SPEAKER_01: How many believe God has more?
SPEAKER_01: I think about half of you believe that.
SPEAKER_01: Let's try that one more time.
SPEAKER_01: How do you believe that God has more for your life?
SPEAKER_01: Come on, that's what we're talking about today.
SPEAKER_01: Ephesians says we serve a God that delights in doing exceedingly and abundantly above immeasurably more than we could ask or think or imagine.
SPEAKER_01: That's the kind of God we serve.
SPEAKER_01: And we are preparing for that more here at Christian Life Church and making room for more of the next generation to know the Lord, making more of you and your family, knowing the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I believe God's not done yet.
SPEAKER_01: As a matter of fact, I think He's just getting started.
SPEAKER_01: I think again, some of y'all believe that, some of you don't.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe I need to warm you up a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: Today, some of you have a little bit of a hangover from yesterday.
SPEAKER_01: I I just Meg and I had a had a pretty busy day yesterday with different parties that we were invited to.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna tell you, I was thankful for the party that was scheduled during the game.
SPEAKER_01: Miss Emily, thank you for the invitation to your Sunday school classes party.
SPEAKER_01: It gave me a wonderful reason not to watch the game.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just gonna confess to you today, my emotions are better because of it.
SPEAKER_01: Anybody else?
SPEAKER_01: Listen, I know some of y'all are wondering what's gonna happen and what's gonna be unveiled.
SPEAKER_01: I don't care.
SPEAKER_01: We ain't gonna win it no way, so what difference does it make?
SPEAKER_01: Can I get an amen in the house this morning?
SPEAKER_01: Well, who's ready for Christmas?
SPEAKER_01: All the kids said yes, and all the parents said oh me.
SPEAKER_01: But I have uh a couple of Christmas dad jokes for you this morning.
SPEAKER_01: This uh this first one I received from you.
SPEAKER_01: Six people this week.
SPEAKER_01: Six, count them, one, two, three, four, five, six people texted me this same dad joke.
SPEAKER_01: And I just felt like if six people texted it to me, I need to share it with you.
SPEAKER_01: Don't you agree?
SPEAKER_01: Here's the first one.
SPEAKER_01: What do you call, what do you call a Christmas wreath made of hundred dollar bills?
SPEAKER_01: What do you call a Christmas wreath made of hundred dollar bills?
SPEAKER_01: I want one of those, by the way.
SPEAKER_01: Well, you you call it a wreath of Franklin's.
SPEAKER_01: That's pretty good.
SPEAKER_01: It's so good I might need to stop.
SPEAKER_01: Or if you want one more, I can give you okay, here we go.
SPEAKER_01: Here we go, number two.
SPEAKER_01: What do donkeys, what do donkeys, what do donkeys, what do donkeys send out near Christmas time?
SPEAKER_01: What do what do donkeys send out near Christmas time?
SPEAKER_01: Well, it's it's not Yuletide greetings, but mule tide greetings.
SPEAKER_01: Should I have stopped?
SPEAKER_01: Well, since I should have stopped and didn't, I'm gonna do one more.
SPEAKER_01: So number three, number three, what do you call a snowman?
SPEAKER_01: What do you call a snowman with a six pack?
SPEAKER_01: Well, the abdominal snowman.
SPEAKER_01: Can anybody relate to that one?
SPEAKER_01: Well, before I lose everyone this morning, let's turn our attention to God's Word.
SPEAKER_01: Can somebody say amen to that?
SPEAKER_01: Today we're kicking off a brand new series for the month of December entitled The Sounds of Christmas.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm excited to do this series with you.
SPEAKER_01: It's been something that's been stirring in my heart for some time.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to not just look at the sights of Christmas, which are everywhere, but we're really going to explore the sounds of Christmas.
SPEAKER_01: There's something about a sound that doesn't just get in you, it gets through you.
SPEAKER_01: And it has the power to transform your life.
SPEAKER_01: Because there's something about a sound that when you put it to a tune, it becomes memorable forever.
SPEAKER_01: And so we're going to look at the sounds of Christmas, and the sound that we're going to look at today is the sound of expectation.
SPEAKER_01: Expectation has a sound that can change your life.
