I absolutely love sports and one of my favorite things to do is to go to phoenix Suns games with my dad, my brother and my oldest son Jackson as I shared in our facebook group bible study earlier this week, one of my favorite games that I've ever been to for the phoenix, Suns actually had nothing to do with the game itself. You see when we entered Talking stick arena, we were given a ticket with a code, a lock company had sponsored a giveaway and everybody that entered the arena was given a ticket with a lock combination on it, that if you went up to the specialized booth and you entered that combination, if it unlocked the locker, you got to keep the prize that was inside. Well, my oldest son Jackson just absolutely loved this contest and this idea and so we kept going from the front gate back to the booth to try a combination, it wouldn't work. So then we'd go back, get another combination code and go back and forth. So after about four or five trips from the front gate to the prize destination, he was trying his latest combination when a worker looked at me, smiled, looked at Jackson and said, here try this combination. And so my eyes got real big and excited because I had a feeling of what that meant. And so Jackson was just like, well this is just another combination. And so he puts it in, pulls the lock and sure enough it opens so he opens the phoenix suns locker there in the hallway of the arena and you know what? He pulls out, He pulls out a DeAndre Ayton signed Xu. This is his actual shoe for the starting center for the phoenix suns size 18 and it's literally bigger than my head, but more than just his shoe, you can actually see on here, that it's autographed by him. So he got the shoe, I probably saw one of the biggest grins on my son's face that I've ever seen and he started shouting, I started shouting, I'm not gonna go as far and say we cried, but maybe there were tears in our eyes, but we were so pumped to win this giveaway. This autographed shoe from the player DeAndre Ayton. And so we walked back and we started shouting and we showed the shoe to my brother and my dad and the whole section of the arena where we were sitting started clapping and cheering and Jackson just felt like the man that night. Now when we got the shoe, what was interesting about the shoe was that uh, they actually gave us a certificate of authenticity. So when you open it up, it actually tells you right here right on the top, it says certificate of authenticity. And so that is for future reference to point out the fact that this was in fact signed by him. Now the value of the shoe besides the fact that it's massive. Really came from the fact that the person who made that shoe or it was designed for him actually signed it in the same way I want to encourage you this morning to let you know that you your soul, your identity has been signed by the creator of the universe. You have value because you have the very signature of God in your D. N. A. And in your soul you were created in his image and then jesus came down and died on the cross and rose again on the third day so that he could spend eternity for those that believe in him. And so your value, your worth is the autograph in your soul and then your certificate of authenticity is seen when you get baptized and you make that declaration public and then also in what's known as the fruit of the spirit and how you live in short how you love people is the certificate of authenticity that God has truly been working in your life. Now what's cool about that shoe was that that person of prominence signed that and my son held onto it. But that autograph also made me flash back to when I was Jackson's age and I went to a Minnesota twins baseball game with my grandfather and it was so cool because they're at the game. I actually got the autograph of Kirby Puckett for those that remember they all star for the Minnesota twins. He was a short guy but ran amazingly fast and now is a Hall of Famer. And so I got the autograph of Kirby Puckett and I was holding this baseball and I was so excited, but as we were watching the game, my cousin who was sitting next to me turned grabbed the ball and he signed it. I was so mad because he was scribbling his name on a ball that was signed and meant for somebody else. Well, in the same way, I wonder how many of us who have received the signature of our creator on our souls have allowed the things of the world to ride all over our ball. The autograph of those who weren't Hall of Famers in this case or weren't NBA players like that would make a difference. And in the same way when we give our ball, we give our soul over to the world and we will allow other people to attribute worth. We allow other people to mark it up Then, in a sense, we miss the value that comes from knowing that you have been created in the image of God on purpose and for a purpose. We're in a series entitled right now, everyone together And in this series, in the middle of a pandemic here in the fall of 2020, we want to help people navigate this new normal and we want to help you get to where you need to go. So in the first week of the series, we talked about how calming the anxiety within you will help you care for the people around you. That if you can understand where your anxiety is coming from, that you can lower it in your own heart, that will better equip you to serve and help those that are around you. And then in week two, we talked about how everyone needs someone to believe in them and we challenged everybody to reach out to people in their past that invested in them and then look for people that you can invest in