WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.120 Good morning and Merry Christmas. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.439 I want to do something very selfish for a minute. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:11.679 I just want you to respond with what I say next. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:12.960 Merry Christmas. 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:14.320 Merry Christmas. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:16.719 Doesn't that sound amazing? 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:28.879 This time of year, I can tell you whether it's at an airport or a store, wherever it is, when did it become politically incorrect to say Merry Christmas at Christmas? 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:30.879 When did that happen? 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:43.439 Because I find myself, I will, I will just not overtly and not as a statement, but just as a state, just as a voice of hope at the end of conversations. 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:44.640 I'll go, Merry Christmas. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:47.520 And they're like, uh, and they don't know how to respond. 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:50.880 It's so funny to see people go, uh happy holidays. 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:52.960 I'm like, Merry Christmas. 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:56.560 And they'll just, I just, it's just something that's amazing. 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:03.359 I don't know another time in life, but it's so hopeful and joyful and stressful and chaotic at the same time. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:09.680 And it's like we're going 900 miles an hour, and I don't know where you are today, but I need a break. 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:11.280 I just need a break. 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:15.439 I need a time where I've got a few days of just chill. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:17.439 And I'm so looking forward to that. 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:19.519 But in the chaos of it, it's like, wow. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:34.640 Now, I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hands, but uh, have you ever had this experience, especially if you're a parent, where um Christmas Eve comes and it's the time of the day before the birth of Christ, and the day you have to put a bunch of stuff together. 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:58.719 And uh has anybody else done this where you literally you take all the instructions and you see the picture of this memento of joy that you're about to bestow on somebody and you think, man, that is gonna make their world, this is so great, and you see the picture and you have the dream, but then there's there's all these parts, and there's this chaos and mixed up in bags. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:00.640 It's like that's gonna become this. 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:02.159 How is that gonna happen? 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:17.120 Does anybody else do this where you look at the first few instructions, you're like, okay, okay, okay, I got this, and you just tell it, I just want to get to the picture, I just want to get to the picture, so I'm just and then you get to the picture, you're like, okay, it kind of looks like that, it's great, and then you look and there's there's spare parts. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:23.439 You're like, well, maybe those don't matter, and and then you realize they matter. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:35.439 And have you ever gotten to the point where you're like the next to the last uh step in the process, and you realize, oh my goodness, that that was like 18 steps ago that that was supposed to go in, and how did I miss that on the page? 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:40.240 And now you got to undo all of it to there, and just how frustrating it can be. 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:58.479 Well, that's kind of how I feel like this year is, and what we're gonna look at today is an amazing example of how we can have this next year, how we can wrap up this year, finish well, but really how we can have next year the most amazing year ever. 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:18.400 And I can tell you that from total confidence because this past year, 2017, has been literally the hardest year of my life, without question, in multiple categories, and yet it has been the best year of my life. 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:27.520 And and that doesn't make sense outside of God Himself just being in the middle of all of it. 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:33.360 So this morning it's a little bit of a, I gotta lay a little bit of a quick disclaimer, if you will. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:47.360 Today, if you're not a believer, if you haven't chosen to follow Christ, this is gonna be one of those where you see the picture and you're like, yeah, yeah, that's a great picture, but I see all these messed up parts of my life, and I just, that's that's not reality. 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:56.639 And I can tell you, I agree with you wholeheartedly, that is not reality apart from knowing Christ personally, because that's the only way we get there. 00:03:56.800 --> 00:04:03.919 And even those of us who know Christ, we can we can still get through this end of the year and just go, man, you you don't understand my year. 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:08.000 It's been hard or it's been different, it's been difficult. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:22.879 This morning, there are three steps for us to just really consider that if we want to have next year as the most amazing year of our life, this this is the steps to kind of move there. 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:24.399 And it hasn't changed. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:31.120 It's in the Joshua, the book of Joshua, chapter 24, where this is an amazing time. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:46.000 It's a time of of uh joy and and hope, and it's a time where it's literally, and see if this doesn't ring a bell, it is literally the people of God living in a multicultural, very affluent, great time of life. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:49.040 And wow, doesn't that sound familiar? 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:55.519 And yet they they they really come to the point where it's never feeling like enough. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:05:10.399 And I've actually printed it out in larger type because my eyes don't work as well as they used to, but in Joshua 24, verses 1 through 15, I'm gonna read these, but I'm gonna read them in a way that I want us to kind of pick out these steps and see if you can find them as I read them. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:22.560 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Sichem, and he summons the elders, the leaders, the judges, the officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:28.879 And Joshua said to all the people, This is what the Lord the God of Israel says. 