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 Sweet just tell you that we love you We say thank you Thank you for coming Thank you for coming to our mess when you didn't have to God thank you for being willing to get dirty Thank you for humbling yourself teaching us what strength looks like Thank you for the pause I Thank you for your presence Oh God, I feel your presence so strong in this place We feel your presence so strong in this place God we didn't come today to check a box. We didn't come today to Just show up God thank you that we have a freedom To worship you In spirit and in truth Thank you God that what we got to be a part of this morning is just a glimpse of heaven God I pray that you would speak through me today. God. I get so so out of the way Jesus I just pray Holy Spirit that you would move and speak God I pray that you'd get us ready For what you want to do Lord God in our hearts and our minds God what you want to do Lord and I in our world You are so worthy And we worship you today May we take this with us may we remember that Christmas is about the Christ You gave so we could receive We love you today God do a work today God, I pray if there's one person here Jesus that is like Not a Christian yet. I pray today would be their day God I pray for prodigals to come home

For Christians to be encouraged and strengthened God do all that you want to do today Have your way Yahweh In Jesus name and everybody said Amen Amen, well y'all can be seated. I need a box of tissues Sadie Will you grab those right there? Oh, thank you. Okay. Thank you so much Wow. I don't know about you guys, but um That one hit a little different You My heart is full this morning Because he came Aren't you glad Christ came? He came and he came For you, he didn't just come for Religious people he didn't just come for good people. He came for lost people He came for broken people. He came for hurting people He came for messy people. How many know some messy people? How many of you is one? Man who I was telling the Lord up here Jesus if you just want this worship, you know I Meet me at the manger. That's what I want to talk about today when eternity stepped into time. Isn't this a great manger? You beat me to it brother I Was gonna say is will in here. Where's will that is willing here? He's not in here this gathering next gathering will made this manger, you know as I was studying about mangers They said that most mangers would have been about three foot and about 18 inches. I mean, so this is beautiful. I've been about half this, about 18 inches and about two feet up to two feet deep and most of them were made out of limestone. And so a manger is nothing more than a trough,

animal trough. That's where animals would stick their face into the food and would slobber and would eat. And this manger, when God was planning this all out, this manger was God's idea. He could have been born any way he wanted, any time he wanted. He could have come in 2025. He could have waited for the new Baptist Hospital to be built. He didn't. He chose to come at the perfect moment and our Christ was born and then they laid him in a manger. Our text today is Luke chapter 2 and I love Luke. Luke is very detailed. Luke is very, very detailed. Luke would write later about the life of Christ and the miracles of Christ and Luke has, if I'm not mistaken, I think it's somewhere between 18 and 20 different references to angels. Something that the other gospel writers scratched the surface on. Luke gives us in Luke chapter 1, there's 80 verses in there. This is incredible. Sets us up for Luke chapter 2 and we come into this beautiful Christmas story. Our family likes to read it Christmas morning. That's a great tradition. It was passed down to us from our parents and probably their parents passed it down and I would encourage you guys before our gifts are given and presents are unwrapped, I would encourage you guys to to bring your family and

point them towards Jesus because Christmas is about celebrating his birthday and I'm not here to debate if it was actually on December 25th, but I'm here to celebrate that he came. He came. He didn't have to but he came and the reason why Christ came and we celebrate his first coming at Christmas is because he wants you to be his child. This was Jesus becoming a child so that you and I could have childlike faith and we could humble ourselves and we could accept the gift, the greatest gift ever given and in accepting that gift we could receive not just heaven someday, one day, but you and I could receive an abundant life, an abundant life, an overflowing life, a victorious life. Now we've said in 2025 we're gonna say it with me, thrive in 2025. We're gonna thrive. I hope that that has happened this year. If it hasn't, it's still 2025. There's still time. Tell your neighbor there's still time. Tell them I'm gonna thrive. Tell them I will thrive. Tell them I am thriving. See some things you got to speak before you see. You got to speak it. You say, well, I'm not sure about that. Well, the Bible is, Bible encourages us to remember that your tongue is more powerful than a ship. My tongue is more powerful than a sword. Our tongues, boy, they lead to life or death, don't they? The power of life and death is in the tongue. So, so what we speak, so what we speak is meet me at the manger.

