Truth Be Told Your Freinds Matter

The speaker welcomes the audience and asks for their support and feedback. They emphasize that God is good and deserving of worship. The speaker then shares a personal story about their father's testimony and the impact it had on their own faith. They introduce the theme for the month, which is sharing the truth of the gospel, and specifically focus on the importance of friends in this process. The speaker outlines three steps: the call and purpose, the method, and the motivation for sharing the gospel. They read a passage from the book of John about Jesus talking with a woman, and highlight her excitement to share her experience with others. Welcome, and thank you for joining us online today. You're about to listen to a powerful message from Storehouse Church. Our hope is that this message, as well as this ministry, will ignite your heart, illuminate your mind, and impact your life through God's overwhelming grace and power. If you've been blessed in any way through this ministry, we'd love to hear from you. Just send us an email at info at storehousechicago.org. And also, if you'd like to help support this ministry financially, you can do so online as well. Simply log on to www.storehousechicago.org and help us continue to bring broadcasts just like this one to you each and every week. We're blessed to have you with us, and thanks again for joining us today. Now prepare your hearts to hear a powerful word from God. Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. God is good, God is good. And all the time. God is good. And all the time. Come on, man, even when we're hard-headed. Even when we're stubborn. Even when we make mistakes. God is still good. That's why He's God. That's why He deserves all of our worship. All of our praise. All of our life. All of our strength. All of our desires. All of our dreams. All of our goals. Because God is good. Amen. You may be seated, you may be seated. Man, God is in this place. I think I just preached, amen? No, no, no, I still got to share a little bit. Just a little bit. And out of recognition, God has been visiting us today in a very beautiful way through all the testimonies, the word of Pastor, of Brother Mark with Holy Communion, and our young adults, amen? Our young adults, man. They're standing up here, and you can see some of them, like, looking up there, looking there. Like, oh, don't call me, Pastora. Don't ask me. And they muddle through. And they share. They share. And some of you might be saying, well, they're sharing the same thing. So what? They share. And sometimes they're doing more than some of us are doing. Let's be honest. They stood up in front of a bunch of people, and they're like, hey, I'm going to go help. I want to revive my fire. I want to do more than I'm doing right now. Now, I don't know about you. It took me way back. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but I think I've been serving the Lord for a little bit. Well, more than a little bit. I'm in my 50s. But the first time I started sharing, God was doing through mission trips when I was half my age. So that's where I met God. And my mission trips wasn't so much going outside of the country, because I was a poor Puerto Rican boy going to a church in Humboldt Park. And that church wasn't, you know, the biggest or the brightest, but that church loved Jesus. Amen? And they're still there today. But in that church, I was sent on a mission. In that church, the mission that I was sent when I was a little boy was when reading Scripture, I read that Jesus Christ died for me. And I remember when I read those words, I was about 15. I was in the basement apartment in Logan Square neighborhood on Rockwell Avenue. You know, everybody was asleep, and I read the final words of Jesus that he said, it is finished. I read those words before, that he said, Father, forget them, but they don't know what they do. And when I read those words, it was the first time that I read them that it made a difference, because I started saying something over and over and over again. You know when I said, Jesus died for me. Jesus? He died for me? Man, I was 15 years old, and I kept repeating it, because I started realizing I was something. Because somebody other than myself did something for me that I would never expect. Somebody died in my place. And that woke something inside my heart. I got up, I went into my dad's room, and I went into my mom's room. They were asleep, and I woke them up, and I was crying. I said, hey man, you know what? Jesus died for me. And my dad looked at me like, boy, what is wrong with you? But that wasn't going to church too much. Now, why am I saying all of this? That's what I remember from that particular time. After that, my dad started going to church. I remember about two or three weeks ago, maybe a month ago, I was with my dad. And right now my dad has Alzheimer's. God only knows, you know, his life is in his hands. He's 85 years old. So I try to spend as much time as I can, because God only knows, right? And we're talking, and we're talking. Oh, you know what? Maybe it's more than a month ago. But the whole thing is this. My dad started recounting some of the things that made him go to church. And