August 10, 2025 • 43 mins
Have you ever felt that uncomfortable feeling when returning something to a store? That sense of being treated like a criminal even when you have the receipt and tags? While retailers make us jump through hoops for returns, Jesus operates differently.
There's no return policy with Jesus—only the invitation to come home. This powerful truth changes everything about how we approach our relationship with God and understand His grace. Unlike stores that scrutinize our returns, Jesus runs toward us when we're still a long way off, ready to restore us completely.
The Prodigal Son's story beautifully illustrates this reality. When the son rehearsed his speech of unworthiness, his father didn't even let him finish before restoring him fully. He didn't interrogate him about where he'd been or what he'd done with the money. He simply celebrated because his son who was lost had been found.
Similarly, Jesus approached the woman at the well—a social outcast with a complicated past—without judgment or condemnation. Instead of reinforcing her shame, He offered living water and transformed her into an evangelist. And after Peter's devastating betrayal, Jesus didn't just forgive him; He restored him to purpose by commissioning him to "feed my sheep."
Unfortunately, we've often misrepresented Jesus to the world as a cosmic genie who grants wishes rather than a Savior who transforms lives. We pray selfish prayers and teach others that's what relationship with God looks like. But true faith isn't about getting what we want—it's about being transformed into who we were created to be.
If you're carrying shame or feeling unworthy of approaching God, remember: you don't need to clean yourself up first. The transformation happens after the return, not before. Jesus isn't looking for perfection; He's looking for presence. Will you accept His invitation to come home today?
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Amen, amen, amen.
We'll let the nursery go back.
Kids are in the sanctuary todaybecause this is our off week.
Man, you guys are quiet today.
Hey, quick, quick, thank you.
Quick question, quick questionLast week, by show of hands, how
many of us got an Amazonpackage A show of hands?
(00:24):
Okay, not everybody.
A lot of us, okay, show ofhands.
How many of us got an Amazonpackage Show of hands?
Okay, not everybody, a lot ofus, okay, show of hands.
How many of us bought somethingthat we probably didn't need
last week?
Okay, that number went up alittle bit by show of hands.
Who bought something last week?
Okay, now a question for youhave you ever had to return
(00:44):
something?
Listen, I love to tell you guysstories about myself because I
think it makes me look like yourealize just how real I am and
how crazy my life can be.
My wife yells at me all thetime because I will get this
urge to buy something and Iimmediately get onto Amazon and
I just buy it right Now.
(01:05):
The problem is this I don't domy homework first, right, so
like I'm like, ooh, that looksreally nice, and then I get it.
You ever bought anything onTemu?
Like I saw somebody bought asofa one time and it came and it
was this big.
That's the kind of mistakesthat I make in life, right?
So nevermind, I'm not gonnatell you that.
(01:26):
You don't need to know that.
Let's just say I bought myselfsomething to wear under one of
my Elvis jumpsuits and it was achild size instead of an adult
size.
Do the math.
I still wear them, just sowe're clear.
Because you know what I hate todo Return anything.
Do you know why I hate toreturn stuff?
Have you ever taken somethingback to the store with the tags
(01:48):
on it and you have the receiptand they're like and they kind
of look at you like you're acriminal, right?
I don't like to return stuff,especially with Amazon.
Now here's the reason A lot oftimes Amazon will let you return
it to the UPS store.
Right, everybody been there,we've done that.
Sometimes you walk into the UPSstore and you've just got
whatever it is that you'rereturning, all loosey-goosey,
(02:09):
and they're like, yeah sure,we'll take it, and they put it
in a box and out you go.
Other times you walk in thereand they're like this is
supposed to be packaged with alabel on it and I'm like I'm
sorry.
I'll do it for you this onetime.
I'm sure somewhere in thatreturn it says that, but I've
gotten so used to just beingable to take it.
(02:29):
I don't know what to do.
I don't like to be treated likea criminal, right?
I always feel like how many ofyou have ever left the store and
not bought anything but youfeel like they're going to stop
you outside the door becausethey think you stole something.
If I go to Walmart, I'm goingto buy a pack of gum at least,
because I know when I get to thedoor I'm going to feel funny
just leaving right.
The problem is oftentimes whenwe want to return something,
(02:54):
there's some sort of requirementfrom us, like it used to be at
Walmart a long time ago.
You had to give them your photoID when you wanted to return
something.
Remember that.
And if you return too manythings, they wouldn't return
your stuff anymore.
It didn't matter if it wasbroken or if it was brand new,
it didn't matter, they wouldn'ttake it.
After so many returns They'vestopped doing that.
But I think the problem that Ihave is is that every time I try
(03:16):
to do a return, every time Itry to take something back.
I feel like I'm being treatedlike a criminal.
I'm being treated like acriminal, like they're looking
at me a certain way, right,here's the thing.
I was listening to the radiothe other day.
I'm gonna just tell you thissecret too it really is not fun
not having satellite radio inyour car.
Right, when you start makingfinancial adjustments in your
(03:37):
life and you realize satelliteradio is the first thing that's
gotta go.
That ain't fun.
Because now I'm listening tothe river and Caleb and you
don't get good reception oneither of them, no matter where
you are, right, okay, and theysaid it wrote this whole message
for me that Jesus doesn't havea return policy.
(03:59):
There is no return policy.
The only requirement is to comeback.
And as I thought about it, Ithought, man, we often get
inside ourselves when we'retrying to return something to
the store that we know we boughtand paid for.
Right, and we still get insideof our heads.
And Jesus bought and paid forus and doesn't have a concern
about whether we're damaged orbroken.
(04:20):
He just wants us to come backhome, amen.
And so as I wrote this messagetoday, I realized that it
doesn't matter our lifecircumstance, and we know this,
but we have to tell ourselvestime and time again all Jesus
wants to do is to have us returnhome.
He welcomes us with open arms,so long as we're willing to
return.
Amen.
(04:41):
And today is not just a messagethat I'm gonna deliver.
Today is a call to repentance.
Today is a call to go back toJesus just the way that you are.
You don't have to shineyourself up, you don't have to
get pretty.
Listen, some of y'all come tochurch in your pajamas.
(05:02):
Jesus will take you in yourpajamas, all right.
Pastor Holly and I, we both gotthe same experience yesterday.
We were here working and I wasin gym shorts and a t-shirt.
Many of you have seen me likethat Not everybody, but many of
you have seen me like that andwe had one congregant and he
comes in and he goes you don'tlook anything, like you do on
(05:23):
Sunday morning.
And I'm like thanks.
I didn't know if it was acompliment or not, but I just.
And then he said the same thingto Holly Well, you don't look
anything, you're not all dolledup, thanks, like I don't know.
But the point is, is Jesus isgonna take us just like that?
He'll take us at our best.
He'll take us at our worst,amen.
(05:43):
And so today I want to inviteyou to listen to the word,
prepare your hearts and getready to return to Jesus, amen.
Now there are some of us sittingin this room who say, well, I'm
in good standing with Jesus andmy life is perfect and I don't
have anything to worry about.
And I would tell you that thatshould concern you, because I
(06:04):
know deep down inside, there issomething inside of all of us
that is probably eating away atwhat we believe or what we think
.
I was thinking about this thismorning.
I think about stuff in theshower.
How many of you guys thinkabout stuff in the shower?
I do my best thinking in theshower.
Right, it's quiet, it's warmand toasty.
(06:27):
And I realized while I wasstanding there that so many
people in my life don't evenknow who Jesus is.
Right, they've heard the name,they're aware that I'm a pastor,
but they don't actually knowwho Jesus is, they don't know
what he did on the cross, theydon't know what he's
accomplished in their livesalready.
And I thought, man, if theyonly knew, if they could only
(06:48):
understand.
And in that moment I realizedthat while I'm thinking about
those people, I shouldn't justbe thinking about them, I should
be praying for them.
And while I'm praying for them,I should send them a text and
just say hey, I love you and Iwould love to see you at church
one day.
It doesn't have to be thischurch, I don't care what church
you go to, but God wants you toknow who he is.
(07:09):
God wants you to have arelationship with him.
Amen.
And I realized that so oftenwe're afraid of rejection, that
we're not willing to have thoseconversations with people.
See, we know who Jesus is andwe hold on to him in here, but
we don't share him anywhere else.
Right?
(07:29):
Pastor Holly and I were talkingand she asked me if I ever,
just after preaching a messageor after delivering a word, if
you ever just feel empty and youjust sit and cry.
And I said every Sunday afterchurch, I always feel entirely
empty.
Do you know why?
I believe I feel entirely empty.
I've poured it into you, I havegiven you everything I've got
(07:50):
and that is my hope for youevery week when you leave this
place that you are full up sothat you can go and pour out.
That drink is not just for you,that living water is not just
for you, it's for the worldaround you.
The world around you is farmore broken than we can even
realize because everything wesee or know of people around us
(08:11):
is social media posts.
Right, it is rare that we everactually spend time with people
and realize their brokenness.
