Hope Is Here! | What Christmas Means To Me | Pastor Devin Gough

Nov 30, 2025

Devotional

Day 1: Hope arrives through God's unexpected, ordinary interruptions

The account of Zechariah and Elizabeth shows that God often breaks into ordinary routines to revive what seems dead; faithful, everyday service can become the stage where heaven suddenly interrupts human silence and plants hope back into a weary heart. [02:30]

Luke 1:5-25 (ESV)
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." 19 And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. For he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended he went to his home. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."

Reflection: Today, name one routine you will remain faithful in (washing dishes, showing up to work, serving one hour). Commit to staying in that ordinary place this week and pray, “Lord, show me if this is where you’re interrupting my silence.”

Day 2: God reveals himself in sudden divine interruptions

The angel’s appearance to Zechariah is a reminder that God can and does reveal Himself suddenly in the midst of everyday tasks; when heaven breaks silence it often does so unannounced, turning a mundane moment into the birthplace of renewed hope. [03:57]

Luke 1:11 (ESV)
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

Reflection: Identify one ordinary place in your day where you feel overlooked (commute, kitchen, office). Today, pause there for five minutes and ask God to interrupt your routine with one specific word, impression, or step to take this week.

Day 3: Faith is healed when doubt meets God's timing

When Zechariah questioned “How can this be?” the text shows that human doubt doesn’t cancel God’s promise; sometimes faith must be healed by time and timing so God’s answer can arrive in a way that accomplishes more than what was first asked. [18:51]

Luke 1:18 (ESV)
And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

Reflection: Recall a long-postponed prayer you stopped believing for. Write down one small faith-step you can take this week (send a message, make an appointment, pray a specific Scripture) that trusts God’s timing rather than your timeline.

Day 4: Silence can protect and preserve God's promise

Silence in Zechariah’s life was not punishment alone but a way God protected the unfolding miracle; sometimes God quiets voices, doors, or plans so the promise can develop undisrupted and be revealed at the appointed moment. [29:31]

Luke 1:20 (ESV)
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.

Reflection: List one opinion or piece of advice you’ve been quick to share about your waiting season. For the next seven days, choose silence instead: pray and journal privately whenever you feel the urge to tell someone, asking God to guard the promise.

Day 5: Personal revival links to a greater redemptive purpose

The birth of John the Baptist shows that personal miracles are often woven into God’s larger plan; when God revives hope in one life it can prepare a way and bless many beyond what was originally hoped for. [26:10]

Luke 1:17 (ESV)
And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.

Reflection: Who is one person in your family or community that could be impacted if God revived you? Send them a short, honest message or pray for them by name right now, asking God to use your renewed hope to bless their life this season.

Sermon Summary

We opened Luke 1 together in a season when many of us feel the ache of waiting. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous, faithful, and disappointed. They had prayed, and nothing seemed to move—then, in an ordinary moment of priestly duty, heaven broke the silence. That’s the heart of what burned in me today: hope is not tied to your situation; hope is tied to a Savior, and He is not seasonal. In grief, anxiety, or quiet despair, I declared what the angel declared—your prayer has been heard. You may have stopped praying it, but God did not stop listening.

I held up a plain candle to say what Luke 1 says: sometimes everything you need is already in you, it just hasn’t been ignited yet. After 400 years of prophetic silence, God moved suddenly. He does that—speaks in the ordinary to prepare us for the extraordinary. Hope often returns in the mundane hallway of faithfulness. And when we meet our limitations—age, diagnosis, debt, regret—those boundaries become God’s launching pad. He that began a good work will finish what He started.

We talked about timing. John wasn’t merely a long-awaited baby; he was a forerunner. If Zechariah and Elizabeth had conceived a decade earlier, John wouldn’t have stood at the hinge of redemption announcing Jesus. Delay wasn’t denial; it was alignment. Your revived hope is rarely just for you; it carries generational consequence. I shared our church’s “comeback offering” story—how one unlikely seed sparked a cascade of provision—and I remembered my grandmother’s YES that led to 17 family salvations. God revives you so He can revive others through you.

