Finding Joy This Christmas | Pastor Tim Payne

Hey, thank you for checking out our video today. We know you're gonna enjoy this word from God Make sure to leave a like and share it with somebody It's a powerful story, huh? That good That is so good Hey right before we dismiss the middle school I want you guys to know that I'm super pumped because this is what our Christmas offering is going towards Okay, so we've been talking about it for weeks And Lord blessed me with a trip to Africa a couple years ago And I saw the Timothy initiative and I saw the difference that they are making Can you imagine starting a church for four hundred and twelve dollars? Can you imagine that in America? We cannot comprehend that we cannot conceive that But in Togo Africa, which is an area where the gospel has not been There are churches starting and have been started because of your generosity even last year This is true And after going to Africa I came back and I was like church. Here's here's what we need to do We need to focus in the next three years. We need to launch 50 churches every year 50 churches every year and that needs to become a part of who we are I want to say something that I hope really stretches you But I long for the day when we can give a million dollars to starting churches around the world I long for the day We can give ten million dollars to starting churches around the world because this is this is God's heart Right, like it's it's only good news if you've heard it Right, and there are people that while we're excited about hey, Jesus is coming again They never heard that he came the first time don't even know what Christmas is about Christmas is about Christ and they've never even heard the good news And here's what's powerful when the good news goes out It changes lives from the inside out when our culture says change yourself from the outside in and I'm super pumped so

I Want you to pray? I Want you to ask God? to help you Launch at least one church. I'm talking about your family. You're here and you're single you're a college student Why not believe God for launching one church? You're here and you can launch ten churches or you can launch a hundred churches. Let's launch them because The gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes and if they can't hear how will they believe? Are you with me? So why Pastor Tim? Do you take every penny that comes in? For Christmas, why do you take every penny and why do you send it out? Well, it's not because we have a ton of money in the bank Because we don't it's not because We have no more bills Because we do it is because the mission and the vision have not changed. Are you with me? That's why So if you know the vision of Momentum Church, this is 14 years old We celebrate Easter is like, you know Our birthday, you know our anniversary whatever you want to call it But actually December 1st 2011 was when this church started and it started in Tampa Florida in our house as we began and began to dream and believe and write things down as God gave it and one of those things was this the vision that we are a community of Jesus followers who together are an unstoppable force for good Driven to change the world. How do you change the world? You introduce the world to Jesus That's how you change the world. You wouldn't change the world. You want to be a world changer? Start a church Launch a church and I'm telling you young people I was in Africa and there was a girl who's 17 years old and She was preaching to more people than we have in here today and there were

Muslims over here there were Priests over here there were some people over here that Didn't go to church There are some people over here. They're just coming to see what it was in this 17 year old girl got up there and she preached Jesus Christ crucified Buried risen coming again, and she was not shy she was bold and you know what she gave her story how she used to be an exotic dancer and She was missing teeth because she would get in fights and that's why she was missing her her teeth, and then someone told her about Jesus. And she went from that to preaching the gospel of 17 to several hundred people that were gathered in a village in the middle of nowhere. And here's what's crazy, man. There were even like satanic priests that were there in the gospel. The gospel is powerful, man. It is powerful. And there was no fear there. There was nothing but faith. There was nothing but God. And there was nothing but a lot of people that ended up raising their hand, coming forward and giving their life to Jesus. And one of them was her dad, who she'd been praying for, who she did not even know was in the crowd. And he came and she's crying and Scott right out, you'll remember him. He's like, this is what's happening. This is her father. And he's kind of unpacking, kind of play by play, breaking it down. But that's the power of the gospel. And I've been in those villages where from here to the gas station, you can hear them

singing and praising. And it's not because they got instruments because they don't. It's because they have voices. So this is what our money is going to go towards. And I think in Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of Christ, this is when we celebrate his birthday. Don't you think it'd be cool to give him a birthday present? How many like birthday presents? How many like when you get the birthday present you're wanting to get, right? Isn't that a good day? Yeah, yeah. You know what Jesus wants for his birthday, celebration of his birthday? More people, more souls, more sinners becoming saints. That's what Jesus wants. And so that's what Jesus gets, man. It's his birthday. So that's why it took a couple of minutes. I want you to believe God. $412. You're launching a church, $412. Can you dream with me just from that dream? Can you imagine being in heaven and people running up to you and saying, you're AJ, right? Didn't you work with middle schoolers? Right? Didn't you go to Momentum? And I heard that you were a part of the Christmas offering. And that started a church near my hut. And I came, I'd never heard the name Jesus, but I heard about Jesus and how much he loved me. And I gave my life to him.

