Good morning and Merry Christmas. I want to do something very selfish for a minute. I just want you to respond with what I say next. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Doesn't that sound amazing? This time of year, I can tell you whether it's at an airport or a store, wherever it is, when did it become politically incorrect to say Merry Christmas at Christmas? When did that happen? Because I find myself, I will, I will just not overtly and not as a statement, but just as a state, just as a voice of hope at the end of conversations. I'll go, Merry Christmas. And they're like, uh, and they don't know how to respond. It's so funny to see people go, uh happy holidays. I'm like, Merry Christmas. And they'll just, I just, it's just something that's amazing. I don't know another time in life, but it's so hopeful and joyful and stressful and chaotic at the same time. And it's like we're going 900 miles an hour, and I don't know where you are today, but I need a break. I just need a break. I need a time where I've got a few days of just chill. And I'm so looking forward to that. But in the chaos of it, it's like, wow. Now, I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hands, but uh, have you ever had this experience, especially if you're a parent, where um Christmas Eve comes and it's the time of the day before the birth of Christ, and the day you have to put a bunch of stuff together. And uh has anybody else done this where you literally you take all the instructions and you see the picture of this memento of joy that you're about to bestow on somebody and you think, man, that is gonna make their world, this is so great, and you see the picture and you have the dream, but then there's there's all these parts, and there's this chaos and mixed up in bags. It's like that's gonna become this. How is that gonna happen? Does anybody else do this where you look at the first few instructions, you're like, okay, okay, okay, I got this, and you just tell it, I just want to get to the picture, I just want to get to the picture, so I'm just and then you get to the picture, you're like, okay, it kind of looks like that, it's great, and then you look and there's there's spare parts. You're like, well, maybe those don't matter, and and then you realize they matter. And have you ever gotten to the point where you're like the next to the last uh step in the process, and you realize, oh my goodness, that that was like 18 steps ago that that was supposed to go in, and how did I miss that on the page? And now you got to undo all of it to there, and just how frustrating it can be. Well, that's kind of how I feel like this year is, and what we're gonna look at today is an amazing example of how we can have this next year, how we can wrap up this year, finish well, but really how we can have next year the most amazing year ever. And I can tell you that from total confidence because this past year, 2017, has been literally the hardest year of my life, without question, in multiple categories, and yet it has been the best year of my life. And and that doesn't make sense outside of God Himself just being in the middle of all of it. So this morning it's a little bit of a, I gotta lay a little bit of a quick disclaimer, if you will. Today, if you're not a believer, if you haven't chosen to follow Christ, this is gonna be one of those where you see the picture and you're like, yeah, yeah, that's a great picture, but I see all these messed up parts of my life, and I just, that's that's not reality. And I can tell you, I agree with you wholeheartedly, that is not reality apart from knowing Christ personally, because that's the only way we get there. And even those of us who know Christ, we can we can still get through this end of the year and just go, man, you you don't understand my year. It's been hard or it's been different, it's been difficult. This morning, there are three steps for us to just really consider that if we want to have next year as the most amazing year of our life, this this is the steps to kind of move there. And it hasn't changed. It's in the Joshua, the book of Joshua, chapter 24, where this is an amazing time. It's a time of of uh joy and and hope, and it's a time where it's literally, and see if this doesn't ring a bell, it is literally the people of God living in a multicultural, very affluent, great time of life. And wow, doesn't that sound familiar? And yet they they they really come to the point where it's never feeling like enough. And I've actually printed it out in larger type because my eyes don't work as well as they used to, but in Joshua 24, verses 1 through 15, I'm gonna read these, but I'm gonna read them in a way that I want us to kind of pick out these steps and see if you can find them as I read them. Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Sichem, and he summons the elders, the leaders, the judges, the officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, This is what the Lord the God of Israel says. Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham, and everybody knew Abraham and Naor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac and Isaac, I gave Jacob and Esau, and pause there for just one second. He's now telling stories that they have all heard, but he's blown over the miraculous part, but they knew the miraculous part. And if you're not familiar with Abraham, he says, I gave Abraham. Well, Abraham was the one who God says, I'm gonna make your descendants more than the stars in the sky. And I love that we have these lights here. I want you to think, if I were to say, okay, I'm gonna give $100 to whoever can count all these lights in the next three seconds. Ready, go. And we wouldn't get it. Now imagine the myriad of stars in the skies, and Abraham's like, wow, that would be great, Lord. And then he's a hundred years old and he has no children. And God says, You're gonna have more descendants. Yeah, God, that's not really the way it works. My wife, she's barren, she has no eggs left, and and how's that gonna work? And yet God does that. So they knew the story. Pick it up in verse 5. And then he sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. When I brought the people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea over them and covered them, and you saw this, they you saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time, and I brought you out. And I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived the east of the Jordan, and he went through another body of water, and they fought against you, but I gave them into your hand. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. When Balak, the son of Zapor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam, one of God's people, and said, Son of Beor, and put a curse on you. But I did not listen to Balaam. So he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of their hands. And this is one of my favorites. He says, As you crossed the Jordan and came into Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Gerishites, the Hebatites, and the Jebusites, and I gave them into your hands. And this is one of my this is one I've never really seen before. I read this passage over and over. And he said, I sent hornets ahead of you, which drove them out before you, and also the Amorit kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bows. How is this fighting an overwhelming army and God just went, Hornets? And then it's done. How incredible is that! And so God just goes on and on through this. He says I gave the land of you which you did not toil, cities you did not build, and you lived in them, and you ate from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. And now he goes to the next level. He says, Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods of your ancestors' worship beyond the Euphrates River in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, if serving the Lord seems, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. Whether the gods of your ancestors serve beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in the land which you are living now, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And in our society, yes, you can clap for that because I believe, I believe God is saying the same thing to you and I today. I believe that He is saying, you know what? If you want to experience fulfillment, significance, joy, and happiness, it's the same path. The first step I believe is if you and I will reflect, and what Joshua says is, hey, take a minute and look at all God's brought you through. Reflect. And I would encourage you and I today to reflect. What has God brought us through this past year in our past? Since we've known him, what have we faced that we've gotten through? Thanksgiving this year was convicting and encouraging to me at a different level. 29th of November, the adoption of our 12-year-old son was finalized, and he's now a Kington, and it is awesome. Yes, you can clap for that as well. That's amazing. At Thanksgiving, he wrote a Thanksgiving letter. My wife teaches at the school where he is, and somebody gave her the letter, and the teacher told her, I'm thankful for my bed. And when inquired, he said, Well, you your your bed, do you like the firmness? Do you like the bed spread? He's a big Packers fan, he's got a bed spread, and he said, No, just I have a bed. And he said, I remember sleeping under bridges. I remember sleeping under cars. I'm just thankful for a bed. And to think that he now has a room with a bed in his own bathroom, and he's living in utopia. But to remember and reflect, where did God bring me through? And I remember back in my life, and I remember, okay, Lord, this is a great time of year to reflect and say, God, what have you brought me through? I don't know if you're here single today, but I'll never forget being single. I'll never forget being single and in my late 20s and seeing my other roommates and my friends get married. I'll never forget two records I have, I hope none of you can break. I had dated seven women in my life before I met my wife. No, I dated eight of them. Seven of those eight made not only dropped me. Now, when I say dated, you gotta kind of explain that to millennials. That doesn't mean I just texted a girl a lot. Okay, I mean it was we were we were actually going out and we were in a relationship and she knew it and I knew it. And and it just I'm sorry, that was that was a little jab. I'm sorry, that's funny. And just to just to give, if you're a millennial, please forgive me for that. Because the guys in my my time, it was