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:40.319 Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham, and everybody knew Abraham and Naor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:48.959 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:55.120 I gave him Isaac and Isaac, I gave Jacob and Esau, and pause there for just one second. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:03.680 He's now telling stories that they have all heard, but he's blown over the miraculous part, but they knew the miraculous part. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:07.600 And if you're not familiar with Abraham, he says, I gave Abraham. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:12.959 Well, Abraham was the one who God says, I'm gonna make your descendants more than the stars in the sky. 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:14.639 And I love that we have these lights here. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:21.360 I want you to think, if I were to say, okay, I'm gonna give$100 to whoever can count all these lights in the next three seconds. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:22.319 Ready, go. 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:24.720 And we wouldn't get it. 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:29.920 Now imagine the myriad of stars in the skies, and Abraham's like, wow, that would be great, Lord. 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:32.879 And then he's a hundred years old and he has no children. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:35.360 And God says, You're gonna have more descendants. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.279 Yeah, God, that's not really the way it works. 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:42.399 My wife, she's barren, she has no eggs left, and and how's that gonna work? 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:43.439 And yet God does that. 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:45.040 So they knew the story. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:46.800 Pick it up in verse 5. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:55.439 And then he sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:04.399 When I brought the people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:18.959 But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea over them and covered them, and you saw this, they you saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:23.839 Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time, and I brought you out. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:33.120 And I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived the east of the Jordan, and he went through another body of water, and they fought against you, but I gave them into your hand. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:38.000 I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:49.600 When Balak, the son of Zapor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam, one of God's people, and said, Son of Beor, and put a curse on you. 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.000 But I did not listen to Balaam. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:57.439 So he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of their hands. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:07:58.560 And this is one of my favorites. 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:13.600 He says, As you crossed the Jordan and came into Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Gerishites, the Hebatites, and the Jebusites, and I gave them into your hands. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:16.240 And this is one of my this is one I've never really seen before. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:17.680 I read this passage over and over. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:26.560 And he said, I sent hornets ahead of you, which drove them out before you, and also the Amorit kings. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:30.399 You did not do it with your own sword and bows. 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:34.480 How is this fighting an overwhelming army and God just went, Hornets? 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:36.399 And then it's done. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:41.679 How incredible is that! And so God just goes on and on through this. 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:51.679 He says I gave the land of you which you did not toil, cities you did not build, and you lived in them, and you ate from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:53.600 And now he goes to the next level. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:57.840 He says, Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:04.000 Throw away the gods of your ancestors' worship beyond the Euphrates River in Egypt and serve the Lord. 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:14.159 But if if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, if serving the Lord seems, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:25.840 Whether the gods of your ancestors serve beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in the land which you are living now, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:35.039 And in our society, yes, you can clap for that because I believe, I believe God is saying the same thing to you and I today. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:37.440 I believe that He is saying, you know what? 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:44.480 If you want to experience fulfillment, significance, joy, and happiness, it's the same path. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:53.200 The first step I believe is if you and I will reflect, and what Joshua says is, hey, take a minute and look at all God's brought you through. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:54.000 Reflect. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:57.440 And I would encourage you and I today to reflect. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:02.000 What has God brought us through this past year in our past? 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.600 Since we've known him, what have we faced that we've gotten through? 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:10.559 Thanksgiving this year was convicting and encouraging to me at a different level. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:18.080 29th of November, the adoption of our 12-year-old son was finalized, and he's now a Kington, and it is awesome. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.240 Yes, you can clap for that as well. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:21.759 That's amazing. 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:26.080 At Thanksgiving, he wrote a Thanksgiving letter. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:36.399 My wife teaches at the school where he is, and somebody gave her the letter, and the teacher told her, I'm thankful for my bed. 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:41.440 And when inquired, he said, Well, you your your bed, do you like the firmness? 