Oftentimes we see that they'reon vacation or they're out doing
this and they're out doing that, but what we struggle to
realize is they're also sittingin deep depression and that the
enemy has gotten a hold of theirfinances, or the enemy has
gotten a hold of their marriageor whatever it may be, and there
(08:33):
is no hope in allowing peopleto live that way.
Amen.
We have to be willing to be themouthpiece.
You know the valley that welive in, to be the mouthpiece.
You know the valley that welive in.
David, everybody who DavidZeisberger is, do I need to give
you a quick history lesson?
I feel like you need to giveyou history.
I'm not gonna.
Okay, I'm not gonna.
(08:54):
You guys need to go see Trumpetin the Land this summer.
All right, let me know, we'llget you taken care of.
You need to go see it.
He was called the trumpet inthe land.
They called him the trumpet inthe land because everywhere he
went, he preached the gospel ofJesus Christ.
Okay, that is how we became tobe in this area, because all of
(09:16):
the Indians were converted intoChristianity and then we were
able to settle here safely.
The reason that we exist inthis community today is because
he was not afraid to proclaimthe gospel of Jesus Christ, amen
.
The problem is is we have becomeafraid of what that might do to
our lives, because once I tellyou that I know Jesus, I can't
(09:38):
act a fool in front of youanymore, because if I act a fool
in front of you, you're goingto say well, some Christian, you
are right.
Listen, if you're sitting inthis building and you're like I
don't even know Jesus and you'rejust learning about Jesus,
understand that no Christianwill ever be perfect.
Okay, we will never be perfect,but it should be our goal to
strive to be more like Jesusevery day, every single day.
(10:02):
Jesus welcomes you just as youare.
You don't need to cleanyourself up.
The only requirement is comehome.
The only requirement is comehome Now.
If you thought I was going topreach this message and not tell
the story of the prodigal son,well, guess what?
You're wrong.
That's where we're going to go.
Grab your Bibles.
We're going to go to Luke,chapter 15.
We're not going to do the wholething.
(10:29):
I'm only going to give you thesecond half, okay, because we
know most of this story.
Right, show of hands.
If you know the story of theprodigal son Eek, I'm going to
tell the story, okay.
So what happens?
This boy becomes of age and hedecides that he wants, rather
than waiting for his father todie, he wants to collect his
inheritance.
Now, inheritance, money, right,riches, wealth, whatever the
father would have left him whenhe died.
(10:51):
The son wanted it.
Now the father agreed to givehim his inheritance.
The son took it and squanderedit, spent it on all of the sins
of life, living his best life inthe city, just living for the
world, and didn't reallyunderstand what the cost would
(11:12):
actually be.
So the second half of this storythe son finally comes to his
senses and he realizes I wasstupid.
Any of us ever realized we werestupid.
I realize it daily because mywife tells me.
When he finally came to hissenses, he said to himself now
listen, he's thinking this, he'srehearsing this At home.
(11:33):
Even the hired servants havefood enough to spare, and here I
am dying of hunger.
He was eating slop with thepigs.
Right Now, I don't think Idon't like my food to touch
right, I don't think I'm goingto be eating slop with pigs, but
that's where he was at.
(11:53):
He was so broke he hadsquandered all of that money and
he said even the servants in myfather's house have more than
enough to eat.
He says I will go home and sayfather, I have sinned against
both heaven and you.
I am no longer worthy of beingcalled your son.
Please take me on as a hiredservant.
(12:17):
That's humbling man when Godhumbles you enough to say I am
not worthy of being your son,allow me to be a hired servant.
So he returned to his fatherand while he was still a long
way off, his father saw himcoming, filled with love and
(12:38):
compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him.
He ran to his son, embraced himand kissed him.
His son said Father, I havesinned against both heaven and
you and I am no longer worthy ofbeing called your son.
Now listen.
But his father said to theservants, not to the son, to the
servants quick, bring me thefinest robe in the house and put
(13:03):
it on him, get a ring for hisfinger and sandals for his feet
and kill the calf we have beenfattening.
We must celebrate with a feast,for this son of mine was dead
and has now returned to life.
He was lost, but now he isfound.
So the party began Amen, Amen.
(13:30):
Now I want to talk about this alittle bit, because the second
half of the story is what I wantto tell you about today,
because we've all done dumbthings.
We know that we've done dumbthings.
Some of you are going to leavehere and do something stupid by
the time you get out of theparking lot, right.
Some of you are going to dosomething stupid by the time you
get out of the parking lot,right.
Some of you are going to dosomething stupid before you get
out of this room.
It will likely be me, okay,because we don't always think
(13:55):
before we speak.
We don't always think before weact.
Listen, if you're thinking itup here, god already knows it.
You've already sinned, right,so we have to control those
thoughts.
But here's the challenge that Iwant to give to you today.
The son had determined theservants lived better than he
was living, and he rehearsed aspeech.
(14:15):
Father, I have sinned againstheaven and you.
I am no longer worthy of beingyour son.
Take me on as a hired servant,amen.
So the son is willing to comeback to the father.
Before he can say those wordsto his father, he sees him a
long way off and he goes runningto him and he embraces him and
(14:40):
he kisses him.
And the son is still pleadingwith him father, I have sinned
against you and against heaven.
I am not worthy to be your son.
Please take me on as a hiredservant.
And what did the father do?
Instead of saying you know whatthat's a fair trade, he
(15:00):
restored him to where he wasbefore, brought the finest of
the robes, the most beautifulring, Killed the calf that they
had been fattening for a feast.
And the feast happened rightnow because the son who was lost
has now been found.
The son who was dead is nowalive.
(15:21):
Hallelujah, praise Jesus.
Because let me tell yousomething each and every one of
us, when we choose to walk awayfrom God, we are dead, we are
lost, but when we choose to comehome, we are alive and well.
We are alive and well.
And I will tell you that we,each and every one of us, fall
(15:41):
short of the glory of God on adaily basis, each and every one
of us, and there is no shame infalling short of the glory of
God, so long as you canrecognize what you have done,
repent of your sins and comeback to the father.
Amen.
Now let me tell you this isn'tgoing.
Oh, I screwed that up.
Father, forgive me, but I'mgoing to go do it again this
(16:03):
afternoon, because repentanceequals change.
Right Now, the story doesn't goon to tell us that the son went
and got more inheritance andwent and squandered it.
We're to assume that the sonrealized his mistake and lived
righteously in his father'shouse Amen.
I trust that each and every oneof you are doing the same today,
(16:25):
that right now, as we'resitting here listening, some of
us nodding off as I talk, thatwe're exploring our hearts and
we're realizing that God isdoing something transformational
in our lives.
Right now I don't mean when youleave, I don't mean this
morning when you woke up.
I'm talking.
Right now you're realizing I'mholding on to that and I
shouldn't be.
(16:46):
Oh Lord, I've been doing thisand I know that I shouldn't be
Lord.
I know that I've been skippingmy Bible reading, lord.
I know that I've been, becausewhatever he's laying on your
heart right now, that is calledconviction.
And, lord, I know that I'vebeen, because whatever he's
laying on your heart right now,that is called conviction.
And when the Lord convicts youof something, when he starts to
share it with you and put it onyour heart, you should recognize
(17:07):
it and take action, make change, meaningful change in your
lives.
Don't just look at it and gowell, god, you'll forgive me
later.
He may, but what if you don'tget the chance?
You'll forgive me later he may,but what if you don't get the
chance?
Let me just tell you who timedthat.
(17:27):
Normally, you guys time howlong I hold my water bottle
before I take a drink.
Somebody in this room timed itand will text me after church
and if I don't take a drink,then I get chastised for that,
for carrying it around and nottaking a drink.
When he finally came to hissenses, he returned home to his
father and the son had rehearsedthe speech, but the father
(17:49):
didn't want to hear it.
Amen, the father said I am notworried about what you have done
.
I am thankful you are home.
Jesus, each and every time thatwe return home is thankful that
we are there and he is notcounting our sins so long as we
have repented.
He is looking at us as ablood-bought child, that we are
(18:14):
clean and we are fresh.
And let me tell you clean andwe are fresh.
And let me tell you I want tobe that way every waking moment
of my day.
I realize that it is hard.
The father didn't interrogatethe son.
He didn't ask him where haveyou been and what did you do
(18:35):
with my money?
Because he could look at himand know he screwed up right?
He doesn't have a robe on, hedoesn't even have sandals on his
feet.
He's probably looking thin andfrail and looking like he's seen
a lot of stuff.
The father doesn't askquestions.
He celebrates.
He looks at his son and he sayslet's make you whole and
complete again, in the name ofJesus.
(19:01):
So as I work through all of this, we're gonna do all of the
typical scriptures.
I apologize.
We're gonna put a twist onthese.
Okay, I don't apologize,actually.
And the reason I don'tapologize is because some of you
, when we read these, you getsomething new every time.
That's why the word is aliveamen, amen.
How many of you know the storyof the woman at the well.
Most of us, we're going to readthat story next.
(19:22):
Grab your Bibles.
We're going to go to John,chapter four.
We're going to go to verseseven.
Now we all know this woman hada past, right.
This woman had a past.
She had five husbands.
This woman had a past.
She had five husbands.
There's gotta be a record,right.
