Christmas | Girls Gone Bible

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Forged by the sea. The true meaning of Christmas.
What is the true meaning of Christmas? Well, it all started long ago in the North Pole. Wait, hold on a minute.
That's not the true meaning of Christmas. No, Christmas isn't about Santa Claus or reindeer.
It's not about stockings or snowflakes, presents under the tree, or even holiday cheer. Christmas is about a person.
And that person is not a jolly old man in a red suit. Christmas is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God in the flesh who came into the world on a rescue mission.
The greatest gift ever given wasn't wrapped in shiny paper or placed under a tree. It was God's only Son sent to save us from our greatest problem, sin.
The Bible tells us in John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. This is the heart of Christmas.
God looked at a world broken by sin, filled with darkness, and he didn't send a temporary fix. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, the perfect gift to live a life we could never live and pay a price we could never pay.
Christmas is about Jesus, who was born to die. He came to live the sinless life we could not live.
He came to fulfill the perfect standard of God's law. But he didn't just come to be a good example or a wise teacher.
His ultimate mission was the cross. You see, because of our sins, we are separated from God.
Every lie, every selfish action, every prideful thought distances us from the God who is perfectly holy. Romans chapter 3 verse 23 says, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
But the good news is this, God didn't leave us in our sin.

He sent Jesus, who took the punishment for our sins on the cross. On that first Christmas morning, the Savior of the world was born.
And 33 years later, he would go to the cross where he would bear the full weight of God's judgment for sin. Three days after Jesus' crucifixion, God raised him from the dead as a proclamation that Jesus is God in the flesh.
And the he alone has power over the grave. As you celebrate Christmas, reflect on this incredible gift.
God offers you salvation through Jesus Christ. Will you accept it? Will you turn from your sins, believe in him, and receive the greatest gift of all, eternal life? God right now is calling you to himself, and it's up to you to receive the free gift of salvation from sin through Jesus Christ, or to reject him and reject his free gift of grace.
So I wish you a Merry Christmas, and may God receive all the power, honor, and glory. Hey, Ange.
Hey, Ar, they're lucky I didn't bring a big nativity scene again this year. Oh, I didn't.
You guys are lucky that I didn't bring a whole nine-piece nativity scene this year because I was so close. I did it last year and we were so weird.
Who's that guy? King Aaron? Kick him off. Kick him off.
King Aaron, get him out. I know.
I literally, if you guys don't know about me, I am obsessed with the nativity scene. I am obsessed with baby Jesus.
If you love me at all, tag me in your photos on Instagram of the nativity scene. I love baby Jesus.
He's the best. I love him.
I know. Sweet baby Jesus.
I actually watched the movie of Mary the other night. Okay, can we talk about it? Did you watch it? I watched the first 20 minutes.
What did you think? I loved it. Okay, I didn't get far enough in.
What was it about? It was about Mary and the birth of Jesus and what she went through. And they couldn't have cast a better girl.
Really? Yeah, it just showed her purity and how, I don't know, just watching her, it was so beautiful to watch. She was beautiful.
I loved the character that they um the girl that they chose to play Mary I didn't even get that far because I could not get past Angel Gabriel Angel Gabriel looked like an absolute demon and I'm so confused I was like is that a deep why would they do that I don't know I don't know because everyone is saying it was so beautiful but it was so scary that I was, I had to turn it off. Well, you don't want to know something crazy.
When Stephanie told, talks about how she, when she encountered an angel, she said that she thought it was a demon. Wow.
Yeah. Yeah.
So they're not, if you see, if you look up on Google, like what angels in heaven actually look like, they're actually very, I mean, that's why when they show up up in the bible everyone is like in fear and trembling because it's probably not yeah like

I imagine angels should be just like these like pretty things with wings yeah little cherubs

but yeah I mean that is probably an accurate depiction but I was a little skewed and this is girls gone bible we are a faith-based podcast where we talk all things spirituality mental health relationships and we talk about everything from a biblical perspective. We love Jesus.
We love the Bible. We are two girls that lived interesting lives until Jesus came and swooped us up and rescued us, and he absolutely saved our lives.
He transformed our lives, and today we have, okay, don't look at this because I am am horrified I don't know how you lose your nails I am horrified I'm gonna go the whole episode like I've never seen it that's not all of in June then no this is not all of in June because all of in June doesn't pop they would never they would never I don't know what this is I'm just a great I'm an aggressive like behavior. I don't know.
Yeah. Anyways, today we have the honor and the privilege of doing an episode on Christmas.
Jesus. The birth of Jesus, the life of Jesus, the gospel.
You guys, you guys, you guys, if you don't know the gospel, we're going to go into it today. If you don't know Jesus, if you don't know who Jesus is, why he was born, why he came, we're going to talk about all of it today.
The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ, that God sent his one and only son to earth because he loved us so much and he couldn't take being away from us anymore, that he sent his son to dwell among us. And I'm just so excited.
Yeah. We love Christmas so much.
We love Jesus so much. Guys, before we get into today's Christmas episode, I just want to remind you that we are on the Girls Gone Bible live tour.
You can go to girlsgonebible.com slash tour to get tickets. We have all of our dates for the next six months out on the website.
So please get your tickets. Come hang out with Ari and I, and we just can't wait to see you and love you and hug you.
And then I also just wanna say that you guys know that we're on GGB Plus now. We are having so much fun on GGB Plus.
We basically have exclusive conversations that are so real, so raw, so vulnerable that you can't see anywhere else. We're having a really good time, and it's actually even more intimate than we even get on here.
And so we want you to go to girlsgonebible.com slash plus to subscribe, and please join us on GGB+. I think we'll start in Luke chapter 1.
So we're going to start at verse 26 when it's an angel promises the birth of Jesus to Mary. So I just

want to say really quick before we start, there are these people in the Bible, Zechariah and