lo and behold, he starts sharing, and my name pops up. Now, I'm going to have to recount this. This was more than a couple weeks ago. I think it was a couple months ago. And somebody was there with me. It was Robert Ocampo. And I would go and play dominoes with my dad, and I wouldn't talk much. But that day, God used Robert, because Robert, out of the blue, just starts talking to my dad. And my dad starts talking to him. And my dad gets into preacher mode, and he starts witnessing to him. And while he's witnessing to him, he shares that story. And I'm just quiet, and I'm just listening. And by the way, we lost big time, me and Robert, that day, at dominoes. I'm not salty, though. Just a little bit. And it wasn't my fault. I love Robert. I love Robert. But my dad starts witnessing to him. And I'm just here, listening, listening. And my dad is talking. My dad is going, yeah, yeah, you know. And I'm serving the Lord. But I'll tell you, I remember my son, how God changed him. And I'm just listening, and I'm like clueless. And I heard that. And inside my heart, I was like, wow. And he just started talking and talking and talking. Man, we lost so many games that day. We're leaving. Robert is like feeling a little something. Man, Pastor, we knew. I cried with Robert in the car. I said, man, Robert, God used you today. You connected with my dad, and my dad connected. And he shared some words that I never really knew. Well, you know, I'm sharing all of this to open this month's series. Truth be told. Can I say that again? Truth what? Truth be what? It's got to be expressed. The work that the cross has done, the death that was done, the resurrection of that death that was committed is a truth that needs to be shared. It needs to be shared. What Christ has done, it can't be hidden. It can't be silenced. And it can't be ignored. Truth be what? That's what we're doing this month. And that's why I'm being vulnerable with you right now. Because my dad was able to share a truth that not only ministered to Robert, but it ministered to his own son. Amen? What truth is going on in your life right now that you have not been sharing? What has God done in your family? What has God done with your children? What has God done with your life that you're taking it for granted to the point where you just come in and sit down in that chair thinking that's what God has you here for? Listen, God's done so much. It's more than for you to sit down in a chair to say I'm present. Truth be what? Alright, so that's what we're doing this whole month. But today's little sub theme under truth be told is your friends matter. Who matters? Who matters? Listen, you know what truth be told means? Truth be told is the honest heartfelt communication of the gospel. It's emphasizing the importance of Christ's love and how He died for us. How He resurrected for us. And how He's sitting at the right hand side of the Father interceding for us. It's about redemption. It's about salvation. It's about where we take that truth and we speak it openly with authenticity. Because when we share what Christ has done in an open and vulnerable manner, in an authentic manner, you know what that produces? It produces hope. It produces hope. When somebody can hear, you know what, God did something in that person? Well if God did it with that person, maybe God could do it with me. Amen? How many want to share that truth? How many want to share that truth? Come on now, I got to see more than two or three hands. How many want to share that truth? So that's what we're going to talk about today. Three steps and what it means to share that truth. Amen? And I won't take very long. I am counting the minutes because they put them up real, real big, big right there. And I'm going to do good this Sunday. I promise. That's our goal. Amen, Pastora. Three things, three ways we're going to discuss what it means to understand why our friends matter. To understand the importance of sharing the truth of the gospel. We're going to understand, number one, the call and the purpose. The purpose of that call. There is a summons. There is a challenge. And it has its purpose. Amen? The first one is call and purpose. The second one is the method. How do we do it? Real simple. The call, the method, how. And then the third one, the motivation. The power that makes us move beyond ourselves to get to where God wants us to be. Can we do that? Can we talk about that today? All right, so real simple. Let's look at the book of John, chapter 4, verse 27 through 30. John, chapter 4, verse 27 through 30. Are you with me? I'm going to ask that we stand up real quick for the respect of the word of God. I know you're real comfortable. I'm sorry. All right, we are reading God's word. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. And everyone says. Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman. But no one said, what do you seek? Or, why are you talking with her? So the woman left her water jar. What did the woman do? She left her water jar. What did she do? She left her water jar. And what else did she do? And went away into town and said to the people. Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? Come see this man. Hey, I know you're busy. I know some of you are tired. But hold on. Wait. Hold on. You got to see what I just experienced. You got to see what I just heard. You got to see who I just talked to. Come see a man. Who told me all that I ever did. Come see a man who knows me. Come see a man who knows me. And they were like, knows you? Yeah, he knows me. And they're like, what? Yeah. Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? And man, look at what verse 30 says. They went out of the town and were coming to him. They dropped what they were doing. For someone that did not have a lot of friends. They dropped what they were doing. Because of what was done in her life. Your friends matter. Leave the dead water behind. Your friends matter. Leave the dead water behind. Dear God, thank you for this short time that we're going to share your word. Lord, help me respect everyone's time here today. And the only way I could do that is to step away from this point. I sit with everyone else asking that you speak to each and every one of our lives. We all have something going on. We all have one issue or the other that we're dealing with. Some of us are here and our minds and our hearts are not. So, Lord, get me out of the way. Speak to me too. Let your word reign in these next moments. Let your word become the living water that we need. Speak to your church, dear God. Speak in a way that there will be a response that we can let go of whatever we need to let go of. In Jesus' name we pray and everybody says, Amen. Come on, sit down. Let's go. Your friends matter. Leave the dead water behind. So, real simple, this whole series is about sharing the gospel. It's about welcoming and sharing the gospel, sharing the good news in a way that we share the hope that we have within us. Now, what's interesting when it comes to sharing God's word, when it comes to being a witness, when it comes to being a light in the midst of darkness, there are a couple things that happen usually one or three ways. One or three ways. Now, I don't want you to raise your hand for which one applies to you, but I do want something. Be honest. Today, let's be honest. Amen. How many want to be honest? Raise your hand if you're going to be honest. All right, all right. So, we're going to be honest. One or three ways happens when it comes to the approaches to sharing the good news, the manner in which we share God's word. The first one, real simple, one word. Is it up there? No? Okay, don't need to be up there unless it's in the next slide. Why don't you move to the next slide? Yes, there it goes. What's that first word? Trust. What's that first word? Trust. Let's be honest. Have we done it? Have you been at work and somebody is saying, Man, you know, I am going through heck at my home right now. So and so is doing this and I just don't know. And you're hearing this and your heart is starting to palpitate a little bit faster. And they keep on talking. And while they're talking, they are actually being vulnerable with you. They're letting their guard down. They're not telling you how much they have. They're not telling you everything that they've done successfully. They're actually letting you know something's not going on right. And that's the moment. That moment of vulnerability where they're being their true authentic self in front of you, that moment, that's a holy moment. Because the veil, the mask, the disguise is coming down. And that's the moment sometimes we choose to hide. And we think sharing the gospel is while they're sharing their heart and everything they're going through. We think the gospel right there in that moment is sharing in a way that inside you're praying, right? You're praying on the inside. You're like, Oh, man, God touched him. And God is like, Okay, Papa, I want to touch him. But let him know. Mamita, yeah, that's right. Let's go. I thank you for praying. Yes, beautiful. So good. Like I said, so good. But let him know. One second passes by. It turns into minutes. The conversation closes. And that person walks away. The person walks away. And what you had, you chose not to share. Now, I am sharing this in a way that I hope it brings conviction to your heart. Because if it does, my purpose to share this and to bring this out to light is not to make you feel bad. That's not the purpose. The purpose is to awaken you. To wake you up. So the first one, we should not hide. How many agree on that? All right, real good. Time is running. What's the second one? Okay, so now the flip side. This side, you know, you hear it. You're feeling it. You're like, Oh, Señor, I do. On the inside, you're praying. You're crying. You're quiet. Oh, and then the flip side. Oh, man. What do you do? Oh, man, you speak out. You become me. You start shouting. Oh, no, you need Jesus. And you quote John 3.16. You do this. You do that. You speak out in such a way, man, that that person is like, Whoa, what the, hey, okay. Is speaking out bad? No. But is it effective communication? I don't know. Sometimes, no. You know, I'm learning that when I preach, I've got to tone it down a little bit. And I'm learning because I've had people come up to me later on after a service or something. They're like, Man, I thought you were going to have a heart