The Wonder Of Christmas Week 1

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Go ahead and take a seat. I hope that you had an amazing Thanksgiving. Hope you ate a bunch of food, had a good time with family. [00:00:11] Speaker A: And can we just start out today with a little. Oh. [00:00:16] Speaker A: Amen. Amen. I just want you to know, man, Heaven just rejoiced yesterday. That's how that, that's exactly how that game should look every year. And Amen. And you know, and let's just sit in it for a minute if we could. [00:00:35] Speaker A: And I think Ryan Day, I think it's okay to say Ryan Day can stay now. Okay, it was iffy, but you can stay now. But let's pray and we'll get to the message today. Father, we love you. We thank you. Lord, we pray that you would speak to us, each of us, as we have need. Father, we pray that you would make yourself known to us and that we could see how great you are in a way that makes us look at life differently. Father, I pray especially for those of us who are overwhelmed and challenged in this season, that we could lean into you in a way that we never have before. And I pray it would build our trust and our confidence and who you are. So bless us today. Make Psalm 46 real to our hearts. And I ask this in Jesus good name, Amen. Well, we are talking today about being overwhelmed. Now, I know that's kind of a tough topic because no one here has ever felt that, you know, no one here is feeling that. But we're talking about how, you know, life by its nature is overwhelming. Life is tough. And God doesn't say that it's not. He says, oh, it is tough, it is difficult. This is part of the nature of life. But he also shows us how to navigate those challenges in better ways. And that's what we're trying to learn how to do. And as I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a story I read years ago. It was about this guy named Dean Carnese, and he set the world record for running three hundred and fifty miles without stopping and sleeping. The only thing he did was like change his socks and shoes. Isn't that crazy? And it took him over 80 hours to do it. Just imagine running for over three days. What is wrong with you that you'd want to do that? We don't have time for that in this sermon. But it's still impressive nonetheless. And when I read the story, the story began where he was like on his first night and he's running through. And while he was running, he ordered a pizza and like a big, like dessert. Because one of the big challenges of something like that is the amount of food that you need, the fuel that you need to sort of keep going. And I was like, you know what? I don't resonate with the. The running side of the story, but I resonate with eating a pizza by myself. I was like, I can get behind that. And if running can. No. [00:03:20] Speaker A: But part of the big challenge of anything like that is not just the effort that it takes to do a really hard thing, but there also has to be a strategy to keep fuel in your system, to keep wind in your sails, to have a recovery and a sustenance plan. And I think in many ways, it's kind of a good metaphor for life, because life is like a grueling race. Life is like a marathon that challenges you and stretches you. And I think so many times we're really focused on putting one foot in front of the other, but we forget that it's also important that we figure out ways to fill our soul, that we figure out ways to recover that. That is actually as important as going through the challenge itself. You with me on this. And a lot of times in life, it's easy just to go and to go and to pour yourself out. But I think part of a relationship with God and part of living life with him is learning to allow him to fill us back up, because you need both of those in this life. And the more that you and I try to live a life that is meaningful, the more it's gonna pour out of you, the more is gonna be required of you. And that makes it even more important that we learn how to recover and refill and draw strength from God. And so that's what we're gonna talk about today. And we're gonna look at, like, one of the most powerful psalms, powerful pieces of scripture in the whole bible. It's Psalm 46. And it's so good. I'm gonna read it all to you this morning. So here's how it goes. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. And then look at this part. Therefore, we will not fear. So, because this is who God is, and this is what we expect to receive from him and experience from Him. Therefore, we will not fear. Though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah. And selah is. It's a word that means to, like, pause, to reflect, to think about what has just been said and kind of let it sink in. He Goes on. There's a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God will help her. When morning dawns, the nations rage, the kingdoms totters. He utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress, Selah. [00:06:26] Speaker A: Come, behold the works of the Lord. How he has brought desolation on the earth. He makes war cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress, Selah. Now, in the psalm, there is a lot of really, really powerful ideas, but I want you to see kind of the overarching idea of this psalm, and here's what it is. It's basically saying that, look, in life, hard things happen in life, crazy things happen in life, things that you don't expect to happen, happen. And it's overwhelming and it's terrifying and it's unsettling. But what the psalm says. But even though that is true, the psalm says the greatness of God and the greatness of the reality that he is with you is greater than the terrors of this world. You with me on this? See, here's what the psalms say. It's not saying that life isn't overwhelming. Say, no, it is overwhelming. But the reality of your God who is with you is so much greater that it outweighs even the most difficult things that we will experience in this life. And what the psalmist is trying to do is he's trying to give us strength and comfort. He said, look, I know there's things that are really tough, that are really heavy, that might even be terrifying. And I know that. But I want you to see that you have a God who is infinitely greater than all of that. And you can lean into his strength, and you can lean into his comfort, and you can lean into his protection. And if you do, then you don't have to surrender to the fear and to the craziness and the difficulty of this life. This is what the psalm is trying to teach us. And so today I want to just talk about that reality, and I want to talk about it in three ways. I just want to talk about what this psalm wants us to feel, what it wants us to know, and what it wants us to do what it wants us to feel, to know and to do. See this psalm? If you look closely, if you got a Bible today and you look at it, this psalm is a song. So it was meant to be sung, you know, and it was meant. It's catchy, and there's poetry and there's artistry in it. The images are really powerful and great songs. What make them great is they evoke emotion, right? Like, you think about your favorite song and it turns on and all of a sudden, like, you're going to a different place, aren't you? You're like, oh, this is so happy, or this is so nostalgic, or it takes you somewhere, it does something in your emotions. And this is meant to evoke emotion in us. And the first thing that it's meant to show us is how crazy life can be. See, it has these two contrasting images. In this Psalm, there are mountains being tossed into the sea, and then the seas just churning around it in chaos. And see, what mountains represent is security, is permanence, is stability. And in the psalm, this security, this stability, this permanence, is gone. It's swallowed up in the sea, which in the Bible, the sea often represents chaos. It represents what you can't control. It represents something that is fearful because you're just at its mercy. It's not at your mercy. And so what the psalmist is showing us that in life, sometimes things that we think we can count on, we go through life, we realize we can't count on them. So I'll say, some things in life you think are never going to change. [00:10:50] Speaker A: End up changing. Sometimes things that you don't think are going to happen, that they happen, and it unsettles us. And that's the reality of life, isn't it? We've all probably been touched by it. At some point. You think, like, this is always going to be here in my life, but it's not all guaranteed. I remember in 2020. [00:11:17] Speaker A: My mom called me and she was just super upset, and my dad had a really bad heart attack. And it was bad. And I remember getting that and hearing it and you know, you know, your family's voices. You can hear things where you're like, oh, this is not good. And I remember just Allie and I were driving the car and we turned around and we went, you know, straight to the hospital where he was at. And I was just, like, thinking in my mind, I'm like, and our family could look really different after it. And thank God, thank God he made it and it was okay. But that's the reality of life, isn't it? And the psalm saying, yeah, like we feel that, we know that, and it's unsettling. But then he has this other image in this psalm and notice how different it is. He says, but there's a city, and in this city there's water, but it's a river whose streams may glad the city of God. And it's a place that is unconquerable. It's a place that can't be moved. The mountains can be moved, but this city can't be moved. And it's a place that is helped. Now what is the psalmist showing us? He's showing us two different ways to live our life. We can live at the mercy of the uncertainty, or we can live from the reality of this place that is tranquil, that is peaceful, that is stable, that cannot be affected by anything. These images are so powerful. And he's saying, look, there's this other place. And what he's showing us is like, isn't that the place we all want to live from? Like, we know