WEBVTT 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:12.300 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:19.660 Lifehouse Church. And here's my confession. When 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:22.379 I'm out in public, and I don't know about you, 00:00:22.460 --> 00:00:24.859 but when I'm out in public, sometimes I like 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:29.359 to watch people. How many are like, come on, 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:31.399 look at that, all right? It's almost a sport, 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:33.859 isn't it? You know, I love to get out and watch 00:00:33.859 --> 00:00:35.859 people because you just never know what you're 00:00:35.859 --> 00:00:38.369 going to see. You really don't. If you're out 00:00:38.369 --> 00:00:40.549 in the public, you can see the strangest things. 00:00:40.829 --> 00:00:43.770 You can see very normal things. You can see anything 00:00:43.770 --> 00:00:47.509 from the bizarre, right, to the crazy. Almost 00:00:47.509 --> 00:00:51.429 weird. And on one occasion for myself, there 00:00:51.429 --> 00:00:54.189 was this time when I was watching people and 00:00:54.189 --> 00:00:56.590 came up on a scene, and it was kind of bizarre 00:00:56.590 --> 00:01:00.229 and horrifying all at the same time. And I remember 00:01:00.229 --> 00:01:01.950 this years and years ago. This was many years 00:01:01.950 --> 00:01:05.230 ago. And it happened in the strangest of place. 00:01:05.829 --> 00:01:07.489 You know, normally you're in a mall watching 00:01:07.489 --> 00:01:09.670 people. You're going down the street. You're 00:01:09.670 --> 00:01:12.150 going somewhere up the road, and you see a group 00:01:12.150 --> 00:01:14.769 of people. But this particular time, I was coming 00:01:14.769 --> 00:01:18.000 off of a four -lane highway. and I was coming, 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:20.319 exiting the highway and I was going down to an 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:22.939 intersection. And at the intersection, there 00:01:22.939 --> 00:01:25.500 were three cars in front of me that were at a 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:28.340 light. It was a T down there and you stopped 00:01:28.340 --> 00:01:30.200 and it was a light. You could go right or left 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:32.340 when the light turned green, of course. And I 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:34.620 hopped off the highway. It was a beautiful summer 00:01:34.620 --> 00:01:36.519 day. I'm in a pickup truck. I got the window 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:38.760 down, the tunes on, right? Praise and worship, 00:01:38.859 --> 00:01:41.260 listening to some worship. And I'm just cruising 00:01:41.260 --> 00:01:43.939 down to the light and I noticed something strange 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:46.670 happening. First of all, The car that was the 00:01:46.670 --> 00:01:49.370 lead car at the light had a person standing in 00:01:49.370 --> 00:01:50.849 front of it. How many know that's not normal 00:01:50.849 --> 00:01:53.849 at an intersection, right? There's somebody standing 00:01:53.849 --> 00:01:56.489 in front of it. And as I got closer, I began 00:01:56.489 --> 00:01:59.750 to hear yelling and screaming. And there was 00:01:59.750 --> 00:02:02.790 a woman. She was in front of this car. And she 00:02:02.790 --> 00:02:05.609 is yelling at the driver. I don't know who the 00:02:05.609 --> 00:02:08.250 driver was, but she was beating on the car and 00:02:08.250 --> 00:02:09.930 she's yelling. And how many know some of these 00:02:09.930 --> 00:02:11.590 things? You just like, you don't even really 00:02:11.590 --> 00:02:12.990 believe you're seeing this where you're seeing 00:02:12.990 --> 00:02:15.330 it, but I'm watching this all unfolding. I'm 00:02:15.330 --> 00:02:17.430 sliding down to the cars that are in front of, 00:02:17.509 --> 00:02:21.090 you know, in back of them. And the closer I got, 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:24.590 I began to slow down and I began to fear the 00:02:24.590 --> 00:02:26.889 worst because I began to hear the person that 00:02:26.889 --> 00:02:30.620 she was yelling at revving the engine. I know. 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:33.479 And I'm like, please, Lord, no. You know, and 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:35.460 they're revving the engine as I'm coming and 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:38.560 slowing down. And my worst fear took place. I 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:42.590 heard tires squealing and boom. They take off 00:02:42.590 --> 00:02:45.449 and hit this woman, knock her halfway out into 00:02:45.449 --> 00:02:48.150 the intersection, and she's laying on the pavement. 00:02:48.270 --> 00:02:50.530 And I couldn't believe what I was seeing in front 00:02:50.530 --> 00:02:53.870 of me. And the car backs up and just sitting 00:02:53.870 --> 00:02:56.289 there revving the motor and then suddenly cuts 00:02:56.289 --> 00:02:59.189 to the right and takes off down the road. And 00:02:59.189 --> 00:03:02.180 this woman's laying in the street. And I begin 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:06.039 to come to a stop, start to get the car, my vehicle 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:08.379 stopped, the truck stopped. I begin to unbuckle 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:10.659 my seatbelt because I didn't know what kind of 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:13.159 horrific scene I was going to walk up on. And 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:15.159 then the strangest thing happened. This woman 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:18.120 sits up and starts to crawl across the street. 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:20.099 And the car that was sitting at the intersection, 00:03:20.379 --> 00:03:22.639 the door opens, she crawls in the back seat, 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:24.580 and that car turns to the right and takes off. 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:26.879 Have you ever seen something and you don't even 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:30.710 know what's going on? I didn't know whether to 00:03:30.710 --> 00:03:32.889 call 911. I didn't even know what to report. 00:03:33.150 --> 00:03:35.870 I couldn't even see their license plate. Everybody 00:03:35.870 --> 00:03:38.030 was gone and me in the car in front of me, the 00:03:38.030 --> 00:03:39.469 guy's just sitting in there shaking his head. 00:03:39.550 --> 00:03:42.050 I didn't know what to do, right? It was the most 00:03:42.050 --> 00:03:44.550 bizarre and horrifying thing I've ever seen, 00:03:44.610 --> 00:03:48.370 you know, watching people. And we watch people 00:03:48.370 --> 00:03:50.990 and sometimes you see people that are angry and 00:03:50.990 --> 00:03:53.889 they're frustrated and they're mad and they're 00:03:53.889 --> 00:03:58.310 unhappy and they're anything but satisfied in 00:03:58.310 --> 00:04:01.270 life. Dixie and I just went shopping. We take 00:04:01.270 --> 00:04:03.430 one day a year and we go together and we go shopping 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:06.289 and we do a bunch of Christmas shopping. And 00:04:06.289 --> 00:04:08.069 I watched, like people watched this year. We 00:04:08.069 --> 00:04:10.930 were at a mall and some outside outlets and all 00:04:10.930 --> 00:04:12.430 this kind of thing. I wanted to watch people, 00:04:12.569 --> 00:04:15.050 see if they have any joy in their face. I didn't 00:04:15.050 --> 00:04:17.490 see a whole lot of joy that day. Matter of fact, 00:04:17.490 --> 00:04:19.850 I saw a whole bunch of grumpy people, right? 