Infiltration

So I had planned this series like, 3 weeks ago. Okay, I had this media that I wanted to use for it. You know what, the kind of make it more coherent but then so this is what I had going into this week for Thanksgiving. So this week was just like traveling nonstop, like we laughed Monday went to my son's. We hung out there by his girlfriend and then we were there a couple days with my parents house. We had Thanksgiving and then we drove straight back on Friday. Yes, 14 and a half hours, right? In the car. I'm like, this is why I don't like the week-long break for Thanksgiving with my wife. Wants to go to Texas and visit people. And I don't want to, I would like the two days and school starts up, and then we got the one to Break coming up. So I was like, what I will say, what came out of that is like a like a lot of different kinds of books to read. And so when I'm not wanting to like I think, deep thoughts whatever. I just want to kind of like check out and I usually put the dishes and stuff. I'll have this, I like spies and suspense novels and stuff, right? That's like what I like and so I was, you know, thank you this weekend about that and I was thinking about how I always approach or how I have mainly approach add event in the brexit. Accuse me of not really liking merrymaking his words. I'm like yeah I don't really like to be making means like getting a bunch of stuff out and, you know, it back it just seems so pointless, but he likes it. And so I come to this season with a lot of legs or a mixed bag of dry all this, like, as a pastor you know, you're supposed to love in all that schools, be in warm and I don't eat sugar and so that's another part of it. So it's like okay, you guys are all eating a bunch of candy and Suites and cookies. Maybe this is why he likes to make Why? I don't it's just me. I'm not tempted by it cuz I just don't eat it but it's just all this stuff that I just kind of gets under my skin. And also I feel like I do a terrible job at actually getting you to understand what Advent is all about. I've attempted this in many ways and I have done this through, you know, Siri is like, in the summer, I took us through like the entire story of the Bible and I was like, man, I prepared for today, the other one and I was like, I should I do this for just jump and I'm like, yeah, I was reading through my other sermon on like a swearing. I want to do that. So this one and you may be thinking, wow, why did I come today? Or maybe you'll be thinking, oh, oh, I see this is what I've been is all about. So hopefully, you'll, you'll stick with me long enough to hang in. And how hot I think this is how it done in the past to start with Genesis and gone through, instead of doing that starting jumping. And here, we're going to drop ourselves into the middle of the story. And by Story, I mean story of the Bible. I mean, this is how most Christians for the longest time have read this story. How they have heard this story, what they think is going on and Advent and Christmas. We have messed it up. Big time in the Western World. We have been ours is beautiful. It's cute, it's awesome. But you know, it's like there's Jesus, and we have these and stuff and we get baby Jesus dolls and stuff our kids. I'm at my kids have done this to But is that really what the story is about? So I remember so kind of like spy Thriller novels have been in my head all week driving 4 hours. So that's going to kind of CPAP and I'm using it as a way. And I hope you hear it from a faithful perspective because it actually will touch on something. The scriptures have been two people most of the time throughout most of History. Okay. It's just that we have a hard time with it because it's so foreign to us. It's a different way of looking at the world like the song that we read it is so weird to us to say that God is talking to the gods. That's weird. It doesn't make sense. Isn't there only one God? Yeah, he's the most high God, but there's the sons of God right there with him. What does that even mean? Well, hopefully, we can shed some light on that. I will invite you to kind of suspend our disbelief, like you would do in any good. Spy Thriller novel or movie and I want you to kind of like imagine yourself in their world, okay. I'm going to try to be in their world, so that this whole thing makes more sense to us. At least. That's my hope. I've never done that well, so we'll see. I'm trying again. So keep this in mind as we go forward. So here's the problem. And this is why I confront the sort of the the part of the about this season is that? I don't think it's real. Like I don't think it's authentic, is Remy, my real? It doesn't seem authentic. Why do we have all this cuteness and cozy and packages and all this consumerism, and all this stuff? In the world is messed up. Why, how do we like deal with this? Do we just like check out or do we still try to approach the reality of life? Because let's be honest. When we look at the world around us or the world inside us even we see chaos it's chaotic it's not warm and fuzzy, it's not cozy. Right? We're honest with ourselves. We seen each nation's raging against Nations to use the language of the Bible receive the political systems that are so divided and messed up. Nothing can get done, right? It's so like, anxiety-provoking. We see this chaos around us. People dealing with addiction, and anxiety, and depression, and anger, and resentment, and all these things. Make us feel miserable. How do you comment to a church advance and have all that Royal around and you and then you're supposed to, you know, people Christmas and stuff. Now, don't misunderstand the wrong with that and, you know, that can be kind of an antidote to some of this sea of chaos and stuff. And we will hear some Christmas carols and all that kind of stuff. I just want you to understand what the story is though. Because when you understand this story, it's something like what c.s. Lewis was trying to do in The Chronicles of Narnia, you know this series, right? We brought you as a family because we know we just did and it's a really great story and Louis with a master of trying to use his imagination and like topping to the imagination of other people, so they can kind of get at what is going on with Christianity. What's all about it. So in