Advent Joy: The Presence of God in Every Season

hey thanks Pastor David hey guys it's so great to hang out with you today Pastor Keith is is one of my dear dear friends I sure love Keith and Kara and what y'all are doing here at journey and a couple of days a or a couple of weeks ago I should say we were kind of just getting together having coffee and I'm like hey man why don't you come preach to my church and I'll come preach at your church and it was like yeah let's do that and so we kind of just planned it out just on on the spur of the moments Advent so we get to we're both walking through Advent together as churches and uh it's just an honor to be here I just want to tell you before before I even tell you a little bit about my little bit about myself you need to know how how special of a place this is uh listen I I I grew up I'm I'm privileged enough to grow up with the Deep Church Heritage I've seen a lot of great and amazing churches I've I've sat at the tables with with my family with some of the the great leaders of the

church all across the globe and and to see a church that's as vibrant that's as lifegiving that's that's full of the spirit of God in the Pacific Northwest where where this just kind of vanilla is kind of quiet it's kind of just all right that's what it is you need to know how unique and special this place is nothing like Journey Church and Ben guys and also Hey listen I want to I want you to know how how blessed and how privileged you are to sit under such sound and such loving leaders Pastor Keith Pastor car I tell you what they are some true like what you see on the stage is who they are who who they are on and off is exactly their open books and they are just as genuine as genuine can be and I'll tell you so amazing to just have you know Keith is one of my dear dear friends he's my he's like my brother from another mother you know what I mean like he's just we just

there's something about him and I together we're just kindred spirits and and I tell you I'm so grateful for him I tell him all the time I would we in Redmond listen we would not exist had it not been the faith for your pastors to step out and say you know what we we want to invest the Kingdom of Heaven into a community that's that's close but somewhat distant from us and we just want to step out in faith and just see what God's going to do in that and I'll tell you what God is doing some amazing things I was on staff here at jurni in in Bend IN 2019 I was the the redond pastor if some of y'all were here back in those days uh we got to hang out a little bit and and then in 2020 we launched Journey Church in in Redmond and it was amazing man we we just had a miraculous launch February 23rd your birthday is our birthday and it was so great and then covid-19 shut everything

down and Pastor Keith and I we kind of Co you know correlated like what are we going to do so we got on TV for a little while and he preached and then I preached and then he preached and I preached and you might never recognize me because back then I had hair like down to here I had locks of Samson you the flowing with the spirit of God and the hair and my kids were like Dad it's thinning out and it was like the worst news of every middle-aged adult so cut that off and we've been going uh we've been going in our location for just under three years now and friends I just tell you every time we see a move of God and we've seen some amazing move moves of God in Redmond like you have been seeing here in Bend you know it's amazing how the the Holy Spirit just unites these two churches together there are things that we do that you do that you do that we do and we didn't know we were doing

them just the holy spirit said hey I want you to do this like for example I was just telling somebody this in the lobby in the beginning of last year I was sitting at the Elder meeting I sit on the Elder board here at journey and bend and I was sitting at the Elder meeting and Pastor Keith says Hey listen in the beginning of of 2023 we're going to start doing something we're going to take a a night an evening and we're just going to pray we're going to worship we're just going to give space for the spirit of God and I kind of sat there at the table like with my jaw on the table like are you kidding me and he looked at me like what I'm like did you know that we were doing that too and he's like no I didn't and he's like what are you calling it I'm like we're going to do the same thing and we're going to start at 6:33 p.m. and we're going to call it Pursuit night he's like we're doing it too and it was just like God is doing something here guys I'll tell you what the spirit of God's on the move and I believe that we are going to see a Revival a Revival not just a a

Rejuvenation a Revival what brought my wife and I Stacy from Southern California don't judge me what brought my wife and I from Southern California was we were looking for two things when we were looking to start a church we were looking for where an area of population was growing increasingly fast rapidly and we were looking where Christianity was on a on a numerical decline did you know friends that dutes county is where those metrics converge that this is one of the most unchurched regions in the United States with nearly 90% of the inhabitants of duutz County having no affiliation with Christian faith whatsoever and I'll tell you what when you see a church like this happening in the middle of that that's what I'm telling you don't neglect and don't overlook what God is doing here today and we've been meeting for a

couple of years in Redmond I'll tell you it's just been so amazing we saw we've seen this year in Redmond in Redmond we've seen 800 decisions for Jesus Christ guys 800 we we have we have three services and uh Pastor Keith is preaching right now as a matter of fact I hope I hope Pastor Keith has stopped preaching at the present time because the service has just ended and there's another one coming and so you know my my friend Pastor he's got some he's got some words sometimes you know what I mean he's got some words he's a preacher he's like a preacher's preacher too I'm going to try to live up to to the expectations of of filling in for my friend keth and we're in a series called Silent Night we're talking about Advent and Advent is such a beautiful time you know I grew up in a I grew up in a church home but my parents got saved in the Jesus movement

