Heaven Came Down - Pastor Kyle Self

[00:00:00] Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold Coast Podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message. [00:00:06] Father, we just thank you this morning. Come on, somebody give the Lord a hand clap of praise. Father, we give you thanks this morning just for what you're doing in and around our lives the joy of being able to celebrate in this holiday season. Lord, as we pray for families around the Gold coast, as we pray for families around the world, we ask this morning, Lord God, that you just bring peace. Lord, a lot of people are thinking about how am I going to afford Christmas? What's my New Year's resolution? Father, my resolve is the same. I know that you are the God of yesterday, today and forever. And this holiday season, as I celebrate your birth of your son, I want to be reminded of what it means to have God with us. God for us, be reminded of who Jesus is. And as everyone is searching for something new, something entertaining, something extravagant. Lord, I've for a long time now stopped looking for the consumerism of Christianity. Lord, I've started looking at who Jesus Christ is in our lives. I've started looking at what your word says. And as everybody is trying to preach something new and do something new in this holiday season to attract something new. You're the same yesterday, today and forever. And there's nothing new under the sun. I believe, God, that I just need to be consistent in your presence. I need to just accept your joy for my life. It's in Jesus name we pray and we all say amen. [00:02:21] Amen. [00:02:22] Come on, somebody give the Lord a hand clap of praise this morning. [00:02:27] Amen. [00:02:30] Amen. Well, we're starting a new series today. I think I ran everybody off for the last series. I don't know. I'm kidding. The last series about. If you want to hear it on podcast. No, we've had a few people. This is our holiday season. We've had a few people start traveling, but that's irrelevant. We're here. Amen. You're here. We're blessed. You blessed. Amen. And so if you want to listen to the last three messages, the reality of guilt and overcoming shame, trapped. If you want to listen to overcoming offense, I mean, I'm telling you what, this last message, the reason I ended the series, trapped, because I just said, God, where can we go from here? You know, what else can we do or say? [00:03:22] Amen. [00:03:23] So as we're all settling in and getting ready to receive the message this morning, you're saying hi and hallelujah. Take about two minutes right now. If you could get it out of your system and just say hello to everybody. [00:03:35] Amen. [00:03:37] Move around, greet somebody new. You know, I had some conversations with people yesterday, and it was great, man. I remember leaving New York, the New York church, and it was about 5,000 seats. And I remember Christmas in New York with 5,000 seats. And the reason I say 5,000 seats, because I can barely remember anybody's name. I remember I was at Georgia at our main campus, and 8,500 seats, and I'd walk in there and everybody know my name. And I was just like, I don't know who you are. It's scary. I was talking to somebody yesterday about what I wanted church to look like in this holiday season and what I wanted church to look like for the next 10 years. I really think if I don't know your name, we're not going to church together. You know what I mean? Like, it's just like, if I don't know your name, it's like we're not really a community. We're just. We're in a fellowship club, you know? And I think Jesus. And I'm not sitting here bashing big church. One day we will have a big building. We will have all those bells and whistles. I am actually saying that when we get there, can we remain the church? [00:04:50] Amen. [00:04:52] And God gave us such a great gift, which is his son Jesus, that he changed someone like me. I mean, a gang member, a drug dealer, a gun runner. I can barely remember what I used to be. Now I really. I really. Hey, man, that's good, right? And I would have never wore peach, you know, like. Yeah, you know, after all the clothes. Thank you again. I finally made it shopping after a while, after all the clothes that I was. That I bought, that my wife picked out for me, I won one small win. I still bought a black shirt. But let's get to the message, shall we? I mean, this season, the reason we're in church, the reason I love coming to church, I mean, come on, man. Like, Easter and Christmas is like our Super Bowl. You know what I mean? It's like, it's the most exciting time to be in church because we get to be reminded of what's been given to us. We get to be reminded of our salvation. Like, some of us has forgotten that we're even saved, man. It's like we're just Christians. We're just going through the motions. But you were not once as good as you are. And church can become routine. Church can be like going to the gym. Church can be Something so simple. But for me, church is a lifestyle, because when heaven came down, when I got saved, it was like three acres of heaven hit my