1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,760 Thank you for listening to this message from Life House Church. 2 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:21,640 All right, good morning, good morning, and good morning. 3 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:22,640 How are y'all doing today? 4 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:23,640 Doing good? 5 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:24,640 Who's excited for Christmas? 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,080 Okay, good, just making sure. 7 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:34,680 Sometimes the holidays are not so exciting for people and I was having them in mind. 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:39,400 But I personally had a great Thanksgiving. 9 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,440 Not only did I get to spend it with family, I got to watch the Lions win by just barely. 10 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:47,560 Yeah, the Lions fan, let's go. 11 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:54,080 And yeah, and just getting that food baby, the annual food baby, who can relate? 12 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,040 Yeah. 13 00:00:56,040 --> 00:01:00,360 But Thanksgiving is now over, but now the Christmas season is upon us. 14 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,360 Yeehaw, right? 15 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,640 How many have already got their Christmas wish filled out? 16 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:06,640 Yeah, yeah, okay. 17 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:08,640 We got a couple here. 18 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:09,640 Yep, yep. 19 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,600 So if you haven't filled it out yet, we got a little notepad for you on the seats. 20 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,880 So go ahead and fill that out for this Christmas. 21 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:21,760 If you're an adult, make sure you put socks, underwear, and a t-shirt, because you know, 22 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,640 anyway, as a kid, we always like hated getting those things, but as an adult, you're like, 23 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,480 socks, t-shirts. 24 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,560 You know it's true. 25 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,120 But Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. 26 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:39,400 It's that time of year where we get to spend with family and friends. 27 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,100 And while we're with our family and friends, there's totally, we're totally not fighting. 28 00:01:43,100 --> 00:01:45,940 There's totally no drama or attention whatsoever. 29 00:01:45,940 --> 00:01:48,240 It's just the perfect Christmas. 30 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:53,320 It's so wonderful that the whole family and kids are just sitting by watching those chestnuts 31 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,000 roasting over an open fire. 32 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,800 And I mean, has anybody even seen that done before, by the way? 33 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,000 I mean, I feel like that was, that's so forever ago. 34 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,480 And kids don't even have the attention span to watch chestnuts roasting over open fire. 35 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:12,600 Heck, I don't think I have the attention span. 36 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:18,200 But nowadays, kids would be like, no, mom, put the Grinch on, you know, put, and then 37 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,600 the other said, no, no, no, no, put, put elf on, we need to watch elf. 38 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:24,200 Or maybe it's frozen. 39 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:25,800 One girl says, oh, put frozen on. 40 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:27,480 That's not even a Christmas movie. 41 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,280 But there's snow in it. 42 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,600 I yield. 43 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,920 It's the Christmas season that it seems that it's the most important thing to uphold our 44 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:38,920 traditions. 45 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:39,920 Right? 46 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:45,980 The expectation may be that you are going to find that perfect tree and or have the 47 00:02:45,980 --> 00:02:48,600 perfect lights on that tree. 48 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,440 But maybe the tree that you get's too tall for the household. 49 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:57,640 Maybe the lights that you got, there's a section of it that's just not lit, lightened up. 50 00:02:57,640 --> 00:02:59,560 So classic, right? 51 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:04,960 You begrudgingly go back to the store, either get a new tree, you get new lights, you fight, 52 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:05,960 you come home. 53 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:07,200 Okay, I did it. 54 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,120 And then you get it set up. 55 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:11,280 And then, okay, hon, it's time for the ornaments. 56 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:12,640 Let's get the ornaments on. 57 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:14,600 Okay, I got this one and that one. 58 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:15,600 Oh my gosh. 59 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,360 Where's the special box? 60 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,440 Where's the one with all the sentimental Christmas ornaments? 61 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,440 The one I got, the one ornament I got from my grandmother's, my birthday party that my 62 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,520 grandma gave to me 10 years ago. 63 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:28,520 Where is it? 64 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:29,520 What's going to happen? 65 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:31,960 Christmas will never be the same if I don't have these ornaments up on this tree. 66 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:37,120 Anybody can relate with that? 67 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,120 We all have special ornaments. 68 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:45,440 But it's that moment when your heart is racing, your anxiety is rising, you're breathing faster. 69 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:50,140 Oh my gosh, we have to find that ornament. 70 00:03:50,140 --> 00:03:52,000 We all have our traditions. 71 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,340 We all have those things that we want to be perfect. 72 00:03:55,340 --> 00:03:58,520 We desire the perfect Christmas. 73 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:04,020 We may not realize it, but it is the one time of the year we strongly desire for things 74 00:04:04,020 --> 00:04:07,240 to go just right. 75 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:08,360 And it's not just one day. 76 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:14,720 I mean, we could deal with one day, but a whole season of perfection, day by day, upholding 77 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,300 those traditions, getting it just right. 78 00:04:17,300 --> 00:04:22,360 No way know how anything's going to go wrong, right? 79 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:27,880 From the tree to the lights to family getting along, watching your favorite Christmas movies, 80 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:29,440 so on and so forth. 81 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:35,080 But we learn that when expectations are not met, disappointment follows. 82 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:37,400 Amen. 83 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:41,320 Can you imagine if you gave your kids their wish list, right? 84 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:47,920 And said, fill it out, and then you gave them everything that wasn't on the list. 85 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:54,600 How disappointing and heartbreaking would that be for the kid? 86 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:59,240 And yet God says the Christmas season is not about us, it's about Jesus. 