Steven Furtick - Embrace the Change (03/16/2017)
In this Christmas sermon from Luke 2, the preacher highlights how "the time came" for Jesus' birth as a picture of God's unstoppable timing. He urges us to embrace the changes God brings—accepting, obeying, birthing, and believing—because Jesus came to reclaim what was lost and His plan never fails.
Embrace the Change: A Christmas Sermon
And just by singing your gratitude to God, it's one of the most precious gifts that you can give to God this Christmas, is to thank him for all the gifts that he's given to you. And just to take inventory of your life this Christmas and thank him for all the things that he's brought you through and all the promises that he's made you and all of the things that he put up with from you and to look at his love for you and just contrast that with what you deserve. And it should result in praise and thanksgiving and worship and giving glory to God in the highest.
What a wonderful way to spend our Christmas getting prepared just by making room for Jesus Christ in our lives, singing songs together. It's been a very beautiful time in God's presence and I get the privilege now to preach a Christmas sermon to you. And I'm excited to do it. I'm excited to do it. How many of you need a good preaching?
The Simple yet Profound Birth of Jesus
I want to read the scripture from Luke, the Gospel of Luke, where it describes the birth of Jesus. It's interesting because Luke was a doctor and so he knew a lot of details about the human body but when he describes the birth of Jesus, he's relatively straightforward and simple. And I want to give you this scripture as just a couple of verses, maybe familiar, maybe you've never actually read it, but it just describes how Jesus was born.
And I'm reading from Luke chapter 2, verses 4 through 7. It'll be on the screens for you to follow along. The scripture says,
so Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son, and she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.
Again, the greatest event in human history just summed up so simply. It's just like that. And yet I want to call your attention to something in verse 6. It seems simple on the surface, but it says that while they were there, you know, they were going on their way, there was a census being taken, so they had to go to Bethlehem to register. But while they were going about their business, the scripture says the time came for the baby to be born.
When God's Time Arrives in Your Life
And I like that little phrase, "the time came," because to me it's a metaphor for how when God wants to do something in your life, he does it and you may not always feel ready for him to do it, but just like he did it for Mary and Joseph, they didn't have a sonogram. They didn't know the due date. They were just doing their thing, going about their business, and then the scripture says the time came.
And I wanted to let you know that I believe in my heart for a lot of people who have attended this Christmas experience at all of our locations today. I believe the time has come for something great that God wants to do in your life. The time has come. And I just think we ought to make an announcement, you know, that we might not feel totally prepared, and we're never really going to feel totally prepared. And we might not have everything in our lives together, but what I love about God is that when it's time, it's time. And nothing can stop him from doing what he wants to do.
When it's time, it's time. I wish you'd shake somebody next to you and tell them, when it's time, it's time. When it's time, it's time. Come on, it's time for joy and peace and love and grace to first form in your life today. Come on, if you believe it's time for a new beginning, a time for restoration, a time for redemption, come on, make some noise. Let's wake up the wonder of his glory in this place today. Come on, it's time to praise him. It's time to thank him. The time has come.
Come on, come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Shout it out. Come on, love came down at Christmas time. It's time. High five twelve people for the twelve days of Christmas. Come on, tell them it's time. It's time.
The Christmas Story Through the Lens of Change
Thank you, Jesus. Anybody grateful for Jesus Christ? Hey, I wondered, would you help me thank our production teams, our creative teams, our worship teams for this experience that they worked so hard on to help make our Christmas meaningful? Thank you, worship team. Thank you, Brian.
And it's interesting when you preach the Christmas story every year. You can't change the story, but you want to keep it fresh. And so you have to look at it through different lenses. And this year, because we're finishing a series called Times and Seasons, how things change in our lives, I thought we would look at the Christmas story through the lens of change. And I want to call this sermon today, Embrace the Change.
If you want to write a little title down where you can take some notes while I preach, that might be helpful. And you can just write down, Embrace the change. Do me a favor, while you're getting settled in, a little interaction. I want you to turn to the person next to you and finish this sentence. And you can finish it any way you want to. You can lie to them. Tell them the truth. It doesn't matter to me. If I could change one thing about myself, it would be... And then you're just going to fill in the sentence.
