Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to the Chroma Church podcast.
[00:00:06] Hello. Good morning, church. Welcome again and merry Christmas.
[00:00:13] Three more sleeps, as my kids keep telling me. Three more sleeps. I did consider dressing as Mary, given my current state, but decided. Decided against it.
[00:00:25] Yeah. I hope you guys are set. I hope you're excited. Looking forward to some family time. We are obviously gonna be talking about the reason for the season this morning. We're gonna be talking all about King Jesus and what a powerful time in worship, right? Just encountering his presence. So thankful that he is always here, always wanting to meet with us.
[00:00:49] And so, yeah, he is the reason for this season. Even though I have to remind Harper that it's not about Elsa. For some reason, she doesn't even think it's about Santa. Thinks it's about Elsa. So I've not really done a great job as a parent, have I? But I keep reminding her it's all about Jesus. She's only three, so. But we're going to talk about, just really simply this morning, who Jesus is and how we can seek him in our everyday lives. And, you know, we're celebrating this true story. This isn't just something made up. This is the true story of our King of Kings stepping down from heaven and coming and living among us. And as we read the story in the gospels of Jesus's birth, we read that there's this declaration of who he is. There's all these names that are announced about Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace. He is almighty God. He's our wonderful counselor. He's our everlasting Father. He. He's Emmanuel, God with us. And this is, you know, just a reminder that this is good news for us. He is here with us. And if you are here this morning and you're feeling anxious or worried about anything, the Prince of Peace has come. He comes and he meets with us, and he brings his peace. If you need a breakthrough in your life, maybe you need healing or there's family restoration. He is almighty God. He is the one who is powerful and mighty to save. If you need guidance, if you need a comforter, he is our wonderful counselor. This is who Jesus is. And he came close to us. He is with us today. He's with us this morning. He's God. Emmanuel, we. We saw 15 people give their life to Jesus last Sunday at our Christmas services, which is amazing, right?
[00:02:49] We're seeing salvation nearly every week. And I get the absolute privilege on a Tuesday of hearing some of the stories at New Life. And one of the stories. So we did it on Tuesday And a couple of the guys who had come forward last Sunday, they came on Tuesday, and they were just talking about kind of their experience of walking forward. And I love to ask what people's stories are and what they encountered on that day, in that moment. And both of them separately said that the thing that they felt more than anything else was this burden that was lifted off them. And they felt like someone else was finally carrying their burden. They felt like there was this weight that was lifted off them. And it was like, I never have to do this on my own anymore. Like someone else is carrying my bags for me. And just the sweetest explanation, right, of, like, the true reality of what it means to now walk with Jesus. And it was only Tuesday, but I was like, have you felt that since? Was that like in the moment or has that been kind of since Sunday? And they were like, yeah, just since Sunday. It's felt like every morning I've woken up and this weight has been lifted off me. This is the reality for us as believers, right? God, Emmanuel, he is with us. And if you feel isolated or lonely this morning again, you could be, you know, in a packed out room and still feel on your own. But the truth is he's with us. He's here. He's here this morning. He walks this journey with us just like it was always intended to be when, when he created Adam and Eve in the garden. We're. We're made to walk in this step by step relationship with the Lord. And Christmas is a massive celebration of that. It's a reminder that the King of Kings came down from heaven. He gave it all up and, and became a baby among us into our mess. And, you know, even in the first service, I was just. I had this like, crazy picture of the Lord. You know, it says in the scriptures that the earth is his footstool, that the Lord is so big, so majestic, so great, that the earth is even his footstool. And yet he gives all of that up so that we could be close to him. And he becomes not even a baby. He becomes like a. A fertilized egg. Like he becomes from being so big to being so small. Why? What was the purpose of that relationship with me and you? He gave it all up for us. And so it's a celebration of. Of remembering how close he is to us, that he's with us no matter what.
