December 11, 2023 • 28 mins
Have you ever found yourself caught up in the pursuit of an immaculate holiday season, only to end up feeling more drained than uplifted? Join me, Pastor Nathan Young, as we break away from the traditional chase for the 'Perfect Christmas' and, instead, celebrate the true imperfections that mirror the very origins of this holiday. We kick off our heartfelt discourse by delving into the reality that our quest for a picture-perfect Christmas might just be what's steering us away from its genuine blessings. In a world where immaculate decorations and festive banquets often take center stage, we're reminded that Jesus' own birth took place in the most humble and chaotic of circumstances—a stable. This episode is an open invitation to all, especially those who might feel less than worthy due to their personal 'messes,' to find beauty and grace in the imperfect.
The sanitized images of the Nativity scene we've grown accustomed to can overshadow the gritty truth of the very first Christmas. In this second chapter of our spiritual journey, we peel back those layers to expose the messiness that surrounded the birth of Christ. Through this exploration, we uncover the profound theological message that God often chooses to meet us right where we are—in the midst of our own chaos and struggles. This revelation is a powerful reminder that the true essence of Christmas is not about pristine settings but about embracing God's presence and the peace it brings into our lives, no matter how disordered they may seem.
Finally, we eschew the commercial glitz and focus on the transformative miracles that the birth of Jesus represents. Casting aside images of Santa Claus and magical holidays, we contemplate the deeper, more meaningful aspects of the season. It's about hope, salvation, and the promise of spiritual renewal. As we wrap up this episode, I invite you to invest in a Christmas enriched with faith and purpose, recognizing that God's work is often accomplished through ordinary individuals. So, if you're ready to release the pressures of holiday perfection and embrace a more authentic, grace-filled Christmas, this conversation is for you. Join us and discover the beauty in celebrating a Christmas that's as real and transformative as the very first one.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, good morning and happy Sunday, and I want to
welcome those of you who arejoining us in our online worship
experience for the first time.
I'm dr A Nathan young, withCommunity Church and, listen,
I'm so glad you couldn't havepicked a better day to join us
in our online experience.
As a matter of fact, for thoseof you who follow us on a
(00:22):
regular basis, those of you whoare loyal, who love community
church, who love what what we'reall about, go ahead and do me a
favor.
Hit that share button right now.
Let's go ahead and get thismessage out, because I'm telling
you God is about to speak tosome folks.
God is about the free somepeople up, and he's about to
(00:42):
bless somebody, and why not bethe vehicle that God uses in
order to do that?
So hit that share button, man.
Send somebody to link if you'reon YouTube, and we're gonna
dive in and see what God has tosay To us today.
If this is your first timeworshiping with us, I'd like for
(01:03):
you to go ahead and click thelink that's in the comments box
or in the description.
Let us know you here.
We also have a QR code there,man.
We want to know that youworshiped with us for the first
time.
We value every person whoWorships with Community Church
and so it's always personal withus, always, always, always.
(01:26):
We always want to know that youwere here, so click that link,
scan that QR code, let us knowI'm in the building, passenger
Nate, and we'll reach back outto you, man, and let you know
how glad we are that you joinedus on today.
Don't forget, in person we're inthe middle of a series called
Christmas at the movies, and youknow, normally we're live on
(01:50):
Sunday mornings but do thecopyright issues.
We can't go live, and so we'repre-recorded this time.
But that's okay, you had missedout on all the fun.
It's still going down.
As a matter of fact, next weekis a perfect opportunity for you
to come in person to one of ourthree locations 830 in Sladelle
(02:11):
, 10 on Highway, 1085 inCovington and 11 am, 1148 North
Columbia Street in Covington,because we are having our ugly
Christmas sweater Sunday.
All of us gonna have uglyChristmas sweaters on man,
listen, I'm gonna have mine onand it's gonna be a fun worship
(02:32):
experience, but at the same time, I know God's gonna meet us
there.
We're gonna be in Christmas atthe movies yet still, and we're
gonna be talking about Homealone, seeing what God will say
to us through that.
So join us at one of our threecampuses next Sunday, bring
somebody with you, bring yourkids.
We got popcorn, candy all ofthat for you and your children.
(02:53):
So join us at one of our threelocations.
Let's pray and then dive intothe word.
Father, we love you, thank youfor who you are.
You are truly amazing to us.
And now, father, we pray thatyou would use your word, lord,
to give us peace.
Father, to set the captainsfree.
(03:14):
Lord, bless our hearts and ourminds, transform us, and we'll
be careful to give you all glory, honor and praise.
It's in Jesus name that I pray.
Amen and amen.
Listen, man, I want to tell youtoday how to have a Perfect
Christmas.
I want to tell you how to havea perfect Christmas.
(03:36):
You know, you see all of theadvertisements and the marketing
that talk about, you know, aChristmas to remember and
Getting the perfect gift, and alot of times it puts pressure on
people, believe it or not, totry and create the perfect
environment and perfectatmosphere For the Christmas
holiday.
(03:56):
And so today I want to give youthe remedy for it.
I want to tell you how to havethe perfect Christmas.
Pastor.
How do I have the perfectChristmas?
