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There's going to be times in your life when you believe God's prompting you in a direction

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or leading you to do something and it's not going to make sense.

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You're not going to have all the answers.

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There are going to be times when you're going to have to step out or you're not going

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to understand what's going on, but why didn't I get the job or why did he go back to his

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old girlfriend or why did this happen or why did that happen?

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You're going to have to live by faith, not by facts.

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There are going to be times when you're not going to have all your questions answered.

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Welcome to the CityLight Church Podcast.

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Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth

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that He has for us.

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If you want to connect with CityLight Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com,

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that citylightnyc.com.

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Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already

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working in our hearts and minds.

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As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you

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are surrounded by His grace, and that He has a real hope and a future for you.

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Yes, I'm so glad to see everyone.

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I love Christmas.

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How many of you went out Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving?

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The dreaded black Friday.

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Only a few of you.

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You guys are getting smart.

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I appreciate that.

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I remember when everyone was getting up early because the deals were just so outrageous

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on black Friday, you couldn't resist.

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It made me think to myself, I'm getting ripped off 364 days a year if they can sell at

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that cheap on black Friday.

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But every year Thanksgiving, I can still look at the ads online, the deals, the stores

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are putting out.

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I can remember looking through the newspaper.

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That's how old I am.

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You remember a newspaper?

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I have to explain after service what that is for some of you, like, what is that?

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They would print the news.

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And the newspaper would come on Thanksgiving Day, and this thing was like 10 times bigger

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than a phone book, bigger than it was any other day of the year, because it was jam-packed

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full of ads.

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Everyone wanted to sell you something on black Friday.

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The deals were amazing.

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I'd sit there pouring over there, I'd look at the electronics.

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I'd say, I don't care about all that other stuff, let me look at the electronics.

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Right?

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You remember that?

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Well, I can remember several years back, Nicole and the kids and I, we decided we were

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going to do something a little bit different on Thanksgiving than we normally do.

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Normally, we spend it with a lot of family, we hang out, lots of different meals, fun,

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good time.

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But we were rarely thankful.

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So we decided we were going to do something different, just for us.

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We rented a cabin out in Northern New Mexico.

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That's where we lived at the time, and we were actually going to go out just us and truly

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have a Thanksgiving we could be thankful for, for a change.

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Not really, but kind of, for a change.

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And you're kind of wondering, you're like, I don't understand, James, what are you saying?

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Yes, we were running and escaping from our family.

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I've told you, Nicole and I, we were born and raised in Albuquerque, so all our family

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still resides there.

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And when I say all our family, my, both my parents are remarried, Nicole's dad was remarried.

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We had siblings, we had grandparents, we had cousins, lots of family.

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And again, some of you are still saying, James, that sounds kind of nice.

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What's the problem with a lot of family?

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I wish I had Thanksgiving with a lot of family.

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Well, here's the important thing that I want you to understand.

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It doesn't matter how much you actually love your family, by midday, if you've been driving

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from house to house to house.

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Being a full Thanksgiving meal at every house, as if the others didn't exist, you've got

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to have a heaping plate.

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My kids are car sick by halfway through.

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My stomach feels like it's going to explode.

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Every single relative is upset.

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You can't spend the entire day at their house.

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You've got to go to someone else's house, you've got the guilt trip.

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Oh, you have to go.

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Yes, we've got to go.

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Oh, well, you want me to fix your plate to go?

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No.

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I'm going to go eat 45 more turkeys.

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It was anything but a thankful time for us.

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So we decided, you know what, we're going to get away and we're going to be thankful.

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So we rented a cabin far, far away, and we told no one where we were going.

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Ah, it was a good time.

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It was, right?

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Peaceful.

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We got there up in the mountains.

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It was exactly the way it was advertised.

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This cabin had rustic construction, beautiful nature all around.

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You could smell the pine trees in the air.

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You city dwellers don't even know what that means.

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It's not the funky stench from the subway.

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This is real nature, pine trees.

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Not the little air freshener you get from glade and you plug in and you're like, oh,

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really?

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No, this is real.

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Ah, even had a hot tub in the back.

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This place was legit.

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So we unpacked and we went out exploring, right?

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We went hiking, collecting flowers, just wandering around in nature.

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The cold loves animals.

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She's like, I hope I see a deer, a mountain lion and a bear.

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I said, what is wrong with you?

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We will get eaten alive.

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But every time she wishes that, we see it.

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So we saw a bear, a mountain lion and a deer.

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We lived to tell the tale.

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It's amazing how fast you can run when your life is on the line.

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But this place was amazing.

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The next day and a half were simply magical.

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Nothing wrong.

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We had a fire going in the wood burning stove.

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We had a perfect Thanksgiving meal.

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Nothing could have been better.

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Incredible.

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All was right in our family.

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Perfect peace and harmony.

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Amazing.

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So we lay our head on the pillow that night.

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I have fullness in my heart.

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I hadn't put a single mile in the car that day.

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I call wow.

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This is the way it was supposed to be.

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The pilgrims actually did it this way, I'm sure.

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They went out in the cabin far, far away.

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Well, my daughter couldn't sleep that night.

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And far be it for her to suffer a sleepless night alone.

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So she had to make sure the rest of the family was awake, too.

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Thank you, Nishel.

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So after a few futile attempts to get her back to sleep,

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staring at the ceiling for a while,

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I had the brilliant idea, well, it's past midnight.

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Technically, it's already Black Friday.

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We're already awake.

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Why don't we go wander around and see if we can find a store

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and see if there are any deals?

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Not the best plan I ever had, but it was a plan.

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So we got dressed.

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We got in the car 10, 15 miles into the closest town

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to where we were staying.

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We actually come across a Walmart, a Walmart.

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In the middle of nowhere, in the mountains,

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it's 3.30 in the morning and lines are already forming

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outside this Walmart.

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I said, well, we're already here.

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Let's just park the car and line up with the rest of the crazies.

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There must be something that they know that we don't know.

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It's probably electronics.

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So we parked the car and we get in the line.

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So we waited longer than we should have in the dark, in the cold.

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In the parking lot of Walmart, on Black Friday,

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till they finally opened the doors.

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Now, at this point, you would have thought

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that we were all starving people.

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And in that Walmart was the last piece of bread on planet Earth.

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Because they started pushing and shoving

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to get in that Walmart, like nothing I had ever seen.

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I was almost run over by an 85-year-old woman

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and I hadn't even made it inside yet.

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I said, this is serious.

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I looked into the cold.

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I said, I got to get my head in the game.

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This is like no joke, OK?

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So I got to get my game face on.

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I let my male primal instinct take over

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and leave me directly to the electronics department.

