The Bread Is In Your Hands (Holly Furtick)

0:00:04.640 --> 0:00:05.240 Hi everybody. 0:00:05.240 --> 0:00:07.640 Thanks so much for subscribing to our video podcast here 0:00:07.640 --> 0:00:10.440 at Elevation Church. We trust that these messages are speaking 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:14.440 directly to your heart. Beginning January seventh, we're moving to 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:18.000 audio only podcast. We'd love for you to still participate 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:19.680 in it. All you have to do is search for 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:22.600 Elevation with Stephen Ferdick. If you'd still like the video, 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:26.000 that's great. You can subscribe to Elevation Church on YouTube 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:29.000 and be a part of these sermons anywhere you are. 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:30.680 Thanks again for being a part of the family. 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:38.640 We'll see you soon. Well, welcome to Elevation. 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:43.639 Hasn't this been an amazing time of worship already at 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:45.080 all of our locations. 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:50.120 Those of you joining us online, Merry Christmas. You did it, 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:51.479 you're here, you made it. 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:56.520 What a beautiful time we've had together this morning. And 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:00.840 I love coming to church, but I love coming especially 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.000 this time of year, because it forces me to stop 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:05.840 thinking about all the things that I have left to 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:09.039 do this week and just spend an hour focusing on 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:13.959 why we really celebrate Christmas. That Jesus came, he was 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:17.520 born in a manger, and we worship him. And so 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:21.160 today I'm really excited about the word that God has 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.800 given me to say to you. Stand on your feet. 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:26.040 I'm going to share our scripture and we will jump 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:29.160 right in. All right, turn in your bible if you 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:32.440 have one, to mark chapter eight, and we're going to 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:39.039 start in verse one. During those days, another large crowd gathered. 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:42.520 Since they had nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples to. 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:46.800 Him and said, I have compassion for these people. They 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:49.640 have already been with me three days had and have 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:52.040 nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.320 will collapse along the way, because some of them have 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.960 come a long distance. His disciples answered, but where in 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:03.080 this remote place we can anyone get enough bread to 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:03.640 feed them? 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:05.240 How many loaves do. 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:09.000 You have, Jesus asked, seven, they replied, and he told 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:11.520 the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:14.280 had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:17.000 them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.200 the people, and they did so. They had a few 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:21.800 small fish as well, and he gave thanks for them also, 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:24.080 and told the disciples to distribute them. 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:26.840 The people ate and were satisfied. 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:31.800 Afterwards, the disciples picked up seven baskets full of broken 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:37.560 pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present. God, 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:41.040 would you've blessed this word today? We love you Jesus name, 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:44.280 We pray Amma. All right, give a couple of good 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:46.280 Christmas hugs before you. 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:57.880 Take your seat. Thank you worship team. That was amazing. 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:05.000 I think Jenna and John sou should do more duets. Hey, 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:07.720 I was really beautiful. 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:10.760 Okay? Is it okay? 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.080 If I give you a Christmas sermon that's not from 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:15.240 a Christmas Bible passage? 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.959 Good because I already am. First, I want to tell 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:21.880 you of a short story. 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.200 Don't for all those of you don't like long stories. 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.359 I like long stories, but have a short. 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:27.880 One for you today. 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:31.480 Many of you know that Stephen and I we got 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:35.400 married when we were practically babies. Right three weeks after 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:40.400 our college graduation, at twenty two years of old, twenty 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.720 two years of age, we got married and we basically 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:46.560 moved out of our dorms and into our first apartment. 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:49.920 So during our first year of marriage, we were figuring 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:51.920 out everything together. 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.320 We were figuring out how to get along. 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:57.160 How to budget, what we did after work, how to 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:58.800 celebrate holidays. 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:00.640 What we did on weekends, And we had so many any. 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:04.840 Conversations about how his family did this and my family 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:08.480 did that, And little by little I began to realize 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:12.080 that there were things in my childhood that I thought 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:14.280 were common place. 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:19.839 And they were actually weird. So here's an example. 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.280 One night, after I got home from teaching school, I 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:25.680 said to Stephen, I said, hey, I need to get 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:26.760 groceries for the week. 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:30.160 Let's just go eat dinner at the grocery store. I 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:31.120 need to look back at. 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:34.400 Me, and he said, you mean go out to eat 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:36.280 after we get groceries. 