1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:04,360 What up Crossing family, It is so good to be with you. 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:06,280 I want to welcome those of you joining from our different 3 00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:09,400 locations, those of you watching online, and those of you who are 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,320 part of the crossing inside. I also want to welcome those of 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,960 you who are new to the crossing. Maybe it's your first time or 6 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,840 your first time in a long time. And if you have never stopped by 7 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,320 the New Here booth, we would love a chance to connect with 8 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,520 you and give you a gift. Before I jump into the message, 9 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,760 I want to give you a quick reminder we have new service 10 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,560 times leading up to our for our Christmas Eve services. 11 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,040 This year. We have a bold, evangelistic, 12 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:40,600 outwardly focused strategy, which means we will not be 13 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:45,560 having normal service times next weekend on the 19th and 22nd. 14 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,080 So if you go, you know what, we're going to go to church on 15 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,760 Thursday. You can come to church, you can 16 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,040 be at the church, but you won't be able to get inside the 17 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,560 church. And if you show up at the normal 18 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:03,560 times on Sunday, yeah, again, you can enjoy the parking lot, 19 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,920 pick it up if you see some weeds, but there won't be 20 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,800 anything going on. In fact, you need to check with 21 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,400 your local campus about your service times. 22 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,200 I want to remind you, last week I talked about this. 23 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,960 Lifeway Research did a serve and they found out that 57% of the 24 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:23,680 people that you invite to Christmas services would say yes 25 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,200 if you were to invite them to come with you. 26 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,840 And so that means that over half the people you invite will say 27 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,040 yes. So if you're going to join us in 28 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,400 trying to make this region the hardest place on planet Earth to 29 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:40,320 get to hell from, you need to know your service and who you're 30 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:44,280 going to invite so they can come and sit with you. 31 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,520 Last week when we were praying, we prayed over the names that 32 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,440 were kind of rattling around in your mind. 33 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,080 We prayed for open hearts. We prayed for boldness. 34 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,080 We prayed for two families and one, yes, but I'd like to do a 35 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,280 different prayer over all the people that we're going to be 36 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:58,480 inviting. So would you guys just pray with 37 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:03,320 me for just a second? God, I'm just, I'm coming to you 38 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,759 wanting more than just a yes out of the people that we're going 39 00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:10,960 to invite. God, I want there to be 40 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,680 something that serves in their heart, something that stirs in 41 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,240 their spirit that would cause them to want to make a change. 42 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,040 That pursuing you would become part of their rhythm. 43 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,640 That in the weeks that follow our Christmas Eve services, that 44 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,680 they would be sitting next to us, going on the journey with 45 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,520 us. We desperately want people to 46 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,840 find and experience what we have found and experienced in You. 47 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,120 And so God would you just open doors that only you can open and 48 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,400 give us the words that need to be said and the exact way in 49 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,480 which the same help us as a church, just to fully trust that 50 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,360 your guiding and leading. In your name, I pray. 51 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,800 Amen. Well, to kind of keep the song 52 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,360 trivia alive, I've got some fresh ones for you. 53 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:01,280 Who tops the charts on digital Christmas downloads? 54 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,800 You might be thinking, is it? How many of you, Mariah Carey, 55 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,840 All I want for Christmas is you. I I see those hands. 56 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,480 God bless you for those hands. How many of you think it is 57 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,560 Kristen Bell with her 2013 release of Do You Want to Build 58 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,560 a Snowman? OK, some of you guys are just 59 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:18,000 not participating. All right? 60 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:20,640 How many of you think it's the Biebs mistletoe? 61 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:27,040 How many just just. OK, all right, interesting. 62 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaking of mistletoe, I have to make an announcement on behalf 63 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:36,320 of the, the male staff members here at all of our locations. 64 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,720 We had a, a meeting this week and we just want to kind of say 65 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,720 this, we owe you guys an apology that there's been a mistletoe 66 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,520 shortage in our region. And that's because our wives 67 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,280 have been hanging up in every room of the house. 