87 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:00,240 It's about him. 88 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:06,480 Christmas is not about what you can get, but what you can give as a result of knowing him. 89 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:13,200 So who would know what Christmas is about more so than any other than Mary and Joseph? 90 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:14,200 Amen. 91 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,680 They experienced it firsthand. 92 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:23,520 So we're going to be reading Matthew chapter one, verse 18 will start off. 93 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,440 So before we begin, let's pray for the Lord just to open our hearts and receive his word 94 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:28,440 today. 95 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,920 Lord, we just thank you for your awesome presence. 96 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,480 We thank you for your goodness, your kindness, your mercy, God. 97 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,000 And Lord, today we seek you. 98 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,840 We honor you, we praise you, and we open up our hearts to receive all that you have for 99 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:44,040 us today, Lord. 100 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,800 Open our eyes, sharpen our vision, make our hearts sensitive to what you want to speak 101 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:49,800 to us today, Lord. 102 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:51,920 And may we hold on to that forevermore. 103 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,520 In Jesus' name, amen. 104 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:59,440 Matthew chapter one, verse 18, this is how it starts. 105 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,700 This is how Jesus, the Messiah, was born. 106 00:06:01,700 --> 00:06:06,760 His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph, but before the marriage took place, 107 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,960 while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 108 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:18,560 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. 109 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,520 So he decided to break the engagement quietly. 110 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,520 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. 111 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:31,160 Joseph, son of David, the angel said, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. 112 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:36,360 For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and she will have a son, 113 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:40,600 and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 114 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,680 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet. 115 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:49,360 Look, the virgin will conceive a child, she will give birth to a son, and they will call 116 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,440 him Emmanuel, which means God whizzed with us. 117 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:58,100 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife, 118 00:06:58,100 --> 00:07:02,200 but he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born, and Joseph named 119 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,120 him Jesus. 120 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:06,720 We learn a lot about Joseph in this passage. 121 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:12,240 It says he was a just man, a righteous man, so we know that Joseph is the kind of guy 122 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:21,120 that faithfully follows Jesus, or God in this case, because Jesus wasn't born yet. 123 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,840 But he loves God, he follows the law closely. 124 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:30,220 So once he gets the news that Mary was pregnant, and him being pretty sure he wasn't involved 125 00:07:30,220 --> 00:07:35,160 in the matter, what was he to think? 126 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:42,280 What do you think when the person that you love seemingly betrays you? 127 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:48,760 Maybe he thought, the one person I gave my heart to betrays me. 128 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:56,080 The person I made a public announcement to, family and community-wide, that I want to 129 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:57,640 marry her. 130 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,000 I desire for her to be my wife. 131 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,120 I choose no one else. 132 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:07,360 And yet, and yet, she was with another man. 133 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,120 Mary, this can't be you. 134 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:11,120 How can this be? 135 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:12,120 What happened? 136 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:18,960 See, it was never on Joseph's wish list for this to happen. 137 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:24,520 He didn't have written down, I want Mary to be with another man, I want her to be pregnant, 138 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:30,400 that's not for me, and live with the public shame and humiliation of it all. 139 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:34,480 That was not on Joseph's wish list, okay? 140 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:35,800 He did not want that for her. 141 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:40,840 As a matter of fact, the Bible says he didn't want to disgrace her publicly. 142 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:46,000 Instead, he planned to break the engagement quietly. 143 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,000 The wish list for Joseph was being formed in his head. 144 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:55,440 The wish list was becoming, I just want to do what's right and be done with this. 145 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,960 It's like, this is too much. 146 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:04,480 But God had a different wish list in mind, a different plan for Joseph. 147 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:09,760 Despite the circumstances, Joseph was still open to God's voice and direction. 148 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:12,380 He just wanted the truth. 149 00:09:12,380 --> 00:09:17,140 And because he desired the truth, God spoke to him in a dream. 150 00:09:17,140 --> 00:09:22,520 That she had not been with a man, but instead was impregnated by the power of the Holy Spirit. 151 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:29,080 We learn from Joseph that we must be open to God's interpretation of our circumstances. 152 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:35,600 Every day we face circumstances, every day desires are being formed in us within those 153 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:36,600 circumstances. 154 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:44,440 Any situation we faced, we already have either a preconceived idea or desire to end it, to 155 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:48,480 protect yourself or just get out of it. 156 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,160 These circumstances will always be a testing of our faith. 157 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:56,800 Is our desire to pursue his will in them or our own will? 158 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:01,540 The Bible calls these times of testing as temptations, okay? 159 00:10:01,540 --> 00:10:05,560 The Greek word for temptation, just because we all have a preconceived notion of what temptation 160 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:11,280 is, temptation, the Greek word is paraso, and it simply means to be tested. 161 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:15,440 One Bible dictionary puts it like this, to put to the test in order to ascertain the 162 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:20,420 nature of something, including imperfections, faults, or qualities. 163 00:10:20,420 --> 00:10:25,800 So a temptation's purpose is to test where you're at in your faith, not to test you where 164 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:27,720 you're not in your faith. 