There’s tension in the text: Zechariah was rendered silent—not as punishment, but as protection. Some miracles require silence to develop. Sometimes God quiets us so we don’t cancel what He’s creating. So I invited anyone carrying silent pain to stand for rekindled hope, and I called all of us back to the center—Jesus. Admit, believe, confess. Hope is here. Not because everything changed by Friday, but because He is here today, in the waiting and in the sudden.

Key Takeaways

1. Hope is here, not seasonal Hope does not rise and fall with December feelings or Instagram moments. It is anchored in a Person who is present in crisis, not just in carols. When we confuse God’s silence with His absence, we forfeit the courage to wait well. Today’s word calls us to re-anchor: your Savior is constant even when your season is not. [10:29]
2. Hope returns in ordinary faithfulness Zechariah wasn’t on a mountaintop; he was on duty. God often breaks in while we keep showing up—washing dishes, serving, praying small prayers that feel stale. The “suddenly” of God often meets the “steady” of a disciple. Stay in position; the answer may arrive in the routine. [15:38]
3. God works where you cannot Zechariah named his limits; Gabriel pointed to God’s promise. Our ceilings are often God’s starting lines, the very places He loves to reveal His sufficiency. When you quit measuring His word by your capacity, you make room for Him to finish what only He began. [20:06]
4. Delay is alignment for something greater God wasn’t stalling; He was synchronizing one family’s miracle with the world’s salvation story. Some prayers ripen on a timetable bigger than our calendar, so that our joy becomes someone else’s bridge to Jesus. Waiting, then, is not wasted time—it’s purposeful preparation. [27:08]
5. Sometimes silence protects the promise Zechariah’s muteness kept him from undoing what God was doing. The Lord may quiet opinions, patterns, even relationships that would sabotage the work in progress. Learn to welcome holy hush; some miracles need the greenhouse of silence to grow strong. [29:51]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:37] - Honoring pastors and series launch
[02:49] - Public reading: Luke 1:5–25
[06:23] - Declaration: Hope is Here
[07:28] - When Christmas hurts more than it shines
[10:29] - Hope depends on a Savior
[12:30] - Candle illustration: potential needs fire
[13:52] - 400 years of silence explained
[14:41] - Hope in the silence and routine
[18:51] - Hope in the impossible
[21:57] - Comeback offering testimony of provision
[25:52] - Hope for something greater: John’s role
[29:31] - Silenced to protect the promise
[32:09] - Stand for rekindled hope
[36:23] - Prayer: God revives hope for greater things

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading (ESV)
Luke 1:5–25
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Now while he was serving as priest before God, when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Observation questions (read the passage together first)

What facts does Luke give about Zechariah and Elizabeth’s life, character, and circumstances? How do those facts set the stage for the angel’s message? [03:22]
What specific promises does the angel make about the child and his purpose? Which phrases signal that John’s role is bigger than a private blessing? [04:43]
What sign did the angel give when Zechariah expressed doubt, and how did the people respond when Zechariah came out of the temple? [05:54]
How does Elizabeth interpret the pregnancy (what does she say), and what does that reveal about shame, reputation, and God’s favor in the text? [06:23]

Interpretation questions

What does Zechariah’s silence (the Greek idea of being kophos—unable to speak intelligently) suggest about how God sometimes uses silence to protect a promise rather than to punish? How might that change the way one reads Luke 1? [29:31]
The angel “appeared suddenly” while Zechariah was doing ordinary priestly duty. What does the text imply about where and when God chooses to break silence—during faithful routine rather than dramatic spiritual highs? [15:38]
Luke times John’s birth so he can be the forerunner to Jesus. How does the idea that delay equals alignment (not denial) shape the meaning of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s long wait? What does the passage itself teach about God’s timing? [27:08]
The announcement says John will “turn the hearts” and prepare a people for the Lord. How does connecting Zechariah’s personal miracle to the wider redemptive story reshape the group’s understanding of personal blessing and public mission? [26:28]