Listen, this is how you havethe perfect Christmas.
We're ready for this.
Give up on Christmas beingperfect.
Don't don't even try to make,don't even set your mind in such
(04:17):
a way that you say I have tohave a perfect Christmas.
Why, pastor?
First of all, because some ofus right now Well, all of us
really are in imperfect seasonsof life.
This is, life is not perfect.
Life is not perfect and forsome of us, because out the
(04:38):
season of life that we're in isso imperfect, we're already
dreading Christmas.
We're already Worried that thisChristmas is gonna be a bad one
for some of us.
We've already written thisChristmas off as the bad
Christmas, because we have thisidea that if it's not perfect,
(05:01):
then it's not good.
Can I tell you this when Jesuscame, he didn't come to
perfection.
He didn't come to perfection.
Jesus came to a mess.
He came to a mess.
We've been so the lie.
(05:22):
Y'all We've been so the lie.
We see the manger scene andeverything looks all pristine
and perfect and Mary smilingdown at her baby, and all of you
know he got the cattle and thesheep, and everything just looks
so pristine.
Listen, listen, listen.
Jesus didn't come to a perfectsituation, he came to a mess.
(05:47):
What kind of mess, pastor?
Well, first of all, there wasHerod the king, and he was so
paranoid for his own positionand power that he was one who
had multiple family membersexecuted.
So when Jesus comes, he comesto imperfect, insecure
(06:09):
leadership, and an insecureleadership always creates a mess
in any structure.
Lord, have mercy.
And this king is so insecurethat he attempts to use the wise
men to lead him to Christ, notto worship him, but to execute
(06:33):
him.
When the wise men don't complyto his scheming, he orders the
execution of all of the babiesunder one years old in Bethlehem
.
He was that insecure.
Jesus didn't come to perfection, he came to a mess.
Watch what the Bible says inMatthew, chapter 2, verse 1
through 8.
It says after Jesus was born inBethlehem in Judea, during the
(06:58):
time of King Herod, magi fromthe east came to Jerusalem and
asked where is the one who hasbeen born king of the Jews?
We saw a star when it rose andwe have come to worship him.
Watch this.
When King Herod heard this, hewas disturbed, and all Jerusalem
with him.
When he had called together allthe chief priests, people's
(07:19):
chief priests and teachers ofthe law.
He asked them whether Messiahwas to be born In Bethlehem, in
Judea.
They replied for this is whatthe prophet has written.
But you, bethlehem, in the landof Judah, or, by no means least
, among the rulers of Judah, forall of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people,israel.
Then Herod called the Magisecretly and find out from them
(07:43):
the exact time the star hadappeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem andsaid go and search carefully for
the child.
As soon as you find him, I wantyou to report to me so that I
too may go and worship him.
Skip down to verse 16 in thatsame chapter, and this is what
it says.
When Herod realized that he hadbeen outwitted by the Magi, he
(08:06):
was furious and he gave ordersto kill all the boys in
Bethlehem and his vicinity whowere two years old and under, in
accordance with the time he hadlearned from the Magi.
You know when Isaiah was writingabout the world that Christ was
gonna be born in in Isaiah,chapter nine, the words he used
(08:27):
were gloom, anguish and contemptto describe the world Jesus was
gonna be born in.
God hadn't spoke at this timefor 400 years.
When Jesus was born, the peopleof God were under harsh Roman
rules, such as we just readabout.
They were oppressed.
I'm telling you that Jesusdidn't come to a perfect
(08:49):
situation.
He came to a mess.
Not only did he come to a mess,he came through a mess.
Have you ever thought about howmessy Christmas really is?
We oftentimes sanitizeChristmas.
How do we sanitize it, pastor?
By taking it out of its contextand by making it something that
(09:11):
it's really not.
When you read about it in Luke,you see how complicated the
situation was that Jesus cameinto.
The Bible says in Luke, chapter1, verse 34, in the six month,
god sent an angel, gabriel, toNazareth, a town in Galilee, to
a virgin Pleasure to be marriedto a man named Joseph, a
descendant of David.
(09:32):
It says the virgin's name wasMary.
Let me ask you a question how,how prepared do you think Mary
was, at 12 to 15 years old, forthe experience that she was
about to go through?
How, how, how, how ready do youthink she was Not just to have
(09:57):
a teenage pregnancy, but to givebirth to the savior of the
world?
Gabriel tells her this.
He says do not be afraid, foryou have found favor with God.
You'll be with child and givebirth to a son, and you ought to
give him the name Jesus.
He tells it, you and he will begreat and he'll be called the
(10:21):
son of the most high.
The Lord will give him thethrone of his father, david, and
he will reign over the house ofJacob forever.
His kingdom will never end.
I wonder what part of do notafraid did Mary not understand?
Probably a lot about it.
(10:42):
You think the thought evercrossed her mind that her
parents, her fiance, her friends, her family, the people in her
life, in her circle, were notgonna believe her explanation?
We already know that Joseph,her fiance, didn't accept her
(11:07):
explanation at first, when youread it in Matthew, chapter one.
And right now, today, wecelebrate her as this example of
devotion and faith which shewas.