And then I told my family, they gave their life to him. And then my family told their friends and they gave their lives to him. And then they told it, right? And it just goes on and on. It's a rippling effect. That's what the Jesus birthday offering is about. I want to ask you to give enthusiastically, generously, extravagantly, sacrificially, because this is what God's heart cares the most about. So let's do it. Here's where we're at. Year one, instead of 50 churches, which was last year, y'all did 87 churches, 87 churches. Guys we're over half the way there. I say we don't just like hit the goal. I say we bust through the goal. Can we do a church? Let's do it. Come on. Let's crush 150 churches in two years instead of three. Let's celebrate. I believe in God for big things. So I love it. I love it. Well, we're in a series. If you're joining us today or you're watching online, we're in a series called finding joy this Christmas, finding joy this Christmas. You know, joy is incredible. I can dismiss y'all now or y'all can stay in here either way. I love it. Y'all got something. You got something for these young people.

Let's give it up for these middle schoolers. Come on. Yeah, you're welcome, man. Appreciate you guys. Thanks for loving on these middle schoolers. Joy. The Bible describes joy as like abundance, like a river of joy, like unspeakable joy and full glory. That's how my life ought to come across. Like when people look at me, they ought to see joy. And I'll be honest with you, that's not always the case. Is it always the case for you? Right? Like joy, if you're not careful, we can lose our joy. We can give our joy away. Joy. I mean, sometimes life can just take it out of you, but God wants us to be filled. God wants us to be full of joy. That's what he wants. And yet life is hard. Yesterday, I'm so thankful for our church and just the generous people that you are. We had Christmas for a cause, Friday night. How many guys came to that? Let me see. Okay. All right. Listen, we put on something like that. Be here. Be a part of it. And don't not come on Sunday because you did something on Friday.

That's not maturity. Okay. All right. Right? And just we're leveling up here. Right? I went to church on Friday. I don't got to go on Sunday. It's not a got to go. Anyhow, it's a get to go. It's a get to go. And, um, I was glad when they said to me, let us go, let us go to the house of the Lord. I was happy when I woke up and it was Sunday morning. You know, I was in Nashville last week and I watched it online and man, I'm just so glad to be here today in the house with you. Yesterday we went out and all the things that we collected, all the items, which was like hats and gloves and hand warmers and jackets and blankets. We did that at the concert on Friday. We call that Christmas for a cause. I was an oldie, but a goodie. We kind of brought it back. And, um, we, we had so many boxes, so many hats and gloves and new socks. We didn't want the old socks. We didn't want gently used socks. We didn't want stinky socks and God knows we didn't want stinky socks. It was new socks. And so we got a bunch of stuff and we gathered it Friday, cool concert, food trucks. This was a place to be. And then yesterday we went out and we distributed it. That's what we did. We went to Loaves and Fishes and then we went to the Washburn Center. When we got to the Washburn Center, there's a ton of people there. And, um, you know, people are coming in line and we just believe there's dignity and choice. So we don't say here's a jacket. This is your size. We let them pick. There's dignity and choice and all organized, all set up. It was wonderfully done by our team. And, uh, and then there's this lady that comes up and she was just bubbling with joy. Now there's a couple hundred homeless people and this homeless woman is filled with joy. You know, you can't buy joy at the store. Amazon doesn't deliver it. They may come close and you feel it for a little bit. And then you're like, where did that go? Uh, joy, joy comes from heaven. And she was there and she's just kind of, she's just kind of doing this thing, you know, and she was looking at the coats and she was laughing. There's all these homeless people. And this woman, you would have thought like she just won the lottery and she's looking, she's like, I like that. I like that though. And she's just be bopping around and everything. And she gets her stuff and she's

