What is Salvation? || Victory Church [Book of John #13]

All right, good morning, family. Hey, we got the band back together again. We got the entire Victory crew with us today. So come on, let's welcome in Midtown and Hamilton Mill, North Cobb. We got our online family next door and around the world. What's up, everybody? Hey, I'm excited about today because I just say it like this. If you have ever felt broken, maybe even broken beyond repair, if you have ever sensed that maybe there are some things that happened earlier on in life that are just still kind of like unwelcome house guests still even today, if it has ever seemed like you just can't kick a bad habit or maybe even a deep addiction has crept up along the way, even after putting your faith in Jesus, today's the day for you, okay? Because today I want to introduce or maybe reintroduce one of the, what I would call most misunderstood words in the entire Bible. And here's what I believe. If we can truly get our arms around this word, this idea, this concept, this truth, this revolutionary gift that God wants to give us, I believe that you, even you, could actually leave here today with fresh joy, fresh hope, fresh vision, maybe even some fresh freedom.

Come on, somebody, I believe that for you. That wouldn't just linger for the rest of the day, but it would actually linger for the rest of your life. Okay, I believe that that's the gift that God wants to give you today. We are continuing in our year-long journey through the book of John. And we are actually in John four for the second week, sitting with Jesus as he essentially sits with a woman at a well. And last week we saw a number of things, but I just want to talk about it just real quickly, because maybe I'll put in some fresh language for us if you missed this, because you don't want to miss what we talked about last week. In essence, Jesus is traveling from south to north, and he stops in this area called Samaria. And Jewish men at the time would actually go around Samaria because Samaria was the archenemy of the Jews. But instead of going around Samaria, Jesus goes to Samaria because he needs to meet with this messy woman at this messy well. And here's what I love about this idea, that instead of going around messy people, Jesus goes to messy people. And so maybe even right now, right here off the top, this could be a reminder that you're not too messy for Jesus. Come on, somebody, you need to look at your neighbor

and be like, he's talking to you. He's talking to you. Yeah, you, because I know you're pretty messy. You're pretty messy. And there in this little town in Samaria, Jesus stops at the well, and he meets this Samaritan woman. And we actually pretty quickly discover that in high school, she was voted most likely to always have a boyfriend. Because she's been married five times, and she's actually living with a man, as she's speaking to Jesus, who she's not married to. And Jesus actually, with this shamed, abused, used, thrown away, discarded woman, he has his longest recorded conversation in the entire Bible. Why? Because some things just take time. And so maybe even today, right off the top, this could be your reminder that Jesus has time for you too. And right there at that well, Jesus extends his hand to this woman, and essentially invites her to stop going to the well of men to be satisfied, but instead come to him to be satisfied. And here's the big idea there, because Jesus will never ask you to give up something without giving you something better in return. All right, so maybe even today,

over the next few minutes, Jesus may be calling you to give up something, but here's my promise to you. If Jesus is calling you to give up something today, it's because he has something better that he wants to give you. Everybody say better real quick. Come on, let me hear you from Midtown. Okay, yeah, awesome, all right. So in the middle of their conversation there in John four, we actually skipped this part last week because we're gonna talk about it this week. And right there in the middle of the conversation, Jesus introduces, I would just call it a keyword. Jesus introduces this word that just pops out. Like when I read this this week, it just popped out and screamed at me. And I believe that this keyword could actually become the gift that could essentially begin to revolutionize your life. If we can actually get our arms around this word that God wants us to maybe gift unwrap today. And here it is in John four, verse 13. We'll start here. Jesus says, anyone who drinks the water from this well, the natural well that she's going to, will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I, Jesus, give will never be thirsty again. Come on.

It becomes a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. And she says, please, sir, I gotta have that water because then I'll never be thirsty again and I won't have to keep coming here to get water. And Jesus says, hey, go and get your husband. He's setting her up. This isn't the gotcha moment. Again, we talked about this last week. She said, I don't have a husband. Jesus was like, you're right. You don't have a husband. You've been married five times. This is in essence, Jesus invites. her to be honest. Guys, if you ever wanna get anywhere with God, you can't, you gotta take the mask off. That's this conversation right here. Jesus is saying, let's just have a real conversation. So he says, yeah, you certainly spoke the truth. You're not married. And so she says, sir, the woman said, you must be a prophet. So I got a question. Now, here's the deal. There's a little bit of change in the conversation going on with this woman. Here's really, okay, I don't know if you know this. I'm a pastor. So here's what I really think's happening here.

This woman is just like the countless people that we meet in the lobbies and I meet on airplanes and things like that. That when they find out I'm a pastor, they pull this question out of their pocket that they've had their entire life. That's what I'm saying. The sermon was about this. Somebody's gonna come up there and ask me about the rapture today. Like that's, cause you just, oh, you're a pastor. Can I ask you a question? That's what's happening here. She's like, I've had this question. And so she's like, the Jews are basically saying that we're outcasts because we don't worship in Jerusalem. We come here in Mount Gerizim. Like where are we actually supposed to go to worship? And Jesus said, he just cuts past it. He says, believe me, dear woman, the time's coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Lord on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him. For salvation comes through the Jews. Salvation comes through the Jews. And there's the word. There's the word.

