WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross -Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:19.030 here. Lord, we thank you for bringing us together, 00:00:19.190 --> 00:00:21.829 and we thank you for allowing us to enjoy another 00:00:21.829 --> 00:00:26.010 day, being able to praise and worship you. We 00:00:26.010 --> 00:00:28.609 ask that you open our hearts and our minds, not 00:00:28.609 --> 00:00:30.949 only to what you had to speak to us today, but 00:00:30.949 --> 00:00:33.530 every day. Help us to take what we learn here 00:00:33.530 --> 00:00:36.090 and apply it to our personal lives and take it 00:00:36.090 --> 00:00:37.729 out into the world so that others may know you 00:00:37.729 --> 00:00:41.649 as well. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, good morning 00:00:41.649 --> 00:00:45.130 again, everybody. Welcome to the Cross 66. We 00:00:45.130 --> 00:00:47.729 have officially kicked off the Christmas season. 00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:50.369 Tess and I came in. We got a little bit of decoration 00:00:50.369 --> 00:00:52.429 already going. I see a little bit of garland 00:00:52.429 --> 00:00:55.329 here. We got the tree up, a couple of poinsettias. 00:00:56.109 --> 00:00:57.710 Hopefully throughout the week, we'll get some 00:00:57.710 --> 00:01:00.429 other stuff. I don't know. Hopefully, though. 00:01:00.469 --> 00:01:05.359 That is the plan. Of course, with the Twinkle 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:07.420 Light Parade, that's a big thing here in the 00:01:07.420 --> 00:01:09.340 city. So if you are interested or if you know 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:11.700 other people who are coming, let them know this 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:13.540 is a safe place where they can park out back. 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:17.019 I know across the way, all that parking will 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:19.099 be open as well. But that way they could come 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:20.640 through if they need to warm up because it's 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:21.980 probably going to be a little chilly at night. 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:24.319 They need the restrooms, whatever. We'll be here 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:25.739 for them. It's just going to be the sanctuary 00:01:25.739 --> 00:01:27.480 side, though. We're not opening up the fellowship 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:33.200 hall. All right. And with that said, the holiday 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:34.700 season, matter of fact, we were just talking 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:37.700 about it during the five -minute countdown, right? 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:40.459 We all have a lot of things that we like to do 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:44.819 during the holidays. A big one are movies. Last 00:01:44.819 --> 00:01:46.319 night, we watched one of those movies, right? 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:48.319 We watched Christmas Carol. We kicked it off 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:52.980 like that. And there's a lot of arguments over 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:56.269 what is and what isn't a Christmas movie. Right? 00:01:56.430 --> 00:01:58.769 Some people will say, yes, exactly. Die Hard, 00:01:58.969 --> 00:02:02.390 Lethal Weapon, Batman Returns, Gremlins, right? 00:02:02.769 --> 00:02:04.670 Other people are like, no, no, no. Home Alone, 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:09.030 right? The Grinch. And I say, yes, they're all 00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:11.409 Christmas movies. Every single one of them. Absolutely. 00:02:11.969 --> 00:02:14.229 I'll even throw in, there's Christmas episodes 00:02:14.229 --> 00:02:16.870 of certain shows like Star Trek and Babylon 5 00:02:16.870 --> 00:02:19.370 and everything and going forward. So there's 00:02:19.370 --> 00:02:24.219 that, right? Matter of fact, there's a lot of 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:25.979 these that had their own twist put on, a matter 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:28.099 of fact. Last night, Christmas Carol, the version 00:02:28.099 --> 00:02:29.780 we watched, had its own little personal twist 00:02:29.780 --> 00:02:31.919 put on it. There's been several out there. Sir 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:33.879 Patrick Stewart has a one -man act that he's 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:36.840 done, and they adapted it, like TNT or TV, one 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:38.060 of the Turner Networks, something like that. 00:02:38.580 --> 00:02:41.759 Pretty great. One of my favorites, The Muppets. 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:44.479 Good old Michael Caine up there playing Ebenezer, 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:48.639 right? My all -time favorite, Scrooged, Bill 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:50.599 Murray. You know, I watched that when I was younger. 00:02:50.659 --> 00:02:52.550 I probably shouldn't have. We'll talk about that 00:02:52.550 --> 00:02:55.509 later. I don't know. But there's a lot of versions. 00:02:55.629 --> 00:02:58.370 Grinch alone. We got live versions. We got cartoons. 00:03:00.009 --> 00:03:03.110 There's a lot of things out there. But there's 00:03:03.110 --> 00:03:06.030 a lot of change that's out there. And the nice 00:03:06.030 --> 00:03:10.629 thing is when these movies, they have a message 00:03:10.629 --> 00:03:14.629 like Last Night's did. We're able to use that 00:03:14.629 --> 00:03:17.849 as an illustration for our own life. And over 00:03:17.849 --> 00:03:19.789 the next few weeks, we're actually going to use 00:03:19.789 --> 00:03:23.419 Scrooge. It's probably a good thing because initially 00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:27.639 I wanted to watch The Grinch. There's some parallels 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:29.060 that could be done between Scrooge and The Grinch, 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:30.340 though we won't get into it for time's sake. 00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:35.060 I get long -winded as it is. Y 'all don't have 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:41.060 to agree with me so fast, my goodness. But that's 00:03:41.060 --> 00:03:42.780 the nice thing. We're going to use Scrooge. We'll 00:03:42.780 --> 00:03:45.180 be able to see what the transformative power 00:03:45.180 --> 00:03:47.879 of Jesus is in our own lives. We're going to 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:51.500 look at its biblical themes of redemption. transformation, 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:55.159 hope, and forgiveness. So different themes each 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:58.719 week as we go. And we're going to see how a transformation 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:02.599 like Scrooge's can inspire us. All right, so 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:08.360 today, as we get started, I'm going to ask a 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:10.819 simple question. You don't have to answer me. 