smiling. She's so happy right there, man. I was like, I got to get some of that. You know what I'm saying? I'm getting ready to get my car, you know, start it, turn on the heat, you know, got turn on the heat seater. Like let's go. She's out here. She's homeless. She's filled with joy. And then I'm handing out blankets and she looks at me and she goes, I like that shirt. Your shirt. I just, you like this? She said, yeah, I like that. I said, well, thank you. I do too. I appreciate it. As a momentum t-shirt had some palm trees on there. I was one of my, I like this shirt. And she said, I want that shirt. And I said, this shirt. And she said, that shirt. How do I get that shirt? That's a shirt I want. And so I was like, well, what size are you? Which you don't ever ask a woman. You don't ever ask a woman, what size are you? You know? And, and you don't ask a guy either. Cause you ask a guy, they're going to lie. I think I'm extra large. You know, they're wearing a small shirt. She's, she's like, how do I get that? I want that shirt right there. Your shirt. I said, well, you can, this, this is a large. And I said, what size are you? And she's like, well, I'm probably extra large. And I said, well, this is a large. She said, that'll work. I'll make it work. I'll make it work. That shirt right there. I said, well, let's go right now. So I pull my shirt off. And before you get frightened, I had a muscle shirt on underneath cause trying to attract muscles. And so I took that off and I threw it at her and it just like that. I kind of just tossed it at her and I said, it's your lucky day. And she was filled with joy. You'd have thought again, she just won the lottery. She ran up to me, almost tackled me, gave me a big old hug, kissed me on the neck. There's a hickey. Look, no, I'm just kidding. I'm just, I'm just joking. I just, my wife's sitting right here. I'm just joking. I didn't know the kiss was coming, but she was filled with joy. And the shirt, that shirt gave her joy. The Bible says hope deferred makes a heart sick. But, but when it happens, it's a tree of life. Right? And so joy is what people need. They need joy. They're looking for joy. And, and you and I know God, which means we know joy. So instead of having no joy, we know joy. And in the Bible, there's a passage where it mentions the word joy. And, but it's kind of like if we didn't know God and didn't love God and didn't trust God, we would say, this is kind of twisted. All right, now let's push into it a little bit.

Let's get real. Have you ever read a Bible verse? You're like, that's a hard one for me. Like, I know God doesn't lie, but like, this is a hard one for me. Raise your hand, I'm gonna hold mine up, right? Come on. You ever read a verse and you're like, I'm not sure, I'm not sure about that. You know, the Bible says this, Jesus says it's better to give than receive. And you're like, I don't know, receiving is pretty good, you know? Or there's that great verse in Ecclesiastes where it says, funerals are better than parties. And I'm like, well, obviously you haven't been to my party. There's some verses that just kind of feel, they kind of feel like when you put a shirt on and you forgot for a few seconds, you have that real bad sunburn. You put that shirt on, you're like, ooh, it's uncomfortable. There's a few verses that really challenge our faith. And I think that's why God made sure they're in there, to challenge our faith. Let's go to James chapter one, we'll read verses two, three, four, and these verses really challenge us because, in fact, they kind of provoke us because you read it and you're like, I don't see it that way.

That's not my perspective. That's not how I would describe it. And before we read the verses, the guy writing these words was the half-brother of Jesus. He was the half-brother of Jesus. Jesus' earthly ministry, I mean, from Jesus is born all the way up to 30, he starts his ministry from 30 to 33, and James is saying, nope, nope, I don't believe, nope, nope. I mean, how hard would you have to convince your brother or sister you were the Messiah? James is like, nope, nope, nope, nope. And then something called the resurrection happened. And James said, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. And he became one of the pillars of the New Testament church. And the church is in Jerusalem. And then all of a sudden the devil says, I'm gonna bring some trouble. You know trouble, right? You can tell trouble when it walks in, right? I knew you were trouble when you walked in. And now all of a sudden trouble walks into the church in the form of persecution. And James is writing a letter to his fellow Christians. So if you're a Christian and you're a woman, then you're my sister in Christ. If you're a Christian and you're a man, then you're my brother in Christ.

See, that means we're siblings, right? Siblings don't always get along, but siblings should love each other, right? And so as God's children, that means we're brothers and sisters in Christ. And James is writing to a church. He's writing to a group of believers that were together and all of a sudden had to go like this. Like if there was a fire in this building, we have different exits and people would disperse. The fire of persecution started in the church in Jerusalem and the Christians spread out and they ran, they left home, they went to other places, other countries, but you know what they made sure they brought with them? The gospel. That is how the gospel spread. So James, this is some context. James is writing to people they used to eat together and he hadn't seen them in a while because persecution has created distance where there was once closeness, where there was once unity, now all of a sudden where there was once community, now there is separation, but everyone is still holding true to the message that they had received. Are you with me? And so James pens this letter, verse one, as James, a servant of God, to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

And he picks up here, verse two, dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way. Notice he doesn't say if trouble comes your way because trouble is going to come your way. Trouble, oftentimes we view as final. Whenever we face trouble, we think pain. We think hardship. We think difficulty. And James is gonna stretch our faith. James is gonna create some tension with the next words that he pens through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He says, when trouble of any kind comes your way, consider it. Think about it a little bit differently. Consider it an opportunity for what? Great joy. But when I think of great joy, I think of the shepherds. The shepherds are in the field, watching over their flock by night. And lo, an angel of the Lord appeared. And before too long, there's a whole bunch of angels of the Lord. In fact, the Bible says there was a host, a heavenly host of angels, and they're singing glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, goodwill to men, joy. This is a great day because our Savior has been born. That's what I think of joy.

