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An Empty Cup and An Open Invitation

Evangelist Ethan Elms Preached on 7/19/2026

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Summary

Evangelist Ethan Elms explores the connection between the 'bitter cup' of Numbers 5 and Christ's sacrifice, showing how Jesus drank the cup of judgment so we could drink the water of life.

Key points
  • •Numbers 5 details a 'strange' ceremony where a woman suspected of unfaithfulness drinks a bitter cup of dusty water to determine her guilt or innocence.
  • •While the bitter cup of judgment belongs to humans (the 'bride') due to sin, Jesus Christ (the 'bridegroom') stepped into our place in the Garden of Gethsemane and at Calvary to drink it for us.
  • •The agony of Gethsemane was more than physical; it was the weight of every lie, addiction, and sin of humanity contained in that spiritual cup.
  • •Christ's sacrifice replaced the 'bitter water' of the law with the 'living water' of grace, as illustrated in His encounter with the woman at the well.
  • •Total restoration is found through repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and receiving the Holy Spirit to satisfy the soul's spiritual thirst.
Scripture
Salvation
Atonement
Repentance
Holy Spirit
Life application

Identify any 'idols' or 'human wells' (success, relationships, distraction) you have been using to satisfy your soul, and replace them this week with consistent prayer and reflection on Christ's gift of living water.

Reflection questions
  1. What 'dusty coffee' or messy sins in your life have you been trying to vacuum up or hide on your own?
  2. How does viewing sin as a 'personal breach of relationship' rather than just 'breaking rules' change your view of God?
  3. In what ways does knowing Jesus drank the cup of judgment for you empower you to forgive yourself for past mistakes?
  4. Where are you currently searching for fulfillment that leaves you thirsty again?
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Full transcript
0:00Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
0:00There are there are some passages in the
0:01scriptures that are quite easy to preach
0:04on. There are some sections within this
0:08holy book that feel self-explanatory and
0:12immediately we can identify what the
0:14writer had it in there for. You can find
0:17yourself in the story. You know, I
0:18didn't need to go to Bible college to
0:20know the Lord is my shepherd. I shall
0:22not want. I didn't need a theology
0:24professor to explain to me that I am
0:27supposed to be David in the David and
0:29Goliath story. But there are other
0:31sections in the scriptures that are a
0:33little bit harder to interpret. And I
0:35think that Numbers five falls underneath
0:38that category.
0:40Even when my wife and I when we go to
0:42bed at night, we we have this routine
0:44that we do where one of us, whoever, you
0:47know, loses the battle of who's more
0:49tired than the other, will'll pull up
0:52our our phone or she has a humongous
0:55like 30 pound Bible next to her. Um, I
0:59have almost stepped on that thing so
1:00many times it's unbelievable.
1:03But, but we will go in and and we'll
1:05pick a verse from the Psalms. We'll pick
1:07a verse from one of the New Testament
1:09books and then a verse Jesus's words. We
1:12got to find red letters at some point.
1:15But even in that, you know, we're not
1:17going to Leviticus.
1:21You ever try I I know I've said this
1:23before, but you ever try to read the
1:25Bible through and you're like, I'm going
1:27to do it cover to cover this time. I got
1:29it. I got this. In Genesis, you build
1:31momentum.
1:33In Exodus, that first half of Exodus is
1:35so action-packed. You're like, wow, this
1:36is this is much easier than I thought it
1:39was going to be. And then you hit like
1:41the the the Ark of the Covenant and the
1:44details for the tabernacle, and you
1:45think to yourself, this is difficult,
1:47but I I can trudge through it.
1:50and you finally get out of Exodus and
1:51you're like, "Oh man, here we go. Let's
1:53let's get back on that Genesis momentum
1:56and you kind of get Leviticus
2:01and you're like, I don't need to know
2:03about the fatted calf and the and the
2:05the lobe of the liver I have to cut off
2:07and the blood I have to sprinkle on my
2:09earlobe and big toe."
2:11If you've read through Leviticus, you
2:13know those are all actual things. I
2:14didn't make those up. Those are real
2:16things in there. the different kind of
2:19offerings you can do. If you you're
2:20rich, you can do a bull. If you don't
2:22have that, you can do a goat, you can do
2:23a lamb, you can do a pigeon, you can do
2:25barley, whatever you got. And there's a
2:27lot of beauty in those things. You know,
2:29it it shows us that no matter where
2:31you're at, no matter what you have, you
2:33have something to offer God.
2:36>> You have something that you can bring to
2:37him, a sacrifice of praise.
2:41>> These passages we tend to just kind of
2:43skim through until we get to something a
2:45little bit more familiar. Now, Numbers
2:47five,
2:48that's where I'd put this little
2:50section.
2:52Honestly, I don't know if I'd come
2:53across this sermon if I wasn't trying to
2:55read my Bible through cover to cover. I
2:58don't know how often I traverse through
2:59Numbers chapter 5. It's a little dusty
3:02in this here Bible.
3:04But there's beauty in these scriptures.
