Why a Savior with Jared Raines

Devotional

Day 1: Why we need a Savior, not self-help

Sin separates, and no amount of effort, niceness, or religious activity can bridge that gap. We often tell ourselves we’re “not that bad,” but Scripture calls sin rebellion, and its outcome is death—separation from the Source of life. The good news is not a better version of you; it’s a Savior who does for you what you could never do for yourself. Grace is not earned; it is received. Today, rest from striving and receive the gift God delights to give. Let hope rise where shame once ruled. [01:06:15]

Romans 6:23 — The payoff for sin is death; but God freely offers eternal life through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

Reflection: What is one “I’m fine” lie you’ve believed about your spiritual condition, and what simple act of surrender could replace it today?

Day 2: From knowing about Jesus to knowing Him

It’s possible to be around church and still be empty, to admire Jesus yet not trust Him with your real life. Surrender begins when you stop managing appearances and let Him access what you’ve kept off-limits—fear, people-pleasing, old patterns that promise relief but deliver pain. Repentance is not punishment; it is the doorway to life. When you stop fighting God and start fighting with Him, everything shifts from death to life. Today, move from “Jesus-light” to Jesus as Lord. [01:12:26]

John 14:6 — Jesus said, “I alone am the road, the reality, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.”

Reflection: Where are you carefully curating how others see you instead of bringing the real you to Jesus, and what honest confession could you make to Him today?

Day 3: The holy grind: pressure with a purpose

Like espresso beans, pride and self-sufficiency need to be ground down so Living Water can reach every part of the soul. God uses pressure—not to crush you—but to extract what He has placed within you. Pressure reveals cracks He intends to fill and patterns He intends to change. Remember, Jesus humbled Himself first; He never asks you to go anywhere He hasn’t already gone. Trust the process: the grind, the heat, the pressure—each is an instrument of love. [01:25:31]

2 Corinthians 4:8–9 — We are squeezed on every side but not trapped, confused but not without hope, chased but not abandoned, knocked down but not finished off.

Reflection: Identify one current pressure point in your life; how could you partner with Jesus in it this week rather than rush to escape it?

Day 4: Living water and Spirit-led overflow

Water carries the flavor in espresso; in your life, the Spirit carries the life of Jesus. Get the water right, and what flows out is rich, sustaining, and meant to overflow to others. Jesus invites the thirsty to come and drink, not only to be filled but to become a source where rivers flow from within. Ministry is not a microphone; it’s a lifestyle of overflow at home, at work, and in your neighborhood. Drink deeply today so others can taste His goodness through you. [01:29:31]

John 7:37–38 — Jesus cried out, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink. Whoever trusts in me will have streams of living water welling up from deep within.”

Reflection: Where could living water overflow from you this week—one specific person, place, or moment—and what simple act of love will you offer there?

Day 5: Throwing away the spent puck—abide and bear fruit

After extraction, the used grounds are discarded; you can’t pull fresh crema from a spent puck. In the same way, you can’t add Jesus to the old life and expect something new; the old must be thrown away. Abiding in Jesus is how fruit comes—again and again—as He faithfully completes the work He began. Let Him remove what hinders so His life can flow freely through you. Taste and see that His way is better, and let your life become a sweet aroma to God. [01:40:36]

John 15:5 — I am the vine, you are the branches; stay joined to me and I to you, and you will bear much fruit. Cut off from me, you can’t produce anything that lasts.

Reflection: What is one “spent puck” habit or pattern you need to throw away, and what abiding practice (prayer, Scripture, worship, community) will you adopt in its place this week?

Sermon Summary

I asked a simple but urgent question: why a Savior? Not because it’s Christmas week, but because I’ve lived the difference between admiring Jesus from a distance and being rescued by Him. I grew up in church, fluent in the songs and the stories, but my life was hollow—driven by self-preservation, people-pleasing, fear, and the quiet despair of being my own god. Scripture doesn’t flatter us there: all have sinned, the wages are death, and even our best efforts—outside of Christ—are filthy rags. We don’t need a coach for self-improvement; we need a Savior who does what we cannot. Jesus doesn’t point to a path—He is the Way. Grace is a gift, not a grind we perform.

