Hey, what's going on, everybody?

Hi, everybody.

I'm Derek.

And I'm Matt.

We've got a guest today.

Her name is Maria.

Hello, Maria.

Yep.

So today.

Today.

Today we're talking.

We're continuing our Advent series.

We're at week three.

The first week, we talked about what Advent is.

So if you missed that and some of the traditions, they're in.

Go ahead and watch that and listen after this.

Of course, we want you to listen to this, too.

But then second week, we talked about the hope that we bring into the Advent season.

And today we're going to be talking about Joy.

And when this airs, it will be.

Joy Week will be over, but doesn't mean you have to.

You can catch up.

Yeah, it's all.

I mean, it's really.

The series is designed to help everyone understand better the Advent season and bring more meaning into your season.

So, yeah, Joy of the Year.

And joy is an important thing to talk about outside of the superficial, I think.

So it's gonna be great to dive into that past just seeing it written on a greeting card or on a banner or something like that.

Yeah.

And Maria's here to keep us in line today.

That's right.

So, okay, we're talking about Joy.

Joy.

What's your favorite version of Joy to the World?

Oh, before we kick off.

Oh, man, I'd have to think about that.

It might be Mercy Me, but, I mean, Joy to the World is one of those classic songs that I just have always loved.

Whether I sung it because it was on the radio or on a projector screen or in a hymnbook or anywhere else, I just.

I've always loved this song.

But what's interesting about that song is it's.

It is an Advent song.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's very much an Advent song.

He's talking about the Second Coming.

We use it for Christmas.

But what's about Second Coming.

Yeah.

That's good stuff.

Yeah.

I don't think enough people realize that.

I love pointing it out because I'm one of them.

I know you're patient, but I look forward to that Second Coming.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I love the pentatonix version.

Oh, that's good, too.

Yeah.

It's so good.

The way that they just.

I don't know, the multiple voices and the way that it just pops back and forth the way they record.

It's so good.

What do you got, Maria?

Just what I hear on the radio.

I mean, I don't know.

I'm not too much into artists and.

Yeah.

Singers.

Yeah.

Have you Ever heard the Pentatonix?

I don't believe so.

Oh, man.

I'll tell you what, the best song.

What do you think?

I would say their best.

Their best song, period or Christmas song.

Christmas song.

Their best Christmas song, hands down, is.

Mary did you know?

Nope.

That's.

That's.

That's a close.

I think that's.

That's a close.

What is it?

What would you say there is now?

I can't think of the name worth looking up.

You'll love it.

So Okuma Come Emmanuel's their best Christmas song.

Really?

Yeah.

I.

So Sadie and I got tickets to see them.

It was right before COVID I've never.

Been to him live.

So it was that Christmas before COVID Sadie and I went and saw Pentatonix and it was.

So it was the original crew then, wasn't it?

Because that was before they.

What's his name split off.

I don't know.

The base guy, maybe.

I haven't kept up with them.

Okay.

I don't.

But I think they did that song.

But still, that Mary did, you know, is good.

So good.

Yeah, it's probably the.

I think that.

That's my opinion.

I mean, we can have differences.

Yeah.

But I love their version of that.

I think Kamo Kumi Manual is a great song as well.

Yeah.

So.

But yeah, I don't know for me, that the Mary DeGeneres tops.

It's so good.

Yeah.

The Joy to the World version that they do.

Just that the.

Even.

Just the like almost the key change or the octave jumping that they do in.

It is.

It's just so, so good.

Yeah.

Love it.

I gotta look into that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

They're.

They're an acapella group that.

Yeah.

They do.

They do all the sound.

Honestly, like, as far as non.

Non Christmas, non Christian music that they do, their version of Radioactive is better than the original, in my opinion.

That one's pretty good.

So good.

They also did the song from Prince of Egypt.

Did they really?

Yeah, it's so good.

I'll have to check that one.

It is so good.

Is.

It's a proper remake, in my opinion.

Yeah, they're the.

I don't know.

It's just.

They're good.

Some of their songs that they do, the covers they do are better than the original artists, in my opinion.

So.

But it's.

It's one of those things.

You can do some crazy stuff with just voices.

So.

Yeah.

Actually it's really impressive.

Just all the different sound effects.

Yeah.

So worth checking into.

Yeah.

So I don't know.

I wouldn't know what my.

I'm not sure otherwise.

Favorite Joy to the world.

100% just.

Well, we.

One of them we do here is Joy to the world.

Joy.

Unspeakable joy or whatever.

Unspeakable joy.

That's.

That's solid.

That's all right.

Solid.

I hate the key change.

I just can't do it.

Doesn't matter what key we start in.

I can hate key changes in general anyways.

Yeah, this guy won't even re.

Key his house.

You're right.

That's true.

Oh, so that's what we're talking about today.

Joy.

Joy in the Advent season.

In the Advent season With Maria.

With Maria.

Welcome to the truth response.

All right, Matt, you want to pray today?

You know what?

I think I will pray today.

All right, Cool.

All right.

Lord, thank you for today.

Thank you for allowing us to come together and for the fact that you came and walked in our shoes in human flesh.

As we prepare for the celebration of not only your birth, but this Advent season, as we also look forward to the fact that you are coming again, Lord, just continue to press on our hearts the things we need to push out the commercial and bring in the spiritual and the things that glorify you above all things.

In Jesus name, amen.

So, joy, where do you want to kick this thing off with joy.

