Prepare Him Room: Finding Peace in the Advent Rush

Joy to the world. What? The Lord is come.

Y'all may get to hear a little bit of jingle bells here on the deal. I don't know.

Oh, they don't actually jingle. That's kind of a bummer.

Don't worry, maybe next year we can make some cheese on it. Yes.

The ones you got from Timo. Yes, that's got to be it.

Can we get refunds? Can we get an exchange? I don't know.

I need some kind of remote control, you know, where I can do the bell ringing. I don't know.

But y'all, joy to the world. The Lord has come.

And you know what? tonight, really, we need to remember, I think all of us,

that we need to prepare him room.

Amen. Let's go to the Lord again in prayer, if we could, for a moment.

Lord Jesus, we just enter tonight in this Advent season, Lord.

We open our hearts, Lord, to make room for you above all else, Lord.

And we ask tonight that you fill our homes and our lives with your peace,

with your hope, with your presence, as we prepare to celebrate your coming.

We give you all the praise tonight in Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank y'all so much for bringing that special music for us. Man,

that was awesome. We appreciate that.

I love the original songs in there too. Awesome.

But you know, as soon as Thanksgiving ends, it feels like the whole world actually shift gears overnight.

Sometimes even before it ends, right? The Christmas lights come out,

the stores start playing carols, and we get our calendars. What happens to them?

They get filled up really fast because you got the parties, you got the shopping,

you got the travel, decorating, and hey, here's one of my favorites.

Nobody would have guessed it. Baking.

Not really. I'm kidding. It's eating, but I like to smell the baking, right?

And so if you're anything like me, there's this feeling that the season just

moves really fast, right?

There's always one more thing to do, one more place to be, one more list to actually.

Check twice, right? You got to check twice on it.

But every year, there's also this quiet, holy invitation tucked in the middle

of that hustle and that noise to slow down and prepare our hearts.

And I want to paint a picture for us tonight.

Think about when you're expecting company for the holidays. Anybody in that

boat? You're expecting company for the holidays?

Maybe it's family coming to stay or friends gathering around your table.

What do you usually do, right? You clean the house, you light a candle,

you set the table just right, you prepare space. Because why?

Because someone special is coming.

You want them to feel welcome, right? And that's really what Advent is all about.

Advent is the season of preparation, of making room, if you will.

It's not just about decorating our homes. It's actually all about readying our

hearts for the arrival of Jesus.

That carol that they sang earlier, joy to the world says, let every heart prepare him room.

And that line actually captures the heart of Advent.

Because when Jesus first came into the world, guess what? There was no room for him in the end.

People were busy, distracted, focused on everything else. And honestly,

that's still true today.

We can get so caught up, y'all, in the Christmas season that we miss the very one it's all about.

But this Advent, I want us to, we have a chance to do it differently, don't we?

To actually slow down a little bit, to clear the clutter, to prepare him room.

In our homes, in our families, y'all, and in our hearts, most importantly.

Because when we make room for Jesus, he actually fills that space with something

that this world can't give.

His peace, his presence, his hope.

This world needs hope, amen? I mean, that's the invitation of Advent.

Not just to remember that he came, but to prepare for him to come again.

So if Advent is a season of preparation, of making room, so to speak,

then the question becomes this tonight, where do we begin?

Before we worry about decorations or traditions or even all the ways that we

celebrate, it starts right here in the heart.

Because Jesus came into the world, he first came into the heart,

before he came into the world there, he first came into the heart of a young woman named Mary.

When the angel actually told her that she would carry the Son of God,

her response, y'all, wasn't fear or excuses, was it? You know what it was?

It was actually surrender.

You know what she said? She said, I am the Lord's servant.

May it be to me as you have said.

That's what it looks like y'all to actually prepare

him room to have a heart that

is open to have a heart that's humble and

to have a heart that's just willing to receive whatever god wants to do that's

that's preparing him room so tonight let's let's just start here with our hearts

tonight what might god be asking us to make room for this advent season what

might he be asking us to let go of.

So there's actually space for his presence to dwell in us more fully.

And that leads us really to our first point tonight, just in challenge tonight,

prepare your heart, make room for his presence.

Prepare your heart, make room for his presence. And I asked Felicity tonight,

if she would, to read us a passage to open us up.

It's Luke chapter one, Luke chapter one, verses 26 through 38.

I was sent from God into a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin,

and it fell to the man, to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David

and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came into her and said, Hail thou art highly favored and the Lord

is with thee. Blessed art thou among the good.

And when she saw him, she was troubled, and outgoth his saying,

and kept in her mind what manner of solution this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God, be cold.

