Philip Anthony Mitchell - Towards Truth (01/25/2026)
In week two of the "Follow" series titled "Towards Truth," Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell explains how Jesus, after calling us to follow Him, leads believers directly into truth. Through the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 and a powerful personal story from a recent flight, he shows Jesus revealing truth about who He truly is, exposing our own broken areas, and awakening us to real spiritual reality versus the deceptive darkness that blinds the world—ultimately bringing freedom to those who hold fast to His teaching.
Welcome to Victory
If you are here for the first time, you have a guest, you are a visitor—it was so thankful that you have chosen to be with us here this morning at Victory. And if you’re watching me right now online, on podcasts, if you’re listening to this message, we want to thank you so much for tuning in, for watching or listening.
I’m not ashamed to say that we are having technical issues with our lighting, and so the stage lights are not working. And so if you’re watching this podcast, it looks very awkward. We do believe in doing excellence here, so I know I’m dark-skinned, really dark. We’re doing our best to keep me lit up—so there are strobe lights in the back, some spotlights. And if you’re having difficulty seeing me, we apologize.
We are in a school. We thank God that we have an opportunity to use this facility. That’s okay. We understand at Victory that the church is not a building—the church is people. And this is where we gather. And so we are working with them on this, and until then, forgive us. And if you’re here, forgive us if the stage looks dark and you can’t see me. We’re doing the best that we can.
Welcome to the Presence of God
But we want to welcome you to not only Victory—we want to welcome you to the presence of God. We want to welcome you to the presence of Jesus. And we want to welcome you to week two of a brand new series we’re calling «Follow.»
Last week we started the series with a message called «Called to Follow,» which we talked about the call to follow. And we looked at Scriptures recorded by an eyewitness of Jesus who recorded the calling of the first disciples that Jesus called: four fishermen—Peter, James, Andrew, and John. And that same eyewitness of the life of Jesus was the fifth person He called to follow—a very controversial man named Matthew. He was despised in society.
And from the life of Matthew, we looked at two beautiful aspects of the calling of Jesus: that it comes with no pre-qualifications—that we can’t earn it, it’s not on our own merit, that God looks past our failures, our faults, our shortcomings, and He calls us just as we are but loves us too much to leave us just as we are. And that we have nothing to boast in except the cross—not our talents, our gifts, our abilities, my title as pastor. We have nothing to boast in except the cross—not my goodness.
I was born in a Christian home in Queens, New York. No, I was a knucklehead in the street for 24 years. We have nothing to boast in except the cross.
No Pre-Qualifications and Life-Changing Implications
So we said that the call comes with no pre-qualifications, and that every time we see the cross, we should remember the grace of Jesus that came and got us. And it should always lead us into gratitude—that the Christian life, every day from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, the Christian life should be lived out in gratitude. The Christian life, for the ones who really understand the Scriptures, the Christian life is a life breathed in gratitude.
And so we live out in gratitude. If I give someone something, I’m doing that unto Jesus. Listen, let me tell you something: if you are a volunteer at this church, don’t do that for me. Don’t do that for me, and don’t think because you do that I’m gonna see you. Don’t do that to gain my approval—my approval means nothing. It may make you feel good in a moment.
Well, I’m not the judge you’re gonna stand before when you die. You know what? Because if you serve for me, then if you don’t like something I say from the pulpit, you’ll stop serving, thinking you’re hurting me. Obey the Scriptures—serve as unto the Lord. So even when men offend you, you still serve Jesus.
And last week was the second thing I said: that the call to follow Jesus comes with life-changing implications. You won’t stay the same if you truly follow.
So these four sermons in this series are going to make a sentence. These four sermons in this series—each title, by the time we get to the end, it will form a sentence that you will never forget.
So last week we talked about «Called to Follow.» The title of this second message—let’s do this before I give it a title. Let’s go to John chapter 4.
Invitation to Explore Christ
And if you’re not a follower of Jesus, if you’re not a Christian yet, you’re in a safe place to explore the claims of Christ. We’re not gonna beat you up here. You don’t even have to be known yet. If you want to stay anonymous, you don’t have to sign up for anything—just keep coming and listening to the Word of God.
And if you feel like, «I want to get a little bit closer,» you can even jump in a small group. We have something called V groups that meet during the week. You can jump in one. He said, „Do I have to be a Christian to get in your small groups?“ No. Our small groups are open. You can be a non-believer and still jump in a group.
Well, what is that? We meet at homes during the week, like Acts 2—meet at homes during the week. We eat food, we pray for one another, we ask questions, we cry. You can jump in a group and not even be a believer. You don’t have to be a member of this church—you can be a visitor and still come to a group during the week if you want.
But if you’re not a believer, you don’t carry a Bible, you don’t have one—the passages are going to come up on the screen. John chapter 4.
The Encounter at the Well – John 4
Now I’m gonna read to you a very long passage of Scripture, okay? And I hope that doesn’t bother you. But if I can’t read the Bible in church, I don’t know where we can read the Bible. And so I’m gonna read to you an extended passage of Scripture. It’s gonna be about 26 verses. Can I read 26 verses of God’s Word to you? Let’s take a vote. Can I read 26 verses of God’s Word to you? If it’s not unanimous, I’m not gonna do it. Can I read 26 verses of God’s Word to you?
John chapter 4. So in John chapter 4, Jesus has been in full-time ministry for some time, and He’s headed to a place. And on His way to that place—I love this—He takes a detour through another city, a place where Jews would normally not go. And I love that: how Jesus will take a detour. Something happens when He takes a detour. You know, sometimes detours lead us into the will of God.
