Cassidy Noah -The Harvest is Plenty

What is up, church? My name is Cassidy, I actually feel a little bit left out from announcements. I know we shouted out the Brazilians, we shouted out the Puerto Ricans, do I got any Haitians in the house? Yes, I passe! All right, you got me, you got me. All right, listen, I'm so excited to be speaking with you guys today. I realize I've done a really great job of letting you guys know that I'm probably the sassiest person you'll ever meet. But I realize I haven't done a great enough job to let you guys know what I actually get to do here. No, I don't get paid to be the sassiest person on staff. I do get paid, though, to be our life groups and best next steps director. My job is all about community, my job is about connecting people to the church, or connecting people to community. I love what I get to do, but oh, you missed my introduction, because you weren't paying attention to that. Oh, you know my face means that it's probably a team teaching. Oh, you're thinking to yourself, who's up next? Will it be Pastor Nick? Will it be Pastor Charlie, Daryl, and Marissa? Oh, what will they preach out of? Will they flow into each other? Who will go over their time? Or whose sermon will you relate to most? Oh, you're thinking about what's next, and so I have some good news, and I have some even greater news. What news do you want to hear first? Oh, don't you dare leave me up here alone, people. What news?

What news? Greater? I'll give you the good news first. Good news. I am one of your speakers for today. Yeah. I know, astute observation. You probably didn't guess that yourself, but ready? The greater news. You guys ready for the greater news? I am your only speaker of today, and that is greater news to some people, maybe not to other people, but if it's not, keep it to yourself, but I had a bingo card for this year, and so basically that just means there are certain things I wanted to see in this year. Do you guys want to complete my bingo card with me? It's already the end of December, so let's see the things I had in my bingo card that I got to complete. The first thing on my bingo card, you guys ready? The first thing on my bingo card, super random. I wanted to go out of the state on an airplane for just 24 hours. I wanted to go somewhere for more specifically just 12 hours, a whole nother place in this country, do something for just 12 hours and fly back home. I got to do that. I went to Washington DC, 12 hours. People there is something about being on a plane with just your purse that made me feel like a rich businessman. I loved it. I mean, there's something about that. It was so much fun. I encourage you to go ahead and do that.

It was Spirit Airlines, but I still felt rich. I got to do that. I got to check that off my list. The next thing, me and my assistant Tessa, we were thinking so hard how to promo, how to get a strategy because we wanted over 3,000 people to join a life group, make the decision to find community. And this year over 3,000 different people chose to be in a life group and find community. We got to check that off our list as well. Oh, and this next one, you guys are waiting just as long as I was. Oh, this next one, you know what it is? I got engaged this year. No one tells you about the wedding planning process. I mean, the hardest part is like, Natalie, you know this. The hardest part is the guest. That's not Natalie. I just realized that. The hardest part is doing the guest list. No one told me that that was the hardest part. I'm over here like playing Tetris with the guest list. It's so much fun. But anyways, the next thing is to preach to you guys here on a Sunday service all weekend long, right before Christmas, right before the end of December. I got to be on this stage whole weekend preaching to your lovely faces. This was not on my 2025 bingo card. People, I would not have placed this on my 2030 bingo card, but I'm so grateful that I serve a God who does more than I can ask for, think of, or imagine. Oh, the set of circumstance to get me on this stage was one, Pastor Charlie got appendicitis. Two, Pastor Nick got the flu. Three, Pastor David is preaching at our sister campus, First Baptist Fort Lauderdale for our Christmas services that are currently going on over there.

You can give a hand clap to that. But I want you to know two out of three of those things I was praying avidly against. I was praying that they would be on this stage. I may have never asked for this opportunity. I may have never thought myself worthy of this opportunity. I may never have imagined myself in this opportunity, but God went before me. Can I just praise God for three seconds that I serve a God who does much more than I could ever ask for? That I serve a God who's bold enough to do more than I'm even bold enough to pray about? Can we just praise God for three seconds for being a gracious God? Can we praise God for three seconds for being a merciful God? Can we praise God that He uses broken vessels? Can we just praise God? Because I'm so grateful again that I serve a God who does much more than I can ever pray about. So I'm grateful that I'm up here. But don't let this confuse you. I know I got some big shoes to fill. We have three speaking pastors on our speaking rotation. We have Pastor Nick, the Cuban sensation. Oh, the way he tells a story is second to none. Oh, the way he can get you laughing and learning at the very same time, oh my gosh, genius. And then we have Pastor Charlie, our young adults pastor.

