When the Rubber Hits the Road...

- Well, good morning, Springhouse.

Aren't you grateful to be in a place

where the Holy Spirit chooses to reside?

He is already here this morning.

He's already been meeting with us,

and he's gonna continue to this morning.

And I'm just so excited about what God has for us today.

And I'm glad that you're here for it.

I'm glad that you're here.

This God, this incredible God of the universe

sure does love you, sure does see you,

sure does know you.

And God is so faithful.

Before we get kicking right along here with the message,

this is Christmas week, it is here.

And this week on Christmas Day,

we have a Christmas Day service.

And let me just encourage you,

if you've never attended the Christmas Day service,

I encourage you to do so this year.

I promise you, if you choose to attend,

you will not walk out of here regretting that you came.

It is a wonderful moment in your day

to really exalt Christ and to worship with your friends

and the community and the believers here.

So it's one service, 11 o'clock,

we'll be done right at noon.

And then you can go about your plans.

But please come and worship with us on Christmas Day.

And then because we do know some people travel

and there's some things happening,

we wanna make sure everybody's aware,

our midweek gatherings are gonna return January the 8th.

And that is because January 1st is New Year's Day

and Barbie's gonna be partying all night, New Year's Eve,

and she's not gonna be awake enough to present on the 1st.

No, Barbie has a terrific series lined up for us.

And so come and be a part of that.

And then of course, the kids are gonna be at full swing.

The youth is gonna be back in motion.

And so as you're making your plans for 2026,

if you've got capacity Thursday nights, it's really rich.

And we invite you to come and be a part of that, amen?

All right, and so we have been talking

about the greatest stories ever told.

And man, how humbling it is for me to be able to present

today on our last real Sunday of the series.

And I'm not gonna actually pull a particular story.

Today, what I wanna do is I wanna look at a little bit,

we're just gonna look a little bit at the story

that we've been celebrating all season long,

the story of Jesus and his birth

and how it collides with our story,

how it collides with our story today.

And so that's kinda how we're gonna end this thing.

Now, today, I really do believe that the Holy Spirit

of God is here.

I really, I really do.

And so that tells me that it's going to be your choice

whether or not you receive what he has for you.

It's gonna be your choice whether or not, but guess what?

The message is for everyone today.

Would you look at your neighbor and say, it's for you.

It's for you.

It is, it really is.

There is a message here for everyone.

So I'm gonna ask us to turn on our Pentecostal,

Baptist Pentecostal selves this morning.

And so if you hear something that just resonates

with your spirit, I'm just gonna ask you

to audibly say, amen.

Amen means so be it, okay?

So let's practice together, okay?

Pastor Kevin is a great looking pastor.

Amen, okay, so we got that out of our system.

So we got to practice in there, okay?

Now, I'd like us to stand this morning.

We're gonna read two scriptures this morning,

hopefully familiar scriptures to you.

And yeah, somebody said, amen,

only two scriptures this morning.

And I really do want you to read them with gusto.

I want you to read them as if you believe in this God

you say you believe in.

Let's read together from the book of Hebrews.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

And then one verse from the book of Mark.

All things are possible for the one who believes.

Let's read that again, that's so good.

All things are possible for the one who believes.

And Father, we so believe that.

Whether it is in the middle of the night

at the midnight hour, whether it's in a hospital bed,

whether it's the middle of everything abundant

on the mountaintop, God, we believe that all things

are possible if we just believe.

So Lord, may our belief meet you and your power this morning

and may your word resonate in our hearts

and transform us for eternity.

In Jesus' name, and the saint said.

- Amen. - Amen, amen.

You may be seated, you may be seated.

Well, if you are on social media at all,

which I know most of you are,

and you've looked at my social media lately,

you probably know that I have become one of those guys.

Yes, those guys, we had Eliana Hope two weeks ago,

and I've become one of those people that, yes,

I'm posting every three seconds my daughter and her picture.

You're probably sick of seeing her, but I'm not.

And so I'm posting her pictures left and right,

and man, she has just been so beautiful

and is continuing to just bless us with her sweet presence.

And so I just love posting, but look at that.

I mean, she's just adorable.

And I mean, I just picked, I mean,

you can't get any better than that little chubby cheeks.

I mean, that's her sleeping.

I mean, look at this one.

I mean, come on, guys.

I mean, I could stare at her all day long,

little sister, just sweet and cute.

Come on.

I mean, little Eliana.

And so, you know, here's the thing.

If you look at my social media,

you are getting a filtered version of Kevin O'Dea's life.

