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The Holy Arrival: When God Stepped Into Our Darkness and Stayed · Fostering Faith

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Merry Christmas and so if you were listening
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to this on the day that it drops it is Christmas
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it is Christmas morning it drops at 5 a .m. and
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so we are so thankful that you turned in to on
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this holiday day if you were listening to it
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if you're not we still welcome you if you are
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new to fostering faith we are a podcast that
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does not have it all together but we are walking
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out this faith journey together because we are
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fostering our faith with community. And if you
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are returning listener, welcome back home. And
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we hope that you have had a great Christmas season
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and just the blessings of God over your life
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and this next upcoming year for those that are
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you have listening. And so today we're going
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to be in this episode and it's I wanted to do
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something a little bit special and it's our Christmas
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episode. It is our final message of the year,
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the one where we look back and forward and up
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and all at the same time. And I want to speak
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this slowly over you. God has been faithful.
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Whether you felt it this year, like it was a
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victory or survival, whether you walked through
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joy or walk through heartbreak, whether you ran
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or crawled or whether you were carried, you're
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here. You're listening. You're breathing. In
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the same time, you led through God led you through
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all of the beginning of the year and He is the
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same God that is standing with you right now.
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And Christmas is the reminder, the loud breathtaking
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reminder that you are never alone. God came,
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God stayed, and God is here. Christmas is not
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cute. It's not sentimental. It's not soft. It's
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not something simple and peaceful. Christmas
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is disruptive. Christmas is warfare. Christmas
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is God Himself stepping into the enemy territory,
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into the world full of darkness and brokenness
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and unrest and saying, I am here now and nothing
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will ever be the same again. Christmas is heaven
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breaking open over the world, drowning in sin.
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It is the birth of rescue. The revival of redemption,
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the beginning and the end of bondage. Christmas
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is the moment God chose to wrap himself in flesh.
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Fragile, breakable, interruptible flesh, because
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he refused to leave us trapped in our own weaknesses.
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Scripture tells us in Isaiah 9 -2, the people
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who walk in darkness will see a great light.
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Those who live in the dark land, the light will
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shine on them. Christmas is that prophecy fulfilled.
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Jesus Christ is the light of the world, stepping
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into the world that barely recognized him because
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the darkness had been normal for so long. And
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maybe that's your year. Maybe your darkness has
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become normal. Maybe heaviness becomes familiar.
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And maybe exhaustion became routine. But Christmas
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is God whispering. The light has come. You don't
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have to live in the shadows anymore. And when
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John opens his gospel, he doesn't begin with
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shepherds and angels and mangers. He begins with
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eternity. In the beginning was the Word, and
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the Word was God, and the Word was God. And then
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he drops the entire gospel into the earth -shaking
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sentence in John 1, 14. When the Word became
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flesh, and dwelt among us dwelt among us meaning
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he didn't brush past this he didn't visit with
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a distance he didn't shout truth from far away
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he came close he moved in he inhabited our humanity
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he stepped into the womb of a young girl into
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the arms of into the arms of a carpenter into
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a manger that smelled like animals and straw
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and sweat The king of the heavens grew inside
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the body of a teenage girl. The Almighty let
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his first breath be the dawn of the darkness
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of a stable. That is Emmanuel, the God with us.
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And the miracle of Christmas isn't just that
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he came, but how he came. Not in power, not in
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a spectacle, not in thunder, not on a throne,
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but in weakness, vulnerability. humility. Philippians
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2 says that he emptied himself, the creator choosing
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to become a creation, the infinite choosing limitations,
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the sovereign choosing servanthood, the one who
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spoke galaxies into existence, choosing to be
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held by human hands. Christmas is God saying,
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you will never be too broken, too messy. are
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too flawed, are too human for me to enter in.
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Christmas is proof that heaven bends low. And
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I want you to think about the timing of His arrival.