See, we've all gathered today because there was a manger. We've all gathered today. We've been in the series. The series is finding joy this Christmas. Finding joy this Christmas, and I hope that you have found joy. I got a wonderful text. From a friend. He's actually in the gathering today, and he tells me, texted me this week and he said, thank you so much for speaking on finding joy. Like I am finding joy, like this is helping. And I hope that that's your story. I hope that's your testimony that this Christmas, it hits different. You're going to remember it different because you're like, no, that's the Christmas that I found joy, that I got back to my joy, that God restored my joy. Are you with me? Because the joy of the Lord is our strength. So Steph, Steph came in today and she said, I got you a tea for your voice. And I said, thank you. And she said, did you look at it? And so I looked at it and they wrote joy on my cup. And so I liked that because I have found joy. I have joy. And that joy is not just for me. That joy is because of Jesus. That joy comes when I put him first, that joy comes when I put others next and then myself last for that's how you spell joy, J-O-Y, Jesus, others, and then you. Sometimes we try to spell joy, M-E, me, and it doesn't come out like joy, doesn't feel like joy, doesn't look like joy, maybe in the short game, but not in the long haul. I hope that this Christmas finds you with some amazing joy. No matter what you've been through this year, no matter how hard this year has been, I hope that this Christmas, your heart is filled with joy. Let's go to our text today. Let's go to our text, Luke chapter two, Luke chapter two. We're going to read a couple of verses and in Luke two are the words that I want us to

take away and remember. And that is that the good news brings great joy. Would you say it with me? The good news brings great joy and is for all people. So let's say it together. Here you go. Ready? The good news brings great joy and is for all people. How many of you know someone that needs joy? How many of you are pretty sure they could use a little extra joy? How many are sitting in the same row? It's with the good news. And by the way, Luke chapter two is about the good news. Now what is the good news? The good news is Christ came. Had he not come, he could not lived a perfect life. He could not have bled with the precious blood of the lamb of God that literally could wash away our sins. He would not have been buried, which means he would not have risen again. The good news started with his birth. This was good news. But I would submit to you today that the gospel has always been good news. And I submit to you today that the gospel is still good news. And whether you or I have tapped in to the good news, it's still good news. And it's still good news to people who need good news. And this world is filled with people that are sick and tired of all the bad, the heavy, the negative news. People need good news. How many don't watch the news? How many got to a point where you're like, I'm done with the news.

I'm just, I'm done. How many don't watch the news? There are people, believe it or not, that they don't know it's good news because no one's told them. That's why you and I are here. We're all preachers. If you're a Christian, you are a preacher. If you're a Christian, you're a missionary and you don't have to go to Africa to be a missionary. You can live in Pensacola and be a missionary working at Baptist hospital, working at Sacred Heart, working right wherever you can be in construction, right? You can be a police officer. You can be a teacher, a principal. You can be a coach. You can be a lawyer. You can be a doctor. You can be all those things. But you and I take with us a great commission, which is to remind people that there is still good news. In other words, what I'm trying to tell you is God is looking for people that will get excited about the good news Because there's been enough Christians not excited about the good news. We need Christians that have Partaken of the good news Oh taste and see That the Lord is good. Oh Taste and see that the Lord is good. I got some good news this week I debated whether to share it or not. I'm gonna share it. I got some good news I turned 50 on Monday a Young 15 You know the older I get the the older ages are younger ages I'm like 80 is young Pretty sure 95 is still young This is that's the way I'm thinking these days and as I was thinking about back on this year in 2025

I thought man, I this has been I've been trying to thrive in 25. I got a lot of new things I I got a crown this week my first crown ever. Hey, I got glasses this year got something new and on Tuesday on Tuesday walked into a party and People there surprised it was amazing. It was awesome. See these faces One of my best friends from 15 years old drove from South Carolina to be at the party one of our board members I was just blown away by the love of My friends and that really culminated as I walked out on a balcony thinking we were taking a picture and 45 people pitched in and bought me a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and That was good news, that was good news. I was really good news. I promised myself in college by the time I'm 40. I'm gonna get a Harley and Then I turned 50 and I submitted my time on 50. I'm gonna get a Harley. It was good news I got on that thing went to take off almost wiped out right at the beginning If you were there, you know what I'm talking about that clutch that clutch is the heavy clutch totally different than mine I started to let it out and that bike wanted to go man and I Said Jesus cuz whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved And it felt like you know I had 125 people on the balcony and I had people right up front watching me and I let that clip And I I was like this on my toes. I said Jesus and then I said, I'm good. I'm good All those people like oh my god That was really good news, but that's nothing in comparison To the good news of the gospel Without the birth. We don't have a sacrifice Without the birth. We don't have reconciliation Without the birth. We don't have redemption without the birth. We don't have a resurrection. Are you with me today? It all starts here at the birth and Christ came in the Matthew chapter 1 His family tree was pretty messy Jesus is now the seed of Mary and he's the seed of God Not the seed of man but the seed of God the seed and