If you don't know which word I'm talking about, it's the one in all caps, bold, different color. It's the first time we've seen this word in the book of John. It's the word that this woman desperately needed in her life. And it's the word that I believe is so tragically misunderstood in church world and in culture around us today. Salvation, salvation. So salvation, real quickly, in the Greek, it's soteria, so soteria. If you actually go to seminary, you'll probably take a soteriology class, which is a study of salvation. What is salvation? It means to be saved, preserved, rescued, delivered. To be saved, preserved, rescued, delivered. Am I in the right church this morning? Are any of God's people excited to be saved, preserved, rescued, delivered? Come on, is anybody excited about salvation? Come on. The church that I pastor better be excited about being saved, preserved, rescued, delivered. Come on, man, may it never grow old or cold on the people of God that we have been saved. But here's what I believe, okay, that we don't really fully understand that word. All right, because here's the question,

what truly is salvation, right? Like, beyond those words right there, could we actually describe it to the people around us? And I believe, and we'll get to it, I believe we're doing a pretty poor job of that right now, of actually, one, personally understanding salvation, but also sharing the beauty of salvation. Because here's the deal, if salvation is that, why does Jesus bring it up to this abused, used, spit out, discarded woman at a well? Why is this so pertinent to her life right there? And what does it mean for us today? Okay, so I'm gonna walk through, actually, I'm gonna run through the first two thoughts of this thing, and I'm gonna land on some place that I think God could do something really special here today. So what is salvation? Here's the first thing. Salvation is the story of God. All right, so if y'all aren't aware of how this whole thing got going, we are not just floating on a rock through the universe billions of years later No, this is God's story. And there in the garden after the original sin, right, where Adam and Eve, they rebel against God, they turn their back on God, they wanna be God themselves.

And so they eat of the forbidden fruit, and sin enters into the world, and death by sin right there, God did not give up on them. Even in the garden, God gave the first hint of salvation as he curses the serpent, as he curses the devil. In Genesis 3.15, here's what he said to the devil. He said, I will put enmity, which is hostility. In other words, I'm gonna create a fight between the devil and the woman, and between your offspring and hers, and he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. Here's what's happening, here's what God is saying. The father's saying there in the garden. He's saying, devil, you and women are gonna fight. Which, ladies, this is why you pray better than men. I'm telling you, God put it in your bones. God put it in your DNA. This is why you guys are spiritual warriors. Come on, this is put in there from the garden. And he says, and he's speaking prophetically now, between your offspring and hers. In other words, the son of Eve one day will grow up and crush the head of the devil. Even in the tragedy of the original sin in the garden, God does not discard Adam and Eve. He actually kills an animal, wraps them with the skin. Something dies because of their sin, and then he prophesies that a messiah one day will come and crush the head of the one

who trapped them in slavery to sin. It's called the First Messianic Prophecy, Genesis 3.15. You know the story. After the garden, the wheels fall off, right? The first born kills the second born. Wickedness explodes. God floods the earth. Fast forward. Finally, God chooses a man named Abraham through which he will create a people through which he will tell his redemptive stories, the Hebrew people. And then Abraham has Isaac. Isaac has Jacob. Jacob has 12 sons. And basically, as Jacob is breathing his final breaths, he begins blessing his sons. And he says this, Genesis 49, 18. He says, I wait for your salvation, O Lord. This is the first time that the word salvation is mentioned in the entire Bible. It's where Jacob's blessing his sons right there at the very end. And here's what he's saying. Remember the words. What is salvation? He's saying, God, I'm tired. I'm at the end of my life. And right now, God, I need you to rescue me, redeem me, save me, get me out of the darkness

of this world. I'm ready to just come and be with you. It's the first time the word salvation's ever mentioned. Now here's, let's take this a step deeper, okay? If the word soteria is the Greek word for salvation in the New Testament, okay? The New Testament's written in Greek. The Old Testament's written in Hebrew, all right? If soteria is the New Testament Greek word, what's the Old Testament Hebrew word? Let's read this one more time. I wait for your Yeshua, O Lord. Now here's the deal. Some of y'all are already catching this. Some of you aren't. Does anyone know how we translate the word Yeshua into English? Yeshua, we translate into Jesus. Jesus's name means the Lord is salvation. God saves. Jesus, when you say Jesus, what you're saying is, God saves me. That's what Jesus's name actually means, is God is salvation, which is why when the angel comes and announces that Mary is pregnant, he says this in Matthew 121. She will give birth to a son, and you're to give him the name Jesus. Why?

Because he will save. Why is his name Jesus? Because the name Jesus is Yeshua in the Hebrew, which literally means God saves. Why is his name Jesus? Because he saves. Jesus's name is Jesus because Jesus means God saves. If God saves was another word, that would be Jesus's name. But Jesus's name is Jesus because Jesus means God saves. God is salvation. Which is why as Jesus stands in front of the woman at the well, he proclaims once again in John 422, salvation comes through the Jews. Why does salvation come through the Jews? Because Jesus comes through the Jews. Okay, let's be super real. Let's pull it out of culture just for a second. Lest we forget, in this world full of anti-Semitism right now, Jesus is a Jew. So be careful. Listen, listen. I'm not making a political statement. I'm making a spiritual statement. Because there's only one verse that I read in the Bible that says, that God says to Abraham, I will bless those who bless you

