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Jan. 2, 2024

From Black Friday Madness to Christmas Wisdom

From Black Friday Madness to Christmas Wisdom
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CityLight NYC Church
From Black Friday Madness to Christmas Wisdom
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Season 1

Could you imagine choosing faith over sight in a world obsessed with facts and figures? This episode takes you through a personal journey of embracing faith, a path marked by gratitude and the tranquility.
The narrative weaves through the chaos of Black Friday at Walmart, contrasting it with the peacefulness of holiday simplicity and the timeless tale of the first Christmas. It's a story about finding humor and lessons in the most unexpected places, reminding us that life's plans often unfold in ways we could never anticipate.

Join me as we delve into the profound faith of a young woman named Mary, who accepted the divine request to bear the Son of God. Her response sets a staggering example of trust and obedience that challenges us today. 
As the year draws to a close, let's come together in a collective reflection on the lessons of trust and dependence on God's plan. 
The stories of Mary and Joseph inspire us to take life one step at a time, with faith as our compass. 
Join us for this amazing Christmas story, and may your holiday season be as enriching as the messages we explore together.

Transcript
00:00.642 --> 00:06.628 There's going to be times in your life when you believe God's prompting you in a direction or leading you to do something, and it's not going to make sense. 00:07.200 --> 00:08.405 You're not going to have all the answers. 00:08.740 --> 00:12.030 There are going to be times when you're going to have to step out or you're not going to understand what's going on. 00:12.421 --> 00:13.567 Well, why didn't I get the job? 00:13.620 --> 00:15.646 Or why did he go back to his old girlfriend? 00:15.686 --> 00:16.608 Or why did this happen? 00:16.649 --> 00:17.411 Or why did that happen? 00:18.041 --> 00:20.849 You're going to have to live by faith, not by facts. 00:21.620 --> 00:25.670 There are going to be times when you're not going to have all your questions answered. 00:26.400 --> 00:28.388 Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. 00:28.680 --> 00:34.944 Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us. 00:35.760 --> 00:40.330 If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at CityLightNYCcom. 00:41.620 --> 00:43.406 That's CityLightNYCcom. 00:44.840 --> 00:51.906 Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds. 00:52.680 --> 01:02.430 As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are surrounded by His grace and that he has a real hope and a future for you. 01:06.586 --> 01:08.992 Yes, I'm so glad to see everyone. 01:09.060 --> 01:10.085 I love Christmas. 01:10.320 --> 01:15.444 How many of you went out Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving, the dreaded Black Friday? 01:15.505 --> 01:16.187 Only a few of you. 01:16.227 --> 01:17.089 You guys are getting smart. 01:17.640 --> 01:18.082 I appreciate that. 01:18.940 --> 01:25.043 I remember when everyone was getting up early because the deals were just so outrageous on Black Friday. 01:25.243 --> 01:36.544 You couldn't resist and it made me think to myself I'm getting ripped off 364 days a year if they can sell it that cheap on Black Friday, but every year Thanksgiving. 01:36.665 --> 01:42.344 I can remember still look at the ads online, the deals the stores are putting out. 01:42.660 --> 01:47.025 I can remember looking through the newspaper that's how old I am and you remember a newspaper. 01:47.580 --> 01:49.948 I have to explain after service what that is for some of you. 01:50.462 --> 01:52.040 You're like what is that? 01:52.080 --> 02:02.581 They would print the news and the newspaper would come on Thanksgiving Day and this thing was like 10 times bigger than a phone book, bigger than it was any other day of the year, because it was jam-packed full of ads. 02:04.000 --> 02:05.224 Everyone wanted to sell you something. 02:05.585 --> 02:08.406 On Black Friday the deals were amazing. 02:08.480 --> 02:09.404 I'd sit there pouring over there. 02:09.424 --> 02:10.347 I'd look at the electronics. 02:10.560 --> 02:12.929 I'd say I don't care about all that other stuff, let me look at the electronics. 02:13.531 --> 02:15.237 You remember that that's a good time. 02:15.257 --> 02:16.040 I'm in electronics. 02:16.622 --> 02:24.169 Well, I can remember several years back, nicole and the kids and I, we decided we were going to do something a little bit different on Thanksgiving than we normally do. 02:24.600 --> 02:29.341 Normally we spend it with a lot of family, we hang out, lots of different meals, fun, good time. 02:29.742 --> 02:30.966 But we were rarely thankful. 02:33.280 --> 02:35.763 So we decided we were going to do something different, just for us. 02:36.400 --> 02:52.685 We rented a cabin out in northern New Mexico that's where we lived at the time and we were actually going to go out, just us, and truly have a Thanksgiving we could be thankful for, for a change Not really, it's kind of for a change. 02:53.680 --> 02:54.402 And you're kind of wondering. 02:54.422 --> 02:55.887 You're like I don't understand, james. 02:55.907 --> 02:56.469 What are you saying? 02:57.080 --> 02:59.347 Yes, we were running and escaping from our family. 03:00.960 --> 03:06.112 I've told you, nicole and I, we were born and raised in Albuquerque, so all our family still resides there. 03:06.240 --> 03:14.710 And when I say all our family, my, both my parents are remarried, nicole's dad was remarried, we had siblings, we had grandparents, we had cousins, lots of family. 03:15.320 --> 03:18.128 And again, some of you are still saying, james, that sounds kind of nice. 03:19.000 --> 03:20.446 What's the problem with a lot of family? 03:20.520 --> 03:22.788 I wish I had Thanksgiving with a lot of family. 03:23.281 --> 03:38.291 Well, here's the important thing that I want you to understand it doesn't matter how much you actually love your family, by midday if you've been driving from house to house to house, having a full Thanksgiving meal at every house as if the others didn't exist, you got to have a heaping plate. 03:38.840 --> 03:40.747 My kids are car sick by halfway through. 03:41.040 --> 03:43.247 My stomach feels like it's going to explode. 03:44.220 --> 03:46.448 Every single relative is upset. 03:46.560 --> 03:48.247 You can't spend the entire day at their house. 03:48.360 --> 03:49.603 You got to go to someone else's house. 03:49.623 --> 03:51.669 You got the guilt trip oh, you have to go. 03:51.849 --> 03:52.632 Yes, we got to go. 03:53.663 --> 03:55.589 Oh well, you want me to fix your plate to go? 03:56.140 --> 03:59.088 No, I'm going to go eat 45 more turkeys. 