Why Christmas Matters: Finding Real Hope When Life Hurts

The season moves fast, and for many of us it feels like we’re sprinting on empty. We wanted to slow the frame and ask a harder, better question: what does the birth of Jesus actually change when life feels heavy, frantic, or hopeless? Starting from Matthew’s quiet line—“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way”—we peel back the noise and follow a clear thread: the manger is God stepping into our mess to bring real hope, not sentiment.

We talk about the ache under the holidays: over a million people every week confide in a chatbot about suicide. That statistic isn’t “out there.” It’s neighbors and coworkers who can’t see a future worth wanting. Hebrews 2 helps us name why the incarnation matters right now: Jesus shares our flesh to destroy the power of death and free those trapped by fear. From there, we challenge a subtle church‑nihilism that expects things to only get worse. If the point were only sacrifice, why didn’t Jesus die in Bethlehem? Instead He lived to reveal a new metric for a good life—presence, compassion, obedience—and to announce a kingdom at hand that pushes light into dark corners.

For the weary, we offer relief, not hustle: lay down the fights you can’t win and that Jesus already won. Isaiah 54:17, Psalm 46, and Matthew 11 invite stillness and soul rest. For those renewed, we pivot to mission with practical steps toward gospel fluency—turning everyday conversations into honest bridges to hope without being weird or preachy. We even share how a football comeback or a botched craft can point to pierced hands and an empty tomb. Along the way, we look ahead to growing in both spirit and truth, learning to recognize spiritual battles and leaning on the One who has overcome.

If this conversation lifts your eyes or lightens your load, share it with a friend who needs hope. Subscribe for more, leave a review so others can find us, and tell us: where do you need rest—or where are you ready to bring light—this week?

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Scene Before Christmas
• 3:37 Why Christmas Changes Our Mood
• 6:55 The Birth Of Jesus As The Point
• 10:45 Hope Versus Despair In Our Culture
• 13:25 Did Jesus Come Only To Die
• 16:30 Kingdom At Hand And Our Measures Of Success
• 20:05 Jesus Shares Our Humanity And Suffering
• 24:10 Chosen Before Foundation: Secure In Love
• 27:30 Prophets, Prisoners, And Stepping Into Darkness
• 31:10 Rest, Burnout, And Letting God Fight
• 35:05 Greater David Versus Goliath And Satan
• 38:40 Vision Ahead: Spirit And Truth
• 41:00 From Rest To Mission: Gospel Fluency
• 45:10 Practical Paths To Rest And Hope

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Well, good morning. I'm so glad to be back. It was a rough trip back last night. It took us like 12 hours almost to make a five-hour trip. So that was fun. But we're glad we're back, and we can't wait to jump into this this morning. But as I was preparing this message, it was just crazy to me to think about this is the last message I will preach before Christmas Day. Like when you really stop and think about that, like I remember sitting here going, only 365 more days till Christmas next year.