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:22.800 They were not smiling. We're sitting in the middle 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:25.579 of food and more provision than we could ever 00:04:25.579 --> 00:04:28.939 hope for. And all I saw were these faces that 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:32.079 were frustrated. No hope, no life, no peace, 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:36.720 no promise. Just unhappy. And I think it's because 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:39.839 of this. I think it's because people are looking 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:44.439 for happy in all the wrong places. Amen? They're 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:46.120 looking for happy in all the wrong places. They're 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:48.759 searching in places that they're not going to 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:52.759 find it. Happy is eluding them every step of 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:56.319 the way. Joy seems to be a million miles from 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:59.019 them, even during Christmas, right? And at the 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:01.899 most, what they're experiencing is just a splash 00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:06.009 of happy. Just a splash, just a moment, right? 00:05:06.290 --> 00:05:08.629 In the middle of the tinsel and in the middle 00:05:08.629 --> 00:05:10.730 of the lights and in the middle of all of it, 00:05:10.750 --> 00:05:13.889 there's this splash of happy. The whole world's 00:05:13.889 --> 00:05:15.910 chasing a splash of happy. I'm gonna tell you 00:05:15.910 --> 00:05:17.250 one more story, then we're gonna get to the word 00:05:17.250 --> 00:05:19.730 of God. We recently, I'm in story mode today, 00:05:19.829 --> 00:05:21.589 man. I haven't preached in three weeks. You're 00:05:21.589 --> 00:05:24.509 in big trouble, all right? Well, we recently 00:05:24.509 --> 00:05:26.730 went on a family vacation and we went to the 00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:28.250 happiest place on earth. How many know what that 00:05:28.250 --> 00:05:32.000 is? Disney, right? I heard all kind of, I don't 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:34.120 even know what some of you said. But, you know, 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:35.620 Disney's supposed to be the happiest place on 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:37.779 earth. And I remember going, we went there with 00:05:37.779 --> 00:05:39.639 the kids and the grandkids, and it was a blast. 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:41.360 We had a ball. We had just as much fun, actually, 00:05:41.420 --> 00:05:44.000 back at the big old house we were in, just spending 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:45.899 time together. And we went to all the different 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:49.040 parks, and I spent all my money, and I came home 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:52.360 broke. But it was awesome, right? And while we 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:54.839 were visiting Epcot, we got on this ride that 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:57.399 was called Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. 00:05:58.159 --> 00:06:00.379 By far the best roller coaster I've ever ridden 00:06:00.379 --> 00:06:03.069 in my life. And I like roller coasters. And I 00:06:03.069 --> 00:06:05.269 remember going in, and even while you're in line, 00:06:05.350 --> 00:06:08.009 they got you in little sections, right? And you 00:06:08.009 --> 00:06:09.870 go in, and it's a whole experience from the beginning 00:06:09.870 --> 00:06:12.189 to end. You're standing in line, and the video 00:06:12.189 --> 00:06:13.910 screens come on, and they're telling you how 00:06:13.910 --> 00:06:15.610 you're going to be guardians of the galaxy along 00:06:15.610 --> 00:06:17.649 with them. Huge video screens. It's amazing, 00:06:17.949 --> 00:06:19.310 right? And you go a little further, and they 00:06:19.310 --> 00:06:21.189 tell the story a little more. And then you get 00:06:21.189 --> 00:06:23.209 on this crazy coaster that runs in the dark, 00:06:23.290 --> 00:06:26.149 and it was amazing. And we all got off of it, 00:06:26.189 --> 00:06:28.810 and we're smiling ear to ear, and we're laughing, 00:06:28.870 --> 00:06:31.189 and we're telling each other all about it, right? 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:35.100 for 15 minutes. We're going on and on. We had 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:38.019 a splash of happy, right? And then we get off 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:40.480 and we got to the kids where some of the other 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.759 ones were waiting. And then the splash of happy 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:44.500 turned into, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I'm tired, 00:06:44.540 --> 00:06:48.560 let's go. Can we ride something else, right? 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:52.060 Do you know what it costs Disney for that splash 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:57.199 of happy for my life? We looked it up, $500 million 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:02.519 to build that ride. That's why I came home broke. 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:07.279 I'm helping Walt pay for it, right? 500 million 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:12.540 for 15 minutes of happiness. In John chapter 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:17.139 four, Jesus begins to unlock the source of true 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:20.319 happiness. And the amazing part is that he gives 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:25.050 us gallons daily of happy. I'm going to, as you 00:07:25.050 --> 00:07:26.709 turn to John chapter four, we're going to start 00:07:26.709 --> 00:07:28.689 verse one. I'm going to pray. Father, thank you 00:07:28.689 --> 00:07:31.069 for this day. I thank you for Lord, each person 00:07:31.069 --> 00:07:32.949 that's here. I thank you, Lord, God, for their 00:07:32.949 --> 00:07:35.250 testimony and you and God, for some that might 00:07:35.250 --> 00:07:36.889 be here and don't have a testimony. God, I pray 00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:39.050 that changes by the end of this gathering. Lord, 00:07:39.129 --> 00:07:41.050 we pray that God, as we break bread and Lord, 00:07:41.110 --> 00:07:43.790 we read your word, God, that it settles into 00:07:43.790 --> 00:07:45.910 our hearts and into our minds and God, that it 00:07:45.910 --> 00:07:47.730 changes who we are. And we just give you glory 00:07:47.730 --> 00:07:50.009 and honor in Jesus name. And everybody said together. 