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Zac Peake joins us today to talk about the fear the shepherds were probably feeling when the angel came to proclaim the birth of Jesus.
Just like Matthew 5:13 says, Christians are the salt of the earth so join us as we find our saltiness on our journey through life together. Listen as Dr. Douglas Peake dives deep into the topics of his sermons each week, breaking down content, discussing evidence, telling stories and speaking into current events using biblical truths and principals.
Zach: They are, they are
frightening, uh, beings to behold.
And so that's probably part of
the other reason that the, the,
the shepherds were terrified and,
and not only are angels terrifying
in a lot of ways, God can be too.
Jesse: Ladies and Gentlemen,
welcome to the Salty Pastor Podcast.
My name is Jesse Maher.
I'll be your host and welcome, Zach
Peake, our Salty Pastor for the day,
or what did we call you last time?
Our sea salt, sea salt,
Himalayan salt, Himalayan salts.
Yes.
I can't keep track of all of the different
spices we bring on here, but we definitely
have a lot of spice and we are so excited.
Everyone who has, is listening,
only on our podcast, you won't be
able to see this, but we have a
brand new desk that, um, was made
by a very, very special volunteer.
Um, here at Foothills
named Jerry Anderson.
He made this amazing desk that
has this TV mounted in it.
So we feel so special and blessed
that he decided to put some time and
craftsmanship and creating something
so amazing for, um, the podcast and
for Foothills, because we use the
studio for a lot of different things.
So if you're only a listen only
person just tune in once for the
podcast, just so you can check out
our new desk, but we are so thankful
to Jerry and everything he's done.
But enough with that,
we have Zach Peake here.
It is Christmas time.
We are in the middle of our series,
Jesus Is Christmas and Zach, what
are you preaching about this week?
Zach: Well, I was a little bit, uh,
confused, uh, last Sunday because
yeah, because I got sent the basic
outline of what, uh, Pastor Peake
wants me to preach on for this Sunday.
And then he started preaching on
Sunday and I was like, this is.
Similar outline.
Jesse: He wants to reinforce the point.
Zach: But thankfully he brought
in a little bit of Matthew.
We're not in Matthew.
We're just going to be in that Luke
chapter two, we touched on it this
last week, and now we're going to
dive a little bit deeper into it.
Um, you know, he was opening the
series and so he was kind of covering a
little bit of everything, a little bit
higher level, you know, that 30,000.
Jesse: Casting vision of
where we're going.
Right.
Zach: Yeah.
And we're going to get a little bit
more specific about Jesus, about joy
and about some of these, uh, these
more specific things and about how
that actually works in the context
of our relationship with Christ.
That's what we're going
to be doing this week.
And a little bit with Christmas.
Jesse: You know, I kind of love Christmas.
I'm so excited for just celebrating
Christmas that the church just
had, it takes on a different
energy around Christmas time.
Um, I think, I mean the
world as a whole does, right?
Like there's a different kind of,
you know, it's not necessarily
true authentic joy that you get
from Jesus, but there's a definite
like increase in like just general
excitement around Christmas.
And so it's always great.
Zach: And it's cool that it's
such like a worldwide thing.
Jesse: I mean, you see this in Pastor Doug
talked about this on the podcast pass last
week that, you know, even nonbelievers
over in Arabian countries still celebrate
Christmas for not the best reasons.
Commercialism and stuff, but they
still get excited about Christmas.
And so.
We're just wanting to keep the
focus on why we are excited
about Christmas, which is Jesus.
Right?
So you said we were in Luke two today.
Zach: Yeah.
We're going to be in Luke chapter two.
Uh, we're going to, we're going to talk
a little bit about the opening to it,
where it goes, you know, anybody who's
read the Christmas story will recognize
the, you know, there's the census Caesar
Augustus says the census should be taken
and Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem.
And we'll talk a little bit about that.
Uh, but we really want to pick up,
uh, kind of, what happens once they're
there and once Jesus is born, um, I
mean, we can just jump in right now,
you know, uh, anybody who's read
the Christmas story this'll sound
really familiar starting verse one.
In those days, Caesar Augustus issued
a decree that a census should be
taken of the entire Roman world.
And everyone went to their
own town to register.
Joseph went up to, went from the
town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea,
to Bethlehem, the town of David.
Uh, we all, we know
that's all familiar to us.
We, he went there to register with Mary,
who he was pledged to be married to him
and was expecting a child while there
the time came for the baby to be born.
