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Hope Foretold: God’s Plan from the Beginning | Pastor Adam Mesa
December 14, 2025 · 43 min
Series Patria Sermons December 14, 2025 · 43 min · Patria Sermons
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Adam Mesa is Lead Pastor of Patria Church and speaks to a congregation of 12,000 about how the gospel of Jesus Christ brings purpose to every life. Patria
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0:00 Amen. It's so good to see everybody on this Sunday morning. Can you do me a favor? Can you welcome all of our campuses? Can you welcome Pomona, Alameda? We got corona not launched yet, but I0:12 know watch it online. We have some vision meetings this afternoon, so I want to encourage you if you're interested in corona, and if you're interested in Newport campus, then feel free0:24 after service. You could talk to some of our team, but Newport Corona's meeting in our faith journey room after second service, and our Newport team is gonna be meeting at our HQ offices across the street after0:36 service. So, if have any interest in any of those, you can hang out after second service. If you have your Bible, would you turn to Galatians chapter 4? Hold your finger there. Galatians chapter 4. We won't go there yet,0:47 team. But first of all, I wanna encourage you. This church is 31 years old. I've heard pastor Diego for 31 years during the Christmas season say this, remember during the Christmas season,0:58 it's not your birthday we're celebrating. Okay? And so, before you prioritize everything else in life, make sure you build in your schedule, how am I worshiping and1:10 encountering the Lord this season? How am I celebrating the birth of Jesus? Because it's very quick and easy to get on Amazon, make sure we got the last minute Christmas presents, that niece you1:22 forgot about in Idaho that you have to send something to. Whatever it is, those are all gonna be fun and exciting times, but also it's a time if make sure if you're in the area to come on1:34 Christmas Eve at any of our campuses because it's a time where we focus on what truly matters, the greatest gift of all, which is our savior that was born. And so, we would love to see you during our holiday1:45 services at this time. Also, I just wanna thank you, and I just wanna celebrate what God has done. A couple weeks ago, we had vision Sunday, and we shared that as a church, anyone that was wanting to1:57 to give to feed children across the world through convoy of hope, we shared about something called 1 day of hope, where we would give 1 day's wage, 1 hour wage, whatever it is that you can afford to feed children2:09 in poverty at orphanages across the globe. And so, I just wanna say thank you so much on behalf of Patreon. We're gonna be sending, I have it up on the screen, over 480002:20 dollars. 48435 dollars is gonna go to 1 day to feed impoverished children all across the globe. Thank you2:32 so much for being a generous church. And, this weekend is the last weekend that we'll leave it open should anyone wanna give towards that after this weekend. It won't be on our screen anymore, but you can always go to2:43 Convoy of Hope's website and give directly if the Lord ever prompts it on your heart. But, thank you so much for being a generous church. God is pleased with what you do, with what you do with your2:55 resources. And, as a church, we fed families locally with family to family, 3000 families, 3100 families to be exact. And then also, we have begun to feed the nations3:06 as well. So, thank you so much for doing that. Well, we're in Galatians chapter 4. We're starting a series called hope through the ages. It doesn't matter what generation, it doesn't matter3:18 what century, what era, it is always relevant to talk about the greatest hope of all, and his name is Jesus. And so, during this month, we're gonna be talking about hope through the ages, and it's3:30 always a great time during the Christmas season to refocus on what things are really about and what life is really about that God came down to earth to redeem humanity. That's how much he loves us. And3:42 so, if you're ready for the word, would you do me a favor? Would you stand for the honor of reading God's word today? You may be new to Patriot or just visiting. We stand because the word of God is alive, it's active,3:54 and it's sharper than any 2 edged sword. And so, with that type of power, why not stand in in honor when the word is read? Here's what the word of God says. Just 3 verses today. It says this, but when the4:05 fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law. In other words, born Jewish, to redeem those who were4:17 under the law, so that we may receive