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:43.360 Do you like the bed spread? 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:49.679 He's a big Packers fan, he's got a bed spread, and he said, No, just I have a bed. 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:52.720 And he said, I remember sleeping under bridges. 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:55.120 I remember sleeping under cars. 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:58.000 I'm just thankful for a bed. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:06.960 And to think that he now has a room with a bed in his own bathroom, and he's living in utopia. 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:10.879 But to remember and reflect, where did God bring me through? 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:18.000 And I remember back in my life, and I remember, okay, Lord, this is a great time of year to reflect and say, God, what have you brought me through? 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:21.759 I don't know if you're here single today, but I'll never forget being single. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:27.519 I'll never forget being single and in my late 20s and seeing my other roommates and my friends get married. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:32.720 I'll never forget two records I have, I hope none of you can break. 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:36.320 I had dated seven women in my life before I met my wife. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:38.399 No, I dated eight of them. 00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:41.600 Seven of those eight made not only dropped me. 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.960 Now, when I say dated, you gotta kind of explain that to millennials. 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:46.799 That doesn't mean I just texted a girl a lot. 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:54.240 Okay, I mean it was we were we were actually going out and we were in a relationship and she knew it and I knew it. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.960 And and it just I'm sorry, that was that was a little jab. 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:00.480 I'm sorry, that's funny. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:05.840 And just to just to give, if you're a millennial, please forgive me for that. 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:11.200 Because the guys in my my time, it was it was not technologically joking. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:17.039 It would be like if they would go to the food court of the mall and sit at a table next to a girl, they call that a date. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:19.120 You know, it's just like, okay, that's not really it. 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:24.639 So it's eight girls I dated, we're mutually exclusive, just dating each other. 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:31.440 Seven of them not only broke up with me, but married the next guy they dated. 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:32.080 Okay? 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:33.679 Yeah. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:36.720 See, that's the painful part of the memory. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:38.399 But what does God bring us through? 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:42.879 Then on the side of roommates, I had like 18 roommates. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:45.759 Not at one time, but from college on. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:51.279 And the amazing part is I married off 17 roommates. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:56.720 We would go on beach retreats, we'd go to the trip, and guys were like, dude, can I be your roommate? 00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:58.320 Because I want to get married someday. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.000 And I was just like, leave me alone. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.320 And and they really did, they really did. 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:05.679 They called me, this was a nickname I had for they called me Preparation K. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:08.799 And then I was like, that's not nice. 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:12.799 And it's not easy to go through that. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:19.519 And even so, did my mother, my own mother, my mother was so desperate that this actually happened. 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:27.120 She and my my dad and my brother went to a family reunion in South Carolina, and they'd come back, and I'd I had some work I had to do. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.200 I had to travel a little bit, and I didn't get to go. 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:31.120 And my mom said, Oh my goodness, it was so fun. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:31.759 We're having dinner. 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:33.039 She goes, So great. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:33.919 You should have been there. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:34.720 And I'm like, Really? 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:40.480 She goes, Yeah, there were some people, some relatives we hadn't met any, you know, in years, and some we haven't seen, some we'd never met. 00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:43.759 And she goes, and there were some cute girls there. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:46.000 And I'm like, Mom? 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:48.000 She goes, what? 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:49.279 And she goes, they were cute. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:53.519 And I was like, I'm already related to those girls. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:55.840 And I'm not making this up. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:14:01.519 She goes, Well, you gotta start somewhere, and I'm like, not there. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:05.360 If there's one place you don't start, it's there. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:13.759 And I reflect on that, and I reflect on how literally I stopped and I said, Okay, Lord, here's my life. 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:39.519 And in the midst of that desire to be in a relationship, desire to experience marriage and to have a wife, to see where God has brought me and to see, man, I married way over my head, and I just I love where I am, but to reflect and say, God, look how you you protected me in several ways, and look how you provided, and look what you taught me, and look how you prepared me for where I am. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:40.799 God, thank you. 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:49.120 And I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but financially, I'll never forget when my wife and I decided, you know what, God's laid on our hearts, we need to get out of debt. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:51.919 And and I'm telling you, that is not an easy process. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:15:02.159 And I don't know if anybody's been through that, whether it's Dave Ramsey or Crown or whatever, but it it's a it's a struggle and it's painful and it's humbling. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:08.320 But man, on the other side, it's it's a freedom and it's an amazing perspective. 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:20.480 And it's like, Lord, look what you brought us through, and the setbacks during that that we thought were unsurmountable, and yet you walked with us through that, how amazing that was. 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:38.720 And even to the point of saving for our first house and going through those different steps, and getting to the point where I want to get to that point where I have that, I don't know, that awareness as I reflect on what God is that it affects what I'm going through right now. 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.840 And I can give you an example of that this last week. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:51.440 My middle son Cody did have a great semester at KSU, and and he's looking at becoming a pilot, and he's looking at these programs. 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:56.000 He's dad, I think I might want to transfer, and I found this program, and I had a show not far from there. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:57.200 I'm like, why don't you go with me? 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:09.519 We'll go visit the school, and we did, but on the way up, I went to pick up the rental car, and he's with me, and I'm like, hey, and I said, I'm here to get my car, and they're like, Oh, so sorry, we we don't have any cars. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:12.639 And I'm like, I I made a reservation. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:24.320 Now you gotta understand, I travel a lot, I reserve a lot of cars, and I'm like triple platinum gold president, whatever it is you get, and they always have a car. 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:29.600 And I'm like, Well, I I made a reservation, and here's my number, like, uh yeah, yep, here it is. 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:31.279 Um, but we have no cars. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.799 I'm like, well, why didn't you tell me that when I made the reservation? 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:36.159 Well, it's complicated. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:37.679 I'm like, not really. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.720 Um, it's like we have a reservation. 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:41.759 Look, there's no cars. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:43.120 Sorry, we don't have any cars. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:44.639 It's it's pretty much that easy. 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:46.240 And they said, Well, it's complicated. 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:49.039 I'm like, uh, I'm like, okay. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:51.759 And they said, Do you still want your reservation? 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:53.600 I'm like, Do you have a car? 00:16:55.200 --> 00:17:00.799 And they're like, well, no, and I'm like, then I I've got to go, then cancel my reservation. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:03.679 And my son was like, Dad, how is that possible? 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:04.640 I'm like, I don't know. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:05.839 I said, but you know what? 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:06.720 Let's go home. 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:08.319 I'll grab my car, we'll figure it out. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:12.319 So we're driving, and it's it's a thousand-mile trip, round trip. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:21.599 And so we're driving, and we're on the road for maybe, I don't know, two hours, and we hear this I'm like, what was that? 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:27.359 And then all these lights come on, and it and we we pull over and we get out, and I've got a flat tire. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:33.839 And I'm like, and my son was like, Dad, let's be a NASCAR crew, let's see how fast we can do this. 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:36.079 I'm like, okay. 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:40.720 So we get the boxes out, and he's got it, and he's dad, I'm great with the jack. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:50.960 And I'm like, but oh man, I forgot my jack is jacked up because my jack, the little part that has the twirl that head, it's bent from I don't know what. 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:52.160 I'm like, dude, it's messed up. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:54.000 He's like, dude, I can make, I'll I'll make it. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:55.440 You do the lugs, I'll do this. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:18:07.200 And he's sitting there and he's he's a strong kid, and he's got an out, and he got the thing to work, and we got the tire off, we got the other one on, and and we're headed down, and and he's like, Dad, how how long can we ride on this temporary tire? 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:20.319 And I'm like, as long as we can, but uh, because we got to get to this dinner and we driving, and we get to the place, and I mean two exits before we get to the place where we're gonna go for the hotel. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:22.880 I see the sign, King Tire. 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:25.519 And I'm like, okay, well, that's by the exit. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:26.319 You know what? 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:28.079 We gotta leave early in the morning. 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:29.359 Let's stop by there. 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:31.759 We got about uh 45 minutes. 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:34.559 Let me see if I can arrange for them to get the tires for tomorrow. 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:38.960 And he's like, Okay, we pull in, and I said, Okay, here's what happened. 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:43.759 I need two tires because I don't want because one's just bald, and the other one, I guess, is this. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:45.039 I want two tires. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:46.960 How much and how long will it take? 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.319 And can you get them for the morning? 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.839 And he goes, Well, it's this much, and he goes, Um, take about 30 minutes. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.559 I'm like, 30 minutes to change two tires? 