In this IGTV live replay, licensed clinical social worker, certified life coach, and minister Shakeea Torres delivers a Christ‑centered sermon that weaves together a biblical exposition of John 3 (Nicodemus) and John 4 (the Samaritan woman at the well) with her own conversion story. She opens with prayer, then explains Jesus’ teaching on being "born again"—the need for water and the Spirit—using Nicodemus as an example of a wealthy, influential religious leader who ultimately defends Christ and helps with His burial. She moves to the Samaritan woman, highlighting Jesus’ offer of "living water," the breaking of cultural barriers, and the shift from worship tied to place to worship in spirit and truth. Torres then shares her personal journey from a life of empty pursuits and back‑sliding to a dramatic encounter with Christ that filled a deep spiritual void. Throughout, she exhorts believers—especially those in positions of authority or with social‑media platforms—to show compassion instead of judgment, to let their lives reflect Christ’s love, and to actively share the gospel. She closes by urging viewers to read the Scriptures, listen for personal rhema words, and obey God’s prompting.
Chapters
Hello everyone, welcome, welcome back to the replay. My name is Shakeeta Torres and I am a licensed clinical social worker, which means a therapist. I am a certified life coach and I am a minister of the word of God. I'm also licensed as well, I am. Um, and so, uh, thank you all, um, right now who are joining in. I appreciate it. Hopefully you can stay to the end, but if not you can always go back and watch the replay. And so I am so excited. I have many words that the Lord has given me to release up here, um, onto IGTV Live, okay? And whoo, y'all, just pray for your girl. Pray for me, okay? So I'm gonna go ahead and like jump right into it. I've already prayed, I've already asked God to go before me. Father, I just pray, God, that you just decrease me, God, and you increase, God, so that your glory will come, God, on this live right now in this moment and today, Lord. I pray, God, that these words would penetrate the— penetrate, um, people's hearts and their minds and their situations, God. In Christ's name I pray, amen, amen. So I'm going to be coming from John chapter 3, verses 1 through 21, and also, uh, John chapter 4, verses 1 through 42. And so I'm going to read most of that, um, but for the most part I'll be, you know, teaching and just adding, you know, what God is saying too, um, in reference to the word. Okay, so I'm going to go ahead and, um, begin. So some of you guys may be familiar with, you know, John, the Book of John. It's one of the four gospels in the Bible, and I love the Book of John because it really teaches about Christ and his ministry, how he operated in miracles, signs, and wonders. Um, you know, it's pretty much to me a blueprint of how every believer should live their life, right? And so, um, today's live is going to be about that. It's going to be for believers and unbelievers, to be honest. And so, um, chapter 3 says, now there was a Pharisee a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night, at night, and said, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him. Then Christ replied, very truly I tell you, No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. So first of all, let me say this, okay? Nicodemus came to Jesus at night to inquire about his miracles, his signs, and his wonders, okay? And if you go to, uh, John chapter 2, the last verse of 25, it says Jesus did not need any testimony about mankind for he knew what was in each person. And I love this because in this moment, whenever Nicodemus comes to Christ at nighttime when no one could see him, Christ could already discern his heart. And he did not give him the answer to a question that he did not even ask. So Christ already knew what his heart was saying. Versus what his lips were saying, okay? And then also, Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was a man who was a part of the Sanhedrin, okay? So the Sanhedrin was this huge court with many judges. I mean, he was wealthy, he had money, you guys. He didn't lack for anything physically. He had everything that he needed, right? But yet and still he was curious about who Christ was. And as some of you guys may know, you know, the Pharisees didn't like Jesus because he was a man coming to pretty much destroy the temple they had built up, which was based off of law, which was based off of religion, which was based off of how a person should live their life according to works. Okay, but Christ is saying he came to fulfill the law. Christ came to fulfill the law for us because he knew that in our own strength we cannot operate and do what we need to do here on earth without messing up, right? So I'm gonna read on. So, uh, verse 4 says— it's Nicodemus talking— he said, how can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asked, 'Surely they cannot enter a second time into their— to their mother's womb to be born?' And then Christ answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, okay, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. So you should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone that is born of the Spirit. And he asks, like, how can that be? I don't