Application questions (be specific and personal)

Name one long-standing prayer you stopped praying because of silence or discouragement. What would it look like for you to re-frame that prayer around the assurance “your prayer has been heard”? What is one small next step you will take this week to revive that hope? [17:27]
Identify one ordinary place in your life (work, home routine, a ministry task) where you are tempted to stop showing up. What practical commitment will you make this week to “stay in position” so God can show up in the mundane? Be specific about day/time/action. [15:38]
What limitation (age, diagnosis, finances, past failure) feels like a ceiling to you right now? How could you invite God to use that limitation as a “launching pad”? Name one concrete way you will surrender that area to God this week (a prayer, a conversation, a fast, a counsel meeting). [20:06]
Think of a desire you want rushed (marriage, a child, a job, a move). In what way might waiting be alignment for something greater? List one possible long-term good that could come from waiting, and one practical discipline you will use while you wait (journaling, accountability, serving others). [27:08]
Is there a strong urge in you to announce, fix, or “explain” a developing thing before it’s ready? How can you practice holy hush this week—what will you do differently (e.g., hold your tongue, delay a social post, stop recruiting others until the time is right)? [30:35]
Who is one person in your family or circle whose spiritual life would be affected if your hope were revived (like the pastor’s grandmother’s “yes” impacted many)? What is one specific step you can take in the next 14 days to invest toward their spiritual good (invite to church, start a gospel conversation, pray with them weekly)? [28:26]
If someone in the group realizes their faith needs repair (they’ve become discouraged or stopped trusting), what is the simplest next step you can encourage them to take toward Jesus (admit, believe, confess; talk to a leader; set a regular prayer time)? If you’re willing, name a person in the group who will check in with you about that step this week. [34:13]

Suggested format for your group time
- 5 minutes: Open with the Bible reading (Luke 1:5–25) and a short moment of silence.
- 15 minutes: Use Observation questions to make sure everyone sees the facts of the story.
- 25 minutes: Work through 2–3 Interpretation questions and let the group wrestle with what God might be doing in the silence or delay.
- 20 minutes: Application—each person names one concrete “next step” they will take based on the Application questions and shares with the group (accountability).
- Close by praying for the specific needs named (no written prayer included here).

Notes for leaders
- Encourage honesty about waiting and disappointment—model it by sharing one real example from your life.
- If someone indicates deep grief or suicidal thoughts, follow up personally and connect them to pastoral care or professional help immediately.
- Keep the tone hopeful and grounding: hope is tied to a Savior, not a season.

Sermon Clips

“But, you know, life has a way of changing the lyrics. Life has a way of changing the lyrics and flipping the script on us. Because when you're grieving, Christmas means something different. When you are anxious, Christmas means something different. When you're battling depression, Christmas means something different. When you're praying for something and it still hasn't happened, Christmas means, I'm telling you, something different. Now, you have to understand, I love Christmas. I absolutely love Christmas. It is the most wonderful time of the year. Now, because it is also, December 25th is also my birthday. As I was born, me and Jesus, take that, we just take ownership of it.”

“But we talk about, or we love the Christmas that we post about. But can we talk a little bit about the Christmas that we don't post about? Well, talking about the Christmas where your heart is tired. Talk about the Christmas when the diagnosis returned. Talk about the Christmas when the relationship just didn't make it, and you're not going to find out what kind of gift giver he really is because, okay, let me move on. Talk about the Christmas when grief just kind of hits you in waves. Christmas where you're celebrating publicly, but you're carrying a whole lot of pressure privately.”