soul. You know, I was just like, I never felt something so good in my life. And then when I got baptized in the Holy Spirit and I got this dynamo's power on the inside and the Holy Spirit infused in my body, I realized that I had a part of the Trinity in my body. I was like, wow, I don't understand how I'm not blowing apart right now. I was so just excited. And then I remembered being so on fire for Jesus and people saying, you know, one day that'll die out. Thank God the fire never died. [00:07:03] Amen. [00:07:04] I might have got a little bit more mature. I might dress different, have a little bit more gray hairs. But the fire never went out because heaven came down. And I want to just talk about the joy in these next few Sundays, about Christmas, you know, like, it is Christ amongst us. You understand what I'm saying? But I wanted to start with something totally off a Christmas topic. When we come to church and we don't feel anything, anybody know what I'm talking about? You ever come to church? Like, I'm just not feeling what they're feeling. You ever come there? I want you to think of, like, your life like a bank account, a spiritual bank account. And whatever you are depositing is what you're going to withdraw from. And so if I'm depositing joy into my bank account, Isaiah says, I will withdraw from the wells of my salvation with joy. Now, I'm not here to condemn you. I feel this way sometimes in church as a pastor. I come in and I'm like, yeah, everybody's spooky, pookie, flippy, floppy. I'm not feeling a thing, you know? And I'm thinking, either this ain't the spirit of God, or I'm just broke. Anybody know what I'm talking about? It's because my joy deposit is off and I got nothing to withdraw from. I'm leaning on Tina to make me happy, and really, I'm responsible for that. I'm leaning on others to acknowledge me and appreciate me when really I should be realized that I am appreciated and approved by Jesus. [00:08:47] Amen. [00:08:49] So my personal deposits weekly will determine my celebration on Sunday. [00:08:55] Amen. [00:08:57] So as we enter into this holiday season, what are we depositing? Like? I went to World Changers. It was nice. It was good. That pastor, he preached really well. Thank you for that. But I don't get up here to entertain you. I'm not the dancing monkey. [00:09:14] Amen. [00:09:15] One of the things we have to look at is what are you coming to withdrawal from? What are you coming to have a deposit for? No matter what's going on in your life, God is the God of the turnaround. Because he loved you so much, he sent his son to die for you. [00:09:31] Amen. [00:09:33] There is nothing that God won't do to help you through your current moment in this season. [00:09:41] Amen. [00:09:42] So I really began to think about as I love hearing the kids upstairs stomping around. It's just amazing. I really do. It's life in our church. [00:09:50] Amen. [00:09:50] That's the future. Isaiah 7:14 says, Therefore. And if you don't have your Bibles, open up the Bible app and youversion, we're not going to put them up today. We've givin our media team a break. So if you got your Bible apps or your Bible, look at you go, to Isaiah 7:14. You can pick whatever version you like. I'm going to be reading my version. In Isaiah 7:14, it says, Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Wow. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. When everybody's looking for a sign in this season, when everybody's looking for a sign that God's with me, the first sign that you've got that you should be looking for in all these signs and miracles is Jesus. You understand what I'm saying? If you're looking for an encounter of any kind, you should be thinking about Jesus. Because I can have a crowd encounter. [00:10:58] Amen. [00:11:00] I can come in here and I can experience what the crowd's experiencing. I can come in here and I can experience what my neighbors experience. But I want to have a personal encounter with Jesus. And for me, that means I've got to stop thinking about what I'm cooking this evening. I got to stop thinking about last night. I've even got to stop thinking about the original intention of why I came here. I've actually got to start thinking of Jesus and Jesus only. [00:11:24] Amen. [00:11:25] Because Jesus died for me. And it says that his name shall be called Emmanuel. So when you look at this in history, the prophecy wasn't just words for ancient Israel. For us, it's kind of like words. Yep. Jesus came. He was born. He's my savior. For us, it's not as significant, right? But for ancient Israel, the message reverberates throughout the ages, and it touches our lives today. Because for ancient Israel, they did not have A savior like we have, they were waiting on a Messiah. We feel like we found a Messiah, but the reality is he found us. And our job now is to look for him every day in our lives, in our conversations, in our hearts, in our minds and our thoughts, and say, you know what? This ain't a wwjd. This is a. I want to see Jesus in everything that I do. That's what I want for my life. Does that make sense? So when they