(19:43):
No, roger goes not even close.
Not even close.
Five husbands.
She was living with a man whowasn't her husband.
Amen, it says.
Soon.
A Samaritan woman came to drawwater and Jesus said to her
please give me a drink.
He was alone at this timebecause his disciples had gone
(20:05):
into the village to buy somefood.
Jesus is sitting at the well byhimself.
This woman comes up at noonwhen the sun is at its highest
point in the sky.
It is hot.
You guys ever been hot before?
How many of you worked outsideyesterday here at the church?
Hot, hot, right.
(20:26):
Dave was like I ain't doing, nomore.
I pressure washed half thebuilding.
I'm sitting down and that'sthat what.
He works outside all day, right, you know, hot, right, hot is
not a desirable place to be.
I went in the attic yesterday.
No holes in the ceiling.
We must have done a good job.
It's like what?
(20:46):
10, 20 degrees hotter up therethan it is outside.
I'm talking, I came outsweating, I was shaking because
it was like an obstacle courseup there and I'm carrying three
pounds of all of these extensioncords that are all wrapped up
inside the rafter.
Beth, I promise we're not goingto do that anymore.
Okay, just for you.
I promise I make Beth nervous.
With extension cords, we usethem for everything.
(21:07):
They're safe, right?
I don't think the ones we hadin the ceiling are safe.
They were like the real thin,residential kind and we were
like breaking off the grounds toplug stuff in.
It's fine, everything's fine,don't worry about it.
She came to the well at noon, atthe hottest part of the day.
Why did she go at noon?
Nobody would be there.
(21:28):
She wanted to avoid thejudgment Amen.
Her desire was to stay awayfrom all of the people who were
going to call names.
How many of us know people whocall names as grown adults?
Amen.
It's silly to me, but that'swhat they do.
Because we need you to feel badabout your choices.
I need you to think about yourlife and feel bad about it.
(21:50):
So when the woman was surprised,for Jews refused to have
anything to do with Samaritans.
So she said to Jesus you are aJew and I am a Samaritan woman.
Why are you asking me for adrink?
Now, understand that she'sexpecting judgment and she's not
receiving judgment.
(22:10):
Jesus is looking at her, sayingI can help you if you'll only
come to me.
Amen.
Jesus replied.
If you only knew the gift Godhas for you and who you are
speaking to, you would ask meand I would give you living
(22:34):
water.
This is my favorite part.
I tell you that every time.
I read this but, sir, you don'thave a rope or a bucket.
Man, look around this room andthink to yourself how many of us
treat Jesus that way.
When Jesus speaks to us and hesays all I want to do is give
(22:56):
you the finest things in life,All I want to do is be in close
relationship with you, and youlook at him and say but you
don't have a rope or a bucket.
You can't give me living waterbecause you don't have the tools
needed to draw water, notrealizing who Jesus actually is
and that he is, in fact, theliving water.
Amen.
(23:17):
We hear the name, we know Jesusright, we talk about him.
We pray in his name, amen, butwe don't always understand who
he is.
There are people sitting inthis room right now who do not
recognize who Jesus truly is orwhat he did on the cross.
Listen, did on the cross,listen.
(23:44):
That's our responsibility.
It is our responsibility toshare that.
And the woman at the well got toexperience it.
And besides, do you think youare greater than our?
Oh sorry, you went, did I gotoo?
Go back one, but, sir, youdon't have a rope or a bucket,
she said.
And this well is very deep,where would you get this living
water?
And, besides, ready.
Do you think that you aregreater than our ancestor Jacob,
(24:07):
who gave us this?
Well, how can you offer betterwater than he and his sons and
his animals enjoyed?
This is the important part.
That is what the world looks at.
Amen, what do you mean, pastorMichael?
Go back for me.
And besides, do you think youare greater than our ancestor
(24:29):
Jacob, who gave us this?
Well, how can you offer betterwater than he and his sons and
his animals enjoyed?
Listen, I am not Jesus.
I cannot have the world look atme as the mark for perfection.
And people say you're a pastor,I have to say but I am not
Jesus.
But I am not Jesus.
(24:50):
I may be a pastor, I may knowthe word, I may be able to speak
life into you, but I cannotgive you the living water that
Jesus can give you.
Only Jesus can send you toheaven.
Your relation I can't.
I can't pray you to heaven,your mama can't pray you to
heaven, your grandma can't prayyou to heaven.
It's not going to happen.
(25:11):
You have to have a relationshipwith Jesus Christ.
That is the only way to enterinto heaven the living water of
Jesus Christ.
But the world looks at us asthe mark of Jesus and it is our
responsibility to portray Jesusin the best possible light.
That means when we talk topeople, we talk to them kindly.
(25:34):
That means when we're in thestore, we behave appropriately,
right, it's hard to do.
Why'd you shake your head?
No, stephanie, oh, becauseJordan doesn't behave.
It's Jordan's fault.
I've talked to Stephanie.
It ain't Jordan she gotta worryabout.
No, I'm kidding, it's Ashley.
Ashley, you're getting thrownunder the bus, sweetheart.
(26:00):
The woman left her water, sheleft the jug that she had drawn
and she ran back to the villageto become an evangelist, to tell
people about Jesus.
The need that she had was water.
She came to draw water forherself.
Right, she wasn't drawing waterfor everybody else in town, she
was drawing water for herself.
(26:21):
But when she received theliving water, when she realized
that Jesus was the Messiah, theson of God, she ran back to the
village to tell everybody aboutthis living water.
Listen, that's where we come in.
That is where we come in.
This isn't about each and everyone of us being able to just be
(26:44):
living in relationship withChrist.
It is us pouring Christ outinto those people that we live
with, because the problem isthey don't understand the return
policy.
They don't know what it meansto come to Jesus.
See, the problem is we havetreated Jesus like a genie.
(27:05):
You pray your wants, you prayyour needs and God will give
them to you.
And we say that to the world.
God, give me a better job.
God, why don't you providefinances for me to take care of
God?
Why don't you this?
God, please do this.
But we're praying selfishprayers and we're teaching the
(27:27):
world that that's what God islike.
And when he doesn't give it toyou, what do you say?
You just didn't believe.
Quite hard enough, right?
There's a movie called Leap ofFaith.
How many of you have ever seenit?
If you've never seen it, youshould.
There's a movie called Leap ofFaith.
How many of you have ever seenit?
If you've never seen it, youshould.
It's a fantastic movie.
It's about an evangelist whotravels across the world and he
tricks people into thinking thathe hears from God.
(27:49):
He brings people in inwheelchairs and he parks them up
front.
And he brings them up front andhe tells them they're healed
and they get up and walk.
But all of these people areplanted in that front row.
He has an earpiece that peopleare talking to him, telling him
all the things to do.
And then he hangs this cross,this crucifix is hanging up
behind the pulpit, and hedecides to paint the eyes open
(28:11):
to get people excited that Godis here and God is doing
something, amen.
And he's tricking all of thesepeople into believing that God
is doing this.
And then, finally, the townfigures out that this guy's a
fraud.
The town is a farming town andall they need is water.
And they say to him just praythat we'll get some rain.
And finally he gives up and hedecides to skip town.
(28:34):
And as he's leaving town, guesswhat happens?
The rain just starts to flow.
Now I'll tell you that asChristians, we lead people into
a false sense of who Jesus is.
Each and every day.
We lead people into a falsesense of who Jesus is.
Jesus isn't a genie.
He is providing for you in hiswill.
(28:57):
He is providing for you in hisriches and in his glory, not in
yours, not in your selfishdesires, because oftentimes,
when we are praying to God forthose things, they are selfish
desires.
Jesus doesn't bringcondemnation to that woman.
(29:18):
He brings transformation.
He transforms her from a nobodyinto a somebody.
He turns her into an evangelistfor the gospel.
He turns her into an evangelistfor what God is doing in their
midst.
And I am sure she was rejectedjust the same as many of us are
(29:40):
whenever we're out preaching thegospel Amen.
There are people who listen tomessages all day long and they
pick out all of the things thatwere wrong.
They didn't like the way thepastor pronounced that word.
They didn't like the way thepastor talked about this.
Listen, if you want to look forall of the things wrong in the
world, you're going to find them.
But can I promise you there ismore good in the world than
there is evil in the world.
(30:01):
I promise you that the newsdoesn't.
You don't see that on the news,right?
I mean, we look at the news andit's all about death and
destruction.
But can I tell you about allthe good things that God has
done?
You don't see mainstream mediatalking about Forrest Frank's
back being healed, right?
Don't see mainstream mediatalking about Forrest Frank's
back being healed, right?
You don't see these thingshappening.
(30:22):
And when it does happen, it's aglimpse, it's a blip and it's
gone.
The next news cycle comes backand it's death and destruction.
It's hate, it's hurt, it'sheartache.
I promise you there is moregood than there is bad.
Jesus will not bring uscondemnation, he will bring us
transformation.
All right, we're going to talkabout my favorite guy next.
(30:44):
Are you ready?
I love to talk about Peterbecause he's like my spirit
animal.
I mean, if I'm going to relateto somebody in the Bible, peter
doesn't take any stuff, right?