Okay, Well, I mean, let's talk about.

So we're not talking about joy in a superficial way.

So one, I took some notes that I had from a few years ago, actually, and one of the things that I remember was that if you look up the definition of joy, you might see something of a definition of feeling of great pleasure or happiness.

And I remember pointing out that that falls terribly short because it's not really about happiness.

People confuse happiness and joy for being the same thing.

And it's really not.

Happiness is very surface level.

And actually, when you look at the root of the word hap kind of comes from the word luck.

And I don't really want my joy to be based on luck.

I want it to be something more solid.

So joy then becomes something deep, something really rooted in you that is like a spring into your life.

So that's kind of, I guess, would be the starting point there.

So I got a question for you.

So that's joy is a fruit of the spirit.

Yeah.

Somebody the other day was talking about.

I don't remember where I heard it.

But fruit.

Fruit has all fruit comes in seasons.

Right.

And sometimes this fruit is bearing, you know, is the Bearing season.

And sometimes this is the fruit that's in season.

Like, how do you feel about that when it's applied to the gifts of the fruits of spirit?

Like, not that they go away or we're not working on them, but the fact that they're like, just not the prevalent thing?

Well, I think that it's got merit to a degree.

So what I mean by that is.

So if you keep in mind, I think I might have said it on the show before, it might have been a long time ago.

But salvation is instant.

But sanctification is a lifelong journey through sanctification being a journey and everyone's being individual and different.

There are different seasons in life in which you are able to grow and attain these new learnings.

We do know that there are certain things in the Bible that are sometimes gifted and then sometimes acquired.

So there are times, I think, that that fruit comes through faithfulness, through that continued journey of faith and heading in the right direction.

Well, what about when applied to.

Like, so, okay, so for instance, like feeling joy.

Sometimes you don't feel joyous.

Like sometimes it's there because of what joy actually is when we're talking spiritually, but you just.

It just not.

It's not the prevalent thing going on in your life.

Like, when it comes to feelings, feelings come and go.

Right.

But it doesn't mean the things that are rooted there aren't still there.

You know what I mean?

So I don't know the reason I asked that, because I recently feel like it happened to me.

Well, I mean, if you look at it using a fruit analogy.

Fruits, seed.

And so if you look at it in that way, like, if you start to have that kind of fruit in your life, it'll lay more seeds and they'll blossom in their time.

Some don't, but some do.

And so it's really about how you're nurturing them and helping them to grow.

If you like using farming and planting analogies.

But I mean, the concept is basically used.

Yeah.

If you want to look at it in a way that the idea is, how much time are you spending working on your faith and nurturing your faith versus intaking other things, using another food analogy, I mean, they say you are what you eat.

Well, if you're intaking nothing but negativity or secular things of this world, then your spirituality is probably not going to be growing, or at least not at a great rate.

Whereas if you are taking more of spiritual food and the word of God and being in fellowship, then your spirituality is probably going to grow at a much more rapid rate.

So it's really about what we're using as fertilizer, so to speak, for our growth.

Does that make sense?

Did that make sense?

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

But I love how you went from you are what you eat and then talking about fertilizer, you know, I just.

Keep all over the place.

Well, you know what?

Everything becomes fertilizer eventually.

All right, sorry, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.

No, no, I mean, I think it's worth looking into that way.

I mean, but we're looking at trying to find something that.

I mean, as you pointed out, emotions are fleeting.

We don't want something that is temporary.

We want to be able to take and grab hold of something that is perman.

And you can have something that is permanent in a joy sense that is in your core of your being.

And you still have bad days, and you can still have things happen to you that make you unhappy, maybe even a little oppressed, and still have joy within you.

And to some people, that sounds like it doesn't make any sense.

And I think it only starts to make sense once you actually receive where ultimate joy comes from.

And so it is the ultimate.

The joy, I believe, comes from understanding that we have been set free and that we have this promise.

It is kind of like we talked about hope last.

And they pour into each other, by the way, all the weeks of Advent move into the next.

But when you have that hope because there is this future, you have hope because there is something beyond this that also should bring a joy.

That because this life, this life is nothing compared to the joy that we have ahead of us.

We have a God who is ultimately in control.

I saw this definition and I kept it in my notes, and I'm glad I did.

There's a lady, her name was Kay Warrens, and her definition of joy was this.

Knowing that everything is going to be all right because God is in control and what is to come is far better, while being able to take part and witness it's coming.

That is a joy.

When you fully understand the gravity of what we've gained in a life of faith and accepting Jesus as our Lord and then having that as your deep root.

In some cases, I like to call it my anchor, where my faith is really anchored in.

You'll still have bad days, but it's weird because you might throw people off.

You might throw people off because you'll be telling them about all the terrible things that might be happening lately in your life, and yet you're doing it with a Smile on your face and they don't understand why that can be.

Yeah, yeah.

So how about when you are going through something and you understand that joy, but someone doesn't realize that you're going because you.

So I don't show that I'm going through something because there's that joy that I know that the season is going to end eventually and that there's growing in that season.

So it's not.

I guess it depends.

So, I mean, that's.

I guess that's more of a personal journey when it comes to that.

I would say that, you know, if it's applicable.

So when.

If you find a way that you can glorify God through what's going on with you, or if people ask you, it's okay to be forthright.

Well, I'm actually going through it right now.

This happened that happened years ago.

My wife and I had what we considered like a dark cloud over our head.