In 2002, I hit the floor in my parents’ basement and repented for real. I stopped playing church. I stopped fighting Him and started fighting with Him. That moment began a new kind of life that I tried to picture today through an unlikely parable: espresso. Beans have potential, but until they’re ground, the good can’t be accessed. Pressure—real pressure—must be applied, but not alone. With the right water—living water—pressure doesn’t crush; it extracts. And what comes through is concentrated goodness, a crema of grace that isn’t just for me but flows through me to others. That’s ministry. Not a title or a mic, but a life that releases what Jesus has placed within.

And when the shot’s pulled, the spent puck has to go. You can’t add Jesus to the old life and get something new. He keeps working this cycle—grinding pride, applying purposeful pressure, washing with living water—until Christ is formed in us. If the highest place we reach is His feet, we’ve done it all. So if you feel the pressure this week, don’t despise it. Ask what He’s extracting. Let Him have full access. Throw the old away. And worship.

Key Takeaways

1. We need a Savior, not self-help Self-knowledge and effort can diagnose the sickness but cannot heal it. Scripture levels the field: everyone has sinned, and the paycheck for sin is death—no exceptions, no loopholes. Jesus doesn’t offer a technique; He offers Himself, the only Way back to the Father. Grace is not earned; it is received, and it frees us from boasting and from despair. [68:22]
2. Surrender replaces “Jesus-lite” religion It’s possible to be around God’s people and never actually give God access. Real repentance looks like telling the truth about our patterns and finally collapsing into His mercy. I had to stop treating God like my opponent and begin fighting with Him, trusting His corner over my instincts. That shift broke the cycle of pretending and began a life of partnership. [74:13]
3. Let God grind down pride Whole beans don’t brew; unbroken hearts don’t transform. The grind isn’t humiliation for humiliation’s sake—it’s access. Jesus Himself embraced the ultimate “grind,” emptying Himself and descending to us; He never asks us to go where He has not gone. When pride yields, every particle of our life becomes reachable for grace. [78:25]
4. Pressure with living water transforms Life’s pressure alone just crushes and embitteres; pressure with the Spirit extracts Christlike character. Trials reveal the cracks He intends to fill, and with living water, what emerges isn’t sludge—it’s something surprisingly sweet. The right “water” matters: His presence sustains in a way nothing else can. Let pressure partner with the Spirit’s flow and watch what God pulls through. [88:30]
5. Throw out the spent puck You can’t re-use what’s already been extracted and expect crema. Likewise, you cannot bolt Jesus onto the old life and call it new. The Spirit invites a rhythm: break, press, wash, pour—and then discard what can no longer serve. He who began a good work will keep cycling grace until the day of Christ. [99:10]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[09:41] - Icy roads and opening prayer
[57:33] - Service flow: making room for Spirit
[59:24] - Why a Savior? Setting the table
[61:31] - Life without Christ: empty and self-preserving
[65:14] - All have sinned: the framework
[68:22] - Jesus is the only way
[71:26] - 2002: real repentance and return
[74:52] - The espresso parable begins
[76:13] - The grind: pride broken down
[80:18] - Pressure and purpose in trials
[88:30] - Living water and true ministry
[92:32] - Crema: the sweet payoff
[99:10] - The spent puck: leave the old
[125:27] - Christmas Eve and community updates

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- Romans 6:23
- Ephesians 2:8–9
- John 7:37–39

Observation questions

In Romans 6:23, what two outcomes are contrasted, and how are they described (wages versus gift)?
According to Ephesians 2:8–9, what is the source of salvation, through what means, and what does this remove room for?
In John 7:37–39, who is invited, what must they do, and what is promised to flow as a result?
In the espresso picture, what did “the grind” and “the spent puck” stand for in everyday life? [01:16:13] [01:39:10]

Interpretation questions

If salvation is a gift and not earned (Ephesians 2:8–9), how does that reshape the instinct to manage image, people-please, or self-preserve? [01:02:39]
John 7:37–39 promises rivers of living water flowing from within believers. How does this redefine ministry as overflow instead of performance or title? [01:29:31]
Romans 6:23 lays out wages versus gift. How might “Jesus-lite” religion try to live on wages (self-effort, niceness, status) rather than receiving the gift? [01:04:38]
Why is it necessary to discard the “spent puck” rather than bolt Jesus onto old patterns? What happens if the old isn’t thrown out? [01:39:53]