SPEAKER_01: Stand with me where you are this morning as we read God's word.
SPEAKER_01: Isaiah chapter 9, a very familiar passage of scripture during this time of the year.
SPEAKER_01: Isaiah chapter 9, verses 1 and 2.
SPEAKER_01: The prophet Isaiah declares, under the unction of the Holy Spirit, the word of God, over the people of God.
SPEAKER_01: It says, Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.
SPEAKER_01: In the past, he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 2: the people walking in darkness have seen a great light.
SPEAKER_01: On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.
SPEAKER_01: Jump down to verse 6.
SPEAKER_01: What is this light that is dawned?
SPEAKER_01: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, and prince of peace.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, somebody.
SPEAKER_01: Anybody know him as those things?
SPEAKER_01: Anybody know him today as a wonderful counselor?
SPEAKER_01: Anyone know him today as a mighty God?
SPEAKER_01: Anybody know him today as an everlasting father or a prince of peace?
SPEAKER_01: Has he been those things to you?
SPEAKER_01: Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end.
SPEAKER_01: Who's thankful for everlasting life through Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_01: He will reign on the David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness.
SPEAKER_01: From that time on and forever.
SPEAKER_01: The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
SPEAKER_01: Church, this is God's word and the title of my message this morning is The Sound Before the Miracle.
SPEAKER_01: Say that after me this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Turn to your neighbor and say the sound before the miracle.
SPEAKER_01: Turn to the other neighbor and say the sound before the miracle.
SPEAKER_01: Turn around the person behind you and say, There is a sound before a miracle.
SPEAKER_01: Father, we thank you for your word this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Your word is a lamp unto our feet and is a light unto our path.
SPEAKER_01: It shows us the way to go and how to arrive there safely.
SPEAKER_01: And I pray this morning we would not just be hearers of your word, but we would be doers of it.
SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' mighty name.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody said, Amen.
SPEAKER_01: You may be seated.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Caleb.
SPEAKER_01: I have a question for you this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever noticed in your life that when life gets the hardest, God usually doesn't snap his fingers and fix everything, but instead God gives you a word in the storm that holds you through the storm.
SPEAKER_01: Has anybody else experienced that in your life?
SPEAKER_01: I know there's been moments in my life when I've pleaded with the Lord to fix a situation.
SPEAKER_01: You ever been there?
SPEAKER_01: Ever been in a situation where God, God, I need you not just to fix this situation, I need you to deliver me from this situation.
SPEAKER_01: And it's absolutely uncanny how that in those situations, God doesn't always fix them or deliver us from them, but will give us a word in the midst of the difficulty that will hold us steady throughout the circumstance.
SPEAKER_01: I remember it was almost 15 years ago that Pastor Meg and I became the pastors here at Christian Life Church.
SPEAKER_01: And the situation wasn't wonderful.
SPEAKER_01: It was a difficult situation on a lot of different levels.
SPEAKER_01: We had serious financial issues that we were facing.
SPEAKER_01: We had spiritual issues that we were wrestling through.
SPEAKER_01: And I remember it wasn't too long after becoming pastor, Meg and I flew to Dallas, Texas to go to a pastor's conference.
SPEAKER_01: And we were there among some of the greatest leaders and pastors and communicators in the country.
SPEAKER_01: And instead of getting encouraged, I actually became a little bit discouraged.
SPEAKER_01: And the thought that I began to wrestle with was simply this, and I'm just gonna be real candid with you.
SPEAKER_01: Why would anybody want to come to my church?
SPEAKER_01: Anyone ever been there before?
SPEAKER_01: Wondered, God, why in the world are you using me?
SPEAKER_01: Why in the world have you put me in this place at this time?
SPEAKER_01: I was 34 years of age at the time and had a little bit of experience.
SPEAKER_01: I think the people that asked me to be a pastor are a little crazy.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm I'm wrestling, I'm wrestling through that.
SPEAKER_01: And and on the flight back, I'm talking with God and I'm I'm I'm preparing.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, God, I don't, I don't know why anybody would want to come to my church.
SPEAKER_01: What do I have to say that's gonna benefit anybody?
SPEAKER_01: And I began ramping myself up to earn it.