life is hard, but we want to be able to go through it with strength and dignity. We know things happen, but we want to be wise and we want to be stable and we want to be faith filled and we want to move in the best ways possible we can forward. And so what the psalmist is showing us, he's showing us these two different approaches and essentially showing us how do we become. [00:13:33] Speaker A: The place where it has that just beautiful, tranquil river going. You know, the water's really clear, some nice round rocks, some trout in there, it's waiting to be caught and cooked. You know, it's just this peaceful, beautiful place. We says, well, the way that we get there is we have to know who our God is. And he says, first, our God is a refuge. See, all of us, we need a safe place in life. Every one of us needs it. I hope every one of us has people in your life that you can pretty much just say anything to them and they won't judge you, they won't like, send you away. But you, you can just be, you can get things off your chest. We all need that. But then we need it at a greater level. We need something in our life that cannot be moved. The mountains can be moved. We need something greater than that. And the psalmist says, God is our refuge. Where do I find my sense of stability? Psalm says, don't find it in the things and people of this world, which is what we tend to do. Right. Well, my stability is my bank account. Well, if it's like mine, it comes and goes real fast and mostly goes. Amen. [00:15:07] Speaker A: Is it. You know, these events are this place. But some say, no, no, all those can be taken away. But there's one thing that can't. It's your God. He is your refuge. Twice in the psalm he says, he is our fortress. Our protection. [00:15:27] Speaker A: Is not the alarms in our house or our car. Our protection is our God. He is our fortress. I was thinking about this week. I had an interesting convo with someone and they were telling me that when they were a kid, they would go to this cabin in Pennsylvania that their dad owned. And they would go with their dad and their uncle. It'd be kind of like a little guys trip. And they would go there. And he said he loved going there. It was just in the Pennsylvania wilderness. It sounded absolutely beautiful, super cool. And he said, you know, I loved going there as a kid. And he said there was a path that went up to this cabin. Said it was a old, old path. In fact, it had these ruts just deep within it. And he said these ruts were actually from, you know, wagons in like the 1800s. And they just like worn this path so deeply. And they were there. And so he always remembers as a kid walking up this path with his dad, with his uncle, and being in this place. And it was just a really, really special place to him. And just this year he had lost someone really, really close to him. So it was just a very hard year. And he said, you know, he hadn't been back to this place in decades. His dad sold it in like the 80s, so it's been a long, long time. Well, he ended up going back there cause he wanted to, I'm sure, experience. [00:16:58] Speaker A: That sense of permanence, that sense of being part of something big. Like, do you have a special place in your life where you're like, I go there and it gives me more. Well, being. Like you have a place where you have like, just beautiful memories around. And if you see it or if you're there, it kind of. It does something in your soul. And he's trying to find that. But he went there and it wasn't like he remembered. And the trail was gone. It had gotten cut through by another trail. Dirt had been moved. And he was like, oh, so bummed out about it. And eventually he kind of found part of it. So that was cool. But I thought that's a good image of what the psalmist is talking about. We want that place of refuge. But it can't be here because that can be taken away. [00:17:56] Speaker A: It can't be in anything we can see. It has to be in something more, more lasting than that. And the psalmist says, your safe spot is God. Your refuge is your relationship with Him. He is the one that. And the only one you can fully trust to protect you in this life. He says, not only that, he is your strength, that not only will he protect us, not only will he bring safety, but he will give us the strength to do with our lives what he wants us to do. Here's what I believe. If you follow God wholeheartedly, you will constantly be in spots that are beyond your strength. [00:18:44] Speaker A: God does not call us to serve him in ways that are in accordance with our own strength. He calls us to serve him in ways that make us reach out and depend on him in more real ways. You with me on this? And that's overwhelming unless we realize that we can draw on him for strength. [00:19:06] Speaker A: This year, in the beginning, I was in Kansas City for a week because I had a seminar. So for school, I sat in a classroom all week long, and we read really boring papers and did all that kind of thing. And it's a painful enough