Louie Giglio - Savior
I wanna kick off our Christmas season with a story that probably everyone in this room could almost say from memory. «And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you, you find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared».
So, we got an angel, now we got a great company of the heavenly host. «And they appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest.'» Let’s say that together. «They appeared saying, 'Glory to God in the highest. Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.'» They showed us the main meaning of Christmas, which is the glory of God. No other god is gonna send his son into human flesh. No other God is gonna begin a rescue mission for lost rebels. No other God is gonna give His very best for our very worst.
And so, Christmas, this manger, this baby, this sleep in heavenly peace, this is about putting God on display. But right in the story, the very beginning, the first thing we know about Christmas is that there is going to be the possibility of peace. Not peace in the circumstances, but peace in the spirit. And that’s what God is wanting to invite you into in this advent season. Not necessarily a change of all the circumstances, but a change in you. And how do we get peace in the midst of the crazy and the circumstances of our lives? We find that peace by going back 700 years. Say we did that, we just did one little swipe. In the scripture you just turn a few pages back to the prophet Isaiah. But when you do that, you turned back seven centuries. And when you turn back seven centuries you see the prophets saying, «Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign».
So, the angel came and said, «And this will be a sign to you». And the prophet seven centuries before said, «This will be a sign to you». And if I were to say that today that would be encouraging possibly. If I just said something like, «Hey, today God’s gonna give you a sign». Watch out today. I don’t know if it’s gonna be in a friend talking to you, or somebody texts you, or a billboard you pass on the side of the road, or a song that you hear. I don’t know where it’s gonna come, but God’s got a sign for you today. And somehow today, something would happen and you’d be, «I think that might be the sign right there».
But what if I specified the sign? What if I got down to the particulars of the sign? Then the odds would become greater and the prophecy, if fulfilled would be pretty amazing. And that’s what Isaiah is doing. He’s not just saying God’s gonna give you a sign. He says, «Let me tell you about this sign. This sign is gonna involve a virgin. Let me tell you about this sign. This virgin is gonna conceive a child. Let me tell you about this child. This child is going to be born. And let me tell you something else about the child. It’s gonna be a boy. And let me tell you something else about this child. They’re gonna name Him Immanuel, God with us».
Seven hundred years before Jesus is in that manger a prophecy came from God. There is 300 prophesies in the Old Testament about Jesus. Not only that He’s gonna be a boy, gonna be born to a virgin, that His name is gonna be Immanuel, but that He’s gonna be born in Bethlehem. Where He’s gonna live, how He’s gonna live, how He’s gonna die, that someone’s gonna sell Him out for 30 pieces of silver. All these prophesies had been given over time by God and now they’re coming to fruition in this manger. So, what is that saying to you and what is that saying to me? It’s saying, well, the obvious message of Christmas which we’re gonna celebrate is that a Savior has been born.
That is the obvious message of Christmas. And something else about that Savior. He’s not just somebody who gets you to Heaven. He is Lord of all. So, we’re not just wanting to trust Jesus to be our Savior because that’s not an option. He’s Savior and Lord. That means we trust Him for our salvation to make us right with God, but then we yield to Him our lives. We yield our plans. We yield our way, our initiative. We yield to Him our desire to be in charge of us. We yield all of that to Him. And so, footnote in the middle of our message kicking off Advent today, I wanna invite you to trust Jesus 'cause He’s Savior and Lord. It’s time for the world to come alive to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord. You hear all these rumblings. «Is it this end? Is Jesus coming? Is the craziness in our world, are the these the final birth pains? Is the whole thing coming into a close»?
Well, if it is, we gotta get out in the streets and we gotta proclaim, «If Jesus is coming, do you know Him? If Jesus is coming, have you trusted Him? If Jesus is coming, are you saved»? Can’t just be stock piling food. We’re gonna be shining a Savior to the world. And the darker the world comes, the brighter the Savior shines. This is the message of Christmas. It is about a Savior and a Lord. But there’s an overlooked message in Christmas and it is this, that God has plans… that cannot… be stopped… and He’s got plans for you. It is not just that His plans to save the world were on a 700-year timeline from Isaiah’s prophecy into the moment that Jesus was born in that cave. But God’s got plans for you. God created you on purpose and He created you for a purpose.
A few years ago, in 2019 about this time of year, we were on our way to Israel. And just, you know, to the birthplace of the story that we’re talking about today. And just remembering, and it all, this passage in Isaiah which talks about God’s faithfulness. It says, «Remember this and keep it in mind, take it to heart. Remember the former things, those of long ago. I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. And I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'»
This is our God. His plans are gonna come to fruition. And so, we’re on a plane, we’re headed to Israel. And while we’re headed to Israel, another plane is on its way to Israel. This plane has taken off from Lawrenceville, Georgia. And it’s a small jet, which is a gift to us from some people who helped start Passion City church and they’re now involved in this crazy idea that our production team had of opening Passion 2020 at Mercedes-Benz stadium with a flame and lit lantern. The flame being lit in Jerusalem where Jesus was raised from the dead. So, we would go to Jerusalem. We would light a flame nearby where Jesus was raised from the dead. We would bring that flame to Atlanta, Georgia. We would bring it to Mercedes-Benz stadium. And as we gathered to open Passion 2020, this lantern would come into the stadium signifying that Jesus is alive and His light is the light of the world.
