You Don't Have To

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:04.080 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:06.560 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:09.920 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:11.959 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:14.680 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:26.439 God is Great, which you turn to the person next 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:29.000 to you and tell them God is with you today. 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:33.720 Look at him again and say I can tell and 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:38.159 ask them would you like a hug? And if they 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.960 don't cuss at you, give them a big hug. I 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.239 want you to turn around and give about four or 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:49.600 five hugs all over the room. Hey, congratulations Elevation Columbia 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:53.920 on your new building. Congratulations to all of our locations. 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:58.400 You made it to church. Congratulations to you. You made 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:03.080 it through another week, You made it to another day. 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:06.480 Come on, how many are grateful to be in the 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:11.360 number one more day? That's my section right there. I 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:20.360 found my section right there. Who better be glad they're 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:22.440 not on the front row. We would never get out 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:26.080 of worship. I saw some rowdiness over and here too. 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:31.520 It was weird because you know, Christmas season is supposed 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:36.040 to get stuffy everybody gets real busy and hateful. No 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:39.319 greater way to tell Jesus Happy Birthday than to run 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:41.640 up our credit cards, get stressed out and hate everything. 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:46.080 So we kind of try to make it countercultural. And 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:48.720 I like to take a little extra time during worship 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:51.560 before I preach as we lead to the holidays, just 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.680 because the seed of the Word of God is always pure. 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.360 But if the soil of your heart is not plowed, 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.000 you can't receive it. And one thing that I do 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:04.120 understand is that sometimes it takes us a lot to 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:07.360 get to church. And you know, if you're watching online, 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:11.120 Oh man, you've already had three distractions, haven't you. You 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.440 already had a virus pop up on your PC? And 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:17.679 what are you gonna do about that? Well, let's just 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:21.600 block it all out, because all the hell that you 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:24.480 have to go through when you get home doesn't stand 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:26.480 a chance. In this place. For the next few minutes, 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:31.160 while we preach God's words, I want to bring Heaven 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:35.760 down to your heart for a few minutes. So just 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:39.600 for the next half hour or so, half hour or so, 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:43.280 I want to preach a thought to your heart today 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.120 from the Christmas story. And I do also want to 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:49.000 say what JJ said, I assume all of the campus 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:53.080 pastors and our online team thank you for your remarkable generosity. 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.040 Of course, our year end offering comes all the way 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:57.239 to the end of the year, but I want to 0:02:57.280 --> 0:02:59.480 thank all of you who already stepped up and gave 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.240 artrificially faithfully. Man, God's gonna use that in a great way. 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:09.640 Thank you. Thank you. Always feels weird saying thank you 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:11.680 because I know you didn't give it to me or 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.320 for me. You gave it to God. And one thing 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:17.360 I know about God, he will not be outgiven. So 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:19.680 be expectant for Him to do things in your life 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:22.880 over the next few weeks. I don't know who this 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:24.680 is for, man, I got to get to my scripture. 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:28.240 I'm just taking so much time doing this. But God 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:33.080 can do something at the end of this year that 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:35.480 will make all the hell you went through all year 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:41.360 long irrelevant in the scope of it. And I don't 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:44.200 even know what it's gonna be. It could be a perspective. 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.760 I noticed that God has been blessing me with better 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.600 perspective the last few days. I can't explain it, just 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.240 been opening my eyes, like look at that. Woke up 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:56.720 this morning super early to pray for you, humble brag, 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:01.760 and saw both of the boys vehicles still in the 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:04.880 driveway and thought, thank you Lord for bringing them home 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:10.880 safe again. Another day, another night, and you have to 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:13.800 stand next to my daughter during worship today. Y'all don't 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:15.600 know this, but Abby was a co writer on that song, 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:21.000 same God. I'm not giving her any royalties. Here's our contribution. 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:23.159 When we wrote the song, Originally it was I'm calling 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:24.920 on the God of David, I'm calling on the God 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:27.400 of Jacob, I'm calling on the God of Moses. And 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:29.120 I always wanted to put a woman in the song, 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:31.039 but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:34.040 thought it was kind of, you know, kind of lopsided 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:37.279 to just have all men in the song. And I 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:39.880 showed Abby the demo and she said, I love that song. 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:42.120 Why isn't there a woman? And it was a confirmation. 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.480 I didn't even tell her that I'd felt bad about 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:47.840 it too. And I called my buddy Pat Barrett, and 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.120 we had already recorded the song that was the bad 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:53.839 part about it, and we decided we needed a verse 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:57.520 about I'm calling on the God of Mary, whose favor 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:01.520 rests upon the low ly, and I love what it says. 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:06.680 I know with you, all things are possible, big things, 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:10.960 little things, pretty things, ugly things, things seen, things unseen. 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:14.000 All things are possible. And we're going to share from 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:18.160 a scripture that coincides with that. In Luke chapter one, 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:20.480 I'm going to read a very lengthy part of this 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:24.200 Verses twenty six through forty one, but you can handle it. 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:28.800 I also leaned over to Abby and said, next year, 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:30.760 me and you were singing O Holy Night together as 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:38.920 a duet. Get ready, She rolled her eyes. We'll see, 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:42.800 we'll see. It's a voluntary offer. Pray about it. Wasn't 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:48.960 the music beautiful? Today? We got the best. Oh, we 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:51.400 got singers that sing so good. You can't even tell 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:53.760 if they prayed or not. They just sound so good. 