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That's where the action was.

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That was the good stuff, right?

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I was so excited to get there.

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But then it was, I mean, man, woman, big, tall, young, old,

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everybody was there all vying for the same few deals

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that the store decided to put out for Black Friday.

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The real fireworks began when some of the customers found out

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that some of the employees had put

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aside some laptop computers for their friends

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and told everyone else that they were sold out.

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Ooh, you would have thought it was World War III.

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Neither side were backing down.

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It was getting serious.

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And then pushing and shoving started,

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and I got to admit, I was scared.

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All my dreams of getting next to nothing deals,

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they disappeared just as quickly as those laptop computers.

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We were in full-blown survival mode.

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So I said, all right, Nicole, we got to go.

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I got the kids.

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Get behind me.

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I threw one in the basket and Nicole gave up.

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We are going to make a break for the doors.

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We got to get out of this place and I'm serious.

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And so easier said than done.

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They had palettes lining up in the aisles.

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This had to be a fire hazard.

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We should get the New York Fire Marshall in there.

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It's because how do you have palettes

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in the middle of the aisle?

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How can people get out?

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This is a fire hazard.

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But there were palettes everywhere.

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A merchandise, people wall to wall, everywhere you look.

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I could not get out of there.

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This was due or die.

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I was terrified.

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So I pushed with everything in me and I do not know how many

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people I ran over that day in Walmart to get out.

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But somehow I survived and we got out of that Walmart.

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And I learned three things for sure that day.

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The first is if you are or know someone that day

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that I ran over in that Walmart, I'm sorry.

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But it was them or me and I wanted

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to live to see my family grow up.

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OK, I apologize.

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The second thing is I got some of the cheapest TVs

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I've ever seen in my whole life.

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I mean, ridiculous, bleep cheap.

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That was a good time.

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But the third and most important is I learned

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that I'm never going to go shopping on Black Friday

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for the rest of my life.

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Nothing worked out the way I had planned.

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Absolutely nothing.

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Has anyone ever been there when you had a great idea?

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You thought, this is going to be so good.

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We're having a great Thanksgiving.

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I'm going to go out and get some deals at Walmart

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and at Black Friday and the mountains

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and the middle of nowhere.

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Who's going to be there?

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Well, apparently the whole planet showed up

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in the mountains of New Mexico at the Walmart

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at 3.30 in the morning.

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I don't know where they all came from.

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They shipped them in on a bus or something.

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Well, nothing turned out the way Mary and Joseph

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thought it would that very first Christmas either, right?

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They had their plans, their hopes and their dreams.

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And it didn't quite turn out the way they thought it would,

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right?

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You remember Mary and Joseph?

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They were engaged to get married.

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They lived in a little town called Nazareth.

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Heard a Nazareth?

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Not Pennsylvania.

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It was a place back in the Middle East.

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There were only about 300 people that lived in Nazareth.

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A little tiny hole in the wall.

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No one ever went to Nazareth unless you knew somebody

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and they really twisted your arm to make you go there

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because you didn't want to go to Nazareth.

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I was going to be really mean in the name of Barrow

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that no one wants to go to, but some of you

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were like, hey, that's my burr, I'm just kidding.

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But no one wanted to go to Nazareth.

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But that's where these two people lived.

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The Bible tells us Mary and Joseph were engaged to be married.

254
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And back in the first century, you actually

255
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would have arranged marriages, right?

256
00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:45.280
They didn't have ChristianMingle.com or eHarmony, right?

257
00:10:45.280 --> 00:10:47.840
The mom and the dad would actually, when you were about two

258
00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:49.960
or three years old, they would make an arrangement

259
00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:51.600
as to who you were going to marry.

260
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That's pretty interesting in it.

261
00:10:53.400 --> 00:10:55.240
Do you guys wish we did that today?

262
00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:57.520
I thought that was kind of sad until I had a daughter in my own.

263
00:10:57.520 --> 00:11:00.000
I said, ooh, I kind of like this idea now.

264
00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:01.600
That might be kind of a good deal.

265
00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:03.160
I'll tell you one thing.

266
00:11:03.160 --> 00:11:06.040
You grow up kind of knowing who your kid's going to marry.

267
00:11:06.040 --> 00:11:06.840
You can watch him.

268
00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:08.280
You can flick him on the back of the head

269
00:11:08.280 --> 00:11:09.920
when they make stupid decisions.

270
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:11.440
And nobody can do anything about it.

271
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It's like, hey, we have a contract, you know what I mean?

272
00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:16.960
Dating is brutal.

273
00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:20.760
Broken hearts, broken promises, broken dreams,

274
00:11:20.760 --> 00:11:22.800
and forget, man, having to ask a girl out.

275
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That's a rough time right there.

276
00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:25.720
I'm glad we're not dating.

277
00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:27.400
I'm glad we're already married, you know what I'm saying?

278
00:11:27.400 --> 00:11:28.720
I thank you.

279
00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:30.760
I survived it once.

280
00:11:30.760 --> 00:11:33.120
I tell you, there was a teenage boy who was actually

281
00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.760
giving his mom an update as to how it was going

282
00:11:35.760 --> 00:11:37.400
with a girl he liked at school.

283
00:11:37.400 --> 00:11:39.600
He said, mom, I really think she's starting to warm up to me.

284
00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:41.200
She said, well, why do you think that's on?

285
00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.640
He said, well, this last time when I asked her out,

286
00:11:43.640 --> 00:11:46.480
she said, this is the last time I'm going to tell you no.

287
00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:47.480
Oh.

288
00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:53.640
There was a grandfather with his grandson

289
00:11:53.640 --> 00:11:55.240
sitting out on the porch.

290
00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:58.960
He said, Tommy, do you have a girlfriend?

291
00:11:58.960 --> 00:11:59.480
Gross.

292
00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:00.760
Grandpa, I don't have a girlfriend.

293
00:12:00.760 --> 00:12:02.560
You ran off to play baseball.

294
00:12:02.560 --> 00:12:04.320
Well, there was a little girl in the porch next door,

295
00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:05.320
just kind of smiling.

296
00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:06.480
She looked at the grandfather.

297
00:12:07.280 --> 00:12:10.880
They're always the last to know.

298
00:12:10.880 --> 00:12:14.200
Dating is rough, but there were three stages

299
00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:16.320
to the marriage process in the first century.

300
00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.480
The first is the engagement.

301
00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:22.640
The child was arranged at about two or three years old

302
00:12:22.640 --> 00:12:26.080
by the parents of the bride and the groom.

303
00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:27.840
The parents would make this arrangement.

