Come and See
Dr. Tim Rivers | April 6th, 2025
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Transcription
Well, good morning, everyone.
Good morning.
If you made the mistake of putting up your winter clothes... You know, that's why I always keep at least a few sweaters under the bed just in case this weather turns. Hey, before we go any further, I just want to acknowledge two individuals over the last couple weeks that have delivered a tremendous word. The first one, Mike Kelsey. Come on, somebody.
Couple weeks ago, he is such a tremendous teacher, just a pastor. And what an amazing, just expositional teaching that he did on the holiness of God. And then last week, Dr. Craig McMullen. Come on now.
One of our very own. He came on staff just a few months ago as our chief of staff. And thank you for delivering such a tremendous word. He is a student of the Bible. He is a theologian. And it's amazing to hear someone dissect the word of God and then teach in such a way that it brings rhema, new revelation from the Word of God. And can you believe that many of the voices that we hear that touch us are in this house?
Someone said that our bench runs deep, and I couldn't agree more. All right, are y'all ready to get in the word of God?
Okay, but before we do, can y'all believe that we are two weeks away from Easter?
Two weeks away from Easter. A couple of things that I want to make you aware of. Somebody say April 18th.
April 18th is Good Friday. And we actually have a special Good Friday service that we're calling Beyond. And we want to invite you to come to this because it's going to be very intentional. We're going to do some pausing and reflecting. And the reason why we called it Beyond is because we want to go beyond the surface. We want to go a little deeper in the service. We want to take our time. We want to pray together. We want to worship together. And we invite everyone to be a part of the Good Friday service. And then somebody say Easter.
Easter is April the 20th, and it's going to be a tremendous time. Remember, Easter is the Super Bowl of the Christian world. So there are people who will never come to church that'll come on Easter. And so we want to make room because many people may just come out of routine, but I believe that the Lord is going to hit their lives, and their lives will be changed. So we're making space. We will have three services on Easter. You'll have 8:30, 10:00 AM and 11:45. 8:30, 10:00 AM and 11:45. We want to make room for those that are going to be here for the first time. Your friends, your family. And then following the 11:45 service, at 1:00 PM we will have an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. Somebody say kids.
I don't want you grown ups out there. Your days are over. [laughter] This is for children. So be prayerful about which service you come to. Remember, our most full service are going to be the 10:00 and 1145. So if you are a member or regular tender of Embassy City, I encourage you, I urge you to come to the earlier services at 8:30 so that we can make room for all of our guests. And somebody say Amen.
I feel like I have a word to share with you, so if you would stand to your feet. We're going to the Book of John, Chapter 4. Now, I hope that you stretched your legs because we're going to read nearly the entire chapter. And I'm always baffled by those who don't like to read a lot of scripture because the word of God is the word of... Ain't that amazing. And I really want you to get the context of this passage in order for me to really be able to teach this, what I feel like teaching, I want you to get context. So we're going to read the whole passage. Is that okay?
Now, when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize but only his disciples, he left Judea and departed again to Galilee. And he had to, somebody say had to.
He had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, give me a drink, for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, how is it that you, a Jew, asks for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? For the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. The woman said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep.
Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock. Jesus said to her, everyone who drinks from this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. The woman said to him, sir, give me this water. [laughter] That's the proper response. So that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water. Jesus said to her, go call your husband. What does this have to do with anything?
And come here. The woman answered him, I have no husband. Jesus said, you got that right in saying that I have no husband, for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. Why is Jesus all up in her business? How did we go from drinking water to you all in my house? What you said is true. And the woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. Jesus said to her, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship that what you do not know. We worship what we know for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is a spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming. He who is called Christ. When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he.
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman. But no one said, what do you seek? Or why are you talking with her? So the woman left her water jar and went away into a town and said to the people, come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? They went out of town and were coming to him. I want to skip down to verse number 39. Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. He told me all that I ever did. So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them. And he stayed there two days. And many more, somebody say many more.