received this prophecy, that echoed through time to us today. Because the birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy. And it's not just history. It's personal, it's powerful, and it's life changing for each of us. Somebody look at your neighbor and say, jesus being born changed my life. [00:12:53] Amen. [00:12:54] All right, so today we're going to explore the impact of Jesus birth. Okay? We're going to explore the reality of Emmanuel God with us that transforms our lives today. Think about this. For you today, you came from an air conditioned home. Maybe, maybe you like sleeping in sweaty, muggy, gym style rooms, I don't know. But for me, I came from an 18 Celsius degree room, froze myself out of bed and got up and started going, amen. You came in and you sat down in an air conditioned room. You're sitting down on a not so perfect plastic chair. But the people when Jesus was born were under Roman rule. They did not have rights or privileges. They had a. Sorry, do I have any children down here? Okay, great one. He cannot translate. Where's the other? Okay, great, we'll change the language. Pastor had to change his language. It says just G rating it instead of PG. You had Herod that didn't know how to keep his hands off of other people. Y'all understand. You had the Pharisees that loved the power and the money of ruling their people. And you had the Roman Empire that as long as you stayed quiet and do what we say, you'll live. So people like Judas were looking for a king being born to be the new ruler, to save the people from Rome, to conquer, to deliver. But the deliverer that came came in a manger. And it didn't come the way people wanted. And Judas and Peter and all the disciples, some of them didn't really understand that his purpose was to be born, die, and be resurrected as the final sacrifice for all sin. That is real deliverance, not the deliverance man was looking for. So sometimes the reason that your life doesn't feel joy filled is because the way you want it to turn out, maybe is not the way God's doing it. [00:15:04] Amen. [00:15:06] Anybody know what I'm talking about? I know what that feels like. Hallelujah. I know that when I first got saved, I didn't want to quit doing drugs. Sorry. It wasn't instant sanctification for me. I was in a life of drugs. I didn't understand that I actually needed to quit those things until I started having a conversation with Jesus. [00:15:32] Amen. [00:15:33] And then things started changing in my life, but it was Jesus focused. Jesus centered. So for you today, maybe life is too comfortable for you to see the impact of Jesus, but he's doing more in your life than you can actually see. And. And he's outside of the discomforts. He's working inside the comforts. He's actually preparing your life. He's actually going before you so that you can have the abundant life that John said we can have in John 10. 10. [00:16:00] Amen. [00:16:02] God made you a promise about God with us. So the promise of Emmanuel, God with us. Let's look past the Roman Empire. Let's look past the cross. Let's look past the resurrection. Let's look past the church ages, and let's actually come right here today. What God with us actually means, what Emmanuel God with us actually means for our lives. Everybody with me? You tracking? Okay, so the promise and the relevance of that comes from. Let's reflect on what it means with us. Somebody come with you today? Yeah. Is your best friend, maybe cousin, Auntie somebody? Do they have your back? Yeah, right. Are they with you? Is that your ride or die round 30, partner. You know what I'm talking about? [00:17:01] Amen. [00:17:03] Okay. For you that came alone. You're not alone. I'm with you. Paddy's with you. Tina's with you. Claire's with you. But God is with you. I remember before I met Tina, I thought I'd never find a partner in life. But God showed up in every dark moment. He is with me more than you can imagine. He's with you. And that with us has a weight and a promise attached to it. Nick. That has a promise attached to it. God with us. God for us. So this Christmas holiday is more than just the greatest gift that was ever given to the world. Jesus, it gave a promise that God's with you. He's with your business. He's with your relationships. He's with your friendships. He's with you in your tears. He's with you in every moment of your life that came with not just Jesus being there and going to church and coming through The Doors singing Kubaya. No, it's more than that. It's God with you. Does that make sense? So the creator of heaven and earth, the one who spoke the stars into existence, decided that he had sent his son into a broken world to help broken people be unbroken. And this what we feel like a distant observer called God, is not as far away from us as we think we imagine God appear right. When you pray, do you ever look up to God? You know what I'm saying? God. That's because in your philosophy, God's here. In your thinking, God is here. But the reality is, when you got born again, God's here. God is so close. He's in every heartbeat. Come on, that was a mic drop, you