But Joseph, who the Bible says,was a righteous man who loved
Mary, when he first heard it, hesaid you know what?
(11:28):
I don't wanna embarrass her,but what I'm gonna do is I'm
gonna divorce her quietly.
Why?
Because everybody knows how achild is conceived.
Everyone knows how a child iscreated and if Joseph had
(11:50):
followed through with his plan,mary's child would have ended up
growing up being ridiculed andpicked on for being the son of
an unchaste woman who had thisridiculous story.
You ever thought about it fromMary's point of view, how it was
(12:13):
gonna affect her, this personwho had worked really hard to do
what was right?
And if you heard, and you firstget this news, that God's gonna
do this in your mind, it seemslike wrong has showed up at your
door, even though you do theright thing.
You ever felt like that before?
Woo, luke 1.34, after theangels announcement look what's
(12:38):
on Mary's mind.
She says how will this be?
Since I am a virgin, you everfound yourself in a situation
like that?
Where you going?
How can this be?
I've done everything I know howto do to be faithful to the
Lord and true to my family.
I've done everything I know howto do to be a good employee or
(13:03):
good manager or a good businessowner.
I've done everything I know howto do to be a good church
member, to be a good ministryleader, to be a good pastor.
I've done everything I know howto do to be good with what God
has given me, and yet still youget that notification that
(13:29):
you're an employer Intends todetermine that you're employed,
yet still you have trouble inyour marriage.
And yet still you have troublewith your children.
And yet still you have hurtfrom your church.
Or your husband tells you thathe doesn't love you anymore,
(13:51):
your four-year-old is diagnosedwith something terrible, or a
counselor calls and says thatyour son or your daughter is
doing this, and you go.
Lord, how, how, how can this be?
I've tried my best to do what'sright.
What's my parents gonna say?
(14:12):
What are my friends gonna say?
What are the people that I love?
What are they gonna say?
How can this be, lord?
How can it be that I have to gothrough this?
Luke 2.7,.
The Bible says that when Marygot ready to have the baby, she
wrapped him in clothes andplaced him in a manger.
Why would she place him in afeeding trough?
(14:35):
Why would she?
Manger sounds like a nice word,but if you think about it, a
manger was a feeding trough thatanimals ate.
Why would she place him in that, pastor?
Because the Bible says therewas no guest room available for
them.
There was no room for them.
He was sleeping on the hay.
(14:58):
We see cards and images thatportray these peaceful settings.
The cattle are lowing.
And you know, little baby Jesus, all cute sleeping on the hay.
Listen to me.
Jesus was born in a stable whereanimals were kept.
Watch this Wherever animals arekept, there's also waste from
(15:24):
animals.
I'll put it like that.
And wherever there's waste fromanimals, there are flies from
the waste from the animals.
So this is not this picturesqueserene scene that Jesus is born
into, right?
It's not this beautiful scene,it's messy.
(15:45):
It's messy.
Jesus is born in a stable.
He's born to a mess.
He came through a mess.
Why did he come that way,pastor?
Well, imagine he could havecome up kind of ways.
I mean, he's God himselfwrapped in the flesh.
(16:05):
And you read in the OldTestament when God decided for
Elijah to come to heaven, hesent the chariot down to get him
.
You know, god could have sentthe chariot to deliver Jesus, to
save the world.
He could have just showed upall kind of ways that he could
(16:27):
have come.
He didn't have to send himthrough a nasty political
situation.
He didn't have to send himthrough such a mess where his
parents were concerned.
So why in the world would Godsend him in this way?
I'll tell you why so that hecould save a mess.
You see, oftentimes we look forGod in perfect situations, but
(16:52):
very rarely is God in theperfect situation.
God is oftentimes in the messesof life.
He oftentimes shows up in themessiest of situations.
If you want to find the Lord,many times you don't find him in
the picturesque situations.
You find him in the messes oflife.
(17:13):
I've told you before that welove to experience God on the
mountaintops, but where wereally get to experience God is
down in the valleys of life.
Things get messy when thingsare not to our liking.
He came to a mess.
(17:34):
He came through a mess so thathe could save a mess.
Bible says in Romans 3, 23,.
We are mess, it says.
All of us have sinned and allof us, right now we fall short
of the glory of God.
We are a mess.
(17:55):
I wonder if Christmas has everreminded you of the messes of
your life, if it's ever remindedyou of the fact that life can
get terribly messy.
But more than anything, can Itell you what Christmas is a
reminder of?
It's a reminder that in themidst of the messes of life Lord
(18:16):
have mercy.
God shows up, no matter wherewe are, no matter what we might
be struggling to overcome, nomatter what kind of issues might
come our way, even in themiddle of unexpected messiness,
oh, we can expect God to show up.
(18:37):
And in the midst of thedevastating, the God we serve
has a tendency to show up.
You know what Christmas is.
It's not perfect, but it'sGod's reminder that even in the
mess of my life, he came tobring me peace.
(18:59):
It's God's reminder that hecame to bring me hope.
It's God's reminder that hecame even through a mess and he
went through whatever he had togo through in order to bring me
wholeness and salvation.
It's a reminder that even whenI get it all wrong, lord have
(19:20):
mercy.
That's exactly why he came.