68 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,680 And to be honest with you, I'm speaking on behalf of them. 69 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,440 We're just, we're tired, we're worn out. 70 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:04,720 We just want to talk. And so if if there has not been 71 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,960 any mistletoe at your house. I see you, Zach. 72 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,640 I see I it's, it's just been it's been a long Christmas 73 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,480 already. OK, OK, So Justin Bieber 74 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:15,120 mistletoe. How many of you think it was 75 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,760 Dean Martin's 1959 two times platinum. 76 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:20,000 Let it snow. Let it snow. 77 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:21,640 Let it snow. If you just raised your hand, 78 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,200 you were wrong. Dead wrong, dead wrong. 79 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,840 Dean Martin went two times platinum, Justin the Biebs 80 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:30,800 Bieber went three times platinum. 81 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:36,280 Kristen Bell went four times platinum, but Mariah went 14 82 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:40,600 times platinum and is the clear undisputed winner. 83 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,640 Now let's do another one. What is the best selling single 84 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,440 of all time? This is going to get some of you 85 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,360 OK. Is it Elton John, Candle in the 86 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:55,840 Wind, 33 million copies sold. The Princess or the the tribute 87 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:59,240 to Princess Diana? Man, that was just right during 88 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:00,880 The Lion King time. It was gold. 89 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:02,160 I had that. I had that song. 90 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:03,560 Listen to it. It's gold. 91 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:05,760 How many of you guys even know that song I'm talking about? 92 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:07,960 It's like, OK, there's the boomers. 93 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,160 All right. Glad you guys are here. 94 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,160 All right. Is it Bing Crosby? 95 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:18,480 White Christmas, produced in 1942, was it? 96 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,760 What's the other one? Oh, We are the World by USA for 97 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,400 Africa with Quincy, produced by Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, 98 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:29,320 Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Steve Perry, Bob 99 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,840 Dylan, Ray Charles and Michael Jackson. 100 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,720 In fact, when they were arriving there to perform it, Stevie 101 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,040 Wonder was was greeting people at the door as they were coming 102 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:41,960 into the recording. He says if we don't get it in 103 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,040 one take, me and Ray are going to be giving everybody a ride 104 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,000 home. So they were motivated. 105 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,600 This was the first song certified multi platinum. 106 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:58,960 However, the undisputed winner with 50 million copies before 107 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:03,040 the chart era even existed was White Christmas with Bing 108 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,000 Crosby. Yeah, incredible. 109 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:11,080 Well, as a seller of more known as a seller of wine than for his 110 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:15,680 church attendance, he was shocked when the local priest 111 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:21,120 asked him to pen a poem for the upcoming Christmas Mass. 112 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,960 And as he traveled the bumpy, dusty Rd. by coach to Paris, he 113 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,800 read the Gospel of Luke and he imagined what it would have been 114 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:36,120 like to be there to see the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. 115 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,280 The mere thought of being in attendance on that glorious 116 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:45,560 night inspired him. Once the poem was complete, he 117 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:49,840 found himself so moved by his own work that he realized that 118 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:55,320 pen and paper would simply not do It needed a musician's hand. 119 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:02,160 So Placid turned to his friend Adolf Charles Adams, who had 120 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:06,680 scored operas and ballets and had fielded requests from London 121 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:12,280 and Berlin and Saint Petersburg. As Adolf studied Cantique de 122 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,160 Noel, he couldn't help but be impressed by its overtly 123 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:21,160 spiritual lyrics as they described the birth of a Savior. 124 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:27,760 It was a bit of a challenge for him because he was a Jew and 125 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:32,960 these words describe to Christ that he did not believe in and a 126 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:37,960 holiday he did not celebrate. However, he quickly and 127 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,240 diligently went to work attempting to marry an original 128 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:45,520 score to the beautiful poem, and just three weeks later it was 129 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,800 debuted at a midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. 130 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,960 The song became an instant hit and was wholeheartedly embraced 131 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,960 by the Catholic Church in France, and it's made of what 132 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,800 made its way to various Catholic Church services all across the 133 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,200 country. However, years later, Placid 134 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,400 walked away from the church and became part of the Socialist 135 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,880 movement. Then the church leaders 136 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:15,280 discovered that the musical composer Adolf was a Jew, so 137 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:20,320 they quickly and uniformly denounced the song by the 138 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,720 church. The heads of the French Catholic 139 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:27,000 Church at the time deemed Cantique de Noel unfit for 140 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:31,360 church services because of its lack of musical taste and total 141 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,120 absence of the spirit of religion. 