If you’d like to know more about our ministry please visit us at http://transformchurch.us. And if you have a testimony of the amazing things that God is doing in your life through our ministry, please email it to [email protected].
well I’m gonna go ahead and get right
into it um because usually every year at
Easter we do a huge production like we
do this huge thing and this year real
quick can we give it up for the worship
team the creative department the band
like everybody did a phenomenal job love
you guys but but this year we
intentionally decided to simplify
because as I started going through the
Gospels you know Easter if you go to a
church this is when we pull out
pyrotechnics and we have people flying
from the top of ceilings and we give
everybody a tattoo that says he is risen
like we we do all kinds of things but
when I went back to the scriptures of
how they did it back in the day they
called it the simple gospel it was just
good news and you don’t really need like
a billboard to tell somebody good news
y’all know when there’s a sale at your
favorite store you don’t make a flyer to
tell your friends you just call them
girl
Express got a sale like do you
understand what I’m saying and I just
thought that maybe this year I would
just share the simple truth of the
gospel with you I thought that this year
I would share from my own experience and
what God is doing in my life and what
he’s done in other people’s life an
answer probably the most blaring
question that that that our humanity is
faced with today the whole reason we
titled this thing searching for a
feeling is because that’s what everybody
in this room is doing in some way all of
us are searching for some feeling that
we don’t talk about when we meet people
we don’t we don’t introduce us up hi my
name is Sally I’m searching for your
validation nobody does that but our
actions line up with that many of you
have jobs right now that you hate but
because of the zeros it puts in your
bank account and somehow you’re
searching for a feeling of success or
worthiness you’ll keep doing the thing
you hate to have a momentary feeling of
somebody else thinking that you bet
you’re better than what you really are
I’m coming straight for it today
because I was searching for feelings in
my life for years and so I just got one
question for you what are you searching
for no no no and this is not an ethereal
question I hope you take some time this
week or when you’re at lunch or while
you’re sitting down trying to watch some
sports trying to get this out of your
mind because I hope it stays in your
mind until you can’t sleep no more what
are you really searching for because
until we identify what we’re searching
for we usually will just act out of
however we feel that’s why we called it
searching for a feeling and most people
in this room are searching for things
that give them some type of feeling like
maybe searching for peace searching for
acceptance searching for happiness
searching for success love respect
important significance value worthiness
meaning affection purpose some of y’all
are just searching for hope and today I
just came to tell you good news that
everything you’re searching for you can
have the problem is humanity has a
default setting that we search for what
we want in the wrong places like like so
after you answer the question what am i
searching for the second question you
need to ask yourself for real is where
do I go to find fulfillment and I know
you think this is for your neighbor
right now you think this is where your
girlfriend oh my god I know that’s why
she’s on Instagram all the time posting
those selfies because she wants somebody
to validate how pretty she is
but you’re doing the same thing with
religion so so so you study descriptions
so that you know more than somebody else
so whenever they come to you you can
make them feel little or that you’re so
far away what are we all searching for
and where do we go to find that
fulfillment the reason I’m asking you
that question is because it’s been the
same thing since Adam and Eve in the
garden when Eve and Adam had given this
am a
Promised Land from God they were still
searching for something else and they
had the God of the universe with them
right there why in the world would they
be searching when the Creator
was right there with him the problem is
even when you go to Genesis 3 chapter 6
it says that Eve she was convinced she
saw that the tree was beautiful and it’s
fruit looked delicious
and she wanted its wisdom she wanted the
wisdom it would give her so she took
some of the fruit and she ate it then
her dumb husband was sitting there right
with her and he ate it this is when sin
creeped in and let me help you sin it
seems so deep to everybody but when you
really understand it it’s very simple
let me give you the easiest definition
of sin sin is searching for the right
thing in the wrong place
that’s all sin is Eve wanted wisdom but
she went to the serpent and said instead
of to her father
my question is you want to feel success