And she gave birth to her first born son.
She wrapped him in cloths and placed
them in a manger because there was
no guest room available for them.
Uh, and then this is what we
really want to focus on this week.
This is kind of the pivotal part
of the story that we're going
to be taking our attention to.
Uh, in verse eight, it says, and there
were shepherds living out in the fields
nearby, keeping watch over their flocks
at night, an angel of the Lord appeared
to them and the glory of the Lord shone
around them and they were terrified.
So I want to start right there.
We talked last Sunday about
how fear it can kill our joy.
Fear causes us to behave in a lot of
ways and do a lot of actions that take us
away from experiencing the joy of Christ.
And here we see when an angel shows
up to the shepherds, what happens?
They are terrified.
They are overcome with fear.
But the angel said to
them do not be afraid.
I bring you good news.
That will cause great
joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David, a
savior has been born to you.
He is the Messiah.
The Lord.
This will be assigned to you.
You will find a baby wrapped in
cloths and lying in a manger.
So I want to take a second to, to focus
on the fear, and then the defeating of
that fear and where the joy comes in.
Because we see these shepherds are
terrified and they're terrified
for a couple of different reasons.
Uh, one of them is because, you know,
they're just out with the flocks
at night and something shows up in
the sky and starts talking to them.
Right.
Definitely a little creepy.
If you were out camping in the
mountains, you know, and you're
sitting around the fire, it's 10,
it's gotten dark, you know, it's nice.
You just hanging out, talking
and then a light appears in the
sky and starts talking to you.
You you're going to be
a little freaked out.
Jesse: I mean, people get freaked
out just by like being in their
tents and they constantly think like,
bears are coming to get them, right?
Like you hear a snap of a twig out
there and it's like, gosh, they
were used to being outside, but it's
like, they're still on high alert.
That's why you're out there
is to protect the flocks.
Right.
So it's like, they're
already kind of amped up.
You know, just like every, a quote,
unquote, UFO sighting or whatever, you
start seeing lights in the sky, then it
really, uh, it's contradictory to what
you are expecting, in a people mind.
Zach: Uh, light to appear in the
sky at angel to appear in the
sky and start talking to you.
Yes.
There's another reason
they're terrified though.
And we can know this from
the Old Testament, a lot.
Angels are scary.
You know, we have a great idea in
Western culture of angels, looking
like these, you know, very, very
white people with these nice flowing
robes that have a nice little halo.
They're playing the harp.
They sit on her shoulder.
Jesse: They're so calm.
Like sheriff style, like
very, very peaceful.
Well, yeah.
Zach: And that's not an angel.
When you read in the,
uh, in the Old Testament.
I think one of my favorite
encounters is, is the book of Daniel.
Daniel is in the kingdom of Babylon.
You know, he's doing his thing and
an angel shows up to talk to him.
And like, there's a couple of men
with him that run out of the room.
And like the way Daniel describes
it, he's like, I couldn't stand
anymore, cause my knees were so weak.
Like this guy he's like he's described,
I can't remember exactly how it is,
but he's like this 20 foot tall guy,
like, who looks like he's made of bronze
with a sword, you know, he's got like
Jesse: They are warriors, right?!
For the most part, like every instance
we see of angels in the Bible, Contrary
to the Western cultures view of them.
They're the warriors.
They are not like meek mild thing Kings.
They were they're like, whoa, they're
like Avengers, but even bigger, even
scarier, even more like empowered.
Yeah.
Zach: They are frightening,
uh, beings to behold.
And so that's probably part of the
other reason that the, the, the
shepherds were terrified and, and
not only are angels terrifying.
And a lot of ways God can be too.
And I think this is something
that we don't often recognize.
We can talk about how, you know, we can
be afraid of this world and yes, that
can kill our joy, or we can be afraid
of what might happen to us or afraid
of, you know, financial things or, you
know, really anything in this world
can cause us fear and insecurity and
yeah, that can take away our joy, but
there's something else that's scary.
And that is kind of getting closer to God.
You know, God, uh, uh, when it's, it's
so interesting when you read the Old
Testament, there's a part where I believe
it's Moses says, God, I want to see you.
I want to see who you are.
I want to see you.
And it's interesting because earlier in
the, and I believe it's the same passage,
you know, it describes the Old Testament
describes how Moses talked to God.
As a friend talks to
his friend face to face.
Right.
And so it's like, Moses has
this relationship with God.