04:00.500 --> 04:02.848 It was anything but a thankful time for us. 04:03.240 --> 04:04.485 So we decided you know what. 04:04.840 --> 04:06.466 We're going to get away and we're going to be thankful. 04:06.860 --> 04:10.710 So we rented a cabin far, far away and we told no one where we were going. 04:12.443 --> 04:13.265 It was a good time. 04:13.526 --> 04:14.930 It was right, peaceful. 04:15.560 --> 04:16.785 We got there up in the mountains. 04:17.260 --> 04:19.227 It was exactly the way it was advertised. 04:19.700 --> 04:23.311 This cabin had rustic construction, beautiful nature all around. 04:23.520 --> 04:25.647 You could smell the pine trees in the air. 04:26.580 --> 04:28.667 You city dwellers don't even know what that means. 04:29.680 --> 04:31.467 It's not the funky stench from the subway. 04:31.880 --> 04:45.265 This is real nature, pine trees Not the little air freshener you get from Glade and you plug in and you're like, oh no, this is real Even had a hot tub in the back. 04:45.680 --> 04:47.025 This place was legit. 04:47.740 --> 04:49.587 So we unpacked and we went out exploring. 04:49.840 --> 04:53.529 We went hiking, collecting flowers, just wandering around in nature. 04:53.710 --> 04:54.612 Nicole loves animals. 04:54.740 --> 04:57.088 She's like I hope I see a deer, a mountain lion and a bear. 04:57.782 --> 04:59.006 I said what is wrong with you? 04:59.400 --> 05:00.424 We will get eaten alive. 05:01.160 --> 05:02.827 But every time she wishes that we see it. 05:03.220 --> 05:05.326 So we saw a bear, a mountain lion and a deer. 05:07.100 --> 05:08.003 We lived to tell the tale. 05:09.400 --> 05:11.726 It's amazing how fast you can run when your life is on the line. 05:13.170 --> 05:14.212 But this place was amazing. 05:14.240 --> 05:16.607 The next day and a half were simply magical. 05:17.008 --> 05:17.570 Nothing wrong. 05:18.260 --> 05:20.027 We had a fire going in the wood, burning stove. 05:20.120 --> 05:21.786 We had a perfect Thanksgiving meal. 05:23.160 --> 05:24.845 Nothing could have been better. 05:25.447 --> 05:26.150 Incredible. 05:26.520 --> 05:30.582 All was right in our family, perfect peace and harmony, amazing. 05:31.660 --> 05:33.345 So we lay our head on the pillow that night. 05:34.900 --> 05:36.085 I have fullness in my heart. 05:36.960 --> 05:42.390 I hadn't put a single mile on the car that day I go wow, this is the way it was supposed to be. 05:42.560 --> 05:47.147 The pilgrims actually did it this way, I'm sure they went out in a cabin far, far away. 05:49.003 --> 05:53.312 Well, my daughter couldn't sleep that night, and far be it for her to suffer a sleepless night alone. 05:53.640 --> 05:55.326 So she had to make sure the rest of the family was awake too. 05:56.400 --> 05:57.684 Thank you, nichele. 05:59.240 --> 06:05.248 So, after a few futile attempts to get her back to sleep, staring at the ceiling for a while, I had the brilliant idea well, it's past midnight. 06:05.480 --> 06:06.925 Technically it's already Black Friday. 06:07.266 --> 06:08.049 We're already awake. 06:08.360 --> 06:10.706 Why don't we go wander around, see if we can find a store and see if there are any deals? 06:16.846 --> 06:20.052 Not the best plan I ever had, but it was a plan. 06:20.913 --> 06:26.231 So we got dressed, we got in the car 10, 15 miles into the closest town to where we were staying. 06:27.000 --> 06:32.431 We actually come across a Walmart, a Walmart in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains. 06:33.480 --> 06:37.932 It's 3.30 in the morning and lines are already forming outside this Walmart. 06:38.683 --> 06:42.388 I said, well, we're already here, let's just park the car and line up with the rest of the crazies. 06:42.880 --> 06:44.807 There must be something that they know, that we don't know. 06:45.501 --> 06:46.605 It's probably electronics. 06:47.800 --> 06:49.245 So we parked the car and we get in line. 06:50.040 --> 06:58.736 So we waited longer than we should have, in the dark, in the cold, in the parking lot of Walmart on Black Friday until they finally opened the doors. 06:59.910 --> 07:06.779 Now, at this point you would have thought that we were all starving people and in that Walmart was the last piece of bread on planet Earth. 07:07.630 --> 07:11.978 Because they started pushing and shoving to get in that Walmart like nothing I had ever seen. 07:12.290 --> 07:15.675 I was almost run over by an 85-year-old woman and I hadn't even made it inside yet. 07:16.650 --> 07:17.755 I said this is serious. 07:17.835 --> 07:18.437 I looked into the call. 07:18.670 --> 07:19.694 I said I got to get my head in the game. 07:20.810 --> 07:21.935 This is like no joke. 07:22.035 --> 07:23.956 Ok, so I got to get my game face on. 07:24.230 --> 07:28.457 I let my male primal instinct take over and lead me directly to the electronics department. 07:29.350 --> 07:30.616 That's where the action was. 07:30.730 --> 07:31.715 That was the good stuff. 07:31.815 --> 07:33.415 Right, I was so excited to get there. 07:33.670 --> 07:34.272 But then it was. 07:34.492 --> 07:42.797 I mean, man, woman, big, tall, young, old, everybody was there, all vying for the same few deals that the store decided to put out for Black Friday. 07:43.330 --> 07:52.173 The real fireworks began when some of the customers found out that some of the employees had put aside some laptop computers for their friends and told everyone else that they were sold out. 07:53.230 --> 07:54.837 Woo, you would have thought it was World War III. 07:55.150 --> 07:56.356 Neither side were backing down. 07:56.510 --> 07:57.535 It was getting serious. 07:57.830 --> 08:00.595 And then pushing and shoving started and I got to admit I was scared. 08:01.770 --> 08:07.239 All my dreams of getting next to nothing deals, they disappeared just as quickly as those laptop computers. 08:07.390 --> 08:08.856 We were in full blown survival mode. 08:09.430 --> 08:11.235 So I said all right, nicole, we got to go. 08:11.315 --> 08:12.818 I got the kids Get behind me. 08:12.838 --> 08:15.996 I threw one in the basket Nicole, get back, we are going to make a break for the doors. 08:16.090 --> 08:22.458 We got to get out of this place and I'm serious and so, easier said than done, they had pallets lining up in the aisles. 08:22.671 --> 08:23.910 This had to be a fire hazard. 08:23.950 --> 08:26.158 We should get the New York fire marshal in there. 08:26.310 --> 08:28.999 And it's going to say how do you have pallets in the middle of the aisle? 08:29.090 --> 08:29.914 How can people get out? 08:30.210 --> 08:31.375 This is a fire hazard. 08:31.730 --> 08:34.516 But there were pallets everywhere, merchandise people, wall to wall. 08:34.636 --> 08:36.594 Everywhere you looked I could not get out of there. 08:36.935 --> 08:37.658 This was do or die. 08:37.830 --> 08:38.574 I was terrified. 