Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton,
the official podcast of Cross -Christian Fellowship,
Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're
here. So let us pray. Father, we thank you for
another day that we're able to come together
in fellowship and in praise and worship of you.
We ask that you open the eyes of our hearts and
minds to what you have to speak to us. and teach
us how to apply it to our lives as we leave here
today in jesus name amen short and brief so we
get into it right so we already know i have a
problem getting long -winded so um again good
morning everybody welcome to the cross 66 welcome
to everybody joining us online um the last couple
weeks we've been going through our scrooge series
it started with our movie night with watching
scrooge right well One of the various versions
of A Christmas Carol. And we've been using Scrooge
a little bit as an illustration of the biblical
truths that we've actually found in that story,
right? First week, we asked an important question.
So just to kind of recap a little bit, are you
a Scrooge? And the answer we came to is yes,
absolutely. What? You need to soften your heart,
brother. Love you, man. And then, of course,
you know, last week we were talking about that
we need to recognize the fact that when we...
accept jesus christ as our lord and savior we're
transformed and not only do we have to accept
that transformation for ourselves because it
is hard it is life -changing right but we also
need to recognize it and accept it and others
and that can be a whole lot harder especially
when we we cling to the past that they've let
go of right we're looking at the past for them
and they don't live there anymore so um You know,
that's important that we recognize that and we
remember it. And this week, we're going to look
at the fact that having hope that's rooted in
Christ is something that we can hold on to, not
just at Christmas, but every day of our lives,
right? So as we start today, I'm going to take
you back to Scrooge's encounters with the ghost,
right? So, well, specifically one. And it was
the third ghost. It was the ghost of Christmas
yet to come. Now, I can't speak for you. I can
speak for myself. I'm going to have to say that
this is probably, as far as the ghost encounters,
was the most powerful, right? This was the scariest
encounter. It was darkest. It was horrifying,
right? In fact, it was so terrifying that Scrooge
himself, from the get -go, said, I'm scared of
you more than any of the other spirits that are
visiting me, right? What just really kicked this
up a notch is the fact that this encounter was
so strong, the ghost didn't even have to speak.
Did you all notice that? Not one word was spoken.
He didn't have to. Kind of reminded me a little
bit of my drill instructors in boot camp. That
little point, you're like, okay, I'm falling
in line, sir. right but that's that's how it
was he didn't need to speak scrooge himself was
terrified yet it was still a visit that left
scrooge with hope right this realization that
there's still time to change and uh and hope
for a life to live that's full of love and embracing
the christmas spirit every day of his life just
like we can embrace every day of our lives Too
often, though, it's a hard thing for us to see
or to do. We go through the streets of our city,
and what do we see? We see drug use. We see prostitution.
We see homelessness. It's just rampant, right?
The other day, as you all know, I'm bivocational.
I have another job. I drive a school bus. I pull
up. In fact, I was parked right next to another
church. Just the other side, literally across
the street from one of our schools. And I'm staged
there for a couple minutes because I got there
a little early before I get to my first stop.
And as I'm sitting there, what do I see? A homeless
person comes up, drops trowel right there in
the middle of a busy street, sits just on the
edge of curb and defecates. On a regular basis,
we're cleaning the same stuff up right out here.
And we are in the heart of the war zone after
all. Needles all over the place. Violence. Violence
is huge. You can drive through, especially in
the summertime. Try going through this town with
your windows down. You will hear and see people
yelling and screaming and throwing things at
each other. It's ridiculous. Yeah. What's that?
Unfortunately, you know, yes, while that is part
of the issue, it is not all of the issue. You
know? um there's a lot that needs to be done
in this city and around the world for that matter
there's a lot of darkness and that's what we
see we see a world of darkness everywhere we
go a lot of hopelessness because people have
given up hope they have a hole and they're trying
to fill it with drugs and in a you know porn
and alcohol and all this other stuff so we see
it on a daily basis it's very hard to hold on
to hope or even recognize it when we're face
to face with this war for the world every day
that's really the best way i could put it it
is a war for the world right now we know who's
on the attack and we know who's on the defense
right the prince of this world is running roughshod
and his time is going to come but it's not here
yet so with on that note let's open up our bibles
to the heart of what we're going to be looking
at today in Romans 8. So Romans 8. And we're
going to start in verses 18 through 21. So Romans
8, 18 through 21. And the word says, For I consider
that the sufferings of this present time are
not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in us for the earnest expectation
of the creation eagerly awaits excuse me eagerly
waits for the revealing of the sons of god for
the creation was subjected to futility not willingly
but because of him who subjected it in hope because
the creation itself also will be delivered from
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty
of the children of God. When Scrooge walked the
streets, all he saw was the bad. People wanting
something, people taking advantage of things,
begging for a handout. He didn't look for the
good. He didn't see the hope of others, the struggle
of others. He just looked around and saw, for
lack of better words, like what a bunch of dirt
bags. That was his view of the world, right?