Now, notice I didn't say, if I could change one thing about you, because we're into building families, amen, and marriages, not tearing them apart. But if I could change one thing about myself, it would be... And just go ahead and pick somebody next to you, whoever looks the friendliest, and tell them... If I could change one thing about myself, it would be... Go ahead. I'll give you about 30 seconds. At all of our locations, do it.
Change Comes in Many Forms
The Christmas story is about nothing if not about change. And all change is not created equal. Some changes are voluntary and initiated by us. I love preaching at Christmas time because we're at that time of year where we're too busy to think about much other than just surviving, but we're on the cusp of making goals and resolutions and changes we want to make. And so while I've got the opportunity to speak about change, I think it's a fitting time of the year to do it.
But let's just acknowledge that all change is not created equal. There are some changes that you get to choose and some changes that you don't get a vote on. And I've always thought it would be much easier to embrace change if it would announce its arrival well in advance and let me get ready for it. But I also think it would be easier to embrace changing seasons if the seasons came one at a time.
But as many of you know who grew up in the South like I did, in the South, you can experience all four seasons in the same day. You may wake up and be scraping ice off your windshield. And then by lunchtime, you might walk out, hello, it's 72 degrees. You want to rock a tank top to Chili's because it can all change in one day.
Multiple Seasons at Once in Life
And so we have seasons of our life that don't come chronologically or predictably. Are you good at embracing change? I would be, again, if it was a little bit more easy to prepare for. I'm a planner. And so when we think about change, we've got to understand that not only are all of us in different seasons of our life in this room, but all of us are experiencing several seasons at the same time in each of our lives.
It may be a time of blessing and increase at work for you, but you're going through hell at home. And nobody even knows it because you hide it at work. You could be going through a season of great blessing in your friendships, but be struggling in your family relationships. You might be blessed in your marriage, but yet you're going to the nursing home after work every day to sit by somebody who's dying who gave you birth.
Because we don't just experience seasons cyclically. We experience several seasons at the same time. And I want to speak a little bit today about embracing the change, all kinds of change. You know, there's different categories of change. I'm going to put a few on the screen.
There's, of course, good change and bad change. All right. There is also change that seems to be bad change when you're going through it. But when you look back on it afterwards, you see that it was some of the most valuable experience that life could ever give you. And it seemed grueling at the time, but it turned out to be a gift in the end. And then there's some change that's just good all around.
Examples of Good Change We All Remember
Like, how many of you... I'm going to play a sound for you. I want to see how many of you remember this sound. If you've ever heard this sound, if you know what it is, I want you to raise your hand. It's kind of like, name that tune. Play the sound. I lost all the students. Come on, keep them up if you know that sound. That's what we used to have to do to get on the Internet. That's called a dial-up modem. That's what it is.
And you used to have to check with mom. Mom, can I have the phone line for 30 minutes? It's going to be a busy signal when people come on. Don't you remember the free AOL 40 hours CD that came in the mail? I just want to know, did anybody have a screen name on instant messenger back in the day? What was your screen name? Can you say it in church? How many agree that Wi-Fi is a good change? Yes, sir. If you live through it, you know. Good change and bad change.
Then there's big change and small change. Big change and small change. Then there are small changes that make a big difference. Yeah? Like when I texted my brother the other day and what I meant to say was keep me posted. But there's a thing on your phone called autocorrect and sometimes it'll make a little change. Just a few letters. And apparently autocorrect wanted to change keep me posted to keep menopause.
I'm going to tell you something. That could have gone to the wrong person. It's a small change. Not menopause. Menopause is a big change. I'm going to back out of this whole illustration right now. But the point is there's big change.
The Changes Joseph and Mary Embraced
Let's go to the next one. There's permanent change. There's temporary change. Right? There's some change that needs to be made right now. And there's some change that we put off to one day. Someday. When I get around to it. There's hard change and there's easy change. Having a baby. Which is kind of what the Christmas story centers around.