attack. You're like, What? And inside, I'm like, You know what? It's true. For the sake of being what I am, I'm losing the opportunity to share the truth. Speaking out has to deal with context. There are times you've got to speak out. There are times you've got to defend the Word of God. But even in the essence of speaking out, you don't speak out so you could be right. You speak out so somebody could stop being wrong. Do you see the difference? Are you hearing me? You don't speak out so you could be right. You speak out so somebody could stop being wrong. And the way somebody stops being wrong is not through how loud or how much you know. It's how much you could connect. The issue and the point is connecting. Establishing a bridge of communication where you could send but at the same time you could receive. Because you could send something and it does something and something comes back from what you were sent. But sometimes we speak out to the point where that person needs. You were right though. It's not about being right. It's about being a light. In the midst of darkness. A light that doesn't just repel but a light that draws in. It draws in. It's just enough light for someone to look at themselves and say oh snap. I'm not clean. Just enough light for someone to look at themselves and say man I've got a mark right here. And I remember why I got that mark. I know what happened that day. This stain. I know where this stain comes from. Just enough light where there's conviction. Just enough light where that person gets touched in the deepest part of their heart. And the word you share has healing at the same time. Are you hearing me right now? Is that making sense? Some of us hide. Some of us speak out. But I think the last one is one that is beyond beneficial. What's the last one? What's the last one? Relationship. Relationship. You know relational witness is the most impactful and compassionate approach. Where the gospel is shared through relationship. Embodying Christ's love, extending mercy and enacting justice. Relationship. Where someone when they see you they're glad they're around. They've been waiting for you to pass by. You know I have two jobs outside of storehouse. And I thank God for storehouse. I've been here for 15 something years. I thank God for my pastor. He's been a blessing. He knows I'm busy. He allows me to do what I have to do. And then I thank God for him for pastor. I thank God for everybody here. I've got two jobs. One, I'm a hospice chaplain. I meet people at the moment of death. Before it, during and after. Another job that I have is a chaplain in the workplace. I go to certain jobs just to make connections. When I first started that job over seven years ago, I felt like I was, oh my God, a sheep in the midst of wolves. My locations that I visit are trucking depots. I deal with truck drivers, forklift drivers. When they talk, sometimes they don't say the nicest things. Some of them are like four feet bigger than me, five feet wider than me. When I walk through one of the trucking depots, there are like about 50, 80 forklift drivers driving like crazy. And I walk through there. When I first started, I didn't say one peep. Couldn't make not one connection. I walk through there now. I don't feel like I'm four feet. I feel like I'm ten feet. I don't feel anybody's taller than me because I know who's in me and greater is in me than he that is in the world. When I walk through there, I'll shout. This is where I speak out. I'll be like, I'll say, yo, what's up, what's up, what's up? They're like, yo, chaplains. Seven years, they still don't know my name. They'll come. They'll get off the forklift. They'll give me a hug. I'll go to another one. They'll talk to me about this. They'll talk about that. I'll share a little bit. Then the other day, I was walking. I walk in, and there's this one guy that I've been talking to for like about six months. When I first talked to him, he was telling me, yeah, Jesus. I don't know about Jesus. I believe in Muslim. I'm like, what? Christian Muslim. I'm like, whoa, man, that guy's confused. Shared a little bit, shared a little bit. Two months later, three months later, we're talking. I'm talking about him, his family, understand his sons. Two, four months later, we're talking a little bit more. He came to church. He came to church. I remember when he came to church, he was sitting right there in the corner. Man, I preached my heart out. I was like, whew. Man, God was rocking here. This was recent. Man, and I make the altar call. My brother's just standing there looking like this. I'm like, whoa. Let it go. Last week, I'm walking to the same terminal. He's there. He's smiling. He comes up. He goes, man, Arthur, good to see you. I go, yeah, what's up? Man, I don't know, but I feel like I'm accepted. I feel more accepting right now. I go, yeah? I go, yeah, I feel more accepting. I go, what do you mean? What do you mean? He goes, man, you know, I'm reading the Bible more, and I'm understanding a little bit about Jesus. You know, it's funny because I called my mom, and I said, Mom, I think I want to accept Jesus. And then my mom was like, nothing. I go, yo, yo, yo, Cornell, hold up, bro. You can accept him right