It's a reminder that whetherI'm naughty or nice, whether I'm
the addict or I'm the homeless,he came so that the messes of
my life didn't have to say thatway.
You know, modern dayCelebrations of Christmas might
(19:45):
cause us to think that Christmasis all about magic, and a lot
of times we picture Jesus asthis Santa Claus.
Jesus, we have this idea givingus to the world that Jesus is a
type of Santa Claus.
But can I tell you this thegifts of God don't fit in a
stocking.
They can only be received inour heart.
(20:07):
Oh Lord, have mercy.
The gift of God I'm going tosay it again cannot fit in a
stocking.
They can only be received inour heart.
And when we picture Jesus asSanta Claus, jesus, this magical
gift giver, then of course ourexplanations and the way we
(20:28):
celebrate Christmas becomesdistorted.
But let me drop this on you andI'm going to leave you alone.
Our God doesn't do magic,because magic is an illusion,
magic is only meant forentertainment.
Our God does transformation.
He came to work miracles.
(20:50):
In a broken world, the idealmagical Christmas is not
attainable, and the reason whyis because Jesus came to a mess,
through a mess, to save a bunchof messes.
In other words, he came to workmiracles, not magic.
He came to work miracles, notmagic.
(21:12):
So when we stress ourselves andgo into debt and do all of this
crazy stuff and try to createthese warm and fuzzy feelings
for ourselves and our families,the reason why it doesn't last
is because that's not why Christcame.
He came to give us what doeslast transformation.
(21:36):
The real meaning of Christmasis the fact that, in the midst
of all of the clutter and all ofthe shopping and all of the
spending and all of theescalating death and all of the
preparations and all of thisstuff.
The real message of Christmasis that Jesus Christ came not to
(21:58):
work magic, but to workmiracles.
Jesus Christ came not to aperfect situation, or even for a
perfect situation or a perfectperson.
He came to a mess, through amess, to save a mess.
Christmas is about a miracleand here's my encouragement to
(22:20):
you.
Here's how you have the perfectChristmas.
Do not allow the world to pushthe miracle worker out on his
own birthday.
The dictionary defines a miracleas a visual, visible
interruption of the laws ofnature that's understood only by
(22:42):
divine intervention and oftenunaccompanied by a miracle
worker.
In other words, a miracle is aunique event in the world that
God does through people likemyself and you.
You're God's miracle worker andGod wants to birth a miracle
through you.
If you don't feel like you'requalified, you would say pastor,
(23:03):
god came birthed.
No miracle through me.
Yes, he can Remember.
He came to a mess and he camethrough a mess and he came to
save a mess.
God shows up in the messinessand the very thing that you
think disqualifies you for God'sgrace is actually what
(23:24):
qualifies you for God's grace,the very thing that you think
disqualifies you to be used byGod is actually the very thing
that qualifies you to be used byGod.
How do you say that, pastor?
Because it's the same HolySpirit that conceived the
miracle in Mary.
It fills the heart of everybeliever who accepts Jesus
(23:47):
Christ as Lord and Savior.
Mary was just like us.
She was an ordinary girl, butGod does the most miraculous
things through ordinary peoplewho give their lives to Him.
Pastor, how do I celebrate theperfect Christmas?
You don't try to make itperfect, but you give whatever
(24:11):
messiness there is in your lifeover to the one who came for it,
with your heads bowed and youreyes closed.
I know that there's somebodytuning in right now.
The reason why you hadn'thanded your life over to Jesus
Christ is because, in your mind,you had to clean up the mess
(24:31):
first.
Listen to me.
I'm here to tell you that themessiness is what he's all about
.
You give that mess to Him andlet Him clean it up.
How do I give my mess of a lifeto a perfect Savior, pastor?
By just believing that He'llaccept you and by letting Him
know that you want to accept Him.
(24:53):
Listen right, where you are,you can invite Jesus Christ into
your heart, right where you are.
You can invite Him into yourlife and I'm telling you, he'll
clean up the mess.
Pastor, how do I do it?
Just repeat this prayer afterme.
Just say Dear Lord, today I'minviting you into my heart.
(25:17):
I know I'm a mess, I know I'm asinner, but I also believe.
You died for my mess.
You died for my sin, father,and I sincerely and honestly
want you to be my Lord andSavior today.
Tell Him fill me with your HolySpirit, make me new today.
(25:42):
Tell Him thank you for savingme right now, in Jesus' name.
Amen, god bless you If you praythat prayer today.
You just accepted Jesus Christas Lord and Savior.
You just invited Him into yourheart.
If you want to talk to somebodyabout that, listen, we would
(26:05):
love to talk with you about it.
We would love to let you knowwhat the next steps are.
You couldn't have made a betterdecision in your life.
Well, pastor, how do I get intouch with somebody?
There's a link in thedescription that says accepted
Christ.
Click on that link.
We're gonna reach out to you.
We're gonna talk to you aboutthe decision that you made.
For those of you who are membersor faithful followers and
(26:30):
supporters of Community Church.
Thank you for your ongoingsupport.
Listen, I tell you all the timeit's Christmas time, but don't
give everybody something exceptthe birthday boat.