Unfortunately, a lot of people look at it the
same way. You know, he saw people looking for
the easy, not wanting to put any effort in, not
wanting to do any work. Just wanting that handout.
You know, and as humans today, it hits home because
it's very much the same for us, right? This is
human nature because the worldly influence is
on it. You know, and it's sad because we look
for the worst in people and we as Christians
especially should know better. But even as Christians,
if you look around, you talk to your friends,
you know, we all recognize it. We see it a lot.
You go into a church and we hear it from others.
We hear it from pastors in various churches.
A homeless person comes in. Why should I give
him my hard -earned money? You can get a job
like the rest of us. Like, whoa, pastor, slow
down. Really? That's what you're saying? But
we hear it. It happens. I've heard those exact
words myself. And it's not the way we should
be looking at it. And it's happened because sin
has infected the world, right? Sin is a cancer.
It's a cancer. It creeps up. It gets in there.
It gets in everything. So we see a decaying world.
God saw that a long, long time ago, long before
us, long before any of us were even created.
He knew it was there. And that's why when we
go through the word, he issued warning after
warning after warning, right? That, hey, you
need to change. You need to come back to me.
Sold out punishments, right? Sent other tribes.
to wipe out other tribes right other civilizations
to go after other civilizations all the way up
to the point of sending his son his one and only
son jesus to die for us as believers we're blessed
with hope This is one of those things we cannot
take it for granted. We should not take it for
granted. We should cling to it and pull it in
and not give in to the gloom and doom that we
see in the world. All this stuff that we hear
on the radio and on the TV and the newspapers.
Because God's promised a future in his glory.
It's a beautiful future because it's a future
with him. Reunited with him as family. It's a
future without pain, without suffering, without
sickness, right? It's a life with him. So going
back to our reading here, let's go back into
Romans 8. We're going to pick right up where
we left off. Verses 22 through 24. So Romans
8, 22 through 24. The word says, for we know
that the whole creation groans and labors with
birth pangs together until now. Not only that,
but we also have the first fruits of the Spirit.
Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly
waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our
body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope
that is seen is not hope. For why does one still
hope for what one sees? A great question, isn't
it? See, we have a future, and we're also called
to work towards it. Not to sit back on our laurels.
We've been given things to do. We've been given
gifts to share with other people, right? Not
just hold for ourselves, but to share. We've
been issued the Great Commission to go out and
share the gospel with others so that they too
could come to know Christ, right? We have things
to do. These are things that we should look at
joyfully and happily, be willing to go out and
do and share with the world. You know, and I
don't say this to say, hey, go out and do the
work, you'll earn your way into heaven. No, you
won't. Jesus has taken care of that. When you're
a believer and you are a follower of Christ,
he says, you know what? Hey, we have this stuff,
it needs to get done. And so you willingly go
over and you pick it up and you start pulling
your weight and doing your fair share. That's
what we're supposed to do, right? It's like when
you're at work and there's something big that
needs to happen and the boss comes in and says,
hey, I got this going on. I need some volunteers.
You know, I'm desperate, but, you know, hey,
who can help out? And, you know, what should
your response be? You know, not be, oh, that's
not my scope of care. That's not my job. No,
I'm like, you know what? Yeah, I need to get
done. We had the same end goal. We got the same
mission. Let's take care of business. And you
get up. It's like, okay, let's start. What can
I do to help? Oh, we got this. Cool. I'm going
to do this. Hey, you, you can do that. Cool.
And everybody should be coming together and getting
the job done. That's how the bride of Christ
works, right? It's not just me up here talking
to you, right? We're all different parts. We
all have different giftings. We all do different
things. When we come together, that's how we
fulfill the mission. It's not just sitting in
a pew once or twice a week getting spoken to.