Oh, the way he speak is with such passion and tenacity, it makes me want to call him Bishop. Oh, he makes a story so sticky with his use of alliteration that it makes you think about it six months later. And then we have our lead pastor, Pastor David Hughes. Oh yeah, you guys give some honor where honor is due. He makes a big biblical concept so easy to understand, not by watering it down, but by simply just making it understandable. Week in and week out, he teaches and preaches with such kindness and grace. I am so grateful, church, that I'm under this pastor's leadership, that I have a pastor who believes in me more than I believe in myself. Oh, I know I got some big shoes to fill. That being said, I am scared. I'm nervous, I'm anxious. And that's probably something I shouldn't tell you. You shouldn't communicate that to your audience because then they'll start to look for signs that validate what you just said. But I wanted to let you know that because I think you might sense some confidence on this stage and think to yourself, what I said isn't true. I wanted you to know that I am, in fact, very nervous and very anxious because I want any sense of confidence you see up here

to point towards God. Oh, this isn't me. This is God using me. So I don't know who needs to hear this. If God calls you to something, he will equip you for it. It's time you start doing things a bit scared. It's time you start doing things a bit scared. Because being bold is just doing something you are scared about doing, but doing it anyways. It's time we do it scared because the enemy will use fear to talk you out of what God has called you to do. So we're gonna get into the word together. I'm gonna be reading a big passage of Scripture. I'm gonna let you know on this. By reading a big passage, most of what I talk about today is from the Bible. So if you disagree with what I have to say, I don't know, take it up with God. So we're gonna be reading a big passage of Scripture and the way we're gonna read it is by going verse by verse by verse. This is called expository teaching. It's one of my favorite ways to hear any speaker speak on. The reason why is because oftentimes we'll take a verse out of context and we won't really get the full context. But when we go verse by verse by verse,

we'll see how the Bible really speaks to each other. So it's gonna be really fun till they wanna pick up in John chapter four. We're gonna pick up in verse one. It says this, Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptized in making more disciples than John, though Jesus himself didn't baptize them, his disciples did. So he left Judea and returned to Galilee, and he went to Samaria. Get ready to read with me. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Interesting choice of words. I really believe that every word in the Bible is placed there on reason. So why does it say he had? Interesting also, because if you were an Orthodox Jew or a very strict Jew, you would actually choose the longer way around because you did not wanna risk being defiled. You did not get along. And if a Jewish person came into contact with a Samaritan, they would be at risk of being labeled defiled. Then they would have to go through a ceremonious process to be clean again. So they would often take the longer way around. But Jesus said he had to go through Samaria. This tells me that this is a divine appointment. That whoever he's about to meet in the rest of these verses

is on purpose. There is someone here, you are thinking to yourself that God just found you by accident. Oh, he found you on purpose. This was no accident. Wherever he met you, he met you there because he had a purpose. So as we continue to read in verse five, it says, Two really cool things to know. First, it's cool that John includes that Jesus was tired. I like that I serve a God who knows what it feels like to be tired. This highlights that Jesus was fully man and fully God. I like I serve a God who knows what it feels like to be betrayed and still choose forgiveness. I like that I know I serve a God who knows what it feels like to be persecuted yet still choose love. I like that I serve a God who knows what it feels like to just be exhausted. Also cool thing to note is that this was about noontime. Noontime, which is an odd time to be at the well because the sun would be at its highest point, shining the brightest. So it would be hot. And so most of the time people would actually go to the well during evening to get water. This was not a convenient time for Jesus to be at the well. God will meet you in inconvenient places. So as we continue to read,

whoever he is meeting is on purpose. Verse seven, soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus said to her, please give me a drink. He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. Don't you dare think they were gone by accident. Jesus will cut out the distractions to meet with you. The woman was surprised for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink? Jesus replied, if only you knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me and I would give you living water. But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you're greater than our ancestors Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed? Oh, I'm so obsessed with her sarcasm. Let me set this up, people, mind you. A man, we know he's the Messiah, but a man came up to her and said, hey, give me a drink. And then when she kind of says no, he goes, actually, you should ask me for a drink. Like, that's kind of funny. This is exactly how I would respond. I would respond with the same level of sarcasm.