3:06The Bible tells us Jesus said, "Search
3:09the scriptures, for in them you think
3:11you have eternal life, but these are
3:12they which testify of me." So everything
3:14in that Old Testament I know testifies
3:17of Jesus somehow. It all connects to him
3:19some way. And no, it might not be that
3:22Numbers chapter 5 is where you put the
3:24wallpaper on your phone screen or maybe
3:26the verse of the day on the Uver app,
3:29but it is important.
3:32Buried in the middle of detailed
3:34instructions concerning the camp of
3:36Israel, all kinds of ceremonies, all
3:38kinds of things that people must do to
3:41be clean or unclean. all of this law,
3:43there is this one strange, one of the
3:48strangest ceremonies in all of the
3:50Bible.
3:52If a husband suspects that his wife has
3:54been unfaithful, he can't prove it. He
3:58has no witnesses, no evidence, but he
4:01has this jealousy that enters his heart.
4:06This is what the Bible tells him to do.
4:07The Bible says to bring his wife before
4:10the high priest. And there in the beauty
4:12of the tabernacle, the priest begins
4:15this offering of jealousy.
4:18This offering of jealousy, he takes
4:21water, places it in an earthn vessel. He
4:24reaches down to the floor of the
4:26tabernacle.
4:28He pull pulls up the dust off of the
4:32ground
4:34and he mixes it into the water.
4:37This has got to be
4:40some horrible concoction.
4:43>> Dust is not the worst thing. I mean,
4:45surely it's not appealing, but it's not
4:46the worst thing in the world. You don't
4:48really bat an eye when you're changing
4:49the lint from your dryer.
4:52>> But you ever get dust wet and it it
4:55clumps up and and it sticks to your
4:58clothes in your hand? It gets nasty. I
5:01remember we had uh somebody that was
5:03trying to be helpful when coffee spilled
5:06at at my home and they just vacuumed it
5:08up and that's you know
5:11good for you.
5:13You have you have purged your mind but
5:16um I didn't find out until the next time
5:20I used the vacuum cleaner
5:22>> and that vent shot the smell of dusty
5:26old coffee. And when I cleaned that
5:29thing out, I wasn't so grateful for the
5:32mess that they cleaned up because when
5:33dust gets wet, it's nasty. So you can
5:35imagine here, this this drink that he
5:39places before this wife, the priest
5:43makes the woman stand before the Lord
5:45and he speaks a curse upon this dusty
5:49water to make it, as the scriptures say,
5:51turn it into bitter water. This is what
5:53it says. Numbers 5:19. And the priest
5:55shall charge her by an oath, say unto
5:57the woman, If no man hath laid with
5:59thee. If you've not gone aside to
6:01uncleanless with another instead of thy
6:02husband, be free from this bitter water
6:05that causes the curse. But if you have
6:08gone to another and said of thy husband,
6:10if you have been defiled, some other man
6:12hath laid with thee, then the priest
6:14shall charge the woman with an oath of
6:16cursing. And the priest shall say unto
6:19the woman, The Lord make thee a curse,
6:21and an oath among thy people. when the
6:23Lord doth make thy thigh to rot and thy
6:26belly to swell.
6:29And skipping down to verse 24, he writes
6:32all the curses in the book. He blotss
6:34out the curses with the water from the
6:35cup. It he goes into detail, but this is
6:38a curse that causes death.
6:41And it says, "And he shall cause the
6:43woman
6:45to drink the bitter water that causes
6:48the curse. and the water that causes the
6:51curse shall enter into her and her
6:55lovely response shall be amen. Amen.
7:01Now,
7:03that's not what I would say.
7:06I don't know if I'd say yes to drinking
7:08this bitter cup, especially if there is
7:10no evidence proven against me.
7:14>> This passage seems so uh uh it seems so
7:17heavy. It seems so unfair. If she's
7:21innocent, she remains unharmed. But if
7:23she's guilty, this curse falls on her.
7:26It's strange. It's uncomfortable. And to
7:28our modern ears, our modern context, it
7:31feels incredibly severe.
7:34And yet, the author of this book, the
7:36creator of the world, thought, "This is
7:39necessary.
7:43It doesn't seem fair that the bride must
7:45go through this simply because the
7:47husband has a hunch.
7:51>> And yet the author of of the universe
7:53has a way of hiding some of the greatest
7:56revelations in places that we don't
7:58often look.
8:00>> Now this entire ceremony, it revolves
8:02around this this one central point, a
8:04jealous husband. Now, anytime I I hit on
8:08jealousy,
8:09trust me, I can feel it tighten up
8:11because because we we define jealousy as
8:14such a negative thing. We tie jealousy
8:16into insecurity.
8:18>> We tie jealousy into fear of of losing
8:20something that you never really had in
8:22your hands in the first place. We see it
8:24as as possessive or prideful. But when
8:27you take the time to remove your own
8:31definitions and and look to the word of
8:33God, let the scripture define the terms,
8:36you find out that jealousy means
8:39something entirely different when it
8:41comes to God. It's entirely different.
8:44God, when he says, "I am a jealous God."
8:47And when he declares in this holy book,
8:49"My name is jealous," he's not exposing
8:52his weakness.