now. He goes, really? I go, yes. He grabbed my hand. He said the sinner's prayer, and he started laughing. I go, man, Cornell, you made my day, Cornell. I go, no, man, you made my day. Man, I'm happy. I'm like, man, whoo, I want to accept Jesus. Relational witness. Relational witness. And the best way that truth could be told is when you share it through relationship. Amen? So, the first thing is the call. We are called to do this. There's a purpose for this. Understand that we're called. Now, the verse that I read today has to deal with the Samaritan woman. And we know the backdrop of the Samaritan woman, right? She comes to the well, and Jesus is like, hey, give me some water. And then she'd be like, hey, how are you talking to me? I'm a Samaritan woman. We don't get along. And then Jesus says, hey, but if you knew the gift of God, and if you knew who the one you're talking to, you would ask him of living water. And then she looks at him, and she says, hold on a second, Jesus. You ain't got much going on. You ain't got no bucket. You ain't got no rope. You ain't got no tools. You ain't got nothing. What are you talking about? And he just offers it to her again. He says, if you drink of this water, you shall never thirst again. And the Bible says that she's like, well, give me that water. I want that water. You know what was interesting? When she looked at Jesus, and he didn't have a bucket or the tools, she said, listen, where's your bucket? You ain't got nothing, because this well is deep. The water's not up high. It's really low. So to get anything, you got to work at it. And after you work at it, you don't get what you work for. That's interesting, isn't it? And Jesus tells her, listen, I'm not talking about this well that has water that's so deep. I'm talking about a living water that once you drink from it, you will never thirst again. She said, Jesus, give it to me, because I don't want to thirst, and I'm tired of coming to this well. I'm tired of coming to this well. It's not easy. It's not easy to fight for the little bit that I get. We're going to get back to that. Do you guys remember that so far? Okay, very good. But now, the verses that we read today have to deal after the encounter that that woman had with Jesus. And that verse that we read is in verse 27. It says, Then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with the woman, but no one said, What do you seek? Or, Why are you talking with her? Verse 28, what does it say? So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? So they went out of town and were coming to him. They were coming to him. The people in the town heard what the woman shared and they decided to stop what they're doing and get to where Jesus was at. Now while that was happening, let's jump to verse 31. John chapter 4 verse 31. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, What does he say to them? Real quick, let's all read it together if you got the Bible. I have food to eat that you don't know about. So the disciples said to one another, Has anyone brought him something to eat? Man, I'm going to tell you something. These disciples were like the most clueless dudes on the face of this earth. All throughout scriptures, Christ is trying to tell them the truth and they'd be like scratching their foreheads. They're like, What? When they went to town, do you know why they went to town? Because Jesus sent them into town. Jesus sent them away. Because Jesus knew that he had to pass through Samaria to get to that woman. To get to that woman that is dying of thirst. He got to her, he shared some truth, and she dropped what she had from her hands. The Bible says that she put down, she left the water jar. She forgot what she went there for. And we're going to get to that at the end. Amen? Are you with me? I only got a couple of minutes and I'm going to finish. But here in verses 31 through 36, Jesus starts talking to the disciples. In John chapter 4, Jesus has a conversation with the woman. Then Jesus has a conversation with the disciples. And then at the end of chapter 4, Jesus has a conversation with all the community of a town in Samaria. Jesus is talking to everybody. He's talking to the lost one. He's talking to the saved one. And he's talking to a whole world. And Jesus is talking to everybody right now. I don't know where you're at in your walk with the Lord. But this series that we're touching, I would like to tell you, it's the most important series of the whole year. Truth be told. Because sharing the gospel is not something that we need to do like we're checking off a mark. I paid my tithes. I visited church. Oh, I shared the gospel. I'm going to tell you something. It's the only mark. It's the only mark. It's not a list of things that you need to do so you could recognize that you're a Christian. No, it's the only thing to do. It's the only thing to do. And you might be looking at me, excuse me? I've got to pray. I've got to fast. I've got to read the Bible. Yes, pray. Yes, fast. Yes, tithe. But all of that is for this. It's for this. Remember, verse 31. We knew of the disciples who were urging him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him something to eat? Jesus said to them, my food. My food. Say it with me. My food. Oh, come on now. Talk like you ate something. My food is to do the will of him who sent me. And to what? Finish the work. Finish the work. So now, Jesus speaks in metaphors. So you can understand the weight of what he's saying. He said, my food, in other words, what gives me life. What is life sustaining? You see, sharing the gospel is not a piece of chocolate cake. Sharing the gospel is not an hors d'oeuvres. It's not an appetizer. Sharing the gospel is meat. It's the main course. I have food to eat that you don't know about. So the disciples said to one another, has anybody brought him food to eat? Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and accomplish his work. So now, Jesus says to us that if we ask anything in his name, hello? If we ask anything in his name, what is he going to do? That's right. This 17 grand that we're asking for, I say it's going to come before December. Why? And you might be saying, oh, it's about money. For this is about money because it's about the gospel. It's about changing lives. It's about being light in the midst of darkness. Now I am speaking out. Yes, I know I am. But I'm speaking out the truth. The will of the Father is to save that which was lost. To save you. To save me. But now when God saved me, he didn't save me just so I could get the right job. He didn't save me so I could get the right house. So I could get the right woman. So I could have the right kids. He saved me so I could be an instrument to connect and save others. And in the process, he's going to look out for me. He blessed me with a great wife. He blessed me with great children. A great job that I could be an instrument for his glory. But I don't get my stuff mixer all confused. I am not looking to get comfortable on this earth because this earth doesn't last. My goal is the kingdom of God. My goal is relationship with Christ. And in that relationship, my heart becomes his. His heart becomes mine. Do you know when Jesus said, you could ask anything in my Father's name, I will do it. But then he says, you will do greater things than me. What do you think greater things mean? When I first read that and I started coming to church, I said, oh my God, that's great. I'm going to get a better life. That's what I thought. I was 16, 17 years old. That's what I thought. But you see, I'm understanding a little bit more now. Sometimes I feel guilty because it took me this long to understand it. But it's okay because God is the one that restores the years that the locust has eaten. I'm not going to be worried or regret how long it took me. I'm just thanking God that I'm finally getting it together. The greater things in him has to do with the will of the Father. And what is the will of the Father? Man, to save humanity. To save the people that are hurting. To be that conduit where God can use you to get to others. Listen to me, listen to me. Every person that you see on the face of the earth is going to spend an eternity in one or two places. Either with him and his presence or in the lake of fire and hell. That's it. One or two places. Every single person. That guy driving in the right car right now or woman. One or two places. So you've got to get this urgency inside of you. You're the vessel that God is using. You're the person that he wants to use. Are you with me? I only have a couple more minutes. So that's the call. That's the purpose. Jesus shared it. My food is to do the will of the one who sent me. To accomplish his will. And that's what he was doing. He did it excellent way. He knew he needed to get to Samaria to get to the woman. And do you know how many times I read chapter four and I only concentrated on chapter four? On the Samaritan woman. But it didn't stop at the Samaritan woman. What's number two? First one is called purpose. What's number two? Method. The method. The first one is called. And number two is the method. Look at John chapter four verse 29 and 30. It says that Jesus, it says that the woman spoke to some people. She left the water jar. She left the water jar. She went into town. And what did she say in verse 29? Come. Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? They went out of the town and were coming to him. Two things I want to tell you about what was done right here. You know some of you are listening and you're feeling what I'm sharing with you. Not only because I'm screaming at the top of my, you know, head or whatever. But I sense there's something there. You've seen yourself in situations where you've been and had the opportunity to share something about Christ, but you didn't. And hopefully that's convicting you. Because I'm going to be honest with you. In my life, in the work that I do as a hospice chaplain, as a chaplain in the workplace, as a pastor, I would love to tell you I've been at the places where I needed to be. And that's not the case. There's been moments in my life as a Christian where I know when I get to heaven, I know I'm forgiven. But there's been moments where I chose to hide. I chose to hide. I'm going to be real with you right now. I chose to hide. I chose not to share. And those were moments where the person passed away. That person is no longer here. There are times I