it was not technologically joking. It would be like if they would go to the food court of the mall and sit at a table next to a girl, they call that a date. You know, it's just like, okay, that's not really it. So it's eight girls I dated, we're mutually exclusive, just dating each other. Seven of them not only broke up with me, but married the next guy they dated. Okay? Yeah. See, that's the painful part of the memory. But what does God bring us through? Then on the side of roommates, I had like 18 roommates. Not at one time, but from college on. And the amazing part is I married off 17 roommates. We would go on beach retreats, we'd go to the trip, and guys were like, dude, can I be your roommate? Because I want to get married someday. And I was just like, leave me alone. And and they really did, they really did. They called me, this was a nickname I had for they called me Preparation K. And then I was like, that's not nice. And it's not easy to go through that. And even so, did my mother, my own mother, my mother was so desperate that this actually happened. She and my my dad and my brother went to a family reunion in South Carolina, and they'd come back, and I'd I had some work I had to do. I had to travel a little bit, and I didn't get to go. And my mom said, Oh my goodness, it was so fun. We're having dinner. She goes, So great. You should have been there. And I'm like, Really? She goes, Yeah, there were some people, some relatives we hadn't met any, you know, in years, and some we haven't seen, some we'd never met. And she goes, and there were some cute girls there. And I'm like, Mom? She goes, what? And she goes, they were cute. And I was like, I'm already related to those girls. And I'm not making this up. She goes, Well, you gotta start somewhere, and I'm like, not there. If there's one place you don't start, it's there. And I reflect on that, and I reflect on how literally I stopped and I said, Okay, Lord, here's my life. And in the midst of that desire to be in a relationship, desire to experience marriage and to have a wife, to see where God has brought me and to see, man, I married way over my head, and I just I love where I am, but to reflect and say, God, look how you you protected me in several ways, and look how you provided, and look what you taught me, and look how you prepared me for where I am. God, thank you. And I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but financially, I'll never forget when my wife and I decided, you know what, God's laid on our hearts, we need to get out of debt. And and I'm telling you, that is not an easy process. And I don't know if anybody's been through that, whether it's Dave Ramsey or Crown or whatever, but it it's a it's a struggle and it's painful and it's humbling. But man, on the other side, it's it's a freedom and it's an amazing perspective. And it's like, Lord, look what you brought us through, and the setbacks during that that we thought were unsurmountable, and yet you walked with us through that, how amazing that was. And even to the point of saving for our first house and going through those different steps, and getting to the point where I want to get to that point where I have that, I don't know, that awareness as I reflect on what God is that it affects what I'm going through right now. And I can give you an example of that this last week. My middle son Cody did have a great semester at KSU, and and he's looking at becoming a pilot, and he's looking at these programs. He's dad, I think I might want to transfer, and I found this program, and I had a show not far from there. I'm like, why don't you go with me? We'll go visit the school, and we did, but on the way up, I went to pick up the rental car, and he's with me, and I'm like, hey, and I said, I'm here to get my car, and they're like, Oh, so sorry, we we don't have any cars. And I'm like, I I made a reservation. Now you gotta understand, I travel a lot, I reserve a lot of cars, and I'm like triple platinum gold president, whatever it is you get, and they always have a car. And I'm like, Well, I I made a reservation, and here's my number, like, uh yeah, yep, here it is. Um, but we have no cars. I'm like, well, why didn't you tell me that when I made the reservation? Well, it's complicated. I'm like, not really. Um, it's like we have a reservation. Look, there's no cars. Sorry, we don't have any cars. It's it's pretty much that easy. And they said, Well, it's complicated. I'm like, uh, I'm like, okay. And they said, Do you still want your reservation? I'm like, Do you have a car? And they're like, well, no, and I'm like, then I I've got to go, then cancel my reservation. And my son was like, Dad, how is that possible? I'm like, I don't know. I said, but you know what? Let's go home. I'll grab my car, we'll figure it out. So we're driving, and it's it's a thousand-mile trip, round trip. And so we're driving, and we're on the road for maybe, I don't know, two hours, and we hear this I'm like, what was that? And then all these lights come on, and it and we we pull over and we get out, and I've got a flat tire. And I'm like, and my son was like, Dad, let's be a NASCAR crew, let's see how fast we can do this. I'm like, okay. So we get the boxes out, and he's got it, and he's dad, I'm great with the jack. And I'm