their future. And then last week we talked about how everyone needs the one everyone needs the one meaning everyone needs jesus. And we took a look at the life of Zack Kia's an unlikely convert, someone who was earthly rich but eternally bankrupt. But when he had one encounter with jesus, his life was transformed forever and he lived out of gratitude and generosity. And so we're going to continue this series and focus on this truth today, everyone has a story to tell. When Jackson got that signed shoe for the next month, he brought that up so many times every conversation, every phone call with a friend and he, he found ways to bring in the fact that he had the Andre Ayton signed shoot. And if I'm being honest, I enjoy telling that story and I enjoyed telling that story to you right now. So the fact is is that everyone has a story to tell. And so the question is, what story are you telling about right now, If you have your bibles open up to the gospel of john chapter four, as we're going to talk about the story of the woman at the well. Now, before we go into her story and the story she told to others, I want to set up the context for the story that she is about to tell. You see this woman at the well, we don't even know her name, It was in the middle of Samaria, an area where jews were not supposed to walk. In fact, if jews were taking a trip, they would add an extra 2 to 3 days just to avoid walking through this area because jews and Samaritans hated each other so much, but jesus and his disciples found themselves walking directly through samaria and now here we are in the middle of the day and the disciples go into the town to buy food for lunch and jesus has a one on one conversation with this woman. Now this woman was wrong for so many ways. First it was the wrong race, it was the wrong race, as I just mentioned that Samaritans and jews were not supposed to talk to each other, It was also the wrong place. Jesus was not preaching at a temple, but it was at a well in the middle of the day, it was the wrong race wrong place, but it was also the wrong person, this woman who we don't even know her name is gathering water at a well in the middle of the day and in the culture and in this context, you should understand that a woman's testimony was not even held as valid in court. Now, I point that out because in a culture that did not value other races and other genders and ethnicities, Jesus repeatedly showed love and value to those who are undervalued by their culture. And so the wrong race, the wrong place. It wasn't at a market place, it wasn't at a temple, it was at a well in the middle of the day with this woman who was there, who was a samaritan. And so what would jesus be known for? What could his reputation be? Why would this jewish man be talking to this woman by themselves? And so Jesus was putting his reputation at risk. But not only that we learned later in john four, that the reason this woman was at the well by herself in the middle of the day was because she had a shameful past. She had multiple husbands. And the current guy that she was living with and sleeping with wasn't her husband, Jesus would later call this out and acknowledge the sin, but would also extend this offer of forgiveness and eternal life. So this woman here was the wrong person for every reason. And it was also the wrong time because why would you be getting water at the hottest part of the day? Well, the only reason I can surmise is because this woman was rejected by her own people because of her past. So you have the Samaritans who were rejected by the jewish people. And now this woman is rejected by the Samaritans. And so we have the reject of rejects in the middle of a desert that is hot and trying to receive water. But then she doesn't quite get it. I say that because Jesus asked her for a drink of water and then she responds back to them and they start to have a conversation. And jesus says, I will give you living water That if you receive you will never thirst again. And this living water will spring up to eternal life. The living water that he was referring to is actually known as the Holy Spirit. Jesus also talked about this uh spring of life. This living water in John Chapter seven at what's known as the feast of booths a religious ceremony. And so he was offering the Holy Spirit which someone receives when they get saved. So you have a samaritan woman who was the wrong race, the wrong place, the wrong person the wrong time. And she didn't get it. I say she didn't get it as jesus offered eternal life. And she thought that he was talking about physical water to drink. And she goes, well, if this water means I can live forever, go ahead and give me some of that and then go on to have a further conversation. And jesus brings up the fact that she's living in sin and she's like, wow, this person is a prophet, hey, since you're a prophet, let me ask you a church question, the jewish people worship on this mountain, we worship on this mountain, so which one of us is correct and Jesus goes on to respond and says a time is coming and now is here that people will worship in spirit and in truth. And so he breaks through these physical barriers and actually addresses spiritual needs, living water for eternal life and how when you worship God, you should worship in spirit and in truth, I want to pause for just a moment and share that. We are currently living in a very, very divided culture, some call it the cancel culture, it's this perfect storm of a pandemic and an election season and there's some racial injustice and so it seems like there are drawn lines in the sand