My wife and I have been through an incredible amount of spiritual warfare, especially once we made the decision to pursue ministry.

And there was a season where it was one thing after another.

We had the hot water heater go up.

We had a tree fall on our house.

We had cars that kept getting hit and totaled and all just one thing after next.

And there were big things.

And at one point I had to get my well redone.

And there was so much going on.

And then the thing that I like to joke broke my camel's back was my coffee maker broke.

And I was like, oh, not the coffee maker of all things.

But the reality is that sometimes that can be happening and people are like, what's going on with you?

And I was telling a guy, I actually experienced this, and it's weird to talk about in a way, but this guy looked at me and we were in church and I was telling him about these things, and he saw me kind of like smiling as I told him.

He's like, why are you smiling?

And I was like, well, because I know ultimately that God's in control.

I know that I'm getting through this.

Do I know how?

Not necessarily, in some cases, but one way or another, I'm going to get through.

He has proven enough that somehow I will.

And it's amazing how sometimes we can know that.

And then we enter the next situation and as we are beginning to get to that situation, like it's starting, and we get nervous as if, how can we get through?

We almost forget for moments at times like, how is this going to work?

Well, God, you know, even me Coming down here, I have a tendency to pick up what I try to.

What I should be just laying down at God's feet, and I try not to do that, and I get better at it.

And sometimes.

But I was looking at houses and I was trying to figure some stuff out, and I'm trying to do all this stuff, and I was just getting kind of stressed about it.

And then my wife was really good at.

She's really great at pastoring me.

In fact, I will say that I sometimes think she's way better of a pastor than I am, but she will just tell me, you know, you're not supposed to be doing this.

You know, we just need to trust him.

And so I backed off.

And then suddenly God started working in ways that, like, all things that I should, that I thought I needed to worry about were already just taken care of.

And, you know, sometimes we tend to do that where we think we need to be behind every decision.

We're very.

Works based as a human mindset, and so it's hard for us to let go and let God.

Mm.

Yeah.

It's something you only get better at the more you understand.

I think that even.

I mean, no matter.

I think everybody will stumble at it even as you get better and better and better at it.

Yeah.

Did you have these moments?

Very selfish moments.

So is it wrong to not.

I guess what I'm.

If you're going through something, but you want to be.

You want to feel the joy, or you want to be experiencing the joy and someone asks you how you're feeling, and you just.

You're not sharing those things, is that incorrect to do?

Am I not being.

That's very much dependent on who and when and all of that.

Like, there's.

There's sometimes.

There's not a blanket answer.

There's.

Yeah, there's sometimes where it's like, okay, you don't have time to get into that.

Although at the same time.

And sometimes.

And sometimes.

I mean, sometimes we do need to take the time to do it, you know, just because, like, it just really depends on how God's calling you to answer.

Because sometimes that person is going through it too, and they need to hear that this person they see that's got their life together or whatever that seems to have everything together is not perfect.

They're not always happy, and they're, you know, they're not always having all the good things and, you know.

But we are also called to always be ready to give an answer for the joy that we have.

Right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it does take some discernment.

There are some people that you're.

As you said, there's people that really aren't going to take it the right way or.

Or aren't going to handle it.

And so there are times where you need to discern how much do I share here and how much that I don't.

And I think if there's a way to glorify God and it's not boasting or anything like that, then okay, it's probably okay.

And it's okay to not feel the need to complain if you feel like God's got it.

And, you know, but it's different if you feel like you're.

If you find yourself guilty, where you feel like you're hiding or lying, then that's when you might want to check, like, should I be hiding or lying?

But if you are just like, no, I'm really.

I'm good.

I really am.

I know the Lord's got me and everything, so that's.

That's a different thing altogether.

Or even if you've got the ability to, like, if you've processed whatever you're going through enough to be able to say, well, you know, like, I'm going through these things, but God is always, you know, you know, like, to be able to.

To be able to, like, share God in your realness.

Because that's.

I think that's one of the things that people are drawn to our church over.

And we're not unique in this, but our church, you know, is where we're at now, you know, so, like.

But I feel like our church, at least leadership for the most part, is just really real.

And so I think that there is an importance to letting people see the real side of you, like, really what you're going through.

But I also think that you've got to have the discernment to spin it and explain, like, yeah, but God's.

God's doing this, you know, or like, I'm.

I'm excited to see what God's doing or, you know, those sorts of things.

If.

Yeah, it helps you to not complain.

Yeah.

You want to, you know, just.

There's a way to do it, you know, where somebody's like, hey, how you doing?

Well, actually, I'm doing rather well.

You know, you know, we all go through some crazy stuff.

It's been a wild week.

But, you know, God's had me and I'm good.

I think I'm good.

And that's one.

Yeah.

So, anyway, one of the things I definitely want to Talk about is, so this time of year, you know, Joy can sound kind of ridiculous.

And I say that because this is a stressful time of year.

This can be a really hard time.

Doesn't always feel like the most wonderful time of year, does it?

No.

And actually, for some people, this is an emotional time of year that is really hard on especially.

I mean, there are people who are going through some things, and this is just not a good time.

And it might be for their season of life, or it could be because they lost somebody or.

You know, there's so many reasons where people could be in a real bad place emotionally, even spiritually, going into this season.

And if you go, hey, Joy to the world, they're going to go, you know, it may not come across the right way.

It's hard.

I mean, even I will.

I will say this, even myself.