forget, but then there are times I can't. Listen, listen to me. If there's anything you can hear in my heart right now, I'm sharing my heart with you. Kingdom work is about sharing the truth of the gospel of what Jesus did in your heart. And you might say, but listen, Art, I don't know much like you. And I'm going to be honest, I don't know a lot either. When I went to seminary, I barely passed my classes. I'm not gifted like Pastor Lou that he got straight A's. Bless the Lord. I got a bunch, not a bunch, but I got one F man that bad. I felt like walking away from seminary. Hey, it's not about how much you know, it's about who you know. It's about who you know. This woman only spoke with Christ a matter of moments. And after a matter of moments, she ran away and got a whole town to come back to hear him. Did she go to seminary? No. Did she even take a Sunday school class? Did she take an epic class? No, no. She just heard the words of life. She heard the words of life from the life giver, amen. So, two things I learned from her. From that statement in verse 29 through 30. What are those two things? Transparency. Transparency pointing to Jesus himself. What does transparency mean? Do you know what transparency means? It means, in a personal and spiritual sense, it refers to the quality of being open. To be open. To be honest. To be genuine. In expressing one's thoughts, experiences, and struggles. Without hiding your true self. You see, they will get what you're trying to share when you're living what you're trying to share. Are you understanding what I just said right now? It's more than just quoting John 3.16. For God so loved the world, whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. It's living John 3.16. It's living it. Because once you live it, then you can share it. Say it with me. Once I live it, then I can share it. Why? Because it comes from your heart. Amen, David? I got your name, Papa. Amen? Are you with me right now? Are you with me right now? Once you live it, then you can share it. And the best way to live it and share it is being transparent. You say, this is me. This is what I went through, and this is what he did. Amen? So we went real quick, we went through the call. This is something that should define who you are, sharing the good news, the gospel. We went through the method. Be transparent. Live it so you can share it. And lastly, lastly, what are we going to look at? And this will finish the transformation, the power behind it. You see, this is what happens. This is what to live it means. Remember, in John chapter 4, the experience that this woman had with Jesus at the well. When she asked Jesus, and she said, I want of that living water. Look what transpired in verse 14, it says, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life. The woman said to him, sir, what did she say? Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty, or I have to come here to draw this water again. Give it to me. But now, interesting choice of words that Jesus had. When she asked for the water to drink, he doesn't give it to her. What does he give? What does he give? What does verse 16 say? Jesus says to her, go call your husband and come in. She's asking for the living water. She wants the living water. She's tired of coming to the well, because the well is so deep. She's tired of the effort, day in and day out. And she finally succumbs, and she gives in. And she says, okay, give me the water. And then Jesus says, go get your husband. Go get your husband. What's the title of today's sermon? Your Friends Matter. What else does it say? No, no, no, that's the series. That's the series. Who said that? Raise your hand, whoever said that. All right, everybody, give George three claps. That's the way we do it. Oh, no, come on. All right, I'm going to do it once. Stop, stop, stop, stop. All right, you see that? Let's go for George. My God, I don't know, man. Listen, listen, this is the truth. Do you want to be able to share the gospel? Well, for you to share the gospel, you've got to live it. So do you want to live it? Okay, for you to live it, you've got to drink of the living water. Do you want to drink of the living water? Bring your husband. And all of you are like, we ain't the Samaritan woman out there. That's in the Bible. All right. Today's message is your friends matter, leave the dead water behind. What dead water are you drinking right now? It's either living water or dead water. And you might be saying, but what do you mean? Exactly is what I mean. To grow in Christ. To accept Christ in your heart. It's not just recognizing that he died for you and he took his place. It's for you to have the opportunity to be hidden under Christ. Because now Christ covers you. And while you're hidden under Christ, that's where you deal with your mess. And your life is about learning how to let go and how to hold on. How to stop drinking foul, smelly, dirty water. And how to start drinking pure, clean, life-sustaining water. And the way to start drinking clean water, you've got to let go of the dirty water. So when the woman said, Jesus, give me that water. Jesus said, all right, give up your husband. You've got to give that up. Because that's what you've been