everywhere and every post every news story is somehow divisive in our culture well, if you value justice and equality and valuing every person, do you know where that comes from, It comes from, Jesus himself that in cultures that treated people way worse than what we treat people in our country today, jesus took a stand for justice and race and gender equality and he offered and fulfilled spiritual needs for all people. And then the early church was actually known as people that would fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. So the church was known as taking babies who would either be aborted or oftentimes they would call it exposed. In other words, they would take an unwanted baby and take them out into the desert and leave them there. But it was the early church who valued life, would take these babies in and would adopt them into the families and take care of them. It was the early church that preached both the jewish people, but also to the gentiles, which this is a fancy, fancy religious term for meaning not jewish and so you have peter and paul. And these guys who the early disciples were just a mixture of people, romans and jewish people and Greeks and some were tax collectors and other was a doctor. Most were uneducated fishermen and then they were preaching crazy things that salvation is available not to the powerful, but to all people. And so here we see in john four, the epitome of the love of jesus reaching out to the samaritan woman who's the wrong race, the wrong place, the wrong person, the wrong time, no one is watching this, she didn't even get it. And yet he extends grace and love and mercy. So let's pick up the story in verse 27 of john chapter four. Just then his disciples came back and they marveled that he was talking with a woman. This is why I was highlighting that it was weird that jesus was doing this because of the culture, he says, but no one dared to ask, what do you seek or why are you talking with her? So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people. Now I want to pause there and I highlighted that verse because you need to understand how crazy verse 28 really is. First of all, she left her water jar which is the whole reason she went to the well in the first place. But this right here is that she went into town and said to the people pause for a second. I want you to picture early elementary cafeteria or maybe middle school or high school. Imagine walking into the cafeteria and you are completely rejected by all the tables and so you don't have a place to sit with the jocks or the music people or the drama people or the quote unquote cool kids. And so you have your lunch tray and no one will let you sit with them. And so you go off and sit by yourself, that is like this woman at the well, why else would she be going to the well when nobody else is there in the middle of the day, she was the reject of the most rejected people group in that day and that same person went back and said to the people that's like that person in the cafeteria, standing up on the lunch table and preaching to the very lunch room that had rejected her. So what did she say? She said this, so come and see the man who told me all that I've ever did, can this be the christ? And they went out of the town and we're coming to him. So the town responded, let's continue. In verse 31, meanwhile, the disciples were urging him saying, rabbi eat because remember they went into the town to buy lunch, but he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about Now, I had said that the samaritan woman didn't get it, she didn't understand that Jesus was talking about spiritual things. Now you're gonna see that the disciples, the religious guys didn't get it either, so the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him something else to eat? Now, he was talking about the spiritual nourishment of ministering to someone in need, let's continue on, Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work while the disciples were focused on physical needs and what was present before them, Jesus was telling a greater and a deeper story about meeting spiritual needs and jesus here, it says his food is to do the work of the father, So he's not ignoring his need for physical food, because he he would do incredible miracles. Like just two chapters later, he would feed 5000 people with a few fish and some bread and so Jesus would meet physical needs, but he was going even deeper and he says, do you not say there are yet four months then comes the harvest, look I tell you lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. I want to pause here for a moment and I highlighted this verse because this is so incredibly powerful and relevant to today's community and culture, he says, lift up your eyes, it's easy to get distracted by the things of this world, by the pressures of this world, by all the uncertainty and the unknown. But when we are told to look Laffer to look right what jesus is saying, look up and lift up your eyes to the heavens and to see out in front of you and to see the world as I see the world and so here he is saying that the fields are white for harvest, in other words, the harvest is ready to be taken now, the phrase before that talking about how farmers would plant, wait for four months and then there would be a harvest. What he's saying here is that the harvest is now and you might not have planted the initial seeds, but that the harvest and the spiritual harvest is ready for the taking That you never know your part in the story. Maybe you plowed the fields and you prepared the soil. Maybe you were the one to plant the