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:39.400 I said, no, we'll just eat while we shop. 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:44.599 And like by the look on his face, I had 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:47.039 one of those moments where I realized my family was 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:51.920 not normal. So you see, my family occasionally, not like 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:54.360 once a week or anything, but occasionally we would eat 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:56.480 dinner at the grocery store. 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.760 And I'm not talking about go to Costco and eat 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:04.240 the samples. We did that too. I'm talking like sometimes 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:04.600 when my. 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:06.760 Mom had a busy week and long list of groceries 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.200 for our family of five, we would all go to Public's. 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:13.400 We're shopping is a pleasure, and while my parents put 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:17.200 items in the cart, we would open things up and 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:21.080 eat them as we walked along, so a deli meat 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.120 and cheese slices. You know, you roll it together and 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:29.240 Dorito's straight out of the family sized bag, and you're 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:32.200 helping me know that this was not normal. I didn't 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:34.400 know you were going to laugh that much. And then 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.680 when it came time to check out, they would just 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:40.880 pay for the open items along with the other things 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.960 in the cart. And I specifically remember complaining to my 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.080 mom one night because I didn't want to eat dinner. 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:48.040 At the grocery store and she. 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:52.760 Was like, well why, And I said, I want a sandwich. 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.920 I don't want to just eat meat and cheese from 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:56.400 the deli. 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.920 And she said, well, just open the bread and make 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:05.839 yourself a sandwich, and I did, and a decade later 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.040 I realized that other families didn't eat. 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:10.799 Dinner at the grocery store. 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:15.200 The title of my sermon today is the Bread is 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:16.520 in your hands. 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:21.280 Let's go back to the disciples for a minute. I 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:22.280 shouldn't need to give you too. 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:25.320 Much backstory on this because Pastor Stephen preached on this 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.120 story just a few months ago and the sermon was 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:30.320 called Navigating not Enough. 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:32.720 Does anybody remember that one? It's the one where he. 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:35.440 Talked about girl math and God math and how. 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:37.960 And yeah you remember that one, and how enough is 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:41.599 not a feeling, it's a place of faith. It was 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:41.920 so good. 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:43.839 If you missed it, you got to go back because 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.240 this is part two of that message. 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:48.000 And today I want to open. 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.000 Up that phrase. Enough is not a feeling, it's a 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:54.000 place of faith. So what is a feeling? A feeling, 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:59.360 especially this time of year, is tired and irritated, overwhelmed. 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:03.960 And we feel these feelings when we're faced with a 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:07.320 situation or a season where we wonder. 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:08.680 If we have enough. 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:12.080 And when I find myself in a place of not enough, 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:18.119 I automatically think that the solution is more right, more time, 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:20.239 more money, if I had more help. 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:23.880 But the problem is in the moment, more is outside. 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.720 Of your control. You don't have more. If you could 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:31.200 get more, you would get more. So sometimes the solution 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:35.320 is right there in your hands. And what you need 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:39.520 is the faith to see what you actually have. You 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.920 don't actually need more. You need the faith to see 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:46.920 what you already have and the courage to turn. 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:49.320 It over to Jesus. Now, I don't want to be 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:50.720 too hard on the. 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:54.160 Disciples, because I do think that following Jesus would have 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:59.360 been simultaneously the coolest thing ever and the hardest thing ever. 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:04.080 But I do have some questions for the disciples, particularly 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:05.720 about this story. 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.160 Now, you might have noticed in your Bible that this. 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:11.080 Story is called the Feeding of the four thousand, and 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:15.840 that's because just two chapters back, we have almost the 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:19.640 same story, but it's called the Feeding of the five thousand, 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:23.200 and the two stories are almost identical, so much so 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:28.320 that if both if both Matthew and Mark, they tell 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:30.360 both stories, so they both tell the Feeding of the 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:32.640 five thousand feeding in the four thousand. Some people would 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:34.640 argue that maybe they were the same thing and people 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.079 got mixed up, but they're not so. In the Feeding 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:40.280 of the five thousand, the crowds gathered around Jesus and 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:43.079 he healed people, and he taught them, and they were 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:46.040 hearing and understanding the good news for the first time, 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.120 and all of a sudden, so much time had passed 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:50.200 that there was not enough food for the people to 0:08:50.360 --> 0:08:54.840 journey back home, because obviously, for a crowd that size together, 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:57.160 they would have had to go out to a remote place, 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:00.520 and many of them had come from several towns away. 