Mother's Day - Made for More Series

You have an identity, sometimes multiple. The question is what identity will you believe because we move from what we believe.

On this Mother's Day episode, Pastor Keia teaches from John 4, the woman at the well. Our people, professions and past will define us but it's only when we choose to believe the identity given by God that we will be fully satisfied. Leave the jar at the well because Jesus has the water that never runs out. 

We pray this message encourages your faith, deepens your prayer life, and helps you gain a greater vision for life in Christ. Share this episode with someone who wants to grow deeper in God’s Word.

To learn more about Vision Church or discover how you can partner with our ministry, visit www.ourvisionchurch.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Happy Mother's Day. I hope y'all are feeling loved and cared for, mamas. If you aren't um feeling loved and cared for, let me know. I'll fight somebody. Okay? I got you back. I got your back. Well, happy Mother's Day. We love you. We are grateful for every mom, every spiritual mom, every foster mom, every auntie, every all of y'all. Every woman, listen, and whether you have a biological child or not, listen, you are a mother. You have been created and designed to nurture and care for people. And listen, we always have places in our church for people like you. For every mom. We need it. And as a multi-you saw this earlier, we are a multi-generational church, and we need you. We need you. Every I I remember it might have been our last child dedication. I got to speak to an aunt, I think, or a she was she ended up being the matriarch of her family at the time. And she was just saying, I just don't know what I'm here for anymore. All of my people are gone. I am the one. And listen, I got to encourage her. There's always, always a place for you in our church. There's always a place for you in the kingdom. And we want to encourage you. If you find that you're you're looking for a place or you just don't know what you're supposed to be doing, we can find something for you to do. Okay? But more than that, God has something beautiful planned for you. Um, as Jonathan said, I'm sorry, we're working through these mics. Um, as Jonathan said, um, I am his wife. Um and um, you know, he always says, if you've ever been here, he's all he's always like, whenever you have a mic, husbands, score points. Well, I'm about to make him blush. Jonathan, I am so grateful for you. I'm so grateful for who you are, and I'm even more grateful that you are a sexy plea piece of man flush. Okay. That's all he cared about. That's all he cared about. All right, let's get serious. Let's get serious. All right, Lord, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for what it represents. God, we thank you for every mother, every auntie, every sister, every spiritual mom. God, we just thank you. And God, as we go into this time uh of just getting to know more about you, Jesus, I pray that you would bless it. I pray that you would speak to your people through me, God. Would they not see me, but would they see you? And Father, we also pray. Our Father who are in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, Lord, our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not, God, into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. And the people of God say, Amen. Um there's something that I have noticed. Um, it's especially true for moms, but I would venture to say that pretty much everybody in this room, um, moms, do you have multiple names? Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of like yeah, a lot of names, right? So half the time it's not even your real name, right? It's mom, it's hey, if you're my if you're me, it's sometimes like haya, hi ya, because my son is like stuck in a video game sometimes. Um sometimes one of my names is hey dad. Literally, this happened yesterday. I was taking a shower and my son comes barreling through the door, and I'm like, what's up, bro? And he's like, Hey dad. I was like, It's your mom. Hi, good morning. Um, but that happens often. They think sometimes, you know, and sometimes we get called whatever name. So, how many of you experience this? The mom, mom, mom, mom, mommy, mom, mom, and without trying to be like mean, I'm like, yes, son, what do you need? And after he has done his thing, he's just like, hey mom, chicken butt. And I'm like, bro, like, seriously, that's why you were calling me. I know it's it's so funny, but it's also real that we oftentimes find ourselves with multiple names. We're we're we answer to a lot of names, and if we're not careful, we'll get stuck and forget who we really are. What I want you to know today is that you have an identity, and a lot of times we have multiple identities, depending on the season of life we're in. We have multiple sometimes you are from nine to five, you're probably employee. From five to nine, your mama. You know, maybe you're a business owner, maybe you are leader, maybe you are boss, maybe depending on the time, your name may change. And if we're not careful, we'll forget exactly who we are. And what's important about this is that the question is is who are you gonna believe? Which identity are you gonna believe? Because it's it's my philosophy that if what you believe is what moves you, how you believe, what you see, the lenses that you operate from, the what you see is how you believe, and how you believe is how you move. And we see this so clearly in John chapter 4. So you can take out your Bibles and you can get to John chapter 4. And while you do that, I'll give you a little bit of background. Maybe at the top of your passage of your Bible or on your phone, you'll see