seed in someone's mind or heart. Maybe you gave water the seed to help it grow. Maybe you were the one to harvest and to see that life transformation in somebody's life whatever part you play, the truth is, is that you are a part of God's story, not just we don't are not just the fact that we exist here on earth so that we can ask God to be a part of our story. Let's continue on here in this verse. Mhm jesus is still talking. He says already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life. So the sewer and the reaper may rejoice together. So whatever part you play you are rejoicing together for here the same holds true that one sos and another reaps and I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored and you have entered into their labor as christians. We walk into ministry that was started by others as a church. We stand on the shoulders of our faith giants before us and so we continue on in their ministry. Let's continue on in the passage in many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. The story that the woman told had an eternal impact on the village, the same person that felt so ashamed of our past and was rejected by the people who were also rejected by the culture, that same woman would have a story to tell and the testimony to praise God that would bring salvation to the village. He says he told me of all that I've ever done. And so when the Samaritans came to jesus, they asked him to stay with them and their jesus stayed there for two days, let's continue on and many more believed because of his word and they said to the woman, it is no longer because of what you said that we believe for, we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is indeed the savior of the world. So people first heard the story and the testimony of this woman and then they came to jesus and they believed for themselves. And so this is why we want to talk about what it means to tell a greater story. There was a guy by the name of Sam collier who actually wrote a book called greater Story and he said this connecting your story with God's story creates a greater story. It's better to play a small part in the movie that God has created for the universe than to have the leading role in your own story. You might think that you play a bigger role, but your story and your impact will last for generations and create legacies of faith When you connect your story to God's story, when you think of history and how God worked in the past, it really is his story and by looking how God has worked in the past, we can see that God is with us in the present and we can set up legacies of faith for the future. And that's why it's important to remember that everyone has a story to tell. This pandemic is hitting people differently. And so the question is, what story are you telling right now? Now we've learned from the story of the woman at the Well, but now I want to land the plane for today's message and get really practical with you and I want to share with you three ways of how you can tell a better story. So the first way that you can tell a better story is to reframe your past. Imagine taking a photograph, maybe it's a photo that you don't necessarily love. Well, you don't have control over the photo that's given to you. You do have control over the frame, you put around it. So for example, take a circumstance or a situation in your past, maybe it's COVID-19, maybe it's when you were addicted to sin or you battled something or maybe a circumstance or situation happened to you. That was extremely difficult while you can't change what happened to you, you can reframe how you look at the photograph and how you look at your past. For example, when you think back to the tragedy that happened in our nation, on September 11, 2001 you could tell the story about how terrorists took down the world trade centers, but as a country after we were in shock. The stories we started to tell were ones of perseverance and one of the heroes of first responders and police officers and firefighters and health care workers and just everyday people who ran into the mass and into the rebel to save lives. When we look back on that tragic day, we say things like never forget or we will always remember, yes, we mourned the losses that we took because of the loss of life in our nation, but we also celebrate the fact that we came together as a country that for a period of time there was not a political division, but rather we came together as human beings and we showed love and we look to God and we came out stronger on the other side. And so when people look back on 9 11, they tell stories of heroes and people who save lives and how people recovered and how they were victorious. And so when you have a difficult circumstance, you can look back and see yourself as a victim or you can look back and say, you know what everything happened to me and I survived. I overcame and I am here today because of that perseverance And because of that resilience. And so the story you can tell is not about what you suffered, but what you overcame. And so when you reframe your past, it tells a different story and it helps you in the future, paul did this in the new testament, paul was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. And then when he was writing a letter to the church at philippi, he reframed his arrest and he said, what was meant for evil? What was meant for the fact that I was arrested and now I'm in prison, actually led to the Advancement of the Gospel that's found in Philippians Chapter one, verses 12 to 14. You see, he says, because I'm in chains, the entire Imperial Guard