(This transcript was generated by AI. Apologies for any inacuracies)

We are here to celebrate the birth of Jesus and we're here to be reminded of what God is doing in and through the world through Jesus, come on.

We're here to celebrate what he came to do.

He resurrected from a grave so we could have life and have it to the full.

And I think oftentimes whenever the Christmas season comes around, we have a lot of different emotions and some of us sometimes are a little bit sad because maybe this Christmas, we spent last Christmas with someone who is no longer with us and that can begin to cause a lot of different emotions because Christmas is meant in our culture to be done with family as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

And sometimes it's a difficult time to get through the Christmas season, but I wanna encourage you today that with Jesus, all things are possible, come on.

And you know what?

He can get you through those circumstances.

I wrote this in my journal this week as I was thinking about our Christmas message.

We've been in a teaching series over the last several weeks that we have titled Be the One.

And I want you to know today that Jesus is the one that changes everything.

He's the one that changes everything and today we're gonna talk about how this happens.

We're gonna talk about how he can change everything about your life.

This Christmas could be a time of new beginnings and it can be a time of praise.

I think back to the birth of Christ over 2000 years ago.

You know, it was a time of praise and it was a new beginning.

In other words, it was God who came from earth and he was in the form of a human.

He was birthed to a virgin named Mary and he lay in that manger.

And when he came, it was a new beginning for everyone who would so dare believe what he came to do.

And it's a new beginning for a people throughout the ages that they'll begin to understand who God is in the flesh in the form of Jesus as a new beginning.

And the Bible says in that very moment, that night that Jesus was born, that a praise party, come on somebody.

Amen.

A praise party began to happen all over the place.

The Bible says a praise party happened in the heavens.

The Bible says a praise party happened on earth.

And I really think some 2000 years later, a praise party can erupt here too if we'll begin to understand the power of the name of Jesus.

Listen to what the scripture says in Luke chapter two, verses eight through 20.

That night that Jesus was born in a manger, they were shepherds staying in the fields nearby.

They were guarding their flocks of sheep.

They were doing their everyday job.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them and the radius of the Lord's glory surrounded them.

The Bible says they were terrified, but the angel reassured them, don't be afraid.

He said, I bring you some good news.

I bring good news that will bring great joy to all people.

The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David.

And you're gonna recognize him by this sign.

You will find the baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth and he'll be lying in a manger.

Suddenly the angel who delivered this message to the shepherds, this angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven, praising God, come on somebody.

He was a praise party broke out in the heavens because the most high God had sent his one and only son to be birth on earth.

And the Bible says, glory to God in the heavens, these angels said, and peace on earth to those whom God is pleased.

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, let's go to Bethlehem.

Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.

They hurried to the village and they found Mary, the mother of Jesus and Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.

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 shepherds story, they were astonished.

You know, I really believe today that whenever you hear the story of Jesus, that there's gonna be some astonished people in this place and God's about to do a miracle in your life.

The Bible says this, but Mary, Mary, the mother of Jesus, she kept all these things, these praises from the heavens and on the earth.

She kept these things in her heart and she thought about them often.

She thought about them often as Jesus was growing up.

The shepherds, they went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God.

A praise party broke out, come on somebody.

Praising God for all they had heard and seen, it was just as the angel had told them.

Mary saw God do great things.

The shepherds saw God do great things.

The angels in the heavens saw God do great things and I really believe if you'll open your heart, you can see God do great things too, come on.

And this Christmas can be a new beginning.

You can walk out of here, no matter what your circumstances are, what your challenges are, what you are facing, you can walk out of here and you can face 2024 differently.

You can say the year didn't begin on January 1, the year began on December the 24th.

I got a new beginning, come on, and I'm gonna praise God all through 2024.

You gotta have a heart to see the miracle.

A heart like Mary had, and we're gonna look at her today because actually God birthed this miracle child, Jesus, through her.

And the way God worked that miracle is simply incredible because it was all because of Mary's faith that God favored her and did this miraculous thing that is being passed down through the generations to us, right here, right now.

And I wrote this in my journal that the first thing Mary was, is to see this miracle is she was open, everybody say open.

Open.

She was open to God doing something different.

Remember the Hebrew people, they came out of slavery, they came out of bondage in Egypt, many, many years before Mary was ever born.

They had taught that, you know what, that they were God's people and eventually God would send a liberator, would send a Messiah for them to be set free.

But see, God didn't only send the Messiah, the liberator, the Lord Jesus for the Hebrew people to be set free, he sent the Messiah, Jesus, for all people to be set free of the power of sin and the penalty of sin, missing the mark of God's glorious standard.