adoption as sons, you and I who aren't under the law, who aren't Jewish. He says, and because you are sons, you can also fill daughters in there, God has4:29 sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying Abba Father. So you are no longer a slave. A slave to what? A slave to sin.4:40 But a son. And if a son, then an heir through God. You may be seated. Amen. Man, that's just powerful. I love that right away in Galatians. He makes4:52 it abundantly clear. The Apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that you and I are no longer under the law because Jesus himself has fulfilled the law, and when you say yes to Jesus,5:04 you receive an adoption in not just the family of God, but to be an heir of God. It's not like you've been adopted into God's house and been given a closet.5:16 You've been given access to the kingdom, access to the whole house. God didn't say, oh, because you're not Jewish or because you're not this or you're not that. You can come in, but we have a back house for you that you5:28 can hang out in. No. You have full rights and privileges as any son and daughter would have. That's the great thing about what Christmas is about. It's reminding ourselves that you5:40 have access to God. But not just access through a prayer, not just access through burning a crystal or an incense or anything like that. You have access through his son,5:52 Jesus. And, it's through the birth of Jesus that you and I have the full rights, privileges, access to the heavenly father. Not because of anything you or I did, it's because of everything that Jesus has6:04 done. That's what Christmas is about. It's not setting ourselves on a mirror and looking at ourselves. It's about setting our eyes on Jesus, the light of the world, the hope of humanity. That's what6:16 hope through the ages is. And every Christmas season, people search for hope. They look for it in family gatherings. They look for it in traditions, in gifts, or closing out a long6:27 year. But Christmas is not the story of people reaching up trying to find God. Christmas is the story of God reaching down to us. And a lot of times during Christmas, you'll hear that.6:39 People say, oh, I'm interested in Christmas or going to church because I'm interested in finding God. No. The the reality is you don't have to find God. He's available. He's reached himself down. It's not about finding.6:51 It's about now deciding to make God your Lord and Savior. It's about deciding to receive Jesus, God's son, into your life. He's there, and he's available. Timothy7:02 Keller, the great pastor, said it like this. Christmas means that we are so lost and so unable to save ourselves that nothing less than the birth of the son of God himself could save us.7:14 That's what the Christmas season is all about. And for us, we see and we look at Christmas. Christmas is not God reacting to humanity. Christmas is God fulfilling, and7:26 Christmas is the story of hope foretold. So, just for a few moments what we read in Galatians, I wanna talk to you a little bit today about God showing us that hope has been foretold.7:37 It's very easy to think that through the Christmas story, there was thousands of years of humanity, and God thinks to himself, oh, no. We did it wrong. Hurry up. Let's try to find a fix. Jesus,7:49 you're part of the trinity. Are you willing to go down there and save them? No. The story of Christmas is that God has had a plan all along. And the beauty about God having a plan all along means that there are no8:01 mistakes, no mishaps, and no errors. It means that God can take any moment, any failure, any disconnection, and he can redeem it. That's what the story of Christmas is about. So, if you take notes, just8:13 want us to see the first aspect is this. We see that when God knew what he was doing, God's promise was pronounced. God made a pronouncement at the8:24 foundation of the world. When Adam and Eve sinned, God already knew that Jesus was gonna redeem humanity. It it was pronounced from the beginning. It8:36 wasn't like God was like, okay, Adam and Eve, you've sinned. You gotta leave the garden, and you guys gotta figure things out for the next couple thousand years. And then when I can figure out what to do with8:48 you guys, then I'll let you guys know. No. God from the moment said, there is gonna be a moment where I am going to redeem humanity, and I'm gonna crush the head of this serpent that deceived you. He9:00 says it. I want you to see in Genesis chapter 3 verse 14 to 15, look what the word says. It says, the Lord said to the serpent, oh 0, because you have done this,9:12 cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put9:23 enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. So