Now, hard change or easy change? It kind of depends on what part of the process you're talking about or which partner you are in the process. A man talks about, we're having a baby. You ain't doing nothing but being in charge of the ice chips, dude. So don't look so proud of yourself. Your part was easy. Your part was easy. But if you're talking about delivery or raising those puppies, you know, that's a little harder. I'm just talking about change.
And I've noticed about change that most of us are much more excited about changing our situations than we are about changing ourselves. Okay. And so we get all caught up in stuff we want to change around us. But the greatest change that God wants to make in our lives as this year ends is a change within us. And that's the change of Christmas.
I want to cycle back in time a little bit before Jesus was born and read you very briefly what the angel said to both Joseph and Mary to announce to them that a change was coming. Can you imagine the change for these two teenagers raising the son of God, giving birth to the hope of the world, a change that they did not choose, but a change that would change everything and everyone for all time.
Joseph: Accept and Obey the Unexpected
And I want to use the changes that Joseph and Mary had to make or the changes that they had to embrace to get you to think about four changes that God may want to make in your life this Christmas. Four changes that God may want to make in your heart and in your thoughts this Christmas. And we're going to begin with Joseph. Joseph is a pretty underrated character, I think. Let's hear it for Joseph, men. Can we hear it for Joseph? Come on, Joseph.
Joseph was the one who had to explain to all of his friends, my girlfriend is pregnant, but God got her pregnant. Joseph, you didn't let her do you like that, man? No, see, what happened was it was an angel. Joseph had to embrace the change. Let's look at it.
Matthew chapter 1, verse 18 says,
this is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. But before they came together, that's not how you're supposed to do it. But before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
And you know, everybody in the family was thinking, yeah, right. Yeah, it's God's baby. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, watch this. Verse 19 says, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him.
And see, for God to change your life, first he has to change your mind. Because Joseph had a certain way he was thinking about his situation. This is what I'm going to do, and this is how it's going to be, and this is what it means. But he saw and heard from a messenger from God.
Mary: Believe, Birth, and Push Through
And it says that the angel spoke to him in a dream, verse 20, part B, and said, Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. And so, in other words, there's something that Joseph had to accept. And I wonder if there's something that God wants you to accept this Christmas, to accept something that you don't understand, to accept something that you can't control.
I think one of the hardest changes in the world is to change your mind about something that you cannot change. I think it's easier to make changes that we orchestrate and that we're in charge of than it is to accept changes that we didn't get a vote on. And so, Joseph had to accept what God allowed.
I wonder, does God want you to accept something this Christmas season? To accept a certain challenge that you're facing that doesn't seem fair. To accept a phase of your life that you're in that is more challenging than you expected. To accept, perhaps, a limitation in your life that isn't going to go away. To accept a disability that other people don't have to deal with, but you do. To accept an empty seat at the table where somebody that you love is gone and they'll never be back.
And it's very difficult to accept the change when you don't get to affect the change. One of the hardest things in the world is to accept what God allows, but sometimes you've got to look at your situation and say, you know what? It is what it is. I didn't ask for this, but I can change this. So I'm accepting what God allowed, even though he didn't ask me what he thought, what I thought about what he was going to do. He knows what he's doing.
And God, this Christmas, I'm going to accept what you have allowed in my life. I'm going to believe that your hand is working in all things, even the things you didn't cause. I'm going to accept them as a part of my journey at this place in my life.
He had to accept something. But then he not only had to accept something, he had to obey something. Because it's one thing for the angel to say, hey, Joseph, don't be afraid. But now Joseph has to make the decision to stand by his wife and to follow through with this plan.
Look at verse 21. The angel goes on. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.
I'm so glad God is above us, but I'm glad that he's also with us, and only God could be in two places at the same time, to be above us so he can control what concerns us, but to be with us so that he can comfort us in whatever we're going through. That's not my message, but it's good. I'll preach that next Christmas.
And verse 24 says, when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Ridicule and all, shame and all, questions and all.