It's in this context in which we pick up This incredible story. Let's go Luke chapter 2. Let's pick up verse 8 and read through verse 20 That night there were shepherds staying in the field nearby. I Could preach a message right here There were shepherds staying in the field that speaks of maturity Stay with it Don't be someone that starts and then stops Don't be someone that needs a job and you're telling everyone pray for me I need a job, but you don't stay at a job for more than two days Can I preach for a second that speaks of maturity? Everybody wants another field But God didn't give you the next field until you learn to stay in the field to where God called you In fact, I'm telling you you got to learn to bloom where you're planted Well, there's more in me. Well prove it Don't be entitled about it Prove it. Well, I'm just you know, I'm you know I just work the cash register and I just do this and you know I'm here and I'm a sales associate and but I it's good have dreams have goals But when God opens the door stay there till God opens the next door You with me don't wear yourself out trying to push open a locked door when God's trying to teach you something about maturity Maturity is about learning to stay in the field. I want out. I'm done with school. No, no, no. No, you're a fourth grader Jaden on the first day to school. This is kindergarten. He's in the back seat. He's in his car seat And he stretches out and he's like, I'm tired of school. And I was taking him to school that morning, his first morning. It's so funny. That's funny when you're five. It's not funny when you're 50. Learn to stay. It speaks of maturity. There were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.

What were they doing? They were guarding. That speaks of responsibility. They were not just there. They were working. Are you with me? This for someone, because God gave this, I never saw this before. I've read this passage thousands and thousands of times. And when I read it studying for this, the Lord was like, that's a message right now for people. It's about responsibility. It's about taking ownership. It's about sometimes saying, hey, hey, hey, this is my responsibility and I'm going to own it. I'm going to step into it. I'm not going to make excuses. I'm not going to point fingers. I'm going to say, hey, right here, this one's on me and I'm going to meet that opportunity with responsibility. They were not just staying in the field. They were guarding these sheep. Why? Because these sheep had a purpose. And sometimes we just look at sheep and we just think, well, this is just sheep. I'm just a shepherd. Like this is nothing cool. And let me tell you something. God will do the extraordinary when you get focused on the ordinary. When you realize, hey, wait a second, there is purpose right here. There is purpose in what I'm doing.

There's purpose in my marriage. There is purpose in raising these kids. I'm going to stay in it, though it gets hard, though they're not listening, though I think they don't care. I'm going to stay in the game and I'm actually going to do the work because I've not only got maturity, I got a little responsibility. Turn to someone and say, I'm growing, I'm growing. Suddenly an angel of the Lord. But notice the angel of the Lord didn't show up until they were staying and guarding. They were doing the work. I don't know that God cares so much about, sometimes we put like the work that we do. I think God cares how we do the work. God does care about your work, but God also cares how you do your work. You with me? Sometimes we think like, man, if I had that job, I would, you know, if that, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, just, just bloom where God plants you. Stay there. Keep doing the job. Do it to the best of your ability. Do it for the glory of God and watch God bless your socks off. Psalms would say it this way, that promotion comes neither from the East nor the West, but God is the judge. He lifts up one and he puts down another. Do you want to be, well, I'm just ready for the next thing, Pastor Tim. I get that. It's often how young people think, I'm right there with you. I want the next thing. But don't forget to focus on the thing. Today matters and the miraculous happened after them just doing their job, the monotonous.