We're all called to act. And who knows the word
for what that action is? I bet someone does.
No. No. Sharing the gospel is part of it. Discipling
others is part of it. Love, yes. Love, because
love is an action. It's not just empty hollow
words. It's what we do for our fellow man, whether
they're a believer or not. It's what we do. It's
the way we should be acting. And I said, we can't
earn your way in. But you know what? In the way
that you love on other people, you can lead them
to or lead them away from Christ. And I hope
we're always leading people to Christ. Right?
That's right. Selfless action. Absolutely. Absolutely.
You're on the money, Darren. Absolutely. So,
as I said, we've been given work. We've been
tasked with looking out for one another's well
-being. You know, we've been tasked with sharing
the gospel, warning others of what their sin
will lead them to, and pointing the way to Jesus.
God, God's promised us so much. He's promised
us a lot. Yet, the human part of us is always
waiting for that other shoe to drop, right? I've
talked about this in the past. And why is that?
Well, because as humans, dealing with other humans,
right? Or even our... interactions with the enemy
whether we recognize it's the enemy or not you
know satan and his ministers we've been lied
to promises have been broken we've been hurt
spiritually mentally sometimes physically for
a lot of us all of the above right like well
this is going on here and we got this because
of our immaturity spiritually we're waiting for
god to fail like what one's it going to happen
that's what we're looking for People have failed
other people, so they become weary. And it gets
worse because even our parents have failed at
certain points. Not that they necessarily intended
to. Sometimes other things came up. Sometimes
illnesses came in. Sometimes it was one parent,
sometimes it was both. Right? It happens. Part
of being human. None of us is perfect, right?
You know, and as children, If you think about
it, think back to when you're a kid. Children,
we love our parents more than anybody else. We
look up to them for more than anybody, right?
You get in that argument with that other kid
on the playground. Oh, yeah, my dad will beat
up your dad, right? My dad's bigger and better
than your dad. Oh, my mom's a better cook than
your mom, right? It's like my mom will come after
you with her wooden spoon or her clock. Mom,
if you're watching, yeah, that was you. It's
a whole other story. But no, that's what, right?
When we grow up, that's how we respond. Whether
we have one parent, both parents, adopted parents,
right? I got a good buddy I enlisted with. He
was adopted as a baby. He was grow up. His adopted
parents, they were his parents as far as he's
concerned. Wonderful people. Wonderful people.
Good godly people. They still filled that hole.
But you know what? There's still times where
none of us gets it right. So we grow up, and
what do we do? We still look to them for help
if we still have them, whether it's one or both,
right? Those parental figures in our lives even.
I think most of us have those, even if our parents
have gone. We've got someone we still look to
as a parental figure, right? I don't care how
old you are. All of us look for that. I'm going
to remind you, that's God for us. You know, when
I say failure, yeah, sometimes it's the things
they've done, but sometimes, you know, directly
or got to do directly for us. But sometimes it's
the things that aren't even necessarily intended
directly for us, like divorce. Divorce hurts.
It doesn't matter what end of the spectrum you're
on. Divorce hurts. It hurts both sides. It hurts
the kids. It absolutely does. That's a failure
in itself, and we fail to recognize it for that.
You know, people using their kids against one
another or their nephews and their nieces against
one another. I've seen that too. That was kind
of an odd one. But sure enough, nephews and nieces
are used between siblings, you know, whether
it's your dad and your uncle, your mom and your
aunt or any other of the mix -ups in there. It
happens. People get hurt. Kids know what's happening.
Other family members know what's going on. Their
friends know what's happening there. And the
enemy takes absolute delight in this. He loves
it. He relishes in it because it goes all the
way back to the very weapon he deployed in the
Garden of Eden. It creates doubt. He's doubting
each and every one of us, right? And that in
itself so seeds a division. It all comes down
to doubt, though. And it leaves us wondering
when or if God's going to fail us. It leaves
us wondering, does he even care? Right? At some
point in all of our lives, we've all asked that
question. And the world, because of that, becomes
a very dark and lonely place. We start looking
at people like Scrooge, where people only care
about themselves. They're out for themselves.