Many more believed because of His Word. And they said to the woman, it is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves. And we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. We could literally go home right now because this passage preached itself, but I am going to take a few minutes and preach on this subject. Come and see. Come and see. Lord, we're so grateful, so thankful to be in your presence, to be in your house. I pray that in the next few moments you would give us ears to hear, a heart to receive, mind to understand what the Spirit would say to us. Help us to walk out of here different than the way we walked in. We give your name the praise, the glory and the honor because you're worthy of it. In Jesus' name everybody say amen.
Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor...
You have a testimony.
Look at your other neighbor. Come on now, say, other neighbor.
You have a testimony.
If you have a testimony, give God praise before you're seated.
If you don't have a testimony, you will have one before the service is over. Every person, every person, every individual possesses certain character traits. We all have characteristics about us. Some are good, some not so good, but we all possess character traits. Now, I want to define what a character trait is. A character trait... Character traits are defined as the individual qualities or attributes that make up a person's overall character. Now, the Bible tells us that we are created in the image and likeness of God, meaning that we are created not just in the image of God, but like God.
And if this is true and we have certain character traits, it must mean that God has certain character traits. In fact, if you read through Scripture, you'll find out that God has many character traits. And when we talk about the character traits of God or the characteristics of God, we as humans tend to acknowledge and celebrate and relate to the divine character traits of God that most closely reveal the situation that we're in. For instance, if you are in need, you most likely acknowledge and relate to the character of God being a provider. If you are sick, you might relate to him as a healer. If you are alone, you may relate to him as a friend. If you are messed up, which all of us are, you might relate to God as a forgiver. If you've ever been abused or mistreated, you might relate to him as a protector. And all of those characteristics of God are true. But he's so much more than that.
And if I were to go through the characteristics or the character traits of God, it would take me literally all week long just to go through how he's a merciful God, how he's a gracious God, how he's a forgiving God, how he's a perfect God, how he's a judge, and yet he's also gracious. I could go through all the characteristics of God, but I want to focus on, for just a minute, one of the character traits of God which we are first introduced to in Genesis Chapter One, verse one, which says that in the beginning, God created. So the very first aspect of God's character that we're introduced to in Scripture is He as a creator. Now, a fundamental aspect of God is that he is a creator. Not just a recreator, but an originator.
God creates things out of nothing. Now, it's very hard for us to kind of fathom that, but God being divine and being infinite, God can call those things that are not as though they were. God can speak things into existence that weren't in existence before. He can create from nothing. God is an originator. He possesses the ability to make the impossible possible. This is why the Scripture says In Romans Chapter 4, verse 17, God gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Think about this. There was no light until he created it. There was no earth until he created it. There was no vegetation until he created it.
There were no animals until he created them. There was no man and woman until he created them. All throughout Scriptures you'll find out that God is a creator. Colossians Chapter 1, verse 16 says this. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. So when you think about God as creator, it's a very powerful concept. To think of God as a creator is powerful. But what is even more powerful is that not only does God create, but what's more powerful is that what God creates, He imports into his creation the ability to recreate. So not only does God create, but in his creation, he imputes the seed of being able to reproduce what he has first produced. Think about it.
In the Genesis account, we read that God created vegetation and plants bearing seeds, and he created fruit trees bearing fruits with seeds and animals bearing seeds. Even when God created Adam and Eve, he placed within Adam and Eve the ability to procreate. This is why when God created Adam and Eve, he said, be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it, have dominion. These are all terms of procreating and reproducing. So when God creates, He doesn't just create for things to stay stagnant. God didn't intend for his creation to just live in their own existence. But when God created Adam and Eve, he created them with the intention of recreating themselves. God was never intending for his creation to be limited to just the Garden. God intended for his creation to move outside of the garden and to fill the entire cosmos, the entire world.
God is a dominating king. Sometimes we don't like... It's hard for us who live in a democracy to think about God as a king. But a king is dominating. In fact, if you don't understand this characteristic of God, you have a hard time understanding the kingdom of God. Because the kingdom of God requires that it moves through opposition, that it takes and conquers rebellion, meaning that anything that rebels against the kingdom of God, God will impose and enforce his rule. He'll impose himself as king to rule over anything that's in opposition. That's why the Bible says that the kingdom of God suffereth violence, but the violent take it by what?