“And yet, even in that Christmas, here's, there's a truth that heaven wants you to hear today, and the truth is, hope is here. Because hope doesn't depend on your situation. Hope depends on a Savior, and your Savior is not seasonal. I don't hear nobody saying nothing to me. He's a very present helper, is what my Bible says, in the time of trouble. He's near to the brokenhearted. He's here. Hope is here. Right now, in this room, in this Wintz concert hall, in your life, in your silence, in your uncertainty, even in your waiting, can I tell you something? Hope is here.”

“Let me speak to somebody in this room today, right here at the beginning. You're not hopeless. You just misinterpreted God's silence in your life. And I drove from Detroit into all this snow in Chicago to let you know that hope is here, and you are about to receive a revived hope today. Some of you have been holding it together. You've been trying to hold it together, holding things together that nobody knows about. Some of you have been functioning but not flourishing. Some of you have been celebrating publicly while wrestling on the inside privately.”

“Christmas for you isn't about lights. It's not about lists. It's about survival. It's about if I could just make it through this season with my mind and my peace stayed intact. I come to let you know that this year, this Christmas, it's going to mean something different. It's going to mean something different. This year, this is the moment when hope comes alive again for you. Come on, if you believe it, put those hands together.”

“This candle, it just looks ordinary. Dull, lifeless, like nothing is happening. This candle. But I want you to know that inside this candle is everything that it needs to shine. Y'all sleep over here. Let me talk to these people over here. Inside of this wax is everything that it needs in order to shine. But the problem is it just hasn't been ignited yet. Lord, I feel your presence in this place. And that's what hope looks like often before God revives it. The potential is there. The promise is still there. The purpose is still there. It just hasn't been lit yet.”

“But I come to encourage somebody today and tell them that God is getting ready to light you up. Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1 occurs after 400 years of prophetic silence. From Malachi to Matthew, Greek scholars call this the intertestamental period. No, a season with no rhyme of word, no prophetic activity. But the absence of a word doesn't mean the absence of God. Because God often moves most when he seems to say the least.”

“And we have Zachariah and Elizabeth. They were righteous, they were faithful, they were consistent, yet they were disappointed. They desired a child. They prayed for a child. They waited for a child. And nothing happened. Some of you know what I'm talking about very well. Just silence. And that leads to my first point. God revives hope in the silence. God revives hope in the silence.”

“God speaks in the ordinary. Watch this. To prepare you for the extraordinary. Hope often shows up and returns in moments. Watch this. That feel very mundane and routine. He wasn't on the mountaintop. He wasn't. This wasn't a special moment. It was not during some spiritual high. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. But in the ordinary. In the ordinary. Right when you're playing the drums, Michael, God shows up. Right when you're on the keys, Tyler, God just shows up.”

“While you're doing the ordinary thing, while you're washing the clothes or washing the dishes, God just shows up. And sometimes God speaks most clearly while you're being faithful. Watch this. In the quiet places. Ah, God often speaks where you least expect him and when you least anticipate him. And if you just stay in position, if you stay faithful, God will fulfill the promise. Because let me just say something. Hope isn't lost. It's just late.”

“See, if it was always on time, you wouldn't have to have hope for it. But it's because he may not come when you want. Do I have anybody that knows what I'm talking about? He may not come when you want him to come. But I promise you, baby, he's always on time. It just may be late to you. And then the angel says, your prayer has been heard. In other words, the prayer has already been heard in the past, even though the answer was arriving in the present.”

“Who am I talking to today? You prayed it then, but God is answering it now. God doesn't forget prayers that you've forgotten how to pray. Zachariah had stopped praying the prayer. But God never stopped listening when he stopped asking. Aren't you glad that God doesn't stop listening, even though you may stop? See, sometimes, sometimes, hear me good. Sometimes, and the Bible even says like this, hope deferred makes the heart sick.”