But what Mary was that was different from anybody else is she was open to God doing something different.

I don't know if you know it or not, but you know what, God hovering over you in the Holy Spirit and overshadowing you with the Holy Spirit and you becoming pregnant is very different than the normal way to get pregnant.

Come on, somebody.

Everybody I know gets pregnant by one man and one woman coming together in union and having a child.

But the Bible says this is a miraculous birth.

And Mary had to open her heart to God, the Spirit of God stepping in and doing something different.

She was open to God stepping in, she was open to God getting involved, and she was open to a miracle in the making.

My question for you this Christmas, are you open for God to step in and do something?

And Mary was open.

Look what the Bible says in Luke chapter one, verses 30 through 34.

The angel came to her and said, Mary, don't be afraid, for you have found favor with God.

You will conceive and give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus and he will be very great and he will be called the son of the most high.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.

More so he will reign over Israel forever.

His kingdom will never end.

And Mary asked an important question.

She says, but how can this be?

I am a virgin.

How can this happen?

How can this be?

Was not a question of unbelief.

It was more of a statement of I am open and willing, but God needs to get involved.

See, a lot of times we come to God and ask, how can it be?

And our heart's not open and willing.

Our heart was open and willing for God to step in and get involved.

New beginnings and praise starts when we open up our life and we begin to let God step in.

I know because I grew up in the same culture that many of you grew up in, that some of us are not open to God doing something different.

We think God only operates in our religious box.

We think God only operates according to the way that we were raised or particularly in the church world in the denomination that we were raised in.

And oftentimes we box the miracle maker out because we are trapped in manmade doctrines.

And I need you to know God lives outside of time, outside of space, and outside of my thinking and your thinking.

God's ways are higher than my ways.

And so I'm gonna just be open to what God wants to do.

Come on.

God is declared in his word who he is.

God operates in union with his word.

God makes promises in his word that he will do everything he says he's going to do.

But I gotta open up my heart.

Some of you have limited God.

In other words, your theology is way too small.

And the reality of it is this.

You know, I'm actually a pastor of a church.

I've been pastoring this church now nearly 20 years.

I've been on a journey.

But my view of who God is and what God does is continually changing.

And if you study the most high God, the all powerful, all knowing, everywhere at one time God, and you begin to read through the lens of allowing the spirit of God to open your eyes to the things in his word, I can tell you right now, he's gonna change the way you think.

In other words, you're not gonna just be trapped in your own way of thinking or what you were taught when you were a kid through some catechism or some way of thinking.

No, no, no, God's bigger than that.

Open your heart.

Open your heart to the most high God.

Open your heart to why he sent Jesus into the earth.

Open your heart to why he impregnated a virgin in this particular culture so Jesus could be born at just the right time and he could grow up in perfection, go to a cross and make an announcement to the world throughout the world, throughout the ages.

I am bigger than your sin.

I am bigger than death itself.

I am bigger than a grave and I can rise above it.

See, God will rise above your situation this Christmas if you'll open your heart.

Listen to what the scripture says in John chapter three, verse 16.

It says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

See, maybe you're trapped this Christmas and God wants to be the one because you think that you've got to change something.

Here's the miracle is God meets you where you are in spite of who you are.

And you can't change it but he can.

The Bible says that God steps in, he forgives people of their sin when they put their faith in who he is.

He forgives them of their sin, missing the mark of God's glorious standard.

And then he gives them the Holy Spirit, the same spirit that impregnated Mary, the same spirit that rose Jesus from the grave that is available to you to empower you to move forward.

But you have to have faith that God wants to move in.

You got to open your heart, stop letting your sin keep God from moving in.

He forgives you, it's why he gave his son on the cross.

Romans 10, verse 13 says this, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

I wonder if you have called out to God with an open heart and said, God, I need you to move in.

Because when you do that, God moves in and begins to change everything.

He is the one that changes your life and changes your heart in spite of the circumstances.

But if we're gonna move forward with this life change, we also have to learn to navigate.

Navigate life's circumstances.

Life brings difficult moments.

Life brings trials and tribulation.

Life brings, you know, difficulty to us all.

And I know that my difficulties probably aren't as severe as some of your difficulties.

But I've actually been walking through a difficult health crisis over, you know, the last several weeks.

I was in the hospital, had neck surgery back at the 1st of November on the front of my neck and the back of my neck, I'm in this recovery mode.

But I have to navigate this by following Jesus.

This is something that is difficult for me.