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:19.959 Are you a Scrooge? Now, I ask that. And you might 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:24.379 not be thinking what I'm thinking. You might 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:27.339 be surprised. But I want you to keep this because 00:04:27.339 --> 00:04:28.839 this is going to be our question for the day. 00:04:28.899 --> 00:04:33.180 Are you a Scrooge? See, it's a quick question 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:35.300 to reflect on because in order to be a Scrooge, 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:41.339 you have to be transformed. So by asking, are 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:43.639 you a Scrooge? It's asking, have you been transformed? 00:04:47.689 --> 00:04:49.350 It's a worthy question for us all to reflect 00:04:49.350 --> 00:04:53.110 on. Because we all have to allow the redeeming 00:04:53.110 --> 00:04:55.810 power of Jesus Christ into our lives to transform 00:04:55.810 --> 00:04:58.670 us. And yet we have to allow him to transform 00:04:58.670 --> 00:05:03.569 us fully. And I mean fully. Your past, your present, 00:05:03.730 --> 00:05:08.009 and your future. It's not just a piece here. 00:05:08.290 --> 00:05:10.110 You don't get to say, oh, I want to change and 00:05:10.110 --> 00:05:13.129 then cling on to the other stuff. You either 00:05:13.129 --> 00:05:15.389 want change or you don't. You want to fully change 00:05:15.389 --> 00:05:20.379 or you don't. We're all familiar, even if you 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:22.019 weren't here last night, we're all familiar with 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:24.720 the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, right? Charles 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:28.180 Dickens wrote Christmas Carol a long, long time 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:33.639 ago. You know, and we know it's a story about 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:37.620 a man by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge and his 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:39.639 transformation from a cold -hearted, selfish, 00:05:40.019 --> 00:05:46.160 greedy, lonely, angry old man into a loving, 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:51.509 giving, And to a man that could be looked up 00:05:51.509 --> 00:05:57.389 to. See, throughout this movie, he's forced to 00:05:57.389 --> 00:06:00.930 take an outside look at himself. And the movie 00:06:00.930 --> 00:06:04.250 itself, or the story, I should say, it uses three 00:06:04.250 --> 00:06:07.529 ghosts, right? The ghost of Christmas past, the 00:06:07.529 --> 00:06:09.410 ghost of Christmas present, the ghost of Christmas 00:06:09.410 --> 00:06:14.149 yet to be. Past, present, and future. In other 00:06:14.149 --> 00:06:16.370 words, he's having to face his origins, his past. 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:20.660 He's having to look at the effect of how he lives 00:06:20.660 --> 00:06:25.319 and treats others, his presence. And he's getting 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:28.060 the warning of the ultimate consequence of his 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:30.980 actions should he choose not to change his path, 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:36.180 a possible future. Now, that's the truth for 00:06:36.180 --> 00:06:38.779 all of us, is it not? We all have a past. We 00:06:38.779 --> 00:06:40.040 all have an origin. We all have a beginning. 00:06:40.139 --> 00:06:42.680 We all have the things that influence us of the 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:47.740 world. We have a present. Where we're living 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:52.740 in that world. And then we're introduced to Jesus 00:06:52.740 --> 00:06:56.319 Christ. And then ultimately from there, we have 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.600 a future. Two possible futures. Because we have 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:02.100 a choice we have to make just like Ebenezer. 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:08.439 We can choose the world and be condemned like 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:10.420 old Jacob Marley and all the rest of the ghosts. 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:15.860 Or we could choose to follow Jesus and have a 00:07:15.860 --> 00:07:19.389 redeemed, wonderful future, reunited with the 00:07:19.389 --> 00:07:25.589 Father. It's a great story. It illustrates a 00:07:25.589 --> 00:07:28.290 lot of things that impact our lives, a lot of 00:07:28.290 --> 00:07:30.350 things that can influence our lives, things that 00:07:30.350 --> 00:07:32.889 are still relevant today as they were when the 00:07:32.889 --> 00:07:38.209 original story was written decades ago. But as 00:07:38.209 --> 00:07:39.589 great as the story is, of course, it's not the 00:07:39.589 --> 00:07:41.209 greatest story ever told. It's not the greatest 00:07:41.209 --> 00:07:45.600 Christmas story ever, is it? The greatest Christmas 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:50.379 story of all time is a story of God's Son, of 00:07:50.379 --> 00:07:55.439 God come to earth, born fully man, right? With 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:58.420 that, let's open our Bibles to Luke chapter 2. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.079 So Luke chapter 2, verses 8 through 11 is where 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:12.040 we're going to start today. So Luke 2, 8 through 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:19.800 11. The word says now there were in the same 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.240 country, shepherds living out in the fields, 00:08:22.259 --> 00:08:25.399 keeping watch over their flock by night. And 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.139 behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:31.319 and the glory of the Lord shown around them. 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.320 And they were greatly afraid. Then the angel 00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:38.379 said to them, do not be afraid for I behold, 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:42.200 excuse me for a behold. I bring you. good tidings 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:45.980 of a great joy which will be to all the people. 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:51.480 For there is born to you this day in the city 00:08:51.480 --> 00:09:00.559 of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Much 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:04.620 like old Ebenezer, shepherds were a bit shook, 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:06.240 weren't they? It tells us right here, they were 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:09.779 afraid. They were scared. And by many accounts 00:09:09.779 --> 00:09:11.860 in the Bible, if we look at the accounts, by 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:14.059 all means, we would probably be pretty frightened 00:09:14.059 --> 00:09:16.379 too. Because usually when somebody sees an angel 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:20.580 in the Bible, like, oh boy, right? They're shook. 