but where are you going to find it you
want to be you want to be worthy you
want to have a steam you want to be an
impact in the world but where are you
going to find it and the truth is that
many people in this room right now you
put on your mask
to come to church today but you’re gonna
go home with you and you know you you
know why you do certain things many
people in this room have more degrees
than a thermometer and still don’t feel
like they’re in purpose what are you
searching for some people they color
their hair every other color every other
day put a new wig new weed new hat new
whatever you want to call it they do
something brand new but but but at some
point it’s like what are you looking for
like what was the reason oh oh I just
don’t like being alone is that why you
went from Richard to Ricardo to Renaldo
to Rwanda
it was all the same motivation but we’re
all searching for a feeling and today I
just want you to know that nobody’s
excluded from that the question is where
are you gonna go to find it and one of
the cool things about I’m searching is
that after you search and you don’t find
it then you start getting desperate and
have you ever met a desperate person
like like when you get desperate you
start doing things out of character okay
let’s be honest cuz of there’s a lot of
there’s an air of fake in the room right
now and let’s just go ahead and pop that
bubble right now have you ever been
desperate for something I don’t care
what it was whether it was sex money
acceptance whatever have you ever been
desperate and you started acting out of
character because of your desperation
hands in the building everybody over
here that you raise your hand you’re
lying okay um okay so what ends up
happening is I found that once you
become desperate after you’ve been
searching and you don’t find it then you
become this word that the young people
say today it’s a word called thirsty
anybody know a thirsty is like thirsty
it’s like somebody who’s desperate for
something but they’re not gonna come out
and say it so they try really hard to
put something out there that will get
them attention and get them notice but
not really say the core issue and you
like that doesn’t make sense let me give
you a perfect example like when somebody
it’s been working out but they don’t
want to say hey could you tell me I look
good for working out and so they post a
picture um with no shirt on but they say
look at my smile
you’re thirsty bro what are you doing
like you you’re doing something out of
character to get something that you
really need but you’re going about it
the wrong way what I found is people
aren’t just searching for a feeling
they’re thirsty for it they’re thirsty
to know that they’re good enough they’re
thirsty to know that they’re loved
they’re thirsty to know if I lose
everything I’m still worth something and
our society lives so unplugged from who
we really are that we spend our entire
life thirsting for something that will
never be quenched because we go to the
wrong places to find it so today I just
hope that I could share just a little
bit from my own personal life because
I’ve been thirsty for years yeah I’m
saying it the pasture like I was thirsty
to be fulfilled and have affection but I
didn’t know how to get it the right way
and I didn’t want to go through the
process to get it the right way so I
became addicted and married to
pornography and I know we don’t talk
about this type of stuff but I became a
liar a manipulator I became somebody who
I knew I did not want to be but it was
because I wanted to feel something that
I did not want to go to the right source
for and so I don’t know what you are
fulfilling your life with some of us
it’s things you got every Jordan that’s
ever come out every single one or for
somebody else your house is super
beautiful but you got the house the cars
and everything that you want but you
don’t like going home you can’t find
peace and all I’m saying today is my
passion is that you would not leave this
place still searching for something that
has already been provided so I found a
woman who was searching in the Bible and
I want to talk to her story real quick
so that we can see is maybe we we can
see ourselves through this lens and
maybe find what we’re all really looking
for um
go to John chapter four and we’re gonna
meet a woman it’s you would know where
if you’ve ever read the Bible as the
woman at the whale okay
and this woman was literally thirsty
like not metaphorically see wanted some
water and so she was going to get some
water and she’s about to come in contact
with Jesus she came for one reason
but she’s to get a practical need mate
men like some of you came in here today
to check off the the box like I came for
Easter I took a picture with my mom and
I’m ready to go eat like it doesn’t
matter it’s okay if you came for the
practical reason but when you encounter
Jesus he never wants to do a surface
work in your life he always wants to do
something everybody say deeper he always
wants to do something deeper so this
woman is about to fall into the title of