So Jesus takes a detour, and John—who was one of the first disciples that Jesus called to follow, an eyewitness of His ministry—recorded an incident that happened when Jesus took a detour through a town. He recorded a conversation that He had with a woman there.
I’m gonna read to you this encounter. John chapter 4 says this: The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but His disciples. When the Lord learned of this, He left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
Now He had to go through Samaria—the detour. So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
And last week I said that He changed Jacob’s name to Isaac. He did. Nobody even corrected me. I was high on something. He changed his name to Israel. That’s my disclaimer: Philip is a heretic—he changed Jacob’s name to Isaac. I made a mistake last week. Praise God I made a mistake again. Thank you, Israel. Thank you.
I’m a human being. Pray for me. I’m not one of these fronting pastors. I’m a sheep in process. Real talk. That’s what you just said. No, you wanna hear what’s real talk? I smoked a lot of weed before I got saved. No, I want people to know this because this gives people hope. And I’ve terminated a lot of brain cells, so I may have a lapse in memory every now and then. But the Lord is working on my memory. That’s real talk.
He took that blood away from me. And then instead of getting high on weed, now I get high on the Spirit. And when I used to use weed as an outlet from my pain to numb my problems, now I love my problems with prayer. And I’m not ashamed to confess that—the former weed head turned prayer head. I went from pushing weed to pushing this gospel.
No, no, no—hold on. I want to cover somebody. I was selling weight when I was in college, my medicine. I would drive down to Miami, spend $10,000 on pounds of hydro. I’ll keep garbage bags full of hydro—pounds of weed in my closet. I would lay on them like pillows on my bed, roll a blunt at night and leave it on my bathroom counter. When I got up in the morning, I would take a shower and then smoke in the steam and just be kicking bags and pounds of weed, selling it on my college campus—rolling in lives, trafficking drugs. And that was my god.
Thank God that there was a God greater than that god.
Testimony and Encouragement
I know somebody looking at me like, „Man, how could you put your business out there like that?“ I thought we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. And I want to encourage some men—I don’t know where this is coming from. I’m sorry. I know I need to get to my sermon. I don’t know who I’m talking to, but you keep running to something to escape the pain. I don’t know what it is. Whatever you’re trying to numb life with—whatever, fill in the blank—and then when that thing comes down, you go right back to that problem and that emptiness.
At some point in time, you will realize there is only one drug that will satisfy your soul forever. Sacrilegious? Call Him Jesus—a drug.
Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel—thank you for helping me, Mother. I got the seasoned saints in the back helping the young man of God. Young man up here doing his best. Really, sorry. Pray for me. Thank you, Mother. That’s your mother-in-law, Elder Milton.
I know somebody on the podcast like, „Would you get to the Bible already? When is this man ever gonna preach?“ Okay, some visitor came like, „Lord, what did you get me into?“ „Get to the Word of God.“
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey—He sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, „Will you give Me a drink?“
Now John puts in a footnote—these parentheses mean this is his assertion, his disciples' note. He doesn’t say „so His disciples“—His disciples had gone into town to buy food. They were busy eating food; Jesus was busy with a different kind of food.
The Samaritan woman said to Him, „You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can You ask me for a drink?“ And then John puts in another footnote: For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
So John is teaching as he’s recording. You got to read the Bible, man.
Jesus answered and said, „If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.“
Sir, the woman said, „You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where can You get this living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?“
Jesus answered, „Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.“
The woman said to Him, „Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.“
He told her, „Go, call your husband and come back.“
„I have no husband,“ she replied.
Jesus said to her, „You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.“
„Sir,“ the woman said, „I can see that You are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.“
Jesus declared, „Believe Me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.“
The woman said, „I know that Messiah“ (called Christ) „is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.“
Then Jesus declared, „I, the one speaking to you—I am He.“
Title: Towards Truth
Father, add a blessing now to the preaching of Your Word. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen.
When I was working on this sermon, I had some things I wanted to share. Before I jump into this, let me give you the title of this message for the note-takers. Because these four sermons will form a statement.
Last week we talked about „Called to Follow.“ Title of this message: „Towards Truth.“ And if you come every week, by the time we get to the end, we will have a statement that will make sense to you—you’ll never forget it.
Title of this message is „Towards Truth.“
Plane Story and Divine Encounter
And I’m gonna alter right now the beginning of this message because I was gonna talk about something else, but I want to just alter this message right here this morning with real life.
I was on a plane this morning. I’ve been up since 4:30. I’m tired, and I just want you to bear with me, okay?
I got up at 4:30 this morning. I was in North Carolina. I had an opportunity to marry my sister. Yeah, I married her—y’all can do better than that. This is—excuse me.
Oh, I got up before 4:30. I hopped on a flight. And I wanted to fly in to be with you, the precious people of Victory, because I love you. And I want to make sure I didn’t miss this Sunday. And thank you.
And I want to show you a picture that I took when I was on the flight. I sent it to my assistant—she’s in the booth. Danielle, do we have that picture?
So I was on flight 1783. I remember the number because it was significant to me. I was on flight 1783, bound for Atlanta, Georgia. And my seat was 29D.
And when I was asking the gate agent, I said, „Well, where is D?“ Because I don’t like to sit in the middle—you know, like when you got the three rows and you got to sit between two people. I don’t like sitting in the middle. I want to go to the bathroom if I want. I want to sit near the window so I can look out and just meditate.