experience. But I drove out there after church. I got there, I stepped out of the car in Kansas City when I finally got there, and I tweaked my back really bad. And now I'm at that age where put on socks wrong. [00:19:44] Speaker A: And you're like, well, what did. People are like, what'd you do? I stepped out of the car. What happened? That's what happened. That was it. I know I'm not proud of it, but that's where I'm at, you know? And I said. And it was really, like, I heard it bad. And so I'm like, out in Kansas City, it's the very beginning of the week. I'm like, what? What am I gonna do? Like, I was hurting. And not only to was I hurting, but, you know, this kind of experience also leads. Like, it's sort of insult to injury. Cause then I'm, like, hobbling around in my class, and people are like, what's wrong? Nothing. I'm fine. Quit talking to me. You know, like, you're just like, well, you're acting and moving really weird. Like, just don't talk to me right now, okay? It's a miserable experience. [00:20:33] Speaker A: And I, like, just made it. I made it through the class. It was terribly uncomfortable. It was horrible. It wasn't fun at all. And I was like, okay. I Made it through that. But then I had a really long drive home. Kansas City to Cleveland is a long way. And for me, when I tweak my back, sitting is the worst thing for it, you know, so I'm like, I'm be sitting in the car. Cause, like, we gotta get. We gotta get, get back. I gotta get back. The car's gotta get back. Like, there. What are my options here? You know? And I. In church, I'm telling you. [00:21:11] Speaker A: I was just like, lord, give me strength. Seriously, I was just in that place of desperation. And by God's grace, I made it. Wasn't pleasant, wasn't fun, but I made it. And here's what I believe. God really shows up in our life. This is not. This is not just something that is intangible. [00:21:40] Speaker A: Like, he will give us the strength that we need for the challenges we face today. Yeah. Is it in you? No. But it will come from him into your life. You with me on this? And the psalmist is like, look, I'm not joking about this. Because then he says he's a very present help in trouble. He's not distant, he's present. He's not unhelpful. He's helpful. See, he is near and he is helpful. And don't you know in life that when you're doing something that is challenging, it makes all the difference in the world to have someone with you that's helpful. Like, it's a game changer. This Thanksgiving, we went down to Columbus for Thanksgiving, and I'm kind of at the place in my life where, as much as is possible, I will avoid road trips of any kind. You know, I love my kids, but they're six, four and two. You know, locking into a car for any extended period of time. If there is any way I can get out of it, I'm gonna go for it. Anybody? Or am I just a loser here? [00:23:01] Speaker A: But, you know, this was our plan. And so. [00:23:05] Speaker A: We got the car packed, and my wife, Allie, she's so great at, like, taking care of them. Like, when we go even just down to Columbus, like, you would think we were going down there for like two weeks. We got bags packed, we're loaded up. It's. I mean, she's thinking about everything, you know, snacks, all this, toys, fun games. In fact, she said the day before, she's like, hey, can we stop at the craft store? I was like, why do we need to go to the craft store? She's like, we need to get feathers and googly eyes. [00:23:43] Speaker A: So that the kids can make you Know those little turkeys, you know, if they get bored at Thanksgiving, I was like, oh, brother, how much is this gonna cost me? You know, you think those craft stores are cheap, but you start adding up one feather at a time, one bead, they get you. They know what they're doing. And so we went there, we got all that stuff, and, you know, sure enough, midday down there, like, they're making, they're doing, crafting, they're doing. But, like, I'm so grateful that she thinks about all that stuff. If this is a road trip with just dad, you may not even get buckled in properly. You know what I'm saying? You're not getting googly eyes and feathers. I can tell you that if you're bored, like, too bad. Amen. Snacks will be whatever sheets has. That's, you know, from the day before. [00:24:39] Speaker A: It's just a different experience. And that's why I don't do them alone. [00:24:47] Speaker A: There is a very present help in our family, and their name is not dad. It's Mom. [00:24:54] Speaker A: And praise God for that. I am so thankful for that. And you know what? It makes it a lot better. And here's what the psalmist is saying, man. You have a God who is truly helpful, who thinks about every detail of your life, church, even what you're not thinking about. He knows, he cares, and he longs to help you. He is not far from you. He is near. And the psalmist says, this is our God. And because of that, when life is overwhelming, we can face it with a sense of confidence in him, a sense of trust in him, a