he's talking about the demonic things. He's talking about the satanic things. He says, there's gonna be an attempt9:35 that you're gonna make on humanity, and you're gonna try to make it towards Eve's children. But here's what he says. But he says, there will be a seed and he will bruise your head and you will try9:47 to bruise his heel. This is immediately a picture of the cross. He says there's gonna be in a moment where Satan is gonna try to take Jesus' life.9:59 And, he does succeed. He bruises his heel. Jesus goes to the cross and he dies. But, what he didn't know, was that there was a plan that 3 days later, there would be10:11 a resurrection of freedom. What Satan didn't know is that through the death of Jesus, he would bear the sin of all the world and redeem us.10:23 And then later on, the word of God says that what will happen is Jesus will crush the head of Satan. And, that's when we await for Jesus' return to this day where God will finally put to death all10:35 the misdeeds of Satan and the enemy. But, here's the thing. Through Jesus, you and I have access to God. This is a promise that God knew the day that they10:47 sinned. The day that Adam and Eve sinned, God already knew. Like, have you ever made a promise and struggled to keep it before? I know I have. I've made10:58 promises. I've made promises to my wife. I've made promises to my kids. And I feel terrible at times when I can't live up to those promises. I grew up as a child, and there were things that I would tell my dad11:10 oftentimes. If he said, hey, you gotta wait a little longer for this, or this isn't gonna happen, the famous words of any child is this, but you promised. You see, we don't11:22 always realize how powerful words are. You know, we think that actions are powerful, but your words are pretty powerful too. When you say that you're gonna be somewhere at a certain time and you're not11:34 there, that's pretty powerful. When you say that you're gonna do something for a friend and you don't do it, that's pretty powerful. When your wife says that I need a date night,11:46 and you say, let's do it this Friday, and then Friday comes and she says, where are we going? And you say, I don't know. Not a big deal to me. That's a powerful moment. Or on the Verse Wives, if you tell your husband11:57 something's gonna happen Friday night, and he's waiting, and you say you have a headache, that's powerful. You made a promise. And we're looking for you to keep your12:08 promises. Words, they matter. And words affect people. You can build people up. You can tear people down. Don't look at anyone today. I see some people are people were12:20 nudging somebody while I said that. But promises and words, they're powerful. And your words can make things, and your words can break things. And I think to myself a couple months ago in the summer,12:32 we were going on a family vacation. Me, Ashley, and our 2 sons Matthias, and we were here at the Ontario airport. And I'm not gonna say the airline in any way, but there was an airline that we12:44 were flying with. And you notice nowadays, like, we just automated everything, and so like no human wants to be attached to anything. And so, you know, you go to these airlines and once upon a time, you'd12:56 have 15, 20 airline workers that get you your ticket. Now, there's 15, 20 computers. You got to type in your confirmation code, print the ticket, put the ticket on yourself. Half the time, we don't even know13:08 Like, 1 day, I bought because I had I had some check-in baggages on a different airline, and the computer was telling me I had to buy the check-in baggages. And then I so I spent 300 dollars13:20 buying checked in baggages, and I went to the front and they said, oh, your ticket included checked baggages. I thought, well, tell the computer that. They're not me. So then we had to deal the whole thing. So we're13:29 there, and all these kiosks are open. So there's 12 kiosks open, but for some reason, this worker wanted us to wait in line 1 at a time because she wanted to13:41 control how we were putting the tickets on our bags and all that stuff like that. And so Ashley and the kids, they're waiting off to the side, and she can hear me in ear's distance. And I walk up and the worker says13:51 this, please get in line in order to get your tags and check-in for your flight. So, what do I do? The person in front of me is standing right here. The kiosks are over here, but the person in the14:03 front of the line is right here. So, what do I do? I stand behind them like this. And, the woman goes, sir, stand in line. I said, that's what I'm doing.14:16 And she says, where's the kiosk? But the person's body was faced this way. I said, the kiosk is