08:38.910 --> 08:47.036 So I pushed with everything in me and I do not know how many people I ran over that day in Walmart to get out, but somehow I survived and we got out of that Walmart. 08:47.530 --> 08:48.955 And I learned three things for sure that day. 08:50.330 --> 08:56.255 The first is if you are or know someone that day that I ran over in that Walmart. 08:56.315 --> 09:01.077 I'm sorry, but it was them or me and I wanted to live to see my family grow up. 09:01.137 --> 09:02.300 Ok, I apologize. 09:02.570 --> 09:05.554 The second thing is I got some of the cheapest TVs I've ever seen in my whole life. 09:06.670 --> 09:09.217 I mean ridiculously cheap. 09:09.879 --> 09:10.501 That was a good time. 09:10.690 --> 09:16.375 But the third and most important is I learned that I'm never going to go shopping on Black Friday for the rest of my life. 09:17.850 --> 09:21.221 Nothing worked out the way I had planned Absolutely nothing. 09:21.290 --> 09:29.158 Has anyone ever been there when you had a great idea, you thought this is going to be so good, we're having a great Thanksgiving, I'm going to go out and get some deals at Walmart. 09:29.290 --> 09:32.360 And on Black Friday and the mountains in the middle of nowhere, who's going to be there? 09:32.650 --> 09:38.896 Well, apparently the whole planet showed up in the mountains of New Mexico at the Walmart at 3.30 in the morning. 09:39.630 --> 09:40.795 I don't know where they all came from. 09:41.450 --> 09:43.197 They shipped them in on a bus or something. 09:46.418 --> 09:49.894 Well, nothing turned out the way Mary and Joseph thought it would that very first Christmas either. 09:51.590 --> 09:57.238 They had their plans, their hopes and their dreams and it didn't quite turn out the way they thought it would. 09:58.430 --> 09:59.556 You remember Mary and Joseph? 09:59.610 --> 10:01.397 They were engaged to get married. 10:01.850 --> 10:08.656 They lived in a little town called Nazareth Heard of Nazareth, not Pennsylvania, it was a place back in the Middle East. 10:09.190 --> 10:13.295 There were only about 300 people that lived in Nazareth a little tiny hole in the wall. 10:14.090 --> 10:19.735 No one ever went to Nazareth unless you knew somebody and they really twisted your arm to make you go there because you did not want to go to Nazareth. 10:21.671 --> 10:24.100 I was going to be really mean in the name of Barrow that no one wants to go to. 10:24.210 --> 10:26.872 But some of you are going to be like, hey, that's my Barrow, I'm just kidding. 10:27.530 --> 10:28.874 But no one wanted to go to Nazareth. 10:31.010 --> 10:32.475 But that's where these two people lived. 10:34.150 --> 10:41.418 The Bible tells us Mary and Joseph were engaged to be married and back in the first century you actually would have arranged marriages, right? 10:41.630 --> 10:44.940 They didn't have Christianminglecom or eHarmony, right. 10:45.631 --> 10:51.273 The mom and the dad would actually, when you were about two or three years old, they would make an arrangement as to who you were going to marry. 10:51.630 --> 10:52.634 That's pretty interesting, isn't it? 10:53.490 --> 10:54.534 You guys wish we did that today. 10:55.330 --> 10:57.478 I thought that was kind of sad, until I had a daughter of my own. 10:57.610 --> 10:59.136 I said, ooh, I kind of like this idea. 10:59.196 --> 11:01.074 Now that might be kind of a good deal. 11:01.670 --> 11:06.019 I'll tell you one thing you grow up kind of knowing who your kid's going to marry. 11:06.079 --> 11:11.336 You can watch them, you can flick them on the back of the head when they make stupid decisions and nobody can do anything about it. 11:11.410 --> 11:13.197 It's like, hey, we have a contract. 11:13.270 --> 11:13.692 You know what I mean. 11:14.950 --> 11:22.678 Dating is brutal Broken hearts, broken promises, broken dreams and forget man having to ask a girl out. 11:22.931 --> 11:23.896 That's a rough time right there. 11:23.930 --> 11:26.594 I'm glad we're not dating, I'm glad we're already married. 11:26.634 --> 11:27.397 You know what I'm saying. 11:28.463 --> 11:29.432 Thank you, I survived it. 11:29.573 --> 11:36.900 Once, I tell you, there was a teenage boy who was actually giving his mom an update as to how it was going with a girl he liked at school. 11:37.371 --> 11:39.238 He said mom, I really think she's starting to warm up to me. 11:39.550 --> 11:40.715 She said well, why do you think that, son? 11:41.190 --> 11:46.119 He said well, this last time, when I asked her out, she said this is the last time I'm going to tell you. 11:46.179 --> 11:46.299 No. 11:51.230 --> 11:54.572 There was a grandfather with his grandson sitting out on the porch. 11:55.230 --> 11:56.916 He said Tommy, do you have a girlfriend? 11:58.906 --> 12:00.680 Gross grandpa, I don't want a girlfriend. 12:00.700 --> 12:01.724 You ran off to play baseball. 12:02.540 --> 12:05.209 Well, there was a little girl in the porch next door just kind of smiling. 12:05.320 --> 12:06.385 She looked at the grandfather. 12:06.460 --> 12:08.425 She said they're always the last to know. 12:10.860 --> 12:11.503 Dating is rough. 12:13.181 --> 12:15.824 But there were three stages to the marriage process in the first century. 12:16.300 --> 12:17.585 The first is the engagement. 12:18.460 --> 12:24.727 The child was arranged at about two or three years old by the parents of the bride and the groom. 12:26.040 --> 12:27.346 The parents would make this arrangement. 12:27.820 --> 12:33.728 The parents of the boy would pay the parents of the daughter a sum of money to compensate for the loss of their daughter. 12:34.140 --> 12:36.147 Again, since now I have a daughter, I kind of like that idea. 12:37.420 --> 12:39.046 I also have a son, so I don't know if I like that idea. 12:40.280 --> 12:45.268 The second stage was called the betrothal stage and this was when the kids were about 13 years old. 12:46.060 --> 12:48.349 They would get prepared to spend the rest of their life together. 12:48.440 --> 12:55.667 The young man would bring a cup of wine to the young girl's house and, in full view of all of her family, he would present this cup to her. 12:56.040 --> 13:00.307 He was signifying with the giving of the cup that he would lay his life down for her. 13:00.760 --> 13:02.828 Now her, if she received the cup and drank from it. 13:03.160 --> 13:07.005 That was signifying that she would be willing to lay her life down for him as well. 13:07.540 --> 13:13.186 Once this took place, the young man would tell the young girl I'm going to go back to my dad's house, I'm going to prepare a place for us. 13:13.280 --> 13:16.390 He would build an addition on to dad's house for them to live. 13:16.480 --> 13:18.647 He said I'm going to work day and night, tirelessly. 13:18.667 --> 13:22.324 It's not going to take me long, and when I'm done I'm going to come back and I'm going to take you as my wife. 13:23.660 --> 13:26.985 The third stage was when the young man had finished this addition on to daddy's house. 