The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first one and we've got the kids and they are getting into through a wardrobe, this other world. And this world is what it is. Winter there, right? It is snowing, it's quiet. All these little white like white little things that Lewis dies to say that this is a static place, not changing. Its oppressive. It's rule. They learned the kids do by someone called the White Witch, okay? And her, like, catchphrase. Is it always? Winter. Never Christmas. So the kids learn that it's always went through there. Never Christmas. No, Lewis was onto something there. I think she's naming. What I was trying to name earlier than the reality of our world. It can feel so Winters can't sit right there. It's problems is always winter. We have like relational issues with our kids always went through. It seems, we have battles with depression and anxiety, and other like internal things. I'm like, the War. I mean, I'm a mess, you know, this, it's always winter, it seems. Right. Louis is hitting on something that I think is more real than what we typically get out in this season of Advent and historically the people of Israel. But the scriptures are directed. I know this, this is their life winter. It's winter there. Always winter. Never Christmas. That's where we're going to pick up in the story. They have been waiting for God to act for so long. They have been hoping that in Lewis's version of this story that has one will come right. The Rescuer would come. They have been longing for it for four hundred years, the last time. And the Book of Malachi that ends the Old Testament that statement, but he made, it's been four hundred years until Jesus comes on the scene. Winter. Nothing is moving, its static. It feels wrong. Something is up, it's not quite right in the world. Israel was in that position when Jesus comes on the scene. This is The Human Condition. We sense. Something is wrong, right? There's something off the something that is, you know, unlucky over the, something that is not working. Well, there's an ache in our hearts. That is not quite how it's supposed to be. We wonder why in our history as human beings, that we just keep doing the same things over and over. Same mistakes War over and over and over. Greed over and over, and over corruption, all his stuff that we do as human beings, that are just not good for us. They do not lead to human flourishing. Why is it that no matter how much we try to get around it with the latest diet or this or that medicine? Or, you know, this or that kind of new technology is, like a big thing right now. Why can't we figure it out? Why can it address this always winter condition? Why can't it fix our human hearts? Where is the power to change off? We think if we just our luck, the right person, maybe then B will have it all made and figure it out. If we could just in my world, educate the kids well enough, then it's going to be a beautiful Society in the future. Right? Only we did this. Then we'll get there. The winter will end. But it doesn't have that it's a cycle over and over. It seems like we are in this this this world where it is always winter and we can't break out of it. But we're stalking Now if you can relate to that, I'm trying to get you to. Maybe it's not in the same words are the same ideas or the same feelings but I want you to connect with that now, what is the winter feeling for you? What is it that you're struggling with? What is the the whole thing that you have and then it's dashed right? Cuz it doesn't work out the way you suspect. That's why what is a dream that you had that you? You could remember when you were younger you wanted to do this but then you ended up doing that and you're like, it's lost. What is that being in your life? That's real, that you're actually struggling with. That's what I want you to connect with. As we hear this story because we are living in a story, but it feels like the story has been hijacked. Doesn't it? The reason that it feels that way is because that's exactly what the biblical authors thought was going on exactly what they thought was happening. So hear me out now. Okay, member I was driving for hours, kind of insane at the moment, cuz there's so many hours consistently back-to-back driving on the road. I even like close my eyes and I saw the road going back and forth when I was driving all of this and my back hurts and all that. And it's just like not a good happy place that I was then. So I was listening to this stuff and I'm like, hey, You know what? This is kind of like how the Bible is his smile off by novel, kind of stuff, you know, it's kind of like a war movie, isn't it? So let's think about the Bible in those terms because I bet if you do it might, if you I mean, maybe you love the language and they just like to read the Bible, but maybe you struggle with it. And I think, you know, I've read the Bible. People ask me if you ever read the Bible. Yeah, I'm a pastor. I said the Bible through cover to cover and it's hard. It's not easy to do but it's even more difficult. If you don't understand the story, Right. It's like I'm about to give you the CliffsNotes because that's what we're going to do in order for us to understand this, why we're doing this. So most of us were taught to read the Bible kind of like this, right? Like just acknowledge me if you are just nod your head. If you think you learned this way, like a moral Fable remember Sunday school, you know, David and Goliath and you'll be courageous. Kind of like to take away all. My can remember like Daniel in the Lion's Den? That was pretty cool, right? Like the Lions going to eat them, but we learned that you got to pray and I can kind of help you through the week. We can I disconnect the stories? I mean it really is. How is she should the kids? Are you still when they're a bunch of kids and turd but that's kind of how we approach the Bible that sound familiar. We kind of take it as like these little piece meal things, the sayings of Jesus over here and this great story about how we should love people over here. And you know old man stay away from the Old Testament going to be honest, right? The whole dash and a children's head on talks is kind of G and dark. And, you know, it's frankly kind of. It's horrible to think of, but there are stories like that in the Old