He knows him.
Jesse: He's already very close,
he's closer with God than
basically anybody before him.
Short of Adam, basically in the garden.
Zach: But then Moses is like, I
want to see you in all your glory.
God.
No, no, you can't.
It's like, well, why not?
I thought we were buddies and
God's like, oh, because you'll die.
Jesse: Would you like
to be vaporized today?
Would you like to cease to exist?
You can, you can come be with me sooner
than you're supposed to do if you
Zach: really want to.
Yeah, exactly.
And so he has Moses stand in
this crack of this mountain.
And he goes by in all of his glory and
it describes how Moses can, you know, he
can, he feels the shaking in this power.
And then when the Lord is a
ways off, he comes out of the
crack and just sees behind him.
And even that has a
profound impact on him.
Jesse: Well, cause he comes down
from the mountain glowing after that
experience, like he's literally like
his face is glowing just from train...
Yeah.
Just from the train of his glory, which
is basically just the vapor waves of,
of God.
And that was enough to
basically transform.
Um,
Zach: And I think it's really
important for us to, to take away.
And what I really want to
focus on with this scripture
is that God is terrifying too.
When we first encounter him, he is scary.
He's the creator of the universe.
He is perfection.
He is goodness and incarnate.
He is so many things that are
wonderful and beautiful and also
very scary at the same time.
You know, I'm sure we've all
had experiences where we went
into a situation that was good.
Maybe it's when you went to, you
know, you'd want it to go to maybe
a dream college or something.
And you know, it was a really good
school and you got in and you show
up that first day and it's a good
thing, but you're a little scared.
Yeah.
Or I'm sure you know, with, with you
being out on tour, you know, when
all your dancing, I'm sure there
were times where, you know, it's,
it's scary and it's a good thing.
But it's still scary.
It's still tough.
And that's only amplified with
God because he is so good.
You know, I played sports in high school
and there were times where, you know,
the first day show up to practice,
especially the first day, you know,
I was part of the high school team.
You know, that's a, that's an intimidating
thing because you recognize that, you
know, that you're in this new level.
You know, you're like, okay, the game
is going to be raised and I got to
step up and there's that insecurity
inside you, which can cause fear.
And it's only a lot more
with the Lord, right.
Because he is much, much better
than the JV football team,
but I was trying to play for.
So, yeah.
But, but that's so that's, there's
so many reasons the shepherds were
terrified, you know, and there's a lot of
reasons for in our lives that we can be
terrified of the Lord, you know, we can
be afraid of the way he will change us.
He can be afraid or we can be
afraid of what he may ask us to
leave behind for him .The ways
he will mold and shape our lives.
I remember in high school, um, you know,
at me and like everybody else that needs
to be like, yeah, we want to follow God.
But, but what if he asks us
to be a missionary in Africa?
I don't want to do that.
I don't want to do that.
So I want to follow him, but I'm
scared of what he's going to do.
On my own terms.
And that's how a lot of us act.
And that's how a lot of us behave is
we recognize the power of the Lord.
And that much power can be scary to us.
And so when we talk about fear
and we talk about the fears
that hold us back from joy.
Yeah.
There's fears about this world there's
fears about, well, it could happen
that there can be worries about money
or food or how we're going to get gas
in our car, you know, our house or
you know, where we're going to live.
And there, there are a lot of things
that we can worry about and some
of them can be really legitimate.
But I think the greatest fear that we
have of all, for many of us is actually
going to God and fully follow him.
Excuse me fully following him.
So, and we see that with the shepherds,
you know, when the shepherds are in
the fields and they're just living
their lives, you know, like you said,
they're used to this, they're out there,
they're watching the flocks and what
happens, a heavenly host shows up.
Jesse: Well, and you, we see a lot,
especially in the Old Testament
before, you know, Jesus kind of allowed
us a more personal relationship.
The only people that really got
that kind of like one-on-one time
with even an angel where like the
holiest of holy people, right?
Like the best of the past Moses,
you know, Joshua, these guys
that were like the leaders.
And so these shepherds who are just
like, nobody's out in a field, like
they're just working class guys to have a
supernatural experience like
this to have a divine experience
is very out of the norm, right?
Compared to what they've been taught from
childhood of, you know, Moses gets to
talk to the, you know, God, these guys,
these are very set rules and you know,
the priests in the tabernacle, they can
kind of sometimes interface with him.
But you know, you, you are too unclean.
You are not worthy enough
to have an experience.