00:07:50.779 --> 00:07:53.519 Amen, amen. John chapter four, verse one says, 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:56.040 therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:58.699 had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:01.759 than John, though Jesus himself did not baptize, 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:04.839 but his disciples, he left Judea. Now, Judea 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:08.699 was in the southern part of Israel's area, okay, 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.060 in Judea, and departed again to Galilee, which 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:13.399 was in the northern area, but he needed to go 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:15.839 through Samaria. Samaria was kind of sandwiched 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:18.800 between Judea, right, and Galilee, and so he 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.720 came to the city of Samaria, called Sychar, near 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:23.540 the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son 00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:26.920 Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, 00:08:27.019 --> 00:08:29.879 being weary from his journey, sat thus by the 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:32.960 well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:36.279 Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:39.009 give me a drink. For his disciples had gone away 00:08:39.009 --> 00:08:41.769 into the city to buy food. The woman of Samaria 00:08:41.769 --> 00:08:44.470 said to him, how is it that you being a Jew ask 00:08:44.470 --> 00:08:47.190 a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews 00:08:47.190 --> 00:08:50.129 have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered 00:08:50.129 --> 00:08:52.750 and said to her, if you knew the gift of God 00:08:52.750 --> 00:08:55.309 and who it is that says to you, give me a drink, 00:08:55.490 --> 00:08:57.850 you would have asked him and he would have given 00:08:57.850 --> 00:09:02.519 you living water. Say living water. And the woman 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:05.039 said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw with 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:07.960 and the well is deep. Where then do you get that 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:10.600 living water? Are you greater than our father 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:13.399 Jacob who gave us a well and drank it for himself 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:16.440 as well as his sons and his livestock? Jesus 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:19.279 answered and said to her, whoever drinks of this 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:22.080 water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:24.399 the water that I shall give him will never thirst. 00:09:24.889 --> 00:09:27.269 But the water that I shall give him will become 00:09:27.269 --> 00:09:30.509 in him a fountain of water springing up into 00:09:30.509 --> 00:09:32.730 everlasting life. And the woman said to him, 00:09:32.769 --> 00:09:35.350 sir, give me this water that I may not thirst 00:09:35.350 --> 00:09:40.230 nor come near to draw, right? Jesus has an encounter 00:09:40.230 --> 00:09:44.129 with a Samaritan woman at a well as he travels 00:09:44.129 --> 00:09:46.909 back up to Galilee. And in the course of the 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:50.250 conversation, Jesus informs this woman that he 00:09:50.250 --> 00:09:54.870 has water if drank, right? If you drink the Jesus 00:09:54.870 --> 00:09:58.529 water, a fountain of water will begin to rise 00:09:58.529 --> 00:10:02.309 up out of you into everlasting life. Living water 00:10:02.309 --> 00:10:05.960 from within you. Not water from a well, not something 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:08.120 that you take in from the outside, not something 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:11.539 that erupts and you take and grab a cup and fill 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:14.460 up yourself, right? Fresh, eternal water that 00:10:14.460 --> 00:10:18.320 comes up and happy flowing out of you. Joy flowing 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:21.820 out of you. God inside of you coming out. Hope, 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:27.299 life, peace, promise, joy. Happy, perpetually 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:31.179 at your disposal. And the woman's like, now listen, 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:32.779 the woman that's at the well, she's thinking 00:10:32.779 --> 00:10:34.980 all physical because she says, sir, give me this 00:10:34.980 --> 00:10:37.299 water that I may not thirst nor come here to 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:39.559 draw. She's thinking about physical water because 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:41.480 she doesn't want to have to go carry a pot to 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:43.620 the well, right? And then carry it the whole 00:10:43.620 --> 00:10:45.720 way back. But Jesus is saying, no, no, no. You 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:48.059 don't understand, Miss Samaritan, right? I'm 00:10:48.059 --> 00:10:50.179 talking about eternal water here. I'm talking 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:52.440 about water that never ends. I'm talking not 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:55.379 something beyond just a splash of happy in your 00:10:55.379 --> 00:10:58.759 life, right? A momentary moment. of being satisfied, 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.559 and your thirst is being satisfied. What is the 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:03.740 secret that Jesus is letting this Samaritan know 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:06.600 at Jacob's well? It's this. It's not what is 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:09.460 flowing into us that makes us happy, but it's 00:11:09.460 --> 00:11:12.220 who's flowing out of us that makes us happy, 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:14.740 right? Let me say it again. It's not what's flowing 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:17.340 into us that's going to make us happy. It's who 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:20.639 is flowing out of us that makes us happy. It's 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:24.090 not what's coming in. It's not. It's not what's 00:11:24.090 --> 00:11:26.370 coming into my life that's going to make me happy. 00:11:26.429 --> 00:11:27.889 We're all looking for that perfect circumstance. 00:11:28.149 --> 00:11:29.649 We're all looking for that perfect situation, 00:11:29.990 --> 00:11:33.009 right? That thing that just gets us to that happy 00:11:33.009 --> 00:11:35.370 moment, that selfie moment. Amen. Don't we do 00:11:35.370 --> 00:11:40.610 that? Cheese, right? That peace, that joy, that 00:11:40.610 --> 00:11:44.690 satisfaction, happy. The best you're going to 00:11:44.690 --> 00:11:47.730 do with something on the outside is a splash 00:11:47.730 --> 00:11:51.279 here and a splash there. And if you want more 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:54.159 than just a splash of happy in your life, if 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:56.779 you want an internal fountain of happy flowing 00:11:56.779 --> 00:11:59.940 up out of you, it's going to come because you 00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:03.059 partook of Jesus' water. Because you didn't just 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:05.600 grab what was on the outside, but it comes from 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:08.259 the inside. It comes from Christ. And what are 00:12:08.259 --> 00:12:10.120 we talking about? You know, what are we saying 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:11.940 here? You got to understand something. If you 00:12:11.940 --> 00:12:14.320 look into Scripture, that term, living water, 00:12:14.419 --> 00:12:17.259 is only used in three places in Scripture. And 00:12:17.259 --> 00:12:20.539 all three times by Jesus, right? Twice is in 00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:23.200 this encounter with this Samaritan woman at the 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.340 well. Very small audience, right? A woman at 00:12:25.340 --> 00:12:27.360 the well, maybe a few disciples standing around. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:28.519 I don't know if there were some other folks there 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:30.500 or not. Word of God doesn't really tell us. And 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:35.139 then in John 7, 37, Jesus cries out to a large 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:38.419 group of people and clearly states how this fountain 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:41.799 of living water. flows up out of us perpetually. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.080 In John 7, 37, it says this, on the last day, 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:47.320 the great day of the feast, Jesus stood up and 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:49.500 cried out. He's at a feast. There's a lot of 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:52.299 people. If anyone thirsts, come on, we're back 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:54.899 to water again, let him come to me and drink. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:57.379 He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:01.700 out of his heart, say his heart, will flow rivers 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:05.940 of living water. But he spoke concerning the 00:13:05.940 --> 00:13:09.000 spirit, whom those believing in him would receive, 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:12.580 for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:16.500 Jesus was not yet glorified. If you're looking 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:20.360 for more than a splash of happy that comes from 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:22.980 something on the outside of you, if you're looking 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:25.299 for happy that's going to flow up out of you, 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:27.080 if it's going to be a fountain, if it's going 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:29.340 to be a river flowing up out of you, then Holy 00:13:29.340 --> 00:13:32.370 Spirit needs to be active in your life. Holy 00:13:32.370 --> 00:13:35.809 Spirit needs to be working in the inside and 00:13:35.809 --> 00:13:38.769 perpetually bubbling up within your life. This 00:13:38.769 --> 00:13:40.850 is where happy is going to stem, plus a whole 00:13:40.850 --> 00:13:43.009 bunch of other things, right? He is the source. 00:13:43.570 --> 00:13:46.529 He is the never -ending supply. He is who Jesus 00:13:46.529 --> 00:13:49.250 sent to us when he left and ascended back into 00:13:49.250 --> 00:13:51.710 heaven. He is part of the reason why Jesus came 00:13:51.710 --> 00:13:54.110 here in the first place that first Christmas. 00:13:54.230 --> 00:13:56.870 This is part of the reason. The world around 00:13:56.870 --> 00:14:01.330 us can only experience just a splash. They're 00:14:01.330 --> 00:14:03.590 grabbing at everything they can get, right? They're 00:14:03.590 --> 00:14:05.750 looking for happy in all the wrong places. Any 00:14:05.750 --> 00:14:08.409 place they can go grab a moment. Anytime they're 00:14:08.409 --> 00:14:09.970 trying to get it on their cameras, they're trying 00:14:09.970 --> 00:14:14.190 to grab a moment of photo, right? Parties and 00:14:14.190 --> 00:14:18.350 sports and careers and relationships and hobbies 00:14:18.350 --> 00:14:21.049 and every place that they can go look and trying 00:14:21.049 --> 00:14:24.870 to draw out a moment of happiness. Just grab 00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:28.649 for one. I'm here to tell you, Jesus left the 00:14:28.649 --> 00:14:32.200 halls of heaven. He was born to a very ordinary 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:35.980 couple, right? In a very ordinary town, a little 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:39.299 town called Bethlehem, so he could pay the price 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:42.820 for our sin. He became the sacrifice. He grew 00:14:42.820 --> 00:14:46.000 into a man and he ministered and he became the 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.899 sacrifice as God's son to pay the payment for 00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:51.440 my sin and for your sin, to bring us redemption, 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:54.740 to bring us right into a place of salvation and 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:58.519 eternity with God. But one day he left this earth 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:00.519 following that after he rose from the grave, 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:03.879 he left and he didn't just leave us with that. 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:08.720 He said, go and wait for the promise. Wait for 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:14.279 the gift. The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit. It 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:17.139 is the Spirit who comes into your life. And when 00:15:17.139 --> 00:15:20.919 that happens, when you're actively engaged with 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:23.360 the Holy Spirit, the Word of God says rivers. 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:28.059 Rivers. How many want a river? Come on. I don't 00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:30.080 want a dab. I don't want a dash. I don't want 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:32.379 a little dribble or something. I want a river 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:36.019 of living water flowing up out of me. If we want 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:39.649 happy flowing, regardless of the chaotic circumstance 00:15:39.649 --> 00:15:44.090 in your life, it comes by engaging with the Holy 00:15:44.090 --> 00:15:50.269 Spirit. You want to get joy in your life in ways 00:15:50.269 --> 00:15:52.690 that you can't imagine in the middle of the chaos? 00:15:52.990 --> 00:15:55.029 And how many know there's chaos going on around 00:15:55.029 --> 00:15:57.409 us, right? How many have been watching the news 00:15:57.409 --> 00:16:01.149 this week? right? Bondi Beach, right? Sydney, 00:16:01.370 --> 00:16:04.590 Australia, a gunman. I watched the whole video 00:16:04.590 --> 00:16:06.830 horrified this week because I watched the video 00:16:06.830 --> 00:16:10.509 of these gunmen who just opened up and unleashed 00:16:10.509 --> 00:16:14.669 shooting Jewish people at random, at random, 00:16:14.730 --> 00:16:17.889 anti -Semitic ugly on display and all kinds of 00:16:17.889 --> 00:16:20.509 murdering people in cold blood. That's chaos, 00:16:20.730 --> 00:16:24.090 church. Come on. You know, Brown University shootings 00:16:24.090 --> 00:16:27.990 taking place. That's chaos. How do you find peace, 00:16:28.129 --> 00:16:31.110 dare I say even happy, in the middle of circumstances 00:16:31.110 --> 00:16:34.330 like that? Can you even get to happy in the middle 00:16:34.330 --> 00:16:37.750 of that kind of chaos? Only if there is living 00:16:37.750 --> 00:16:40.409 water flowing up out of you. It is the only way. 00:16:40.610 --> 00:16:43.149 It's not going to come from the outside in. It's 00:16:43.149 --> 00:16:45.289 going to come from the inside out. If you're 00:16:45.289 --> 00:16:47.590 going to get happy when your family is messed 00:16:47.590 --> 00:16:50.279 up, When your family is divided, if you're going 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:52.980 to get happy, when there's lack all around you, 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:55.480 you're lacking in finances, you're lacking in 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:58.340 support, you're lacking in whatever, right? When 00:16:58.340 --> 00:17:00.600 your spouse never seems to be happy, some of 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:02.559 you are in that situation. Thank God I'm not. 00:17:02.700 --> 00:17:04.960 My wife's here. She's happy all the time. Well, 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.859 most of the time with me. That's a lie. Sometimes 00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:11.440 I, never mind. Right? We'll tell that another 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:14.759 day. All right? Sometimes when you're in a struggle. 