I think of like, man, that's amazing. And James says we need to think about a little bit differently. In fact, James would suggest that trouble isn't final. That actually when you and I face trouble, what we should see is an opportunity. What we should see is an opportunity because we know that behind, watch this, we know that behind trouble, or since y'all are watching this way, behind trouble, see, I went to college for that, is an opportunity for great joy. Look at the passage. It says, for you know, for you know, that when your faith is tested, any of you being tested? Any of you going through it? Anybody here have some trouble in your life? There's someone used to actually be on our team. They're not on our team anymore for a reason. And you know, when people come off staff and we talk about them, we like, man, that we love them, they did so good, there's a reason. If we don't talk about them, there's also a reason. So that's just implied, that's wisdom implied. This person came off, got very bitter and has taken it to heart that this person's job is to talk bad about Pastor Tim. And so he'll go on social media and try to blast me

and say all things about me. And I don't even read it. Other people do. I don't even know it. Other people do, then they tell me. And I don't even have to defend myself. Other people do. So you could look at that and be like, this is really trouble. Almost said the name. It's running their mouth again. Have you ever had someone talk bad about you? You ever had someone like, man, I'm gonna be out to ruin your life, right? And here's the thing, what looks like trouble is actually an opportunity. The Bible says, blessed are you when people talk bad about you for my sake. Man, because then great is your reward in heaven. So actually every time this person talks bad about me, I could see trouble or I could see it as an opportunity for great joy. And I just choose great joy and here's why. Because every time he talks bad about me, God promotes me. Every time he talks bad about me, God blesses me. Every time he talks bad about me, trying to make me look bad, man, God says, no, I'm gonna bless you. So don't allow other people.

And that's a real life thing. Cause there are probably other people in here that you got some people talking about you. Anybody got any haters? Are they sitting on your road? Raise, no, don't raise it. Right, right. You know, instead of looking at it and getting upset, someone told me they're like this person, they're like, he took a picture of your car, license plate and everything and said, people need to learn how to park. And I was in a parking space in a massive parking lot. And this was a little, and I parked over just a little bit. And so he took it and put it out there. I can look at that as trouble or I can see that as an opportunity to laugh. You know what I'm saying? I don't go looking for that stuff. Eagles fly above it. And eagles fly so high that the birds that are pecking on them can't keep up with their altitude. They eventually can't breathe and fall off. So just keep flying higher. You with me? When trouble comes your way, don't give the devil any credit. We give the devil too much credit.

The devil is not creator. The devil is not blesser. He's not the guy. God is the guy. Are you with me? God is the God. And God can take anything. Listen to me. There's nothing in your life. In fact, this says, and we know reminds me of Romans 8, 28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to God. to His purpose. You've got to love Him. You've got to be called by Him. And it's according to His purpose, right? So don't let these little things, these little troubles, take you out of it. Your faith is getting tested, but that's how our faith grows. That's how our faith matures. Look at it. It says, for you know when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. God doesn't want you to quit. God wants you and I to develop spiritual grit. Too many Christians quit. When things get hard, a little difficult, they quit. And God wants you and I to have real spiritual strength. So that when the winds of trouble blow, you and I don't blow over. We're more like a palm tree than a pine tree. We're still standing. Your faith is tested. Endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow. Let it grow. Let it grow. It says right here. So let it grow for when your endurance is fully, what is the word? Developed. Developed. See God knows that it's going to take a developing process for you to get stronger.

You don't go to class one day and graduate. You don't go to the gym one day and get the physique you want. Right? It's developing and God loves you so much. God loves me so much. God is into your development. God is into sending things your way to make you. I thought about calling this message troublemaker because troubles can make you or break you depending on how you view them. But a troublemaker is pretty correct. That trouble should be making you stronger, better. The Bible says let it grow when your endurance is fully developed. You will be perfect and complete needing nothing. So as long as I'm not perfect, as long as I'm not complete, as long as I still am a little needy, God says I'm still going to be developing you. I'm thankful for someone who will develop me. I tell our team, you know, the moment we stop speaking into your life, that's when you need to get worried. The moment we stop being intentional to develop you, that's when you ought to get a little what's going on here. As long as we're coaching you, as long as sometimes we're correcting you, as long as sometimes, man, we are guiding you and we're doing it all in love, like that's a good thing. Right? That's a good thing. Development is a good thing. Whom the Lord loves, He what? He corrects. That was probably none of our favorite life verse. Share your life verse. Whom the Lord loves, He corrects. I mean, no, it said no one ever. Said nobody ever. But God will correct us to develop us. He'll do that. As I started thinking about this passage, I hope you take notes too. I hope you're taking notes on your phone or writing it down. We've turned up the lights so you can see, so you can take notes because maybe the greatest gift you ever leave your child or your grandchild is the Bible that God used to develop you. And they say a clean Bible represents a dirty life, but a dirty Bible, a marked up Bible represents a clean life. What if you got to pass down the Bible that you spent decades in praying and reading and

