Sunday Morning Sermon Series - Pastor Jeff Shipley (Date: 10/31/2021)

Now, I want you to pay attention. It wasn't anything in Israel, it wasn't their military styles, it wasn't the type of people they were talking about.

We're going to be in John chapter 4 this morning, John chapter 4, and we're continuing a series of sermons on pictures of God's grace in Scripture.

A lot of folks don't understand the doctrine of grace. It's not a religious word, it's not a church word.

It is a doctrine of God's Word. It is something that is spoken about as early as Genesis chapter 6 verse 8, and it continues through every book written in the

Word of God all the way through Revelation 22. But if you're like me, seeing pictures kind of helps you understand some things.

I'll be honest with you. I was just at Arlington Cemetery, and I've always had an appreciation of sacrifice and honor and duty, and I don't know why

I have that, because that is not how I grew up at all.

I guess later in life, maybe at conversion, God started instilling me certain aspects of what honor really was.

But it is no matter how much I appreciate it or think about it, when you're standing in front of a headstone of a 19 -year -old young man who never knew the joys of marriage, of having a child, of living life, when

I realized that my youngest son is four years older than this young man who gave his life in 1944 on a beach in France, seeing that picture brings a bit of reality to the sacrifice that so many gave.

Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm getting old, but there is something unspeakable in that picture of sacrifice that I can appreciate so much.

It's the same in John 4. Guys, as I've gotten older,

I've become more introspective, to be honest with you. I see things differently than I did in my 20s, in my 30s, and yeah, even in my 40s.

I have appreciation of things now that I didn't have many years ago.

Shoot, when I was a kid, I didn't even appreciate life. My famous saying, which is now a

Facebook meme of, here, watch this, hold my beer, was kind of a caveat, or not a caveat, an axiom of my young life.

I can remember riding my bike off the roof of my grandmother's house into her swimming pool.

I remember dropping three hits of Purple Microdot and getting on top of a car and holding on and zooming up and down the street on Christmastime to catch the trails off the

Christmas lights. I remember doing stupid stuff and there was no appreciation of life or honor.

Now, I read what we're about to read today and it absolutely breaks my heart in joy.

It gives me a peace that passes all understanding of what a moral code or religious creed can ever give.

It is truly the Word of God written to me and it speaks well to my soul. If you will, turn with me to John chapter 4 and I will just read to you the first couple of verses.

And I ask that today you don't hear a silly sermon from a stupid preacher.

I ask today that you hear the Word of God, the sovereign

Word of God, and allow it to change your life. Allow it today, no matter who you are, whether you're a lost person on the road to hell or a saved person,

I ask today that you let the Word of God wash over you and break some chains that may be upon you.

First thing I would have us know is that the grace of God is for everyone.

If you look with me in verse 1, it says, When Jesus knew the Pharisees heard he was making and baptizing more disciples than John, though Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were, he left

Judea and went again to Galilee. He had to travel through Samaria, so he came to a town of Samaria called

Sychar near the property that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well, and it was about six in the evening.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. He looked at her and said,

Give me a drink, Jesus said to her. For his disciples had gone into the town to buy food.

She asks in verse 9, How is it you, a Jew, ask a drink from me, a

Samaritan woman? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

For those of you who have sat under my teaching for the last seventeen years, this passage of Scripture has to be familiar to you because I love this passage.

And I love this passage because there's so much stinking history in it. From Jacob's well, we're talking a minimal of eight hundred years from that understanding and purchase a second time by the tribes of Israel from the first time a thousand years before that.

It's amazing, but I can't go into that right now, even though I'm nerding out on history after leaving

Richmond, Virginia. What I do want us to point out is this.

Jesus had to go through Samaria. Now that cool little map you see on the front of your little papers, you have to understand historically what's going on here.

Palestine, even today as it's known, Palestine was really three different regions.

You had Galilee all the way in the north. You had Judea, or Judah, kind of in the centric.

And you had, in the bottom, I'm sorry I'm losing my brain, my thought. You had

Galilee in the north, Samaria in the middle, and Judah in the south. And you have to understand these three districts of Palestine were there because of religious and racial tension.