I wonder, is God calling you, Joseph, this Christmas to obey something that you don't understand? I wonder, is he calling you to give up something that's hurting you? I wonder, is he calling you to pick up something that you put down somewhere along the line because you got tired? I wonder, is God calling you to offer an apology to someone. I wonder, is God calling you in your heart to reconcile something that has been making you bitter for four years now? I wonder, is he calling you to act on what he has spoken?
The good news about God is you don't have to understand fully to obey immediately. You don't have to know where it's going to end up. All you have to do is what Joseph did to look back at what God is saying to you and say, let's do this. Let's do this. Come on. Somebody say, let's do this. God, I don't know where this is going. I don't know what exactly you're purposing, but let's do this. I'm going to follow through with what you started in my life. I believe you know everything. I believe you can do all things. Let's do this. Let's obey what God is speaking. Let's not make ourselves miserable by ignoring his voice.
Hey, often what seems to be an interruption turns out to be the greatest invitation to experience God in the greatest way in your life. Let's do this. Come on, one more time. Let's hear it for Joseph. To accept and obey.
But we all know that Joseph's ankles didn't swell. We all know that Joseph's belly didn't grow. The real hero is Mary in the story. I love Mary. The angel comes up to her, and Mary's very honest. We get a little insight into her humanity here in Luke 1, verse 28.
Scripture says,
The angel came to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord was with you.
Check this out. Mary was greatly troubled at his words. Usually you would think if an angel showed up and said, Greetings, you're highly favored. You will be happy. I mean, this is probably good news. God's about to put you on one of those wedding shows on cable television. Go pay for your cake and your dress and everything.But Mary knew that when God shows up in your life, he's often going to change something that's very uncomfortable for you. So she was troubled at his words. But the angel, verse 30, said to her, Don't be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God.
Listen to verse 31. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. Mary, you have to birth something. Joseph had to accept something, obey something. Mary had to birth something.
I wonder, is there something God wants to birth in your life this Christmas season? Something inside of you that's starting to kick and is just about ready to come out. Something you forgot about. Something you can't see. A dream God gave you. A vision God put inside of you. A calling that he placed on your life.
Maybe there's a ministry God put inside of you that you're going to have to others. Maybe there's a ministry you're going to have to others out of the bad things that happened to you. Maybe there's something inside of you that's so small right now. Just a gift, or a talent, or an ability, or an idea, or a business, or a concept, or just a new habit that God wants to birth in your life or in your family.
You know what? This might just be the Christmas that you decide to push and give birth to something that God himself planted inside of you. That's a good message for Christmas. It's time to push.
See, we think if God does something in our lives, it's just going to happen. No. The Christmas story says God will put it inside of you, but when it comes time to give birth, you've got to push. It's time for you to push this Christmas. It's time for you to push through confusion. It's time for you to push through abuse. It's time for you to push through addiction. Come on.
There's a change God wants to make. There's a new beginning God wants to birth, and it's time for you to push. Give somebody a high-five and say it's time to push. Come on. It's time to push. It's time to push.
Sound effects and everything. Come on. It's time for you to give birth to what God created you for. Oh, I'm excited. I know you're not married. You're not going to give birth to the only begotten Son of God, the one who underbehave with glory, full of grace, and truth, but there is a God inside of you. The Holy Spirit is inside of you, and if God is inside of you, he's got to come out, and if he put a vision inside of you, it's got to come out, and if he put a dream inside of you, I don't care if it's born in a barn. It don't matter how you start, and it doesn't matter what people think. It's got to come out.
I feel like I'm about to have a baby up here. Do I look like I'm pregnant? I think you should touch the person next to you and tell them you're starting to show.
But it comes down to this. It comes down to this. It begins with something God is calling you to believe. If you're going to birth it and obey it and accept it, first you must believe it. Amen.
Mary saw the angel. She heard the greeting. Look at this, verse 34. She still had a question. How will this be since I am a virgin? There are some of you here this Christmas, and you want to believe that God wants to do something in your life that you could have a relationship with him, but it's hard for you to believe because of who you are and what you've done.