unknown: 0:36

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00: 0:37

I remember like carving the Thanksgiving turkey, and it was like I blinked, and it's like, we're already done with like Advent. Like, yeah, that we have the Christmas Eve service, and I'm sure there'll be a couple of words said there, but there won't be a message. And this is crazy to me because we celebrate Christmas twice a year at our house. Like we celebrate Christmas in July, and then we celebrate at Christmas like the rest of you heathens that only you know worship on pagan holidays, right? And I think when we stop and we think about Christmas, most of us can agree. People seem to be a little nicer. They seem to be a little more merry. I got to hear from the Coxsins this morning about a what I would call a tradition they do, um, out in Lake Helen and riding this Christmas tram. And Stephen was telling me one of the things he liked most about it was the waiting before the tram because it's a lot of fun to sit there and talk. And I go, but we don't do stuff like that, you know, during summer. Like half the time it's like right before dusk you find your way inside, right? Because you don't want to get carried off by the large insects we have flying around here in Florida. Um, which, and we're not paid in any way, shape, or form by this. Invest in Thermocell. It is amazing, and it will keep bugs off of you. Um, but people are a little bit nicer this time of the year. They're a little bit more merry, they're a little bit more chipper. We we see people actually change. Think about all of the different giveaways you've seen over the past month, whether it be like turkey giveaways or food giveaways or gift giveaways, like businesses put boxes in their lobbies and they go, hey, we're collecting toys for children in need. You know, we don't see that in like March. You don't see that like in June. It's only this time of year. And that's because it's this time of year we seem to have a little bit more hope. This time of year we seem to go, hey, like we can do this. Like this time of the year, it's a little bit easier for us to love one another. And it's honestly because the king of hope was born. So I'm gonna pray and then we're gonna jump into that. Father, thank you so much for your your giving of your son and his birth. And I ask and I pray, Father, that as we study in your word today, that God it be your word that we study. I pray by the power of your spirit that we are transformed from the inside out and that we leave here different than when we came in. Father, I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so we're gonna look at Matthew 118, and it starts like this. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. Now, that is not the entire verse, but that is the part we are going to focus on this morning. Why? Because, like I just said, this is the last message I'm gonna preach before Christmas Day. And Christmas Day is the day that Christians gather together in our homes and we celebrate the birth of Jesus. For some of us that you've been doing this all your life, you have heard this narrative over and over and over and over, and you can probably quote it in your sleep, right? And the baby boy born in the manger to Mary and Joseph and all of that, but we we kind of, because we come in we become inoculated to this, we forget that that is what we're celebrating. Yes, going and looking at lights is amazing. It is awesome to like ride around, put your windows down, listen to some Christmas carols, and look at what other people have done on their houses. Dinners with family are always fun, right? Well, depending on your family. Most of the time, dinners with family are always fun. I remember a couple of years ago, Debbie got really angry. We were like laying in the living room watching TV, and when it's cold out, I will open up like all of our windows and our door, so we have like the screen door, and and like we have a fireplace, and and dude, it's just so cozy and warm. It like looks like a postcard. And when Debbie came out at like four in the morning and was like, Oh my god, you did not lock anything, close any doors or any windows. What if someone would have broken in? And I was like, Well, I'm sleeping right here on the couch. Hopefully, they would have woke me up and I could have handled that, but nevertheless, sweetie, we're safe. See, those cozy nights and the Christmas movies, maybe your family's that family that you have like matching pajamas and you do those pictures every year. And if it if you're not, it's not too late to go get matching pajamas and do those family pictures. See, Christmas is all of that, but the birth of Jesus is the point of Christmas, and without the birth of Jesus, everything else falls flat. There's really no meaning in any of it all. Like, think about it. Why would you put lights on your house if you're not celebrating the light of the world coming into the darkness? Think about it, without the birth of Jesus, we can't get to the redemptive death of Jesus. Without the birth in the manger that had no glitz, that had no glamour, the one birth that changed the history of the world. I say this a lot, but whether you believe in Jesus or not, the birth of Jesus changed how you view this world. You could be the world's biggest atheist, and you still have to contend with the birth of one person 2,025 years ago. And see, and now we're gonna take the rest of this message and we're gonna look at the birth of the king of hope and what that means for this world. And I'm gonna start with this. Go ahead and put up that slide, Gabby. So this past week, I get a lot of emails from a lot of different companies, right? As a pastor and all of this, and this is one of the emails I got. It's a really good article. Um, over a million people a week. I want you to like grasp what I just said. A million people a week talk to Chat GPT about suicide. Now, this is coming from OpenAI, which is the parent company of Chat GPT. Okay, this is not like some random survey. And when I first read that title, right before I read the article, and I was like, how sad is that that a million people a week talk to a machine to begin with? But then I read the article and I was like, oh my god, there's a million people a week that are talking to a machine because they have no one else to talk to, and they're sitting here going, should I commit suicide? Think about that. A million people. These are your neighbors, these are your coworkers, these are people that