understand? God is so close. He's in every heartbeat of your life. He's with you in your pain, he's with you in your joys. He's with you in your wins, he's with you in your losses. He's with you. I know this. Well, remind somebody else then. [00:19:22] Amen. [00:19:23] This holiday season is about joy. We don't always have to come to church and feel bad and get in the altar and, you know, if you need to repent of sins, you need to do that. But we don't. Sometimes we need to come to church and feel good, man. You know what I mean? We're always talking about brokenness. What about God making me a CEO of a company? I know that can happen. What about God making me a millionaire? Am I supposed to be broke? No, I did not receive a poor salvation. I received an abundant salvation in Jesus Christ. [00:19:55] Amen. [00:19:57] So we can come to church today, starting our Christmas holidays and actually be happy and be joyful. Does that make sense? Come on, somebody. So when Isaiah gave us this prophecy, the people of Judah were living under this uncertainty and the king Ahaz was scrambling to secure alliances. Now listen to this next sentence. The Israelites king was just scrambling to try and secure alliances, right when Isaiah prophesied this. Looking to human solutions for divine problems. Sound familiar? Don't we often do the same? God, I need you. But if I do this, will you do this? Anybody else barter with God? If you've stopped, that just means you've matured in the Lord. But there's still some of us that are going, God, I really wish you'd do this. And if you do this, I'll do that. [00:21:12] Amen. [00:21:13] But the relevance of God with you means you can stop making those barters, you can stop laying out conditions, you can actually receive the Fact that God is with you and for you and he wants to bless what you're doing. [00:21:28] Amen. [00:21:29] Does that make sense? You can stop wondering if God is actually going to show up and perform. God is faithful to what he promises. Now, you wanting somebody else's husband is not a faithful request. [00:21:40] Amen. [00:21:41] You wanting a Corvette is not a faithful request because God knows you can't drive under the speed limit. Amen. Maybe you like a Maserati like me, but praise the Lord. The Lord knows that he's not going to give you that Maserati because you can't drive under the speed limit. I think I'm talking to Kyle right now. [00:21:59] Amen. [00:22:00] The Lord knows he needs me to give me a slow diesel truck that has turbo but doesn't go from 0 to 60 as fast as your car does. [00:22:07] Amen. [00:22:09] God knows what you need and he's with you. And so today we need to face our forms of fear and anticipation in this season. You know, I was honest with my family this month and I said, you know, listen, it's hard for everyone and I'm not going to put pressure. Let's just do a no gift Christmas. And that for me, I've never done. I would always push myself to do it, but I said, you know, because I'm going to get bed suites, I'm going to do some things around the house, I'm going to buy the new clothes, I'm going to get this from a wife. And we're just going to. Instead of putting the pressure on Christmas where we're opening the present and it's like, do you like it? Oh, do we need to return it? We're just going to enjoy each other's company and we're going to do all the things we need before we get there. [00:22:57] Amen. [00:22:58] We're not going to go broke celebrating Jesus. [00:23:02] Amen. [00:23:04] And I just really kind of looked at that and said, if you can buy presents, you go for it. But if you can't, don't let a holiday change what it was intended to remember, which is Christ being born. [00:23:18] Amen. [00:23:19] So today, let's overcome our fears and anticipation. Some of us are dealing with personal crisis, financial strains, broken relationships and health issues. But others of us are burdened by the weight of what's next. It's not as complicated, but it's still complicated. We're feeling the weight of our career. We're feeling the weight of new opportunities and possible outcomes. So it's not always the valley that's hard. Sometimes the mountain is Hard, too. Sometimes the promotion is just as hard as the problem. [00:23:52] Amen. [00:23:53] Does that make sense? Some of us don't realize that up here at the top, it's sometimes harder to stay successful. It's harder to reach that crescendo and say, okay, God, I want this bell effect to keep going up instead of just go down. That makes sense. So no matter what your lifestyle is, God is doing something to help your life continue to travel on an uphill climb. Cause God is with you. [00:24:20] Amen. [00:24:20] Is this good today? Is this a good reminder? So here's the good news. Just as God promised that he would be with his people, he promised that he'd be with you. Does that make sense? He promised that whenever we enter our struggles, he walks alongside us. Whenever we take a new career path, he walks alongside us. Whenever we're struggling, whenever someone hurts us, whenever someone rejects us, whatever's going on in your