over there, but I'm standing in line. And she goes, did you go to school? Do you not know what a line is?14:28 I was like I'm like, it is 4 AM. And I got a 4 year old and a 7 year old here.14:40 And, no, you know, you guys know what I'm gonna say. And, I got a black wife, so I'm trying to protect you right now. Like, just let's calm down. Like, hold on. And, there's14:52 context. And so I and so I tell her, I'm standing in line. And she goes, no. Look at the kiosk. And she comes and she grabs my15:03 body and says, move here. This is what a line is. Now, at this point, see, I'm You know, I know we have co lead15:15 pastor, but that's more so so that Ashley can pastor the women and stuff like that. Like, you know, Ashley I'm the 1 who's like, I went to seminary and I'm more dating. Like, I have more than I gotta live up15:27 to. Hers, she she takes that title off very fast at times. Me, I maintain that at all times. I'm always aware. She's not. And she15:38 Ashley now goes, Adam, step aside. I was like, yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. And she says, my husband's not dumb. He's not an idiot.15:51 And I'm like, thanks, babe. I don't think I am. She said, he did exactly what told And then they had a little bit of a friendly conversation, not an altercation. It was16:02 what we would say is an edification moment. And the woman said, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything. She said, no. You called him dumb. You'd say he didn't know what a line is. He didn't know16:14 this. He didn't know that. Now, 2 things happened. Number 1, 1 person's words tear me down, and another person's words gave me hope. My husband ate16:26 this. I'm like, oh, thank you. At least someone don't think so. And in that moment, I could have been caught up with the negative words, or I could have been filled with the words of hope. I could have16:38 said, this person who doesn't know me has affected me more than a person who does know me. And you see, when Christmas season comes, it is not a time where you16:50 and I are to look at our brokenness, when you and I are to look at our family drama, where you and I are to look at our loneliness. The Christmas season is a season where since Genesis, God has17:02 said, I have a plan for your life. I have a plan for humanity. It's not as dark as it seems. It's not as quiet as it seems. The reality is, is it's17:13 bright. And that's why Jesus is called the light of the world and the hope of the world. Because there is not a darkness that's dark enough that can hide this hope. And so, during the17:25 Christmas season, we can look at what we see in the surroundings of the world, or we can say, I see in my bible, I see in the word of God that God has had a plan.17:37 And I see that God's words are bigger than any person's word. Even if you think someone knows you, if their words are tearing you down, they don't know you well enough. And God's word17:49 always says something greater. That's what this is. We see in the fall in Genesis that humanity falls, shame enters, the garden is broken, Adam and Eve hide. Yet, the first word18:01 God speaks after the fall are not words of destruction, they're words of hope. It's Adam and Eve, I know you've sinned. There's now gonna be a separation between us, but it won't last forever.18:13 And through you, there will be a child, there will be a seed that will put to death the misdeeds of the enemy. See, God has known what he's doing from the beginning. You see, Charles Spurgeon says it18:25 like this, the Bible is a story of 2 seeds, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. And, the whole victory of redemption belongs to the seed of the woman. Amen. That's who Jesus is.18:37 Jesus is the 1 who has walked in victory. You see, in the moment in Genesis, we see God speaks hope where we expect judgment. That's his first words. After he18:49 says, why are you naked? You would think he would say, what are you doing? This and that. Just start tearing them down. But he says, hey, I got hope for you guys. There's gonna be a plan through this circumstance. And19:00 see, the second thought I wanna share with you all today is not only do we see in the book of Genesis that the promise the promise was pronounced, we see that the promise is preserved all through human history.19:11 It's not like God made a promise, and then all of a sudden, he doesn't show up again until the book of Matthew. That's not what happened. If you read your bible from Genesis, the rest of the bible from19:23 Genesis to Malachi, then going into Matthew, you see that there's this scarlet thread that God has been preserving a moment so Jesus can be born.19:35 And, God was showing humanity that our works cannot