304
00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:31.320
The parents of the boy would pay the parents of the daughter

305
00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:34.120
or some of money to compensate for the loss of their daughter.

306
00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:37.440
Again, since now I have a daughter, I kind of like that idea.

307
00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:40.280
Also, son, so I don't know if I like that idea.

308
00:12:40.280 --> 00:12:42.680
The second stage was called the betrothal stage.

309
00:12:42.680 --> 00:12:46.080
And this was when the kids were about 13 years old.

310
00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.440
They would get prepared to spend the rest of their life together.

311
00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:50.360
The young man would bring a cup of wine

312
00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:54.080
to the young girl's house and in full view of all of her family,

313
00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:56.000
he would present this cup to her.

314
00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.360
He was signifying with the giving of the cup

315
00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:00.760
that he would lay his life down for her.

316
00:13:00.760 --> 00:13:03.160
Now, her, if she received the cup and drank from it,

317
00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:05.040
that was signifying that she would be willing

318
00:13:05.040 --> 00:13:07.520
to lay her life down for him as well.

319
00:13:07.520 --> 00:13:10.160
Once this took place, the young man would tell the young girl,

320
00:13:10.160 --> 00:13:11.960
I'm going to go back to my dad's house.

321
00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:13.280
I'm going to prepare a place for us.

322
00:13:13.280 --> 00:13:16.480
He would build an addition on to dad's house for them to live.

323
00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:18.720
He said, I'm going to work day and night tirelessly.

324
00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:20.280
It's not going to take me long and when I'm done,

325
00:13:20.280 --> 00:13:23.640
I'm going to come back and I'm going to take you as my wife.

326
00:13:23.640 --> 00:13:25.640
The third stage was when the young man had finished

327
00:13:25.640 --> 00:13:27.240
this addition on to daddy's house.

328
00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:30.360
He would come back and he would take her as his wife

329
00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:32.600
and they'd have the wedding ceremony.

330
00:13:32.640 --> 00:13:34.600
Now, look at what Jesus said in John chapter 14.

331
00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:35.560
I love this.

332
00:13:35.560 --> 00:13:38.120
He said, my father's house has many rooms.

333
00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:40.280
If that were not so, why would I have told you

334
00:13:40.280 --> 00:13:42.520
that I'm going there to prepare a place for you?

335
00:13:42.520 --> 00:13:44.280
And if I go and prepare a place for you,

336
00:13:44.280 --> 00:13:46.240
I will come back and take you to be with me

337
00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.760
so that you may also be where I am.

338
00:13:48.760 --> 00:13:49.880
I think that's pretty incredible.

339
00:13:49.880 --> 00:13:52.960
That right now, Jesus is preparing a place for us.

340
00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:55.560
You and me, if we're Christians, if we've trusted him,

341
00:13:55.560 --> 00:13:58.880
we professed him, he's preparing a place for us.

342
00:13:58.880 --> 00:14:00.560
And you know, we just kind of gloss over that.

343
00:14:00.560 --> 00:14:01.400
I think, oh, that's awesome.

344
00:14:01.400 --> 00:14:03.000
And we're going to be in heaven with Jesus one day.

345
00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:04.280
Woo-hoo.

346
00:14:04.280 --> 00:14:06.320
But in the colonel, we've built several houses

347
00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:09.960
over the course of our years together.

348
00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:12.600
And there's not a lot of new construction up here

349
00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:14.120
in the Northeast, everything's really old.

350
00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:16.200
So you might not relate to what I'm saying.

351
00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:18.040
But down in the south, we build a lot of new stuff

352
00:14:18.040 --> 00:14:18.880
all the time.

353
00:14:18.880 --> 00:14:21.920
You just go find some dirt and you build something.

354
00:14:21.920 --> 00:14:24.000
So like every time we would pour concrete,

355
00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.320
we would put our initials and maybe a Bible verse

356
00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:28.320
in the concrete and it would just kind of like

357
00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:30.000
be memorialized there forever.

358
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:31.480
We'd be framing up the walls.

359
00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:34.080
And before we put up the sheet rock, we'd sign it,

360
00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.040
put the date, we'd put a Bible verse or something,

361
00:14:36.040 --> 00:14:37.040
before we put it up.

362
00:14:37.040 --> 00:14:39.480
That's kind of built into the foundation of the home

363
00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:40.560
that Christ is the center.

364
00:14:40.560 --> 00:14:41.960
And we kind of left our mark.

365
00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:42.640
And that's kind of fun.

366
00:14:42.640 --> 00:14:45.680
And I think, what if Jesus is riding my initials

367
00:14:45.680 --> 00:14:48.360
on the inside of the mansion he's building for me?

368
00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:49.360
He's preparing it.

369
00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:51.720
He's like, ooh, James, I'm going to leave you a special note

370
00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:52.720
you're going to find when you get here.

371
00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:54.440
He's going to blow your mind.

372
00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:56.480
I think that's so cool that he's preparing a place.

373
00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:58.720
And when he's done, he's going to call us up

374
00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.480
and we're going to get to spend eternity with him.

375
00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:03.040
How cool is that?

376
00:15:03.040 --> 00:15:04.880
Well, everyone in this small little town of Nazareth

377
00:15:04.880 --> 00:15:07.320
knows Mary and Joseph are engaged.

378
00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:10.000
They know that they've actually gone through this process

379
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.800
of the cup and the receiving and the drinking

380
00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:14.920
and so they know what stage it is.

381
00:15:14.920 --> 00:15:16.160
They've exchanged the cup.

382
00:15:16.160 --> 00:15:18.240
Now Joseph has gone to his father's house

383
00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:21.360
and he's working on the addition as a place for them to live.

384
00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:24.400
Everything looks great and it's going according to plan

385
00:15:24.400 --> 00:15:27.720
until one night Gabriel appears to marry

386
00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:29.840
and messes everything up.

387
00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:32.080
Gang a Gabriel.

388
00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.760
Look at what the Bible says in Luke chapter one,

389
00:15:35.760 --> 00:15:37.360
beginning of verse 26.

390
00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:39.760
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth,

391
00:15:39.760 --> 00:15:42.080
a town in Galilee to a virgin pledge to be married

392
00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.840
to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.

393
00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:46.440
The virgin's name was Mary.

394
00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:47.720
The angel went to her and said,

395
00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:49.640
greetings, you who are highly favored.

396
00:15:49.640 --> 00:15:51.000
The Lord is with you.

397
00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:52.600
Mary was greatly troubled at his words

398
00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:54.680
and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

399
00:15:54.680 --> 00:15:56.800
But the angel said to her, don't be afraid Mary.

400
00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:58.840
You have found favor with God.