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:56.440 I think that's the Holy Spirit, or it was the 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.960 vocal chords or both. But I thank God for our team. 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.920 I'm excited about the Christmas services December twenty second through 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:07.960 twenty four. That's Christmas at Elevation dot Com. Now it's 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:13.279 time for the scripture. Luke chapter one, verse twenty six. 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:17.200 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:22.159 angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. I'm gonna 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:24.120 come back to that. You'll forget it because I'm gonna 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:27.039 read so much, but that verse is coming back. He 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.520 sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, the town in Galilee, 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:33.160 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:37.640 named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:40.600 The angel went to her and said, greetings, you who 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:44.400 are highly favored. The Lord is with you. That's why 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:46.080 I had you tell your neighbor the Lord is with you. 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.440 I want you to see how it felt to talk 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:52.920 to an angel. And verse twenty nine says I could 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:56.960 preach that goodn't I? Mary was greatly troubled. Whoa, whoa, whoa. 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.120 I thought he said something that was nice. In a 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:03.840 compliment with the abill says Mary was greatly troubled. Did 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:06.200 you know you can be highly favored and greatly troubled 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:11.800 at the same time. Come on, not let you know 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:14.240 what I'm talking about her. I'm gonna start citing specific 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:17.680 things in this room. You can be anointed and addicted. 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:25.080 You can be saved and struggling. Yeah, you can be 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:30.680 grateful and a gossip. You can be favored and afraid, 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:35.160 and just because you feel afraid sometimes doesn't cancel out 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:38.480 the favor in your life. I want to tell somebody today, 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:42.480 the favor doesn't care about your feelings. When God has 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:44.320 a purpose for your life, He's going to do his 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:46.680 work what he's gonna do, no matter how you feel 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:48.960 about it, no matter you're mood about it. But you 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:51.800 get to decide if you want to be a willing participant. 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.880 So Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.560 what kind of greeting this might be. But the Angel 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.240 said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, you have 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:05.480 found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:09.400 to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:14.200 You are to call him Jesus. He will be great 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:16.720 and will be called the son of the Most High. 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:18.440 The Lord God will give him the throne of his 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:22.280 father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:28.560 His kingdom will never end. What an interesting beginning for 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.840 a kingdom that will never end. The virgin womb of 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:36.400 a woman change the world. Now watch this, she hears 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:38.800 all that. In Verse thirty four says, how will this be, 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:42.080 Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin, and 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:45.720 the Angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come on you. 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.839 The power of the most High will overshadow you. So 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:51.880 the holy one to be born will be called the 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.840 Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:57.600 have a child in her old age, And she who 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:01.679 was said to be unable to con is in her 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:05.400 six month. Watch God do stuff that people said he 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:08.680 couldn't do. Watch God do stuff that people said he 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.400 couldn't do, she who was said to be unable to 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:14.600 conceive his in her six month. For no word from 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:19.160 God will ever fail. Well, since you put it like that, 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:22.080 I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered, may your word 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:26.240 to me be fulfilled. Then the Angel left her, and 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:29.280 at that time Mary got ready and hurried to a 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:32.560 town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:37.319 Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth less verse. When Elizabeth heard 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:44.360 Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:48.920 was filled with the Holy Spirit. All right, now, I'm 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.240 gonna give your title. I got good news for you today. 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.320 This is gonna be the best holiday message you've ever 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:56.000 heard in your life. Look at your neighbor and tell 0:09:56.040 --> 0:10:01.200 him my title. You don't have to. Didn't that feel 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:04.560 good to hear that? All the stuff you gotta do 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:08.040 between now and December twenty fifth. Look at your other neighbor, 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:10.120 the one you really wanted to talk to all along, 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.200 but you were just being nice to that guy, and 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:16.360 tell them you don't have to. Let's give God praise 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:19.080 in the place. Come on, if you want to, you 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:25.240 don't have to. You may be seated if I start 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:26.760 preaching in a minute. You want to stand back up, 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:32.480 you can, but you don't have to. Now. The Lord 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:35.199 was convicting me recently because I was going through a 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:40.560 list of responsibilities. And the responsibilities I was listing were 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:47.120 formerly prayer requests that I had prayed. It was little 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:51.320 baby prayers that I prayed that were now full grown jobs. 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:55.120 And I noticed something in my language, and the Lord 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:59.120 really checked me on it. Everything had got to in 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:04.520 front of it, everything everything, And I would love to 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:05.959 tell you that it was just the things that I 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:09.840 didn't want to do. You know, I've got to and 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:11.240 I'm not going to say something I don't want to 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.560 do because it might offend somebody in the room. You know, 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:18.240 I would never say I've got to preach, but well, 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:21.880 sometimes it does feel like that. You know the people 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:24.559 are coming, and as you know, I gotta, I gotta 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:28.080 get ready, I got to. And sometimes I want to 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:33.760 go watch my kids play volleyball or wrestle and and 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:35.800 I say I got to go to Grandstattional. I don't 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:39.600 think there's anything you know wrong about that the semantics 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.120 of stating things. I don't ever want to be one 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:47.480 of these vocabulary police Christians that when you say I 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:49.640 got lucky, I got a parking space, they say there's 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.120 no such thing as luck. You're blessed in highly favored. 