my message today the thirst trap she’s
about to she’s about to fall into a
thirst trap because what God is doing
it’s it’s he setting a divine moment
where this woman’s humanity can meet
Jesus’s divinity where where every bad
part of her would meet all the good
parts of God and let me set it up and
tell you how this went so the disciples
are on their way from one town to
another and they’re headed the Galilee
and and um they in the moment Jesus just
hits this like fake like faint in my
mind he’s like walking and then he’s
like oh I’m so tired and and the
disciples like Jesus we gotta keep
moving the next town is where the
chick-fil-a is and we gotta get
something to eat before the day and he’s
like no no no you go I’ll wait here next
to this well and the disciples like bro
you trippin we ain’t a is since the 9
a.m. we gonna go get some food we’ll
bring you back a eight count ok so um
and Jesus sits here and and the
disciples are looking back like why
would he stay here but my Bible tells me
that God will forsake the 99 to go after
one
so he knew somebody was gonna come to
this place that needed to encounter him
and so we pick up in verse 7 where you
have to realize that this woman is
coming to this whale at noon the hottest
part of the day which if you’re back in
this time is hot hot like like like it’s
out of here
but it’s haha ok and you never went to
the whale at noon unless you didn’t want
to see anybody because you would go in
the cool of the day because it would be
more comfortable but this woman was
intentionally going to the well at noon
because we’ll find out later she had a
reputation that was not that good and
everybody around her knew her for what
she used to do so instead of being
around people who would judge her she
would inconvenience herself and go get
what she needs when nobody was around
and let me say it a different way
because Christians would judge people
who had a checkered past or people
around she said I don’t want anything to
do with them I’ll go when nobody’s there
and that’s why I need to apologize for
everybody who’s been out of the church
for a long time but maybe you’ve seen
something that really turns you off
because a lot of people want Jesus but
they don’t want nothing to do with
Christians and all I’m saying it’s not
all of us but there’s some of us that
remember who we used to be and remember
the grace that it took for us to come
out of what we were in is there anybody
in here that remembers who you used to
be and and what God has done for you and
so what ends up happening is Jesus said
I’m gonna go meet this woman at a place
where no other person would come to and
that’s where we pick it up and and it
says soon a Samaritan woman came to draw
water she was thirsty and Jesus said to
her – check this out he was like scuse
me ma’am oh yeah hey hi my name is Jesus
um could you please give me a drink and
this this woman was kind of thrown off
and I don’t want to I want to move on
but I can’t because what you got know is
just in that one little sentence we see
the grace of God see the grace of God
what’s that Jesus engaged her before the
woman ever engaged him like the grace of
God is that Jesus started the
conversation the grace of God was that
even though you’re messed up and you
don’t want nothing to do with God and
you’ve been living a certain way Jesus
will set an appointment like today and
say hey I still love you hey I still
have a plan for you hey can I start up
this conversation with you and this
woman acted like most of the bus would
act when Jesus comes to our door she
said uh you talkin to me
he must not understand that Jews refused
to have anything to do with Samaritans
verse 9 you’re a Jew baby and I’m a
Samaritan woman it was a racial issue
like like I’m white you’re black right
we don’t why are you asking me for a
drink
the MLT version remix boo why are you
even talking to me that’s what she just
said right here then jesus replied I
want you to see it he said girl if you
knew the gift God has for you and I just
want to tell somebody who’s been thirsty
and coming to places that can’t fulfill
you if you knew what God had for you if
you knew what he had planned for you if
he knew if you knew what he had already
put even with all the crap that has
happened to you if you knew what God had
for you and then he says something even
more gangster he’s like and if you knew
who you was talking to
baby you would asked me for a drink of
living water you can read it is survival
right here you would ask me for this
living water and I bet she says
something like this well if you got your
own water baby why did you ask me for
some but I’m trying to put you here and
then she said sir
number one you don’t have no road number
two you don’t have a bucket and this
will is very deep what this says to me
is this woman was telling Jesus you
don’t have what I need to even get my
need men the part of me that’s jacked up
is deep like the part of me that that
that that needed that father issue that
of my dad walking out or not being there