So I find myself at times because of the anxieties and stress of gotta get this ready and gotta decorate this and set this up so that we can take it back down and we can, you know, all the things that come with it and the countdown clock and it's coming and I have five kids, and you're trying to get everything ready and all that stuff.

There's times I'm like, I don't even want to do any of it.

I don't find.

It's hard in moments to find the joy of the season.

When you take your eyes off of the reason we're doing this and you look at the superficial things that we're doing, and some of them you do for tradition, and sometimes you do for whatever.

But to know that you can easily get caught up in it all, like I made mention of earlier, you see it on greeting cards or you get a Christmas card, Joy.

And people say, you know, merry Christmas and all these things, and you're like, okay, you know, and if you're having a bad day and somebody hollers out merry Christmas to you, sometimes you're like, I don't really care.

You know, there's all kind of.

And it's weird to have those thoughts, but it doesn't mean the struggles this time of year aren't real.

Right.

So word.

Then we gotta dig deeper.

You know, that's what I mean.

I think that I've.

This year, I have been under fire for that.

And I think it's because we're doing this podcast thing because I'm getting tested in all these avenues.

I mean, seriously, yesterday I was sitting there and I looked at Sadie and I said, I don't even know if I want to do any of the things.

And I just found myself kind of frumpy and I felt like, old man, get off my yard.

I don't want to do anything.

You know, it's like, why am I not feeling the joy?

It's because I'm looking at all the to do lists.

You know, A few days prior I was listening to Mercy Me's Christmas album, singing along, having a great time, but now I'm this.

And the difference is, one, I felt like I was connecting to God through, and the other ones I wasn't, you know?

And, you know, it's funny how music can have that effect on us.

Oh, yeah, right.

Like, I found I've been.

I've been a lot more joyous lately for reasons I'll talk about eventually, but.

But I know the secret, but.

So I've been listening to a song.

A song came in my head the other day and I had to look it up because I couldn't remember the name of the song.

But I've just been listening to it over and over and over again on repeat.

And the song's called Send Me Out.

And the lyrics basically for the chorus are, I want to be your hands and feet.

I want to be your voice every time I speak.

It's just been like all over the place.

I've just been screaming atop my lungs in my car.

And just like, it really has elevated my joy level in the season, which has been really great.

So it's funny how music does that to us.

Like it really can control some of our emotions.

So, yeah, the whole eating analogy fits in even there.

And what goes in you are what you eat.

You know, there's ways to help.

Yeah.

So, I mean, this time of year though, like I said, it's.

I mean, music, it can be great to help, but, you know, if you find yourself in a funk like I.

Was yesterday, listen to Mercy Me.

Well, I mean, that might help.

But you also.

I mean, it's hard to talk about it with other people who are already in the season.

You know what I mean?

Like, people that are like, ready, they're gung ho and they're feeling it, and you say that to them and they just kind of look at you and it's hard to get a great answer support when they're like, I mean, you just gotta.

You just.

I don't know what.

Just get with it, you know, like, you know, that's not a good enough answer for me.

And so I figured of all the scriptures, I could bring up today to talk about.

I think I'm going to talk about one that I don't think gets talked about at Christmastime, but I love doing those kinds of things.

It's going to come out of Revelation.

Oh, no, don't make me.

But no, the book of Philippians.

I think the book of Philippians is an amazing book when to think about joy.

And for somebody that might have just gone, what?

But the book of Philippians is basically a letter Paul wrote from jail.

And in that letter, he talks about many different things.

He says, first off, he's in jail, but he's perfectly fine with that.

Which some people would be like, that doesn't even make sense.

He's perfectly fine with it.

And he's like, you know what's great is because I'm in jail, people are talking about why I'm in jail.

And that means they're talking about Jesus.

And other people feel like they can step up and start preaching Jesus because I'm out of the way.

And that means they're talking about Jesus, and it's a win, win, win.

And then he starts talking about, yeah, I'm.

I'm probably.

I might die.

And, you know, I'm good with that, too.

Like, that's gain for me.

I mean, if I'm here, it's for you.

So, I mean, that's cool.

I'm good with that, ready to work.

But if not, I'm ready to go.

This is great, you know?

And then the end of the letter is, hey, I'm content in all things.

I'm great if I have stuff.

And if I don't have stuff, I'm great if I have food or if I don't have food, like, I'm just great.

I'm just great.

And the reason I bring that up is because it's such a powerful letter as you read through it.

And even inside that letter, by the way, Paul also talks about his list of achievements, his worldly achievements, and he calls them all trash.

That's a nice way of putting it.

That's not actually what he says.

No, Paul uses expletives in his own.

He uses expletives, but he made a point with it.

Sometimes they make a point.

Anyway, that's not the point.

The point is that he's got something that all that stuff can't compete with.

And I honestly believe it's that joy.

It's like that song, I got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Where?

Down in my heart.

But anyway, I mean, that's what he's got.

And he's gotten to the point where no circumstance can change that.

Nothing that happens changes what ultimately runs his life.

He experienced God in such a way.

He knows the Scriptures, and he has dedicated his life in such a way that there's no turning back.

And not only that, but that means nothing.

Nothing is going to stop him from what he's doing, from him praising the Lord, from him being excited for what is to come, because he knows his ultimate joy isn't wrapped up in what's going on right now.

His ultimate joy is wrapped up in something that is way better and way more eternal.

You know, talk about songs.

The song came to mind.

The Fields of Grace.

Yeah.