Force.
Force. You have to understand that as a child of God, you are not just some passive, timid, quiet creation. God has placed within you a sense for dominance, a sense for taking over. This is why when you do something, you feel this urge to just conquer that thing that was given to you by God. It is with this awareness of the creative and transformative power of God that John writes his gospel, because John is very well aware of the dominating force of the kingdom of God. John is different than any of the other gospel writers. He writes his gospel not to concentrate on the chronological order of Jesus' miracles like the Synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. John is far more concerned with explaining to us who Jesus is and what he came to do. This is why when he opens his gospel, he says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, verse 14, and the word was made flesh. He is at the very beginning explaining to us that as I am talking about Jesus, Jesus is not just another man. He's not just a prophet, he's not just a miracle worker. He is God.
John, in fact tells us why he writes the gospel in John Chapter 20, verse 31, he said, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have a life in his name. This is important to note in order to establish the context for the story that we read. You have to understand who Jesus is and what he came to offer in order to understand the context of this passage. Now, we often have read the scripture, this is a very popular story, and often we refer to it as the woman at the well or the Samaritan woman at the well. And I want to give you a little bit of context because Jesus has just finished ministering in Judea, and he must, needs go to Galilee. Right? Now, what you have to understand about the direction from Judea to Galilee is that Galilee is north of Judea and in between, sandwiched in between Judea and Galilee is a city called Samaria. Now, at the time of Jesus, there was an amazing amount of hostility between the Samaritans and the Jews. They didn't like each other. In fact, they didn't just not like each other, they hated each other.
The Jews would call the Samaritans dogs, which at that time was the highest level of insult that you can give somebody. It wasn't like, yo, what's up, my dawg?
D-A-W-G. It was dog, D-O-G. And it was an insult. And the reason why they were in conflict is because the Jews viewed the Samaritans as half breeds. Because in 720 BC when the Assyrians went and and took the Jews, they exiled or deported many of the northern Jews away and left some of the Jews, but then they imported foreigners into the land. And the foreigners and the leftover Jews started to intermingle. And when they did, they were no longer considered purebreds. So the Jews, when they came back to dwell in Jerusalem and Galilee, Samaria, the area of Samaria, they considered it to be an unclean place. So much so that if a Jew was traveling from Judea to Galilee, the easiest route was for them to pass through Samaria. But in order to avoid stepping foot on Samaritan soil, most Jews would travel east across the Jordan, go all the way north, and then head back over the Jordan west to get into Galilee.
They did this to avoid even stepping foot on Samaritan soil. They would literally add days to their trip. Isn't it amazing when somebody hates you so much, they'll go out of their way to avoid you? And yet, as strong as this conflict was between them, Jesus says, I must needs. I have to go through Samaria. And I'm sure this was confusing to the disciples because they knew that the Samaritans and the Jews had no dealings with each other. And yet Jesus is on his way to Galilee and he stops by Samaria. And this is what I love about this story, is that Jesus was intentional about meeting the woman where she was. Some of you right now, you know you weren't looking for God, but God caught you right where you were. [laughter] Now, when Jesus enters Samaria, I love this, I want to break this down a little bit. When Jesus enters Samaria, he dismisses his disciples to go get food while he makes his way to the well. Now, this is very strategic of Jesus, because remember, everything that Jesus does, he does intentionally. Generally speaking, when Jesus is ministering, his disciples are with him.
Why would Jesus dismiss his disciples before he goes to the well to speak to this woman? Could it be that Jesus was aware of their preconceived ideas and notions about the Samaritans and therefore they would have been a hindrance to his mission to minister to somebody that they thought wasn't worthy? I think this is a lesson for some of us. You have to know when and who to dismiss from your life in order to do what God's called you to do. Some people cannot understand what God has called you to do. And you have to dismiss them, send them off to go get some bread while you do the work of God. It's not to say that they're bad people, they just may have bad theology, they may just not have dealt with their traumas. And if you're not careful, you will take people with you to a mission that God has for you who are actually a hindrance to you and not a help. So you have to be aware of who's in your circle. Sometimes you got to do ministry alone.