or when I was when I was cut from that
team or when the thing like I’m the 40
year old version of a four year old and
my issues that you don’t even have what
I need to get my need man talking about
living water and this is how many people
in this room feel when it comes to Jesus
you don’t have what I know we sang
praise and worship and read the
scriptures but what about the
miscarriage what about the loss I had
everything right here and they didn’t
exact me to the school I was married and
faithful and they walked out on me the
well is deep and I don’t know if you can
meet the need this is why many of us go
to looking for other things that we can
control to try to get our thirsty Souls
filled because somehow if God was really
loving none of this stuff would happen
in the first place so this woman
interacts with Jesus and he replies
Teresa says sweetheart verse 13 anyone
who drinks drinks like you’ve been
Lincoln anyone who keeps Netflix in and
chilly anyone who just keeps trying to
climb the corporate ladder to feel
significance by the dollar signs in
their bank account
anybody who keeps going to the whales
that you go to anyone who keeps drinking
they will soon become thirsty again and
this is the cycle of most people in
America today is this a bunch of thirsty
people looking for a quick drink to just
have to pay for something that was
already provided in the first place let
me explain it to you this right here is
a lemonade
now lemonade is an amazing drink
especially if you get it from the right
place
the thing about lemonade is when I sweat
and I perspire and I run up here and I
do all this other stuff I need to be
hydrated because I’m thirsty
my initial reaction when I see this
yellow bottle is to crack it open and to
take a huge swig of it the problem with
lemonade is that it tastes good in the
moment but it makes me more thirsty
after I drink it what’s happening with
many of us in this room as we keep going
to relationships and it’s good for a
moment but as soon as we take us if I’m
preaching this thing right now we become
thirsty again and the problem is that
after everything is poured out of this
one bottle the sad sleep is no matter if
I paid a dollar ninety-nine or a
thousand dollars for this at some point
it’s going to run out this is not a
source this is a resource the same way
that your job is not a source it
a resource the same way your marriage is
not a source it is a resource the same
way that your college degree is a
resource and not to sort and to many
people have lived their life paying for
a resource instead of accepting the
source now I think what Jesus was
telling this woman look at it in verse
14 you can see it he said um and this is
what I just want everybody to know just
write this point down don’t fall for the
facade of fulfillment everybody’s
falling for the facade of being
fulfilled well I got a drink you’re
about to be thirsty again whoa whoa I
got a raise you’re about to be thirsty
again because the money is only
temporarily making you feel worth it but
there’s a deep thing that deep well that
God wants to heal and he says to this
woman but those of you who drink the
water that I give will never be thirsty
again it becomes fresh and bubbling
Springs within them giving them eternal
life now I don’t know how many of y’all
I know I got a lot of bougie Christians
now but I don’t know how many of y’all
remember playing outside in the summer
and and your parents wouldn’t let you
come back inside no more and so you got
hot I know y’all bougie over there but
but back in my day like we’d be playing
football or on the trampoline or
basketball and they was like if you want
some water you got to get it outside and
I don’t know what happened but there was
an anointing that came from from the
source and the faucet and if you ever
got water hose water Oh some of y’all
know what I’m talking if you ever
like I know some of y’all are like oh my
god it’s not smart water no this is dumb
water but it is the best runner and when
you get real hot you just
and you let it drip down a little bit
and me you like ha ha
there was nothing like can I get
somebody who agrees that was nothing you
know what Christ was saying is you can
keep taking your thirsty self to
something you have to pay for or you can
receive what I’ve already paid for and
it’ll never run out because it’s not
connected to anything other than living
water something that’ll keep running
something that’ll keep going until you
tell me I don’t want it anymore and the
sad state of the world today is that God
wants to fulfill every desire every need
he doesn’t want you jumping from bed to
bed from job to job some of us are
having kids because we want somebody to
love us come on I’m talking about real
stuff some of us are looking and
searching for something that can only be
found in living water so this woman she
says hold on is it really that good like
you got the good good
look at verse 15 she said please sir
give me this water then I’ll never look
look at why she wanted it cuz then I’ll
never be thirsty again and I won’t have