401
00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:01.360
You will be with child and give birth to a son

402
00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:03.240
and you will give him the name Jesus.

403
00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:06.320
He will be great and will be called the son of the most high.

404
00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.480
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David

405
00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:11.800
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

406
00:16:11.800 --> 00:16:13.600
His kingdom will never end.

407
00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:15.320
Well, how will this be Mary as the angel

408
00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:16.720
since I am a virgin?

409
00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:19.440
Well, the angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come upon you.

410
00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:21.880
The power of the most high will overshadow you.

411
00:16:21.880 --> 00:16:25.240
So the holy one to be born will be called the son of God.

412
00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:27.360
Even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child

413
00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:29.600
in her old age and she who is said to be

414
00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:34.360
barren is in her sixth month for nothing is impossible with God.

415
00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:37.840
Wow, talk about an emotional roller coaster.

416
00:16:38.800 --> 00:16:41.320
An angel shows up and that scares her half to death.

417
00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:43.440
Then the angel says, well, you're highly favored by God

418
00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:44.440
and that's incredible.

419
00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:46.960
But then she hears that she's going to have a child

420
00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:50.280
and it's going to be the son of God and that's overwhelming.

421
00:16:50.280 --> 00:16:53.320
Then the obvious question is, well, how can this be

422
00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:56.880
because I'm a virgin and the angel simply tells her,

423
00:16:56.880 --> 00:16:59.120
well, the Holy Spirit's going to come upon her.

424
00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:00.920
Well, that answers everything, right?

425
00:17:02.640 --> 00:17:04.760
What, the Holy Spirit?

426
00:17:04.760 --> 00:17:07.040
Now, that's the ultimate good news, bad news scenario.

427
00:17:07.040 --> 00:17:09.760
If you ask me, it's great news that she's highly favored

428
00:17:09.760 --> 00:17:12.800
by God but it's kind of bad news to show up pregnant

429
00:17:12.800 --> 00:17:16.440
for your own wedding, especially when the groom's not the dad.

430
00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:18.800
That's a bad day right there if you know what I mean.

431
00:17:19.800 --> 00:17:22.080
Ladies, what would you have said to the angel's request?

432
00:17:22.080 --> 00:17:24.080
Would you have said yes?

433
00:17:24.080 --> 00:17:26.440
Keep in mind, you're maybe 13 or 14 years old.

434
00:17:29.320 --> 00:17:31.680
I didn't know up from down when I was 13 years old.

435
00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:32.760
I don't know about you.

436
00:17:34.280 --> 00:17:35.240
Incredible.

437
00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:36.720
Who would you have told the angel?

438
00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:40.320
Oh, thank you, but no, thank you.

439
00:17:40.320 --> 00:17:41.680
I appreciate the compliment.

440
00:17:42.840 --> 00:17:44.360
That was not a good time for me.

441
00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:47.040
I got to finish grad school.

442
00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:50.560
What was amazing to me was Mary's response to the angel.

443
00:17:50.560 --> 00:17:52.560
Look in Luke 1, verse 38.

444
00:17:52.560 --> 00:17:55.560
She said, I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered.

445
00:17:55.560 --> 00:17:58.360
May it be to me, as you have said.

446
00:17:58.360 --> 00:17:59.960
Then the angel left her.

447
00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:01.760
That's all the angel tells her.

448
00:18:01.760 --> 00:18:04.760
He doesn't give her any insight as to how she should break

449
00:18:04.760 --> 00:18:07.960
this news to her parents, how she should tell Joseph,

450
00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:11.560
how the rest of this story is going to actually play out.

451
00:18:11.560 --> 00:18:12.560
Nothing.

452
00:18:12.560 --> 00:18:15.560
I wonder how long she sat in her bedroom before the full weight

453
00:18:15.560 --> 00:18:18.120
and all the implications of her, yes,

454
00:18:18.120 --> 00:18:20.120
started to really dawn on her.

455
00:18:20.120 --> 00:18:24.000
At first, it's like, ooh, an angel shows up.

456
00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:25.360
I'm highly favored.

457
00:18:25.360 --> 00:18:26.360
Boom.

458
00:18:26.360 --> 00:18:27.960
I'm putting that on my Snapchat.

459
00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:29.800
My friends are not going to believe this.

460
00:18:29.800 --> 00:18:30.800
Be real here.

461
00:18:30.800 --> 00:18:31.800
I come.

462
00:18:31.800 --> 00:18:34.600
And then all of a sudden, it's like, but wait.

463
00:18:34.600 --> 00:18:36.200
I'm going to be pregnant.

464
00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:37.600
Ooh.

465
00:18:37.600 --> 00:18:39.600
I'm going to be pregnant.

466
00:18:39.800 --> 00:18:41.880
I'm going to be pregnant.

467
00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:43.320
Ooh.

468
00:18:43.320 --> 00:18:45.280
That's kind of weird.

469
00:18:45.280 --> 00:18:46.120
Ooh.

470
00:18:46.120 --> 00:18:48.320
I wonder what my parents are going to say.

471
00:18:48.320 --> 00:18:51.240
I wonder what Joseph's going to say.

472
00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:54.480
What's our little community going to say?

473
00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:56.120
Dang.

474
00:18:56.120 --> 00:18:59.960
I wonder how long she stayed in her bedroom.

475
00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:01.320
Couple of months.

476
00:19:01.320 --> 00:19:02.520
Just light food under the door.

477
00:19:05.320 --> 00:19:07.160
But she said, yes, I am the Lord's servant.

478
00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:10.080
May it be to me, as you've said.

479
00:19:10.080 --> 00:19:12.040
When God comes to you and asks you to do something,

480
00:19:12.040 --> 00:19:13.760
is that what you say?

481
00:19:13.760 --> 00:19:15.760
Is that what your response is?

482
00:19:15.760 --> 00:19:16.760
Yes, I'm your servant.

483
00:19:16.760 --> 00:19:19.680
May it be to me, as you've said.

484
00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:20.440
Or you like me?

485
00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:22.320
Are you so quick to come up with reasons why now?

486
00:19:22.320 --> 00:19:25.160
It's not really a good time.

487
00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:27.000
Can you maybe come back next Christmas?

488
00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.240
I might be in a better space, then.

489
00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.960
It's just not a very good time for me right now.

490
00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:34.040
I'm working on myself.

491
00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:39.840
We have a lot of excuses, don't we?

492
00:19:39.840 --> 00:19:40.640
But you said yes.

493
00:19:43.520 --> 00:19:47.120
What's the hardest thing God's ever asked you to do?

494
00:19:47.120 --> 00:19:49.240
Bring the Son of God into the world?