drawing from. That's what you've been living from. It's hard to share the truth of the gospel while our hearts are attached to what is not of the gospel. We are loving other things other than Christ. What's your husband today? What's your dirty water? If you understand what I'm saying right now. If you could conceive in your mind and your heart what I'm sharing. And you're ahead of the game to the point where while I ask that question, you knew I'm not talking about a literal husband. You're already thinking of the weakness that there's within you. That's been gnawing at you. That it's right there. And some days you're okay. And then some days you're not. It's right there. It could be sin. It could be bitterness. It could be a hurt. It could be so many things. But God is here to tell you today. The only way truth could be told. And the only way your friends could matter to you in the way they need to. Is when you give this up. When you give it up. Now, I know what this was for me. I know what it was for me. And it took a long time. But once I understood that I am in Christ. And Christ is in me. Do you know some things started happening? I started getting into Word more. I started worshiping God more. I started trusting the work of the cross more. And when I least expected it, both hands started worshiping God. That thing is not a thing anymore. That's the work of the cross. That's understanding what Jesus could do in your life. Time has run. I can't get the rest of the verses. Take a picture of that. Read the verses. Take a picture with your phone. Read those verses. Because they are powerful. They are powerful. It's about God's Word. Amen. They are powerful. And it could bring a change where you could live it so that you could share it. Are you understanding a little bit today? Are you sure? You know what the best way to really make sure that you understand it today? When you give this up. How many want to give this up today? How many want to give this up today? Man, it's amazing that you guys understand what I'm saying when I say this. Hallelujah. His love is greater than this. His love is greater than this. He loves you more than this. Oh, man, I feel God right now. Amen. He loves you more than this. And when you understand He loves you more than this, man, it brings tears to you, man. It makes you cry because it makes you understand, man, God, thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your love. Amen. That love is here right now. Amen. In His name. Wow. Glory, people, glory. Amen. Let's stand up real quick. Let's stand up. I know God has spoken today. I'm praying for each and every one of you today. I pray, I pray, I pray that you take this word and you run with it, that you get closer to Christ, and that you understand that you are a living vessel, a light in the midst of darkness, that you are the trumpet of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For wherever you walk, for wherever you are at, for whoever you speak to, whoever hand you shake, whoever you hug and embrace, that it be through the love of Christ. Amen? Amen, amen. Lord, we thank you, Father. We thank you, God. We thank you, Holy Spirit, in this moment for speaking to your house. Thank you for helping us to understand, dear Lord, how much you love us. What food is for you, dear God? What drink is for you, Father? Let it be for us the same. Help us to live this. Help us to leave the dead water behind and help us to drink and take this living water to others. That's my prayer, Father. That's my prayer. Everybody's head bowed in this moment. I know God has spoken. If you don't know Jesus, if Jesus Christ is not your friend or your Savior, and you're tired of going back to that dirty well and drinking that foul, dirty water where you drink and it leaves you more thirsty than before, and you're feeling a little bit lost, Jesus is here right now. Don't leave. If God has spoken to your heart and you want Jesus to be your Lord and say, the only thing I'm going to ask, first thing, really quick, lift up your right hand nice and high. Nice and high. If you're here and you want Jesus. Okay, amen, amen. Now, this calls for the house. If God has spoken to your heart, if God has spoken to your heart and you want to be a light in the midst of darkness, you want to share this truth, you want to live it before sharing it, you don't need to come up. Just lift up your hands right now. Amen. Lift them up right now. Amen, let's go. Everybody should be lifting up your hands. Let's go real quick. I'm going to make a real quick prayer. Dear God, look at everybody's hands that are being lifted up. Lord, it's a testament to your word. It's a testament to your word, dear God. Lord, let your word take root in their hearts. Not only today, but when they leave these four walls, dear God, wherever they may go, that they recognize the opportunity you're giving them to share your life, to share your truth, give them the ability to live it before they share it. Give them the ability to live it before they share it. To leave the dead water behind and drink of the living water. In Jesus' name I pray. And everybody says, Amen, amen. God bless you, Torah. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.