and I will curse those who curse you. Just be careful. That's not political, that's spiritual. So yes, Jesus is God. He's also the Jewish Messiah. Born in Bethlehem, circumcised on the eighth day, grew up in Nazareth, celebrated Passover. Come on, the story arc of salvation goes through the Old Testament, which is an explicitly Jewish book. God sends prophets year after year after year to announce that the Savior is coming, the Rescuer is coming, the Redeemer is coming, the one who saves is coming. Jesus did not just plop out of the sky. When did Jesus first appear? Well, Matthew 1, 1. No, Jesus was there from the very beginning. In the beginning. Come on, he was the light, he was the word. We talked about this in John 1, 1. In the beginning was the word, Jesus was there. Before there was a beginning, Jesus was there. Come on, Jesus is God. Jesus also stepped into a Jewish context. He came as the result of thousands of years of prophecy, of a Savior coming, and he lived a perfect life, and he died the perfect death, and he went to the cross to stand in our place. He took the death that should've been ours

so we could have the life that was his. Third day, stone rolled away, breathed the breath of life, conquered sin, death, hell, and the grave, ascended into heaven, lives to make intercession for us, and he's coming back to ultimately save his bride. He comes to save us. So when we repent of our sin and put our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, his victory becomes our victory, and God saves us. What are we saved from? We are saved from the judgment of God for our sins. Jesus took it for us. We are saved from ourselves. We are saved from the devil. We are saved from judgment. We are saved from death. We are saved now. And the story that God is telling from Genesis to Revelation is one of salvation, from the fall in the first garden to the restoration in the last. Garden it is a story of salvation why because our God is the saving God He doesn't even want one to perish But every single person to come to to to to repentance and and full faith in Jesus Christ and this whole Redemptive story all centers in orbit around this one man Yeshua Amashia Jesus the Christ God's story is a story of salvation. That's what it is God's story is a story of salvation centering around the man Jesus Christ So what is salvation's first salvation is God's story. The second thing is this salvation is eternal life I'm just gonna spend a second here because this sermon has been preached a hundred million times and it should be Okay, because God has placed eternity and the human heart every single person that you've ever seen will go on forever

Even the ones who really bug you Death is not the end of any of us and maybe maybe you've heard this said before is that the bad news is this if you're Only born once you die twice, but if you're born twice, you only die once So if you're only born in the flesh, but you're still dead in the spirit You're never born again the spirit you will die in the flesh and in the spirit in hell forever punished for your sins Given over to the life that you actually wanted But if you're born twice if you're born in the flesh and born in the spirit You only die perish in the flesh, but you will go on you will live forever in the presence of God forever Never never never never. Okay, and here's three scriptures. I'll just machine gun them off to you Romans 6 23 for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life Eternal life how in Jesus Christ? Yeshua, I'm a Shiite because he's the Savior John 11 Jesus is talking to Martha and he says I'm the resurrection and the life anyone who believes in me will live even after dying Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this? Come on, 2nd Corinthians 5 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down that is when we die and leave this earthly body We will have a house in heaven an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands Guys, this is the good news of the gospel You and I are saved from hell to God forever and ever and ever all because of Jesus Come on the moment we close our eyes here on earth We open them up forever to be absent from the body is to be present front with the Lord And it only gets better for the people of God. Here's here's a good news this morning This earth is the closest thing to hell you will ever experience Is it only gets better for the people of God so death is not the end So death should not be something that Christians fear mother Teresa said this. I love that She says death is nothing else but going home to God The bond of love will never be broken for all eternity And guys we celebrate that that changes everything. Okay, but here's here's what I'm really gonna say today There's one big problem with everything that I've talked about

for most of us Every single campus I'm talking to you for most of us Salvation as eternal life is our only understanding of salvation Okay, so let me just say salvation is the story of God salvation is eternal life But here's the third thing salvation is also now Salvation is today today's the day of salvation and this is where I really want to park for a while Okay, because our biggest problem, I believe the biggest problem today is that we misunderstand salvation How do we misunderstand salvation because we think that salvation is only for heaven Why do I think that okay one it's in conversation But two if you were to ask anybody in culture who who who get the only thing of Christian They have is from us how we talk with the the message that goes out if you ask anybody in culture What is salvation and they had any clue what they were talking about? They would say something like this. Well, it's that we send Jesus died on the cross. So we go to heaven Okay, right. In other words, I'm bad Jesus good live Right that's salvation bad good live, right Here's the problem with that that has nothing to do with my life today That's just one day That's just one day someday out there and praise God for it. Where would we be if it wasn't for Jesus? I mean, where would we be if it wasn't for eternal life? We'd be doomed. Okay, but if it's only out there What motivation do I have to step into salvation today? Come on guys. I'm gonna give you the cheat code if that's the truth. Just wait until right before you die Then pray a little prayer Jesus Jesus chase. I'm sorry for not wanting you at all And you get in and you're like, yes and the answer is like take it he cracked the code How does 11th hour salvation? Okay one. Here's the here's the problem. Everybody who plans on 11th hour salvation dies at 1059 Okay, that's that's one problem. That's one problem. Okay, you're not guaranteed another breath. Okay, I Think we have to do this. I think we have to do this. I think we have to do this I think we have to do this. I think we have to do this I think we of such a shallow understanding of salvation, and it's evidenced by like,

