Preparing Our Hearts for the Arrival of Jesus

"Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Cokie Mill Church. If you're brand new in the building, brand new online, those are my parents. My name is PJ Summers, and it is great to be here. Merry Christmas to everybody here. We can't say it enough. Thank you for making 2024, seriously, I think our best year in the longest of times. And I just, I can't think of a better time to be at church. So thank you for all of it. We are in our second installment of our series called this behind me, The Arrival. I don't know why it's not on that screen, but it's okay. And we are talking about Jesus is coming and we need to prepare for his arrival. So last week I started the service with, I actually kind of need your help. And if you would be so kind to give me some of your help here today, and I want you to pretend and imagine, I guess more so than pretend that on your smart watch or your phone or your tablet or where you are at home that you receive a text message from God saying, Jesus is coming to your house this Christmas." [00:36:03] (68 seconds)


"But the point is this, all of us would start preparing instantly, without hesitation. We wouldn't hold off to Christmas Eve. We would make a decision. We would put a list on the notes app of our phone. We would check it twice to make sure. This is a big deal. But the point is this, the arrival, this time of preparation, we're anticipating some things. And what I'm describing to you again in this illustration is Advent. And the definition of Advent is preparing our lives to welcome King Jesus. That's all this is. It starts December 1st, that's Advent, and it continues on for this month." [00:38:49] (42 seconds)


"And starting your week this way makes a huge difference. And if you open up things like the Bible app, if you go to things like the Bible project, where men and women are compiling huge amounts of the Bible, and they're making these simple two minute illustration videos that break it down so simply, you just go, wow, where has that been? Do some of that. And they're all over social media. Don't worry. You'll be able to find them. But Christmas is this simple story of how God gave his greatest gift, Jesus. And we're preparing for this arrival." [00:41:31] (31 seconds)


"But these are the last people that you would ever think God would use to choose to do something this important. If you're taking notes today, write down the title of the message. This is The Arrival. This is part two. And this is called Last in Line, First to Know, Share What You've Seen. Tell your neighbor, I got to share what I've seen. You did that really fast. Tell your other neighbor to wake up. Say it's getting really good right now." [00:45:30] (35 seconds)


"But the story starts with how God uses unexpected people in unexpected moments like you and I. Let's look at it. Luke 2, 9 through 12. The angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shined around them, and they were terrified. We would be too. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people, for everybody. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger." [00:49:34] (41 seconds)


"Luke 2 .16 through 18, so they what? But hurried off and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby, like baby Landon, who was lying in a manger. And when they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. Today, I wanna get you prepared for Advent and today we're gonna copy the exact format of what the shepherds said. Here's point number one, see like the shepherds did. Tell your neighbor, I gotta see like the shepherds did." [00:51:32] (41 seconds)


"The shepherds show us this different way to see, they show us these things to see through the lens of amazement. Here's a lens we can put on. Even in ordinary moments, God breaks through. They're working, they're working. That means God can move in our work. That means while we work, God can speak to us. Every day, regular routines, on the drive, angels can make announcements in our everyday life. We can see through the lens of gratitude, finding God's presence in disruption. They were clearly disrupted. They recognized there's a divine purpose in the challenge that's going on. They saw eternal value instantaneously. And they could see through the lens of expectation." [00:54:02] (44 seconds)


"Point number two is this, share like the shepherds did. Share like the shepherds did. Luke 2, 15 through 18 says this, my favorite part. Let's what? Go. Say it again. Let's go. Time. Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that's happened, which the Lord has told us about. They spread the word concerning what had been told about this child and all who heard it were amazed. Let's go. These are the first evangelists. These are probably the first missionaries, right? They saw Jesus. long before everybody, before the wise men. Wise men didn't show up on the scene until a week, two weeks later. They witnessed some things." [00:58:05] (46 seconds)


"Share your story, share from your personal experience. Tell your authentic, stop waiting for right conditions. Stop waiting for perfect timing. Ways to share, tell friends about answered prayers like our friends had. Share your faith, how God's brought you through the toughest of times, the darkest of times. I know you've been there because I've been there and that's the stuff I share. If God can do it for me and he's gonna do it for who? You, I'm seeing it happen. They simply shared and our simple sharing can amaze others. Write this down, what God does to you, he wants to do through you." [00:59:36] (40 seconds)


"Man, how many of you believe that God can intersect at the right time in your life? I mean, not only is he perfect, he's personal. And sometimes he sends it like a gift, he sends it like a gift basket. It has friends in there, sometimes food in there, but it has all of you in there. And it has second and third and fourth chances. For the first time in a long time, I felt seen by God on that trip. And here's the funny part. I had nothing to offer God. I didn't have words. I didn't sing songs. I didn't even pray. I stood back and I acted like I was taking pictures, but I was so broken." [01:04:16] (56 seconds)


"God sees your heart. God sees your struggles. God also sees your potential. God saw all this here today. But like the shepherds were chosen to witness this greatest gift to humanity, you too are seen. You've got to share. Look at this quote, and I'll close with this worship team. You can come on up. Look at this quote. God pursues us in love. He's not trying to find us. He always knows where we are. Rather, he goes with us as we find ourselves again. And I'll go one further, as he walks beside us and takes us to the place he needs us." [01:06:55] (40 seconds)