my mom came out a Baptist in Lutheranism and my dad he grew up a altar boy in Catholicism and so when they got saved and they met Jesus in the 70s they swung the pendulum to the other end of that spectrum and they said anything traditional and anything religious we're not doing that cuz we did that already so I didn't even know anything about Advent till a couple of years ago the only thing I knew about Advent was it was like you got a calendar on December 1st and you poke a hole in it and you got candy every day that was what I knew about Advent I was like every time Bring it on Bring it on because I just want that candy for 24 days straight yes and it was actually here at joury and bend that we were introduced to the sentiment of the spirit behind Advent the idea of this Latin word of this tradition that dates way back into the

early church into the second and third Century of the expectation of the arrival of God the the coming of Christ and we've we've been in this series of Silent Night here at journey and bend and you talked about Hope and last week you talked about peace and and we've talked about the angels and today we lit that pink candle and sometimes people wonder why is the the candle on the third week a different color and that's the the color of the Shepherds it's the pink is often associated with the color of joy and we're going to look today at the subject of joy for Advent the subject of Joy I was just scrolling through some social media just not too long ago and Pastor Greg relle who pastors a church called Life Church it's actually the largest church in the United States they're the ones that's are responsible for your Bible app if you have it on your phone uh he was preaching and he was talking about the holiday season and he he just he brought an observation that I thought was so relevant and so true about the holiday

season and perhaps you you would experience this as well as he said these words he said that the holidays in this time of year it's a magnifier it magnifies the sentiments in which you feel and it makes them greater so if you love the holidays it magnifies it so why you go to Christmas parties you're like was the best party ever or like you have Thanksgiving dinner Christmas dinner you're like that was the best meal ever because it's magnifying something that is already taking place on the inside of you now on the other hand the holidays are a magnifier and so if you're in the place today and you know this that if you're dealing with loss or if you're dealing with insecurity if there's something in the sense of your life it's a magnifier the stress levels increase the realization and the reality of loneliness and and and the issues that we have within our own hearts in our own minds become greatly magnified in this

season it's a magnifier and so for some of us this is a season where we love it it's great it's it's amazing it's a reminder of the gifts it's a reminder of the joy it's a reminder of the hope and some of us it's a reminder or a magnifier of what we don't have of what we're missing of what we're what we've lost or how we're languishing but either way what today represents this season represents is it's a it's a season of joy and we're going to look at this subject on this third week of Advent called joy and we're going to dive into scripture you were actually here last week so if you've got your Bibles go with me to the Book of Luke Luke in the second chapter I love the Book of Luke and the Gospel of Luke Luke was not an eyewitness of the accounts of Jesus Christ as a matter of fact Luke was actually a gentile Luke was not in the Jewish tradition as as you and I would understand that but Luke was a follower

a dedicated follower of Jesus that made it his life's mission to compile eyewitness accounts of what happened in the life of Jesus and so what we're reading in the Gospel of Luke is somebody who gathered together like a documentary that we would say today gathered together people that were there interviewed them recorded their interviews and wrote it down into two Collective Works called Luke and acts and they're actually you could read them through together because they're almost in one sense one book together by volume Luke actually wrote most of the New Testament Luke Chapter 2 Luke records the story of the birth of Jesus Christ and it says in Luke chap 2 verse number 8 in the same region speaking of Bethlehem in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night and an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the

glory of the Lord Shone around them and they were feared filled with great fear now I think that you and I would experience the very same thing if all of a sudden you're sitting there and you have the most boring job on Earth and you think about this for a moment it's the most boring job on earth have you ever been around sheep there's not a lot of go sheep guys they're they're not like a a highly intellectual and independent animal they just kind of sit there and chew that's what sheep do and so you just sit there your job is to watch them and you're on the night watch watching them in the middle of the night watching one of the most boring and uninteresting animals on Earth and all of the sudden the sky splits open and light shines upon you and a voice from Heaven opens up they were filled with great fear so would you they were filled with great fear and the angel said to them fear not behold

and I want you to see this behold I bring you good news of great joy good news of great joy Joy good news of great joy for all the people for all the people they said For unto you was born this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the lord and this will be assigned to you you'll find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a manger and suddenly as they say this sign there was an angel with with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly hosts praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace of among those with whom he is pleased I love what the angel said they said Denon don't be afraid this isn't this isn't one of those encounters where you're afraid for your life they said listen we've actually got good news for you