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:27.440 It gets in their core. It's a scary thing. And 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.279 just like the ghost of Jacob Marley, here we 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:35.299 have an angel laying out, hey, this is what's 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:37.259 going to happen. This is what's going on, right? 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:47.480 the path is starting to be laid out. See, the 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:49.240 birth of Jesus is the greatest event in history, 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:51.639 right? Well, I should say one of the greatest. 00:09:52.820 --> 00:09:55.059 Because when it went to the cross for us, that 00:09:55.059 --> 00:09:58.500 was truly the greatest. But this is just the 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:02.700 beginning of that story. But we have to stop 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:04.539 and we have to ask ourselves, these shepherds, 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:08.779 they're commoners, right? To people of power 00:10:08.779 --> 00:10:13.279 and influence. They're peasants. So what makes 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:17.440 them so special? Why would they be so special? 00:10:18.379 --> 00:10:20.019 They're blessed with this angel to tell them, 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:23.720 hey, Lord's been born. Go greet him. Go welcome 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:26.419 him into the world. Why should they get this 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:29.700 honor? Shouldn't this be an honor that goes to 00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:33.220 somebody high and mighty? Right? A king, a prince. 00:10:34.990 --> 00:10:38.350 Somebody of power and persuasion? You know, a 00:10:38.350 --> 00:10:45.350 Pharisee? Sadducee? No. They were the first. 00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:48.289 And we don't know for sure, but many scholars 00:10:48.289 --> 00:10:53.929 tend to agree. That's because these are the same 00:10:53.929 --> 00:10:57.289 shepherds and these are the same sheep that were 00:10:57.289 --> 00:11:00.549 supplied to the temple for the sacrifice of sin. 00:11:02.929 --> 00:11:04.809 They're the ones who did it. They raised up these 00:11:04.809 --> 00:11:06.269 sheep. They tended to these sheep. They took 00:11:06.269 --> 00:11:08.129 care of these sheep and they supplied it to the 00:11:08.129 --> 00:11:13.490 temple as an offering for our sin. So who better 00:11:13.490 --> 00:11:17.669 than to invite the exact same shepherds to go 00:11:17.669 --> 00:11:20.509 and welcome our Lord, the perfect sacrifice, 00:11:20.970 --> 00:11:26.090 the Lamb of God into the world. That's why they're 00:11:26.090 --> 00:11:33.929 invited. They were sheep shepherds. They tended 00:11:33.929 --> 00:11:39.190 to a flock. And they were sent to greet our shepherd, 00:11:39.370 --> 00:11:43.590 the one who shows us the way, the one who looks 00:11:43.590 --> 00:11:48.909 out for us. So with that, let's now turn to John 00:11:48.909 --> 00:12:00.000 1. So John 1, verses 10 through 18. Don't confuse 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:01.720 this with John. It's John 1. You're going to 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:10.679 have to flip back a little bit. So John 1, verses 00:12:10.679 --> 00:12:15.019 10 through 18, the word says, He was in the world, 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:18.740 and the world was made through him, and the world 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:23.440 did not know him. He came to his own, and his 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:27.940 own did not receive him. But as many as received 00:12:27.940 --> 00:12:32.559 him, To them he gave the right to become children 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:36.159 of God. To those who believe in his name, who 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:40.080 were born not of blood, nor of the will of the 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:45.480 flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:50.120 the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:54.639 we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:58.580 of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 00:12:58.580 --> 00:13:01.340 bore witness of him and cried out, saying, This 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:06.500 was he of whom I said, He who comes after me 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:10.399 is preferred before me, for he was before me. 00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:14.820 And his fullness we have all received, and grace 00:13:14.820 --> 00:13:18.840 for grace. For the law was given through Moses, 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:23.100 but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:27.889 No one has seen God at any time. the only begotten 00:13:27.889 --> 00:13:33.350 son who is in the bosom of the father. He has 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:38.070 declared him the greatest Christmas story that 00:13:38.070 --> 00:13:42.330 God loves us so much that he provided a way for 00:13:42.330 --> 00:13:45.830 us to be united at the table, for us to be adopted 00:13:45.830 --> 00:13:49.450 into the family, for our sons to be forgiven. 00:13:49.549 --> 00:13:52.769 We have to remember our sins and God cannot exist 00:13:52.769 --> 00:13:55.110 in the same place. If we were to go to him uncleansed, 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:59.379 We'd be absolutely destroyed because God cannot 00:13:59.379 --> 00:14:02.899 exist in the same place as sin. That's why Moses 00:14:02.899 --> 00:14:06.080 couldn't see his face, right? He turned his back 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:11.879 to him. And just the slight gleaning, Moses glowed, 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:19.549 right? So it's a big thing. For God to choose 00:14:19.549 --> 00:14:22.730 us and to provide that way so that we can be 00:14:22.730 --> 00:14:24.429 united with him, so we could be cleansed, so 00:14:24.429 --> 00:14:30.309 we could be forgiven, redeemed, right? So he 00:14:30.309 --> 00:14:32.470 sent his only begotten son. We all know John 00:14:32.470 --> 00:14:37.090 3, 16. Sent his only begotten son so he could 00:14:37.090 --> 00:14:40.690 live with us. He could walk with us. He could 00:14:40.690 --> 00:14:44.669 teach us. Live that perfect, sinless example 00:14:44.669 --> 00:14:49.240 for all of us to follow. For all of us to strive 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:52.480 for. That's really what it is. We all strive 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:53.980 for it. Are we ever going to reach that bar? 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:57.740 No. But we should all try. Every single one of 00:14:57.740 --> 00:15:05.620 us. Not only that, but then he came. He took 00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:08.139 our sin, our penalty. He went to the cross. He 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:12.980 died a horrible, tragic death. And then three 00:15:12.980 --> 00:15:17.120 days later, rose from the grave. Defeated death. 