Luke 13:31-14:6

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Luke chapter 13 is where we're at. We're going to get out of chapter 13 today and into chapter 14. And uh I am excited to share with you today. So this is what verse 31 says. At that time, some Pharisees said to him, Get away from here if you want to live. So Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. You guys cool if I jump right into it? Yeah, I mean, I know y'all feeling froggy. You came out in the snow and everything. Unstoppable, you are. So, so we're gonna jump right after it. So at that time, the Pharisees said to him, Get away from here if you want to live. Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem, but he wasn't there yet, right? And all along the way, we've been seeing him work miracles and stir up things in the religious system. And so now you'll hear this name and you'll be familiar with it from Luke. Get away from here if you want to live, Herod Antipas. So anybody remember the name of Herod in relation to uh John the Baptist? It was Herod that had John the Baptist beheaded, right? And so this is the same Herod. So Jesus isn't necessarily a fan of John the Baptist. We on the same page? So get away from here if you want to live. Herod Antipas wants to kill you. And Jesus replied, Go tell that fox, sheesh, go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. So a lot's going on here within the text, and it's helpful to unpack to know culturally how this is read. So when we hear fox, we probably think the same thing as what they thought there. Annoying, frustrating. They get into places they shouldn't be in, fox in the hen house, all that kind of stuff. Culturally, there, the fox would be referenced and known as insignificant or an imposter. So Jesus is straight up saying, Listen, I'm not stressed out about what this insignificant imposter is threatening me with. Because Jesus knew what? He knew his purpose. And when you know what your purpose is in God, people can talk about you, even authorities can talk about you, and you're not gonna get stressed out because Jesus knew that his purpose was to make it to Jerusalem, to die on the cross and raise again the third day. And we see that here in what he's conveying. Go tell that fox, that imposter, that I'll keep on casting out demons. I'm not gonna stop doing what I'm doing. I'm gonna keep doing what I've been doing because it's the only way I know how to exist, right? I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow. And check this out, and the third day, I will accomplish my purpose. Now he's not speaking literally that in three days he's about to accomplish his purpose. What he's saying is, he's giving a figurative speech here. He's like, I'm gonna be doing in this short time, it's gonna be packed with everything that I've been doing. But the time's drawing near. And here, can I just tell you today as I was studying this? Man, I barely could get past this part. On the third day, I will accomplish my purpose. Um I read that and I just thought, Jesus, thank you so much that your purpose wasn't just showing up on earth. Christmas time, praise God, he's Emmanuel God with us. But the purpose wasn't just to come to earth, the purpose was to die for us, and then not, that's not the end, but then be resurrected on the third day, right? And listen, sometimes we can get really focused on the cross, really focused on Christmas, and we forget the whole purpose, fulfillment of his purpose, was not just to die the death, but to be resurrected, claiming victory over death, hell, and the grave. You with me on that? And when I was just preparing today, I just kind of felt like this. If you forget that the purpose, the third day was involved, and you just stop at the cross, listen, they call Good Friday, but it doesn't feel so good, does it? And there's a lot of history around that. But there's a lot of pain that day when the followers of Jesus and his own mother saw him crucified. Right? It feels painful, it feels hopeless. This was our Messiah. People aren't catching what's going on. The prophetic uh declarations are being fulfilled in that, but his purpose wasn't done at that moment. And I just felt like just coming in today, that there's some people in this room that you're in the pain of a Good Friday right now, but the story's not over. And I felt like there's others of you, you imagine Saturday, the numbness of what you've just seen, what you've just experienced? From Good Friday, and now you got silent Saturday? Is it okay? It's Christmas time, but if I talk about the resurrection, because if we don't have the resurrection, we don't have any hope. And I'm so grateful that he came to earth, but it wasn't just so we could have Christmas Day, it was so that he could begin his journey to the cross, to the grave, and then raise again so we could have hope eternally. You with me on that? And so when I study this, and when I looked at that, I thought, man, he's calling his shot right here in front of everybody. I'm gonna keep doing what I've been doing, and on the third day, I'll accomplish my purpose. And most people probably forgot about that. But remember, this letter is written to Theophilus to give him a security, a certainty about his faith. And when you look at that, when you can you imagine Theophilus reading this on the third day. Oh, I know what happened on the third day. Before Jesus ever got there, he was already calling his shot about what would go on. And so there's gonna be painful Fridays, and there's gonna be Saturdays where you're just numb and you can't believe what's happened in life. But Sunday is always coming. Listen, your hope is never lost. I love the song by Torn