands before this and you've had a six man, he's not calling her out, he's calling her up. And he's actually speaking to something that has been hurt in her heart. What Jesus is doing in this moment. He's saying, I know you've been hurt by multiple people. I know multiple people have said, I love you and never meant it. I know multiple people have promised you things and they have ruined it for you. I know you've been rejected, and I know you've been hurt. This moment, I believe, was not just about what she needed to stop doing, but it was a lot more about what God wanted to start Healing in her heart. I believe in this moment. Jesus is looking at her and she's saying, you're worth more. You're worth more. I don't just. I don't just love you. He's saying, I want you. He's reminding her, would you start living the life that I have for you? And I wonder if there's some of us in the room, watching online at any of our campuses, all over. I wonder if there's some of us who maybe, maybe you have not been to church a lot. And maybe part of that is because someone has taken God's word and used it to judge you and used it to condemn you and used it to make you feel like you were less than. And if that's true, number one, I am so sorry. And what I know to be true is that Jesus never speaks in a voice of shame. He always speaks in a voice of love. This moment was not condemnation. Jesus is giving her an invitation and he's saying, let me start to heal some broken things so that your healing can be somebody else's freedom. Maybe it's not what God is trying to just get you to stop doing. Maybe it's what God wants to start doing in your heart so that he can heal something in us, so that he can do something through us. I've just. I've just never met anyone who's beaten an addiction by just white knuckling it. And I got it on my own. I've never met anyone who's been able to genuinely forgive someone and let go of some past hurt, who hasn't first experienced God's grace and his mercy and his love for themselves. I've never met anybody who's just stopped being anxious by just stopping. But I've met a lot of people and I know a lot of stories of people who God started to heal something that was broken inside their heart and behavior started to change after and they got to walk through some very impossible things. Not because God said, stop doing this, because God said, let me start healing this. I wonder if God wants to start healing something in you before he does something through you. This woman, she grasps what Jesus is saying. Maybe for some of us, we need to understand what God wants to do in our life so that he can begin to do something through our life. Point number three, she gives God authority. Give God authority. See, this is written in the book of John. There are four gospels in the Bible. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then John, Matthew, Mark and Luke are what we call synoptic gospels. Am I right? On that, they are John's the gnoctic gospel. Sorry, I haven't touched my notes. I don't know what I'm saying. Matthew, I mean, it could be a personal therapy session for me, you know, who knows? Anyways, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, those are the synoptic gospels. Thank you, Pastor Sean, for the clarification. And what the synoptic gospels mean is they are building a case for Christ. They are telling a chronological story of Jesus, Jesus's life. This is when Jesus was born. This is what Jesus did. This is what Jesus said. This is when he was crucified. This is three days later when he got up out of the grave. And this is what he said after he was out of the grave. And here's who saw him, and he is the son of God. They are building a case. So when you read Matthew, Mark and Luke, it almost feels like you're reading the same story three times because they're telling it so similarly. Well, the Gospel of John is entirely different. John is not telling a chronological story. John is painting a picture of this is who Jesus is. And John uses a lot more symbolism as he paints a picture of who Jesus is and who he wants to be to us. And in John's Gospel, we see this number seven pop up all over. In fact, John records seven miracles that Jesus performs and he calls them the seven sons. And every time Jesus performs a sign, Jesus would give an I am statement, such as, I am the bread of life, I am the vine, I am the way, the truth, the life. So we have seven miracles, and then we have seven I am statements. In fact, the number seven is found in Scripture over 700 times. This is so important for this story because what we know is that the number seven, anytime we see that number seven in scripture, we know that the number seven always symbolizes completion. The number seven always points us to God fulfilling what he meant to do. So when Jesus looks at her and says, you've had five husbands and you're living with a sixth man, he's saying, I am the seventh man in your life and I can complete what none of them could ever do and everything you've ever been searching for in everyone else. I am what Jesus says to you. And I. He says, would you let me be the seventh man? Would you let me fulfill in you what no podcast can, what no self help book can, what no medication, substance, relationship can. Jesus says, I can fulfill everything in you. All the places that you've been searching, that void that you feel. Jesus says, I am that I am the completion of that. The question becomes, if Jesus wants to be everything for us, have we let him be everything? Have we given him full authority? I remember a few years ago, I was back from college. I was talking to one of my younger brothers, and we were just catching up on life. He's telling me about some girl he's interested in. And I'm like, oh, man, how's it going? What's going on? And he's like, yeah, I don't know. I don't think I'm gonna be talking to her much longer. And I'm like, okay, what's the problem? And I can't make this up. He goes. He goes, dude, she just wants to talk all