Thou shalt receive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest.

And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father day.

And he shall reign of the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

And then Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not I am?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,

and the power of the highest shall it be shall be.

Therefore also that the holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And behold, that cousin Elizabeth, this, she hath also conceived a son in her old age.

And this is the sixth month with her, who was called Barry.

For with God, nothing shall be impossible.

And Mary said, Behold, the name made of the Lord be unto me according to thy word.

And the angel departed God. And Mary...

She did great. Felicity, thank you so much.

When the angel showed up in Mary's life, everything changed in an instant.

Imagine just for a moment being a young woman going about your ordinary day

and suddenly being told that you'll bear the Son of God.

What's the natural response to that kind of news, y'all?

Yeah, are you sure? A little bit of fear in there, right? I see how my voice

is cracking when I say it. I'm so afraid, right?

The fear, the bargaining or running maybe even from it.

But Mary here in this passage that Felicity read, she actually models something very different, y'all.

Her words are just simple and they're steeped with that word that starts with an S, surrender.

Look at what she says in Luke 1 verse 38, Luke 1 38, she says,

Luke 1:38

may it be to me as you have said.

That line, y'all, may it be to me.

You know what it is? It's a posture of our heart that has cleared a space for God.

That's what it is. It's a heart that's willing to be interrupted,

y'all, rearranged and used.

It's not an impulsive yes, is it? It's humble.

It's steady yielding that It actually says, Lord, come and do what only you can do.

And Mary here in this passage, she isn't clinging to control.

She's opening a place in herself for God's presence and his purpose.

I hope every one of us sitting here tonight want to do the same this Advent season.

You know, the Bible gives us other pictures of this kind of receptive heart, if you will.

Hannah, which was mentioned, poured out her soul before the Lord and left her

burden in God's hands back in 1 Samuel 1.

Teaches us honesty in prayer.

Isaiah, when he was confronted with God's holiness, if you remember,

he responded with what in Isaiah 6?

With confession, with cleansing.

And Jesus's own words, church, invite a posture of rest and dependence.

Listen to his words quickly tonight.

He says, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

How many of you could use a little rest tonight? A little Sabbath, right?

Matthew 11, 28. All of these passages, Eastwood, point us away from self-sufficiency,

and toward a heart that makes room for God.

Does your heart make room for God tonight? Why is this so important during Advent?

Because, well, y'all, the season is noisy. We already established that, right?

It's full of good things. I mean, family, parties, traditions,

all of that. But those good things can become the very clutter that crowd out God.

We rush, think about it for a moment sometimes, from event to event and allow

our hearts to actually be filled with a dozen small gods.

Performance, approval, appearance, busyness. Don't y'all love that B word?

Busyness. Advent calls us to intentionally unfeel, to clear shelves in our inner

lives so that the king can have a place to dwell.

Does the king have a place to dwell in your heart? Have you crowded him out?

You know, tonight, I think that's so important for us to consider because what

does preparing the heart look like practically? Well, let's see in this next slide here.

I think one of the things is to create short pockets of stillness.

Some of y'all laughing, probably thinking about this, like stillness,

I can't be still. I mean, start with five minutes. Think about it. Put the phone down.

That's tough, isn't it? Tough. I want to read a book that Charlie Kirk just

released talking about the Sabbath day and taking the rest, right?

It's not obligation to do that, but it definitely is a wise thing to do that,

to shut everything down, take some time, put the phone down,

close your eyes, breathe, and just say, Lord,

I open this moment to you.

You know, I think in Psalm 46, verse 10, we hear the psalmist voice here tonight

Psalms 46:10

just echoing to us these words, be still and know that I am God.

How many of you had a little time this week just to be still?

Isn't that a challenge in the world that we live in just to be still for a little bit?

And then number two, I think practice confession and repentance.

Ask the Holy Spirit, y'all, to show you one thing just we need to let go of this season.

Use David's prayer as a model in Psalm 51, verse 10.

Psalms 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Because y'all, confession actually clears

the clutter that blocks God's presence. Did you know that?

And then number three, set a simple daily rhythm of prayer in Scripture.

So important, y'all. It could be a morning 10-minute reading,

a devotion, a brief evening, devotion, whatever. Think about what filled me

today, what emptied me, where did I see God today?

It encourages us. The word of God encourages us, specifically,

I think of Romans 12, verses one and two, that encourages us offering ourselves

as a living sacrifice, right?

And that begins, y'all, with just small, faithful rhythms in life, right, of doing this.

And then fast from one Christmas activity

this week. This is like a little challenge this week for all of us.