Elizabeth, who will be the parents of John the Baptist, who will ultimately be kind of like

Jesus's cousin, which I actually didn't know that they were related. I am so obsessed with John the

Baptist because of his humility and his servanthood and just his ability to, he was literally birth

Thank you. know that they were related.
I am so obsessed with John the Baptist because of his humility and his servanthood and just his ability to, he was literally birthed to prepare the way for Jesus's coming. And he's actually a relative of Jesus's because Mary and Elizabeth, Elizabeth was really, really old and her and Zechariah, just like Abraham and Sarah, thought that they would never have children.
They gave up the dream. And then an angel came to tell them, you are going to conceive a child.
His name is going to be John. And he is going to be a prophetic voice to so many people.
And he is going to lead people from sin to Jesus. He's going to baptize people.
He's going to lead people. But ultimately, he's not the leader.
He has somebody greater than him that will be above him. Verse 26.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
Gabriel appeared to her and said, Greetings, favored woman, the Lord is with you. Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
Don't be afraid, Mary, the angel told her, for this happen? I am a virgin.

The angel replied,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age. People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month for the word of god will never let's go fail the word of god will never fail mary responded i am the lord's servant may everything you have said about me come true and then the angel left her it's so funny as i was reading this i just realized that elizabeth her probably watching probably watching Elizabeth conceive at such an old age was a seed of faith for Mary to believe, you know? Yeah, 100%.
I, this, you guys, the Christmas story, the Christmas story, there's so many people are like, what's the true meaning of Christmas? The true meaning of Christmas is our crucified and risen Savior, point blank, period. Anything else that is not biblical, and I'm not saying you can't put up a tree and have kids go to Santa, whatever.
I'm not going to be that much of a Pharisee and tell you that there's witchcraft and the candies. But I will say that there's one thing that we need to focus on, and it's the birth the death and the resurrection of our savior.
And the fact that Jesus, one of the greatest lessons of Christmas is that we cannot put God in a box. These are two women that should not be having a child.
One of them is way too old and she was barren. She couldn't have children when she was younger.
She definitely shouldn't have children when she's older. And she conceived a child because the word of God never fails and it never comes back void.
And then Mary, a virgin, it is beyond any human ability for her to have a child. But God does not work in natural and human capabilities.
He is a supernatural God that does things that don't make sense. And we talked about favor.
It says that his favor was upon Mary. Favor is supernatural.
It transcends any sort of natural capability and gives us the opportunity for God to do the most insane things that we can never do ourselves. And I just, I love this part where she says, I am the Lord's servant.
May everything you have said come true. And in another translation, it says, let everything you have said be done to me.
Ari and I, really quick, not to interrupt the Christmas story, but Ari and I have had two things that have happened recently that are so crazy like we got a message today there have been so many opportunities in our in our walk with Girls Gone Bible and everything and Ari and I live literally like this like so open-handed so willing we have no expectation we have no we like don't even have desires anymore. Like our only desire is to serve God and let his will play out in our lives.
We are so okay with things not happening the way we think we want them to. And we've had two things that have happened recently that have kind of like been promised and then fallen through.
And I'm pretty sure you're on the same page with me that both of our responses are, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.
We literally have no expectation and we live saying, Lord, let all you have said be done to me. Just whatever you have said, let it be done to me.
And that's how Mary lived. That is why Jesus, like what Mary did is so unbelievable.
And we cannot forget, like there's so much to learn about Mary's obedience and her willingness to have a broken will. God is asking us to have a broken will.
He wants us to put down our will and pick up his will and say, let everything you have said be done to me. I get so fired up about Mary because she killed it.
Like, it's amazing. And that's what it means when it says, give your life for me.
We think we have to give up our lives. No, giving your life to him means a life of surrender.
And we think, well, I don't want to surrender this, but that's the beauty of having Jesus is we don't have to sit there and worry every day and go by our own strength. It's like this.
Yeah. Take it.
It's so much protection. If you say no, okay, I don't want it either.
That's the beauty. I know when you said that today, you know, some people, because it was an opportunity that I think you and I really wanted to do.
And then we were in prayer saying, God, if you don't want this for us, take it. And he did.
And we don't question twice. And we're happy about it.
Yeah, we don't question anything. I'm like, okay, that's the beauty of it.
It's truly when I think about our life, it's like we're two little girls. I have this picture in my head every time something that falls through it's us two and the walking behind Jesus we're holding his hand and he's just leading us it's so cute and it's like yeah it's my whole life I'm I'm trying to figure things out and trying to go by my own will of what I think I want right what was I doing I was I getting it wrong the whole time.
He's like, no, I know better. Just follow me and I will lead you and you won't have to live in stress and chaos.
Follow my lead. Pick up your cross and follow me.
Yeah. And there's so much protection.
So much protection. You're in covenant with God when you have a surrendered life.
It's a covenant where you don't have to worry. Whatever doesn't work out, it's because it's what he says.
May everything happen to me that you say. Yeah.
It's beautiful. It's so good.
I just, I love. And I really want to say that there's a difference between Zechariah and Mary.
If you go back to the beginning of Luke, Zechariah, basically the angel comes and tells Zechariah, you're going to have a kid. And then Zechariah, similar to Sarah, how Sarah laughed, Zechariah questioned and he doubted.
And like, it's okay. It's natural.
Sometimes we doubt God. But the angel said, okay, since you have doubted me, you're going to be quiet until the baby is born.
and he basically like bound his tongue and he could not speak for the next however many months until that child was born. And so I think about the difference between Zechariah and Mary and like faith.
You cannot please God without faith. Like faith, we have to be willing to say, listen, I have no idea what you're talking about, God.
It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't, my biological reality doesn't support the claim that you've made that this is going to happen to me.
However, let all that you've said be done to me. And I believe that if you've said it, it's going to happen and you're going to do whatever you need to do to make it happen.
And nothing is too hard for God. And so we have to, my biggest thing in life right now is like, just not putting God in a box.
Because we have so many ideas and so many things we think about and so many ideals of how things should go. And I have been preaching this so much lately.
But like, if God has spoken something, do not think that you do not limit what God can do and do not restrict your obedience to your own understanding. Because if you then will only be obedient on things that you can perceive and understand in your own mind, in your own strength, you've made a God in your own image.
That's exactly it. You've completely put him in a box and limited him and said, you can't do what you say you're going to do.
And I want to let you guys know too, like as you're saying that, I know that we can say this and it doesn't take away that the fact that we are still waiting on a partner at an age where we didn't expect to be single. We're still waiting on that purpose that we're thinking.
I know, but I just do. I feel like time is running out.
And I want you guys to know that that's okay. That's us being human beings.
And it's okay to feel that way. I felt that way so many times, but I believe God did everything he did in my life at the age that he did for me.
So I can be a seed of faith for you guys to be like,

