Why Being Present Matters Most | A Good Friend | Full Experience

♪ We sing glory, we sing glory, we sing glory, glory to the newborn king ♪ ♪ We sing glory, we sing glory, we sing glory, glory to the newborn king ♪ Hey everybody, welcome to CCV. We're so glad that you're here with us. What a joy it is to celebrate the Christmas season with you. To celebrate that Christ is born. We're going to sing a familiar tune, so let's lift our voices together. You know it, come on. ♪ All the little angels sing, glory to the newborn king ♪ ♪ Peace on earth, mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled ♪ ♪ Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies ♪ ♪ With angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem ♪ ♪ Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king ♪ ♪ Hail the newborn prince of peace, hail the son of righteousness ♪ ♪ God and life to all he brings, risen with healing wings ♪ ♪ Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die ♪ ♪ Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give second birth ♪ ♪ Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king ♪ ♪ We sing glory, we sing glory, we sing glory, glory to the newborn king ♪ ♪ We sing glory, we sing glory, we sing glory, glory to the newborn king ♪ Amen God we give you all the glory, all the honor, all the praise in this place today In this special season of Christmas we celebrate Jesus, we celebrate your presence in our lives You showed up as a baby in a manger the same way that you show up here in this place today God we celebrate and we thank you for your love ♪ I have tasted, I have seen the realness of your love for me ♪ ♪ It's written on your hands of clean, it's all the evidence I'll ever need ♪ Won't we sing? ♪ Cause your love is better than life, I can't even wrap my mind around it ♪ ♪ One day here in your house, better than a thousand elsewhere ♪ ♪ Your love keeps on running, running, keeps on running after me, keeps on running, running, keeps on running after me, yeah ♪ ♪ There's no one that can take your place, there's nothing that can separate us ♪

♪ How high, how wide, how deep is your love? The greatest love the world has ever seen, yeah ♪ ♪ Your love is better than life, I can't even wrap my mind around it ♪ ♪ Better than life, I can't go round my mind around it ♪ ♪ One day, here in your house, better than a thousand else ♪ ♪ Where your love keeps on running, running, keeps on running ♪ ♪ I believe it keeps on running, running, keeps on running ♪ ♪ I believe it keeps on running, running, keeps on running ♪ ♪ I believe it keeps on running, running, keeps on running ♪ Sing this promise together. ♪ Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me ♪ Sing it in faith. ♪ Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me ♪ ♪ Every time I turn around ♪ ♪ Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me ♪ ♪ Every time I turn around ♪ ♪ Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me ♪ ♪ Every time I turn around ♪ ♪ Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me ♪ ♪ Every time I turn around ♪ ♪ Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me, yeah ♪ ♪ Your love is better than life, I can't leave around my mind around it ♪ ♪ One day, give me your heart, it's better than a thousand else where you're around me ♪ ♪ So run it, run it, so run it after me, yeah ♪ ♪ So run it, run it, so run it after me, yeah ♪ ♪ Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me ♪ ♪ Every time I turn around ♪ ♪ Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me ♪ ♪ Every time I turn around ♪ ♪ Oh, every time ♪ ♪ What a gift, what a precious gift ♪

♪ He is undeserved and yet we were a joy before Him ♪ ♪ What a friend, what a faithful friend He has been to wear my sand ♪ ♪ And clothe me with His righteousness, come on ♪ ♪ Behold the Lamb of God, blameless when I was not ♪ ♪ He came to take my sin and take away, behold the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Come and behold Him ♪ ♪ What a love, what a perfect love ♪ ♪ God with us, praise the worthy one ♪ ♪ He is my King, my confidence, behold the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Blameless when I was not ♪ ♪ He came to take my sin and take away ♪ ♪ Holy man, holy divine, cleanse me with His sacrifice ♪ ♪ Cleanse me with His sacrifice ♪ ♪ He rescued me and washed me in His blood ♪ ♪ Behold the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Oh, the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus ♪ Let's sing worthy together church, come on. ♪ Worthy, it's what He is ♪ ♪ Worthy, worthy is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Son of God, worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Worthy, so worthy, yeah, worthy is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Oh, we hold Him, we hold the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ We hold the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Faithless when I was nigh, He came to take my sin and shame away, oh take it all away ♪ ♪ Holy man, holy divine, He cleansed me with His sacrifice ♪ ♪ He rescued me, imparted me with His word, we hold the Lamb of God ♪ CCB, we love worshiping together with you.