And maybe this Christmas, the change God wants to make inside of you begins with something you believe. You see, the angel said to Mary, you don't need to worry about how it's going to happen. When you know who is speaking to you, listen to this. The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. It's not about you. It's about the God who has chosen you.
And see, maybe you just need to believe this Christmas that God could love someone like you. It's great to say God so loved the world that he gave his only son, but until you make that personal, he loves me. Just like I am. With every hang-up, with every misgiving, with all my doubt, I'm going to choose this Christmas to believe what I can't see. I can't see it. But I believe it.
And maybe God is calling you simply to believe this Christmas that he exists, even though you can't see him. And you can't always feel him. And you never heard his audible voice, but he's been there your whole life. And it's time to believe.
Maybe he's calling you to believe that yes, even after all of the sex that you've had, and yes, even after all the relationships you've ruined. And yes, even after all of the opportunities that you've lost. And yes, even after everything you've And yes, even after all the things you think in your mind on a daily basis, that he invites you to come just like you are. Believe, believe, believe, birth, obey, accept.
Purpose, Promise, and the Unfailing Plan of God
I wonder what change God wants to make in your life this Christmas. Jesus, you should know that all change creates pain. All the moms in the house could say amen right here if they would, that all change, when you're bringing something forth, it's painful.
But what I learned from the Christmas story is that you can embrace the change even through the pain when you know the purpose, especially for a man. It's hard for us to go through pain when we don't see a purpose to it. Maybe that's why the angel spoke to Joseph in Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21, because God knows how men are.
And he said, Joseph, it's going to be difficult. I know you don't understand. I know you can't see clearly, but there's a purpose to this. See, Mary's going to give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. This is why. Because he will save his people from their sins. See, there's a purpose in this. There's a purpose.
A couple days ago, my oldest son, Elijah, he came into the room where I was exercising, and he said he wanted to exercise with me, and he has never said that before. I tried to get him in there with me before. I just thought it would be fun to get him to do some workouts and stuff, and he'll do it, but he complains the whole time, and I kick him out.
But this time, he volunteered, and he used to call it exercise. I thought that was so funny back when he used to say that as a little boy, but now he's eight. And he said, Daddy, I want to train with you. And I said, Boy, you've never asked me before a day in your life to train. Why do you want to train now? And he said, Because I've got to get the belt back.
See, when my boys a couple years ago started getting into a little bit of violence, I decided that organized violence is better than chaotic violence, so I went to Toys R Us and bought one of those WWF belts. Y'all don't know nothing about Ultimate Warrior, but I got a WWF belt. And we started having MMA matches at the house on the trampoline, which is the octagon with the boys, and we fight for the belt, but I always let them win.
Now, I will inflict a lot of pain, because I don't want them to think that victory is easy as they go through life, but I do always let them win in the end. And so Elijah has always been the champion, but he messed around and fought this kid in the neighborhood named Trevor, and Trevor beat him and took his belt.
So now he's standing at the door where I'm working out saying, Daddy, I want to train, because I've got to reclaim something that I've lost. I've got to get my belt back. I think you see where I'm going with this already.
See, when you realize that you've lost something that God wants you to get back, all of a sudden now I can embrace the pain of what I'm going through, because I've got to get something back that belongs to me.
The Scripture says you'll name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. In other words, he came to get back what rightfully belonged to him. And I believe there's somebody here today, you're about to get your joy back. You're about to get your sense of peace back. You're about to get your mind back. You've got to get your children back. Yeah, it might hurt a little bit, might be uncomfortable, but you've got to get that belt back. Get it back. Come on, get it back. Get it back. Reclaim it. Jesus died to give it to you. Get it back. Purpose in the pain.
Okay, Joseph needed a purpose, right? And Mary needed a promise. How can this be, since I'm a virgin? And the angel said, Don't worry about it. Here's why. Look at verse 37. This is one of the best verses I've ever read in my life. If this doesn't light your tree, your bulbs are blown. You like that? Check it out.