13:27.266 --> 13:31.484 He would come back and he would take her as his wife and they'd have the wedding ceremony. 13:32.600 --> 13:34.506 Now look at what Jesus said in John chapter 14. 13:34.567 --> 13:34.968 I love this. 13:35.520 --> 13:37.547 He said my father's house has many rooms. 13:38.160 --> 13:42.227 If that were not so, why would I have told you that I'm going there to prepare a place for you? 13:42.540 --> 13:48.164 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may also be where I am. 13:48.740 --> 13:53.350 I think that's pretty incredible that right now, jesus is preparing a place for us, you and me. 13:53.460 --> 13:56.383 If we're Christians, if we've trusted him, we'd profess him. 13:56.684 --> 14:03.222 He's preparing a place for us and we just kind of gloss over that and they're like oh, that's awesome, man, we're going to be in heaven with Jesus one day, woohoo. 14:04.280 --> 14:13.150 But Nicola and I we've built several houses over the course of our years together and there's not a lot of new construction up here in the Northeast. 14:13.240 --> 14:14.003 Everything's really old. 14:14.084 --> 14:18.388 So you might not relate to what I'm saying, but down in the South we build a lot of new stuff all the time. 14:18.880 --> 14:21.047 You just go find some dirt and you build something. 14:22.522 --> 14:29.608 So every time we would pour concrete we would put our initials and maybe a Bible verse and the concrete and it would just kind of be memorialized there forever. 14:29.980 --> 14:36.725 We'd be framing up the walls and before we put up the sheet rock we'd sign it, put the date, we'd put a Bible verse or something before we put it up. 14:37.040 --> 14:42.529 That's kind of built into the foundation of the home that Christ is the center and we kind of left our mark and that's kind of fun. 14:43.080 --> 14:47.887 And I think what if Jesus is writing my initials on the inside of the mansion he's building for me? 14:48.368 --> 14:49.271 He's preparing it. 14:49.360 --> 14:52.600 He's like oh, james, I'm going to leave you a special note you're going to find when you get here. 14:52.620 --> 14:53.684 You're going to blow your mind. 14:54.440 --> 15:00.727 I think that's so cool that he's preparing a place and when he's done he's going to call us up and we're going to get to spend eternity with him. 15:01.460 --> 15:02.364 How cool is that? 15:02.981 --> 15:06.607 Well, everyone in the small little town of Nazareth knows Mary and Joseph are engaged. 15:07.280 --> 15:14.748 They know that they've actually gone through this process of the cup and the receiving and the drinking, and so they know what stage it is. 15:14.840 --> 15:15.865 They've exchanged the cup. 15:16.100 --> 15:20.949 Now Joseph has gone to his father's house and he's working on the addition as a place for them to live. 15:21.420 --> 15:29.185 Everything looks great and it's going according to plan until one night Gabriel appears to Mary and messes everything up. 15:30.840 --> 15:31.643 Dang it, gabriel. 15:33.980 --> 15:36.663 Look at what the Bible says in Luke, chapter 1, beginning of verse 26. 15:37.400 --> 15:44.365 God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. 15:44.820 --> 15:45.945 The virgin's name was Mary. 15:46.440 --> 15:49.345 The angel went to her and said greetings you, who are highly favored. 15:49.620 --> 15:50.484 The Lord is with you. 15:51.000 --> 15:54.247 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 15:54.680 --> 15:58.286 But the angel said to her don't be afraid, mary, you have found favor with God. 15:58.860 --> 16:02.826 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you will give him the name Jesus. 16:03.280 --> 16:05.889 He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High. 16:06.300 --> 16:11.488 The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, david, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. 16:11.800 --> 16:13.025 His kingdom will never end. 16:13.540 --> 16:16.164 Well, how will this be, mary, asked the angel, since I am a virgin. 16:16.660 --> 16:19.169 Well, the angel answered the Holy Spirit will come upon you. 16:19.400 --> 16:24.769 The power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. 16:25.280 --> 16:31.189 Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age and she, who was said to be barren, is in her sixth month. 16:31.420 --> 16:33.967 For nothing is impossible with God. 16:35.620 --> 16:37.546 Wow, talk about an emotional roller coaster. 16:38.820 --> 16:40.827 An angel shows up and that scares her half to death. 16:41.320 --> 16:44.129 Then the angel says well, you're highly favored by God, and that's incredible. 16:44.420 --> 16:49.944 But then she hears that she's going to have a child and it's going to be the Son of God, and that's overwhelming. 16:50.280 --> 16:53.150 Then the obvious question is well, how can this be? 16:53.320 --> 16:58.403 Because I'm a virgin, and the angel simply tells her well, the Holy Spirit's going to come upon her. 16:59.120 --> 17:00.243 Well, that answers everything. 17:00.304 --> 17:03.744 Right, what the Holy Spirit. 17:04.760 --> 17:07.502 Now that's the ultimate good news bad news scenario, if you ask me. 17:08.341 --> 17:15.122 It's great news that she's highly favored by God, but it's kind of bad news to show up pregnant for your own wedding, especially when the groom's not the dad. 17:16.361 --> 17:17.866 That's a bad day right there, if you know what I mean. 17:19.783 --> 17:21.729 Ladies, what would you have said to the angel's request? 17:22.080 --> 17:26.008 Would you have said yes, keep in mind, you're maybe 13 or 14 years old? 17:29.340 --> 17:31.428 I didn't know up from down when I was 13 years old. 17:31.740 --> 17:34.810 I don't know about you Incredible. 17:35.240 --> 17:36.203 What would you have told the angel? 17:38.760 --> 17:40.186 Oh, thank you, but no, thank you. 17:40.340 --> 17:41.263 I appreciate the compliment. 17:42.860 --> 17:43.984 Now is not a good time for me. 17:45.420 --> 17:46.583 I got to finish grad school. 17:50.720 --> 17:53.209 What was amazing to me was Mary's response to the angel. 17:53.520 --> 17:55.367 Look in Luke 1, verse 38. 17:55.800 --> 17:57.386 She said I am the Lord's servant. 17:57.406 --> 18:00.526 Mary answered May it be to me as you have said. 18:01.880 --> 18:02.623 Then the angel left her. 18:03.440 --> 18:04.324 That's all the angel tells her. 18:05.320 --> 18:15.491 He doesn't give her any insight as to how she should break this news to her parents, how she should tell Joseph how the rest of this story is going to actually play out Nothing. 18:18.260 --> 18:25.165 I wonder how long she sat in her bedroom before the full weight, and all the implications of her yes started to really dawn on her. 18:27.380 --> 18:29.608 At first it's like woo, an angel shows up. 18:29.720 --> 18:30.645 I'm highly favored. 