save us. God gives Israel the law, and the purpose of the law is no matter how good you think you are, you cannot19:47 attain perfection. But you can receive a perfect savior. That's what the gospel shows us, and that's what history shows us. Someone could argue, well, if you have Adam and Eve, how19:58 come the next child they birth couldn't have been the Messiah? Well, they wouldn't have learned what that brokenness, what that sin actually had entailed. They wouldn't have known that God truly was a savior, but God20:10 was also showing humanity that he has a purpose. You see, Genesis to Isaiah, God weaves the promise of Jesus through the entire story of scripture. To Abraham, he tells Abraham, through your20:22 seed, all nations will be blessed. To David, he says, your throne will last forever. Amen. And then to Isaiah the prophet, he says, unto us a child is20:33 born. Amen. You see, all through scripture, we see that God has weaved this scarlet thread through us. The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New20:45 Testament. That's what Saint Augustine had said. Have you ever been given does your family at all have a have a family heirloom by chance? Anyone have a family? Maybe a necklace, maybe20:57 a watch, maybe some type of vehicle that was passed down, maybe it's a letter, a scarf, whatever it is. But families often have family heirlooms. Maybe it's a chair,21:09 a couch. It was grandma's. It was great grandmas. Some of you may have a family heirloom who's lasted hundreds of years. And see, for me, I don't necessarily have a family21:20 heirloom, but I do have something that probably means 1 of the most things to me. And when I was younger, when I was about 8 years old, for Christmas, my older brothers So, I have 1 brother21:32 that's 2 years older than me, and then I have Nathan who's 5 years older than me. And so, Nathan being much older than me, you know, he's very old at this point. You know, he's very, very old. But he's 5 years older than21:44 me. So, I remember what was a big deal was for their birthdays or Christmas, my grandpa, my my dad's dad, and we called him Papa Diego. And so, now my dad's called Papa Diego, and his dad,21:56 who's still with us, is just old papa because he's earned the old papa. You know? And and so what happens is is my brothers had gotten these bibles when they were teenagers for Christmas. And22:08 like 8 years old, I would tell my grandpa, I want a bible. I want a bible. And he'd say things like, you're not ready maybe when you get older, whatever it is. And I had like a little children's bible, but my brothers22:19 had like a real proper adult bible. And I and I really wanted 1. And he said, not until you're 13. Not until you're 13. And so, what happens is 2 years earlier in22:31 2001, I opened up a gift from him on Christmas, and he gave me this bible right here. I still have this to this day over 20 years later. And, here's22:43 what it says on the front page. It says, given to Adam Messa, given by grandpa Diego, date, because it was after Christmas, I didn't see him on Christmas day, February eighteenth or January Yeah.22:54 February eighteenth 2001. It says it right there. And I still, at this age, have the first bible that I was given over 20 years ago.23:06 Now, I've been given a lot of gifts over my life, especially for the past 20 years. I've been given a lot of gifts. I've given a lot of gifts from my parents. I've been given lot of gifts from my wife. And, honestly,23:16 probably majority of those, if you ask me where they're at, my answer would be, I have no idea. I have no idea. But for this, this is something that more than likely I will carry for the rest23:28 of my life. I've had this since I was 11 years old. This is something that will go with me everywhere that I go, and probably it'll be passed down to someone in my family 1 day, as will the bibles of my father23:40 and anything that my grandfather has. Why do I say that? Because there are some things that are given to you that honestly you forget about. And there are other things that you're given that you cherish, that you hold on23:52 to, that you pass down to the next generation, that you give to. Why? Because they meant something to you. And you see, the Christmas story is the story of God preserving24:04 the greatest family heirloom that could ever happen. Hallelujah. You see, when you celebrate Christmas, you're not just celebrating Christmas and honoring Jesus' birth for yourself or for your family. You24:16 are participating in God's family heirloom that he has preserved since the beginning of humanity. It is a promise that he has given. It's a promise through Adam24:28 and Eve he had given. It's a promise he had given to