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:55.519 He goes, Yeah. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.200 And I said, Well, do you have them in stock? 00:18:57.359 --> 00:18:58.240 Can I come back in the morning? 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:02.079 He goes, Well, he says, I uh we can do it now if you want. 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:03.920 I'm like, Yes. 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:16.880 And so we get the stuff out of the back and they put on the tires, and in literally in 25 minutes, we went from a spare temporary to two tires, and we're back and we're on time, and I'm like, wow. 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:28.240 And as we're going to the event, Cody's like, Dad, he said, I I don't know if we should we should do a whole lot more today, because I mean everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:30.960 And I said, Yeah, I said, but you know what's amazing? 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:34.400 And this is how when we reflect, it affects. 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:38.400 Reflecting on what God has done affects how we perceive. 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:40.079 I said, but here's the cool part, Cody. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:53.839 You're you were with me, and you got you got a jack to work that I couldn't get to work, and we're back on the road, and we made it all the way to Virginia on a temporary tire because there was no weather and it wasn't bad, and it was pretty straight. 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:55.359 And I said, that's amazing. 00:19:55.440 --> 00:20:07.759 And then this place was open, and we had the resources to be able to buy a tire, and they they were open, and they did it in 25 minutes, and we get to sleep in a little bit tomorrow and we get to keep going. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.000 I said, How how amazing is that? 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:19.279 And see, I I believe with all my heart, if we're actively taking the time to reflect, God is going to show us not only what he can do, what he has done. 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:24.799 Because this is one of the most encouraging verses in John chapter 16. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:34.160 It puts it this way This is God Himself, Jesus speaking, I have told you these things so that in me you will have peace. 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:38.240 In this world you will have trouble. 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:40.319 But take heart. 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:42.640 I've overcome the world. 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:46.400 And see, when he is in the midst of it, yes. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:53.839 When we reflect, we see his effect on whatever we're going through. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:58.079 And not only the reflection of that, but he he takes it a step further. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:03.839 So I want to just encourage you and I today to take some time before the end of the year and reflect. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:06.240 Reflect way back what God's brought us through. 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:07.279 Reflect through this year. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:09.839 What has God brought me through this year? 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:17.359 For me, it's it's just healing because I've struggled for those of you who don't, or maybe you're new. 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:28.480 Um a year ago, I had emergency open heart surgery, and it has been physically and mentally and emotionally just the recovery that has been grueling. 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:49.680 And yet in the midst of it, I've I've seen and developed some pieces that God has radically changed the way I see and do life, which is the second step, and that is to not just reflect on what he has done, but to reconcile who we are and how we're gonna relate to God, to reconcile that. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:54.000 Because what Joshua was telling them was hey, look at all God's done. 00:21:54.160 --> 00:22:07.839 Now here's the deal I know we live in a depraved society, and I I know that there are all these times of our past where these different thoughts and concepts and gods have crept in. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.920 But we got to make a decision. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:16.799 Am I going to reconcile my reality and take a little bit of what might work and sprinkle it on there and hope for happy? 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:25.279 Or am I going to take the truth and am I going to reconcile my life to that truth so that I can be prepared no matter what comes my way? 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:28.559 And that reconciliation is what makes all the difference. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.799 And I have seen this very clearly in Psalm 37, 25. 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:35.680 He writes, I was young and now I am old. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:37.359 And boy, can I relate to that. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:38.480 Anybody else relate to that? 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:39.920 I've been young, now I am old. 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:41.359 Anybody else? 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:46.880 Yet I've never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:50.640 See, there's something happens when we start to reconcile. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:59.680 If all we're doing is looking at this as a book of rules, then we we literally start to reconcile by trying to find the loopholes. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:02.640 We start taking the average or the bell curve. 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:07.200 We start looking at the Ten Commandments and go, well, at least I never killed anybody. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:10.400 Haven't committed adultery, and so you know what? 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:13.279 So I don't really take a day off during the week. 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:16.559 Our society just doesn't do that anymore. 00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:24.000 And we can rationalize and we can justify and we can miss out on everything God has. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:33.359 But see, when it's a relationship, and I reconcile through the truth through that relationship, that Jesus came full of grace and truth. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:35.519 That's how he came. 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:40.480 Grace without truth is just chaos and hedonism. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:43.519 Truth without grace is legalism. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.519 Truth and grace is relationship. 