Wells. He's like, if the story isn't good, then God's not done. And I heard that and I just felt to myself, man, in this church, I'm gonna preach loud today because I feel like the energy is like down here. All right. And I love you, but we're gonna wake up in the name of Jesus, right? So I got excited when I was studying this and I thought about the Torn Wells song because if the story isn't good, then God's not done. And man, it's amazing how you can get in a time of year where there should be so much hope, but there can be so much stress and so much anxiety. And the enemy trying to say, This is what you don't have. Your family's not perfect, this is what you don't have. The bank account's not set up right, this is what you don't have. It's trying to point at everything that you don't have, everything that's not connected dots, and say, This is what you don't have. And what I would hear you say today, and what I would hear you want you to hear the Lord saying today, rather, is Jesus saying, Listen, on the third day I'll accomplish my purpose, and what he purposes, he always fulfills. And his plans for you are to prosper you and not to harm you, and a future and a hope in your life. Right? And this life that we live in is but a vapor, is what the Bible says. It's here, then it's gone. And when it's gone and you have a relationship with Jesus, then your eternity is secure in him. For everybody that called on the name of the Lord and said, I believe that you are who you say you are, and that you would forgive me of my sins. I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth. I've got eternity with the Savior. I was studying this and I thought, man, I will accomplish my purpose. It doesn't matter what I'm being threatened with, it doesn't matter who's going to try to come against me. And some people would say and read this, and like I read some commentaries that kind of felt like maybe these Pharisees were sort of just trying to, they didn't want trouble in their area, so they were trying to scare Jesus. And then I read other commentaries that talked about Herod. Listen, at this point, massive crowds are following Jesus. He is a threat to the rulers of that region. And so some people would say that what Herod is trying to do is he didn't have intentions of killing Jesus because he didn't want a riot to start, but he wanted to scare him enough just to get him out of his area. I'm going to frighten you enough to stop what you're doing here. There are going to be so many things that frighten us from what God wants us to do. There's going to be so many things, listen. Insecurity has shut down more purpose and potential in people than almost anything else. Why would God use me? Why would God listen? Every person is intimately aware of their flaws. You with me on that? Everybody is intimately aware of what they've gotten wrong and what they lack. And insecurity has robbed so many people of purpose and potential. And I just hear the Lord saying today, Jesus wants to remind you that He will complete the work in you that He started. And that He's got a purpose for your life. And your purpose is not simply to leave and leave a warm spot in the pew that you just sat in, right? Your gift to the kingdom is not warming a pew. Your gift to the kingdom is the life that you live in front of your family, your friends, and your community. Go tell that fox, I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day, I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn't do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem. This is a throwback to when Zechariah was killed, when Jeremiah was persecuted. Let's go to the next page. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones, God's messengers. How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks. Culturally, that reference of a hen is like showing God as kind, as caring, as loving. He's trying to give an image to everybody listening as a hen. This is what God has wanted to do with Israel. I want to protect you. I want to bring you in close. I want to comfort you. And can I just say today, the desire of God is still the same in your life. He wants to bring you comfort. He wants to bring you protection. He wants to bring you provision. He wants to bring you care. But listen, you get to decide whether you're going to receive it or you're going to wrestle with it. Whether you're going to keep him at arm's length or you're going to embrace it. I uh I just I feel like I don't want to say this. I feel like as I prepared that there was somebody in this place that you've talked yourself out of being worthy of God's love. It's like, yeah. I'll let you love me a little bit, but I'm not gonna let you love me all the way. I'll let you love me in my wins, but I'm not gonna let you love me in my losses. I'm gonna let you love me in my pretty areas, but I'm not gonna let you love me in my ugly areas. Does it make sense to anybody? So, so what I would say today is this it takes courage to surrender to the fact that he wants to love you completely and totally. And unless you love him completely, unless you allow him to love you completely and totally, those areas that need to change, you're never gonna be able to change the things in you that need to be changed. Only your surrender to him is going to allow those things to change. And so he's saying, Listen, I as a hen, I this is what I've wanted to do often. I've wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings. But you wouldn't let me. Israel, you would not let me do it. And now, look, your house is abandoned, and you'll never see me until you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord. This is again, uh, this is a messianic reference from Old Testament. Let's keep pushing forward. When they refused to answer, Jesus touched Oh, yeah, there we go. Sorry, jump down. On one Sabbath day, Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. And Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day or not? Now, just heads up. If you search Old Testament law, it was not illegal, it was not against the law for healing on the Sabbath. It was not against the law to rescue or save somebody on the Sabbath. These extra fence laws got put in later in time. And so there were Pharisees saying, I'm going to add this extra law, this extra law, this extra law, to the point now when people needed help and people needed care, the very place they should go for help would discourage them from it. And he's saying, Listen, is it okay? Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day or not? And when they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. I love with the ease in which Jesus ministered healing. I love the compassion. When they refuse to answer, Jesus touched the sick man. He's not stressed out about what the room thinks. He's on mission and he's on purpose. When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. Let's go next verse. Then he returned, excuse me, then he turned to them and said, Which of you doesn't work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow, that's crazy. That's crazy, right? If your son or your cow, if your son or your cow falls into a pit, yikes, don't you rush to get him out? Again, they could not answer. Listen, because he's everything that he's sharing with them is not wrong to do. They are more willing to go get their cow out of a ditch than to have minister healing to somebody that's sick, somebody that has an infirmity. They're more willing to rescue livestock than to rescue people. Right? Emotionally, spiritually, physically. Again, they could not answer. When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice. I want to shift gears right now. Because as we're in this moment, we're about to read this, we're in a season where this is wildly practical. When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the tenor were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table. Now, culturally, the closer you get to the head of the table, the more either affluent you are, the more leadership you have. It's like the more respected place near the head of the table. Everybody's jockeying for position because they want their seat to be the identifier of their value. They want their position at the table to be the signifier of what they've accomplished in life, and they want their position to be the thing that makes people look up to them. What they've accomplished, what their job is in society. They're wanting the seat to be the thing that gives them the accolades, right? When Jesus noticed all who had come to dinner were trying to sit in seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice. When you are invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? The host will come and say, Give this person your seat, then you will be embarrassed. And you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table. Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, Friend, we have a better place for you. Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Next verse. Then he who turns excuse me, then he turned to his host. When you put on a luncheon or banquet, he said, Don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors, for they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor. Instead, invite the poor. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you. God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you. He's like, you guys are caught in a couple cycles. The first cycle is you're trying to get your identity from your accomplishments, and you're trying to get the respect of people rather than the honor of God. And you're in this cycle that's going to wear you out, burn you out, and it's not ever going to minister to anybody. It's not ever going to help anybody. Listen, if you're in school or if you're in a workplace or whatever your environment and life currently is, if you find your identity in what you do and not who you belong to, then you will always be frustrated trying to keep up with the Joneses. But until your identity comes from that you were created from God, that he in your in his mind is like, what a great idea. I've got to create you. And when he made you, and you recognize I'm here and I'm breathing, because God designed it, because God purposed it. My identity comes from him. What I do then flows out of that identity. I'm not getting an identity out of what I do. Right? And so they're in this cycle and they're all jockeying for position. And life's this kind of rat race. It was the same then as it is now. You with me on that? Everybody's wanting to jockey for position. Look how good I'm doing. Look how great I am. He says, Man, stop trying to get your identity from your seat at the table. Sit at the lowest spot because when you know who you belong to, you can sit at any place at that table because your identity doesn't come from your position. It comes from me and me alone. So when you show up at a house or a home in this holiday season, let me put it to you like this: always take the lowest seat. What does that mean? It means that your perspective in life does not always have to be proven right in front of the people that you hang out with. That's the lowest seat. I don't need to be arguing with people that I don't agree with at a family function. I'm just going to love on them. And if I disagree with them, I'm just going to sit at the lowest seat. I don't always have