like, but oh man, I forgot my jack is jacked up because my jack, the little part that has the twirl that head, it's bent from I don't know what. I'm like, dude, it's messed up. He's like, dude, I can make, I'll I'll make it. You do the lugs, I'll do this. And he's sitting there and he's he's a strong kid, and he's got an out, and he got the thing to work, and we got the tire off, we got the other one on, and and we're headed down, and and he's like, Dad, how how long can we ride on this temporary tire? And I'm like, as long as we can, but uh, because we got to get to this dinner and we driving, and we get to the place, and I mean two exits before we get to the place where we're gonna go for the hotel. I see the sign, King Tire. And I'm like, okay, well, that's by the exit. You know what? We gotta leave early in the morning. Let's stop by there. We got about uh 45 minutes. Let me see if I can arrange for them to get the tires for tomorrow. And he's like, Okay, we pull in, and I said, Okay, here's what happened. I need two tires because I don't want because one's just bald, and the other one, I guess, is this. I want two tires. How much and how long will it take? And can you get them for the morning? And he goes, Well, it's this much, and he goes, Um, take about 30 minutes. I'm like, 30 minutes to change two tires? He goes, Yeah. And I said, Well, do you have them in stock? Can I come back in the morning? He goes, Well, he says, I uh we can do it now if you want. I'm like, Yes. And so we get the stuff out of the back and they put on the tires, and in literally in 25 minutes, we went from a spare temporary to two tires, and we're back and we're on time, and I'm like, wow. And as we're going to the event, Cody's like, Dad, he said, I I don't know if we should we should do a whole lot more today, because I mean everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. And I said, Yeah, I said, but you know what's amazing? And this is how when we reflect, it affects. Reflecting on what God has done affects how we perceive. I said, but here's the cool part, Cody. You're you were with me, and you got you got a jack to work that I couldn't get to work, and we're back on the road, and we made it all the way to Virginia on a temporary tire because there was no weather and it wasn't bad, and it was pretty straight. And I said, that's amazing. And then this place was open, and we had the resources to be able to buy a tire, and they they were open, and they did it in 25 minutes, and we get to sleep in a little bit tomorrow and we get to keep going. I said, How how amazing is that? And see, I I believe with all my heart, if we're actively taking the time to reflect, God is going to show us not only what he can do, what he has done. Because this is one of the most encouraging verses in John chapter 16. It puts it this way This is God Himself, Jesus speaking, I have told you these things so that in me you will have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart. I've overcome the world. And see, when he is in the midst of it, yes. When we reflect, we see his effect on whatever we're going through. And not only the reflection of that, but he he takes it a step further. So I want to just encourage you and I today to take some time before the end of the year and reflect. Reflect way back what God's brought us through. Reflect through this year. What has God brought me through this year? For me, it's it's just healing because I've struggled for those of you who don't, or maybe you're new. Um a year ago, I had emergency open heart surgery, and it has been physically and mentally and emotionally just the recovery that has been grueling. And yet in the midst of it, I've I've seen and developed some pieces that God has radically changed the way I see and do life, which is the second step, and that is to not just reflect on what he has done, but to reconcile who we are and how we're gonna relate to God, to reconcile that. Because what Joshua was telling them was hey, look at all God's done. Now here's the deal I know we live in a depraved society, and I I know that there are all these times of our past where these different thoughts and concepts and gods have crept in. But we got to make a decision. Am I going to reconcile my reality and take a little bit of what might work and sprinkle it on there and hope for happy? Or am I going to take the truth and am I going to reconcile my life to that truth so that I can be prepared no matter what comes my way? And that reconciliation is what makes all the difference. And I have seen this very clearly in Psalm 37, 25. He writes, I was young and now I am old. And boy, can I relate to that. Anybody else relate to that? I've been young, now I am old. Anybody else? Yet I've never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. See, there's something happens when we start to reconcile. If all we're doing is looking at this as a book of rules, then we we literally start to reconcile by trying to find the loopholes. We start taking the average or the bell curve. We start looking at the Ten Commandments and go, well, at least I never killed anybody. Haven't committed adultery, and so you know what? So I don't really take a day off during the week. Our society just doesn't do that anymore. And we can rationalize and