would never in a million years come to you and go, hey, I'm thinking about hurting myself. And I'll tell you right now, as being former law enforcement, the people that won't say it are the people that are going to do it. But think about all of the people in your life and understand that right now, there are people in your life that are wrestling with this. There are people in your life that are sitting here going, I can't deal with this anymore. Because at the end of the day, why do people commit suicide? They have no hope. That is the reason they do it. Now they may have other reasons that that are like secondary to that. Maybe they have traumatic stories and and and all of that. But the the biggest thing is they have no hope for the future. They have no hope that things will get better. And so they go. And these are people that you probably interact with at least two to three times a week. Have you ever actually went to someone and went, hey, just I want to know how's your heart? Like who cares about how their life is? Who cares how their vacation went? Who cares about any of that? Have you ever stopped and just went, how's your life? How's your or not how's your life? How's your heart? How are you? Have you took the time to just sit there and listen? Because honestly, we've become a very nihilistic society. And if you're not 100% sure what that word is, it's it's really just this we accept that things will never get better and things will never change. Even in the church. In fact, I would argue more so in the church, because you know what I hear all the time from other Christians? Well, the Bible says it's only gonna get worse. All right, I hear that when you're you're you're starting to get into what's called um end times. Yeah, the tribulation's coming, yeah, the the desolation's coming, like, yeah, all of that's gonna come, but why did Jesus come? Like most of us, like, we have this misunderstanding that the only reason Jesus came was to be a sacrifice. Here's the problem with understanding the gospel through that lens, though. If the only point of Jesus coming to earth was to die, then why wouldn't he have just died as a baby? Herod was already going through killing all the babies because this professed king was coming. So wouldn't it have been easier for Jesus just to die then? Why wait until he's 33? Why wait until he has this whole ministry? Think about that. And the reason is because Jesus didn't just come into the world to die. Jesus came so that we may have life and have life abundantly. Jesus came so that he could show us what this means to live. In fact, in John 1, when we look at the coming of Jesus, because the Christmas story is different in John, it was this: the light came into the world. The light came to illuminate the darkness. Like that's why we celebrate the birth. Jesus didn't come just to be a sacrifice, he came so that you can see this is how life was meant to be lived. See, most of us, here's how we live our life, and here's how we measure success. How many toys do I have? How did Jesus measure success? Did Jesus go, oh, I have to have a house? No, he was homeless. Did Jesus go, I have to have this car? No, he was home. Or uh he didn't drive. And I doubt very seriously, like donkeys were going for like a premium. Did Jesus go, oh, my retirement account has to be fat? No. Did Jesus go, oh, my kids have to go to this school? No. Did Jesus go, oh I have to have these things? No. How do you measure success in your life though? Like Jesus wasn't climbing the corporate ladder. Jesus wasn't sitting here going, hey, I have to have all of the things here and now. In fact, when Jesus starts his earthly ministry, do you know the words he uses to start? And we're gonna get to it, Matthew 3. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. See, that's why Jesus came to bring heaven to earth. And yet in the church, we're so nihilistic about it. Oh, things are never gonna get better. You know why things are never gonna get better? Because we as the church don't want to push into the darkness. We as the church just wanna be comfy. We just want to sit in our, you know, nice air-conditioned buildings and we just wanna like once a week, you know, hear someone like yell at me so I can like kind of feel shame about my life, and then we're just gonna go on about our lives for the rest of the week. We don't want to change anything. We don't want to like have to do heart work, we don't want to have to, we'll we'll just sit here and go, oh, the Bible says it's only gonna get worse. But that's the opposite of what Jesus says. That's the opposite of the reason Jesus came. And if you're sitting here going that it's only gonna get worse, the logical outcome of that mindset is that we have to suffer. But see, that's not what we see with the birth of Jesus. With the birth of the King of hope, we see something different. In fact, in Hebrews 2, the Bible tells us this. This is why Jesus was born. Starting in verse 14, it says, Since therefore the children in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil. And deliver all of those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. See what that's saying is Jesus became like us because he went, hey, I'm gonna give you a different future. Like I get it, I get what you suffer with. Think about that. Jesus knows exactly what you walk through because he walked through it. You're not by yourself. In fact, that's one of the most damaging things we do to ourselves. When things get wrong, here's the deal. I talk to a lot of you during the week. Stop apologizing to me if like you're telling me your problems. I don't need you to apologize for me or to me. I am here for that. You know why? Because Jesus was here for that. Because Jesus went, I know what it's like. I know what it's like to hurt, I know what it's like to have headaches, I know what it's like to be tired, I know what it's like to be stressed, I know what it's like to be all of these things. What let me walk with you. See, so many times we put it, it's on our hard work and dedication. Well, I just I gotta do this, I gotta do this, I gotta do this. Understand, here's what it was on the birth of the king of hope. Because Jesus went, I'm gonna come down and I'm gonna do this with you. See, I'm not gonna sit here and say that we're without our share of problems. Right? Anyone in here? Like your life is just stress-free all the time. Yes. I mean, that's what you tell me when you walk in every Sunday morning. But I'm gonna go ahead