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In Galatians 4 .4, it says, When the faithfulness
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of time came, God sent forth His Son, not early,
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not late, not rushed, not delayed, but right
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when God ordained it. And I want to speak this
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over you today. The same God who sent Jesus at
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the right time knows how to send provision at
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the right time, healing at the right time, answers
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at the right time, breakthroughs at the right
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time. Christmas reminds us that God's timing
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is always perfect, even when we're waiting feels
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painful. And I want you to take this into heart
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of the kind of a theological truth. Now that
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kinda it is. The theological truth of the internal
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son of God became human while remaining fully
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God. That's not mythological. That's symbolic.
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It's literally historical doctrine reality. God
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didn't send an angel to save us. He didn't send
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a prophet to rescue us. He didn't send a vision,
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a formula, or a force. He sent himself. Because
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only God could save humanity from the curse of
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sin only God could take on the weight of wrath
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Only God could could fill the law perfectly only
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God could walk the road of the cross without
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stumbling into sin and So the Sun came not as
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an idea But as a baby Fully God and fully man
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the only one could bridge the gap between heaven
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and earth Christmas looks beautiful on cards,
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but in scripture It was gritty. It was violent.
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It was raw and holy. And a young girl giving
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birth without comfort. A husband trying to protect
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his family. He didn't feel worthy to lead. Shepherds
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startled awakened by angels and murderous kings
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slaughtering children in fear of losing his throne.
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A family fleeing Egypt as refugees. Christmas
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is not sanitized. It is sacred in the mess. And
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maybe that's why it resonates so deeply with
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everyone who feels like their life is a mess.
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Because God didn't arrive in perfection. He arrived
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in chaos, proving that He will meet you exactly
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where you are, even when everything feels tangled.
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And now let's talk about the gospel, built into
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Christmas. Jesus didn't come to stay in the manger.
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The manger was a launching point for His mission.
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He came to live the sinful life, sinless life
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that we couldn't live, to show us the Father,
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to reveal the kingdom, to heal the sick, to raise
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the dead, to confront evil, to teach truth, and
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ultimately to offer himself as the Lamb of God
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who takes away the sin of the world. Christmas
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leads to Calvary, the cradle leads to the cross,
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and the swaddling clothes lead to burial clothes.
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that could not hold him. Christmas is the beginning
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of the rescue story. And as I tell my kids all
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the time, Christmas is great. Don't get me wrong.
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We can't have Easter without Christmas. But Christmas,
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a guy was born and the Redeemer came in. But
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Easter is the victory. And every moment in between
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reveals a God who refuses to abandon his creation.
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And so Christmas is also a healing story because
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Jesus stepped into a world. He stepped into our
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wounds. Isaiah 53 calls him a man of sorrows
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acquainted with grief. Christmas is not celebrated
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by God who doesn't understand pain. Christmas
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is celebrated by a God who entered it, embraced
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it, redeemed it. He knows what it feels like
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to be tired, misunderstood, rejected, betrayed,
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overwhelmed, lonely, hungry. tempted, sorrowful,
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and human. When Hebrews 415 says, he sympathizes
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with our weakness, Christmas is proof. And I
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wonder how many of you are ending this year tired,
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maybe disappointed, maybe carrying wounds only
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God sees, maybe grieving someone, maybe fixing
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some place in silence, maybe battling fear about
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the future. Maybe feeling behind on everything
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you hoped would have changed by now. But yet
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Christmas whispers, God is with you in the dark.
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God is with you in the waiting. God is with you
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in the questions. God is with you when you feel
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it's unfinished. Emmanuel is not just a seasonal
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slogan. It is spiritual reality. And this is
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where the Holy Spirit comes in because Christmas
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isn't just a story of Christ being born, it is
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a story of Christ making a way for the spirit
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to dwell inside of us. Jesus came to be with
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us so that the spirit could be in us. And John
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14, 16 through 17 says, the spirit will be with
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us forever. That means Christmas isn't a moment.