You can have a seat. Well, if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, my name is Leo, and I get to serve as one of our pastors here at our Peoria campus. We're so glad that you're here. For those of you watching online, thank you so much for joining us. You know, during the Christmas season, you can't go anywhere without seeing or hearing the word joy. It's on decorations, in songs, on mugs. It's really everywhere you look. But with that word comes an unspoken expectation. You should be happy. You should be joyful. It's Christmastime. But we all know that sometimes that's not the case. Sometimes that expectation doesn't align with what's going on in our lives. Maybe this Christmas, you're not surrounded by the people you wish were with you. Maybe this Christmas, your job situation looks a lot different. Maybe this Christmas, life feels heavier than the word joy suggests. So what do we do in that tension? See, I believe that we should pause, and we should ask ourselves a very important question. Where is our joy actually coming from? You see, for those of us who follow Jesus, joy isn't just an emotion or a feeling that comes and goes. For us, joy is rooted in the works of Jesus Christ, what he has done, what he's doing, and what he promises to complete. In other words, our joy is enrooted in our circumstances. This is what Jesus says in John chapter 15, verse 11. I have told you this thing so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. See, the joy that Jesus offers is not seasonal. The joy that he offers is not fragile. The joy that he offers doesn't fade away when life gets complicated.

The joy that he offers is complete because it comes from him, and that's why communion matters so much. Because as we take the bread, as we drink the juice, we're not celebrating our circumstances. We are remembering his sacrifice. We are anchoring our joy in his life, his death, and his resurrection. CCV, as we take communion today, let's remember this one thing. Christmas doesn't give us joy. Christ does. And his joy is available to you right here and right now. Would you pray with me? Father God, thank you so much for allowing us to be here. Thank you for the incredible gift of your son, Lord. His arrival brought salvation, brought joy, brought peace. Father, we don't take that for granted. Father, remind us where our joy comes from, and it comes from him. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. [♪ soft music playing ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Anybody else feel like by the time the end of the year comes, like time picks up speed, you know what I'm saying? It's like the year's just flying by

and Christmas is almost here. And if you've never been to one of our Christmas services, I just want you to know you're in for a big treat. Our teams pour so much energy into our Christmas experience and it's the one service that we do all year long that is a family experience. So which means if you have kids or you have friends that have kids, the kids are all invited in and we're all here together as a family. And you also need to know our Christmas services are some of the highest attended out of the whole entire year. So we don't do Christmas services just on Christmas Eve. We do them multiple nights, the same service leading up to Christmas Eve. And what I want you to know is that where Christmas falls this year, what we're gonna do is we're gonna start all of our Christmas services next weekend. Now, listen very carefully. If you come to church on Sunday morning, we are moving all of our Sunday morning services next weekend to Sunday night. Which means if you show up to your normal service on Sunday morning that you come to next weekend, I'm gonna tell you the good news. You're gonna get an awesome parking spot, all right? It's gonna be great. But you're gonna be here all alone.