8:54>> He's not revealing some kind of
8:55insecurity. You know, he is revealing a
8:58covenant love that he has for his
9:00people.
9:01>> A love that is deeper than any love
9:03you've ever known before. A love that
9:05feels like something you felt before.
9:07But it's unlike anything you've ever
9:09experienced. It is deeper than our kind
9:13of jealousy.
9:14His jealousy flows from his love for his
9:17people. And we know what perfect love
9:19looks like. First of all, we know
9:20perfect love casts out all fear. We know
9:24that perfect love in first Corinthian 1
9:26Corinthians 13. Whoa.
9:29First Corinthians 13,
9:32real love protects. And it doesn't just
9:34require faithfulness. It desires it. It
9:37is something that it wants.
9:39Throughout scripture, God repeatedly
9:42describes himself, his love for his
9:45church like a husband and a bride. All
9:49throughout scripture, you see the
9:50pattern repeat over and over again. You
9:53see, that's how the prophets described
9:56him and his love. You see, that's what
9:58the apostles say. That's what Jesus
10:00himself said when he walked the earth.
10:02This whole Bible, it is a story of love.
10:06It's even more beautiful this plan of
10:09redemption because it isn't just a king
10:12and his subjects, but it is a husband
10:16and his bride. It is the bridegroom and
10:19his bride.
10:22>> And when you look for that marriage
10:24imagery, it repeats and appears
10:26everywhere. Isaiah speaks of the Lord
10:29rejoicing over his people as a
10:31bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
10:34Jeremiah tells us that Israel, he
10:36describes her as a wife that has
10:38abandoned her husband. Ezekiel portrays
10:42this heartbreaking story of a of a wife
10:45that a woman that that is left tattered
10:49and beaten and and naked and and
10:51deserted. And then he describes God as
10:54the man that comes in and and clothes
10:56her and feeds her and nurses her back to
10:59health and marries her so that she will
11:01have a name only for Israel to become
11:04unfaithful once more.
11:06And perhaps the the most blatantly
11:08obvious example of this is the book of
11:11Hosea where God literally requires that
11:14the prophet in order to show the example
11:16to all of Israel what they've done to
11:18him, he requires that the prophet
11:22marries a prostitute who leaves him over
11:25and over again. They have children
11:27together because every time she runs
11:30away, Hosea is instructed by the Lord to
11:32go back, reach for her, bring her back
11:35home, restore her. And what makes that
11:38story so heartbreaking is that it's it's
11:41not the story of a of a lawbreaking
11:45criminal.
11:47It's not the story of a rebellious
11:50servant, but God compares his bride to
11:54an unfaithful wife.
11:57That language is intentionally personal.
12:00The more you read the Bible, the more
12:01you find out I got stuff I got to work
12:03on. It's intentionally personal because
12:06the truth of the matter is sin is deeply
12:10personal with God.
12:12We identify sin. We we define it in our
12:15own terms as as just falling short or as
12:18as just making a a bad mistake or I I
12:22was recently in Australia with my wife
12:24and one of the things the sign says, you
12:26know, we have click it or ticket drive
12:28over or get pulled over on our
12:29billboards. But there says don't trust
12:32your tired self. I thought, man, that'll
12:35preach.
12:38We we sometimes just say sin is a
12:40mistake that happened just because I
12:42trusted my tired self.
12:45But really, it is more than that. It's
12:48those things may be true, but it's it's
12:50not just breaking the rules. Sin is a
12:52violation of the relationship
12:56between you and God. It is a breach of
13:00that covenant. The tragedy is not merely
13:03that Israel broke the commandments.
13:06The tragedy is that Israel broke the
13:08heart of the God who loved her. The God
13:12who parted the Red Sea was abandoned.
13:15The God that fed her in the wilderness
13:17was forgotten.
13:19>> THE GOD THAT FOUGHT HER BATTLES WAS
13:21REPLACED.
13:22>> THE GOD THAT REMAINED FAITHFUL WAS
13:24EXCHANGED FOR THINGS. IDOLS MADE WITH
13:27MAN'S HANDS THAT CANNOT HEAR, CANNOT
13:30REACH, CANNOT SAVE, CANNOT SPEAK.
13:35Again and again, God pursues his people.
13:39And again and again, Israel leaves him
13:43for another,
13:45chasing after other lovers.
13:48Yet before we become too critical of
13:50Israel, oh that stiff necked generation,
13:54that stiff necked Israel,
13:56let's work out the kinks in our own neck
13:58first because idolatry didn't disappear
14:02when the last word was written in the
14:04Bible.
14:06>> We don't make them out of man's hands
14:08>> except for this one.
14:10>> There's an idol made out of man's hands.
14:14But we have different idols now. We
14:16don't worship golden calves, but they
14:19didn't disappear.
14:21Sometimes we worship success
14:24or we worship relationships.
14:27Sometimes we worship comfort or we
14:29worship careers.
14:31>> Sometimes we worship entertainment or
14:34catch this now. Sometimes we worship the
14:37approval of others.
14:40Sometimes we spend more time scrolling
14:43than we do speaking to the God that gave
14:46us life.