“You get to a point where you're praying for something for so long, you don't even believe it's going to happen. And guess what? You don't even want to happen no more because you're tired of waiting. And before you can believe God for healing faith, your faith needs to be healed. Lord, thank you today. Your faith needs to be, and God is coming today to heal and repair the brokenness of your faith today. Because hope is here. Hope is here.”

“God didn't stop listening. The prayers that you even retired were still, were still remaining. They still stayed on God's desk. The dream that you stopped thinking about, God never stopped working it out. God never stopped working. And hope may have left your vocabulary, but it never left God's plan. Because God revives hope in the silence.”

“My second point is some of this. God revives hope in the impossible. God revives hope in the impossible. Look back down at your Bible. Luke chapter 1, verse 18. Zachariah says, how can this be? I'm an old man. You got to be careful not to measure the promise of God against your human condition. When he says old, that's actually a Greek word for geron, which is used as the root word in our English language as geriatric.”

“Zachariah isn't saying that he's simply older. No. He's saying, God, this is biologically impossible. Biologically impossible. And how many of us will just admit to the fact that we've all been there? Looking at the relationship and saying, well, you know what, this marriage is too far gone. Looking at the diagnosis and saying, oh, you know what, it's just too severe. Looking at your finances and saying, I just don't have enough and the bills are already late.”

“Let me encourage you in this. Your limitation is really God's launching pad. Ah, Lord, I fear you. Hope thrives where your ability ends. And if you can't do it, let me tell you something, that's perfect because God didn't ask you to. God never asked you to do it. My Bible tells me he that began a good work in you is going to finish. He's not expecting you to finish. Why? Because you didn't start it. God started this thing. And God is going to see it through to completion.”

“And in a moment, when that flame touched this wax, what looked dead begins to burn again. Lord, I feel your presence right now. And that's what God does with hope. Wait till that cool down. I don't want no liabilities in here. I remember, church, that I'm privileged to lead Revival Tabernacle. Now, we were just coming out of COVID. And I mean, as a church, we were struggling financially. Our budget was shot. Morale was low. And it just seemed like all hope was lost.”

“And God placed it on my heart to raise what I called a comeback offering. So we set to do something that was a stretch for us. We had never did anything like this before since I had been pastoring. And he told me, he's like, we're going to raise $30,000 in 30 days. Now, for some of y'all, that just don't seem like a whole lot of money. But for us, our little, you know, small church, that was a stretch for us. We began to pray. And we began to communicate in advance to our church what we were believing God for.”

“And when we kicked off the giving campaign, it was, I think, on a day in September, this church, this church was the first church to give. And I don't even remember telling Pastor Steve what we were doing. I think he may have just saw it. And he said in his heart, I want to be the first to give. And literally, like, at midnight or something close to it, I see this donation coming from New City Church. That this church stood with another church in its time of need and began to stand with us and say, you know what? Hope is here.”

“All because of one seed that sparked something and caused our hope to rise. Y'all not saying nothing. Y'all not hearing me. It caused our faith to rise and we begin to see the goodness of God in that time and we felt that momentum. And you know what? Two months ago, that at one time struggling church coming out of COVID-19 was able to celebrate 35 years of ministry all because of God being the glory and hope being revived in our hearts. Why? Because God revives hope in the impossible.”

“What seemed impossible, God began to say, this is my moment. It's almost like, and this is such a bad analogy, but it's like, I told you, this is how my mind is just warped. It's just, it's like, oh, they say it's impossible? And then God says, hold my beer. Now, God don't drink beer. I'm just saying, he don't drink beer, but I'm just saying it was, if it was like that, it was like, hold this, you know, and he steps right on it. Now, don't y'all go out and saying, God, Pastor Devin said, God said, hold his beer. That's not what I'm saying, but I was, I'm moving on.”

“My last point, let me get out of here. God revives hope in the silence. God revives hope in the impossible. But God also revives hope for something greater. God revives hope for something greater. Somebody shout greater. Because John the Baptist isn't just a child. He's a forerunner. He's the bridge. He's the voice crying out in the wilderness. He's the one that prepares either way for the Lord. He's that one. And verse 17 says something very specific. He says that he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.”