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:57.080 It's like, no, listen, Actually, if God probably wants me 0:11:57.120 --> 0:11:59.160 to get some extra walking, so he probably did not 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:01.400 give me the parkings base close to the front door 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:03.560 at the gym, that doesn't even logically make sense. It 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:08.480 was just luck. But in all of the got tos, 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:16.079 I realized, sometimes I lose my get to spirit. Okay, 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.760 And I don't know if the season and the pressures 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:23.480 and demands thereof have stripped some of the delights for you, 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:28.400 But I just found recently that everything felt like a 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:31.600 got to, even stuff that I love preaching to you 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:35.640 supporting my kids. I even said to my barber, I 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.480 gotta go uh, because I got date night with Holly, 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:40.439 and I got to go on this date night. Got 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:42.800 to go on date night with Holly. I would have 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.280 killed seventeen men to go on a date with her 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:47.280 when we were in college. I would have slipped their 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:53.400 throats and prayed for resurrection. But you like that? Why 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:57.880 did you like that? That's the loudest applause We've got 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:01.480 all days for throats slitting imagery. Well, maybe you need 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:04.560 this message too, because there can come a point in 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:08.479 all of our lives where the God, who has graciously 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:12.040 given us so many good gifts, begins to feel to 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:15.080 us either like a silent benefactor that we forget to think, 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:19.600 or an obligator rather than a bringer of the good 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.079 news of the Gospel, who has set us free from 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:24.199 the law of sin and death, and has graciously given 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:28.000 us all things richly to enjoy. For if He gave 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:29.920 his own son for us, and did not spare him, 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.480 but gave him up for us, how will he not 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.559 much more give us all things? But a lot of 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:40.240 the gifts that God gives us become prisons. Because our 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:46.160 perspective is so overwhelmed by the pressure. Everybody say pressure, 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:50.320 because I know you got some pressure. I got some pressure. 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:53.600 And what we're trying to establish in our time together 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:55.920 today in my sermon, and what I thought I would 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:57.960 try to help you to do before you go into 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:01.720 the next few weeks, this YEurope, and see what God 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:05.160 has for you in twenty twenty five, look alive in 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:09.400 twenty five, before you get all that going, I thought 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:13.400 I would try to get you back to realizing that 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:19.640 you've got a God who didn't have to give you 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:24.760 anything that he gave you. And it's not good to 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:28.360 have a god to spirit when you serve a get 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:33.560 to God. One of the things I love about the 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:38.720 passage that we read today was the sense of privilege 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:42.080 that Mary seemed to receive this invitation to carry the 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:45.480 Son of God with And I know that it must 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:49.360 have also felt like pressure, But somehow she was able 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:53.600 to view the pressure of carrying the sinless son of 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:58.480 God in her virgin womb as a privilege, and so 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.600 she accepted that assignment. But one of the things that 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.360 pressure will do in your life is not only turn 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.040 things that you used to delight in into things that 0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:10.440 you actually dread, which I could preach a whole sermon 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:14.680 about that, but it could also if you're not careful, 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:18.240 it can turn things that you ought to praise God 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:23.880 for into things that you feel pride about. That is 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:26.960 often when we feel the heaviness of our responsibility. You know, 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:30.120 somebody's got to put these Christmas lights up, somebody's got 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:32.640 to make all the plans. Somebody's got to decide whose 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:34.920 house we're going to eat at. Somebody's got to figure 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.640 out who's going to bring the macaroni. And I don't 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:39.400 really want Susan to bring it because I don't like 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:41.440 her macaroni, and I think it's kind of dirty and 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.520 it's kind of a little too cheesy. Somebody has to 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.800 keep the cheese ratio in the macaroni together. I mean, 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:50.160 the whole universe is kind of hinging on it, isn't it. 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.000 And then we come to something like this And it 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:59.080 only takes one sentence to shift Mary from how in 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:04.200 the world to let it be? And I thought that 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:07.480 was so powerful when I read it. I thought it 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:11.400 was it was so amazing and so admirable of Mary 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:14.560 to go from how are we going to do this? 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:19.560 To let it be just like you said. And I 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:22.280 think there is something powerful about when you get a 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:26.560 real word from God that you can't explain it. It's subtle, 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:31.480 it's usually not visible to other people's eyes, but something 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:35.000 shifts in a moment when God speaks and you go 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:39.400 from I've got to to He's got this, and you 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:44.600 can't even explain how you got there. It's an invisible 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:47.200 path you take, and you've been there before. You've gone 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:50.000 from there's no way I'm going to do this to 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:54.400 I don't really know how I did it, but it's done. 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:57.080 You've been in seasons of your life where you've looked 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:58.920 at your schedule and thought, I'll be dead at the 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:03.440 end of this. Breathe in, breathe out in the devil's face, 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:06.760 just to let him know he was a liar for 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:09.399 everything he said. You weren't gonna make it through. In 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:13.400 twenty twenty four, there were some things, Oh, I feel 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:16.320 like preach him that you look got out in front 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:18.680 of you, and when they were in front of you, 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.240 you were afraid. But now they're behind you. If you 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:23.920 were afraid when they were in front of you, shouldn't 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:28.399 you give God praise now that they're behind you. And 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.280 the truth is, you wouldn't believe what I'm standing on 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:35.440 today because I could have tripped over it. But somehow 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:38.960 God turned what I could have tripped on into something 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:43.240 that I'm standing on and I have a testimony. Free 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:50.719 Pentecostal people give God a tambourine praise because I'm saying. 