Preparing Hearts for Joyful Christmas Celebration

"Now, in Jesus, God gave us all. We will ultimately... We will ultimately need. He gave us salvation through Jesus Christ. So what this means is that from here on out, really, from that moment forward, whatever we encounter, whatever we endure, whatever we face, whatever we have yet to go through, He is going to give us what we need to keep on going. In the birth of Jesus, it means we will always have enough." [00:45:44] (31 seconds)


"And the season should be about contentment. I think. But instead, what we see is a culture that consistently tells us that we don't have enough. Who we are is not enough. We are constantly bombarded with ads telling us to be better, to smell better. I'm fine with that one. To be better. To smell better. To look better. To work better. To rest better. To play better. To romance better." [00:46:22] (32 seconds)


"Now, Warren Buffett has a famous little quote. If you buy things you don't need, soon you will have to sell things you do need. We all desire more. That's not new. You know, it's as old as Adam and Eve. You know, that serpent was one of the best ad men in history. He convinced that Eve would be better, could be better, if only she tried the forbidden fruit. So she did. And then she convinced Adam to do the same thing. And hence, the very first sin was a result of a very successful multi-level marketing campaign." [00:50:24] (38 seconds)


"And I don't think I can stress enough how important repentance is. You heard me talk about repentance off and on for the last several years. You know, one of my favorite stories, Ahab, worst king in Israel history. But even the moment he repented, the moment he repented, God took notice. So repentance is very important. And you see this idea of repentance throughout the Old Testament." [00:57:54] (20 seconds)


"Repentance is this first step toward joy. And he continues, verse 8. He says, And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." [00:59:34] (29 seconds)


"Whenever these people were in the desert, the children of God, God wanted them to learn to depend on Him for everything. So what does He do? He gives them manna. He gives. Gives them food in the desert. They're only supposed to take enough for themselves, what they needed for the day, for their family. And on the day before Sabbath, they can take enough for two days, but only on the day before Sabbath. If they tried to hoard more than they needed, it would rot and spoil." [01:06:42] (25 seconds)


"And if repentance is the first step towards joy, I believe dependence is step number two. Dependence breeds expectation. When you depend on God, then you start looking for God to deliver. And this is what I have to remind myself in these really hard moments. You've got to depend on God. You know, trust Him. Because if you're depending on yourself, it's not going to, a lot of times it doesn't really happen like you want it to." [01:07:59] (30 seconds)


"When you depend on God, you don't have to worry about ever having enough again. Man, this is hard, isn't it? Because even when you may not have exactly what you think you're going to need, you're still going to be content if you are learning how to depend on God. Because where dependence breeds expectation, contentment breeds joy. The road to contentment is the road to joy." [01:09:39] (33 seconds)


"And when you choose to depend on God, because it is a choice, then you're going to choose to be content. Joy will follow that. So then regardless of your situation, you can choose to rejoice in the Lord always. You can even say it again, rejoice. You can let your gentleness be evident to all because you know that the Lord is near. And if you know that the Lord is near, then why would you be anxious?" [01:10:42] (29 seconds)


"Remember that in Him you live and move and have your very being. So you can pray and you can offer up everything to Him, knowing that He's going to give you exactly what you need. And when you choose to live in such a way, I believe peace will come, joy will follow, and it will be evident to all. So finally, John answered them all." [01:11:01] (38 seconds)


"Root our heart in repentance, dependence, contentment, and joy. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's all stand together. And if you need prayer, if you need to repent, and you need someone to hear it, there will be men and women around the room. We would love to pray for you. Let's sing." [01:14:28] (18 seconds)