142 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,799 However, their efforts to bury the song did not keep the French 143 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:41,520 people from singing it and humming it as they prepared and 144 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:46,920 celebrated the Christmas season. The song you already know, it is 145 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:51,560 O Holy Night. And the second verse is the one 146 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:56,800 that is almost never sung. The lyrics, well, the lyrics go 147 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,360 like this. Led by the light of faith, 148 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,240 serenely beaming with glowing hearts. 149 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:09,320 By his cradle we stand, So led by light of a star sweetly 150 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,640 gleaming. Here come the wise men from 151 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:17,640 Orient land. The King of Kings lay thus in 152 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:24,440 lowly Manger in all our trials. Born to be our friend. 153 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:29,080 He knows our need to our weakness. 154 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:34,160 No stranger. Behold your King before him 155 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,760 lowly bend. Behold your king before him, 156 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:43,000 lowly bend. We earn a series called Thrill 157 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:47,280 of Hope. A weary world rejoices. 158 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:52,240 Scott Bowman clearly stated that the world in which we live in is 159 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,360 messy. Hopelessness abounds, and the 160 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:59,960 further we stray from God, the more hopeless we become. 161 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:04,480 Rick Warren compiled a list of what happens when a culture 162 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,160 forgets God. This is what he says. 163 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:13,320 He said wealth is idolized. Truth is minimalized. 164 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:18,560 Life is trivialized. Television is vulgarized. 165 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,920 Our consciences become desensitized. 166 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:27,520 Education becomes secularized. Races are polarized. 167 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,400 Morals and ethics are sensationalized. 168 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:36,600 Immorality is popularized. Sin is glamorized. 169 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:42,160 The courts become paralyzed. Manners are uncivilized. 170 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,680 The breakup of the family is rational. 171 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:49,360 Everything is sexualized and commercialized. 172 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:54,600 Christians are demonized. God is marginalized. 173 00:10:54,840 --> 00:11:00,760 No wonder our world is in such desperate need for hope, because 174 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,400 we as a culture have forgotten God. 175 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:11,480 Job records these words in chapter 8, verses 11 through 15. 176 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,920 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? 177 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:21,400 Can reeds thrive without water? While still growing and uncut, 178 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,160 they wither more quickly than grass. 179 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:31,880 Such is the destiny of all who forget God so perishes the hope 180 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:36,760 of the godless. What they trust in is fragile. 181 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,560 What they rely on is a spider's web. 182 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:47,600 They lean on the web, but it gives way. 183 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:55,280 In other words, those who forget God have no hope. 184 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:00,520 You probably know people who are leaning on something that they 185 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:04,680 believe that they hope is secure, but you've seen it give 186 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,600 out on them again and again and again. 187 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:12,360 It is a spider's web. However, today I have really 188 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,720 good news for you. Today you can have hope. 189 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:20,000 You can have it today, and it's not a weak hope. 190 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:24,280 It's not an uncertain hope, but a hope that is found in the 191 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:27,280 person and in the work of Jesus Christ. 192 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:30,720 Last week I quoted from AW Tozer. 193 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:35,520 What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most 194 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,600 important thing about you. And then I asked this question. 195 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,640 So what comes to your mind? My hope after last week was that 196 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,720 God is love and the implications that if God is love and we are 197 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,000 to love God and God tells us to love people, that we need to 198 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,680 expand our circle of who we classify as our neighbor. 199 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,440 Well, this week my goal is for you to walk out of here knowing 200 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:03,800 that God can be trusted and that God gets you, that God 201 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:06,320 understands you. Let's start with God can be 202 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:09,960 trusted. You can place your hope in him. 203 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:12,760 I'm not talking about an optimism. 204 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,200 Optimism has its benefits, but optimism is largely 205 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,520 psychological. How many of you at all of our 206 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:21,800 locations would this you're not going to get in trouble for 207 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:23,480 raising your hand. OK, let me say this. 208 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,800 You would you would say you are an optimist. 209 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,560 You're a glass half full kind of person. 210 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,400 No wonder you guys are such a cranky prude of people. 211 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,640 Just there's just, I don't know what it's like at other 212 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,280 locations, but I am just speaking to a room full of 213 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,040 pessimists. All right, I'm going to change 214 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:43,480 up my Christmas Eve message then. 215 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:47,240 All right. I'm not talking about optimism, 216 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,560 because if optimism is psychological, hope is something 217 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:54,480 altogether different. Hope is theological in nature. 