God developing you in, and then you had some notes in there and you passed on it. Sometimes in church we're like, well, I don't need that message today, but God might know that you need it tomorrow. And so let's be a note taking church, man. And I just encourage you guys to do that. I want you to write this down real quick. Would you write, would you write this down? Write down, God can turn trouble into joy. God can turn your trouble into joy. God can turn your trouble. Trouble comes. It's not if it comes, it's when it comes, but troubles equal opportunities for great joy. Your faith is going to be tested. When Stephanie walked through cancer, our faith was tested. See, trouble is one thing when it's over there. It's like South Florida has a hurricane. Ooh, that's bad. We have a hurricane, Lowe's, Walmart, Home Depot empty. Because when trouble hits home, it hits a little different. And sometimes your trouble, we can, we cannot be touched by other people. trouble because it's not my trouble. That's why the Bible says as Christians the law of Christ is to bear one another's burdens. In other words if you got trouble I should have trouble. Sometimes as Christians we don't talk about our trouble because we don't want to be judged or looked down because we have trouble but Jesus said you're gonna have trouble. As sparks fly upward you're gonna go through a hard time. That's why community groups are so important Ashley is because there's no one in group including the pastor who doesn't have trouble and we need each other because we're better together. Can I preach for a minute? Philippians chapter 1 Paul says we are in this struggle aka trouble together. We need each other so your trouble ought to feel a little lighter when I'm with you because your troubles my trouble and I'm gonna pray for you and I'm gonna cry with you and I'm gonna rejoice with you when you need rejoicing I'm gonna cry with you when you need tears I'm gonna be there in your life because God didn't make us to do life alone. So trouble it comes for all of us your faith is going to get tested but when your faith is getting tested and you feel the burn someone say fill the burn. See when you

are lifting weights and you start to feel the burn it's working. If you're in burn you're doing it wrong. You know you watch guys you know they walk up you walk up to the squat racks to stand in there and curl. They're curling and they're curling like this now they're not doing it. They're not working that. They're getting a full body workout. Their biceps gonna be the same size. See when you work out properly all of a sudden it should hurt. It should burn. It should be painful. But in the painful moments of life we ought to learn to be grateful because God is making us more like him. Let's think about this in light of the Christmas story. So write this down real fast actually write this down. Week one we said this. Week one we said unexpressed gratitude is perceived as ingratitude. Unexpressed gratitude is perceived as ingratitude. That was the takeaway. Week one finding joy this Christmas. Week two we said thankful equals joyful. The more thankful I am the more joyful I'll be. The more I give thanks the more joy is gonna flow through me and today is God can turn your trouble into joy. I want to kind of prove this message and it kind of plays out in the Christmas story and I never put James chapter 1 and Luke chapter 2 together but it fits and I got excited when I saw this. Just think about this real quick. Imagine being a middle school early high school girl and you're raised in a very strict Jewish home and you're taught to love God. You're taught to fear God and and and and you do it. And somewhere along the lines you fall in love with a guy. He's pretty handsome. He's pretty cool. And there's this girl who falls in love with this guy. Let's just call him Joe. And she falls in love with Joe. Joe's really cool man. Joe got it going on. And they like each other and you know Joe's family and like she's she's pretty awesome. Don't screw this one up. And and Mary's family you know it's like starting to slowly warm up to Joe. But you know it takes Joe takes Mary's dad you know a little longer because this is his baby girl, baby daughter. And now all of a sudden they like each other and they just are good for each other. They're good together and the parents on both sides are thinking you know this probably is gonna happen. They're probably meant for each other. And one