understand. So then I'm not going to read the rest of it, but Christ goes on to say, Nicodemus, like, you are a teacher of the word, you are a teacher to, you know, to Israel, like, how do you not know these things? Right? And so Christ begins to just really just explain to him and break everything down to him. But he said, how can you understand, you know, heavenly things if you can't really understand the things happening here right now on the earth, right? And so that to me was just so beautiful, right? And I began to study and I began to like press into this word and ask God, okay God, like what are you saying to me about Nicodemus to release to the people? So first of all, you know, many people, you know, we see, you know, they have money, they have all these things, they have nice cars, they, they lack for nothing. But your spirit, your spirit man is lacking if you don't, if you don't have Christ in your life. It is. And Nicodemus knew that. He knew that he had a void in his heart, and he knew that Christ was different. He knew Christ had something that he had never been able to like tangibly touch before. And so he became very curious about who Christ was, right? And so, you know, I began to study a little bit more about Nicodemus and, you know, where, you know, where he came from and then what happened after this event in John chapter 3. And I said, God, okay, so what did Nicodemus, you know, Nicodemus do? Did he ever accept Christ as his Lord and Savior or what? So I began to go back and I read. So in John chapter 7, verse 50, it says that, uh, let me pull it up. Hold on one second, got my notes. All right, so it says that the Lord was once again criticized by the Jewish leaders for claiming to be the Messiah, and they were, and they were pretty much putting him down. But Nicodemus, he defends Jesus. And so they were upset. They were like, really? Like, so now you from Galilee? Like, why are you, you know, trying to protect him? You know, he's a demon possessed. Christ is the devil. He's lying. He is not the Messiah, right? But Nicodemus, knowing that he came from, you know, the status quo, you know, elite group of people in that area in that time, he literally like was like taking a stand And so many times we are in these positions of authority, of great authority, and we know that Christ is who he say he is. And when those around us are acting like he's not, or, you know, putting Christ down or trying to belittle him, sometimes it is difficult to stand up. It is difficult to say, "Well, no, that's not true. The word of God says X, Y, Z." You know, I get it. You know, but Nicodemus, he risked that. He was getting to a point where he was like, "You know what?" I believe who he is. But it was like one— it was him against like all these like hundreds of judges who were elite and had all this money, had all this, you know, fame and authority and power, you know, over the area. Okay, and so then fast forward, um, after Christ was, you know, uh, was killed, was crucified, Nicodemus was one of the men who came to help you know, his body come off the cross and prepare him for burial. Nicodemus went and he spent his money to, you know, buy, you know, 75 pounds of myrrh and aloe to honor Christ, right? To me, that says a lot. That says a lot because Nicodemus was at a point where, you know what, I want to do my part. I want to do what I can to make sure that Christ has the proper burial, right? So how many of you who are in, you know, these high places of authority and have this huge platform, right? You have a— you have so much power and authority to be able to change people around you, their minds, by your lifestyle, by how you communicate with them, by the things that you say. And oftentimes you don't have to even say Jesus's name, but how you act, how you treat people, how you carry yourself those things speak volumes, okay? Since the beginning of time, right, Christ has always been looking for someone who would take a stand, right? No matter what it looked like, no matter if you lost everything. If you lost everything, Christ would give it right back to you, okay? And so, you know, I began to keep reading. I said, okay, God. He said, keep reading. I said, okay. So I went to, um, chapter 4. The Woman at the Well, the Samaritan at the Well. Okay, so let me turn, um, to chapter 4 so I can start reading this thing. It was so good to me. Um, and so right here it's saying that, you know, Christ was— he was tired. He had been ministering to the people. He wanted to get away from the chitter chatter because the Pharisees was just like coming for him. They was really like trying their best to like just like just shut him down. Right? So he needed, you know, you know, some time away from all the chaos. Okay, so Jesus actually was walking through Samaria to get to, uh, Galilee. Okay, and typically the Jews in that time did not want to walk through Samaria. They would go around Samaria to get to the other side, right? So where's Samaria? What is Samaria? Where are the Samaritans? So the Samaritans were people who worship other gods. They did, you know, they believed in God, but they didn't understand who Christ was, right? They were, um, ridiculed by the Jews. The Jews, the Jews had pretty much stoned them away at this point. Like, there was so much division