Oh my God. Not everyone can handle messy people, which makes them messy. So while Jesus is sitting at the well, a Samaritan woman walks up to draw water. John intentionally mentions the time of day when she comes. John says that the woman comes to draw water from the well. And he says this. It was about the sixth hour of the day. Now, in our current time, we have a 24 hour period, but in the times of Jesus, there was only a 12-hour period from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, or from sunrise to sundown. And when you look at that time period, the sixth hour would have been 12:00 noon, which also would have been the hottest time of the day when no one would go to draw water in the middle of the hottest time of day. So obviously this woman was trying to avoid some people, because most women at that time would actually go draw from the water either in the morning at 6:00 AM or in the evening at 6:00 PM. This woman obviously had a reputation around town, so she went to the well to try to avoid interaction with anybody. Yet when she gets to the well, she finds a man sitting there looking thirsty.
And Jesus is so cool and suave. He's just sitting there, tired from his journey. And when she walks up, she doesn't say anything to her him. But Jesus looks at her and says, woman, give me the drink. Now, I don't know if she thought he was flirting with her. I don't know what was going through her mind. But she said, why are you asking me to give you something to drink? Because you're a Jew, I'm a Samaritan, you're a man, I'm a woman. So she points out to Jesus, there are two things that get in the way of us interacting. Number one, I'm a woman, you're a man. And in Jewish culture, if you understand what the Jews were teaching, especially men, is that men were not supposed to be talking to women who were not their wives in a public setting, especially alone. So she says, first of all, we got a problem. So I don't know what kind of slick thing you're trying to do with me, but I'm not here for it. She says, what are you, a Jew, doing talking to me? I'm a woman, first of all. And secondarily, I'm a Samaritan. You consider me to be a dog.
And I love Jesus, because Jesus is unfazed. Jesus looks at her and says, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, give me the drink, you actually would have asked me and I would give you living water. [laughter] She didn't fully understand what he was saying because oftentimes living water was a reference to spring water, water that would spring up. So her reply to Jesus is, in understanding, she didn't misunderstand him, she just misunderstood the fact that he was giving her a spiritual truth with a natural example. Because her response to Jesus was, okay, I hear you, but here's the problem. The well is really deep. In fact, some estimate that the well was over 100ft deep, which means that you needed a pretty big bucket and a lot of rope and a lot of time. So she says to him, you have nothing. You don't have a bucket, you don't have rope to go all the way down to the living water that's at the very bottom. Because Jacob's well was fed by two water sources. One was a spring that came from the bottom, and two, it was rain from the top.
And often it would be much easier for you to get water from the top that was collected by rain. So when Jesus is saying that if you ask me I would give you living water, she's saying, you don't even have a bucket to get down to the living water. Jesus understands that she misunderstands. So he goes a little deeper. He says, whoever drinks of this well will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I offer will never thirst again. And I will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life. And she, still thinking that he's talking about some water source that has eternal thirst quenching power, says to him, well, then give me this water. Don't just tell me about it, be about it. Don't you love when people tell you about great things? You're like, can you take me there? Stop telling me about all the cool vacations. You go there, invite me. Stop talking about how good your mama's cooking is. Invite me. Every guy that I meet, man, if you could taste my ribs. Well, let me taste the ribs.
Wrap it in some foil and bring it. That's what... She said, don't just talk about eternal. Don't you know I'm here in the middle of the day, I gotta dodge people. It's hot. I have to do this by myself and you're offering me a solution? Well, then tell me where this water is. Then Jesus goes, you still don't get it. So Jesus goes all the way in. He goes, listen, bring your husband. She's like, wait a minute, I thought we were talking about water. He said, bring your husband. She said, I don't have one. He said, you got that right. In fact, I know some other things about you. You've had five of them, and the one you're with, you ain't even married to. Now, can you imagine what's going through her mind at this part? He must have spies. So she replies to Jesus, says, you must be a prophet. He said, you betcha. He said, I am. And then Jesus said, Jesus then brings it all the way home. He goes, listen, you've been trying to quench the thirst with relationship after relationship after relationship after relationship. You try to date him. It didn't work, so you went ahead and married him. And that didn't work.