we can justify and we can miss out on everything God has. But see, when it's a relationship, and I reconcile through the truth through that relationship, that Jesus came full of grace and truth. That's how he came. Grace without truth is just chaos and hedonism. Truth without grace is legalism. Truth and grace is relationship. And see, when there's just the truth, when we try to do it with just the truth, there's loopholes. And I've I've shared my kids a thousand times, but when they were little, we let them make a decision. And we would give them choices, and we would give them a rule. But the rule was through the love of a relationship. You got to go to bed. Little kids don't like to go to bed. Like, oh, stay up. It doesn't matter how tired they are, they want to stay up. It's like, buddy, you gotta go to bed. And they said, let them make choices to teach them to make good choices. And we did, and I'll never forget, Graham was four, he's now 20. And he was like, I don't want to go to bed, I'm not tired. And you can see little kids are like little drunk people. I'm not tired. I'm not, I'm not tired, I don't want to go to bed. And it's like, dude, you're you're exhausted. And he's like, Oh, I'm like, buddy, you know, you know what? You're old enough now. We have a rule, you need to go to bed and get a certain amount of sleep. But here you get to choose. You can brush your teeth and put on your pajamas and go to bed, or you can have a spanking. And and he looked at me, he was like, Um, I said, What do you want to do? And he said, I want to brush my teeth and pajamas and go to bed. I'm like, that's a great choice. That's what I would have chosen. And this poor little kid is walking up the stairs like, what just happened? But see, it's that relationship, and he knows I love him, and he doesn't fully understand it. My second son, he's the negotiator. Anybody have one of these? Yeah, he hit four, and he's just like, I want to stay up. I want to stay up. Buddy, it's past your bedtime. It's time to go to bed, but I want to stay up. And I'm like, buddy, you gotta get sleep. I said, but you're four, you get a choice. Do you want to put on your jamas, brush your teeth, go to bed? Or do you want a spanking? And he sat there for like three minutes. Um and he and I said, buddy, you gotta make a choice. Here we go. What do you what do you get? What is your choice? And he's like, Um, after a spanking, can I stay up? I'm like, no, buddy, but that's a good, that's a good negotiation. But I'm gonna say no, but because we have a relationship, he may not want to do it, but he trusts me, and there's this relationship. But if it's just the law that we rationalize it, then there's my daughter. Anybody have a little girl? Anybody, girl? These are different humans right there. That's she hit four and she was in tears. She was so tired. I don't know, I am not tired. I don't know how tired. I'm like, baby, you're exhausted. But you're four now. You get to choose. Do you want to put on your jamas, brush your teeth, go to bed, or do you want a spanking? She dried up, she just went, no. I don't think that's one of the choices. And I said, maybe it's it's not for debate, it's the truth. And you know what? When you have that relationship, it's not always gonna work wonderful and be gleeful. And yes, Father, I will do what you ask. It's it doesn't work. But in a relationship, we reconcile going, you know what, Lord, your truth is more than what I feel. And what's amazing to me and what I love is that it's so different than our society. Our society tells us that we have the best at heart. And I'll give you two examples, and I don't normally get political, but this one is just a great example of that. I'll never forget watching TV, and and there's this cycle of elections, and to come on and go, you know what? And the and several of you who are old like me are gonna remember this. Read my lips. No new taxes. And then months later, we have a whole pile of new taxes. And it's like, I don't fault you, and I know there's rationalization, I know that that was a law, but you know what? That it's not true. And I also remember several years ago, and they're like, no, no, no, this is gonna be great for you. It's gonna save the average person up to $2,500, and you're gonna get to do whatever you want to do, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I counted that first year that it went in effect. I didn't save $2,500. It cost me $3,800 more, and that price has gone up every year. And it's like, and I'm as average as you get. If you're gonna buy me a shirt this Christmas, I wear double extra medium. Okay, I just, I'm as average as they come. But the truth is, is that God is not that way. And I love this in in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15 and 16, it just reiterates this. It says, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin. Let us approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. See, God says, I'm I know what you're going through. And there's another beautiful verse in John 1.14, and it said, the word, the truth, the truth, the word became flesh and made his home among us, for we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father, the the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. And that truth doesn't