But God, he has an answer for us, though. And
when we look at this, we see the word. I hit
on the wrong thing here. My notes are going bonkers
on me. Sorry about that. But when we're looking
at this. As I find my place again, we see first
fruits. First fruits is kind of a big thing when
we look at this passage. Because, you know, God
doesn't break his promises. He loves you. And
the first fruits are a part of that. The first
fruits are down payment, if you will, right?
Or like a security deposit. He's used to put
us on a sort of spiritual layaway. And to look
a little bit more at this, let's go to 2 Corinthians
1, verse 22. This will clarify what's meant by
first fruits a little bit better. 2 Corinthians
1, verse 22. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 22, the word
says, set his seal of ownership upon us and put
his spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing
what is to come. So the first fruit is the assurance
God's given us that he's going to deliver on
everything that he's promised. That's what it
is. He said, you know what? Not only do I want
you to take my word for it, but I'm going to
give you something to show just how dedicated
to this I am. And the Holy Spirit is just that.
It's talking about this. It's talking about the
first fruits in this part. It's talking about
the Holy Spirit. That's why it says it's given
us the Spirit in our hearts, right? So Holy Spirit
dwelling within us. The guarantee that we have
salvation and we're going, you know, That we're
going to receive more when Christ comes for his
bride and takes us to heaven with him, right?
That's what it means. It is that guarantee that
we belong to the Father and that we are adopted
back into the family. Those are pretty big promises,
aren't they? That should feel good. That in itself
should give us all a lot of hope. Like, you know
what? Yeah, I walk out the door and I'm seeing
this, you know, and that sucks. That breaks my
heart. I feel bad. I wish I could do more, but
I can't. It's not in my means. But you know what?
There's still hope. There's still light. As we
get closer and closer, it's getting brighter
and brighter. It's covering more and more. right
the closer we come to jesus the more mature we
are in our walk with him the more light we see
the more of him we see reflected in the world
and a little bit less the gloom and doom you
know in this season we tend to get a little hung
up a little too hung up really on the first coming
of christ We should recognize the fact, though,
that Jesus comes to us in two points. First,
we recognize, you know, he was born of a virgin.
He lived a perfect, sinless life, a perfect example
for each of us. He was tortured and killed for
our sins. He died and he rose again, right? And
he's ascended to heaven to create a place for
us to return again to take us back. right it's
a lot there however we need to remember it doesn't
just end there it is simply it is the fact that
he is going to return he came once he's coming
again you know people out there brian brian cracked
his joe cracked his joke well every once in a
while you'll hear somebody else comes the south
is going to rise again it's like yeah but the
north is going to be there to knock him back
down right All right, now, there's a south trying
to rise again. The world, the north, the Lord's
going to knock it right back down into its proper
place. We need to remember that he's coming back
for us as his bride. That's a beautiful thing.
That should give us all a lot of hope. You know,
the resurrection of Christ, it set the stage
for our own resurrections and the restoration
of our relationships with the Father. The relationship
that was broken because of sin. Our hope isn't
that it may come. This is not a quote -unquote
if situation. It's not a maybe. It's not wishful
thinking. And it's not a fantasy. We are able
to have hope because we know this is our future.
We have the evidences. We have the guarantees.
All we have to do is open our eyes and open our
ears to the Lord, and we will find it all. We
find it in this book, right? The Bible. We find
it in our prayer with Jesus, our conversations
with the Holy Spirit. It's all there. Just for
us to discern for ourselves. This is a fun one
here. Hebrews 11, verse 1. You've all heard this
a lot. Now, faith is a substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen. When we
started here today, right, it asks the question,
we are saved in this hope, but hope that is seen
is not hope. for why does one still hope for
what one sees right that's that's things where
a lot of prosperity preachers get it wrong like
oh you can have it you can have it now well if
i can have it now why do i even want to go to
heaven they're missing the point if i can have
it here and i can have it now this isn't a jg
wentworth commercial it's my salvation and i
want it now it's my heaven and i want it now
no you know what there's something even greater
It's going to be that surprise. It's going to
be worth it for all of us, whether you like surprises
or not. But what's the point in mending that
relationship? What's the point in going to Jesus?