You're getting a filtered version of Kevin O'Dea's life

because anything you see on my social media,

I have endorsed for the world to see.

Anything that I put on my social media,

I'm saying it's okay for everybody in the ethos

and the universe to see everything that I've posted.

But here's the thing.

There are beautiful moments in our life,

and then there are not so quite beautiful moments.

Is that true?

So, you know, getting this baby picture,

it's surrounded by, you know, baby crying,

kids fighting, baby crying,

poopy diapers,

baby crying,

laundry everywhere.

Did I mention baby crying?

Shari exhausted.

I got permission to show you that.

Baby crying.

Man, we live such filtered lives,

or let me just say, we post such filtered lives.

We post out there, we project out there,

just what we want everyone to see.

And the reality is, is that there are beautiful moments

in the middle of our chaos,

but there's also chaos that surrounds the beauty sometimes.

And so we don't always post all of the,

we post the good, but not always the bad and the ugly, do we?

No, the chaos doesn't cancel the beauty,

and the beauty doesn't erase the chaos.

In fact, some of the most beautiful moments

are happening right in the middle of our mess, amen?

And that's not just true about parenting,

it's true about life, and it's true about faith.

Because if we're honest, we've learned how to filter

more than just our photos,

we have learned how to filter this thing called Christmas.

We've learned how to filter this thing called Christmas.

We reduce Christmas to a quiet night,

a peaceful manger, a cute baby laying down in some straw.

But when you remove the filter,

Christmas is anything but calm.

It's risky, it's disruptive,

it's God stepping into a broken, chaotic,

and volatile world.

Christmas invites us all to slow down,

to remember, and to feel wonder again.

Have you lost your sense of wonder?

Have you lost your sense of wonder?

Christmas was never meant to stop what we can see.

Scripture tells us this, it says,

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

and we have seen His glory."

We have seen His glory.

God didn't just reduce it to sending us a message,

God came in flesh and bone and dwelt with us.

Guys, that's an amazing thing.

It's an amazing thing that God decided

to come and dwell with us.

And when those angels appeared to Mary,

to Joseph, to the shepherds,

what was the first thing out of their mouth?

Do not be afraid.

I'm gonna tell you right now, I know myself well enough,

if a host of heavenly angels appeared before Kevin O'Dea

and said, "Do not be afraid,"

my first response would be, "Too late."

(congregation laughing)

But these hosts of heavenly angels appear before Mary

and appear before Joseph and before the shepherds.

And they say, "Do not be afraid,"

because the moments were not gentle.

It was because the presence of God carries weight.

Holiness carries weight.

Glory carries weight.

Christmas is not God, listen to this,

Christmas is not God stepping into our manufactured,

beautied, feltered life.

It's God stepping into our messy chaos to redeem us.

See, we love Christmas when it feels warm and familiar.

And dare I say, we love Jesus

when it doesn't cost us anything.

We love Jesus when it doesn't cost us anything.

And so I present to you this morning, this idea,

this notion that I believe that we have filtered our faith.

I believe that we have filtered,

we have learned how to filter.

We say out loud that God is good.

God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

And that's a true statement.

But we only really say it when things are going good.

We say we believe that God provides

when the provision makes sense.

We say that God is with us when it doesn't cost us anything.

And what we've often done is apply our faith

only in the places where it's easy,

where it's comfortable, where it doesn't expose us.

We keep the parts that look good

and filter out the parts that look messy.

But faith was never meant to be filtered,

it was meant to be tested.

Faith was never meant to be filtered,

it was meant to be tested.

And can I tell you guys,

I was laying in bed about four weeks ago

and I was struggling with some things here

going on here at the church.

I was struggling with some people,

struggling with some personal things.

I'm just tossing and turning in bed.

This is before the baby.

I was tossing and turning in bed

and I'm just wrestling with the Lord

and I'm asking the Lord these questions

as I couldn't sleep and I'm wrestling

and just sharp as an arrow.

I mean, just as illuminating as the angels appearing

to the shepherds, the Lord said to me,

"Kevin, let me ask you a question.

"When the rubber hits the road,

"do you believe what you say you believe?"

And can I tell you, after that,

there was no other word that could have come out of my mouth.

It was a stark, halting, stopping question

that said, "Kevin, when the rubber hits the road,

"do you believe what you say you believe?"

And friends, I'm asking you today,

do you believe what you say you believe?

Do you actually believe what you say you believe?

I wanna briefly look at two stories in scripture today

to kinda build a foundation of where we're going.

And the first is gonna be in the book of Mark.