Application questions

Where is pride or self-sufficiency being “ground down” in you right now? Name one pattern Jesus is asking to access, and one concrete way you’ll give Him access this week. [01:17:23]
What pressure are you feeling this week (home, work, finances, relationships)? How will you invite the Spirit’s “living water” into that pressure so it extracts Christlike character instead of bitterness? Be specific. [01:28:30]
Identify one “spent puck” from your old life—a habit, grudge, identity, or coping mechanism—that needs to be discarded. What practical step will you take to throw it out? [01:39:10]
Where have you settled for “Jesus-lite”—being around God’s people without giving God access? What would real repentance look like for you this week (words you need to say, someone you need to call, a secret you need to bring into the light)? [01:12:26]
Ministry is not a mic or a title; it’s overflow. What is one way the living water in you can flow to someone else this week—at home, work, or in your neighborhood? Name the person and the action. [01:29:31]
Jesus is the Way, not a technique. Where are you tempted to look for tips and hacks instead of Him? What will choosing Him first look like in that area this week? [01:08:22]
“If the highest place I reach is at Your feet, I’ve done it all.” What is one worship practice you can build in daily (morning song, Scripture out loud, kneeling, a quiet walk) to give Him fuller access to your heart? [01:43:32]

Sermon Clips

Jesus ground down my pride my self sufficiency
Everything I thought made me strong had to be broken apart first
I thought I was fine as I was
Okay
That is the truth
All of us think we are fine as we are
Even in our current state
But the truth is whole beans do not make espresso
They have to be ground down in order to do so
So in order for me to let Jesus in I had to give him access

It looks like burning every relationship because it gets too close because you are too afraid of getting hurt
It looks like waking up empty even when you have everything you want
It looks like taking risks because you are too impatient to wait for something better
Because you want it all now
It looks like knowing something is wrong but having no power to fix it

Grace is a gift that is not earned
You do not earn grace
You might earn grace in your family but you do not earn grace from Jesus
He gives it
It is a free gift
That is the defining characteristic of free
Free
It is a gift
So he took the punishment we deserved
He died the death we earned
He bridged the gap we could never cross

So what you have you have an espresso
That is the new
And you want to hold on to the puck sometimes
Like I can still get out
No
You cannot add Jesus to your old life and get to a new one
That is what the puck is
That is what that grind is
It does not serve a purpose anymore

That is what happens in how we are owed for our rebellion against God
Because that is what sin is
It is rebellion from God from his way
Not because God is mean
Because God is certainly not mean
He is just
And sometimes justice might make you feel like something is wrong
It might make you focus on the fact that it did not make you feel good
That could be conviction too
Sin separates us from a holy God
And because of that that is considered separation from the source of life
And because separation from the source of life the only alternative after that is death

Fighting that feeling that I was pulling away from everything and everyone that I had ever known
Just because I was afraid to change
And I knew those people would not look at me differently because I was changing
And they would not accept me because I was not the same way that they were anymore
So I stopped fighting him and I started fighting with him
Instead of acting like he was my opponent I realized that he was in my corner

So we are separated by sin
We are destined for death and we are powerless to fix it
We need a savior not a teacher not a prophet not a good example not a better version of Jared not a better version of anyone else in this room

So really it came down to I knew what the status quo looked like
Guys I knew how to be a Christian because I was surrounded by them
But where I grew up I did not really see a whole lot of how to be a Jesus lover surrounded by all of this chaos
So it became more Jesus light
It was like knowing Jesus but not really
It is like I knew about him but I did not really know him
I did not have him here
So like I would say I was basically in love with the idea of Jesus

Because it does not matter because we tell ourselves a lot of lies throughout our life
So we have established that framework
We have lies that I have told myself lies
You have probably told yourself lies
You have probably looked yourself in the mirror and said something and then you feel bad once you turn your face away from it
So we can have all of that truth staring in our face
And we can say I am not that bad
I am a good person
I will get right with God one day
Some of us have probably said this stuff in the privacy of our world
Or we have thought it in our brains and nothing is really moved the needle yet
We cannot save ourselves