What's the point in redeeming that relationship
with the Father if we can have it now? The Word's
already told us we are going to suffer because
Christ suffered. Plain and simple. So faith is
the substance that things hope for, the evidence
that things not seen. Substance meaning realization,
and evidence meaning confidence. So when we look
at this, we need to try to look a little bit
at the translation, and that's what it is. So
hope is the substance of our faith, confidence
and assurance. These are both needed to secure
a beginning and an end point, right? It means
that believing in God, or excuse me, believing
that God is who he says he is. That's the beginning.
The culmination point is in knowing that he fulfills,
or in other words, keeps his promises. He's never
broken one, not one. He's never gone back on
his word. Right? He keeps his promises. And even
though We don't see them materializing just yet.
Doesn't mean that that promise isn't going to
be fulfilled. Right? Sometimes we're working
on things like, man, why is it some, I'm just,
I'm not getting where I need to. It's like, you're
not supposed to be there yet. And then something
happens and you get to that end point on whatever
that project is. You're like, oh, this is awesome.
Right? Sometimes you're working on something
and it takes forever. I think back to when I
was a teenager. One of my first jobs, I worked
for this company. We did everything from the
city line in. I mean everything. We had somebody
for electrical, plumbing, a lot of roofing jobs.
Went out in the country. I'll tell you what,
we pulled a whole lot of barbed wire. My hands
tingled just thinking about that. You know, did
a lot of painting. We took out a lot of walls,
built up a lot of walls, installed fans, carpet,
you name it, we did it. and some of those projects
you would go out there and even just sitting
there looking at it before you got started you're
like oh boy this is going to be a project and
you're in there and you got the different teams
and they're in the different rooms and they're
working on all the different stuff right we're
all kind of rotating around each other getting
the job done like man why is this taking so long
it's like i'm bleeding i'm sweating i haven't
eaten right i want to go smoke a cigarette right
like i said i was a teenager that's where i was
that's a lot of us are when it comes to stuff
but when things are done you're able to stand
back and able to see the final product and you're
like oh this is amazing that's i man i got to
have a hand in this thank you lord thank you
for putting this in front of me thank you for
letting me have the opportunity to work on this
to be a part of this that's our work in the world
i said we sometimes it takes a long time to get
to that point where you can actually see that
picture and sometimes you start to think that
you're seeing the whole picture but it's not
the whole picture it's getting it's getting there
but then a little bit more time goes by a little
bit more work's done and you start seeing more
like oh Even better than I thought, right? So
before I keep going down that rabbit trail, I'm
going to put this another way. Christmas is a
celebration of the birth of Jesus, yes. It's
a birthday celebration, right? So think back
to when you were a kid and you were growing up
and it was your birthday, right? Maybe even the
immediate days leading up to it. What were you
feeling? A little excitement, right? A little
anticipation. There is a little bit of a buildup,
though, right? Even if you tried to play it off,
you're like, ooh, it's my birthday. My birthday.
I can't even log on social media now. It's like,
hey, it's my birthday month. You guys want to
send me a gift card to McDonald's? Do it. Right?
A lot of people out there do this kind of stuff.
I saw one just the other day. It's literally
what they put up. Say, it's my birthday month.
Anybody wants to send me a gift card to go get
a steak? I'm accepting all month. Let's do it,
right? That happens, you know? But there's this
anticipation. There's excitement because, you
know, things are going to happen. People are
going to be wishing you well. There's probably
going to be some gifts, right? As a kid, that's
really exciting. It's like, ooh, I'm going to
get a toy. I love toys. Right? You know, so there's
some stuff, you know, and eventually the day
would come and he'd wake up like a kid on Christmas
morning, like, ooh, Christmas, right? Go through
the day, you do all your stuff. Ooh, here's dinner.
I get to sit down. What do you want for dinner?
It's your birthday. Want cake? Scream for dinner.
No, no, that comes after. No, no, no. I want
an ice cream cake for dinner, and then I'll have
cake and ice cream, right? That's how kids think,
right? Or in my son's case, what do you want?
I want a cheeseburger. Probably the only kid
on the planet that loves a cheeseburger more
than pizza. But it's there. And then you look
over. Think of our nephew Mason not that long
ago at his birthday. We're sitting there, right?
And down at the end of the table, you got all
the presents sitting down there, isn't it? He's
looking back and forth, right? He's ready. He's
high. Yes, exactly. He's high and he's ready.