495
00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:52.000
No.

496
00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.480
Maybe ask you to get baptized.

497
00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:56.840
But James, I don't look good wet.

498
00:19:56.840 --> 00:19:58.240
I've seen those video people come up.

499
00:19:58.240 --> 00:19:59.720
They got snot dripping down their face.

500
00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:00.480
Their hair's a mess.

501
00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:03.080
I don't want them to move.

502
00:20:03.080 --> 00:20:06.160
Or has he asked you to maybe teach down in city kids,

503
00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:09.280
preschool class, or kids?

504
00:20:09.280 --> 00:20:12.880
Again, let us not.

505
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:16.280
Maybe he's asked you to forgive somebody.

506
00:20:16.280 --> 00:20:20.520
You don't know what they did, God.

507
00:20:20.520 --> 00:20:22.960
If you asked you to do anything hard,

508
00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:23.880
then what was your response?

509
00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:26.480
Did you do what he asked you to do?

510
00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:28.160
Or were you quick to point out of the reasons why

511
00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:29.720
you couldn't do it right now?

512
00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:31.960
But Mary said, I am the Lord's servant.

513
00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:35.000
I live and move and have my being you.

514
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:37.120
I live for your glory and your kingdom.

515
00:20:37.120 --> 00:20:39.680
May it be to me, as you have said.

516
00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:40.960
That is incredible.

517
00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:42.720
I'm certain Mary's mind is racing.

518
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:45.400
Who in the world is going to believe this story, right?

519
00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:46.520
Are you kidding me?

520
00:20:46.520 --> 00:20:49.920
But then she remembers that the angel said her cousin Elizabeth

521
00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:51.720
was also with child.

522
00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:53.480
So what does she decide to do?

523
00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:55.520
She takes a little road trip and she goes down the road

524
00:20:55.520 --> 00:20:57.400
and she visits her cousin Elizabeth.

525
00:20:57.400 --> 00:20:58.440
She's going to hang out there,

526
00:20:58.440 --> 00:21:00.320
Elizabeth six months pregnant,

527
00:21:00.320 --> 00:21:04.440
and she is looking for some kind of confirmation.

528
00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:06.560
She didn't know that Elizabeth was pregnant

529
00:21:06.560 --> 00:21:07.760
till the angel told her.

530
00:21:07.760 --> 00:21:11.600
So she goes, she sees Elizabeth as pregnant, confirmation one.

531
00:21:11.600 --> 00:21:14.480
But then she's pregnant with John the Baptist, if you recall.

532
00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:18.600
And when John the Baptist, when Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting,

533
00:21:18.600 --> 00:21:20.000
the Bible says that John the Baptist

534
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.040
leapt in Elizabeth's womb.

535
00:21:22.040 --> 00:21:23.720
And again, that was just more confirmation

536
00:21:23.720 --> 00:21:26.480
that all of this was from God.

537
00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:28.440
We like to explain stuff away and everything

538
00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:30.960
is scientific and electronic and clinical.

539
00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:35.960
And it was probably just external stimuli, James,

540
00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:38.320
that caused John the Baptist to leave in Elizabeth's womb.

541
00:21:38.320 --> 00:21:40.160
And the reason that she actually conceived

542
00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:43.440
in her old barren age was because of the water supply.

543
00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:45.960
There actually was this anomaly we saw it

544
00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:48.280
on the science channel, James, if you do that.

545
00:21:48.280 --> 00:21:49.840
This was a miracle.

546
00:21:49.840 --> 00:21:53.240
And it was confirmation that what the angel said was true.

547
00:21:53.240 --> 00:21:56.000
So Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months,

548
00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.240
probably to help Elizabeth with the final months

549
00:21:58.320 --> 00:22:01.120
of the pregnancy to see John the Baptist be born.

550
00:22:01.120 --> 00:22:03.200
And now it's time to go back home.

551
00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.520
It's time to go back home and face the music.

552
00:22:05.520 --> 00:22:07.360
Because now she's three months pregnant.

553
00:22:07.360 --> 00:22:09.120
I'll bet she's starting to have a little baby bump.

554
00:22:09.120 --> 00:22:09.920
What do you think?

555
00:22:11.320 --> 00:22:13.520
Now it's time for people to really see this

556
00:22:13.520 --> 00:22:15.560
and rubber's gonna meet the road.

557
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:20.680
Now she gets back to Nazareth.

558
00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:24.560
She goes directly to Joseph and she tells him the news.

559
00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:27.320
How do you think he took it?

560
00:22:27.320 --> 00:22:28.320
How would you take it?

561
00:22:29.520 --> 00:22:32.280
Joseph was obviously devastated.

562
00:22:32.280 --> 00:22:35.360
In his mind, he's been lied to and cheated on.

563
00:22:40.760 --> 00:22:42.240
An angel?

564
00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:43.600
Really Mary?

565
00:22:43.600 --> 00:22:45.080
The Holy Spirit?

566
00:22:45.080 --> 00:22:46.120
Are you kidding me?

567
00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:48.600
Oh, a dirty toilet seat.

568
00:22:48.600 --> 00:22:52.160
Sure, I've heard that a million times.

569
00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:53.000
What?

570
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.000
No.

571
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:58.000
Everyone in this little town is gonna figure out

572
00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:59.000
that Mary is pregnant.

573
00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:01.000
What's their first assumption gonna be?

574
00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:03.000
They're gonna think that it's Joseph's.

575
00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:05.000
They're gonna think that he hasn't been pure.

576
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:07.000
But he has.

577
00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:10.000
Joseph was a godly man in the Bible says.

578
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:11.000
He was a sedic.

579
00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:13.000
That term means that he lived by the Torah.

580
00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:16.000
He actually followed God's laws and his rules

581
00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:19.000
and he was well known for this throughout their little community.

582
00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:20.000
He was looked up to.

583
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:21.000
He was admired.

584
00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:24.000
This news would destroy in an instant

585
00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:26.000
what he spent a lifetime building.

586
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:31.000
So what's he gonna do?

587
00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:33.000
Joseph has a few options.

588
00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:36.000
Because she was obviously unfaithful,

589
00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:38.000
he could do what some of you probably wish

590
00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:40.000
you could do if someone was unfaithful.

591
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:42.000
He could have her killed.

592
00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:44.000
And if you ever wish that, somebody cheats on you,

593
00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:45.000
and you're like,

594
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.000
I'm invoking Deuteronomy 22, kill him.

595
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:52.000
I don't know if they'd like that,

596
00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.000
but it would probably feel good for you, right?

597
00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:55.000
That was one option.

598
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:56.000
That's what it's the Bible says.