we just kind of live like everybody else, but then, oh yeah, Christians aren't perfect, we're just forgiven, so I'm gonna go to heaven. And we have this delayed salvation thing that's just way out there. Here's what I'm gonna say, guys. Yes, there is an essence, okay, we're bad, Jesus is good, we go to heaven, ah, all right, kinda, yes. I think a better way of talking about salvation would actually be this, okay? Jesus is Lord, God's kingdom is here, we are being remade today. Which one starts getting you excited? Which one actually impacts today? I think this one is actually more accurate to what scripture would actually say, that Jesus is Lord, God's kingdom is here, and you are now being actively remade into the image of Jesus, day by day, by the power of the Holy Ghost. The next chapter we'll get to in a few weeks, John 5, 24. Jesus says, I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. Yes, they will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already. Everybody say already. You've already passed from death into life. Guys, good news. If you were born again,

if you put your faith in Jesus Christ, it's not that you're dead now, but one day you'll get eternal life. No, eternal life, you already have it. You already have eternal life. You've already passed from death to life. You're already out of the grave forever. Forever, you are alive forever and ever and ever. What it's saying is eternal life doesn't start that day, it starts today. It's already happened. And so maybe, let me give you some different language. What this means is that receiving Jesus is the end and the beginning of a journey. Receiving Jesus is the end and the beginning of a journey. Here's what I mean, it's the end of a journey. What it means is once you put your faith in Jesus, you are the most saved you will ever be. I know some of you who are like super religious think you can become more saved. That's impossible. Not like you get a little extra badges, you know, Boy Scout badges, you know? Like, you can get to heaven, everybody's like, oh, you look like a general up there. Like, oh, angels are like, yes, sir, you know? No, you were saved by grace through faith, not by works, or else you could brag about it. If we could add to Jesus' salvation, we'd all be bragging. And the problem is some of us are, okay?

You are the most saved. Once you say yes to Jesus, you are just as saved as somebody who said yes to Jesus five minutes ago, even if you've been saved 50 years. Okay, we can't add or take away anything from what Jesus has already done in the cross. Salvation is already yours. It's the end of that journey. You are saved that you are saved that you are saved that you are saved. And also, God is just getting started, making you into the new person that you will become day by day by day, that God who began a good work in you is faithful to carry it on to completion until the coming of Christ Jesus, okay? It is the end and the beginning of a journey. And here's what it means. Well, here's what salvation means for us now. I'm just gonna run through this, okay? It means that he has justified us. Okay, what does that mean? Because I've said yes to the finished work of Jesus in my life, it's just as if I had never sinned. It's at the moment of salvation, this language of justification is a courtroom sort of a language. What it means is when I said yes to Christ, God, the heavenly judge, smacked the gavel. And he said, innocent, innocent, innocent.

He declared you not guilty because of Jesus's blood. And now the Father doesn't see you as not guilty. He actually sees you with the righteousness of Christ imputed onto your life. You have a robe of righteousness that you did not pay for. Jesus paid for, and then he gave what was his to you. You have been justified to the Father. He also sanctifies us. Sanctified means that you have been made pure and clean and holy in the eyes of God, and now you are set apart to live differently than the way that you used to live. It also means that he regenerates us, which means you have been born again. You have already passed from death to life. You have come alive on the inside. So it means you aren't only forgiven, you're actually made a new creation. He reconciles us, which means we've been restored back to relationship with the Father. He adopts us. God has put his spirit inside of us, which cries out, Abba, Father, which means if you are born again and you say, Dad, you're not a hypocrite because he actually is. You're not an orphan. You've never been alone. You have a Father in God. You have a family in this church, and you will never be forsaken again a day in your life.

He delivers us. The power of the devil has been broken off of your life. You don't belong to him any longer. Why? Because Jesus crushed his head, and he broke the shackles, and he set you free, and he has redeemed us, which means our old way of life, which meant nothing, is now. Dead, why? Because redeemed means give value back to something. We have been ransomed back from a dead way of life. How? Not through the blood of bulls and goats, but by something much precious, much more precious than silver and gold. It's by the blood of Jesus Christ himself. And every single one of these things, here's the amazing thing, every single one of those things is not one day, it's two day. It's two day. You're saved, you're ransomed, you're redeemed, you're adopted, you're reconciled, you're justified, you're sanctified. Come on, two day. That is current reality. That's current reality. And I believe our big, I'm gonna go on a limb. I believe our biggest mistake in Christianity right now may be that we have isolated the power of God,

the real power of God to change us out to heaven. And we're just eking out an existence today. How do I know? Because we, okay, I'm sorry, I'm hitting the bumper sticker thing. But if you have the bumper sticker, Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven. I give you permission to leave five minutes early. Get it off your car, okay. Because that's such a low, I know what we're trying to say, guys, I'm not holier than thou, but you kind of are. You've been made righteous, bro. Not by your own words. That's where we mess it up, because we think we're bragging. No, you're not bragging on yourself, you're bragging on Jesus. And we're just, the problem is we're just eking out this like, oh, one day I'll go to heaven, it'll be better. Guys, Jesus is here to change us today. Here's what I mean. The soteria, soteria, which is the, again, the Greek word for salvation as a thing. Okay, I was terrible in English class, okay. It's a noun. Okay, soteria is a noun, which means salvation as a thing, okay, that you can possess.