And so if you have your Bibles today,

you can open to the book of Mark chapter nine.

And I wanna read a story that's kinda hidden in here.

We don't talk much about this story,

but I want to read this story

and I wanna tell you before I read it,

the reason I'm drawing from this story

is because I believe that the humanity

in this father's heart, the humanity in his response

is something that all of us can relate to.

It's something, I'll tell you, there's nothing,

there's nothing more that speaks

when the rubber hits the road

than when somebody messes with your kids.

There's nothing more, when somebody messes,

I was sitting with somebody just yesterday

and they say, "Listen, if somebody hurts my kid,

"another human being comes out of my body."

When the rubber hits the road,

if somebody messes with your kid,

well, this father has a kid who is on the verge of dying.

Let's read, it says this.

"When they came back to the disciples,

"they saw a large crowd around them

"and scribes questioning and arguing with them.

"Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Jesus,

"they were startled and began running to greet him.

"He asked them, 'What are you discussing with them?'

"One of the crowd replied to him,

"'Teacher, I brought you my son possessed with a spirit

"'which makes him unable to speak.

"'And whenever it seizes him, intending to do harm,

"'it throws him down and he foams at the mouth.

"'It grinds his teeth and becomes stiff.

"'I told your disciples to drive it out

"'and they could not do it.'

"He replied, 'Oh, unbelieving, faithless generation.

"'How long shall I be with you?

"'How long shall I put up with you?

"'Bring him to me,' says Jesus.

"So they brought the boy to him.

"When the spirit saw him," meaning Jesus,

"immediately, it threw the boy into a convulsion

"and falling on the ground,

"began rolling and foaming at the mouth.

"Jesus asked the father,

"'How long has this been happening to him?'

"He answered, 'Since childhood.

"'The demon has often thrown him both into fire

"'and into water, intending to kill him.

"'But if you can do anything,

"'take pity on us and help us.'

"Jesus said to him, 'If you can,

"'all things are possible for the one who believes.'

"And immediately the father of the boy cried out,

"'I do believe, help my unbelief.

"'I do believe, help my unbelief.'"

Guys, can I tell you, this father,

it says that this boy was wrestling with this spirit

since he was a child, since he was young.

He's contending, and I wonder how many of us

have been wrestling with things for years and years and years

not bringing it to the one who can do anything about it.

This father is here, and he goes to the disciples

and says, "Cast this demon out."

And Jesus says, "Bring him to me."

And he brings them to Jesus, and the response to Jesus is,

"If you could do something, would you do it?"

And I wonder, even when we get the strength enough

to bring our situation, to bring our problem to Jesus,

if it's laden or cushioned with, "If you think you can, God."

But anything's possible.

Everything's possible for those who believe.

That's what the word of God says.

That's what Jesus says to us.

And then the father responds

with such a humanistic response.

He says, "I believe, but help my unbelief."

And I don't believe that that was a contradictory,

or hypocritical statement,

because I believe that was a human statement.

It was saying, "I believe, but there's areas of my life

"where I don't believe.

"Would you help my unbelief, Lord?"

And I wonder if there are people here

who believe just yea far, and if you would just cross over

to the other side of belief,

if your faith would just increase and strengthen today,

I believe God would meet you in the middle of your mess,

in the middle of your chaos, and change your situation.

I believe, help my unbelief.

Help my unbelief.

Oh my goodness.

It's not weak faith to pray this prayer.

The father doesn't pretend.

He doesn't perform.

He cries out, "I believe, help my unbelief."

This, I believe, friends, is honest faith.

The father, listen, the father doesn't say,

"Hold on a minute, Jesus.

"I'll come back when I've got faith enough."

He brings what he has, and sometimes,

I want you to understand, sometimes we just need

to have the courage to bring what we have.

There's not this bucket of faith over here that it says,

"Now God says you better have your bucket of faith full

"before you come to me."

No, he says, "Come and bring me what little you have,

"and I'll take care of the rest."

And let me tell you, in moments when my faith

is like a mustard seed and I show up and God does something,

it bolsters my faith bigger than anything in the world,

and guess what, it tells me that my God,

the God who breathes stars, the God of the universe,

will do what he says he will do.

He accomplishes what he sets out to do,

that his promises surely are yes and amen.

Amen?

Do you believe it today?

We have this false idea that faith requires us

to have our act together, but faith requires us

to lean on a holy God.

Real authentic faith says, "I believe,

"but I'm struggling right now."

Authentic faith says, "I believe, but I'm scared."

Can anybody relate to that?

The real faith says, "I believe, but God, this is hard."