18:30.840 --> 18:33.386 Boom, I'm putting that on my Snapchat. 18:33.760 --> 18:35.106 My friends are not going to believe this. 18:35.620 --> 18:35.982 Be real. 18:36.022 --> 18:40.702 Here I come, and then all of a sudden it's like but wait, I'm going to be pregnant. 18:43.360 --> 18:44.002 That's kind of weird. 18:46.160 --> 18:47.284 I wonder what my parents are going to say. 18:48.320 --> 18:49.444 I wonder what Joseph's going to say. 18:51.240 --> 18:54.821 What's our little community going to say, dang? 18:56.120 --> 18:57.644 I wonder how long she stayed in your bedroom? 19:00.000 --> 19:02.584 Couple of months, just like food under the door. 19:05.292 --> 19:07.139 But she said yes, I am the Lord's servant. 19:07.230 --> 19:08.576 May it be to me as you have said. 19:10.110 --> 19:12.673 When God comes to you and asks you to do something, is that what you say? 19:13.790 --> 19:14.733 Is that what your response is? 19:15.777 --> 19:16.680 Yes, I'm your servant. 19:16.790 --> 19:17.873 May it be to me as you have said. 19:19.739 --> 19:20.320 Or are you like me? 19:20.550 --> 19:23.235 Are you so quick to come up with reasons why now is not really a good time? 19:25.210 --> 19:26.716 Can you maybe come back next Christmas? 19:27.050 --> 19:28.456 I might be in a better space then. 19:30.270 --> 19:31.856 It's just not a very good time for me right now. 19:33.010 --> 19:33.974 I'm working on myself. 19:37.210 --> 19:38.635 We have a lot of excuses, don't we? 19:39.870 --> 19:40.573 Would you have said yes. 19:43.550 --> 19:45.156 What's the hardest thing God's ever asked you to do? 19:47.190 --> 19:48.374 Bring the Son of God into the world. 19:49.317 --> 19:53.215 No, maybe he asked you to get baptized. 19:54.391 --> 19:55.615 Oh, but James, I don't look good wet. 19:56.890 --> 19:58.156 I've seen those video people come up. 19:58.290 --> 20:00.071 They got snot dripping down their face, their hairs. 20:00.131 --> 20:01.154 I don't want them to move. 20:03.130 --> 20:06.961 Or has he asked you to maybe teach down in city kids the preschool class? 20:07.250 --> 20:10.114 I don't want kids Again, a lot of snot. 20:12.870 --> 20:14.316 Maybe he's asked you to forgive somebody. 20:16.290 --> 20:17.194 You don't know what they did. 20:17.274 --> 20:21.874 God has he asked you to do anything hard? 20:22.958 --> 20:23.780 And what was your response? 20:23.870 --> 20:24.833 Did you do what he asked you to do? 20:26.490 --> 20:29.135 Or were you quick to point out all the reasons why you couldn't do it right now? 20:29.730 --> 20:31.657 But Mary said I am the Lord's servant. 20:32.071 --> 20:34.920 I live and move and have my being in you. 20:35.010 --> 20:36.877 I live for your glory and your kingdom. 20:37.130 --> 20:38.656 May it be to me, as you have said. 20:39.650 --> 20:40.554 That is incredible. 20:40.930 --> 20:42.517 I'm certain Mary's mind is racing. 20:42.710 --> 20:44.416 Who in the world is gonna believe this story? 20:44.496 --> 20:45.993 Right, are you kidding me? 20:46.490 --> 20:51.159 But then she remembers that the angel said her cousin Elizabeth was also with child. 20:51.710 --> 20:52.795 So what does she decide to do? 20:53.430 --> 20:56.996 She takes a little road trip and she goes down the road and she visits her cousin Elizabeth. 20:57.370 --> 21:03.599 She gonna hang out there, elizabeth, six months pregnant, and she is looking for some kind of confirmation. 21:04.450 --> 21:07.515 She didn't know that Elizabeth was pregnant till the angel told her. 21:07.750 --> 21:11.233 So she goes, she sees Elizabeth is pregnant confirmation one. 21:11.575 --> 21:14.156 But then she's pregnant with John the Baptist, if you recall. 21:14.510 --> 21:21.378 And when John the Baptist, when Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting, the Bible says that John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth's womb. 21:22.030 --> 21:25.196 And again, that was just more confirmation that all of this was from God. 21:26.470 --> 21:32.559 We like to explain stuff away and everything is scientific and electronic and clinical and you know it's like wow, that's not. 21:32.910 --> 21:43.300 It was probably just external stimuli, james, that caused John the Baptist to leap in Elizabeth's womb and the reason that she actually conceived in her old, barren age was because of the water supply. 21:43.370 --> 21:45.077 There actually was this anomaly. 21:45.510 --> 21:47.216 We saw it on the science channel, james, if you just. 21:48.230 --> 21:52.679 This was a miracle and it was confirmation that what the angel said was true. 21:53.230 --> 22:00.719 So Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months, probably to help Elizabeth with the final months of the pregnancy, to see John the Baptist be born. 22:01.090 --> 22:02.235 And now it's time to go back home. 22:03.150 --> 22:05.631 It's time to go back home and face the music, cause. 22:05.691 --> 22:07.036 Now she's three months pregnant. 22:07.310 --> 22:09.016 I'll bet she's starting to have a little baby bump. 22:09.036 --> 22:09.498 What do you think? 22:11.270 --> 22:15.056 Now it's time for people to really see this, and Rubber's gonna meet the road. 22:18.210 --> 22:24.060 Now she gets back to Nazareth, she goes directly to Joseph and she tells him the news. 22:25.373 --> 22:26.116 How do you think he took it? 22:27.253 --> 22:27.956 How would you take it? 22:29.470 --> 22:32.812 Joseph was obviously devastated In his mind. 22:32.872 --> 22:34.979 He's been lied to and cheated on. 22:40.750 --> 22:44.273 An angel, really, mary, the Holy Spirit. 22:45.090 --> 22:45.713 Are you kidding me? 22:47.370 --> 22:48.415 Oh, a dirty toilet seat? 22:48.610 --> 22:51.497 Sure, I've heard that a million times. 22:52.099 --> 22:52.319 What? 22:54.524 --> 22:58.954 No, everyone in this little town is gonna figure out that Mary is pregnant. 22:59.350 --> 23:00.595 What's their first assumption gonna be? 23:01.030 --> 23:02.315 They're gonna think that it's Joseph's. 23:03.110 --> 23:06.359 They're gonna think that he hasn't been pure, but he has. 23:07.650 --> 23:09.136 Joseph was a godly man. 23:09.176 --> 23:10.674 The Bible says he was a sadiq. 23:11.070 --> 23:12.917 That term means that he lived by the Torah. 23:13.270 --> 23:18.354 He actually followed God's laws and his rules and he was well known for this throughout their little community. 23:18.610 --> 23:20.597 He was looked up to, he was admired. 23:21.530 --> 23:26.117 This news would destroy in an instant what he spent a lifetime building. 23:30.270 --> 23:30.773 So what's he gonna do? 23:31.490 --> 23:32.535 Joseph has a few options. 23:34.290 --> 23:41.113 Because she was obviously unfaithful, he could do what some of you probably wish you could do if someone was unfaithful, he could have her killed. 