599
00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:57.000
In Deuteronomy 22,

600
00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:59.000
if a woman pledged to be married was unfaithful,

601
00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:00.000
look at what it says.

602
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:02.000
The woman must be taken to the door of her father's home.

603
00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:05.000
If they're the men of the town must stoner to death.

604
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:07.000
For she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel

605
00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:09.000
by being promiscuous while living in her parents' home.

606
00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:12.000
In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.

607
00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.000
Well, that was one option.

608
00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:18.000
Good times.

609
00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.000
Another option was he could bring her out to the marketplace

610
00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:23.000
and he could make a big scene

611
00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:25.000
until everyone about the pregnancy.

612
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:28.000
Believe you me, an engaged man who had stayed pure,

613
00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.000
by the way, could make a compelling argument

614
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:32.000
as to why he had done no wrong.

615
00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:34.000
And remember, women didn't have really any rights

616
00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:36.000
or a clout in the society,

617
00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:38.000
so they were going to believe Joseph over Mary,

618
00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:40.000
and he would preserve his good name

619
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:43.000
and he would destroy hers instantly.

620
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:47.000
But Joseph opted for a third choice.

621
00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:49.000
The Bible says in Matthew 1 verse 19,

622
00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:53.000
Joseph, who was engaged to, was a righteous man

623
00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:55.000
and did not want to disgrace her publicly.

624
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.000
So he decided to break the engagement quietly.

625
00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:00.000
Make no mistake.

626
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.000
A range marriage or not, Joseph loved Mary.

627
00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:05.000
He'd known her his whole life.

628
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.000
They had already exchanged the cup.

629
00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:11.000
He was building this house ready to spend the rest of his life with her.

630
00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.000
He doesn't want to destroy her life.

631
00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:15.000
He doesn't want to make things harder for her.

632
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.000
And she seems so sincere when she told him the story of what the angel had said.

633
00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:23.000
So he wanted to just separate things quietly

634
00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:25.000
and just go on about their lives.

635
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:27.000
But look at what happens next.

636
00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:29.000
In Matthew 1, beginning of verse 20,

637
00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:31.000
as he considered this,

638
00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:33.000
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.

639
00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:35.000
Joseph, son of David, the angel said,

640
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:37.000
don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife.

641
00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:40.000
For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

642
00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:42.000
and she will have a son,

643
00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:44.000
and you are the name of Jesus,

644
00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:48.000
for he will save his people from their sins.

645
00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:52.000
I love what Joseph does next.

646
00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:54.000
In verse 24, it says,

647
00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.000
when Joseph woke up,

648
00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:00.000
did he go to the doctor to get a CAT scan?

649
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:06.000
No, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary to be his wife.

650
00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.000
Now that didn't make a lot of sense.

651
00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:11.000
But he was obedient to God even when it didn't make sense.

652
00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:16.000
Mary and Joseph gave everything up to bring the son of God into the world.

653
00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.000
They lost their reputations, they lost their status,

654
00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:21.000
they lost the marriage of their dreams.

655
00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:25.000
She couldn't wear white anymore.

656
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.000
They gave up everything.

657
00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:35.000
They gave up their plans in favor of God's plans.

658
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:37.000
Just when everything seemed to calm down,

659
00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:41.000
the rumor mill started to kind of simmer down.

660
00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:47.000
The whispers were kind of relegated to the shadows and a few snide comments and looks.

661
00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:52.000
Then the Roman government decides everybody's got to go to their hometown to get taxed.

662
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.000
Well, that sounds like fun.

663
00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.000
I'd rather get a prostate exam and a root canal at the same time.

664
00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:06.000
He's got to travel with a nine-month pregnant woman on a donkey 75 miles.

665
00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:11.000
Some of you hear that and you're like, oh, I feel so sorry for Mary.

666
00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:12.000
Nine months pregnant on a donkey.

667
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.000
I feel sorry for Joseph.

668
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:20.000
If you ever traveled with a pregnant woman on a donkey?

669
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:22.000
Mary, are you okay?

670
00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:23.000
Do you have to stop?

671
00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:24.000
Oh, you do?

672
00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:25.000
Oh, you have to stop again?

673
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:26.000
Oh, and again?

674
00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:27.000
You got to pee again?

675
00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:28.000
Oh, you want privacy?

676
00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:30.000
Oh, we can hold my gosh.

677
00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:33.000
This poor guy did not know what he was signing up for.

678
00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:37.000
He's thinking, I should have just said no in the dream.

679
00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:40.000
Can I still throw rocks at her and stone her?

680
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:42.000
No.

681
00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:49.000
So his feeling was probably elation and relief when they finally roll into Bethlehem, right?

682
00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:51.000
He's like, oh, finally this is over.

683
00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:52.000
We have made it.

684
00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:58.000
But then it quickly turns into frustration when he can't find a single place for them to stay the night.

685
00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:00.000
And by now, Mary's starting to have contractions.

686
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:03.000
She's never had pain like this in her entire life.

687
00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:06.000
Joseph Sweatton, he doesn't know what to do.

688
00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:09.000
Now, realize they have not been intimate yet.

689
00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:17.000
And I'm sure Mary wasn't wanting Joseph to see her like this, right, ladies?

690
00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:22.000
I've helped Nicole with a few deliveries.

691
00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:29.000
I remember the first one I made a comment about the incredible way she was able to contort her face and neck veins.

692
00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:31.000
And she's never let me forget it.

693
00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:34.000
I said, wow, I was incredible. I'm like, room.

694
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:38.000
She's like, what is wrong with you? I was pushing a human out.

695
00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:43.000
I know. I was on the other end and he's something.

696
00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:47.000
It was beautiful.

697
00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:49.000
But Mary's mother wasn't there.

698
00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:52.000
There was no doctor or midwife.

699
00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:54.000
I would really call those things doulas.

700
00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:57.000
Nobody. She's got Joseph.

701
00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:01.000
And he doesn't know what he's doing.

702
00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:04.000
This is a nightmare.

703
00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:09.000
I'm sure she doesn't want to give birth to the son of God in a smelly stable.

704
00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:17.000
All their plans seem to be crumbling all around them, falling apart.

705
00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:22.000
But things are actually working out just the way God wanted them to.

706
00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:26.000
Isn't that crazy?

707
00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:30.000
You get Mary and Joseph's life and everything they went through and it doesn't really make sense.

708
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:35.000
But in all of it, they were right in the center of God's will.

709
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:40.000
There's going to be times in your life when you believe God's prompting you in a direction or leading you to do something.

710
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.000
And it's not going to make sense.

711
00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:44.000
You're not going to have all the answers.