So I don’t like sitting in the middle. And I was asking them, „Where’s 29D?“ All right. And they were telling me, „Don’t worry about it.“ And I was thinking to myself, I thought it was like somewhere in the middle or something.
Now I was saying, „I’m gonna go to the gate agent and change my seat.“ And I forgot to change my seat. So when they started boarding and I was in zone 2 and they started boarding, I forgot to change my seat.
So I’m already on the jet bridge. I’m headed down the aisle towards my seat. And I was like, I thought to myself, „Man, I forgot to change my seat.“ And so I’m just going, you know, looking for my seat. And I realized it was at the very back of the plane—so there was no one behind me.
And so I went and I sat down in the very back. And I was like, „Gentle, like, sit in the back.“ And I got to the very back of the plane. They say, „This is a full flight—every seat will be taken on this flight.“
So I sit down in my seat, and I was the first one in my row. And I just peep out the window, hoping that whoever got there, I would just say to them, „Listen, can I just have this seat? I’m tired. I want to lean up on the wall.“ And you know, since it’s central, you can’t really lean when you’re tired, right?
And I was really sleepy—like I’m sleepy right now. So I wanted to lean up on the wall. So I was gonna sit there and wait and ask the person when they got there, „Can I have the seat?“
And I was sitting there, and I kind of stretched out across the row and just trying to do the whole thing. And I’m watching the flight fill all the way up from the first row to the back.
And by the time it got all the way back, a gentleman came and he sat down in the aisle seat. And so I just skipped both the middle one and the one I’m on, hoping that nobody would come.
And then the plane continued to fill up. And then I heard they closed the forward cabin door, and there was no seat between he and I.
The plane takes off. And as the plane is taking off, the Holy Spirit opens my eyes. And I’m sitting in the back of the plane, and I’m staring—I’m staring across the front of the plane. And the Holy Spirit speaks to me: „Look at them. Look—in this tiny space with all these souls.“
And I was looking across the plane. I noticed God put me in the back row to see every head on the plane. And then I just start praying for the salvation of everyone on the plane—like I do this sometimes. You’d be in Kroger now, just—and now I’m praying.
And „If this plane went down at this point—went down this morning—we will all be hurled into eternity. But I would wake up in the presence of the Lord.“ And I was wondering about all these heads that I’m looking at.
Lord, I’m crying out to You: if this plane crashes—it’s dark outside—how many of them will make it into glory? How many of them will end up separated from God for all eternity? How many of them don’t believe in the truth of God’s Word? How many of them will die and be separated?
As I thought about that, man, I burst into tears in the back of that plane. I’m crying in my seat in the back of the plane. I’m crying, and I’m praying that I’m rocking back and forth. And I had my laptop on my lap, and I was gonna pull out my laptop and try to work on my sermon a little bit more. And the Holy Spirit forbade me: „No, don’t work on the sermon. Pray. Pray. Pray.“
I’m crying out for all the souls—that He’s not people, souls. And I’m crying out for all these souls on the plane. I’m praying and I’m crying. I’m crying and praying. I’m crying and praying. I’m crying and praying.
And the Lord says to me, „Man, you’re praying for all these souls on the plane—you haven’t even talked to the man next to you.“
Conversation on the Plane and Airport
And as the flight was about to land in Atlanta, I start praying for the person next to me. And we landed. And he was—it was a gentleman sitting next to me, a white brother.
And everything—seatbelt opens. I turned to him. I said, „Hey, brother.“ I said, „Hey, man.“ We said, „Do you live in Atlanta?“ He said, „No, I live in Huntsville, Alabama.“ I said, „Well, man, where you coming from?“ „So I’m coming from Florida.“ And I’m thinking maybe he was an evacuee or something. I said, „What were you doing in Florida?“ He said, „I was coming from a Buddhist event.“
I said, „Oh.“ I said, „Well, why did you go?“ He said, „I had been reading about Buddhism, and it was interesting to me. So I thought that I would just go to this event and listen to what they had to say.“
I said, „Oh.“ I said, „So you like to read about different world faiths and religions?“ „Yeah, I’m interested. You know, I’m just trying to figure out which one is right.“
And so I said to him, „Well, what do you know about Christianity?“ He said, „Well, you know, I’ve danced with some good stuff in Christianity too.“
I said, „Oh.“ And I said to him, „Hey, man, can I ask you a question?“ He said, „Yeah.“ I said, „Look forward.“ I said, „Look—look at all these heads on the plane.“ I said, „Hey, man, if this plane would have crashed this morning—if this plane would crash and we would have woke up in eternity—do you know where you would have ended up?“
He said, „What do you mean?“ I said, „If this plane would crash and we would have woke up in eternity, do you know where you would have ended up?“ He said, „I would hope I would have ended up maybe with a second life, a second chance“—because he had just heard that at the conference—“that I hope I would come back with a second chance.“
Well, I didn’t want to insult what he was saying, so I said, „Well, hey, man, that’s cool.“ I said, „Well, let me ask you a question.“ I said, „You believe something?“ He said, „Yeah.“ I said, „I believe something.“ He said, „Yeah.“ I said, „Let me ask you a question: if you and I were believing something and one of us was wrong, would you want to know what was right?“ I said, „If you believed something and it was wrong, would you want to know what was right?“ He said, „Sure, I would want to know.“
I said, „Can I share something with you?“ He said, „Sure.“ And I said to myself, „Well, listen, man.“ I said, „Listen.“ I said, „Let me tell you about Christianity.“ I said, „The progenitor was a man named Jesus. He was a great prophet and a great teacher. But I said more than a great teacher—He made claims to be the Son of God. And He made some claims that either He was a liar or He knew what He was talking about.“
And I said to him, „Do you know more songs have been written about Jesus than any other human being? And more paintings have been drawn about Jesus than any other human being? More people have been impacted than any other human. No other human figure in history has impacted humanity more than this person Jesus.“
„What do you know about Him?“ I said, „Can I encourage you to go home and read the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and read about the life of Jesus and what He says about Himself and see if you think His claims are what they are?“ He said, „Yeah, man, I’ll go ahead. I’ll go and do that.“
And I talked to him about eternity, and I talked to him about following. And I took the bracelet off my wrist—I always wear a Victory bracelet. That’s why I don’t have one on right now. You just wonder, „Where’s my bracelet?“ I took the bracelet off and I put it on his wrist and said, „Hey, man, if you go to this website, you can find me again.“
Because now the flight was empty, and I’m walking out. He said, „Can I walk with you?“ I said, „Yeah, sure. You want to walk with me?“ „Yeah, let’s walk.“ He said, „I have a three-hour layover. You got time?“ I said, „Well, somebody’s coming to pick me up at 7:30, but I got till 7:30.“ Thank you, Kenny and Erica. I said, „I have till 7:30—they’re coming to pick me up. But I will walk with you.“ He said, „Man, I want to walk with you.“ I said, „Let’s walk together.“
And so we walked, and we continued the conversation about Jesus. It was like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus—man, taking our seven-mile journey. And I could feel as we walked something burning in my heart.