Right? And then the moment comes. You know, there's
a gift. You know there's a gift. You can't wait
eating. You want to get to the gifts. You want
to get to your cake. You want to get to your
presents. All the exciting stuff. It is an exciting
time. Christmas is an exciting time, especially
for kids, right? Whether you tell them there's
a Santa Claus or not, it's an exciting time.
Period. Because they know there's gifts. And
you see, we ourselves as Christians, we have
that confidence just like we do with our birthdays,
just like we do with Christmas. We have that
past experience that tells us, hey, this is what's
coming. This is what's waiting for you. We have
that assurance and that anticipation that's building.
Faith is no different. Our faith is exactly the
same and it should be. We know we're going to
receive gifts. We know we're going to receive
some other goodies, right? Jesus already told
us he's making a place for us, right? He said,
if it wasn't so, what I tell you, right? So we
know what's coming. We've already been blessed
with gifts here in our lives as we go through.
So we already have some experience to build on.
We know this is just going to get better, right?
For some people, those gifts, some of those surprises,
right, are going to be exactly that. They're
going to be a surprise. And for other people,
it is absolutely going to blow them away. I said,
that's the problem with prosperity preaching.
It's not what we get here. Our ultimate rewards,
our ultimate gifts are all stored there, and
we have no idea. Our imagination can't even start
to fathom what they may be. We are very limited
into the scope that we have here in front of
us on earth. There are things created that we've
never even seen or heard of before. It's going
to be amazing. You think about the animals, like
kids not being able to go out and play, you know,
animals sleeping in one another and not having
to worry anymore, right? The danger is all gone.
And then itself is already pretty exciting when
you think about it. So we should have that anticipation,
knowing that we have the promise of this future.
So we start to close up here. You think back
to the ending of Scrooge's story. He has, well,
first off, what happens? He wakes up. It's like,
oh, it wasn't done in three nights. It was done
in one. Wow. Right? And he's already changed.
The transformation's already taken place. And
he goes to the window, and he throws open the
shutters, and what does he do? Hey, you, is that
turkey still in the shop? Yeah, the big one,
the big one. Yes, sir. Go get it. Go get it.
And he sends it, right, to the Cratchit family.
He's already showing that change. He's already
doing what he knows needs to be done. Right?
So he sends out anonymously here. Here's a gift.
Imagine the Cratchit family when that thing shows.
Like, really? What? Who paid for this? We can't
afford this. What do you mean it's anonymous?
What? Right? Or maybe they did tell. They don't
tell us. Right? This turkey goes to the family.
Wow, what a blessing. That's the first thing
he does. What's the second thing he did? Anybody
remember? But he did have some fun. Absolutely.
But what was he doing? What was he on his way
for when he did that? That's right. He was going
to meet his family. He was going to his nephews.
He's going to restore that bridge, mend that
bridge and reunite with his family. Remember,
we talked a little bit about this, right? And
that's one of those hard things is how do you
mend a broken bridge? How do you reconcile a
relationship? You know, and that's a hard thing
to do. And here's this guy. He's a curmudgeon.
He already knows they're talking bad about it.
They're making jokes at his expense. And what
does he do? He walks up to the door, and he goes
in, and he humbles himself. Family, I'm here
if you will have me. That's pretty powerful.
And that's a hard thing, because a lot of us,
we push people away, and we don't want to let
them back in the door, ever. How are they going
to have that chance for redemption? How are they
going to have that chance for forgiveness if
you won't give it to them? You can't forgive
somebody. How do you love them? Don't dash out
another person's hope. Even if you think it's
silly, because there are some people out there
with hopes that we as individuals think are silly.
Don't dash out another person's hope. If they're
Cowboys fans, well, you know, their taste has
a lot of room to be elevated. I'm just going
to put it that way. No, don't even dash the Cowboys.
They could say, even though we know better, let
them have their hope. Good Lord, that's bad.
That's bad. I'm just going to tell them to enjoy
a different sport like hockey. Obviously, there's
not a lot of Cowboys fans in here. My goodness.
We got one, two. I'll see you all at the outpost
for the hockey game. We'll call that getting
off. Oh, my goodness. What was that? Okay. So,
yeah, so he's going back to reunite with his
family. And then what happened after that? The
next day. He's sitting in the office, right?
He goes to work just like he normally would because
he's always the first one in the door. And what's
he doing? He has his watch out, right, in his
hand, his pocket watch. And he's watching those
minutes tick by. Ooh, he's late again. He's late
again. But he's not mad this time. He's not mad.