life, he's with us. He says, I draw near to the brokenhearted. That makes sense. He's with you. He's with you. Well, I know that man. Do we share that? This holiday season is not just knowing that God's with me. It's about showing that God's with us. Does that make sense? It's about encouraging people to be their truest, most positive version of their self. When I listen to people talk, I'm like, how can we change what you're saying to give forward motion? How can we change what you're saying to take the negativity out of it? How can we change what you're saying to take the what if out of it? And how can we solidify where God's taking us? Because when heaven came down, it didn't leave us with a maybe or a might. It left us with a fact that God's taken us exactly where we're going to go. Does that make sense? Come on, somebody. So Jesus is the living, breathing proof that God doesn't abandon his people. This church is the living, breathing proof that God doesn't abandon his people. You don't know what we've been through. We were four locations and 300 and some odd people before COVID. [00:26:09] And, you. [00:26:10] Know, in one location, I don't know how many we were in the four. And politics and problems stepped right into our humanity and split us in three different directions. [00:26:20] Amen. [00:26:22] We should be gone, but we're still here. [00:26:27] Amen. [00:26:29] People got hurt, but people healed. People left, but people came. There's always a positive side to the coin. Are we mad at the people that left. No, we're not at all, man. If they came back today, I'd hug them tightly. I wanted to be honest. But here's the reality. God is with us every step of the way, every challenge. We made it through that. When I came to Australia, I came from a 5,000 member church to an eight member church. That was different. And God reminded me what I prayed. I prayed, God, I want to know what it's like to be amongst the people instead of having member numbers. I want to know their name, I want to know who they are. I want to know their challenges. I want to know their hurts. Tired of being an executive. I want to actually get down to the grassroots and really see how to help people and see them grow. And God blessed that, and God grew that, and God is growing that to the point that even though people are traveling, we're in a new problem with only being here for one year. God has challenged us to start looking for a new building so that we can grow again. Does that make sense? And this is not the offering or tithe message either, but God's with you. We come to church and we have so many different ideas about what God is doing. And God, when he sent Jesus, he gave a deep sense peace, purpose, and hope. Can I tell you something that I just want to talk about real quickly? You know the three things that get attacked during the holidays? Peace, purpose, and hope. What's the point? We're running around trying to get the sails, and our hope is that we get the toy that our nephew or our niece or our child wants. It becomes less and less about the reason for the season and more and more about the next thing to buy. I'm looking forward to the most exciting Christmas I've ever had. That is almost hilarious that I would say this, because I never was this guy in my past, and I never thought I'd be this guy. But I'm looking forward to matching Christmas pajamas for my family. Yep. Paddy, we're gonna get some for you, too. And your family. I'm looking forward to it. You know why? Because that's the gift. Laughter, quality time. Eggnog. Y'all don't know what that is, but I do. Praise the Lord. Praise Jesus. Ask any American what eggnog is. We know what eggnog is. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. We're going to make some. Hallelujah. Yes, we are. [00:29:45] Amen. [00:29:45] I'm looking forward to the simplicity of the holidays. The hugs, the laughter, the smiles. I'm looking forward to talking about how good God is in this church. Does that make sense? And I'm looking forward to us being the model of compassion, forgiveness, and humility in this season. I want people to stop us when everybody else is running past us and bumping into each other and say, you know, you really want me to have that gift? Because that's the last one and my child really wants it. I want us to be able to say yes. I want us to prefer others this season so that we can see how Jesus transformed our hearts, that it will transform others. Christmas has become the most selfish holiday when Christ came to serve us and to be the most selfless Savior and to teach us how to be that. [00:30:46] Amen. [00:30:49] So this holiday season, I want to serve others. And we did yesterday. It was amazing. I want to see the promise of eternal life be the lasting joy and assurance that we give other people. And I want Jesus and his presence to be a part of every meal. Make sense? So the beautiful thing about God with us is the restoration of relationships. In John 1:14, it says, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory as the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth. Jesus