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:18.480 That person right beside you at work who's never 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:22.700 happy. Maybe called your boss, right? Eight hours 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:26.700 plus a day. We need more than a splash of happy 00:17:26.700 --> 00:17:30.319 in our lives. We need the living water. We need 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:33.579 the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to Bethlehem so you 00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:36.509 could have that kind of water. He was born and 00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:39.730 laid in a manger and grew so that you could have 00:17:39.730 --> 00:17:42.809 this. This is part of what he paid for. We have 00:17:42.809 --> 00:17:45.450 fountains of happy flowing up and out of us when 00:17:45.450 --> 00:17:49.289 we're engaged with the Holy Spirit, when we're 00:17:49.289 --> 00:17:51.859 engaged. When we walk with him and we talk with 00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:54.119 him and we're doing life with the Holy Spirit. 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:55.920 We always talk about doing life with one another. 00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:58.000 That's amazing. That's awesome. We believe in 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:00.819 that highly here and being a part of a community 00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:03.400 of other believers. But that's not nearly as 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:05.440 important as being engaged in and connected with 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:08.559 the Holy Spirit who God has given us. Listen 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:11.880 to what the prophet Ezekiel tells us. And Ezekiel's 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:14.279 prophesying over, he's talking about Israel in 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:17.059 this. And he says in 35, 25, then I will sprinkle 00:18:17.059 --> 00:18:19.819 clean water on you and you shall be clean. I 00:18:19.819 --> 00:18:22.039 will cleanse you from all your filthiness and 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:25.099 from all your idols. And I will give you a new 00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:29.119 heart. and put a new spirit within you. I will 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:31.460 take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:33.880 I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:36.359 my spirit, he's talking about the Holy Spirit, 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:39.119 within you and cause you to walk in my statues 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.000 and to keep my judgments and do them, and you 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.099 shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:47.000 for you shall be my people and I will be your 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:49.779 God. That's what he's telling the Israelites. 00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:53.900 Scripture says, new heart, new spirit within 00:18:53.900 --> 00:18:59.539 you. I saw hearts of stone when I was out Christmas 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:03.059 shopping. I watched their faces. Hearts of stone. 00:19:03.859 --> 00:19:06.440 Everything around them. All the goodness that 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:09.900 was around us. All the provision that they had, 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:15.019 right? And nothing but hearts of stone. Jesus 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:18.180 came to this earth. He brought Holy Spirit to 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:20.500 you to do heart surgery. I don't know if you 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:23.660 know that or not. He's here to do heart surgery 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:27.000 on you. The word of God says in Proverbs that 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.680 the issues of life, right, are stored up in our 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:34.299 heart. Proverbs 4 .23 tells us that. He'll work 00:19:34.299 --> 00:19:37.019 out the issues of your life if you call on him. 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.220 All this stuff that makes us so unhappy, right, 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:42.819 the outside stuff coming in, right, that we're 00:19:42.819 --> 00:19:44.960 trying to look for happy in, he sends the Holy 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:47.839 Spirit to change our heart. You got to understand 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:50.440 the power in this. You got to understand the 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:53.880 gift of God that this is in your life. Because 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:58.980 when you stop looking to the outside for something 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:01.059 that's going to make you happy on the inside, 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:04.119 and you start looking to God, and you start relying 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:06.819 on the Holy Spirit from the inside out, that's 00:20:06.819 --> 00:20:09.160 when rivers begin to flow out, right? That's 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:12.039 when fountains begin to rise up within you. You're 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:13.819 not looking forward to the things that are around. 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:15.640 You're not looking forward to in a relationship. 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:18.299 You're not looking forward to in a person. It's 00:20:18.299 --> 00:20:21.380 the Holy Spirit. John 14, 25 tells us that it 00:20:21.380 --> 00:20:24.000 is the Spirit of God who is the helper to us, 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:26.539 that he will teach you all things. How many of 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:29.940 you need some teaching out there? Amen. And this 00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:32.480 isn't just, sometimes you need emotional teaching. 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:34.680 Do you know that? Lord straightened me up on 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:36.319 that all the time. He's trying to teach me emotionally 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:38.960 how to straighten up. Pray for me. He's still 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:41.940 doing it, right? He says that. John 35 lets us 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:44.000 know that we must be born of the spirit to enter 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.700 the kingdom of God. In 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:49.359 Romans 8, 26 lets us know that the spirit comes 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.000 to live within us and that we are virtually the 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.079 temple of the Holy Spirit. John 16, 13 says that 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:57.240 he will lead you into all truth. As a matter 00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:59.000 of fact, the word of God calls him the spirit 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:02.319 of truth. Galatians 5, 22 says that the fruit 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:04.640 of the spirit It looks like this. Listen to it. 