It means you possess soteria. The verb of salvation is this word, maybe you've heard it before, sozo, sozo. So, soteria is the thing of salvation. Sozo is the action of saving. When God saves you, he sozos you. What it means, to save, preserve, rescue, deliver, yes. Let me add a little bit more. To restore, I love this, to bring back to the state of what something used to be. To bring back to the state of what something was meant to be. That is sozo. When God sozos you, he brings you back to the state of what you were meant to be. Here's what I'm saying. If you actually look in the New Testament, if you studied the Greek, sozo is there over 100 times. This is all over the New Testament, okay. And it's not only about eternal life. So, when Jesus heals somebody in the Gospels, 16 times he says they've been sozoed. Okay, let me make it real. I'll give you one. You can read the story later. In Mark 10, there's a blind man who Jesus heals. He can see. Jesus says, you've now been sozoed. But he wasn't. Now he can just see. It's not like his life got, no, no, no.

He was healed. That's because salvation isn't only eternal life. Salvation impacts all of you today. Okay, let me make it real. I was talking to my seminary professor. He said this, Johnson, when you break a pot, right, and you repair it, think about this, you've saved it. Okay, let me get really practical. Okay. When you break, actually, this happened this week. Jeremiah was pulling a glass out of a, out of the, thank you. That thing, it's up there. And he dropped it. I heard it in the other room, came in. Didn't even give a second of thought. Sweep that thing into the garbage, okay. But think about this. If I had actually taken the time to get all the pieces and then put it back together, I've saved that glass. Because there are two paths when something gets broken. No, come on, let's make it really real. There are two paths when something gets broken. You either just throw it away, or you take the time to put it back together again. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's so true. Some of y'all have heard of this before, in the 1400s, there was this Japanese art form created called Kintsugi. And here's the whole idea of Kintsugi, is when a piece of pottery gets broken, you can either discard it, or you can repair it. But the idea of repairing it was embraced, not really out of efficiency, but out of love and care and art, okay. And here's how I'd say it. The damage and the flaws actually became part of the story that the object told. Now, if I had to choose one picture of salvation today, this is Sozo. This is Sozo. And this is what God wants to do for you too. Here's what I'm going to say, if you feel broken beyond repair today, God is here to sozo you. Because the damage and the flaws aren't to your shame, listen, the damage and the flaws actually become your story. And some of you need to start sharing your damage and your flaws of how God has sozoed you and put you back together so that we can start tearing down the idea that salvation is only eternal life. Praise God that it is, but it's also now. And guys, this, this, let's bring it back in, this, this is what the woman at the well was looking for.

Why does Jesus talk about salvation to this woman, that salvation is only eternal life? I'm going to be super honest. It sounds a little disrespectful, but listen, her question at the well that day was not Jesus, can I go to heaven? Her question was, Jesus, can I have my life back? Could God ever somehow put me back together again? Because I feel broken beyond repair. I've been chewed up and spit out by five men and now I'm living with a man who doesn't even love me enough to put a ring on my finger. Am I even lovable? Could you somehow put me back together again? Listen, here, here's what I love. Here's what I love. Jesus is not telling her that day, listen, because this is how we'd say it. This is how we'd tell our world today. We'd be like, well, hey, Lady Chira, I, nobody loves you here on earth, but one day in heaven, you'll finally be loved. Oh man. Here's what Jesus is saying, hey, I can sozo you. I can make you whole again. I can put the pieces of your life, I know, I know, I know everything feels shattered. I know everything feels scattered like a billion piece jigsaw puzzle without a box cover. I know, I know, but I've numbered all those pieces. I know you better than you know yourself and I can put you back together again. Early on in marriage, Summer and I went through a season where we disagreed loudly. Because Christians don't fight. And she shared this story up here, I'm not like exposing her, okay, but this was so, this season was so pivotal in our life, it literally changed our lives. And so we just kind of keep getting in the same fight over and over and over again, right? And it would usually sound something like this, if I can just boil it down to simpler

language. She would say something like, you just aren't meeting my needs. Okay, now, ladies, stop elbowing your husband right now, because we're going to talk about it. And she would say something to that effect, you just aren't loving me enough, you just aren't doing this, you just aren't doing that. And I'm thinking, well, probably not, but I'm also thinking like, well, something must be wrong with me, because I'm giving it all I got, right? This is just a few years into marriage, but somehow it's still not enough, right? And so we'd had this argument, I would encourage every single one of you who are married out there, try and get past it, but when it's clear that you can't get past it, that's when you need to bring in another voice, okay? So we sat down with a counselor, and he gave us, I'm telling you, the best marriage advice we'd ever received, which is beyond marriage advice. And it changed our life, it changed our marriage, and here's what he said. He said, Summer, you've got some holes in your bucket. And we looked at him, just like you're looking at me, totally confused, like, what, what? I don't have a bucket, like, what are you talking about? Like, left it in the car, you know? And he kept going, he said this, he said, holes come from life experiences where there was a gap between what you needed and what you received. So holes come from gaps in life experiences that have hindered or harmed you, in essence created, it's wounded your ability to receive or to retain love from people. And maybe it's abuse, maybe it's trauma, maybe it's rejection, whatever that thing is. Maybe mom and dad weren't there, whatever that is, he just starts explaining this. Things happen in life that, in essence, damage our ability to receive and retain what we call the big four, right? We talk about this here at Victory all the time, we have to be reminded of this, I'm just telling you, beyond just like a verse from the Bible, the four basic needs of humanity, what are they?

Acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. Acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. If you've never heard this before, you need to write it down. You need acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. You need acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. You need acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. It's not if you're a Christian, you need it. If you know every single person that you've ever seen needs acceptance security identity and purpose Here's the problem things happen in life That hinder your ability to either receive or to retain those things when they are given to you Okay, and here's what he's saying. So now in essence When Johnson gives you love It leaks And Here's what he was saying and again in essence It doesn't matter how much love or acceptance or security Johnson gives you It will never feel like enough Because you have past life experiences that make it difficult for you to retain that love And at some point you can have the best week and listen, I've been on the other side of this as well I didn't have the best week we can go do amazing things But then it feels like about a day or two later you find yourself saying you just aren't and the other person's like What are you talking about? We just went and did All right, am I a prophet right now into your marriage, okay Okay, and here's what he said, this is so good. This is so good. He said so good He said no other person can meet your needs No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no here listen to me It's not that they can but won't they literally can't I'm gonna say it again. It's not just that you're married to a jerk. You may be It's that they're literally incapable of meeting your needs I Mean think about this even if I poured all of that into all of that. It's still not enough. It's still not full

It's still not full Come on, it's still half full and this is why here's what he said. This is so good a chip is his name He said salvation is connecting me to God and all of his resources Salvation is actually connecting me to God and all of his resources in other words Where I only have a limited amount and I can only give a little bit and after like a little while it just seems to Be done what would happen even right now? If I pulled a hose out from backstage and stuck that in here That's sozo because what you're actually doing you're tapping into an unlimited resource versus me All I got is this man, and it's listen don't even pretend like this thing's full. I only got a little bit myself I'm saying and this is what So he said this he said most this is so southern he said most marriages are two ticks and no dog Some of you are like, what does that mean? So a tick is a little parasite is gonna leech suck the blood suck the life out of a dog But what happens if you have two ticks and no dog, that's a marriage. We're like And the other guys like all right Vampire the life out of me Because I only got so much Right and listen, it's not that they want or can or they don't want to it's that they're incapable of giving you what you actually need But if you actually hook up to the hose of God, that's what he say It'll come alive on the inside of you this burr bubbling spring, right? That's sozo the ability of God not only to fill us but also to fix us so we can retain it And here's what can't change the game. Here's here's what changed the game. Here's what he said to us. I love this Here's your marriage counseling for today. He said summer. It's your job to go to Jesus to get your needs met Okay, and right at the moment where I was like, that's right He looks at me and he says Johnson it's your job to act like it's your job I was like So here's what this means nobody gets a pass Nobody gets a pass today Okay, here's what I'm saying

Okay, here's what I'm saying if you find yourself blaming somebody else for meeting your needs here's what you need to hear Here's your wake-up call. They can't They can't I'm not saying it's wrong to want love from a spouse. It's not wrong. It's not wrong I'm not saying it's it's wrong to want love from a parent right or a pastor, you know It's not it's not wrong to desire those things. But here's here's what we have to be careful Don't make that other person an idol Okay, you're like I would never make that guy an idol, okay No, no, no, listen an idol is anything you go to to give you what only God can give you You're going to non gods to get God's stuff that's an idol and So that's why you're perpetually disappointed because you're expecting God's stuff out of a man out of a woman they can't give you they're incapable of that even if they gave you everything they had it wouldn't be enough and that's why the ultimate source had to be has to be God and and and I've gone through these seasons myself and and I love this just this last week chip I was talking to him he looked at me he said Johnson is so good he said I give you permission to have an affair with God said go to the one who can actually give you what you're looking for go to the one he's the only one who can actually give and if you go to God to get your needs met you'll be an infinitely better husband infinitely better husband he said he said summer it's your job to go to Jesus get your needs met Johnson it's your job to act like it's your job so here's what I'm saying if you're if you're married or a parent whatever that doesn't absolve you of responsibility right you can't go home be like well the pastor said you know no what are you saying it's my here's how I started to see it it's my job not to sabotage the work that God is doing in my wife's life it's her job not to sabotage the work that God's doing in my life right and so it embraced this thought I can help it's not wrong for her to want love for me like I I need to do that as a husband I have signed the line I like I've covenanted with her to do that but here's the deal I can help but only Jesus can heal right you can help but

