Bob Hazlett- Finding God in the Middle

Good morning, men and women. Such an awesome blessing to just be able to come to you again from Life Fellowship Church here in McKinney, Texas, on the Pando app, on your tablet, in the place that you're at. I love that. It's such a blessing. My name is Logan Williams. My TDC number is 1490218. I got four numbers after that. I've been around and around and around the system. I didn't think I'd ever come out of it. I thought, this is just my life. This is just my lot in life because I just can't seem to ... I could do right for a little while or I could not get caught for a little while and then eventually it just happened again and again and again. It's frustrating and it's disappointing and it's just ... Being in prison is not fun. That's why I share that with you because I get it, but Jesus entered into my heart. He changed my life. He transformed me. He stepped down from heaven into my mess and so be encouraged. He did it for me. He can do it for you. Who's next? Who is next? He wants to change your life. He wants a relationship with you so bad and gosh, I just love it. I love that we can put these messages and put these things on your tablet right there. I want to just say I appreciate all you that are watching. There's so many of y'all, tens of thousands, 40, 50, 60, sometimes 80, 90,000 people a week watch our content and we're honored. We love you.

You are part of our church family. Don't let the enemy lie to you. You are part of this family. We pray for you. We think about you and if you get out and you're anywhere near the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex on a Sunday morning, we have four services. Just come up here. Look for me. You can't miss me. I'd love to connect with you and introduce you to everyone and get you a coffee and just do life, man. Even if you live far and you can't make this your home church, just come visit us, man, because it blesses us so much to see you. So I was going into the county jail, Collin County Jail on Friday. I was in the morning studying, kind of looking, God give me a word. We were speaking to the females. My wife walked by and said, hey, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm looking for a word for these females in Collin County. As she was walking out the door, just said, tell them God will repay for what the locust ate. And then she shut the door and left. And so I started thinking about that. I looked up that scripture and it's very interesting. My wife's pretty, pretty awesome and has discernment, but I want to, I gave it to them. I want to give it to you and it's Joel. It's a book of Joel. Not too many, not too many people are quoting the book of Joel very often, but it's chapter two, verse 25. It says, I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. And what struck me there was it said the years, like he's going to repay for the years that

the locusts eat, like he's going to redeem the time. And as I thought about that, and I thought about my four trips to prison, my nine and a half years incarcerated, I did have those moments where I thought to myself, man, like I'm sure I'm wasting a lot of time, you know, because in between that, you know, now I'm using drugs and doing crime and, and, and I can just tell you that that's my experience. God repaid the years. And so I'm just now looking up here, just hit me to look up, uh, that word years and see what it says. Because I like looking up the words, okay. For the years. Okay. Shauna is the Hebrew word means a year, a division of time, a measure of time, an indication of age or a lifetime. And so when he says he's going to repay that time, it's funny how he mentions that the locusts are going to eat the time, but that's exactly what happens when we're incarcerated, right? We feel like the locusts are just eating up all our time and we can't get it back. And how am I going to get a job? I don't have a resume because I've been locked up all this time. I'm going to have this gap on there. No one's going to hire me. All these things, guys, I'm telling you, that's something you don't have to worry about. If you get all in with Jesus, that's something you don't have to worry about. He will repay. You will have plenty to eat until you are full and you will pray. He's the name of the Lord, your God, who has worked wonders for you. Never again will my people be shamed. It says, verse 27, then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am your God, and there is no other.

Never again will my people be shamed. He said it twice in like three scriptures there, three verses. Not gonna be put to shame, man, but then I know some of you are like, yeah, Logan, that sounds good, but you don't know what I've done. You don't understand what I'm bringing in here. Some of you just got to county jail, you've been arrested for a crazy crime, they got you stuck in seg, and you're like, man, I got a long road ahead of me. Some of you, some of you have done, you've been on a long road. I mean, you've done 15, 18, 20, 25 years on a 30 or a 40-year sentence, and you've been denied parole so many times that you're tempted to just say, you know, man, to heck with this, all this. And so you wanna give up, and so you don't wanna approach God, maybe because of what you've done. You don't wanna approach God, maybe because for the last, I don't know, a couple of years, maybe you haven't been reading, maybe you haven't been praying, maybe you haven't been going to church. Maybe you've just been so frustrated for whatever, because there's so many things to be frustrated about in a prison or a county jail