23:42.638 --> 23:47.358 And have you ever wished that Somebody cheats on you and you're like I'm invoking Deuteronomy 22, kill him. 23:51.420 --> 23:53.936 I don't know if they'd like that, but it would probably feel good for you, right? 23:54.830 --> 23:55.573 That was one option. 23:55.794 --> 23:56.175 That's what it's. 23:56.195 --> 23:57.713 The Bible says In Deuteronomy 22,. 23:57.774 --> 24:09.758 If a woman pledged to be married was unfaithful look at what it says the woman must be taken to the door of her father's home and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents' home. 24:10.010 --> 24:12.338 In this way, you will purge this evil from among you. 24:12.610 --> 24:14.710 Well, that was one option, good times. 24:14.750 --> 24:21.158 Another option was he could bring her out to the marketplace and he could make a big scene and tell everyone about the pregnancy. 24:21.870 --> 24:28.363 Believe you me, an engaged man who had stayed pure, by the way, could make a compelling argument as to why he had done no wrong. 24:29.191 --> 24:32.205 And remember, women didn't have really any rights or clout in the society. 24:32.590 --> 24:38.019 So they were gonna believe Joseph over Mary, and he would preserve his good name and he would destroy hers instantly. 24:39.730 --> 24:40.654 But Joseph opted for a third choice. 24:42.091 --> 24:44.090 The Bible says in Matthew 1, verse 19,. 24:45.558 --> 24:49.075 Joseph, who she was engaged to, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. 24:50.411 --> 24:52.497 So he decided to break the engagement quietly. 24:54.632 --> 24:58.070 Make no mistake arranged marriage or not, joseph loved Mary. 24:58.070 --> 25:00.270 He'd known her his whole life. 25:00.451 --> 25:01.636 They had already exchanged the cup. 25:04.000 --> 25:04.965 He was building this house ready for marriage. 25:05.901 --> 25:06.630 He had already exchanged the cup. 25:07.695 --> 25:11.230 He was building this house ready to spend the rest of his life with her. 25:11.412 --> 25:18.525 He doesn't want to destroy her life, he doesn't want to make things harder for her, and she seemed so sincere when she told him the story of what the angel had said. 25:20.096 --> 25:25.198 So he wanted to just separate things quietly and just go on about their lives. 25:26.141 --> 25:26.910 But look at what happens next. 25:27.920 --> 25:28.990 Matthew 1, beginning in verse 20. 25:29.010 --> 25:33.636 As he considered this, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream Joseph, son of David. 25:33.656 --> 25:46.445 The angel said don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit and she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 25:49.299 --> 25:50.709 I love what Joseph does. 25:50.729 --> 25:58.720 Next, in verse 24, it says when Joseph woke up, did he go to the doctor to get a CAT scan. 25:59.802 --> 26:04.320 No, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary to be his wife. 26:06.426 --> 26:11.719 Now that didn't make a lot of sense, but he was obedient to God even when it didn't make sense. 26:12.120 --> 26:16.359 Mary and Joseph gave everything up to bring the Son of God into the world. 26:17.122 --> 26:21.016 They lost their reputations, they lost their status, they lost the marriage of their dreams. 26:21.798 --> 26:22.780 She couldn't wear white anymore. 26:25.465 --> 26:26.406 They gave up everything. 26:30.374 --> 26:33.181 They gave up their plans in favor of God's plans. 26:35.748 --> 26:40.740 Just when everything seemed to calm down, the rumor mill started to kind of simmer down. 26:41.482 --> 26:45.681 The whispers were kind of relegated to the shadows and a few snide comments and looks. 26:47.126 --> 26:51.280 Then the Roman government decides everybody's got to go to their hometown to get taxed. 26:52.303 --> 26:53.587 Well, that sounds like fun. 26:55.512 --> 26:58.259 I'd rather get a prostate exam and a root canal at the same time. 26:59.682 --> 27:05.159 He's got to travel with a nine-month pregnant woman on a donkey 75 miles. 27:08.705 --> 27:12.079 Some of you hear that and you're like oh, I feel so sorry for Mary, nine months pregnant on a donkey. 27:12.280 --> 27:13.364 I feel sorry for Joseph. 27:15.572 --> 27:21.830 And if you ever traveled with a pregnant woman on a donkey, mary, are you okay? 27:22.070 --> 27:22.852 Do you have to stop? 27:23.013 --> 27:23.474 Oh, you do. 27:23.494 --> 27:24.657 Oh, you have to stop again. 27:25.018 --> 27:26.943 Oh, and again you got to pee again. 27:27.244 --> 27:28.226 Oh, you want privacy. 27:28.667 --> 27:29.076 Oh, we go. 27:29.176 --> 27:29.877 Oh my gosh. 27:30.820 --> 27:33.206 This poor guy did not know what he was signing up for. 27:33.466 --> 27:35.799 He's thinking I should have just said no in the dream. 27:37.803 --> 27:39.666 Can I still throw rocks at her and stone her? 27:41.937 --> 27:46.445 So his feeling was probably elation and relief. 27:46.706 --> 27:51.862 When they finally roll into Bethlehem, right, he's like finally, this is over, we have made it. 27:52.403 --> 27:57.687 But then it quickly turns into frustration when he can't find a single place for them to stay the night. 27:58.451 --> 28:00.257 And by now Mary's starting to have contractions. 28:00.297 --> 28:02.002 She's never had pain like this in her entire life. 28:03.245 --> 28:03.987 Joseph's sweating. 28:04.035 --> 28:04.877 He doesn't know what to do. 28:06.400 --> 28:12.539 Now realize they have not been intimate yet and I'm sure Mary wasn't wanting Joseph to see her like this. 28:13.160 --> 28:19.757 Right, ladies, I've helped Nicole with a few deliveries. 28:22.044 --> 28:22.986 I remember the first one. 28:23.227 --> 28:30.485 I made a comment about the incredible way she was able to contort her face and neck veins and she's never let me forget it. 28:31.527 --> 28:33.301 I said, wow, I was incredible and they're like room. 28:34.084 --> 28:35.491 She's like what is wrong with you? 28:35.832 --> 28:37.136 I was pushing a human out. 28:38.639 --> 28:41.083 I know I was on the other end and something. 28:43.707 --> 28:49.378 It was beautiful, but Mary's mother wasn't there. 28:49.698 --> 28:53.147 There was no doctor or midwife what do they call those things? 28:53.515 --> 28:53.916 Doolas? 28:54.717 --> 28:55.117 Nobody. 28:55.658 --> 28:58.302 She's got Joseph and he doesn't know what he's doing. 29:01.126 --> 29:01.948 This is a nightmare. 29:03.755 --> 29:06.847 I'm sure she doesn't want to give birth to the son of God in a smelly stable. 29:08.814 --> 29:21.062 All their plans seem to be crumbling all around them, falling apart, but things are actually working out just the way God wanted them to. 29:22.545 --> 29:23.186 Isn't that crazy? 29:25.792 --> 29:29.542 We look at Mary and Joseph's life and everything they went through and it doesn't really make sense. 