has heard the Gospel. And now other christians have been emboldened by their faith. And in fact, I'm writing you this letter because of my imprisonment. And so paul took something like being arrested and actually reframed the narrative and said, it's not that I'm chained to these guards, but that these guards are now chained to me and more people will know the Gospel because of what happened in this story. The woman reframed her past because previously she was ashamed of what happened to her, but instead it was that very shame that led her to go back to those people and say, wow, this profit, This jesus was able to tell me everything about my past and even offered me living water. and you can have that too. So how can you reframe a previous situation in your life? If it is a sin that you struggled with, Maybe you need to pause and to repent. It says in the gospels, jesus himself says repent for the kingdom of God is near. So if it's something that you struggled with, maybe it's time to admit that you're allowing the sins of the world to write on that ball or that sneaker. If you think of our opening illustration, maybe it's time to remember that you are not your sin. You are a child of God and reframe the story that sin is an activity, but your identity is secure and God, God put his signature on your soul and you are valued because you belong to him and that if it involves a circumstance, maybe it's not a sin to be repentant of. Maybe it's something that happened to you and I want to encourage you. That Reframing is not something that necessarily happens immediately. You might need help of therapy or counsel if you've suffered abuse or you've been betrayed, it could take a lifetime to move through that grief. But what you can do along the way is that you can reframe your resilience and the fact that you survived and the fact that you are now able to minister to other people who have gone through similar situations and you can reframe your suffering and understand that God can use it for good. So one way to tell better stories is to reframe your past. But another way to tell better stories is to pre frame your future. Well Reframing involves looking back on a situation and giving it a different purpose or narrative. Pre framing is visualizing what might happen down the road, good or bad. So, for example, if you worked in a customer service related industry, like a coffee shop or a hotel or a restaurant, chances are when you were trained, they prepared you ahead of time of what to say when a customer has a bad review or gets upset or angry by preparing their workers of what to say before an angry customer says that phrase, they are mentally prepared to handle it. So when that situation comes, if you have pre framed what you're going to do, that actually allows you to respond not an anxiety, but with a healthy response. Another way to pre frame is to actually set yourself up for success. For example, if you're trying to establish a better habit in your life, maybe you want to work out in the morning, try pre framing by setting out your workout clothes and your running shoes the night before, when you do. So you'll wake up the next morning and you are better prepared and the stage is set for you to accomplish the habit that you want to do in the old testament, there's actually a story of pre framing. Found in the story of David, if you've ever heard about how David defeated the giant Goliath. What he did was that he reframed his past and then pre framed his future when he stood before saw and they asked him why David, this teenage shepherd boy, why are you prepared to face this trained army giant that none of our country's military is ready to face? What makes you so sure that you're ready to face this giant? His response was, the Lord delivered me from the hand of a lion and the mouth of a bear. And this is when he was a shepherd alone watching sheep. And so he says, because the Lord has delivered me from the lion and the bear. This philistine will be just like one of them by reframing his past by understanding that God provided for him in his past, he was able to learn that God would protect him in his future. And so he was ready to respond to the giant because he had pre framed or prepared him to response to the next time he would face adversity. Same thing with this woman at the well, sheep reframed what she would tell the people back in the village and told them that they probably made fun of her. They probably questioned her testimony because again, she had a shameful past but sheep reframed the situation and prepared in advance what she would say, so that her testimony would be heard in the same way if you prepare for what that person you don't like might say in the business meeting or what may be the family member when they say that thing that pushes the button, you know, the thing that you don't want to say out loud right now because maybe you're sitting next to that person while you're watching this video, you know, instead of being angry and anxious and reacting to when someone pushes your button, what if you took time to pre frame or prepare for how you're going to respond. If you reframe your past and you pre frame your future, you can tell better stories. But there's one other way that you can tell better stories and that's this Harvest your present, As Jesus said in John Chapter four lift your eyes right now, the fields are ripe for harvest. Look around, you find ways to impact people and to tell better stories. Two stories too close. First comes from 200 years ago, a guy by the name of William Wilberforce, He was a gentleman who served in