14:48>> Lord, help us not to look down on the
14:50children of Israel when we face the same
14:53problems and struggles today.
15:00>> Idolatry rarely announces itself. It's
15:02just the things that compete for God's
15:04attention. E even good things can become
15:08hurtful when we exalt them into God
15:10things.
15:12And every last one of us has wandered.
15:14The scriptures say all have sinned and
15:16fallen short of the glory of God. We've
15:18all sought confidence somewhere
15:20elsewhere than God. We've trusted in
15:23something more than God because it's
15:24simply it's easier to trust what I see.
15:29It's easier to have faith in my bank
15:31account than it is to have faith in him.
15:34>> Good or bad. It's easier to believe the
15:38doctor's report than it is to believe
15:41his report. But the same question I'll
15:44ask today that was asked in that
15:45scripture LONG AGO. WHOSE REPORT SHALL
15:48you believe? We shall believe the report
15:51of the Lord.
15:54MY GOD CAN HEAL CANCER. MY GOD CAN FIX
15:57THE HEART. MY GOD CAN HEAL. MY GOD CAN
16:01DELIVER. MY GOD CAN SAVE
16:04>> TO THE UTTERMOST.
16:10All of us have gone astray. And this is
16:13why Numbers 5 becomes so significant TO
16:16US BECAUSE IF WE ARE THE BRIDE,
16:21then it's us standing there in the
16:24tabernacle
16:25with that bitter cup in our hands.
16:28We stand exactly where that woman stood.
16:31The curse, THE BITTER CUP BELONGS TO US.
16:36The judgment and the consequence belongs
16:40to us. And if justice alone has its way
16:45that the bride must drink.
16:48For thousands of years, humanity was
16:50crushed by that reality.
16:53See, THE LAW DID A GREAT job at exposing
16:56sin.
16:58but it could not remove it.
17:01>> SACRIFICES they covered for sin. THEY
17:03THEY ROLLED THEM BACK A YEAR, BUT THEY
17:05COULD NOT TAKE IT AWAY.
17:08>> GENERATION AFTER GENERATION LIVED BEHIND
17:11THE SHADOW OF DEBT THAT HAD NOT BEEN
17:14FULLY PAID, just pushed back another
17:17year. Every lamb's sacrifice was done in
17:21submission to what the law said. Every
17:23bowl that shed its blood ON AN ALTAR
17:26SPOKE OF SOMETHING GREATER THAT WOULD
17:28COME. BUT STILL THE CUP REMAINED. THE
17:32CURSE WAS THERE. Humanity
17:35on its tiptoes,
17:38waited with anticipation.
17:40What meanth these things?
17:43Is there something someone that can do
17:45what the law could not accomplish?
17:48There were shadows at times that that
17:50looked like a Messiah that the prophets
17:52would speak about. It seemed like Joseph
17:54maybe could, but but no, not quite. It
17:57seemed like the King David maybe could,
17:59but but then he he fell into sin like
18:02all people do.
18:04Something had been broken in the
18:07relationship
18:09in the covenantal marriage between God,
18:11the bridegroom, and his bride. And no
18:15amount of human effort alone could heal
18:19it.
18:21>> If only,
18:23if only there was
18:27a mediator.
18:30If only there was one that could reach
18:32out and grab hand with humanity
18:35and reach out and grab hands with God.
18:39If only THERE WAS THIS GO BETWEEN
18:42BETWEEN HEAVEN AND BETWEEN EARTH THAT
18:45COULD CONNECT THE BRIDE TO THE
18:46BRIDEGROOM ONCE MORE. IF ONLY THERE WAS
18:50ONE THAT COULD BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN
18:52GOD and man. IF ONLY IF ONLY THERE WAS
18:56ONE that was fully God AND FULLY MAN. IF
19:01ONLY THIS WORD COULD BE MADE FLESH AND
19:03DWELL AMONG US. IF ONLY WE COULD BEHOLD
19:07HIS GLORY, THE GLORY AS OF THE ONLY
19:10BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE
19:12AND TRUTH. BUT I'VE COME TO TELL
19:14SOMEBODY, REMIND SOMEBODY THAT THERE IS
19:17ONE THAT IS FOUND WORTHY, ONE THAT WAS
19:20SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.
19:23THERE IS ONE GOD AND ONE MEDIATOR
19:25BETWEEN GOD AND MEN, THE MAN CHRIST
19:28JESUS. FOR IN HIM DWELLETH ALL THE
19:31FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY, AND YOU
19:34ARE COMPLETE IN HIM,
19:37>> one Lord, one faith, ONE BAPTISM, ONE
19:40GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, WHO IS ABOVE ALL,
19:42THROUGH ALL AND IN you all.
19:45>> WE ARE ONENESS. WE BELIEVE HERE, O
19:48ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD.
19:52>> Thou shalt serve no other God.
19:55>> There was one that could fill that gap.
20:00It could tie in that Old Testament
20:03to a new covenant.
20:06And then one night
20:09in a garden called Gethsemane,
20:10everything began to change
20:13because all of the sudden
20:16there was a reality that there's a
20:18chance.