165 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:32,160 Does that make sense? 166 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,380 It's a test to see where you're at right now. 167 00:10:34,380 --> 00:10:39,920 And it's a blessing in that we are given an opportunity to become more like Jesus. 168 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:41,400 Amen? 169 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:43,800 Temptations don't come about so you can fail. 170 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,040 Temptations come about to test where you're at in your faith and how you need to trust 171 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,700 God more in the future. 172 00:10:49,700 --> 00:10:53,960 It's a surrendering of our wants, desires in the midst of unfavorable circumstances 173 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,780 in the exchange that we get his desires. 174 00:10:57,780 --> 00:11:02,040 We get his grace for fulfilling his purposes. 175 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:09,840 Scripture states in 1 Corinthians 10, we all experience times of testing, which is normal 176 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:11,920 for every human being. 177 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,120 But God will be faithful to you. 178 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,720 He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face 179 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:19,140 so that you can bear it. 180 00:11:19,140 --> 00:11:24,040 And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided 181 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:28,600 for you, a way of escape that will bring you out victoriously. 182 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:34,920 So if Joseph is not open to God's interpretation of his circumstances, Joseph never would have 183 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,320 found his way of escape. 184 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:38,320 Make sense? 185 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:44,520 In every circumstance, there is a route for overcoming by the grace of God. 186 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:45,520 You're not trapped. 187 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,100 You just need to depend on God. 188 00:11:48,100 --> 00:11:52,480 If Joseph did not place his trust in God, then God would not have supplied the grace 189 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:58,120 that he needed to overcome said trial, said testing. 190 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:03,160 Without trusting God, Joseph never would have received an answer in his dreams. 191 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:05,580 Joseph was still open to what was happening. 192 00:12:05,580 --> 00:12:09,160 He still wanted God to speak to him amidst the unfavorable circumstance, and he gave 193 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:10,160 him a word. 194 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,160 So let's go through this together. 195 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,160 Joseph and Mary engaged, right? 196 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:18,420 What did it mean to be engaged back then? 197 00:12:18,420 --> 00:12:22,040 In some translations, if you read it, it says betrothed or a spouse. 198 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,620 Basically it's an engagement period. 199 00:12:24,620 --> 00:12:28,880 For Jewish culture, it was a legally binding agreement, okay? 200 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:34,280 To be engaged in Jewish culture was a legally binding agreement. 201 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:39,800 Once you made the public announcement to the family and community, you cannot get out of 202 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:40,880 it. 203 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,780 You are legally bound to marry this person. 204 00:12:43,780 --> 00:12:48,040 It's not like today's engagements where two people are head over heels for each other. 205 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:49,520 You know, they get engaged. 206 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:54,600 They got all the pictures, the photographers hidden in bushes and this is how I propose 207 00:12:54,600 --> 00:13:01,520 and then move on and say, oh my gosh, we're going to get married eight months from now. 208 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:07,560 And so now they have from engagement to the day of the wedding, the in between is still 209 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:10,640 optional in the modern day context. 210 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:16,720 It could be three weeks before the wedding and the guy's just like, you know what, babe? 211 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:22,960 I was, it's not easy for me to say, but I'm just going to give you the facts, okay? 212 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,320 I was on my spreadsheet last night, okay? 213 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:32,200 And I just made a column, pros, cons, and okay, I love her, she's cool and you got a 214 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:33,200 good job. 215 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,680 And then the cons, you list it. 216 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:38,440 He says, oh, wait, I was doing the spreadsheet and you know what? 217 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:40,800 The cons far exceed the pros. 218 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,520 So I'm going to have to break this engagement, guys. 219 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:45,520 Just don't think it's a good decision. 220 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,400 Took you that long to figure that out? 221 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:58,160 That may fly now, but in Jewish culture, that's a serious offense. 222 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,360 You're actually breaking the law by breaking the engagement. 223 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:08,240 Matter of fact, the only way you could get out of that agreement was a bill of divorce. 224 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:11,480 Interesting, right? 225 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:17,400 So in a way they're married, but in reality, it was a promise, but a not yet thing. 226 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:18,400 Can't back out on your promise. 227 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:19,400 Jesus taught that. 228 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:24,600 Let your yes be a yes and your no a no. 229 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:30,640 Once the engagement period began, they legally belonged to one another, but they were to 230 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:37,760 not engage any form of sexual activity or even go outside their parents' household. 231 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:39,560 They were to remain with them. 232 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:44,040 It was meant to be a full year of purity and preparation for marriage. 233 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:50,280 It's in this time period that Jesus finds out his betrothed, Mary, is pregnant. 234 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,000 Yowch. 235 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:56,560 His heart sinks, but he looks to God in what he should do. 236 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:00,920 The Bible says Joseph is a just and righteous man, which means he loves God. 237 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:02,920 He wants to follow him closely. 238 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:09,360 And he knows that the scriptures state in Deuteronomy, suppose a man meets a young woman, 239 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,840 a virgin who's engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. 240 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:17,560 If this happens within a town, you must take them both to the gates of that town and stone 241 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:18,800 them to death. 242 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:19,800 Yikes. 243 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:24,280 Secondly, but if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country and he rapes her, 244 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:26,200 then the only man must die. 245 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,000 Do nothing to the young woman. 