he redeemed and restored every single day that I thought I had lost. I will never forget lying in

my studio apartment at 30 being like, it is done. What am I going to do? And he restored every

single day that had went missing. And so I know it's hard and I know it can be difficult, but

I love that you say that because don't ever put an age limit don't you dare yeah yeah don't ever put an age limit because you know it's like we society has put us in this box that if we reach this age, it's over. And that couldn't be the furthest thing from the truth.
That is deception of society that they are telling you. I don't care what anyone says.
How do I know that? Because God did that in my life. My life has truly just begun at 30.
It's insane. Yeah.
So don't you know, I know that life can feel really stressful. Like you're literally on a time clock, but I just want you to take a deep breath and understand that he's got you.
It says over 365 times in the Bible, you don't need to be afraid. Don't be afraid.
He says that for a reason. Don't be afraid.
I am with you. I am working it out for you.
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God is a God of timing. I wanted so badly to have children, you know, at this age and this age, but I would never be sitting here.
So just that's another thing. Just trust his timing.
I know that's hard, but really, please, if I could tell you anything. Trust his timing.
I went I was thinking about it this morning because I was thinking about the things that have happened with like things falling through and and and the fact that I just like the freedom that I live in because I actually don't experience disappointment like I literally never am upset about not doing something or not getting something I spent 10 years acting I spent 10 years in the industry where I was disappointed my my um my reality was always disappointed five times a week auditioning five times a week, never getting it, disappointed over and over and over again. And like, when you think about timing, I would have never thought in a million years that after 10 years of this work and striving and trying and working towards a goal that God would then be like, thank you for this 10 years.
It's not lost. There's something there.
There's something here. You've learned so much, but I'm redeeming it in a different way.
And this is where like the real fun begins. This is where your life actually begins.
Nothing makes sense. Why? Why did I do 10 years? I don't know.
There's a mystery to God, but yeah, I just love what you say about timing and of age because God wants you to throw away all of your age restrictions. He does.
But it was because you said, okay, here, take it out of my hands and show me. And if you didn't do that, it would have just been more time where you have to go through the lesson until you learn.
So true. So true.
I know. Immediate obedience, best case scenario.
And then this is the part where sweet baby Jesus was born. It says in Luke 2, verse 1, that at that time, the Roman emperor Augustus decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for the census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home.
He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there is no lodging available for them. Sweet Jesus left his heavenly throne, left his perfect clean heaven to come to dirty earth and be born in the dirt.
I am so fascinated recently, especially because like so many, it's so weird. Just, it's just a political time, obviously.
And like political things have been opened up to us and there's just been like so much talk around politics. And obviously we just had the election.
And I think in this season, I have just become so obsessed with the fact that Jesus legitimately never harnessed any sort of political or royal influence or power. He didn't want it.
He didn't need it. The whole time that he was alive, and I know we talked about this last time, but like the humility of his life, how he never grasped for any sort of power, including political.