Maybe choose one thing that you normally do and replace it with just a 20 to 30 minute space.

Of just intentional worship, a reflection. Because y'all fasting also creates spiritual room.

You know, if you remember Jesus fast in the wilderness shows us focus and dependence.

Just look back in Matthew four and then speak surrender aloud.

What do I mean by that? Well, like Felicity read a few moments ago,

like Mary say, may it be to me as you have said, and mean it, mean it.

Let those words work on your heart for a week.

If we practice all these small disciplines, something supernatural,

y'all, happens in our heart.

When we actually prepare our hearts, ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with his presence.

That's not a religious platitude, by the way. It's a biblical pattern.

Revelation 3.20 pictures Jesus, if you remember, standing at the door of his

church and knocking, he waits for permission to enter, right?

And when we open, he actually comes in.

And boy, we need churches today that are opening their doors to Jesus,

first of all, and then we surrender, we open our hearts to him. Amen.

And I just want us to think tonight when he comes in, he brings peace,

he brings joy and a reordering of all our priorities.

So I want to pause and I want to give us just a moment tonight before we move

on, just to consider this personally tonight.

What's one thing that the Spirit

is asking you to set aside this week so there's more room for Jesus?

Think about it tonight. What's one thing that the Spirit is asking you to set

aside this week so there's more room for Jesus?

I want you to just bow your heads a moment, ask yourself that question,

and pause for a moment before the Lord.

Lord, I pray you give us hearts like Mary, available, humble,

surrendered, Lord, clear away what keeps us from you, Lord, making us a place

where your presence can dwell.

Amen. Well, number two tonight, prepare your home, make room for his peace.

Man, sometimes I think we miss this, but you know, Luke chapter two,

verse seven says there, she gave birth to her firstborn son.

She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was what?

No room for them in the end. When Luke tells us that there was no room for Jesus

in the end, you know what?

He's not describing a logistical problem in Bethlehem.

He's actually describing a spiritual condition of the world.

The Savior, y'all, of all creation into a place too crowded to notice him.

No one was intentionally cruel or rejecting.

Sometimes we kind of have that attitude, but life was just simply full.

Do you get it? Life was just simply full. And that's still the danger for us today.

This isn't just a story here about Bethlehem. It's a mirror of our own homes.

Our calendars, like I said, get packed. Our rooms get filled.

Sometimes our hearts get noisy without even meaning to. You know what we do?

We crowd out the very presence that brings peace.

And when we picture y'all that first Christmas night, I tell you,

the contrast is really striking, y'all.

The end, think about it, was full of activity and comfort while the manger was humble. It was quiet.

It was simple, right? It became the dwelling place of glory.

And that's often, y'all, how God works.

He doesn't look for perfect settings, does he?

Yes, he says, I dwell in the high and holy place, Isaiah reminds us.

He actually looks for open ones, right? And also with him of who is of contrite and lowly spirit.

He looks for open spaces and places to dwell.

Advents, y'all, gives us an invitation tonight to make room for Christ, not just in our hearts.

But in our homes, in the places that we actually live and we rest together,

we chill together, we play games together, right?

God longs to dwell there. Think about your home for a moment tonight.

What would it look like for your home to become a place where his peace lives,

a place where the atmosphere shifts because his presence is welcome there?

Do you remember Jesus said, "'My peace I give to you, not as the world gives.'".

That kind of peace isn't found in perfect decorations. It's not found in decorated

checklists either, is it?

It's found in creating space for him, isn't it?

In putting Jesus at the center of our Christmas and not moving him out of that place.

The apostle Paul actually wrote to us in Colossians 3.15.

He said, let the peace of Christ, remember what it says?

Rule in your hearts. Say it with me. let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.

That's Colossians 3.15.

The word rule there means to actually act as an umpire, to call the shots,

to decide what stays and what goes.

Imagine if the peace of Christ was the deciding factor for what enters your home this season.

What events you say yes to, what words are spoken at your table even,

how you spend your evenings together.

So how do we prepare our homes for his peace? Well, let's look here at this

next slide for just a moment.

First of all, we create Christ-centered traditions, y'all.

Maybe you may have Advent candles at home. You ever did the Advent candle lighting,

anything like that? I don't see many hands going up. Might be something fun to try.

Read a short scripture before dinner.

Write thank you notes as a family.

Practice small acts of kindness.

Let those traditions that God leads you into, actually tell the story of Jesus.

You know, Deuteronomy 6, 6 and 7 reminds us that to talk about God's words when

you sit at home, when you walk along the road, right?