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:02.840 And Jesus felt compassion for the people. He wanted to 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:04.920 give them something to eat. 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:10.160 Now I get it this time why the disciples were 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.600 baffled when Jesus told them to feed the crowd. 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:14.760 And in this particular passage, Jesus just looks. 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:18.480 At them and he says, you feed them, and they're like, Jesus, 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:21.120 it would take more than half a year's wages to 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:22.520 feed all of these people. 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:24.440 And Jesus said, go see what you have. 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.360 And then the disciple Andrew, does anybody remember this story? 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:30.120 He finds a kid with five loaves and two fish, 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:32.480 and they bring that to Jesus and he takes it 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:35.560 and he blesses it, and they all eat and they're satisfied. 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:37.720 The Bible tells us it wasn't just five thousand men, 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:41.679 but it was five thousand men plus the women and children, 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.600 and they had twelve baskets full leftover. 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:47.439 A miracle. I mean, the. 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:52.040 Disciples must have been flying high to be a part 0:09:52.240 --> 0:09:59.280 of feeding that many people, right. So two chapters later, 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:03.600 Mark gives us the account of Jesus feeding the four thousand, 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:07.000 and I'm like, how much time could there have been 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:08.320 between these two stories? 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:09.079 So I googled it. 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.400 Most scholars think, of course, you think I looked it 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:14.000 up in like a commentary or something. 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:18.240 I googled it. Most scholars think that it was about. 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:24.960 Six months, so only six months after the disciples found 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:29.080 themselves in almost the same exact place. 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:31.920 Crowds gather so large they have to go out to 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:32.800 a remote place. 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:37.000 Jesus teaches and heals, and so much time passes, they 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.200 run out of food and they won't be able to 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:40.600 make the journey back home. 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:42.040 Okay, look at the passage again. 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:48.120 Jesus says, I have compassion for these people. They've already 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:50.600 been with me three days and have had nothing to eat, 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.880 have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:56.439 they will collapse along the way, because some of them 0:10:56.480 --> 0:11:00.160 have come a long distance. His disciples answered, but where 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:04.480 in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:05.640 feed them? 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:12.520 Seriously, not one out of the twelve. 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:17.760 Things to say, Jesus, let's go, We got seven loaves. 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:21.480 Do that thing again, will multiply the bread. And then 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:23.920 another disciple maybe starts singing. 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:27.800 Dun dun dun, dun, dun, dun dun dun, And then 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:30.800 they're like, and I believe I. 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:39.439 See wo there's twelve of them and not one of them. Now, 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:40.479 maybe they really. 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:42.680 Did forget about the feeding of the five thousand just 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:45.440 six months before. Maybe they had seen Jesus do that 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:48.800 many miracles and they weren't thinking about that one. And 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.000 I do know that in my life there are many 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.160 times where I forget the things. 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:57.040 That God has done for me. Right like when I 0:11:57.080 --> 0:11:57.439 think of. 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:00.320 The miracles that God has done in my life and 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:02.400 the things that I have seen God in the life 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:05.440 of this church, it's insane. I still to this day 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:09.960 can smell the smell of the Providence High School drama 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:11.240 dressing rooms. 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:13.360 That's where we first started. 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.559 And I remember peeking out from behind the curtain because 0:12:16.600 --> 0:12:19.320 back then I was one of the background vocalists. 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:20.720 You didn't know that about me, did you. 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.120 Because we didn't have anyone who could really sing yet, 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.360 and so I was getting the job done. And I 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:31.520 remember peeking out from behind the curtain and wondering if 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.240 people were going to show up because we'd added a 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.680 second service, and every week they did. And I remember 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:41.320 during COVID wondering if people were really going to watch 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:45.680 church online from their homes, and they did. And I've 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:48.600 seen so many miracles in my own life and in 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:52.560 my own family, and yet sometimes when a tough situation arises, 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:56.880 I get this like sudden onset of spiritual amnesia, and I. 0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:59.319 Completely forget all that I have seen. 