And so he would not let me go. And I stopped—he stopped. And I would walk—he would walk. And he just kept: „Keep talking to me about Jesus.“ Talking to him about Jesus. I didn’t talk about my church. I didn’t talk about what we do. I didn’t talk about how long I’ve been—I ain’t talked about my sermons. I just kept talking to him about Jesus.
And then I said to him, „Man, it’s 7:30. My ride is down there waiting for me. I gotta go.“ He said, „Man, I really wanted you to stay.“ He said, „But I gotta go.“ I said, „Hey, you know, look—can I just pray for you before I leave?“ And I prayed for him.
And I told him, „Listen, you know—give me your number. Unless you’re not staying in contact, let’s finish this conversation.“ So I took his number. We exchanged numbers. And I texted him in the bathroom—he already texted me back. And he already texted me back in the bathroom.
I don’t even know what he texted me. Oh, thank you, Philip. I’ve been awake for almost 24 hours. I was so tired, and meeting you was the much-needed jolt for me to make it the rest of the way home. I’ll check out the app and the website. Love you, man.
Hold this for me, Kenny. Let me—so I just text: „Love you more, man. Can’t wait to talk to you again.“ Right. Hold my phone, Kenny.
Spiritual Warfare and the Battle Over Reality
And so as I was leaving him, you know, I was thinking to myself like, „Man, I’m talking to him, and I’m trying to push him over the edge towards faith.“ But there was a wrestle there, right? I’m trying to push him over the edge towards faith without being pushy. But it was a wrestle there.
And I’m thinking—and this is the part that broke my heart—I’m standing there in the airport talking to him about Jesus, right? And as we’re standing in the airport, I realized we have two different worldviews.
I’m seeing everything around me through the eyes of the Spirit, and he’s seeing everything through the eyes of the natural. I’m seeing souls walking by me—he’s seeing people walking by him. We’re having a conversation about a man I call Savior—we’re having a conversation about a man he just calls a prophet.
And there is this wall between he and I—this chasm. And it’s right there in the space of that chasm—it’s where there is a tremendous battle raging for the souls of men.
And when we talk about spiritual warfare—that we talk about pleading the blood and rebuking demons and angels fighting demons—all that is true. But do you know what is a much deeper essence of spiritual warfare? A deeper essence of spiritual warfare—that one of the greatest natures of spiritual warfare is reality and what you believe is reality.
And that one little word—reality—will send people to hell and will put people in heaven. Because whatever your reality is, you will hold to that. Whatever your reality is, you will fight for that.
And the only difference between me and this brother was our realities. My reality was I’m walking around in the Spirit and the Kingdom—I can hear God, feel Him, sense Him. His reality was he’s a natural man, void of the Spirit yet—but a man open to hearing something, still seeing the world through his natural eyes.
Our worldviews were different. And the only thing that separated us was our reality.
And I remember in that moment that I was just like him. That’s why when we Christians need to stop condemning unbelievers—stop trying to tear them down. „Why she dressed like that? How come she did this? Why he talked like that?“ Because you did the same when you were a sinner.
And as I thought about that, Kenny, I thought to myself, „Man, God, I used to be just like that.“
You know what I realized? That for those of us before we were in Jesus—this is what our world looked like. Before we were in Jesus—this is what our world looked like.
My whole life before I was in Christ looked like this: darkness.
And for every person who’s not in Christ, this is the reality that they live in. Although their eyes are open, they live in darkness.
I lived in darkness. I went to high school like this. I went to college like this. I got into relationships like this. I fell in love like this.
And everyone who’s not in Christ—they go to work every day like this, and they drive on the highway like this, and they make plans to go on vacation like this, and they get married like this, and they raise people like this, and they fall in love like this, and they give birth to babies like this, and they raise children like this. They send children out of the house like this. They have friends like this. They go to conferences like this. They go to services like this. They’ve read books like this. They have fun like this. They’re in the clubs like this. They’re getting twisted like this. They get drunk like this. They get in shootouts like this. They’re playing sports like this. They’re writing songs like this. They got 190 million followers on Instagram like this. They’re influencing a third of the nation like this. They call themselves a power couple like this. They’re worth almost a billion dollars like this. They drop those songs like this. They hit great shots like this. They say, „I’ll be flooded with—I saw hellfire can’t scorch me“ like this. They get accolades like this, get awards like this.