Abraham. It's a promise he had given to David. It's a promise that he spoke through Isaiah, and then it's a promise that he spoke through Mary. And then what24:40 happens is is you and I to this day, we carry this heirloom named Jesus, the light of the world. And, it's not just something's passed by a Bible that's passed.24:51 It's passed in the message of hope. And, a lot of times, we're always looking for the material things that we want, the material things that we need, the material things that we want to pass down. But25:03 the greatest heirloom you could ever pass down to the next generation is knowing who Jesus is. Amen. That's the only eternal thing that goes with him. It's the only25:15 thing that lasts forever. And see, you and I, when we celebrate Christmas and we honor Jesus for his birth, what we're doing is we're recognizing that God did leave us with something.25:28 And, if you and I are like Galatians tells sons and daughters of God, and he says that you are heirs to his kingdom, the question I have is someone came to me and said, Adam, I just found out that you happen to25:40 be related to someone in England or Spain a very long, long time, and you're an heir to a duke or a duchess or whatever. I'd say, hey, that's a cool title, but like, y'all got anything for25:51 me? So, come with me. Land, Maybe a sword would be cool. A crown. That would be great. Like, what? Man, I love being an heir. That's great. But outside of the title,26:03 like, what am what do I possess as an heir? You see, when God says that you are heirs to the kingdom, your thoughts should go, well, then what do I possess if I'm an heir to the kingdom?26:15 And you possess access to God, and you possess Jesus as your Lord and savior. And if you read Romans 8, what comes with that possession? That comes with being sons and26:27 daughters of God. That comes with the spirit of God that is alive and active in your life. That comes with God's filling and leading in your life. It means there is never a moment where you are alone. There is26:39 never a moment where you are broken by yourself. It's God with us. Emmanuel. What what heirloom what what else do you want? The mansion you can't take with you. A car26:51 you can't take with you. But Emmanuel, God with us? You can take that heirloom with you, not only just to everywhere that you go, but you can should you close your eyes on this earth, you27:03 can take that with you into eternity. That's God with us. That's who he is. You may be a fan of J. Vernon McGee. Here's what he says. He says, Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem, where the Bible27:15 says he was born. He stepped out of eternity into time. Jesus began in eternity. He stepped in to the beginning of creation. John 1 says he was there from the beginning.27:27 Here's the last thought that I have for you. Not only do we see the promise was preserved all through scripture, but lastly, we see on Christmas, when we celebrate Christmas and when Jesus was born, the promise is27:39 presented to us. Here he is. It's the big reveal of God. And you see that in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that it's the moment where God says27:51 that all of humanity since Adam and Eve has been anticipating, waiting who is the promised seed of God that will save us, that will redeem us. You see, Jesus has presented28:02 the world as more than a child. In Matthew 1 21, it says, she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And in Matthew 1 23, declares him28:14 Emmanuel, God with us. Luke 1 32 to 33 reveals he will be great, and he will be called son of the most high, and of his kingdom there will be no end. John 1 14 announces28:26 the word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1 9 calls him the true light, which gives light to everyone. In Jesus, hope promise becomes hope presented to us.28:38 The beginning of all the books of the gospels start, here he is. It's not just birth of a baby. It's a grand reveal of God's promise that's being presented to us to say,28:50 there is a ram in the bush. There is a promised savior. There is someone that will redeem us. And then, they're asking themselves, well, where has been God this whole time? He's been through it all. You29:02 read the bible, he's been through all of it. And what happens when we reach the New Testament, we're not stepping into a random moment. We're stepping into the exact moment heaven had been counting down since Genesis.29:15 That's what I love. Here's what happens. I don't know if you ever played a board game or whatever before where you've had to use 1 of these sand timers and clocks just to think that, you know, not too long ago they29:26 actually had to use this to, like, count