Could it be there's a pattern here? Could it be that the Lord looks to see how faithful we are with the monotonous? They were just guarding their sheep, nothing special, by the way, sheep are not the smartest animals. They're guarding the sheep, getting them out of the ditch, getting them out of the ditch again, getting them out of the ditch again. And then God decides to show up. That's a suddenly moment. And what I want you to know today is you're a sophomore in high school or a sophomore in college, and you think like, man, I've just got trig, man, I'm going through this and this business class and let me tell you something, God sees you, God knows you, God loves you, and God is caring about you. He is concerned about you. He is focused on you. That's why he is developing you and the things you think are the things that are, ah, I can't stand this, are the things God is using to make you who you need to be. So stay in there. Turn to your neighbor and say, hang in there. Don't you quit. Don't you quit. Don't you quit. So here we go. Luke two, the shepherds are now going to see something amazingly, suddenly an angel of the Lord. By the way, it's always monotonous until God brings you a suddenly moment. And God can bring you a moment that you didn't see coming. They didn't see this coming. They didn't expect this. They didn't have Luke chapter two. They had not read.

This story, they were not like, okay, all right, make sure all the sheep are good because here we go. Ready? In three, two, one. No, no, no, no, no. They were just doing their job. They were showing up and God brought them into a suddenly moment. I'm telling you today, I don't know who this is for, but there are people here today. There are people watching online. There are people in Navarre. There are men in Blackwater. By the way, I got to preach in Blackwater last Sunday night. I said, I want to exit my forties preaching. And I asked the church to pray. Do you know what was an hour and a half time together we got with them turned into three and a half hours. They couldn't, couldn't get the count right. So I got it. We got an extra hour and a half with these men and we took testimonies and eight men got up and gave testimonies. And I'm telling you, God was in that place. God was in that place. This is for someone here today. You think God doesn't see you. You think God has forgotten about you. You think, you think the best has already happened. God is getting ready to take you into a suddenly moment. It's a moment that's going to change your life. You just keep doing everything you're doing right now for God with a good heart, good right attitude.

You keep believing, you keep staying in faith and watch, you're going to see breakthrough happen in your life. It's how he does it. This is an example right here. Suddenly what happens, an angel of the Lord, he appears among them. Now always according to the pictures, there's the angel in the sky right up there. He appears among them and the radiance of the Lord's glory, the radiance of the Lord's glory, what happened is surrounded these shepherds. Don't you know, the sheep were like, it's not normal. Never seen anything like this, Betsy, what do you think? The Lord's glory surrounds them and they were terrified. That word terrified in the original language goes back to when the angel first shows up to John the Baptist's father and he's terrified. All through scripture, oftentimes when you read about these angels, people were terrified. These angels are something, they're powerful. They were terrified. The version that I memorized growing up, they were sore afraid. They were so scared, they were sore the next day. They were terrified. You ever had something happen that that quick you got terrified? This happened in a moment. This was a suddenly moment and now all of a sudden they are terrified, but the angel reassured them. See, God is a God that does not want you to be afraid. God does not want you, hear this again. God is a God that does not want you to be afraid, let alone stay afraid. God wants fear off of you. God wants fear off of me for God knows when we step out of fear, we step into God's strength. So he doesn't want us to live. And the very presence of angels all through the Bible made people afraid.

I can only imagine what actually stepping into the presence of God and seeing God, what that must be like. Angel says, don't worry, don't be afraid. It's all good. And they're like, don't be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. Say it with me. The good news brings great joy to all people. The good news brings great joy to all people. And it brings great joy to all people because the gospel, the good news was and is for all people. See you, we don't go to a buffet and get to pick what we want. This is good news. And it's for all people. It's for all people. Let me say it again. This great news is for all people. That means it's for your roommate. That means it's for your classmate. That means it's for your teammate. It's for all people. It's for the neighbor you love and the neighbor you don't like. It's for all people. It's for that teacher. You didn't get her nothing for Christmas and you should have, because she's putting up with you. It's for that person that gets underneath your skin. It's for that family member who at Thanksgiving you were like, Jesus help me, I want to say something. It's for all people, and God has given great news to us

that brings great joy, and then we gotta do something with it, it's for all people, and because it's for all people, the question is, what are we doing with it? And then if we make it personalized, what are you doing with this gospel that brings great joy? We're trying to find joy this Christmas. Finding joy this Christmas. Y'all put that line up on the screen if you will. Watch this, here it is, week four, finding joy, take the T-H off of this, finding joy is Christmas. Finding joy is Christmas. They found Christmas at the manger, but the angels are finding that something amazing has happened, and this angel turns into a bunch of angels, and he says, the Savior, the what, the Savior, the Messiah, the one they've been waiting on, for 400 years have been silent, but now the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David. And they had to go to Bethlehem, that's where their descendant David was from, they had to go pay taxes. We remember this from last week, there's a count, they're gonna take a count. But I love here how the angel reassures us, this is not just a baby, this is not just something amazing happening, this is God with us, this is Emmanuel, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, this is the Lord, God Almighty, and he has been born. And it's really great news, and it's not just for you and your homies, it's not just for you and the shepherds, this is for everybody.