day Joe asked Mary's dad if he could propose. And he gives in. So he gives his blessing. Blessing is big in Israel. He gives his blessing and and so they haven't kissed yet. But Mary tells Joseph yes she'd be honored to marry him. And life is good until trouble walks in the door. See you and I know the Christmas story so we don't get affected by the Christmas story because we're too familiar. Mary didn't get the privilege of reading Matthew chapter 1 or Luke chapter 2 to know how it was gonna go. She just had an angel show up. Can you imagine an angel an angel showing up, you're getting ready for church in the morning ladies you're putting on the mascara, guys you're flossing your teeth and there's an angel of God in your bathroom and you're like fear not yeah right you know I mean this moment happens to Mary and the angel says fear not God is with you in fact God is in you Mary's like thank you, I know I love him, I talked to him this morning he's like no, God is in you like you're pregnant pregnant she's like you lying I haven't kissed you, I'm a virgin and he says I know but you're pregnant and the baby that is in you is of the Holy Ghost how many women would like to hear a conversation like that today regarding you right, like this is a game changer think about this, let's just, can we make it human for a minute can we make it human? it's holy but it was also human Jesus was God Almighty

God Almighty, He also became man and so here for a second here's Mary finding out from an angel that God wants her to know that God put a baby inside of her and now she gets to go tell her family or not suck it in, same blue jeans and one day Mary's mom was like Mary, Mary, come here come here Mary Mary's this oh Mary Mary we need to talk is there something you need to tell your father and I? nope yeah can you imagine convincing your parents that you're pregnant and God did it? it's okay to laugh here I'm not being irreverent this is human and this is holy God in the flesh is now in her womb and God put it there and it's holy and the Messiah Mary was waiting for to save her is now in her and Mary tries to convince her parents

this is of God and now she gets the privilege of convincing Joseph see we think about Joseph but we don't think about her and her parents but now she got to tell Joseph we need to talk and he's like I know babe I've been too busy, I'm so sorry just you know there's a lot of houses to build and it's just work never stops but good news I'm adding on to our father's house my father's house so I've got a place for you and I'm enlarging, it's going to be awesome we're going to live there and she's like no no no we've got to talk I'm pregnant Joe's like okay I wasn't expecting that you're what? I'm pregnant and here's how it happened I was in the bathroom putting on my mascara and an angel of the Lord showed up and said Jesus, God with us Emmanuel is in you and you are still a virgin and yet you have conceived a child

and this child is of God and this child is a gift to this world and this child is a sign to this world and God chose you to carry it can you imagine trying to convince your boyfriend how about this, your fiance and he's like right, okay God did it just when I thought I heard it all can you imagine walking through that and did you know that the law if that's a little too familiar a little too human for us well let's go back to what Holy said the law in the Old Testament said if that happened she was to be stoned to death so how does the law feel doesn't feel good does it so instead of doing that Joseph gives grace and Joseph puts her away, that means Joseph made a way for her to not be in the limelight where everyone would judge her that means Joseph hid her that means Joseph protected her isn't that what grace does

right grace, he gave grace and now all of a sudden she's out of the limelight and instead of you know doing her wrong, he decides I'm going to do her right and he's like get divorced and an angel shows up to Joe and says hey buddy remember Remember what Mary said? She wasn't lying, God did that. And that baby is gonna be the savior of the world and you, Joseph, it's okay, keep breathing. And you, Joseph, are gonna call him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. That's what happens. And so now let's fast forward the story real quick. Mary's pregnant, she's ready to be delivered, kind of like my niece, our niece. She works at Vanderbilt Hospital, she's due this month. I got to see her last week with the family and she is ready to be delivered. She serves in the NICU at Vanderbilt and she is ready to be delivered. And she's like, this baby can't come fast enough. And I'm like, the 15th is a great day. I just wanna say, I just recommend it.

And she's ready to be delivered. Mary, I'm talking about now. The Bible says she was great with child, Luke 2. And then they get mail, you got mail. The mail is, gotta pay your taxes. In fact, someone thought it was a great idea to tax the whole world. And not only do you tax, but this isn't on your computer, you gotta go back to your ancestor's town. And since Joseph was from the lineage of David, hello, you get to go from Northern Israel to Southern Israel, you get to go from Nazareth all the way to Bethlehem. Cool, on a donkey. So she's pregnant, she's ready to be delivered. We're talking about trouble, trouble. Anyone ever rode a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem? I don't recommend it. And she's great with child and they pay their taxes. And then baby Jesus, dear little baby Jesus decides to come. She's ready. She's ready. Jesus is gonna be born. What do we do, Joseph? I'll find us a place, babe. You didn't check TripAdvice? No, I'll find us a place. And Joseph goes from place to place and there's nothing. All the way till finally there's no room in the inn. And Joseph says, bad news, baby.