218 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:59,720 Optimism says that things are going to be OK when they're not 219 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,200 great. Optimism is convincing yourself 220 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,520 that things are not really as bad as it is and all the 221 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,360 realists are going no, it's it's really bad. 222 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,400 You're you're in for it. Here's the difference. 223 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:21,840 Hope acknowledges the reality, but still speaks prophetically. 224 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:27,720 This is what Hope does. It is really, really, really 225 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:32,520 bad. But I still believe that I'm 226 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,440 going through. You might have encountered 227 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,040 wishful hope. Wishful hope is that hope that 228 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:42,960 your kids have that they're going to become a professional 229 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,040 athlete. Like, what are you going to do 230 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,040 when you grow up like that? Why am I even having to go to 231 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:48,400 school and learn this math stuff? 232 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:50,920 I've been making millions in the NBA. 233 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:55,880 We're sitting here like, that's a, that's a wishful hope or your 234 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,480 kids saying that they're going to be paid to be an online gamer 235 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:00,320 one day. Dad, if I keep practicing of 236 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,280 being an online gaming, I'll probably get paid one day to be 237 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,680 an online gamer. You're like, no, it's not going 238 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:07,560 to happen. That is a wishful hope. 239 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,400 Wishful hope is that somehow you're going to marry that girl 240 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:15,840 that you have never ever, ever talked to and has never talked 241 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:17,800 to you. Wishful hope is thinking that 242 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:19,960 she's going to walk over to you and say, Hey, would you please 243 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,800 be my husband? That is wishful hope. 244 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,560 Wishful hope is thinking that you are going to win the lottery 245 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:27,560 even though you have never played it. 246 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:32,360 It is just wishful hope. Wishful hope is that you are 247 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:36,000 going to lose the weight without making any adjustments 248 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,840 whatsoever. I got a guy meal prepping for me 249 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:42,160 and it's it's great. Problem is I ate two of them 250 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,920 last night. I was like this, so delicious. 251 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,560 I'll have two. But OK, I do have a praise 252 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,680 report. I should save this for a future 253 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:53,920 sermon. Have you ever read the back of 254 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:58,160 an Oreo package? Those just a quick, quick 255 00:15:58,160 --> 00:15:59,880 update. I never have. 256 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:01,920 Those things are really bad for you. 257 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,920 I would, I would be, I was meal prepping and I was like, you 258 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:07,680 know, eating these meal prep meals and I was like this, I'm 259 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,040 doing great. I'll reward myself with some 260 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,960 mega stuffed Oreos. OK, you watch. 261 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:18,440 And I would I would ration myself to half of a package, 262 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:26,040 which is reasonable right? OK, come to find out every two 263 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:32,600 Oreos is 130 calories. I was eating a 12 pack of coke 264 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:40,560 per meal with no clue. So in wishful hope was that I 265 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,640 was thinking I was losing weight by meal prepping with mega 266 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,480 stuff. But that is not the hope I'm 267 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,840 talking about. Today you might have encountered 268 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:53,840 expectant hope. Expectant hope is at least based 269 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,080 in reality. This is what expectant hope is. 270 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:02,120 You have booked a family vacation at a resort that you 271 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:06,480 have been to before. You know what it's like. 272 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:08,079 You know what the beaches are like. 273 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:10,839 You've decided to purchase an upgrade. 274 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:15,119 You've looked at all of the pictures of what this upgrade 275 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:17,960 looks like, and you're going. This is going to be an 276 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:22,319 incredible vacation. It is an expectant hope. 277 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,960 However, what you can't guarantee is that your kids 278 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,680 won't get sick, that somebody won't get stung by a Jelly Bean 279 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:31,880 and you'll have to pee on somebody you weren't planning on 280 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,160 peeing on. You can't guarantee that the 281 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,520 weather will be nice, that the airlines will be on time. 282 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,160 There's a whole, and that's why you bought the travel insurance 283 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,080 because you can't guarantee that somebody in your family isn't 284 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:44,520 going to get sick and you're going to have to stay behind and 285 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,360 use the travel vouchers. It's an expected hope. 286 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:52,320 You have every reason to believe that it will be a great time, 287 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:56,200 but there's still part of you that is unsure. 