to keep coming to these dark places I
won’t have to keep coming here I won’t
have to keep ending up with these type
of people I won’t have to keep fighting
my significance about how many people
like or scroll or buy my plot I won’t
have to if I can get this living water
where there’s love hope showing peace
besides anything I do I won’t have to
keep coming and putting on this mass she
said give me that water
but look what Jesus does in verse 16 but
the Luke will make me priests over here
y’all don’t know brother Luke thank you
it’s Easter and use bad in that suit
brother Luke I’m about to preach just to
you but look what happens verse 16 Jesus
after she says give it to me he said
real quick one more thing go get your
husband go get your husband and the
woman said um see what happened was like
and Jesus said don’t even say nothing
you’re right
you don’t have a husband for you have
five husbands and you aren’t even
married to the man you are living with
now you certainly spoke the truth this
woman said oh my god I feel exposed you
must be a prophet that’s what the
scripture says I want you to hear me say
this very clearly because this is where
people get messed up Jesus never gives
you the satisfaction you want without
first addressing your cycle she said
give me the water
she said what have you been going to
other than me go get your husband Oh
five husbands she had five cycles of
trying to be four filled in something
that would not fulfill her I don’t know
how many cycles you have I’m gonna call
nobody out and I don’t want you to tell
me your cycles but if you do not
understand that there is something you
have been going to other than Jesus he
cannot offer you the full satisfaction
of what you really need he and this is a
beautiful thing about it he did not fix
her cycles in that moment he just wanted
to make sure she was aware of them no
you need to hear this because what
religion tells you is clean it all up
get it all fixed and then come to Jesus
Jesus said no no no I want your heart
and if I get your heart I’ll help you
change your habits I just need you to
know where you are
because what I’m about to do in your
life it’s gonna take you to a whole
nother place and nobody’s gonna be able
to get glory from it except me because
you have to know where you are it’s the
same question he asked Adam and Eve in
the garden he said where are you now
there was only two people on the whole
earth at the time you think God lost
them he didn’t lose them
that was a self-awareness question he
was saying where are you he was trying
to see if they could locate where they
were the same way I believe on this
Resurrection Sunday God saying what are
you searching for where are you going to
find it where are you I want to give you
living water I want to give you that
thing that don’t ever run out I want to
give you that thing that you can share
with others see when there’s a living
water I can say Charles you thirsty bro
you look thirsty right now get you
somebody is bread you thirsty bro
[Applause]
what you gotta understand as many of us
are trying to feed people from a supply
that’s run out we’re trying to give
advice from an empty place we’re trying
to raise kids from an empty place we’re
trying to start businesses
[Applause]
and God said you don’t even have to be
responsible if you would just let me
give you the living water
so Jesus confronts this woman cycles and
then speaks to her knee and guess what
the woman does she came there for
something very practical cuz she was
thirsty
everybody say thirsty yes he came that I
just want to drink she was going to get
it and she met living water and the
Bible tells us that she drops the jar
that she came to get her water in and
she ran back in the town and said yo
y’all I met a man that told me
everything I ever did y’all gotta come
see he might be the Messiah and it says
that the entire town went to meet Jesus
because they thought maybe this could be
him all I’m telling you is that God can
take thirsty people and change their
life and make them the catalyst for
changed for an entire group of parched
people I believe that’s the same thing I
wants to do in your life that’s the
thing that he’s doing in my life this
woman left her jar and she said can you
come see and that’s why we simplified
Easter and I’m preaching cuz this is me
as that woman saying will you come see
come see a man who took every one of
your issues every one of your pains
every one of your dysfunctions every one
of your ailments and diseases or
diseases he took all of them when he
went to the cross the Bible tells us
that God sent His only Son to become
everything that we would do and be and
pay for the punishment so that we
wouldn’t have to
the Bible says it like this in second or
Indians 5:21 it says God made him who
knew no sin he and do nothing to be sin
to become homosexuality to become lying
to become depression to become cancer
Jesus wore all of it and he said I am I
am everything that you will be I am the
hurt you experience when your family
left you I am the lust that would keep