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.920 I'm saying that if Jesus came into the world through 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:04.280 a virgin wound, there's nothing he can't do. Now, it's 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.719 important theologically speaking for Jesus to be born of a virgin, 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:10.600 first of all. And you want to take down notes 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:12.880 to show your friends that you actually came to church 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:17.240 like a doctor's excuse or something, write down this. He 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:19.359 came through a virgin because he had to be clean. 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:24.720 He had to be clean, and if he were born 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:27.000 with a human father, he would carry the seed of 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:30.520 the sin of Adam. So it had to be a virgin. 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:35.000 That's not just a Catholic thing, that's a clean thing. 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:40.840 The unclean cannot be redeemed by the unclean. The only 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:44.800 thing that can redeem the unclean, that's me, that's you, 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:49.080 is a clean thing that's not me, that's not you. 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:53.160 So in order for God to redeem you. He had 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:56.320 to send a clean thing into the earth, and the 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:59.320 only way for it to be a clean thing was 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:02.199 for it to not come from Joseph. It had to 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.600 come from God. Jesus, if he had been born through 0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:08.320 Joseph in Mary's womb, would not have been able to 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:12.000 pay the price on the cross. So he had to 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:17.800 be clean. And then he also had to be born 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:19.920 of a virgin, not only because it was prophesied that 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:25.240 he would be, but because he wanted to come close. 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:30.000 I mean, you do understand that Jesus could have come 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:35.879 repelling from the staircase of Heaven, gone straight to the cross, 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:39.880 and skipped all the storms on the Sea of Galilee. 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:43.640 There was no rule that said God had to send 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:47.000 Jesus as a baby. But I think one of the 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:49.840 reasons that he sent Jesus as a baby to a 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:52.119 virgin womb is not only because Jesus had to be 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:55.560 clean and because Jesus wanted to be close, but because 0:19:55.600 --> 0:20:02.639 He also wanted Jesus to get credit clean close credit 0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:07.160 the Three Seeds of Christmas. That Jesus was clean, born 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:09.000 of a virgin, not of the seed of a man, 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:13.919 but the seed of God. The perfect, spotless lamb of 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:16.800 God who takes away the sin of the world. The 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:19.560 lion of the tribe of Judah, who rolled back the 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.760 stone and stood up with the keys of death, hell 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:28.080 and the grave. He was clean, he was close. And 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:32.399 the thing about a virgin having a baby is she 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:37.200 can't take any credit, and neither can the man. Why 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:39.639 ain't taking time to explain about a virgin having a baby? 0:20:39.680 --> 0:20:42.760 Pastor Stephen on Christmas? Because obviously God thought it important 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:47.000 enough that he started the entire Gospel story with it. 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:50.520 And I wonder if it's because he wants you to 0:20:50.560 --> 0:20:55.159 realize that this thing did not start with you, so 0:20:55.280 --> 0:21:00.199 this thing doesn't have to be sustained by you. I 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:03.439 wonder if why you feel so much unnecessary pressure is 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:07.639 because you're trying to sustain something that you didn't even start. 0:21:09.160 --> 0:21:11.359 I mean, how much did you have with being born 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:15.640 the first time? Not too much. I mean, you came 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:19.399 on out eventually, but you didn't take much credit, did you. 0:21:19.600 --> 0:21:22.040 I don't even know why we're singing happy birthday to you. 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:25.640 We'll I'll be singing happy birthday to the one who 0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:29.280 pushed you out. But see, we like to take credit 0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:33.040 for stuff and then that spills over into our Christianity 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:35.920 because we didn't have anything to do with being born 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:37.679 again either. If you want to get down to it, 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:41.600 I mean most of us in here we tried so 0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:45.359 hard to push God away. It's not like we had 0:21:45.440 --> 0:21:49.680 some awesome resume to present to the redeemer of the universe, 0:21:50.600 --> 0:21:53.800 all the reasons why he should recruit us for his service. 0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:57.439 Now that's not your story. The matter of the fact 0:21:57.560 --> 0:22:02.040 is you were dead in your sin, but God. And 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:06.320 so we come to the Cradle of Christmas realizing that 0:22:06.440 --> 0:22:09.720 the reason Jesus was born as a baby from the 0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:12.520 womb of a virgin and a place called Galilee of 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:16.200 the Gentiles, was so that when God got done doing 0:22:16.240 --> 0:22:19.800 what he was going to do through Jesus, nobody else 0:22:19.840 --> 0:22:23.240 would get the glory, and nobody else would get the praise, 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:26.679 and nobody else would get the credit. Because I'm not 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:32.560 clean and I wasn't close. But here came Jesus and 0:22:32.960 --> 0:22:36.520 just the right God. This is my Christmas devotion. Let 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:39.560 me preach it like I feel it. I was lost 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:43.840 without anyone to guide me. I was blind and couldn't see. 0:22:44.359 --> 0:22:47.840 I was nobody. I had nothing to bring to the 0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:50.679 king that was of word. I had no crown to 0:22:50.680 --> 0:22:53.119 place on his head, and he took a crown of 0:22:53.160 --> 0:22:58.639 thorns for me. For you see, he deserves all the credit, 0:23:01.359 --> 0:23:08.600 all the credit. By the way, if you start giving 0:23:08.600 --> 0:23:11.200 God all the credit, he'll start taking more of the stress. 0:23:14.240 --> 0:23:17.240 All right, let me really preach to y'all. Now. There 0:23:17.280 --> 0:23:19.399 was a group of preachers who came to visit us 0:23:19.520 --> 0:23:21.880 about a year ago, and one of them wanted to know, 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:24.800 what do I do about critics? What do I do 0:23:24.880 --> 0:23:27.280 about critics? What do I do about critics? I said, 0:23:27.320 --> 0:23:29.840 I have no idea, I've never had one. What are 0:23:29.920 --> 0:23:33.320 you speaking of these critics? I find people loving and 0:23:33.480 --> 0:23:36.720 generous in their interpretation of all of your No, actually, 0:23:36.760 --> 0:23:45.040 what I said is if you want to survive criticism, 0:23:45.119 --> 0:23:52.200 you have to change your relationship with praise. He said, No, 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:56.720 I'm not asking about praise. I'm asking about critics. I said, yeah. 0:23:56.760 --> 0:24:01.120 But if they have the power to praise you, then 0:24:01.160 --> 0:24:05.000 they also have the power to pull you down. So 0:24:05.080 --> 0:24:08.560 when people praise you, don't take it too seriously. They 0:24:08.640 --> 0:24:17.600 just hadn't got close enough yet. When people criticize you, 0:24:17.840 --> 0:24:20.320 don't take it too personally. They just don't want you 0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:22.440 to see that big old plank sticking out of their 0:24:22.520 --> 0:24:25.119 right eye. So they're talking about a speck in yours. 0:24:25.119 --> 0:24:29.159 And either way you slice it, it's the same principle. 