And everything at this time was rooted in politics, similar to how it is today. how we live in an America where this is post-Christian America,

and we are living in a time where people look at presidents or candidates or like or just like political power as our Messiah, as our Savior, as our means of rescue. When in reality, Jesus and during this time, everybody thought that the Messiah was going to come, overthrow the Roman government, restore Israel back to its original form.
And like he was going to reign. Yeah.
But he came for a different kingdom. And he said, I don't want any of it.
I don't need it. I'm coming to get my kids who are sick and hurting and broken and lost.
And I'm just I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed with the humility of Jesus.
He came here, he could have been anything. And he came to just serve us.
Yeah. It's not that politics aren't important aren't important of course they are there are leaders and scripture is so clear that you pay to god what is god's and you pay to caesar's what is caesar or you pay to caesar what is caesar's like we have a part to play in politics a hundred percent um and i just think it's all about prioritizing and compartmentalizing and like putting weight where it's due.
Not idolizing it. Exactly.
People have completely idolized politics. I just love the idea of power that Jesus had the most and he never used it.
I know. He never used it.
He never did. Because he didn't need to.
I know. He knew that his father had his back.
He didn't need to do. I'm going to be wrecked.
I've been wrecked all day by the fact that what he did for us. Like I am.
I can't handle it. That's why the Christian life, it really teaches you to be the best person.
If you are truly walking as a Christian, you and you're not like being the best version of yourself. Something's wrong wrong because if you're really following him and reading his word and how he was, it just causes you to like, how could I, how could I not be a servant? A follower of Jesus is a servant.
He, that's what he did. He, he humbly came and just spent his life serving others and healing the sick and teaching us how to love and how to have compassion and look at people that do us wrong and still love them anyways.

Like he taught us that.

Nothing else.

What a gift.

Luke 2 verse 8, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David, and you will recognize him by this sign. You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth lying in a manger.
Suddenly the angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased. And then it says, they hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph, and there was the baby lying in the manger.
After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherd's story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
So that is the sweet, sweet, sweet Christmas story. Jesus, the light of the world.
Jesus is born. He comes to save.
He comes to rescue. He comes to love.
I remember when I would spend every single year so stressed out, worrying about my gifts, worrying about the family, just running around like a chicken without my head every single Christmas. And then the year I found Jesus, it was the best year, but still one of the loneliest years because I was going through so much.
I was really going through a lonely time. And I don't know what I would have done without him.
I don't know how I would have gotten through my loneliest nights if it wasn't from him and whoever's listening knows exactly what I'm talking about. And the year I found Jesus, I'll never forget it.
I'll never forget my first Christmas when I got saved and I just sat there all day in complete awe of just being like, this is it. I spent so many years sitting there worrying about all the wrong things.
And this is it that you're the light, you are it, you have saved my life. And it wasn't like I had even I wasn't even around my family.
But I remember just sitting there, this was two years ago. And it was complete bliss and peace of just soaking in Jesus and reflecting.
And I know that the Christmas season can feel so hectic. You know, it can bring up a lot of hurt.
It can bring up pain of losing someone that you love so much. It can bring up the dysfunction that you're living in, It can just bring up a lot of pain and hurt.
And so I just want you to remember what Jesus said when he says, you don't need to be afraid. Fear not.
I am with you. In these times where you feel lonely, in these times in the Christmas season, when you are feeling completely alone, I want you to know that he's with you, that he's sitting there saying, I'm with you.
Don't be afraid. We'll get through this together.
He loves you so much. And it's just a lot of us just go in this time of just thinking about all the things.
But Jesus, I spent my whole life doing that. And so I really hope that you guys can just spend this Christmas season being in awe of what he's done for us, being in awe of the love and compassion and that he's, he gave his life for us, you know? So yeah, I just, for you new Christians that are listening, that's what, that's the gift.
That's the gift that we've been given is Jesus. He's the light of our life.
He's with us through every, he knows everything we went through. He, he, because he experienced it, the sorrow, the agony.
They said that when he was on the cross, he was unrecognizable. That's how much pain he went through.
So everything that we go through, he's been through too. Everything that we feel and we think that we're ashamed of, he's been there too.
He sees us and understands us. And that's the gift that we have that, you know, in the Old Testament, God was known as the almighty, the all powerful God.
And then he came as a little servant boy with Mary, a mom who was, who was Mary? She was just an average girl. And who was Joseph? He was just an average boy.
And then he came here as Jesus, as father to show us that we're his children, that we don't have to live in fear. I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never have to walk in darkness. If nothing else is Christmas season,

can you guys soak in that? That we don't have to live in darkness when we accept Jesus as our father and our Lord. That is the ultimate gift and sacrifice that he gives us.
So good. So good.
What a gift. GGB run don't walk

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That's o-l-i-v-e-a-n-d-j-u-n-e dot com slash ggb25 for 25% off your first Olive in June system. I think it's so important that we, like theology

is everything to me. I love the Bible.
I love scripture more than anything. I love the theology behind the gospel.
It is, I cannot wait. I'm going to go to, as soon as tour is over, I'm going to seminary and it's going to be the best year of my life.
I can't wait for a season of complete hiddenness just in school. But I, you know, to go off what Ari said, the God of the Old Testament was a God who was so unreachable.