you ravaged for a decade I am
he said if you believe that I am it you
don’t have to be it if you believe that
I took it you don’t have to live with it
it said it said that but by what Jesus
did on the cross we are healed so I want
you to think about what your soul’s been
thirsty for I don’t know what it is but
let me tell you everybody in this room
has been thirsty searching desperate for
something that only God can fulfill and
he provided a way through Jesus so when
you see Jesus taking lashes and taking
beatings in the passion when you see the
stripes and the blood pouring out of his
veins when you look how they mocked him
how they spit on him how they abused him
how they beat him that wasn’t for sport
that was for me
that was for every area of thirst in my
life where I would be searching for
validation and God said Michael 2012
years from now is going to need to know
he has a purpose and he’s gonna try to
go to sex and he’s gonna try to go to
people and he’s gonna be a people
pleaser and he’s gonna try to do things
that are out of the character that I
made for him and he’s gonna need
forgiveness off take it for every lash
everything whoo so you wouldn’t have to
live it’s a way that you’ve been living
no longer do you have to go to things
who’s that’s gonna leave you thirsty you
want peace
well Pastor Mike weed is now legal is
that what you want to pay for something
that God gives freely he his name is the
Prince of Peace you want love you don’t
have to go and do something for it it is
who he is
many of us have been searching for a
feeling desperate for a feeling thirsty
for a feeling but God said a thirst
traffic what are you saying Pastor Mike
your thirst for whatever it is it’s just
evidence that you need Jesus and when I
saw this our Savior being stretched out
the one statement that I never saw
before I found it in John chapter 19
verse 28 it’s the second to last
statement that our Savior ever said he
said later knowing that everything had
now been finished after they beat him
and mocked him and he took everything
just for us he said he knew the
scripture would be fulfilled and look at
the one statement that Jesus said before
he said it is finished he said I am
thirsty
what the last thing that one of the last
things he would ever say is I’m thirsty
he said everything that you would be
thirsty for I took it and he said the
only reason that I would say I’m thirsty
is because I just poured out everything
that I had just for you god I’m thirsty
so they don’t have to be it is and he
gave up his life they didn’t take it he
gave it up for me and for you
three days Earth Stood Still and on the
third day the stone was rolled away with
all power victory healing the defeat
over depression the doctor took the win
over anxiety everything that you’ve been
going through he rose again with all
power and he stands now as the
victorious one that has defeated death
hell and the grave and all he’s asking
is will you now allow me to let you live
the way since you were created to live
standing all over this place I got good
news for you you don’t got to be thirsty
no more because Jesus took it whatever
you’ve been searching for it’s found in
the living water today I want to pray
for you I want to I want to give you the
opportunity to receive the gift of Jesus
the thing that took me from being
addicted pornography and manipulator a
liar somebody who achieved people not a
good person on the inside somebody who
would put on a facade and do all this
other stuff I want to give you the
opportunity to make the decision that
did not make me a perfect man but made
me a progressing man I’m not where I
want to be but I am NOT
where I used to be and I am on the path
to being the best version of who God’s
created me to be and I want you to have
the same thing but you won’t get it
going to the wrong place today would you
close your eyes and bow your head and I
want you to think about your
relationship with God is where it is
it’s got far away from you or is he
close to you today I want him to be as
close as you want him to be the Bible
said he stands at the door and he knocks
but somebody’s got to let him in and
today is the day that you can let him in
I want you to pray this prayer with me I
know religion tells me you got to change
everything but God says I’ll take you
just how you are broken a lost hurting
confused somebody I even feel in the
spirit said I’ll never serve God again
he’s not holding you to that
he was vetting that this would be your
your moment at the whale and he could
meet you right here and I want you to
pray this prayer with me and as
transformation church we’re family we’re
gonna put it all together for the
benefit of those who are coming to
Christ only God knows if you really mean
this so I want you to say it with
everything you have say God I needed you
I’ve been thirsty but now I want what
you have for me
I believe you lived and you died just
for me and today I make you my Lord and
Savior change me we knew me transform me
I’m yours in Jesus name Amen
[Applause]