only Jesus can heal he's the only one who can sozo what's happened in in your loved one's life right but you can do everything you can that you're capable of to help and not sabotage it in the meantime and here's why this is so important because if you don't address it it gets dangerous if you don't address your need for acceptance identity security and purpose here's what I'm saying if you do not go to Jesus for acceptance security identity and purpose you will go somewhere because that's the basic need of your life you need acceptance security identity and purpose and so if you don't get it from him you will go somewhere and this is how addiction start this is where really bad habits begin forming which eventually turn into addictions here's what I'm saying because that sin smells like what you're looking for it kind of feels like what you're looking for it sounds like what you're looking for and so listen if you have an acceptance deficit if you don't feel like you're worth loving you will go out there looking for things to feel like love right this is how people get into pornography oh it just feels like I'm being loved right now it's how people get into affairs this is how people just get into wild so this is how people get into people-pleasing if you ever been around the guy who's just like a suck-up to everybody he has an acceptance deficit inside of his life all right and that needs to be tended to because if you don't go to Jesus to feel you will look here to feel that thing and it'll sabotage your life if you have a security deficit this is where greedy people are born this is where people get into poverty mentality this is why people stop giving and tithing this is how people stop being generous in their life because money's your God but you find out it doesn't matter how much you have you never have enough because it's not what you're really looking for other people look for security in politics and listen I know that's a hot thing today and the redistricting that's a big deal okay so get out there and vote but here's the real test is your real security in the results of an election if the results of an election destabilize your life then politics is an idol because you're going to politics to get what only God can give you I'm

just saying check it check it if you have an identity void you will go all in on a title you'll hear people say like oh I'm a mom my life is finally complete because now I have a title but what happens if your child dies your life falls apart because you made your child an idol as tragic as that is just be careful where you go to to get God things because those things will never satisfy you at the end of the day because you were made to have a love affair with God himself and if we are not careful when we get in all that here's what we do we end up perpetuating generational curses to our kids by doing the same things to them that our parents did to us your parent didn't give you acceptance because they didn't have it and they were addicted so you didn't get acceptance so you just got addicted so you're not giving your kid it's got to stop somewhere and here's where it stops is when you get sozo'd so how do you begin fixing the holes in your bucket you need to get sozo'd and that's the beautiful thing is that's not something additional to salvation that is salvation Jesus mending the parts of your life that are broken here's how I say it it's okay to be broken it's just not okay to stay broken this is a safe place to be broken guys but listen if you just keep ignoring it for 30 years I just think God's disappointed for you maybe not in you but for you you have so much freedom available to you why would you why would you not want to take hold of everything that God has for you so here's the question I'll just spend another minute here how does Jesus begin to sozo us okay here it is the very tech kind of technical term is corrective life experiences CLEs Corrective life experiences. Here's what it means. God wants to give you life experiences with him that correct the broken ones you've already had Here's what I mean. You need to sit with God. You need to get around Faithful community. You need to end up in environments like this You need to lift your hands and worship whatever that is and you need to allow Jesus to come in and start giving you a better Healthy experience in the area that you were broken in Here's what I mean if mom and dad never loved you The problem is somewhere along the lines you think you're not worth loving

You need a corrective life experience. What would it look like if you sat down with Jesus and just said I'm gonna ask you a scary question Jesus. How do you feel about me? Do you hate me too and I promise you when you feel the arms of God come around you That becomes a corrective life experience We're like If you've been stabbed in the back by unfaithful friends man land into a good small group and what you're gonna start finding is people who laugh when you laugh and cry when you cry and pick you up when you fall down and You're like, huh? Maybe maybe maybe I can belong somewhere Corrective life experience is now Jesus is starting to sozo that piece back together again Where you can not only receive but also retain acceptance security identity and purpose and What I found out about myself, I don't want to say this by the way Is with acceptance security identity and purpose honestly I'm pretty good Like settled with security identity and purpose. I come settled like I don't think I could really be shaken by God's grace in those areas But I have an acceptance deficit Personally, this is me. I'm talking about right now. This is just like Johnson's Diary moment. I struggle with acceptance sometimes So I get into a deficit and that is the fault of no person It's not summer's fault. My wife's awesome. My kids are awesome. You guys are awesome It's like the Lego song. Everything is awesome Everything is awesome. Like it's good. Like literally I'm it could not be better. Like it's awesome. It's awesome. It's good. It's great It's perfect. It's wonderful But what's gonna happen today is that some of y'all are gonna come up in the lobby Here in Norcross you be like John says that's a good sermon. I'm be like But was it? I don't know

And I'm I'm gonna get in my car and then that familiar voice is gonna come back It's gonna say that was terrible. That's the worst thing you've ever done And that's not any of your fault. That's something that's broken inside of me. The Jesus over time is still putting back together And and here's the deal. I leak acceptance And Here's the problem if I am not intentional to go to Jesus to get those needs met. I'll go looking for it somewhere else Now if I'm not careful, I'll go looking for it in her and Then I'll find myself saying like you're just not doing enough I've never told her that but I'll think that you're just not and then every time I'm starting to catch myself But it ain't her fault, bro It is my job to go to Jesus to get my needs met It is my job to go to Jesus to get my needs met you can't do it for me You cannot go to Jesus for me and get my needs met. I'm the only one who can do it Which is why if I rewind into my past I'll go looking for people. I'll go looking at pornography Because it smells like it's it sounds like it's it scratches the itch of Acceptance I go looking for it and then I would got into people-pleasing for a while I'm just trying to make everybody have here's what I'm saying If you have a deficit which by the way you do in a certain area if you are not intentional to go to Jesus well, you will go to something and What I have had to learn to do over time by God's grace is just sit in God's presence and say Jesus I'm recognizing it. I feel it. I feel I'm depleted in acceptance I feel like I retain security identity and purpose But for some reason things happen early on in life that I just leak acceptance And so Jesus I got to go back to you I got to sit here because I feel the flag the red flag starting to go up that I'm getting temptations cut Jesus How do you feel about me right now Do you love me? Do you accept me? And guys listen, that's not weakness. That's honesty That's real salvation. That is God putting my pieces back together again