time and stuff like that. Now we got our iPhones and all that stuff like that. But, you have 1 of these. Right? So, I want you to imagine what happens is according to the word is29:37 in Genesis, you know, theoretically, God presents Adam and Eve with 1 of these. And he says this. Here's what's gonna happen is, is what's gonna happen is there was gonna be an29:49 appointed time, an appointed time, where Jesus, the seed of Eve, will be revealed to humanity. And when that happens, I'm gonna have been30:00 doing everything in the in between and preserving the whole time. And he says, what happens is, when this sin, when it runs out, hope will be presented to humanity. And what will30:12 happen is is I want you to imagine, what will happen is not only will this go through humanity, not only will this timer run through Genesis all the way to Malachi, to the Matthew, you see that30:24 the sand has run out and here is Jesus. He's born. But what happens is in our own life, what God does when Jesus is not that he reversed times, it's that God's kingdom is fully revealed. And then30:36 this sin, it flips. And it says, now that Jesus has come and redeemed us in giving access to his kingdom, now we await for his return. But you think30:48 to yourself, what do I do when I wait for his turn? Well, God goes from humanity's responsibility to when Jesus redeems us, he gives you and I the ability to take personal30:59 responsibility to receive Jesus. And in your own life, I you I want to encourage you, and I want you to see this. Don't matter what season you're in, it doesn't matter where you find yourself today, you have 131:11 of these. And there is a time in your own life, you you may be towards the end of your life, you may be towards the beginning of your life, but at any31:23 point, you can rotate this. And you can start a journey with God that he's intended since the beginning of humanity where he's given you and I access to God. But, the reality is God31:35 will not force it on you. He gives you an opportunity to say, God, I reverse my life in the sense that I give my life to you, Jesus. I start my life, as the bible says, as a31:46 new creation. So as God has been doing this and weaving this through all of humanity, he's also been weaving this in your own life. And, for every single 1 of us, there becomes31:58 an appointed day where we will stand before God. But, here's what we gotta see through the Christmas season. Before we stand before God, he's giving you access to him through Jesus. And, at some point, we all32:10 have to make a decision. Is am I gonna let this clock run out on my life without ever making a decision to follow Jesus? Or am I gonna say, God, I receive your plan32:22 for my life? Don't matter where you are in your journey, what happens is you can start a new walk with God. You can have a fresh start. That's what hope through the ages is all about. It's not32:34 just us seeing that God has had a plan in humanity. It's that God has had a personal plan in your own life. This isn't just a plan for someone else. This is a plan for you and I. Because what32:46 happens is as Abraham receives the promise, more sand falls. As David receives the covenant, more sand falls. And Isaiah says a child will be born, more sand falls.32:58 God does not rush, God does not delay, and God does not improvise. It's not something that God does. And the hourglass was moving exactly according to his33:09 plan. And then at that perfect moment, the final gray fell and heaven touched earth. That's what this story is. And, every prophecy points to this 1 child,33:21 Jesus. The seed of a woman, the seed of Abraham, the son of David, and the light of Isaiah. Dietsha Bonhoeffer says it like this, in the birth of Jesus, God comes to earth not in power, but in weakness.33:33 Yet, in this weakness is our hope. Hope is not a feeling, it's not an idea, it's not a seasonal emotion. Hope is a person, and his name is Jesus. And,33:45 in our own life, we can make a decision to follow him, to look to this light, and receive it. If you feel that there has been darkness in your life, everyone that has been born is born into sin because of Adam33:57 and Eve, and it is through their seed that we're born into sin, but it's through the seed of Eve that we find redemption in Jesus. And, you find a hope, and you find a promise. And,34:09 that's what God's purpose into our life. And, because Jesus came in the fullness of time, you're redeemed, you're adopted, you are filled with the spirit, and like Galatians says, you can cry, Abba,34:21 Father. You can cry out to God whenever you need. And, you're no longer a slave. You're an heir to God. That's what the message of Christmas is not about all about. It's