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:06.359 Love, joy, peace, long -suffering, kindness, 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:08.720 goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:10.980 -control. Did you hear joy in the middle of that? 00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:16.980 Happiness? Romans 8 .26 and John 14 .26 tell 00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:18.799 us that he's the comforter. He's the helper. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.319 He's the advocate that bears our burdens and 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:24.200 gives us strength. And Ephesians 1 .13 says that 00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:27.420 he seals the believers, guaranteeing their eternal 00:21:27.420 --> 00:21:31.190 redemption. It is happy. perpetually flowing 00:21:31.190 --> 00:21:32.990 out of us. Whole bunch of other things I don't 00:21:32.990 --> 00:21:35.509 got time to preach on this morning, but it comes 00:21:35.509 --> 00:21:38.170 from the Holy Spirit. And just in case you thought 00:21:38.170 --> 00:21:40.329 I missed it with Christmas, you're like, pastor, 00:21:40.470 --> 00:21:42.049 this is Christmas time. You should be preaching 00:21:42.049 --> 00:21:44.150 a Christmas message. Well, let me just read you 00:21:44.150 --> 00:21:47.269 something out of Luke chapter two. As the praise 00:21:47.269 --> 00:21:49.609 team gets ready to come, makes their way up to 00:21:49.609 --> 00:21:52.769 the stage. Luke chapter two, verse one says this. 00:21:53.099 --> 00:21:55.339 And it came to pass in those days that a decree 00:21:55.339 --> 00:21:58.099 went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world 00:21:58.099 --> 00:22:00.200 should be registered. This census first took 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:02.779 place while Cyrenius was governing Syria. So 00:22:02.779 --> 00:22:04.519 all went to be registered, everyone to his own 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:07.140 city. Joseph also went up from Galilee out of 00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:09.700 the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:12.160 David, which is called Bethlehem. because he 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:14.319 was of the house and the lineage of David, to 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:16.319 be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:18.759 who was with Chal. And so it was while they were 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:20.839 there, the days were completed for her to be 00:22:20.839 --> 00:22:23.480 delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:25.980 son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:28.400 laid him in a manger because there was no room 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:31.039 for them in the inn. Now they were in the same 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:33.059 country, in the same place, right, same location, 00:22:33.380 --> 00:22:35.500 shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:38.119 over the flock by night. And behold, an angel 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:40.160 of the Lord stood before them, and the glory 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:42.099 of the Lord shone around them, and they were 00:22:42.099 --> 00:22:44.559 greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:47.839 Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:52.240 tidings of great what? Joy. Good times of great 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:55.400 joy, which will be to all people. For there is 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:58.039 born to you this day in the city of David, a 00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:00.480 savior who is Christ the Lord, and he will be 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:02.859 the sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped 00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:05.559 in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And 00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:07.680 suddenly there were angels, a multitude of heavenly 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:09.819 hosts, praising God and saying, glory to God 00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:13.460 in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill 00:23:13.460 --> 00:23:17.359 toward men. Heavenly announcement of Jesus coming 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:19.740 to this earth. And what do the angels declare? 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:23.619 We've got good tidings, great news. That could 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:27.700 be interpreted. We got great news of great joy. 00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:35.000 Good news of great joy, happiness. Those angels 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.480 could have announced Jesus coming a hundred different 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:39.819 ways. They could have said a thousand things 00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:41.579 about Jesus that would have been true and amazing. 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.500 They said, we got good news. We got great joy 00:23:44.500 --> 00:23:48.250 ahead for you. It starts. With Jesus born in 00:23:48.250 --> 00:23:50.369 the manger and he continues on with the Holy 00:23:50.369 --> 00:23:54.809 Spirit, actively restoring our hearts. Taking 00:23:54.809 --> 00:23:57.650 a heart of stone and making it a heart of flesh 00:23:57.650 --> 00:24:01.069 about everything in your life, every area of 00:24:01.069 --> 00:24:04.430 your life. I'm gonna ask if you'd stand. I'm 00:24:04.430 --> 00:24:06.630 here to tell you this morning, the world's got 00:24:06.630 --> 00:24:10.650 it all wrong. They're all looking for splashes 00:24:10.650 --> 00:24:12.490 of happy and I'm here to tell you today, it's 00:24:12.490 --> 00:24:15.789 a lie. You're not gonna find perpetual happy. 00:24:16.410 --> 00:24:21.829 If you're looking for the outside in. Do you 00:24:21.829 --> 00:24:24.109 know what the world, you can Google this if you 00:24:24.109 --> 00:24:26.650 want to. So I know some of you fact check me 00:24:26.650 --> 00:24:29.029 on things, all right? Do you know what the, you 00:24:29.029 --> 00:24:30.730 should, by the way. Do you know what the world 00:24:30.730 --> 00:24:34.089 says the key drivers for happiness are? If you 00:24:34.089 --> 00:24:35.910 look it up, they'll say social connections, which 00:24:35.910 --> 00:24:39.789 is relationships, health, purpose and meaning, 00:24:39.990 --> 00:24:44.769 positive habits, engagement, acts of kindness. 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:49.680 and spending money on experiences. Can I jump 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:53.240 back to where I started this message at and give 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:56.339 you a little bit of a case in point? The woman 00:24:56.339 --> 00:24:59.220 at the well had been looking for happiness and 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:02.140 relationships for years. If you read on in that 00:25:02.140 --> 00:25:05.140 passage, you'll find out, and Jesus says this 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:07.839 to her in John 4, 16. Jesus said to her, go, 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:10.460 call your husband and come here. He's talking 00:25:10.460 --> 00:25:13.349 to the woman at the well. And the woman answered 00:25:13.349 --> 00:25:15.970 and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, 00:25:16.009 --> 00:25:19.529 you have said, or well said, I have no husband. 00:25:19.569 --> 00:25:25.069 For you have had five, say five, five husbands. 