246 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,360 She has committed no crime worthy of death. 247 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,360 She is as innocent as a murder victim. 248 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:40,240 So on one hand, if Mary is not a victim here, she is be put to the, she is be put to death. 249 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:41,840 I don't know why it's so hard to say. 250 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:46,960 On the other hand, if she was raped, she is innocent, but at the same time, she's no longer 251 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:48,960 a virgin. 252 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:54,080 So even if Mary is innocent, she would still have to deal with the shame and humiliation 253 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:59,400 of being the one who got impregnated by a man that wasn't her husband. 254 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:06,480 But Joseph was merciful in that he planned to divorce her quietly and not publicly. 255 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:11,560 And as he was considering this, considering divorcing her, God spoke to him in his sleep. 256 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:16,560 Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child within 257 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:22,840 her was conceived by the Holy Spirit and she will have a son and you are to name him Jesus. 258 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:28,040 All of a sudden, Joseph's entire perception of what was happening shifted. 259 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:29,960 It was no longer, Mary betrayed me. 260 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:30,960 How could she do this? 261 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,200 As a matter of fact, it was, wow, God is in the works. 262 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:39,280 His plan of redemption is quite literally coming to life. 263 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:44,840 The best part, this goes to show how open Joseph was to God's interpretation of his 264 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:45,840 circumstances. 265 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:50,080 After God spoke to him in the dream, it says he did as the angel of the Lord commanded 266 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:55,320 him right after he woke up. 267 00:16:55,320 --> 00:17:00,000 Joseph didn't wake up from the dream and think, wow, that was so far off from the truth. 268 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,640 I mean, come on, what a wacky dream. 269 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,960 Clearly Mary is an adulteress. 270 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:08,280 Conceived by the Holy Spirit? 271 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,840 Okay, that's a good one. 272 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:18,760 Instead, he wakes up and immediately did as the Lord commanded him and took Mary to be 273 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:19,760 his wife. 274 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:26,080 So, in order to get God's perspective in our circumstances, we must surrender our own perspectives 275 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,240 and be open to him as it is happening. 276 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,520 Amen. 277 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:36,840 Is it possible that God wants to speak to you in your circumstances? 278 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:40,040 In the circumstances you found yourself in lately and you're not sure what to do about 279 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:47,680 it, you might think you are justified in what you know and how you handle it, and yet you 280 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:49,320 don't sense any of God's peace. 281 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:50,320 You don't sense his presence. 282 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:54,200 You don't sense his favor or pleasure in what you're doing right now. 283 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:55,640 You question it. 284 00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:00,400 Is it possible, just maybe, we are not being open to what God wants to speak to us and 285 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:05,800 allow him to do what only he can do in our circumstances and totally alter the course 286 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,200 of action? 287 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:14,200 He wants us to surrender our wish list for his wish list. 288 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:19,640 These are tests put into place so you can reign victoriously through Jesus Christ who 289 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:23,600 gives you strength as you trust and obey him. 290 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:24,760 Amen. 291 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:26,120 It's one thing to trust God. 292 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:28,200 It's one thing to obey him. 293 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:29,680 You can't have one without the other. 294 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:35,280 To have the complete picture of what God desires for us, you must trust and obey. 295 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,960 Joseph and Mary are such godly examples in the Bible. 296 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,520 We really don't talk enough about them. 297 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:45,200 A lot is said about Joseph, but we've talked about him. 298 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,280 Now we're going to talk about Mary. 299 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,720 Interestingly in both the passages in Matthew chapter 1, and we're about to be in Luke chapter 300 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:57,840 1 in just a second, Joseph and Mary don't interact with each other at all in these passages. 301 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,720 So it's a specific encounter with God concerning the birth of Jesus in both of these chapters. 302 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:12,080 So we're going to read out Luke chapter 1 verse 26. 303 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:14,280 Verse 26, chapter 1 of Luke. 304 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,960 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a 305 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:21,880 village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. 306 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:26,360 She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 307 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,040 Gabriel appeared to her and said, Greetings, favored woman. 308 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:30,720 The Lord is with you. 309 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,880 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 310 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:39,120 Don't be afraid, Mary, the angel told her, for you have found favor with God. 311 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,800 You will conceive and give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus. 312 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,920 He will be very great and be called the son of the Most High. 313 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,600 The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David, and he will reign over Israel 314 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:51,600 forever. 315 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:53,240 His kingdom will never end. 316 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:56,120 Mary asked the angel, How can this happen? 317 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:57,800 I'm a virgin. 318 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,920 The angel, pride that Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will 319 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:02,180 overshadow you. 320 00:20:02,180 --> 00:20:06,080 So the baby to be born will be holy and he will be called the son of God. 321 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,400 What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age. 322 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,320 People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth 323 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:13,320 month. 