The angel said, I hear you, Mary, your objections and your reasons and your concerns, but I want you to know that no word from God will ever fail, ever, ever, ever. Y'all hear me? See, you can embrace any change that life brings your way when you're rooted in something that never will change.
Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. How do I push through the pain and embrace the change? Because I'm rooted in the one who will never change. I'm trying to say that the leaves may fall off the tree, but if you're rooted in Jesus Christ, you can embrace any change that the world brings your way.
Guess what? I can embrace the change because I have a God who does not change and cannot fail. Somebody ought to shout, you've got an evergreen God, ever rooted in the soil of his love. Your life will bear fruit. Shout it out loud. Say, I got a promise. I got a promise. He'll never change. He'll never leave me. He's always with me. He proved it to me.
You want to know how he proved his love for you forever and ever? Not by being born in a manger. That was awesome. But the same one who was born in a manger after he had lived 33 perfect, sinless years, the one who was laid in a manger in Luke chapter 2, look what the Scripture says about him in John 19, carrying his own cross.
I love the contrast. He was born so helpless that they had to lay him in a manger. But he was so strong as our Savior that he carried his own cross. He was born with his back on the wood of the manger, and he died with his back on a tree called the cross, suffering for your sins.
You don't think he loves you? You don't think he has a plan for you? You don't think he's got you in this season? You're scared of the change? Don't be scared of the change. Embrace the change by clinging to the cross.
See, the cross proves that once and for all he's settled his thoughts toward me, they are perfect and kind. I cling to the cross because the cross showed me that he had a plan before time ever began. He had a plan to redeem me before I ever blew it. He had a plan to bring me back before I ever wandered away.
When the change of life comes to me, I cling to the cross because he has a plan. Tell your neighbor he has a plan. He has a plan. He has a plan.
But check this out. Not only does he show us the purpose, and not only did he make us a promise, and not only does he give us a promise and a purpose and a plan, but his plan always prevails.
You know how I know? Because when he was born, they wrapped him in linen and laid him in a manger. But after he died and rose from the grave, John chapter 20 says that when Peter got to the tomb, he saw the strips of linen lying there.
I'm happy about it because when he was a baby, they had to wrap him up with strips of linen. But after he rose, he took his own linen off and rolled his own stone away. Why? Because no word from God will ever fail. His plan always prevails. Always. Always.
The Greatest Change: Christ Born in Your Heart
So he wants to change you this Christmas. He wants to change you. He wants to change you. He wants to change you from the inside out. As one author said, he loves you just like you are, but he loves you way too much to leave you that way. He wants to change you.
The greatest change that God ever makes in our lives is when Christ is born in our heart, God is born in our heart. When someone who is far away from God…. I don't think there's just one category of people who are far away from God either. There are people who live really good moral lives who are far away from God. There are people who grew up in church who are far away from God. The offer stands for all of us. Whosoever will can come and be changed. A new creation.
Why wouldn't you let God change your life, your heart, your destiny this Christmas? Remember those categories of change we talked about? When God changes your life, I want to ask you a question.
Is it a good change or a bad change? I know there have been a lot of different views of God that religion has perpetrated through the years, but I want you to know that your God is a good God. I want you to know that letting God into your life isn't something you need to fear. I want you to know that God doesn't hate you. He's not mad at you. He made you, and he knows you by name, and he loves you, and he has a plan and a purpose and a promise for your life.
Is it a big change or a small change? It's big, baby. It's big. He doesn't just want a guest room in the house. He wants run of the whole thing. Some of us have tried to make God an add-on in our lives, but God is not a little something to wash life down with. He's the whole meal. He's everything. He's the centerpiece.
Is it a permanent change or a temporary change? Some people think they have to give their life to God every time they think something bad or do something bad, but I want to let you know that once you place your faith in Christ, nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing, nothing.
Is it a right now change or a someday change? We're not promised tomorrow. You don't know when you'll get this chance again. You don't know when God will be speaking to you like this again. You don't know. It's an urgent thing to come to God. Immediate obedience.