So you divorced him. And then you tried another relationship. You dated that one, and that didn't work. So you married him. And you thought that was going to change the situation, but that didn't work, so you divorced him. And then you... You tried it five different times. Now, here's what's interesting. In Jewish culture, according to the law, a woman could only be married up to three times. So that means she was on some shady stuff to get married five times. And then Jesus is exposing what the issue is, but he brings it home. He goes, listen, what you don't understand is that you're not starving for relationship, you're starving for something that is deeper. And you're trying to quench a spiritual thirst with fleshly things. How many people do we meet who try to fulfill their life with things that don't satisfy? You tried the relationship, but you left feeling vulnerable. You tried the drugs, but it just made you paranoid. You tried the alcohol, but you just woke up with a hangover. You tried the party, but you just left with emptiness. You tried all these things, but they could not fulfill you.
And Jesus said, you're trying all this stuff, but it will not satisfy you. What you need is to drink from a well that has nothing to do with natural water. He said, you kept going back over and over and over and over again trying to fulfill a thirst with natural things. Can anybody testify to that?
Have you ever tried to quench a spiritual thirst with natural resources? You felt empty, so you figured, if my bank account increases, I will be happier. Your bank account increased and your happiness declined. Some of y'all are like, I'd like to try it at least.
Let me test this theory. They say money can't buy you happiness. Well, let me try. Let me at least try. But for many of us, we're thirsty inside and we try to fulfill that thirst with things of the flesh. And Jesus said, you're going to keep coming back to this well the same way that you keep going back to relationships, trying to quench something that could only be quenched by me. Jesus says, listen, you're trying all this stuff, but when you get a revelation of who I am and you drink this water, this living water, it will not only quench your thirst, but it will become in you a well springing up into everlasting life.
What is Jesus saying? Jesus is saying, not only will I quench your thirst for the moment, but I will give you so much water that it has to pour out of you to quench somebody else's thirst. The purpose of Jesus' mission was to break barriers. When Jesus showed up at this well, he broke the barrier of hostility between the racially pure Jews and the mongrel Samaritans. He came to break the barrier between the social restrictions between men and women and the social separation between the richly clean and the morally impure. Every response that the woman gives to Jesus when he's talking about the well is the past. She was so fixated on the past that every time Jesus was referring to her future, she was hindered by what her past was saying. Jesus said, I want to give you living water. She Said, listen, Samaritans don't have anything to do with Jews. Jesus said, listen, I want to give you living water. She said, I know, I know you say that, but guess what? We're supposed to be worshiping here, and y'all are worshiping there. Jesus said, I want to give you living water. She said, I know, but women and men aren't supposed to talk.
Every time she referred to the past, but Jesus was not concerned with her past. He wanted to transform her future. He wasn't worried about her race, her gender, her ethnicity, her social status, her relationship status. He wanted to change her from the inside out. That's why she said, sometimes we worship here and sometimes there. And Jesus said, the time is coming, and it is right now that those who worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth. You cannot worship God while you're fixated on the past.
She was so rocked by this transformative power of Jesus that she couldn't help but go and tell somebody. Now, I want you to look at this, John, Chapter 4, verse number 28th through 29th. So the woman left her water jar. You mean the thing that you've always used to quench your thirst, you left it there? When you have an encounter with Jesus, the thing that you used to quench your thirst won't quench it anymore. You can try it. You can try it. When you have an encounter with Jesus, you can try to go back and rock in the clubs and feel awkward. You can go ahead and try to hit it again and see what happens. You can go back to that old relationship.
But when Jesus hits your life, how many can testify to the transformative power of Jesus that the things that I used to do, I can't do no more. The places I used to go to, I can't go there no more. The things I used to say, I can't say no more. Why? Because I've been hit with the transformative power of Jesus. When you really have an encounter with Jesus, the vessels that used to quench your thirst will not work anymore. So the woman left the water jar and went into town and said to the people, come see a man. I love her testimony. She didn't say, come see the man who gave me a theological explanation of spirit and truth. She didn't say, come see the man who told me about eternal life. She said, come see the man who told me all that I ever did. Why was this her testimony? Because the very reason why people didn't talk to her is the very reason why Jesus did talk to her. So when she went back to town, she says, hey, Ethel, you know, you've been talking all that smack, gossiping on the phone, hanging out with the camels, trying to reveal that I got... Guess what? Come see the man that knew about it and still accepted me.