Testament, it's like, whoa, I was actually kind of interested in those stories because I was in seminary. I'm like, yeah, that's cool. But then I was like, I just read this for devotional purpose cuz it's kind of grim and dark and it is So we skip over at, that's why we want to get, you know, I've been in Jesus and you know, Christmas and packages and all kind of stuff. But the biblical authors were in it, I mean they were in a dark place by the before Jesus is on the scene, they were occupied not by the White Witch, but by the Roman Empire, the most vicious force that had ever been assembled in human history to that point. They were brutal, right? They had absolute control. They didn't mess around the soldier. You wouldn't go up to them and say hey can I take a selfie? I've been watching. People were like hey can we get on the truck or whatever? Know they would kill you outright like it was brutal, they were brutal. That's the world that they were experiencing. When Jesus comes on the scene, we have to remember that. So, here we are. What if the Bible isn't like that, this like David and Goliath? And all these cute little stories and fables that we teach our kids and my kids, What if it's more though? What is at some point we try to connect with what the story is actually about so we can understand why we're doing this. What If instead of these fables and the lists of like, what you're supposed to do and not do what if it's more like a spy thriller or war movie? Let's just like just go with it for a second. Okay. Because I bet if you do that, you would realize that your life is with this, this stuff that you feel that's not quite right. We'll make a lot of sense because what you're born into according to the Bible is a world at war. It's like a contested space. You're born into a situation, but Israel was experiencing at the time. It's a battle going on. You are in the midst of this bike, you know, geopolitical Nightmare, and all of these forces are acting on you. A ways that you don't even comprehend or can't comprehend, I mean, you guys dealing with a lot of AI. Do you know how much you have been manipulated by? I used to work in marketing and Princeton for an international company and we were talking about how that manipulate people basically, in order to sell them stuff. How much alcohol do they need before? Our salesmen, make a pitch at the conference. That's why it's so evil. But we are manipulated all the time, it's a World at War and the best thing that we could do is to not think about it too much, right? That's what we want to do. That's what we want to do. Celebrate and sing Christmas carols. Not think about it, too much, and if you come at it, from a different perspective than, that's a good way to kind of make us not very like, you know, valuable through the kingdom of God. We kind of like an oculate it where, like, you know, this is great. I don't know much about that stuff but you know, hear, I love you. You love me. This is great happiness. Not what the Bible says, about our reality, the Bible says that you are born into a world at war. So here's How The Story Goes now. I want to be very brief because what we're doing is jumping into the middle with Advan. I'm going to try it this way because I try to the other way and it didn't seem to work very well, but the First Act of the Bible, like, you know, this is what probably is most familiar. The very beginning first chapter of this is where we get in the right, but the first chapter is all about, the know, the garden, The Creation, The Garden. I've talked about, I think the Germans are like, hey, green and brown tents. Not ugly is beautiful. It's the garden. That's what we're supposed to think of. That's the beginning. God created us this Human family but here's where we don't quite go, but also a spiritual family. This is like the other Elohim hasn't been talked to in Psalm 82. So imagine this, right? And we've done this with Bible project, a little bit, your created, it's actually, the verse is like that's let us, okay, who's the us while it's the other Spiritual Beings in the midst of the garden. So imagine this human beings and Spiritual Beings God's family sons of God, but they all here, and then human beings God's family together in the garden. How it's supposed to be Just go with it, this is their terms, right? All right. So then that's the end of the first act, right. It's kind of a cool place but what happens if there's a rebellion and it's not just a human Rebellion, we just want to buy stop and blame everything on Eve. That's a problem. It's not really about that. It's also a Spiritual Beings Rebellion go to rebellions and if you read Shuffle, you'll see this in the text. So we're about as human beings and these other Spiritual Beings that are being talked to him. So maybe to the sons of God, but they were about to So what happened? We're all kicked out of the Garden today at 3 tragedy strikes and this is where it gets really weird. So I'm going to text in the Bible. Starting Genesis at the beginning but tragedy strikes, we have something called Babel, right Babylon. It stands for a little stand and over and over again. The symbolism there will come up into the scriptures over and over again. We have this thing. Where everything gets really dark and human beings Rebelle, like, and Spiritual Beings rubella, like, and ways that are just crazy, right? It's saying, it's like the deepest darkest, like so bad actually that God wanted to just like, do away with creation or told. That's Bible. So this is where human beings are rebelling the most. Okay, by the time we get to Genesis 11, we got this Tower. We are human beings wanting to be hot. And then we are trying to say, they're going to get to stretch out to have an get to God. We want to, like not spread out and multiply and do the thing that God asks us to do. We want to make a city and we want a tower. And basically, this is like, you can think about like ancient Samaria right there ziggurats. And the Sumerian Kings were the figures that are being like the pic to hear him anyways. So here it is. God, what, what scatters the people doesn't let that happen. Gather the people give them different languages moved out. They said you got some sense if you want to be God. You don't want me to be your king. I'm going to force you.