this word good news is the word gospel and when we think about the gospel the gospel literally means the good news and this is we've got good news but it's not just good news it's good news of great joy it's good news that fills you with joy it's good news that does something it's good news that transforms your life it's good news that changes your perspective it is good news of great joy but look at this for everyone see this is something amazing because the promises of God as we see in Isaiah chapter 9 as we're talking about that song that we sang when Isaiah prophesied about the child to be born the son that is given and his name would be wonderful counselor and mighty God and everlasting father and Prince of Peace when Isaiah was doing that he says For unto us a son is given unto us meant the Jewish people the covenanted people God's promise was to a selected group of

people people but the Angels say this isn't just good news to you who are on the inside this is good news to everyone who has ears to hear and eyes to see that the solution and the hope of God has been resolved In This Moment good news of great joy I tell you what I love good news I love good news but have you ever noticed that good news kind of comes and goes like we love good news it's great because it makes us feel good but what do we pay more attention to well we pay more attention to bad news I mean if you don't think we do turn on the news scroll through Facebook what do we stop and listen to We love to feed on bad news here's why because bad news sells it keeps us attentive it keeps us focused what's going to happen next

what's going on how are we going to respond what are we going to do what are they going to do what is the next step in the journey and we get addicted to looking at focusing at bad news it keeps us locked in to what's next and so so it goes with our faith sometimes as much as we're privy to and as much as we've been given as much as we've seen the revelation of good news for many of us in our faith we lock in a little bit on the bad news we start to think about all the things that we haven't done all the things that we should have said all of the areas where we didn't measure up all of the the the the times where where something took us away or challenge us and so what do we do we lock in we focus and we we put our attention and our gaze upon all of the things in our faith that either God

isn't doing or that we haven't done or on the other hand or that we have done and we lock into the bad news of the reality of Our Lives missing out on the good news and when we think about what is the good news and we think this word good news it means gospel and when we think about what the good news means what is the good new news for most Christians today when you ask somebody what is the gospel oh it's good news that's great what's the good news you you get to go to heaven when you die that's good news when you die what about today what's the gospel some Christians will tell you know some those you know those Christians we don't have any of those Christians here at Journey but you know those Christians be like what's the good news and they're like turn or burn choose Jesus or don't why your

hands of that like oh yeah that's that's great news man when I hear that turn or burn I just my goodness I just have joy warms and fills my heart see sometimes we we we get so focused on everything else that we actually miss the picture of what the good news really is because can I can I tell you friends I'll po maybe I'll pop your bubble for just a moment it's okay because I'm a guest Pastor Keith will be back to coddle you next week so uh The Good the good news is not that when you die you get to go to a good place now I know most of us that's exactly what we think as long as I'm good enough as long as I try hard enough as long as I go to church enough as long as I try not to swear and and I do good things and I get some money to the church and I and I try to be a good

person that I could get that friends can I tell you something that wasn't the good news the gospel the gospel the very first message that we see of the Gospel is recorded in the story of the birth of Jesus Christ when Mary has an encounter with an Angel and the angel says to her blessed are you Mary highly favored one in Matthew 1 ver number 23 the angel tells her that you will conceive and bear a son from the Holy Spirit and Mary asked a great question she says how is this possible the angel gives her a prophecy that's out of Isaiah and he says these words and it says the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name here's the good news Emmanuel Emmanuel is the good news and it means

god with us you see the good news the gospel isn't hey as long as you try hard enough do good enough and work hard enough at it maybe just maybe you could be on the right side of the decision and you can make it to the good place when you die that wasn't the good news the good news was this is that God loves you God cares for you God sees you God recognizes you and God recognizes that there needs to be a shift and a change and the only way for that shift and change in our lives deep in the depths of our soul to happen is for God to be with us this is the news of the kingdom of heaven everywhere listen everywhere Jesus went and preached he said these words the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand see it didn't mean the Kingdom of Heaven is available to you later Jesus said the

Kingdom of Heaven is at hand as a matter of fact more specifically in Matthew chapter 16 Jesus tells Peter after Peter gives him a revelation of of his lordship Jesus says you are Peter blessed are you I'm going to build my church on this Revelation Peter and the Gates of Hell will never Prevail against it why because he says in the very next verse I'm going to give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven and everything that is allowed in heaven now for you is allowed on Earth and everything that is not allowed in heaven for you is now not allowed in Earth you have been granted access into the authority and to the presence and to the relationship of God God through Jesus Christ this is good news for all people all people because it's God With