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:04.680 God do with my seven loaves of bread. So maybe 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.800 they did forget. That's still a possibility. But just go 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:11.679 with me here, because my December imagination was going, and 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:16.560 I started thinking, what if they didn't forget about the 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:21.080 feeding of the five thousand? What if they actually remembered 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:28.920 how much work it took to feed five thousand men 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:32.760 plus women and children. Because look, in my house, I 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:37.040 am in charge of feeding five people. I always planned 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:38.880 for a straight teenager or two as well. 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:42.560 And some nights I cook a lot. I like to cook, 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:44.560 so some nights I cook, some nights we order food. 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:48.040 And my strategy is always never throw food away, because 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:50.800 unless it's bad, which in my house my kids know, 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:52.720 it has to look bad or smell bad, otherwise you 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:54.839 can eat it, or if it tastes bad, spit it out. 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:59.520 It's fine because I don't throw it for it away 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:03.640 because there's somebody who's always hungry in my house, and 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:05.960 so I always make sure that there's enough food in 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:08.080 our fridge and in our pantry. And so some nights 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:11.760 when I'm too tired to feed people and I don't 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:13.280 want to go to the effort of cooking, and I 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:15.840 don't want to go to the effort of ordering and 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:19.880 spending the money to order food, I'm just gonna be 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:24.640 honest with you. When a teenager looks at me and 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:28.440 asks me, where in this remote place can we get 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:34.760 enough food, I have a hard time mustering up the 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:39.840 compassion of Jesus. So we don't break bread, We eat cereal. 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.600 Feeding people is a lot of work. And I just 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:48.400 wonder if the Disciples remembered how much work it was 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:53.680 to distribute food to thousands and thousands of people. Remember, 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:56.680 they had been there for three days too, and they 0:14:56.720 --> 0:15:00.840 were tired too, and they had just enough left to 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:03.840 split between the lot of them and go home. 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:05.680 And so as I was. 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:08.680 Feeling like I did not have enough during this busy 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.400 Christmas season, it made me wonder if in this moment, 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:17.000 the disciples problem was not enough bread, but if their 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.880 problem was not enough compassion. 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.840 Stephen told us in his message. 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:32.800 That the disciples saw crowds. When Jesus saw people, he 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.240 had compassion for the people. 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:37.160 He said, they've been here three days. 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:40.720 They won't make it home if you don't give them 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:45.080 something to eat. And when we're faced with a not 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:54.720 enough moment, our first prayer should be, Lord. 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.960 Change what I see. 0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:58.680 I think the disciples wanted to eat their seven loaves 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.240 and go home and get a shot and get some sleep. 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:06.320 But Jesus had compassion on the hungry people, and he 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:09.120 knew that he had more to give them. 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:14.600 Jesus wanted this crowd to go home full physically and spiritually, 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:19.800 because he knew that often our physical needs are directly 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:23.040 connected with our spiritual needs, and he wanted to feed 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:26.400 the people through the hands of the disciples. 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:29.520 Lord, change what I see. I want to see people, 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:30.560 not problems. 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:33.840 I want to have compassion for the hungry people around me. 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:37.920 Every day, sometimes all day long. We're all dealing with 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:42.120 hungry people. The person you work with, the lady bringing 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:45.360 you up at target, your kids, your kid's teacher, your 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.080 mother in law, your neighbor, your spouse, the person standing 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:51.360 too close to you on the subway. And it's complicated, 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:56.120 and I know it's not easy, But each moment we 0:16:56.240 --> 0:17:01.280 have the opportunity to choose to see faceless crowds or 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:02.560 hungry people. 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.880 When you see hungry people, you will. 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:13.120 Feel empathy and you will be moved to compassion. Something 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:18.280 inside of you, somehow sees someone's pain and responds to it. 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:23.399 When you see faceless crowds, you're thinking about yourself. And 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:26.280 this time of year, it is so easy to just 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:31.320 get through. You're tired, you're worried, you're running out of time. 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:34.440 But here is what I want to say to you today. 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:38.800 The level to which you are able to feel the 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:44.400 presence of Christ this Christmas is directly related to how 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:50.320 you treat the people in your every day life. 0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:53.880 This is not an easy message. 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:55.320 I don't think a lot of people are going to 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:57.439 be like aymen, this is a hard one for me. 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:00.680 But what I want to he's about how I want 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:01.000 to say it. 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:07.680 I am learning that I feel closer to God when 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:12.480 I am kinder to others. Write that down, because that's 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:14.800 the main thing I want you to remember from this sermon. 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:21.200 I feel closer to God when I am kinder to others. 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:24.480 Now, I was raised in church, and I was taught. 