He already knows that Cratchit's going to be
late. He's not surprised. He even makes a comment.
It's like, as usual, right? So here comes old
Bob Cratchit running the door. So sorry, so sorry,
right? He's already anticipating getting yelled
at. What does Scrooge do? He kind of plays along
with it for a minute, right? Just a minute. But
what was the truth? He was sitting there. He
was anxious. He was like a little kid. He could
not wait for old Cratchit to walk in that door
so he could give him another gift. It's kind
of like... When you give a gift to somebody,
you can't wait for them to open it, right? It
doesn't matter if it's Christmas or birthday,
anniversary, whatever, right? You're just sitting
there like, ooh, I hope they open mine first.
It's that one right there with the bow, yeah.
The not -cowboys wrapping paper, yeah. Right?
It's exciting. It feels good, right? That's why
they say it's better to give than to receive.
Because it does. It feels good. It's its own
reward. And that's what Scrooge was experiencing.
He comes in. He's like, you're late. But that's
okay because I got another surprise for you.
Not only is it okay that you're late, but here's
some money. I want you to go and get some coal.
I want you to warm this building up. And you're
getting a pay raise. And it gets even better.
right it's like um oh the name just left me the
the the infomercial guy uh billy mace right but
wait there's more right remember him and that's
what scrooge is doing he's like but wait there's
more because i'm gonna do everything i can to
make sure tiny tim is taken care of and your
family's taken care of and ultimately the story
goes on to tell him to tell that not only had
he changed Not only did he keep his word and
became a different man, a good man, but he became
like a second father to Tiny Tim. That's amazing.
This is a fictional character. What impact can
each and every single one of us, what impact
can you have in the life of another person by
just opening up your heart and showing them the
love and grace of God? By loving on them as we've
been commanded to. Not getting caught up with
the infighting that we see all over the place.
Matter of fact, Dusty and I were just talking
about this before service. There's always someplace
all of us can go. There's always going to be
infighting. I don't care if it's work. A lot
of us, we go to work and what do we see? We see
a lot of infighting there. A lot of people at
each other's throats, right? It shouldn't be
that way. But that's what we see. So we need
to be more like Scrooge and recognize the world
as a brighter and better place because of He
who's in us, right? He that's in you. Because
of Jesus Christ, it can absolutely not only be
the same for you, but it could be the same for
them. God paid the highest sacrifice, the highest
price for you, for your salvation, for your reunification
as an adopted member of the family. He's made
wonderful promises to you for your future. And
it's because he loves you. And to accept it,
you need to be like Scrooge. I already asked
that question. Are you a Scrooge? You need to
be like him. Repent of your sin. Repent of your
wrongdoings. Reclaim Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Savior and accept him as your Lord and Savior.
Do that and you too will see a bright and wonderful
future. You will see those promises of God in
your life and in your future. And as a follower
of Christ, you will eagerly anticipate getting
there. There's some people out there who are
not afraid of death. They're excited to be reunited
with the Father and with Christ. As a believer,
that's the same anticipation each and every one
of us should have. And on that note, let us pray.
Father, we thank you again for this day. We thank
you for speaking to our hearts. As we leave here
today and we go into the world, teach us not
to dwell on the darkness, not to dwell on these
bad things as we see it. but to carry you and
to carry your light into the world, into all
these things, into all this darkness, so that
your light can shine for others to see. Let it
be encouraging to us, a reminder that you called
us to be a light to the world, that you've made
promises, that you keep your promises. Let us
be a beacon to draw people near so that they
can come to know you as well. Let us rejoice
in this season. Take absolute joy in this season.
that joy that only you bring to us, only that
joy that you bring to the world. And as we ourselves
struggle with those dark places that we go into,
or even those dark places in our lives because
of our experiences and our pains and our hurts,
we ask for your healing embrace, we ask for your
protection, and we ask for your guidance to take
us through it all. In Jesus' name. Amen and amen.
And remember, as you leave here today, you are
loved and you are blessed, so go and be the church.
Thank you for joining us at Healing Scars with
Pastor Burton. If this message spoke to you or
if you would like to help us reach more people,
please like, review, and share our podcast. You
can learn more about our ministry or how you
can support us at www .thecross66 .org. Until
next time, take care and God bless.