Us God With Us there's something about being in the presence of somebody you love that just shifts the atmosphere you know what I'm talking about I remember in 2019 when we moved here 2019 my my daughter Emma she just turned 11 last Wednesday she's my only girl and she just melts Daddy's heart she get what whatever she wants and she's just at that sweet age right now I told her I said baby girl that's what I call her I call her baby girl I said baby girl I forbid you forbid you to age any further after this this is as far as you are allowed to progress for the rest of your days and she's like Oh Daddy but I got a birthday again and I'm like that's fine we'll go backwards you could be 10 again and then you could be 11 we'll just bounce back and forth we're okay with this I Remember December is her birthday and a couple of uh in 2019 we had just moved

we were we were on staff here at journey in church Journey Church in Bend and we were actually just getting ready to launch Journey Church in Redmond and her birthday came and it was her first time away from everybody she loved and she was feeling really low she just you know we ask her what do you want for your for your birthday I don't really care I don't really care I don't what do you you want to go to party you want to do I don't really care I don't really all all I want is just to see see some of my family members said oh I'm so sorry baby like we're going to make new family we're going to have a great time you got you got Jesus with you that didn't work really well for a 8-year-old at the time but I remember it was on her birthday we said Hey listen we're going to pick you up from school and we're we're going to we're going to do something special we're going to take you out to lunch and so we started driving around redond and we're driving around redond and we're looking we're like where do you want to go to lunch you want to go here do you want to go there she's a foodie I mean she's the only like 5-year-old that's like please more broccoli can I get some sushi you do you like say I'm in does

anybody I'm like fish you're a 5-year-old that eats fish it's not natural so we're telling her like where do you want to go to restaurant so we're driving around we're driving around Redman all a sudden we said you know what let's take this back road we start driving around through the airport and as I'm driving through the airport I said oh my goodness oops I made the wrong turn and I drove into the airport and as we drove into the airport we drove into that spot where everybody gets picked up and dropped off and standing right there was Grandma we didn't tell her and can I tell you her demeanor the atmosphere the environment everything about her day shifted you see friends this is exactly the good news of great joy that God gives to us is that you are not alone you were not isolated you were not insulated as much as you might feel like it as much as it might like seem like it as much as it may appear to you as that there is nothing going on in your favor the very nature

of the good news for all men of great joy is that God is with us God Is With Us psychologists and theologians alike have written volumes on the difference between joy and happiness they would say that happiness is circumstantial as long as the environment around us is is well-being then we find ourselves in a condition in a state of Happiness whereas Joy is a choice it is a decision it is a reality in which we live that is not based upon the circumstances where we're at why because we have the joy of God and as we do the gospel is great news of Joy why because it doesn't matter what our circumstances are it doesn't matter what we're facing it doesn't matter if it's being magnified that we're joyful or if we're being magnified that we're alone because we

don't have happiness we have joy why do we have joy because we have the good news of great great joy the good news of great joy is God is with you I love what John writes about John was the best friend of Jesus and I love John because John actually writes his gospel the Gospel of John is most likely the very last book that was ever written chronologically in the New Testament John was the only one of Jesus's followers that was blessed with the gift of old age and because of that John kind of likes to Sucker Punch all of the other authors by saying I and nobody can refute this any longer cuz they're all dead I the one that Jesus loved the most I love John's gospel John John just kind of writes an emotional gospel every Mark writes like Mark's like pounding the table writing the the thing Luke's giving us a a real account and John's just crying as he's writing it and John

writes this in John chapter 15 he says he says in John chapter 15 he's talking about the last moments of Jesus with his followers and Jesus says these words in in John chapter 15 he says these words he says as the father has loved me so I've loved you that's the good news I loved you as God has loved me I've loved you but look what he says he says abide in my love that word abide it means to live to stay to dwell it means to to set up home in this Jesus isn't saying just recollect it he's not saying just remember it he's saying not just you know if you're going through a bad day if you're having a bad moment just kind of try to ponder upon that no Jesus says live in it dwell in it operate every fiber of your being in it this is the love of God he says if you keep my Commandments you will abide in my love

you will live it just as I've kept my father's Commandments and abide in his love in other words what Jesus is teaching us is in this deep sense of a relationship it's not burdensome it's not hard it's not obligatory it is beautiful and it is full of joy because I want you to see what Jesus says to his followers he says these words these things I have spoken to you I told you about this why that your joy may be full that that that my joy ex excuse me it says like this I spoken to that my joy may be in you so important and that your joy may be full my joy may be in you and your joy may be full see what I love in the reality of what the scripture teaches us in in in the words of Jesus Christ is joy is not something that you and I conjure up Joy is not

something that you and I try to try to build up in ourselves it's not something that we gather together and like okay well it's a really bad day so I'm just going to put on my joy today and I remember I've told this story so many times at my other church that they're like they roll their eyes when they hear it but but I'm going to tell it to you cuz this is a new story to you is I remember I was I was a college Pastor in my early days of ministry and I was praying one time and and this we were praying before service and this young man named William he was praying and he was just like praying Eeyore you know what I mean like Eeyore he's just like well Lord thank you for the gift of Salvation even though I don't feel it thank you for this beautiful day even though it's been difficult and I remember I was just in this prayer meeting and I have this like it's I would say it's it's a it's a character