00:25:25.890 --> 00:25:29.069 And the one in whom you have is not your husband, 00:25:29.150 --> 00:25:33.230 in whom you spoke truly. The woman said to him, 00:25:33.250 --> 00:25:36.109 sir, I was perceived that you're a prophet. Six 00:25:36.109 --> 00:25:39.869 relationships that she was engaged in, looking 00:25:39.869 --> 00:25:43.059 for happy. Five of them were her husband's, and 00:25:43.059 --> 00:25:45.880 now she's living with a guy, and she can't find 00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:49.740 it. She's looking outside in. Jesus was letting 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:52.380 her know, woman, you're looking for happy in 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:55.500 all the wrong places. Let me tell you about living 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:58.799 water, right? You've been searching for happy 00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:02.339 in people. How many know people fail? How many 00:26:02.339 --> 00:26:07.339 know you fail? Come on. We all fail. Health will 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:10.670 fail you. Habits will not get it done. It's all 00:26:10.670 --> 00:26:13.069 good things, but it will not get it done. Spending 00:26:13.069 --> 00:26:16.009 money on experiences, right? 500 million for 00:26:16.009 --> 00:26:19.289 15 minutes, and you're going to get a splash 00:26:19.289 --> 00:26:24.150 of happy. Engaging in something purposeful, that's 00:26:24.150 --> 00:26:27.809 awesome, right? But it will not perpetually bring 00:26:27.809 --> 00:26:31.470 happiness into your life. Happy starts in Jesus, 00:26:31.589 --> 00:26:34.890 it continues in Jesus, and it works as the Holy 00:26:34.890 --> 00:26:38.980 Spirit moves in your life. as you engage Holy 00:26:38.980 --> 00:26:41.660 Spirit. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:45.640 Why didn't he leave us sit a little longer? That's 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:50.460 probably what some of you are thinking. You might 00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:52.940 ask, well, why are some Christians so stinking 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:57.839 miserable and unhappy jerks, right? Anybody ever 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:00.559 meet an argumentative, combative, judgmental, 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:03.759 unkind, unhelpful jerk of a Christian? Raise 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:08.509 your hand if you have. Don't finger point, don't 00:27:08.509 --> 00:27:10.809 look around, by the way. Did you say that? We 00:27:10.809 --> 00:27:15.809 are in church. You probably met a Christian who's 00:27:15.809 --> 00:27:19.890 stiff -armed the Holy Spirit in their life. Or 00:27:19.890 --> 00:27:22.250 a Christian who pretends that he's not there. 00:27:22.509 --> 00:27:24.430 He is a he, he is part of the Godhead, the Father, 00:27:24.430 --> 00:27:27.990 Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is God. Or he's 00:27:27.990 --> 00:27:30.230 not in communication, or they are not in communication 00:27:30.230 --> 00:27:34.630 or communion with the Holy Spirit. Or they value 00:27:34.630 --> 00:27:39.579 their truth. over the truth that he speaks. Don't 00:27:39.579 --> 00:27:44.680 look at them. Look at Jesus. Don't rely on them 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:46.880 as a representative of God and certainly not 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:48.579 as a representative of the Holy Spirit as well. 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:56.799 Engage. First step to happy in this holiday season, 00:27:56.880 --> 00:28:01.079 in Christmas time, time we celebrate Jesus is 00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:05.450 faith in Jesus Christ first. And then the second 00:28:05.450 --> 00:28:08.509 step is engaged with the gift that he's given 00:28:08.509 --> 00:28:09.970 us in the Holy Spirit. I'm going to ask you to 00:28:09.970 --> 00:28:12.930 bow your heads. If you're in the house this morning 00:28:12.930 --> 00:28:15.670 and you've been looking for happy in all the 00:28:15.670 --> 00:28:18.569 wrong places, I'm here to tell you Jesus came 00:28:18.569 --> 00:28:21.730 to this earth, was born in a manger in Bethlehem, 00:28:21.789 --> 00:28:28.690 grew, and he became the sacrifice for your sin. 00:28:29.269 --> 00:28:32.890 He became. The go -between between you and being 00:28:32.890 --> 00:28:35.329 reconciled back to God. And maybe nobody's ever 00:28:35.329 --> 00:28:38.410 told you that before. He has a plan for you. 00:28:38.569 --> 00:28:41.529 He has a purpose for you. He wants to wash you 00:28:41.529 --> 00:28:43.349 clean of the sin that has separated you from 00:28:43.349 --> 00:28:45.630 Him for so long. And if that's you in the house, 00:28:45.670 --> 00:28:47.910 and you're tired of looking for happy in the 00:28:47.910 --> 00:28:50.210 wrong places, and you want to know this living 00:28:50.210 --> 00:28:52.539 water that I'm talking about. You want to know 00:28:52.539 --> 00:28:54.579 what Jesus spoke about to the woman at the well. 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:56.619 If that's you in your house, I want you to raise 00:28:56.619 --> 00:28:58.099 your hand and put it up right, put your hand 00:28:58.099 --> 00:28:59.880 up and put it right back down. I want to make 00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:02.240 sure that, thank you. Thank you for those hands. 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.640 Appreciate that. This is an acknowledgement tweet. 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:09.940 He's got living water for you. Now I want you 00:29:09.940 --> 00:29:11.200 to keep your heads bowed just a little longer 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:15.559 because Christians, you need to hear this. You 00:29:15.559 --> 00:29:19.079 need the Holy Spirit active in your life. You 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:22.230 need to be engaging. and the Spirit's move and 00:29:22.230 --> 00:29:26.009 activity in your life. You cannot ignore the 00:29:26.009 --> 00:29:29.869 gift of God and expect to get to happy. You cannot 00:29:29.869 --> 00:29:32.769 ignore the Spirit of God and living water flow 00:29:32.769 --> 00:29:36.930 up out of you. You cannot stiff arm His work 00:29:36.930 --> 00:29:42.309 in your life and expect fountains of joy to come 00:29:42.309 --> 00:29:47.289 up out. You cannot do it. Father, we come to 00:29:47.289 --> 00:29:49.130 you today, and Lord, as each person in the house, 00:29:49.869 --> 00:29:52.549 examines their heart as we go into this week 00:29:52.549 --> 00:29:55.190 of Christmas. Lord, I pray right now that you 00:29:55.190 --> 00:29:57.009 would guide and direct those, Lord, that spoke, 00:29:57.250 --> 00:30:00.809 raise their hand, Lord, as they pray and ask 00:30:00.809 --> 00:30:03.509 you into their lives. God, as they recognize 00:30:03.509 --> 00:30:06.869 that life only comes in you, I pray, Lord, in 00:30:06.869 --> 00:30:09.009 their own words, they just say, Jesus, come into 00:30:09.009 --> 00:30:10.849 my heart, come into my life, forgive me of my 00:30:10.849 --> 00:30:15.190 sin. I want to follow you. I want to walk with 00:30:15.190 --> 00:30:17.720 you. I want to talk with you and give me the 00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:21.400 gift of the Holy Spirit in my life. Lord, for 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:24.240 those of us who are following, and God have followed 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:27.400 you for so long, God, help us not to stiff arm 00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:30.740 the Spirit of God. As he convinces and convicts 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:33.359 us, God, help us to recognize his work in our 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:36.839 lives. As the paraclete, as the one who comes 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:41.099 and never leaves us, but walks with