I remember when Shari was in the hospital with Hadassah,

and we were having Hadassah, and Hadassah came out,

and the doctors came in, and I heard the doctor say,

"I heard a word," and it said,

"I don't think she's gonna make it."

And when the rubber hit the road in that moment,

I can't tell you, it was not my flesh that kicked in,

it was the Spirit of God that kicked in

that allowed me to go, "God, you're sovereign.

"God, you're sovereign.

"Whatever happens in this moment, you're sovereign,

"and I trust you."

Let me tell you where that type of faith comes from,

by spending time in God's word,

by knowing that I have a faithful God,

a God of the universe, a God who breathes stars,

by spending time in knowing that this God

actually knows my name, and even if he doesn't answer

on time, I know that he is still good.

Even if he doesn't answer when I want him to,

he's still good.

He is sovereign.

I remember the moment in the service here,

when I thought that I legitimately thought I had cancer,

it was on a paperwork that I had,

and I stood right here talking about Elijah,

right in front of all of you,

and I poured water out on the floor, and I said,

"I'm believing that God is going to take this cancer away."

And here I stand before you, and I don't have cancer.

God is a faithful God.

He is faithful.

He moves, but boy, it takes a step of faith

to go in front of people and say,

"Hey, I believe that's what God says."

But here's the thing.

This is where the rubber hits the road.

Even if I had cancer today, he's still good.

Even if I was in heaven with him today, he is still good.

Just, his goodness is not determined

based on whether or not he answers you

in the way you want him to answer.

He's good regardless.

He's a good God.

So somewhere along the way,

what we've done is we have separated the chaos in our life,

the mess in our life, the problems in our life,

and we put them in a category over here,

and then we walk over on the other side,

and we put the Lord over here on this other side,

and the two become separate and disconnected.

And what that does is produce a fake life.

When we walk into a place like this,

and we smile, and we have everything together,

we put that filtered version of our lives out for everybody,

when the truth of the matter is we are wallowing

in the chaos, in the mess of our lives.

And God wants to get ahold of that.

God wants to get right in the middle of that,

but we don't let him because guess what?

All we're willing to present

is the filtered version of ourselves.

Let's turn over to Luke chapter three.

(paper rustling)

We separate our problems and our chaos from the Lord.

And I don't know if it's because we don't believe

that he's a part of it.

I don't know if it's because a lot of times,

at least in my life, the chaos and mess,

a lot of time is the genesis of it starts with me.

It starts with my stupidity, or me being an idiot,

or me doing something wrong.

And so we separate it because we're saying,

"God, I don't believe you can touch this

"because it was something that I did."

But can I tell you, I believe that God wants to be

in the middle of all of those things.

And sometimes, sometimes God is prepping you beforehand

because he knows all things.

He's prepping you beforehand to engage the chaos

that's surrounding your life.

Let's look at chapter three of Luke, starting in verse 21.

"Now when all the people were baptized,

"Jesus was also baptized.

"And while he was praying, the heaven was opened.

"And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form

"like a dove, and a voice came from heaven,

"you are my son, my beloved in you.

"I am well pleased and delighted."

Jesus has been baptized.

Have you ever been here at a service

where we baptize someone and they come out of the water

and they do this motion right here?

It's because God has done something incredible

in their life.

They are dead to the world and alive in Christ.

I want you to picture Jesus coming out of the water,

but not only has he come out of the water,

the audible voice of his dad came down and said,

"I am so proud of you, son."

Can you imagine what type of cloud nine,

what type of faith foundation,

what type of Superman moment that was for Jesus

coming out of the water?

I mean, it was like, let's go time.

I mean, he was ready to roll, so full of the Holy Spirit.

And you have had that experience before

if you've been baptized.

And then for some reason, it loses its luster.

But boy, every day we can wake up with that type of momentum,

that type of power,

because the Holy Spirit of God dwells inside you.

So Jesus comes out of the water.

Can you picture it?

He's there and his dad, it wasn't,

I believe, I think maybe God is saying,

I think maybe my dad's, no, the voice of God.

This is my son with whom I'm well pleased.

So let's see what happens next.

What is he about to do with this?

Boy, I bet he's about to, man,

to me, it's like, let's go feed the multitudes, right?

Let's see what happens.

Where does God lead him next?

Let's see chapter four, here we go.

Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,

would you say full of the Holy Spirit?

Full of the Holy Spirit.

Very important.

Returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit,

say led by the Spirit.

Led by the Spirit.

Into the wilderness.

Into the wilderness.

Oh, it doesn't stop there.