That.

Nothing can take it away from me like that.

Just.

I don't know.

The joy that you get that from being content in any.

Any of that stuff is.

Yeah.

So good.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

I mean, it's like I said, you didn't usually read Philippians for Christmas, but, I mean, maybe there's.

I've done it before.

I mean.

Are you gonna actually read it?

No, I'm just talking to it.

I mean, I just decided that would be better.

I want people to go back and read Philippians.

Philippians 4 is my favorite.

And I don't mean 4.

13.

I mean before that.

You love it?

You love Philippians 4.

Do you love it?

For which reason?

For the.

In all things.

Enjoying Thanksgiving.

Yeah, I love it.

That's.

I mean, it's good.

What?

Nothing.

I didn't say wrong.

Yeah, but you have to.

Look, I'm just trying to mess with you now.

So, anyway, so read Philippians.

Actually, I did.

I.

Because that's the kind of person I am.

When I was preaching up north, an Advent series, I preached Philippians during the Advent series because I'm a crazy person and I love doing stuff that people don't expect.

That's also why I teach the crucifixion from the book of Genesis.

But anyway.

Sure.

Yes.

Why not?

But yes.

So then he also sees the point.

He gets.

He has a joy of just getting to take part in God's kingdom, you know, the work that he gets to do.

And I can understand that because, I mean, that's one of the reasons that I fought going into ministry.

Like, fought it for a long time.

I flat out refused it.

Then, even as I tried to start accepting it, I was arguing.

I never win that argument.

But I would argue a lot with God about it.

Everything you can think of from.

Are you serious?

Am I the guy?

Do you know Who I am.

Do you know, I've done all these kind of crazy things and then I start doing ministry and God starts using me in ways that surprise me.

And I see him doing things through me and I find this other kind of joy in my life beyond purpose, beyond meaning that now it's all I ever want to do forever.

I don't actually want to do anything else.

I've got hobbies and things, but I just want to keep doing this.

I want God to continue using me.

And the fact that I get to do it.

I get caught up all the time.

Maria, you ever get caught up in something you do for God where you're like, how did I get to be the one?

I'm just grateful that he trusts and chooses me and allows me to do certain things.

So it's feeling privileged that he thinks that much of me that I.

Even if I'm afraid that he knows that I can, he's going to be there.

And so it's an honorable feeling.

Like, wow, you chose me.

Like, so that's the way that I see it.

I mean, I think it's great that.

That God had led you and chose you and uses you.

Well, I mean, actually, I didn't.

I didn't.

Even before I really fought with him on it, I used to not necessarily buy into the whole I was called into ministry thing, but it is a calling.

I mean, for someone like me.

I mean, there's no other real way to describe it.

The fact that he called me into it kicking and screaming and.

But it's wild because now it's so.

You're right.

It's amazing.

Looking at like the fact that he can use someone like me, I think that's.

That's a phrase.

I think.

I think a lot of people who have done ministry can.

Can really, you know, have a kinship with.

Is like someone like me.

Someone that's.

That, you know, especially there's a lot of people who would say that they have a past, you know, whatever definition that is.

And.

Well, I mean, considering my past, I can't believe.

Well, yeah, well, look at pretty much everyone he used in the Bible.

Absolutely most of them had a past.

Some of them were going to continue to screw up, but he used them.

You know, some of them got it wrong, some of them did wrong.

And yet, you know, and it's pretty amazing to be feel like in some strange way that you are on that list.

But that's redemption, that's grace, that's beyond stuff.

And that kind of joy is something that helps Feed that deep rooted joy.

I find myself just in awe of situations.

I remember one of my favorite moments was standing.

I was standing in a river up in Maryland and we were baptizing a bunch of people on the river that day and everybody had, was taking it so seriously.

It was such an emotional day.

It was such a.

I was just in the river going, wow, how did I get to do this?

One of the first moments I had a moment I wasn't here very long, and then we had a prayer Sunday and just being on the side and praying with people and, you know, being in a situation where you can minister to someone, minister to someone in the moment there, you know, this is what they're dealing with.

And being able to walk that with them for even just a moment is such like a wow, how did I get here?

This is wild.

And then also another thing that's cool, that's here is when I realized that there was a person in my youth group and some of you know him, but there was a kid in my youth group that I baptized.

And then I watched him baptize his mother and I thought, wow, how did this.

See things kind of rolling forward?

And you know, I love those moments where it's like, man, this is.

And it just continues to feed that deep rooted joy.

So I feel like that was why I wanted to bring it up.

It's like when you see Paul that's not only excited because he's got that his joy is not just rooted in the eternal, it's in the now.

Every day for him was a gift that he got to talk about Jesus that day.

He got to be used by God in some way and every opportunity.

I tell you what, if you study the book of Acts, especially the book of Acts, you will notice that Paul never missed a single opportunity.

If he, if the opportunity came where he could preach the gospel, he was going to work it in there.

It was amazing.

Like, the dude was on point.

I just, I love that so much.

And I can just.

You can only aspire to be like that, I guess.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, he also had the ability to be like, yeah, those people are preaching Jesus name for selfish gain.

But Jesus's name is being preached.

I struggle with that.

Like, to be able to just be like, yeah, hello, Jesus is being preached.

Like, nope, nope.

I want to be like, yo, it's not about you.

Yeah.

So the fact that he had the ability to just be ever present, you know.

Yeah.