and guess that for the most part, that's a lie. Again, I started with, yeah, it was a long trip back yesterday. Trailer broke down. I mean, it is a brand new trailer, like less than six months old. Like it's only put the boat in the water, I think, four times. The whole purpose of buying the trailer was to go to the keys, because my other trailer, which was almost 35 years old, it definitely passed its prime a while ago. And I was just tired of nursing it back to health. So I went, no, we're gonna do the mature, responsible thing, we're gonna go buy a new one. And then I'm sitting in a parking lot, honestly, in not a very good neighborhood. Like this was like, I've never worked on anything where I was like, I need to have my gun on me while I'm working on this, just in case someone walks up on me. And I go, yeah, we all, and and some of you are like, that's not that big of a deal. You worked on a trailer. Let me tell you about my week. And I get it, and I'm not sitting here trying to compare war stories with you. I had a really good week. You saw in the announcement video where I was, right? Like, I'm I'm but what I'm saying is, is every single one of us have stress, every single one of us have problems. Every single one of us are walking through something every single day. Yours may look totally different than mine, and I get that, but it doesn't make yours any easier than mine, it doesn't make mine any harder than yours. All of us are almost on the edge every single day of every single week. We won't admit that because then we have to sit here and go, I don't have all the answers. And what I'm sitting here telling you is whatever the problem is, I can promise you this. Jesus is the solution to it. And you're sitting here probably going, well, I don't think, you know, I've been praying for a while. Well, here's the deal. I don't care how bad you think it's going to get, Ephesians 1.4 promises this that even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless. Here's what I want you to understand. God knew everything about your life and still went, I choose you. Understand how powerful that is. A conversation Debbie and I have a lot is this. I don't stay with you because I have to. I stay with you because I choose to. There's a lot more power in I choose than I'm obligated as your husband to. See, and in, you know, we've had these conversations where she's doubted things like that because she's like, well, you stay because if you know we divorce, then we're shutting down the school, we're shutting down the church, like the whole life. And I go, here's the deal: I can build a different life. Like if this all closed tomorrow, I have skills to do other things. I can build a different life. This is the life I choose, though. And when you understand the power that comes into that, think about that. God knew exactly how jacked up you were gonna be, and still went, but I choose to be here with you. I choose to come with you. God's plan was simple. I'm gonna choose to step into my creation and I'm gonna choose to give you hope. Think about it. 700 years before Jesus is born, here's what the prophet Isaiah promises that this Messiah will do. In Isaiah 42, 7 it says this to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison of those who sit in darkness. That may be you sitting in darkness. And Jesus went, I'm coming to get you. I'm gonna go into the darkness to get you. But yet, us as the church, we won't. That's what our Savior. Did. That's why he's called a savior because he's saved. It's easy to just kind of coast through it. How many of us are stepping into the darkness? In Luke 19:10, it says this that the Son of Man came to seek and save what is lost. Understand, seeking is an action. If you play, okay, confession time. When my kids were little and they wanted to play hide and go seek, there were times when I was watching TV and I did not want to go play hide and go seek. So I would go, okay, I'm gonna count to 10, you guys go hide. I would get to 10, and then I would just go back to watching TV. And after X amount of time, whenever they got bored, and they would walk out and they were like, oh, you didn't find us. And I was like, well, you guys just hid too good this time. I wasn't home during these moments. Brilliant. Here's the deal. I was the best hiding. Never got caught. Because I never went and seeked. It's very hard to find something you're not looking for. And that's how we treat our lives. What are you looking for? Who are you looking for? See, most of us were just going through the motions. We just kind of like, here's what here's what I want you to understand. We went to this crappy, and I mean crappy pizza place Friday. Like I do not mince, like I usually try to look for something positive in everything I do. Nothing. Nothing positive. It was like five o'clock, and I don't know if you've ever been like on the west coast of Florida or or like down in the islands or anything, but the sunsets down there are like breathtaking to say the least. Sunsets at like 520. I'm like, Debbie, I'm going to get in the car. Let's go. Pay it, pay the bill, and let's go. Like, I want to go see the sunset. So we're sitting there, we're sitting there, and we're sitting there, and we're sitting there. And finally I call and I'm like, what is taking so long to pay a check? Like, this is a usually a quick process. Like, what are you doing? We're gonna miss the sunset. She's like, I'm so sorry, I'll be out in just a second. She gets in the car and she goes, I just want you to understand, you just interrupted. We were praying together with the waitress. And I was like, oops. Look, if Jesus wants to, he will save her with someone else, okay? We want to go see the sunset. Like, let's go. No, no, I didn't. I was like, I'm sorry, I obviously I didn't know I was in the car. But I go, that's seeking. That's sitting here going, hey, I'm gonna have a conversation with someone that I've never met before. And I'm sure it didn't start with, hey, your food was delicious. Can I talk to you more about it? See, how many of us are seeking though? How many of us have conversations with people like that? In Romans 6.23 it says this, that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. See, Jesus came for one thing and one thing only, and that's to give us hope, to set the captives free, to heal the sick, to restore, to give a hope. How many of us are sharing that? How many of us are actually having those? How many of us are part of giving hope? And how many