So what I want you to do is go to ccv.church.christmas or get on our mobile app and look at the service times for your campus. They're all a little bit different depending on the campus. Find a service time that works for you and then here's what's most important. Don't come alone. Do not come to a Christmas service alone. Christmas is one of your easiest invites of the whole entire year. So what I do is I've grabbed a bunch of our Christmas invites that you can get at your campus. I keep them in my pocket all day long because anyone I intersect with, I wanna be able to invite them to Christmas. On the back is a QR code and our website that gives you all the service times. So make sure you're being prepared. Remember Christmas Eve, if you come on Christmas Eve, come early, those are always our highest attended and most crowded services. But choose one that works for you and make sure you invite someone. And remember, one invitation, one invitation can change someone's life. Well, this weekend we're wrapping up the series we've been in, A Good Friend. Anybody else love this series, A Good Friend? It's been so good, I think, for our church and powerful. And today you're in for a treat.

I hope the more you're around CCV, you realize that this church is not built on me or my teaching or my leadership. Number one, this church is based on Jesus. It's built on Jesus and Jesus alone, amen? That's what we want. But also, you just need to know, the more you're exposed to CCV, we have an incredible staff. We have pastors everywhere on our campuses that are amazing. And today, you're gonna hear from one of our best. His name is Travis Brown. If you do not know Travis, man, I'm excited for you to be exposed to him today. He's been on our staff for 17 years as a pastor, all right? But before he came on our staff, he spent time as a quarterback in the NFL. Now, that's fun. What you need to know is the very first team he played for, the Seattle Seahawks. I don't wanna hear any cheers out of Seahawks fans, okay? But the good news, the reason I've forgiven Travis for that, and I think God has too, is he only played there one season. He only got into one game and his one pass was an incompletion, so I'm okay with it. The last team he played for before he came on our staff is he played for the Indianapolis Colts. Now, I don't know why he didn't get more playing time

on the Indianapolis Colts. It may have been that he was backing up some guy named Peyton Manning. That's who he backed up. But aren't you glad he left the NFL and he's on our staff now? And what you're gonna hear out of Travis is Travis is an incredible shepherd of people. His leadership skill is one of the best leaders on our staff. He oversees all of our campus pastors, but most importantly to me, he has a humble heart. And so he's been married for over 25 years. He has five kids. Get out your notes. Let's get ready to lean in as we wrap up this series. A good friend. In times of celebration. When the good keeps getting better. How you got there. What you've done. And what you aim to do. In the silence of understanding what's at stake. Who you've been. And who you're trying to become. When they answer the call. When they show up. When they stay true. When they show up. When they stay by your side.

In the laughter that breaks the tension. From the dawn of our youth. To the eve of our years. There's always a need to find. And to be a good friend. In 2017, the Stockton, California Fire Department responded to a massive house fire. And when they got there, they said inside the house, the smoke was so thick that you couldn't even see your hands. And they said the temperature of the fire in the home had gotten to over a thousand degrees. It was so hot that the house was on the verge of collapsing, but they found out that the smoke was so thick that you couldn't even see your hands. And they said the temperature of the fire in the home had gotten to over a thousand degrees. And they found out that there were people who were trapped inside. So a group of firefighters came in, and one of those members of that crew that went into the house was a guy named Joseph Toscano. They nicknamed him JoJo. But this crew entered into the house to go search for any survivors. And as they were going through the house, there was an explosion that took place. And that explosion knocked JoJo unconscious, and it separated him from the rest of his crew. It damaged his oxygen tank, and his air supply was leaking.

And when he woke up, man, he was discombobulated. He didn't know what was going on. He was coughing violently, and he couldn't move. He was in big trouble. And he tried to call on his radio, but the only thing that he could say over the radio was, I'm trapped, I can't, I can't breathe. In that moment, JoJo had reached the end of his rope. But when the call came out over the radio, all the firefighters that were on the scene, they stopped what they were doing, and they put all their focus on this, because firefighter rescue takes priority over everything else. So there was a crew of firefighters who came in looking for JoJo. They were yelling out his name. They were going through the smoke. They were dodging walls that were falling down. And then they finally got to JoJo, who was laying on the ground, motionless and unconscious. And they said his oxygen was empty, and his mask was melted, and all of his gear had been burned through. They say that one of the firefighters actually laid his body over the top of JoJo, just to protect him from all of the falling debris that was coming around him. And then they picked him up. One grabbed his legs, one grabbed his upper body,