to voice my opinion. I don't always have to give my perspective. If it's invited, I'm asked up to the next seat, then I'll share it with humility. Does that make sense? But some of us we like to roll up and I'm going into this house today and I'm going to shake things up. Need some kind of casserole, and then I'm going to let them know. Because I understand the Bible better than they understand it and how it applies to every bit of life. No, you don't. If you think that way, you've missed it already. But when you come in, say, man, I'm gonna I'm gonna take the lowest seat. I sit at the kids' table. Anybody ever have a we in our family we had a card table. Like all four legs individually popped out. It sat lower than everything, and there was never a seat that matched the height. So either you were up like this, your seat was too low, or you were down like this, right? And it's like this is just all weird. And it all wiggled, and you couldn't cut your food without shaking the table. Right? So you just pick it up and chew that stuff like a like an animal, right? And when you walk in, say, I'll sit at a kid's table. I'll be quiet, I'll I'll listen. I'll be slow to speak, I'll be slow to get angry. I'm I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna pump the brakes on having to be right. I'm gonna pump the brakes on on needing to prove myself as brilliant in front of these people. Humility is a hard thing. You have to work at humility, it doesn't come naturally. Right? Pride comes naturally, right? Because even as little kids, like we we love to get our affirmation from our parents. When I was little, dad, watch me do this. Right? Oh, wow, that's amazing. No, it's not, it's not amazing to nobody. Wow, wow, that's awesome. Right? You know, and and but as we grow, we keep trying to get affirmation from people. And listen, humility, the here's the area that I work at and trying to stay humble in my life right now. When I remember that his purpose was completed on the third day, that he saw me and he's like, Joey, I see all your mistakes, but I'm still gonna die and I'm gonna raise again. I'm still gonna pay the price. I I'm I I'm keenly aware of your shortcomings. I'm still gonna pay the price. When I when I get that here, there's a guy named Tim Keller, and I love how he writes it. And so I just needed to share it with you because I couldn't uh repeat it the way that he wrote it. And so this is what this is what he said. He said, The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads me to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and snivelling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less. Isn't the love of Jesus really the shows us not only where to sit in the party, but also who to invite to the party. Because what does it matter if you're sitting in the right place if you got the wrong people in the room? Right? And listen, it says invite the poor. I recognize this. I recognize there can be poor in spirit. For sure. I've talked to people with stacked bank accounts and poor in spirit. Right? It doesn't always equal the same. And I've talked to people that didn't have much, but they were rich in their relationship with God. But the intentionality of this is I'm bringing people to the party that cannot repay me in any way. Right? I can't get anything. I'm not using this relationship to extract something from it. I'm giving selflessly. Why? Because I've been given to unconditionally. And so now I give selflessly. So whoever I'm inviting to my party, I want you to come just so I can love you, not for what you can do to me. Right? He's like, man, don't invite your brother or your co-workers. They're going to invite you back to their house, and the cycle just continue, and you guys can keep honoring each other. But at the end of your life, all you'll have is the accolades of your co-workers, not the honor of God. Who do you need to invite? Who do you want to be around? You want to invite people that can give nothing to you, do nothing for you, but you pour into them. Can I tell you something? Just out of love and just being real with you, it is exhausting. Because there will be people that you pour your life into that later on will just walk away without a word, without a goodbye, without anything. Yeah, Joey, that sounds cool. Listen, it is hard and it is painful. But it is the way that we are called to live. Joey, you're not making this sound so good. I want to tell you something. There's nothing like it in the world. Because in it you find your purpose. You find the fulfillment of what you were created to be, a reflection of the love of God. And in that reflection, he gets the glory and he gets the honor and the praise. If Christmas shows us anything, it's what humility looks like. Every time you walk by a tree and there's a star on top or an angel on top of the Christmas tree, it shows into the love of God and the humility shown by Jesus to step into his creation. Right? Like when I sit in front of the tree and I look and I'm like, man, there's a star that marked where Jesus would be born. Right? There were angels that shouted in the field. Good will towards Emmanuel, God is with you. Right? When I see these things, it shouts to me humility that Jesus would step out of heaven onto earth. I don't think we'll ever be able to understand that until we've been on the other side. Where there's no pain and there's no worry and there's no concern, and there's no splinters, and there's no blisters, and there's no getting cut, and there's no breaking, there's none of that on the other side. And he says, I'm gonna leave everything behind. Step into the dirt and I'm gonna get messy, I'm gonna take on the mess of the