But not everybody would receive this as great news, for Herod was trying to kill him, two years later, like I wanna go worship, take me to him. No, no, no, no, he was threatened, he wanted to take Jesus out, but you cannot, I cannot, no one can thwart the plans of Almighty God, are you with me? So let's go, let's go here to Isaiah, this verse won't be on screen, let's go, Isaiah chapter nine, verse six and seven, for a child is born to us, a child. A son is, what's the next word, given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. Can we just clap for that? Can we just say thank you, God, that your government and your peace will never end, and He will rule, watch this, with fairness and with justice, from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of heaven's armies will make this happen, Isaiah chapter nine, verse six and verse seven, back to Luke two, verse 12, and you will recognize Him by this sign, you will recognize Him by this sign, you will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth lying in a manger, how many of you have heard that before? You know what's amazing about this phrase? Here's what's amazing, the strips of cloth were normally reserved for burial. So when they showed up, it was a sign to them.

Not only was it a sign that the angels had said, hey, this is what's gonna happen, and you're gonna find this baby, and it's great joy, it's gonna be amazing, but when they showed up, this baby was wrapped, possibly with cow towels, strips of cloth, that wrapped His body just like Lazarus was wrapped when Jesus said, loose Him and let Him go. Just like Jesus was wrapped when John and Peter ran into the tomb, and the linens that He had been wrapped with, the linens around His face, the straps of cloth that had wrapped His body tight, remember, with spices, so as they show up, His birth was already signaling a resurrection. This was a sign to them. This ought to be a sign to you and me. This is incredible. What a sign, you're gonna find this baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, wrapped snugly. Why? Because mama got him. When mama got you, everything's good. He's wrapped snugly in strips of cloth. He's lying in a manger. Suddenly the angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth. To those with whom God is pleased. When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, wait for it.

Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord told us about. A suddenly moment. All you need is a word from God to launch you into a suddenly moment. All you need is a word from God about your business to launch you into a suddenly moment. All you need is a word from God to launch you, to launch your family into a suddenly moment. We've heard from the Lord and now you know what? They were ready to move. See, when you get a word from God, don't stay, go with it. When God speaks, move towards it. When God calls you out of the boat, have the courage to go, pray for me and step out. They heard the good news and the good news meant they had to do something with it. How many have been saved by the glorious gospel of grace that it's nothing I could do, it's nothing I could earn. He saw me, He loved me, He saved me, had nothing to do about me, had everything to do about Him. If that's your testimony, stand up right now and give God praise. If that's your testimony, right now, stand up and give the Lord some praise. That's what God did. Come on, I'm trying to shake you this morning a little bit. I'm trying to wake us up, it's Christmas time. Christmas is about joy.

It's about you getting your joy back. It's about realizing that my joy is connected to the good news. And if it's good news, then let's be excited about it. Let's be excited about it. Like, come on, let's not stay in a Christmas slumber slump. Where the world and all of the trappings of this life suck the joy out of our heart. Let's be excited. Why? Because we're gonna go, there's some place for us to move towards. So you gotta meet me at the manger. Come on, tell your neighbor right now, meet me at the manger. Come on, tell your other neighbor, meet me at the manger. You guys be seated. We are approaching our destination. You know, they say that when there's about 40 minutes left. I don't have 40 minutes left. But I'm sure I got 20. Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's go. Let's see this thing that's happened that the Lord told us about. They hurried. In the original language, that means they hurried. They hurried to the village and they found. That means they were looking for him. God says, you will find me

when you seek me with all your heart. See, the reason why we haven't found him might be connected to the truth that we're not seeking him. But when you seek me, you will find me, that's a promise. Doesn't matter what you've done. Doesn't matter how bad you've been. When you get back to say, wait a second, I'm gonna step back to the manger because the manger led to a cross and the cross led to an empty tomb. I'm gonna realize there's nothing I could do to make him love me any less. You know what happened? You'll seek him with all your heart and you will find joy, unspeakable joy and full of glory. Why? Because in his presence is fullness of joy. Fullness of joy. You lost your joy, you wanna get joy back? Get in God's presence. Thank you, I'll pay you $5 for that. You say it a couple of times, that adds up. They hurry and there was the baby lying in a manger. M-A-N-G-E-R, man, manger, M-A-N, he was the God man. The God man is lying in a manger. After seeing him, After seeing him, my heart this morning is that you could see him. That we would take the time to see him. See, you can't see him without being filled with wonder.