and then another of the firefighters led them out of the house through the smoke. And just as they got outside of the house, the house collapsed behind them. But they got him out, and they got him to the front lawn, and they revived him, and he lived. And JoJo later said this, and I quote, he says, I was done. I had nothing left, but they showed up for me. They literally carried me out when I couldn't carry myself. End of quote. See, JoJo survived because when he had got to the end of his rope, there were people and friends who showed up for him. Let me ask you something. Have you ever been there? Have you ever been at the end of your rope? Maybe not in a literal fire, but we've all felt hopeless. and helpless at times of our lives, and then at just the right moment, someone shows up for us. For the last couple of weeks, we've been in a series called A Good Friend. And a couple of weeks ago, Mark talked about how a good friend takes initiative. And then last week, Ashley talked about the friends that we should have in our life.

And this week, we're gonna wrap up this series by talking about how a good friend shows up. Now, we all innately, we know this, that being a good friend isn't just showing up when things are great, but it's showing up in all seasons of someone's life. And here's what we know to be true, is that a good friend shows up when you need them the most. A good friend shows up when you need them the most, and a good friend brings just what that moment needs. And I think every one of us desire to have friends like this, and we also desire to be friends like this. Now, let me acknowledge that nobody has a perfect track record in showing up for the people that we love or our friends. I know I don't. I remember getting a call about 15 years ago from my daughter's elementary school. It was on a Tuesday afternoon, it was about four o'clock, and they just called and they said, hey, are you gonna pick your daughter up from school today? That's when I remembered that I was supposed to pick my daughter up from school that day, and I felt so bad because I didn't show up for her in that moment, but we've all likely fallen short at times, but we desire to be the people who show up for those people that we love. And I think in today's world,

we think we're more connected than we actually are. We think we're showing up for people because what they post and how we comment on those posts, but the reality is that we're actually more disconnected than ever, aren't we? I mean, we've replaced real presence with quick gestures that feel meaningful in the moment, but they don't actually walk with anybody through their pain. And now, today, when someone goes through something challenging in their life or they go through a crisis or they need some support, we think that we're showing up for them as friends, but let me ask you something, are we actually showing up? And we've all done this, right? We've all sent text messages to people with our support, and that's great. I mean, I've sent text messages to Ashley saying things like, hey, man, praying for you, and then you don't think that's enough, so what do you do when you're actually praying for him? You send them a follow-up praying hands emoji, right? Because that took it to the next level, like, oh, they're actually praying for me now, and then there's no response, and you're like, gosh, I need to show them my support, I need to show up for them, so I'm gonna send them another text, and I'm like, hey, if anyone can get through this, it's you, and then there's no response,

and you feel all this pressure, like, gosh, I gotta keep typing, I gotta keep showing up, so they feel it, so you say something weird like, well, also, a lot of people haven't gotten through this, but you've got this, and then you're like, oh, man, why did I send that? That's not right, so to try to make everything right, you send them what? A fist bump emoji, and that makes it all right, right? Now, we've actually gotten so lazy in responding to people in their crisis that we don't even have to use letters anymore in our text messages. We don't even have to say any words as a reaction to someone's comments or situation. What can we do now? We can just hit the heart, right? We just hit the heart and like, okay, I showed up, I think I showed up for my friends, and listen, listen, listen, listen. None of these things are bad. I've done them, I've hearted emojis, I've sent encouraging text, none of those things are bad. They're just not the kind of showing up most of us desperately need when we've reached the end of our rope.