us till one 00:30:41.099 --> 00:30:45.349 day we meet you face to face. Lord, we ask this 00:30:45.349 --> 00:30:49.930 in Jesus' name, and amen. I want you to look 00:30:49.930 --> 00:30:52.730 back up. I want you to think about this in the 00:30:52.730 --> 00:30:55.309 light of Christmas for just a moment. What if, 00:30:55.329 --> 00:31:00.509 what if it cost you your life to give a gift 00:31:00.509 --> 00:31:03.369 to somebody this Christmas? And you gave that 00:31:03.369 --> 00:31:07.490 person that gift, and the person took that gift 00:31:07.490 --> 00:31:14.140 and stuck it in a corner, ignored it. That's 00:31:14.140 --> 00:31:20.940 what Jesus did. He came. He was born. He died 00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:24.640 on a cross. He left and he gave us the gift of 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:32.559 the Holy Spirit. What if, right? What if? Here's 00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:39.519 what I know. He wants to be active in your life. 00:31:40.220 --> 00:31:44.230 I know that my joy comes from him. Circumstances 00:31:44.230 --> 00:31:48.430 change all the time. Trouble comes. If you're 00:31:48.430 --> 00:31:50.029 following Jesus and somebody told you it was 00:31:50.029 --> 00:31:54.390 going to be sunshine and roses, they lied. They 00:31:54.390 --> 00:31:56.829 just straight up lied to you. Life's difficult, 00:31:57.049 --> 00:32:02.890 amen? But joy comes from within. Now I want to 00:32:02.890 --> 00:32:05.930 help you with something. As you follow Christ, 00:32:06.069 --> 00:32:07.970 and we're going to do this as a church, by the 00:32:07.970 --> 00:32:10.450 way. We're going to start, we're going to begin 00:32:10.450 --> 00:32:13.400 to plan for this in January. But here's what 00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:16.980 I know. To engage with the Holy Spirit, you have 00:32:16.980 --> 00:32:19.640 to be actively in God's Word. You've got to be 00:32:19.640 --> 00:32:22.619 praying, right? Praying to the Father. You've 00:32:22.619 --> 00:32:25.180 got to be praying and reaching out in prayer. 00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:28.019 And you've got to be listening and looking for 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:30.579 the Spirit's move in your life. And one of the 00:32:30.579 --> 00:32:34.240 things that so many people struggle with is reading 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:37.009 God's Word. They have such a difficult time in 00:32:37.009 --> 00:32:39.549 staying in God's word, understanding God's word, 00:32:39.710 --> 00:32:42.230 figuring out God's word. And here's what we're 00:32:42.230 --> 00:32:44.670 going to do. And I don't even call this doing 00:32:44.670 --> 00:32:46.809 your devotions every day. When you're going to 00:32:46.809 --> 00:32:49.309 get with God, I want you to think of it in this 00:32:49.309 --> 00:32:50.829 manner. You're going to meet with the creator 00:32:50.829 --> 00:32:53.230 of the universe. Do you understand that? Daily. 00:32:53.450 --> 00:32:54.750 And here's what we're going to do. We're going 00:32:54.750 --> 00:32:56.529 to put a tool in your hand to help you with that. 00:32:57.369 --> 00:32:59.630 It's called the Bible recap. Say the Bible recap. 00:33:00.829 --> 00:33:03.160 All right. We're going to try to get everybody 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:05.579 engaged in this by the month of February. If 00:33:05.579 --> 00:33:07.759 you've never read the Bible through from cover 00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:10.160 to cover, you're going to do it this year. This 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:13.160 is your year. And we're going to give you support. 00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:15.079 We're going to give you a tool. The beautiful 00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:17.299 thing with Bible Recap is there's an app that 00:33:17.299 --> 00:33:20.200 goes along with it. And in that app, they'll 00:33:20.200 --> 00:33:22.559 give you the reading for the day. And if you're 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:25.400 feeling really lazy that day, they'll read it 00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:28.240 to you. Seriously, you can just sit there like 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:30.630 a lump and listen to somebody else read. the 00:33:30.630 --> 00:33:33.410 word of God to you. And on top of that, they 00:33:33.410 --> 00:33:35.890 got a video that explains what the word of God 00:33:35.890 --> 00:33:38.029 just said. It helps you understand what was just 00:33:38.029 --> 00:33:41.509 taking place in the Bible recap. So there's an 00:33:41.509 --> 00:33:44.349 app, there are books, there are manuals, there's 00:33:44.349 --> 00:33:47.269 study guides. We got recap Bibles out there that 00:33:47.269 --> 00:33:50.890 you can purchase. You can get just any kind of 00:33:50.890 --> 00:33:53.009 resource that you need to help you be successful. 00:33:53.190 --> 00:33:54.910 And there's one more step to being successful 00:33:54.910 --> 00:33:57.819 in that is other people doing it with you. So 00:33:57.819 --> 00:34:00.079 here's what we're looking to do. We've instituted 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:03.359 LH3 here a long time ago. We used to call it, 00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:04.859 just to get it started, we said three friends 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:06.980 for three months for three minutes in God's Word. 00:34:07.220 --> 00:34:09.840 Now, listen, that was just to get you started. 00:34:10.199 --> 00:34:12.119 Now it's going to be three friends and you guys 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:14.199 engaging in God's Word. And the beautiful thing 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:16.019 in the app, you can just chat right within the 00:34:16.019 --> 00:34:18.760 app and talk about God's Word. So what I want 00:34:18.760 --> 00:34:21.019 you to be praying about through this month into 00:34:21.019 --> 00:34:23.179 Christmas, going into January, I know you're 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:25.579 busy right now, right? I want you to be praying 00:34:25.579 --> 00:34:27.559 about who you're going to engage. I want you 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:29.159 to find two other people to engage in God's Word 00:34:29.159 --> 00:34:31.539 with. I want you to begin to pray about that. 00:34:32.420 --> 00:34:34.710 And then... I want you to connect with them and 00:34:34.710 --> 00:34:36.469 talk with them. And then we're going to get you 00:34:36.469 --> 00:34:40.789 all outfitted with material. And we got a table 00:34:40.789 --> 00:34:42.409 set up right out there. If you don't know how 00:34:42.409 --> 00:34:43.829 to load the app, they'll help you because it 00:34:43.829 --> 00:34:45.969 works in conjunction with YouVersion Bible app. 00:34:46.090 --> 00:34:47.730 And they're going to help you get it loaded up. 00:34:47.809 --> 00:34:49.510 They're going to show you how to do it, when 00:34:49.510 --> 00:34:51.789 to do it, right? They're going to give you all 00:34:51.789 --> 00:34:53.869 the, there's some people out there that I'm going 00:34:53.869 --> 00:34:56.269 to call experts at Bible Recap. And they're going 00:34:56.269 --> 00:34:59.510 to help you learn this tool. And we're going 00:34:59.510 --> 00:35:01.610 to engage in God's word. Nothing will change 00:35:01.610 --> 00:35:04.389 you more than engaging with the Holy Spirit and 00:35:04.389 --> 00:35:06.550 God's word because he was the author. The Holy 00:35:06.550 --> 00:35:10.630 Spirit was the author of God's word. Amen. Amen. 00:35:11.949 --> 00:35:23.730 God's so good. It's Christmas time. Amen. Thank 00:35:23.730 --> 00:35:26.730 you for tuning in to this message from Lifehouse 00:35:26.730 --> 00:35:43.949 Church. Visit our website at www .lifehousecog 00:35:43.949 --> 00:35:44.909 .com.