When these shepherds saw, they were shepherds. God took peasant shepherds and a peasant couple that was engaged. And now married, but not consummated this marriage. Mary is a virgin. God took normal people and God did something incredible. And now the God man is lying in a manger and they see him. And what do they do after seeing him? Verse 17, they told everyone, they told who? Everyone what had happened. You got a story to tell. We have a story to tell. If the good news brings great joy and it's for all people, then you and I have a story to tell and it's for everyone. All who heard the shepherd's story. I mean, they didn't just tell him what happened. They told him what the angel said about the child and all who heard the shepherd's story, they were absolutely astonished. But Mary kept all these things in her heart. Mary pondered these things in her heart and she thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, back to their responsibility. They were glorifying and they were praising God for all they had heard. I mean, can you imagine hearing the angels worship? Can you imagine? I mean, what was it? Was it a million?

Was it 5 million? Was it 10 million? I don't know. Was it a billion or a trillion? I guarantee you not one of them stayed in heaven. They probably were like, let's go. And I guarantee you not one shepherd stayed around. Nah, y'all go. I don't know what they did with the sheep, but they were mature and responsible. They paid somebody to watch them or they brought them. I'm not sure. But the shepherd said, we're all going, gonna go meet this Christ child at the manger. They're glorifying, they're praising God for all they heard, all they seen. It was just as the angel had told them, just as the angel had told them. By the way, you and I one day, we'll get to heaven and we'll find out it was just as the Lord told us. Just as the Lord told us. There's not a lie in this book. There's not a fib in this book. There's not a half truth in this book. This book is holy. It's a number one bestseller. This book is God breathe. This was not written by man, but holy men of God were moved as the spirit of God spoke.

And they wrote down and one day we will all find out. It was just like he said. I'm closing and they are filled with wonder because they saw him. When you see him, you will be filled with wonder. You know what keeps us from seeing him? Ourself, our decisions, our busy schedules, our temptations that we give into and sin. Sin will always keep you from seeing him. See, I wear these, but these are readers. So if I keep them on, you're blurry. That's what sin does. Sin makes our life real blurry. We have a hard time seeing the son when there's sin within. That's why we got to keep short accounts with God. Is our sin forgiven at the cross? My sins were paid in full. They're paid in full. Thank you, Jesus. Can I get a hallelujah? So you thought I was going to say amen. I got you there. I got you. Sometimes what is another hard for hallelujah? Sometimes you got to push through. Got to push through the pain, the unbelief, the discouragement, the fear, your own embarrassment. You got to push through. But when you see him, it's worth it.

It's worth it. Do you see him today? Because if you see Him, it will lead to wonder. And then let me tell you what wonder leads to. Wonder brings worship. They worshiped Him. And then you know what the worship will do? The worship will bring you to a place of witness. Read this with me. Would you look at this? Wonder brings joy. Wonder leads to worship. Worship brings joy. Then worship, you go wonder because you see Him, then worship because you realize when you see Him, woe is me, I'm a man with unclean lips. I am nothing, you are everything. So I am caught up in the wonder of who you are, Jesus. And so here little I am, here big I am. So little I am is going to take a knee to the great big I am because my wonder always will only lead me to worship. And I cannot worship you without witnessing about you. I cannot worship you without telling everyone else that I know that there is great joy. It is for all people because we have a gospel that started in a manger that would finish with fireworks with an empty grave, an empty tomb. Let's go back to that last screen real quick. I haven't gotten to this one yet. Witness brings joy. Now let's read it all backwards. Joy brings, huh? Finding joy this Christmas.