Into the wilderness for 40 days,

being tempted by the devil.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,

was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

You know what this tells me, guys?

Sometimes the Holy Spirit of God is leading you

into those dry places

because he wants to do a work in your life.

But I want you to notice something about Jesus.

He was full of the Holy Spirit.

God never sends us ill-equipped.

He never sends us empty.

He never sends us alone.

And some of us need to stop looking at our situation

and start putting our gaze on Christ,

our graze on the Holy Spirit,

and start listening to what he's telling us to do.

Listen to his words, allow his truth

to eradicate the lies we bought into

and to go into that wilderness situation

ready for the temptations that are gonna come

because you're an overcomer.

With the Holy Spirit, you're an overcomer.

So Jesus was tempted.

What was he tempted with?

He was tempted with fleshly.

He was tempted in his flesh.

He was tempted to eat when he said,

man won't live on bread alone.

He was tempted with worldly treasure.

He was tempted with power.

Any of this sound familiar?

How do I overcome all of these temptations?

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit.

The Word of God, my Bible says, draw near to God

and he draws near to you.

How do I become full of the Holy Spirit?

Holy Spirit, would you fill me up?

Is it this the God who says

a father who loves a child would not turn away?

Like if he's asking for bread to give him a stone?

No, you have a God that says, ask and you shall receive.

Fill me up, Holy Spirit.

I'm in the middle of this thing.

Fill me up, Holy Spirit.

I don't think, I think, I think,

I think all of heaven probably rejoices

when a believer says, fill me up, Holy Spirit,

because game on.

Game on.

But you can't be full of the Holy Spirit

when you're full of yourself.

Yeah, I didn't hear an amen on that one.

I was gonna let it, gonna let it resonate.

The Spirit of God did not lead Jesus into comfort.

See, we have this misnomer,

I don't know where this comes from.

Get saved, give your life to Jesus,

and everything's gonna be a basket of roses,

a field of tulips, sunny days and bright rays.

It's gonna be good.

Sweet baby rays barbecue sauce.

It's gonna be so good, sweet and tasty.

Oh no, salvation is the first step.

Boom, death to life, praise God.

Now let's call off all of that stuff

that's been leading you the wrong direction.

And that takes a lifetime.

That takes a lifetime.

A great teacher never gives a test

without first equipping the student to pass it.

Jesus wasn't in the wilderness empty,

he was full of the Holy Spirit.

He had what he needed before the test ever came.

And when God draws us to the wilderness seasons,

and some of you right now are in a wilderness season,

where the pressure is real, where your faith is tested,

where your obedience will cost you something,

he never sends you alone, ill-equipped or empty.

And this, my friends, is the true essence

of Emmanuel, God with us.

We sing that song, Emmanuel, God with us,

and in my mind I picture a little cute baby laying

in a manger and it's, oh God is coming,

he's here and he's crying, oh he's so sweet.

No, Emmanuel, the king, God with us

in our situations and in our chaos.

God with us does not mean God rescues us from hardship,

it means God meets us in the hardship.

When the rubber hits the road,

what we are full of is what will come out.

And I've talked to some of you and I have squeezed you

and what came out was not the Holy Spirit.

Am I telling the truth?

And some of you have squeezed me and guess what?

It's not always the Holy Spirit.

And when we do that and when we encounter that thing,

depending on your relationship with the Lord,

you'll be able to suss out, this is not the Holy Spirit

coming out in your response.

Justin is building a lot to his house,

Justin and Jessica, they are just piling on the bricks

and all of that stuff.

And I was having lunch with Justin the other day

and he was telling me he had to meet the plumber

and they were telling him that the plumb line,

the water line was so thin that he kinda laughed

and the guy laughed and said,

you're adding all this square footage,

there's no way that that small pipeline

is going to sustain what you guys are adding on to the house.

And so Justin was faced with a decision,

continue to move forward with a small pipeline

or bite the bullet right now and unearth that pipeline

and get something bigger, get something bigger.

What do you think is the better choice?

Get something bigger, bite the bullet now.

Here's the thing, some of us are praying for God

to do more while refusing to increase our capacity

for him to move.

See, faith has a pipeline.

And the question isn't can God pour out more,

the question is can you actually contain

what he's pouring out?

Pressure doesn't create the cracks,

pressure reveals where the lines are too thin.

And so here's my question today, saints,

what might it cost you later if you're not willing

to increase your faith right now?

What type of cost are you passing off or deferring

to a later moment, 'cause I'll tell you right now,

if y'all would have done those pipelines,

something's gonna happen in the future

and that's a lot more mess to unearth

once you've built something on top of it.