That's the thing. I don't think we get. God doesn't force you to love him. God doesn't force you to love them. That's not love. Is it? God didn't force people. The story said, God is not going to force people to love him because that's not a relationship. That's not what God wants a partnership. God wants a relationship, that's not love. It's like a violation of God's nature. It's like saying God is not good, or God is Not Just, it can't be possible. It just can't be. So that God wants to love you is part of the whole deal. And so here we got this, like scattering of the people we call this Cosmic geography, right. There are certain Nations that are a lot of these Gods, right? And he's like Warrior kings that you can season might even and literature like home or if you've got homework, you see it, right? This is the the hero-king. That's the painted in ancient literature. In an ancient Mesopotamia. You see this the warrior Kings. We seen it and Bible project videos, right? These Warrior kings that are all like, controlled by spiritual forces that are dark. That's what being depicted in this part of the story. This Cosmic managers of this area and this area and this area and God says you have control over them, but Israel is my portion. All right, so we have this dividing up of the world. It's important. If you want understand what's going on in the Old Testament, when they enter the promised land and all the crazy stuff, you got to understand that part there are under a different. Okay. In the known world, at the time of the co-authors So, Paul will call these divisions of the Gods powers and principalities room uses that kind of language. This is the stronghold of that power and principality. So, when Paul went throughout the Roman Empire, he was he thought of himself as confronting these false gods, because he was doing what he was called to do. So we have these sons of God is like, rugby spiritual forces that are controlling and doing a horrible job of making the world great and you're developing human flourishing. Basically, what we seen that stuff, a lot of like your nonsense that we see now. Still at work. Packed. That's what Israel is Born Into think of is real, that the call of Abraham and what Israel was supposed to be was this little light and all of this darkness in the world. And they did it sometimes. Like God we do it sometimes but not other times. And Israel is struggling in the Old Testament is a lot about the stories of their struggle, to be faithful to his calling, to be this light to the world. To be a place that shows God and who God really is that points out. That's not God over there. That's false. This is the real God, the one that we call Yahweh.