Make sure you take care of yourtithe, your offering your
investment to the kingdom ofChrist.
(26:51):
How could we celebrate Christ'sbirthday and give what we're
supposed to give Him to someoneelse?
Let's not do that.
Let's make sure we celebrateHim by, if anything, stepping up
what we invest in His kingdom.
You can invest in what CommunityChurch does by going to
(27:14):
wwwcommunitythcom.
There's also a link in thedescription of this message.
You can also text the word giveto 985-260-8411, or you can
mail it in to one of ourdifferent campuses.
The addresses can be found onthe website.
(27:34):
I wanna thank you for joiningus today.
Don't forget to hit that likebutton to subscribe to the
YouTube channel, dr A NathanYoung and Community Church.
And don't forget next week joinus on the ugly Christmas
sweater Sunday and home alone atone of our three locations.
(27:55):
Hit that share button.
Hit that share button.
Hit that share button.
God bless you.
I'll see you tomorrow morningon Jumpstart Live.
Well, good morning and happy Sunday, and I want to
welcome those of you who arejoining us in our online worship
experience for the first time.
I'm dr A Nathan young, withCommunity Church and, listen,
I'm so glad you couldn't havepicked a better day to join us
in our online experience.
As a matter of fact, for thoseof you who follow us on a
(00:22):
regular basis, those of you whoare loyal, who love community
church, who love what what we'reall about, go ahead and do me a
favor.
Hit that share button right now.
Let's go ahead and get thismessage out, because I'm telling
you God is about to speak tosome folks.
God is about the free somepeople up, and he's about to
(00:42):
bless somebody, and why not bethe vehicle that God uses in
order to do that?
So hit that share button, man.
Send somebody to link if you'reon YouTube, and we're gonna
dive in and see what God has tosay To us today.
If this is your first timeworshiping with us, I'd like for
(01:03):
you to go ahead and click thelink that's in the comments box
or in the description.
Let us know you here.
We also have a QR code there,man.
We want to know that youworshiped with us for the first
time.
We value every person whoWorships with Community Church
and so it's always personal withus, always, always, always.
(01:26):
We always want to know that youwere here, so click that link,
scan that QR code, let us knowI'm in the building, passenger
Nate, and we'll reach back outto you, man, and let you know
how glad we are that you joinedus on today.
Don't forget, in person we're inthe middle of a series called
Christmas at the movies, and youknow, normally we're live on
(01:50):
Sunday mornings but do thecopyright issues.
We can't go live, and so we'repre-recorded this time.
But that's okay, you had missedout on all the fun.
It's still going down.
As a matter of fact, next weekis a perfect opportunity for you
to come in person to one of ourthree locations 830 in Sladelle
(02:11):
, 10 on Highway, 1085 inCovington and 11 am, 1148 North
Columbia Street in Covington,because we are having our ugly
Christmas sweater Sunday.
All of us gonna have uglyChristmas sweaters on man,
listen, I'm gonna have mine onand it's gonna be a fun worship
(02:32):
experience, but at the same time, I know God's gonna meet us
there.
We're gonna be in Christmas atthe movies yet still, and we're
gonna be talking about Homealone, seeing what God will say
to us through that.
So join us at one of our threecampuses next Sunday, bring
somebody with you, bring yourkids.
We got popcorn, candy all ofthat for you and your children.
(02:53):
So join us at one of our threelocations.
Let's pray and then dive intothe word.
Father, we love you, thank youfor who you are.
You are truly amazing to us.
And now, father, we pray thatyou would use your word, lord,
to give us peace.
Father, to set the captainsfree.
(03:14):
Lord, bless our hearts and ourminds, transform us, and we'll
be careful to give you all glory, honor and praise.
It's in Jesus name that I pray.
Amen and amen.
Listen, man, I want to tell youtoday how to have a Perfect
Christmas.
I want to tell you how to havea perfect Christmas.
(03:36):
You know, you see all of theadvertisements and the marketing
that talk about, you know, aChristmas to remember and
Getting the perfect gift, and alot of times it puts pressure on
people, believe it or not, totry and create the perfect
environment and perfectatmosphere For the Christmas
holiday.
(03:56):
And so today I want to give youthe remedy for it.
I want to tell you how to havethe perfect Christmas.
Pastor.
How do I have the perfectChristmas?
Listen, this is how you havethe perfect Christmas.
We're ready for this.
Give up on Christmas beingperfect.
Don't don't even try to make,don't even set your mind in such
(04:17):
a way that you say I have tohave a perfect Christmas.
Why, pastor?
First of all, because some ofus right now Well, all of us
really are in imperfect seasonsof life.
This is, life is not perfect.
Life is not perfect and forsome of us, because out the
(04:38):
season of life that we're in isso imperfect, we're already
dreading Christmas.
We're already Worried that thisChristmas is gonna be a bad one
for some of us.
We've already written thisChristmas off as the bad
Christmas, because we have thisidea that if it's not perfect,
(05:01):
then it's not good.
Can I tell you this when Jesuscame, he didn't come to
perfection.
He didn't come to perfection.
Jesus came to a mess.
He came to a mess.
We've been so the lie.
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Y'all We've been so the lie.