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:23.740 All bringing redemption and reconciliation for 00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:27.379 us with the Father. And the promise that he will 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:33.480 return to take us to him. In other words, he 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:38.500 came to heal a broken world. Now it's funny, 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:40.940 because we're talking about the birth of Christ. 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:43.700 And it makes me think about my time when I was 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:46.610 stationed in the Philippines. especially in the 00:15:46.610 --> 00:15:48.870 northern areas. Down in Zamboanga, not so much. 00:15:49.049 --> 00:15:52.029 It's a very Islamic area. But when you go up 00:15:52.029 --> 00:15:55.889 north towards Cebu and all that, it's a different 00:15:55.889 --> 00:16:00.889 story. It's a very Christian -oriented region. 00:16:02.730 --> 00:16:04.529 And it always struck me as odd there because 00:16:04.529 --> 00:16:05.889 it's not something that we really have here in 00:16:05.889 --> 00:16:08.250 the U .S., but everywhere that you would go, 00:16:08.450 --> 00:16:12.429 there would be a shrine, and in that, there would 00:16:12.429 --> 00:16:17.590 be a statue of... the baby Jesus, or in other 00:16:17.590 --> 00:16:22.490 places, the child Jesus. In either case, still 00:16:22.490 --> 00:16:26.490 very small, still pointing towards his origin, 00:16:26.669 --> 00:16:33.850 right? On a historical note, part of why this 00:16:33.850 --> 00:16:35.450 was there and why the statue is because it's 00:16:35.450 --> 00:16:38.649 a tool that was used by Magellan, all right? 00:16:38.690 --> 00:16:40.789 Ferdinand Magellan, yes, that Ferdinand Magellan, 00:16:40.889 --> 00:16:47.460 all right? He went, Portuguese traveler, right? 00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:56.860 He went into the Philippines. He introduced Christ 00:16:56.860 --> 00:17:02.360 to the Philippines. Some people were very accepting. 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:08.339 Some people absolutely were not. All right. Lapu 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:14.509 -Lapu there in Mactan was one who was not. Magellan 00:17:14.509 --> 00:17:19.869 is credited for converting over 2 ,000 Filipinos. 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:23.049 And then he started working his way down south. 00:17:23.430 --> 00:17:24.789 Now, some people will tell you it's because it 00:17:24.789 --> 00:17:26.170 was Islamic. Actually, if you read through the 00:17:26.170 --> 00:17:28.170 books, it was not an Islamic area at that time. 00:17:29.049 --> 00:17:33.410 It had other religious leanings, not towards 00:17:33.410 --> 00:17:36.670 Christianity, not towards Islam, but its own 00:17:36.670 --> 00:17:42.349 pagan stuff. And Lapu -Lapu was very, very resistant. 00:17:44.289 --> 00:17:48.789 angrily and violently resistant. So when Ferdinand 00:17:48.789 --> 00:17:52.029 and the rest of his Spanish armada tried to go 00:17:52.029 --> 00:17:54.849 down in there to introduce Christ, a battle broke 00:17:54.849 --> 00:17:56.869 out. I shouldn't say the rest of his armada. 00:17:56.890 --> 00:17:58.170 He actually went down with a small contingent 00:17:58.170 --> 00:17:59.390 because he didn't want to be seen as a threat. 00:17:59.990 --> 00:18:03.730 But they went down and a battle broke out and 00:18:03.730 --> 00:18:10.049 Magellan was killed. Stabbed with a spear. They 00:18:10.049 --> 00:18:12.029 refused to give up his body. They wanted to keep 00:18:12.029 --> 00:18:17.140 it as a trophy. But you know what? It still had 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:21.740 a profound impact. Even with his death, that 00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:24.940 area, and I can tell you I've been in it, was 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:29.960 converted. Very, very heavily. That is an area, 00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:33.220 if you go in, it is a Christian area for sure. 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:37.980 And the reason why it always struck me as odd 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:40.559 is because I learned when I was there, every 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:45.160 year, they have a week -long celebration. And 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:47.000 it is a week -long celebration where they have 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:49.240 little things that reenact the Battle of Mactan 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:52.480 and the death of Magellan. And when I was there 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:53.539 as a Marine, I'm sitting there like, really, 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:55.480 you guys are celebrating the death of this dude? 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:57.859 What is wrong with you? It's like, I thought 00:18:57.859 --> 00:19:00.660 you were Christians here. That's not very Christ 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:05.319 -like. And then I come to learn, it's like, well, 00:19:05.339 --> 00:19:09.019 yeah, we celebrate the fact that he died, but 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:11.299 he died as a martyr because he died so that we 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:15.559 could come to know Jesus. It's like, ah, well, 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:22.019 that makes sense. Still very grim, but it's a 00:19:22.019 --> 00:19:24.180 firm reminder of just how important Jesus is 00:19:24.180 --> 00:19:30.420 in that area. You know, but I digress. They said 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:32.839 you go there, you have all these little statues, 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:40.980 right? Baby Jesus or toddler Jesus. We tend to 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:45.420 forget that Jesus. He was born a baby. He wasn't 00:19:45.420 --> 00:19:50.359 born a full grown man, right? I don't think Mary 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:53.599 would have appreciated that a bit. Burns hard 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:58.759 enough, right? But he was born a baby. He lived 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:01.359 as a baby. He went through the same beginnings 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:03.759 as each and every single one of us with all the 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:05.980 same influences on him as each and every one 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:10.140 of us. He started with milk. He grew up. He learned 00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:14.599 to chew food. Right? Celebrated his first words, 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:21.240 his first steps. That's a big one. Right? We've 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:23.480 all watched our own kids grow up, our nephews 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:26.299 and our nieces. And when they start trying to 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:27.680 crawl and they start trying to pull themselves 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:29.779 up onto things to try to figure out how these 00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:32.640 things work so they can stand up like us. And 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:34.140 they fall down and they go boom. You're like, 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:38.180 oh, poor baby. Right? Jesus went through the 00:20:38.180 --> 00:20:44.640 exact same stuff. He lost his first tooth. Just 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:49.140 like we did. He had friends just like we did. 