[00:05:27] And so our theme this Christmas at Cromer has been come and behold. But really, let's face it, that's our theme every week, right? We want to Come and behold, Jesus is all about Him. We don't want to be a people that just talk about him, but we want to be a people who encounter him daily and behold him. And so in the midst of everything going on in this season, there's this. There's this fresh opportunity, fresh invitation for us to seek him and to behold Him. It is really all about Jesus. It's that simple. That we would go back to the basics, the simple gospel, that Jesus comes close, and then he invites us to come close to Him. We're to draw near to Him. There's one priority for us as believers, and it's Jesus.
[00:06:15] On. On Wednesday this week, I was busy at home just, like, doing lots of things the week before Christmas, you know, trying to get ready. And. And my husband, Joel, he calls me and he's like, oh, babe, I was just thinking maybe we could go on a date tonight. Yeah, nice. Really, like, really sweet. And I had a really nice response. I was like, yeah, that sounds lovely, but how many of us know, like, a week before Christmas?
[00:06:42] I just don't know if there's time for that. And I just started to list off all of the things. I was like, there's just so much to do. And do you know what his answer was? What is there to do?
[00:06:55] I was like, what? Sorry? What is there to do? I was like, just remember, this is a really sweet request from a husband who wants to take his wife on a date. But also, how do you know? How do you not know what there is to do? And I started to list off all these things, like, well, we have to buy all the presents, we have to wrap all the presents, we have to label them all. We have to do a bunch of washing and pack because we're going away. Also, we kind of have a baby coming in a few weeks. We're not the most organized, so we still need to build the crib and we need to pack the hospital. We need to do all of these things. And I started to list them all off, and it went quiet on the phone. And then his response was this. That's even more reason to go out for a meal.
[00:07:38] That's the very reason we need to go for a meal. And I was like, yeah, you're right. That's true. He's like, there's all of these things are going to be needed to be done on a Friday.
[00:07:49] And in that moment, it was so easy to be consumed by everything there is to do, right? All of the endless lists, the things that we need to do to Make Christmas great and to be productive. But in that moment. Moment, ladies, thank the Lord for men who lead. Right? Amen. He was like, we just need to go for a meal. That's the very reason we're so busy. That's even more reason to spend time together.
[00:08:15] And, you know, I think really simply Jesus wants to take some of us for a meal.
[00:08:21] I think Jesus is calling, and he wants us to put our busy schedules aside and spend time with him and go for a meal with Him. It says in the Scriptures that he prepares a table before us full of blessing, full of intimate relationship with Him. And we need to sometimes just put aside those things and come and sit at the feet of Jesus. And it's discerning, knowing what you know, what. What to do in the right season.
[00:08:52] But he is always our priority. He longs to spend time with us. He longs to have relationship with us. He longs to talk to us about our day and to give us counsel and to pour out his love and show us things from his perspective. He loves to be with his people. And so this is an invitation for us to behold Jesus. But when we do that, it's like he beholds us. He holds us. He holds our lives in his hands. And there is such a peace and a free freedom and a joy as we get to step back again into this relationship with Him. There's always a hundred reasons why the time's not right. But he's wanting to catch our eye even this morning, grab our attention and behold us. He's prepared a meal.
[00:09:40] I think David puts it best in Psalm 27. So we're gonna. We're gonna actually read this scripture together this morning. So if you have your Bibles, you can turn there.
[00:09:50] Turn to Psalm 27. Don't worry, we will hit the Christmas story as well. But I just wanted to read this psalm together. You can stand as well. Why don't we honor the word of the Lord?
[00:10:04] So it says this. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid when evil men advance against me to devour my flesh. When my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me. Even then will I be confident. One thing I ask of the Lord. This is what I seek. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling. He will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me. At his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy, I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice when I call, O Lord, be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you. Seek his face, your face, Lord. I will seek. Amen. Guys can grab a seat. I mean, the whole psalm is brilliant. So you can go home and read it all.