20:19It looks like this is that Messiah, but
20:23but there's some things he's got to do.
20:26Matthew 26 we read, "Then cometh Jesus
20:29with them unto a place called
20:30Gethsemane,
20:32and saith unto his disciples, sit ye
20:34here while I go and pray yonder." He
20:37took with him Peter, the two sons of
20:38Zebedee, began to be sorrowful, and to
20:41be very heavy. Then saith he unto them,
20:45"My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even
20:49unto death, a death he would pay not too
20:53much longer after this.
20:55HE SAYS, "TERRY YE HERE, WATCH WITH ME."
20:59And he went a little further.
21:04>> He fell on his face AND PRAYED, SAYING,
21:07"OH MY FATHER, IF IT BE POSSIBLE,
21:12let this cup
21:15pass from me.
21:18Nevertheless, not as I will,
21:21but as thou wilt.
21:24With just a few heartbroken, heavy words
21:27uttered by our savior.
21:31Suddenly,
21:33NUMBERS CHAPTER 5 BECOMES FAR MORE
21:36personal than my morning devotion.
21:40SUDDENLY IT BECOMES FROM ONE OF THE
21:42STRANGEST PASSAGES TO ONE OF THE MOST
21:46IMPORTANT PASSAGES FROM MY WALK WITH
21:48CHRIST.
21:50What did Jesus see when he looked into
21:53that cup?
21:56Maybe he couldn't see clearly because he
21:58was under such stress that the sweat
22:01that CAME FROM HIS FACE WAS AS GREAT
22:04DROPS OF BLOOD. BUT WHAT DID HE SEE when
22:07he looked into that cup?
22:10Surely, it had to be more than the
22:12nails.
22:14It had to be more than the crown they
22:16would place on his head. IT HAD TO BE
22:19MORE THAN THE STRIPES THEY'D place on
22:21his back. No, my friend, it was it was
22:24far more than that. Those things are
22:27horrible, BUT HISTORY IS FILLED WITH MEN
22:30AND women that gave their life for this
22:32purpose.
22:34What did he see?
22:36This agony, this agony was different.
22:40The agony of Gethsemane can only be
22:43explained
22:45past mere physical pain. There's
22:48something deeper in that earth and
22:49vessel. There's something deeper in
22:52those dusty, bitter waters. Inside that
22:55cup was every lie humanity had ever
22:58told. every act of rebellion,
23:02every hidden addiction, all secret sin
23:05and betrayal, every drop, every ounce of
23:09pride that ever entered into the world
23:11WAS CONTAINED IN A CUP.
23:15Every lustful thought, every hateful
23:16word, everything that separated the
23:20bride from the bridegroom, that
23:23separated mankind from God, was gathered
23:27in that CUP. EVEN THAT CUP, it held the
23:30full weight of divine judgment against
23:34us.
23:36It contained everything that justice
23:38commanded. It contained the curse, that
23:40bitter water.
23:42Oh, that bride in Numbers chapter 5
23:45stood before the priest.
23:47Judgment so heavy on her shoulders they
23:50slump over. She's trying her best to
23:53hide the knocking of her knees. She's
23:56heard the stories of women go into this
23:58tabernacle before and WALK OUT PERFECTLY
24:01WHOLE BECAUSE THEY DID NOTHING WRONG.
24:03BUT SEE, THAT'S NOT THE CASE FOR THIS
24:05BRIDE.
24:07There is a sense of urgency.
24:11She barely lifts her head up to look the
24:13priest in the eyes as he hands it to her
24:15and she holds. Looking down, she sees
24:17the reflection of her face, but deeper
24:20she sees everything she's ever done. The
24:22tears from fall from her face as the
24:24water ripples in that cup and she she
24:26adds to her sorrows her tears. SHE SHE
24:30SHE SHE THINKS TO HERSELF, "DO I HAVE TO
24:33DO THIS?"
24:35The curse was hers to bear.
24:38The consequence was hers to endure. See,
24:41everyone thinks they're getting away
24:43with it
24:45until the husband gets a hunch.
24:48Yet
24:50when I read the gospels,
24:52I cannot help but see in those red
24:55letters something quite beautiful.
24:59I see Jesus stepping in the scene and
25:02doing something no one expected. It's
25:07the remarkable truth of the gospel.
25:10The cup belonged to the bride
25:14and yet the bridegroom reached for it
25:16first. IN MY MIND, I SEE THAT BRIDE
25:20SHAKING. THE CUP MAY ONLY WEIGH BUT A
25:23POUND, BUT IT FEELS LIKE THE WEIGHT OF
25:26EVERY SIN SHE'S EVER COMMITTED.
25:28AND SHE GOES TO TAKE A DRINK, BUT THE
25:31BRIDEGROOM STEPS FORWARD, TAKES THE CUP
25:34FROM HER HANDS, AND SAYS, "HERE, I'LL
25:37DRINK THAT FOR YOU." OH, THOSE
25:39NAILPIERCED hands stretch forward PAST
25:43THE DARKNESS OF THAT MOMENT. THE
25:45BRIDEGROOM TOOK the cup from the bride.