We go to the movies like this. Without Christ, our whole lives are like this. Our whole entire life without Christ is like this.
You should take a picture right now with your phone if you want to make a good post, if you want to start some trouble today. Take this picture of me right now. Put it on your IG later or your Twitter, Instagram, and say, „This is life without Christ.“ And then start a conversation.
Right—pull up your phone and just take a picture. This was my pastor preaching this morning. „If that’s not the church, the preacher preaching this morning said this is life without Christ.“ And see how many people fight you on the post. Start a conversation.
'Cause this is life without Christ. My whole life like this.
Blinded by the God of This Age – 2 Corinthians 4
And then we say, „Well, preacher, I don’t believe that.“ „Well, who says that? I feel offended that you would say that.“
But Paul wrote about this in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Paul said this is what Paul said. Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 4: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
What is the opposite of light? Darkness. So if I’m not in Christ, I live like this—one in darkness.
He said, „Well, who’s the instigator of that?“ The same verse—the New Living Translation says this—let’s make it more clear: Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. So they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them. They don’t understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
So the Scripture says that it is Satan, the devil—I’ma just let this sit right here for a second—it is Satan the devil who blinds us. So before we were in Christ, we all walked in darkness, blinded by the devil, that we can’t see the light of the gospel.
He is the instigator of this darkness—that he keeps people bound in this darkness. That the wall between us and the wall between me and an unbeliever is the wall of deception—Satan deceiving people that they can’t see the light. It’s deception.
And this world is flooded with deception. Deception is pervasive around us and in us. You turn on the TV—it’s filled with deception. You turn on socials—it’s filled with deception. Lies are all around us, and it is in us.
This is why Jesus, after He calls us to follow Him, He will then lead us towards truth. Because as soon as He calls us to follow, He takes the blinders off our eyes—the blindness off our eyes. He leads us to truth, because truth destroys deception.
And He’ll lead us to truth in three places. And I want to give this to you really quick.
Jesus Leads to Truth About Himself
Number one: He’ll lead us to truth about Himself.
That woman at the well said, „Listen, I know that the Messiah is coming, and He will tell us all things.“ Jesus said to her, „The person you’re talking about is Me.“ He was revealing truth about Himself.
But Jesus wasn’t only just a bringer of truth. Jesus said a very radical statement. Jesus said—He wasn’t just „I bring truth.“ Jesus said in John 14:6—He said to us: „I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.“
Jesus didn’t say, „I’m a teacher of truth.“ Jesus said, „I am truth.“
Give me my statement, Danielle. Jesus says, „I am truth.“
Give me my first statement: The call to follow Jesus is the call to absolute truth.
And as believers, you need to know that the call to follow Jesus is the call to absolute truth—not just a teacher of truth. He is truth.
Now you should be scratching your head, asking a question: But what if when we hear something that contradicts what He says—then we know it is mingled with deception.
Well, what if I watch something that contradicts what He says—then we know I’m watching something that is mingled with deception.
But what if somebody preaches something that contradicts what He says—then I know that that has been mingled with error or deception.
Because Jesus didn’t say that „I came to just bring truth.“ Jesus said, „I am truth.“
That is, anything that claims truth needs to be measured up against Jesus. The more you know Him and His teachings, the easier it is to discern a lie. The more you know Him and His teachings, the more you will know when something is real and when something is false.
Because as we’re following Jesus, the first place He leads you to is Himself. He reveals Himself to you as truth. He will reveal Himself to you as Savior, as Lord, as Provider, as Healer—as whatever you need in your season. Jesus reveals Himself to you as truth.
When society says one thing against Jesus—I know that He is true. When social media says one thing against Jesus—I know that He is true. When people are saying something else against Jesus—and if I’m searching for truth, I don’t have to look past Jesus. He is the standard for which I determine what is true and what is not true—what is reality and what is not reality.
If it’s outside of Christ—it’s false reality. So Buddhism is false reality. The fact that I’m going to die and come back again and die and come back again and die and come back again—it’s false reality.
And we need to know that as a conviction. So when you have the conversation, we don’t have to waver. You just stand on Jesus because He is true.
That’s why when I kept talking to the brother in the airport—I kept talking to him about Jesus.
So Jesus will lead us to truth about Himself.
Jesus Leads to Truth About Yourself
He will reveal Himself. The second place He’ll lead you to: He’ll lead you to truth about yourself.
Jesus said to this woman, „Give Me a drink.“ Sir, but „You really want some water? Like, I want some water.“ „Give Me a drink.“ He starts the conversation natural, and now He’s driving the conversation towards: „Go and call your husband.“
Look—why would Jesus call her business out like that? But He knew something about her—that she was broken and she was hurting, probably battling self-esteem issues, whatever she was going through. He was driving towards the deeper issue. He was trying to show her her need for Him.
And when you follow Jesus, He will reveal truth about yourself. He will show you: „I know you’re not gonna say amen.“ We don’t like—we love sermons about „You’re gonna get your blessing,“ but we don’t want any sermons about „You’re prideful.“ And I’m prideful.