Can I tell you that God wants to do something big

in your lives, but he is demanding an increase in your faith.

He's demanding an increase in your faith.

James tells us faith without action is dead.

Faith without action is dead.

Listen, everyone wants to see the Red Sea split,

but don't nobody want to be right there at the water.

Everyone wants Jericho to come tumbling down,

but nobody wants to be the one that has a shout.

Everyone wants a Goliath to be defeated,

but don't nobody wanna be the one running out

with the stones.

Everyone wants a resurrected experience,

but we're not willing to be crucified with Christ.

Faith is not proven after the miracle takes place.

Faith is proven when your belief leads to action

and is met by the power of a star-breathing God, amen?

But what stops us is that when we come upon obstacles

in our life, we end up running to everyone

and everything else, despite the Word of God.

I've learned something about running the school.

We get about 15 minutes to meet new kids

who come into our school.

We sit down with them, we tour the school,

we ask them some questions, but do you know

where I really find out about the students at our school?

Is when I let them go eat lunch in the cafeteria.

Because what happens is it's a brand new kid

in a brand new environment in a brand new season,

and within seconds, the troublemakers find the troublemakers.

Isn't that interesting?

They don't know names, they don't know history,

but instinctively, they end up at the same table.

When the pressure hits, we don't drift toward what's right,

we run toward the familiar.

Spiritually, we do the same thing.

When the rubber hits the road, we don't run to the Word,

the gift of the Word that we've been given,

we don't run to this Word, we run to the crowd.

We run to the group text.

We run to the people who will agree with us

because it feels so much better to get a pat on the back

than to hear what God has to say about a situation.

Scripture says in Romans 10,

faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ,

not the Word of your group text,

not the Word of your friends,

not the Word of the social media post.

It says it comes by the Word of Christ.

I love the phrase, let's put truth on the table.

In every situation, when you're in a conversation,

I invite you to interject,

okay, let's put truth on the table.

What does the truth say about this situation?

What does the truth of God's Word say about this situation?

Let me tell you something,

nothing will shut up gossip more than saying,

let's put truth on the table.

Let's put truth on the table.

When belief is tested,

the question isn't what you say you believe,

it's where you run when it costs you something.

Some of you know this story, this is a boy named Ryan.

And Ryan is a student at LCA

and he is in kindergarten readiness right now.

He's been with us for about three years.

And Ryan two weeks ago was diagnosed with leukemia

at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in ICU.

He's laying there and his parents are there with him.

Parents are in that room

and Ryan starts to mumble something on that hospital bed

and they can't quite make out what he's saying.

And so they go over to him and it's,

Ryan, are you hungry?

Ryan, are you thirsty?

What is he saying?

They're just mumbling, he's mumbling some words.

What's going on?

And right there in that hospital room,

on that hospital bed, this little five-year-old

with leukemia is mumbling this,

even when I don't see it, you're working.

Even when I don't feel it, you're working.

Oh, that God would increase our faith.

That up out of our spirit in situations

that we don't understand, that are not familiar,

the first thing out of our mouth would go,

God, even though it doesn't look like it,

it doesn't feel like it,

I believe you are who you say you are.

It's not just a lyric, this,

even when I don't see it, you're working.

It's surrender, way maker, miracle worker,

promise keeper, light in dark places.

I believe he is.

But when you're standing at the crossroads

and you don't see the way,

when the only way out is a miraculous move of God,

when every promise of God seems to be in question,

and when you find yourself in the darkest places

you've ever been, that's when your belief is exposed.

Faith isn't believing God will do what I want.

Faith is believing he can, even if he chooses not to.

So this is how I wanna close.

I want us to get real for a minute.

Can you guys come into my kitchen table right now,

metaphorically?

Come have a seat at the table.

We're gonna talk real.

We're gonna get real honest right now, okay?

And here it goes.

'Cause I believe this is for everyone.

Christmas has a way of exposing the pressure points.

(gentle music)

And I want us to understand today,

if you forget everything I say,

I want you to understand this.

The world has advice.

The word has direction.

Do you believe what you say you believe?

Some of you in this room, you're sitting next to somebody,

somebody in this room,

you're dealing with grief this season.

What does that mean?

There's an empty seat at the table this year.

There's a familiar voice you no longer get to hear.

There's a name that you no longer get to text.

And when the rubber hits the road,

the question isn't, do I miss them?

The question is, do I believe God is still near

when my heart is broken?

And this is what the world says.