25:49HE WHO KNEW NO SIN BECAME sin for us.
25:54>> He took the punishment from the bride.
25:57He takes her place.
25:59He takes the curse. He takes her
26:02judgment, punishment, and shame.
26:06And everything that belonged to her,
26:10he makes it his own.
26:12And that's what happened at Calvary.
26:16I'm sorry if it feels heavy, but I I
26:19will not spare you the details of that
26:21moment.
26:23>> See, he was betrayed by one of his
26:25closest.
26:27>> He was sold for silver. And then WHEN
26:30THEY TOOK HIM, THEY THEY TRIED HIM
26:33WRONGFULLY.
26:34THEY FABRICATED LIES TO CONVICT HIM.
26:38YES, I KNOW THAT THE JESUS that you see
26:41on those golden necklaces has his beard
26:44all perfectly done, but I I WANT TO
26:46REMIND YOU THAT'S not the case. There
26:48were spots in his beard where they
26:50ripped the hair out of HIS FACE. AND I
26:53KNOW HE'S CLOTHED ON THOSE BEAUTIFUL
26:55FIXTURES WE SEE AROUND CHRISTMAS TIME
26:57AND EASTER. BUT BUT NO, HE WAS MUCH MORE
27:00NAKED than that. THEY STRIPPED HIM OF
27:03HIS CLOTHES AND HIS DIGNITY SO THAT HE
27:06WOULD KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO FEEL SHAME.
27:08WHY? BECAUSE HE KNEW YOU AND I WOULD
27:11FEEL SHAME and he wanted to be tried in
27:14all points like we are. YOU KNOW WHAT IT
27:16SAYS? HE HE HAS BEEN touched with the
27:19feelings of our infirmity. He knew
27:21there's a woman that's walking into the
27:23CATHEDRAL OF PENTECOST THAT HAS BEEN
27:25BETRAYED AND I need to experience what
27:28that feels like so I can help her feel
27:30deliverance. YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO
27:32MY SAVIOR? THEY CAST LOTS FOR HIS
27:35CLOTHES. NO, I WILL NOT SPARE YOU THE
27:38DETAILS. THEY PUT HIS BACK UP AGAINST
27:41THE POST AND THEY WHIPPED HIM UNTIL HIS
27:44BACK LOOKED like a plowed field. LIKE
27:47THE DEAD PALMS THAT FALL OFF OF A PALM
27:49TREE. HIS SKIN HUNG OFF OF HIS BODY.
27:55THEY CALLED HIM THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27:59AND THEY fabricated a crown not of gold,
28:03not of silver, not of precious stone of
28:07thorns.
28:08And they pushed it deep into his scalp.
28:11AND HE SAT THERE ON that whipping post
28:17and he thought of what Isaiah wrote. He
28:20was wounded for our transgressions. He
28:22was bruised for our iniquities. The
28:24chastisement of his peace was UPON HIM
28:26AND AND BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED.
28:28AND THEY LASHED HIS BACK AND AND HE
28:30THOUGHT, "BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED."
28:32AND THEY LASHED IT AGAIN. AND HE
28:34THOUGHT, "BY MY STRIPES, THEY ARE
28:36HEALED. BY MY STRIPES THEY ARE HEALED.
28:39THERE'S SOMEONE IN THAT BUILDING THAT
28:41NEEDS HEALING. BY MY STRIPES THEY'RE
28:43HEAL. BY MY STRIPES THEY'RE HEALED." OH
28:46NO, HE DIDN'T COMPLAIN. HE OPENED NOT
28:49HIS MOUTH AS A LEAP AS A SHEEP IS DUMB
28:52BEFORE THE SHEARER. HE DIDN'T SAY
28:54ANYTHING BUT ON HIS MIND HE THOUGHT THEY
28:57NEED HEALING. I CAN TAKE ONE MORE. GIVE
28:59ME ONE MORE. GIVE ME ONE MORE. I CAN
29:02TAKE IT. I CAN DO IT FOR THEM.
29:10>> He laid down his hands before he laid
29:12down his life. He put his feet in the
29:15right place. NEVER BEFORE HAD A ROMAN A
29:17GUARD SEEN SOMEONE ALLOW THEM TO put
29:20them on a cross. But he said, "No. If
29:24I'm going to request and require that if
29:28they follow me, they must take up their
29:29cross. I've got to do it first. I've got
29:33to drink the cup. I've got to do it."
29:36No, I I will not spare you the details
29:40of Calvary because it makes you
29:42uncomfortable. No, I will not spare you
29:44the gore or the violence with which my
29:47savior was crucified.
29:51>> The apostle Paul said, "For he hath made
29:54him to be sin for us,
29:57>> he who knew no sin,
30:00>> that we might be made the righteousness
30:02of God in him." He wrote, "He hath
30:05redeemed us from the curse of the law,
30:11being made a curse for us."
30:15No, the cross wasn't special.
30:18Even that day, two men were crucified
30:21beside him. The cross was reserved for
30:24the rankest criminals. You couldn't even
30:27be crucified if you were Roman, no
30:29matter what you did, because it was so
30:31shameful.