288 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,360 And that is not the hope that I'm talking about. 289 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:03,480 I am talking about something so much better. 290 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:09,880 I'm talking about a certain hope that can only be found in Jesus. 291 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,480 Hebrews chapter 6, verses 19 through 20 says this. 292 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:23,800 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. 293 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,200 It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain where our 294 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:34,480 forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. 295 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:40,240 You and I have an anchor for our soul that keeps us from being 296 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:45,280 blown away and destroyed as the storms of life do their best. 297 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:52,360 This hope is firm and secure because it is not rooted in US. 298 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:57,600 It is not rooted in our culture, our calendar, or our government, 299 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:04,160 but it is rooted in Him. Romans chapter 15 says this. 300 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:12,800 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you 301 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:20,000 trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power 302 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,880 of the Holy Spirit. Leave this up on the wall for 303 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:23,240 just a second. I want to talk you through it. 304 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,880 Notice a couple of things here. One, God is the source of hope. 305 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,360 You are not the source of hope. You are not the source of hope 306 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:34,320 for you, and you are not the source of hope for anybody in 307 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,880 your life. God is the only source of hope. 308 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:40,800 The second thing is, God is not just the source. 309 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:45,000 God is the supplier of this hope, and look what happens to 310 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,400 you. Your joy increases, your peace 311 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:53,720 increases as your trust increases. 312 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:56,800 So if you're looking on the dashboard of your life right now 313 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:01,280 and it looks like your peace level is low, if it looks like 314 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:06,400 your joy levels are low, it is because your trust level is low. 315 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:11,600 But as your trust increases, that God is who He says He is. 316 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,280 As your trust increases that God promises to do what he says he's 317 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,200 going to do. As that increases, your joy will 318 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:25,600 increase and so will your peace, and then it will flow out of you 319 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:30,560 into other areas by the power of the Holy Spirit. 320 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:35,520 So hear me clearly when placeed, states in the opening lines of 321 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:40,840 the second verse, led by light of faith, serenely beaming. 322 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:48,200 This is not some untested, unverified, unreliable faith, 323 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:56,480 but one that has been proven strong, steadfast, and reliable 324 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:03,160 over and over and over again. Lots of people have bet against 325 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,640 God. Lots of people have doubted Him. 326 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:13,280 Lots of people have tested Him and he has never been proven 327 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:18,880 wrong. He has never not kept his word 328 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:27,520 and he has never lost a battle. And when your faith is in him, 329 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:32,320 you will have all the hope you could ever need. 330 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,960 And you might be thinking, all right, Clayton, great, a God 331 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,040 like this is phenomenal. Love it. 332 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:42,640 But how could a God that great ever know what I am going 333 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:45,640 through? How could he ever relate to me 334 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:50,520 in my circumstances? As if pulled from Scripture 335 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,160 itself? Placid states later on in the 336 00:21:53,160 --> 00:22:00,600 second verse. In all our trials, born to be 337 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:06,520 our friend. He knows our need, our weakness. 338 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:11,280 No stranger, maybe you have seen as you've been watching 339 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,040 different sporting events. It's been on billboards and 340 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:18,640 sponsor placements in NASCAR and NBA Finals, March Madness, NFL 341 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:23,880 games. These three simple words he gets 342 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,680 us. This advertising campaign was 343 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,160 originally operated by the Servant Foundation and the goal 344 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:36,280 of the campaign was to reintroduce people to Jesus of 345 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,760 the Bible. Originally they decided they 346 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:44,280 were going to spend $100 million with a long term goal of 347 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:48,280 spending a billion dollars trying to help people realize 348 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,800 that Jesus understands the struggles we face. 349 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,800 The goal of the campaign is for people to find what we have 350 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:00,200 found in Hebrews chapter 4, verses 15 through 16. 351 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,920 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with 352 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:10,720 our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every 353 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:18,280 way, just as we are, yet He did not sin. 354 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:22,720 Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence 355 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:27,960 so that we may find or we may receive mercy and find grace to 356 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:34,600 help us in our time of need. Jesus gets you. 357 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,360 You might be going, but Clayton, I've been hurt. 358 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,480 Yeah. So was Jesus. 