You have to understand that. It would be like on this trip, Gwen and I and David and Carrie, we got...

I don't like maps and... I like getting on my bike or getting in the car when

I'm on vacation and say, let's go west. I don't want to know where I'm going.

I just want to go, right? A few years ago, actually about 10 years ago, I took a sabbatical here from the church and I went hitchhiking for five or six days.

I just got out on 64 and put my thumb out and hitchhiked. It's refreshing not to have a plan, right?

Jesus and these peoples, the Jews down here, Judah, hated the people of the north.

Jesus always had a plan. It says that he had to go to Galilee, but he had to go through Samaria.

Now you have to understand that the racial and religious tension between Samaria and Judah was intense.

While we were on our trip, this is why I started saying all that, while we were on our trip, we ended up in this ritzy place called

Charlottesville, Virginia. And you could tell that it had money because you're driving down the streets and I mean the asphalt looked like it was put in by Abel Asphalt.

I mean everything was clean and sharp lines, no trash everywhere. It was just like, it was like Collierville on steroids, right?

And so we went to go see the new James Bond movie and you walk in and I mean I felt like I needed a suit and tie in a movie theater.

And then there was this little shopping area, right? And all of the shops were like Gucci, Lucci, something, you know?

And they were all girl's stores, you know? I walked into this one store, it said L .L. Bean. I was like,

I recognize that name, maybe it's a little man's store, right? I walked in, they said they sell camping equipment.

Ain't no camping trip I've ever been on that has quilt down line mattress covers for a cot.

Just not my type of camping and not my type of people, okay? The whole time

I just, I felt like, ugh, rich churchy people. I just go away.

I don't, you know? Too many preps. That's how

Jews felt about Samaritans, but even 10 times worse -er -ist. They hated them.

And here's why. Because 1 ,500 years before this, the Samaritans were known as Israelites.

Judah were known as Jews. Jew, Judah, right? And they had, they used to be one nation, but they had a civil war.

Now I know this is going to be hard for us to understand in today's times, but they were religiously and politically divided as a nation almost in half.

Things that make you go, huh? They fought a civil war twice. God kept saying, you peoples, you better get your act together, because if you don't,

I'm going to be taking you out. Israelites of 10 northern tribes said, you ain't telling us what to do.

God said, okay, let me introduce you to a country named Assyria. By the way, Google this and you can read about it.

In 722 BC, real life, not churchy, floaty angel crap, real life, the nation of Assyria, by the way, which had been prophesied in Scripture prior to that date being known, walked in and took the 10 northern tribes out.

I mean, they came and they were there to kick butt and chew bubble gum, and they were out of bubble gum. They wore those 10 tribes out.

They ceased to exist. Jews were like, that's right, we're God's chosen people.

I mean, we're the God's chosen people, but we're the chosen people of the chosen people. We are the white

Anglo -Saxon Baptists. That's right, baby. We are that right -wing Republican God.

God said, you better watch yourself. You better take that arrogance. You better stop. People said, oh no, but it's okay,

God, it's us. It's us. 586 BC. Google it.

586 BC, God said, you know, if y 'all don't calm down, I'm going to send the Babylonians in because they've already whooped the

Assyrians, and the Jews didn't listen. In 586 BC, the Babylonians came in and whooped the

Jews. It's amazing what arrogance can do to us, huh? Thank God for grace.

So, in your little map, here's how much the Jews hated the Samaritans. If they wanted to get to Galilee, this is real history.

They would not walk through Samaritan because they didn't want to get the filth from the dirt of Samaria on their sandals.

So they would actually cross the Jordan River, walk up east of the

Jordan River, and then cross back over to get to Galilee. That's how much hatred they have.

But you know what about God's grace? God's grace is for everyone. Jesus said,

I have to go through Samaria. And the reason he had to go was not because he needed a quicker route, because he had to meet a broken woman at a well and offer her the grace that she had been missing her entire life.