712
00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:47.000
There are going to be times when you're going to have to step out or you're not going to understand what's going on.

713
00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:53.000
Why didn't I get the job or why did he go back to his old girlfriend or why did this happen or why did that happen?

714
00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:58.000
You're going to have to live by faith, not by facts.

715
00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:03.000
There are going to be times when you're not going to have all your questions answered.

716
00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:06.000
And that is a rough place to be, isn't it?

717
00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:08.000
Especially if you're a control freak like me.

718
00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:10.000
I'm a recovering one.

719
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:12.000
I slip in and out.

720
00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.000
Sometimes I do pretty good.

721
00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:16.000
Other times I grab that bowl by the horns.

722
00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:17.000
I do not let go.

723
00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:21.000
I like knowing what's going on and I like to control the outcome.

724
00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:27.000
So when you don't know the next steps or have all the answers, that is a hard place to be.

725
00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:35.000
And to still have joy, why does God allow those times to come?

726
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:43.000
Because He wants you to trust Him one step at a time.

727
00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:46.000
Why does He want you to trust Him one step at a time?

728
00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:49.000
Again, as a control freak, I hate that.

729
00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:53.000
I'm like, okay, one step. Can you show me the next mile?

730
00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:56.000
Mile or two?

731
00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:58.000
I can help you, God.

732
00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:01.000
We can work together.

733
00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:03.000
You don't have to do all the heavy lifting.

734
00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:06.000
Just give me the plan.

735
00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.000
But then I'm trusting in my abilities, right?

736
00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:10.000
Instead of Him.

737
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:12.000
He wants dependence.

738
00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:13.000
We want independence.

739
00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:16.000
So we fight for it with everything in our being.

740
00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:20.000
He says the perfect place to be is complete dependence on me.

741
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:22.000
Because I got this.

742
00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:25.000
I've got this.

743
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:31.000
He knows that if you showed us the whole picture, it would probably scare us half the death.

744
00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:34.000
If Mary and Joseph knew everything that was going to happen,

745
00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:37.000
I mean, they thought they were saying yes to a hard thing.

746
00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:40.000
But then they didn't know that the king was going to try and kill them.

747
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:42.000
They didn't know that wise men were going to hunt them down.

748
00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:45.000
They were going to have to go hide in Egypt.

749
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:50.000
They didn't know everything.

750
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:53.000
Might not have said yes.

751
00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:55.000
They just trusted one step at a time.

752
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:58.000
Some of us look back on 2023.

753
00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:01.000
And we're glad to kind of wave goodbye in the rear-view mirror.

754
00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:04.000
Because things didn't really turn out the way we had hoped in planned, right?

755
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.000
Anybody like that?

756
00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:08.000
You're like, yeah, okay.

757
00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.000
I'm excited for a fresh start.

758
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:12.000
Let's do this again.

759
00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:16.000
But some of us look ahead to 2024 with some fear and trepidation

760
00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:20.000
because we don't know what 2024 is going to hold.

761
00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:25.000
I get it.

762
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:27.000
But look at Proverbs 35 and 6.

763
00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:30.000
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

764
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:32.000
Don't depend on your own understanding.

765
00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:37.000
Seek His will in all you do, and He'll show you which path to take.

766
00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:41.000
That's comforting for me.

767
00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:45.000
You mean I just have to trust you?

768
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:47.000
You will take care of me?

769
00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:48.000
You promise?

770
00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:50.000
Pinky swear?

771
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:53.000
Because this is scary.

772
00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:56.000
Mary and Joseph didn't have all the answers to their questions,

773
00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:59.000
but they knew who did, and they trusted Him.

774
00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:01.000
That's the key.

775
00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:02.000
That's the key to happiness.

776
00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:03.000
That's the key to fulfillment.

777
00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:06.000
That's the key to the abundant life.

778
00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:08.000
Are you glad you came today?

779
00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:10.000
I just gave you the secrets to success.

780
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:13.000
Tony Robbins wishes he had this right now.

781
00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:20.000
Know who has the answers, and just trust Him.

782
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:25.000
Could it be that God is asking you to do the same thing that He asked them?

783
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:28.000
Just trust me.

784
00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:31.000
Even when it doesn't make sense, yeah, just trust me.

785
00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:36.000
Even when you don't give me all the answers, yeah, just trust me.

786
00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:41.000
Even when I haven't filled out my full life plan, yeah, just trust me.

787
00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:45.000
Even if my life coach doesn't agree, yeah, just trust me.

788
00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:51.000
I'm guessing over the next day or two, you're going to be at home,

789
00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:53.000
or you're going to gather at friends or family's house,

790
00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:56.000
and you're going to open up presents that are sitting under the Christmas tree,

791
00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:57.000
because that's a good time.

792
00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:59.000
I hope you get electronics.

793
00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:02.000
I hope I get electronics.

794
00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:05.000
I've always said Christmas is a funny time,

795
00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:07.000
because we give presents to each other,

796
00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:10.000
but we don't always give a gift to the birthday boy.

797
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:12.000
You guys know what Christmas is, right?

798
00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:14.000
It's Jesus' birthday.

799
00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:19.000
What are you giving the birthday boy this year?

800
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.000
Mary and Joseph gave the greatest gift to God that first Christmas they could have possibly given.

801
00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:26.000
They gave everything.

802
00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:31.000
They gave their all, their hopes, their dreams, their fears, their future.

803
00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:33.000
They gave all they had.

804
00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:35.000
They held nothing back.

805
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:41.000
My question to you today is, have you ever done that?

806
00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:46.000
Have you ever given God all of you everything?

807
00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:51.000
Or are you like most of us, we kind of do the Christian hoki-poki?

808
00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:54.000
I got one foot in, one foot out.

809
00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:57.000
Something something, and I twirl it all about.

810
00:34:57.000 --> 00:34:58.000
I don't know the song.

811
00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:01.000
I just remember one foot in one foot out.

812
00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:06.000
But we feel like, oh, that was the spirit of what Peter, and no Paul,

813
00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:08.000
was actually telling us when he said,

814
00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:10.000
I'm in the world, but not of the world, right?

815
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:12.000
So that's one foot in one foot out.

816
00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:15.000
I'm just being faithful to the Scriptures, James.

817
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:18.000
That's not what he meant.

818
00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:22.000
He said, jump in with all four feet.

819
00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:24.000
Jump in, holding nothing back.

820
00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:26.000
Trusting.

821
00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:27.000
God, here's my life.

822
00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:30.000
Use me for your glory and for my good.

823
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:32.000
I trust you.

824
00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:34.000
My prayer for you, this Christmas, is that you'll trust him,

825
00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:36.000
even when it doesn't make sense.