sense of, well, being in him. Don't try and find it anywhere else. Find it in Him. And then the psalm says it. And so here's what we can do. He says, number one, come behold the works of the Lord. In other words, I need to recognize. [00:26:07] Speaker A: What God is doing in my life. I need to remember that one of the things that the Bible talks about again and again is remembering the works of God. As I look at my life and I see God working in powerful ways, that gives me strength and courage for the present challenge that I'm in. But here's what happens, Church. God works powerfully in your life in one season, and then you're onto the next season, and it's like that never happened. We've forgotten. We have, like, a spiritual amnesia. And so then we're like, in this new season and we're all getting wigged out, and God's like, dude, it wasn't that long ago. [00:26:49] Speaker A: That I showed up for you in a real way. Don't forget that. But remember that. Because just like I showed up then, I will show up today. And it builds our faith. And I just want to encourage you as we just kind of round out this year. I can't believe it's December tomorrow. Anyone else? It's crazy. But I want you to take a moment and I want you to think about what God has done in your life this year. Why don't you think about, like, maybe some of the prayers that you prayed and where God answered in clear and powerful ways. I want you to hold on to that. Why don't you think about things that you were worried about that aren't even on your mind today because of what God has done for you. I was thinking just about this. As a church man. God's done a lot of stuff in our church in this last year. At this time last year, we were working on finalizing a deal to sell our South Abbey building. Now, that might not seem like a big deal to you, but I'm telling you, this is a work of God. Because when we were even thinking about selling this building, we talked with someone and they had said, yeah, I'll give you like 60,000 for it. We're like, thanks. That is entirely unhelpful, you know, like, absolutely not. And then, just through the grace of God, there was another church in the area looking. We connected in the most crazy way through, you know, someone walking down a path in a Metro Park. It's unreal. They got ahold of us. They said, yeah, we're interested in buying and said, we're interested in selling. They said, how much? I said, 600,000. Because that's just what we need if we're gonna leave that building. That means we gotta be able to build, and that's what we need. So I said, look, I would give it to you for free. Cause it's ultimately God's, but I can't. And we need a certain amount of money to take the next step as a church. And that's where they're at. And they said, all right, let us think about it. Let us pray about it. And they came back and they said, deal. [00:29:01] Speaker A: And that was this time last year. We did not plan that. We did not. That wasn't like some great, you know, five year strategy that would. That was the grace of God to us. Church. And then after that, you know, it's fun to sell a house, but then you're like, but we need somewhere to live. You know, there's the other Side to it. And so then, like, at the beginning of this year, I was like, man, where are we gonna go where? And we were looking, and things were falling through, and we asked Midview, no joke, several times, can we use. Can we use one of your facilities? Like, we have a lot of Grafton people aren't sure. It's in the same area that we're kind of at. We'd like to stay there. And no joke. Like, several times they said no. And I was like, done. I'm like, okay. They've said no in person. They've said no in email. They've said no over the phone. What do I ask the. Do you need to, like, page me? Can we find a pager and get a no? They've said no every way. And Tina was like, no, I think we should ask. I'm like. [00:30:11] Speaker A: Why should we keep asking? Like. [00:30:14] Speaker A: This doesn't make sense. They've told us no in every way until finally they said yes. [00:30:23] Speaker A: And again, what changed there? What was behind that? Just the grace of God. Yeah. And they also said, and by the way, we're gonna charge you $1 a year. That's gonna be the lease. And I said, I think we can afford that, but do you have a payment plan just in case? [00:30:48] Speaker A: So, so far, we've given 50 cents. [00:30:53] Speaker A: But church, I'm telling you, it just is the grace of God. And then this year, man, we were like, all right, we gotta finalize this design we're working on. We're like, man. [00:31:03] Speaker A: We really want, like, some more classrooms because kids are so important to us. Students are so important to us. And God just showed up again, and we were able to add three more classrooms and an upstairs to the building and church, I just want you to know, man, God is at. At work. In our church, God is at work. And then this summer, we were moving out. It was just, like, this crazy time, a