And I mean, we are only seeing glimpses of his life, but still, it was Enough of presence in his life that, you know, we remember him thousands of years later.

So we're still reading.

Yeah.

What he wrote to the church.

Well, in prison, even.

So.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And then you can go to a more Christmas y scripture.

Like if you look at Luke, chapter two, which is for those who love the Charlie Brown Christmas special, the one that Linus says at the end, by heart, which is amazing.

But what's proclaimed in that scripture is great joy, you know, and it's something that's easy to pass over because when you aren't really paying attention to the reasons that we need God, when you're not really paying attention to how much we don't.

We don't match up, how we could never make it right, that there's a debt that's not payable, and yet that birth meant that we were going to be free, that he was coming to set us free to pay the debt.

Or as Romans 8 says, there's no condemnation for those who are in Lord Jesus.

That was the joy that came that day, that great joy for the whole earth.

And to take and hold that, grasp that and let that be the fuel for your season, you know?

And that's what it's about.

Why are we celebrating?

Because joy came to the earth.

Joy came to me.

Yeah, good.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So in that proclamation, though, that Luke, that Luke talks about of the angels coming down, you'll notice that there's also an invitation because they say, yeah, joy for the world.

But go, go see, there's, you know, this time of year, I think I spoke on this last week, I believe.

But, you know, there's an invitation to come and see what Jesus is all about.

Come see what we're celebrating.

It's time.

Sometimes it's time to move away at whatever clutter, whatever stress, whatever the commercialism, whatever you thought this was about, and let Jesus in, try him out, See what that joy is really about for your life.

See how that's going to work for you.

You know, it's like come and see, taste and see kind of thing.

Right?

That could change your whole world, can change you inside and out.

Give you something that you've never had before and even know that you are missing.

You know, for me, God became so real to me that I couldn't ignore Him.

And then he continued to be so real to me that I couldn't stop but tell people about him.

So who knows what he'll do for you.

Yeah, that's good.

I love the investment that he makes, how he's invested in us.

And so every.

Every second, every moment is an opportunity.

And that's what I hang on to.

That's why I struggle with what I call like complaining or saying if there's something that's not going well.

I don't know.

I'm just so, so grateful how he has poured in in my life and what he's done and how he's changed it and just I crave it.

And I feel like I see little moments all the time.

There's I'm asking or praying about something and it comes via song or I hear him or I read it.

And there's just opportunities all the time to be able to see.

And I think that if you're open to looking for that, that you will see that joy.

So I been.

I believe now I am very new in my faith two years now.

And so I haven't had anything really bad happen.

But I'm like when my nephew had passed away and I remember feeling so grateful that I had had the opportunity.

He passed before he was 21, and of course that was very sad, but God allowed me 20 years with him.

And so that's where my focus was, was just the being grateful and just living in the joy that he let me experience that some people don't have that.

And so that's why I struggle a little bit with the not feeling of the joy.

Like, I feel it.

Thank you for that.

You know, I had my father.

My father passed away, but I had him for 78 years.

And so just what he's done, his investment in me, just everything that he's done, how it's grown me.

I see that my husband has grown as well.

And I just.

I wake up thinking about.

It's constant.

It's a constant hunger.

Yes.

Like, I'm always wanting to hear.

And I mean, I used to be afraid at first.

Like, I don't want to say the wrong thing or what if I.

What if I don't understand it?

Right.

And then I remember just praying because he promises that he's going to be with us and he will be there and pray to him.

And so that has really brought so much peace.

I think peace is the biggest thing that he has given to me.

And that.

That's just exploded into joy.

It's just what I feel all the time.

And so it's hard to share that because some people.

People don't.

Can't relate with that or don't, you know, and so I don't want them to get me the wrong way.

I Don't know.

I love what you're describing because, I mean, it's very much that point where that hunger that you just keep feeding and feeding.

And, you know, there's a love for God there.

There's a love for the fact that you've taken a hold of who he is and what he has done for you.

And I love that gratefulness, I used to say, even for your dad, for the time you had.

And, you know, it's so easy for people to get anyone to get caught up in the daily goings on and take their eyes off of that.

And, you know, there's been times in my life I do, I feel like I'm feeding more.

And then there's times where I feel like I'm feeding less.

And the times I'm feeding more, it's usually insatiable.

I'm constantly.

I need more.

I even got one of them little fancy Bible degrees.

But the thing is, even with that, I'm like, no, that's not enough.

I constantly am looking for, how can I know better?

How can I understand this better?

How can I teach it better?

I'm listening to people that I respect preach all the time and teach the Bible all the time.

And I read Commentary, all kinds and whatever.

And the thing is that it just keeps feeding your faith.

As I mentioned earlier, you're putting the good in and that's what you're going to get out to where it's easier to discern what God's doing.

Romans 12 tells us.

The beginning of 12 tells us to constantly be renewing our minds in him.

And by being able to do so, we can discern what his good and perfect will is.

It's hard to know that if you're not putting in that work, if you're not out sharing yourself with the word of God, if you're not constantly seeking him, then it's easy to miss what he's got going on for a lot of people.

Everybody falls guilty of it from time to time.

But, like, it's easiest to see what he's done in the rearview mirror.

It's hard to be like, I think he's moving in this direction right now.

But when you're as deep into your studies and continue to feed like that, then, yeah, it does make it easier.

Although, and this could be my opinion, but I think with that comes the need to spill some of that out, find new ways to minister to people.