So that's a whole nother layer
of like, oh, we either really
messed up or something weird.
It's not like, right.
Like,
Zach: But I mean that point you bring up
is so interesting because do you know why
Moses was the spokesman to the Israelites?
Tell me, because when you read
Exodus, when you go through the book
and they are led out of Egypt, you
know, they they're led out of Egypt.
Moses is the one who acts, you know,
on behalf of God, him and Aaron,
they speak to the people in Pharaoh.
They get them out of Egypt.
They crossed the red sea.
They get out to the desert, they
go to Mount Sinai, which is, you
know, at that point is the mountain
of the Lord because the Lord has
decided this is where we're going to.
Figure this stuff out.
Jesse: We're going to make
our covenant figure out.
Zach: Where we're going to do it.
And they spent a long time there.
They were there for like a year,
you know, we all know about
the 40 years in the desert.
We all know about the leaving
Egypt, but there's a time in between
like that's over a year long where
they're hanging out at Sinai.
Jesse: Just waiting, they're
just waiting for whats happening.
Zach: And the people are terrified of God.
They have the opportunity they could
have in the covenant with God, they could
have talked to him and be like, Hey,
we want you, we want you in our lives.
But they were like, no, please.
Moses, like, Hey anybody wouldn't.
Nope, Nope, Nope.
You go up there
Jesse: you go up to the scary
mountain with all the lightening.
Zach: With all the light.
You can spoke that thing.
Yeah.
You go up there or we're
going to stay here.
Um, yeah, we're good.
We're good.
It's all good.
Jesse: We've actually been
looking into crafting a bowl.
Zach: We're going to, we're thinking
about a little calf over here.
Aaron's got us.
You go hang out with the big, scary cloud.
If it's talking to you, right.
They were terrified of God.
They were scared.
And that's an Exodus.
The people who have been led
out of Egypt, who've been saved
from slavery and captivity.
And not only that, but they become
decently wealthy off of it too.
Cause
Jesse: they, they inherit, or God
basically puts it on the Egyptians
hearts to give them all this wealth.
As they're leaving their life,
just go , take all of this stuff.
Just get out.
Zach: Yeah.
Imagine if you were at some
awful job and God's like, Hey,
I'm going to get you outta here.
We're going to get you into a
great place to work purely for me.
And we're going to get you a severance,
that's worth five years of salary.
And what's the Israelites
reaction to this.
They are terrified because
God can be scary and it's
okay for us to recognize that.
It's okay for us to recognize that the
creator of the universe upon which all
of our life depends, you know, and who
has sent his son and who loves us, is
also, you know, very scary sometimes, you
know, in that great power that he has.
Jesse: There's so many points where,
whether it's David, the Psalmist
or other writers talking about our
first reaction, anytime we think of
God should just be to fall on our
knees in fear and trembling, right?
Like that is a phrase
that's used so many times.
And we as a Western culture
kind of take it for granted.
We're like, I want Jesus is
he's, he's fighting for us.
We can just have this
Zach: Jesus is just that skinny
guy with that nice beard.
Jesse: And he's gonna be, he's
the one that, you know, we
don't have to be afraid anymore.
He's got us covered,
but it's like, no, like.
God is still scary.
Zach: But you don't have to be
afraid of anything else, right?
Jesse: Yeah.
And so I think it's,
it's, I love this point.
You're bringing up of like,
it's really easy for us to just
kind of be like, it's Christmas,
everything's supposed to be happy.
God's always in our corner.
And he is always on our corner, even
in that same section when he's talking
to Moses and this is a really great
characteristic of God where he's talking
about, he says, I am a jealous God.
And it's like, if you
worship another God, besides.
For three to four generations
after you, you will be punished.
But someone who loves me and
follows me for a thousand
generations, they will be blessed.
And so it's like, God, doesn't
say, you know, you're good.
I love you no matter what, which
he does, but he's also like,
but you got to love me back.
This is not a one-sided relationship.
And he does instill basically some
rules and consequences of if you're not
stepping up and putting your time in
and showing that I am your one and only.
I can also be not a very nice, you
know, it's kind of like parenting.
Zach: Well, he also is
a, he's a God of love.
He's also a God of justice.
Yes.
You know, and, and, and th that, that
balance is something that, you know,
a lot of us talk about, you know, when
we talk about why there's evil in the
world and all of these things, um,
but you know, it's, it's important
for us to realize that approaching
God is something that can be scary.