Numb the pain, distract yourself,

move on as quickly as possible.

But this is what the word says and gives direction.

It says, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

So the Lord says, sit with me, bring it to me.

Let me heal what you can't.

Some of you in this room, you're sitting next to each other,

your marriage is unraveling.

And it may be plastered with a smile in front of all of us,

but you know your marriage is unraveling.

There's problems at home.

There's arguments that have been unsettled.

I'm getting real with you guys this morning.

And when the rubber hits the road,

the question becomes, do I believe God can heal

what seems irreparably damaged, or do I quietly give up?

The world says, protect yourself.

Walk away when it's hard.

Do what makes you happy.

But this is the direction from the word of the Lord.

It says, is anything too hard for the Lord?

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Some of you are dealing right now in this room

with fractured relationships.

And when the rubber hits the road, the question becomes,

do I believe obedience still matters

even when reconciliation's gonna cost me something?

The world says, cut 'em off.

Be distant.

Protect your peace at all costs.

But the word says, Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers.

Some of you in this room right now, literally, I know,

at least two people, are carrying a medical diagnosis.

You've been carrying an ailment for a long time, some of you.

And you're sitting there going through Christmas

with a smile on your face,

but you've got this looming, weighty thing.

And when the rubber hits the road, the question becomes,

do I believe God is still with me in the valley,

or do I just believe it when I'm on the mountaintop?

And the world says, panic, spiral out of control,

assume the worst.

But the direction from the word says,

even though I walk through the valley, you are with me.

Some of you are under financial strain this morning.

And you got up here and you heard Barbie mention

about tithing, and you questioned whether or not

you could give, some of you just said,

I'm not even gonna try to go there

because my bills are too high, my credit cards are maxed.

I don't know how I'm getting gifts for the kids this week.

I don't know, I don't know anything.

I've been trying different ways,

I've been moving stuff around, I lost my job.

Financial strain is a real thing for some of you

in this room right now.

But when the rubber hits the road, the question becomes,

do I believe God's my provider,

or do I live like everything depends on me?

The world says, hoard it, worry about it,

and control everything.

This is what the directive of the word says,

seek first the kingdom of God,

and all of those things will be added to you.

Do you believe what you say you believe?

Do you believe what you say?

Some of you, listen, some of you,

none of those things relate, but this one's gonna hit home.

Some of you are just plain exhausted.

Because you have been running and running and running,

you've been chasing them kids, you've been going places,

you've been running to try to prove yourself,

work is demanding, the pressure is so big,

and when the rubber hits the road,

the question becomes,

do I believe God actually renews strength,

or do I just keep pushing until I break?

The world says, push harder, keep proving yourself.

Don't slow down, the directive from the word says this,

those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.

Some of you need to enter a waiting season.

Rest is not weakness, waiting is worship.

Now let me talk to another,

I'm getting real real today, right?

Can I keep going?

Let me talk to another very real struggle in the room.

Some of you are just tired,

you're not just tired and hurting, you are uncertain.

You don't know what decision to make,

you don't know if you're in the right role somewhere,

you don't know if it's the season, the assignment,

the position is where God wants you,

and the insecurity creeps in and you say,

what if I mess up?

What if I miss God, what if I'm not enough for this?

And the world says, trust your instincts, follow your heart,

choose the next opportunity that comes along.

But the directive from the word says this,

trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Stop leaning on your own understanding

and all your ways submit to Him and guess what He'll do?

He'll make every straight, every path straight.

And what about this?

Some of you have been praying and praying and praying,

and God has either been silent

or God's just flat out said no.

What if God's answer is no?

What if He is silent?

What if His answer looks different from you?

Some of you are here, listen to this,

some of you are literally watching God answer

the same prayer you have for other people

that you're connected to,

and He's not answered that prayer for you.

And you're sitting here going, what about me?

And you're carrying this quiet prayer inside you.

There is a faith that trusts God when He opens doors,

but can I tell you there is a deeper faith

for those who will trust God when He doesn't open the door.

Who has greater faith, the one who prays and receives

or the one who prays doesn't receive

and still keeps showing up

because they believe that God is still good?

(gentle music)

Paul prayed and God said no, my grace is sufficient.

Habakkuk didn't get the answer he wanted

and he still rejoiced.

Job lost everything and still trusted God.

Listen, faith isn't trusting God because of the outcome.

Faith is trusting God in spite of the outcome.

And so this morning, would you stand with me this morning?

This morning, this is what we're gonna do.

(gentle music)

If you are struggling, faith without action is dead.

Say that, faith without action is dead.