And here's what I believe. I believe that most of the time when we don't show up for somebody, it's actually not intentional. Most people don't wake up and say, man, who can I disappoint today? We don't do that. We thought we might've been showing up for somebody in a certain way, but they actually needed something else. But there are some real things that get in the way of us showing up for our friends because sometimes we don't show up for people because we don't know the reality of their lives because they have not shared. Listen, don't expect others to know what is going on in your life if you're hiding everything. Sometimes we don't show up for other people because, man, we just have no margin in our lives. We have no room to be interrupted. And sometimes we don't show up for people because we don't know. know what to do or what to say. But here's what we know to be true. When our world, when it feels like it's collapsing, when we're overwhelmed physically, when we're overwhelmed emotionally, when you're at the end of your rope, a text message doesn't reach into a burning building

or a hospital room or a funeral home or a divorce court. That's when you need a friend who will. That's when you need somebody, a person, who will stop what they are doing and who will show up. And that's why today it matters so much because if we're going to be the kind of friends God calls us to be, we've got to move past the digital gestures and learn how to truly show up when it counts. And today we're going to be in 1 Samuel chapter 23 because we see in that passage of scripture that there's a friendship that illustrates how a good friend shows up. And last week, Ashley mentioned briefly in his message about this friendship, it's the friendship between David and Jonathan. And today we're going to jump back into this friendship in that critical part of the story in 1 Samuel chapter 23. And it's a point of the story, I'll remind you that David is not having a great week. He's discouraged. And when I say he's not having a great week, I'm not saying that he's just a little discouraged. No, he's having an awful week. He's at the point where he's emotionally and spiritually and physically done. He's at the end of his rope. I'll remind you, at this point, he's on the run from King Saul who's trying to kill him. David is isolated and he's in the wilderness

and he's discouraged and exhausted and he's hiding in caves and probably thinking his life is about to end. And right in the middle of David's lowest moment, his friend Jonathan shows up. And that's where we pick up the story in 1 Samuel chapter 23, starting in verse 15. It says, while David was at Horesh in the desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son, Jonathan, went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. We talked about that last week with Ash. Don't worry, don't be afraid, he said. My father, Saul, will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel and I will be second to you. Even my father, Saul, knows this. I believe that this is one of the clearest pictures in the entire Bible of what it means for a friend to show up. Now, notice what Jonathan doesn't do. Jonathan doesn't send him a text with praying hand emojis. Not that he could back then. Maybe he could have sent him a scroll, right? He doesn't send him a heartbeat from his Apple Watch saying, hey, I'm thinking of you, here's my heartbeat. He doesn't give to the GoFundMe page that somebody started for David to raise money for him. No, he says he went to David and he brings him exactly what he needs

because that's what good friends do. They show up when you need them the most. Like I said before, we don't wanna just have those friends in our lives. We want to be those friends in our lives. So we're gonna look at a couple things that Jonathan did that he brought that we could apply to our friendships and how to show up for our friends. The first thing that a good friend does is they show up with their presence. It says, and Saul's son, Jonathan, went to David at Horesh. Now, Jonathan going to David wasn't like, hey, I'm gonna swing by on my way home from work or I'm gonna go next door because that's easier. I'm gonna walk across the street. No, Jonathan actually going to David actually required him to do quite a bit. It was actually probably over a day's journey. And it wasn't just the traveling, but he had to go through all the fighting. He had to find which cave David was in. It was an inconvenience for Jonathan to show up for him. And listen, showing up for our friends will require us to be inconvenienced. It will require us to cancel our plans. It will require us to get out of our rhythms. It will require you to miss a workout because being present with people

who are at the end of their rope will require us to be inconvenienced. You know, I've had moments in my life where things weren't going well, where I felt discouraged and down and hopeless and sad. someone showed up just to sit with me in my pain. And I want you to think about a crisis moment in your life. When somebody showed up in your mess, and let me ask you something, do you remember exactly what they said to you? Probably not. What do you remember? You remember that they were there. You remember their presence. And as a pastor, I've been in countless hospital rooms where people have lost a loved one, or they're facing somebody, something that is critical. And here's something I know to be true, is that people rarely remember your words in a crisis, but they never forget your presence. People rarely remember your words in a crisis, but they never forget your presence. One of the parts of scripture that paints this picture of friends being present for somebody, I think shows such a great picture of friends doing this, is in Job chapter two. Now, if you know anything about Job, you know Job went through the unimaginable. He lost everything in his life. He lost his kids, he lost his land, his livestock,