fault I just I can't control my face it's really gotten me into a lot of trouble in my days and we're in this prayer meeting and I'm just staring at him like are you kidding me so he looks up at me and I'm like stop stop what stop praying like that you got the light of the world on the inside of you you got Jesus Christ it doesn't matter what today is it doesn't matter what yesterday is it doesn't matter what tomorrow is because you've got the presence of God and the Holy Spirit with you Jesus said it right here it's not about Conjuring up Joy for yourself Jesus said live in the reality of my love abide in my love why so that my joy

Jesus says might be in you why so that your joy may be full the joy of the Lord is not something we work into the joy in the Lord is the gift that is given to us through Jesus Christ this is what Paul the Apostle understood he understood this about the fruit of the spirit saying that one of the fruits that when you get the presence of God in your life it is just by Nature the portion of your life that you will all of the sudden start to reveal fruit in your life the fruit in your life is the gift of Jesus Christ the gift is this God is with you and I love what Paul understood about that Romans chapter 8 it's called the Great eight it's the summit of Paul's theology in the Book of Romans and Romans chapter 8 Paul writes towards the

end of the great eight Paul says these words he says I am sure that neither life nor death nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything in all of creation will a will be able to separate us from the love of Jesus or of God in Jesus Christ Our Lord see Jesus tells you to live it the angel said the good news is for everybody the good news is the Kingdom of Heaven Is Here Jesus says live in this reality of love Paul says there is nothing on the end of God that can remove this reality from your life it is a gift given to you the joy of the Lord as Nehemiah has said will be our strength Paul understood this he got it he he grasp a hold of it I'll tell you that I'm a I'm a

melancholic person that's a big word but I'm a melancholic person what a melancholic person means is is that I have high highs you can see them and I have lows anybody know what I'm talking about like you fly high and you're in the Valley of the shadow of death the next minute there's no in between that's just the nature of my personality there's very little gray area into which I live and because of that in my the nature of my personality here's the things I see is that in the highs it's very easy listen to this it's very easy to overlook the joy of the Lord because everything's going great I don't need it and some of us we're living in the highs right now things are going well so that's cool great yeah Joy wonderful I have that too but I'll tell you also in the low's in the shadow of the Valley of

Death that it is very easy to miss the joy of the Lord as well for what everything is going and here's what I have got to learn to do I don't conjure it up I don't I don't try to to build myself in it but here's what do I have to remind myself remind myself of the invitation of life in Jesus Christ when I'm at the peak to remember that this isn't my Peak this is Jesus's Peak that when things are great and the sun is shining on my back and everything is wonderful that I celebrate because God has given me this moment in life and as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death like David writes in Psalm 23 that I will fear no evil why because you remember what it says you are with me the presence of God is there in the lows of lows that even in those moments

I could be I could be full of joy while my happiness might be fleeting my joy is overflowing because of the presence of the one who is with me on the summit and the one who is with me in the valley some of you today you're walking through the valley you've missed the joy of the Lord and here here's my my ch to you is is is I want you to see that when you read the the gospels and when you read the versions of the early church it's amazing that they would Rejoice at everything they would get persecuted they're like yes they would have family members die and they're like Jesus it was crazy if anybody understood this it was Paul Paul writes you were here in Philippians chapter 4 talking about peace just last week Paul writes in Philippians chapter 4 we know this verse because we quote it all the time but we don't quite understand what Paul is

saying in this verse Philippians chapter 4 Paul says in verse number 12 he says listen I know how to be brought low I know what the valley feels like Paul says I know how to abound I know what the summit feels like I know that in every circumstance I have learned here it is I have learned the secret of facing plenty of facing hunger of dealing with abundance and dealing with need this is the verse that most of us know today we could quote that he says these words I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me see sometimes we say Philippians 4:13 is like what we tell our kids like when they're graduate like you could do all things you could be anything you want through Christ who strengthen like no they can't they're not good at math sorry but you can do this you can get

through the summit you can get through the valley you can get the times of abundance and you can get through the times of lack why because of who's with you Christ who strengthens you I love Paul I think he teach us that you're growth track and I think is one of the best illustrations is we we say it like this we say say what Paul teaches us is to choose to choose Joy Paul Paul was like such a hero in that because here's what Paul says they they come up to Paul and they're like Paul you better stop preaching about Jesus if you don't stop preaching we're gonna lock you up in the jail and you're going to spend the rest of your time in jail and Paul's like man would you I am so behind on writing letters to my friends that a couple of moments of just isolation would really help me get some of that writers block out they're like Paul Paul listen man if you don't talk if you don't stop talking about Jesus we're going to kill you you