[00:11:24] But there's this one. There's this one option that David brings it all down to, you know, in the middle of anguish, in the middle of the battle, the trials, in the middle of intense destruction. You know, we don't. We don't actually really know this. There's lots of arguments about when this psalm was written, like when David wrote this psalm and what kind of stage of his life. But we do know that in this moment, there's war all around him. There's turmoil all around him. He's not just chilling in the tabernacle for weeks on end, like he's the king of a nation. Like, he's a busy man, and he's got this war surrounding him, these people, these enemies rising up against him. And yet because of that, there's one thing that he seeks in the midst of all of that. He's like, I have to reduce my options down to the most important thing. To seek the face of Jesus. To seek the face of my Lord. Not just to be aware of his presence, but to really seek him out and to look into his face. There's Joel here. Come on, Joel. Come on up a minute.
[00:12:32] I just found this a really helpful analogy. You know, I can be aware of Joel in the room. This is my husband, by the way. Not just a random guy.
[00:12:41] That would be awkward. I could be aware of Joel in the room, but there's a difference between that and actually gazing upon his face. Look at me, babe. Yeah, gazing upon the face of Joel in this case, right? His brown eyes, his beautiful Indian skin can smell like. I don't even know what perfume that is, aftershave or whatever. Like you're close enough to be in this love lock relationship with my husband. This would be really awkward if it wasn't my husband, wouldn't it? But the point is, there's a difference. What I'm trying to say is there's a difference between just Being aware of the Lord in a space or in a room and then walking in this intimate love lock relationship with King Jesus and fixing our eyes upon him, gazing upon him. Thanks babe, Great job.
[00:13:35] Don't clap him. He didn't do anything.
[00:13:41] Yeah, there's this real difference and when I saw that actually on YouTube and it really helped me just understand that we are called to be fixated into this love lock relationship. I don't know if you guys have read some of Song of Songs, but it's like an incredibly intimate book that sometimes makes us feel a bit uncomfortable because there's this conversation between the beloved and the lover and they talk back and forward and it's this intimate, deep relationship that's meant to symbolize what we get to be invited to with Jesus.
[00:14:14] It's about walking with him, knowing him, and hear me, please. I don't, I don't get home from the school run and the Aldi shop and close my eyes and suddenly see, you know, the glory in the face of Jesus every day. Like that's, it doesn't always come that, that easily. But there is a journey for us to take with Jesus where that becomes our reality, where we, we go back to what we were created for in the garden of the, in the garden of Eden. Walking with him in this deep, intimate relationship, making sense. That is the invitation for us this morning. So what does it actually look like to seek him, to behold him? How do we get there on this journey with Jesus? I think we can learn a lot from the people around the birth of Jesus. The story of Mary and Joseph and the characters around the birth of Jesus, they all got to be there, present, beholding him on that incredible night. So first of all, beholding Jesus, it looks like faith and it looks like action.
[00:15:17] If you think about Mary just for a minute, we don't have time to read the whole story of Jesus's birth, but we know that the story that the angel comes to Mary and tells her you're going to be pregnant with a son, is going to be the son of God, the most high, and the government will be on his shoulders. You know, this huge thing that you're going to basically birth the son of God. And instead of her going, hold on a minute, what is that about? You know, she doesn't ask the details of the plan. She doesn't go, well, actually, can't I get married first? You know, this kind of messes up my plans a little bit. Angel Gabriel, can't, can't you see my situation? Instead she says, yes. Let it be just as you've said. I'm. I'm the Lord's servant. Let it be just as you've said. I'm up for it. There's this action of faith and then she goes on the journey. And we know that she.
[00:16:15] She says yes to all that the Lord has said to her. In Luke 1:45, we read that she visits Elizabeth and incredible story again, where she goes into Elizabeth' house and John the Baptist leaps inside Elizabeth's womb. And Elizabeth says this of Mary. Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her and it will be accomplished. There's a woman of faith. Elizabeth is saying, blessed is the one who actually believes the word of the Lord, that this is going to be accomplished in her life. There's this faith and this action that we, that Mary participates in.
[00:16:52] Find yourself a promise and meditate on it. This is what it looks like to believe what the Lord will do. Do we believe that he has things to say to us that he wants to bring breakthrough in our lives? Do we believe it in faith and do we act upon it?