Guys, grace is for everyone. Now, she points out two things.

She points out two things when she asked Jesus this. Why are you talking to me?

And she lists out two things. Number one, she lists out why are you a Jew talking to me, a Samaritan?

We've covered that. But here's the second thing. Why are you a Jewish man talking to a

Samaritan woman? You have to understand that Jesus was considered a rabbi.

He was considered a teacher. Now, the Pharisees and the elite of the elites, the

Joel Osteens of the crowd, hated Jesus because he didn't wear all the fancy suits and ties.

He didn't drive the Lexus. Isn't it amazing pastors with a church of 50 people have

Bentleys and Lexuses for the glory of God? Praise the Lord. Get a pickup truck.

Quit calling yourself Dr. Archbishop, Reverend Baptist. Just be Bob for a while. Get to know your flock and actually care about them rather than money, you godless pig.

Maybe that was a little too much. But anyways, men did not speak to women.

And especially unmarried rabbis did not speak to unmarried women or married women at all.

Jesus shows up. He's tired. He sits down. He looks at this lady and says, hey, made me a sandwich.

In the Greek, that's what it translates to. No, seriously. He walks up to a total stranger and says, hey, give me a drink of water.

Who are you? She was probably doing this right here. Who are you? A Jew talking to me, a

Samaritan. Jesus answers her and he says this. If you really knew who I was, you'd be asking for the living water.

Now watch this. Grace is so awesome. Verse 10.

Jesus answered and said, if you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, give me a drink, you would ask him and he would give you living water.

Let me explain something to y 'all. Grace is for everyone, but it will never be found in a church building or religion.

I need some of y 'all to listen to me because you're the dorks that something terrible or tragic has happened in your life and you will actually say,

I need to get back into church. OK, you actually think that attending here is going to save your soul.

Guys, this is a gymnasium. OK, I'm a fat old bald pastor.

At least I ain't white trash from Fraser, all

I'm saying, you know. I love some

Tracy. Is that where you're from? Well, you two need to go bowling.

Guys, listen. Listen up. So, Jesus said, he didn't say admit, believe, confess.

He didn't say, come right now and take me by the hand, ask Jesus Christ, your hard Lord. He didn't say all that.

He first spoke to her ignorance. You have no idea who you're talking to.

Now, you got to remember, Jesus wasn't wearing a suit and tie. He was wearing nasty.

He had the toe jam going on. Seriously, I mean, he's wearing sandals. Guys, please stop super spiritualizing

Jesus. He was a carpenter's son. He was probably a little rugged looking, man. He was a stud.

He wasn't this little milky white little sissy boy you see on the pictures. He was probably five foot eight, five foot ten, right?

He was probably about 170, 180 pounds. The man that swung hammers his whole life, right?

OK, he was not white. He did not have blonde hair or blue eyes, OK? He was not black.

Stop getting obsessed about that guard. He was a Jew. That's what he was. Well, what did he look like?

Go look at Jews today, all right? It's not that hard, guys, right? Genetics doesn't lie. OK, so he's sitting there and he goes, you have no idea who

I'm talking to. She's like, man, you some road tramp. What do you mean? You some homeless guy.

But then he says this to her. If you knew who I was, you would ask of me of the living water and you would never thirst again.

Boom! Watch what she does. Watch what she does. Go down to verse 15.

She says, Sir? See, he was a Jew. Now, all of a sudden, now he's

Sir. Why does it change your heart? Because it wasn't just the words of Jesus as the

Holy Spirit of God going. You know what I'm saying? Some of y 'all in this room are feeling it right now.

You know you're not a Christian and they ain't my words. It's something on your heart that's giving validity to the words that are being spoken to you right now.

OK? Because Pastor Jeff is just the same as anybody out there. It's the Holy Spirit of God that leads people to Christ.

It ain't me. Watch this. She goes, Sir? The woman said, give me this water so I won't get thirsty and come here to draw water.

I want you to notice two things. And I know I'm going long, guys, but y 'all hang with me. I want you to notice two things.