the time. And I'm like. I'm just like, bro, yeah, yeah, that's what happens. And I'm like, you're not that busy. I know you're. You're not that. You have the time. He dead serious. I wrote it down. I'll read it so that, you know, I gotta find it, but I'll read it. This is what he said. He said, bro, I just want to play Fortnite and basketball. I don't have time for that. And I'm sitting there like, are you surprised? Are you shocked that maybe your fortnight time may have to decrease a little bit to talk to the girl that you're interested in? And I'm judging him in this moment. And then I stop and I reflect on my life, and I go, but how many times am I shocked when God's like, I need you to change this. You're following me, so we need to work on this. How many times am I shocked that. Wait, when I start following Jesus, my routine might change, my rhythm might change, my schedule might change. If he wants to be everything, then I have to let him be everything, which means he's the first thing that goes on my calendar. And then the other stuff happens, and it's almost like I'm surprised. And Jesus says, I can fulfill everything that you've been looking for, but will you let me? The question for us today. Have you let him be everything? Have you given him authority? Does Jesus have authority over your rhythm, over your routine, over your calendar? Does he have authority. Authority over your relationships, over your habits, over your bank account? Does he have authority over the opinions that you choose to share with people? Because sometimes I have to sacrifice my opinion to love someone else. But because Jesus has the authority and I don't, I go, that's okay, because you want to be everything. So you get everything. When Jesus says, I have living water that will never leave you thirsty, he says, I'm not just here to save your life. I'm here to be your Lord and I'm here to. To change you. We heard it up top. My dad said it. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than you could think, ask, or imagine. If God's going to do what we can't think, ask or imagine in our life and in our world, I have to be willing to do what I wouldn't think to do what I wouldn't even imagine. But I say, God, you have the authority. And I trust that the best for my life is found in my yes to you. So does God have authority? Is he the seventh man in your life? This woman at the well, she gets it. And she says, yes. She says, I want that. I want heaven forever. I want the living water. I want you to be lord over my life. And this is what scripture records she does. Next. John, chapter 4, verse 28, 30. It says, so the woman left her water jar and she went away into town and said to the people, come see a man who told me all I ever did. Can this be the Christ? So they went out of the town and they were coming to him. Point number four, get rid of your bucket. What do I mean? Get rid of your bucket. Verse 28. It said the first thing it said. So she left her water jar. The one thing that she went to the well to do was to get water. And the one thing that she leaves leaves is the jar for water. Why? I believe she leaves the bucket behind because she realized that I can't carry the new thing God has for my life until I'm willing to let go of what he's trying to take from my life. And I wonder if there's some of us who we want to carry the new thing that God has for us. But we're holding on to some things that he's trying to take from us. And what God is trying to tell take from this woman in this moment is shame. John, chapter four. It says that the woman was going to the well at noon. Midday. You would never go to the well at noon because the temperatures would have been so hot, so the whole community, they would have gone to the well in the morning. The well was not just a place to get water. The well is actually a place to be with your people. So when we see that she's going to the well at noon, we know she's not just taking an Afternoon stroll. She's avoiding everybody else because I think she knows that they know my story and they know my past and they know the things I've done. And I just, I don't want to deal with it. I don't want to deal with the judgment. I don't want to deal with the looks, I don't want to deal with the whispers. I just don't want to deal with it. And the shame that she had been carrying for who knows how long kept her going to the well all by herself. And in one moment with Jesus, the very next thing she does is she lets go of her bucket. And it says she goes back to the people she's been avoiding. And all she says is, come meet a man who told me everything I ever did. Can this be the Christ? And she becomes the first ever evangelist. And the whole city ends up getting saved because one woman let go of her shoes. Shame to start carrying some purpose. And maybe you're in here hearing that God wants you to pass it on and you look at all the ways I've messed it up and all the things I've done wrong and what could I give? Oh, you can give your story. You can give a message to the next generation and the people around you that says, come meet a man who told me everything I ever did and changed my life. She gave her story and it changed her whole city. Point number five, I know I talked so long, it's criminal to do a point, a five point message. If you're mad, you can email me. It's Conrad bestrockschurch.com so point five, give people your story. I'll do this fast and I'll get out of here. That's what she did. That's all she did. She went back to town, she said, come meet a man who told me everything I ever did. And I'm going to be a youth pastor here. I've seen a lot of youth pastors preach at a lot of churches and they do such a phenomenal job. And I'm always like, wow, they should preach at adult church. Like, they're so good. And I was like, I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna be the youth pastor. And so we're gonna have some fun here. Two things if you want to give your story. Right before this moment in John chapter