The problem is he's a prettybig screw up.
Bible Peter doesn't take anystuff, right.
The problem is he's a prettybig screw up.
It's the one thing I'm good at,so why stop now?
Right, it's an art that I haveperfected.
(31:06):
So we're going to go to John.
So we're still in John, we'regoing to go to 21 and we're
going to read verses 15 and 17.
Now, this is after Jesus hascome back to the world, this is
after the resurrection, andPeter and Jesus are together and
(31:29):
Jesus.
So remember that Peter deniedJesus three times, right after
saying he wouldn't do it.
Oh, I would never deny you.
And Jesus is like trust me,buddy, you're going to do it,
you're going to mess up, okay?
After breakfast, jesus askedSimon Peter, simon, son of John,
(31:49):
do you love me more than these?
Yes, lord, peter replied youknow I love you.
Then feed my sheep, feed mylambs, jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the questionSimon, son of John, do you love
me?
Yes, lord Peter said you know Ilove you.
(32:10):
Then take care of my sheep,jesus said A third time.
He asked him Simon, son of John, do you love me?
And Peter was hurt that Jesusasked this question a third time
.
He said Lord, you knoweverything.
(32:32):
You know that I love you.
And Jesus said then feed mysheep.
Peter denied Jesus three times,but when Jesus rose from the
dead, he didn't discard Peter,he didn't cast him aside, he
didn't tell him that he wasn'tworthy.
(32:55):
Do you love me?
Yes, lord Peter replied.
Then feed my sheep.
Jesus didn't discard Peter.
What did he do?
He restored him, not just toforgiveness.
That's where we get stuck.
See, Jesus has forgiven me.
(33:17):
He didn't just restore him toforgiveness, he restored him to
purpose.
He said then feed my sheep,then feed my lambs.
What is he saying?
Build my church, care for mypeople, amen.
(33:42):
And here we are, blood-boughtchildren of the Almighty sitting
here saying we know who Jesusis and we believe who Jesus is,
yet we won't feed his sheep, yetwe won't care for his.
You know, you know what lambsare?
Right, they're little sheep.
Look around what.
You don't have any.
When you get one, will youbring it for us so we can hold
(34:03):
it and pet it?
No, you're not bringing a horsein the building.
A little lamb we can put in thelobby and we can all pet it.
Just stop, stop.
You're trying to mess this up.
Listen, we should be caring forthe children in this house just
the same as we're caring forthe adults in this house, right,
listen?
This morning I was thankful I'malways thankful that I let
(34:26):
somebody else pray over theoffering.
And you know, pastor Holly, herand I have this weird
connection and I don't.
Maybe she sensed it, I don'tknow.
She probably wouldn't tell meif she did, because she'd
probably feel like she's afraidto make me feel bad.
But this morning I wasdistracted by the noise in here,
right, like even when we weregiving announcements.
I was like man, shut thesepeople up.
Like these kids they keepscreaming.
(34:47):
Shut these kids up, lord Jesus.
Right, I just preached themessage a couple of weeks ago
about being able to worshipthrough that and I'm like Lord,
lord Jesus, listen, I get backthere and Pastor Holly says
allow us to drown out thedistraction.
I'm like I needed that today,jesus, right, and we share that
(35:07):
connection.
And the thing is, even if shesensed it in me, she wouldn't
tell me that because she went tothe Father instead.
Right, see, that's what weshould be doing.
We should be able to focus onthe sheep, focus on the land.
We should be able to praythrough all of those things.
We should be able to pour ourspirits out, pour out the things
that the Holy Spirit hasinstilled in us out into the
world.
That doesn't mean that you haveto go home and call all of your
(35:30):
neighbors and tell them aboutJesus.
That doesn't mean that you'regonna go stand on the.
You guys know that guy on thestreet corner at Walmart, right?
You see him all the time.
You don't have to do that.
That's not what I'm asking you.
But when you encounter somebodywho is very obviously hurting,
pray for that person.
I've learned this and I want toshare it with you.
Don't ask can I pray for you,beth?
(35:51):
This is for you.
This is for you.
Okay, hold on to this.
Don't ask can I pray for you?
Why You're going to be met withopposition, and a no is a no
right?
How can I pray for you?
How can I pray for you?
You look like you're hurting.
(36:12):
You look like you're.
How can I pray for you?
And they're gonna say, well, mylegs have been bothering me, or
well, my husband lost his.
Well, and they're always gonnahave something that they need
prayer for, and they're notgoing to have something that
they need prayer for and they'renot going to turn you down.
You don't have to lay hands onthat person to pray for them.
Father, let your will be donein this situation.
(36:33):
God, we know that all thingsgood come from you and, father,
I am standing here believingthat whatever my friend needs
you are providing in the mightyname of jesus, right, that's it.
Oftentimes, they are not goingto reject a how they're always
gonna reject a can, right?
And so we have to shift ourmindset.
As Christians, we can't justwalk into the world the way that
(36:55):
we've always walked into theworld.
This place is a dangerousjungle.
Now, right, there are far morenon-believers than there are
believers.
They don't want the gospel,because the gospel requires
transformation, but they need tounderstand what the return
policy is.
They need to understand thatthey don't have to change their
mindset today.
(37:15):
Jesus just wants you to come,because when they get in the
door, when they find arelationship with Christ, that's
when transformation takes place.
Right, how many of us went tochurch for the first time
because we just didn't know whatelse to do with our lives.
We ended up in church.
Some of us were forced here,right, some of us were forced
into church.
But let me tell you life-givingpower, right?
(37:38):
I remember the first time Icame to church.
It was because I was having arelationship problem and I
thought you know, the first timeI came to church, it was
because I was having arelationship problem and I
thought, you know I ain't gotanything else to do with my
Wednesday night, right Might aswell go to church.
Next thing I know my life haschanged completely.
(37:59):
I'm saved and I'm able to walkaway from the pain and the hurt
that I had been feeling.
I was able to look at thosebroken relationships and say
that's not what God wanted forme.
It was what I wanted for me.
And I was able to look at thosebroken relationships and say
that's not what God wanted forme, it was what I wanted for me,
and I was able to break thosechains.
I was able to come to theFather a broken mess and be
restored into something new.
Now I'll tell you I'm stillmissing pieces.
(38:19):
I am not perfect.
I know some of you might liketo think that and I'm being
serious there are some of youthat put me on a pedestal.
I know some of you might liketo think that and I'm being
serious there are some of youthat put me on a pedestal.
I want to tell you I am notperfect.
I never will be.
I've never professed to be, andI don't want to be perfect.
All I want to do is be likeJesus.
I want to be able to live thatlife day in and day out, and I
(38:41):
hope that every person sittingin here feels that in their
heart, that they realize theimportance of being more like
Christ.
The great commission is to goout and preach the gospel to all
the world Amen.
We aren't even doing it in ourown community.
If we want to reach everycorner of the earth because you
know Jesus won't come back untilthat's done right, that's what
(39:03):
the Bible tells us.
No man shall know the hour.
That's because we're lazy.
We don't want to go out andpreach the gospel.
That man on the corner byWalmart, he's doing his job.
He is doing his.
He's probably doing some of ourjob too.
Right, it is our responsibilityto preach the gospel.
It is our responsibility totell people who Jesus really is
(39:28):
and what he can do in our lives,because there is no return
policy when it comes to Jesus.
Now I learned this.
I was researching returnpolicies at stores Because you
know when you're gonna do a.
Did you know you can returnanything at Costco?
No questions asked, I'm gonnastart shopping at Costco, right?
I'm going to go to Costco andbe like this banana was already
(39:52):
half eaten, I just got a peel.
Is that how that works?
See, that's dishonest.
That's dishonest.
We shouldn't do that.
We shouldn't do that.
They'll take almost anythingback no questions, no pressure,
no shame.
People will laugh about it andpeople will do just that.
They take something back thatthey've used and then Costco
(40:12):
will give them all of theirmoney back.
They think it's funny, buthonestly, that's the kind of
grace that we get when we returnto Jesus.
There is nothing that he islooking for in return.
Relationship is all we need tohave.
You don't have to be perfect,you just need to be present.
(40:35):
You don't need to clean up, youjust need to come back.
The father is watching, he iswaiting and he will see you from
a long way off and he willgreet you and he will embrace
you and he will give you all ofthe finer things in life because
you are his follower Amen.
(40:57):
Now what I'm gonna do we've gota little bit of time.
I'm gonna open the altar andwhat I want is I want the church
to just take a second.
I want you to just look at yourheart.
Maybe you don't know Jesus atall.
Maybe you have never given yourheart to the Lord.
I want you to take thisopportunity to come to the altar
.
I want you to take thisopportunity to be in the
(41:19):
presence of God.
Go ahead and turn on someprayer music for me, and I want
you to just be present withJesus right now.
We're going to pray for you.
If you want prayer, if you say,if you come to the altar for
the first time today and you sayI really want to, I want to
have more of a relationship withChrist, know this, I want you
(41:41):
to come see Pastor Roger, myselfor Pastor Holly.