Jesus said this. He said, if you take of this water, you'll never thirst again.

You know what else is awesome about grace? It's not found in a church. It's not found in religion. It's found in Jesus Christ alone.

I will give this to you. Right? But here's the other thing. It's one time.

Grace is one time. You don't have to keep going back to the well.

Some of you in this room think, well, I've lost my salvation. It wasn't yours to earn.

It can't be yours to lose. Jesus Christ gave it to you.

And once He gives it to you, you don't have to go and be super religious

Christian to remain and keep your salvation. It is based on the finished work of Jesus Christ, not the ongoing babbling efforts of a failing sinful human.

Notice the second thing, though. He says this. He says, or she says, give me this water.

Now, we know that here's how it used to be back in those days.

Every morning men would get up, milk the cows, wash the goats, whatever those hicks did, you know, get the sheep out, do all the little barnyard stuff, right?

Or start, open up the mill or whatever they did for a living. The women,

I know this is going to be hard to believe, but they would go to the well together. What is it about chicks and going to the bathroom together, you know?

It's one of those anomalies like women and light switches. I never have to know where my wife is.

I don't have to. I just walk around the house and just follow the row of turned on lights everywhere. I could hire someone to walk around the house after my wife turning off light.

But anyways, I digress. Here's what they would do every morning. All the chicks would get together.

They would go to the well. They would fill up pots and they would carry them back to their houses to start their day.

This chick we see didn't come in the morning. She came by herself at night.

You know why? Because the other woman didn't like her. She wasn't wearing the right wedge.

Or is that what they're called? You know, those little wedge shoes or whatever. She wasn't wearing the right high heels or flats or pumps or whatever.

And by the way, dudes, understand this. And you chicks need to grasp this too.

Women dress for other women. If you dress for men, you a hoe, okay?

You know what I mean? If you like pulling your shirt down and doing this and doing that, you ain't, okay?

But chicks dress for other women. Girls, think about it. You have 80 pairs of shoes. How many guys have ever looked at you and gone, cool shoes?

Nobody except for those guys. You know what I'm saying? All right.

She's sitting there and she's at that well by herself because everyone else has ostracized her.

Now, let me tell you something about grace. I don't care how far you've gone. I don't care how bad you have failed.

I don't care how morally horrible you think you are. The grace of God will meet you right where you're at and take you to a place you've never known before.

It's called peace. You see, this woman was living a life of shame. And we're going to see here in a second.

She was living a life with no peace, constantly vacillating between seeking out happiness and codependent relationships with people and seeking out affirmation in a culture who had absolutely rejected her.

But Jesus Christ had to go through Samaria because he had to meet that woman where she was. Understand this.

You don't find grace. Grace finds you. Today, thinking you came to church.

You didn't come to church. Some of y 'all are sitting at a well by yourself right now in a room full of people. And you're feeling beaten and alone.

You're feeling rejected and condemned. But let me tell you something.

Just like me, 30 -something years ago, I found the grace of God, not through a church or through religion, but by the power of the

Holy Spirit. And it converted me and changed my life in a way the guy I was back then.

And I thank God for it. You see, this woman was alone.

Not because everybody had rejected her. And y 'all listen to me on this. She was not alone because everybody rejected her.

She was living alone because she believed the lies and was living out the lies that her mind had convinced her were truth.

Is that too much for you this morning? Guys, I'm telling you.

Some of y 'all's luggage and scar tissue are way too great to continue carrying on in this life without the grace of God.

Some of y 'all are passing that on now unto the third generation of your family. Because out of fear, or maybe even a little bit of arrogance and pride, you don't want to humble yourself before Almighty God.

There is no healing for you. There is no counseling. There is no medication.

There is no friendship. There is no religion that will set you freer than the grace of Almighty God.

And it is freely waiting for you, right? Now, second thing.

I want you to understand this. Grace is for everyone. But grace is also truth.

Aletheia is the Greek word. Veritas is the Latin word. It means absolute fact.

I always love talking to liberals about this. And I've said this to you before.