transition. And we did our annual Lakeview baptism. My favorite service of the year. On Lake Erie. Same place that Jesus walked and taught. Just kidding. It was another lake, but they're close enough, you know, And I just love it. And, man, we baptized 27 people. [00:31:48] Speaker A: Yeah. And it was. It was. Yeah, a record for our church. And one day, just baptizing that many, and just. It was just kind of in the middle of this chaos. God was like, man, I'm still at work here. I'm still. And I just want to tell you, church, and there's more I could tell you, but my whole point is God is at work among us. And, yeah, this is. We're in a challenging season. Set up, takedown. We're doing all of this. But at every key point, God has done what only God can do. And at every key point in the future, God will continue to do that for us. And he will glorify his name. And we cannot forget that. And we cannot lose sight of those things. And we need to rehearse them so that our faith can keep building stronger towards what he has us. Come behold the works of the Lord. What has God done for you this year? Don't forget it. Don't just don't minimize it. Don't say, no, no, Sit in it, see it, celebrate it. Let your faith and trust in him grow. And then the psalmist says, and be still and know that I am God. See, I think part of why we feel so alone is. Is because we are never still. [00:33:14] Speaker A: Part of why this psalm, the truth of this psalm sometimes just resides at the surface of our life because we never have a moment in our life to think. A quiet thought. Amen. [00:33:29] Speaker A: My daughter Abby, she's so fun, but the girl's like a bundle of energy. Her body never stops moving. Like she's sitting on a show and she's like, just like, girl, chill out. You know, like, and Allie and I will be like, stop moving your body. Like, I can't, I can't. Dude. What? [00:33:51] Speaker A: I don't know where Ally and I are, like, pretty chill. I don't know where she got that from. I don't know if it's something in our water, but like, girl, you got to be still. But in many ways, aren't we all like that? Maybe not physically, but we're on our phone or we're distracted here. And just to be still is something that you really gotta work to do. [00:34:16] Speaker A: You gotta be intentional about that. It's not gonna happen without really trying to make it happen. You with me on this? And I think that one thing we need to really think about in our world today is a big part of Christianity has been this idea of contemplative Christianity. And what that means is that great men and women of the faith, they understood how important it was and is to break away from the craziness of life and to think about God, to break away from and to just recenter on God. And I think that's something we need to bring into our lives. I just want to encourage you in this season and the holidays and the craziness, to just find a way here and there to try and be still and know he is God, that He is your God and that he is with you. Here's how the Apostle Paul says all this, and I'll leave this with you today. He says, if God is for us, who can be against us? Here's what the psalm is saying. Your God is for you, not cause you're always for him. Not because you always get it right, not because you're always on track and on point, but because of this. Because he did not spare his own son for you, but he gave him up on your behalf. Our God is for us because Jesus Christ died and rose for us. Because in him we live in the strength and protection of our God. In him we live in his favor, in his peace. And today I want you to know and I want you to leave here with the confidence that even if you feel alone, you're not alone. [00:36:14] Speaker A: Even if the mountains are being thrown into the sea. [00:36:20] Speaker A: Your God can lead you through it. He'll be helpful, he'll be protective, he'll be present with you. Let's pray. Father, we love you. [00:36:31] Speaker A: And Lord, we pray that just these ideas would register in the deep, in the real places of our soul today. [00:36:44] Speaker A: Father, I pray especially for. [00:36:47] Speaker A: Any of us, Lord, who are just kind of in just some real overwhelming, some real difficult, maybe even terrifying things. Lord, we pray for a sense of peace that only comes from you. [00:37:03] Speaker A: We pray we could be like that city has that stream that makes glad the city of God. And there could just be. [00:37:12] Speaker A: The stream of the Spirit flowing at the center of our souls, bringing joy and peace. [00:37:20] Speaker A: Well being and goodness in our lives. And Father, we pray we could go out into the challenges and we could meet them with faith. We could meet them with grace. We could meet them with courage. [00:37:35] Speaker A: Father, help us just to see how great you are today and to be strengthened by it. [00:37:42] Speaker A: Help us to feel that in our souls today and to draw near to you. Bless us in all this. In Jesus good name we pray. Amen.