This is the last one. They don't have a place for us. But there's a cave filled with some animals. And they said we maybe can find a spot among them. So this human moment, they're in a cave, probably cold. And Mary is trying to get her hospital room together. They're cows and where cows are, probably it smells like cows. Donkeys and all kinds of animals in there. And Joseph now is the midwife. This is not a party with her family. They're far from home. This isn't her family's there, his family's there. Oh, this is amazing. No, they're in a cave. She's getting ready to give birth. And it is a smelly, stinky, dirty space. Where God is going to be birthed in this place. Kind of reminds us of why he came, didn't it? And what was all trouble is replaced with joy. Because Jesus is born. And Mary now is holding Colossians 1, 16 and 17. He holds all things together. She is now holding the one who has held her her entire life. And she is looking into the eyes of her savior. Title of the message is, Mary, did you know? And she looks at him and where there was pain and trouble, there's now joy. So when many different kinds of trouble come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

Because behind trouble is an opportunity for great joy. I don't know what trouble you see. For Mary, pregnant and it wasn't my fault. Taxes and we weren't ready for that. Took a long trip on a donkey. There was no five-star hotels, no four-star. I would have taken a three-star, but there wasn't even a one-star. Got a stall, a stall. We have stalls in the bathroom. This was a stall. And she is going to give birth to the king of the world. And all that trouble. replaced with great joy. And that's what I think God wants for you this Christmas. Because if you just see trouble as the trouble, you won't find joy this Christmas. But if you know that you can look on the other side of that trouble and believe by faith that on the other side of trouble is an opportunity for great joy, how many other people will you be able to affect? I mean, think about the joy that hung in the balance, not just for Mary, but for everyone after Mary. And think about the joy that hangs in the balance with how you handle your troubles. Who down the road will benefit? Who down the road will develop? Who down the road will not fall into the pit that you did? Because you are willing to say, you know what?

Yeah, this is what trouble looks like, but behind it, it's actually an opportunity for great joy. Aren't you glad that the story doesn't end with trouble? Your troubles are an opportunity. My troubles are an opportunity for great joy. But we gotta put our God's glasses, we gotta see it through God's lenses. And so when trouble comes, will you decide today not to let that trouble take you out, not to allow that trouble to make you doubt God, run from God, but actually realize, no, no, no, no, God's not doing this to me. This is actually for me. And by faith, all I see right now is trouble. How many days did Mary carry people's shame and disapproval? How many days was the trip? For you and I don't allow the length of the trouble that's in front of you to still the joy. From what God wants in and through you. I think that's what God would say today. Look at your troubles different and see and seize great opportunities for great joy. Let's pray. Heads bowed and eyes closed. How many would say, Pastor Tim, you say, man, there's definitely some trouble in my life right now. Maybe it's trouble in a marriage. Maybe it's trouble at work. Maybe it's trouble within some relationships.

Maybe it's some financial trouble. Maybe it's some mental trouble. You're going through something right now. You just feel like, man, it's just trouble everywhere. I mean, just, it keeps getting worse. Maybe that's what you would say. Maybe that's how you feel. Maybe that's how you think and what you think. And God would say, hey, trust me, all things work together for good. To those who love God, Mary loved God. To those who are called, Mary was called. She was even chosen. I'm gonna say, Pastor, this is where I'm at today. I need this word today. I need this word to take root in my heart and I will view trouble as an opportunity for great joy. If that's you, would you just raise your hand? Many hands, Pensacola. Many hands in Navarre. Many hands in Blackwater. Many hands, people watching online around America, around the world. Say, that's where I'm at right now. It feels like trouble is everywhere, Pastor. That means opportunity is everywhere. Just gotta view it differently with your faith eyes for the just will walk by faith, not by sight. So God, I pray over all of us, Lord, would you give us that commitment

to view trouble through your lens, to view trouble as an opportunity for great joy. Pray that you'd help us, God. We're human, you're holy. God, help us in the tension of the middle, I pray. Then with heads bowed and eyes closed, we never like to close again, gathering without giving you an opportunity to become a child of God. John chapter one says, as the many as receive him, talking about Jesus, to them, God gives the right to be called or become the children of God. So every life is like an end, they had no room in the end for Jesus. Every person here represents like an end that had no room for Jesus. Will you have room for Jesus? Will your heart could be like the manger where Jesus lies? Will your heart prepare him room? If you're here today and maybe trouble has kept you from God because you thought the trouble was from God because you weren't good enough or you didn't do that right enough or what no no no no no no we had a bigger trouble and that was our sin nature and he who knew no sin he became our sin so you and I could be made right with God. Jesus was our substitute that took our place, paid our sin debt once for all in full. That's what Jesus did and and Friday we call it Good but humanly speaking there wasn't anything good about Friday. Friday was trouble. Man killed his maker but three days later trouble had turned to joy because he rose victorious. And if you're here today all you got to do is turn to the Lord and just receive him in to your life. You gotta do is make room for him. Say Jesus I want you, I need you, I accept you, I receive you and you know what every person that does that they become a child of God instantly and if you haven't done that that's what you need to do today. Not because I'm just saying it but because Jesus doesn't want heaven without you and you can be a good quote-unquote person but the truth is you've broken God's law which makes