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:54.819 He followed his parents around. He had to learn 00:20:54.819 --> 00:20:58.779 his earthly father, Joseph's trade, right? What 00:20:58.779 --> 00:21:04.039 was Joseph? A carpenter. He took on a trade. 00:21:04.119 --> 00:21:06.500 He learned just like we do. We take these things 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:09.450 for granted. We think of him. towards the end 00:21:09.450 --> 00:21:11.650 of his life, when he was going into his ministry, 00:21:11.809 --> 00:21:14.650 and that time when he was walking with the apostles. 00:21:16.970 --> 00:21:19.670 Sorry. All the things that the disciples did 00:21:19.670 --> 00:21:23.690 with him when he sent them out. Now we think 00:21:23.690 --> 00:21:26.150 of his death on the cross and his resurrection, 00:21:26.430 --> 00:21:30.329 and when he reappeared to the many. We never 00:21:30.329 --> 00:21:33.609 stop to think about the fact that he truly knows 00:21:33.609 --> 00:21:36.250 us because he started just like you and just 00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:45.140 like I. No different. It was a lifetime of first 00:21:45.140 --> 00:21:47.559 for him, just like it was for us. A lifetime 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:52.420 of change for him. Being fully human. Yeah, fully 00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:54.680 human and fully God, right? Because that's who 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:59.460 Jesus was. Fully man and fully God. And throughout 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:02.279 that entire time, still setting a stage for each 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:05.390 and every single one of us. Going back to Scrooge, 00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:08.049 we see him have an experience that changes his 00:22:08.049 --> 00:22:12.609 life. And in the same respect that we think of 00:22:12.609 --> 00:22:19.390 Jesus, it was shorter, right? But we see changes 00:22:19.390 --> 00:22:21.430 in his life that changed his path and the way 00:22:21.430 --> 00:22:24.950 he lived his life forever. And I'm here and I'm 00:22:24.950 --> 00:22:27.130 telling you, in this season of giving, in this 00:22:27.130 --> 00:22:29.549 season of love, you can have the same change 00:22:29.549 --> 00:22:33.859 in your life. You absolutely can. Because this 00:22:33.859 --> 00:22:36.319 time of year, we are all receiving the biggest 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:39.500 invitation of the year. And for some of us, the 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:42.539 biggest invitation of our lives to come and know 00:22:42.539 --> 00:22:49.380 Jesus and to accept his gift of salvation. He's 00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:52.019 inviting us not just to have an encounter with 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:54.819 him. I hate that. You're invited to have an encounter 00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:59.400 with Jesus. What's an encounter? Hi, how you 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:01.119 doing? Nice to meet you. Never see him again, 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:05.309 right? No, no, no. He's inviting you to come 00:23:05.309 --> 00:23:08.710 and meet him and form a relationship with him. 00:23:09.430 --> 00:23:12.069 A relationship to get to know him, to involve 00:23:12.069 --> 00:23:17.869 him in your life at every level. Now, it's not 00:23:17.869 --> 00:23:21.029 saying, hey, just jump in the deep end. No. Relationships 00:23:21.029 --> 00:23:23.369 don't start that way, do they? Unless you start 00:23:23.369 --> 00:23:27.490 a relationship under fire and even then, there's 00:23:27.490 --> 00:23:30.289 some stuff that happens there. Relationships 00:23:30.289 --> 00:23:36.029 take time, do they not? Relationships, you build 00:23:36.029 --> 00:23:39.049 trust. You get to know one another. You learn 00:23:39.049 --> 00:23:43.829 each other's likes and hates. Your allergies. 00:23:45.089 --> 00:23:53.890 Whose feet smell worse than others? But that's 00:23:53.890 --> 00:23:56.109 a relationship. That's what Jesus wants with 00:23:56.109 --> 00:24:01.460 us. That's why this invitation is so big. It's 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:05.000 a whole season. It's weeks leading up to it with 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:17.319 a reminder. It's a simple reminder that we need 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:20.000 to come to know Jesus. And in coming to know 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:22.579 him, we get to make that choice, right? Two choices. 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:29.240 We accept him. We accept the truth. We repent 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:34.880 of our sins. Some are easier than others. And 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:36.940 then we take what we know of him. That's our 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:40.000 testimony, right? You don't have to go out there 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:42.480 and pick up a Bible and get in someone's face. 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:46.019 You go out with that testimony, what you know 00:24:46.019 --> 00:24:47.900 of him, what he's done for you and the time that 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:50.319 you've known him. And you tell others, you share 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:54.119 his light, his love, his mercy, his grace with 00:24:54.119 --> 00:24:57.779 others. Like, hey, I'd like to introduce you 00:24:57.779 --> 00:25:04.799 to my Lord. How often do we say, you know Jesus 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:09.119 Christ? Don't necessarily have to say it in those 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.640 words. I think that's one thing where each and 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:14.640 every single one of us fails a little too often. 00:25:16.619 --> 00:25:19.400 We meet people and sometimes we have stuff going 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:22.539 or we're anxious to go the other direction and 00:25:22.539 --> 00:25:25.759 get to what it is that we're doing. Sometimes 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:28.079 we forget to slow down. I'm just as guilty as 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:32.799 everybody else. Matter of fact, prime example, 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:35.220 last night, I wouldn't have even thought of it, 00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:38.599 especially as tired as I was. We get done with 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:40.720 our movie, we have a whole bunch of leftover 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:46.259 food, right? Pastor Mike and Darren walked right 00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:48.079 out that door and invited people in to come and 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:54.400 partake. What a blessing. There's a couple of 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:56.539 good men right there. That was absolutely wonderful. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:05.799 That's the way it should be. It's also part of 00:26:05.799 --> 00:26:08.500 why we come together as a family because as the 00:26:08.500 --> 00:26:10.559 bride of Christ, some people function different 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:13.920 than others. Some people have great ideas like 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:16.660 that and others never even think of them. I say, 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:18.160 I didn't even think of it when people started 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:22.079 coming in. It's like, oh, that's awesome. Initially, 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:24.440 because I unplugged these lights and everything 00:26:24.440 --> 00:26:26.019 so we could see the screen a little bit better 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:27.980 with the movie. I was like, ah, I'll leave until 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:29.180 tomorrow. There's going to be some daylight. 00:26:29.259 --> 00:26:30.400 It's going to be easier to see it and find the 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:31.660 plugs, especially since the ceiling's painted 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:33.220 black. I'm not going to have a light shining 00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:36.380 right in my eye and blinding me like, I think 00:26:36.380 --> 00:26:39.940 I got it! Right? I said, they came in. It's like, 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:41.799 you know what? We'll find a way to make this 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:43.640 work anyway. We're all here. Let's just do this. 00:26:43.740 --> 00:26:45.640 It's absolutely, I'm going to follow their lead 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:48.380 because that was a good lead. Thank you guys. 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:52.759 That was a blessing. Not just for them, but for 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:57.150 those of us watching. Absolutely. Amen. Praise 00:26:57.150 --> 00:27:00.009 the Lord. You know, but as much as that was a 00:27:00.009 --> 00:27:03.509 gift for everybody, it still pales in comparison 00:27:03.509 --> 00:27:08.950 to the gift of Jesus. So as we get ready to go 00:27:08.950 --> 00:27:11.490 into the end, I'm going to share one last thing 00:27:11.490 --> 00:27:14.049 with you. But while we do it, I'm going to ask 00:27:14.049 --> 00:27:18.710 you again, are you a Scrooge? Have you been transformed? 00:27:18.890 --> 00:27:23.279 Are you transforming? For those of you who are 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:24.900 taking notes, this next part is going to be something 00:27:24.900 --> 00:27:28.420 that you're going to want to take notes on. Scrooge. 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:32.759 Some time ago, a whole media group, they created 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:36.619 this acronym of Scrooge to encourage everybody 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:40.059 to be a Scrooge during the holidays. See, it's 00:27:40.059 --> 00:27:41.440 not the way we think of Scrooges. It's like, 00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:44.200 oh, look at this Scrooge. We see it in a negative 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:46.380 light. Well, they turned it around. They flipped 00:27:46.380 --> 00:27:49.440 the script and they built this acronym. Scrooge. 00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:54.150 S. sacrifice and surrender. C, connect. R, remember 00:27:54.150 --> 00:27:58.390 redemption begins with forgiveness. Amen. That's 00:27:58.390 --> 00:28:04.230 a big one. O, open heart. O, open mind. G, give 00:28:04.230 --> 00:28:06.930 the gift of peace and joy, enhancing and enriching 00:28:06.930 --> 00:28:09.829 the environment. I'm going to go through these 00:28:09.829 --> 00:28:11.890 a little bit slower though. So those of you who 00:28:11.890 --> 00:28:13.230 are writing still have time to write it down. 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:18.960 So S, sacrifice and surrender. How can I follow 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:22.680 Christ's example of sacrificial living and giving? 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:30.380 That's a big one. And in this season, we tend 00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:31.980 to try to add on a couple words that are saying, 00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:36.059 giving this Christmas. No, no, no. Giving in 00:28:36.059 --> 00:28:40.900 life. Every day. It's not a once a time or a 00:28:40.900 --> 00:28:46.500 once a year thing. See, connect. How can I meaningfully 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:50.740 connect or reconnect with others? Saw a great 00:28:50.740 --> 00:28:57.619 example of that last night. Connection. Reconnecting 00:28:57.619 --> 00:29:01.200 with others. That can be a hard one. Especially 00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:03.079 given what drove you apart in the first place. 00:29:04.700 --> 00:29:09.420 That is a tough one. That's right. Jesus did 00:29:09.420 --> 00:29:11.480 say take care of the poor and the widow. Absolutely. 00:29:17.179 --> 00:29:19.279 Again, how do we connect? How do we reconnect? 00:29:20.420 --> 00:29:23.240 Connection is usually easier than reconnecting, 00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:28.380 isn't it? Because as humans, as mankind, we tend 00:29:28.380 --> 00:29:36.160 to bear grudges. You all know, Albert's my stepdad, 00:29:36.259 --> 00:29:40.039 right? Not my biological dad, so we're not going 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:43.279 to confuse the two. So when I say my dad, I'm 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:47.359 referring to my biological dad here. There is 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.079 a big divide in the family. He got hooked on 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:55.640 pain meds back in the 80s and going into the 00:29:55.640 --> 00:29:58.599 90s. And this is a time when big stuff like morphine 00:29:58.599 --> 00:30:03.019 was being used heavily to treat things. It's 00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:05.359 like, oh, you're still in pain? Let's just up 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:07.960 the dosage. Oh, that's not working? Let's move 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:11.089 you over to a... stronger drug, a more addictive 00:30:11.089 --> 00:30:15.609 drug. And for him, it didn't matter if it was 00:30:15.609 --> 00:30:19.009 being injected or if it was a pill. He preferred 00:30:19.009 --> 00:30:23.529 pills. But it didn't matter. He was just looking 00:30:23.529 --> 00:30:25.589 for that big fix, and it hurt the family for 00:30:25.589 --> 00:30:28.529 a long time. He became very abusive, verbally 00:30:28.529 --> 00:30:34.630 abusive, physically abusive. The only thing that 00:30:34.630 --> 00:30:37.230 mattered to him for a long time was that next 00:30:37.230 --> 00:30:44.680 fix. It took losing his family before he started 00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:48.079 to actually try to find that change in his life 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:53.460 and clean up. It took time. He got off of the 00:30:53.460 --> 00:30:58.240 really, really hard stuff. And he did look to 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:01.720 reconnect. He was very repentant. He was very 00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:05.500 sorry. There were some things he hoped would 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:07.859 go back to the days of old. That was never going 00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:12.359 to happen, but... His hope was still there. And 00:31:12.359 --> 00:31:14.099 we're part of the family. He was able to reconnect. 