You know, the guy in the parking lot. I'll never forget him. Mr. Covalent Bonding.

He was one of those guys who probably lived in his mom's basement and played Doom or something, you know, as his life.

And couldn't probably swing a hammer to save his life and was probably a little bit on the mommy boy side.

But he was super smart because he would get on the internet and he would listen to all of the atheists and all of the people talk about how stupid

God is and how stupid church is. He was basically the antithesis of everything the word of God stood for.

And he decided to come here one Sunday to educate the rest of us.

Now, it was really cool because back then our young adults were like teenage kids.

And when he started spouting his mess off right there by that tree line, it was funny.

One of the youth guys heard it. One of the youth girls walked over there. And by the time I got there, it looked like a bunch of barracuda on a wounded piece of tuna.

I mean, he was like, well, covalent bonding proves that evolution. And they were like, and they were being real cool with him.

But they were eating his lunch. It's funny. I remember someone asking him, do you believe in absolute truth?

And he said, no. And immediately someone says, are you absolutely sure?

And he said, yes. Romans chapter one says this, professing themselves to be wise, man became a fool.

We live in a time, ladies and gentlemen, we live in a time where people actually believe that male and female gender are fluid.

Now, I know this is offensive to a lot of people, not just out there, but some of y 'all in here.

I got a family that won't come back because I said this. My job is to speak the truth of the word of God.

I am not interested in your membership or your money. What I'm trying to do is give you the piece that I found 30 something years ago that changed my life.

That is my focus. I am sorry that this offends you, but there is male and female.

God's word said, and God created man, both male and female. That's just the way it is.

That's not a moral code. That's not some religious thing. That's called scientific biological fact.

But see, we don't want truth anymore. We want truth to be relative. We don't want people telling us truth because truth moves us to a place where then conviction starts and we know where we are has to change.

But here's the great thing. Grace is that salve and that lubricant that brings us from our pride and humbles us to a place of accepting absolute truth.

Guys, you don't have to know everything. All you have to do is come to a point where you say, I don't know anymore and give up and let grace do its work.

Watch this. She sits there and says, Sir, please give me this water. Verse 16 and 18.

Now watch what mean Jesus does, okay? Watch what mean Jesus does, right?

Mean Jesus says this. He says, verse 16, Go call your husband, he said to her.

And then come on back here. Hey, let's have a Bible study. We'll have a little decaf coffee and some coffee cake and put on a little

Baptist gospel. We'll all get together and just have a little Bible study right here. Go call your husband and bring him on over.

And watch this. Verse 17. I don't have a husband, she answered. Jesus sat there.

He got savage, fresh fire, fiery savage, throwing shade and salt and everything else.

He said, you have said correctly. I don't have a husband, Jesus said. Verse 18.

For you have had five husbands and the man you have now is not your husband.

What you have said is true. In other words, welcome to the first true thing you've said today, kids.

Welcome to that. Now, this was pretty mean of Jesus, wasn't it? Bad Jesus.

Where's the little hippie Jesus, man? Why wasn't he twisting a fatty? Why wasn't he singing kumbaya?

Because I'm telling you something, for you to receive grace, it has to come with the price of truth, right?

You want the forgiveness of God? It comes by repentance. It doesn't come by you singing some stupid song or getting a warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart or feeling morally superior because you showed up to a church service.

You see, truth is what sets you free. We know that in counseling. We know that scripturally.

We know that in every absolute fact of human endeavor. It is truth that sets people free.

Now, watch verse 19. Jesus goes from a Jew to a sir. Now, watch this.

Sir, the woman replied, I see that you're a prophet.

How did he know that I had five husbands before? How did he know that?

She was like, how does he know so much about me?

You know, and she's freaking out a little bit. Now, watch what she does. Verse 20.

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say the place of worship is Jerusalem. This is what she did.

She got nailed with the reality and convicted in her heart that where she was was not where God wanted her to be.

So what did she immediately do? She went to religion. First thing she does.

Well, that's what you guys believe, but we believe this. If that's you in here this morning,

God don't care what you believe. God cares that you come to a place where you believe what he says.