He’ll reveal: „You’re arrogant here. You’re very unforgiving. You’re stubborn. You hold people. You’ll reveal to you that you have your own thing.“ Instead of following My Kingdom, He will start revealing truth about your old self.
He will start poking you in the areas that you can’t see—because He’s constantly trying to transform you into His image. That the goal of Christianity is not to give you a platform. The goal of Christianity is to make you look like the twin—that when you die, you will look like the image of Jesus, and He will see Himself.
And for Him to see Himself, He has to keep poking you in areas where He knows you’re hiding from Him. You won’t pray about that. You won’t talk to nobody about that. But He sees that—you can’t hide from Him. Everything is naked before Him.
He loves you too much to leave you that way. So He’ll keep tapping you: „What about this? What about this? What about this?“ To show you you have need in this area.
And for all these preachers—don’t keep idolizing. They have needs too. Don’t get it twisted for one second. They think there’s any man walking this earth who has arrived? No. Okay—how well they preach or how well they write—they have things going on in their heart that the Lord Jesus Christ is dealing with them about.
Preaching the heck out of the gospel—abound in pornography. Preaching the heck out of the gospel—and mistreating their wife. Preaching this gospel—and prideful and arrogant. Preaching the gospel—and I got issues too.
Y’all see me crying in front of you? No, I cry 'cause I’m hurting too. That’s me. Never had to come pray for me because I was hurting too.
And so Jesus will reveal truth about yourself. Because a lot of us—we think we smell good, but you don’t smell that good.
I’m almost done—one more point. A lot of you nodded for now. We get saved, we learn four verses, and now we have theologians. That’s how this goes down. A lot of us go out—we get born again, we learn four Scriptures, and now we’re theologians.
We’re doing live videos on Facebook, preaching everybody down, leading people to error—because we’re theologians because we learned four verses.
But you can’t see that you’re full of pride and arrogance.
And so Jesus will lead us to truth about our old selves. This is called repentance. And He does that with conviction—not condemnation, not a reminder of your failure—but „You can do better in this area. Forgive her. Make that right. Stop acting like that. What does My Word say in this area, Philip?“ Conviction.
Why? Every time He’s convicting me, He’s revealing to me truth about my own self.
You following Jesus—He’s gonna follow you. Come up here, Elder. Man, you two for two now. Put your hand on my shoulder again.
So as we’re following Jesus, right? He’ll walk us—not only to platforms and all this place—but He’ll walk you to the bathroom, and He’ll say, „Stop right there. Now look.“ He’ll hold up the mirror in front of you: „Milton, you see yourself in that mirror? We got to work on this.“
„You see where it says—have you mistreated your wife? I won’t listen to your prayers—that’s why I haven’t answered you for three weeks. You need to work on this.“
„You see where it says here in this mirror—to seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added—but you’ve been seeking your own stuff first. We got to work on that.“
„But you see that thing—it’s right there. Let me get that off.“
Looking at Mary: „You still see that spot right there? Man, you’re still being jealous. Wipe that jealousy off your face.“
„Yeah, oh—you see when you was on Instagram the other day and you was looking at that person—you said, ‘Man, why can’t my life be like that?’ That’s called covetousness. Wipe that off your face.“
„You know when you was comparing yourself to that person on Instagram the other day—like, ‘Wish my anointing was as good as their anointing.’ That’s competition again. Wipe that off your face.“
„You know when I keep telling you to serve and to give and help Me advance the gospel—but you keep saying it’s your money and your job. But I’m telling you that I gave you that—right? It all belongs to Me, and you call yourself an owner, but I call you a steward. Wipe that off your face.“
„You know when you keep carrying all your own burdens because you think you’re strong enough to fix your problems—but I told you through My servant Peter to cast all your cares upon Me because I care about you. Okay—so that you think you have a Jesus complex. Wipe that off your face.“
And He will lead you to the mirror to show you truth about your own self.
First, thank you.
Jesus Leads to Truth About Reality
And as you follow Jesus, the last place He will lead you to—for this particular message we’re talking about truth—truth about Him, truth about you. And I’ve been saying this word over and over on purpose so it sticks in your heart: truth about reality.
Where was that guest piano player? Did he leave? Brother, jump up there on them keys for me just a second. Let me land this plane.
He’ll teach you truth about reality. I love you, Rhonda. Thank you.
That’s what He was showing that woman. He was showing that woman—you need Me, right? He was showing truth about herself. That’s why He was tapping her area of sin—because she was prostituting herself. What was He trying to do? He was trying to elevate her value and self-worth—that you don’t have to keep giving away yourself like this.
Her reality was: this is my life. His reality was: I have something better for you than this. You call yourself prostitute—I call you servant and child. You call yourself broken—I call you whole and healed. You call yourself needing a man to love you—I call Myself the Lover of your soul.
He was showing her truth about herself.
In this text, we see areas where Jesus will lead us to. He’ll lead us to reality.
This woman’s reality was—give me that same key we was praying on, brother. I mean, let me—send these people. No, no—that key we was praying on. Just give me the chord.
He finished us. Come down—some volume.
This woman said, „I know when the Messiah comes, He will reveal all things to us.“ And she was talking to God about where she should worship. She had a worldview, a reality about where she should worship—and the Messiah. That was her reality.
Her reality was: we’re gonna worship at a place, a temple. He said, „No.“ Jesus had a different reality: true worshipers worship God in spirit and in truth. They could do that in their bathroom, in the shower.
„I know when Messiah has come, He will do this.“ That was her reality. Jesus said, „No—the person you’re looking for is standing right in front of you.“ That was His reality.