We'll be prepared and we'llpray with you and we'll talk you
through what it means to takethis next step in your faith
walk.
It is a big deal to be inrelationship with Christ.
Now some of us are sitting heresaying I don't need this.
I promise you you need toreconsider, because there are
(42:04):
some of us who are living lifein a way that is not in
accordance to what God wouldhave in our lives.
I know that every time we openthe altar, people think, oh,
this is just a spot of pressure.
They just want us to.
I don't care what you do, jesusdoes.
This isn't about me.
(42:24):
This isn't about what I thinkabout you.
It's not about what somebodyelse might say when you come to
the altar.
They might gossip about you inthe hallway.
Let them, oh, don't get mestarted.
Don't get me started.
Listen, it's not you they don'tlike, it's he that lives in you
, amen.
So let's just.
Amen, amen, amen.
We'll let the nursery go back.
Kids are in the sanctuary todaybecause this is our off week.
Man, you guys are quiet today.
Hey, quick, quick, thank you.
Quick question, quick questionLast week, by show of hands, how
many of us got an Amazonpackage A show of hands?
(00:24):
Okay, not everybody.
A lot of us, okay, show ofhands.
How many of us got an Amazonpackage Show of hands?
Okay, not everybody, a lot ofus, okay, show of hands.
How many of us bought somethingthat we probably didn't need
last week?
Okay, that number went up alittle bit by show of hands.
Who bought something last week?
Okay, now a question for youhave you ever had to return
(00:44):
something?
Listen, I love to tell you guysstories about myself because I
think it makes me look like yourealize just how real I am and
how crazy my life can be.
My wife yells at me all thetime because I will get this
urge to buy something and Iimmediately get onto Amazon and
I just buy it right Now.
(01:05):
The problem is this I don't domy homework first, right, so
like I'm like, ooh, that looksreally nice, and then I get it.
You ever bought anything onTemu?
Like I saw somebody bought asofa one time and it came and it
was this big.
That's the kind of mistakesthat I make in life, right?
So nevermind, I'm not gonnatell you that.
(01:26):
You don't need to know that.
Let's just say I bought myselfsomething to wear under one of
my Elvis jumpsuits and it was achild size instead of an adult
size.
Do the math.
I still wear them, just sowe're clear.
Because you know what I hate todo Return anything.
Do you know why I hate toreturn stuff?
Have you ever taken somethingback to the store with the tags
(01:48):
on it and you have the receiptand they're like and they kind
of look at you like you're acriminal, right?
I don't like to return stuff,especially with Amazon.
Now here's the reason A lot oftimes Amazon will let you return
it to the UPS store.
Right, everybody been there,we've done that.
Sometimes you walk into the UPSstore and you've just got
whatever it is that you'rereturning, all loosey-goosey,
(02:09):
and they're like, yeah sure,we'll take it, and they put it
in a box and out you go.
Other times you walk in thereand they're like this is
supposed to be packaged with alabel on it and I'm like I'm
sorry.
I'll do it for you this onetime.
I'm sure somewhere in thatreturn it says that, but I've
gotten so used to just beingable to take it.
(02:29):
I don't know what to do.
I don't like to be treated likea criminal, right?
I always feel like how many ofyou have ever left the store and
not bought anything but youfeel like they're going to stop
you outside the door becausethey think you stole something.
If I go to Walmart, I'm goingto buy a pack of gum at least,
because I know when I get to thedoor I'm going to feel funny
just leaving right.
The problem is oftentimes whenwe want to return something,
(02:54):
there's some sort of requirementfrom us, like it used to be at
Walmart a long time ago.
You had to give them your photoID when you wanted to return
something.
Remember that.
And if you return too manythings, they wouldn't return
your stuff anymore.
It didn't matter if it wasbroken or if it was brand new,
it didn't matter, they wouldn'ttake it.
After so many returns They'vestopped doing that.
But I think the problem that Ihave is is that every time I try
(03:16):
to do a return, every time Itry to take something back.
I feel like I'm being treatedlike a criminal.
I'm being treated like acriminal, like they're looking
at me a certain way, right,here's the thing.
I was listening to the radiothe other day.
I'm gonna just tell you thissecret too it really is not fun
not having satellite radio inyour car.
Right, when you start makingfinancial adjustments in your
(03:37):
life and you realize satelliteradio is the first thing that's
gotta go.
That ain't fun.
Because now I'm listening tothe river and Caleb and you
don't get good reception oneither of them, no matter where
you are, right, okay, and theysaid it wrote this whole message
for me that Jesus doesn't havea return policy.
(03:59):
There is no return policy.
The only requirement is to comeback.
And as I thought about it, Ithought, man, we often get
inside ourselves when we'retrying to return something to
the store that we know we boughtand paid for.
Right, and we still get insideof our heads.
And Jesus bought and paid forus and doesn't have a concern
about whether we're damaged orbroken.
(04:20):
He just wants us to come backhome, amen.
And so as I wrote this messagetoday, I realized that it
doesn't matter our lifecircumstance, and we know this,
but we have to tell ourselvestime and time again all Jesus
wants to do is to have us returnhome.
He welcomes us with open arms,so long as we're willing to
return.
Amen.
(04:41):
And today is not just a messagethat I'm gonna deliver.
Today is a call to repentance.
Today is a call to go back toJesus just the way that you are.
You don't have to shineyourself up, you don't have to
get pretty.
Listen, some of y'all come tochurch in your pajamas.
(05:02):
Jesus will take you in yourpajamas, all right.
Pastor Holly and I, we both gotthe same experience yesterday.
We were here working and I wasin gym shorts and a t-shirt.
Many of you have seen me likethat Not everybody, but many of
you have seen me like that andwe had one congregant and he
comes in and he goes you don'tlook anything, like you do on
(05:23):
Sunday morning.
And I'm like thanks.
I didn't know if it was acompliment or not, but I just.
And then he said the same thingto Holly Well, you don't look
anything, you're not all dolledup, thanks, like I don't know.
But the point is, is Jesus isgonna take us just like that?
He'll take us at our best.
He'll take us at our worst,amen.
(05:43):
And so today I want to inviteyou to listen to the word,
prepare your hearts and getready to return to Jesus, amen.
Now there are some of us sittingin this room who say, well, I'm
in good standing with Jesus andmy life is perfect and I don't
have anything to worry about.
And I would tell you that thatshould concern you, because I
(06:04):
know deep down inside, there issomething inside of all of us
that is probably eating away atwhat we believe or what we think
.
I was thinking about this thismorning.
I think about stuff in theshower.
How many of you guys thinkabout stuff in the shower?
I do my best thinking in theshower.
Right, it's quiet, it's warmand toasty.
(06:27):
And I realized while I wasstanding there that so many
people in my life don't evenknow who Jesus is.
Right, they've heard the name,they're aware that I'm a pastor,
but they don't actually knowwho Jesus is, they don't know
what he did on the cross, theydon't know what he's
accomplished in their livesalready.
And I thought, man, if theyonly knew, if they could only
(06:48):
understand.
And in that moment I realizedthat while I'm thinking about
those people, I shouldn't justbe thinking about them, I should
be praying for them.
And while I'm praying for them,I should send them a text and
just say hey, I love you and Iwould love to see you at church
one day.
It doesn't have to be thischurch, I don't care what church
you go to, but God wants you toknow who he is.
(07:09):
God wants you to have arelationship with him.
Amen.
And I realized that so oftenwe're afraid of rejection, that
we're not willing to have thoseconversations with people.
See, we know who Jesus is andwe hold on to him in here, but
we don't share him anywhere else.
Right?
(07:29):
Pastor Holly and I were talkingand she asked me if I ever,
just after preaching a messageor after delivering a word, if
you ever just feel empty and youjust sit and cry.
And I said every Sunday afterchurch, I always feel entirely
empty.
Do you know why?
I believe I feel entirely empty.
I've poured it into you, I havegiven you everything I've got
(07:50):
and that is my hope for youevery week when you leave this
place that you are full up sothat you can go and pour out.
That drink is not just for you,that living water is not just
for you, it's for the worldaround you.
The world around you is farmore broken than we can even
realize because everything wesee or know of people around us
(08:11):
is social media posts.
Right, it is rare that we everactually spend time with people
and realize their brokenness.
Oftentimes we see that they'reon vacation or they're out doing
this and they're out doing that, but what we struggle to
realize is they're also sittingin deep depression and that the
enemy has gotten a hold of theirfinances, or the enemy has
gotten a hold of their marriageor whatever it may be, and there
(08:33):
is no hope in allowing peopleto live that way.
Amen.
We have to be willing to be themouthpiece.
You know the valley that welive in, to be the mouthpiece.
You know the valley that welive in.
David, everybody who DavidZeisberger is, do I need to give
you a quick history lesson?
I feel like you need to giveyou history.
I'm not gonna.
Okay, I'm not gonna.
(08:54):
You guys need to go see Trumpetin the Land this summer.
All right, let me know, we'llget you taken care of.
You need to go see it.
He was called the trumpet inthe land.
They called him the trumpet inthe land because everywhere he
went, he preached the gospel ofJesus Christ.