But what I do know is in the difficulty that God is still for me, He is not against me and He wants to do great things through me and I'm not gonna make any excuses.

No excuses.

Allow God to do it.

Allow God to help you navigate.

Jesus was, the theme of Jesus was this when He was alive and He was teaching people.

The theme was Jesus was constantly inviting people to follow Him.

You wanna navigate life well?

Follow Jesus.

And Jesus went to a cross.

In other words, Jesus bore the sin of the world on His shoulders on a cross, on a Calvary.

That was His cross.

That's not your cross.

But you see, what He says is pick up your cross daily, your difficulties daily and follow Him and He's gonna see you through.

You gotta believe that in your heart.

Mary was one that navigated life well.

She didn't only open her heart up to God, what she did was she navigated life's circumstances well with God.

See, she was one that navigated fear well.

Remember the angel said, fear not, the Lord is with you.

She navigated on a donkey through the night because there was no room in the inn for her and her husband Joseph to sleep in.

She navigated, no one warning them.

She was pregnant.

Now, I don't know about you, but if a pregnant lady shows up and she needs a place to lay down and she's about to have a baby, I'm gonna figure out a way to make her room to have that baby.

But the Bible says there was no room.

They had to go to a cow trough in the middle of a stable, a manger for her baby to be birthed.

Just imagine that she navigated that challenge.

When baby Jesus was about two years old, there was a wicked king, his name was Herod in the region.

And what Herod's ambition was was to kill every baby wicked that was under two years old.

Jesus was approximately two years old.

And the Bible says that his father, his earthly father Joseph and Mary had to navigate that circumstance and they had to pick up and move out of the country to Egypt to escape the wrath of the king.

Imagine the difficult moments.

Mary praised God through it all.

What difficulties are you facing this Christmas?

Are you following Jesus and navigating those moments?

Are you following Jesus and believing that God can work through the Holy Spirit?

I don't personally know how the most high God is going to do all that he's going to do.

But he can do it.

But what I do know is what my posture and your posture needs to be.

It needs to be one that opens my heart and one that is willing to follow in spite of the circumstances.

My friend, that's what discipleship is all about.

If you come to church, you'll hear, hey, come and follow Jesus, be his disciple, be his follower.

It doesn't mean you're perfect.

But what it does mean is you're following Jesus and you're allowing God to work the old stuff out and put the new stuff in.

And God begins to do the miraculous.

You have to learn to navigate life.

Jesus says in this world, you will have trials and you will have tribulation.

He says, but take heart, slap your neighbor and say, take some heart.

Because Jesus says he has overcome the world.

Come on.

Come on.

Following.

He went to a cross.

The Bible says he went to a cross and he scorned it's shame for the joy set before him.

In other words, he buried the cross because of the joy set before him.

Can I tell you this Christmas what that joy was?

The joy set before him wasn't simply that he was gonna resurrect and go back to heaven and sit at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.

The joy set before him was he was gonna resurrect and you were gonna put faith in him and you were gonna be sitting right here in 2023 at Christmas time and begin to get a new beginning.

The joy set before him was you and me because he knew that if he defeated the cross, he defeated death, he defeated the grave and rose again, you may have the audacity to believe that God was for you and not against you.

Come on.

Navigate well.

Follow Jesus.

Open your heart and if you wanna see a miracle in your life and begin to see God, go to work in 2024.

The last one is empty yourself.

He is the one.

Surrender.

What is holding you back from trusting Jesus as Lord?

What is holding you back from trusting Jesus as Savior?

He came into this world to save people from their sin.

No matter who you are, where you come from or how long you've been in it, God came for you.

But you have to empty yourself and allow him to move in and begin to execute his plan in you and through you.

His ways are higher than my ways.

Listen to what the Bible says in Luke chapter one, verse 38 about Mary.

The Bible says after the Lord came to her and she opened her heart and she navigated this delivery of she was gonna have a baby, the Bible says that Mary's response to the Lord in verse 38, she says, I am the Lord's servant.

May everything you have said about me come true.

And then the angel left her.

She says, I'm gonna empty myself of my own plans and my own challenges.

I'm gonna empty myself of my own plans and my own challenges.

And the reality of it is, is that's where we have to get in our life.

What is a servant?

You see, you know, the Bible says that Jesus talked a lot about, or the Bible talks about Jesus talking about a servant a lot.

Jesus says, if you're gonna be first, you gotta be last.

What does that mean?

What does that mean to you today?

You know, King David was a servant.

The Bible refers to him as a servant.