of us are just so worried about ourselves? I will tell you the same thing I tell my 18-year-old child. The more you make this life about you, the more miserable you will be. This life was not given for you. That's why in Galatians 3, and you're not gonna see it on the screen because it just hit me, Paul says this this life I live in the flesh, I do not live for me. It is Christ who lives in me. That's what the whole point is. And I get it, I feel the weight of this world too. I know what it's like to feel overwhelmed and stressed, and sometimes it is the hardest thing in the world to just put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes you don't want to wake up. Sometimes you're like, look, it would just be easier if I just drift off to sleep and I can just wake up with Jesus. Sometimes this world is the hardest thing we are ever going to have to deal with, and I get it. Sometimes the things I hear up here are louder than the things I know from here. It happens every single one of us. See, sometimes I don't want to keep fighting. If I'm honest, sometimes I'm just tired. Sometimes I just go, I'm done. I don't care anymore. I get it. Sometimes I just want to lay down too. And if that is you, here's what I want. And just and just listen to me for a second. Here's my best piece of pastoral pastoral advice. You ready? If that's you, stop fighting. Lay down. Rest. Why do you think it depends on you? What in this life is hinged on you? Understand, if I would have died in a freak boating accident over this past week, at one point I did because we were surrounded by a whole pot of dolphins. And if you were someone that thinks dolphins are just cute, cuddly things and you watched Flipper growing up, they're not. They are one of the only animals in the animal kingdom that are known to kill male swimmers and try to rape female swimmers. Straight up documented for this. Okay? I know you've been to SeaWorld and you're like when they're like and they jump out of the water and you're like, oh, that's so cool, they can train them. These things are smart and they're trying to take over. Now, luckily, luckily, they can't get on land, so we have the advantage still. Okay? But they do breathe air, so they're halfway there. But listen, stop trying to fight. I'm telling you, nothing in this life depends on you. If I would have died in a freak boating accident with these dolphins I saw, you know what would have still happened to Mission Scent? It would have kept going. Because Mission Scent doesn't depend on me. I serve a role here, and after Debbie grieves for an appropriate amount of time, she could keep running with the school. Like you guys could find another pastor. Like these things can happen. None of this depends on me. So why are you fighting so hard? Why are you struggling so much? Why will you not just sit down and rest? See, you believe this lie from the devil. And the devil is doing a great job of whooping your butt. And you know what you do? You just keep getting back up. You're like Captain America, right? I can do this all day. Here's the deal: he doesn't get tired. Devil sit there and just whoop you day after day after day. And you still sit here and go, but I'm the one that has to win this fight. Listen to what, and and this is not normal for me, okay? You're gonna see a different translation up on screen because I love the way that the the new King James words what I'm about to say. Okay, but if you're that person that's sitting here going, hey, I'm tired, but I'm gonna keep fighting, listen to what it says. In Isaiah 54, 17, it says this no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me, says the Lord. Here's what this means Jesus is gonna fight for you. Stop trying to win a battle that you can't win. Stop trying to win a battle that's already been won. Jesus is like, I got this. If you're tired this morning, if you're asking, where are you, God? What does Psalms 46 tell us? Be still and know that I am God. Here's the thing. We got into a really bad accident last year up going to Pensacola. Kayla came from the back of the car into the like the front seat in the twinkling of an eye. I don't know if she like materialized through the seat. I don't know how she got up there so fast, and she is just like freaking out. I had to like get very loud and overcome that and go, hey, you're okay, daddy's here, and I got this. Some of us, you need to understand that God's here and he's got it. Some of you stop, you you need to stop fighting and you need to sit here and go, hey, God's got it. Because you're fighting something that A, you can't win, and B, has already been won for you. Just be still. Sit down. Your dad's got it. Or again, in Matthew 11, Jesus tells us this come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. That's some of you in this room right now. You're burdened, you're heavy laden, life is crushing you. It seems overwhelming. You can't put one foot in front of the other. Here's what Jesus tells you: take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find what? Rest for your soul. Some of you, that that's the kind of rest you need. That soul rest. Like I get it. You go to sleep every night. It ain't talking about that kind of rest. It's talking about that rest where you can just sit there and go. And honestly, some of you need it. And you need it desperately. And you need to understand that Jesus is sitting here going, This is why I was born. Take my yoke. Here's what that means. Stop fighting. Stop trying to beat the devil down. When you celebrate this Christmas morning, understand it was God stepping into his creation, taking upon flesh, so that you can have a hope. So that you can sit here and go, regardless of how jacked up you are. Jesus has already won it. And he loved you enough to go, I chose you. In Jeremiah 29, 11, we see this promise. Most of you probably have a coffee cup or at least a t-shirt in your house with this on it. For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for what? Your future and a hope. You want to know what Jeremiah is actually talking about in that verse? Jesus. Because what's that hope? Again, when Jeremiah gave this, because I don't like to just proofread and throw verses out that sound really good but don't mean what they actually say. When Jeremiah wrote this, he knows what's about to happen to Judah. He knows Babylon's gonna come in and they're going to overtake. And Judah is going to go into captivity. In other words, slavery for an entire generation. That doesn't