will die and Paul's like man would you that would be awesome to live is Christ but to die is gain see Paul you couldn't keep him down it didn't matter if he was Shipwrecked it didn't matter if he was with the church in Revival no matter what was happening in the moment Paul understood the good news of great joy and he lived in it every day he knew that he could do all things through Christ who strengthens him what why because he chose to see and live in the gift that was given to him through the presence of Jesus Christ so then let me ask you this as I wind down what are you allowing to rob you of your joy today because let's be honest we focus on the

negative bad news sells so much better than good news it's so much more convincing I mean the science behind shopping if you have a negative experience with a store or a restaurant you will tell 11 people about that negative experience but if you have a fstar experience you will forget to leave a review that's just the signs of humanity so what are you today allowing to rob you of the joy that was given to you by Jesus Christ cuz he said live in it dwell in it stay in it and he says my joy will be in you so that your joy will be full as we're thinking through the

season as you're going through the time of Advent what what are you focusing on that is taking away the good news of great joy what are you focusing on that is taking away the good news of great joy this is where I'll invite the the band up because it just gets a little bit more holy spirti is when the keys play the writer of Hebrews we don't know who wrote this letter the writer of Hebrews writes this just such an amazing statement in Hebrews chapter 12 verse number one it gives us this Insight of what life in the Heavenly looks like in Hebrews chapter 12 it says these words it says so because we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let me bring you some context you ever been to a big Stadium a sporting event or a concert you didn't

have the money to get down on the on the on the court or down there in the front row so you bought the you bought the cheap seats you know what I'm talking about the nose bleeds they call them in in the Greek that's what this is talking about sometimes we think Pastor Keith was talking last week here at Journey about angels and like you know little fat babies with Harps sometimes we think like the cloud it's like this picture of like little babies watching us on the clouds No no no listen this is the picture that's being presented to us in Hebrews chapter 12 it's a stadium filled to the nose bleeds they used to call the the great coliseums and the great stadiums of the ancient times the cloud when you sat up high and it's a picture presented for your life saying that coming off of the Hall of faith of these amazing men and women who lived in the reality of God's presence in their life and it says now because of them the

stadium is filled to the brim to the nose bleeds watching you rooting you on cheering you on so since then we are surrounded by so great a a cloud of witnesses look what it says it says let us lay aside every weight and sin that clings to us it chases us it comes after us to Rob us of what God has for us to run this race with endurance that is set before us but I want you to see what verse number two says looking unto Jesus see because it's not your joy is his Joy looking unto Jesus the founder and the the perect ctor of our faith who for the joy that was set before him the good

news of great joy God didn't reluctantly fulfill his obligation God wasn't sitting there in the annals of of of Eternity looking in the Heavenly places at his watch Bound By The Heavenly times and saying I guess I guess it's time right now maybe maybe we should do something to help these poor benevolent creatures down there no God through the joy that was set before him the Heavens rejoiced as the Shepherds saw it that the Angels knew the plan of God that was laid down from the beginning of time was now finally being enacted For All Mankind to know that God is with you looking unto Jesus who for the joy that was set before him endured that cross he got through the hardships

despise the shame he wouldn't let the negativity and the the news keep him away from what God had commissioned him to do seated at the right hand of God on the throne the joy that was set before him friends do you know what that Joy is that joy is you that joy is you he saw you he saw what your life is and what your life can be in his presence and that made it worth it and some of us today we just don't want to to live in that joy we don't want to see it we don't want to recognize it we don't want to accept it but friends let me tell you something the the Kingdom of Heaven is here for you

today I love what the shepherd said the angel says to them go and see and so they go and see Luke chap 2 verse number 20 it says and the Shepherds after they saw Jesus they returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them friends that's the story of you that you and I when we see and when we hear what God is doing and God has done and what God wants to do in our hearts and in our lives and in our families and in our childrens that when we see and when we hear we can't help but to go rejoicing and praising for all

that God is doing finally let me just leave you with this if this is a magnifier of what you don't have if this is a season of stress and of pressure and of Burden reminded of the words of Paul at the end of the book of Romans he says these words may the God of all hope fill you with all joy look say just say say that all joy not some Joy not half Joy not quarter Joy all joy that God may fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit that's God's presence with you today Jesus told his disciples I cannot stay because while my name might