359 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:44,640 Clayton. I've been betrayed by people I 360 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:49,640 cared about. So was Jesus, Clayton. 361 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:51,880 I've been abandoned. So was Jesus. 362 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,240 Clayton. I mean, I get all that, but I 363 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,400 mean, I've been wrongly accused. People have blamed me for 364 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:03,400 something I did not do. So is Jesus. 365 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:11,280 Husbands, has somebody in your house ever left a can of coke on 366 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,720 the counter and you got blamed for not being in the trash and 367 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:20,400 it wasn't you? In that moment, Jesus gets you. 368 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,440 Have you ever been misrepresented? 369 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,400 So is Jesus. Have you ever been tempted? 370 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,120 So is Jesus. Have you ever struggled? 371 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,800 So is Jesus. Have you ever been tired, 372 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:40,160 hungry, lonely? So is Jesus. 373 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,000 Have you ever been frustrated with the world around you? 374 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:48,760 So is Jesus. Jesus gets us. 375 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,880 You see, we don't just have a God who's undefeated. 376 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,440 We have a God who can relate, a God who gets us. 377 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:03,160 Two decades later, after the song had been banned by the 378 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:07,760 French Catholic Church, many commoners were still singing the 379 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,520 song as they prepared for the holiday season. 380 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:17,520 And legend has it that on Christmas Eve in 1871, in the 381 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:21,600 midst of fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France 382 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:26,600 during the Franco Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly stood 383 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:32,520 up out of his trench. Both sides stared at the 384 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:38,280 seemingly crazed man, boldly standing with no weapon in his 385 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:44,800 hands and no weapon by his side. Realizing he hadn't been shot, 386 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:47,640 he lifted his eyes towards heaven. 387 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:55,240 And he sang the opening lines of Cantique de Noel once he 388 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,120 realized he had not been shot. After he sang the opening lines, 389 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:06,560 he continued to sing all three verses, his voice piercing the 390 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:12,040 night. And when he was done singing, a 391 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:16,160 German infantryman jumped out of his trench. 392 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:21,440 And he sang the lines from Martin Luther's robust From 393 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:26,760 heaven above to earth. I come about the birth of Jesus. 394 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:33,840 And what followed was for the next 24 hours, men at war with 395 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:40,480 one another observed a time of peace in honor of Christmas. 396 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:46,400 On that night, two men realized that they had a lot in common. 397 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:51,440 They were both at war, they were both in a muddy trench, they 398 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:55,120 were both afraid to die, they both wanted to celebrate 399 00:26:55,120 --> 00:27:00,440 Christmas, and they were both in desperate need of some peace and 400 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,840 hope. And they got it. 401 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:10,520 And today, at all of our different locations, the war 402 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:16,160 within yourself and the war that you are waging against God can 403 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:19,960 come to an end. The good news is you don't have 404 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,200 to stand in front of everybody at the location that you're 405 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,600 gathered at and singing a couple songs until we go, all right, 406 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,040 you're in. It's not how it goes. 407 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,160 And the peace that you will experience will last way more 408 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,480 than 24 hours. But you do have to put your 409 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:40,840 weapons down and you do have to get out of the trench of your 410 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,280 sin. And when you do it, when you 411 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:48,120 come to life in Christ, when you begin that intimate, personal 412 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:54,080 relationship with Him, the weary world will rejoice and you will 413 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,200 finally experience the thrill of hope. 414 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,120 We're moving to a time of decision. 415 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:07,920 To those of you who are here and those of you watching online who 416 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,720 don't know Jesus, hear me. Every single one of you. 417 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,560 You need hope. It's been said, you've probably 418 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,600 heard it before, that you can live 40 days without food, 3 419 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,880 days without water, 8 minutes without air, but only one second 420 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:27,360 without hope. And you can put your hope in him 421 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,080 today. And if you're going to place 422 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,680 hope somewhere, it better be in him. 423 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:40,240 I don't know where you have it placed, but if it's not him, 424 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:46,360 it's unreliable. If it's not him, it doesn't have 425 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:54,760 a 100% accuracy rating, which means the hope that you have if 426 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:59,240 it's misplaced will not come through when you need it to. 427 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,320 In Hebrews chapter 6, right before I talked about the anchor 428 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:09,360 to our soul, it says that we flee to take hold of it. 429 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,600 