he lost his income, he lost his help. And then his friends show up. And that's where we pick up in Job chapter two, it says this, verse 12. It says, when they saw him from a distance, talking about his friends, so they could hardly recognize him, they began to weep aloud and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. And when they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, no one said a word because they saw how great his suffering was. For seven days, for seven nights, nothing but silence. Most of us can't go seven seconds without trying to fix somebody. And in that moment, Job didn't need a speech from his friends, he needed their presence. The ironic thing about this is if you know the rest of the story and you know about Job's friends, they actually weren't very good friends. This was the moment that they were the best at being a friend because when they opened their mouth, everything went wrong. Which leads us to our second thing that we've learned from Jonathan showing up for David is that a good friend shows up with their words. And I'm not just saying, I'm not talking about any words, I'm talking about heartfelt, supportive words that don't just fill silence, but that provide hope and encouragement.

You might be saying something like, man, didn't you just tell me to show up and not say anything? No, understand that our words matter, but our words are more powerful when they're accompanied by our presence. Listen to what Jonathan did after he showed up for David with his presence, he said this, he says, don't be afraid, my father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this. Look, Jonathan didn't just show up with his presence, but his words supported David. They held him up when he was down and he reminded David of God's promises. Listen, presence matters, but the right words matter too. Not a lot of words, not just any words, but helpful words. You know, most people who are going through a crisis, they don't need catchy phrases. You know what they need? They need people to meet them right where they're at. They need to be heard, they need to be comforted, and then they need to be supported in how they're going to move forward. Understand something, that when we show up for our friends, our words don't take away the storm, but they can help friends navigate through a storm. As Ashley mentioned earlier, my wife and I, we have five kids and our youngest kids, they're twins. And they're now 17 years old, but how they entered

into the world was not very smooth. My wife was 25 weeks pregnant when she went into labor. She stayed in the hospital for 10 days and then the twins were born at 27 weeks. And one of them was one pound, 11 ounces, and the other was two pounds, two ounces. They spent 72 days in the NICU. And while we were in the hospital, many people came to visit us and we were so grateful for these people coming, but we all know. know that when you're stepping into situations like that, oftentimes you don't know what to say, right? And I remember people showing up into our hospital room and saying things like, hey, we know everything's going to be OK. We know they're going to make it, and they're going to be healthy. And after they left, I remember sitting there talking to my wife Corey, and we realized, I don't know about you, but that just didn't bring any comfort. Why? Because we know that God doesn't always work like that. We know that not every baby is healed. We know that not every sickness is cured. We know that not every prayer request is met with a yes. Now, that doesn't mean that we weren't hopeful and that we weren't praying for certain outcomes, but we found that our strength and our comfort came in trusting God in spite of the outcome of what was going on.

And although no one was trying to say the wrong thing, and we weren't offended at all, we just found that there's certain things that you say to people that don't bring as much comfort as you think they do. So for a few moments, I want to give us some helpful advice in words to say to someone who's facing a crisis, because for most of us, we just don't know what to say in those moments. But here's the truth. There are no two magical sentences for us to tie together that's going to make a situation go away, but there are some things that maybe we can be more intentional and try not to say, because they're not as comfortable or supportive as we think they are. And let me give you a few examples. And I've said all of these, by the way. Here's something that we often say, I know how you feel. Do you? You might have gone through a similar situation, but usually, you don't know exactly how they feel, because every situation is unique. Maybe something better to say instead of that is, I can't imagine what this feels like, but I care deeply, and I'm here for you. We've all said this. I know I've said this to people who have lost a loved one. We've said things like, hey, they're in a better place. While this may be theologically true,