Jesus replied, anyone who drinks water, drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. Please, sir, the woman said, give me this water. Then I'll never be thirsty again and I won't have to come here to get water. That switch in emotion had me so curious. What had left her so desperate in her life that at the chance of hearing never to be thirsty again, even if it didn't sound sane, she jumped at it. Oh, what other wells has she been visiting that left her so unsatisfied that at the very chance of being satisfied, even if it didn't make sense, she jumped at it. There's someone here who you thought this was your very last thing you would ever try, this whole Christian thing. Because you tried every single other well, but the right one. This is her chance to be satisfied and she jumps at it. But I'm so curious why, as we continue to read, We find out just why Jesus says, go and get your husband. Jesus told her, she replied, I don't have a husband. A lot of you guys can relate, not me. Jesus said, you're right. You don't have a husband for you have had five husbands and you

aren't even married to the man you're living with now. You certainly, I know you guys are like, what? It's like an episode of Jerry Springer. But I find it so cool to know at first Jesus is messy for that. But I do find it really cool to know that Jesus really just simply states what she's going through. He doesn't condemn her. He doesn't offer up solutions to fix her situation. He offers the living water. He knows that if she gets access to the living water, things will start to change in her life. Oh, he doesn't condemn her. He simply states what is going on in her life. Sir, the woman said, you must be a prophet. I'm going to summarize about 10 verses and we'll pick up again in verse 27, but to summarize, basically the woman then asked Jesus, okay, where's the right place to worship? Great question. The reason she asked us because Jewish people and Samaritans could not agree on where the right place to worship was. Jesus basically tells her there will come a time and place where it doesn't matter the place of your worship, but the posture of your worship. If you are worshiping in spirit and in truth and she goes, yeah, I know there'll be a Messiah. He will come and he will explain all of this to us. Jesus goes, yeah, I am he. And then the disciples pull up to the scene. They finished their public's grocery run and they see Jesus talking to this woman and they're shocked.

And I'm not even kidding. Let's read that verse 27 will be on the screens. Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman. The disciples saw a lot of miracles and this one, they were like, I'm shocked. Like that's funny to me. But that tells me that it doesn't matter to Jesus what the world will label you. It tells me that it doesn't matter how the world finds your value. What matters is how Jesus sees you. And so none of them had the nerve to actually ask, why is he talking to her? They were smart for that. They let that one go. But to continue verse 28, the woman. Oh, you guys are leaving me up here alone. Let's do that again. The woman feels so comforted. Thanks. Besides the well and ran back to the village telling everyone I liked that she left her water jar. Cause that tells me she wanted lasting satisfaction instead of immediate satisfaction. She was no longer concerned with physical thirstiness. She was concerned of finally being satisfied. As we continue, come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could he possibly be the Messiah?

So the people came streaming from the village to see him. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, rabbi eat something. But Jesus replied, I have a kind of food. You know, nothing about. Did someone bring him food while we were gone? I mean, didn't you just explain my nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me and from finishing his work, you know, the saying four months between planting and harvest. So basically it means that there is a time between you plant something and harvest. But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages. And the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. Oh, what joy awaits both the plectrum and the harvester alike. You know, the saying one plants and another harvest. And it's true. I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant. Others had already done the work. And now you will get to gather the harvest. This is the last verse we'll read together. Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, he told me everything I ever did. She didn't have a seminary degree. didn't have training, she didn't have a planned out speech,

she didn't even have influence because she was probably marginalized due to her past failed relationships. And she still ran back to her village saying, come meet a man who sold me everything I have ever done and still offered me living water I didn't deserve. She had every right to keep this to herself. She had every right to fear their judgment. But instead, she ran back to her village saying, come meet a man who she did not 100% agree was the Messiah just yet, because she said, could he possibly be the Messiah? And if I can be honest, church, if we can be honest, God has done a whole lot more for us and we've proclaimed a whole lot less than her. And I'm not here to make you feel bad. To be honest, I'm in the same boat. But I am here to highlight at the harvest this plant team. Those who need to be brought to eternal life, our plant team, but the workers, us who believe are few. If I went to your job and I said, do you know if they're a Christian? Some of your coworkers would hesitate to the question or be confused on how to answer. And you can tell me that it's simply because you are a quiet and reserved person. That your faith is just yours and yours alone. It's personal. They don't need to know about it. But I don't know about you.