He was a leader.

In other words, he was willing to do what nobody else was willing to do.

That's what a servant does.

A servant says, you know, God, I'm gonna be here on your behalf in spite of what you wanna do through me.

I'm gonna empty myself of my own thoughts, my own mind, my own plans, and I'm gonna let you move in.

And I'm going to answer your call.

I'm gonna answer your assignment.

And I'm gonna serve you, and I'm gonna serve you well all the days of my life.

I am willing to be last so I can be first.

I don't wanna get in the front of the line.

See, the reality of it is, you know, parents, they walk out in front of their kids, but they serve their kids, don't they?

Sometimes they walk behind their kids and serve their kids.

The parent is oftentimes, you know, like if a kid is out in front and the parent is behind them, letting the kid kinda have the spotlight, they're constantly leading them and navigating them to help them grow.

The question is today, are you the Lord's servant?

Are you helping him grow in your life and through your life into other people's life?

Because that's what a servant looks like.

A servant realizes that Jesus came to serve them on a cross, but then after they understand that, they begin to serve God with their heart and say, God, may you be magnified and may you be glorified because I wanna be your servant.

I don't wanna be front and center, I want you to.

The reality of it is, is we have to empty ourself in order for the one to begin to work through our life.

It's what Mary did.

She says, I am the Lord's servant.

May everything you have said about me come true.

And then the angel left her.

In verse 43 of Luke chapter one, as she goes and visits Elizabeth, who had supernaturally become impregnated by her husband, Zachariah, at an old age, the Bible says that Mary goes to visit her and this is what was said.

Elizabeth says, why am I so honored that the mother of the Lord should visit me?

And when I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy, you were blessed because you believed the Lord would do what he said.

In other words, Elizabeth recognized that God was at work in Mary and God was gonna work through Mary and even the baby in her womb jumped for joy because Mary had believed that God would do what he said he would do.

I wonder, do you believe that God will do what he said he would do?

Or I wonder if you are so close-minded and tight-gripped this Christmas that you're gonna miss the miracle that God wants to do in your heart.

God's invitation to you is this, would you surrender?

Would you allow him to become Lord of your life and would you publicly declare that he is who he says he is?

I think Christmas 2023 would be an awesome time for a new beginning in your heart and in your life if you're sitting in this space this Christmas.

If you're at home viewing this service online, no greater time to step forward and surrender your life to what Jesus wants to do and empty yourself and enter into God's plan than right here, right now.

We come here to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the one that came to save his people from their sins.

But my friend, you have to put your faith, your trust, and you have to be open to God working in your life and you have to step forward and declare that for God to go to work and do this Christmas miracle in your heart and in your life.

Romans chapter 10, verses 11 through 13 says this, if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God and it's by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

As the scripture tells us in verse 11 of Romans chapter 10, anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.

My friend, I'm gonna give an invitation today on behalf of the most high God.

And this invitation is this, would you come and begin to let God heal your heart through Christ Jesus?

He was the Messiah.

He was born in a manger, but he grew up and lived approximately 33 years here on earth and lived a perfect life.

He went to a cross to defeat sin, the penalty of sin and the power of sin over human beings.

The Bible says three days later, he resurrected from a grave and made himself known to many.

The Bible says, then he ascended into the heavens and he sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, and he's gonna come again.

And the Bible says that God is patiently waiting on his children to return home and begin this new life with him.

And I gotta believe and a crowd decides that there's some people that's gotta surrender their heart to the Lord Jesus today.

And so today I'm gonna invite you, you know, and then here's how we're gonna do it this Christmas.

In a moment, I'm gonna come down off of this platform and you gotta give me a minute, I'm a slow walker right now.

But I'm gonna come down and I'm gonna stand right here in the front.

And if you need to surrender your life to Jesus and make him the Lord of your life and publicly declare it this Christmas, I'm gonna invite you just to move out of your seat when you hear the song in a minute and come forward and stand here with me.

What we're gonna do is I'm gonna pray a prayer with you.

It's a prayer of surrender.

It's a prayer of saying, God, you are the Lord of my life.

And we're gonna do it this Christmas right here together.

I'm not gonna do anything crazy.

I'm not gonna do anything stupid.

I'm simply gonna pray with you right here in the front as you open your heart to God today.

As you begin to allow him to do what he wants to do.

And so I'm gonna ask all over this lobby right now, would you just go ahead and stand to your feet?

And if you need to surrender today and pray this prayer, come forward and meet me right down here in the front.

And we're gonna do it together right here this Christmas, 2023.