The point of Christmas, the meaning of Christmas is in the word Emmanuel, which means God with us.

God with us.

God not far away.

God not in heaven.

God not on his throne looking down at us, but God with us, in us, around us. God with us.
God not far away. God not in heaven.
God not on his throne looking down at us, but God with us, in us, around us. And Ari talked about how in the Old Testament, like he was this big God.
And in the Old Testament, if you guys know the theology about the blood and the cross and why Jesus even had to die, we could not enter into God's presence easily. We could not call on his name, and we could not just like enter into his presence.
We could not. You would have to go into the holy of holies.
You'd have to go into the temple, into the tabernacle. We had a middleman.
We had the high priest who had to atone for our sins. We always had something in between us and God, And God sent Jesus so that he would tear down the veil and everybody would be able to enter into the Holy of Holies no matter where you are.
And so Emmanuel, God with us, he came here because he wanted to be with us. Jesus came because of the issue with sin.
Like Ari talked about, the God of the Old Testament. in the the New Testament it says that we can enter boldly before the throne of grace.
To obtain mercy and find help in a time of need. You could not boldly approach God in the Old Testament.
It is the kindness of God that gave us Jesus. It's the love of God.
It is the ultimate expression and manifest of God's love. And manifestation God's love is through sending us Jesus so that we could actually have a relationship with him.
That is the whole reason, the whole point why Jesus came. And it's so important to know that Christmas is not just about a baby that was born, but it's about a God who became man.
Jesus was fully man and fully human. So when he was born, he was literally equal parts human, equal parts God, meaning he had all the authority, all of the divinity, everything that God encompasses and has, Jesus had it.
And then he equally experienced everything that we do. And we always laugh about the scripture battle about in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.
But that applies in this moment. In the beginning was the word and the word meaning Jesus was with God and the word was God.
So it's important to know that while Jesus may have been born on Christmas, because we don't know the actual date, Jesus was on, was born on Christmas, but he did not begin at Christmas. He was with God in the beginning.
To know him as Savior, we must recognize him as creator. The same hands that hung the stars in the moon are the same hands that were nailed to a cross.
Our creator is our Savior. He is the same.
He's one in the same. It's so important to recognize the entirety of who Jesus is as Jesus, our savior, and as God, our creator and our father.
I love that he's our father. Sweet, sweet, sweet Jesus.
And it says that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. He wanted so badly to be in here in the middle of it with us.
He wanted so badly to have the ability to be with me when I was dealing with alcoholism. And he wanted to be with you when you were in your heartbreak.
And he wants to be with you guys in the middle of your pain, in the middle of your mess. He loves you so much that he said, I am legitimately so obsessed with you.

I can't stay there anymore. I have to come for you.
Do you guys understand why Jesus came? Because he loves you. He wants you.
It's the greatest expression of love that we'll ever see. It's the greatest love story that man has ever heard.
a God as divine and as precious as our God wanted to come here and humble himself.

It's not like he was like God wrapped in human clothing and he was just like better than us.

He was us.

He came, he stepped into human history in the same form as us.