SPEAKER_01: And I felt the check of the Holy Spirit in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: And he gave me a couple of different words.
SPEAKER_01: The first thing that he said was, son, you can do what you're preparing to do and wear yourself out in the process, kill yourself in the process of trying to earn it.
SPEAKER_01: Or you can trust that I'll give you what you need when you need it.
SPEAKER_01: And that word, I'll give you what you need when you need it, has sustained me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm on church, it's 15 years ago that God gave me that word, and that word has sustained me.
SPEAKER_01: Time and time and time.
SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad God just didn't fix it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm so much more thankful that he did something in me that was bigger than the problem that I was facing.
SPEAKER_01: Another word that he gave me, you see it on the screen.
SPEAKER_01: These two words have just sustained me through so many difficulties in my life and through pastoring our church.
SPEAKER_01: The second word he gave me was, do what you know to do, and I'll do what you can't.
SPEAKER_01: We're facing incredible financial difficulty, mortgage that was almost uh where our total facility expenses were 68% of all of our income.
SPEAKER_01: It was incredibly difficult.
SPEAKER_01: And and and what God, what are we gonna do?
SPEAKER_01: How are we gonna make it?
SPEAKER_01: How are we gonna pay the bills?
SPEAKER_01: How are we gonna move forward?
SPEAKER_01: How are we gonna take care of the facility?
SPEAKER_01: How are we gonna do ministry?
SPEAKER_01: How are we, how are we, how are we, how are we?
SPEAKER_01: And he stopped.
SPEAKER_01: He said, if you'll do what you know to do, I'll do what you can.
SPEAKER_01: And so we we balanced a budget and we started giving 10% of our income to missions.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm here to tell you in the first three years that I was pastor of this church, we didn't grow in people, uh one person, but we grew financially 30%.
SPEAKER_01: How does that happen?
SPEAKER_01: Do what you know to do, and I'll do what you can't.
SPEAKER_01: How many of you guys know we serve a miracle-working God?
SPEAKER_01: He is faithful, church, faithful.
SPEAKER_01: We were singing about that just a moment ago.
SPEAKER_01: He is faithful to do what we can not.
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't get anything else from this message this morning, I want you to get those two words that if you'll do what you know to do, God will do what you can't.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, come on, somebody.
SPEAKER_01: Do what you know to do, and then watch him fill in the gap.
SPEAKER_01: He's amazing.
SPEAKER_01: It's spanning chasm that separates us.
SPEAKER_01: And he'll give you always what you need when you need it.
SPEAKER_01: We we we see this pattern in scripture where where God over and over again doesn't fix the situation, but but gives people a word in the midst of their situation that sustains them through it.
SPEAKER_01: Abraham was 75 years old, childless, barren, and God spoke to him, you're gonna be the father of many nations.
SPEAKER_01: And that word sustained him for 25 years until that word became his reality.
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you, a word from the Lord can sustain you.
SPEAKER_01: Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 kind of gives us a window into his story, and he's struggling with a lot of storms.
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of people and a lot of situations that are coming against him, and he pleads with the Lord, God, would you remove this thorn in my side?
SPEAKER_01: And God doesn't remove the thorn, but gives him a word in the midst of the thorn.
SPEAKER_01: And he says, My strength is made perfect in your weakness.
SPEAKER_01: Don't flinch and watch me fulfill my purpose in your life.
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you, a word from God can change your life.
SPEAKER_01: This reveals a very, very important biblical principle that's a a window into the ways of God.
SPEAKER_01: See, I don't want to just know God's word, I want to know his ways.
SPEAKER_01: His word actually points you to his ways, and one of his ways is this before God changes your situation, he first changes what you're hearing in it.
SPEAKER_01: Before God changes your situation, he changes what you're hearing in the midst of it.
SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly what God is doing here in Isaiah chapter nine.
SPEAKER_01: The Assyrian Empire is growing, and it is encroaching upon the boundaries of Israel a little bit more every day.
SPEAKER_01: Israel as a nation is beginning to shrink just a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: Their people are consumed with fear and worry and anxiety, and leaders are are compromising, and darkness is spreading unabated.
SPEAKER_01: This is the context of Isaiah chapter 9.