0:24:31.200 --> 0:24:34.800 I thought we were talking about Christmas. We are. Remember 0:24:34.840 --> 0:24:38.199 that what started in the cradle ended on the cross, 0:24:38.280 --> 0:24:41.720 And we know so much about Mary that Mary doesn't 0:24:41.760 --> 0:24:46.000 know about Mary yet. We know that she initiated Jesus's 0:24:46.040 --> 0:24:48.800 first miracle when she said, get ready and turn this 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:52.600 water into wine. And Jesus said, woman, my hour is 0:24:52.640 --> 0:24:55.520 not yet come. And she said, well, you don't have 0:24:55.600 --> 0:25:00.280 to remember my title. You don't have to. But she 0:25:00.320 --> 0:25:02.680 turned to the servants and said, do whatever he tells you, 0:25:04.000 --> 0:25:07.600 and man, the wine started flowing when that woman spoke. Wow. 0:25:08.400 --> 0:25:12.440 We know about Mary that she became frustrated with Jesus's 0:25:12.560 --> 0:25:16.119 popularity because she felt that it kept him from being 0:25:16.400 --> 0:25:19.359 intimate with his family, and stood outside the door saying, 0:25:19.600 --> 0:25:22.120 he's going crazy. Go in there and tell him he's 0:25:22.119 --> 0:25:25.720 going crazy. We know that although Mary was frustrated, though, 0:25:25.760 --> 0:25:28.199 she would not forsake Jesus, for she was there at 0:25:28.240 --> 0:25:31.720 the foot of the cross with one disciple named John 0:25:32.080 --> 0:25:35.720 when her son died. There are some things about Mary 0:25:35.760 --> 0:25:39.800 that Mary doesn't know yet, and yet she accepts. Ah, 0:25:39.880 --> 0:25:43.199 this was beautiful for me to see the promise of 0:25:43.280 --> 0:25:47.240 God to her virgin womb. Now, I don't know what 0:25:47.320 --> 0:25:49.080 you noticed when we read, and I don't know how 0:25:49.080 --> 0:25:51.919 close you pay attention. When I read the scripture, I 0:25:51.960 --> 0:25:54.000 noticed sometimes we have to go back to it because 0:25:54.040 --> 0:25:55.800 when I'm reading it the first time, you're kind of 0:25:55.800 --> 0:25:59.119 getting oriented. Go back to verse twenty six for a moment. 0:25:59.160 --> 0:26:02.440 Can we study. We're gonna do a lot of singing 0:26:02.480 --> 0:26:05.000 next Sunday, so I'm gonna get all the study part 0:26:05.040 --> 0:26:07.800 in this Sunday so you'll be ready. This word's gonna 0:26:07.800 --> 0:26:10.080 help you get ready for everything you got coming up 0:26:10.119 --> 0:26:12.800 this week. To elbow your neighbor and say you don't 0:26:12.840 --> 0:26:17.520 look ready yet, this word's gonna get you ready. Though. Now, 0:26:17.800 --> 0:26:22.600 in the sixth month, in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, 0:26:22.680 --> 0:26:27.000 verse twenty six, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, 0:26:27.119 --> 0:26:30.000 a town in Galilee. We need to talk about two 0:26:30.040 --> 0:26:33.360 things in this passage. We need to talk about who 0:26:33.440 --> 0:26:37.679 is Gabriel and what is Galilee. I'll do it in 0:26:37.720 --> 0:26:42.160 reverse order. Galilee is the place where Jesus is going 0:26:42.200 --> 0:26:45.320 to do the majority of his ministry. He will not 0:26:45.480 --> 0:26:48.359 die in Galilee. He will die in Jerusalem, but he 0:26:48.400 --> 0:26:52.400 will minister and base his operations thirty years from now 0:26:52.800 --> 0:26:56.240 out of Galilee. He will calm storms on the sea 0:26:56.320 --> 0:26:59.639 of Galilee. He will heal the blind eyes in the 0:26:59.640 --> 0:27:02.800 region of Galilee. It's going down in Galilee in just 0:27:02.840 --> 0:27:06.000 about thirty years. And God is setting all of this 0:27:06.200 --> 0:27:10.359 up through a girl, and he sends an angel named Gabriel. 0:27:11.800 --> 0:27:19.400 Gabriel is not a minimum wage angel. There's only two 0:27:19.440 --> 0:27:23.400 angels in the whole Bible that we know the names of. Michael. 0:27:24.800 --> 0:27:29.800 Michael is the fighting angel. Michael is the Mma angel. 0:27:30.920 --> 0:27:34.160 Michael choke you out. Michael is a cauliflower ear angel. 0:27:33.880 --> 0:27:36.560 Michael is a guy you don't want to mess with. 0:27:37.720 --> 0:27:42.040 And Gabriel, he's not the fighting angel. He's to fill 0:27:42.080 --> 0:27:47.160 you in angel. He's the angel. You'll remember this who 0:27:47.200 --> 0:27:50.280 came to Daniel and explained to him about the prophecies. 0:27:50.320 --> 0:27:53.240 He brought him clarity in Daniel chapter eight and nine. 0:27:53.400 --> 0:27:55.600 And then we don't see him again for a long time, 0:27:57.160 --> 0:28:02.040 and we see him go to Galilee. But before he 0:28:02.119 --> 0:28:05.199 goes to Galilee, he goes to Jerusalem. That's why I 0:28:05.200 --> 0:28:07.480 read you the verse where it said it was the 0:28:07.600 --> 0:28:11.200 sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Now Elizabeth was a relative 0:28:11.240 --> 0:28:14.080 of Mary, and her husband was named Zachariah. And Zachariah 0:28:14.160 --> 0:28:16.720 was a priest. And one day Zachariah, the priest, who 0:28:16.800 --> 0:28:19.080 was very old, went into the temple to burn incense, 0:28:19.440 --> 0:28:21.359 as it was his duty to do by the lots 0:28:21.400 --> 0:28:24.360 that were cast. And as he's there burning incense, an 0:28:24.520 --> 0:28:29.199 angel shows up right there by the altar and said, Zachariah, 0:28:29.440 --> 0:28:32.880 I know you, I know you hadn't felt like your 0:28:32.880 --> 0:28:36.480 old self in quite some time, buddy, But get ready, 0:28:36.520 --> 0:28:39.920 you're about to have a baby. And Zachariah said, but 0:28:40.000 --> 0:28:45.880 I'm old. And Gabriel said, but I'm Gabriel. Ooh, ooh ooh. 0:28:45.960 --> 0:28:48.600 I felt that on my spine spinal column when I 0:28:48.640 --> 0:28:53.040 said it. But I'm Gabriel. I stand in the presence 0:28:53.080 --> 0:28:55.720 of God, and I don't care how old you are, 0:28:56.400 --> 0:28:58.160 and I don't care if you've put all the baby 0:28:58.160 --> 0:29:00.600 clothes away from all the times you tried before. See 0:29:00.800 --> 0:29:03.960 Zecharia and Elizabeth had never had a baby. Her wound 0:29:04.080 --> 0:29:07.000 was barren. She was advanced in age, even though she 0:29:07.200 --> 0:29:09.480 was of the line of Erin, even though she was 0:29:09.560 --> 0:29:13.680 a very significant person. As her husband stood in Jerusalem 0:29:13.680 --> 0:29:17.520 burning incense, the angel Gabriel showed up to say, you're 0:29:17.560 --> 0:29:20.280 about to have a baby. Zechariah said, it cannot be. 0:29:20.640 --> 0:29:23.520 I'm old, And he said, because you said that, and 0:29:23.560 --> 0:29:26.280 because I'm Gabriel, and because I stand in the presence 0:29:26.280 --> 0:29:28.720 of God and you don't, and because I come from 0:29:28.760 --> 0:29:31.840 Heaven and you don't shut your mouth. You're not speaking 0:29:31.880 --> 0:29:33.800 again until the baby is born. And when the baby's born, 0:29:33.840 --> 0:29:36.080 you're gonna name him John. When everybody asks you, why John, say, 0:29:36.120 --> 0:29:40.000 because I'm Gabriel and I came with a message from God. 0:29:40.760 --> 0:29:43.960 And Zechariah came out of the temple smelling like incense smoke, 0:29:44.800 --> 0:29:47.959 but not able to say very much. And Zachariah had 0:29:48.000 --> 0:29:50.840 to learn sign language real quick coming out of that temple, 0:29:50.920 --> 0:29:53.000 because everybody wanted to know what happened, and why were 0:29:53.040 --> 0:29:55.680 you in there so long? Kind of weird. You were 0:29:55.680 --> 0:29:57.560 in there a long time, Zachari don't take that long, 0:29:57.640 --> 0:30:01.040 delight incense? What was going on in there? Zachar isiser, 0:30:05.080 --> 0:30:08.920 But that's been six months ago, And that makes sense 0:30:10.240 --> 0:30:14.960 because of course, the angel Gabriel, the messenger, Abriel, the 0:30:15.120 --> 0:30:18.520 clarifying angel, Gabriel to fill you in and tell you 0:30:18.640 --> 0:30:21.600 what God's about to do. Angel. Of course he would 0:30:21.640 --> 0:30:25.160 show up to a priest in a place like Jerusalem. 0:30:26.280 --> 0:30:31.680 Why Jerusalem was the center point of Jewish worship. I 0:30:31.880 --> 0:30:36.000 expect to see Gabriel at the temple in Jerusalem speaking 0:30:36.080 --> 0:30:40.160 to a priest. I expect to see Gabriel standing at 0:30:40.200 --> 0:30:42.800 the threshold of the place where the offerings and the 0:30:42.920 --> 0:30:45.880 sacrifices were made. You expect to see Gabriel in a 0:30:45.960 --> 0:30:50.040 place like that. What I didn't expect was six months 0:30:50.160 --> 0:30:54.680 later to see that same Gabriel, one of only two 0:30:54.960 --> 0:30:58.240 angels whose names we know in scripture, one of the 0:30:58.640 --> 0:31:02.080 arch angels in scripture. Sure, what I didn't expect was 0:31:02.200 --> 0:31:06.120 to see Gabriel show up in a place like Galilee. 0:31:06.760 --> 0:31:11.640 Let's talk about Galilee. Galilee is seventy miles from Jerusalem. 0:31:12.120 --> 0:31:15.479 Galilee is not considered very significant by the people who 0:31:15.560 --> 0:31:19.320 live in Jerusalem. Galilee is mixed with Jews and Gentiles, 0:31:19.360 --> 0:31:23.320 so the religious customs are questionable at best. It was 0:31:23.440 --> 0:31:27.960 referred to as the land of Darkness. I'm not surprised 0:31:28.040 --> 0:31:30.200 to see Gabriel show up in the temple where the 0:31:30.240 --> 0:31:33.760 priest is burning incense. That seems like something worthy of 0:31:33.840 --> 0:31:37.880 Gabriel's time. But I am surprised to see Gabriel show 0:31:37.960 --> 0:31:41.680 up six months later for a special appointment with a 0:31:41.960 --> 0:31:46.640 girl whose name would not even be known had Gabriel 0:31:46.760 --> 0:31:49.120 not shown up to tell her what she was carrying 0:31:49.600 --> 0:31:53.440 in a place called galilee, where nobody even found worth 0:31:53.520 --> 0:31:57.640 putting on their itinerary when planning an important trip. All 0:31:57.720 --> 0:32:00.560 that I said to say this, God's to show up 0:32:00.560 --> 0:32:03.760 in some unexpected places in your life in this season, 0:32:04.360 --> 0:32:07.920 and don't be too surprised, because God is not bound 0:32:08.000 --> 0:32:10.640 to the customs and traditions that people are bound to. 0:32:11.360 --> 0:32:14.880 And God doesn't just show up in holy families and 0:32:15.360 --> 0:32:19.360 holy knights and silent nights. For the king that we 0:32:19.640 --> 0:32:22.880 served before he went to a throne, he stopped by 0:32:22.960 --> 0:32:25.720 a manger. And I want to speak to somebody this 0:32:25.880 --> 0:32:30.440 Christmas season who is going through a galilee in your family. 