Finding joy is Christmas. That's what it is. Finding joy is Christmas. My wonder demands, it demands worship. My worship demands that I go tell. Let me sing the Christmas song, go tell it on the mountain. There's no place God doesn't want it told. There's no face that God doesn't want it told. And you and I behold the wonder of Christmas that Christ would come. He would be laid in an animal trough. But it wasn't all the outward side, all the outward things that made him special. It was who he was and who he is. And that's what still makes this season special because who he was is still who he is. You got a card on your seat. You got a pin on your chair. When you came in, you may have placed it underneath your seat. As I was working on this, see it's my job, not just to get up here and pontificate a message that you could celebrate, you could say that was very impressive. It's my job to help move you, to get you in a spot where you're ready to go tell people, meet me at the manger. This is just a three by five card. Getting ready to become holy because what I'm gonna ask you to do is I'm gonna ask you to write some friends names that need to meet you at the manger. Here's the cool thing about the shepherds, they all went. I would imagine they were friends. I would imagine when you have an experience like something that awesome, it bonds you. It moves you. I wonder who won. I know they ran. I wonder who got there first.

These are a bunch of guys, man. They're like, let's go. Come on, come on. Let's go. Let's hurry up. Let's hustle. And these guys take off to run to the manger, to meet the savior of the world, to see this God man, God child. There are people in your world that heaven is counting on you. Say this with me. Take your finger out, pointed at me. Come on. I can take it. Point it at me. Get ready. And now say, there are people that are hanging in the balance. that are counting on. Now stop pointing at me and point at you. There's some names being written right now. And the moment that you truly believe that the gospel brings great joy and is for all people, you'll begin to personalize it with a friend, with a neighbor, with a relative, with a coworker, classmate, teammate. And I want you to write the names right here. I want you to write the names down right here. And don't let yourself talk yourself out of it. Don't help the enemy. We're not friends with the enemy. The enemy is the enemy of not just our souls. He's the enemy of their souls. So, so we got to, we got to say, okay. And maybe you want to take just a moment here. God, who do you want for me to invite so they can meet me at the manger and then do everything you can to make sure they understand this is about great news. And you don't got to read Luke chapter two to them. You might just say, Hey, I know you're really going through a horrible divorce right now. And, um, my heart's broken for you, but I promise you like Christmas Eve at the Sanger, it's going to be a lot of hope that you come sit with me. I'd be honored if you'd sit with me. I know you recently lost a relative. I

know that business partner did some shady things, but the Sanger is going to be filled with the presence of God. And you say that if they're a Christian, they're not a Christian that may scare them. So say something like, I know it's been a dark season for you. Christmas Eve is going to be so bright. You're going to walk away smiling. Would you come sit with me? Meet me at the manger. Would you write these names down? Everybody that's an Allscape. It's not for this, not for the core team. This is not, if you're on a surf team, this is not for the staff. This is for, if you're sucking air, if you're breathing, this is an Allscape, you got a pen, you got a paper, you got people that need you to invite them so they can meet you at the manger. Hold them up when you're done. Hold them up when you're done. Let me see it. I hope that you've written some names because now we're all going to stand up. I'll stand up. I want you to bring these cards in just a second, Navar. Just a second, Pensacola. I want you to bring these cards to the manger. If you didn't put a name down, I'm stalling. I'm giving you extra time because we all got people that we can meet at the manger. And you know what we're going to do with these names? Before you talk to your friends about God, Pastor Tim and our staff, we're going to talk to God about your friends. Navar, Pensacola, I want you to move out right now. I want you to move out right now. I want you to put this card, and by the way, make sure we can read it. If you need to redo or mulligan, rewrite it. I want to pray for every person by name on my knees, believing that they will meet you at the manger so that they can meet him It's Wednesday, Christmas Eve, three and five. It's our opportunity. I'm going to pray over every name. We're going to pray over every name. Y'all come. Put it right here in the manger, would you? Right in here. Right in here. If y'all can sing a little something, Michael. His name shall be a wonderful Counselor. His name shall be a wonderful Counselor. He's there, shall be. It's the peace of a mighty God. He's there, shall be. Wonderful counselor, he's there, shall be. I'm so proud of y'all. Good to see you, buddy.

Congratulations. I'm sorry, I couldn't be at your wedding, man. So I'm celebrating you, dude. Love you. Renee, I'm so proud of y'all. Love you guys. Katelyn, love you. Amber, love you. Mike, love you, sir. I'm so proud of y'all. Megan, we love you, manly. How you doing? I'm so good. How's school? School good? Good. Good to see you, ladies. Mike, love you, sir. Merry Christmas. Shally. Wonderful counselor, he's there, shall be. It's the peace of a mighty God. His day shall be. It's the peace of a mighty God. His day shall be. It's the peace of a mighty God. His day shall be. Wonderful counselor, he's there, shall be. It's the peace of a mighty God. His day shall be.