between them, um, because the Jews thought they were better, better than, you know, the Samaritans, okay? Because they did not worship God the way they thought that they should. And they worship other false gods. Okay, so Christ, you know, he walking, he going through, you know, going through Samaria, and he said, you know what, I'm thirsty, I need some water. So he goes to, you know, Jacob's Well, and there at the well is a Samaritan woman. All right, so I'm gonna keep reading. Okay, all right, so, um, verse 4 says— chapter 4, verse 4 says, now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about 12 PM in the afternoon. Okay, so when a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Christ said to her, will you give me a drink? His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. So at this point, he was by himself. The disciples, you know, had went to get some food. Now also in scripture, you know, Christ had also scolded the disciples for beating the Samaritans down and like pretty much isolating them. All right, so verse 8 says— 9 says, the Samaritan woman said to him, you are a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman, like what are you doing here? Like, really? So how can you ask me for a drink? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Okay, verse 10 said, Jesus answered her, 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. Okay, verse 11, he says, sir, the woman said, you have nothing to draw with and the well is the— all right, pause for a second. Um, 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? So pretty much Jacob, you know, he's definitely a descendant of Abraham. All right, you can go back and read it and go into detail about it. But what she was saying was, hey, like, Jacob, you know, was like my forefather, you know. He's the one that built this well for us many, many, many, many, many, many years ago for us to have a place to come and get water. Because Jacob had kind of settled down in that, in that town called Samaria. And so, you know, of course when you settle down somewhere, you need water, you need food. And like, there was like not any place for him to get any water, so he dug a well there so he can be able to draw water from the earth. And so it remained there for years, and they actually, they went there, they worshiped there, they just honored Jacob. Much, not realizing that God was the one to provide him with what he needed, to give Jacob provision. Okay, so verse 12, 13 says, 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 be— 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. And she said, I have no husband, what are you talking about? And Jesus said, You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is you have had 5 husbands and the man you now have is not your husband, what you have just said is quite true. And she was like, what in the world? Who was this man telling me all my business? Like, no, like, there's no way Christ could know that about her if God himself had not revealed that to him. So she was like, wow. She was at, you know, a complete shock. It caught her attention. And she said, uh, Sir, the woman said, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worship at this mountain, like I was saying earlier, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. So, you know, the Jews had this thing that, you know, if you don't worship right here in Jerusalem, then guess what? You're not worthy. You're not, you're not worshiping God. And then Jesus said, woman, believe me, 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. Because he's part of the lineage of the Jews, Christ is. Yet a time is coming, it has now come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in this— in the spirit and in truth. For they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. Okay, so verse 25 says, the woman said, I know that Messiah called Christ is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. So she knew, she heard about this Messiah that was coming to change things, that was coming to just, you know, have a whole new like revolution, right? So Christ said, I, the one speaking to you, I am he, right? So it doesn't say, you know, how she reacted and how she responded. But let me— if I was a Samaritan woman, I would be so excited. Oh my God, oh my God, like, this is the man that I've been hearing about who was coming to, you know, to change things, right? To who's going to come and be like the Lamb of God. So, um, it goes on and it talks about how, you know, she went, you know, to her— back to her people. It was telling— guess what? The Messiah is here! And he came and told me about, you know, my life. And he told me about who I was and where I came from and the things that I have been doing wrong. Okay, right. So let me pause here for a second. So one of the things that, you know, God was like telling me to share with you all on IGTV Live was that so many of you are looking for water in the wrong places, right? You know, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook, you know, different places, but I see— I can see right through some of you guys' pages. I can see right through, you know, even what you're struggling with. And that's because the Lord is showing me. The Lord is showing me exactly what you're struggling