world. God will reward you. Your life is earning you something right now. Your life is earning you something right now. You're either gaining praise for yourself. Or you're in real time earning a reward that you won't see until the resurrection of the righteous. Couple weeks. It's only in the 20s. Pump the brakes. And the incredibly beautiful family, and the one thing that you see in all this, it goes quick. It goes quick, it goes quick. I remember the the first day alone with my daughter, and Ashley's pulling out to go to work, and it's just gonna be me and her at the house for hours. And I thought, as the car went away, I just I just stood there watching. Oh my god. Right? Like trembling, I'm like, oh whew. And she like bless her heart, just this beautiful, ginormous head, just looking up. And uh and now when I think, gosh, man, there's a moment where it seems like forever ago, but just a moment ago, in the same time. Does it sound weird? Like it feels like forever ago, but then it's also just not that long, and it goes quick. And in not much that long, or I don't know how many decades or whatever, but there'll be a moment where my life is lived completely out. And I'm on my few last breaths. And can I tell you, as I study this in my heart, when I look at the word and when I look at Jesus and his love and how it's poured out, I'm thinking to myself, man, I want to get to the last few breaths and have a life that was completely poured out for him. All gas, no breaks. All gas, no breaks. Right? Like I just want to, man, that the tank is all the way on E when I go. I don't want nothing left in the tank. And when I breathe my last to be welcomed into his presence. And as if his embrace wouldn't be reward enough for him to have in the mind of God whatever that looks like. I don't even know, but to step in his presence, like, man, but I've got, I let me love you. Well done, good and faithful servant. Let me embrace you. I got some things I want to show you. God will reward you. Can I encourage you today? As you step into these next few weeks, it is hard to sit at the lowest seat of the table. And can I tell you why? Because there's some people that make it hard. Because they'll look at you and kind of laugh like finally they figured out their spot. There will be people that rub you intentionally the wrong way. Anybody in this in this place have a button pusher in their life? That they know how to find your button and just push it, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I have a friend, and I don't know if that's his spiritual gift or what, but he can just find everybody's button and he'll just bang, bang, bang, and he thinks it's hilarious. But those the button pushers, they'll come in your life and be like, man, I pride will rise up within you. I need to get my point across. I need to say everything I want to say. Just sit at the seat of the table. Sit the lowest seat. Wait to be invited up and then share. But more than that, man. I believe, man, as I was preparing and just setting out a couple gifts the other day and just kind of situating the table and seeing it full on the back. Now, listen, there's a table back there that is going to a place where nobody in that place can do anything for you. And I love that there's the opportunity, but I hate that it takes a moment like Christmas to step into that rather than a lifestyle. Does that make sense? I'm trying to assess right now in the areas in my life where I flip on the Christian switch and then flip it off when I'm done. Is that too real? Come to church, flip the switch on. Hallelujah. Right? Get in the car, slam the door, flip the switch off. There better not be anybody in front of me. Food line, right? Like. I'm just realizing, man, there's so many areas. And I guess where I want to end is this. Could you just close your eyes just for a moment? Yeah, so Holy Spirit, I just need help right now. Land in this plane. Yeah, Lord, I thank you that this this church, this, these people, these sons and daughters will be trailblazers in Jesus' name. I thank you that this church, these people, these your sons and daughters, will be courageous in Jesus' name. I thank you that this church and these people and these your sons and daughters will live all gas, no breaks, completely for you. Lord, I pray right now and I just declare that these people, these your sons and daughters, would have the courage to let you love them in every area of their life right now. That they would have the courage to say, God, I'm gonna let you into the door that I've kept closed to everybody. The door labeled shame and all the things I've stuffed in that room. I'm gonna let you come into that room and just love me to freedom. I'm gonna let you in all the rooms of my life, the room that's marked failure. I'm gonna ask you to enter that. I'm gonna let you love me in that place till there's no more sense of failure. There's only testimony. Lord, I pray over each person in this room right now that there'll be a courage to say, God, I'm gonna choose with my will before my emotions catch up to allow you to love me completely. I'm gonna choose with my courage of my will to say, God, I choose to say right now, if the story isn't good, then I choose to say you're not done. I declare it's not over. The story's not over if it's not good, that you're still working. Lord, I pray that there be a fire raised up right now inside your sons and daughters in this room. A fire raised up right now within your sons and daughters in this room. I come against the spirit of apathy. I come against the spirit of slothfulness, I come against the spirit of laziness. Lord, I thank you right now that your sons and daughters, that your oil