0:32:30.960 --> 0:32:33.040 I don't know exactly what that means to you, but 0:32:33.200 --> 0:32:37.000 perhaps you do. Maybe it's a galilee in your relationship 0:32:37.080 --> 0:32:40.480 with your children. Maybe it's a galilee in your relationship 0:32:40.760 --> 0:32:43.360 with your wife. Maybe it's a Galilee in your own 0:32:43.480 --> 0:32:48.479 emotional despondency. Galilee can be a dark place. Galilee can 0:32:48.560 --> 0:32:52.560 seem like an insignificant place. Galilee can become an insecurity, 0:32:52.640 --> 0:32:55.240 so that you begin to think that no one as 0:32:55.360 --> 0:32:59.840 important as God would have time for someone as in 0:33:00.080 --> 0:33:03.520 significant as me. Which is why I read you Luke, 0:33:03.640 --> 0:33:08.440 Chapter one, verse twenty six. Now God sent an angel 0:33:09.200 --> 0:33:13.320 named Gabriel to a place called Nazareth, in a region 0:33:13.440 --> 0:33:19.000 called Galilee. I announced to you this day, Gabriel is 0:33:19.160 --> 0:33:28.840 coming to Galilee. You hear me. At Dove's nest. You 0:33:28.960 --> 0:33:31.160 hear me. You can't be with your children this Christmas 0:33:31.160 --> 0:33:39.720 because you're in recovery. Gabriel is coming to Galilee. You 0:33:39.840 --> 0:33:41.480 hear the voice of the Lord. Now don't listen to 0:33:41.520 --> 0:33:43.400 my voice. Listen to the voice of the Lord. Some 0:33:43.560 --> 0:33:47.960 of you are bereaved this season. Gabriel is coming to 0:33:48.120 --> 0:33:52.600 your grieving. Some of you have been betrayed in this 0:33:52.720 --> 0:33:57.040 season of your life. Gabriel is coming into the betrayal 0:33:58.720 --> 0:34:02.960 because God is sending him. And when God sends Gabriel, 0:34:03.360 --> 0:34:07.120 Gabriel has got to go. See. I want you to 0:34:07.240 --> 0:34:10.239 understand that when God speaks a word he does not 0:34:10.400 --> 0:34:15.239 consult circumstances. When God speaks a word, he does not 0:34:15.400 --> 0:34:19.080 consult circumstances. I'm gonna say it again for the lady 0:34:19.160 --> 0:34:22.200 in the back of the room. When God speaks a 0:34:22.280 --> 0:34:25.319 word over your life, when God speaks a word over 0:34:25.400 --> 0:34:28.640 your destiny, when God speaks a word over your future, 0:34:28.960 --> 0:34:32.479 when God speaks a word over your relationship, when God 0:34:32.600 --> 0:34:35.560 speaks a word over your baby, when God speaks a 0:34:35.600 --> 0:34:38.560 word over your life span, when God speaks a word 0:34:38.640 --> 0:34:43.640 over your generational impact. When God says Gabriel, go, Gabriel 0:34:43.719 --> 0:34:46.600 doesn't get to say to God and not go into Galilee. 0:34:46.960 --> 0:34:51.920 That's only humans that do that. That's only humans that 0:34:52.040 --> 0:34:56.399 do that. We disobey, We get stubborn, we don't want 0:34:56.440 --> 0:34:59.359 to forgive because we've been heard. Gabriel goes where God 0:34:59.440 --> 0:35:02.920 says God. So what I'm trying to get you to 0:35:03.040 --> 0:35:07.040 see is that the miracle of Christmas is that I 0:35:07.239 --> 0:35:12.760 could not get to God. My sin was great. Christmas 0:35:12.880 --> 0:35:16.960 is not just sentimental for me. It is salvation to me. 0:35:18.400 --> 0:35:19.920 My life is on the line. 0:35:20.600 --> 0:35:25.719 I cannot walk straight, I cannot be clean, I cannot 0:35:25.840 --> 0:35:30.279 come close, I cannot take credit for my righteousness was 0:35:30.360 --> 0:35:32.560 as filthy rags, so. 0:35:32.719 --> 0:35:35.360 You cannot get to God. You say, how is that 0:35:35.520 --> 0:35:39.680 good news? That I can't get to God? You don't 0:35:39.719 --> 0:35:46.759 have to That's what makes it good news. And the 0:35:46.920 --> 0:35:50.759 more you realize that, you're gonna start praying faster when 0:35:50.800 --> 0:35:53.320 you mess up, because I don't have to get it 0:35:53.480 --> 0:35:56.200 right to come to God. I don't have to be clean. 0:35:56.360 --> 0:35:58.840 He was clean. I don't have to be clean to 0:35:58.960 --> 0:36:02.799 come close. He was clean. He came close. He gets 0:36:02.880 --> 0:36:05.719 the glory, and I feel like giving him twenty four 0:36:05.960 --> 0:36:14.040 seconds of Christmas Craine with the symbols, with the organ. 0:36:17.080 --> 0:36:24.600 I'll give you ten more seconds to praiser, all right, 0:36:26.120 --> 0:36:33.200 let's practice ten more seconds to praise him, eight seconds 0:36:33.239 --> 0:36:38.040 to give him credit. Top seconds to let the stress 0:36:38.160 --> 0:36:47.960 going freaks who won hot five your neighbor and say, 0:36:48.080 --> 0:36:57.759 Gabriel's coming, Yeah, Yeah, Gabriel's coming. Gabriel's coming. God is 0:36:57.800 --> 0:37:00.800 gonna give you clarity about that thing in your darkness. 0:37:01.280 --> 0:37:04.040 God is going to give you perspective about that thing 0:37:04.120 --> 0:37:07.200 in your darkness. God is going to give you provision 0:37:07.360 --> 0:37:13.520 for that thing in your darkness. Gabriel came to Galilee. 0:37:13.880 --> 0:37:16.200 Aren't you glad about that? It makes me think if 0:37:16.200 --> 0:37:19.240 I get a little depressed, I can call on Jesus, 0:37:19.880 --> 0:37:23.320 I can call on Heaven, I can call on the angels. 0:37:23.719 --> 0:37:26.840 I can call on the light, even in the darkest place. 0:37:27.239 --> 0:37:33.120 Because Gabriel, this is it. Gabriel came to Galilee, and 0:37:33.239 --> 0:37:36.520 he came to Galilee to get it ready for somebody greater. 0:37:38.200 --> 0:37:42.440 Y'all don't like good preaching anymore. Oh that's delicious right there. 0:37:43.760 --> 0:37:48.240 He came to Galilee to get it ready for something greater. 0:37:50.160 --> 0:37:54.680 And yet isn't it amazing of God to start something 0:37:54.840 --> 0:37:57.680 so great as the salvation of the world. Think of 0:37:57.719 --> 0:37:59.359 all the great things that would happen in Galilee, Think 0:37:59.400 --> 0:38:01.120 of all the great things that would happen at the cross, 0:38:01.160 --> 0:38:02.960 think of all the great things that would happen on 0:38:03.000 --> 0:38:06.759 the other side of the empty tomb. And yet he 0:38:06.880 --> 0:38:11.800 started something so great in something so small as a baby. 0:38:13.200 --> 0:38:18.800 As a baby makes me think that God wanted me 0:38:19.480 --> 0:38:26.000 to know that He can hold me too. I mean, 0:38:26.080 --> 0:38:28.040 think about it. We'll give it to you like the 0:38:28.120 --> 0:38:31.279 Lord gave it to me this morning. Think about the 0:38:31.400 --> 0:38:33.960 fact that the Angel told Mary not that God would 0:38:34.000 --> 0:38:39.720 descend from the skies like thor But we'll wrap himself 0:38:39.800 --> 0:38:44.279 in a little baby flesh and all of the attendant 0:38:44.920 --> 0:38:49.240 idiosyncrasies of a baby, and he came like a baby. 0:38:49.880 --> 0:38:54.000 He came like a baby, which means that he had 0:38:54.040 --> 0:38:57.880 to be held by humans. Now, sometimes we need a 0:38:57.920 --> 0:39:01.000 practical sermon. Sometimes we just need to revel and marvel 0:39:01.040 --> 0:39:05.520 in the glory of God. Watch this, that heaven was 0:39:05.680 --> 0:39:14.920 held by humanity. That's amazing. And he didn't have to 0:39:14.960 --> 0:39:20.960 do it. Jesus was fully God and fully man. So 0:39:21.160 --> 0:39:23.520 the choice that he made to be held by human 0:39:23.600 --> 0:39:29.400 hands was not of necessity. It was of love. The 0:39:31.680 --> 0:39:35.799 heavenly King, the most High God, held by human hands. Oh, 0:39:37.080 --> 0:39:38.600 I wish you could see it like I see it, 0:39:40.160 --> 0:39:42.160 because I see that the reason that Heaven had to 0:39:42.239 --> 0:39:46.040 be held by humans was so that humans could be 0:39:46.120 --> 0:39:55.840 held by Heaven. The Lord wanted you to remember that 0:39:56.000 --> 0:40:03.600 you are held. This season that you are held. You're like, yeah, 0:40:03.840 --> 0:40:07.200 I've been held. Hell has been all up in my life. 0:40:07.239 --> 0:40:12.759 I have been No. No, I'm saying, held by the 0:40:12.840 --> 0:40:15.600 hand of God. When I look back, I see it 0:40:15.680 --> 0:40:18.440 so clearly. Satan came from my soul. But the Lord said, no, 0:40:20.120 --> 0:40:23.560 I've been held by the hand of God. I've been 0:40:23.640 --> 0:40:27.560 hidden by the hand of God. And this is what 0:40:27.680 --> 0:40:31.400 we call the invitation of incarnation and theological terms is 0:40:31.480 --> 0:40:35.000 that heaven was held by humanity so that humanity could 0:40:35.040 --> 0:40:38.239 be held by it. And just to remember, as you 0:40:38.280 --> 0:40:42.520 walk through your life that you are being carried. Give 0:40:42.600 --> 0:40:46.960 him the credit for carrying you. Thank you, Thank you 0:40:47.920 --> 0:40:53.600 every step and arrival, every step and announcement that God 0:40:54.239 --> 0:41:01.040 is not through with me yet. Hell this Mary would 0:41:01.120 --> 0:41:09.000 hold heaven in her arms. She held heaven. But I 0:41:09.040 --> 0:41:12.719 think that the secret to Mary, and I thought about 0:41:12.840 --> 0:41:19.279 calling this sermon I make Mary moves And it was 0:41:19.320 --> 0:41:21.560 so dumb. I shouldn't have told you that I thought 0:41:21.600 --> 0:41:24.759 about calling it. That might as well have has let 0:41:24.840 --> 0:41:28.200 that out. But one thing she said that I thought 0:41:28.360 --> 0:41:31.040 was so powerful. And I know, Holly, your favorite verse 0:41:31.680 --> 0:41:35.440 is Luke one thirty eight, but my favorite verse is 0:41:35.560 --> 0:41:37.440 Luke one thirty four. Her favorite Let me show you 0:41:37.440 --> 0:41:39.600 her favorite verse, verse verse thirty eight. I am the 0:41:39.680 --> 0:41:44.440 Lord's servant. May your word to be me be fulfilled? Right, 0:41:44.520 --> 0:41:50.560 that's here my favorite one, verse thirty four. How that's 0:41:50.640 --> 0:41:55.880 my verse. How don't act like you're not living with 0:41:56.000 --> 0:42:01.680 some howls in your house? How am I gonna make 0:42:01.719 --> 0:42:07.799 it through this whole month without cussing somebody out in Japanese? 0:42:09.360 --> 0:42:12.200 I might learn Japanese just to cuss somebody out in 0:42:12.360 --> 0:42:18.320 Japanese acting like this? How am I gonna pay for 0:42:18.480 --> 0:42:22.880 all this crap? Go back to my earlier point credit? 