it minimizes a person's pain in that moment. And I think a more productive or supportive thing to say in that moment might be, hey, I know how much you miss them. It's OK to feel that. That validates what they're feeling. Another thing that we say all the time, especially as believers, we say, hey, everything happens for a reason. And can't that sound dismissive, like you're trying to explain away somebody's pain? Maybe something better to say instead of that is, some things don't make sense right now. I'm just here to walk with you through it. With that statement, you meet them right where they're at. We've also said things like, hey, you'll get over it, or time heals all wounds. Some things you never get over. You just learn how to deal with a new reality, and time alone doesn't heal. It's what you do with that time that does. So maybe something better to say is, take all the time you need. I'm here whenever you're ready to talk. I've heard people say, when somebody loses a loved one, they say something like, God needed another angel. Look, this can distort someone's picture of who God is and invalidate their sadness. Maybe something better to say is, hey, I don't have the right words. I just know God is with you in this.

Or we say things like, it could be worse, or at least you still have fill in the blank. Let me tell you something, comparison never comforts. And it oftentimes minimizes what's been lost, and it makes people feel guilty for being sad. And maybe something better to say is, nothing can replace what you've lost. I'm here to listen. Listen, you don't have to say the right thing every time. Maybe you don't remember what any of those sayings are. Maybe you just show up for people, and you say things like, hey, I'm here. I care. And you're not walking this alone. Coming up for people, it's not about explaining things. It's about encouraging people. It's about meeting them where they're at. And it's about lifting their eyes to the hope that they can't see yet. Jonathan did that for David with his words. And a good friend shows up with their presence. A good friend shows up with their words. And number three, a good friend shows up with an invitation. Jonathan didn't just come for David. He pointed him forward. He encouraged him to step into the calling that God had for him. He was like, hey, you're going to be king. God still has a future for you. Listen, a good friend shows up in whatever mess

that you're in. But a good friend also doesn't let you sit in the valley for too long. Jonathan invited David into the promises and future God had for his life, reminding him that God was not done with him yet. And I love the fact that Jonathan acknowledges that he's going to go through this journey with David. He's like, hey, we're in this together. Sometimes showing up for our friends means that we sit with them, means that we cry with them, means that we support them and let them know that they're not alone. And then we invite them. We invite them to our home. We invite them to a meal. We invite them to take advantage of resources that's going to help them through a certain situation. Maybe showing up for people leads to you saying something like, hey, you want to come to church with me? Because good friends don't just point people to shelter in a storm. Good friends walk with them through a storm. Now, some of you might be listening to this and saying, there's nobody in my life that shows up for me. I've had to go through the darkest seasons of my life alone. And I wish somebody had brought their presence. I wish somebody had brought their helpful words.

I wish they asked me to join them in something. And if you've ever felt like that, let me remind you of something, that even though you feel like your friends or your family have not showed up for you, let me remind you that God has shown up for you. In fact, in just over a week, we are celebrating Christmas, which is the ultimate reminder that God didn't send a text message when we were at the end of a rope. He didn't just write a letter and hope it got there. He didn't post an encouraging message onto our social media and like, hey, there I am. No, no, no. Christmas reminds us that God showed up for us by sending his only son to us and for us. And no matter who you are, no matter what you've done, or what overwhelming situation you are facing, God came to this Earth for you. And he came to this Earth not only to give us his presence and his words, but to sacrifice himself for every single one of us on a cross and then conquer death three days later. And that is his invitation for us to spend eternity with him. Christmas is the ultimate reminder of how God showed up for us. So I want to remind you what Ashley said earlier. Next weekend, it kicks off our Christmas services here at CCV. And we're having multiple days of services at all of our campuses where we are celebrating Jesus