What they're saying is they are fleeing, they are letting go, 430 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,200 and they are fleeing from any hope that they have that is not 431 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:21,280 Jesus. And they are running as hard and 432 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:26,600 as fast as they possibly can to take hold of the hope that is 433 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:31,720 Jesus. And the reason why is because 434 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,760 any hope that is not in Him is no hope at all. 435 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:45,280 So flee, run from whatever you have been hanging on to that is 436 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:50,320 not him, and grab a hold of him, and He will never let you go. 437 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,600 And so in just a few moments, how do you flee to Him? 438 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,160 When the people around you stand and sing and some of them come 439 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:03,560 to the steps and pray? I'm going to encourage you to 440 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:05,720 either turn and talk to the person that brought you that 441 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,240 you're sitting with, or maybe come up here to the steps 442 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:12,000 underneath the screen next to the baptistry and talk to 443 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,720 somebody about how to begin an intimate personal relationship 444 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,760 with him. Some of you, you know that it's 445 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:22,400 been a long time since you've been obedient to God in the area 446 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:23,800 of baptism. You've been going, you know 447 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,000 what? I I've just never said yes to 448 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,560 the clear teaching of Jesus in this area of my life. 449 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:30,640 And you're going, I'm trying to follow him. 450 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,640 I'm trying to trust him, but yet you're being deliberately 451 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,720 disobedient. Run to him. 452 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,280 Run to him. He is undefeated and don't you 453 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:47,960 want to be on his team? To the rest of you, to those of 454 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:53,120 you that are here or watching online and you're just going 455 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:56,960 through it, like you're just in a season where you're just like 456 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,520 Clayton, I'm in it. I don't know exactly what you're 457 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,040 going through. I just want to give you a word 458 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,480 of encouragement. Don't let go of your hope in 459 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,800 Jesus. Keep hanging on. 460 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,360 Can I read a promise over you? Can I prophecy over you for a 461 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:19,200 second? Isaiah chapter 43 says this. 462 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,600 You can go home and highlight this one in your Bible, verses 2 463 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,360 and 3. When you go through the deep 464 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:29,560 waters, God will be with you. When you go down into the rivers 465 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,240 of difficulty, you will not drown. 466 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:37,440 When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be 467 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:42,120 burned, burned up. The flames will not consume you. 468 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:50,760 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. 469 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:55,240 I came to tell you that the anchor holds. 470 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,640 Oh, does it hold. The anchor holds. 471 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,680 Even though the ship of your life has been battered, the 472 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:08,360 anchor still holds. Even though the sails of your 473 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,680 life are torn, the anchor still holds. 474 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:17,000 Even though the seas around you rage, the anchor still holds. 475 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,240 And whatever you are going through, do not let go of the 476 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:24,480 one who will get you through. Paul writes to one of the 477 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,800 churches and he says, who cut in on you? 478 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,960 You were running such a good race. 479 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,240 He's reaching out to a church that he started, that he was a 480 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,760 part of, that he was proud of. And he's getting reports back 481 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:46,200 that people who used to run for Christ, used to be committed to 482 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:50,000 Christ, used to be all in for Christ. 483 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:54,480 We're no longer running with Him. 484 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:00,800 He goes, Who cut in on you? Who enticed you to let go? 485 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:04,760 And right now, while you are going through storms and 486 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:10,600 difficulty and adversity, Satan is tempting you to let go of the 487 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:15,120 One who will get you through. Don't. 488 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:20,080 Don't let anyone cut in on you. Don't let anyone talk you out of 489 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:23,560 pursuing Jesus with all you have. 490 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:32,600 And while you're hanging on, who is somebody that you know who 491 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:37,680 could desperately use a certain rock solid anchor? 492 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:41,880 Holden Hope? Would you pray for them? 493 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:47,240 Would you guys stand with me? Heavenly Father, I'm asking you 494 00:33:51,600 --> 00:34:00,520 to move in our lives right now. To take ground that only you can 495 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:02,560 take. In our hearts and our lives. 496 00:34:10,949 --> 00:34:14,429 It's comforting to know that you know absolutely every single 497 00:34:14,429 --> 00:34:18,630 thing about us and absolutely every single thing we're going 498 00:34:18,630 --> 00:34:28,239 through and you know exactly what we need. 499 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:39,440 So would you guide us? Would you make what you want us 500 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:43,120 to do clear and give us the courage to do it? 501 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:45,239 You know I pray. Amen.