0:42:25.360 --> 0:42:30.239 How am I ever gonna catch up if I keep 0:42:30.360 --> 0:42:33.560 on consuming like this? How now Mary isn't asking that 0:42:33.719 --> 0:42:36.440 she's not spending money at the mall. She's trying to 0:42:36.480 --> 0:42:37.880 give birth to the Sunna came? But I thought, get 0:42:37.880 --> 0:42:40.680 have some coming grundm with Mary. How let me ask 0:42:40.680 --> 0:42:43.600 a question, how many of you are living in a 0:42:43.680 --> 0:42:48.160 how right now? In a how right now? Anybody online? Honest? 0:42:50.520 --> 0:42:53.960 I think the purpose of the Christmas story is not 0:42:54.280 --> 0:42:58.400 just in being held, but it is in being humbled, 0:43:01.080 --> 0:43:05.080 humbled that Jesus, being in very nature God, did not 0:43:05.160 --> 0:43:08.719 consider equality with God something to be grasped Philippians two 0:43:08.840 --> 0:43:13.799 five through ten. He emptied himself, He humbled himself, taking 0:43:13.880 --> 0:43:18.040 on the form of flesh of a servant. So Jesus 0:43:18.160 --> 0:43:22.640 humbled himself, and so did Mary, and so must you 0:43:22.719 --> 0:43:28.439 and I? How will this be? How am I gonna 0:43:28.480 --> 0:43:31.400 do it? Without drinking again? How am I gonna do 0:43:31.480 --> 0:43:34.720 it without having a nervous breakdown? How am I gonna 0:43:34.760 --> 0:43:37.400 do it when I wasn't raised and taught? How am 0:43:37.480 --> 0:43:39.799 I gonna do it when nobody in my family ever did? 0:43:40.360 --> 0:43:42.320 How am I gonna do it at this age and 0:43:42.440 --> 0:43:44.920 stage of life? How am I gonna do it when 0:43:44.960 --> 0:43:47.960 I can't even feel God when I'm in church? How 0:43:48.040 --> 0:43:50.799 will this be merry? Ask the Angel, since I am 0:43:51.560 --> 0:43:58.400 a virgin, valid question? Powerful answer verse thirty five. The 0:43:58.800 --> 0:44:02.759 Angel answered, how many of you would like to have 0:44:02.840 --> 0:44:04.680 an appointment with an angel so you could get some 0:44:04.800 --> 0:44:09.359 answers for your how today? Come on, say, I want 0:44:09.360 --> 0:44:13.160 an appointment. I want an appointment with Gabriel so he 0:44:13.239 --> 0:44:15.040 can tell me how I'm supposed to put up with 0:44:15.160 --> 0:44:17.719 this mess. I want an appointment with Gabriel so he 0:44:17.800 --> 0:44:19.719 can tell me how I'm supposed to fix this mess. 0:44:19.920 --> 0:44:22.080 I want an appointment with Gabriel so he can tell 0:44:22.120 --> 0:44:24.200 me whether I should stay or go. I want an 0:44:24.200 --> 0:44:26.320 appointment with Gabriel so I can ask him what to 0:44:26.440 --> 0:44:29.120 do about this trauma that happened a long time ago, 0:44:29.480 --> 0:44:31.439 and it stayed in my life even though the trial 0:44:31.600 --> 0:44:34.200 is over. I want an appointment with that angel. And 0:44:34.320 --> 0:44:37.480 I thought it was crazy that when the Angel answered 0:44:37.560 --> 0:44:44.080 verse thirty five, he didn't really say how, He just 0:44:44.160 --> 0:44:52.920 said who. Thank you Jesus. The answer to how is 0:44:53.000 --> 0:44:56.080 a who. Put the verse on the screen and let 0:44:56.120 --> 0:45:00.760 me preach us home. Now, the Angel answered, holy Spirit 0:45:01.600 --> 0:45:07.080 will come. Now we got something better than Gabriel. Now 0:45:07.160 --> 0:45:10.560 we got something better than an angel. Because I don't 0:45:10.600 --> 0:45:13.960 have an angel standing next to me today. Touch your 0:45:14.000 --> 0:45:17.800 neighbors say you're not an angel, But I do have 0:45:17.960 --> 0:45:23.560 the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is my answer 0:45:23.680 --> 0:45:28.480 to the question called how. The Holy Spirit speaks up 0:45:28.560 --> 0:45:32.120 when the lies are raging in my mind, and the 0:45:32.239 --> 0:45:35.960 Angel answer, the Holy Spirit will come on you, and 0:45:36.120 --> 0:45:38.680 the power of the Most High will overshadow you. I 0:45:38.800 --> 0:45:41.520 read it again, The Holy Spirit will come on you. 0:45:41.640 --> 0:45:45.880 This promise is for you, baby, This promise is for you, man. 0:45:46.000 --> 0:45:49.239 This promise is for you. The Holy Spirit will come 0:45:49.280 --> 0:45:52.160 on you, and the power of the most High will 0:45:52.200 --> 0:45:56.160 overshadow you. The power of the most High will overshadow you. 0:45:56.760 --> 0:46:04.279 The power of the most High will overshadow you. So 0:46:04.440 --> 0:46:08.320 I hear you saying I don't know how, and I 0:46:08.480 --> 0:46:12.960 hear God saying you don't have to see you do 0:46:13.120 --> 0:46:16.319 not not have to know how. If you can get 0:46:16.360 --> 0:46:22.120 a glimpse of who. Everybody's saying like an owl, SAYO, 0:46:23.760 --> 0:46:27.640 that's what I know. That's what I'm hope in. That's 0:46:27.719 --> 0:46:31.680 what I stand on, that's what I rejoice in. Help 0:46:31.800 --> 0:46:34.200 me preach, and I'll get you home in time for lunch. 0:46:37.320 --> 0:46:40.560 That's what I know. That's what I'm talking about. That's 0:46:40.640 --> 0:46:44.080 why I'm worshiping. That's why my hands are lifting, not 0:46:44.160 --> 0:46:50.840 because I know how, because I know ooo oooh, the 0:46:50.880 --> 0:46:53.120 Lord's bringing it back to my mind everything I studied 0:46:53.160 --> 0:46:55.239 to preach to you this week. He was telling me 0:46:55.320 --> 0:46:57.719 how sometimes in your life you get so caught up 0:46:57.760 --> 0:47:02.279 in how that you miss the power of who, and 0:47:02.400 --> 0:47:05.360 you get hung up on how, and you're gonna end 0:47:05.440 --> 0:47:09.600 up like Zechariah, old bad knee Zechariah incense burn and 0:47:09.680 --> 0:47:15.120 stay in the bathroom temple too long. Zachariah talking about 0:47:15.120 --> 0:47:19.759 I should have kept my mouth shut because God knows how, 0:47:20.800 --> 0:47:24.359 and you don't have to. Wouldn't that be wonderful news. 0:47:24.560 --> 0:47:27.040 Let's put ourselves in Mary's shoes for a moment. Can we, 0:47:27.200 --> 0:47:29.960 just for one moment, pretend that this has happened to us? 0:47:30.400 --> 0:47:33.640 We are not expecting an angelic villa visitation. We haven't 0:47:33.640 --> 0:47:37.239 even got our wedding registry set up yet. And God 0:47:37.360 --> 0:47:40.680 is talking about a baby, and the Lord says, you're 0:47:40.719 --> 0:47:43.000 pregnant and you're gonna give birth to the Son of God, 0:47:43.239 --> 0:47:48.920 no pressure. And Mary's like, I got to, No, I 0:47:49.120 --> 0:47:56.000 get to. Oh, I get to. So I appreciate you 0:47:56.080 --> 0:47:58.279 giving me these kids to raise God. I appreciate you 0:47:58.320 --> 0:47:59.920 giving me this church. I appreciate you giving me the 0:48:00.120 --> 0:48:02.040 because I appreciate you giving me this department. I appreciate 0:48:02.080 --> 0:48:04.279 you give me this opportunity. But what do I do 0:48:05.239 --> 0:48:10.080 with the pressure? And this is so powerful? Man? Oh, 0:48:11.560 --> 0:48:15.040 it's so powerful to me going through her mind or 0:48:15.040 --> 0:48:20.200 a million questions because she's already engaged to Joseph. How 0:48:20.239 --> 0:48:26.359 do you tell your fiance, Yeah, I met this guy 0:48:26.480 --> 0:48:28.719 named Gabriel, but he's an angel. Don't worry. He's an 0:48:28.719 --> 0:48:36.560 angel named Gabriel. How do you tell your husband that 0:48:36.680 --> 0:48:40.080 you're pregnant and he knows it wasn't him. How am 0:48:40.160 --> 0:48:44.480 I going to tell him? Well, look over in Matthew 0:48:44.520 --> 0:48:49.320 chapter one when you get home, because Mary, I know 0:48:49.440 --> 0:48:51.200 you can't figure out how you're going to tell Joseph, 0:48:52.160 --> 0:48:58.320 but you don't have to a little bit after Gabriel 0:48:58.360 --> 0:48:59.880 got done telling Mary she is going to have a 0:49:00.200 --> 0:49:03.840 another angel popped up and told Joseph, hey believe her. 0:49:05.680 --> 0:49:09.600 You don't have to convince anybody. You don't have to 0:49:09.680 --> 0:49:16.480 prove anything to anybody. You don't have to stop trying 0:49:16.920 --> 0:49:20.880 to defend yourself to people who aren't even paying attention. 0:49:24.680 --> 0:49:31.799 Stop having imaginary arguments with hypothetical opponents. You keep your 0:49:31.800 --> 0:49:35.440 heart right with God in this season. You don't have 0:49:35.600 --> 0:49:38.600 to tell them anything about red states, blue states, none 0:49:38.640 --> 0:49:41.040 of that. That doesn't even have to come up. Let 0:49:41.120 --> 0:49:42.719 me tell you something about the arguments that are gonna 0:49:42.719 --> 0:49:44.840 happen around your table this holiday season. All right, this 0:49:44.920 --> 0:49:48.759 holiday holiday season, around your house. Let me tell you 0:49:48.760 --> 0:49:52.680 about the arguments that you want to win. You don't 0:49:52.760 --> 0:49:57.719 have to You don't have to win an argument. All 0:49:57.760 --> 0:50:01.680 you gotta do is complete your assignment. Man. I was 0:50:01.719 --> 0:50:03.879 so stressed out one day having a bunch of people over, 0:50:03.960 --> 0:50:06.320 and my friend said, what do you think they're expecting 0:50:06.360 --> 0:50:08.600 when they come over to the house. I said, I 0:50:08.640 --> 0:50:12.560 don't know. They said, you have one job. Nobody drowns 0:50:12.600 --> 0:50:16.520 in the pool. I said, it's that simple. They said, yeah, 0:50:17.400 --> 0:50:19.320 you have to create some magical moment, but you know 0:50:19.440 --> 0:50:22.319 it was I figured out what it was. I feel 0:50:22.440 --> 0:50:27.879 pressure to perform because in my job, in my line 0:50:27.920 --> 0:50:30.080 of work, you expect me to have something to say, 0:50:31.160 --> 0:50:34.239 and it needs to kind of make sense, and it 0:50:34.360 --> 0:50:36.359 needs to be something that you probably couldn't have thought 0:50:36.360 --> 0:50:38.239 of on your own or else. Why did you get 0:50:38.320 --> 0:50:40.520 the ice off the windshield to come hear this stuff? 0:50:43.320 --> 0:50:46.560 But wouldn't it be prideful of me to think that 0:50:46.719 --> 0:50:51.040 a good God who has angels like Gabriel would need 0:50:51.120 --> 0:50:53.520 a messenger like me to be perfect to speak his 0:50:53.640 --> 0:51:00.560 word to you? Wouldn't it be stupid? Wouldn't it be wrong? 