And that we, as humans who are flawed in
the sinful and who have been raised in
this world, that doesn't want us to know
God, it is a scary thing to go to God.
And it's important for us to realize that.
Because there is no way for us to
overcome that fear, to overcome that
scariness without admitting it's there.
We have to recognize it's there,
but listen to what the shepherds
do, listen to what their story is.
Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news.
That will cause great joy for all
the people today in the town of
David, a savior has been born to you.
He is the Messiah.
The Lord.
This will be assigned to you.
You will find a baby wrapped in
cloths and lying in a manger.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly
host appeared with the angel, praising
God and saying glory to God in the
highest heaven and on earth, peace
to those on whom his favor rests.
Again, this is, this is
something that is good.
We know this is good.
We read this story and this
is an incredible thing.
It's also very scary for the shepherds,
but how do the shepherds respond?
When the angels had left them and
gone into heaven, the shepherds said
to one another, let's go to Bethlehem
and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.
See the shepherds here,
make an incredible decision.
Instead of letting the fear overcome
them, which I mean, yeah, the angel
said do not be afraid, but that's,
you know, you can still be afraid.
Jesse: You're still
probably going to be afraid.
Zach: I remember this one time, uh, when
I was in middle school, um, we had been
in basketball tryouts and this one kid at
it, he really wanted to make the varsity
team, but he wasn't quite good enough.
He didn't make it, you know?
And he was in the locker room.
He was really sad afterward.
He was crying a little bit and everybody
there like really felt for him.
Biggest guy who is a football player.
Who's just, this tank goes up
to him and the nicest way he
can is like, Hey, it's fine.
You're going to be, but
he does it in his tone.
He's doing his best, but it's
so like intimidating still.
And it did not help at all.
And I'm just like, that's kind of
what the angel probably was like.
It's like do not be afraid.
And you're like, I am still very afraid.
I am now more afraid.
The shepherds, you know, we
read this like, oh great.
Angel said, don't be afraid.
Why would you be afraid?
It's like, well, well, I mean,
there's still that opportunity for
them to be afraid, but despite that,
and then, you know, all these other
angels show up and start singing
and they're like, what's going on?
Like, that is an amazing, but also in
some ways, a terrifying experience,
especially with like what you talked
about, where, you know, if, if any Jewish
background which living in Bethlehem,
they probably had a Jewish background.
That is a scary thing to experience,
you know, the Lord to experience his
glory and power, but what do they do?
They make the decision to not
allow that, to affect them.
They make the decision that, yes, this is
a scary thing, but it's also a good thing.
And so I'm going to choose
the good part of it.
And even though I might still be
scared, I'm going to go try to
experience this and figure it out.
And they go into Bethlehem.
Jesse: Well, and they don't know what,
to expect, like the angels are not, like
they say, you know, the Messiah is born,
he's here, but like, you know, they're
probably expecting he's maybe in a palace
or cause like the, the idea back then was
the Messiah was going to come in basically
as this king, this like glorious figure.
And,
so they're kind of going in and I'm, you
know, I would be thinking, well, he's
probably locked behind some door and like,
there's probably a host of angels also
protecting him and like, it's, you know,
like trying to go and see like, you know,
some celebrities, baby, basically, right?
Like there's security everywhere.
And it's like, it turns out he's just
in a manger because there was no room
for him even in just like a broke down
inn, like he's out in a barn basically.
And so it's like, their
expectations are constantly
being, um, changed, changed right.
Of what it is.
But they have the, the, the
courage to go out and be like,
well, we were told he's here.
And even though it's super scary and
we don't know what to expect, we're
still going to go forward and go see
what it is they told us.
Zach: Yeah.
They make that decision to go.
And what are the effects
of this in verse 16?
So they hurried off and found
Mary and Joseph and the baby
who was lying in a manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the
word concerning what had been told them
about this child and all who heard it were
amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary charged up all these things
and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned glorifying
and praising God for all the things
they had heard and seen, which
were just as they had been told.
And so we see here that the shepherds
are confronted at the beginning of
this story with something that is
scary, that they are terrified of.
It says explicitly, they were terrified.
That is where they start off.
They are terrified.
And where do they terrified of?
They are terrified of a
messenger of the Lord.
Something that is good.
So something that is good, something
that is bringing joy, the Messiah Christ.
His birth and the surrounding
circumstances and glory of
God terrify the shepherds.