SPEAKER_01: And it was in this context that God didn't fix the situation for Israel, he didn't fix the situation for the prophet Isaiah.
SPEAKER_01: Rather, he gave him a word in the midst of it that would hold him through it.
SPEAKER_01: And the word was the promise of a savior that's coming, the promise of a righteous king who would reign forever upon the throne of David, one who would be a wonderful counselor and a mighty God and an everlasting father and a prince of peace?
SPEAKER_01: It was into that gloom that God spoke a word of hope that shifted something inside of them that enabled them to get through the difficulty of their day.
SPEAKER_01: Why in the world does God operate this way?
SPEAKER_01: Why is this the way that he works?
SPEAKER_01: Why why doesn't he just instantly deliver us or rescue us from the situation that we're in?
SPEAKER_01: Candidly, just for a moment.
SPEAKER_01: I 15 years ago, there's a part of me that would have preferred for God just to pay off the mortgage.
SPEAKER_01: Can we just be real?
SPEAKER_01: There's some things I don't want to go through.
SPEAKER_01: There's some things that I would rather just be rescued from, delivered from.
SPEAKER_01: I would rather God who can fix anything to fix the situation so that I don't have to go through it.
SPEAKER_01: Anyone else with me this morning?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, let's just be real this morning.
SPEAKER_01: There's things that, listen, my character don't need no more adjustment.
SPEAKER_01: Just fix it.
SPEAKER_01: Anybody feel that from time to time?
SPEAKER_01: That's what I would have preferred 15 years ago.
SPEAKER_01: That's what you would prefer in many of the situations and circumstances that you're going through in your life.
SPEAKER_00: So why doesn't he just fix it?
SPEAKER_00: Here's what you need to hear this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Because he's not just trying to change the situation.
SPEAKER_01: Why does God not just fix every situation, every hardship, every difficulty that you're going through?
SPEAKER_01: Because He isn't just about changing it, He's about changing you.
SPEAKER_01: He's about forming his nature and his character inside of you.
SPEAKER_01: See, he's working to change how we think and how we live and what we see and what we see.
SPEAKER_01: He's working to transform us from glory to glory.
SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, I don't go from glory to glory without a little resistance.
SPEAKER_01: Is there any area in your life where you really grow without resistance?
SPEAKER_01: If you're going to get stronger physically, what are you going to have to do?
SPEAKER_01: You're going to have to push against some things that are heavy.
SPEAKER_01: If you're going to lose some weight and get in shape, which I just want to make a recommendation, this is not the season for that.
SPEAKER_01: If that is your desire, I'm going to encourage you today to push pause on that button.
SPEAKER_01: Get to the new year.
SPEAKER_01: This is not that, this is the season of feasting, not fasting.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, somebody.
SPEAKER_01: There's a season for fasting.
SPEAKER_01: This ain't it.
SPEAKER_01: But if you do want to lose some weight and get in shape, you know what you have to push against?
SPEAKER_01: You have to push against your willpower and push the plate away.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to grow intellectually, what do you have to do?
SPEAKER_01: You got to start challenging your mind.
SPEAKER_01: See, there is no growth without resistance.
SPEAKER_01: And that's why God doesn't just want to change the situation.
SPEAKER_01: He wants to change you.
SPEAKER_01: And without the difficulty, you won't change.
SPEAKER_01: Let's just be real.
SPEAKER_01: Like, let's use the physical illustration for a for a moment again.
SPEAKER_01: Like, why do I want to get in shape?
SPEAKER_01: Because I got fat.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: I've gained weight.
SPEAKER_01: I like, why, why?
SPEAKER_01: There's a problem that needs to be fixed.
SPEAKER_01: And so I gotta I gotta do that.
SPEAKER_01: So we have to understand that without the difficulty, we really don't change.
SPEAKER_01: My pants don't fit no more, so I gotta do something.
SPEAKER_01: And so we have to understand that's what God is up to.
SPEAKER_01: We won't change without the difficulty.
SPEAKER_01: So watch what God does.
SPEAKER_01: Instead of changing the situation, he speaks a word of promise into it that begins to work on the inside of you to change you from the inside out.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know that the first was that somebody telling us whether Alabama got in or not?