324 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:15,800 For the word of God will never fail. 325 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,760 Verse 38, Mary responded, I'm the Lord's servant. 326 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,760 May everything you said about me come true. 327 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:23,960 And the angel left her. 328 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,480 So I can't help but wonder, why would God choose Mary? 329 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,240 Why would God choose Joseph to do such a task? 330 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:38,080 Who is worthy to do such a task to father, to parent the son of God? 331 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,840 And part of that answer is given by the angel Gabriel here. 332 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:46,560 He says in verse 28, greetings favored woman, the Lord is with you. 333 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,300 Verse 30, you have found favor with God. 334 00:20:50,300 --> 00:20:55,720 So it seems that Mary has a humble heart to do whatever the Lord asks of her. 335 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,360 Thus God found favor in her. 336 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:03,800 So in order to get God's wish list done, we first need to be people who he finds favor 337 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:04,800 with. 338 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:05,800 Amen. 339 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:10,040 We want to be people that God finds favor with. 340 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:14,520 But Pastor Eric, how can I earn God's favor in this? 341 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:15,520 It's not something that you earn. 342 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:19,800 Grace is not something that you earn, but something God freely gives. 343 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,800 Joseph and Mary did not earn the favor to raise the son of God. 344 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:28,200 Rather, in humility, grace was given to do the task. 345 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:29,840 Amen. 346 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:34,200 James 4, 6 says, and he gives grace generously. 347 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:35,200 He gives it generously. 348 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:41,240 As the scriptures say, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 349 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,480 God gives grace to the humble. 350 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:45,840 What's grace? 351 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,840 Grace is God's unmerited favor. 352 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:49,840 Okay. 353 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:56,280 Grace, according to one Bible dictionary states that grace is the divine influence, favor 354 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,160 upon the heart. 355 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:03,760 So even though grace is unmerited, God gives it generously to those who are humble and 356 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:07,560 resists giving it to the proud. 357 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:12,200 The Bible actually instructs us to receive with meekness, humility, the implanted word 358 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,020 of God. 359 00:22:15,020 --> 00:22:20,000 The word of God is received in your heart, in the soil of your heart, when God speaks 360 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,800 a word, it enters into your heart. 361 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:27,200 And thus you are empowered to do the will of God, not by your own might or strength, 362 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:28,920 but by God's grace. 363 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,200 By his powerful favor, we are able to live a Godly life. 364 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,280 Everyone understand that? 365 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:40,080 The word of God gets implanted into your core that you're being, and you are empowered to 366 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,960 do his will, because he doesn't expect you to do his will apart from his power. 367 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:47,440 If it was in your power, you would get the glory, you'd get the credit, but you know 368 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:52,120 that you know you can do nothing apart from him. 369 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:56,160 So we trust and obey him according to his word. 370 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,580 That's exactly what happened with Mary and Joseph. 371 00:22:58,580 --> 00:23:02,860 The angel Gabriel shows up to both of them and spoke the word of the Lord to them. 372 00:23:02,860 --> 00:23:09,280 The angel Gabriel says, Mary, God has chosen you to be the vessel of the Lord most high 373 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:13,940 and that you are going to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit and you're going to call him 374 00:23:13,940 --> 00:23:17,360 Jesus. 375 00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:20,240 Mary asked the question, how can this be? 376 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:21,440 I'm a virgin. 377 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,080 Now that's an important part right there too, because Mary wasn't like, yeah, right. 378 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,720 She was like, how can this happen? 379 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:36,800 And you can learn from that humility receives answers, but pride has its mind made up already. 380 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:41,560 If Mary had a reputation for being proud, God never would have given her grace. 381 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:46,160 If Mary were proud, she would have said to the angel Gabriel, no, I don't believe that. 382 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:47,160 That's not possible. 383 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,040 You need two to tango here. 384 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:54,200 And I know I wasn't betanguing with anybody, okay? 385 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,040 This is all just an illusion. 386 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,240 Matter of fact, I think someone set me up. 387 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:00,240 You know what? 388 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:01,960 I think it was Joseph's mom. 389 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,840 Yeah, yeah, she always had it out for me. 390 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:06,800 It's just not true. 391 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,360 It's not happening. 392 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:13,120 God justifies your case, but it never leads you to truth. 393 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:17,740 It never gives you favor. 394 00:24:17,740 --> 00:24:23,580 How can we accomplish what is on God's wish list if we already have a justified case of 395 00:24:23,580 --> 00:24:27,920 why we can't do his will? 396 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:34,960 That man or woman who has a justified case cannot do the will of God, because if God's 397 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:39,920 will does not matter to them, then they will never receive the grace to accomplish his 398 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,920 will. 399 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:47,640 You may be thinking at this point, just for clarity purposes, Pastor Eric, God can work 400 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:49,440 through anything. 401 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,180 Those with pride too. 402 00:24:51,180 --> 00:24:53,400 And you're absolutely right if you're thinking that. 403 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,760 Because God orchestrates his plans as he sees fit. 404 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:02,040 Jesus taught those who humble themselves will be exalted, and those who exalt themselves 405 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:03,480 will be humbled. 