00:31:15.140 --> 00:31:17.039 He and I, we would get together at least once 00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:19.880 a month. We'd go to lunch. We'd talk music and 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:21.920 all the stuff that we used to when we'd go fishing 00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:25.680 when I was a kid. He got to know his grandson. 00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:31.700 Some of y 'all met BJ. All before he passed away. 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:34.660 But when it comes to my younger brother, John, 00:31:34.920 --> 00:31:40.200 the grudge is still there. To this day, there's 00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:42.660 regret, but there's a grudge that's still there. 00:31:44.519 --> 00:31:46.819 For a period of time, a very long period of time, 00:31:46.859 --> 00:31:49.539 even after he died, my little brother still talked 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:53.319 about changing his last name. He wanted nothing 00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:58.440 to do with the name of our father. Nothing. That's 00:31:58.440 --> 00:32:03.700 how hurt he was. He's not alone. Others out there 00:32:03.700 --> 00:32:08.769 have had that same hurt. So reconnection. is 00:32:08.769 --> 00:32:11.369 usually the hardest part of this whole thing. 00:32:14.650 --> 00:32:17.970 But that takes us to R. Remember, redemption 00:32:17.970 --> 00:32:21.490 begins with forgiveness. Who can I extend forgiveness 00:32:21.490 --> 00:32:25.490 to? We all have someone that we need to forgive. 00:32:27.009 --> 00:32:32.390 Whether it's other people or ourselves. Ooh, 00:32:32.470 --> 00:32:38.410 that's a big one, isn't it? As hard as it is 00:32:38.410 --> 00:32:40.869 to forgive other people, it's often harder to 00:32:40.869 --> 00:32:46.450 forgive ourselves. I want to add to that that 00:32:46.450 --> 00:32:53.430 Jesus can forgive you. Right? That's true. You 00:32:53.430 --> 00:32:55.029 can't truly forgive others the right way until 00:32:55.029 --> 00:33:03.730 you forgive yourself. That's right, Marvin. Jesus 00:33:03.730 --> 00:33:07.700 is already forgiving you, though. If he can forgive 00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:11.099 you, why can't you forgive yourself? He bled 00:33:11.099 --> 00:33:17.279 for you. You don't have to bleed. He conquered 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:21.539 death for you. He knew you before you even entered 00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:28.839 in the womb. And he still chose you. So if you 00:33:28.839 --> 00:33:31.559 need to forgive yourself, forgive yourself. If 00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:36.019 you struggle, reach out. But it's important. 00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:39.460 The next two are O's, of course. I'm going to 00:33:39.460 --> 00:33:40.779 go through both of these. Open heart and open 00:33:40.779 --> 00:33:44.079 mind. How well am I listening, learning, and 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:47.059 growing? That's a big thing. Because a lot of 00:33:47.059 --> 00:33:49.220 us become stagnant. We get set in our ways. We 00:33:49.220 --> 00:33:51.079 don't want to change. We don't want to move forward. 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:54.680 We stop learning. And when we stop learning, 00:33:54.940 --> 00:33:58.660 that means we've stopped listening. Because you 00:33:58.660 --> 00:34:00.539 have to listen in order to learn, and you have 00:34:00.539 --> 00:34:02.960 to learn in order to grow. These all work together. 00:34:03.779 --> 00:34:08.559 And we should always be growing. So if you're 00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:10.260 not growing, you need to take a step back and 00:34:10.260 --> 00:34:12.960 evaluate what you're doing in your life so that 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:16.300 you can change. That is a change that we all 00:34:16.300 --> 00:34:19.539 need. I promise, I'm bringing it home, guys. 00:34:21.420 --> 00:34:23.739 Like my wife's going to flash up a big notebook 00:34:23.739 --> 00:34:34.329 with the time on there and say, hey. Gee, give 00:34:34.329 --> 00:34:38.090 the gift of peace and joy. So we have to ask 00:34:38.090 --> 00:34:40.030 ourselves, am I only focused on the material 00:34:40.030 --> 00:34:43.349 gifts I can give? What about the tangible gifts 00:34:43.349 --> 00:34:48.210 of peace, joy, love, kindness, et cetera? Forgiveness 00:34:48.210 --> 00:34:50.590 is included in there. Forgiveness is also a gift. 00:34:51.989 --> 00:34:55.309 But what can I give to others? Seth mentioned 00:34:55.309 --> 00:34:57.489 this morning when it comes to giving, a lot of... 00:34:57.710 --> 00:34:59.429 Places that you go to, they're like, oh, you 00:34:59.429 --> 00:35:02.130 have to tithe. Don't forget, it's 10%. And then 00:35:02.130 --> 00:35:04.309 it's a gift, right? And they harp on you about 00:35:04.309 --> 00:35:06.630 your giving. That's a big red flag, by the way. 00:35:08.250 --> 00:35:11.389 Don't fall into that trap. Because we're all 00:35:11.389 --> 00:35:14.869 called to give with a joyful heart. Not to give 00:35:14.869 --> 00:35:18.110 under duress or compulsion, but because we want 00:35:18.110 --> 00:35:22.150 to. Because it's been put on us. Now, whether 00:35:22.150 --> 00:35:25.809 that means financially, which helps. There's 00:35:25.809 --> 00:35:28.780 other things that help, too. Food. Helps. Food 00:35:28.780 --> 00:35:33.539 helps a lot. Right? Other things. Cleaning out 00:35:33.539 --> 00:35:35.199 your garage or whatever. Say, hey, I got this. 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:38.300 I'm going to give that. That helps. Right? Because 00:35:38.300 --> 00:35:39.960 what do we always ask for? Like sleeping bags 00:35:39.960 --> 00:35:41.519 and blankets and stuff for our homeless. Right? 00:35:41.900 --> 00:35:44.559 The most needy. And some of the most needed stuff. 00:35:46.179 --> 00:35:49.639 All ways that we can give. Sometimes we're out 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:52.219 and about and we see a total stranger and we 00:35:52.219 --> 00:35:55.679 can see they're hurting. And we stop and we check 00:35:55.679 --> 00:36:01.480 on them. Hey. Are you okay? I pray for you. There's 00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:06.360 a good gift right there. For all you know, that's 00:36:06.360 --> 00:36:07.860 all that they needed to turn their day around. 