Okay, that is how we became tobe in this area, because all of
(09:16):
the Indians were converted intoChristianity and then we were
able to settle here safely.
The reason that we exist inthis community today is because
he was not afraid to proclaimthe gospel of Jesus Christ, amen
.
The problem is is we have becomeafraid of what that might do to
our lives, because once I tellyou that I know Jesus, I can't
(09:38):
act a fool in front of youanymore, because if I act a fool
in front of you, you're goingto say well, some Christian, you
are right.
Listen, if you're sitting inthis building and you're like I
don't even know Jesus and you'rejust learning about Jesus,
understand that no Christianwill ever be perfect.
Okay, we will never be perfect,but it should be our goal to
strive to be more like Jesusevery day, every single day.
(10:02):
Jesus welcomes you just as youare.
You don't need to cleanyourself up.
The only requirement is comehome.
The only requirement is comehome Now.
If you thought I was going topreach this message and not tell
the story of the prodigal son,well, guess what?
You're wrong.
That's where we're going to go.
Grab your Bibles.
We're going to go to Luke,chapter 15.
We're not going to do the wholething.
(10:29):
I'm only going to give you thesecond half, okay, because we
know most of this story.
Right, show of hands.
If you know the story of theprodigal son Eek, I'm going to
tell the story, okay.
So what happens?
This boy becomes of age and hedecides that he wants, rather
than waiting for his father todie, he wants to collect his
inheritance.
Now, inheritance, money, right,riches, wealth, whatever the
father would have left him whenhe died.
(10:51):
The son wanted it.
Now the father agreed to givehim his inheritance.
The son took it and squanderedit, spent it on all of the sins
of life, living his best life inthe city, just living for the
world, and didn't reallyunderstand what the cost would
(11:12):
actually be.
So the second half of this storythe son finally comes to his
senses and he realizes I wasstupid.
Any of us ever realized we werestupid.
I realize it daily because mywife tells me.
When he finally came to hissenses, he said to himself now
listen, he's thinking this, he'srehearsing this At home.
(11:33):
Even the hired servants havefood enough to spare, and here I
am dying of hunger.
He was eating slop with thepigs.
Right Now, I don't think Idon't like my food to touch
right, I don't think I'm goingto be eating slop with pigs, but
that's where he was at.
(11:53):
He was so broke he hadsquandered all of that money and
he said even the servants in myfather's house have more than
enough to eat.
He says I will go home and sayfather, I have sinned against
both heaven and you.
I am no longer worthy of beingcalled your son.
Please take me on as a hiredservant.
(12:17):
That's humbling man when Godhumbles you enough to say I am
not worthy of being your son,allow me to be a hired servant.
So he returned to his fatherand while he was still a long
way off, his father saw himcoming, filled with love and
(12:38):
compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him.
He ran to his son, embraced himand kissed him.
His son said Father, I havesinned against both heaven and
you and I am no longer worthy ofbeing called your son.
Now listen.
But his father said to theservants, not to the son, to the
servants quick, bring me thefinest robe in the house and put
(13:03):
it on him, get a ring for hisfinger and sandals for his feet
and kill the calf we have beenfattening.
We must celebrate with a feast,for this son of mine was dead
and has now returned to life.
He was lost, but now he isfound.
So the party began Amen, Amen.
(13:30):
Now I want to talk about this alittle bit, because the second
half of the story is what I wantto tell you about today,
because we've all done dumbthings.
We know that we've done dumbthings.
Some of you are going to leavehere and do something stupid by
the time you get out of theparking lot, right.
Some of you are going to dosomething stupid by the time you
get out of the parking lot,right.
Some of you are going to dosomething stupid before you get
out of this room.
It will likely be me, okay,because we don't always think
(13:55):
before we speak.
We don't always think before weact.
Listen, if you're thinking itup here, god already knows it.
You've already sinned, right,so we have to control those
thoughts.
But here's the challenge that Iwant to give to you today.
The son had determined theservants lived better than he
was living, and he rehearsed aspeech.
(14:15):
Father, I have sinned againstheaven and you.
I am no longer worthy of beingyour son.
Take me on as a hired servant,amen.
So the son is willing to comeback to the father.
Before he can say those wordsto his father, he sees him a
long way off and he goes runningto him and he embraces him and
(14:40):
he kisses him.
And the son is still pleadingwith him father, I have sinned
against you and against heaven.
I am not worthy to be your son.
Please take me on as a hiredservant.
And what did the father do?
Instead of saying you know whatthat's a fair trade, he
(15:00):
restored him to where he wasbefore, brought the finest of
the robes, the most beautifulring, Killed the calf that they
had been fattening for a feast.
And the feast happened rightnow because the son who was lost
has now been found.
The son who was dead is nowalive.
(15:21):
Hallelujah, praise Jesus.
Because let me tell yousomething each and every one of
us, when we choose to walk awayfrom God, we are dead, we are
lost, but when we choose to comehome, we are alive and well.
We are alive and well.
And I will tell you that we,each and every one of us, fall
(15:41):
short of the glory of God on adaily basis, each and every one
of us, and there is no shame infalling short of the glory of
God, so long as you canrecognize what you have done,
repent of your sins and comeback to the father.
Amen.
Now let me tell you this isn'tgoing.
Oh, I screwed that up.
Father, forgive me, but I'mgoing to go do it again this
(16:03):
afternoon, because repentanceequals change.
Right Now, the story doesn't goon to tell us that the son went
and got more inheritance andwent and squandered it.
We're to assume that the sonrealized his mistake and lived
righteously in his father'shouse Amen.
I trust that each and every oneof you are doing the same today,
(16:25):
that right now, as we'resitting here listening, some of
us nodding off as I talk, thatwe're exploring our hearts and
we're realizing that God isdoing something transformational
in our lives.
Right now I don't mean when youleave, I don't mean this
morning when you woke up.
I'm talking.
Right now you're realizing I'mholding on to that and I
shouldn't be.
(16:46):
Oh Lord, I've been doing thisand I know that I shouldn't be
Lord.
I know that I've been skippingmy Bible reading, lord.
I know that I've been, becausewhatever he's laying on your
heart right now, that is calledconviction.
And, lord, I know that I'vebeen, because whatever he's
laying on your heart right now,that is called conviction.
And when the Lord convicts youof something, when he starts to
share it with you and put it onyour heart, you should recognize
(17:07):
it and take action, make change, meaningful change in your
lives.
Don't just look at it and gowell, god, you'll forgive me
later.
He may, but what if you don'tget the chance?
You'll forgive me later he may,but what if you don't get the
chance?
Let me just tell you who timedthat.
(17:27):
Normally, you guys time howlong I hold my water bottle
before I take a drink.
Somebody in this room timed itand will text me after church
and if I don't take a drink,then I get chastised for that,
for carrying it around and nottaking a drink.
When he finally came to hissenses, he returned home to his
father and the son had rehearsedthe speech, but the father
(17:49):
didn't want to hear it.
Amen, the father said I am notworried about what you have done
.
I am thankful you are home.
Jesus, each and every time thatwe return home is thankful that
we are there and he is notcounting our sins so long as we
have repented.
He is looking at us as ablood-bought child, that we are
(18:14):
clean and we are fresh.
And let me tell you clean andwe are fresh.
And let me tell you I want tobe that way every waking moment
of my day.
I realize that it is hard.
The father didn't interrogatethe son.
He didn't ask him where haveyou been and what did you do
(18:35):
with my money?
Because he could look at himand know he screwed up right?
He doesn't have a robe on, hedoesn't even have sandals on his
feet.
He's probably looking thin andfrail and looking like he's seen
a lot of stuff.
The father doesn't askquestions.
He celebrates.
He looks at his son and he sayslet's make you whole and
complete again, in the name ofJesus.
(19:01):
So as I work through all of this, we're gonna do all of the
typical scriptures.
I apologize.
We're gonna put a twist onthese.
Okay, I don't apologize,actually.
And the reason I don'tapologize is because some of you
, when we read these, you getsomething new every time.
That's why the word is aliveamen, amen.
How many of you know the storyof the woman at the well.
Most of us, we're going to readthat story next.
(19:22):
Grab your Bibles.
We're going to go to John,chapter four.
We're going to go to verseseven.
Now we all know this woman hada past, right.
This woman had a past.
She had five husbands.
This woman had a past.
She had five husbands.
There's gotta be a record,right.
(19:43):
No, roger goes not even close.
Not even close.
Five husbands.
She was living with a man whowasn't her husband.
Amen, it says.
Soon.
A Samaritan woman came to drawwater and Jesus said to her
please give me a drink.
He was alone at this timebecause his disciples had gone
(20:05):
into the village to buy somefood.
Jesus is sitting at the well byhimself.
This woman comes up at noonwhen the sun is at its highest
point in the sky.
It is hot.
You guys ever been hot before?
How many of you worked outsideyesterday here at the church?
Hot, hot, right.
(20:26):
Dave was like I ain't doing, nomore.
I pressure washed half thebuilding.
I'm sitting down and that'sthat what.
He works outside all day, right, you know, hot, right, hot is
not a desirable place to be.