406 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:08,440 So the plan of God is for the proud to be humble, to become humble, that they may receive 407 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:09,920 his word and do his will. 408 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:12,480 Does that make sense? 409 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:18,240 It's not that God can't work through a proud person, but he wants to humble them so they 410 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,960 can do his will too. 411 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,960 Jesus also taught that many are called and few are chosen. 412 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:31,040 It can be a scary verse to read, but everyone has a call in here. 413 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:32,040 Everybody. 414 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:36,360 God did not create somebody unintentionally to not have a purpose or a calling. 415 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:39,360 Everyone here was created on purpose for a purpose. 416 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:43,900 But not everyone chooses to respond to his word. 417 00:25:43,900 --> 00:25:46,040 And therefore few are chosen. 418 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:53,600 Joseph and Mary were chosen because they were responsive to the word of the Lord. 419 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,400 We must choose to be someone God finds his favor in. 420 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:02,320 We must choose to be people who diligently listen for his word and obey the word. 421 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,760 That is when the grace of God is. 422 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:07,800 That's when you start seeing the miracles and blessings that you so desire to see in 423 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,120 your life. 424 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:15,360 Mary's cousin Elizabeth, who was mentioned earlier, said this to Mary after Mary got 425 00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:16,360 the news. 426 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:20,380 Mary, God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 427 00:26:20,380 --> 00:26:24,400 Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me when I heard your greeting, 428 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,800 the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 429 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:28,720 She's pregnant too. 430 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:30,680 But she says this, this is important. 431 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:35,960 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said. 432 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:37,640 Amen. 433 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,600 You are favored because you obeyed God. 434 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:47,880 See, we can be people who God finds favor with, and he gives grace to those who humbly 435 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:51,360 receive his word to do his will. 436 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:57,260 If our wish list matters more to us, he simply will not give the grace to live that he's 437 00:26:57,260 --> 00:27:00,280 called you to live. 438 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:01,960 Amen. 439 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:09,200 So are we people that willingly in humility are willing to believe God, no matter the 440 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,440 circumstances? 441 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,040 Not only believe, but act on it. 442 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:20,060 Just like Mary and Joseph did, their hearts will humble and ready to trust and obey God. 443 00:27:20,060 --> 00:27:23,720 Like I said, pride, your mind's already made up of what you're gonna believe and what you're 444 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:28,800 not gonna believe, but humility says I'm open to what you're saying, Jesus. 445 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:33,360 Our hearts posture for the glory of God, or for our own wish lists. 446 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:38,720 Are we like Mary and say, I am the Lord's servant, may everything you said about me 447 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:39,720 come true. 448 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,680 You know what that is? 449 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:43,680 That's the amen. 450 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:44,680 That's why we say amen. 451 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:46,280 We say let it be true. 452 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,920 Let it come to pass, Lord. 453 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,320 Amen. 454 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,800 Mary's heart was to serve the Lord and she knew that in order to accomplish God's wish 455 00:27:55,800 --> 00:28:03,240 list, accomplish God's will, we must be seeking him. 456 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,960 Jesus taught, ask and it will be given to you, seeking you will find, knock and it will 457 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:08,120 be opened to you. 458 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:13,600 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds. 459 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:15,620 To him who knocks, it'll be opened. 460 00:28:15,620 --> 00:28:17,760 So seeking is an active thing, okay? 461 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:18,760 It's an intentional thing. 462 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,200 You don't accidentally seek for something, it just doesn't happen. 463 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:28,360 You know how much you care about something by the measure of urgency that you give it, 464 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:29,360 right? 465 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:31,960 And the lengths you would go to find it. 466 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,080 So take for instance that precious moment, okay? 467 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:40,320 You just finished your Sunday church gathering, you go home, maybe you make another coffee, 468 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:44,680 have some lunch and you know, the football game is about to start. 469 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,600 You're going home for the Eagles, the Steelers, you know they start at one o'clock, right? 470 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:55,640 So you go, change out of your church clothes, sit on the couch, and you reach for the remote, 471 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,800 and it's not there, and so you kind of do a double take. 472 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:00,720 Where is it at? 473 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:02,680 Check inside the little cushion. 474 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:05,640 Hon, where's the remote at? 475 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:07,640 I don't know. 476 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:12,080 Okay, well I left it here, and now it's not here, so where is it at? 477 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:13,480 I don't know. 478 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:14,480 Okay. 479 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:15,480 All hands on deck. 480 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,000 The game starts in literally two minutes. 481 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:24,880 Call the neighbors, call your parents, call 911, because this is an emergency, all right? 482 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:30,680 Y'all know you get frantic once you lose the remote. 483 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,080 The person is in a panic. 484 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:34,920 The game is about to start. 485 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,440 You're relentlessly searching. 486 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,560 It's frantic, it's urgent, it must be done right now. 487 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:43,520 Same thing happens when we lose our cell phones. 488 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:47,800 Trust me, I lost it over the weekend. 489 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:49,320 It's an emergency. 490 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:56,640 Nothing else matters but finding that lost thing, the cell phone, the remote. 