All through life. And then here's a good one for me. I don't know about y'all.

Boy, I wish we could do this, Ernie. Here we go. Simplify your schedule.

I'm telling you, I heard a lot of laughter, right? Simplify your schedule.

You don't have to do it all.

Everything from heaven doesn't have your name on it either.

Peace doesn't come from perfection. It comes from presence, Eastwood.

Remember the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10?

Martha, you remember? She was busy serving, but Mary chose what was better.

You know how I know? Jesus said so.

Simply, you know what she chose? simply being with Jesus. You're right.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is slow down, create a welcoming

atmosphere, make your home a place where others can experience the love of Jesus.

Open your door, share a meal, offer kindness.

You see, when people encounter peace in your home, in my home,

they encounter Jesus himself.

Romans 12, 13 actually says practice this hospitality. Here's the truth, y'all.

When we prepare our homes, guess what God does? He fills them with his peace.

That's what happens. And that peace, y'all, isn't fragile. It's the kind that

actually can calm chaos. It can heal relationships and turn everyday ordinary

spaces, guess what, into holy ground.

So maybe this Christmas season, the greatest

gift in your home that you can give is

not a perfectly wrapped present how many

of you love to wrap presents by the way y'all you should see the tape i go through

when i wrap them now i want you i do a good job i think don't comment sharon

but but i get but y'all you give me a thing of tape you know that little scotch tape stuff.

It's got one gift, okay? But I'm just saying, you know, it's not about that, is it?

And that peace isn't fragile. It's the kind that I said calms chaos, all that.

It's about a quite steady sense of peace that actually whispers, Christ is here.

Wouldn't that be a testimony? What a testimony for our homes.

And that leads to our last point today.

Prepare your family, make room for his hope.

I mentioned earlier, doesn't the world need hope? Amen. I mean,

the world needs hope. We need hope.

Isaiah 43 through 5 says, A voice of one calling, prepare the way for the Lord.

Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low.

The rough ground shall become level.

The rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed.

And all the people will see it together. Hey, this is a season that invites

us, church, to remember the story of Jesus.

But it also calls us to rehearse it together.

The story doesn't live, y'all, only in the pages of Scripture or in our personal

reflections even, does it?

You know where it lives? It lives in the way that we share hope,

the way we share hope, joy, love with those around us.

Isaiah's words, y'all, just remind us that God's glory is revealed when we prepare the way.

And that preparation, y'all, it isn't just for us individually.

It actually extends to our families, our communities, our homes.

Christians, friends, and neighbors, y'all, learn hope by watching us live it out. Amen?

They watch how we respond to disappointment, how we celebrate joy,

how we speak of God's promises.

If we actually cultivate our hearts to expect God's goodness,

y'all, the next generation that's coming is going to see hope and action.

Boy, isn't that something amazing when they can look at the life of you and

your family and see hope and action?

See what Jesus does? Paul writes this.

He says, do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything.

Hold fast what is good. That's 1 Thessalonians 5.

We're called y'all to nurture hope.

And faith actively, not passively, in those around us.

So how do we prepare our families to make room for his hope during this Advent season?

Let's look at a few quick practical ways because I mentioned this earlier,

so I'm going to go through this one again, but share the Advent story together.

Share about Jesus's coming.

Read Luke 1 and 2 as a family. Anybody ever tried to act that one out.

Act it out as a family. I mean, that could be fun. Or tell it in your own words.

Let your children hear the story, y'all, not as a fairy tale,

but as a real life promise fulfilled.

Deuteronomy again, 6, 6, and 7, man. Talk about it at home. Talk about it on the way.

And then practice generosity, man, and compassion as a family.

Donate gifts, help a neighbor, volunteer together all of it because when children

see kindness in action hope actually becomes something that they can touch proverbs

22 6 everybody knows this one can you quote it for me i'll give you a hint train up.

Yes, train up a child in the ways he should go. When he's old,

he will not depart from it, right?

In the way he should go, right? That means we're training them up.

They're watching us do it, right?

And be intentional also in speaking hope into one another's lives.

Do y'all know words carry weight? Use them to encourage, bless,

remind one another of God's promises.

I think of Ephesians 4, 29.

Let no corrupt communication come out of your mouths, but only what is good for building people up.

Boy, that's a good one, right?

And then celebrate small moments of hope.

Celebrate those small moments of hope. Again, sing together,

pause for prayer together.

Those small repeated actions in our homes all make all the difference in the

world because when we prepare, again, our families, God fills them with hope.

That hope is active, it's contagious and it carries us through hard days. Anybody had hard days?