the English Parliament and actually would lead or help lead the abolishment of slavery in the 1800s there in Britain, but also he was a dedicated evangelical christian and he would actually take notes and journals for how he could have more gospel conversations with everybody he met. In fact some of his old journals point out that he would look for what he called launchers. These were phrases or parts in a conversation with everyday people that then he can interject the gospel so he would take notes, write down people that he was specifically praying for and then would create launcher statements or ways to work the gospel into everyday conversation. So that's one example of how to look for harvesting in your present. But also I want to share with your present day example and that comes from the hope church movement, a college based church right here in Tempe. They've now grown to over five campuses and church campuses that are impacting 10 different college campuses. But one of the ways they do that as the lead pastor brian smith shares is that they encourage their church members to have what they call gospel appointments. These are one on one conversations and before you get freaked out that they are just like shouting from the rooftops that people are going to hell or like that they're having these intense debates at apologetic stages and they're on the footsteps of the, the psychology majors and philosophy majors and all these things and having these incredible debates, know what they call gospel appointments. Is that when you meet a new friend or you make a new relationship, you ask to grab a meal or to grab coffee with them and when you do, you sit down and you just do three things first, you listen to their story, find out what makes them tick, listen to their background, ask if they believe in spiritual things or if they have a background in church or what do they believe? So you listen to their story, but then you share your story, the greatest apologetic you can have in this life is a transformed life. The woman at the well did not have a theology degree, she didn't even have our life put together yet she just experienced the transformative grace that comes from a personal relationship with jesus. And so she shared her story. So when you have coffee or lunch with someone or maybe a phone conversation, listen to their story, share your story and then share God's story, share the fact that jesus loves all that Jesus came to this earth to dying across to rise again so that we could be rid of sin, that one day there would be no more mourning, no more sickness, no more racial injustice, no more inequality, but rather in christ for freedom's sake, christ died to set us free. That's found in Galatians Chapter 5: verse one jesus came to set us free to offer salvation and that salvation is available for everyone. And when we connect our story to God's story, we lift up our eyes and we see that the fields are ripe for harvest. So when you look out into the community, this upcoming election season, don't look to the left, don't look to the right, I'm not saying to not be honest and I'm not saying to do not do your specific duty like go out there and vote, vote, your values have an opinion but understand this that there are greater needs at stake. There is a spiritual field ready for harvest and we do not just look at the physical needs but at the spiritual needs and when we can reframe our past, we we can pre frame our future and we look for ways to make gospel appointments to listen to their story, share our story and then share God's story. We can have a greater story. Remember folks, everyone has a story to tell Years from now you're gonna tell the story of the pandemic and COVID-19 here in this crazy year known as 2020. So I want to ask you what story do you want to tell? Let's pray dear Heavenly Father. When we connect with you right now, if there was someone watching this who may be, they feel like they don't fit in. Maybe they identify with this woman at the well whatever that is God, I pray that we can focus on you that you came to give us freedom that yes, there are physical needs, but even greater than that there are spiritual ones and we can receive living water in eternal life when we trust you as Lord and savior. God thank you for dying on the cross for us, thank you for rising again and conquering sin and death and thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. So let us go and live in light of this truth and this share the good news of the gospel with people around us. Help us to reframe our past, help us to pre frame our future and help us to harvest our present because God we know that the fields are white for harvest, they already people's souls are on the line, eternity is at stake and you are ready to save those who call upon your name to help us to listen to people's stories, Help us to share our story and may we share your story. God help us to tell better stories because we tell your stories stories found in the gospels, We love you, jesus, it's in your son's name. We pray amen if you pray to receive jesus into your life right now, I want to encourage you to let us know on whatever platform you're watching or listening to. So we can follow up with you and connect with your story and help you take that next step of faith. I'm praying for you, God loves you And I am for you and together we can before the community, let us take the fall and the rest of 2020 to tell the greatest story ever told the story of Jesus and how anyone can be saved. If they call upon his name have a Great Week, God bless, and we'll see you next sunday.