29:30.584 --> 29:33.760 But in all of it they were right in the center of God's will. 29:35.383 --> 29:41.396 There's going to be times in your life when you believe God's prompting you in a direction or leading you to do something, and it's not going to make sense. 29:41.777 --> 29:43.102 You're not going to have all the answers. 29:43.262 --> 29:46.724 There are going to be times when you're going to have to step out or you're not going to understand what's going on. 29:47.357 --> 29:48.282 Why didn't I get the job? 29:48.322 --> 29:50.332 Or why did he go back to his old girlfriend? 29:50.392 --> 29:52.138 Or why did this happen, or why did that happen? 29:53.802 --> 29:56.650 You're going to have to live by faith, not by facts. 29:58.495 --> 30:05.318 There are going to be times when you're not going to have all your questions answered, and that is a rough place to be, isn't it? 30:05.940 --> 30:07.604 Especially if you're a control freak like me? 30:08.566 --> 30:10.397 I'm a recovering one. 30:10.417 --> 30:11.279 I slip in and out. 30:12.762 --> 30:14.045 Sometimes I do pretty good. 30:14.125 --> 30:15.949 Other times I grab that bull by the horns. 30:16.035 --> 30:16.798 I do not let go. 30:17.581 --> 30:20.230 I like knowing what's going on and I like to control the outcome. 30:21.494 --> 30:28.577 So when you don't know the next steps or have all the answers, that is a hard place to be and you still have joy. 30:30.360 --> 30:31.922 Why does God allow those times to come? 30:35.448 --> 30:39.701 Because he wants you to trust him one step at a time. 30:43.649 --> 30:45.292 Why does he want you to trust him one step at a time? 30:46.594 --> 30:48.179 Again, as a control freak, I hate that. 30:49.403 --> 30:50.607 I'm like okay, one step. 30:50.787 --> 30:53.556 Can you show me the next mile Mile or two? 30:56.700 --> 30:59.945 I can help you, god, we can work together. 31:01.488 --> 31:04.116 You don't have to do all the heavy lifting, just give me the plan. 31:06.160 --> 31:08.885 But then I'm trusting in my abilities instead of him. 31:10.067 --> 31:11.148 He wants dependence. 31:12.015 --> 31:15.363 We want independence If we fight for it with everything in our being. 31:16.405 --> 31:23.608 He says the perfect place to be is complete dependence on me, because I've got this, I've got this. 31:26.874 --> 31:35.250 He knows that if he showed us the whole picture, he would probably scare us half to death If Mary and Joseph knew everything that was going to happen. 31:35.270 --> 31:39.785 They thought they were saying yes to a hard thing, but then they didn't know that the king was going to try and kill them. 31:40.615 --> 31:42.490 They didn't know that wise men were going to hunt them down. 31:42.531 --> 31:44.237 They were going to have to go hide in Egypt. 31:45.558 --> 31:46.660 They didn't know everything. 31:50.546 --> 31:51.327 Might not have said yes. 31:53.510 --> 31:54.998 They just trusted one step at a time. 31:55.560 --> 32:04.004 Some of us look back on 2023 and we're glad to wave goodbye in the rearview mirror because things didn't really turn out the way we had hoped and planned. 32:05.335 --> 32:05.916 Anybody like that. 32:06.357 --> 32:11.607 You're like okay, I'm excited for a fresh start, let's do this again. 32:13.015 --> 32:18.739 But some of us look ahead to 2024 with some fear and trepidation because we don't know what 2024 is going to hold. 32:23.675 --> 32:27.250 I get it, but look at Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. 32:28.196 --> 32:30.230 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. 32:30.977 --> 32:32.270 Don't depend on your own understanding. 32:32.876 --> 32:36.838 Seek his will in all you do and he'll show you which path to take. 32:38.394 --> 32:39.358 That's comforting for me. 32:42.313 --> 32:43.456 You mean, I just have to trust you. 32:45.743 --> 32:46.605 You will take care of me. 32:47.066 --> 32:51.270 You promise Pinky swear Because this is scary. 32:51.310 --> 32:58.322 Mary and Joseph didn't have all the answers to their questions, but they knew who did and they trusted him. 32:58.402 --> 32:59.545 That's the key. 32:59.565 --> 33:00.588 That's the key to happiness. 33:00.608 --> 33:01.230 That's the key to fulfillment. 33:03.700 --> 33:05.085 That's the key to the abundant life. 33:05.105 --> 33:06.290 Are you glad you came today? 33:06.310 --> 33:08.290 I just gave you the secrets to success. 33:08.290 --> 33:09.498 Tony Robbins wishes he had this right now. 33:11.511 --> 33:12.655 Know who has the answers. 33:15.482 --> 33:19.250 Know who has the answers and just trust him. 33:20.993 --> 33:24.279 Could it be that God is asking you to do the same thing that he asked them. 33:25.942 --> 33:29.909 Just trust me, even when it doesn't make sense. 33:29.929 --> 33:33.481 Yeah, just trust me, even when you don't give me all the answers. 33:33.701 --> 33:38.868 Yeah, just trust me, even when I haven't filled out my full life plan. 33:38.888 --> 33:41.666 Yeah, just trust me, even if my life coach doesn't agree. 33:41.686 --> 33:42.270 Yeah, just trust me. 33:42.290 --> 33:56.088 I'm guessing over the next day or two you're going to be at home or you're going to gather at friends or family's house and you're going to open up presents that are sitting under the Christmas tree, because that's a good time. 33:56.108 --> 33:56.629 I hope you get electronics. 33:56.649 --> 33:57.290 I hope I get electronics. 33:59.179 --> 34:04.290 I've always said Christmas is a funny time because we give presents to each other, but we don't always give a gift to the birthday boy. 34:05.614 --> 34:06.818 You guys know what Christmas is, right? 34:06.838 --> 34:07.862 I don't know what Christmas is. 34:07.962 --> 34:08.785 I don't know what Christmas is. 34:08.805 --> 34:09.668 I don't know what Christmas is. 34:10.410 --> 34:11.655 You guys know what Christmas is right. 34:12.457 --> 34:13.762 It's Jesus' birthday. 34:16.611 --> 34:17.254 What are you giving the? 34:17.274 --> 34:18.077 birthday boy this year. 34:20.351 --> 34:24.097 Mary and Joseph gave the greatest gift to God that first Christmas they could have possibly given. 34:25.058 --> 34:26.290 They gave everything. 34:26.852 --> 34:30.935 They gave their all, their hopes, their dreams, their fears, their future. 34:31.497 --> 34:32.240 They gave all they had. 34:33.173 --> 34:34.177 They held nothing back. 34:37.017 --> 34:40.278 My question to you today is have you ever done that? 34:42.193 --> 34:45.384 Have you ever given God all of you, everything? 34:45.404 --> 34:47.290 Or are you like most of us? 34:48.719 --> 34:50.290 We kind of do the Christian hokey pokey? 34:50.872 --> 34:56.827 I got one foot in, one foot out, something, something, and I twirl it all about. 34:56.847 --> 34:59.961 I don't know the song, I just remember one foot in, one foot out. 35:01.874 --> 35:08.886 But we feel like, oh, that was the spirit of what Peter and no Paul was actually telling us when he said I'm in the world, but not of the world. 