SPEAKER_01: Anybody else hear that ringtone go off?
SPEAKER_01: I'm just wondering, was that somebody?
SPEAKER_01: Notification saying we're in.
SPEAKER_01: I just want to clarify, sorry, a little distracted there for a moment.
SPEAKER_01: Meg says, get back on track.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Squirtle.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know the first manifestation of the divine in scripture?
SPEAKER_01: This is an important principle.
SPEAKER_01: Was not sight, it was sound.
SPEAKER_01: The first manifestation of God in Scripture wasn't sight, it was sound.
SPEAKER_01: Genesis chapter 1, it was into the void that God said, Let there be light, and light became.
SPEAKER_01: So the first manifestation of God in Scripture is not sight, it's sound.
SPEAKER_01: As a matter of fact, the sight became what it heard.
SPEAKER_01: So sight always follows sound.
SPEAKER_01: That's why sound is so important.
SPEAKER_01: We live in a culture that is obsessed with vision when we need to be obsessed with hearing.
SPEAKER_01: We want a vision for our life, we want a vision for our career, we want a vision for our family.
SPEAKER_01: I want to tell you this morning, you don't first need a vision, you first need a word from the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Because if you have a vision without a word, then the vision is based on you and not him, and his ways are always higher than our ways.
SPEAKER_01: So the first manifestation in scripture of God wasn't sight, it was sound.
SPEAKER_01: Sight follows sound.
SPEAKER_01: Say that after me this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Sight follows sound.
SPEAKER_01: Say that one more time.
SPEAKER_01: Sight follows sound.
SPEAKER_01: In Genesis chapter 3, we see this principle at play again.
SPEAKER_01: After Adam and Eve sinned, they're in shame and and and they begin to retreat.
SPEAKER_01: Why do they begin to retreat?
SPEAKER_01: How did they acknowledge the presence of God?
SPEAKER_01: They heard him walking in the garden.
SPEAKER_01: They heard so the second manifestation of God in scripture is sound again.
SPEAKER_01: God's trying to communicate something to us.
SPEAKER_01: Sound has a profound impact upon our lives.
SPEAKER_01: Let me ask you this: how does faith come in your life?
SPEAKER_01: Faith comes by hearing what?
SPEAKER_01: The word of God.
SPEAKER_01: That's why that I incredibly encourage people, stop reading your Bible silently.
SPEAKER_01: Read it out loud.
SPEAKER_01: Because there's something supernatural that happens when I don't just think it, but I hear it and I say it.
SPEAKER_01: There's a divine alignment that begins to happen in our lives through us hearing the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Faith comes by hearing.
SPEAKER_01: Hearing what?
SPEAKER_01: The word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Well, how do I hear the word of God?
SPEAKER_01: I gotta read it to myself.
SPEAKER_01: I saw this this week, and this is gonna blow your mind about the power of sound in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: Russian researchers have recently discovered that genetic code has a structure that mimics the syntax, grammar, and semantics of human language.
SPEAKER_01: This implies that DNA is not merely responding passively to chemical signals, but actively reading vibrational information encoded in the words we speak.
SPEAKER_01: So these researchers have concluded, I don't know that they're believers.
SPEAKER_01: If they're not, they're gonna get there pretty quick, I think, because this is what they have concluded that prayer, mantras, positive affirmations are not just wishful thinking, but a form of direct genetic programming.
SPEAKER_01: Holy cow.
SPEAKER_01: It goes on.
SPEAKER_01: So when you speak a powerful, heartfelt affirmation, they say you are sending a coherent, wave-based communication to your DNA.
SPEAKER_01: Why do you need to read the word of God?
SPEAKER_01: Because your DNA needs to form itself to what you say, not what you see.
SPEAKER_01: Your cells, they go on to say, understand this language.
SPEAKER_01: They receive the transmission and begin to alter, get this.
SPEAKER_01: Your cells hear it and begin to alter their structure and function to match the new instruction.
SPEAKER_01: This, they say, is the meeting point of spirituality and genetics.
SPEAKER_01: Get this.
SPEAKER_01: This is researchers.
SPEAKER_01: This isn't the word, but but it is the word where the power of word becomes flesh.