be God With Us the the reality is is I'm just God with you he says I got to go so that God would send the helper the spirit the breath the word that they used in the Greek is the Numa it's the wind of God that fills our sails when we're in the dold drums of the life he says I pray that you would have the power of the Holy Spirit the presence of God that you may abound Leaps and Bounds to Hope friends this week as you P Ponder upon the gift of Salvation in Jesus Christ remember his Joy is your joy his peace is your peace his hope is your hope let's pray father we come

before you father I pray that there are those of us in this place today that our eyes have been blinded to the hope and to the joy of Jesus Christ Lord we've allowed the cares of this world we've allowed the the challenges of our present and current circumstances to be magnified to the place in the extent that we no longer see the presence of Jesus Holy Spirit I just invite you for each and every one of us today with an open heart to come and to reveal your goodness to make your presence and known to each and every one of us that we can know that we walk this life with Emmanuel God With Us Lord may we lean into the presence

the power the the grace of your Holy Spirit in Jesus name today if you're in this place before we go and dismiss I'll let you go in just a moment but today if you're in this place and listen listen you don't have a life-giving relationship with Jesus you go to church you do good things you know you pray a token prayer every once in a while you've called yourself a Christian your parents told you growing up that you were you know you grew up Baptist or something like that and you're here you think that you know what I'm missing something out on life but you know what let me tell you something it's because it's not about religion that God was never after the good news was never hey go and make the right choice you get into the right place that the essence in the image of what Jesus came to do it was a sense of relationship but yet today so many of us we believe that as long as we go to church as long as we're good people as long as we do good things I I talked to one young lady and she

said when I asked her about her position with God she said as long as I as long as I do good and as long as I be good it's all good like that's great but it's totally wrong because nowhere does God say he's after your good works he's after your good your church attendance he's after your token prayer he's after you know a cross around your neck or a tattoo somewhere on your body no friends let's let me tell you something God's not after that God's after your heart he's after your life and that comes only through a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ Jesus said these words he says listen the thief would never come to your house except to steal from you to kill you and to destroy you but Jesus said these words he says he has come to your house to your heart to your life why that you would have life that you would have it abundantly so often we think that Abundant Life Is Heaven and hey praise God that's part of it but did you know that God is intimately

interested in your today into the Fulfillment into the purpose into the value of what you're experiencing in this moment that's why it's Emmanuel God With Us today perhaps you're in this place today and you've missed out on that you don't experience that you're you're crying out on the inside and saying God I I need you friends can I tell you something there's good news for you all you have to do is call upon the name of the Lord you shall be saved that's what Paul says in the Book of Romans that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God that we've all made mistakes we've all made decisions that conscientiously or sub consciously that have led us away from the goodness and the closeness of God but friends the answer to the chasm that we feel the answer to the Gap in which experiencing the answer to the hardships in our soul and in our mind is a devotion in a relationship with Jesus Christ not in

religion not in works not in service but in relationship Jesus was speaking to religious people the church in the Book of Revelation and he stands he says to them after he speaks about their condition of their relationship with them he says simply this he says listen I stand at the door and I knock he says if you would open up that door I would come in and we would have he says these words communion see most of us today we think communion that's that ritual that's that's that thing we do at church where you get the grape juice and the bread and no no no communion didn't mean that communion meant relationship meant sitting across the table from each other conversing and dialoguing and growing closer together this is the essence of what God wants in Jesus Christ can can you imagine for just a moment God the creator of the universe the one who puts the stars in the sky put the planets at

just the distance that they are for us to live in this beautiful little blue spot in the midst of of emptiness God wants to know you you but beyond that God wants you to know him to know his thoughts to know his wills to know his desire to know his plans for you like Jeremiah 29 says I got plans for you God says you down he says but if you would just seek me with all of your heart you will find me and today if you're in this place today and you say Pastor I need Joy Pastor if I'm honest in this place I need salvation I I'm missing something I've been living the the liar I've been living the the the the the pattern of good works and Good Deeds but that's just not enough friends can I tell you to sit back and enjoy the joy of Jesus Christ in your life that God wants to give to you today if you're in this place today you've never given your heart you never given your life to Jesus

in a moment I want to give you the opportunity to receive salvation in Jesus Christ it's for you it's an invitation all you have to do is accept it you didn't have to buy it you don't have to earn it you don't deserve it the only thing you can do is simply say yes to it and that is an invitation for you if you're in this place today and at some point in your life you were walking this journey out but come on let's be honest somewhere in those valleys you got deterred you got distracted and now you look up in the journey and you're not there you're there by yourself you're where a place you don't want to be and you can sense that it's time to come home friends can I tell you God's not mad at you he's not out to get you he's not trying to Jud judge you God loves you so much as a matter of fact Romans chapter 5 says that while we were Sinners God wanted to make his love so known for us that He sent Jesus you're in this place today and it's time to come home to Jesus let's