I went in the attic yesterday.
No holes in the ceiling.
We must have done a good job.
It's like what?
(20:46):
10, 20 degrees hotter up therethan it is outside.
I'm talking, I came outsweating, I was shaking because
it was like an obstacle courseup there and I'm carrying three
pounds of all of these extensioncords that are all wrapped up
inside the rafter.
Beth, I promise we're not goingto do that anymore.
Okay, just for you.
I promise I make Beth nervous.
With extension cords, we usethem for everything.
(21:07):
They're safe, right?
I don't think the ones we hadin the ceiling are safe.
They were like the real thin,residential kind and we were
like breaking off the grounds toplug stuff in.
It's fine, everything's fine,don't worry about it.
She came to the well at noon, atthe hottest part of the day.
Why did she go at noon?
Nobody would be there.
(21:28):
She wanted to avoid thejudgment Amen.
Her desire was to stay awayfrom all of the people who were
going to call names.
How many of us know people whocall names as grown adults?
Amen.
It's silly to me, but that'swhat they do.
Because we need you to feel badabout your choices.
I need you to think about yourlife and feel bad about it.
(21:50):
So when the woman was surprised,for Jews refused to have
anything to do with Samaritans.
So she said to Jesus you are aJew and I am a Samaritan woman.
Why are you asking me for adrink?
Now, understand that she'sexpecting judgment and she's not
receiving judgment.
(22:10):
Jesus is looking at her, sayingI can help you if you'll only
come to me.
Amen.
Jesus replied.
If you only knew the gift Godhas for you and who you are
speaking to, you would ask meand I would give you living
(22:34):
water.
This is my favorite part.
I tell you that every time.
I read this but, sir, you don'thave a rope or a bucket.
Man, look around this room andthink to yourself how many of us
treat Jesus that way.
When Jesus speaks to us and hesays all I want to do is give
(22:56):
you the finest things in life,All I want to do is be in close
relationship with you, and youlook at him and say but you
don't have a rope or a bucket.
You can't give me living waterbecause you don't have the tools
needed to draw water, notrealizing who Jesus actually is
and that he is, in fact, theliving water.
Amen.
(23:17):
We hear the name, we know Jesusright, we talk about him.
We pray in his name, amen, butwe don't always understand who
he is.
There are people sitting inthis room right now who do not
recognize who Jesus truly is orwhat he did on the cross.
Listen, did on the cross,listen.
(23:44):
That's our responsibility.
It is our responsibility toshare that.
And the woman at the well got toexperience it.
And besides, do you think youare greater than our?
Oh sorry, you went, did I gotoo?
Go back one, but, sir, youdon't have a rope or a bucket,
she said.
And this well is very deep,where would you get this living
water?
And, besides, ready.
Do you think that you aregreater than our ancestor Jacob,
(24:07):
who gave us this?
Well, how can you offer betterwater than he and his sons and
his animals enjoyed?
This is the important part.
That is what the world looks at.
Amen, what do you mean, pastorMichael?
Go back for me.
And besides, do you think youare greater than our ancestor
(24:29):
Jacob, who gave us this?
Well, how can you offer betterwater than he and his sons and
his animals enjoyed?
Listen, I am not Jesus.
I cannot have the world look atme as the mark for perfection.
And people say you're a pastor,I have to say but I am not
Jesus.
But I am not Jesus.
(24:50):
I may be a pastor, I may knowthe word, I may be able to speak
life into you, but I cannotgive you the living water that
Jesus can give you.
Only Jesus can send you toheaven.
Your relation I can't.
I can't pray you to heaven,your mama can't pray you to
heaven, your grandma can't prayyou to heaven.
It's not going to happen.
(25:11):
You have to have a relationshipwith Jesus Christ.
That is the only way to enterinto heaven the living water of
Jesus Christ.
But the world looks at us asthe mark of Jesus and it is our
responsibility to portray Jesusin the best possible light.
That means when we talk topeople, we talk to them kindly.
(25:34):
That means when we're in thestore, we behave appropriately,
right, it's hard to do.
Why'd you shake your head?
No, stephanie, oh, becauseJordan doesn't behave.
It's Jordan's fault.
I've talked to Stephanie.
It ain't Jordan she gotta worryabout.
No, I'm kidding, it's Ashley.
Ashley, you're getting thrownunder the bus, sweetheart.
(26:00):
The woman left her water, sheleft the jug that she had drawn
and she ran back to the villageto become an evangelist, to tell
people about Jesus.
The need that she had was water.
She came to draw water forherself.
Right, she wasn't drawing waterfor everybody else in town, she
was drawing water for herself.
(26:21):
But when she received theliving water, when she realized
that Jesus was the Messiah, theson of God, she ran back to the
village to tell everybody aboutthis living water.
Listen, that's where we come in.
That is where we come in.
This isn't about each and everyone of us being able to just be
(26:44):
living in relationship withChrist.
It is us pouring Christ outinto those people that we live
with, because the problem isthey don't understand the return
policy.
They don't know what it meansto come to Jesus.
See, the problem is we havetreated Jesus like a genie.
(27:05):
You pray your wants, you prayyour needs and God will give
them to you.
And we say that to the world.
God, give me a better job.
God, why don't you providefinances for me to take care of
God?
Why don't you this?
God, please do this.
But we're praying selfishprayers and we're teaching the
(27:27):
world that that's what God islike.
And when he doesn't give it toyou, what do you say?
You just didn't believe.
Quite hard enough, right?
There's a movie called Leap ofFaith.
How many of you have ever seenit?
If you've never seen it, youshould.
There's a movie called Leap ofFaith.
How many of you have ever seenit?
If you've never seen it, youshould.
It's a fantastic movie.
It's about an evangelist whotravels across the world and he
tricks people into thinking thathe hears from God.
(27:49):
He brings people in inwheelchairs and he parks them up
front.
And he brings them up front andhe tells them they're healed
and they get up and walk.
But all of these people areplanted in that front row.
He has an earpiece that peopleare talking to him, telling him
all the things to do.
And then he hangs this cross,this crucifix is hanging up
behind the pulpit, and hedecides to paint the eyes open
(28:11):
to get people excited that Godis here and God is doing
something, amen.
And he's tricking all of thesepeople into believing that God
is doing this.
And then, finally, the townfigures out that this guy's a
fraud.
The town is a farming town andall they need is water.
And they say to him just praythat we'll get some rain.
And finally he gives up and hedecides to skip town.
(28:34):
And as he's leaving town, guesswhat happens?
The rain just starts to flow.
Now I'll tell you that asChristians, we lead people into
a false sense of who Jesus is.
Each and every day.
We lead people into a falsesense of who Jesus is.
Jesus isn't a genie.
He is providing for you in hiswill.
(28:57):
He is providing for you in hisriches and in his glory, not in
yours, not in your selfishdesires, because oftentimes,
when we are praying to God forthose things, they are selfish
desires.
Jesus doesn't bringcondemnation to that woman.
(29:18):
He brings transformation.
He transforms her from a nobodyinto a somebody.
He turns her into an evangelistfor the gospel.
He turns her into an evangelistfor what God is doing in their
midst.
And I am sure she was rejectedjust the same as many of us are
(29:40):
whenever we're out preaching thegospel Amen.
There are people who listen tomessages all day long and they
pick out all of the things thatwere wrong.
They didn't like the way thepastor pronounced that word.
They didn't like the way thepastor talked about this.
Listen, if you want to look forall of the things wrong in the
world, you're going to find them.
But can I promise you there ismore good in the world than
there is evil in the world.
(30:01):
I promise you that the newsdoesn't.
You don't see that on the news,right?
I mean, we look at the news andit's all about death and
destruction.
But can I tell you about allthe good things that God has
done?
You don't see mainstream mediatalking about Forrest Frank's
back being healed, right?
Don't see mainstream mediatalking about Forrest Frank's
back being healed, right?
You don't see these thingshappening.
(30:22):
And when it does happen, it's aglimpse, it's a blip and it's
gone.
The next news cycle comes backand it's death and destruction.
It's hate, it's hurt, it'sheartache.
I promise you there is moregood than there is bad.
Jesus will not bring uscondemnation, he will bring us
transformation.
All right, we're going to talkabout my favorite guy next.
(30:44):
Are you ready?
I love to talk about Peterbecause he's like my spirit
animal.
I mean, if I'm going to relateto somebody in the Bible, peter
doesn't take any stuff, right?
The problem is he's a prettybig screw up.
Bible Peter doesn't take anystuff, right.
The problem is he's a prettybig screw up.
It's the one thing I'm good at,so why stop now?
Right, it's an art that I haveperfected.
(31:06):
So we're going to go to John.
So we're still in John, we'regoing to go to 21 and we're
going to read verses 15 and 17.
Now, this is after Jesus hascome back to the world, this is
after the resurrection, andPeter and Jesus are together and
(31:29):
Jesus.
So remember that Peter deniedJesus three times, right after
saying he wouldn't do it.
Oh, I would never deny you.
And Jesus is like trust me,buddy, you're going to do it,
you're going to mess up, okay?