change. And in Hebrews 13:8, those of us who follow Christ and He's in our hearts, it says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And I want to challenge us with a thought of reconciling, to ask the question, God, here's my life. Is there any part that is not where it needs to be? Because I trust you that you're only gonna show me where I need to change for my good. You're only gonna convict me where it's gonna hurt me. And Lord, I'm so thankful that I can trust you to do that. And Lord, here's my temptations, here's my failures, here's my frustrations, because I know you've been through them and you've overcome them. And that power that raised you from the dead lives within me. And Lord, will you show me how to tap into that? But I want us to just ask a very convicting question. It is so, there's there's not only nothing wrong, but very something good about coming together. Jesus said, do not neglect coming together, the coming together of yourselves. I would encourage you and I, we need to be more consistent. If I'm not in a small group, I need to be in one because I need to be a part of giving and receiving and being in that environment. But there's a danger that can happen when we move towards just the truth and away from reality of letting God be in the midst of it. We can start to fade either away from God or towards legalism. And it has to be that relationship. And let me give you a beautiful example of the real world that I just I fear has happened to me on occasions where I just find myself going, Well, God, I'm doing everything you say to do, and you're not giving me what I want. You're not doing what I think you should be doing, and I'm missing that relationship. A friend of mine, good friend of mine, I'll call him Paul, because that's his name. And uh Paul told me one time we're having lunch, and he said, I got this really good friend, and he is a huge, he's he's a little bit different, but he's a big leadership guru follower. Now, I don't know if you remember the name Lee Iacoka. Does anybody remember that name? Okay. For those of you who don't know who Lee Iacoka is, um, when he was a young executive, he was with a Ford company and he developed uh this cool car called the Mustang. And it was the original and it was the first kind of muscle car, and he was behind that project, and it was awesome. And uh the 289 uh Ford Mustang 64 is my favorite, uh, but it's just a cool car. Well, Chrysler Corporation was in disarray and was going bankrupt. And he was older now, and they said, you know what, maybe we can get him to come to Chrysler and save the company. And he goes to Chrysler and he did just that. Now, how many of you have ever been in or driven a minivan? Raise your hand. Okay. And I know they're not cool, but I've had two or three of them, and I get that. They're very practical. Well, Lee Coca looked, he says, you know what, these businesses have these big vans, they carry cargo, and I'm seeing these families and then these long station wagons. You know what? We should make a van that's smaller but has multiple seats in it. Let's make a minivan. And they're like, nobody does that. Well, he made it and it changed the industry and he saved Chrysler. So my friend Paul, his friend, got his book, Lee Koka's book, and he was like, This is a genius leader, this is amazing. To the point of not only did he study the book and read the book, but he took vacation to go to Detroit to the car show where Lee Iakoka was going to be speaking. That was his vacation. And he went and he he actually got to hear Lee Kakoku speak. And they had lunch after he gets back and he goes, Man, how great was that? And he was like, Oh, it was it was okay. He's like, What do you mean, okay? You're a Lee Iacoka freak. And he said, Did you did you get to hear him? He says, Yeah, I got I got to actually I actually got to meet him. And he's like, You got to meet your icon and you're just saying it was okay. He said, What happened? And he said, Well, he said, I went to hear him speak, and then it was so incredible, and it was amazing. The car show all day, and then Lee Iacoka, and then I went back to my hotel and I hit the button and I walk into the elevator as I'm walking in and I turn and there's Lee Iacoka in the elevator. And he says, as the door is shut, he said, I couldn't help. He's like, Mr. Iacoka, I'm such a huge fan, and I've got your book, and you are so great. And he's like, Wow, thank you very much. I just heard you speak and I took vacation to come. He's like, Wow, I'm flattered that's amazing. He goes, This is incredible. Is there any way you'd sign my book? And he goes, I'd be glad to, and he signs it, and he says, It was amazing. I'm just telling you, you're so great, you're so awesome, and this, and you said this, and I've done it. And he says, I'm just going over it, and he was so cordial. He says, He signs my book, and the elevator gets to my floor, and I start to walk off. And he said, Lee Iakoka. He said, Um, he says, Hey, Chris, can I ask you one question? And he's like, Yeah. And he says, I'm standing in the door of the elevator with the doors about to close, and he says, Chris, um, what kind of car do you drive? And he said, I stood there as the door started closing. He's like, Honda. I wish I could tell you I did not know