30:34What made it powerful
30:37was his innocence.
30:40It's the fact that he was on that cross
30:42and he did nothing to deserve it.
30:46He was that perfect sacrifice.
30:49No, he wasn't condemned to his own sins.
30:52He died for our sins.
30:55Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb. He
31:00went to death itself.
31:04And yet
31:05death had never encountered a man like
31:07Jesus before.
31:10Oh, thousands reach death's gates every
31:13day. And every last one of them, death
31:15gets to check the book and say, "Ah, I
31:18see what you've done. I get you now."
31:23Death checked the records.
31:26It got to the end and
31:28let me start over and it looked and it
31:32tried to find a place where they could
31:35hold on. It checked the bookings read
31:38through and through AND IT COULD NOT
31:41FIND WHERE THIS MAN HAD COMMITTED ANY
31:42SIN. HE FULFILLED THE LAW COMPLETELY.
31:46JESUS SAID, "I HAVE NOT COME TO DESTROY
31:49THE LAW BUT THAT IT MIGHT BE FULFILLED."
31:53THERE WAS NO CORRUPTION IN HIM. THERE
31:55WAS NO GUILT IN HIM. AND BECAUSE THERE
31:58WAS NO SIN, DEATH COULD NOT HOLD HIM ANY
32:01LONGER. AND THAT'S WHY PAUL SAYS, "OH
32:05DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING? OH GRAVE,
32:08WHERE IS THY VICTORY? THE STING OF DEATH
32:10IS SIN. THE STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW,
32:14BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHICH GIVETH US
32:18VICTORY THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."
32:23OH, CLAP YOUR HANDS IF YOU KNOW YOU'VE
32:25BEEN BOUGHT WITH A PRICE. IF YOU'VE BEEN
32:28WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB.
32:35>> HALLELUJAH.
32:38>> I just want to tell somebody today,
32:42>> you don't have to live with the curse.
32:46>> You don't have TO LIVE WITH THE ABUSE.
32:48YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE PAINFUL
32:50PAST. JESUS DRANK THE CUP AND REVERSED
32:54THE CURSE. AND IF YOU WILL GIVE YOURSELF
32:57TO HIM COMPLETELY, HE WILL CHANGE YOUR
33:00STORY. I DON'T CARE HOW HURTED YOU WERE.
33:04I KNOW IT HURT. I I CARE THAT YOU'RE IN
33:07PAIN, BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW GREAT IT
33:10IS. HE IS ABLE. I KNOW YOU MAY BE
33:13HURTING. IT'S WHAT MY DADDY DID. IT'S
33:16ALL I KNOW. NO, THERE IS A HEAVENLY
33:19FATHER THAT WANTS TO WRITE A NEW STORY
33:21FOR YOU. THIS IS ALL I'M COMFORTABLE
33:24WITH. NO, THERE IS A COMFORTER CALLED
33:27THE HOLY GHOST. HE WILL GIVE YOU PEACE
33:31THAT PASSES UNDERSTANDING. OH, BELIEVE
33:34IT WITH ME THIS MORNING. FIGHT PAST THE
33:36COMFORT OF YOUR SEAT. CHOOSE TO SAY, "I
33:40I'M NOT LEAVING HERE WITH THAT STORY.
33:42I'M NOT LABELED BY THAT ANY LONGER. I'M
33:44NOT ACCEPTING THAT. IT'S WHO I WAS." BUT
33:47IT'S NOT WHO I AM.
34:03I'm coming to a close.
34:06This This is where the story gets
34:08beautiful. I know it's been heavy up to
34:09this point. The gospel
34:13is not merely a story
34:17of what Jesus took away.
34:22It is a story of what he offers in
34:25return.
34:27See, it could have ended there.
34:30It could have ended and and and and we
34:32would have figured it out. But but he
34:34keeps going.
34:38Jesus didn't just say, "I've come that
34:40you might have life."
34:43He said, "I've come that you might have
34:44life and that more abundantly."
34:48>> I believe someone's going to step into
34:50abundant life today.
34:52>> Listen, your life has not been good
34:55enough. It's in him that we live, move,
34:58and have our being. Without him, we can
35:00do nothing. I WANT YOU TO KNOW IF YOU
35:03WANT ABUNDANT LIFE, YOU'VE GOT TO GIVE
35:06YOUR LIFE TO JESUS.
35:08>> YES. AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.
35:13>> SO, we see Jesus sitting beside a well
35:15in John chapter 4.
35:18He meets this woman whose life has been
35:21defined by her broken relationship. She
35:24She really is the woman from Numbers
35:26chapter 5. Five husbands come and gone.
35:30and she's with a man right now that
35:32isn't her husband.
35:34She carries the weight of
35:35disappointment,
35:37of failure,
35:39of condemnation.
35:41Oh, she's carrying a water pot when she
35:43walks up to him, but she's carrying far
35:45more. Oh, and that could be you today.