But how could I keep quiet about a resurrection? Because I was once dead in my sin, but now I'm alive in Christ. How could I keep dead when I was rejected by the world, but now I am called daughter? How could I keep quiet when I was lost, but now I am found? How could I dare keep quiet and care more about what the world has to say about me than the way my heavenly father views me? Because I have access to the living well. The well that satisfies. The well that is my confidant. The well that does not forsake me. The well that does not grow dry. The well that does not allow me to grow thirsty. And there's a lot of thirsty people out there who are just waiting. Who do not know what it feels like to know that they have a love that will not forsake them. Who do not know what it feels like to have peace that surpasses understanding. Who do not know what it feels like to be comforted while they mourn. Who don't know what it feels like to be comforted in their darkest moments. They are thirsty and we have access to that well. How could we keep this to ourself? The harvest is plenty. The workers are few.

And especially in this season, the harvest is plenty. Oh, people are so receptive to a Christmas invite. This Thursday, we start our Christmas services. Come on, give it up for them. Oh, they put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into our Christmas services. I can promise you it will be absolutely phenomenal. I can promise you this will be centered around Jesus. I can promise you the word will be preached. I can promise you that at the end of that service, there'll be lovely prayer partners waiting for the person you invited to make a decision that will change their life forever. So I want you to take a picture of what's behind me and all our kajillion bajillion service times that we have. And also text that word to that number on the screen and you will get a graphic package that you can post or text to the people you wanna invite. But I wanna emphasize this real quick. This is not so we can meet some certain quota for a Christmas service. This is not about growing this church. This is about growing heaven. There are people in your sphere of influence who have not checked their card in to have eternal life just yet. And that should break your heart because it breaks mine. There are people in my life who have not punched their card in for eternal life and it breaks my heart because I don't know what it feels like

to not have a well that satisfies. The harvest is plenty, the workers are few. But I think this service, Sunday 1 p.m., we're about to change that. See the saying will be. The harvest is plenty, but the workers are plentiful. I think it's time we go into our city and we start saying, come me to God who's told me everything I have ever done but still calls me daughter. Come me to God who knows everything I have ever done and still calls me son. Come me to God who knows everything I have ever done and still calls me redeemed. Come me to God who sees everything I have ever done and still calls me loved. Come me to God who knows everything I have ever done and still has plans to prosper. Come me to God who knows everything I have ever done and still calls me worthy. Come me to God who knows everything I have ever done and still thinks of me as his child. Come me to God who knows everything I have ever done and he will satisfy. Come me to God who knows everything I ever have done and still wants to see me succeed. Come me to God who will finally satisfy. Oh, come me to God who will finally satisfy. Oh, they tried every single other well, but the right one.

You guys can sit down, I'll finish. The harvest is plenty. And I don't want you to fear the rejection of someone saying no to you, overfearing people not brought to eternal life. Oh, embarrassment, I could shake that off. But the idea of someone I know not being in heaven with me, oh, that should break your heart. This is about growing heaven. So there's someone in your brain right now that you're thinking about, maybe it's multiple people, maybe it's just one person, but they need to be here for Christmas services. How could we keep the well to ourself? There are some thirsty people in your life who need access to the well. So it's time we change the same. Oh, this time, the workers, they're plentiful. Oh, this time we won't grow scared of being rejected because when you are rejected, I want you to think that this is just a seed you have planted for the next harvester. This doesn't have to be the end. The workers are plentiful. It's time we will not grow scared of rejection. It's time we bring people to the living well, the well that satisfies. So church, that's all I have for you. Father God, please. Father God, I pray you give us a spirit of boldness,

not a spirit of fear. As we think of the one person that we need to invite, as we think of our family who needs to be in the room for Christmas services, Father God, I pray that you give us some boldness as we invite them. I pray you soften their heart. I pray that they are in this room, that they punch their card ticket in for eternal life. Father God, do what only you can. We pray this in your name, amen.