with. And you guys are looking for validation, you're looking for water to to fill you up, but Christ is saying that only he can feel that void in your heart. So let me show you my— okay, so let me go ahead and share with you guys my testimony about how, you know, I found Christ. So I grew up knowing about Christ, you know, I got saved maybe 2 times, you know, so, and I backslid, okay, I backslid, I went back into the world. And so when I was maybe— when did I meet my husband? Like 20— it was about 26, okay, um, 24. I'm sorry, 24. I probably was like— anyway, so I remember I wasn't going to church for almost like 2 or 3 years because I knew that Holy Spirit was tugging on me, and I thought that the world could offer me more than what Christ could. So I did not go to church, I did not do my Bible, because I want to come out here, I want to party. I want to do my own thing. I want to do what I want to do. All right, and so when I met my husband, you know, I had fell in love with him. Like, y'all, we was like inseparable, okay? We was always together. Every moment we had to talk on the phone, we were on the phone. But you guys, I could still feel this void in my heart that was like pressing on me, pressing on me, pressing on me. I'm like, even though I wasn't in church, I still— I knew who God was. My God, what is that? 'Here I am. God, what is that?' Right? And so I remember my co-worker at the time, um, had been inviting me to come with her to church. And so she— so I said, 'You know what, I'll go.' So I went. I think I would— I think I went like the first time I went to the church, y'all. Like, I was sitting there and, you know, the congregation beside— at the time we wasn't married, you know, beside my boyfriend at the time and with my sister. And just, I remember just like, just hearing the word. We had worship, they had prayer, and as the man of God is preaching, it's like I started to hear the Lord say, the only person that can feel that void in your heart is me. He said, it's me. He said, I have purpose for you. You belong to me. You are my daughter. You are my child, and you're going to surrender your life to me. And I was like, oh my God. I was sitting there like crying and just crying and like that I began to just stand up. And y'all, I started shouting with no music, with no sermon going forth, with no word— I mean, the word was coming forth, but y'all, I was like— Holy Spirit had took over me completely. And I remember hearing, it's like, oh my God, look, y'all, look, look! And like, service just stopped. And I felt like I had been shouting for like 30 minutes or so. It was like God was like spanking me in Spirit, like saying, like, you have been running from me for years. For years you have been wanting to do your own thing, but what you think that you need in the world, I can— I can feel that void, you know, that you, that you have eternally. All right. And so, uh, by the time, you know, I get done, I'm shouting, I'm crying, my makeup is completely smeared, my hair— I still wear a short haircut then— my hair was all messed up. My heel had broke, y'all. I felt like I was floating. And honey, so I sat down and I was just like, I couldn't sit still. Like, I was like, my legs kept shaking and kept shaking. And in the end, they said, if anyone wants to give their life to Christ, you can come up front. Y'all, I ran so fast up front, like, like a deer that was like galloping through up to the aisle. So I went up front, I said, God, yes, God, yes, yes, God, yes. Yeah, like y'all, I was crying, I was crying. I mean, I cried. I think I'm at the altar about half an hour just like kneeling before him and just surrendering my life to him. And at that moment, the void that I had in my heart was completely filled. And so some of you guys are, you know, looking for attention on social media, posting these crazy pictures up, okay? Some of you guys are looking for men to fill that void, women to fill that void. And they cannot do that for you. I love my husband with all my heart, with all of me. He honors me, okay? God has put us together for a purpose, okay? But he knows, and I know, that there's only so much he can do for me. No man can do what Christ can do in your life. So whenever I have, you know, high days and low days, right, No matter what, Christ is consistent. Christ is there. At times it don't feel that way because we go— because like we live in this thing called life. Like, so God is saying to you guys, come drink from my well. What I have for you, you would not thirst eternally. Eternally. I mean, even last night, you know, I was reading, um, a devotional and I have never heard it put this way before. It was just so beautiful to me. And, you know, we always hear, you know, the word of God says that, you know, Jesus is the bride of Christ. Um, he's the bride of the church, right? And we are the church, right? So, I mean, we're the bride of Christ, and Christ is the bridegroom. And when I was reading it, it said many people, you know, forget the part that says for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, when you up, whether you down. No matter what you're going through, Christ is consistent, right? He's not going to leave you, okay? It is us that move. It is us that forfeit the promise. It is us that say, you know what, God, things