35:48Maybe you carried a baby in your arms
35:50when you walk in, but really you're
35:51carrying more. MAYBE YOU JUST GOT YOUR
35:54PURSE IN your arm, but you're carrying a
35:55lot more. MAYBE YOU CARRIED WITH YOU
35:58SOME SOMETHING, BUT BUT BUT DEEP DOWN
36:00YOU'RE CARRYING MORE SOMETHING FAR
36:03HEAVIER. SHE'S CARRYING THE EXHAUSTION
36:08THAT ONLY COMES AS A byproduct of when
36:11you chase fulfillment in things other
36:13than him.
36:15Oh, she's exhausted
36:18and she becomes a representation of all
36:20of humanity.
36:22Her life has become this search for
36:24satisfaction. Every every relationship
36:27was another attempt to quench that
36:28thirst. Every time she broke the
36:31covenant, it it promised so much
36:34pleasure, but it ended in emptiness.
36:36Every well she visited left her thirsty
36:40again. You know, we convince ourselves
36:42that the next thing will satisfy us.
36:45The next promotion, the next
36:47relationship,
36:49the next purchase, the next position,
36:52the next experience.
36:55the next pleasure.
36:57We return to wells that promise
36:59fulfillment but never deliver.
37:02They never come through on their word.
37:06A woman came to the well for water, but
37:08Jesus knew her greatest need was not
37:10physical.
37:11She had a spiritual thirst that was
37:16to every man is given a measure of
37:17faith.
37:19You might deny it, but you had faith
37:22when you got in your car that it would
37:23start.
37:25>> You had faith that when you went on the
37:26road this morning, everybody else would
37:29abide by the same law as you're
37:32faith that who you voted for was going
37:34to fix it. You had faith that that what
37:37what job you work for is going to
37:39sustain your life. You have faith that
37:42that person isn't going to speak ill
37:44against you. And yet, it happened
37:46anyway.
37:48Everyone has a spiritual thirst.
37:52In one sentence, Jesus exposes the
37:55reality of every earthly substitute. All
38:00wells,
38:02all other wells run dry.
38:06They cannot satisfy the soul.
38:10Even good things become empty when we
38:15ask them to do what only God can do.
38:17Listen,
38:19I love my wife with everything in me,
38:22but she can't fill my heart like my God
38:25can.
38:27>> I love this ministry. I I I love the
38:30fact that I get to preach the word of
38:32God. But if I'm not alone with God when
38:34I'm not behind a pulpit, I I'll be
38:37spewing out a bunch of gospel that that
38:39will END UP FALLING SHORT BECAUSE I'm
38:42living in sin.
38:45But I've got to find a way to to tie in
38:49with God
38:50because every other earthly substitute
38:54runs dry.
38:58>> Jesus answered and said unto her,
39:01"Whosoever drinkketh of this water shall
39:03thirst again,
39:06but whosoever drinkketh of the water
39:07that I shall give himall shall never
39:10thirst.
39:12But the water that I shall give him
39:14shall be in him a well of water
39:17springing up into everlasting life.
39:21>> What a remarkable contrast. Under the
39:24law, there's a bitter cup, but under
39:26grace, there is living water.
39:29>> There's living water in the house today.
39:32You want to know how to drink of that
39:34living water? It starts simple. We did
39:37it already. You start by repenting of
39:39your sins. Lord, heal me. Forgive me.
39:44Wash me clean. Everything I know I've
39:47done and everything I don't know I've
39:48done. Everything I'm struggling with,
39:50the things I've accepted, the things I I
39:52fight. God, whatever it is, clean me.
39:56In an instant, you're clean
39:58because thou was already purchased on
40:00Calvar's Hill.
40:03>> The death was so gruesome so that it
40:06doesn't matter how gruesome the sin,
40:09>> it's been paid for.
40:11When you repent of your sins, you will
40:14feel a liberty like you've never felt
40:16before.
40:18>> If you've never been baptized in Jesus'
40:21name in waters of baptism, today is the
40:25day. Do not wait. Do not search for it
40:29somewhere else. Do not look for joy in
40:32an empty well. find it in Jesus Christ
40:37and you can receive the Holy Ghost
40:39>> speaking in another language.
40:42>> If you'll stand with me all across this
40:44house,
40:50>> Jesus doesn't just forgive the sinner,
40:53he satisfies the longing soul.
40:57There's an empty cup and an open
40:59invitation for you today.
41:01There is no emptiness in God. In his
41:05presence there is fullness of joy. And
41:09at his right hand there are pleasures
41:11forever more. In him dwelleth all the
41:13fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye
41:16are complete in him. The bridegroom who
41:20drank the bitter cup now stands offering
41:24living water. And perhaps this is why
41:26the Bible ends the way it does when it
41:28says in Revelation 22:17,
41:31"And the spirit and the bride say,
41:33"Come." And let him that heareth say,
41:35"Come." Let him that is a thirst come.
41:38And whosoever will, let him take of the
41:42water of life freely.
41:44Whosoever will. That's the invitation
41:48today. the thirsty, the weary, the
41:52broken, the repentant, come and drink of
41:54the water of life. I want to open these
41:57altars right now to everyone that knows
42:00that every other well has failed them.
42:03Come and drink from the waters of life.