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It's a movement, a movement of God drawing near,
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filling his people, empowering his church, transforming
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our lives from the inside out. Christmas is the
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beginning of the spirit story in you. And now
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I want to shift this message towards you. Toward
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your year, towards your journey, your pain, your
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growth, your story. Because Christmas is the
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reminder that God writes the most beautiful stories
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in the most unexpected places. Maybe this year
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didn't look like what you prayed for it would
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be. Maybe it wasn't the breakthrough year of
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healing or it wasn't the easiest year or the
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tidiest year. But God is working. He's forming.
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He was protecting. He was pruning. He was positioning.
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He was closer than you thought. And in James
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1 17, it says every good thing even the every
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perfect gift is comes from above. If you saw
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even one glimpse of grace this year, that was
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him. And if you made it through a more difficult
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moment, that was him. If you were if you were
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in grief and comforted, that was him. If you
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heard a whisper in the chaos, that was him. Christmas
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is an invitation to look back and say, God, you
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were here. Even when I didn't see you, you were
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there. And now before we move on into the next
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year, this is where action comes in. Because
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Christmas isn't meant to leave you inspired.
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It is meant to leave you transformed. And action
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begins with stillness. And before we end this
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year, choose one quiet moment to sit with God
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and say, Show me where you are this year. Don't
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rush it. Don't analyze it. Just sit. And the
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Holy Spirit will bring to mind the places of
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protection, the moments of mercy, the whispers
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of the direction, the flashes of strength, seeing
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God's hand behind you that builds your faith
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and what is ahead. Action continues with surrender.
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Lay down what didn't happen. Lay down what broke
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your heart. Lay down the timeline that you tried
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to force. Lay down the weight that you weren't
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ready to carry. Like Mary and Luke 1 .38 say,
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but it unto me according to your word. Surrender
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is a soil where new beginnings grow. Action cultivates
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with expectation. Christmas teaches us that God
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can interrupt any moment with glory. He can fill
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any darkness with light. He can fulfill any promise
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at the appointed time. Walk into the new year
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expecting God to move, not because the calendar
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changes, but because Christ reigns. And I know
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as we close this final episode of the year, I
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want to speak a blessing over you, a Christmas
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blessing, an end of year blessing, a Holy Spirit
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filled blessing. May the light of Christ break
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every shadow around you. May the peace of Christ
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settle every storm within you. May the presence
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of Christ draw nearer than your breath. May the
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voice of Christ guide your steps into this next
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year. May the strength of Christ carry you where
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you cannot go alone. May the love of Christ heal
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you where you are wounded. May Emmanuel, God
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with us, be your confidence, your comfort, and
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your assistance. your consistent companion. I
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believe that every listener is going to be surrounded
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by the Holy Spirit. Fill them, steady them, heal
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them, lead them. Make this next year where you
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can see and they can walk it clearly. They walk
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with you deeply. They walk with you boldly. They
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walk with you because they know that you have
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never left them and that you're not going to.
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We hope that this message blessed you. We hope
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that this message encouraged you, inspired you
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that Christmas is more than a cute Christmas
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card, but it is God coming to rescue His people
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and He is here. He is active and He is alive.
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We would love to pray for you. Dear Heavenly
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Father, thank you so much for these listeners.
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Thank you so much for their vulnerability. Thank
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you for their surrender. Thank you that they
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are going to live open -handed because they want
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correction. They want the fruits of the Spirit.
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Thank you for those that do not know you, that
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they're going to come to know you this year.
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Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for scripture.
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Thank you that you are changing our hearts. Thank
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you that you're changing our minds. Thank you
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for clear vision. Thank you for discernment.
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Thank you that this next year will be our healthiest
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year yet. Thank you for all that you do. In Jesus'
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name I pray. Amen. Well friends, Merry Christmas.
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Thank you for being with us this year. We are
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proud of you and God is not finished with you.
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He's just getting started. Have a great rest
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of your year. We love you. Bye.