[00:17:06] We see the same with Joseph. In Matthew 1:24, again, an angel goes and explains what's going to happen to Joseph. Bless him. And it says, when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and he took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And then he gave him the name Jesus. This was a man again, full of faith. This is what the Lord has said and so be it. I'm going to be obedient to the Word. And then he showed his faith by his actions. You know, I know. He didn't quite book the hotel room like Steve said last. Steve pointed out last week he's still a bloke in that sense, but his actions. Sorry, that was a bit mean. But his actions displayed his faith. And as a result, Joseph gets to be the father of Jesus. He gets to be there at the birth and raise the son of God as his own son, because he believed the word of the Lord and then he acted in faith.
[00:18:09] You've got the wise men, these really were the smart ones, the wise ones who looked at the prophetic words from 400 years previous and said, this is where the Lord is going to be. This is where the Redeemer is going to be born. This is the time, this is the place. And then they went on the journey. They believed the word of the Lord, and then they went on the journey to find out, to seek out Jesus.
[00:18:34] Seeking out Jesus looks like believing the word of the Lord and then acting upon it. The shepherds again, they believe the angel and they followed the star, trusting that the word of the Lord was true. And then their faith looked like something. They had to leave their fields, leave their sheep, or maybe they took their sheep with them, probably, actually. And then they found Jesus, they sought him out. And I always wonder, were there other shepherds, maybe who saw the heavenly host, who maybe saw the. Saw the star in the sky, but they. They didn't want to leave the safety of their fields? Maybe. I don't know.
[00:19:07] But friends, would we be a people who hear the word of the Lord and believe it in faith and then act on it, go on the journey to seek him out?
[00:19:17] And it's often not comfortable. In fact, I'd say it often costs us. I had a conversation with just a sweet girl in our church this week. She. She serves in our kids team and our youth team. And I just asked her, I know that her family dynamics are very, very messy. And I just asked her what she was doing for Christmas. And she was like, well, after spending some time with Jesus, he's told me to go to my mum's. And that was a huge deal. Right? She's not been home, I think, in about six years, she's not been home for Christmas. And so she knew that this was going to be a difficult, difficult journey. But bless her, I believe the Lord is going to pour out his favor upon her. Like, she said yes to the Lord, she's booked a hotel and she's going home for the first time in six years to spend time with her mum. Why? Because she spent some time with Jesus. She believes the word of God, that there's going to be reconciliation. And then she's acted on that and been obedient to that. And I believe she's going to behold Jesus through all of it. She's going to see the face of Jesus as she trusts in him.
[00:20:20] We're invited to walk by faith and have actions that look like faith.
[00:20:28] In Psalm 27, going back to David, in verse 13, he says this for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. But I'm still confident of this. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
[00:20:49] Can you hear his faith, that declaration? I expect to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. It's my anticipation that God is good, that he has good plans for us. And his action then is he's speaking to himself and he says, wait on the Lord. Take heart, be strong, wait. Because I know that God has good plans for me.
[00:21:13] There's a book by Bill Johnson called Face to Face with God. And he talks about this waiting on God and what it really means. And the word wait can be translated to lie in wait or to set an ambush, which I think is so funny. Often we think of wait as sit silently on our beds and just wait. But this, this is about a posture of anticipation. It's not just this passive stillness it carries with it as we wait on the Lord. It carries with it this, this certain expectancy driven by hope, a joyful anticipation of what's to come. It's not a maybe. Maybe Jesus will show up. Maybe Jesus will come and meet with me. Like there's an anticipation that he is good and he longs to be with his people. And as we believe that and we step into that, he's going to come.
[00:22:06] In the book, it explains that the Hebrew word to wait patient in the Bible is in the Bible 53 times. Okay, so four times it's defined as patiently to wait, like waiting, lying in wait, like I said. And 49 times it's defined as writhing in pain as in childbirth, which doesn't sound great, does it? Or whirling in the air as in a dance. That this waiting patiently is like writhing in pain in childbirth, when you know something is coming and yet there's this joyful anticipation of what is to come, even though it's costly, even though it's uncomfortable.