sound like a time of prospering. That doesn't sound like a time of fun or rest. Like, I don't I don't know about you, but slavery doesn't sound. Now, does anybody know, like, yes, Babylon is a real kingdom. But does anybody else know anything about Babylon? Like when, especially when the prophets would write about Babylon, what they're referring to, because it's what we call a double prophet or a double entendre. Yes, it means the literal Babylon, but it also is talking about the kingdom of this world. Babylon is set up against the kingdom of God throughout the Old Testament. Now, who is the ruler of the king of this world? Say in Isaiah 14, Isaiah is giving a prophecy against the king of Tyree, against Babylon, and he's referring to the king as wanting to sit on the throne of the Most High. He's referring to this king as the devil. Again, it's that double meaning there. Because the king of this world is the devil. But this is why when Jesus says, In this world, you will have troubles. Why? Because the devil runs this. But take heart, why? Because I have overcome the world. What he's sitting here saying is, I've already won that fight. See, and what that hope that he's talking about here is, is that one day God's promised Messiah is going to come in and he's going to stomp the head of that serpent and he's going to crush that head. And that is the hope that we all get to live in. Because those of us who wait upon the Lord, those of us who rest under the wings of the Almighty, those of us that take refuge in the fortress, well, we'll mount up on wings like eagles. We'll run and not grow tired. See, those are the promises that the Bible gives to us. But that's okay, Hoss. You keep working it out on your own. You keep trying to do it in your own strength. You keep going, I got this. And you know what you're gonna wind up? Tired and beat down every time. Because here's the deal. I don't care how strong you are, you ain't got this. None of us do. We have to get to a point where we go, our only hope is the king that is born in the manger. See, see, the the birth of the king of hope is what keeps us going. That's why we can put one foot in front of the other. Because I know this that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purposes. In fact, when David is going to fight Goliath, and those of you that are sitting here and going, Oh, cool, he's gonna say I'm David, I'm going to tell you the opposite in just a second. I just want to set that up in beforehand. But when you read through 1 Samuel 17 in verse 45, this is the afterwards. Goliath, like David's going out to fight him, and Goliath is sitting here and he's going, Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks and stones? Now remember, here's what you gotta understand Goliath is a giant, and he's an actual person. A lot of theologians believe that he is a descendant of the Nephilim. Like he, when we say giant, I just watched a documentary on Andre the Giant last night, so like that's what's in my head. But he's a giant, he's not just tall, he's massive. In fact, he's so big that the entire army of Israel is shaking when they see him. Okay, this is like not a little feature. And Goliath goes, am I a dog that you come at me with sticks and stones? David is not a big person. Most people would believe that David is somewhere in that like 5'3 range. Alright? So think about this. This is Gabby going to fight Andre the Giant. No one is looking at Gabby going, she's got this. No one was looking at David going, he's got this. Goliath is out here. And here is David's response to him. Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin. David is sitting here going, I'm outgunned. I got a slingshot and I got these five rocks. You are a warrior coming at me with swords and a spear and a shield. Like you're ready to do the thing. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. David's sitting here going, I ain't got this. Think about this. Like, you going against Andre the Giant. You're not walking into that. Well, you probably wouldn't now because he's dead, but when he was alive in his prime, you're not walking into that fight going, I got this. But yet we'll look at the devil in the face and go, I got this. Who do you think you are? This is the the devil you you realize is brought down like kingdoms, right? And you're sitting here going, I got it. Some of us, we need to understand that Satan is coming at you and he is winning. And all those accusations that you got bouncing around in your head, all those people that are like trying to tell you who you are, all those people that like you're like this is too much and overwhelming, all the stress and all the fighting, that is from the devil, and the devil is coming at you, and the devil is winning that fight because you're sitting here going, let me go toe-to-toe with them. See, some of us we need to understand that that we're not David. Jesus is the greater David, who stepped up against Satan. Remember, go all the way back to Hebrews 2 that we talked about at the beginning, because he knew what it was like to overcome for us. Why aren't you resting in that? Why aren't you sitting here going, hey, you know what? I'm just gonna sit here and be. I ain't gotta fight you, devil. Because my God will. And I'm gonna tell you right now, he's already won that fight. He won that fight on the cross. When he took away any power that the devil had. He won that fight when he walked out that tomb and went, now I can breathe new life into each and every one of you. All we have to do is take his yoke. All we have to do is rest in that. All we have to do is believe that. All we have to do is sit here and go, I, by the power of the Holy Spirit, am changed from the inside out. And I get it. Some of you, I'm gonna tell you right now, this is just a little preview, I don't normally do this. I've really been wrestling. January 4th is our vision Sunday for next year. And we'll and hey, here's the direction that we're gonna go in as a church. I've really been wrestling with this a lot. Like for the past couple of months. A lot of prayer, a lot of conversation, a lot of like just really wrestling. Some of y'all, I'm gonna tell you, next year is gonna be very uncomfortable for you. I don't want to give too much away because I want you to come back on January 4th. But understand if we're sitting here and we're looking at the spiritual and we're going, no, no, no, no, we need to be in the truth side. Jesus said we need to worship in spirit and truth.