You notice that faith, I say this faith, I think is very personal at the foremost, but then immediately communal.

We see Jesus, where he would draw away and spend time for him and himself, but him and the Father, him and himself.

But then he would come back and be immediately communal.

He had his inner three, his inner 12, the rest of the people.

And he was constantly pouring into people.

So, yeah, I mean, everybody's faith starts individual and very personal, but then it should automatically spill out into the world around us.

I once told somebody, I've told many people before, but a good mantra is to think of, you're constantly letting God's love come to you, which is step one, and then you're letting it saturate and fill you, which is step two.

But then step three is you gotta let it out and start letting the world see that too.

So as you feed and as you continue to grow, I would challenge you to find, maybe ask more ways on how you can just keep putting it into practice to make more of a difference.

And you don't have to do anything crazy like do what I'm doing or anything like that.

But I'm sure God will use you.

When I was in the automotive department, I worked at a car dealership.

And I used to have moments in my day that I asked God for all the time.

I'd ask him to send people to me that I could talk God with and have my God moments.

And I told a lot of people.

It was my favorite part when my two jobs came together.

But I wanted so badly to be able to talk.

And what ended up happening is that I'd inevitably be talking about what I've recently learned, new insights that I've had and work them into conversations and start putting them into play and seeing how they test out, you know, And.

I don't know, it's amazing what God can do with that.

And just when I thought, like, nah, this isn't something that I need to talk about.

Somebody would come along and I'm like, well, there isn't anything better to really put into this situation right now.

So there it is.

Yeah.

And in that, more joy.

More joy.

All the joys.

So I gotta work on the communal part.

The communal part can be scary.

I'm very greedy with my time with him.

I'm very invested, and I'm really okay with my alone time.

That's where I feel like my heart just explodes.

So.

But I.

I've been praying about it so that he gives me opportunities to pour out.

It is a little scary, but I just.

I remember saying to him one time, he was doing something at the.

Where he was working, and he was going to go pick up some food.

And I said, can I go?

I was just joking.

And he goes, do you want to go?

And I said, no, I was just kidding.

And I said something about giving him alone time.

And I said, I just.

I love my.

I really like my alone time.

Quiet time.

I love that I wake up in the morning.

It could be two, three o'clock in the morning.

I wake up early anyway, but I wake up, like, excited.

And I'm like, oh, my gosh, you just woke me up to talk.

We're talking.

And so I get that.

I get so excited.

And so.

Yeah.

And so.

But I.

I keep it.

Like, I.

I'm greedy.

Like, I'm.

I am.

I'm like, I'm mine.

So it's an area that I need growth in.

I feel like, for me, I was kind of forced to put things into practice, whether I wanted to or not.

Actually, when I went back and started taking undergrad classes, then I went into the seminary classes, like, there were times where I felt like as soon as I learned something, he was like, all right, now use it.

As if he had waited long enough, like you.

And so it was kind of fun, but.

And a weird thing is I loved it when he did it, so.

All right, do it again.

It's good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't know.

I think.

I think too, we got to be careful to.

To not be holding it in, not try to put a lid on it.

If we're not overflowing and yet we're still pouring, getting poured into by God at a grand level.

Just gotta make sure we're out of our own way.

We step out of the way of God.

Yeah.

I mean, there's him do his thing.

There is a balance, you know, there's a season for.

I think everybody needs to just be fed for a while.

Or if you want to use a cup analogy, which, you know, cup pourth over kind of thing, there's a time where your cup's empty, you need.

You need it filled back.

Sure.

But, yeah, then a cup should naturally get to a point where it starts spilling out and.

But the only thing, the other on the other side of that coin is you don't want to just pouring out either, because eventually your cup will be empty.

So you gotta kind of teeter.

Fill me, pour me, fill me and keep that balance.

Yeah, I think.

I don't know, like, that's.

That.

I don't know how I feel about that analogy, though, because that.

That's almost saying that I am getting control over how much is in my cup.

No, what I mean is that we can't just pour out.

I'm saying.

No, we shouldn't just fill if we're.

If we're seeking God.

Right.

Seeking first the kingdom of heaven.

Like, our cup's gonna overflow.

It's just gonna happen.

Oh, yeah.

So, like, I don't.

I don't have to necessarily pour out.

It's gonna happen naturally.

Yeah.

I'm saying it's so tapping it.

Or you're not.

If you're not flowing out.

I feel like that's.

There is such a thing as standing in the way is overpouring, though, because I've seen plenty of people just continue to serve and serve and serve, either on volunteer status or even in churches on staves, where they just continue to pour and pour and pour and light the candle at both ends, and they just keep pouring and pouring, pouring.

And then they don't really spend time for their own Bible study.

They don't really spend time for their own spiritual wellness.

And then suddenly they're just out.

And different situations can do that.

I mean, we run into, all of us, whether you're in ministry or not, you run into situations that are just draining.

And so it's good to make sure that you're constantly keeping some kind of healthy routine.

And sometimes that's going.

Just going to church and reading your Bible and such like that.

And sometimes you need a little more.

We just got to make sure that if we're pouring, we're not neglecting ourselves either.

We need to be poured into just as we want to pour into other people.

People.

Right.

I mean, we know this.

Even in a fellowship, even men.

Men have a hard time with this, but the idea of, well, we need to pour into each other, which means we have to be vulnerable with each other.

It's one thing to just act like everything's okay and encourage each other, but if you're not allowing each other to see that, hey, I need some help.