If you read the rest of the account, she goes back to the town. She tells everybody, „Come see a man that told me everything I’ve ever done.“ And she asked, „Is this the Christ?“
So she wasn’t yet convinced. That was her reality—still struggling with doubt. But the people that heard her testimony ran to see Jesus. And the stats toward the end of that passage tells us that many in that town believed.
That although she was still scratching her head—“Could He be the Christ?“—they found a different reality: He is the Christ.
She had one reality. Jesus had a different. And the battle right there between them was which reality would prevail.
And whatever reality prevails as truth—we will eat that reality in eternity.
What is your reality?
Because there are people in this room right now—people listening—you have an alternate reality from Jesus.
There are people who go to church their whole life and still are not following Christ. There are people who think this whole thing is about services—and we got to get all the time to go to the restaurant—and missing the whole thing.
What is your reality?
And listen—let me talk to some believers in the room. What is your reality? What is my reality? Is Jesus really Savior, Lord? Am I really following? Have I really surrendered all for Him? Have I abandoned the things of this life, and am I really living for His glory?
Is my Facebook for His glory? Is my Instagram post for His glory? Is my life for His glory? Is my relationship for His glory?
Whose story are you trying to tell—yours or His? His story—history. H-I-S—history is really His story.
What story you’re trying to tell with your life?
Let’s be honest: what reality are you living? Are you living your reality or His reality? What you want or what He wants? What you think is best for you—what He thinks is best for you?
How God has you in a place of suffering, and you think it’s best for you to not be there—but what if His reality is for you to stay there because He’s trying to transform you with trial?
Whose reality are you living?
Because there’s some believers in this room—we’re talking to you—we’d be slipping with the stuff we read. You go get an article—you believe the article over the Scriptures. And we’d be slipping, and we keep doing that, and we just start pulling that thing back over our eyes. We’d be covered like this.
We’ve been in a season like this—halfway seeing—because we’re not seeing the right reality.
Listen—you know, many of us in this room look like this right now: doing half of Jesus and half of my own thing. This is what we look like right now.
Whose reality are we in?
False Realities and the Call to Mission
And I want to end this message with this, my brothers and sisters: You know what else is a false reality? To think that Jesus saved me to make me happy, and He saved me to give me everything that I want and desire.
You know what is also false reality? That I’m serving God to get what I want.
And all these false realities people are living in—you know what? I call it a matrix of false reality. Just a matrix.
Jesus—you know, this is gonna offend about every person outside of the truth of Jesus.
You won’t care about the people on the flight with you. You won’t care about the people in your job. You won’t care when you’re walking through Walmart.
What are we doing? This church supports three missionaries in Madagascar—and some of y’all won’t even give to this church. What reality are you living?
I tell you—we spend thousands of dollars to spread the gospel. Some of you won’t even pray for more people. Like, what is this? Why are we here? What is your reality?
It’s not about you or your weave or your house or your job or your car. You’re on your own mission.
Do you understand that every day of your life is supposed to be living with a consciousness of mission?
That’s why my prayers are filled with, „I want to use—call this—“ Why are you trying to build you here? I don’t need a bigger house. I don’t care that I drive a 2007 Maxima. I don’t need a new car. It’s not my reality—is not stuff.
I don’t care if I’m wearing $15. My reality is not that. My reality is that I’m fighting for Jesus.
This is what I’m fighting for. Actually, come and give me this—is the reality of Christianity.
What if, God, every person who claims Jesus would shed His tears and would feel the burden He feels for those outside of that truth?
Because if we are following Him—we’re not following Him—or we won’t be supposed to be following Him totally surrendered to what He has for us—that reality will make a difference in what Jesus is doing in your life.
Because there was someone in this room just like the brother I sat next to on this flight. And I’m praying for him. And I’m not gonna make this long because you already know who you are.
There’s a brother in this room. There’s a sister in this room. You have been living in the matrix of a false reality.
Jesus, who loves you so much—for you. And if you would put your faith in Him and your trust in Him, He promises to save you—save you from your sin, save you from the penalty of sin, put you in a right relationship with the Father, and lead you into the purpose of living for His glory until He comes to get you.
Your life is greater than whatever your title is.
Closing Prayer and Invitation
I want to pray for you that you would come out of the matrix of false reality.
And whoever that is—man, Jesus is standing right in front of you. You don’t have to get up out your seat. You don’t have to move. But if that is you, say, „Pastor, I want you to pray for me. I want to know Christ as my Savior.“
Calling me, my brother—I see that hand. My sister—I see that hand. My sister—I see that hand. My brother—I see that hand. My sister—I see that hand. My brother—I see that hand. My sister—I see that hand. My sister—I see that hand. My sister—I see that hand. My sister—I see that hand. My brother—I see that hand. My sister.
You individuals that lifted your hands—to the Lord Jesus Christ is right in front of you. It’s no magical prayer. It’s just right there—you see? You just talk to Him. Confess your sins. Tell Him you’re a sinner. Ask Him to forgive you for your sins. Say:
Jesus, I put my faith in You.
He can hear you. You talk to Him. This is the truth: the truth is that you and I are sinners, and if you die in your sin, you’ll be separated. But He died for you. He’s right in front of you right now. You can whisper—talk to Him.
Say:
Lord Jesus, forgive me for my sins. I acknowledge You as my Savior. I put my trust…
The Scripture says in Romans 10: if anyone will call on the name of the Lord, they shall be saved.
That’s a personal decision between you and Him.