“That's covenant language, Pastor Joaquin. That God is literally connecting Zacharias' personal miracle. Watch this. To his redemptive plan for the entire world. What? He just wanted a baby. Y'all missed it. Y'all missed it. Y'all missed it. You just praying for a baby and God says, wait a minute. If you just hold on. Oh, Lord, I feel your presence right now. If you just wait because when my time, when your timing aligns with my plan in eternity, I can set your miracle up to where it just won't be your miracle. It's setting something up for something greater.”

“What if Zachariah and Elizabeth had gotten pregnant 10 years earlier? John the Baptist wouldn't be connected to Jesus. They'd ever still be cousins. But he wouldn't have been the forerunner. Oh, but if you just wait on the Lord. I know you want it right now. I know you think you should have it right now. I know you think that it should be. I mean, look at us. I should have it by now. I'm 30 and I should be. I'm 45 and I should. Whatever. I know you think. But let me tell you something. God's plan is greater than your plan. God's thoughts are higher than your thoughts. His ways are higher than your ways.”

“God has a way. God has a purpose. God has a plan. And it's better than our plan. It tells and encourages us to know that what God revives in you will bless more than you. That your revived hope has generational implications. God revives you so he can revive others through you. This past Friday would have been my grandmother's, Mary Frances Eubanks, her 93rd birthday. She's gone on to be with the Lord. Her testimony is that when she gave her life to the Lord, that led to the salvation of her mother, her father, her husband, my grandfather, and a total of 17 family members.”

“How would you feel? What would your life look like if 17 of your family members all of a sudden came to Jesus? All because she understood that God blesses her so that he could bless others through her. I got to tell you, I got to show you the tension in the text. Can I just show you this last thing and then I'm done? I promise I'm done. Zachariah is rendered speechless. Because sometimes God silences us to save us. He's rendered speechless. It's a Greek word that is kophos. It means both mute, but it also means this. Don't miss this. I thought this was funny. Unable to speak intelligently.”

“God isn't punishing Zachariah. He's protecting the promise. Sometimes God silences the people around you. Sometimes God silences the opinions that you trusted. Sometimes God silences the noise in your life. Sometimes God will silence the doors that used to open. Sometimes God silences the relationships that used to work. Sometimes God silences the patterns that used to comfort. Why? Because some miracles require silence to develop. Sometimes God quiets you to keep you from canceling what he's creating.”

“I came to tell somebody today. At times, God just needs you to be quiet and watch him. I know it's hard because sometimes you see God moving. Oh my goodness, I got to go tell somebody. And God says, wait. Don't tell it just yet. Some of you all came in here to New City today with silent prayers, silent pain, silent disappointment, silent fear, silent grief, silent shame. Hope is here today. Hope is here today.”

“And if you need God to revive your hope, if you need God to relight what life blew out, if you need God to reopen what you closed in disappointment, I'm not going to deal with that. That's you. I want you to stand to your feet right now. Don't be afraid. Don't be ashamed. You want hope to be reignited. Whatever it is. Whatever it is. Whatever it is. Might be for the salvation of a family member that just seems too far gone. God is able to touch it. Might be for a marriage that seems too far out of the reach of God. God is able to redeem it. God is able to touch it.”

“Some of you, maybe it's your life. I want to speak to some of you right now who are here in this place. And you've given up hope even in God. Even in his bride, the church. There's something that was said today. There was something, a song that Kim and the team may have sung today that it's just, that it's like a lump in your chest. It's like a beating in your heart. It's like that thing that you can't shake. Let me just tell you something. And that's the Holy Spirit. He's after you right now. And he's telling you right now. Hope again. Believe again. Trust me again. Let hope rise. Darkness tremble. Hallelujah.”

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