Now, that seemed like a pretty good idea, right? But how do you get a fire on a plane? And we don’t have time to come on a boat. And then, I think to myself, «Well, I’m an old guy. And I remembered back in the old, old days of flying, people smoked on planes». Anybody old enough to remember that? And the armrests were ash trays. Imagine that now, you gotta turn your phone on airplane mode now. Back then you just lighting one up and talking to your friend, «How is it going»? «Yeah, alright. Great». «Buckle your seatbelts». «Okay. Got mine buckled». And so, I think to myself, «You can take fire on a plane».
And we figured it out. But to do that, these amazing people have to fly from Lawrenceville, Georgia to Gooseneck, Canada. Gotta refuel. They fly from Gooseneck, Canada to Reykjavik, Iceland. Refuel. Fly from Reykjavik, Iceland to Essex right outside London, England. Fly from there to Sicily, Catania, gotta get my people involved. I’m part Sicilian, it’s free. And then, we took off from Catania and they flew into Tel Aviv. Once they got to Tel Aviv, we went to dinner and the pilots were saying, «This is the greatest miracle we’ve ever seen in our lives». Apparently in Lawrenceville there was a piece of equipment that was necessary for radio transmission on international flights, which this plane had not needed before, which somehow had to get there, get switched in.
A lot of complicated things were going on, and it wasn’t gonna happen and the whole thing was gonna get scrapped. Until the very last second, before weather situation was coming, or some kind of clearance that the plane had to take off at this exact time, and, like, minutes before that happened, the thing got worked out. They take off and all the way across the journey, there are moments like that, and then they leave from Sicily on their way to Tel Aviv. And something about the flight manifest had gotten switched or changed, and they were told in the air, «You’re not gonna land in Tel Aviv, sorry».
And that all got worked out somehow over the next few hours, and the plane lands. And they’re just saying, «This is the biggest miracle we’ve ever been a part of in life. It is crazy that we are here». And I’m like, «Well, it’s about to get crazier, because Cammilo and I are going in a cave over where near Jesus was raised from the dead. And we’re gonna light a lantern and then we’re gonna have a couple backup lanterns. So, we got a whole thing with six lanterns in it lit and they gotta back on your plane». But we worked it out. We had a contact and finally, at the last minute, we got permission to do it from people way up in the system. But when the people got to the airplane with the flames, the person who was the one person that knew that we could take these things on this plane wasn’t at work that day for some personal reason.
So, they’re just like, «No, go. Not happening. Those aren’t going on that plane. I’m sorry. Not gonna work». And then, God just stepped in again and a connection happened, and a miracle happened, and the flames went on the plane. And the plane took off and flew to Athens, Greece. Short stop there. Flew back to London. Flew back to Reykjavik. This time it flew into Teterboro, New York City. The flame went to Times Square, then the flame came to Atlanta, to Lawrenceville, and then the flame came to this building. And then, from that flame that was lit in a cave near where Jesus was raised from the dead, all of the flames for Christmas Eve were lighted.
And then, the young adults of Passion City church took that flame out the door and marched the flame down the streets of Atlanta to Mercedes-Benz stadium, in through the tunnel, out into the middle of the stadium, and the flame was taken up onto a pedestal in the midst of 60,000 people to say, «Jesus is the light of the world». And I’m thinking a few days ago, that right about now in 2019 I’m getting on a plane to go to Israel to be a part of this miraculous journey and then it just comes smashing into my thinking, «What kind of journey do you have to take if you’re the son of God and you’re coming to a manger? How many miracles have to happen? How many connections have to happen? There’s no way that can happens, have to happen. For the Son of God, the creator of the cosmos, to get in a human body and then to get into a teenager’s womb and to journey on earth for nine months in the womb. And then, to be laid down in a trough in Bethlehem. How long does it take to make that journey»?
And when the scripture says Jesus didn’t count quality with God, it’s something to be grasped. But He… you know the word? He emptied Himself. How long does it take the empty oneself of God? God has plans that cannot be stopped. And He’s got plans for you, and He wants you to come to Christmas this year and He wants you to think about the miracle that it is, and He wants you to find in that peace in your spirit. «If you can do that, then I’m gonna trust you and I’m gonna trust your plans for my life». I don’t know if you’ve seen this graph or not. If you’ve seen it, you’ve probably read the caption and kind of understand what it is. But if not, this was the attempt of a, I wanna say computer science genius, but he’s more than that, and a pastor who spent years together trying to visualize the cross references in the Bible.
You say, «Well, what’s a cross reference»? Well, sometimes those little letters down in the footnotes of a page on your scripture that show you that there’s another verse somewhere in the Bible that’s connected in the same thought to this verse. Like, one of those would be Isaiah 7 going over to the Christmas story where they called his name Immanuel. So, there would be a little footnote here saying, «The Immanuel thing appears also over here in scripture». And it gives you confidence, and the continuity, and the unity of the word of God. Well, in scripture, there are 63,779 cross references, and these guys visualized that. So, beginning on the one end over here is Genesis and the little bars are all the chapters of the Bible, not the books of the Bible, but the chapters. And you can see they’re shaded by book. And the short, little bars are short chapters, and the longer ones are longer chapters.