Come see the man that knows I'm not perfect, and yet he still accepts me. She said, come see the man that knows all about my junk, every place I went, every man I slept with, everything I ever bought, every time I cheated, every time I told a lie, and he still offered me eternal life. Some of us ought to give God praise that God didn't wait until we were perfect, but while we were yet sinners. Christ, you ain't got to be perfect to be accepted into the body of Christ. You are surrounded by imperfect people. I was just going to teach, but I feel the spring of water welling up. Some of you ought to just give God praise that God loves you even in your mess. Even if you messed up last night, God still loves you. I love her testimony. She didn't get into the details of all the theological reasons why Jesus could be the Christ. She just said, listen, he told me about all my stuff. He laid it out on the table, and this is why, confess your faults one to another, that you may be healed.
She experienced a healing, transformative power. But here's what's interesting. Jesus did not go with her. Jesus stayed right at the well. When the homies came back and the disciples were like, what's happening, Jesus? Okay, she's a woman. Avi. Two, she's a Samaritan. We ain't supposed to be talking to these people. But they were hesitant to say anything to Jesus. They just thought it. And it's interesting because how did John know that they thought this unless they were talking amongst each other? What in the world is Jesus doing? Don't he know that they don't live right? How many people in church are surprised when God saves people that they didn't think. God, why are you talking to them? Don't you know their history? Don't you know where they came from? Don't you know what they do? Don't you know who they're hooked up with? Don't you know their situation, Jesus? Like, that's why I sent y'all away. Go get bread. I got work to do. But notice this. Jesus didn't go with her. She went by herself. Not by any, according to scripture, not by any urge from Jesus.
She went by herself to be a witness. Now, what is a witness? A witness is someone who has experienced something or seen something or heard something that is able to testify to the validity of the thing that they heard, experienced, or saw. And when she went to town and said, come see the man who told me all that I ever did, they said, all right, we gotta see this because we know some of what you did, but I'd love to hear all that you did. Some people only come to Jesus because they're nosy, but Jesus ain't bothered by that. Sometimes when you go back and you say, man, I had an experience with Jesus, they're like, let me come see. Because I've known you all of our lives, and if you're changed, I gotta come see what actually happened. Because we know you. You're made for the streets. That was your nickname, street man. We called you Street. How are you changed? But isn't this the power of the gospel? Isn't this what the gospel is supposed to do? When they came to Jesus and said, Jesus, what are we going to do? Are you going to establish, you're going to restore the kingdom? Jesus said, no, but you know what I am going to give you? I'm going to give you the Holy Ghost.
And when the Holy Ghost comes upon you, it will give you power. What does power mean? Power means influence. To do what? To be a witness of the transformative power of the gospel. When God has truly transformed your life, you got to tell somebody how he picked me up when I was down, how he changed my life, how he healed my body. I wish I had about three people that would testify with me to the transformative power of the gospel. God didn't just create you, but he created you to recreate what he's done in your life. He's given you power not just to come speak in tongues, not just to pray in glossolalia, but he's given you power to be a witness to somebody. How are people going to know about the transformative power of the gospel unless you tell them about it? God didn't just put the power of the Holy Spirit within you just for you to sit on a chair and just for you to have a little prayer closet. But God wants you to get up out of the chair, get out of your prayer closet and go into the streets and tell somebody, come see the man who changed my life.
Stop hiding from your testimony. Oh, I know you're wearing a suit now and you're all buttoned up and your prayers are great, but if we rewind the clock just a few years, I'm talking About some old timers in here. You've been saved for so long, you forgot where God saved you from. You were cutting a rug, doing drugs, living the life, and God snatched you out of there. You better go tell somebody. [laughter] Here's the thing. The power of Christ cannot be contained. It has to move. This is why the Holy Spirit is referred to as power. How is power transferred? By connection. She was sitting at the well. Power. She got hit with some power. She said, whoa. She knew what she had to do with it. Come here. She said, hey, here. I'm gonna give you some power. Go tap somebody. Give them that power.