didn't work out my way, so I'm gone, I'm out, right? And so back to the Samaritan woman. The Samaritan woman, you know, she was so excited, y'all. Like, and I remember having that excitement when I had the encounter with Christ. Christ met me at my well, in my mess. I was fornicating, I was doing what I wanted to do, okay? I was drinking, I was cursing, I was doing all kind of stuff, okay? I was still nice. I'm still nice today. Like, God didn't change my personality, but he changed my heart. He changed how I acted. He changed me from the inside out, okay? And so Christ wants to do that for you. So anywho, the Samaritan woman, she goes to her family, her people. Y'all, guess what? Christ is here. And so by her testimony, the people was like, oh my God, are you serious? So like, they received Christ. So Christ was able to go to Samaria, a place where the Jews had neglected them, forgot about them, didn't care about them. And he went and did miracles, and he did signs, and he did wonders. And this word is for believers. Some of you guys do not want to be around people who are in the world. Some of you guys are judging people who are out here still in their mess, and you forget that you were in your mess too. You forget that you were the same person that Christ had to come into your situation and save you. So stop— so stop beating people over the head with your words. Stop beating your head, you know, you know, beating people over the head with the Bible. And remember and go back to the time where you needed Christ to come and save you. Right? Stop being judgmental. God is not calling you to, you know, go into situations where it seems like he's not there and judge people and beat them over, but to come and show them the light. And that's what Christ did. He showed— he showed us, you know, some— you know, he showed them the light. Some of you guys have purpose and you asking God, God, what's my purpose? But the thing that he's telling you to do, you don't want to do because you feel like the people that, you know, that you're called to are not worthy. And that's not true. Christ died to fulfill the law. He died for sinners, okay? People who don't believe. He died for us all, but he definitely came for those who did not believe. You have to remember that. Like, I hear some of my clients who come to me who have been in churches, who have been in places where they have been shunned by the body of Christ even after they get saved. And they're coming because they're hungry and they're thirsty for a word. They want acceptance. They're ready to change. But change is a process. None of us wake up and we have arrived into our place. None of us have waken up and said, okay God, I'm, you know, I, I'm here. Okay, we have to go through a process. And I'm so sick and I'm so tired of the body of Christ treating people that way. You can give people the truth okay? Christ is the truth. Christ will correct you. God will correct you himself through his word, through his people, right? But he do it in love. The only time I see God really come down on people is if they are continuously being in rebellion and they would not listen, and they're being hard-headed and they're being stubborn, and they are, you know, hurting people, right? Then God— okay, all right. 'Now I gotta break my word for real because y'all are not listening to me or my people who are coming to tell you what I'm saying.' But for those who are hungry, for those who are thirsty, and those who want acceptance, you don't have to beat them over the head with a rod, okay? You show them the love of Christ and the light and speak truth to them in love, okay? So that's what Holy Spirit has really been telling me to tell you guys. So I hope, you know, please share, like, you know, um, on your page, your family, your friends, because God said he is sick of it. He's sick of it, right? There's so many things that God wants to do in the body of Christ through his people, but we have to move self out the way. We have to surrender what we think people need and what we think they should be doing. Right, and really hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying. Read your word, y'all. Read your word, okay? And so that's all I have so far. But like I said, Christ was able to go in and he was able to like transform lives, and they gave their life to Christ, okay? So that's all I have. Thank you guys so much for joining me. Hey, Dr. Moore, thank you so much for joining me and supporting me. I appreciate you and I love your ministry. Thank you so much, I appreciate it. Thank you. And so what I'll do, um, I'm going to put, uh, the, the, um, the scriptures in the description box. Um, go back, go back and read it. One thing I love about God is that wherever he released, uh, you know, a rhema word for his people, if you go back and you start to study that, you know, that word that you receive, he'll add to it for you. He'll speak to you in your situation. He'll speak to you right where you are. So go back and read it. Go back and read it, y'all. It's good. It's amazing. All right, so I love y'all. Thanks again so much for, um, for joining. And, um, I'm just gonna obey God. Whatever God tell me to do up here, I'm gonna do it. Okay. All right, y'all have a great day, and I'll see you guys soon. All right, bye-bye.