[00:22:45] You know, I know that this baby is coming in three weeks time. It's not a maybe, is it? It's not a well, maybe we'll get ready for that, but maybe not. Maybe we'll pick a name. Maybe we won't. Like we know that this baby boy is coming in a few weeks time. And so there's a, there's a season of preparing for that. This journey to Jesus looks like something. This, this journey of waiting in, in anticipation looks like something. The first thing that it looks like for me is decluttering. If moms remember that, that there's this season, or dads probably remember it as well. There's this season before your baby comes, where you're like, get rid of it. Get rid of all of the mess, get rid of all of the clutter. Like we've got a new baby coming. There's someone's going to take up space into you, like chucking out all of the old clutter. And actually, as we prepare for Jesus, what does that look like for us to get rid of the things that are not a priority in our lives? I don't know what that might mean for you, social media or, I don't know, certain people in our lives or certain things that we do. What does it look like to get rid of some clutter in our lives? To make way, make way for the King of Kings who wants to come and meet with us.
[00:23:54] I have a hospital bag ready finally with some nappies and some things in it. Like there's, there's a, there's a sense of preparing for what the Lord is doing, a sense of preparing for what's to come. And again, it's going home and asking the Lord, lord, what is it that you ask of me in this season?
[00:24:12] I'm going to go across the country because I've heard what God is doing here or here or here. It's an act of faith because we believe that the Lord wants to meet with us in labor. There's only one thing we're focused on. There's only one thing we're focused on. Last time, Joel was actually ordering, trying to order a pizza. Do you remember that?
[00:24:31] I threw his phone across the room. I was like, there's one thing, one thing we're focused on right now.
[00:24:37] It's not comfortable, but we know the joy set before us. We know what's coming. And so as we, as we seek after Jesus, what am I trying to say is that there's a. There's a deprioritizing of other things in our lives because we know the priority is him. We know the pearl of great price. We know the one that we get to behold. There's only one thing we desire.
[00:25:01] And often it feels costly. You know, the journey to Jesus can be uncomfortable, but the prize is beyond worth it.
[00:25:08] I feel like this Christmas I've related to Mary more than ever before. Like, at 37 weeks pregnant, I feel uncomfortable going over a speed bump in a high end diet. Like, but she went 90 miles miles on a donkey just to get to Bethlehem to birth. This child is. It's mad. Like, this journey to Jesus sometimes feels costly. It can feel uncomfortable. It can feel like we need to put aside distraction. But oh, the prize is so worth it.
[00:25:36] He doesn't call us to an easy open door. He calls us through trials and through discomfort because he loves a hungry heart. And I believe as we go on this journey to seeking Jesus, he's developing in us A character and a perseverance.
[00:25:52] It's here that he becomes our source. He's the One who calls us, and he's the One who sustains us. He's the strength in our journey, and he's the destination. He's the one who gives Himself freely, and yet he's the pearl of great price. I've written this. He's the humble servant, and he's the King of kings. He lays down heaven's crown to pick up, we know, a crown of thorns.
[00:26:17] He receives gold as a baby to identify him as a king. But he also receives myrrh as this sign that he's gonna die for the sins of the world. He's the meekest man who's ever walked this earth, and yet he's the only one who is worthy of eternal worship.
[00:26:38] He comes close to us even when our backs are turned. He comes to his own, yet his own don't recognize Him. He's poured out for us. He gives up everything for us. And we then get to live this life of worship, pouring everything out back to Him.
[00:26:55] So we're to seek Him.