unknown: 39:59

We're

SPEAKER_00: 40:00

Really good on the truth side of that. We as a church are really, really bad. And it's my fault on the spiritual side of that. Like, I can sit here and quote a lot of verses, right? And I'm really like in tune with sitting here going, oh, what's the Bible say? And I that is not changing. I'm gonna tell you that right now. However, I also need to realize that the Bible tells us God is spirit, right? Because some of us we're fighting battles in the flesh that are actually spiritual battles. And I'm bad at that. Because like things start breaking in my life, and the first thing I want to run to is not hope in Christ. It's I want to find a verse and go, well, the Bible says, because that's how analytical people work. Because I can't see the spiritual realm. I can't touch the spiritual realm. I can't smell the spiritual realm. But yet it is all around us at all times. And some of us, that's where we're losing. We're not losing here, we're losing there. Because we forgot that our greatest asset isn't our ability and our knowledge and our know-how. Our greatest asset was the king of hope being born in a manger. Our biggest asset was when he looked at death and went, nope, not today, Satan. Our greatest asset is the ability we have to just go on and rest. See, think about it. It's the Christmas season. How many of y'all are getting a lot of rest right now? One person. Everybody else is like, well, we got this dinner this night, then we gotta go meet with this person this day, and then we're gonna go do this this day, and then this day we're gonna go do this, and then we're gonna go ride the train, and then we're gonna go like do this. And what about we're just gonna sit and be? I'm just gonna be bored. I'm just gonna watch a Christmas movie that I've seen every year of my life. And I'm just gonna rest. I'm just gonna hold on to the hope. Now, and I have a very short time to do this. Here's the application part of this, though. Some of us, that's where you need to be. You need to be resting. You're getting your butt kicked, you know what? Go sit in the corner for a little bit and rest in that hope. However, some of us, once you've been redeemed, restored, and refreshed, you need to get back in the fight. See, some of us, you need to understand that we're not out here fighting Satan with a sword. He's already been killed and destroyed. Jesus already handled that. You know what you need to do? You need to preach to the other captives. You need to go into the darkness. If you're someone in here that's like, hey, you know what? Like, I hear where you're going, and it's a really good message, but that's just not me. That's not where I am in life. Like, that's not something that I wrestle with. Cool. What are you doing then? How are you pushing back into the darkness? How are you preaching the gospel to someone else? Or is it just, hey, I'm good, so I don't have to worry about anything? Like, what are you doing with your time? What are you doing with your life? What are you doing to share Jesus with those around you? Because remember, like we looked at in the beginning, those million people a week that are talking about suicide, those are people in your life. Those are people you know. I can guarantee you, you know someone who is sitting here thinking there is no hope. And you know why? Because God put them in your life for you to tell them and you didn't. And shame on us. Because we just went when we talked about football. I don't know. How you how do you get Jesus into like it's a conversation about a football game? It's easy. So, yeah, man, I seen, and I don't need like I don't watch a lot of sports, so I'm hoping this makes sense. Hey man, I seen LSU was down. Two touchdowns going into the fourth. Because it is bowl season, right? Alright, so I want to make sure I picked a college team. I don't even know if LSU made a bowl. But be hard pressed to pick Florida teams nowadays. But you know who else looked down? Yeah, so like when Jesus was in the tomb, okay, the devil really was like, I'm won. He's dead. The light of the world, this big, scary savior. And look, he's laid up in a tomb. But then you know what happened three days after that? Man, the devil was probably like, uh-oh, he's out walking around again. Uh-oh, now I got some big problems. Uh-oh, I lost. Look, we just went from football to how Jesus has overcome for or overcome sin and death. In three sentences. It ain't even that hard. Anyone else got a topic that you're like, there's no way I can get Jesus into this? I'm de what? No, you raised your hand, what?