or in the situation that you're at. Maybe you're like, I can't approach God because of fill in the blank. I've done too much, I've gone too far. Even after I made the declaration that, yes, I wanna walk with Jesus, I've still backslidden and done some terrible things while I've been incarcerated. I've still not done this. Guys, I want to read you. So earlier, I read you verse 25, that's that he will repay, but I was just reading around that, and in the beginning of chapter two of Joel in verse 12, it's addressing what I'm talking about. Maybe you feel like you can't approach God. Maybe you feel like God's not gonna do anything for me anyway because of blank, because I've been doing this, because of all this stuff that I have, because not only that, but the things that I haven't done. I haven't been doing this. I haven't been walking with him. I haven't been a good Christian. I haven't been. And so I just wanna encourage you, verse 12 is for people like you, people that feel guilty, people that feel hopeless, people that are disappointed, people that can't maybe even muster up another prayer of faith

because they prayed so many of them and they haven't seen anything happen. Verse 12, it says, "'Even now,' declares the Lord, "'return to me with all your heart, even now.'" It doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter how you feel. It doesn't matter if you've been walking with him or if you've been ignoring him, back to him, middle finger to him. He's saying, even now return to me, return to me. How do we return to him with our whole heart? With fasting and weeping and mourning. He wants us to wring our hearts out to him. Go and tell him how you feel. Go and tell him, man, I haven't been praying. Go and tell him, man, I haven't been reading the Bible. Go and tell him, yeah, I made this decision for you and then I went off on this other road and I did a bunch of drugs or I did a bunch of sexual sin or I did a bunch of whatever. Go and tell him, wring your heart out, fasting and weeping and mourning. Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows, he may turn and relent

and leave behind a blessing. So God is saying to all of you to return to him. He is saying, no matter what you've done, no matter how bad you feel or if you don't even have any hope left, man, he wants you to return to him. Wring your heart out. Have a moment with God. Have a moment where you just cry out to him. He'll enter into your life and he'll change everything. He can do that. He wants to do that. So let me pray for you guys. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for the men and the women that you send to our channel, that you send to watch our messages. God, we love you. We thank you, man. You knew every single person that's gonna click on this today. Even six months or a year or 18 months from now, somebody's gonna click on this at just the right time. And that's not coincidence, God. That's your divine perfect timing and we love you for that, God. And so I just ask that you would bless all these men and women, that you would bless their families while they're gone, that you would give them some hope, some encouragement.

Let them know how much you love them. Let them know that nothing. Rise your hands, let them know that there is nothing that they've done that you can't come in and meet them right where they're at and set them free, God, showing up in their life with power. But they have to get all in. So God, I pray that you would show them what it is that they need to lay down, what it is that they need to offer up to you on that altar, God. I pray that they would have a moment with you somehow where they could wring their hearts out. And so God, we thank you. We just invite you in to do what only you can do. We give you all the praise and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you guys. Whose house? God's house. Let's give him some praise. Enjoy the message. Thank you. What's up Life Fellowship Church? I'm so excited because this morning we are hosting baptisms. Hey, this is a moment where people are going from death to life. So we're gonna celebrate. We are gonna have an incredible time.

And I wanna hear you out here from the auditorium celebrating all that God is doing. Can you make some noise for everybody getting baptized this morning? Let's start worship. Praise the Lord, Life Fellowship. It's a beautiful day to celebrate. So come on, let us worship the King together. ♪ In the drifting of Agabon ♪ ♪ And just when I ran on the road ♪ ♪ I met a man I didn't know ♪ ♪ And he told me that I was not alone ♪ ♪ He picked me up, he turned me around ♪ ♪ He placed my feet on solid ground ♪ ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪ ♪ He healed my heart, He changed my name ♪ ♪ Forever free, I'm not the same ♪ ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪ ♪ I thank God, yeah ♪ Somebody thank Him today. ♪ I cannot deny what I've seen ♪ ♪ Got no choice but to believe my doubts are burning ♪ ♪ Like ashes in the wind ♪ ♪ So long to my old friend ♪ ♪ Burden and bitterness, you can just keep it moving ♪ ♪ Now you are welcome here ♪ ♪ From now till I walk the streets of gold ♪ ♪ Somehow you saved my soul, this wayward son ♪ ♪ Is found his way back home ♪ ♪ He picked me up, He turned me around ♪

♪ He placed my feet on solid ground ♪ ♪ I thank the Master, I thank the Savior ♪ ♪ Because He healed my heart and He changed my name ♪ ♪ Forever free, I'm not the same, I thank the Master ♪ ♪ I thank the Savior, I thank God ♪ ♪ Oh, we thank you God, yeah, I thank God ♪ Come on, let's declare this. ♪ Heal us another one, I am free, I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ Heal us another one, I am free, I am free, I am free ♪ Come on, sing it out. ♪ Heal us another one, I am free, I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ Heal us another one, I am free, I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ Heal us another one, I am free, I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ I am free, heal us another one, I am free, I am free ♪ I'm free, I'm free, yeah Hell, I still gotta walk I'm free, I'm free, yeah Hell, I still gotta walk I am free, I am free, I am free You pick me up, you turn me around You place my feet on a sky cloud I thank the Master, I thank the Saviour Because He healed my heart and He changed my name Forever free, I'm not the same I thank the Master, I thank the Saviour I thank God Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Yeah We shout Get up, get up, get up

Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up Come on, sing Oh get up, get up, get up Get up out of that He's made you free Cause you won't get up out the grave Get up, get up Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up Oh get up out of that Get up, get up, get up Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up Get up out of that grave Get up, get up, get up Get up out of that grave Get up, get up Get up out of that grave Get up, get up Get up out of that grave He's made you free Get up, get up, get up Get up out of that grave

Get up, get up, get up Get up out of that grave He's made you free Angel He's made you free Can you please let me know I'm sorry, but I thank the master I thank the savior For giving to you my heart And he changed my name Forever free I'm not the slave I thank the master I thank the savior I thank God Come on, somebody thank Him today Hallelujah We're in a house of miracles this morning Whatever you need from the Lord You're in the right place At the right time So Jesus, we thank you for your presence Being in this room We thank you that you are the God Of miracles, signs, and wonders And we know that you are here And you're moving right now Thank you, Jesus This is a house of worship This is a place of praise

Where every demon trembles Where we proclaim your name This is a house of healing Our hearts are full of faith You have our full attention You have the final say So come alive in the name of Jesus Come alive in the name of Jesus This is a house of miracles We bring everything To the feet of Jesus Everything in the name of Jesus This is a house of miracles This is a house of miracles Signs and wonders There's resolution now Your blood runs through our veins Your kingdom triumphs Let's sing that again. That's the resurrection power. Let's sing that again. Let's sing that again. Let's sing that again. Come on, we bring everything. We lay it down at your feet. To miracles. God, you're moving Lord. God, you're speaking today. God, you're performing miracles right now Lord. We lay it down at your feet today God. Oh God, we give you our desires.

We give you our problems. We give you our struggles today God. We lay it down at your feet today Lord. I still believe you're moving. I still believe you're speaking. God, I believe you're working. All things for good. Come on church. So I fix my eyes on heaven. God, I receive your vision. God, I believe you're working. All things for good. Come on, let's declare this. I still believe you're moving. I still believe you're speaking. God, I believe you're working. All things for good. So I fix my eyes on heaven. God, I receive your vision. God, I believe you're working. Come on, let's sing it again. I still believe. I still believe you're moving. I still believe you're speaking. You're working Lord for my good. You're turning around for my good. So I fix my eyes on heaven. God, I receive your vision. God, I believe you're working. All things for good.

So come alive in the name of Jesus. Come alive in the name of Jesus. This is the house of miracles. So we bring everything to the feet of Jesus. Everything in the name of Jesus. This is the house of miracles. I still believe you're moving. Come on, let's sing it again. I know you're working it all for my good. I don't know who this is for, but he's working it all for your good. I see peace right now. He's working it all for your good. What the enemy meant for evil. God will turn it around for your good. I hear that really strong, what the enemy meant for evil. God's turning it around for your good right now. I'll say it again, what the enemy thought he was going to do. What the enemy filled your mind with. Those things the enemy keep throwing up in your face. The Lord said right now he's turning it around for your good. talking to a church today we still believe that the bible and the word of god is still has life and it's still moving it's still working it's still speaking the enemy has died to you long enough he's played with your mind long enough god is working it for your good today he said bring it to him pass all of your cares upon him before him because he cares for you so come alive in the name of jesus god is meeting you right now we bring this jesus oh jesus

we love you jesus there is some reason the angels cry holy there is a reason that heaven's song is holy holy there is a reason the angels cry there is a reason that heaven's song is holy holy there is no one like you there is no one like you there is no one like you there is there is there is you stand alone the world in every way to stay there is no one like you you oh forever there is I've been searching forever. I can't find nobody like Jesus. I don't know about you, but I've looked everywhere, and I can't find anyone like my God. Nobody who is holy, nobody who is mighty, nobody who is wonderful but Jesus. He is holy, He is matchless, and when you meet face to face with Him, everything changes. You will never be the same when you encounter the presence of God and when you see His holiness and His beauty. You will never stay the same when you see His beauty and who He is and what He said. You will never be the same. This one's so holy, God! You are holy, holy, one and only, holy, holy, one and only, holy, holy. Come on church, if you love on Him, come on let's sing holy! Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy

Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy Holy is the Lord Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy You're so holy, Jesus You can never be the same when you meet with His holiness You can never be the same when you meet with the Holy God You can never be the same when you meet with Him You're so holy, God There is no one like You There is no one like You There is no one like You In all the earth Jesus, we love You Jesus, we love You And we don't take Your presence lightly, Lord We don't take Your presence lightly We honor You It's an honor to give You the best praise, Jesus Thank You for being who You are Come on, church, can we say amen? Welcome to be here Well, God bless you, Life Fellowship Church It's an honor to worship God with y'all this morning Listen, God has amazing things in store for each and every one of y'all You may be seated and just put your attention to the screen God bless God bless Good morning, Life Fellowship Church. How are you today? My name's Bob Hazlett. I'm one of the teaching pastors here, and I'm so glad to be here. How many of you got the chance to spend some time at the baptisms? Isn't that pretty cool? Let's give thanks

to God for all the baptisms that happened this week, people giving their life fully to Jesus. That's amazing. Well, I want to invite you if you're watching online or in one of the houses of incarceration, we are so glad that you're here with us. This is our third service, but this is always the best. God saves the best for now. I'm so honored to be with you today. You know, it's a great weekend already. I don't know how many of you have watched the NFL draft. Is that a big thing for you? Because it's kind of a thing for me. NFL draft weekend, and my team made some last minute moves, unexpected moves that I think are game changer. But, you know, it may be your team did the same, but that's why football is so great, because it's one of those games that requires strength, skill, planning, execution. But when you get up to that line and you look at the defense and there's a weakness to be exploited or a strength to be overcome, you can call an audible and audible things unexpected. Those unexpected plays can actually change the game. And so for me, actually, this morning, this was kind of an audible. I wasn't supposed to be up here, but I am today. But I hope it's a game changer for you, because I believe God does things unexpectedly that can make unexpected change in our life. Amen. So listen up. I believe today is a word that could do that for you. This is called finding God in the middle. We're talking about finding God in the middle. Anybody going in? Are you anybody in the middle of something going through something, standing in the middle of something you didn't expect? Well, let me tell you about a moment in my life where I went through something. I found myself in the middle of something I didn't expect. I'd gone through a professional betrayal, personal loss, and I took some time away from God is living in Pennsylvania. So I went to the fields of Pennsylvania to the countryside to hear God and decide I was going to take a walk. And I was going to. I should be using the word pray and worship, but basically what I was going to do is give God a piece of my mind. And I was walking through that field saying, God, I lost this and I lost that. And you took away this and you took away that in the middle of me saying, you took away this and you took away that. I looked down and I found myself standing in a large deposit that looked like it had been left there by Texas Longhorn. But I know Texas Longhorns aren't up north, but I'm telling you, I was in the middle of a Texas Longhorn size of stuff, as you can imagine. And I remember looking down, I have my bright white Nike sneakers on. And you would think that would

have gotten my attention, that I need to stop blaming God for my problems. And I know you would never do this, but this is what I did. I stepped back. I took off my sneakers. I held them up to God and I say, God, you took away this and you took away that. Take my stupid sneakers too. And I threw my sneakers at God. That's going to be a chapter of my next book. I threw my sneakers at God. I think they're out there in that field somewhere. Some farmers use them. He's like, woo hoo. I found some shoes and they're already seasoned. Well, I walked back to my car and my socks, they are all muddy and wet. And I say, God, I thought I was your son. And I thought you take care of your sons. And I thought you protect your sons. And I thought you provide for your sons. And he stopped me and I thought the Holy Spirit really speak to me as a father. And he said, I gave my only son to die for you. He gave up everything in heaven to give you everything on earth. That's what a son is. And in that moment, I realized that there are times in our life that we find ourself in the middle of things that we don't expect. And what I want to help you today is to find God in the middle of whatever you're in. So think about what the middle what the middle means for you. Maybe it means a job change. Maybe it means a career change. Maybe it means just some things happen that you didn't expect. Let's find God today in the middle. And we're going to look at a key scripture in Genesis chapter one. And this is the beginning. And this is a way that we can. Learn how to see God in the middle of something. And so let's read the scripture and I wanna break it apart for you so that maybe today you'll leave with a better understanding of what you're in the middle of and who's in the middle of it with you. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now, the earth was formless and empty and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. It's powerful scripture here. It gives us a picture of the earth

that's filled with chaos, filled with darkness and filled with emptiness. But we're not gonna focus on what we're in the middle of. We're not gonna focus on the problem. We're not gonna focus on the Texas Longhorn size issue that we're dealing with. We're gonna focus on God. So we're gonna find three things about God in the middle. Number one, in the beginning, God. Everybody say God. So God was in the middle before you got there. In the beginning, God, which means God was there before your problem started. God was there before you were betrayed. God was there before you broke down. God was there before you got there. And God is still there. That has to be the center of everything we understand about life, is that God was before everything. Even before I was born, he knew everything I would go through and he knows what you're going through now. That's important to know because when you know God's there, like when things are in the right place, when people are there for you, it causes you to respond differently. Like I played football when I was younger and my dad would come to every one of my games.