[00:26:57] We're to seek him in faith, we're to seek him in action. And lastly, we're to seek him in worship. I would say worship is the way into his presence. You know, I haven't had many, like, powerful, powerful encounters with God without worship. It's starts with high praise, with thanking him, like we did this morning. Thank him for what he's done for. For who he is, to. To sing our song to him, to recognize him in the room, to confess him in the room before we even feel him in the room. Thank you for your presence. Even if we don't feel his presence, we're believing and declaring that he is near to us. And as we worship him, as we fix our eyes on him, it says that. That it's like we enter his courts. It's like we. We come into his temple through this. Through this acknowledgment of who he is and what he's done for us. And we see this again in the Christmas story, right? Mary's response. And as she finishes talking with the angel and she says yes to all that the Lord has for her, there's this song that rises up in her. You can read it in Luke 1:46. Everyone who came to Jesus worshiped Him. It was like the overflow of who he was.
[00:28:05] The shepherds bowed down, the kings bought their gifts, and even David in this psalm, it's like we know him as the worshiper he says, I'll bring my sacrifice of song into the tabernacle. We worship him, and that's how we seek him.
[00:28:20] I just want to. I just want to finish with this one story of an incredible guy in our church who knows the journey of Jesus, who knows what it looks like to walk a journey of discomfort and disappointment, but ultimately finds Jesus. So he. In 2021. So a few years back, he recommitted his life to Jesus. He walked forward and had an encounter with the Lord. But he was going through lots of difficult things at that time. He was struggling to see his daughter, and there was some court stuff around that. He was in a lot of financial debt. He was living at home, but still in a lot of financial debt. And then his mental health kind of plummeted and he was starting to hear voices. And in the end, he was sectioned in hospital for about six weeks and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. And I think they said to him, you know, this will be something that you'll live with. And he knew in that moment that there was one thing, one person who could save him, one one desire of his heart that he needed to cling to. And so every single morning, and I've double checked this with him, every single morning for those six weeks, he would wake up and he'd read the entire of John's gospel. So I think it took him like two and a half hours every morning. So he would be hearing these voices in the night and, you know, all of this turmoil going on that he didn't know whether it was a reality or just in his head or whatever, but he knew that the word of God was true. He knew that he could cling to this as the stronghold of his life. And so he woke up every morning, he read John Gospel, he'd go about his day, he'd come back, he'd worship the Lord. There was this utter priority of, of going after the face of Jesus, of going after the presence of God. And fast forward, I think a few months later, he was. He went home and. And the mental health kind of nurse came over and said, you know what? I see such a change in you. I'm actually gonna take away that diagnosis of schizophrenia. I recognize that it was for a season, maybe like a kind of psychotic episode, but this is not your reality now. This is not your future. And they wiped away the diagnosis of schizophrenia. And from that moment, he said, also, you know, on the journey, he. He got a job that was double his pay. He was able to be completely financially free. His Debt has been cleared. He's been able to have more access and more kind of open doors to see his daughter. And then his. The peace in his mind, the biggest thing, the peace on his mind. You know, he's at church every single week discipling other new believers, and the peace of God has come upon him. His whole life has been incredibly transformed. Why? Because he went after one thing he desired, Jesus. He stuck to it. Week after week, month after month, year after year, he's gone after the presence of God. And being in the face of Jesus has meant that his whole life has been transformed. And you can see it physically on his face. Incredible story of what God can do in our lives.
[00:31:32] I believe that Jesus is calling us.
[00:31:36] He's picking up the phone and asking us if we want to go for dinner. He's picking up the phone. He's calling us this morning to come back into the presence of God, to seek him, to have one desire in the midst of this busy season with everything else going on. And hear me, buying presents for your kids and cooking for your family, there's nothing wrong with that. But would we make the priority seeking Jesus with everything we have? One thing I ask is that I would dwell in the house of the Lord and seek his face, gaze upon his beauty. This is the invitation for us. And as we do that, as we walk in faith and obedience and worship, as we seek him with everything we have, he is the pearl of great price. He is the one that we get to call Emmanuel, God with us forevermore. Sound good? That is the celebration of Jesus, the celebration of Christmas. Thanks for listening to the Chroma Charge podcast. If you enjoyed this message, you can like and subscribe. You can also join us in person or online every Sunday at Cromer Church. For more information about us, including our ministries, events, worship, and how to donate, visit our website at Cromer Church.