The territory is occupied by if we're going back to our store and we have this war, the territories occupied. We're losing Israel, is losing its way. They think we're going to be there going to be overrun and it's been like that for centuries. And there's this long. We're God seems to be silent for a hundred years and here it is. Their yearning for got to do something and then they're going through, you know, do you know, the exile to Babylon and they come back and they are thinking he's going to be better? And then no, we still see the same like, you know, and Justice and all the oppression of the stuff. That's how many to was talking about. We still see it.

Like God, when are you going to act? The prophets of Israel, say.

I will act. but just not now but this is what you should look for. So we get all these little hints and then Isaiah is like going to be the one who's Whispering into the dark and saying, what should I look for when we know that you're acting? And all our passages that we read at this time of year that come from Isaiah are. Are that like, what we should be looking for the hens, the yearning, the coming of the Messiah that the people wanted they wanted

Christmas to come and winter to end. Okay, so now that brings us to advance. So we call this maybe ask for chapter 4 will call it. The infiltration is this is kind of what is going on here. This is where Advent is going to change everything in the story, okay? So Malachi finishes, right? That's done. Four hundred years later we hear the story about something happening. You know, that's not quite understood and we'll get the story written down and we're wondering what's going to happen. Because we have all these enemies, Israel's got like Roman occupation is going to send a nuclear weapon to destroy. Everybody know cuz he loves us. Is God going to like send Angels Army angels and force everybody to do, his will know because he loves us. Is it going to like we were held hostage is kind of the picture. That's being painted here to these forces that are in control. Is Gordon deal with it. Taking them out. No. Now listen. Because he loves us. But he also loves our oppressors. I think about that where the hostages were the victims they're victimizing us. Do something.

Well, I love you and I love them.

You see the conundrum? This is a quandary, isn't it? How is God going to act? This is setting up the whole story, right? This is almost ready to the climax of the story, almost almost, but you can kind of see the book Flush. Do the like the conflicts, how is God possibly going to act? To accomplish his will, in the midst of this, like War, this battle going on and we seem to be losing God. So what is God do?

While he watches a special cup operation, right? He's going to like launch an operation than with a spy Thriller novel thing comes on, right? Going to launch an operation but he has to do it in a way that is not going to destroy us and is not going to destroy them. So how does it play out? Here's the first part. Luke chapter 1 verses 26 through 33. In the six months of Elizabeth's pregnancy. God, sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth Village in Galilee to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. A descendant of King David Gabriel up here to her and said, greetings favored. One woman, the Lord is with you confused and Disturbed Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. Don't Be Afraid, Mary. I think that's interesting cuz I would be terrified.

Don't Be Afraid, Mary, the angel told her for you have found favor with God, you will conceive and give birth to a son and you will name him. Jesus

He will be very great and he will be called the son of the most high, the name Elohim, Son of God, the Lord God will give him the Throne of his ancestor, David and he will reign over Israel forever. His kingdom will never end. Imagine winter, Angel, comes to you and says, it's going to be somewhere tomorrow.

Really. Imagine longing for a messiah for 400 years. And Angel, says the angel, right, whatever that is comes to you and says, it's going to end. Really.

You can imagine what Mary is going through here and how how weird that was? Even the early Christians, how weird that was to them but God was doing this thing. And what exactly was God doing entering into creation as a sweet little baby Now, that's a like somebody deeply immersed in philosophy and loving philosophy and my favorite teacher at the time. And I was a little philosopher and I would like, I love it, right? I love this. But that doesn't seem the way to win a war. It's just that don't take a lot of like philosophical training to realize that doesn't seem like you're going to win a war. That way will baby. Thank you, God. Where the like chariots on fire and stuff or even the staff, what you do, all those crazy stuff, and things that your enemies and whatever legs. A baby. Okay. Well the story is taking an interesting turn. It doesn't seem like it's going to go our way. If a war is being raised around us, a baby is not going to really do anything for us, right? The god enters enemy territory as a human being in the form of a baby in a Manger. So the most impoverished way to be in the world as a baby, right? I mean animals are fed there. We think hospital bed. No animals are there. I mean the disease isn't going through my head with this is like Ah that's how God enters the world. So right away, it seems foolish. Why would you tell this story to anybody? So God, and human interest enemy territory as a human being in the form of a cell that rapidly divides and then becomes a baby

You see how weird this is?

But here's what we need to understand. This is the way that God, bypasses, the security system, right? This is how God, like parachutes Behind Enemy Lines. This is something that no one, especially the fierce Roman forces that were you know, the most vicious fighting force in the world would expect. This is what's going on. The general has come to be with the troops.

Okay. Here we are now covert operation. This. The ACT where we're going to like infiltrate enemy territory without a little baby here and we're going to like start to do some stuff. This is what Jesus is all about, the almost unlikely. Surprising hero ever in a story.

Night. So, you can imagine, if you didn't, like, answer the phone, why more flies in your spiritual forces that are like, opposed to God and our, you know, really liking their whole grip on human society in the world. You can imagine that they're feeling pretty confident right now about the chances. The powers of Darkness, don't seem so threatened until they do. Because what happens? Now they think that they own the nation's. They got everybody on lock down there in control, it's going to go the way they want, not the way God wants. It's going to get even darker and more miserable and more wintry.