Today's call is an increase in faith.

Without faith, it is impossible to please the God

you say you believe in.

And so if you are here and you are struggling with grief,

I want you right here in front.

If you're here and your marriage is on the rocks,

I want you right down here, right here.

If you're struggling in a relationship,

come on down right here.

The God of the universe wants to meet you today.

If you're fearful at this Christmas time, get down here.

If you have a medical diagnosis, come on down right here.

If your finances are all in shambles,

come on down right here.

Meet this great, glorious God.

If you're exhausted this morning, come on down.

Meet your glorious God.

If you're uncertain today,

come down and meet this great, glorious God.

If God has been silent, if he's not answered a prayer

that you've been believing for,

come on down here right now.

I believe that this way maker, this miracle worker,

this promise keeper, this light in the darkness

will literally meet you right now.

Now let me tell you something.

Let me give you the truth.

I'm gonna use the financial group as an example.

You may walk out of these doors as broke as you walked in,

but the God of the universe will render to you a peace.

And he will say, the truth of the matter is,

is that I own the cattle on a hill

and I'm gonna take care of your need.

All you need is to have faith enough to believe.

And you can apply that across the board

to any one of these situations.

Now let me have your eyeballs up here for just a second.

I know you've been given something.

I want you to just hold it in your hand for a second.

Look right here.

And those out there who are not up here,

you can begin to pray.

Jesus came to earth at Christmas

to save us from the problem of sin.

That was our issue.

We had sin, we were separate from God.

That was the first coming.

But can I give you a promise that the word says?

Somebody here struggling with grief, uncertainty,

relationship things, tears, all this stuff.

Can I give you a promise that the word says?

Look at the screens, guys.

This is a promise that we get to rejoice in

because he's not just coming the first time,

he's coming a second time.

And this is what he says.

I'm gonna wipe every tear from your eye.

There's gonna be no more death or mourning

or crying or pain for the former things have passed away.

Now let me ask you something.

Do you believe he's gonna do it?

Do you believe that he's gonna come back a second time?

Do you believe that all of that's going to happen?

And here's the thing,

this great glorious God can give you a peace this morning

that matches this verse in the situation

and the chaos that you're in.

Increase your capacity to receive.

So here's what I want us to understand.

You say you're walking through grief,

you're walking through a marriage problem,

relationship fear, medical diagnosis.

Go ahead and turn off those lights.

I want you to understand something.

This is a glow stick and it does nothing.

It serves no purpose unless what happens,

unless it's broken.

Go ahead and break your glow stick.

(gentle music)

(gentle music)

Do me a favor, Rich, hand me that glow stick that's there.

I want a good glow stick.

I have another one on my seat you can have.

You got one up there, okay, I got a glow stick, okay.

Hold him up.

(gentle music)

Listen clearly, guys.

The light of the world, which you've been called,

the light of the world is Christ meeting you

in your brokenness.

Out of your chaos and your brokenness,

he creates something beautiful.

So understand, listen to this, this is good, okay.

The God of the universe has trusted you

with the chaos that you're in.

Are you with me?

Because he says, I am with you.

He hasn't forsaken you.

So count it all joy when you face tribulations

and trials of any kind, because he's doing a work in you.

Why?

So that the light of Christ could be proclaimed

to a dying world.

And he only can do that if you're willing to be broken.

Amen, amen, is that good?

So today God wants to be your way maker.

Listen, real quick, and I'm done.

You can turn on the lights.

Christmas isn't a story about people

who had it figured out.

It's a story about people who believed God

when the rubber hit the road.

Mary believed God when her reputation was on the line.

Joseph believed God when he had to be obedient,

when he wasn't obedient, when he wasn't sure.

The angels declared truth and fear and in darkness.

The shepherds believed God even to leave what was familiar.

Do you understand what I'm saying to you?

None of them had certainty.

None of them had control, but all of them had one thing.

They all had great faith.

And you have a great big glorious God

with whom it is impossible to please without faith.

And so my prayer for you, my friends,

is that your faith in this season would increase,

that you would begin to truly believe God

for all of the things in the chaos,

that you would not separate God from your mess,

but you would just say, God, here I am,

messed up from the floor up, come into my life,

and change everything.

And so today as a testimony of faith,

as a statement of faith, we're gonna declare

that he truly is in every one of your situations

a way maker, a miracle worker.

Is he a promise keeper?

He sure is.

He's a light in the darkness.

Come on, let's worship.

Church, let's worship.

Come on, let's worship like God's gonna move today, okay?

Let's go, come on.

you