35:08.926 --> 35:09.169 Right? 35:10.017 --> 35:11.290 So that's one foot in, one foot out. 35:12.052 --> 35:13.717 I'm just being faithful to the scriptures, james. 35:15.021 --> 35:15.863 That's not what he meant. 35:18.193 --> 35:25.305 He said jump in with all four feet, jump in, holding nothing back, trusting God. 35:25.325 --> 35:26.290 Here's my life. 35:27.273 --> 35:29.439 Use me for your glory and for my good. 35:30.342 --> 35:31.044 I trust you. 35:32.476 --> 35:34.647 My prayer for you this Christmas is that you'll trust him. 35:34.667 --> 35:44.800 Even when it doesn't make sense, even when you don't have all the answers, I'll let you know a little secret God's never gonna harm you? 35:47.236 --> 35:56.503 How many times is he gonna bail you out, protect you, bless you, help you, encourage you, before you realize he's not the boogeyman. 35:58.921 --> 36:00.149 All good things come from our heavenly Father. 36:00.169 --> 36:14.925 Above All he wants is a relationship with you to lead you to the abundant life he sent Jesus to die for and give you, and he's preparing a place for you in eternity so he can spend the rest of eternity hanging out with you. 36:16.755 --> 36:18.290 That doesn't sound like a boogeyman to me. 36:20.097 --> 36:21.382 That sounds like a guy I can trust. 36:24.137 --> 36:25.322 Have you ever given him everything? 36:29.522 --> 36:38.270 You put your full trust in him, everything you are, everything you have, everything you hope to be, or are you still holding something back? 36:41.041 --> 36:42.286 God, I will give you my Sundays. 36:44.461 --> 36:49.623 I will sign up for the church email, but I won't give my good email, I'll just give that one. 36:49.684 --> 36:51.270 I give Bed, bath and Beyond. 36:51.290 --> 36:53.128 They've been stepping it up, man. 36:54.236 --> 36:55.565 I'm getting a bunch of emails from them. 36:55.626 --> 36:59.982 I tell you what I have to unsubscribe. 37:02.755 --> 37:03.785 What are you holding on to? 37:04.512 --> 37:08.290 I'm going to ask the worship team to come and we're going to sing a final song together. 37:10.444 --> 37:11.270 We're going to celebrate this season. 37:13.283 --> 37:25.290 We are going to give gifts to each other, but I'm going to ask you to seriously consider what's the thing you've been holding on to that you can give as a gift to the one who's given you so much, the one who's given you everything and held nothing back. 37:25.411 --> 37:26.516 He says if you want wisdom, you got it. 37:29.255 --> 37:31.828 You want financial blessing and prosperity you got it. 37:35.245 --> 37:35.888 You need healing? 37:36.029 --> 37:36.270 You got it. 37:36.290 --> 37:43.186 Forgiveness of your sins sure, what is he holding back from you? 37:46.302 --> 37:47.647 But yet we hold on to so many things that don't matter. 37:47.667 --> 37:50.290 Think of the thing you can give, that you can give to the people you love. 37:50.795 --> 37:56.963 Think of the thing you can give that you can surrender in place of the goodness of God. 37:57.714 --> 38:01.198 Don't think of it as a sacrifice that, oh, I'm going to have to go without this thing. 38:02.511 --> 38:07.142 I'm letting go of rubbish and I'm getting back his goodness. 38:08.390 --> 38:17.346 And if you've never trusted him with your life and your eternity, what better time than Christmas to give your life as a gift to the one who gave you everything? 38:17.366 --> 38:18.290 So I'm going to give you a chance to do it. 38:18.834 --> 38:29.661 Just close your eyes where you are, and everybody just repeat after me Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus, thank you for saving me from my sin. 38:31.992 --> 38:36.463 I accept your free gift and I give you my life in return. 38:37.993 --> 38:45.270 Take all of me, do what you will for your glory and my good. 38:46.735 --> 38:51.230 In Jesus' name I pray amen, amen. 38:51.872 --> 39:01.661 Let's give a big round of applause for anybody that prayed that for the first time, because your life is never going to be the same, I promise. 39:02.752 --> 39:09.342 It's not all going to be sunshine and rainbows, but it's going to be an adventure that you will not regret. 39:10.391 --> 39:17.290 If you did make that decision, use that connection card that Pastor Moe talked about earlier, pull it out and on the back, one side says I made a decision for Christ. 39:17.892 --> 39:21.688 If you prayed that prayer and you've given your life as a gift, let us know. 39:21.708 --> 39:22.290 We want to celebrate with you. 39:23.194 --> 39:31.290 We want to make sure you have a Bible and you've got some helps on this new journey, because it is the ride of a lifetime and you don't have to do it alone, and we want to celebrate that with you. 39:32.095 --> 39:37.566 Whatever decision you've made, my prayer is that when you go out and you leave this place, you tell somebody the story. 39:37.586 --> 39:38.290 They're going to say happy holidays. 39:39.113 --> 39:40.278 You say Merry Christmas. 39:40.290 --> 39:42.270 Jesus is the reason for the season. 39:43.095 --> 39:45.290 Don't shy away and don't say I'm sorry. 39:46.416 --> 39:49.290 Unapologetic, bold faith is the name of the game. 39:50.482 --> 39:51.290 Jesus is not ashamed of you. 39:51.731 --> 39:54.419 He said if you're ashamed of me here, I'm going to be ashamed of you in heaven and eternity. 39:55.061 --> 39:55.682 Be bold. 39:56.954 --> 39:58.283 Jesus has changed my life. 39:58.585 --> 39:59.290 Can I tell you about it? 39:59.752 --> 40:02.506 That actually is the reason for the season, and I want to share this gift with you. 40:02.526 --> 40:03.290 Don't keep it to yourself. 40:03.755 --> 40:05.209 Let it be a light that shines so brightly. 40:06.374 --> 40:09.567 Everyone can help, but ask you to tell them more about it. 40:09.969 --> 40:10.290 You do that. 40:11.679 --> 40:12.646 Thank you for joining us. 40:12.807 --> 40:13.290 Merry Christmas. 40:13.330 --> 40:18.290 I'm going to ask our ministry team if you'll come forward, if you want someone to pray with you as we sing this final song. 40:19.317 --> 40:21.270 Minister to you, lay hands on you, bless you as you go. 40:22.154 --> 40:31.089 I pray that this next season leading into 2024 is blessed and you have the utmost confidence in the one that has your best interest at heart. 40:31.109 --> 40:33.296 Trust him, even when it doesn't make sense. 40:33.777 --> 40:38.270 I promise you it'll turn out for his glory and your good. 40:39.655 --> 40:41.340 Have a Merry Christmas and we'll see you next Sunday. 41:08.732 --> 41:10.782 And that you are surrounded by grace. 41:11.586 --> 41:12.290 Thank you for listening. 41:13.015 --> 41:18.492 Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church Podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.