not34:33 just the arrival of Jesus. It's God giving you an identity. It's God giving you a name, son, and daughter. It's going, as Roman says, it's going from34:44 aliens. It's going from people that were once slaves, and and now we become children of God. But it's every single person that has an availability to say, God, I receive you34:56 writing my story. I accept that through Jesus you have given us hope. And, what happens is you and I can start with a new purpose,35:08 a new hope, a new redemption. And, it's not in possessions, it's not in career, it's not even in people. What happens is the real hope of Jesus, the real hope of God is found in35:20 Jesus. So, I wanna encourage you here today as we begin to close that as we set our sights for the next 30 so days of the Christmas season is there's a lot of fun, and we are gonna sing Christmas carols,35:32 and you're probably gonna watch the the Grinch or whatever other movies that put you home alone or whatever it is, and we're gonna put lights around our tree, and you're gonna have cookies, and you're gonna have35:43 cake, and Christmas Eve, you're gonna celebrate Christmas day. There's there's a lot of things that are filled with fun and family and this and that, but the greatest thing we could do in the Christmas season is pause35:56 and say, Lord, I thank you that for all of humanity you have had a purpose. And, if God has had a purpose, then that means he has had his eyes on you throughout that36:07 whole thing. God is not unaware of what is going on. God is not unaware of how far or distant you are from him. God is near, the bible says, to those that are broken hearted,36:19 those that are searching for him. He's near. And the Christmas season, if we can do anything as believers, is we can make sure that we let the world know that Jesus is the reason for the season.36:31 There's a reason. It's not just happy holidays. There's 1 holy day during Christmas, and it's the birth of Jesus. And so, as people, we walk out, other people can say what they want, but you and36:43 I know that this season, any the reason why there is lights anywhere or anything like that is because it points to the greatest light of all and his name is Jesus. And, you can say, well, how do I take that with me? You36:54 can be the light. You could be the light in your living room. You could be in the light at your workplace. You could be the light in your marriage. You could be the light to your children Because if you become heirs of37:06 God, it means you have access to God. And so, you're here today, I wanna encourage you as we begin to close. If you've never made Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior,37:18 I've shared it already that Jesus Christ was born to die. He was born that on his thirtieth year or 30 third year, he'd be taken to a cross.37:30 Satan would think he had victory because he killed Jesus, but 3 days later, that tomb would empty and Jesus would be risen, and he would show the world that he conquered death,37:42 that he conquered sin, and he's put Satan in his place. And it's through the work of Jesus that you and I can be heirs of God. And so, you're here today and you're37:53 saying, I want that relationship with God. I wanna receive Jesus as more like my Lord and Savior. Then I wanna encourage you right now, wherever you're at, if you're watching online, cafe, courtyard, or in this room,38:04 would you do me a favor? Could we bow our heads and close our eyes? I just wanna encourage you that as you're in the house today, if you're ready to make a decision or wherever you're at today, and you're ready to start38:14 a personal relationship with God, and you're ready to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you're ready to say, God, I repent of my sins and I'm ready to walk with you.38:26 Now, after this moment, you won't live a perfect life. It's not about you becoming perfect. It's about you setting your eyes on the 1 who is perfect. It's about being led for the rest of your life by the spirit of38:37 God and allowing God to guide you. No longer your own thoughts, no longer your own quote unquote intuitions as the world puts it, but saying, God, I receive you into my life and I allow my life to be led38:49 by you. And so, you're here today and you're ready to make that decision, this prayer is not the thing that saves you at all. The spirit of God is already at work in your heart. When we say this prayer, all we're doing39:00 is affirming what the Holy Spirit is already doing. And so, you're ready to say this today and make a confession of faith, would you join me in saying this? Dear Lord Jesus, this moment, confess myShow more
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