have that you've been looking over your shoulder hoping that you're good with the guy upstairs Paul says in Romans chapter 8 that we have not received the spirit of of Slavery to go back into uh of slavery but rather we've received the spirit of adoption that we could cry out to God as Sons and Daughters father today you don't have to grope about in the darkness hoping that you might find the answer Jesus Christ is the answer he says these words he is the way the truth and the life there is no way to the father except through him friends I love you enough to tell you the truth all roads do not lead to Heaven Jesus is the only way and today if that's you in this place it's time to surrender it's time to accept the joy of the Lord it's time to get this gift of the presence of God in and with you in your life today if that's you I want to pray with you the final moments of the service today I

want to ask you would you just close your D for just a moment just bow your head so not I'm asking you do that not because I'm embarrassed or because this is something that we want to keep a secret because I want to give you a moment right here a moment of intimacy where you can have a moment alone to to to disregard what's happening around you or what somebody might think of you and just to have this time alone with God and simply in your heart and in your soul ask this question God what do you want of me and in that moment and in that time today would you just listen to what God is calling is he beckoning you inv fting you calling you into a relationship of Love Of Life of Hope of Peace of Joy with Jesus then today if that's the case would you respond to your invitation of life in Jesus Christ all across the auditorium here's what I'm doing I'm I'm going to do this I'll I'll go like this I'll count to three I'll go one two and count

three you got a big old wooden stage I'm gonna stom my foot like that three scare you yes it's right count to three when I do if that's you in this place today and I count to three I snap my foot down if that's you I just want you to do something bold I want you to shoot your hand up see what you're doing is you're saying pastor that's me I need to give my life to Jesus Jesus said these words confess him before men he'll confess you before his father deny him before men he'll deny you before his father see what you're doing is you're saying pastor that's me here's what I want to do I want to pray with you it's not an Abracadabra magical statement that's going to get you right with God but it's a Prayer of Salvation to invite Jesus Christ and I want to know today who I'm praying with all across this Auditorium if you're watching as a part of online church and the online community then you can make this decision as well right here right now but if God is calling you today to surrender your heart your life to Jesus Christ would you make that decision today to give your life over to Jesus Christ to find the joy The Hope and the peace in Jesus all across this

auditor from the front to the back don't let anything stop you for making the decision to follow Jesus Christ you ready let's do this all together here we go one two three that's you in this place today slip them up up up up up up up keep them up I got to keep them up yes I see you back there yes I see you back there man it's dark over here yes I see you awesome up up up yes I see you right here wonderful wonderful back there yeah awesome back over there yeah don't be embarrassed don't be ashamed don't be shy some people are holding their hands up like this listen be bold about it God has given you life and he's inviting you into hope and peace in Jesus Christ all over the place today yes wonderful you can put your hands down today you can put your hands down today I want to lead you in prayer I'm going to give you these words listen it's not an Abracadabra statement that's going to get you right with God okay today it's your faith in your heart the Bible tells in the Book of Romans chapter 10 that you believe with your heart confess with your mouth that Jesus

is Lord and raised from the dead you shall be saved that's what we're going to do today so I'm going to give you these words I want you to say them audibly we today need to learn how to pray out loud here's why because sometimes you need to hear what you are confessing to God to build your faith as much as you want God to hear what you're saying and today I want you to do that I'm going to invite everybody in the room today to say this with me would you just repeat these words say father God thank you for Jesus today I accept the invitation of life in Jesus Christ forgive me of my sins and of my regrets and from this day forward I choose to follow Jesus with all of my heart with all of my life I put all of my trust and all of my faith in the death

and resurrection of Jesus Christ for my sin and my salvation and from this day forward I choose to follow the ways of Jesus Christ with all of my heart fill me today with your love with your grace and with the power of your Holy Spirit in Jesus name amen come on somebody can we celebrate that today it's so good this is the joy of God at work in your heart and your life friends I'll tell you today you didn't didn't arrive at your destination you started the journey the Journey of Faith in Jesus Christ and you don't need to Endeavor on that Journey alone alone you don't need to do it by yourself we the church would love to

come alongside of you to be a part of that and we're so honored to do that one of the best things you can possibly do today is to tell somebody about your decision to follow Jesus Christ we've got an amazing group of prayer leaders that would love to pray for you after service we've got connection cards and the seats around you that you can fill out check the little box that says I've committed my life to Christ let us know here's what we' love to do is pray for you follow up with you let you know that we're on your team we are in your corner and we believe here at Journey that The Best Is Yet To Come amen well Hey listen the band's going to lead us out in a chorus of worship and joy so why don't you stand to your feet as we give the joy and the praise to Jesus Christ Journey's been so great hanging out with you today God bless you