SPEAKER_01: Your words, when they align with the word of God that has already been spoken, and you give sound to that, you're not just saying something ethereally into the air.
SPEAKER_01: You're speaking to the very core of who you are.
SPEAKER_01: And when you say God's word, all of a sudden there's a genetic transformation that begins to happen on the inside of you.
SPEAKER_01: See, you know what science is finally catching up to?
SPEAKER_01: The word of God.
SPEAKER_01: What does the Bible say in Proverbs?
SPEAKER_01: What lies in the power of the tongue?
SPEAKER_01: Life and death.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I want you to hear this morning.
SPEAKER_01: The sound of your words is creating your world.
SPEAKER_01: This is a way of God that we find throughout scripture from the uh Psalms says that God created the worlds how?
SPEAKER_01: By the word of his mouth.
SPEAKER_01: You need to understand this morning that the sound of your words is creating the world that you live.
SPEAKER_01: Let me take this back to this principle here at the beginning.
SPEAKER_01: Well, why does God speak a word of hope in despair rather than deliver us from it?
SPEAKER_01: Because he's trying to develop a sound of faith in us.
SPEAKER_01: See, faith, church, has a sound, and it sounds like expectation.
SPEAKER_01: It's the expectation of God doing exactly what he said that he would do.
SPEAKER_01: Faith has a sound.
SPEAKER_01: I cannot emphasize this enough.
SPEAKER_01: I cannot over-emphasize the importance of your expectation in your faith journey.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't expect it, you will not experience it.
SPEAKER_01: Expectation is the key to your experience.
SPEAKER_01: It's the soil from which your experience grows.
SPEAKER_01: As a matter of fact, I believe that expectation is the seed bed for your experience.
SPEAKER_01: How do you say that, Pastor?
SPEAKER_01: Because creation, our lives reveal the power of expectation.
SPEAKER_01: See, by faith, a farmer plants a seed.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: With the expectation of a harvest.
SPEAKER_01: See, if there's not the expectation of a harvest, there's never a seed that's planted.
SPEAKER_01: We work by faith with the expectation of compensation.
SPEAKER_01: Listen, you're not going to work for somebody that you're not expecting to get it compensated for.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: We go to school with the expectation of receiving an education.
SPEAKER_01: I don't go to school without the expectation of receiving.
SPEAKER_01: We invest our money in investments in retirement plans.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because we have the expectation of a return.
SPEAKER_01: We pray with the expectation of receiving an answer from God.
SPEAKER_01: See, if you don't believe that God still answers, you're not going to pray a prayer.
SPEAKER_01: See, I read this Bible every day.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because I have the expectation of my mind being transformed from glory to glory.
SPEAKER_01: I don't read it without the expectation of that.
SPEAKER_01: Are you hearing me this morning?
SPEAKER_01: See, see, faith has a sound, and the sound is expectation.
SPEAKER_01: And how does God plant expectation in our lives?
SPEAKER_01: He plants it by a word.
SPEAKER_01: There's a word that he speaks to us in the most difficult days of our lives that holds us steady.
SPEAKER_01: And we understand that he's not just gonna always fix it because there's some things in us first that need to be fixed.
SPEAKER_01: So there are things in us that need to be changed.
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you, expectation is the driver for your experience.
SPEAKER_01: Turn with me, let me show you this.
SPEAKER_01: Turn with me to Mark chapter one, and I'm not going to be much longer.
SPEAKER_01: You know that means nothing.
SPEAKER_01: Mark chapter one, verse 40.
SPEAKER_01: An interesting story here, and I want you to pay attention to some of the word choices that Mark used here in this story.
SPEAKER_01: Mark chapter 1, verses 40 and 41, just two verses.
SPEAKER_01: Short little story in scripture that reveals so much about the power of expectation.
SPEAKER_01: Bible says a man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees.
SPEAKER_01: Listen to what he says.
SPEAKER_01: If you are willing, if you are willing, if you are willing, you can make me clean.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 41.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus was what?
SPEAKER_01: Was what?
SPEAKER_01: Let's try that one more time.
SPEAKER_01: Was what?
SPEAKER_01: Indignant.
SPEAKER_01: It's interesting.