didn't come to condemn us. He came to extend grace. This holiday season, we need to be about extending grace, extending love that transforms everything. I really hope that as we start this Sunday, this is not condemning or convicting, but, man, you know what I'm looking forward to today? Decorating my house. I thought that I was winning when I got my tree up. And then I went over to Patty and Claire's and they had theirs up and already decorated. I was like, well, the English, they always win. And the Irish, I'm going to tell you what, the Irish, they'll find a way to throw a wrench into anything. And I did not win the Christmas decorating race with my neighbors, but I'm looking forward to decorating my house, to smelling the cinnamon and the pine and the glitz and the glam. But it's not about the presence or the food. It's about the joy. You know, I had an opportunity to decorate my tree the other night, but my youngest son was at home, so we had to wait on him. And that's the reason I lost the race. But I'm looking forward to decorating the tree. I'm looking forward to celebrating. I'm looking forward to the grace that extends. I'm looking forward to the opportunity more than the gifts and the presents and the hustle and the bustle, you know, Praise God. I look forward to buying my kids and my family what they need all year round instead of just on Christmas. [00:33:09] Amen. [00:33:10] I look forward that God has blessed me so much that I actually don't need anything at Christmas except socks and underwear. [00:33:18] Amen. [00:33:20] And that's because of my kids. But praise the Lord. But I'm looking forward to not needing anything because I'm so blessed. Do you realize that you can be so blessed and be such a blessing that Christmas can just be a celebration? [00:33:35] Amen. [00:33:37] Does that make sense? Anybody else excited about that? But the daily impact of Emmanuel. God with us. Anybody know what it's like to be tired? You nine to fivers, Y'all know what it's like. I'm nine to five and I run a church and I have a business. I got like three jobs wrapped up into one. [00:34:02] Amen. [00:34:04] Anybody else know what it's like to be tired? There's something about knowing that God is with you that gives you the energy you need to finish. See, I knew working with Tom and Phrez that they were going to run me into the ground with this house. I'm just joking. But I knew it was going to be hard work because these boys are ambitious. [00:34:28] Amen. [00:34:29] I knew what it was going to be like, but I knew there was a finish line. And I knew that I could go past what I could naturally do because of God's grace over my life. And that's what Christmas reminds me of. Christmas doesn't just remind me of carols or lights or food. It reminds me that I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. Because unto us was born a Savior. And his name is Emmanuel. God with us. [00:34:53] Amen. [00:34:56] The holiday season to me is about man. Like I made it. I didn't just survive another year. I thrived another year. Because God's grace is sufficient for all things. He supplies all my needs according to his riches and glory. [00:35:12] Amen. [00:35:13] Does that make sense? So. Emmanuel, God with us is that God's presence is in our pain. [00:35:23] Amen. [00:35:25] Hello. I love a small church because it's full of life. Okay? So the daily impact of God with us is his presence is in our pain. When you really have that revelation, God's presence is in our pain. It's in our purpose. It's in our promise. Psalms 34:18 says, the Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Life isn't easy alone. It's time to realize that God is with you. Does that make sense? John and Jack, do you know that God's with your ambitions, the dreams you have, the style of life you want to provide for those that you love. Do you know that God's with that? That God is actually for that? Do you realize that? Yeah. God has got his and wants to bless everything that you put your hands to. He's like a father. He wants to see you do good. He's not wanting to throw you detours and distractions to make you strong. He's wanting to. He's actually wanting to make it easy on you by listening to him and his Holy Spirit. [00:36:39] Amen. [00:36:42] Come on. That's good. So his power with God, with us, is in our weakness. Those things you think you can't do, those things, those challenges that you're facing that you think you can't overcome. His power is in our weakness. It says that in 2 Corinthians 12:9. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. When heaven came down, God brought his limitless power into our limited lives. [00:37:13] Amen. [00:37:15] So if we could tap into that limitless power, we could see things. Now, my friend from Texas, I can't remember your name. Steven. He's a pretty fit guy. Have y'all noticed when you first started working out, was it easy? No. Did it take discipline? Did it take a lifestyle? Did it take you saying no to certain things to achieve a goal? Every day? Every day. So people look at Steven and they go, man, I want to be like you, but they don't know what it takes. And the things he has to give up to be in the position he's in. A life of discipline in Christ is a life of saying no to certain things to get where God's taking you. [00:38:01] Amen. [00:38:03] And Christians sometimes are the most undisciplined people. They're the most narcissistic people anybody's ever been hurt by. A Christian knows what I'm talking about. They will just be like, well, God said it. I'm just taking a leap of faith. No, you taking a leap of stupid. And you need to sit back and pray and talk to God. [00:38:27] Amen. [00:38:30] Sometimes a flip flop from Spooky Pookie is not the leap of faith. And then when it doesn't work out, you blame God and everybody else. Joy and peace are my barometer for God with us. [00:38:46] Amen. [00:38:50] Steven and Derek, it's a small church. You get pointed out real easy, man. Derek, when I shook Derek's hand, he had a firm grip. Both of them shook my hand really firm, and I felt like they must Be police officers or military, because they did that Special Forces grip, you know, they had control of my wrist before I even knew. You know, that's a compliment. But what came through that handshake was confidence. I'll leave you two alone. What came through that handshake was confidence. And I've shaken hands with people before in my life. And it's just like. It just feels icky. You know what I mean? Christ gives confidence. When we're talking about church, when we're talking about Christ, man, you know, like, it should feel different, right? Like it shouldn't be the devil's got me. It shouldn't feel poor or sad. I need support and prayer, yes, But I'm still winning. [00:39:58] Amen. [00:40:00] I'm hurt right now, but I'm healing. [00:40:03] Amen. [00:40:04] I'm tired right now, but I'm on my way up. Do you understand what I'm saying? We sometimes just leave ourselves in the negative when Christ has given us the outcome to overcome the world that makes sense. Don't let your period be the negative. Let your period be the promise and stand in confidence that God is with you. [00:40:26] Amen. [00:40:27] Come on, somebody. I guess in Australia they call that a full stop. Let your full stop be amen. Let your comma be amen. I feel like everybody took that in a different direction. We're talking about a different blood, people. Hallelujah, Pastor. Man, I can read a room like nobody else. Y'all don't even know y'all need Jesus. Father, we thank you for all these people and their minds that are healed in Christ Jesus. Wow. Did that just happen in church? Wait a minute. Did we just have fun in church? Did we just laugh in church? Did we just enjoy life for a second in church? Oh, my God. Come on, somebody give the Lord a hand clap of praise. Emmanuel. God with us is guidance in our uncertainty. You know, one of the most common scriptures in Proverbs 3:5-6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding and all your ways. Acknowledge him and he will straighten your paths. God with us means we're not walking around confused. The reason we walk around confused with no direction is because we're not talking to God about it. We're wanting to do it our way. When heaven came down, it gave direction. When Jesus came into this world, it gave purpose. It gave a true north compass for how life can be lived. Does that make sense? We do not have to walk around in the dark anymore. We can actually, through the counsel of others, through the Holy Spirit and through his word find direction for our lives. That gives me hope for my life, not just for the holidays. [00:42:29] Amen. [00:42:30] Jesus, our Emmanuel doesn't just walk with us, he leads us. He guides our steps and he's giving us, listen to this word wisdom. When we seek him, sometimes we don't want to hear the truth. Sometimes we don't want to hear it's not going to work out. And you shouldn't do that. We want people, Christians want people to tell them. Yep, that's exactly how you should do it. And man, I love you guys. I love, I am a Christian, in case you didn't know. But I love you guys. But man, one of the things I can't stand is when people, they start using God as a trump card for everything. God didn't come down so that you could get a credit card for your mistakes. God. Amen. God came down so that you could stop making mistakes and so you could cut all the problems out of your life and start walking in wisdom and maturity. [00:43:25] Amen. [00:43:27] So I'll leave you with this reflecting on heaven's glory today. We didn't just receive God with us as wisdom and power, we received God's glory in our lives. Friends, when we walk into this holiday season, we should look different. We should actually be happy. And I know, man, I gotta train my face on most days. Smile, Kyle. But when you're walking around and you're so tired and you're so beat up and you're so bum hugged, you know, we're supposed to be going out in the world, making disciples of others. We're wanting them to be pupils of Jesus. We're wanting them to come and learn of who I'm learning from. And we're walking around like we're broke. Heaven came down and filled us with