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:52.720 And see, when there's just the truth, when we try to do it with just the truth, there's loopholes. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:58.480 And I've I've shared my kids a thousand times, but when they were little, we let them make a decision. 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:02.160 And we would give them choices, and we would give them a rule. 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:04.880 But the rule was through the love of a relationship. 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:06.480 You got to go to bed. 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:08.640 Little kids don't like to go to bed. 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:09.920 Like, oh, stay up. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.000 It doesn't matter how tired they are, they want to stay up. 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:13.680 It's like, buddy, you gotta go to bed. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:17.680 And they said, let them make choices to teach them to make good choices. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:22.079 And we did, and I'll never forget, Graham was four, he's now 20. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:25.039 And he was like, I don't want to go to bed, I'm not tired. 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:27.200 And you can see little kids are like little drunk people. 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:28.240 I'm not tired. 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:31.519 I'm not, I'm not tired, I don't want to go to bed. 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:33.839 And it's like, dude, you're you're exhausted. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:36.640 And he's like, Oh, I'm like, buddy, you know, you know what? 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:37.759 You're old enough now. 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:40.720 We have a rule, you need to go to bed and get a certain amount of sleep. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:42.799 But here you get to choose. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:48.480 You can brush your teeth and put on your pajamas and go to bed, or you can have a spanking. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:56.400 And and he looked at me, he was like, Um, I said, What do you want to do? 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:59.200 And he said, I want to brush my teeth and pajamas and go to bed. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:01.440 I'm like, that's a great choice. 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:04.799 That's what I would have chosen. 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:09.599 And this poor little kid is walking up the stairs like, what just happened? 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:15.680 But see, it's that relationship, and he knows I love him, and he doesn't fully understand it. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:17.599 My second son, he's the negotiator. 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:19.119 Anybody have one of these? 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:22.480 Yeah, he hit four, and he's just like, I want to stay up. 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:23.359 I want to stay up. 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:24.640 Buddy, it's past your bedtime. 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.400 It's time to go to bed, but I want to stay up. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:28.400 And I'm like, buddy, you gotta get sleep. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:30.000 I said, but you're four, you get a choice. 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:32.319 Do you want to put on your jamas, brush your teeth, go to bed? 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.079 Or do you want a spanking? 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:36.240 And he sat there for like three minutes. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:43.519 Um and he and I said, buddy, you gotta make a choice. 00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:43.920 Here we go. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:44.720 What do you what do you get? 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:45.519 What is your choice? 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:50.160 And he's like, Um, after a spanking, can I stay up? 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:59.200 I'm like, no, buddy, but that's a good, that's a good negotiation. 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:07.359 But I'm gonna say no, but because we have a relationship, he may not want to do it, but he trusts me, and there's this relationship. 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.880 But if it's just the law that we rationalize it, then there's my daughter. 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.160 Anybody have a little girl? 00:26:12.400 --> 00:26:13.440 Anybody, girl? 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:16.000 These are different humans right there. 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:20.240 That's she hit four and she was in tears. 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.519 She was so tired. 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:23.599 I don't know, I am not tired. 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:24.799 I don't know how tired. 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:26.799 I'm like, baby, you're exhausted. 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:28.079 But you're four now. 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:28.880 You get to choose. 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:32.559 Do you want to put on your jamas, brush your teeth, go to bed, or do you want a spanking? 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:34.799 She dried up, she just went, no. 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:46.319 I don't think that's one of the choices. 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:52.720 And I said, maybe it's it's not for debate, it's the truth. 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:53.519 And you know what? 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:58.559 When you have that relationship, it's not always gonna work wonderful and be gleeful. 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:00.880 And yes, Father, I will do what you ask. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:03.359 It's it doesn't work. 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:09.519 But in a relationship, we reconcile going, you know what, Lord, your truth is more than what I feel. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:16.799 And what's amazing to me and what I love is that it's so different than our society. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:20.640 Our society tells us that we have the best at heart. 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:26.640 And I'll give you two examples, and I don't normally get political, but this one is just a great example of that. 