unknown: 45:38

Crocheting.

SPEAKER_00: 45:39

Okay, crocheting. So like, I was sitting there and I was on the porch just kind of like rocking back and forth, and I was like trying to knit my sweater together, and I remembered like one of my needles slipped, it hit me in the hand. You know who else was pierced in the hand? What you got, Brian?

unknown: 46:02

I was pierced in the hand.

SPEAKER_00: 46:03

Fishing? Oh. I got you. I thought you were gonna bring up something else. Like, guys, we can do this with any topic. It's called gospel fluency. But see, Jesus already has told us out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So if it's not coming out of here, and again, if you're someone who needs rest, I'm not talking to you right now. But if you're someone who's sitting here going, hey, I've got all the rest I need, I'm ready to get. If it's not coming out of your mouth, then that means it's not in here. And if it's not in here, that means you're not putting anything in. Because understand this, you have plenty of conversations with people. You really do. Pay attention to what you're talking to them about. Because that's going to let you know what's the abundance of your heart. See, and for some of us, you've been resting long enough. Like some of you, you're just lazy at this point. You need to get up off the game or off the bench and into the game. Like some of you, like that, that's where you need to be right now. You're done resting. Understand there is a difference in who I'm talking to at which time. Does that make sense? So as we close, are you tired? Then find rest this Christmas. If you're someone who's sitting here going, like, I just it's it's hard for me to put one foot in front of the other, find rest. Here's how you find rest. Podcasts. Read scripture. If you are sitting here going, hey, I don't know what podcast to listen to, Practically Christian Podcast is a really good one to start with. Just throwing it out to you. If you're sitting here going, I've already listened to that one, and you guys haven't like done a new episode, I can give you other ones. Come talk to me. You know another place to start? Prayer. Every Sunday I say the same thing. If you need to pray or you need someone to talk to, come see me before you leave. We don't do an altar call, like you know, up here because there's nothing magical about this part of the wall. But we can pray right over there. We can go in the back room and pray if you're like, oh, I don't want people to know that I'm praying to Jesus because I need help. Okay, that's weird, first of all. But whatever, we can go somewhere else. Scripture. Read. This should not be the only Bible you get a week. Because if you only ate today, I guarantee by Wednesday, most of us in this room, not all of us, I get some of us are on hunger strikes. But I guarantee by Wednesday, most of us in this room are willing to like kill for food. If you're like me, I am already feeling that way at 10 o'clock in the morning. Apparently the little bites weren't enough this morning. But those are how you find rest. And if you're someone who's sitting in here and you're like, hey, I'm done resting, start spreading Christmas joy. Start spreading hope. This world's got enough people that are negative. This world has enough people that just focus on everything that's wrong. Look, I get it. Conspiracy theories are fun to listen to, they're fun to talk to other people about. But why are we focusing so much on if we've been to the moon or not? Why don't we focus on the one who put the moon there? Like, why aren't we sitting here turning that convert? Look, we just did it again in two sentences. Like, this is super easy. But I go, that's what we have to start doing. So, Father, I ask and I pray. That in just a couple of days, Father, as we gather with our friends, with our families, as we light up a Christmas tree, as we open presents, as we do all of the traditional things that we're going to do, that Father, first and foremost, we go, we can have hope. First and foremost, we can look at Christmas and know that because you, because you stepped into creation, because you chose to go to the cross, because you died, a death that we should have, and because you raised to new life, so can we. That Father, we have it. Father, regardless of the circumstances in our life, that we stop looking at that and we start looking to you. Father, you just breathe fresh life into us. That as you promised throughout limitations, that our mercies are new every morning. Today is all we got. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow isn't promised. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.