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:26.639 So many wonderful things about the Bible, and I was 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:30.639 raised to understand the importance of reading my Bible and 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:33.359 praying every day. And I was taught how important it 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.960 is to attend church and serve and tithe and give, 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:40.119 and all of these things help us to hear God 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:42.520 and to know God and to grow in our faith. 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:46.560 Those things are the essentials of our faith and elevation. 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:50.000 Church would not be what it is today, reaching people 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:55.359 around the globe without the amazing people here who serve 0:18:55.720 --> 0:18:58.040 and lead and give and tithe. 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:00.399 And if you're one of those people, thank you. 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:05.119 We're still in the process of receiving our year end offering, 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.640 and last week many of you came forward and you gave, 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:10.639 and that money enables us not only to spread the 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.119 gospel further with the messages of this church and the 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:16.440 amazing messages from our pastor and the songs and all, 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:19.720 but it also helps us to truly be able to 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:24.360 show the compassion of Jesus to people who are actually 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:26.600 hungry and living in poverty. 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:29.400 It enables us to provide disaster. 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:32.359 Relief where it's needed, and fund education programs and so 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:36.639 much more. It's amazing what God can do when we 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:43.359 give him our loves. Right, however, you can do all 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:49.040 of those things and miss the point. I heard a 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:52.640 preacher once say that the greatest indication of your relationship 0:19:52.680 --> 0:19:57.479 with God is how you treat others, and not just 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:00.960 how you treat the people that you love, although some 0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:03.400 of us treat the people we love the worst. 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:06.679 But it's how you treat the people you don't understand. 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:09.240 It's how you treat the people you don't agree with. 0:20:09.560 --> 0:20:13.160 It's how you treat people who have perhaps treated you poorly. 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:18.120 In Luke six. In Luke six, Jesus. 0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:22.120 Says, if you love only those who love you, why 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:23.560 should you get credit for that? 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.880 Even sinners love those who love them. 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:32.600 Love your enemies, do good to them, lend to them 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:34.120 without expecting to be repaid. 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.120 Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and. 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:40.520 You will truly be acting as children of the most High, 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:43.400 For He is kind to those who. 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:45.160 Are unthankful and wicked. 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:50.760 You must be compassionate, just as your father is compassionate. 0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:55.800 Because the scary thing is that the people that Jesus 0:20:55.960 --> 0:20:59.399 was the most harsh with in the Bible were the 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:04.080 religious people, people who followed all the rules and attended 0:21:04.160 --> 0:21:07.320 church and prayed the prayers and made the sacrifices because 0:21:07.359 --> 0:21:11.400 these people have begun to think that doing those things 0:21:11.480 --> 0:21:14.280 made them closer to God and also. 0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:15.439 Better than everyone else. 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:19.159 And there have been times in my life when I 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:23.159 thought memorizing scripture and participating in Bible studies and abstaining 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:26.120 from certain substances would make me feel closer to God. 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:28.200 And don't get me wrong, because all of those things 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:31.840 play a huge role in my growth as a Christian. 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:36.239 But the actual growth comes when I apply all of 0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:40.320 those things that I'm learning to my relationships and my 0:21:40.440 --> 0:21:44.639 interactions with others. And the longer I walk with God 0:21:44.680 --> 0:21:46.840 here it is again, the more I realize that I 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:49.560 feel the closest to God. 0:21:50.240 --> 0:21:52.480 When I'm kind to others. 0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:56.320 Jesus says later in the Book of John a new commandment. 0:21:56.480 --> 0:22:00.200 I give you love one another as I have loved you, 0:22:00.600 --> 0:22:04.120 So you must love one another. By this, everyone will 0:22:04.160 --> 0:22:08.000 know that you are my disciples if you love one another. 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:11.800 The way we treat others is what sets us apart 0:22:12.040 --> 0:22:13.600 as believers in Christ. 0:22:14.400 --> 0:22:16.640 So let me ask you this, if the. 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.119 Only way for people in your life to know that 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:22.639 you are a Christian was not by how often you 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:25.359 went to church or how many Bible verses you knew, 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:26.680 but was by how you. 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:33.840 Treated other people? What would they say about you? Now? 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:38.359 Listen, Our outward actions do not change our status with God. 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:43.399 The way I treat others makes me feel closer to God. 0:22:44.000 --> 0:22:48.159 But we're all covered by his grace, Thank God, because 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:52.240 we all have moments. Right, not too long ago, I 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:54.720 went to home Goods and I think it was a 0:22:54.840 --> 0:22:57.720 Saturday because God and everybody was there. 0:22:58.720 --> 0:23:01.840 And I drove around and there was only one parking 0:23:01.880 --> 0:23:02.959 space available. 0:23:03.000 --> 0:23:06.200 And I drive a really big mom Suv, but I'm 0:23:06.240 --> 0:23:09.520 really good at parking it, and so I whip. 0:23:09.240 --> 0:23:12.359 Into this space and it was close, but it's a 0:23:12.359 --> 0:23:15.560 big car. That's how you drive it. And and so 0:23:16.240 --> 0:23:17.560 you know, I whip into this place. 0:23:18.000 --> 0:23:20.800 And the owner of the car that I got really 0:23:20.880 --> 0:23:23.480 really close to, like probably inches, she happened to be 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:25.960 sitting in her vehicle and she watched the whole thing, 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:28.800 and she looked at me and she was like, you 0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:32.280 almost get my car, And I'm you know, I've been 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:34.439 driving around looking for this space for a while. 