My dad, and I know that Texas parents, football parents, are the most involved parents of any parents, so you'll get this story. But my dad, football weather for us in Pennsylvania was cold enough to see your breath and the ground was frozen enough to smash your opponent to the ground. So my dad would stand on the sidelines and watch every game. And that year we made it to the championship. We're in the championship game and it was halftime. And I looked over to the sideline as I was jogging off to go to the half line huddle and my dad had disappeared. My dad was nowhere to be seen. And it was just a moment of realization that this was the most important game of the season, the most important moment of that game. And my dad was gone. And so I went to the sideline huddle, the halftime huddle, and they were giving us strategy for the rest of the game. And I see my dad come jogging up. He's got his heavy flannel coat on. He's carrying this big thermos, a cooler of hot chocolate. And he's like, I got hot chocolate for the team because you're gonna need some warmth and some sugar to get through this, right? Because sugar makes everything better. At least, you know, gets you there, gets you the energy to get there.

So we got ready, we got in the halftime and we won that game. In fact, we ended up that season undefeated and unscored against. So it was a pretty good season. It's the only trophy I have. I have it on a shelf really high so everybody can see it. But I tell my dad that story. In fact, just a month or so ago, I was at home and I shared that story with him because he told me this later. I said, dad, I looked over at halftime, I didn't know where you were. And he said, yeah, well today, you know, it was colder. So I grabbed an old winter coat from the closet, put it on, I haven't worn it in a while. I didn't have gloves with me, so I put my hands in my pocket. And when I reached in, I found a wad of cash. Isn't that an awesome feeling? You're just like, I haven't worn this for a while. Yeah, glad thing I didn't, right? So what would you do with that cash? So my dad's like, I'm gonna take that cash and I'm gonna go buy some hot chocolate for the team. You know, I wanna take this story and I wanna relate something to you about God because it may look to you like God is not there in your most important moment. But God is there and God is providing

for what you need to get to the next place. That's the kind of God he is. Your father is in the middle with you, in the beginning, God. So wherever you are, God was there before you got there. Whatever you're going through, God's there with you. Whatever you're in the middle of, he's there at halftime, even if you don't see him. Does that make sense to anyone today? Anybody say, I'm in the middle of something? God's with you. Here's the second thing. This scripture says next, God created the heavens and the earth. Now we could sit here, we could talk about what the earth looked like. We could talk about the chaos, darkness and emptiness, but I'd rather point to you, not what's happening. in the earth, but what God is doing from heaven. So whatever you're in the middle of, that looks like chaos, darkness, and emptiness, look at what God is doing to create something new. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God is creating something new in the middle of what looks like chaos to you. God is creating something new in the middle of what looks like chaos to you, because that's the kind of God He is. So you're in the middle, and things seem messed up. You're in the middle, and things seem mucked up, but God is in the middle, and He's creating new order. He's in the middle creating new vision and direction. God's in the middle creating new resources and opportunity.

God's in the middle, and He's doing something. This is important to understand, because if we don't understand what God is doing, we actually might do the wrong thing, and sometimes we just give up when we're in the middle. We don't know, because we don't know what to do. Well, just understand what you need to do is find out what God's doing and do that. Then the last scripture, or part of this scripture in Genesis says, the spirit of God was hovering. What's God doing in the middle of chaos? He's hovering. So God runs into the middle of what most people run away from. That word hovering is very important, because that word is a word picture of how a mother eagle hovers over the nest. The picture that that word hovering gives is whenever eagles are ready to fly, the mother goes out and brings things into the nest that make it feel uncomfortable. It brings in thorns. It brings in stones. It brings in things that make the eagles want to mature and fly. You know, when you're ready to get out of the nest, things have to get uncomfortable. There's some parental advice for you, too, if you want your kids out of the house. Maybe make them uncomfortable. Sorry, that's not good advice for everybody. I'll talk to this side over here, because these guys are mad at me. You know, the mother's hovering over the nest, and she's got to get those eagles to fly. She picks them up, and she drops them, and they flap their wings, but they don't fly. So she dives before they hit the ground. She brings them back up on eagles' wings. She releases them again, and they flap their wings, and they're falling to the ground. And she dives and goes low, picks them up again on eagles' wings, and drops them again, and they learn how to fly. That's the picture of Genesis, and this says God's hovering, and that word's important, because when God's people are in slavery, the Bible says in Exodus 25, God picked them