But then later, we hear about Jesus not a baby, any more grown up in this culture. Doing stuff like casting out demons in the devil. We hear that all the time cuz it's hard to understand it is. I mean, it's hard to understand what a spiritual force is. And we see Jesus doing that. We see Jesus going around and healing people when he's killing people. He's basically saying, get off my lawn. This person belongs to me to my kingdom.

That's what we see in the gospels. The King has returned. As one has come into the country. There's rumors and whispers about that happening. He has infiltrated right? Is Thoroughly in enemy territory. Now working from behind the scenes from the behind, the line is what the CIA does, right up and does what Jesus and his disciples are doing. and they're doing it a way that doesn't seem like super threatening at first,

And there, you know, the forces are like okay, whatever. I still feel in control.

So let's rethink the Nativity this Advent, that's where I'm going. Let's make this something that is not only Cosmic, right? But also personal because it is This is a question. We should be asking ourselves when we're looking at the nativity.

But I also want you to see that there's a larger story here that's being played out on a cosmic and a personal level. So I want to challenge you to think that through for a little bit, think about what it means for God to enter empty himself and enter into The Human Condition and most lowly despicable miserable way possible. Flights foolishness to the Greeks. Paul said, I mean these were like high thinking people the Greeks Foolishness. This is what happened. The King has landed. As a baby.

I want you to think not, you know, I was just saying DJ, that's what I want you to think. Something's about to happen. That's big. Stop has been happening Behind Enemy Lines and they're going to beat this other stuff that's happening Behind Enemy Lines. And we're going to go through the Advent season and like to try to understand that but something big has happened. Edai War CIA. Spy Thriller novel is playing out here.

But then I also want you to ask where are you personally occupied? Cuz you know you're Behind Enemy Lines to write your born into this war. Where's the winter in your life that you're experiencing? Is there something that you are doing that's a saint and you know you shouldn't be doing it but you keep doing it over and over again and then you know it just gets worse and worse in your life. Is there a fear that paralyzes you? This something that you feel called to do, but you're not going to because you're so stuck. I can't imagine taking another stop in a different direction. The bitterness that you can't let go off. Relationships that are hard that you would rather just not think about. But that every time you do think about it. It feels like drinking poison.

Where are you occupied? Where is winter in your life? Cuz it's not just a cosmic bottle that's happening here. Their stronghold pockets of enemy occupation. They're standing on the lawn. It's winter in those spots. Cuz the message of the message of advent is not just like, wait, be patient. Rescues, it's not rescue. Has already started. Write the swap forces are in the building. You're not a hostage anymore, they're common setting you free. Hebrew in Hebrew. That put the like this Hebrews. 2:14 I think I have it up there. Maybe. Because God's children are human beings made of Flesh and Blood. The Sun Also became flesh and blood for only as a human being. Could he die and only by dying but he break the power of the devil who had the power of death.

To keep this in mind because we find ourselves now and the resistance part of the story, Jesus is our infiltrator, right? He's so surprising hero. He lands Behind Enemy Lines, he starts this revolution the revolution spreads and it's going on. There's a resistance, Paul is like resistor and chief going throughout the Roman Empire, starting all these little communities where people are no singing coming together and they're like, sharing stuff with each other and they're, you know, they're they're they're being different. Then the other way of being out there.

They're resisting. They're citizens of a different place as well as this place both. At the same time, the already and not yet in the same person. Christmas is about celebrating a birthday, but Victory Day because there's an infiltration that happened in that story and that story is inviting us to reflect on how God is working. in Cosmic terms, but also in personal terms, I think when we start connecting with this idea that were part of this greater story that we're living out, that Jesus kicks off and is the baby in a Manger. When we start to, like really start with a for a while. Like, like really think about it. Meditate on that for a while. We got a nice stuff. You baby. Yay. But I want invite you to see. It's something way. More, way, more, dangerous. Also way more interesting, way more authentic, and true to this world. And also way more powerful. Every time you love your neighbor this week, I want you to think that you are taking back enemy ground.

Every time you are offering forgiveness to somebody. I want you to see that as Breaking Chains of the enemy breaking winter. every time you say yes, to God, to do something, like married to I want you to see yourself as joining this infiltration, this resistance movement, but that's really what this is every year. It's like a recruiting video. Right to join this resistance movement, this Army, this resistance, to how things should not be because we're witnessing to something. That should be this love of God, that is so vast. That even the enemies are loved as well as us. The God be all the glory Now and Forever on that.