SPEAKER_01: He reached out his hand, touched the man, and said, I am willing.
SPEAKER_01: Be clean.
SPEAKER_01: And immediately the leopard leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says here that Jesus was indignant.
SPEAKER_01: This word literally means angry, incensed in contemporary language.
SPEAKER_01: He was riled up, he was ticked off, or maybe he was even a little salty.
SPEAKER_01: Later, translators have changed in some translations that word indignant to compassion because they didn't like the way that portrayed Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It made him too much like us.
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad it made him like us.
SPEAKER_01: The real language in the Greek is more along the lines of indignant than compassion.
SPEAKER_01: Some people just don't like the idea of Jesus being that way.
SPEAKER_01: And my question is, what made Jesus so mad in this scenario?
SPEAKER_01: What made him so upset, so salty, so frustrated?
SPEAKER_01: I believe it was the little conditional conjunction if the man says, if you are willing.
SPEAKER_01: And I imagine Jesus whirling around and saying, What do you mean if?
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean if I am willing?
SPEAKER_01: What is the man really saying?
SPEAKER_01: He's saying, Jesus, I believe you can.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just not sure if you're willing to.
SPEAKER_01: He's saying, Jesus, I believe in your power, but I'm not so sure of your heart.
SPEAKER_01: See, this is not a question of Jesus' ability to heal the man, but of his willingness to.
SPEAKER_01: And this strikes at the heart of Jesus' mission.
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean, if I'm willing?
SPEAKER_01: For this reason I have come.
SPEAKER_01: It is for this reason that I left my father and came to earth.
SPEAKER_01: It is for this reason that I have split time and space.
SPEAKER_01: For the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he declared in Nazareth according to the scroll of Isaiah.
SPEAKER_01: And he's anointed me to proclaim good news to the captives, to set those free, the year of the Lord's favor.
SPEAKER_01: This is why I have come.
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean, if?
SPEAKER_01: This strikes at the very heart of expectation.
SPEAKER_01: I know you can, but I'm not sure if you will.
SPEAKER_01: How many of us have that kind of faith?
SPEAKER_01: How many of us have that same kind of attitude?
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I, Jesus, I believe you can save.
SPEAKER_01: I believe you can heal.
SPEAKER_01: I believe you can restore, but I really doubt if you're going to.
SPEAKER_01: I know, I know my child's coming home.
SPEAKER_01: I know I believe you can send him home.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just not sure if you will.
SPEAKER_01: I know you can heal my body, but I'm not sure if you will.
SPEAKER_01: I know that you can restore my marriage and my relationships, but I'm just not sure if you will.
SPEAKER_01: I know that you can bless me, but I'm just not sure if you want to.
SPEAKER_01: And and this whole idea of the willingness of God to meet us in the most difficult situations of our life struck a chord in Jesus and he became angry.
SPEAKER_01: He became upset, he became salty, he became indignant and said, What do you mean, if?
SPEAKER_01: This is why I have come.
SPEAKER_01: See, the sound of faith is when if becomes because.
SPEAKER_01: See, the sound of faith is the movement from if you're willing to, but to because you are willing to.
SPEAKER_01: See, expectation is what happens when you stop just believing God can and you start trusting that he will.
SPEAKER_01: And it's that word in the midst of the storm that will hold you through the storm.
SPEAKER_01: And as you go through it, because of the word that he has placed in you that has built expectation, by the time you get to the other side of that storm, not only has the storm changed, but so has you.
SPEAKER_01: And that's why God rarely just fixes it, but rather gives a word in the midst of it.
SPEAKER_01: You stand with me where you are this morning.
SPEAKER_01: I'm having you stand, and the worship team's gonna come because we are gonna have a prayer moment in just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: But before we do that, here at the start of the Christmas season, I want to speak the sound of God's word over your life.
SPEAKER_01: The same word that God spoke to Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Through the prophet Isaiah some 2700 years ago.
SPEAKER_01: Wasn't just a word for that day, it's a timeless word for our day.
SPEAKER_01: His voice still breaks through the darkness.
SPEAKER_01: Bringing his hope in his life.