I need to be poured into right now.

I need to be encouraged right now.

I need to know that you know that I'm having a hard time right now and allow someone else to speak over you.

Yeah, I mean, that's important.

I mean, I can't speak for how hard that is for women.

Thank you for saying that.

No, thank you for saying that.

Because sometimes I view it as.

I don't want to come across weak.

Ooh.

Yeah.

Allowing yourself to be vulnerable does not equal weakness.

That.

That's a strength.

And also on the back end of that.

That means that sometimes we've got a.

We've got to not allow callous to get in the way because it inevitably, eventually you're going to be hurt from being vulnerable.

Vulnerable.

It's gonna happen.

We're people.

I mean, we're all.

We're all humans.

We all make mistakes, like.

And so we just have to be.

We have to be cognizant of the fact that the next person is not the last person.

And the next person is somebody completely new and somebody who needs your time and attention because God has placed them in front of you.

And so we have to be willing to get off the throne of our heart, let Jesus sit back down, and just be what God wants us to be in that moment, be that vulnerable self.

It's helpful.

And you can.

I mean, the journey of faith is all about relationships.

Ultimately, of course, relationship with you and Jesus.

But having relationships where you can do that, where you can give each other permission to be vulnerable.

For guys, it can be really hard.

And for some women, I'm assuming, too, to be able to get to a point in a relationship where you know that you can go to someone and go, all right, this is what's going on.

This is where I'm at today.

And then being able to do that same thing for that same person, it's part of that.

Iron sharpens iron.

Part of the faith walk, where we want to be able to encourage each other, but it can't.

We need to be able to go, yeah, you know, we don't want to be pretending we're okay when we're not.

Right.

I have that with just one person, though.

Is that.

That's good, though.

It's good to have.

If you have at least one person that you can honestly just go, okay, here's where I'm at.

This is it.

And they can help build you up.

If that person.

I would hope that that person is also a believer so that they can.

Yes.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, then that's great.

That is great.

My only comment is that's a good start.

I mean, I think that in order to have the discipleship cycle, right, you gotta.

You gotta branch out, too, eventually.

And that's not to say when that is.

That's between you and God.

And the timing is something that he'll reveal to you.

But, like, I think that that's.

That's a great start.

You know, It's a great start.

So I share some stuff with others, but this specific person is the one that knows, like, the hardcore, and she'll.

She'll hold me.

Yeah.

Accountable.

Yeah.

And.

And someday it's probable that somebody else will grow into that position and you'll have two of those, you know, and in doing so, you're teaching.

You're teaching others to also do the same, you know, like you're.

You're giving permission to others to go and speak in.

Into another person's life like that, you know, so it should.

It should definitely be a multiplication and not just a.

An addition problem.

Does that make sense?

So.

But it's a great start.

And our journey only ends when God tells us it does.

So we're all just starting.

You know what I mean?

Like, what's our next step?

You know?

Yeah.

So joy, man.

Joy.

Unspeakable joy.

Unspeakable joy.

Overflowing.

Well, in every circumstance.

Yeah.

Always giving thanks.

That's right.

That's right.

Yeah.

Because his love endures forever.

Yes.

That's that forever part that gives us the joy forever.

Well, we know how the story ends, right?

Killing me Smalls.

S'more.

What?

Who's Baby Ruth?

Sorry, I'm going through all of the great quotes from that movie.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So week three of our series, but week two of Advent joy.

It's not a joy of, like, it's a holiday season.

It's not the joy of, like, it's not happiness.

It's deeper.

It's something that we don't create in ourselves.

It's something that can only be given to us and sustained by God.

So it's good stuff.

Thanks for joining us today.

Thank you for having me.

We'll have you on again someday.

Now that you've ripped that bandaid off and jumped on, you can get on more often.

Yeah.

Okay.

It'll get easier.

It will.

It's good.

It's good.

It's good.

Yeah.

You know what's gonna.

You know, what's.

What's next for her and her husband, Right?

What?

I think they're going to Honduras with me.

Going to Honduras.

He spoke to me about it, and then today he said, did you talk to your husband?

And I said, well, I mentioned it, but it's just been like, you busy this holiday season?

Well, it wasn't a hard no.

And so she.

So he said, I already have you penciled in and on the list.

I'm like, what?

What do you mean?

I haven't even.

So, no, I want to.

I want to save that spot for you guys in case you do want to.

Do want to jump in.

But if any of you are, you know, going to our church or in the area and are interested in going to Honduras.

Hit us up, mission troops.

I've got the end for a great, great mission trip to Honduras.

It's.

It's amazing.

The people down there are amazing.

The food is incredible.

I mean this is nothing like fresh food, you know, like truly fresh.

Like, I mean like going and getting a fish out of the water and cooking it.

Well, yeah, like, or buying it in the market.

That was done that way.

I mean just recently.

But I mean they went and picked the things out of their garden and brought it to market that day.

You know, the bread was.

Got up real early in the morning and baked the bread on these giant stones with the fire and it's just.

I don't know.

And everything tastes good.

I mean everything tastes like it doesn't have tons of pesticides.

Oh yeah.

Preservatives and all that other stuff.

Real non gmo.

And the coffee, bro.

The coffee and honey fire.

Okay.

So is the chocolate.

The chocolate's good too.

But anyways.

So yeah, be praying for all of that Hondurasness always like Share, Subscribe Comments Comment exactly all the Comments on the YouTubes.

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