How humble with all of our weaknesses, with all of our struggles. It's unbelievable.
I can't take it. And if that alone, when you really understand what he did for us, when you really truly understand that, how could you not want to lay your life down? Anytime you're like, well, I can't, I can't think about what he did for us.
Think about what he sacrificed for us. If that alone doesn't make you say, oh, no, no, no, that is not, no matter what that looks like, I'm going to keep my eyes on you.
Look at what you've done for me. So many of us too, we're like, Jesus doesn't love me.
I'm too far gone. I've done too much.
He understands it all. Look at what he did.
Look at how he went through it all. He's watched it all.
He's seen it all. He's lived it.
Of course he understands. Of course he sympathizes with you.
Of course he mourns with you. Romans 5.8, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And 1 John 4, 9 to 10 says, this is how God showed his love among us.
He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love.
Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We can never love God enough.
We just can't. We are too limited in our humanness.
But God, his ability to love, his ability to love us, if you let yourself receive the love of God, it will change your life. It'll change your desires.
It'll change your mindset. It'll change your behavior.
We don't repent because and turn away from sin because we have to. We do it because we have experienced the love of a father that I, so many of us have never experienced in our human life and relationships.
But when you experience the love of a father, it changes everything about you. Everything.
I look at people and I'm just like, please get it. Yeah, please get it.
Because you are. It's.
It's hell. It's hell.
I just. That's why we come on here.
We're just like fighting for you guys, because especially when you've grown up with no safety and the lack of love, a lack of just abandonment. And you think, oh, well, I don't have parents and I don't have friends and I'm just I'm suffering.
I'm lonely. Yeah.
He can fulfill every single broken part that you've lost, that you feel like you don't have in your family home that you feel like you don't have in your friendships or wherever it is he will fill that he feels that and you will feel fulfilled that's that's why he will take you out of the darkness that you grew up in that you're in right now and he will bring you into the light all it takes is a heart and a willingness to be like, I want you, Jesus. I want you.
I'm getting wrecked right now. I think it's really good to understand the theology behind why Jesus came through a virgin Mary.
Because a lot of people don't know why that happened. A lot of people, it's so funny.
So many people are Christians. Theology is so beautiful.
And we are meant to worship God in spirit and in truth. So we're supposed to worship him in our spirit and through our spirituality, but we need truth.
It's equal parts spirit and truth. If you don't know theology, if you don't know the theology behind what you believe, I don't believe that you can worship Jesus rightly.
You have to have a clear, distinct revelation of everything to do with him and his word. And the more you learn, the more you read, the more you should love Jesus because you understand him better.
And so the reason why Jesus had to be born through a virgin is because while he's fully man, he's also fully God. And God cannot be with sin.
God does not sin. Scripture says that through one man, Adam, sin entered the world.
And you guys know the beginning of creation. Adam and Eve were created.
We are created in the image of God. We were meant to be like God.
We were meant to be in relationship with God. And man fell.
Man chose his own will, his own desires, his own wants and needs. And we traded God's perfect will for our own broken one.
And it has, and sin has reigned ever since Adam, through Moses, through the prophets, through absolutely everybody. It has reigned in all of us.
Because we're born in the bloodline of Adam, we are born sinners. It's in our blood.
It's in our, like, it's everything. It is the way it is.
And so when Jesus was born, he had to come through a woman, a body that was undefiled, that was untouched, that was pure, holy, and blameless. He had to be conceived not through human nature, but through by the Holy Spirit, because he had to be born without the stain of sin that we all get born with.
And so while he's fully God, while he's fully man, he's also fully God, free of sin.

And so it had to be the way it was.

And God knew.

He knew that the only way would be if he came through the body of a virgin woman.

And he stayed sinless throughout his whole life.

And it's absolutely insane because he had every temptation we did.

He had human desires.

His nature was fully human. He felt like we did.
He felt like we did. And he, yet without sin, he never, never sinned.
It's absolutely insane. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
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You know what I love, too, about this story? I think I said this earlier, but you think about Mary, how I just love, because you said she was holy or whatever, but I just love that he used just an average girl from a poor town, and Joseph, an average guy from a poor town. They were just average people.
And she says, how could this be? Me? Who am I? And so many of us do that in our own lives. Who am I? Like, how could God use me? And so it's a great description of what God can do in your life.
If this isn't a perfect description, how he can take. We think we'll never be used by God, that we're too average, that we're too this.
No. You think of the story of Mary and Joseph, and I hope it gives you hope.
Society has told us we have to be this. We have to be rich.
We have to be good. We have to be all these things.
No. It's all about this.
It's all about a heart, a heart after God. So good.
So good. Can I add to that in saying that the favor on Mary's life doesn't look like God's favor just does not look like the world's favor.
And I just want to say something really quick that spiritual success is so much more important than like worldly financial career success. If I had a year doing absolutely nothing, I made no money, I had no accomplishments, but I became the closest to Jesus I ever have.
I learned the most about his story. I grew spiritually the most.
That is the most successful year of my entire life. And you know what? As you're saying that, that's exactly what happened to us.
We had nothing. We were struggling so hard, but we had Jesus.
The time we were struggling where we felt like the rug got taken underneath us was the time where we were like this with Jesus. He's got you and he sustains you.
When you have Jesus, it's all you need. He will take care of everything else for you.
It's so good. And it just, it doesn't look like what the world says it should look like.
Mary said, Mary received the, probably the highest, other than Jesus, the greatest favor you could ever receive on your life. She gave birth and raised, carried, gave birth, and then raised the Savior of the world.
Talk about favor. And nobody would have ever recognized the favor.
Nobody ever knew. Nobody would ever even know about the favor on her life until 33 years later, 30 years later.
You know what I mean? So favor does not mean that you're put on a stage or in front of cameras and like made a lot of money. Favor, the favor of God is just different.

In the sight of God, he values things that are different than what we value.

Spiritual success is the most important thing that you can gain and obtain.

Closeness and intimacy with Jesus is my definition of success.

Did I have a good, did I accomplish a lot today?

I don't know.