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:36.280 And so I looked back at her and I was 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:40.760 like what, because. 0:23:41.000 --> 0:23:44.560 What was the best word I could think to say 0:23:44.600 --> 0:23:48.240 in the moment, you know, the best thing that could. 0:23:48.440 --> 0:23:54.920 We all have moments, moments we wish we could take back, 0:23:55.440 --> 0:23:56.720 moments I'm not even. 0:23:56.520 --> 0:23:58.480 Gonna share with you here that are a lot worse 0:23:58.520 --> 0:24:04.160 than what happened at Home Goods. We all have moments 0:24:04.240 --> 0:24:07.320 that we know are covered by God's grace, but we 0:24:07.440 --> 0:24:12.160 hope that they're covered by people's grace too. And there's 0:24:12.280 --> 0:24:16.159 always forgiveness to be found in Christ. But we have 0:24:16.200 --> 0:24:20.399 to realize that our outward actions and our responses to 0:24:20.480 --> 0:24:24.800 others can affect our ability to sense the presence and 0:24:24.880 --> 0:24:25.840 the peace of. 0:24:25.800 --> 0:24:26.879 God in our lives. 0:24:26.880 --> 0:24:29.560 And if you're wondering this Christmas why you don't feel 0:24:29.800 --> 0:24:33.040 close to Christ, why you don't feel peace in your heart, 0:24:33.240 --> 0:24:42.880 maybe you should check how you're treating other people. Unfortunately, 0:24:44.800 --> 0:24:47.560 we don't get to choose the people that God has 0:24:47.600 --> 0:24:49.760 placed in our lives and on our paths. 0:24:50.840 --> 0:24:51.520 We don't get to. 0:24:51.520 --> 0:24:55.000 Choose the family that we're born into. Maybe you didn't 0:24:55.000 --> 0:24:59.160 have to eat dinner at the grocery store. Married didn 0:24:59.280 --> 0:25:02.440 get to choose those who came to worship Jesus that 0:25:02.640 --> 0:25:06.159 night in the stable. But we do get to choose 0:25:06.280 --> 0:25:10.840 how we see the people in our lives, and I 0:25:10.960 --> 0:25:15.960 know that the people in your life are messy. It's 0:25:16.000 --> 0:25:21.400 messy and loving them is complicated. It's like the farthest 0:25:21.400 --> 0:25:24.600 thing from simple what I'm asking you to do today, 0:25:24.880 --> 0:25:27.840 Because I know there's history, and there's pain, and there's 0:25:27.880 --> 0:25:30.800 things that have been said, and there's the way people 0:25:30.880 --> 0:25:32.200 always have acted. 0:25:32.400 --> 0:25:32.919 I get it. 0:25:33.680 --> 0:25:35.920 I'm just asking you to think, if you feel far 0:25:35.960 --> 0:25:39.280 from God this Christmas, you might need to ask God 0:25:39.320 --> 0:25:42.800 to help you change the way you see His sons 0:25:43.080 --> 0:25:49.600 and daughters, because you can have boundaries and be kind 0:25:50.480 --> 0:25:58.840 at the same time. You know that phrase hurting people 0:25:58.960 --> 0:26:01.840 hurt people. I want to change it a little bit 0:26:01.880 --> 0:26:07.399 today and tell you hungry people hurt people. Have you 0:26:07.400 --> 0:26:12.280 ever been angry in the worst mood because you haven't 0:26:12.320 --> 0:26:14.840 eaten anything, And if you would just eat something, everything 0:26:14.880 --> 0:26:18.280 would change. What if you could change someone's day by 0:26:18.320 --> 0:26:20.800 sharing some of your bread with them. 0:26:22.600 --> 0:26:23.680 The people that. 0:26:23.640 --> 0:26:27.159 You encounter this Christmas, your family workers, your co worker, 0:26:27.280 --> 0:26:29.680 your family workers, your family members. 0:26:29.480 --> 0:26:31.440 Your co workers, the person. 0:26:31.200 --> 0:26:33.040 In front of you in mine at the grocery store. 0:26:33.160 --> 0:26:37.720 They're all hungry. And I know you're hungry too. But 0:26:37.840 --> 0:26:40.960 I believe that God sent me here today to tell 0:26:41.040 --> 0:26:45.400 you that there is bread in your hands. Look back 0:26:45.480 --> 0:26:50.040 at the scripture. I have compassion for these people. They've 0:26:50.080 --> 0:26:52.080 already been with me for three days and have nothing 0:26:52.080 --> 0:26:53.760 to eat. If they send them home hungry, they will 0:26:53.760 --> 0:26:56.880 collapse on the way, because some of them have come 0:26:56.920 --> 0:26:57.639 a long distance. 0:26:57.680 --> 0:27:01.840 The disciples answered, but where in this remote place could 0:27:01.840 --> 0:27:03.640 we get enough food to feed them? 0:27:03.920 --> 0:27:07.720 How many loaves do you have, Jesus asked seven. 0:27:08.280 --> 0:27:11.480 They replied seven was not much. They would have needed 0:27:11.520 --> 0:27:12.640 thirteen for each of. 0:27:12.600 --> 0:27:16.359 Them to have one, but they had seven, and so 0:27:16.440 --> 0:27:20.080 they gave their seven loaves to Jesus. 0:27:21.160 --> 0:27:22.120 You know that you. 0:27:22.040 --> 0:27:26.760 Don't have to give everyone a feast. You don't have 0:27:26.840 --> 0:27:30.200 to stop and pray with the waitress at lunch today, 0:27:30.480 --> 0:27:33.440 but you can smile and say thank you and give 0:27:33.440 --> 0:27:36.040 her a nice tip whether she got your order perfectly 0:27:36.119 --> 0:27:39.560 right or not. You don't have to be an annoying 0:27:39.680 --> 0:27:43.720 Christian to have compassion on the people around you. You 0:27:43.840 --> 0:27:47.040 can be kind within your own giftings and within your 0:27:47.080 --> 0:27:50.720 own personality. And I just want to say that extroverts 0:27:50.920 --> 0:27:54.920 aren't better Christians. They just like talking to people in 0:27:54.960 --> 0:28:04.880 line at target times. Kindness is listening, not talking listening 0:28:04.920 --> 0:28:08.320 to a story you've heard before, listening to an opinion 0:28:08.359 --> 0:28:14.040 that you don't agree with. Sometimes compassion is just walking away. 0:28:14.880 --> 0:28:21.720 Sometimes the gift of compassion is biting your tongue. Sometimes 0:28:21.840 --> 0:28:26.560 kindness is making eye contact. I'm telling you it's it's 0:28:26.600 --> 0:28:29.119 way simpler than you're making it out to me. Stephen 0:28:29.160 --> 0:28:32.880 says that I am a no eye contact person in public, 0:28:33.000 --> 0:28:36.320 and it's true. I don't know why I'm in Harristeter. 0:28:36.520 --> 0:28:38.560 I have a job to do. I have hungry teenagers 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:38.920 to feed. 0:28:38.960 --> 0:28:42.040 And sometimes I have my audio book in and I'm 0:28:42.080 --> 0:28:43.280 playing candy Crush. 0:28:43.080 --> 0:28:43.800 At the checkout. 0:28:43.880 --> 0:28:48.680 Okay, like I'm that, But sometimes I do that at 0:28:48.680 --> 0:28:53.680 home too, and I'm checked out. How can you even 0:28:53.760 --> 0:28:54.480 begin to. 0:28:54.520 --> 0:28:56.160 See the people in your life? 0:28:56.240 --> 0:28:59.000 How can I even begin to see the people in 0:28:59.040 --> 0:29:04.680 my life when I'm instantly staring at my phone? And 0:29:04.720 --> 0:29:07.000 so while I'm up here preaching to myself, I feel 0:29:07.040 --> 0:29:09.280 like I should say to some of the people in 0:29:09.320 --> 0:29:12.880 this room that are running around and trying to make 0:29:12.920 --> 0:29:15.680 everything perfect and getting the gifts under the tree and 0:29:15.720 --> 0:29:18.280 wrapped and beautiful, and the holiday meals and the class 0:29:18.280 --> 0:29:20.440 parties and the Secretsanda and the family Christmas card and 0:29:20.480 --> 0:29:23.719 all of those wonderful, beautiful things. But you know what 0:29:23.760 --> 0:29:28.840 your family wants from you for Christmas this year. They 0:29:28.880 --> 0:29:31.000 want you to not freak out about the trash on 0:29:31.040 --> 0:29:35.240 the floor at eight thirty am on Christmas morning. I'm 0:29:35.240 --> 0:29:42.960 saying that to myself. I know you're hungry too, but 0:29:43.000 --> 0:29:45.560 don't put kindness. 0:29:44.880 --> 0:29:49.240 On your to do list. Be like my mom. She said, 0:29:49.240 --> 0:29:52.360 you want bread, there's bread right here in the cart. 0:29:55.120 --> 0:29:58.120 God didn't ask the disciples to prepare a five course meal, 0:29:58.720 --> 0:30:00.760 He said, how much bread do you you have? What's 0:30:00.800 --> 0:30:05.680 in your car? How can you see the people around you? 0:30:05.800 --> 0:30:10.200 Sometimes compassion is simply stopping to encourage someone that you 0:30:10.360 --> 0:30:11.840 know is going through. 