and how he came to Earth for us and how we have hope through him. And I can't think of a better way for you to show up for somebody, someone in your life who's struggling or lonely or discouraged and who's overwhelmed, who's caring more than they can handle. I can't think of a better way for you to show up for them than by giving them an invitation and saying, hey, come with me. Come sit with me. I will meet with you at church. Now, right now, you might be thinking of somebody in your mind. You're like, oh, man, I've got to invite that person to church. And just so you know, I will not be offended if you took your phone out right now and you started to text somebody. In fact, give them some prayer hand emojis. Use a fist bump emoji. Whatever you want to do, you just need to invite them because they need your invitation. Because what if the person you invite experiences the hope that David felt in the wilderness to keep going? What if one invitation changes a life? What if God uses you to carry someone out of the fire of their life when they were at the end of their rope?

Here's one thing I know to be true about every single person. Everyone that we come in contact with needs this. They need encouragement. I don't care who you are. Every single one of us needs. Encouragement, no matter what you're facing, you need to know that someone is there for you, not only with their presence, but with their words that lift you up and keep you going and invite you into something better. I have a really good friend of mine who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he's a big Cincinnati Reds baseball fan. And a couple of years ago, he was telling me about how he took his son to a Cincinnati Reds versus Chicago Cubs baseball game in Chicago at Wrigley Field. He said it was an amazing day. He said the weather was perfect this July day. Their seats were like three rows behind the Reds dugout, and it was just an amazing day. And then to top it all off, he said what made it even better was that the Reds absolutely destroyed the Cubs that day. He said they beat them so bad. It was awesome. So then in the ninth inning, when the Reds were coming up to bat, the Chicago Cubs brought in a brand new pitcher. And this pitcher was making his major league debut.

This is the first time he's ever pitching in the majors. So he faces the first batter, and he gives up a hit. And then he walks the next batter. And then the next couple of batters get hits, and they start to score runs. This guy can't get anybody out. But my friend says as he's sitting there, he's hearing this voice coming from about four rows behind him, and this voice is filling the stadium. And with each hit, this pitcher gives up. With each run that scores, this voice gets louder and louder. And the voice kept yelling out, you got this, son. You got this. Keep throwing hard. They can't hit you. See, this pitcher's dad was sitting four rows behind my friend. My friend said he was so moved to tears in that moment, listening to this dad support his son as he's sitting next to his son. He says, it moved me so much. Not only was I crying, but I actually became a Cubs fan in that moment. I just wanted this kid to get it out. Listen, this world is filled with discouragement. It's filled with critics. It's filled with people who want to bring you down. And every single one of us needs, I don't care who you are, every single one of us needs at least one voice in our life who's saying,

you got this. Keep going. I'm here for you. Some of you who are hearing this message today, you need to hear that. Here's what I know to be true, though. Everybody you come in contact with needs to hear that. There's somebody in your home that needs to hear that. There's a kid at home that needs to hear a dad or mom saying, you got this. There's a co-worker. There's a boss. There's an employee that needs to hear, you got this. Keep going. No matter who you are, no matter where you've been, no matter how much discouragement you keep hearing or how discouraged you've been, I want you to hear today that there's a church that's here. But more importantly, you have a God who is present and encouraging you today. He's saying, you got this. I'm here. I have amazing plans for your life. Keep going. You got this. This week, let's show up by being present with people. And let's support them with our words. And let's invite them into what God has for their lives. Next week for Christmas services, remember, don't come alone.

And let's see what God does. Let's pray together. Father, thank you. Thank you for showing up for us when we needed a Savior. Lord, I pray for every one of us as we go through friendships, as we support the people that we love. I pray that we would be friends who show up with our presence, with our words. And I pray that we'd be bold enough to show up with an invitation and invite people to what you have for them. Lord, we love you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Have a great week, everybody. We'll see you back here next week for Christmas services. Thank you.