How close did I feel to Jesus? How much I talked to him how close in fellowship was was I to Jesus you know confidence too yeah we are always looking for confidence in the world and it leaves us dead it leaves us empty you know you see people and they they have all the things but they don't feel good inside when you have Jesus when you are in covenant with Jesus when you are walking with Jesus that's when you stand good inside. When you have Jesus, when you are in covenant with Jesus, when you are walking with Jesus, that's when you stand anchored.
That's when you have, like, that's what real confidence comes from. And so many people say that, well, I'm lacking confidence.
You will find every ounce of confidence when you are walking with Jesus, when you make the decision to come boldly to the throne. Jesus, who comes humbly to us, asks us to go boldly to the throne, go boldly to the throne and ask him and open your heart up and say, I want you.
I want you to have all of me. I want to lay my life down with you.
You are the greatest gift of all. And the way you will have confidence and be anchored in your safety and your peace, even on your loneliest nights, it is going to blow your mind.
It's going to blow your mind. You're going to be like, what was I doing my whole life? How could I live like that my whole life? You know? I was wandering around.
Two chickens without their heads. What was I doing? You know, when it's like, you know, Mariah Carey, she goes, I didn't know nothing.
I was stupid. I was foolish.
I was lying to myself. That was us before we got there.
I lied to myself. No, literally, I didn't know nothing.
I was stupid. I was foolish.
I was lying to myself. That's us without Jesus.
That's our theme song in 2012 oh yeah no mine in 2012 was

oh yeah god knows what it was it was a song yep it's probably gcj why do i tell you guys that go ahead i want to say one more thing um in the beginning was the word and the word was god and the word was god yes no because so many you know i know we are always

focused on gift giving. And while that isn't everything, yes, we are, we don't have to give gifts, but it is a time of giving because the spirit of giving was the biggest ultimate giver ever.
He made his life giving to us and serving to us. And so I just want to encourage you guys to whatever you're holding, whatever resentment you're holding to a family member or a loved one, whatever it is, just try to remember who he was and the grace and compassion and love that he gave to us when we didn't deserve it and how he just served us day in and day out.

And remember that I know it's hard, but let's try to be like that this holiday season. Let's put down the walls.
Let's soften our hearts. Let's open it and just learn to forgive and love and be giving.
It doesn't have to be with gifts, but the greatest gift of all is being a loving, giving person to another person that and and also one more thing the greatest gift of all is being a loving, giving person to another person. And also one more thing, the greatest gift of our lives is sharing the gospel, sharing it.
You don't understand how much you can change and impact someone's life. That is a gift in itself.
So be bold and give that gift to someone, whether it's praying for someone, asking someone if you could pray for them, even praying in private, just coming to them in a nice way and doing what Angela did at dry bar the other day and bringing someone to salvation, things like that. That is truly the greatest gift.
And even if they don't receive it, it's a seed that you have planted. Yeah.
That's the thing about evangelizing. It is so nerve wracking.
Can I just tell you one thing that I have finally I'm starting to overcome. So first, I don't want you guys to think when you go tell people about Jesus that you have to know all this theology.
It's good. And I want you to know theology.
I want you to read the Bible. I want you to study.
However, like your story, we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Your story is enough.
If you know nothing else except the simple gospel, why Jesus came and why he died, that's enough. Involved with your story, with your story, all you have to do is tell people, this is what Jesus did in my life you have no idea how hungry people are why do we always say peepee you know someone left a comment being like they're so immature I don't know someone said you have a lot of growing to do I said yeah okay whatever tell something I don't know.
Beep.

Beep.

And you know what I'll do sometimes?

I'm at the gym the other day.

And I like, because we're so nervous to give people the gospel when they probably want so badly for someone to talk to them.

They probably want so badly.

Imagine like Ari when she was talking to the squirrels.