up on eagles' wings and brought them to their promised land. So when you're in the middle, God is creating. When you're in the middle, God is working. When you're in the middle, God is hovering, but he's not just hovering. He's picking you up, even if it feels uncomfortable, and he's bringing you to the promised land, because that's the kind of God he is, in the middle of chaos. Amen? Anybody say, I need that kind of God? I need that kind of help? I need that kind of vision? Well, I want to give you an assurance that I wasn't supposed to be here today originally, but God called an audible, and he wanted me to tell you, he's getting you to your next place. He's getting you to your next place. Let's take a look at a story in the Bible that demonstrates that God is this kind of God, that Jesus is this kind of God, because the Father sent Jesus. Jesus came in the world to show us how God wants to interact with man. So we're going to look at a story, be very familiar to you, in John chapter 4. In John chapter 4, Jesus sits with a specific woman at the well. It's called the story of the woman at the well, but there's much more to this story. So we have to really take apart this story, but what you have to know about John is John is actually taking us back to creation and showing us how God wants to interact with man. And so it's a recreation story, the book of John, from John 1 all the way to where we are in John 4. But we're going to start with John 4, verses 3 and 4, and we're going to look at Jesus and how he gets into the middle of something that he didn't expect to be in. Verses 3 and 4, it says that Jesus left Judea and departed again to Galilee, but needed to go through Samaria. We're going to get to all those points, but first of all, I want to point out that this

is actually showing you the geography of Israel, right? Judea, Galilee, Samaria. Jesus is from Galilee, that's the north, right? And Jesus preaches his first sermon in Galilee, and after his first sermon, the church takes him to... and tries to push him off. It's kind of a funny story, and it's just a little bit better than my first sermon story as well. I probably had the same reaction. Some people wanted to push him off a cliff. So Jesus goes from Galilee to Judea. So he's in Judea. Now, it's kind of like going from the Northeast, where there's no churches, to the Bible Belt, maybe Texas, where there's all the churches, right? That's Judea. It's got the tabernacle, got the temple. It's where all the feasts take place. Everybody goes to church every Sunday. In the North, it's the land of the frozen chosen, right? And you have to go. In order to go to Judea from Galilee, you've got to go around Samaria, because you don't go through Samaria. Samaria is the middle. It's the middle of the country, but it's like a mixed culture that's a mixed religious. They don't worship the same God. They don't have the same temple. So normal Jewish people would go around Samaria. I'll read that scripture again, that he needed to go through Samaria. Jesus was willing to go through what others avoid. And I'm telling you that there's some things in your life you have to go through in order to get to the place where God has called you. You've got to go through some stuff. You got to go through what may look like demotion. You might have to go through what looks like pruning. You have to go through what looks like punishment. But actually what that is, is preparation. And when you submit to God's preparation, you are releasing God's promotion. And Jesus was willing to go through Samaria. And that's important, because when you go through something that's hard to go through, just know Jesus went through it. When you have to go through something that's difficult for you to go through, you're not going alone. Jesus is going with you through it. Say, someone say, Jesus is going with me through it. That's important to know. He went through Samaria. Listen to the second thing. It says here in verse number six, but Jesus, being weary or tired from his journey, sat by the well. And it was about the six hour. All this language is meant to show Jesus is the part of Jesus that was human. He was tired. He was weary from his journey. So he sat down by the well.

Jesus stayed in places that others would leave. So Jesus is willing to go through Samaria. But not only that, he finds himself, and I love this scripture right here, because it's one of the ones I relate to a lot. Jesus was tired from the journey. Anyone here ever get tired by what you're going through? Just say, I'm tired. I'm tired of what I'm going through. I'm tired. It's making me tired. I'm really, really tired. And Jesus got tired because of the journey. He got tired. What was his journey? He was rejected by men up here in Galilee. He was rejoiced over by men in Judea. People wanted to put their faith in him. And Jesus had to go through Samaria. And this whole journey is making him tired. This is a picture of the Christian life. The picture of the Christian life is that God will drop you into places where you have to discover his spirit in darkness, his spirit hovering over you in chaos. And he wants to come in and bring transformation. And there might be times when you're at the highest place or at the lowest place, but he's with you. And sometimes on that journey, you get tired. And here's what Jesus did. And here's what I want to encourage you. Whatever you're going through, whatever's making you tired. Don't quit. Sit, sit by the well of living water, because that's water that will never run dry. That's what Jesus did. He sat down by the well. So if you're going through something that's making you tired right now, please don't quit. But know that there's a place where you can sit and God has prepared living water that will satisfy every thirst that will make you understand that Jesus is willing not only to go through it, but sit there with you. Jesus stayed in places where others would leave. The third thing we see here, verse seven is there's a woman of Samaria that comes to draw water. And Jesus said to her, give me a drink. Now, it's a very important story because Jesus is already in a place where nobody wants to be. He's there at a time of day where nobody wants to be there. He's tired already. And then a woman comes that he really shouldn't be talking to in the middle of the day by himself. And we find out that she's a woman. that nobody else wants to talk to. Because she's been married five times and now the man she's living with is not her husband. And Jesus reveals this to her. And he sits with her and he says,