0:30:11.720 --> 0:30:19.120 A difficult season. It's that simple. Two weeks ago, on 0:30:19.160 --> 0:30:21.760 a Saturday night, I was really stressed. 0:30:21.800 --> 0:30:24.760 I had a list a mile long to take care of, 0:30:25.240 --> 0:30:28.520 and I was also trying to prepare a sermon for 0:30:28.720 --> 0:30:31.400 you know, a lot of people, and I was trying 0:30:31.440 --> 0:30:33.920 my best just to you know, tackle one thing at 0:30:33.920 --> 0:30:36.880 a time. And I think I did a pretty okay 0:30:37.000 --> 0:30:39.960 job not taking it out on my kids and my family. 0:30:40.720 --> 0:30:42.680 But by the time that I went to bed, my 0:30:42.920 --> 0:30:46.520 stomach was in naughts. And I don't know if any 0:30:46.560 --> 0:30:48.360 of you ever go to bed and you're just praying. 0:30:48.400 --> 0:30:51.520 You're like, God, just help me not forget anything that 0:30:51.560 --> 0:30:52.520 I've committed to do. 0:30:53.840 --> 0:30:56.320 And I woke up the next morning to a text 0:30:56.360 --> 0:30:59.640 from a staff member and a friend. Her name is Daytona, 0:31:00.360 --> 0:31:02.160 and she texted me and she said that she had 0:31:02.200 --> 0:31:03.960 woken up in the middle of the night and felt 0:31:04.000 --> 0:31:08.080 led to pray peace over us, and she just typed 0:31:08.120 --> 0:31:11.440 out a prayer about the peace of God having authority 0:31:11.520 --> 0:31:11.960 over me. 0:31:13.080 --> 0:31:14.120 That was bread. 0:31:14.720 --> 0:31:16.920 I woke up to bread right there on my phone 0:31:16.960 --> 0:31:22.040 because someone else stopped for a second to think about 0:31:22.040 --> 0:31:24.760 someone other than herself. You don't have to be a 0:31:24.760 --> 0:31:29.200 preacher or a Bible scholar or you know, Mother Teresa 0:31:29.440 --> 0:31:37.479 to feed the hungry this Christmas. And if you're listening 0:31:37.520 --> 0:31:40.120 to this message and you're thinking, great, now I have 0:31:40.240 --> 0:31:41.960 to add more to my list. I need to find 0:31:41.960 --> 0:31:43.840 a soup kitchen for my family to serve out. 0:31:43.880 --> 0:31:45.400 You're totally missing the point. 0:31:46.240 --> 0:31:49.160 Obviously, if the opportunity arises for you to serve at 0:31:49.080 --> 0:31:52.120 an organization like that, you should do it. But the 0:31:52.160 --> 0:31:57.440 point is having compassion is less about signing up to 0:31:57.640 --> 0:32:01.440 serve and is more about what is right in front 0:32:01.440 --> 0:32:05.800 of who is right in front of you. A good 0:32:05.840 --> 0:32:08.800 friend of mine has been letting a teenage girl in 0:32:08.840 --> 0:32:13.600 her neighborhood live with her for weeks this Christmas because 0:32:13.640 --> 0:32:16.200 she has nowhere else to go except the foster care system. 0:32:17.000 --> 0:32:18.920 That is the compassion of Christ. 0:32:20.240 --> 0:32:23.560 When you have the faith to pray, Lord, here is 0:32:23.640 --> 0:32:26.080 my bread. Use what I have. 0:32:27.120 --> 0:32:32.640 God will always present you with an opportunity. And Mary's 0:32:32.680 --> 0:32:35.560 prayer the one that she prayed after the angel came 0:32:35.600 --> 0:32:37.560 to her and told her that she was going to 0:32:37.600 --> 0:32:40.160 carry the son of God. She starts off by saying, 0:32:40.200 --> 0:32:44.920 my soul magnifies the Lord. My heart rejoices in God, 0:32:44.960 --> 0:32:47.800 my savior, for he lifts the lowly. And then she 0:32:47.880 --> 0:32:50.680 goes on to say this beautiful thing she says, for 0:32:50.800 --> 0:32:52.240 he has filled the. 0:32:52.320 --> 0:32:54.560 Hungry with good things. 0:32:55.440 --> 0:32:59.680 God has compassion for the hungry, and the good news 0:32:59.760 --> 0:33:02.640 is he wants to feed them through you. 0:33:04.160 --> 0:33:08.440 The power came from Jesus, but the bread was in 0:33:08.720 --> 0:33:13.720 their hands. Here's the funny thing. Look at verse six. 0:33:15.480 --> 0:33:17.479 He told the crowds to sit down on the ground 0:33:18.000 --> 0:33:20.360 when he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks 0:33:20.720 --> 0:33:23.360 he broke them and gave them to his disciples to 0:33:23.400 --> 0:33:26.240 distribute to the people, and they did so. They had 0:33:26.280 --> 0:33:29.320 a few small fish as well. He gave thanks for 0:33:29.400 --> 0:33:32.760 them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 0:33:32.800 --> 0:33:36.240 Where did the fish come from? The disciples never mentioned 0:33:36.280 --> 0:33:37.520 any fish. 0:33:37.520 --> 0:33:40.840 But maybe someone saw the bread going around and they 0:33:41.080 --> 0:33:44.680 just threw their fish into the lot. When you give 0:33:44.800 --> 0:33:48.960 God what you have, when you give him what time 0:33:49.000 --> 0:33:51.760 you have, when you give him the ability you have, 0:33:52.080 --> 0:33:56.480 the resources that you have, you will always have more 0:33:56.720 --> 0:33:57.320 than enough. 0:33:57.520 --> 0:34:01.520 Someone's gonna throw some fish into the pile. He always enough. 0:34:01.760 --> 0:34:06.080 The key is to see what you have, count your 0:34:06.120 --> 0:34:10.520 loaves this morning and thank God for them, ask him 0:34:10.560 --> 0:34:13.560 to bless them. So this looks like you wake up 0:34:13.600 --> 0:34:16.440 in the morning and you say, God, here's my bread today. 0:34:17.600 --> 0:34:20.520 Thank you for my health, thank you for my job, 0:34:21.040 --> 0:34:23.600 thank you for my family, thank you for the home 0:34:23.640 --> 0:34:26.359 that we have to host people in. Thank you for 0:34:26.640 --> 0:34:29.120 the car that I have to go Christmas shopping in. 0:34:29.360 --> 0:34:32.480 Here's my time, God, here's my day. Change how I 0:34:32.520 --> 0:34:34.560 see and interact with people today. 0:34:34.640 --> 0:34:38.319 Show me what I have in my hands. We're not 0:34:38.360 --> 0:34:39.800 going to get it right every time. 0:34:40.320 --> 0:34:44.759 We're human beings with feelings and emotions, and we're navigating 0:34:44.760 --> 0:34:48.480 our own hunger while simultaneously trying to feed others. But 0:34:48.560 --> 0:34:52.680 the faith to feed is directly connected to your proximity 0:34:52.960 --> 0:35:00.440 to Jesus. Think about the order the disciples gave Jesus 0:35:00.520 --> 0:35:03.919 the bread. Jesus blessed it, gave it back to them, 0:35:04.200 --> 0:35:09.080 They passed it out over and over again until four 0:35:09.200 --> 0:35:13.960 thousand people were fed. Last Christmas, I was making a 0:35:14.000 --> 0:35:16.640 big meal for our family, and you know, first I 0:35:16.719 --> 0:35:19.600 made a cake. We have this chocolate chip pound cake 0:35:19.640 --> 0:35:22.200 that everybody likes, and so I was making that, and 0:35:22.239 --> 0:35:25.960 of course I licked the batter, because that's the privilege 0:35:25.960 --> 0:35:26.720 of being the cook. 0:35:27.360 --> 0:35:29.120 And then I made a. 0:35:29.120 --> 0:35:31.880 Cheeseboard because I wanted us to have, you know, appetizers, 0:35:31.920 --> 0:35:35.040 and so I was snacking on the grapes and the cheese, 0:35:35.160 --> 0:35:36.160 and I had to make sure the. 0:35:36.080 --> 0:35:37.160 Crackers weren't stale. 0:35:37.200 --> 0:35:40.000 And then I sliced the bread and that we were 0:35:40.040 --> 0:35:41.680 gonna I was gonna warm in the oven, and so 0:35:41.920 --> 0:35:44.840 you know, I ate the little in piece. And I 0:35:44.920 --> 0:35:47.840 was making mashed potatoes and I had to taste those 0:35:47.920 --> 0:35:50.160 to make sure that they had enough salt. 0:35:50.200 --> 0:35:50.839 And you know what. 0:35:51.880 --> 0:35:54.360 By the time I sat down to that meal with 0:35:54.440 --> 0:35:56.719 my family, I don't know if this is ever having you. 0:35:57.160 --> 0:36:01.560 I wasn't really hungry at all because the people in 0:36:01.600 --> 0:36:04.520 the kitchen have the most access to the food. 0:36:06.320 --> 0:36:08.480 And don't you think that the. 0:36:08.480 --> 0:36:11.160 Disciples were eating the bread and the fish as they 0:36:11.239 --> 0:36:11.879 passed it out? 0:36:11.920 --> 0:36:15.439 Of course they were. They got to it first. As 0:36:15.480 --> 0:36:18.640 long as they stayed close to Jesus. There was plenty 0:36:18.920 --> 0:36:23.160 for everyone. And when you're feeding others, it's an act 0:36:23.200 --> 0:36:27.080 of service, of course it is, but you benefit from it. 0:36:28.040 --> 0:36:31.360 And I'm giving you permission this Christmas to lick the bowl. 0:36:33.040 --> 0:36:35.880 Watch God do something through your hands. He will supply 0:36:36.040 --> 0:36:39.439 you with everything you need. He will not only give 0:36:39.480 --> 0:36:42.840 you the compassion for the people you interact with, but 0:36:42.880 --> 0:36:46.120 He's also going to give you the energy to distribute. 