How badly, if someone came up to her and gave her the gospel, it'd'd be raps she would have been led to salvation in less than 30 seconds you have no idea what people are going through i go really know i go to the gym like two months ago and i just i literally i'm listening to music i'm on the travel and i treadmill and i hear god being like take off your headphones go talk to her i want to know her go tell her about me and i'm like I'm listening like no I don't want to do it I'm like whatever I go over my heart's pounding I'm freaking out he gives me a little bit of a word I'm like hi I don't know about blah blah blah whatever and then I'm talking so fast I see this girl wants to talk to me she wants to have a conversation I go yeah anyways and he loves you so much you. And I'm like backing up while I'm talking.
And she's like, no, don't go. Like, don't go.
And I'm like, okay, thanks. Bye.
Like, I didn't even give her a chance to respond, you know? And then, so anyways, my point in saying that is like, we have nothing to be nervous about when we tell people about Jesus. Let's stop being weirdos and just relax talking to myself really everyone is everyone is so needs that they need hope we're all go do you understand we are all going through something we all have a cross to bear yeah and when you put out love it's the greatest gift you can give I only wish like you said well sister Ann did sister Ann yeah thank you but yeah just give in love yeah i really quickly want to read something because i have it so heavy on my heart that you guys can tell by now we love jesus we love the gospel not because we grew up in church not because anybody forced us to believe this but because we met the real jesus the the same Jesus that hung the stars, was nailed to a cross, lives today, and he saved our lives.
Nobody else, no other God, and scripture says that narrow is the way. Few will find it.
Narrow is the way, meaning one, narrow, one. It's just Jesus.
There is no no other option and so if you're sitting here today and you are either someone who's still open-minded to other things other gods other books other religions other new age other practices I'm here to tell you that narrow is the way and few will find it because the way to heaven is so narrow and the way to hell is so broad. It's massive because anything that you're looking at other than Jesus is just a distraction.
can I please tell you something that there are things in life that seem harmless that seem like not a a big deal. They come packaged as light.
They come as a good thing. But anything that even remotely, even slightly takes your focus off of Jesus, takes your belief off of Jesus, takes your reliance off of Jesus, is a distraction, it's deception, and it is ultimately evil.
Not because it's inherently evil, the thing, but because anything that takes place over Jesus, that takes precedent over Jesus is evil because it's distracting you. It's taking you away from the only source, the only thing that has actual power to heal you, to transform you, or to save you.
And Isaiah 43 says, but you are my witnesses, O Israel, says the Lord. You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God.
There never has been, and there never will be. I, yes, I am the Lord and there is no other Savior.
From eternity to eternity, I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.
No one can undo what I have done. There is no other option.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody gets to the Father except through him.
Jesus was born to die. God knew in the beginning of time what he was going to have to do.
He knew that we would need a Savior. He knew that we would need a Messiah and somebody to atone for our sins.
So whatever you're believing that's not in Jesus, I'm asking you from sister to sister or brother, I lived this. This is not by accident.
I gave my life to Jesus and he gave me a new life. I found life in Jesus.
And I'm asking you, whatever else is vying for your attention, that's vying for your worship, that's reaching for your reliance, it is garbage. It's garbage and it's dead.
And I'm asking you to get rid of it. And I want you to be extreme with it.
And I mean, throw out anything that you have, throw out anything, denounce and renounce and repent, renounce any other belief in any other God, in any other religion, in any other force. I heard someone recently say that they're harnessing energy from the, and I'm like, you're not about to disrespect my man who came and died for you by saying, you're not, it's not real.
It's not real. We've been so deceived.
And so God says in Isaiah 55, this is called the invitation to the Lord's salvation. Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink.
Even if you have no money, come take your choice of wine or milk. It's all free.
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen and you will find life.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love that I promised to David.
We basically gave you the gospel in this whole episode that we were made in the image of God. God created humanity to be in perfect relationship with him.
Man sinned, man fell, our relationship to God broke. And God would spend the next however many thousands of years pursuing us, sending us people, sending us prophets, sending us people to encourage us and to let us know that our Savior is coming eventually.
And then like we said today, God got so lovesick for humanity that he couldn't take it anymore. He wanted us.
He was coming for us. And he sent his son, Jesus, to come be born in the dirt and dwell among us and walk with us and perform miracles and signs and wonders and to ultimately be put on a cross, to be nailed to a tree, and crucified for the forgiveness of our sins.
And for three days, darkness rolled and reigned over the whole earth, and all of heaven held its breath. And then on the third day, a buried body began to breathe, and the ground could no longer hold Jesus.
And our crucified Savior, who was buried like a criminal, was raised to glory. And this is the gospel, and it is truth, and it sounds so crazy, and it's so supernatural, and it doesn't make any sense.
But Jesus, the same Jesus who dwelled on the earth, who walked with us, now sits in a heavenly throne. He sits on the throne in heaven and he rules and he reigns in his kingdom.
And so this is your invitation to the Lord's salvation. Just give your life to Jesus.
Take it from two people who literally, we lived it, we know it, we know him, we met the real Jesus and it has absolutely destroyed us in the best way. He broke our will and we picked up

his perfect will and now we live in safety and protection and joy and peace. And so if you are

ready to receive Jesus, pray this with me. Dear Jesus, I give you my life.
I invite you into my

life as my Lord and Savior. I believe you died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins and you rose again on the third day and now you're seated at the right hand of the Father.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Be the Lord of my life and show me who you are.
In Jesus name Jesus name. What is that you read about the living? What if you have me, you don't need anything else? Oh, he said, he said, come take your choice.
It's all free. Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? He is the living bread.
He is bread. Give us this day our daily bread.
More of Jesus. Can I just say one thing? Yeah, please.
Listen to me and you will eat what is good. Do you know how rich we are? I want to just tell you guys this holiday season, I know it can be tough.
I know that some people are struggling financially. You feel less than.
You're comparing yourself to other people with gifts and all the things that don't matter. If you have Jesus, you are rich and you have it all and you don't need anything else.
So please, for the love of all holy things, this Christmas, have it be different. Sit and soak in the presence that we already have everything.
We are rich. We have Jesus.
And don't compare yourself to anyone else and don't let anything get you down. Not your financial struggle, not your hardships, not your family dysfunction.
Just soak in the fact that we have Jesus and he is going to be with you and we don't need to be afraid and he loves you. He says in scripture, I am with you till the end of time, till the end of the age of time.
He is with you and he loves you. And I hope you can take that away with you today.
Well done. Well done, my faithful servant.
Yes, give it to me. Thank you, Jesus.
Merry Christmas, sweet angels. Merry Christmas.
May the Lord. Merry Christmas, my brothers and sisters.
Why don't we start with Merry Christmas? Seriously, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
Thank you, Jesus, for your lives. Be joyful, be cheery, be happy.
And you want to know what our gift is other than Jesus's Christmas? You guys. A hundred percent.
We are going to dwell on the fact that we have the greatest family ever.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jesus.

We love you guys so much.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May he turn his face towards you and give you peace.

Shalom.

Shalom.

We love you so much.

Thank you, Jesus.

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