0:51:00.960 --> 0:51:04.200 Wouldn't it be crushing for you to live under the 0:51:04.400 --> 0:51:09.040 debilitating weight of how when it's never been about how, 0:51:10.120 --> 0:51:14.680 It's always been about who. And here's what God has 0:51:14.719 --> 0:51:16.600 been doing in our lives. Some of us in this 0:51:16.680 --> 0:51:24.439 season we have been humbled by how. That's it. We've 0:51:24.440 --> 0:51:27.520 been humbled by how because we thought it was going 0:51:27.600 --> 0:51:29.920 to turn out one way and it's going a completely 0:51:30.000 --> 0:51:32.800 different way. And it doesn't mean God isn't doing what 0:51:32.880 --> 0:51:35.160 he's going to do, He's just not doing it. How 0:51:35.239 --> 0:51:38.919 you want it, and you are being humbled by how 0:51:39.960 --> 0:51:44.800 You need another example, Okay, think about the nation of 0:51:45.160 --> 0:51:48.960 Israel who was standing before a giant named Goliath with 0:51:49.120 --> 0:51:52.640 swords and spears. And when it came time for God 0:51:52.760 --> 0:51:55.800 to take out Goliath, he did not use a sword 0:51:55.960 --> 0:52:00.800 or a spear. He used a slingshot. Why so that 0:52:00.960 --> 0:52:03.760 the army would know that it is not by sword 0:52:03.960 --> 0:52:08.160 or spear that God saves. So he used a shepherd 0:52:08.800 --> 0:52:13.000 with a slingshot to bring down a giant. Because God 0:52:13.080 --> 0:52:17.560 will use the how to humble you. God will put 0:52:17.600 --> 0:52:20.399 you up in front of a red sea. He will 0:52:20.440 --> 0:52:23.440 put a stick in your hand. You will be looking 0:52:23.600 --> 0:52:27.239 at a sea, hearing the clatter of chariot wheels behind you, 0:52:27.400 --> 0:52:31.040 wondering like Mary wondered, how how am I gonna make 0:52:31.080 --> 0:52:34.640 it across? And God will speak to the insignificant thing 0:52:34.719 --> 0:52:37.280 in your hand, and he will cause you to stretch 0:52:37.360 --> 0:52:39.440 the thing in your hand over the thing that you 0:52:39.560 --> 0:52:43.200 can't go through, because He wants to humble you in 0:52:43.360 --> 0:52:47.160 the how Jesus could have come to the earth anyway 0:52:47.280 --> 0:52:51.800 he wanted. Jesus could have come to the earth like Simba. 0:52:52.280 --> 0:52:55.839 Jesus could have come to the earth in a supernatural way. 0:52:56.719 --> 0:53:00.279 But the hands that hung the stars in space were 0:53:00.440 --> 0:53:03.799 held in a virgin womb. We're held by Mary's hands. 0:53:04.080 --> 0:53:07.560 We're held by the nails of the cross. Why God 0:53:08.120 --> 0:53:12.239 humbles you by how so that when he does it, 0:53:13.120 --> 0:53:17.840 there will be no confusion about who's doing it, because 0:53:17.880 --> 0:53:20.360 if you do it, you got to keep doing it. 0:53:21.520 --> 0:53:25.680 But if He began a good work in you, help 0:53:25.760 --> 0:53:30.879 me breach now, because I feel somebody's help coming. God said, 0:53:30.920 --> 0:53:38.080 I'm using the how to humble you. And that is 0:53:38.280 --> 0:53:42.200 why he came as a baby, so that you would 0:53:42.239 --> 0:53:47.000 be humbled by the how. And when you are humbled 0:53:47.760 --> 0:53:55.160 by the how, now you can be helped. Yeah, I 0:53:55.239 --> 0:53:56.800 feel like help is going to come to you this 0:53:56.920 --> 0:54:03.160 Christmas season. You didn't count on help that you forgot about. 0:54:04.760 --> 0:54:10.840 I don't know how. You don't have to. And some 0:54:11.000 --> 0:54:13.440 of you have been saying I can't do this alone. 0:54:13.800 --> 0:54:19.040 And God is saying you don't have to. For what 0:54:19.160 --> 0:54:21.760 the Angel said to marry God, I feel your presence. 0:54:22.680 --> 0:54:26.640 The Holy Spirit is saying to you, the Lord is 0:54:27.600 --> 0:54:32.600 with you, and I have to do this alone. You 0:54:32.640 --> 0:54:35.040 don't have to make these decisions alone. The Holy Spirit 0:54:35.120 --> 0:54:40.880 will help you. The spirit who brought Jesus to Mary 0:54:41.880 --> 0:54:46.479 is the spirit that lives in you, and the Holy 0:54:46.560 --> 0:54:49.719 Spirit will help you. And I want to pray for 0:54:49.840 --> 0:54:53.359 people today who are hung up on how right now. 0:54:53.640 --> 0:54:57.360 That's fine, but just remember that God isn't going to 0:54:57.440 --> 0:55:00.600 show you how, because he wants to show you who. 0:55:03.080 --> 0:55:05.440 So I want us to flip our prayer everybody's standing 0:55:05.520 --> 0:55:11.400 at every location. As the Lord instructed me, I have 0:55:11.560 --> 0:55:16.759 imparted to you today this great revelation of grace that 0:55:17.000 --> 0:55:23.080 you don't have to You get to carry Christ this 0:55:23.239 --> 0:55:26.759 Christmas season. And I dare you to go back to 0:55:26.840 --> 0:55:29.960 this week with a little bit different attitude. I mean, 0:55:30.000 --> 0:55:31.960 don't go back quoting dis sermon to your wife or 0:55:32.000 --> 0:55:33.759 your boss. Tell me the word of the Lord is, 0:55:33.800 --> 0:55:40.200 I don't have to Well, you're gonna get fired and 0:55:40.280 --> 0:55:42.160 you can't tie, and we have to shut the church down. 0:55:42.239 --> 0:55:47.879 Don't do that. Listen to me. Listen to me. There's 0:55:47.920 --> 0:55:50.040 some stuff that you are carrying that you are not 0:55:50.200 --> 0:55:54.319 meant to carry, and it's causing you to forget about 0:55:54.400 --> 0:55:58.719 the Christ that you are called to carry. And I 0:55:58.880 --> 0:56:01.000 love being practical and I love breaking it down. And 0:56:01.080 --> 0:56:02.880 one of my friends asked me the other day. I 0:56:03.040 --> 0:56:05.200 love when you preach stuff. It gets me excited. You 0:56:05.280 --> 0:56:08.640 tell me about Galilee, you tell me about Gabriel, but 0:56:08.800 --> 0:56:11.920 tell me how and see the thing about it is. 0:56:12.719 --> 0:56:15.560 I don't have to, because if you would get still 0:56:15.680 --> 0:56:18.279 for just one moment in the presence of God and 0:56:18.600 --> 0:56:24.880 humble your heart, the Holy Spirit will overshadow you and 0:56:25.040 --> 0:56:28.440 the hand of God will hold you. Now this is optional. 0:56:28.760 --> 0:56:32.440 You don't have to give your next few weeks to 0:56:32.520 --> 0:56:35.200 God at the end of this year, but his hands 0:56:35.200 --> 0:56:38.239 are ready if you want to. You don't have to 0:56:38.320 --> 0:56:41.080 take any time over the next few weeks to thank 0:56:41.160 --> 0:56:43.680 God for the promotions that he brought in your life 0:56:43.719 --> 0:56:46.000 this year, for the friends that he brought in your 0:56:46.040 --> 0:56:48.759 life this year, for the enemies that he held back 0:56:48.800 --> 0:56:51.400 from destroying you this year, from the sickness that he 0:56:51.520 --> 0:56:54.040 left it lifted off of your life this year, From 0:56:54.080 --> 0:56:56.520 the way that he averted the situation this year that 0:56:56.600 --> 0:56:58.759 it could have gone another way. You don't have to 0:56:58.840 --> 0:57:02.279 thank God for any You don't have to, But the 0:57:02.400 --> 0:57:08.200 Gospel says, you get to. This is our privilege to 0:57:08.400 --> 0:57:12.640 carry the presence of God. And I was just thinking 0:57:12.680 --> 0:57:15.880 about another Mary. You remember in scripture where Mary and 0:57:16.000 --> 0:57:17.720 Martha had Jesus in their home. Do you know this 0:57:17.800 --> 0:57:24.040 story in Luke chapter ten? And Mary was sitting at 0:57:24.040 --> 0:57:27.280 the feet of Jesus and Martha was trying to get 0:57:27.320 --> 0:57:32.160 some work done around here, and Jesus was teaching, and 0:57:32.360 --> 0:57:37.200 Martha was bossing, and Martha thought Jesus would take her side, said, 0:57:37.240 --> 0:57:39.200 tell my sister Mary to help. No, this is a 0:57:39.240 --> 0:57:42.320 different Mary. But look what Jesus said about this Mary 0:57:42.720 --> 0:57:44.840 in Luke ten forty two. And I think this will 0:57:44.840 --> 0:57:49.080 be a pretty good mission statement for you and I too. Martha, Martha, 0:57:50.560 --> 0:57:53.280 you are worried and upset about many things, but few 0:57:53.400 --> 0:57:56.520 things are needed. Wait a minute, don't you see all 0:57:56.520 --> 0:57:59.800 this work I have to get done. You don't have to. 0:58:01.400 --> 0:58:05.200 You don't have to. Ninety eight percent of your list 0:58:05.560 --> 0:58:12.320 is optional. Yeah, you get to, you get to And 0:58:12.480 --> 0:58:15.520 watch this. He said, There's only one thing necessary, and 0:58:15.760 --> 0:58:19.800 Mary has chosen what is better and it won't be 0:58:19.960 --> 0:58:22.440 taken away from her. So I'm just gonna beg you 0:58:22.520 --> 0:58:25.400 and implore you on behalf of Christ. Do not give 0:58:25.520 --> 0:58:28.560 yourself over to things at the end of this year 0:58:28.880 --> 0:58:37.480 that can be taken away so easily. So easily. So, Lord, 0:58:37.680 --> 0:58:40.960 as we come to you today, I am aware that 0:58:41.040 --> 0:58:43.040 there are some who are under the sound of my voice, 0:58:43.040 --> 0:58:47.160 whether in person or separated by miles, who are in 0:58:47.240 --> 0:58:50.040 a galilee of sorts. And we thank you today that 0:58:50.160 --> 0:58:54.040 your message knows no bounds. You can enter any situation, 0:58:54.240 --> 0:58:57.880 you can enter any dysfunction, you can enter any trial. 0:58:59.040 --> 0:59:02.480 But Lord, for some of us just running around with 0:59:02.560 --> 0:59:05.880 the spirit of obligation when we serve the God of 0:59:06.040 --> 0:59:10.320 good news and grace. So I thank you, Lord for 0:59:10.400 --> 0:59:14.040 the way that you are resetting our hearts in your presence. 0:59:15.720 --> 0:59:20.800 Recalling on you, God, the God of Mary, whose favor 0:59:21.000 --> 0:59:24.960 rests upon the lowly. We know with you all things 0:59:25.840 --> 0:59:29.360 are possible. We lift our hands to heaven. Now go 0:59:29.400 --> 0:59:31.240 ahead and lift your hands to heaven right now. If 0:59:31.280 --> 0:59:35.200 you know that you are held by the hands of God. 0:59:36.080 --> 0:59:41.320 Oh God, my God, I need you, Oh God, my God, 0:59:42.240 --> 0:59:47.760 I need you now, how I need you now? Thank 0:59:47.800 --> 0:59:50.200 you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you 0:59:50.280 --> 0:59:53.240 who give generously to this ministry. Is because of you 0:59:53.400 --> 0:59:56.360 that this ministry is possible. You can click the link 0:59:56.400 --> 0:59:59.840 in the description to give now, or visit Elevation Church 1:00:00.640 --> 1:00:04.280 Slash podcast for more information. And if you enjoyed the podcast, 1:00:04.600 --> 1:00:07.280 you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. 1:00:07.600 --> 1:00:09.880 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 1:00:09.960 --> 1:00:12.000 share it on your social stories and tag us at 1:00:12.080 --> 1:00:14.600 Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.