if you knew who I was, you would ask that I would give you a drink that you would never be thirsty again. But here we see that Jesus is willing to help others, that people that others have given up on. Jesus is willing to sit with someone that other people have given up on. And I was in a time in my life where I had a decision to make that I needed help. I needed to hear from God. And I remember being up one night and I was praying, God, send this person, send this person, because I can be a knucklehead sometimes and it can be hard to get through too. And there's a couple of people in my life that they just know how to hit me up upside the head with a two by four and help me to come to the truth, right? And I said, God, just send this person to speak to me. That person called me the next morning. And I thought they were gonna tell me, man, you did this wrong, you did this wrong, you did this wrong. Instead, they sat with me and they wept with me and they said, I can see that Jesus has been with you on this journey. And I can see that he's made you more like him. I can see, and they were just that living water

that I needed at that moment. Here's my prayer for you this week is that you might sense, you might sense God coming into the middle of what you are experiencing. This woman is someone that everyone had given up on, but something happened when she talked to Jesus. Her life was changed because Jesus revealed what her life was like and what it could be like. And so she went out to the city, she's gathered all the city and she says something very interesting. She said, come see a man. And it's funny that all we know of her name is she's woman, she's a woman. And she said, she didn't say come see Jesus, she said, come see a man. This is just a picture of how God is restoring humanity back to himself. And so she said, come see a man and Jesus told me everything in my life. And the interesting thing about Jesus is he revealed himself to this woman in a way he didn't reveal himself to anyone else. She was in a place that no one wanted to go in a spot that no one wanted to sit. She had a life that nobody wanted to live with. And Jesus looked at her when she said, one day the Messiah will come. Jesus looked at her and said,

I am he who you're speaking of. Which means he told her who he was. That's important because Jesus didn't tell anybody who he was. He didn't tell his disciples who he were. He made them guess, he made them discover, he made them learn from the father. But Jesus decided to reveal himself the best and the clearest in the darkest place at the darkest time to a dark person because that's the kind of God you have. He shows up in your dark moment to show who he really is. And here's my prayer for you today. That when you find yourself standing in a Texas Longhorn size problem that instead of pointing a finger up to God, that maybe you just lift out your hands and say, God, I need water. I need a drink of water. I need to know who I really am and I need to see who you really are. And I believe God will reveal that to you. Maybe it'll be through a song on the radio. Maybe it'll be through something you watch on TV. Maybe it'll be through someone who calls you and instead of smacking you upside the head with a two by four, they say, God loves you. He's proud of you. He's gonna help you.

See, I believe that God wants to come into the middle and when he comes into the middle, he changes everything. When he came into that earth that was filled with chaos, darkness, and emptiness, he spoke and that darkness became light and that chaos became order and that emptiness became resources. But God sent his only word, Jesus, his only son, Jesus, who's called the Logos. And he's given us really the power and the promises of the scripture. There was a time in the life of God's people when the city was under attack and an enemy had come in and had infiltrated the ranks of God's people and started burning down the temple. was destroyed. Houses were being destroyed. The whole city was being destroyed. And God's people were being taken captive to Babylon. It's an ancient story, but it's a powerful story because it relates to us. And they're walking out in chains. Their church is destroyed. Their house is destroyed. Their future looks hopeless. And God raises up a voice. His name is Jeremiah. And Jeremiah declares these words in Jeremiah 29, 11. Some of you probably have this verse posted on your wall, but didn't know what it meant. Here's what it means. In Jeremiah 29, 11, Jeremiah stands up with flames behind him, the temple in disarray and houses destroyed, families going into captivity. And he says this, I know the plan that I have for you says the Lord, a plan to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. And I want to tell you today, I'm going to stand here with that same authority and say that God looks at you, life fellowship and says, I know the plan I have for you. I have a future and a hope. And you could look at the church around us and say, the church is in flames and churches are going down. No, God has a plan to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us a future and a hope. And I want to tell you devil, the