We see the manger scene andeverything looks all pristine
and perfect and Mary smilingdown at her baby, and all of you
know he got the cattle and thesheep, and everything just looks
so pristine.
Listen, listen, listen.
Jesus didn't come to a perfectsituation, he came to a mess.
(05:47):
What kind of mess, pastor?
Well, first of all, there wasHerod the king, and he was so
paranoid for his own positionand power that he was one who
had multiple family membersexecuted.
So when Jesus comes, he comesto imperfect, insecure
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leadership, and an insecureleadership always creates a mess
in any structure.
Lord, have mercy.
And this king is so insecurethat he attempts to use the wise
men to lead him to Christ, notto worship him, but to execute
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him.
When the wise men don't complyto his scheming, he orders the
execution of all of the babiesunder one years old in Bethlehem
.
He was that insecure.
Jesus didn't come to perfection, he came to a mess.
Watch what the Bible says inMatthew, chapter 2, verse 1
through 8.
It says after Jesus was born inBethlehem in Judea, during the
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time of King Herod, magi fromthe east came to Jerusalem and
asked where is the one who hasbeen born king of the Jews?
We saw a star when it rose andwe have come to worship him.
Watch this.
When King Herod heard this, hewas disturbed, and all Jerusalem
with him.
When he had called together allthe chief priests, people's
(07:19):
chief priests and teachers ofthe law.
He asked them whether Messiahwas to be born In Bethlehem, in
Judea.
They replied for this is whatthe prophet has written.
But you, bethlehem, in the landof Judah, or, by no means least
, among the rulers of Judah, forall of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people,israel.
Then Herod called the Magisecretly and find out from them
(07:43):
the exact time the star hadappeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem andsaid go and search carefully for
the child.
As soon as you find him, I wantyou to report to me so that I
too may go and worship him.
Skip down to verse 16 in thatsame chapter, and this is what
it says.
When Herod realized that he hadbeen outwitted by the Magi, he
(08:06):
was furious and he gave ordersto kill all the boys in
Bethlehem and his vicinity whowere two years old and under, in
accordance with the time he hadlearned from the Magi.
You know when Isaiah was writingabout the world that Christ was
gonna be born in in Isaiah,chapter nine, the words he used
(08:27):
were gloom, anguish and contemptto describe the world Jesus was
gonna be born in.
God hadn't spoke at this timefor 400 years.
When Jesus was born, the peopleof God were under harsh Roman
rules, such as we just readabout.
They were oppressed.
I'm telling you that Jesusdidn't come to a perfect
(08:49):
situation.
He came to a mess.
Not only did he come to a mess,he came through a mess.
Have you ever thought about howmessy Christmas really is?
We oftentimes sanitizeChristmas.
How do we sanitize it, pastor?
By taking it out of its contextand by making it something that
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it's really not.
When you read about it in Luke,you see how complicated the
situation was that Jesus cameinto.
The Bible says in Luke, chapter1, verse 34, in the six month,
god sent an angel, gabriel, toNazareth, a town in Galilee, to
a virgin Pleasure to be marriedto a man named Joseph, a
descendant of David.
(09:32):
It says the virgin's name wasMary.
Let me ask you a question how,how prepared do you think Mary
was, at 12 to 15 years old, forthe experience that she was
about to go through?
How, how, how, how ready do youthink she was Not just to have
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a teenage pregnancy, but to givebirth to the savior of the
world?
Gabriel tells her this.
He says do not be afraid, foryou have found favor with God.
You'll be with child and givebirth to a son, and you ought to
give him the name Jesus.
He tells it, you and he will begreat and he'll be called the
(10:21):
son of the most high.
The Lord will give him thethrone of his father, david, and
he will reign over the house ofJacob forever.
His kingdom will never end.
I wonder what part of do notafraid did Mary not understand?
Probably a lot about it.
(10:42):
You think the thought evercrossed her mind that her
parents, her fiance, her friends, her family, the people in her
life, in her circle, were notgonna believe her explanation?
We already know that Joseph,her fiance, didn't accept her
(11:07):
explanation at first, when youread it in Matthew, chapter one.
And right now, today, wecelebrate her as this example of
devotion and faith which shewas.
But Joseph, who the Bible says,was a righteous man who loved
Mary, when he first heard it, hesaid you know what?
(11:28):
I don't wanna embarrass her,but what I'm gonna do is I'm
gonna divorce her quietly.
Why?
Because everybody knows how achild is conceived.
Everyone knows how a child iscreated and if Joseph had
(11:50):
followed through with his plan,mary's child would have ended up
growing up being ridiculed andpicked on for being the son of
an unchaste woman who had thisridiculous story.
You ever thought about it fromMary's point of view, how it was
(12:13):
gonna affect her, this personwho had worked really hard to do
what was right?
And if you heard, and you firstget this news, that God's gonna
do this in your mind, it seemslike wrong has showed up at your
door, even though you do theright thing.
You ever felt like that before?
Woo, luke 1.34, after theangels announcement look what's
(12:38):
on Mary's mind.
She says how will this be?
Since I am a virgin, you everfound yourself in a situation
like that?
Where you going?
How can this be?