But here's where I think we miss it. Is it a hard change or an easy change? Religion makes it incredibly hard to get to God. Christmas teaches us that God has already come to us. Amen.
And you know what? If you try to make the change to come to God, if you try to make the change to get your life together, it'll always be hard. And you'll always fall short. And you'll never measure up. And that's the way every religion works. And that's what some of you have thought about Christianity too.
But I want you to know that it's an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to change you. He's not intimidated by your dysfunction. He's not intimidated by your past. He's not so repulsed by who you are. He comes to you with arms of love, arms of acceptance, and he's already paid the price for you to be changed.
Maybe this time instead of you trying to make the change, you need to just embrace it. Maybe instead of you just trying to be a better person, you need to receive the grace of God like only he can give through Jesus. How he came down, lived the life you couldn't live, died the death you should have died, and now wants to be born in your heart through the power of the resurrection.
Invitation to Receive God's Change Today
At all of our locations, would you bow your head and close your eyes? No one moving. Campus pastors, you may take the stage. I'm going to give you an invitation now, and I'll lead you in a prayer. There's nothing magical about the prayer, but it's an expression of faith.
Today, if while I was preaching you were saying, yes, I'm far away from God, and I want to come, and I want him to change me, and you're ready to receive that free gift of grace this Christmas. Begin again. Then I want you to pray this prayer out loud with me. You can repeat it after me. I'll guide you in it.
We're actually all going to pray it out loud, all of us as a family, so that nobody feels alone or embarrassed. We'll do this together for the benefit of those who are either giving their lives to God for the first time, or maybe it's a sort of coming back. It doesn't matter. God sees you. He knows you, and he'll work with whatever you have to bring it.
So let's pray together now. I want you to mean it in your heart. If you pray this prayer after me.
Heavenly Father, I receive the change that you're bringing into my life today. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I believe that he died on a cross for me to be forgiven. I believe he rose from the grave for me to have life. I ask you to change me. I turn from my sin. I give you my heart. Make me a brand new person in Jesus' name.
If you look this way, please, at all of our locations. If you just prayed that prayer with me, in a moment I'm going to count to three. When I do, if you just prayed that with me to come to God, to bring your life back to God again this Christmas, when I say three, I want you to stand on your feet.
It may feel a little bit awkward for you because you may be new here or there may be people with you that you don't want to explain yourself to, but let me assure you it's very important that you solidify the change that God made. You can't be ashamed of Jesus. You can't be ashamed to stand for him.
We want to take a moment just to let the world know and to let the devil know that you've been reclaimed for the kingdom of God and that from this day forward, everything changes. There will always be this little voice in the back of your head saying, God knows your heart. You don't need to stand up. Don't worry about it.
I'm getting you to think about the next thing. But there's something special that happens when you obey God immediately, what he's speaking to you. So when I say three, only those who are praying with me today and you say, that was me. I asked God to change me by the power of Jesus Christ today. I'm a new creation now. I'm declaring it and I want God in the world to see and I'm not ashamed.
If that's you, when I say three, I want you to stand. We have some people who just want to give you a gift to welcome you into the family of God, to welcome you back to the family of God. This is not about joining a church. This is about standing for Jesus.
And if this Christmas you're giving him your life, let's stand boldly and celebrate with all of heaven on the count of three at all of our locations, please stand. All of you who just prayed, one, two, three. Stand now. Stand now. Stay standing. Come on. Don't be afraid of the change God brings.
That's awesome. Praise God for you, son. Praise God for you, guys. Praise God for you. Praise God for you. You'll never regret it. I'm proud of you, guys. I'm proud of you, guys. Praise God for you, man. Praise God for you, guys, at all of our locations. Thank God for your obedience.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Come on. The angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents. We want to rejoice this Christmas. Come on. Our teams are coming. People standing everywhere, on every location. Glory to God in the highest. Peace in your heart. Peace to you. Joy to you. A new begin. Brand new lives, forever changed by the presence of God.