After breakfast, jesus askedSimon Peter, simon, son of John,
(31:49):
do you love me more than these?
Yes, lord, peter replied youknow I love you.
Then feed my sheep, feed mylambs, jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the questionSimon, son of John, do you love
me?
Yes, lord Peter said you know Ilove you.
(32:10):
Then take care of my sheep,jesus said A third time.
He asked him Simon, son of John, do you love me?
And Peter was hurt that Jesusasked this question a third time
.
He said Lord, you knoweverything.
(32:32):
You know that I love you.
And Jesus said then feed mysheep.
Peter denied Jesus three times,but when Jesus rose from the
dead, he didn't discard Peter,he didn't cast him aside, he
didn't tell him that he wasn'tworthy.
(32:55):
Do you love me?
Yes, lord Peter replied.
Then feed my sheep.
Jesus didn't discard Peter.
What did he do?
He restored him, not just toforgiveness.
That's where we get stuck.
See, Jesus has forgiven me.
(33:17):
He didn't just restore him toforgiveness, he restored him to
purpose.
He said then feed my sheep,then feed my lambs.
What is he saying?
Build my church, care for mypeople, amen.
(33:42):
And here we are, blood-boughtchildren of the Almighty sitting
here saying we know who Jesusis and we believe who Jesus is,
yet we won't feed his sheep, yetwe won't care for his.
You know, you know what lambsare?
Right, they're little sheep.
Look around what.
You don't have any.
When you get one, will youbring it for us so we can hold
(34:03):
it and pet it?
No, you're not bringing a horsein the building.
A little lamb we can put in thelobby and we can all pet it.
Just stop, stop.
You're trying to mess this up.
Listen, we should be caring forthe children in this house just
the same as we're caring forthe adults in this house, right,
listen?
This morning I was thankful I'malways thankful that I let
(34:26):
somebody else pray over theoffering.
And you know, pastor Holly, herand I have this weird
connection and I don't.
Maybe she sensed it, I don'tknow.
She probably wouldn't tell meif she did, because she'd
probably feel like she's afraidto make me feel bad.
But this morning I wasdistracted by the noise in here,
right, like even when we weregiving announcements.
I was like man, shut thesepeople up.
Like these kids they keepscreaming.
(34:47):
Shut these kids up, lord Jesus.
Right, I just preached themessage a couple of weeks ago
about being able to worshipthrough that and I'm like Lord,
lord Jesus, listen, I get backthere and Pastor Holly says
allow us to drown out thedistraction.
I'm like I needed that today,jesus, right, and we share that
(35:07):
connection.
And the thing is, even if shesensed it in me, she wouldn't
tell me that because she went tothe Father instead.
Right, see, that's what weshould be doing.
We should be able to focus onthe sheep, focus on the land.
We should be able to praythrough all of those things.
We should be able to pour ourspirits out, pour out the things
that the Holy Spirit hasinstilled in us out into the
world.
That doesn't mean that you haveto go home and call all of your
(35:30):
neighbors and tell them aboutJesus.
That doesn't mean that you'regonna go stand on the.
You guys know that guy on thestreet corner at Walmart, right?
You see him all the time.
You don't have to do that.
That's not what I'm asking you.
But when you encounter somebodywho is very obviously hurting,
pray for that person.
I've learned this and I want toshare it with you.
Don't ask can I pray for you,beth?
(35:51):
This is for you.
This is for you.
Okay, hold on to this.
Don't ask can I pray for you?
Why You're going to be met withopposition, and a no is a no
right?
How can I pray for you?
How can I pray for you?
You look like you're hurting.
(36:12):
You look like you're.
How can I pray for you?
And they're gonna say, well, mylegs have been bothering me, or
well, my husband lost his.
Well, and they're always gonnahave something that they need
prayer for, and they're notgoing to have something that
they need prayer for and they'renot going to turn you down.
You don't have to lay hands onthat person to pray for them.
Father, let your will be donein this situation.
(36:33):
God, we know that all thingsgood come from you and, father,
I am standing here believingthat whatever my friend needs
you are providing in the mightyname of jesus, right, that's it.
Oftentimes, they are not goingto reject a how they're always
gonna reject a can, right?
And so we have to shift ourmindset.
As Christians, we can't justwalk into the world the way that
(36:55):
we've always walked into theworld.
This place is a dangerousjungle.
Now, right, there are far morenon-believers than there are
believers.
They don't want the gospel,because the gospel requires
transformation, but they need tounderstand what the return
policy is.
They need to understand thatthey don't have to change their
mindset today.
(37:15):
Jesus just wants you to come,because when they get in the
door, when they find arelationship with Christ, that's
when transformation takes place.
Right, how many of us went tochurch for the first time
because we just didn't know whatelse to do with our lives.
We ended up in church.
Some of us were forced here,right, some of us were forced
into church.
But let me tell you life-givingpower, right?
(37:38):
I remember the first time Icame to church.
It was because I was having arelationship problem and I
thought you know, the first timeI came to church, it was
because I was having arelationship problem and I
thought, you know I ain't gotanything else to do with my
Wednesday night, right Might aswell go to church.
Next thing I know my life haschanged completely.
(37:59):
I'm saved and I'm able to walkaway from the pain and the hurt
that I had been feeling.
I was able to look at thosebroken relationships and say
that's not what God wanted forme.
It was what I wanted for me.
And I was able to look at thosebroken relationships and say
that's not what God wanted forme, it was what I wanted for me,
and I was able to break thosechains.
I was able to come to theFather a broken mess and be
restored into something new.
Now I'll tell you I'm stillmissing pieces.
(38:19):
I am not perfect.
I know some of you might liketo think that and I'm being
serious there are some of youthat put me on a pedestal.
I know some of you might liketo think that and I'm being
serious there are some of youthat put me on a pedestal.
I want to tell you I am notperfect.
I never will be.
I've never professed to be, andI don't want to be perfect.
All I want to do is be likeJesus.
I want to be able to live thatlife day in and day out, and I
(38:41):
hope that every person sittingin here feels that in their
heart, that they realize theimportance of being more like
Christ.
The great commission is to goout and preach the gospel to all
the world Amen.
We aren't even doing it in ourown community.
If we want to reach everycorner of the earth because you
know Jesus won't come back untilthat's done right, that's what
(39:03):
the Bible tells us.
No man shall know the hour.
That's because we're lazy.
We don't want to go out andpreach the gospel.
That man on the corner byWalmart, he's doing his job.
He is doing his.
He's probably doing some of ourjob too.
Right, it is our responsibilityto preach the gospel.
It is our responsibility totell people who Jesus really is
(39:28):
and what he can do in our lives,because there is no return
policy when it comes to Jesus.
Now I learned this.
I was researching returnpolicies at stores Because you
know when you're gonna do a.
Did you know you can returnanything at Costco?
No questions asked, I'm gonnastart shopping at Costco, right?
I'm going to go to Costco andbe like this banana was already
(39:52):
half eaten, I just got a peel.
Is that how that works?
See, that's dishonest.
That's dishonest.
We shouldn't do that.
We shouldn't do that.
They'll take almost anythingback no questions, no pressure,
no shame.
People will laugh about it andpeople will do just that.
They take something back thatthey've used and then Costco
(40:12):
will give them all of theirmoney back.
They think it's funny, buthonestly, that's the kind of
grace that we get when we returnto Jesus.
There is nothing that he islooking for in return.
Relationship is all we need tohave.
You don't have to be perfect,you just need to be present.
(40:35):
You don't need to clean up, youjust need to come back.
The father is watching, he iswaiting and he will see you from
a long way off and he willgreet you and he will embrace
you and he will give you all ofthe finer things in life because
you are his follower Amen.
(40:57):
Now what I'm gonna do we've gota little bit of time.
I'm gonna open the altar andwhat I want is I want the church
to just take a second.
I want you to just look at yourheart.
Maybe you don't know Jesus atall.
Maybe you have never given yourheart to the Lord.
I want you to take thisopportunity to come to the altar
.
I want you to take thisopportunity to be in the
(41:19):
presence of God.
Go ahead and turn on someprayer music for me, and I want
you to just be present withJesus right now.
We're going to pray for you.
If you want prayer, if you say,if you come to the altar for
the first time today and you sayI really want to, I want to
have more of a relationship withChrist, know this, I want you
(41:41):
to come see Pastor Roger, myselfor Pastor Holly.
We'll be prepared and we'llpray with you and we'll talk you
through what it means to takethis next step in your faith
walk.
It is a big deal to be inrelationship with Christ.
Now some of us are sitting heresaying I don't need this.
I promise you you need toreconsider, because there are
(42:04):
some of us who are living lifein a way that is not in
accordance to what God wouldhave in our lives.
I know that every time we openthe altar, people think, oh,
this is just a spot of pressure.
They just want us to.
I don't care what you do, jesusdoes.
This isn't about me.
(42:24):
This isn't about what I thinkabout you.
It's not about what somebodyelse might say when you come to
the altar.
They might gossip about you inthe hallway.
Let them, oh, don't get mestarted.
Don't get me started.
Listen, it's not you they don'tlike, it's he that lives in you
, amen.
So let's just.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.