And so, you can tell the longest chapter in the Bible, class, is Psalm 119 which is right there in the middle. And then, all of the arcs are the connecting points colored by how far away they are on the timeline of scripture. And I have just been mesmerized by an overwhelming picture of the plans and the handy work of a God who is weaving together, not only a story, but weaving together lives and weaving together His plans. And I thought, «If God can do that, then surely God has got me». I mean, it would be one thing if there was an author, one human author of the Bible. You would go, «Okay, I see how the cross references work 'cause the author was thinking the whole time, 'I’m gonna bring this back in chapter 9. And I’m gonna bring this back in after this happens. And I’m gonna bring this character back in at this point.'»
But the Bible is written by 40 people over 1,500 years writing on three continents. And you get 63,779 cross references? You can trust this book especially when you realize it did just have one author and His name is the Holy Spirit of God. And through human instruments, He wrote this story. And that’s why it’s woven together because God knows the beginning and the end, from the oldest times to what is still to come. And He says, «My plans will come true, and I will do everything that I please. And what He’s wanting you to know this Advent season is He got», He’s got cross references all over the place in your story happening right now. There are people, there are places, circumstances, situations, that God is working out right now. You can sleep in Heavenly peace. God’s got you.
You’re like, «Well, that sounds great, Louie, but I just got diversions in my story right now. Thank you very much for your beautiful graph and all the sweet encouragement». We have got a, excuse me, death in our story. You could keep going. And maybe somebody’s got distractions, you got a big decision looming, somebody’s gotten dinged by life a little bit, somebody is deflated, somebody is in a desert, somebody is desperate. God is cross-referencing the story right now in this moment. God isn’t gonna give you the plan, never promised you that. He has a plan, but He’s not giving it to you. You’re like, «Well, that sounds very terrible and like a mean, old God». No, that is a loving God. Because there would be no sleeping in Heavenly peace if He gave you the whole plan. The sleeping in Heavenly peace comes from taking hold of His hand. «For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand».
Now, we have a tendency to wanna edit God’s word and so, we’d probably edit this. «For I am the Lord your God who gives you the plan». And He says, «No, I’m not gonna do that. But I will do this, I am willing and would love to take hold of your hand and say to you,» just like the angel is gonna say to the shepherds, «Do not fear». And I would like to assure you, «I will help you». God knows if He gives us the plan, we’re gone. And what He created us for, primarily, is a relationship with Him and so He says, «Take my hand». Can we just get an amen for that today? It’s kinda quiet in the room, but Yahweh… The immortal one is reaching out His hand, and we’re like, «That’s great, but the plan. Could you help me with the plan»? He’s like, «I am holding out my hand. Just take hold of my hand».
You’re like, «But I’m afraid I’m gonna make the wrong decision. And, you know, this talk is all great, but it’s so impractical. I have to let Him know by next Friday. I need the plan by next Friday». «No, you don’t. You need the hand next Friday». You’re like, «Impractical, not helping me». What if God said, «Internship. Grad school. Choose which one you’re really feeling». Gotta be more complicated than that. «Well, the guy I’m supposed to marry is in internship and I go to grad school, and I don’t meet him. Then I have to marry some second-rate dude that wasn’t the guy for me. And this guy is a veterinarian, and I love animals, and we’re supposed to live on a farm. And his family has property in West Virginia. But I married this guy, he has a snow cone stand».
You think a God who’s got 63,779 cross references in scripture is gonna let you mess up your entire purposed story because you choose the internship and not grad school? Here is where the peace comes. It comes, yes, by asking smart people, yes, by making a wise decision, yes, by praying about it and getting in God’s word, and getting good counsel, in all of that. But at the end of the day, I made a decision. And when I made a decision, guess what? I was holding on to the hand of Yahweh. So, my story now is «I don’t know yet if I’m gonna go to the internship or to grad school. I don’t know. But I’ll tell you one thing, wherever I go, I’m gonna be holding the hand of Yahweh when I get there».
And there are a lot of people I’ve watched over my lifetime agonize over the decision, choose the deal, and they got there without the hand of Yahweh. And they’re like, «I think I made the right decision». And I say it doesn’t matter if you made the right decision because you’re not in relationship with Yahweh. So, go to the internship. It doesn’t matter. God’s purpose for your life wasn’t to make the right decision about the internship or grad school, it was to hold the hand of almighty God and say, «I’m gonna take the next step with you. I’m going to walk with you. I’m going to arrive with you. I wanna do the internship with you. I’m going through the grad school program with you».
I don’t need the plan, but I am definitely in need of the hand of Almighty God. And when I take hold of that hand, I find the heavenly peace. And I know that if I simply trust God… if I just right here and now trust God, the rest will come. The rest will come. The heavenly peace will come. God’s got a plan and He’s working on it right now. And He’s gotta hand that He’s extending to you and He’s saying, «Come. Walk with me».