I'm not saying you gotta go fall out, but I'm saying when you got power, it can't just be contained in you. It's gotta go to somebody else. And the way the kingdom of God gets transferred is when someone becomes a witness to go tell somebody, come and see what God's done in my life. Stop being quiet about the transformative power of Jesus. Why am I up here yelling every Sunday? Cause I need somebody to get what I got. Because when you get what I got, you can't stop. It's like fire set up in your bones. It's like a well springing up in the everlasting life. When the well starts running over in my life, I gotta pour it out on somebody. Why am I telling you this? Because it is incumbent upon us as believers to be witnesses. The primary purpose of salvation is to be a witness of the kingdom of God. It's easy to come to church and shout because the music's good. It's easy to come to church and teary in the altar. That stuff is easy, but that ain't why you got the Holy Ghost. Jesus expects us to go and tell somebody about what he's capable of doing.
Easter is coming, y'all. And there are people in your circle that need to hear about Jesus. When was the last time you told your family members who are far from Jesus about the transformative power of the gospel? Well, they're Muslim. They're in the other religions. It don't matter. You don't have to be a theologian. You don't have to go and tell them some kind of deep theology. Just let 'em see your life. Now, if your life is not transformed, you might need to go back to the well. You may still be drinking from the well that does run dry. But the gospel of... The transformative gospel of Christ cannot be contained. You have to tell somebody about it. Why? Because it's a well springing up into everlasting life.
I've made it easy. I'm making it easy for you. Here's an invitation to Easter, it's out there in the lobby. Thousands of them. I want you to grab a stack. Grab five today. Here's the intention. Give one away every day. Dr. Craig was just telling me that there's a church in Boston, very famous church. They did all this research trying to find out why did people come to church, spend thousands of dollars? Is it marketing? Is it. Is it, you know, they're sick or friendly. Is it the worship? Is it the da, da, da? What they came to find out is that the primary way people come to church is because of an invitation. Somebody simply invited them. Now, sometimes it's become difficult, especially for those of us who've been raised in church all our lives, because sometimes we don't think we have a drastic testimony.
I wasn't out there doing drugs. That's not my testimony. But my testimony is that God kept me. My testimony is that God saved my mom as a devout Buddhist from Sri Lanka, in Germany, transformed her life, and then led my dad from Rusk, Texas to Germany. He got saved in the same church as my mom. He saw her across the church and said, Lord. They got married, they had me. They raised me in the church. That's my testimony. My testimony is that you don't have to do all that. God can keep you, but your testimony may be different. Maybe you did all that and God can still save you. But all of us have a story. The question is, are you sharing it? God is doing such a powerful thing among us. You're in Embassy City Church. That's why we want to offer more services on Easter. I don't know if you knew this or not, but year over year, we have grown in attendance 28%.
Now, some of y'all experienced that in the parking lot, right? There are people sitting in overflow every week. And we've been praying and we've been fasting. We've done everything that we can to make room wherever we can. People parking on the streets, across the parking lot, in places that are restricted, fire lanes and whatnot. You know who you are.
And we've been praying, God, what are we supposed to do? Because what we're not going to do is close the doors and say, no, you can't come. We want to invite as many people to experience Jesus as possible. So not only are we going to have three services on Easter, but moving forward, we're going to have three services every Sunday.
Come on, somebody make some noise.
Listen, this wasn't something that we just jumped on. We prayed about it, we fasted. I said, God, we need a bigger building. He said, prepare. So here's the thing. These are going to be our new service times starting on Easter Sunday: 8:30, 10:00, 11:45. Why? Because we're trying to make room. Did you know that we are regularly at 97% capacity in this auditorium?