491 00:29:56,640 --> 00:30:01,920 But unfortunately, that only happens, shouldn't say only, that happens typically when it's 492 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:08,000 about what we want, because if we really want something, we'll go to the depths and lengths 493 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,360 of urgency to get it done, to find it. 494 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,800 But what if it was what the Lord wanted it in those situations? 495 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,560 What if it was what He wanted? 496 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:21,560 Maybe it sounded like this. 497 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:23,080 God wants me to seek His will? 498 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:25,560 Nah, He's a patient God. 499 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:29,440 He can wait a little bit longer. 500 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:31,440 Maybe it's He wants me to seek His wish list? 501 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,960 Nah, He's got a lot of other people to get that done. 502 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:39,160 I think what I'm in right now is pretty important, so I'm sure God can send somebody else to 503 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,560 do said task. 504 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:44,040 God knows my heart. 505 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,760 Why does God need me to pray right now? 506 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:47,760 He's sovereign. 507 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:48,760 Whatever will be, will be. 508 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:49,760 You don't have to do anything. 509 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:53,040 It's just going to happen. 510 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,440 The point is God's will should be taken seriously. 511 00:30:55,440 --> 00:31:00,520 We should long and thirst for God's grace to make the kingdom of God known and experienced 512 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:02,120 in this life. 513 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:04,840 It's readily available to those who simply will believe. 514 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:12,160 Zach, if you'd come up and... 515 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:17,760 Barry and Joseph were chosen by God because they let God determine their circumstances. 516 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:23,200 They were chosen because they humbly believed God no matter what the circumstances were. 517 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:27,600 They sought His will regardless. 518 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:33,640 They knew that nothing matters more than accomplishing God's purposes in this life because they were 519 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:37,640 created to do those purposes. 520 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:40,240 He had a plan the whole time. 521 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:46,160 It's about accomplishing God's purposes and serving others that they may walk in their 522 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:48,480 God-given purpose as well. 523 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:56,880 You ever think about that, how your purpose actually leads somebody else into their purpose? 524 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,160 It's important that we serve God. 525 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,000 It's important that we have a relationship with Him. 526 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:05,280 It's important that we take seeking His will seriously because it's not just you that's 527 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:06,280 affected. 528 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:07,920 It's other people. 529 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:12,840 What if Mary and Joseph never obeyed? 530 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:21,280 What if they just, like some parents today, said, oh, here's a baby. 531 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,440 But that's also how we can handle the stuff that God gives us to do. 532 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:29,280 Say, well, I don't know what to do with it. 533 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,880 Don't really want it. 534 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:32,880 Serious thing. 535 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:40,360 And that's not to strike fear in anybody, but have a sense of the fear of God in you 536 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:44,320 because it's only the fear of the Lord that we get wisdom, that we get understanding, 537 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:51,080 that we get grace, that we learn to humbly just love Him because if you love somebody 538 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:53,080 or something, you take it pretty important. 539 00:32:53,080 --> 00:33:00,720 It's pretty serious. 540 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:07,000 You have to know that God's will, if you just want to be all in and surrender to God, you 541 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,320 don't have to go into full-time ministry. 542 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:14,840 Just know that whatever is placed in your life, the desires that you have in your heart, 543 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,320 God's placed them there for a reason. 544 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:22,920 And He wants what's inside of you to come out into life. 545 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:24,160 Is family God's purpose? 546 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:25,160 Absolutely. 547 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:32,800 It's the best darn job that you can to raise your family according to the Lord. 548 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,760 Is a healthy marriage God's purpose? 549 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:36,480 You better believe it. 550 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:38,860 God designed marriage to glorify Him. 551 00:33:38,860 --> 00:33:42,140 Not one another, but mankind. 552 00:33:42,140 --> 00:33:53,000 That the world may see that Jesus loves this person like that guy loves his wife. 553 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:57,960 We need believers that take seriously the call of God in their life. 554 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,360 Many are called, but few are chosen. 555 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:01,360 Few respond. 556 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:04,520 Jesus' word is not mine. 557 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:09,200 It's only by grace that we bring God's influence into our lives. 558 00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:13,880 So today maybe you realize you've been doing a lot according to your own strength. 559 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,920 That you know, you might know that God wants you to do something, but you do it to your 560 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:18,920 own strength. 561 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:24,240 And what I mean by that is God says, do this, and you're like, I got that. 562 00:34:24,240 --> 00:34:25,240 That's me. 563 00:34:25,240 --> 00:34:29,200 But you're not believing Him. 564 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:37,480 You're not believing Him to have that power to serve Him. 565 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:43,480 Today is a day where we can willingly surrender our wish list to Him. 566 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,440 And that's so that we might get His wish list. 567 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:50,600 So maybe you did it, you filled out some of those wish lists, you put the socks on there 568 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:52,600 and stuff. 569 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:56,160 But simply, that's what you want. 570 00:34:56,160 --> 00:35:00,680 What does it look like for God's wish list to write them down? 571 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,280 And this can be a moment where you write that down, where it's like, oh yeah, that's right. 572 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:06,600 God was speaking to me to do this. 573 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,860 He wanted me to talk to that person at the register. 