what that felt like. But I can tell you this: there's been so many times in my life I cannot count them, where I'm like, Lord, this isn't going right, what is wrong? And I open the truth and I see a truth, and I go, I agree, I agree. Are you doing it? Are you trusting me for it? Are you trusting me in it? Am I really with you, or do you just want me near you because I'm right here? And I want you to have the best. I want you to have the truth because the truth will set you free. And I want you to experience me with you because I can give you wisdom beyond your days. And see, too often we think something about technology of the world, we're barraged so much that we think, well, you know, God's old-fashioned. Well, I can tell you this, and in I think it's in 1 Corinthians, I'm pretty sure it's in one, where he says, the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom. The weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. For God uses, uses the foolishness of men to confound the wise. He uses the weakness of man to confound the strong. God at his worst is better than anything we can see. And if you and I will say, okay, I'm gonna reconcile to that, then we have a final step. There is the the reflecting on what is God, it is the reconciling to his truth, but then there's the last part of that passage in Joshua. Am I going to be resolved? Am I resolved? He says it in the last part of the verse. He says, But if your serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourself this day whom you will serve. Whether the gods of your ancestors who serve beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites, whose land you are living in right now, but it's for me and my house, I'm gonna serve the Lord. I'm resolved. And one of the greatest decisions you and I can make is to resolve and say, okay, God, I'm all in. I'm all in. Because here's what I see. I truly believe this, and I've personalized this one verse in Ephesians 2.10. For I am God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works that God prepared in advance for me to do. God, what have you prepared this next year for me to do? I want to look at God the way my son Cody, my great Cody, who's the incredible tire changer, when he was about two and a half, three years old, he's in the driveway. I came home, I'm getting the mail, I'm walking up. He's in the driveway and he's just jumping to nothing. And I'm like, poor kid, he's special, you know, just he's jumping and it's it's it's early, it's a kind of late evening, and I'm like, buddy, what's what you doing? He's like, Daddy, I can't get it. And he's jumping. I'm like, what are you trying to get? He's like, he jumped one more time. He says, I can't get it, daddy. I'm like, what are you trying to get? He said, the moon. And then he looked and he says, You get it, daddy. And I was like, okay. And I jumped and he said, What's it like? And I said, Well, let me hold you up. And I held him up really high, and he just went, and I'm like, Did you get it? And he goes, Yeah. And see, here's the deal: when we're when we resolve, God, I'm I'm with you. We're gonna get beyond what we can ever do on our own. For I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in me will carry it unto the day of completion. And I'm the first part of that Joshua, that first verse is where I want us to end today. Will I reflect, pray about reconciling, but resolve? Because in verse 1 it says they presented themselves before God. And you know what? We don't come with it all together, we come with it just the way we are. We go, God, here it is. This last year was you fill in the blank, whatever it is, but God, there's no pain without purpose. So I trust you in it. And Lord, I see all you've brought me through. And Lord, I see the truth that you put before me. God, I don't have the strength to maintain it. So, Father, will you help me experience the power that only you give to carry me through it? So I can experience that. And Lord, I'm resolved. I'm gonna keep coming back and keep coming back. And every day I'm gonna start with you. I'm gonna walk with you through the day, and you change me. You want the greatest year of your entire life. If I want that, this is what I'm gonna do. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your truth and an end your grace. I need both. I thank you for the hardest year of my life because it was the best. I've never experienced you more personal and right here. And Lord, I pray that even as we as we reflect right now, you would in our hearts remind us. Some of us just need to be reminded of what you brought us through. Some of us need to see that area of life that you want to reconcile the truth with us. Some of us just need to go, Lord, I'm all in. And Lord, whatever that is, I pray as they sing and we sing with them, Lord, you would draw your spirit as only you can intimately to each one of us so that we can become all you made us to be. And we can see what you've already prepared and be a part of that. God, we love you. Thank you most of all, Lord, for Jesus. Thank you for this time of year where we get to celebrate. You said, call him Emmanuel. God with us. And Lord, I thank you for that. And it's in his name, amen. For God is not up there, he's not out there, he's right here. Merry Christmas.