0:36:45.560 --> 0:36:48.160 It if you remain close to him. 0:36:48.640 --> 0:36:52.480 Stay in the kitchen this Christmas and experience the feeling 0:36:52.560 --> 0:36:56.360 of being full while you serve. Watch the energy shift 0:36:56.640 --> 0:37:00.320 in your heart and in your home, while you see 0:37:00.760 --> 0:37:03.399 the people, and you watch God do what he does with. 0:37:03.400 --> 0:37:04.640 The bread that you have. 0:37:04.800 --> 0:37:08.879 Before Jesus, they had seven loaves after they gave what. 0:37:08.920 --> 0:37:11.960 They had to Jesus. They had so much left over 0:37:12.040 --> 0:37:13.239 they couldn't even eat it all. 0:37:14.000 --> 0:37:18.440 They no longer had seven loaves, they had seven baskets full. 0:37:19.080 --> 0:37:21.960 And the basket was the Hebrew word for the basket 0:37:22.160 --> 0:37:24.560 meant it was like the basket that Paul hid in. 0:37:24.680 --> 0:37:26.920 It was a basket big enough for a man to 0:37:26.960 --> 0:37:30.080 fit in. They had seven basketfuls left over. 0:37:30.320 --> 0:37:33.120 And I want to tell you that joy and peace 0:37:33.560 --> 0:37:37.040 and contentment is what's going to be in your baskets 0:37:37.120 --> 0:37:41.719 this Christmas, and you won't even know where it came from. 0:37:41.760 --> 0:37:45.560 To stay close, the prophet Isaiah said, the Virgin will 0:37:45.600 --> 0:37:48.920 give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, 0:37:49.360 --> 0:37:54.640 which means God with us. Don't miss out on the 0:37:54.719 --> 0:37:57.120 nearness of Christ this Christmas. 0:37:57.320 --> 0:37:59.719 Fight for it with everything you have. 0:38:00.160 --> 0:38:03.480 Let the pain and the disappointments that you face this 0:38:03.600 --> 0:38:07.840 season draw you closer to Christ. Let the hardship and 0:38:07.920 --> 0:38:11.440 the questions that you have draw you closer to Jesus, 0:38:11.480 --> 0:38:16.520 because everything flows from that close relationship with Him. 0:38:18.640 --> 0:38:21.240 Before I close, I want. 0:38:21.040 --> 0:38:25.799 To remind you also today that God's kindness and compassion 0:38:26.520 --> 0:38:31.920 is for you too, And maybe you should try being 0:38:31.920 --> 0:38:37.040 a little kinder to yourself this Christmas as well. Sometimes 0:38:37.080 --> 0:38:40.879 the person that you're the least kind to is yourself. 0:38:42.000 --> 0:38:44.560 You can't stop thinking about all the ways that you 0:38:45.000 --> 0:38:49.759 have messed up, and the enemy wants nothing more than 0:38:49.800 --> 0:38:55.400 to get in between you and Emmanuel. So the enemy's 0:38:55.440 --> 0:38:58.320 going to say to you you should be farther along 0:38:58.680 --> 0:38:59.560 than you are now. 0:39:00.080 --> 0:39:03.880 When he does, you press in to Emmanuel and you 0:39:04.000 --> 0:39:07.120 remind him how far God has brought you. 0:39:08.960 --> 0:39:12.640 When the enemy says to you, your kids deserve better 0:39:12.960 --> 0:39:16.240 than you, you remember that just like God placed Jesus 0:39:16.480 --> 0:39:20.760 in Mary's hands, God sovereignly placed your child, your children 0:39:20.880 --> 0:39:23.320 in your lap. And the breadth that's in your hands 0:39:23.560 --> 0:39:28.040 is enough for you and for them. When the enemy 0:39:28.080 --> 0:39:30.919 tells you that you've made too many mistakes, you tell 0:39:30.960 --> 0:39:33.920 yourself that Jesus came to earth and died so that 0:39:34.040 --> 0:39:37.080 his grace would not only cover all of your sins. 0:39:36.880 --> 0:39:39.279 But empower you to live for him. 0:39:39.960 --> 0:39:42.880 John ten ten Jesus said, the thief comes to steal, 0:39:43.160 --> 0:39:46.399 kill and destroy, But I have come that they may 0:39:46.480 --> 0:39:51.080 have life and have it to the full. The message 0:39:51.200 --> 0:39:56.080 of Christmas, this of Christmas is that Jesus humbled himself 0:39:56.320 --> 0:40:00.839 by becoming flash and coming to earth, the word became flesh. 0:40:00.680 --> 0:40:04.319 And it dwelt among us. His love for you is 0:40:04.600 --> 0:40:06.040 that great. 0:40:06.440 --> 0:40:10.800 Em Manuel, God with us, looks at you with the love. 0:40:10.880 --> 0:40:15.439 And compassion and patience of a father. Today. He paid 0:40:15.480 --> 0:40:18.439 a great price for you. He took our guilt. 0:40:18.320 --> 0:40:20.600 And our sin and our shame so that we could 0:40:20.640 --> 0:40:25.040 have life to the full, not running on empty, running 0:40:25.080 --> 0:40:25.800 on full. 0:40:26.800 --> 0:40:29.480 Let him satisfy your soul today. 0:40:31.600 --> 0:40:33.720 As I close, I thought I could take the remaining 0:40:33.760 --> 0:40:38.000 moments that we have to just reflect on what we've 0:40:38.040 --> 0:40:42.040 heard today and on the wonder of Christmas and the 0:40:42.040 --> 0:40:47.640 Holy night when God became flesh came to earth that 0:40:47.719 --> 0:40:53.200 we might experience his love and compassion for us. Lev 0:40:53.400 --> 0:40:57.640 Thank you for your word to us today. Would you 0:40:57.760 --> 0:41:02.200 seal it on our hearts. Thank you for your kindness 0:41:02.239 --> 0:41:05.839 to us. Lord, Thank you for your nearness to us 0:41:06.280 --> 0:41:12.680 in this moment. Maybe go out of here today full 0:41:12.960 --> 0:41:17.839 of the love and compassion of Christ for ourselves, and 0:41:17.880 --> 0:41:21.359 may it overflow to all those around us. 0:41:23.719 --> 0:41:24.560 We love you, Lord. 0:41:26.160 --> 0:41:28.200 Thank you for your love and your kindness and your 0:41:28.239 --> 0:41:31.600 patience with us. Thank you for your grace that covers us, 0:41:32.320 --> 0:41:35.480 and most of all, we thank you for Jesus that 0:41:35.560 --> 0:41:38.399 he came to earth as a baby so. 0:41:38.320 --> 0:41:41.759 That we might know you and Jesus name. 0:41:41.800 --> 0:41:50.839 I pray Amen, thanks for joining us today. We pray 0:41:50.880 --> 0:41:52.600 that God has spoken to you in a unique and 0:41:52.719 --> 0:41:55.279 powerful way through the message. Well, we are in our 0:41:55.360 --> 0:41:57.640 year in Offering season as a church where we get 0:41:57.640 --> 0:42:00.440 the opportunity to reflect back on all the ways that 0:42:00.480 --> 0:42:02.880 God has been faithful to our ministry this year, but 0:42:03.000 --> 0:42:05.680 also to look ahead at what we're believing God for 0:42:05.800 --> 0:42:08.080 in the upcoming year. And each year as a church, 0:42:08.120 --> 0:42:10.960 we get to come around a special offering and offering 0:42:10.960 --> 0:42:13.880 that contributes to both outreach efforts in local and global 0:42:13.880 --> 0:42:16.759 cities and as well as the expansion of our ministry 0:42:16.800 --> 0:42:19.440 continuing to reach people all over with the hope of 0:42:19.520 --> 0:42:21.719 the Gospel. And we'd invite you to take part and 0:42:21.760 --> 0:42:24.239 participate in our year end offering. To do so, you 0:42:24.239 --> 0:42:26.680 can go to Elevationchurch dot org. Just click the banner 0:42:26.719 --> 0:42:28.440 there at the top and then you'll be able to 0:42:28.480 --> 0:42:30.400 see everything that you need to be a part of 0:42:30.400 --> 0:42:33.120 our year end offering. You'll see two options. The first 0:42:33.440 --> 0:42:36.359 is to begin tithing. Maybe you've been wanting to prioritize 0:42:36.360 --> 0:42:39.000 God in your finances, but you haven't taken that step 0:42:39.120 --> 0:42:41.120 to make a commitment to doing so. This is a 0:42:41.160 --> 0:42:44.239 great place to begin. Or perhaps you've been giving consistently 0:42:44.560 --> 0:42:47.040 in this season, God may be challenging you to stretch 0:42:47.080 --> 0:42:49.960 above and beyond the tithe to give a sacrificial gift 0:42:50.160 --> 0:42:52.200 to our year end offering. If you're part of one 0:42:52.200 --> 0:42:54.719 of our physical locations, you can choose your campus there, 0:42:55.000 --> 0:42:56.839 or if you're part of our online ministry, of course, 0:42:56.840 --> 0:42:59.920 you'll choose Epham or online and then enter the amount 0:43:00.040 --> 0:43:02.200 that you'd like to give. We are believing for all 0:43:02.239 --> 0:43:04.320 the ways that God is going to stretch our faith 0:43:04.360 --> 0:43:06.440 in this season through our year end offering, and we 0:43:06.440 --> 0:43:08.080 can't wait to see what God does through you. 0:43:08.440 --> 0:43:09.919 God bless and we'll see you soon.