greatest days of the church are ahead. The greatest days of the church are ahead. The greatest days of the church are ahead because God comes into the middle. Anybody with me on that? Sometimes you just have to preach it. You can't just say it. You got to say it with gusto. Sometimes you just got to throw down when the devil comes in your face. You just got to, it's, it's like we used to do back in Philadelphia. You know, we had those things. They're not good. Yo mama, yo mama, yo mama, my mama, yo mama. That's not good. Don't do that kids. But here's what I want to say. When the devil comes at you, sometimes you got to say my daddy, my father, and you got to put the scripture right in his face because he wants to put a lie in your face. And I don't have any time to believe the devil's eyes. All I have time to do is believe the word of God. Sorry, did I go too far for anyone today? I hope I didn't offend you. I hope I offended the devil. And sometimes you just got to be bold enough to offend the devil. Stand with me on your feet before I get in any more trouble today. Some of this shouldn't be on social media, so use some discretion. Anyone here today say I'm in the middle of something, something I didn't expect. I can put two hands up if I wasn't holding the mic. I'm in the middle of something. Keep them up. Keep them up. You know, in the other services I said, bow your head. I want you to bow your head. Don't be ashamed that you're in the middle of something. God, thank you for everyone who's in the middle of something because it's another person that you're hovering over. It's another person that you're sitting with. And I'm going to tell you, you're not going to quit. You're going to sit by the living waters and you're going to be refreshed. You're going to be refreshed. God's sending a refreshing well to refresh the weary. And I know some of you have been tired because of what you've been going through, but I'm telling you the water is here today to refresh your soul. Let's just stand right now in the presence for a minute. Maybe you even see someone around you with their hand raised and you just want to put a hand on them appropriately, ask them, but just you're not alone in the middle. You're not alone. You're not alone in the middle. It's not just, he's not just with everyone. We're, we're together. So father, right now, in Jesus name, I'm reminded of how you came in each of these services today and refresh people and ask you to come right now with your living water. And you might feel that living water. It might be feel like an overflow of emotions because you felt so tired and you felt like you couldn't even let out that

tiredness. Okay. Let him come over you in your emotions. Maybe it's just, maybe it's just a feeling that you've been hopeless because you felt like you can't change your circumstances. Maybe just receive the fact that he's sitting with you in your hopelessness and uncertainty. He's there sitting with you. And I'm reminded today of how, when Jesus disciples, they walked and they got dirt on their feet because that's what happens when you're a human, your feet get dirty. And they had all this debris, probably really bad stuff on their feet. And they came in to have dinner with Jesus. And Jesus said, first, let me wash your feet. Let me get that debris off. Let me get the dirt off. Let me wash your feet. Let me wash. And to think of the Son of God was humble enough to bend down to feet that are standing in a pile of unexpected things. And then Peter said, don't just wash my feet, wash all of me. That's where I am today. And that's what I'm asking you. Just let them wash your feet. Father, would you just wash their feet? Let them know that you're pouring over them refreshing. You're pouring over them healing. You're pouring over them hope. And then maybe you're here today and you really never thought about Jesus in the way that I'm talking about him. You never really thought about him as the Son of God who came and gave up everything because we were empty and we were in chaos and we were in darkness. Maybe you never thought that you needed a Savior, but he's not just a Savior. He showed us how to be really human and how to be really human was to give his life for someone else. He died on the cross. He took all of your sins on him. And they put him in a tomb, but a tomb couldn't keep him. And after three days, he was resurrected as a new man. And the Bible says that because of that, we've been resurrected. So all we have to do is believe Jesus is who he said he is, believe he did what he said he would do. And we would become a new creation. The old things would pass away and everything would become new. And you can receive that right now. If you're watching online, you can receive it right now. If you're watching anywhere at the sound of my voice, you could pray this prayer. I'm going to ask in this room that everyone that wants to pray this prayer would pray with me. And if you've prayed it before, I'm going to ask you to pray it out loud with me to give them courage. Dear Jesus, come on, let's say it out loud. Dear Jesus, I believe you're the Son of God. I believe you died for me. I believe you rose again. I ask you to come into my life, make all the old things new, the dead things alive. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Give God thanks for that. If you prayed that prayer,

the Bible says you're a new creation. All the old things have passed away. Everything's become new. And I want to declare over you this week that God is going to send you rivers of living water. You're going to feel and sense this refreshing. You're going to understand that even if you're going through something and even if you're tired, Jesus is going through it with you. He's sitting with you and he is going to take you to the other side. Amen. God bless you guys. Have an amazing Sunday. Amen. Amen. What a word this morning. Hey, I want to invite our prayer teams to the front. I want to encourage you to receive prayer this morning for anything that you need. And real quick, if you decided to make a decision for Christ this morning, I want to encourage you to text Jesus to 51010. We want to text you and give you some practical ways to walk out your faith in community and alongside each other. Let's pray all together. Can you just lift up your hands like you're receiving a gift? May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and give you peace. May he turn his face toward you and be gracious to you in Jesus name. And everybody said, amen. Amen. You guys, prayer teams are at the front. You are officially dismissed.