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:34.160 I'll never forget watching TV, and and there's this cycle of elections, and to come on and go, you know what? 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:37.680 And the and several of you who are old like me are gonna remember this. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:39.759 Read my lips. 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:43.359 No new taxes. 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:47.599 And then months later, we have a whole pile of new taxes. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:54.960 And it's like, I don't fault you, and I know there's rationalization, I know that that was a law, but you know what? 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:57.200 That it's not true. 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:03.599 And I also remember several years ago, and they're like, no, no, no, this is gonna be great for you. 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:10.799 It's gonna save the average person up to$2,500, and you're gonna get to do whatever you want to do, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:13.279 And I counted that first year that it went in effect. 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:15.119 I didn't save$2,500. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:20.559 It cost me$3,800 more, and that price has gone up every year. 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:23.440 And it's like, and I'm as average as you get. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:27.200 If you're gonna buy me a shirt this Christmas, I wear double extra medium. 00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:30.480 Okay, I just, I'm as average as they come. 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:34.079 But the truth is, is that God is not that way. 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:41.599 And I love this in in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15 and 16, it just reiterates this. 00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:53.200 It says, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin. 00:28:53.599 --> 00:29:03.440 Let us approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:07.119 See, God says, I'm I know what you're going through. 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:26.960 And there's another beautiful verse in John 1.14, and it said, the word, the truth, the truth, the word became flesh and made his home among us, for we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father, the the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:29.519 And that truth doesn't change. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:37.839 And in Hebrews 13:8, those of us who follow Christ and He's in our hearts, it says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:47.599 And I want to challenge us with a thought of reconciling, to ask the question, God, here's my life. 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:52.079 Is there any part that is not where it needs to be? 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:57.279 Because I trust you that you're only gonna show me where I need to change for my good. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:01.200 You're only gonna convict me where it's gonna hurt me. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:04.799 And Lord, I'm so thankful that I can trust you to do that. 00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:11.920 And Lord, here's my temptations, here's my failures, here's my frustrations, because I know you've been through them and you've overcome them. 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:15.279 And that power that raised you from the dead lives within me. 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:17.839 And Lord, will you show me how to tap into that? 00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:22.480 But I want us to just ask a very convicting question. 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:27.039 It is so, there's there's not only nothing wrong, but very something good about coming together. 00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:31.599 Jesus said, do not neglect coming together, the coming together of yourselves. 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:34.799 I would encourage you and I, we need to be more consistent. 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:42.799 If I'm not in a small group, I need to be in one because I need to be a part of giving and receiving and being in that environment. 00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:52.079 But there's a danger that can happen when we move towards just the truth and away from reality of letting God be in the midst of it. 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:58.319 We can start to fade either away from God or towards legalism. 00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:00.240 And it has to be that relationship. 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:15.599 And let me give you a beautiful example of the real world that I just I fear has happened to me on occasions where I just find myself going, Well, God, I'm doing everything you say to do, and you're not giving me what I want. 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:21.359 You're not doing what I think you should be doing, and I'm missing that relationship. 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:26.240 A friend of mine, good friend of mine, I'll call him Paul, because that's his name. 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:37.200 And uh Paul told me one time we're having lunch, and he said, I got this really good friend, and he is a huge, he's he's a little bit different, but he's a big leadership guru follower. 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:40.240 Now, I don't know if you remember the name Lee Iacoka. 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:41.920 Does anybody remember that name? 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:42.400 Okay. 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:51.920 For those of you who don't know who Lee Iacoka is, um, when he was a young executive, he was with a Ford company and he developed uh this cool car called the Mustang. 00:31:52.160 --> 00:32:00.000 And it was the original and it was the first kind of muscle car, and he was behind that project, and it was awesome. 00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:08.000 And uh the 289 uh Ford Mustang 64 is my favorite, uh, but it's just a cool car. 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:12.640 Well, Chrysler Corporation was in disarray and was going bankrupt. 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:18.960 And he was older now, and they said, you know what, maybe we can get him to come to Chrysler and save the company. 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:21.839 And he goes to Chrysler and he did just that. 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:25.920 Now, how many of you have ever been in or driven a minivan? 00:32:26.079 --> 00:32:26.799 Raise your hand. 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:27.359 Okay. 00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:31.920 And I know they're not cool, but I've had two or three of them, and I get that. 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:32.960