00:36:09.980 --> 00:36:11.980 Many a story of somebody who's contemplating 00:36:11.980 --> 00:36:14.480 suicide was turned around at that point because 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:17.539 one person stopped to ask if they were okay, 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:21.639 to listen to them, and to pray for them. And 00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:24.400 because of that, they changed their mind. It's 00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:26.420 God working through you. That is a miracle right 00:36:26.420 --> 00:36:29.079 there. And it's not just at Christmas. This can 00:36:29.079 --> 00:36:31.679 happen any day of the year, 365 days out of the 00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:35.659 year. Again, don't get hung up on Christmas. 00:36:36.500 --> 00:36:40.280 This is life. Life is the ultimate test. And 00:36:40.280 --> 00:36:44.179 finally, E, enhancing and enriching the environment. 00:36:45.920 --> 00:36:49.500 How can I add value to the people and places 00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:54.849 in my reach? The way we always put it in the 00:36:54.849 --> 00:36:57.530 military is leave it better than you got it. 00:37:00.750 --> 00:37:03.050 What can you do that's going to help people or 00:37:03.050 --> 00:37:05.050 help the place that you're at or the places you 00:37:05.050 --> 00:37:13.489 go to? Now, I know Dale and Dusty and Brian and 00:37:13.489 --> 00:37:15.650 Albert, they've seen it. You go to places like 00:37:15.650 --> 00:37:18.369 Veterans Post. And it does not matter if it's 00:37:18.369 --> 00:37:20.449 the VFW, the Marine Corps League, the American 00:37:20.449 --> 00:37:23.030 Legion, and so on and so forth. All of them have 00:37:23.030 --> 00:37:26.849 the same problems. Every single one. It does 00:37:26.849 --> 00:37:29.610 not matter where you go anywhere in the world. 00:37:31.150 --> 00:37:34.650 And it's trying to get people to step up and 00:37:34.650 --> 00:37:41.469 help. To help in leadership positions. To volunteer 00:37:41.469 --> 00:37:45.800 for special events. Maybe to help out in the 00:37:45.800 --> 00:37:48.960 kitchen or to cook or maybe to police the parking 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:53.780 lot and pick up trash. It's hard. Nobody wants 00:37:53.780 --> 00:37:56.639 to do it. But they want to reap all the benefits 00:37:56.639 --> 00:38:00.300 of somebody else who's already done it. We should 00:38:00.300 --> 00:38:02.760 not be in that position in our lives. We shouldn't 00:38:02.760 --> 00:38:04.400 be comfortable in that position, I should say, 00:38:04.500 --> 00:38:10.880 where we just rely on it to just be done. Kind 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:12.840 of like raising a child, right? It takes a village. 00:38:14.699 --> 00:38:16.920 Everywhere you go, you are part of the village. 00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:21.940 What can you do to improve it? Even just a little, 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:26.980 one little thing adds up. Coming in here, we 00:38:26.980 --> 00:38:30.260 have someone who helps with sweeping, mopping, 00:38:30.460 --> 00:38:33.380 taking out the trash, putting buckets under leaks, 00:38:33.639 --> 00:38:36.300 right? Even just this morning, Albert was out 00:38:36.300 --> 00:38:37.940 here cleaning off out in front of the street. 00:38:39.839 --> 00:38:42.179 Right? We have Mike. He goes up and he takes 00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:44.320 care of our air conditioning and all that kind 00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:47.059 of stuff. Right? Brian's typically over here 00:38:47.059 --> 00:38:52.800 taking care of technical stuff. Nerd. That's 00:38:52.800 --> 00:38:56.059 right. Right back at me. I know you are, but 00:38:56.059 --> 00:38:57.800 what am I? It's true. It's true. I'm a nerd. 00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:01.300 But it's the same thing. And everywhere you go, 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:03.500 it's the same thing. You go to a school, it's 00:39:03.500 --> 00:39:05.980 not just the teachers. It's the aides and the 00:39:05.980 --> 00:39:10.460 janitors and the counselors. Everywhere you go, 00:39:10.539 --> 00:39:13.019 it takes a village. Don't go and take it for 00:39:13.019 --> 00:39:15.360 granted. What can you do that's going to improve 00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:19.260 it? What's going to help? So I'm going to ask 00:39:19.260 --> 00:39:22.300 one more time as we close, are you a Scrooge? 00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:32.119 I hope so. I hope so. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, 00:39:32.380 --> 00:39:35.719 your greatness knows no bounds. In many ways, 00:39:35.719 --> 00:39:39.010 you reach out to us. And all those ways are just 00:39:39.010 --> 00:39:42.469 as great. And through the wonderful story of 00:39:42.469 --> 00:39:45.550 A Christmas Carol and so many others, you've 00:39:45.550 --> 00:39:47.750 shown us repeatedly throughout history what we 00:39:47.750 --> 00:39:52.230 need to do. That we need to open our eyes. And 00:39:52.230 --> 00:39:54.050 we need to look for the betterment of our fellow 00:39:54.050 --> 00:39:56.789 man. We need to look to you and we need to see 00:39:56.789 --> 00:39:59.210 the light when we find it always shines to you. 00:39:59.530 --> 00:40:01.050 Whenever we're in the darkness, we just have 00:40:01.050 --> 00:40:04.710 to find that light and we will find you. We ask 00:40:04.710 --> 00:40:08.519 you to forgive us of our sins. And help us to 00:40:08.519 --> 00:40:11.260 overcome them, especially the ones that we just 00:40:11.260 --> 00:40:14.860 can't seem to let go of on our own. Help us all 00:40:14.860 --> 00:40:18.719 to find peace and joy in you. Help us to transform 00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:25.260 and to share your light with the world. And in 00:40:25.260 --> 00:40:27.860 doing so, let us all be transformed so that when 00:40:27.860 --> 00:40:32.940 the question is asked, are you a Scrooge? Each 00:40:32.940 --> 00:40:34.860 and every single one of us can say, yes, I am. 00:40:36.509 --> 00:40:38.030 Just as each and every one of us should be able 00:40:38.030 --> 00:40:40.789 to say, yes, I am a follower of Jesus Christ. 00:40:42.510 --> 00:40:46.269 We thank you for entering our world and entering 00:40:46.269 --> 00:40:49.949 our lives. We thank you for your perfect love, 00:40:50.030 --> 00:40:54.510 mercy, grace, your reconciliation, and the hope 00:40:54.510 --> 00:40:58.849 you've given us. Guide us and protect us as we 00:40:58.849 --> 00:41:03.050 leave here today and show us the doors that you'd 00:41:03.050 --> 00:41:06.230 have us go through in life. All his people said, 00:41:06.349 --> 00:41:09.369 amen and amen. Remember, as you leave here today, 00:41:09.469 --> 00:41:10.989 you are loved and you are blessed. So go and 00:41:10.989 --> 00:41:16.230 be the church. Thank you for joining us at Healing 00:41:16.230 --> 00:41:19.389 Scars with Pastor Burton. If this message spoke 00:41:19.389 --> 00:41:21.469 to you or if you would like to help us reach 00:41:21.469 --> 00:41:25.030 more people, please like, review and share our 00:41:25.030 --> 00:41:27.869 podcast. You can learn more about our ministry 00:41:27.869 --> 00:41:36.170 or how you can support us at www. Until next 00:41:36.170 --> 00:41:38.550 time, take care and God bless.