574 00:35:08,860 --> 00:35:16,160 He wanted me to hang out with friends today because you really need a friend today. 575 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:17,160 That's how He leads. 576 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:28,360 It's just a humbling, a surrendering to see what He wants to speak. 577 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:32,880 And know this, He doesn't want you to just fulfill your own wish list. 578 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:38,040 He will find ways to divert you into His wish list. 579 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:41,880 Remember the whole pride falling down and that they may be humble? 580 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:46,520 That's what He likes to do when we're not listening. 581 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:51,480 He's saying on His wish list, I wish you would just forgive your spouse. 582 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:53,960 I wish that you could just trust me. 583 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:59,800 I know it hurts, but I just wish you would forgive them and bless them, love them like 584 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:00,800 I called you to. 585 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:05,240 He's saying, I really know you want to marry so and so, but you just have to trust me right 586 00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:06,240 now. 587 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:07,240 It's not that time. 588 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:08,240 Trust my process. 589 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:14,800 He's saying, I know your heart's hurt and it's hardened to me. 590 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:18,720 I just wish you would hand it over the keys to your life. 591 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:20,960 Give them to me and I'll do the driving. 592 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:23,920 You just be the passenger with me. 593 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:28,560 I'll drive you places you never thought you could go, but you got to hand over the keys 594 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:31,520 to your life and join me for the ride. 595 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,880 Are you willing to do that today? 596 00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:50,200 Matter of fact, let's just stand up. 597 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:55,360 The very core of our being is our hearts. 598 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:59,000 What you allow into your heart will direct your life. 599 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:02,200 And so, ask yourself this question. 600 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:03,840 Am I spending time in God's word? 601 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:09,120 Am I readily listening to him more than I desire YouTube, more than I desire texting 602 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:10,120 or whatever? 603 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:13,600 Not that those are bad things, but whatever you fill yourself with, it will direct you. 604 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:16,000 It will take you back to where you heard it. 605 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:17,000 Okay? 606 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:21,000 This is a time where we can surrender those things. 607 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:23,440 Put our hands into the Lord's care. 608 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:25,120 Hear him. 609 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:26,680 Be loved by him. 610 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:28,200 Be embraced by him. 611 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:34,360 To be a child of God. 612 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:40,760 So with that to you today, we want to pray with you. 613 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:43,360 Don't pass this up, because God wants you. 614 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:47,840 He's seeking you out so you can accomplish his purposes. 615 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:48,840 Amen? 616 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:51,840 You guys ready? 617 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,000 All right. 618 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:55,320 Let's pray. 619 00:37:55,320 --> 00:38:03,360 Father, we thank you that your heart is pure and kind and loving. 620 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:08,800 God, we make mistakes, but we return to you, because you don't condemn us. 621 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:11,100 You don't shame us, Lord. 622 00:38:11,100 --> 00:38:13,320 You bring us back to yourself. 623 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:16,240 And Lord, we just say, your will be done. 624 00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:20,840 Not my will, but yours be done. 625 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:22,800 You're the only thing that matters. 626 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:28,600 And Lord, we know when we love you, when we serve you, things fall into place. 627 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:32,920 Even despite unfavorable circumstances, Lord, we can be vessels that shine the light of 628 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:34,600 Christ. 629 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:41,520 That we can be people that have grace to change our atmospheres. 630 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:46,340 So God, right now, I just pray you continue to speak to these individuals. 631 00:38:46,340 --> 00:38:48,480 An active step into surrender, Lord. 632 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:53,040 An active step into your will. 633 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:57,720 And God, we just give you glory. 634 00:38:57,720 --> 00:38:59,040 We give you honor. 635 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:04,200 We totally change what we see in order to see what you see. 636 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:05,200 Lead us, Lord. 637 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:08,000 Lead us into those circumstances where you would have for us. 638 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:09,000 Test our faith. 639 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:10,000 We dare you. 640 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:14,640 Because if it means being closer to you, Lord, we're all for it. 641 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:19,480 If it means having more favor, more ability to glorify you, God, I'm in. 642 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:23,000 We're in. 643 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,880 Fear can leave. 644 00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:27,240 Anxiety can leave. 645 00:39:27,240 --> 00:39:34,480 Our doubts can vanish all by one word, Jesus. 646 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:46,720 We thank you, Jesus, for all that you're doing and continue to do. 647 00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:53,240 And Lord, let us hold on to the word that you've spoken today and hold firmly to it. 648 00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:58,160 That we may change someone's life that you're calling out today and forevermore. 649 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:02,720 In Jesus' name, amen. 650 00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:09,000 Believe it or not, God chose you. 651 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,600 He's chosen you to do His will. 652 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:13,400 But it takes humility. 653 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,000 It takes seeking. 654 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:17,000 He chose you. 655 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:18,000 Let's respond. 656 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:19,000 Amen? 657 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:33,560 Thank you for tuning in to this message from Lifehouse Church. 658 00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:36,320 We pray that you were impacted powerfully by this message. 659 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:40,400 If you have been personally affected by our ministry and you would like to partner with 660 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:49,200 us as we love God, love people every day, visit our website at www.lifehousecog.com.