something that says, woman at the well. This story is kind of famous. Um, Jesus is moving from one place to another. He's going from his home in Judea because the Pharisees have done the Pharisees' thing, and they've kicked him out, and he's going to Galilee. And on the way from Judea to Galilee, you have to go through this town or this country called Samaria. And so this is where we find ourselves. In verse 4, it says he had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually, he came to the Samarian village of Sakar, near the field that Jacob gave his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well at about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, Please give me a drink. He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone to the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for the Jews refused to have anything to do with the Samaritans. Jesus, and she said to Jesus, You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink? I think it's very funny, or it's very interesting how we build our identity. We build it from somewhere, right? And one of the places that we build our identity from is from our people. This woman says that, Jesus, you are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. She calls out her tribe, she calls out Jesus' tribe, she even calls out the fact that she's a woman. And depending on our tribes and our people, our affiliations, we might have multiple names. Maybe your tribe, maybe your tribe is Republican, maybe your tribe is a Democrat. Maybe your tribe is mom. Maybe your tribe is, I don't know, insert the tribe that you find yourself in. We can always find ourselves connected to our tribes. Another way that we identify ourselves is by our professions. Yeah. I I'm a student right now, so I'm in school to get uh my degree. Uh I'm I'm working to become a counselor, and man, I'm working hard to get them three letters, okay? Lots of money, lots of time, lots of papers. And you know, I find myself in rooms where I'm like, hey, or people will ask, hey, well, tell me about yourself. And I'm like, well, I'm Kia, and I'm a student, and I'm a mom, and I'm a professional, and I'm all these things, and that's how I find myself identifying myself a lot of times with people because it's just easy. And then the other way that we identify ourselves is by our past, right? And in this story, we see that this woman identifies herself by her past. And as I was preparing for this message, this one part just kind of got me hung up. And I asked myself, why would a woman walk to the well by herself at noontime? And so I did a little digging and I just found out some information. Well, if you know anything about that geo geographical area, noontime is hot. It is the hottest time of the day. It is nobody is outside, much less doing work. It's a hot time of the day. So why would a woman go in the middle of the day to go get water? Something else that I learned is that the village of Sakar that she lived in was a half mile away from the well. How many of y'all have walked a half mile? Um, it's long if you haven't. Um it's annoying. Nobody really likes to walk a half mile, right? She walked a half mile from her village by herself in the middle of the day. Something else to know about this story is that obviously she's going to the well to get water, so she gotta have something to put the water in, right? All right. So these jugs, this jar that she is carrying, it says that this jar is about 45 pounds heavy. So, so she's walking from her village a half mile with a 45-pound jug. No, she didn't just take the jug just for no reason, right? Like, why would you walk a half mile with 45 pounds on you? She was going to get water. These jugs hold up to nine gallons of water. That's almost twenty-five extra pounds. So this woman walks from her village to the well with a forty-five-pound jar. She fills it up, and she walks back another half mile with 70 pounds on her. Half mile. In the sun. Something to know about this task that she did. One, you don't do it alone. And two, it's not done in the middle of the day. So why would this woman do this thing in the middle of the day by herself, carrying all of that baggage? I believe it's because she's allowed her past to define her. She's chosen to not be around other women. She's chosen to not be around other people because why would I? In verse 16 and 18, Jesus says to the woman, go get your husband. She says, I don't have a husband. Jesus says, You're right. You don't have a husband. You have had five husbands, and you aren't married to the man you're living with now, you were certainly correct. Now, if Jesus called that out, somebody that she didn't even know, who else knew? Who else knew her story? Who else knew her past? Listen, I think some of us find ourselves in places where we allow our past to define us, to identify us, and to make us move in a way that does not make sense. When we came into this area to plant this church, I was kind of nervous because this is where I did a lot of my kind of like formative growing up. I spent time with Nana and Papa. My mama would drop me off and say, don't come back till the end of the summer. And so I would spend a lot of time out here. And so when we came back into the community, knowing that we were going to plant a church, I was honestly, I was like, I don't know. I don't know. Why? Because my past that I had lived in this area, I felt like it was following me. I felt like in some people's eyes, I would still be defined by my past, even though I had changed. And it's so funny, there's someone in the church that we had met and um didn't know it at the time we went to dinner with her and you know got to know her and started asking some questions and found