826
00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:38.000
Even when you don't have all the answers.

827
00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:43.000
I'll let you in a little secret.

828
00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:45.000
God's never going to harm you.

829
00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:51.000
How many times is he going to bail you out, protect you, bless you,

830
00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:54.000
help you, encourage you?

831
00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:58.000
Before you realize, he's not the Boogeyman.

832
00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:02.000
All good things come from our Heavenly Father above.

833
00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:06.000
All he wants is a relationship with you to lead you to the abundant life

834
00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.000
he sent Jesus to die for and give you,

835
00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.000
and he's preparing a place for you in eternity

836
00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:17.000
so he can spend the rest of eternity hanging out with you.

837
00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:20.000
That doesn't sound like a Boogeyman to me.

838
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:23.000
That sounds like a guy I can trust.

839
00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:26.000
Have you ever given him everything?

840
00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:32.000
Do you put your full trust in him?

841
00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:37.000
Everything you are, everything you have, everything you hope to be?

842
00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:40.000
Are you still holding something back?

843
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.000
God, I will give you my Sundays.

844
00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:47.000
I will sign up for the church email,

845
00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:49.000
but I won't give my good email.

846
00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:53.000
I'll just give that one I give bedbath of beyond.

847
00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:55.000
They've been stepping it up.

848
00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:57.000
I'm getting a bunch of emails from them.

849
00:36:57.000 --> 00:36:59.000
I'll tell you what.

850
00:36:59.000 --> 00:37:02.000
And I've done subscribe.

851
00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:06.000
What are you holding on to?

852
00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:08.000
I'm going to ask the worship team to come.

853
00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:10.000
And we're going to sing a final song together.

854
00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:13.000
We're going to celebrate this season.

855
00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:16.000
We are going to give gifts to each other.

856
00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:19.000
But I'm going to ask you to seriously consider

857
00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:22.000
what's the thing you've been holding on to that you can give as a gift

858
00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:25.000
to the one who's given you so much.

859
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:28.000
The one who's given you everything and held nothing back

860
00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:31.000
says, if you want wisdom, you got it.

861
00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:34.000
You want financial blessing and prosperity, you got it.

862
00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:38.000
You need healing, you got it.

863
00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:41.000
Forgiveness of your sins, sure.

864
00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:44.000
What is he holding back from you?

865
00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:50.000
But yet we hold on to so many things that don't matter.

866
00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:52.000
Think of the thing you can give,

867
00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:57.000
that you can surrender in place of the goodness of God.

868
00:37:57.000 --> 00:37:59.000
Don't think of it as a sacrifice that,

869
00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:02.000
oh, I'm going to have to go without this thing.

870
00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:08.000
I'm letting go of rubbish and I'm getting back his goodness.

871
00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:11.000
And if you've never trusted him with your life and your eternity,

872
00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:15.000
what better time than Christmas to give your life as a gift

873
00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:17.000
to the one who gave you everything.

874
00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:19.000
So I'm going to give you a chance to do it.

875
00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:22.000
Just close your eyes where you are and everybody just repeat after me.

876
00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:27.000
Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus.

877
00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:32.000
Thank you for saving me from my sin.

878
00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:38.000
I accept your free gift and I give you my life in return.

879
00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:46.000
Take all of me, do what you will for your glory and my good.

880
00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:52.000
In Jesus' name I pray, amen, amen.

881
00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:59.000
Well, let's give a big round of applause for anybody that prayed that for the first time.

882
00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:01.000
Because your life is never going to be the same.

883
00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:05.000
I promise it's not all going to be sunshine and rainbows,

884
00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:10.000
but it's going to be an adventure that you will not regret.

885
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.000
If you did make that decision, use that connection card that Pastor Mo talked about earlier.

886
00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:16.000
Pull it out and on the back one side says,

887
00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:18.000
I made a decision for Christ.

888
00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:21.000
If you prayed that prayer and you've given your life as a gift,

889
00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:22.000
let us know.

890
00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:23.000
We want to celebrate with you.

891
00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:27.000
We want to make sure you have a Bible and you've got some helps on this new journey.

892
00:39:27.000 --> 00:39:30.000
Because it is the right of a lifetime and you don't have to do it alone.

893
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:32.000
And we want to celebrate that with you.

894
00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.000
Whatever decision you've made, my prayer is that when you go out and you leave this place,

895
00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:38.000
you tell somebody the story.

896
00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:41.000
They're going to say happy holidays, you say Merry Christmas.

897
00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:43.000
Jesus is the reason for the season.

898
00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:46.000
Don't shy away and don't say I'm sorry.

899
00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:50.000
Unapologetic bold faith is the name of the game.

900
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:52.000
Jesus is not a shame of you.

901
00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:55.000
He said, if you're ashamed of me here, I'm going to be ashamed of you and him in an eternity.

902
00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:56.000
Be bold.

903
00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:58.000
Jesus has changed my life.

904
00:39:58.000 --> 00:39:59.000
Can I tell you about it?

905
00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:02.000
That actually is the reason for the season and I want to share this gift with you.

906
00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:04.000
Don't keep it to yourself.

907
00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:09.000
Let it be a light that shines so brightly everyone can help but ask you to tell them more about it.

908
00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:11.000
You do that?

909
00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:12.000
Thank you for joining us.

910
00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:13.000
Merry Christmas.

911
00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:16.000
I'm going to ask our ministry team if you'll come forward.

912
00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:19.000
If you want someone to pray with you as we sing this final song,

913
00:40:19.000 --> 00:40:20.000
minister to you, lay hands on you.

914
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:21.000
Bless you as you go.

915
00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:25.000
I pray that this next season leading into 2024 is blessed.

916
00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:31.000
And you have the utmost confidence in the one that has your best interest at heart.

917
00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:32.000
Trust him.

918
00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:39.000
Even when it doesn't make sense, I promise you it'll turn out for his glory and you're good.

919
00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:41.000
Have a Merry Christmas and we'll see you next Sunday.

920
00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:44.000
This is the City Light Church podcast.

921
00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:51.000
If you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jansik in City Light Church,

922
00:40:51.000 --> 00:40:54.000
visit us at citylightnyc.com.

923
00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:57.000
That's citylightnyc.com.

924
00:40:57.000 --> 00:41:00.000
Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime.

925
00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:03.000
We would love to connect with you.

926
00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:08.000
We pray that you have been encouraged today, that you have been reminded how much God loves you,

927
00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:11.000
and that you are surrounded by grace.

928
00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:13.000
Thank you for listening.

929
00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:19.000
Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church Podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.

930
00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:24.000
You