you a guilty person. God said don't lie if you've lied you're a liar. God said don't steal if you've stolen you're a thief. God said don't take his name in vain. You've taken God's name in vain you're a blasphemer. God said don't commit adultery. You commit adultery but even more that Jesus said you look on them in lust. So see we all are guilty. That's why Jesus went to the cross to pay for your sin, your guilt and your shame and today maybe trouble is what made you come to church because nothing else is working. So you're like well what the heck I'll try it. God wants to change this trouble into great joy. There's joy in heaven when one sinner repents. Would you repent today? Would you turn to Christ? Would you choose him to be your Savior and your Lord? If so I want you to pray with me. Last gathering here in Pensacola we had three hands in the back go up. Man it was quick too. I just believe we'll have people here today. So if you're ready for that let's pray together with heads bowed and eyes closed would you pray to Jesus not me. Would you say Jesus I'm a sinner and I desperately need you to wash away my sins to be my Savior. Thank you for loving me, bleeding for me, dying for me and I believe you rose again on the third day and you did it for me. I give you my life. Lord I receive your life. Teach me how to live. I declare that Jesus is Lord. Help me follow you all the days of my life in Jesus name. Amen. Look up here church look up if you prayed that today right now there's joy in heaven because you crossed that line of faith and we want to celebrate in that joyful moment. So I'm gonna ask on the count of three if you're us know if you're watching in Blackwater or Navarre, Pensacola we want you to raise your hand if you just prayed that prayer and received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. On the count of three don't be shy I want you just to hold it up high here we go ready one two three right now hold it up would you put it up anyone at all anybody at all hold it up anybody at all Come on, let's go Blackwater. Come on, let's go Navarre. Incredible, incredible, awesome, awesome. All right, we'll look up here real quick. We're going to pull the lights up before I turn it over to our local campuses. I need your help. I need your help. Can I ask for a favor? I'm looking in eyes. Can I ask for a favor? I want you to come Christmas Eve

three o'clock or five o'clock, either one, three o'clock or five o'clock, but I want you to bring someone with you. I'm going to give such a message of hope. I believe God's going to do amazing things. And would you pray? Would you pray every day? Here's what I'm asking God for. God, pack out the Sanger. Sanger's been in the news for months. Let's, uh, let's pray that the Sanger will be in the news for different reasons because so many people met a man named Jesus that it changes the city. Yeah, Lord, I hear you. I was just in Nashville. There's something called the Ryman Auditorium. You know the story of the Ryman Auditorium? You probably don't. The Ryman Auditorium was built because a preacher and evangelist came into town holding revival. And there was a man that owned a boat, a ferry, and they would do all kinds of crazy, wicked things on that ferry. And as his preacher came and preached revival, the wickedness started shrinking. And the owner of this boat, his money started to shrink because people were meeting God. So he came to the revival meeting with a gun. He was going to kill the preacher so the preacher would eventually shut his mouth and stop affecting his bottom line. And that night, that businessman was a wicked man, met a holy God who's filled with grace and mercy. And instead of the gun, he got grace. And that businessman asked that preacher to stay and be a pastor in Nashville. And that businessman said, what I'd like to do, come on, this is starting to sound like Zacchaeus a little bit. What I'd like to do is I'd like to build a church building, a glorious church building. That's why it still has pews to this day. And the Ryman Auditorium has the top five acoustics in all the world to this day. Because there was a sinner who came who needed a savior, met a savior.

There are people like that in your life that you think, God, they don't want nothing to do with God. And that may be true, but you know what? God's will is greater. God wants everything to do with them. I've invited them a hundred times, Pastor Tim, and they're not coming. Maybe 101 will do the trick. Let's pack the Sanger out and let's watch Christmas happen once more. That's the story. Isn't that cool? Paul, that was a great word that we just heard. So make sure to leave a comment on the video of what you got from it. Give us a like and subscribe to the YouTube page. That way you can stay up to date with everything that's going on at Momentum Church. And you can also click on that give now button down below. If you want to support the mission. Thank you so much for stopping by and we'll see you in the next one.