But here's what it means it's not a one-time event It's a process But every process begins with an event. So here's what it may look like. I'm just going to give you a tool. We're going to practice this in just a second. But I'm going to give you a tool. Start with three minutes. And I say start with three minutes because we have the attention span of a gnat. For real. Everybody's like, let's talk about aliens. Let's talk about reality. Shut it all down. And do the important things of life. Because those things cannot give you acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. And so you need to prioritize the one who can. And it may sound something like this. God, I'm here with empty hands. I'm not here to accomplish something. I'm not here to give you something. I'm just here. And I'm here to receive your love. Put your phone on do not disturb. Silence all the other voices. And just sit there and lock in until you actually start to feel the warmth of God's love. What I'm trying to do,

I'm trying to give God an opportunity to love me and give myself an opportunity to be loved. To receive that love. And I believe ultimately what God wants to do is bring us all, all of us, to the place where we can have faith that if we go to Jesus we can actually receive acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. So he becomes the first thing that we go to. A lot of our problem is we don't have faith that we'll find it, or we won't find it fast enough so we run to other things. No, no. God wants to build the faith that we can go to Jesus for acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. And somebody actually pointed this out online this week. Acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. ASIP. What we really need is a sip from the well of Jesus. That's good. That boy good. That's good. So let's do this. Let's bow our heads. Let's drink from the well that will never run dry. Jesus, we are thankful that you came to heal the brokenhearted and you came to set the captive free.

And I admit, I confess that we need that right now. And what we ask corporately even right now is that you would forgive us for seeing salvation as only eternal life. Thank God for eternal life. But God, we don't have to wait until we die in the flesh to receive eternal life. It started today. What you're offering us, I don't want to live another moment without it. And our confession right now is that we need so-so. Jesus alone can fix us and fill us. So in just a second, we're actually going to sit in that moment and allow Jesus to begin to fix us and fill us. But there's some of us right now, even here today, who do need to cross the line of eternal life, which will start today. Here's what it looks like. Repenting of your sin, which means to turn, to change the way you think about the sin in your life, and to put your trust squarely at the cross of Jesus Christ. And if that's you today, if you just say,

I need to give my life to Jesus. I've been managing my life. It's not working. I need to give him my life. Now, I want to pray with you. All right, and family around you guys, we're going to pray together. Let's pray. Say, Jesus, right now, I confess, I've tried to manage my life. I've gone to other things to satisfy my soul. Right now, I repent. And I turn from those things. And I turn to Jesus. I put my faith in Jesus Christ as my King and as my Savior. I receive the forgiveness that you purchased at the cross. When you rose again, you gave me life. And right now, I receive it. And because of Jesus, I am born again. I am made clean. I am forgiven. And I'm a child of God for the rest of my life. And it starts right now.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, here's what we're going to do. Praise God for a new life. But now, some of you just said yes to Jesus. You get to do the best thing. God's going to start putting you back together right now. And we're going to spend just like two or three minutes right here in this place. And we're going to look at this, okay? We're going to give you acceptance, security, identity, and purpose. So, God may have already been putting His finger on one of these areas that you're deficient in right now. And I would just encourage you, God, how do you feel about me right now? And just sit with that, and let Him speak to it. Let Him show it. Security, God, would you show me a picture of how you're protecting me? Or providing for me. Identity, God, who do you say that I am? I know what everybody else says, but who do you say I am? Purpose, God, why did you give me breath? God, why am I alive? God, would you reveal that to me? Okay, again, the band's just gonna lead us for two, three minutes. I just wanna invite you, even at your campus, some of you may just sit. Don't even sing.

You may just wanna sit. Some of you may wanna get out and come to the front and just kind of have like a private time of processing. That's cool. But we're just gonna sit and we're gonna allow the Lord to sozo us. So Jesus, come and sozo your people. Put us back together. You alone can do it. In Jesus' name, amen. ♪ Who thought I'd find you at the lowest place ♪ ♪ Who thought you'd feel me in the crowd ♪ ♪ Who knew you'd make good of my mistakes ♪ ♪ You're nothing like I thought you were ♪ ♪ You're nothing like I thought you were ♪ ♪ You're better, what a God, what a God ♪ ♪ What a God, what a God ♪ ♪ What a God, what a God ♪ ♪ Oh it's who you are, what a God, what a God ♪ ♪ You're nothing like I thought you were ♪ ♪ You're nothing like I thought you were ♪ ♪ You're better, what a God, what a God ♪ ♪ What a God, what a God ♪ ♪ No it's not, no it's not, you say ♪ ♪ No it's not, no it's not, what a God, what a God ♪ ♪ What a God, what a God ♪ ♪ What a God, what a God ♪ ♪ What a God, what a God ♪ ♪ What a God, what a God ♪ ♪ What a God you are ♪

♪ Wasn't no one like you ♪ ♪ And we say you are my everything ♪ ♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ And we say God you are my everything ♪ ♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ You are my everything ♪