SPEAKER_01: As I prepare to declare his word over you, can you just close your eyes right where you stand and maybe just stretch your hands out in a posture of receptivity?
SPEAKER_01: And I want you to receive the word of the Lord over you this morning.
SPEAKER_01: And as this word begins to wash over your heart and your mind, I'm praying today that a seed of expectation is planted in your heart.
SPEAKER_01: And that expectation will begin to grow into faith that causes your words to produce the sound of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: So I declare over you today no more gloom for those who are in distress.
SPEAKER_01: I speak over you today unspeakable joy, and joy unspeakable.
SPEAKER_01: You will no longer walk in darkness, for the light of the glory of Christ is dawning on you and your family and everything that you lay your hands to as it dawned 2,000 years ago.
SPEAKER_01: I declare because Christ is the righteous ruler and he reigns, that you will receive divine guidance because he is a wonderful counselor.
SPEAKER_01: I declare today you will receive divine protection and provision because he is a mighty God.
SPEAKER_01: I declare you will receive divine life and love forevermore because he is an everlasting Father.
SPEAKER_01: And I declare over you today, you will receive peace that surpasses all understanding because he is the Prince of Peace.
SPEAKER_01: And I declare finally over you today that he is restoring your hope.
SPEAKER_01: He is restoring your joy.
SPEAKER_01: He is restoring your faith, and he is restoring your expectations.
SPEAKER_01: And there is a sound by the word of the Lord that is rising up in you that is in alignment with his word.
SPEAKER_01: And as you say it, in alignment with what he has said, your life is going to change in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: You receive that this morning.
SPEAKER_01: And I just have two questions for you in response this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Two simple questions to process for this Christmas season.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what they are.
SPEAKER_01: What expectation have you laid down that the Lord wants to resurrect this December?
SPEAKER_01: What expectation have you let go of?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's a expectation of healing, expectation of freedom, deliverance, blessing, promotion, reconciliation?
SPEAKER_01: What expectation has the enemy convinced you to let go of?
SPEAKER_01: And the time has come for you to pick that thing back up again because God is faithful to his word.
SPEAKER_01: Number two, what word from God do you need to pick back up and carry through this December?
SPEAKER_01: What word has God spoken into your heart in the past that maybe time has stolen from you?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe there's been a divine delay, and you've wondered, did I really hear the Lord or was that just me?
SPEAKER_01: I'm here to tell you this morning.
SPEAKER_01: It's the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And the time has come to pick that up again.
SPEAKER_01: How many of you would say, Pastor, I have an expectation that I need resurrected in my life?
SPEAKER_01: You just raise your hand right where you stand.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
unknown: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: How many of you would say, There's a word that God gave me years ago that I've laid down because time has stolen it from me and it's time to pick that word back up again.
SPEAKER_01: Anybody?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Let me ask you a third question.
SPEAKER_01: How many of you are going through a storm right now and you need a word today?
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: If any of those three things resonate with you, is the worship team leads us in a final song this morning.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna just hang out here for a moment and allow God to speak.
SPEAKER_01: Allow God to resurrect things from the past that need to be resurrected and things in the present that need to be spoken because he's still in the miracle-working business.
SPEAKER_01: Church, you need to hear me.
SPEAKER_01: There's a sound before the miracle.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm declaring over your life today that God is speaking a fresh sound before the miracle.
SPEAKER_01: And if you'll stay faithful to the sound, the miracle will come.
SPEAKER_01: Just stretch your hands towards heaven this morning.
SPEAKER_01: If you need ministry today, we've been praying for you all week, believing for God to meet you at your greatest point of need.
SPEAKER_01: And as the worship team leads us this morning, I want you to get out of your seat and come partner with one of our prayer team members that God would meet you.
SPEAKER_01: Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray speak a word over your people.
SPEAKER_01: God, speak a word of hope, speak a word of encouragement, speak a word of promise.
SPEAKER_01: God, speak a word of joy, a word of strength, God, a word of peace.
SPEAKER_01: God, I pray, God, meet your people this morning in their point of need today.
SPEAKER_01: And we declare, God, that we'll be faithful to the sound of your voice.
SPEAKER_01: Because your voice changes everything.
SPEAKER_01: If you need something, move right now out of your seat.