I've done everything I know howto do to be faithful to the
Lord and true to my family.
I've done everything I know howto do to be a good employee or
(13:03):
good manager or a good businessowner.
I've done everything I know howto do to be a good church
member, to be a good ministryleader, to be a good pastor.
I've done everything I know howto do to be good with what God
has given me, and yet still youget that notification that
(13:29):
you're an employer Intends todetermine that you're employed,
yet still you have trouble inyour marriage.
And yet still you have troublewith your children.
And yet still you have hurtfrom your church.
Or your husband tells you thathe doesn't love you anymore,
(13:51):
your four-year-old is diagnosedwith something terrible, or a
counselor calls and says thatyour son or your daughter is
doing this, and you go.
Lord, how, how, how can this be?
I've tried my best to do what'sright.
What's my parents gonna say?
(14:12):
What are my friends gonna say?
What are the people that I love?
What are they gonna say?
How can this be, lord?
How can it be that I have to gothrough this?
Luke 2.7,.
The Bible says that when Marygot ready to have the baby, she
wrapped him in clothes andplaced him in a manger.
Why would she place him in afeeding trough?
(14:35):
Why would she?
Manger sounds like a nice word,but if you think about it, a
manger was a feeding trough thatanimals ate.
Why would she place him in that, pastor?
Because the Bible says therewas no guest room available for
them.
There was no room for them.
He was sleeping on the hay.
(14:58):
We see cards and images thatportray these peaceful settings.
The cattle are lowing.
And you know, little baby Jesus, all cute sleeping on the hay.
Listen to me.
Jesus was born in a stable whereanimals were kept.
Watch this Wherever animals arekept, there's also waste from
(15:24):
animals.
I'll put it like that.
And wherever there's waste fromanimals, there are flies from
the waste from the animals.
So this is not this picturesqueserene scene that Jesus is born
into, right?
It's not this beautiful scene,it's messy.
(15:45):
It's messy.
Jesus is born in a stable.
He's born to a mess.
He came through a mess.
Why did he come that way,pastor?
Well, imagine he could havecome up kind of ways.
I mean, he's God himselfwrapped in the flesh.
(16:05):
And you read in the OldTestament when God decided for
Elijah to come to heaven, hesent the chariot down to get him
.
You know, god could have sentthe chariot to deliver Jesus, to
save the world.
He could have just showed upall kind of ways that he could
(16:27):
have come.
He didn't have to send himthrough a nasty political
situation.
He didn't have to send himthrough such a mess where his
parents were concerned.
So why in the world would Godsend him in this way?
I'll tell you why so that hecould save a mess.
You see, oftentimes we look forGod in perfect situations, but
(16:52):
very rarely is God in theperfect situation.
God is oftentimes in the messesof life.
He oftentimes shows up in themessiest of situations.
If you want to find the Lord,many times you don't find him in
the picturesque situations.
You find him in the messes oflife.
(17:13):
I've told you before that welove to experience God on the
mountaintops, but where wereally get to experience God is
down in the valleys of life.
Things get messy when thingsare not to our liking.
He came to a mess.
(17:34):
He came through a mess so thathe could save a mess.
Bible says in Romans 3, 23,.
We are mess, it says.
All of us have sinned and allof us, right now we fall short
of the glory of God.
We are a mess.
(17:55):
I wonder if Christmas has everreminded you of the messes of
your life, if it's ever remindedyou of the fact that life can
get terribly messy.
But more than anything, can Itell you what Christmas is a
reminder of?
It's a reminder that in themidst of the messes of life Lord
(18:16):
have mercy.
God shows up, no matter wherewe are, no matter what we might
be struggling to overcome, nomatter what kind of issues might
come our way, even in themiddle of unexpected messiness,
oh, we can expect God to show up.
(18:37):
And in the midst of thedevastating, the God we serve
has a tendency to show up.
You know what Christmas is.
It's not perfect, but it'sGod's reminder that even in the
mess of my life, he came tobring me peace.
(18:59):
It's God's reminder that hecame to bring me hope.
It's God's reminder that hecame even through a mess and he
went through whatever he had togo through in order to bring me
wholeness and salvation.
It's a reminder that even whenI get it all wrong, lord have
(19:20):
mercy.
That's exactly why he came.
It's a reminder that whetherI'm naughty or nice, whether I'm
the addict or I'm the homeless,he came so that the messes of
my life didn't have to say thatway.
You know, modern dayCelebrations of Christmas might
(19:45):
cause us to think that Christmasis all about magic, and a lot
of times we picture Jesus asthis Santa Claus.
Jesus, we have this idea givingus to the world that Jesus is a
type of Santa Claus.
But can I tell you this thegifts of God don't fit in a
stocking.
They can only be received inour heart.
(20:07):
Oh Lord, have mercy.
The gift of God I'm going tosay it again cannot fit in a
stocking.
They can only be received inour heart.
And when we picture Jesus asSanta Claus, jesus, this magical
gift giver, then of course ourexplanations and the way we
(20:28):
celebrate Christmas becomesdistorted.
But let me drop this on you andI'm going to leave you alone.
Our God doesn't do magic,because magic is an illusion,
magic is only meant forentertainment.