Not what Methodists or Presbyterians or Baptists or Catholics. You are being deceived by trying to follow a religious or moral law.

God's looking at you going, you ain't even in the right ballpark, kid. You're living in sin.

Now, here's my famous line. Guys, when Jesus said you've had five husbands and the man you're with now is not even your husband.

Come to this conclusion. You're ready? Shagging it ain't hagging it.

Let's say that together, shall we? Shagging it ain't hagging it. Well, Brother Jeff, what you don't understand in today's time,

I don't care about today's time, but it doesn't matter what I care about. God says it is good for a man not to touch a woman.

And he's not talking about this. You know what he's talking about?

How you doing? You know, what Andrew does with Mary Love.

It's like, hey, baby, what you doing? Let's play a scale together. Huh? You do

A minor, I'll do A major, you know? You know what he's talking about.

Is that even real? A major? Oh, I'm a music nerd. Guys, listen to me.

I know I'm going a lot. Listen to me. Listen. Guys, it doesn't matter what society or social media says.

The Word of God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Well, Brother Jeff, you don't understand our situation.

Here's the cool part for me as a pastor. I don't have to. I don't have to understand your situation.

I don't care to understand your situation. I don't need long drawn out things about. I remember

I preached revival in Kentucky and two late 60s, early 70 people were living together.

And they said, well, you have to understand, you know, ours isn't really sexual anymore. And I went, well,

I got something to look forward to when I'm 60 or 70. But he said, we're doing this because our social security will get jacked up if we get married.

And I said, okay, so let me understand this. You can dissuade and disregard God's Word for a financial benefit.

Cool. That's great. But yet you're the same people who condemn and convict others in the world for their failures.

Maybe they got an abortion and you just think they're horrible. You are a hypocritical heathen.

The same sin you are doing is equal to the same sin. You ever gossip in church? Yes, then you are as guilty as sin as any other worse sin out there.

In other words, you and a bag are exactly the same. Wrap your little

Christian brain around that. Okay, we're all in the same boat. But guys, if you are living in sin, if you are living in direct rebellion against God and you're trying to find peace, it will always elude you.

Because disobedience to God's Word will never bring about peace. Well, Brother Jeff, I don't agree with that.

Okay, cool. Tell you what, come back to me in about 15 years with your kids for counseling.

You will. They'll need it. Guys, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things.

The right way is not a moral code. It's God's Word. Moving on. So she's sitting there and brings up stupid religion to it.

Jesus sits there and says, now watch this. I'm sorry. Verse 23, but in hours coming and now here is where true worshipers will worship the

Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is a spirit and those who worship

Him must worship in spirit and truth. Now this is Jesus hitting her back with worship.

The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming who is called the Christ. When He comes,

He will explain everything to us. Look at verse 26. Jesus has a, what is it called?

The drop mic moment. Hey baby, I'm He. Boom! Now here's what's so cool about grace.

Everyone is expecting Messiah to be on Channel 3 News, Fox News, CNN.

He was supposed to ride in on a white stallion, free the Jewish people, run out the

Romans, and the kingdom of David will be established. Where did the Messiah show up?

At a well to a Samaritan woman in sandals and a dirty tunic. Guys, that's what's so awesome about my

Jesus. Is He doesn't expect me to take a bath before I take a shower.

That's just kind of stupid, right? Some of you in this room, well, I want that grace, pastor.

I'm just not worthy of it. That's when it will show up. When you understand that you'll never be worthy of it.

If you try to clean up before you come to God's grace, you will never find God's grace. Because here's the news for you.

You can't clean yourself up. You are a filthy rag before the holiness of Almighty God.

But the grace of God, that's exactly when it shows up. When you humble yourself and say,

God, I'm tired of hurting. God, I'm tired of being confused. God, I'm tired of trying to figure it out.

God, I'm tired of listening to the millions of voices out there all telling me what truth is.

I just surrender right now. There's a word for that biblically. It's called repentance.

Turning away from sin and the lies of this world. Changing your heart and mind.