four is John chapter three. Jesus meets this man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus goes and asks Jesus, he says, hey, how do I see the kingdom of God? How do I see the kingdom of heaven? Come down to earth. How do I see God's kingdom? Change our world? And Jesus said, you want to see the kingdom of heaven? You need to do two things. You need to be born of the spirit and you need to be born of the water. You want to give people your story. You want to see the kingdom of heaven? You want to see heaven get more crowded in today's age? You got to be born of the Spirit and be born of the water. What does it mean to be born of the spirit? Spirit? It's simple. Being born of the spirit means I have the living water inside of me. Scripture says when we put our faith in Jesus, when we say, I believe that Jesus was the son of God, that he was crucified on that cross and resurrected, not only are my sins forgiven, not only is my shame taken, not only do I get heaven forever, but I get his spirit living in me. Born of the Spirit, it's simply me. I've put my faith in Jesus, and now I have the living water inside of me. But Jesus says, you want to see the kingdom of heaven? You want to see this world get changed? You want to give people your story? You can't just have the living water inside you. He says, you have to be born of the water. What does that mean? Oh, that means that the living water inside me actually is on me. In other words, Jesus is talking about baptism. When we do baptism, we do that a few times a year here at this church. And what scripture says is that when we come out of the water, that the old is gone and the new has come. And I've always. Like. I grew up around church, and for the longest time, I had the understanding that when you get baptized, it's your way of going, look how good I am. It's so wrong. Baptism is. Look how good he is. Baptism is. I was broken and I was lost, and I was a mess. But I went under the water publicly to show the whole world that I met a man named Jesus. So you want to give people your story? I gotta pick this up without breaking stuff. Forgive me. You want to give people your story? You can't just be born of the spirit. You actually have to be. You gotta be born of the water. Mason, can you come here for a sec? I just need you to hold this for me. See, this is one of my best friends that I met here at Rain Red Rocks Youth. He's now my roommate. Mason, just. Just follow me as best you can. See, I think some of us, our life, we have the living water in us, but there's been a lot of shame that says, don't share what you've done. And so the living water that's been inside of us hasn't actually got on us. And we haven't passed it on to anybody around. So it seems that the only way to give people your story and pass it on is not just that the living water would be in you, but that it would actually be on you. See, what happens now is every person I meet, the water that was on me gets on them. Every job I step into, every home I walk into, every elevator I'm in, I say, I met a man named Jesus and he changed everything about my life. Giving yourself story Red Rock Church Passing it on. It's never been about our perfection. It's always been about his perfection and our availability. To say, I'm willing to let my life be a living testimony. I'm willing to tell the world I was broken and I was lost and I was hurting and I was anxious and I was depressed. But I met a man named Jesus who changed me. And now the living water that's in me gets on everybody I'm around. Our ability to pass it on is never about us being perfect. It was about him being perfect and us being willing to go. Here is how I'm imperfect, but I met a man named Jesus who changed everything about my life. I believe that we can pass it on, that God just doesn't have a responsibility and a calling for us, that he wants you and he wants your story to go make a difference not just in the next generation, but in everybody around. So would you guys stand and pray with me as we go into a moment of worship? And I'm going to stand with you without falling and breaking my foot. God, right now I want to pray for every single one of us that maybe, maybe shame has kept us from sharing our story. Maybe we've had that list of reasons why God wouldn't want me, and it shouldn't be me. God would today be a reminder for us that you don't just have a calling for us, but you want us. You choose us. It's always been by your love. God, I pray that we would be encouraged today to go make a difference and an impact in the world, that we would give people our story and heaven would get more crowded. And right now, God, I want to pray for one group of people. God, I believe that there are people that, as I've been speaking, you've been speaking to them. And they know this is my moment. I want the living water. I want to put my faith in Jesus. I want Jesus to be lord of my life. I want my sins forgiven. I want heaven forever. I want healing and purpose in the healing. And now, if that's you and you want to make the best decision of your life and put your faith in Jesus, would you boldly raise your hand right now and say, jesus, I want to start a relationship. I see you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. God, I thank you. God, I thank you that it has always been by your love. God, I pray that we, as a church, we would live with the spirit that this woman had, that we would go into our homes, we would go to our kids, we would go to our classrooms, God, to our offices, and we would give people our story, that we would read the world with a message that says, I met a man named Jesus who changed everything about my life, and we would pass it on, and the world would be changed by your power, not just now, but for decades to come. And everybody at Red Rocks Church said, amen. Hey, could we celebrate that? Heaven just got more crowded right now. Red Rock Church, I love you.
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A
Let's worship.