Yeah, some of you are going through some hard days now, right?

Long nights. Anybody been through some long nights? Uncertain seasons in your life?

Reminding everybody, though, in the home around you that God promises all that he promises. It's real.

It's trustworthy, and there's real hope there.

When I can't see the end result of something, I have the hope that Jesus offered. Amen.

I know that he is with me, Emmanuel, God with us.

So I want you to take a moment tonight to just ask, how can you,

this Advent, model hope for your own family?

What traditions, again, conversations, whatever, acts of kindness,

steps of faith that you can do together to make God's hope visible in your own home.

As we wrap up tonight, I want to just take a moment. I want to step back and

see the big picture of Advent.

This season, y'all, it's beautiful. There's a holy invitation,

a call to awaken hope, to stir expectation, to prepare a space for Jesus.

Remember our theme, prepare him room?

Not just on our calendars, but in our hearts, our homes, our families.

So we begin with our hearts, right?

Clearing the clutter, creating stillness, surrendering control to Jesus,

making ourselves available for his presence.

We remember Mary, as Felicity read about, who was actually simple, humble, open-hearted.

May it be to me as you have said. And it invites each of us all to do that same

thing. And then we looked at our homes, right?

The spaces we live in, we gather in and welcome others.

Luke actually tells us that there was no room in the end, yet God chose a humble manger.

Our homes, y'all, can be places where Christ's peace actually reigns.

Where we intentionally create space for him through Christ-centered traditions,

through simplified schedules, and that welcoming atmosphere.

And then finally, what do we do? We turn to our families, those who journey

through life with us, and it reminds us of God's story there.

It's for us to live and share with others, right? We rehearse that hope through

generosity, compassion, intentional words, all of it.

So as Dakota showed up here on the screen, how do we put all that into practice?

Tonight. Let's just take a look here.

First, we prepare our heart daily.

Every day, y'all, set aside those few minutes for prayer.

Ask God to reveal that one thing you can let go of that crowds him out.

Simplify your home. Choose peace over perfection, church.

Create a space, whether it's physical, whether it's emotional,

whether it's relational, where Christ can dwell, where he can make his home

and then make your family an active part of Advent.

Read that story of Jesus together. Perform those small acts of kindness.

Speak those words of hope out.

Create traditions that point to Jesus. Then watch for God's presence,

y'all, in unexpected places.

Like the shepherds, think about it. The angels and the humble manger.

God often shows up where we least expect him.

But be ready to recognize Him. And then live Advent as a season of expectation, y'all, not stress.

How many of you feel stressed tonight? Be honest. Anybody stressed out?

There's a lot of reasons we can be stressed out. But when we live this season

in the power of the Spirit as a season of expectation, in other words,

what may have been meant for bad, or maybe in our life we think it's for bad,

God's going to use something for an awesome good in our life.

That we never would have experienced otherwise. So we want to live this as a

season of expectation, not of stress.

Remember, this is about what tonight? Making room.

Not filling every moment with activity.

Slow down. Let God move in and

through you. It's not about just about what happened over 2,000 years ago.

It's about what God wants to do in our lives right now tonight at Eastwood Baptist Church.

He's asking, will you make room for me? Will you prepare your heart?

Will you prepare your home, your family for my presence, for my peace and for my hope?

So we got to enter this season intentionally.

Let's clear the clutter. Let's open the doors of our hearts and our homes.

And let's step into his holy waiting with expectation, with joy, y'all.

Because when we do, as it talks about in this passage we're going to see on

the screen, God will come.

And when he comes, guess what? He will fill us with his presence,

his peace, and his hope. Let's look at this.

Take a look here. First, John 1, 14 says, the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

So let's let this be a season where we say, God, I want to make room for you,

Lord, in every area of my life. Let's pray.

Father God, I thank you so much for your word tonight.

And Lord, even tonight, as we sit here tonight in this place and worship to you and give you praise,

I pray right now as heads are bowed and eyes are closed, Lord,

that we'll all ask ourselves, Lord, where do we need to make room for you this

season and in our future?

Help us to do that today. Help us to trust your hope and the provision you gave us.

And most importantly, if there's any here tonight, maybe that don't know peace,

that haven't experienced that at all, that tonight could be their night. to experience it.

Lord, you said in your word, if they'll just call upon your name,

Lord, believe in our heart that you've been raised from the dead, Lord.

God, if we repent of our sin, put our faith and trust in you,

Lord, we can become new creations.

I pray tonight if there's anybody here that's not sure of where they stand with

you, Lord, they will be before they leave.

We give you all the glory and all the praise in Jesus' mighty name.