And your body will then follow. Guys, I'm going to close because I know I didn't get the last point.

I'll do it next week. But listen to me. Listen to me. Some of you in this room, you know that the truth that you're looking for, the way you're looking for it ain't there.

Some of you guys are scared. Y 'all quit putting stuff up and listen. Some of you dorks, with the big

King James Bible, the dorks I'm talking to. Okay? Listen to me. Some of you are scared of conflict.

You're scared of conflict. What will this decision mean for my significant other, my friends, my family, my life?

What is so cherished about your sinful life that you will not surrender it for the peace of God?

What is holding you back right now from finding the peace of God that is knocking on your heart by the grace of Almighty God?

I am not an eloquent speaker. I'm not. I'm no Patrick Henry. I'm not

Adrian Rogers. I'm just an old prophet of God crying in the wilderness. Not of anything

I can offer you, but by the grace of God, I stand here today as a trophy of his love and his grace.

I want you to have what I've had for the last 30 years. That's all

I want. I don't care about fame and fortune. I'm not up here telling you this to build my church because it ain't my church.

It's God's church. And I'll be honest with you, if no one speaks a word of Jesus today,

I'm going to go home and sleep just as good tonight as I did last night. You see, that's what's so freeing about offering

God's grace is I'm not in a competition and I'm not in a race. To me,

I'm just the guy with the red flag standing in front of the broken bridge going, hey guys, you got to stop.

That's all I am. The bridge is out. What I am telling you today is this.

Some of you have been convicted sitting in this room for the last 35 minutes.

You have felt the pull of God's Word. You have actually felt the

Holy Spirit of God knocking on your heart probably for the 300 ,000th time.

The question becomes, will you answer? Pastor, I want to. I just don't know what to do.

Ah, that's why God invented fat, bald pastors. That's why he did.

All I am is one beggar showing another beggar where to find the food line. That's all I am.

If you're confused, if you don't understand but you know you need something, there are going to be pastors and chicks up here and peoples up here who will help you not through a

Baptist stupid religion but through the Word of God find the peace that you so desperately need. So to recap, grace is for everyone.

Grace is truth. If you're not ready to face truth, you're not ready for grace.

But lastly, grace is Jesus Christ. Ah, Jesus looked at her and goes,

I am. And don't forget that ego of me in the Greek. Ego of me.

I am him. Ah, it's so beautiful. Do y 'all have one more minute? Can I just share this with you?

Please, let me do this. If you got to go, go. But just one more minute, please.

2 ,000 years before Jesus, Moses is standing in a desert and this bush is on fire and it ain't being consumed.

God calls Moses over. Moses is sitting there going, you want me to go where and do what?

You want me to go to Egypt by myself and tell Pharaoh, the ruler of the strongest nation on the face of the earth, to let his slaves go?

I don't know about that one. And by the way, who are you? I mean, you know,

I didn't eat a bunch of peyote last night. I'm talking to a burning bush. Who are you?

I am God. The God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Okay.

Well, all right. But when I go to Pharaoh, I got to tell him a name. He's got Sadi and he's got all these big strong dog looking gods that, you know,

Kurt Russell had to fight in that Stargate movie. I mean, these are like powerful. Who are you?

And you know what God said? What is your name? God says,

I am. 2 ,000 years later,

Jesus is sitting there talking to the Jews and he sits there and he's talking to them and he goes, hey, when

Abraham saw me, he rejoiced. They go, man, you ain't even 50 years old yet.

How are you back 2 ,000 years ago when Abraham saw you? Jesus looked at him and said, before Abraham was even born,

I am. I've said that 5 ,000 times.

I still get chills going right down my spine. Jesus said, I am the bread. Jesus said,

I am the way. Jesus said, I am the truth. All throughout scripture, he keeps calling and referring to himself in the proper

I am ego of me. Here he looks at a woman who didn't know all that history and didn't know all that theology, but his name never changes because he never changes.

And the same grace he offered Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and everyone else was the same grace he owed that lowly broken woman at that well.