Our God does transformation.
He came to work miracles.
(20:50):
In a broken world, the idealmagical Christmas is not
attainable, and the reason whyis because Jesus came to a mess,
through a mess, to save a bunchof messes.
In other words, he came to workmiracles, not magic.
He came to work miracles, notmagic.
(21:12):
So when we stress ourselves andgo into debt and do all of this
crazy stuff and try to createthese warm and fuzzy feelings
for ourselves and our families,the reason why it doesn't last
is because that's not why Christcame.
He came to give us what doeslast transformation.
(21:36):
The real meaning of Christmasis the fact that, in the midst
of all of the clutter and all ofthe shopping and all of the
spending and all of theescalating death and all of the
preparations and all of thisstuff.
The real message of Christmasis that Jesus Christ came not to
(21:58):
work magic, but to workmiracles.
Jesus Christ came not to aperfect situation, or even for a
perfect situation or a perfectperson.
He came to a mess, through amess, to save a mess.
Christmas is about a miracleand here's my encouragement to
(22:20):
you.
Here's how you have the perfectChristmas.
Do not allow the world to pushthe miracle worker out on his
own birthday.
The dictionary defines a miracleas a visual, visible
interruption of the laws ofnature that's understood only by
(22:42):
divine intervention and oftenunaccompanied by a miracle
worker.
In other words, a miracle is aunique event in the world that
God does through people likemyself and you.
You're God's miracle worker andGod wants to birth a miracle
through you.
If you don't feel like you'requalified, you would say pastor,
(23:03):
god came birthed.
No miracle through me.
Yes, he can Remember.
He came to a mess and he camethrough a mess and he came to
save a mess.
God shows up in the messinessand the very thing that you
think disqualifies you for God'sgrace is actually what
(23:24):
qualifies you for God's grace,the very thing that you think
disqualifies you to be used byGod is actually the very thing
that qualifies you to be used byGod.
How do you say that, pastor?
Because it's the same HolySpirit that conceived the
miracle in Mary.
It fills the heart of everybeliever who accepts Jesus
(23:47):
Christ as Lord and Savior.
Mary was just like us.
She was an ordinary girl, butGod does the most miraculous
things through ordinary peoplewho give their lives to Him.
Pastor, how do I celebrate theperfect Christmas?
You don't try to make itperfect, but you give whatever
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messiness there is in your lifeover to the one who came for it,
with your heads bowed and youreyes closed.
I know that there's somebodytuning in right now.
The reason why you hadn'thanded your life over to Jesus
Christ is because, in your mind,you had to clean up the mess
(24:31):
first.
Listen to me.
I'm here to tell you that themessiness is what he's all about
.
You give that mess to Him andlet Him clean it up.
How do I give my mess of a lifeto a perfect Savior, pastor?
By just believing that He'llaccept you and by letting Him
know that you want to accept Him.
(24:53):
Listen right, where you are,you can invite Jesus Christ into
your heart, right where you are.
You can invite Him into yourlife and I'm telling you, he'll
clean up the mess.
Pastor, how do I do it?
Just repeat this prayer afterme.
Just say Dear Lord, today I'minviting you into my heart.
(25:17):
I know I'm a mess, I know I'm asinner, but I also believe.
You died for my mess.
You died for my sin, father,and I sincerely and honestly
want you to be my Lord andSavior today.
Tell Him fill me with your HolySpirit, make me new today.
(25:42):
Tell Him thank you for savingme right now, in Jesus' name.
Amen, god bless you If you praythat prayer today.
You just accepted Jesus Christas Lord and Savior.
You just invited Him into yourheart.
If you want to talk to somebodyabout that, listen, we would
(26:05):
love to talk with you about it.
We would love to let you knowwhat the next steps are.
You couldn't have made a betterdecision in your life.
Well, pastor, how do I get intouch with somebody?
There's a link in thedescription that says accepted
Christ.
Click on that link.
We're gonna reach out to you.
We're gonna talk to you aboutthe decision that you made.
For those of you who are membersor faithful followers and
(26:30):
supporters of Community Church.
Thank you for your ongoingsupport.
Listen, I tell you all the timeit's Christmas time, but don't
give everybody something exceptthe birthday boat.
Make sure you take care of yourtithe, your offering your
investment to the kingdom ofChrist.
(26:51):
How could we celebrate Christ'sbirthday and give what we're
supposed to give Him to someoneelse?
Let's not do that.
Let's make sure we celebrateHim by, if anything, stepping up
what we invest in His kingdom.
You can invest in what CommunityChurch does by going to
(27:14):
wwwcommunitythcom.
There's also a link in thedescription of this message.
You can also text the word giveto 985-260-8411, or you can
mail it in to one of ourdifferent campuses.
The addresses can be found onthe website.
(27:34):
I wanna thank you for joiningus today.
Don't forget to hit that likebutton to subscribe to the
YouTube channel, dr A NathanYoung and Community Church.
And don't forget next week joinus on the ugly Christmas
sweater Sunday and home alone atone of our three locations.
(27:55):
Hit that share button.
Hit that share button.
Hit that share button.
God bless you.
I'll see you tomorrow morningon Jumpstart Live.
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