out we knew a lot of the same people, and I was like, okay, how does that work? And then found out that she, her son, was a friend of a guy that I used to date, and I was like, oh no, no, no, no, no. Why? Because my past had defined me, and I was nervous. And and to be honest, there were days where I was like, maybe we shouldn't do this. Maybe I'll see that person, maybe I'll see someone, and they'll just be like, oh girl, I remember when, remember when, and then I was gonna be ready to run. If you're like this woman, you'll probably find that you'll do things outside of your true identity because you've let something false define you. What are you carrying today? What are you carrying? What 70 pounds or more are you carrying that you're allowing to define you? What are you carrying? And just like that woman, sometimes our past starts to speak louder than our purpose. Why would we let this happen to us? Why would we why would we let our people, our profession, our past, why would we let them define us? Well, because it's easy. Right? Instead of trying to figure out what your real identity is, case in point. Have y'all had to go get these new um ID with the real IDs? Have y'all gotten I I'm sure I think you're supposed to get them last year, so I hope you got it. Um but this real ID, the real ID that's coming out, that came out, who wants to go to the DMV to get it? Right? No one wants to go to the DMV. It's the ease of what we know that often keeps us bound to the things that we that we believe that aren't even true? It's what's familiar, it's what we know and what we understand, and the approval. How many of you have stayed in a job that you know you're not supposed to be in? Because you're doing a great job. That money keeps getting in your bank account. How many of us have stayed in something because it was just easy and familiar and and people knew us and clapped for us, even though we knew that wasn't supposed to. And here's the problem. We think that these things, the applause, we think that our past, we think that our people even are gonna fill us. We really think that they that they will. We think that things, these things will fill us, and every time that the well runs dry, every time that jar goes empty, we go back for more. Right? We go back for more approval, more applause. We go back for more accolades, the more certifications I can get, the more money I can get. And before we know it, we're not even doing the thing we're supposed to be doing. Sometimes the ease and familiarity will keep us in relationships that were supposed to be gone a long time ago. We'll keep coming back to the mistreatment, we'll keep coming back to the neglect because we think that it's easier to stay here than to go find somebody that's gonna love you like God has called them to love you. But what if I told you that the well doesn't have to run dry? What if I told you that you could be filled and you would never go empty? Listen, if you choose your God-given identity, I promise you it won't it won't run dry. Choose your God-given identity. How do we do that? Because Kia, that sounds easy, right? To just say to somebody, choose your God-given identity. How do I do that, Kia? I got you. First, from this scripture, we see that if you are open to feedback, you can you can choose your God given identity. Listen, Jesus dogged this woman out, okay? I'm just gonna be honest with you. See, he just he let her have it. He said that you've been married five times and the person that you're with right now is not your husband. He dogged her out. Why would I? Why would I keep I'm gonna tell y'all this? I'm gonna be honest with you. If Jesus said that to me, I was gone. I can't handle it. I can't handle it. Why? Because I like to be right. Anyone else like to be right? Anyone else? I don't I don't like to be wrong. I don't like to to know that I messed something up or that I missed something. Why I would have run. But what's so beautiful about this story is that this woman stays. She stays. She lets Jesus give her some feedback and then he she keeps going. Two years ago, I started going to therapy. And you don't for HIPAA things, don't tell me if you go to therapy. But I was starting going to therapy, and part of the therapeutic process is feedback. When I go to tell my therapist, girl, do you know that husband of mine said this? And he did that, and I don't like it, and all that stuff. And she was like, girl, if you don't change how you think about this, if you don't change how that's a cognitive distortion. I'm I use a big word. That's a really weird way, bad way to think about that. Maybe your husband said that to you because he was looking at the bank account and you can't afford that, girl. Maybe he said it because he loves you and he saw something in you. Another way to choose your God-given identity is to learn about yourself. Be open to learn. Go to Walmart, or no, I don't go to Walmart, sorry. I go to Target and Sam's Club. Anybody else? Yeah. Target and Sam's Club. Um I go to Seven Brew, get me a little coffee, and then I'll walk around and I'm like, oh yeah, it's great. I learn about myself. And what I've learned about myself, especially in this last two years of being in therapy, I've learned that I just I love to be outside. I love to garden. I have chickens, guys. I have chickens. And we keep adding things, and my goodness. But you should be open to learn. And this woman at the well, she keeps asking Jesus a question. Instead of shutting down when get when Jesus gave her feedback, she was like, Well, Jesus, I know this, this, and this, or she didn't even know he was Jesus at the time, but I know this, this, and this. And she just keeps asking questions. Be open to feedback. Be open to learn. And lastly, I want you to be open to Jesus. Be open to Jesus. It is very hard to know who you are without knowing who he is. It's very hard to know who you are without knowing who he is. Genesis 1.27 says this. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them. Male and female, he created them. You were made in the image of God, so how are you gonna figure out who you are without consulting him? It's very hard. What I love about this story is that this woman, even though she didn't know at the time that it was Jesus, she was open to Jesus. In verse 26, it says, Please, sir, the woman said, Give me this water. Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to get water. Let me pause this right here. I don't know if you heard what she said. I'm not, I'm not sure because I had to go back and read it, and I was like, it says, give me this water, then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come back here to get water. What are you going back to the well for, friends? What are you going back to? Why are you walking a mile with 70 pounds on you? What are you going back to the well for? It continues to say, the woman said, I know the Messiah is coming. The one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. Then Jesus said to her, I am the Messiah. Jesus doesn't just give her information at this point, Jesus reveals who he is to her. And what's so sweet about this, what's so sweet about this, at this point, it says that the woman turns, she leaves her jar at the well, and she goes back to the village to become a missionary to the Samaritans. Listen, if you figure out and choose your identity in Christ, you can leave all of it behind. Because the well will not run empty, the well will not run dry. Listen, your identity does not come from your titles, it doesn't come from your approval, and it doesn't come from your past. It comes from your purpose, and from that place is where you'll be filled the most to overflowing, to overflowing. I don't know if you noticed, but the name of this passage is Woman at the Well. Right? Is woman her name? Did Jesus call her Karen? Oh Susan? Did Jesus call her Ebony or did Jesus call her by her name? No. One time he calls her woman, but he doesn't even call her by her name. He doesn't call her by her sin. He does what he chooses to do is to see her exactly how she was created. And she was created to be a wonderful, beautiful child of God. And then he put her on mission. I don't know if you know this. I don't know if you've heard. But I want to encourage you in what Jesus, what God calls you. 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that you are a new creation. Ephesians 2.10 says that you are God's handiwork, created for good works. Psalms 139.14 says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. John 8.36 says that who the Son sets free is free indeed. Isaiah 43 says, 43.1 says that you are redeemed. And 1 Peter 2.9 says this, but you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he has called you out of darkness into the wonderful light. Listen, friends, you are the light of the world. You are a child of God. You are his handiwork. You are a masterpiece. Listen, you are not what they called you. You are not what you've been through, you're not what you've done. You are who God says you are. Now the question is, when you know who you are, are you gonna choose to believe what that past said or what those people said? Are you gonna choose to believe and operate from the identity that God has given you? Would you stand with me? I'm gonna pray for two people, two groups of people. First, maybe your mom dragged you into the room today. And you'd say, Kia, I don't know who Jesus is. I don't know who this person is that you're telling me to get my identity from. I really just don't know him. We're glad that you're here. We're glad that you're here. And I'm gonna pray over you that God would touch your heart. Maybe today is not the day that you raise your hand for salvation, but maybe this is the day where a seed was planted in your heart, where you would just find yourself in your word and praying and discovering who Jesus even is. And then I'm gonna pray for a second group. Maybe you know who Jesus is. Maybe you know he's sitting at the well waiting for you. Maybe you know all the things, and you you've struggled with believing that he's called you, that he's given you an identity. Maybe that's you. I'll pray for you. So, God, we thank you so much for this day. Thank you, God, that you have given us an identity. God, you created us to be like you. And so, God, we just say thank you for that opportunity. God, would you solidify this in us? Would you allow it to permeate down deep inside of our hearts, God? Would you, would we find ourselves reading our Bibles and praying, God, just to discover who you are? And God, that would we find out who we are in you. God, I pray for those who don't know who you are. God, I just pray that even in this moment, Holy Spirit, would you just move around this room and would you touch the hearts? Touch hearts like only you can do. Would you reveal yourself to them? Would they find courage to go and shake somebody's hand and tell them that they are ready to take the step to make Jesus their Lord and Savior? And God, for those other elves in the room, God, I just pray that you would remind us of our identity, that you would prick our heart, that you would just say to us, Hey, I called you, I created you, I gave you a purpose, and this is your purpose. Show us the things that make us angry, God. Show us the things that we love, and God, would you put it together in just this beautiful work that we call our purpose and calling? God, we just thank you. And it's in Jesus' name I pray.