May the Lamb of God—our Father, I pray for all these hands that were lifted.
And I’m praying for you—you raised your hand. Just keep your hand in the air while I’m praying for you. Just throw your hand up. Yeah—just do the—throw it up. Nobody can see you. Throw it up.
Yeah, I’m praying for these hands that are lifted. They’ve been living, God, in a matrix of false reality. But Jesus, You loved them so much (I see that new hand, my sister. I see that new hand, my brother) You love them so much. You died for them.
They will come out of darkness into the marvelous light, and they will walk with You, fulfilling the plans—I see that new hand, my brother—that they will see that new hand, my brother—that they would walk with You, God, into the plans and purposes. I see that new hand, my sister—that they would walk with You in the cleansing power. I see that new hand—they would walk with You in the purposes that You have for them.
Jesus, I thank You, God. And this is what You died to do: move people from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
Lord, I believe You are saving them right now in their chair. And according to Ephesians, You’re sealing them with Your Holy Spirit as a seal, guaranteeing their salvation until the day You come back to get them.
I pray, according to Paul’s prayers, that the spirit of wisdom, the knowledge, and the revelation of Jesus Christ would rest and abide on them from this moment forward. Now they’ll follow You. I told them—see Your face. Where You give them a love for Your Word, a love for Your presence, a love for Christian gatherings.
When You will destroy and dismantle everything they’ve ever believed that was a false reality. I pray You will take every thought captive into the obedience of Jesus Christ, and they will be awoken right now.
Then when they step out of this building, they will smell the fresh air. They will see the trees differently. They will see the sky differently. They will look up in the sky and honor who created that. They will walk now with the eyes of the Spirit.
I thank You, Jesus. Please—You have saved. The Scripture says that when one sinner repents, all of heaven rejoices.
They will come out of darkness into the marvelous light, and they will walk with You, fulfilling the plans—I see that new hand, my brother—that they will see that new hand, my brother—that they would walk with You, God, into the plans and purposes. I see that new hand, my sister—that they would walk with You in the cleansing power. I see that new hand—they would walk with You in the purposes that You have for them.
Jesus, I thank You, God. And this is what You died to do: move people from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
Lord, I believe You are saving them right now in their chair. And according to Ephesians, You’re sealing them with Your Holy Spirit as a seal, guaranteeing their salvation until the day You come back to get them.
I pray, according to Paul’s prayers, that the spirit of wisdom, the knowledge, and the revelation of Jesus Christ would rest and abide on them from this moment forward. Now they’ll follow You. I told them—see Your face. Where You give them a love for Your Word, a love for Your presence, a love for Christian gatherings.
When You will destroy and dismantle everything they’ve ever believed that was a false reality. I pray You will take every thought captive into the obedience of Jesus Christ, and they will be awoken right now.
Then when they step out of this building, they will smell the fresh air. They will see the trees differently. They will see the sky differently. They will look up in the sky and honor who created that. They will walk now with the eyes of the Spirit.
I thank You, Jesus. Please—You have saved. The Scripture says that when one sinner repents, all of heaven rejoices.
Hold on—hold on—hold on. Don’t be seated for one second. Don’t shut me off. Even watching this on podcast—we still recording. Hold on.
Listen—I want to give you one more thing. Jesus said—the Holy Spirit brought it to my attention. I wrote it down.
For all of you who put your faith in Christ—Jesus has something so powerful. And to those of us who are in Christ—He says something powerful.
In John chapter—let me get that last verse. John—1 John chapter 2.
The Jews who had believed in Him—Jesus said, „If you hold to My teaching—if you hold to My teaching,“ He said, „you are really My disciples.“
You know what a disciple is? A disciple is a follower—not a fan—a follower.
He said, „If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth—“
See, we always say in our songs and we always quote, „If I know the truth, the truth has set me free.“ But we don’t read the verse before that.
„If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.“
Listen—if Jesus gives freedom, then apart from Him, what do we have? Slavery. Bondage.
Meditate on that when you leave. If Jesus gives freedom, then apart from that, we have bondage.
So when people come out of that bondage and into freedom—this is what Jesus just gave all the people who lifted their hands. He just gave you freedom from bondage.
Jesus gives us freedom. Truth brings freedom.
And when I believe things about myself that’s not right—I just go back to His truth, and I find freedom.
When I hate things that’s been troubling my heart and I feel stress—I just go back to His truth, and I find freedom.
When I feel overwhelmed by the world—I just keep going back to His truth, and I find freedom.
And our Father, we thank You for the preaching of Your Word—that You’re not only a teacher of truth, but You are truth, Jesus.
We don’t want services without encounters. And I pray, Father, You would set our hearts on fire.
Let us not live false realities. Let us live Your reality.
Let us burn up our social media, burn up our lives, and burn up our communities and take territory in our cities and be aggressive on mission for You—as You’re coming back to get us.
And until You come back to get us, You’ve taught us to occupy—to make disciples until You come.
Continue to keep leading us to Jesus—the truth about Yourself, truth about ourselves, and truth about reality.
We receive that now.
We don’t want services without encounters. And I pray, Father, You would set our hearts on fire.
Let us not live false realities. Let us live Your reality.
Let us burn up our social media, burn up our lives, and burn up our communities and take territory in our cities and be aggressive on mission for You—as You’re coming back to get us.
And until You come back to get us, You’ve taught us to occupy—to make disciples until You come.
Continue to keep leading us to Jesus—the truth about Yourself, truth about ourselves, and truth about reality.
We receive that now.