Beautiful
God became a baby
The creator became the created
Infinite became infant
Glory became obscurity
Throne became a manger
From heaven to a stable
From worship to a feeding trough
From everything to nothing
That is the ultimate grind
Would you agree
And he did it willingly

But I did come back to Jesus in a very profound way
It was not pretty
It was real repentance
I had to get really raw where my life was at
I had to get really truthful about where I had gone
And I did that in the basement of my parents house
It shifted everything in my life

I had to admit that I was wrong
I had to admit that I had been playing church this entire time
22 years of my life I had to admit some things
That just being around people was not enough to get me through something

We think pressure is bad when it is not
Because pressure reveals the cracks that Jesus wants to fill
Pressure reveals all of the error in our old ways
Our wrong thinking
The things that were before now cannot be
So without the pressure
Again it is about espresso
The water sits on top
It does not do anything
But the pressure literally pushes it into the grind
And basically forces it through everything

That is why we need a savior
We need a savior because I am no better than you
And you are no better than me
And it is only by the glory and the mercy of Jesus that I am able to sit up here or do what I do
And I can let God extract the goodness out of me
Are you willing to let God extract the goodness out of you
Are you willing to let him crush you
Are you willing to let him grind you down for the pressure to be applied
Are you willing for those things

Here is the plainest point I can make for you and your life
Everyone in this room is a minister to the Lord Jesus Christ
If you think you cannot serve Jesus except with a microphone and a title
You have another thing coming
This is not ministry
You know what ministry is
Hands and feet on the floor
Prostrate before the Lord
That is ministry
You know what
Hands and feet of Jesus out there on the streets as well
And everything that affects and touches people for the kingdom of God
That is what ministry is

So I need you to hear this
Pressure has a purpose in your life
Pressure has a purpose
If you think you are going to go through this entire life
Without feeling pressure
From your family
From your circumstances
From your work
From any place
You are like
Why is God persecuting me
You do not know what persecution is

If you will not access his presence the way he wants you to access his presence he will move everything out of the way in your life and it is going to feel more like pain and more like removal and more like all these bad things just so he can go I want you to come to me
I want you to come to me
I want you to want to come to me
So what am I having to do
I am having to remove things out of your life
For some of us it might be a car
For some of us it could be a relationship
For some of us it could be our job
For some of us it could be anything we put before him

This was the fight
This was the fight of my life
This was the fight that defined my life
I knew that those old ways were killing me
I had to fight old thoughts that I would not be fully accepted

I cannot tell you what is in your life that God has designed to bring you to your knees
I cannot tell you what God has put inside of your circumstances in your world that is driving you towards him
I cannot tell you that
I am going to tell you what happened to me in 2002

So what happens when you surrender
What does it look like
What does it look like to surrender to Jesus
What does it look like
My surrendering does not look like you are surrendering and it should not look like you are surrendering
It should look different

So you want to know what self preservation looks like
It looks like people pleasing
Saying yes when you mean no because you are terrified of rejection
Controlling how everyone sees you so you feel safe
That is part of self preservation
Using niceness as a shield
How many of you know that nice is not a fruit of the spirit
Kindness not niceness
I do not have to be nice to you
Kind yes
Nice no
If you get nice it might be also kind
I do not really know sometimes
I get those two confused
But I know more now than I did
Okay
So all of that that is not love
That is fear
It is self preservation dressed up as service

This is a story but it is not just my story
It is like the story
Right
You know it does not matter what details are in my life
There is other details in your life that have made up who you are or who you were
And that is why we need a savior
Right
So really it came down to I knew what the status quo looked like
So really it came down to I knew what the status quo looked like

So I was running on empty
Self preservation was my only motive
My desire selfish self serving
And I think most of us could probably acknowledge some part of this and be in our life right
Self loathing
I did not really like myself
I was self deprecating
I was becoming reclusive
I did not really like being around people
I was depressed
I was oppressed cursed destined for failure
This is all without really acknowledging who Jesus was in my life

Each other you have God
You have salvation
You have the Holy Spirit
You have everything you need to be successful
You have everything you need to be an agent of change in your surroundings
You have everything you need
You have everything you need

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Why a Savior with Jared Raines | 12.21.2025