Wonderful counselor, he's there, shall be. It's the peace. Great job. Another one. Would you bow your heads, would you close your eyes just for a minute, would you stay standing in the presence of God? If you're here today and you're saying, Pastor Tim, I'm going to invite, I'm going to pray, I'm going to invite, I'm going to believe that these names are going to have incredible stories to tell. Would you hold your hands up to God? Hold them up. I'm going to hold mine up. I'm going to pray. God, I pray over every one of these cards, Lord, all the names written. God, this card's got seven names on it. Lord, this card's got 10 names on it. One name, two names, three names. God, I just, we pray over these names. We lift them up to you in a little bit. God, we will pray over every name. Lord, God, later today. Now, God, I pray that you would infuse your people with your courage, with your joy. God, put a smile on their face, a song in their heart. May the things of this world grow strangely dim so that they focus on you because Christmas is about Christ and finding joy is Christmas and the good news brings great joy for all people. So God, we got a message to get out. And so Lord, I just pray over every conversation, over every invite, whether paper invite or digital invite or text message, God, or DM, whatever it is, God. I pray, Lord, for thousands of invites to go out.

I pray for the Sanger to be filled with your spirit, your spirit on Wednesday, three o'clock, five o'clock. God, I pray, Lord, you'd fill the seats and the balcony, fill it all because we literally took this to heart, that we really believe that the gospel brings great news. It's great joy and it's for all people. Use your people today, God. Don't let them procrastinate, hesitate. God, help them to get on it today. I pray. I pray you would take the awkwardness, take the fear, take the anxiety away. And God, I pray you would just fill them with joy. And God, I pray the joy would be the magnet that attracts their friends to come. And then they'll realize that Jesus is the reason for this season. We prayed in Jesus' name with heads bowed and eyes closed. Never liked to end a gathering without giving you an opportunity to receive Christ. The gospel you've heard it preached today. If you've never accepted the gospel, I want you to accept the gospel today. I want you to receive. John chapter one, as many as received him. Christmas is about giving and receiving. God gave. Now it's our opportunity. to receive. God sent, it's our opportunity to receive. If you've never received the fact that God loves you so much, he bankrupted heaven, sent his son Jesus to this earth so he could live a perfect life. He could die and pay for our sins and the blood of the Lamb of God, the only thing that could wash away our sins, the stench, the stain of our sins is the blood of Jesus and Jesus shed his blood for us. And then they buried him. Then three days later they found out can't keep the God man down. What they thought was trouble on Friday was a party on Sunday. This is the good news. This is the good news that brings great

joy for all people. That means for you, for your messy world, it's for you. All you have to do, Romans gives us a road, a pathway to heaven. It says, if we will confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, if we will believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. If you need to do that today, would you pray with me in church? We're going to pray out loud for those who will pray for the first time. Would you pray? Would you say Jesus, I confess I'm a sinner, a big sinner. I've been a big sinner my whole life and I need you to be my savior. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for bleeding for me. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for rising again. I believe it. I receive it. I give a total claim to my life. I confess Jesus is my Lord and savior. I give you my life. I receive your life. Now teach me how to live in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. If you pray that for the first time today, we're going to celebrate. If there's just one person in this place, we got the baptistry ready, the hot tub out there. If anyone needs to be baptized, we ready to go. We showed up ready today. You need to be baptized. Take that step today. But if you gave your life to Christ on the count of three, I want you to hold it up high in Blackwater. Hold it up. By the way, 14 salvations last Sunday night. 201 men came out. Three and a half hours God gave us. Come on Blackwater. Come on Navarre, Pensacola, Blackwater online on the count of three. Hold that hand up. Let us know. One, two, three. Right now. Put it up. Hold it up. Let's go. You give your life to Christ. I see you, sir. I see you, sir. God bless you. Come on. Who else? Let's go Navarre. Come on. Come on. Let's go Blackwater. Let's go church. Incredible. All right. Well, we're almost done. I'm going to turn it over right now to our local campuses. 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. We'll see you in the next one.