It's not because we're marketing. We don't have some marketing scheme. We're just being witnesses. And this is what Jesus said, come on all who want to come. So here's a couple things we need from you, that we want from you. Number one, pray about which service you're going to attend. Number two, invite. We're making more room for people to be invited to experience Jesus. Number three, serve. Come on now. Serve in the house of God. Whatever you got to do. Open the door. We're not gonna work you to death. It's voluntary. But how many people already serve? Come on, make some noise.
It's amazing. Open a door, hug a neck, seat somebody, guide somebody to a parking spot. Serve and give. Generosity. If you wonder, like, what is generosity? I did a whole series called Generosity in November of last year. Go see that so you can understand how we as a church view generosity. We believe that God is a generous God. Amen. And because he's a generous God, we're created in his image and likeness, we should be generous people, especially to his work. Not out of compulsion, not forcefully. God loves a cheerful giver. I get excited, this morning I said, I'm gonna give a little extra. Why? Because I already have the understanding that God owns it all. We're just making room. And what are we doing while we make room? I shared with you a couple weeks ago that the Lord is going to reveal to us what our next building is. A bigger space. For what? For more people to meet Jesus.
Our kids' space, maxed out. Our overflow, full. Our family room, full. We ain't got no space, so we gotta rip off tiles and make space. We're making room so that you can bring somebody to Jesus. I'll end with this. They came to see what you're talking about. You see how good God's been to you. And when they came and saw Jesus, you know what they said? Can you stay here a couple more days? Now, you ain't even supposed to be staying. You're not even supposed to be stopping. But since you stopped, can you stay a couple more days? This is what the Bible says, many more believed on him and this was their testimony. We no longer believe him because of what you said. I've experienced it for myself.
Sometimes, most of the times, God will use you as the spark, the light of flame in somebody's life that will only be sustained by Jesus. Who is in your world that needs to know Jesus? Who is it? Who is it? Who is it? Have you been hiding your light under a bushel? No. I'm gonna let it shine. Who is it in your world? I want you to think. I want you to close your eyes and think. Three to five people right now that Jesus is bringing to your mind that you need to share the gospel with. I don't know how, I don't know. Just tell them your testimony. For some of you it's just as simple as taking a selfie outside and put it on your reel with this. Come to church with me. 8:30, 10:00, 11:45. That's simple. Lord, we just thank you for your transformative work that has happened in our lives. If I were to pass the mic around, Lord, we all would be here for days sharing how you have transformed our lives. But help us to get a revelation that you have not transformed our lives just for us to hold on until you come us for and no more.
But you've given us the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses so that your house may be full. Help me, Lord, not to be a greedy Christian harboring all the blessings and all of the goodness to myself, but help me to be someone who shares. Even with the disciples as you broke the bread and you gave it to them the two fish and five loaves of bread, you asked them to pass it out. And as they passed it out, their baskets were overflowing. As we share the gospel, the gospel becomes more real to us. Help us, God, to be witnesses, testifiers of your goodness. In Jesus' name. Would you stand to your feet? Maybe you're in this place and you've never started a true relationship with Jesus. Maybe you're here and your life is not transformed. It can be. So I want our prayer team to come up, if you would. And if you're in this place and you need to make a commitment to Jesus, I want you to come pray with somebody. They'll pray with you until you have an understanding of the transformative power of the gospel in your life personally.
Maybe there's something that you need. Maybe it's, God, I just want some boldness. Come pray with somebody, I just need God to give me boldness. I know exactly who it is. I know exactly where they are and I know exactly what I want to say. But I need boldness. I need God to give me boldness. God, I want you to come up here, agree with somebody, let them pray boldness over you and let us be witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Just lift your hands right now. As Jesus prayed for this for this, send me too, Lord, I pray for all of your people right now that they would be witnesses, that you would endue them with power from on high. God, that you would give them the strength, the wisdom, the knowledge to share their story. Lord, whether it be through social media or in person or in some kind of forum, I pray that they would see their lives as epistles that are known and read by all. I pray, Lord Jesus, that we would not be ashamed of the power of the cross, but that we would share it. That we would share it so that somebody may say yes to you as a result of our invitation. I thank you, Lord God, for what you're doing. In Jesus' name. Everybody say Amen. If you need prayer, come on up. If not, we'll see you here next week as we continue to worship.