the riches of heaven. And we acting like we need a loan. Come on, man, life is good. You may not got the boyfriend or the girlfriend you want, but life is good. You may not have the job you want, but life is good because God's with you. Matthew 5:6 says, Your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. People should be looking at us in this season saying, that's why I want to be a Christian. That's why I want to be a Christian. I don't want to be a Christian because of what they drive. I don't want to be a Christian because the plane they ride in. I want to be a Christian because man, they're happy, man. They got joy. You know what I'm saying? I want to hang out with them because I feel like the conversations will be funny, lighthearted, and encouraging. You know, when you meet just about anybody in this room, you all are just so contagious. It takes about five minutes before the person that you are talking to is like, man, yeah, we just met you yesterday. Am I right, my brother? How does it feel today? It feels positive. Yeah? Yeah. And it's not what you expected. Was it church? But you walked into it today and said, man, this is different than what I expected. I'm actually feeling good about it. Is that. [00:46:06] Yeah. [00:46:07] Come on. Come on. Heaven's transforming power is in us today. And the most transforming power. It's really weird, but it's a smile. I want you to do me a favor. Try it out. Smile at the person next to you and see what happens. All right? Do it again. Smile at the person next to you and see what happens. You know what just happened? Half of you gave this smile. That was good, but we're not at the dentist. We're not checking your teeth, man. Look at the person next to you and just smile and see what happens. It causes joy. [00:46:49] Amen. [00:46:50] I think I even see Michelle smiling right now. She's hiding it. Gotcha. Everybody's smiling. The most transforming power is the joy that's on the inside of you. And you may not have money to give other people. You may not have fancy cars. You may not have exactly what they need, but you can give them a smile, you can give them a hug, and you can show them love, and you might just actually give them something that will change their life. [00:47:19] Amen. [00:47:20] So here's my closing challenge for you. Don't just celebrate the story of Jesus birth. Embrace the reality in your life and let the truth of Emmanuel God with us, transform you. You may have been in Church for 20 years, two weeks, 10 minutes, but there's still some transforming that needs to take place. Let's let the real reason of this season cause an outbreak of joy across the Gold Coast. Amen. An outbreak of joy on your job sites, at your workplace, and your investment phone calls. Why you smiling today? I don't know, man. I just feel good about life, you know? I think if, you know, when Tom smiles or laughs, I can't help but laugh because it brings joy. Look at him. He just brings joy. It's a small church. I can pick. He's like, I'm really embarrassed right now, but, Nick, when I smile, man, it's a small church. I'm just. We're family here, guys. We're not to that point where we're hiding in the crowd yet, but it brings joy. Try that on for size. Challenge yourself to take joy as heaven came down for you and in you. Let heaven be for you and shine in every area of. [00:48:47] Amen. [00:48:48] Father, we thank you today for this incredible gift of your son Jesus Christ. Thank you that through him you stepped into our world, bringing heaven to earth. Help us to live in the reality of that truth. Help us to live and trust you in our struggles and our triumphs. Help us to reflect, reflect on you before others to bring joy into this world. We give you all the glory and honor. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, I look forward to next week and we might even sing a Christmas carol. I don't know, but I look forward to what God is doing in this church. But if you are in need this holiday season, I can't say that we'll meet your need. But if you will let our member care pastors know, we will do our best to support you. Now, I can't do that for everybody. It may be prayer. It may. Whatever it may be, we do not want you to go through this season alone. Amen. Whatever you need, we're just a phone call away. We're not green room pastors. We're. We're real people that want to talk to you. And every pastor here would love to spend time with you over a cup of coffee, pray with you and see what we can do to help you during the season. Whether you need help or you want to help someone, please be sure to let us know there is plenty of opportunity to serve others during this holiday season. [00:50:30] Amen. [00:50:31] God bless you is my prayer. I'm going to leave it up to Paddy to take you through the rest of the service. Amen. [00:50:39] Thank you for tuning in to today's message. To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at worldchangers.life. Remember to subscribe for more uplifting messages from our pastoral team and may you continue to walk in faith and transformation until we meet again.