would pour out from heaven on us. That there'd be a fire that would light and ignite this place in Jesus' name. Thank you, God, that we would repent from taking the easy way, the easy route, the path of least resistance. God, I thank you right now in the name of Jesus, as we just repent of the areas of our lives where we flip the switch on and flip it back off, that we say, God, that's not your best. So we repent of that and we give it to you. Lord, we repent of taking the highest seat at the table. We repent of trying to get our accolades from people rather than our honor from you. We repent of trying to get our identity from what we do rather than who we belong to. Lord, we repent right now of trying to have the loudest voice so that we can feel like we have the most validation. Lord, we repent for inviting the wrong people to the party. We repent for for for for only trying to get those people in our life that can give us something. I pray right now that a consuming fire fall on this place in Jesus' name. Thank you, Lord, that you would call us and you would establish us as oaks of righteousness that are planted by the waters, like it says in Scripture, and it bears fruit and stays green in every single season. If it's famine, it's green. Famine, there's fruit. When the wind is dry, the ground everywhere else is dry, Lord, that these would be oaks of righteousness that would bear fruit in every season. Lord, for the person in this room that feels like their marriage is too far gone for it to ever be exciting or salvageable again, Lord. I just thank you, give them encouragement right now in the name of Jesus. That you are a redeemer of all things, God. Lord, I just want to pray over the young person in this room right now that is really battling with worth. Lord, I pray for the old person in this room right now that's really battling with worth. Man, would you just place your hands in front of you on your lap, just like you're ready to receive a gift? Just an outward sign of an inward act. I'm just gonna ask you to pray this prayer in faith. Just repeat this after me. Jesus, I choose to believe what you say about me. You say I'm a royal priesthood. You say I'm a holy nation. You say I'm the head and not the tail. That I'm above and not beneath. You say I am friend. I choose to believe what you say about me. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Just want to pray over you right now. Just just rest, just rest. Just close your eyes from them. Just rest, man. Thank you, Lord. Some of you just exhausted. Just rest right now. Just let your shoulders relax. The peace of God, just Lord, I thank you right now that we would have revelation of your peace right now. That it be made manifest in this place. Your peace be made manifest in this place right now. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for your love. Jesus, we thank you that you were not derailed by threats. But that you cast out demons and you healed the sick day after day. You lived with an intentionality to fulfill the purpose, not simply to die on the cross, but rise again on the third day. Thank you for the hope that we have in that. Thank you that we would see the love that you have for us in that. That we would find both humility and confidence in it. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Man, I love you. Pray you be blessed. Pray you have a great week and proud of you for coming out when there's snow on the ground. You're some wild people, and I love it. We're gonna have some time afterwards where we can hang out outside and the fire pit's gonna be gone. It's gonna be good if you need to stay in here and stay cozy. But I encourage you, just stay and hang out and spend time with family. If you need prayer for something, please come and get it. If you've got kids, please go and get them. But listen, we value you, we love you, and over the next few weeks, we're just gonna push deeper in. And and this is what this is what I would say, this is what I'm asking. From this day this week till this day next week, that you would take at least five minutes a day. Just start there. If you don't have any place, five minutes a day and get in the word. You recognize that there are studies now that say if you get in the word for one day, it really doesn't make any impact in your life. Two days, not much impact. By the time you hit day four, stress goes down. By the time you hit day four, temptation towards pornography goes down. By the time you hit day four, things in your mind and in your life begin to shift. For the next seven days as a family, if we just push into this. Just get into the word. Read Luke. If there's a part you don't understand, highlight what you don't understand. Highlight it. Send it to me. Get online, like we let's work through it together. But let's just get in the word. And rather than trying to understand everything, let's just let it minister to us. Cool? Alright, man. Be blessed in that challenge. I see you're shaking your head that you're gonna take me up on it. That's gonna be a good thing. Love you guys. Can we give the Lord a praise as we close out today? Yeah. Go ahead and stand. Just gonna put my arm around my wife, and we are gonna speak a blessing over you together in this Christmas season. Lord, I thank you, God. In a season where there can be stress, we pray peace right now in the name of Jesus. In a season where there can just be not enough time, we thank you peace in the name of Jesus. Wisdom throughout these days, grace throughout these days, Lord. Father, I thank you that we would sense, and these, your sons and daughters, would sense your presence in a full and a real way over these coming weeks. In Jesus' name we pray.