That is where they start off with
this, but they take the steps
to go explore it, to seek God in
it, to see what is going on here.
I want to find out despite.
You know, initial fear and
despite, despite what could be
very scary, you know, and they're
not a hundred percent sure.
I mean, according to Bible, all the angel
said is this will be the sign to you.
You'll find a baby wrapped in
cloth and lying in a manger.
They're like, that's not a lot to go off.
Right.
You know, and Bethlehem probably
wasn't the biggest town, but that's
still like, okay, interesting.
We're going to go try.
So it's not like they were like,
Hey, go, do you know, it's not a GPS.
Take three turns in here, go
down this street, look at here.
Oh, well that's where it is.
It's, you know, it's a little
bit more ambiguous than that.
But despite all that, they go and seek it.
They go and search for it and they end
up not only having great joy themselves,
you know, they worship the Lord.
They praise him for all these amazing
things they've seen and heard.
But the people in Bethlehem who hear
this are amazed and Mary treasures
up all of these things in her heart,
you know, it brings joy, not just to
themselves, but to those around them.
Jesse: Well, and it's, it's kind of
like, it's a longer lasting joy, right?
Like that phrase of treasuring, these
things up in your heart, you're like
kind of storing them away at something
that's going to last you rather than
kind of an ephemeral, or just short term.
Zach: It's not happiness.
It's not some, it's not happiness.
It's not temporary.
It's, it's a Joy.
It's a joy, something that is long
lasting that does not go away.
And so that's what we're going to
try to talk about a little bit, uh,
you know, this Sunday, when we're
talking more specifically about joy
and fear and how that fear can prevent
us from experiencing the joy is that
Jesus being born, Jesus being God.
Jesus
having a relationship with us,
is an objectively good thing.
It is something that brings us
joy that brings us happiness.
You know, that it's both temporary
and, you know, sustainable.
It's, it's an amazing,
and it's a good thing.
But our fear of him can prevent
us from taking those steps.
Jesse: Well, and you know, we never
hear about these shepherds again, right?
Like they're in this chapter,
but you have to imagine like,
that experience changed them.
Right.
That joy, that, that fear of do you guys
remember the time all the angels appeared
to us and were singing and telling us.
Zach: I mean, its got to
be great at dinner parties.
Might have
a story that's a little bit better.
I think I can beat you.
I attended the angels choir practice.
It was kind of cool.
Jesse: But then it's like that joy
had to have been transformational for
them for the rest of their lives of,
we were the, you know, some of the
first people to go and see the Messiah
and, you know, heartbreaking that
they may have seen, you know, him go
through what he had to in the end too.
Like we don't, we don't have their story.
That's not in the Bible, but
you have to imagine that there.
What happened to Jesus got spread
through the country afterwards.
And so it's like, they have to
have been, like, we saw him at the
beginning and we've now heard about
what has happened to him at the end.
And then probably had also heard about
his resurrection, which is another form of
joy that they could, they could thrive on.
But it's just like, I think
it's so easy in this like very
celebrity focused culture of.
Um, ways people, especially in these,
um, charismatic kind of churches where
it's like, oh, that person that passed,
or he's so much better than I am.
And it's like time after time, after
time, God comes to the lowliest of
people and they get to have the best
joy.
And so it's like when you, when you
see and read these stories, don't, I
guess what I want to share is like,
don't think that you are not capable
of getting that same kind of joy.
You know, this joy that Jesus brings
to you is not reserved for the best
of the best Christians or, you know,
the mega church pastors or whatever.
This is the joy, same joy that
you and I can have the, you
know, the newest Christian and
the oldest Christian can have.
That this joy is for everyone.
Yeah.
For just a select few, which is
amazing because that's different
than almost every other religion.
It's like every other religion basically
puts you in, you know, a ranking or a
hierarchal order of like, you get this,
if you do these things and these acts, you
get to this level, I mean, and this is a
very different way of approaching things.
God says, no, I love you all.
And I want you all to experience this joy.
Zach: Well, we
see so many of the stories of
people who interact with Jesus,
uh, are people who have a reason
to be afraid or have a reason to
have distance between them at him.
Jesse: Lepers, prostitutes,
tax, collectors,
Zach: Zacchaeus, he is all
of his disciples, you know,
and they overcome fear.
They overcome self doubt.
They overcome self pity.
They overcome all these things and
they decide I'm going to seek him.
You know, his disciples leave,
whatever business or whatever
livelihoods they have to follow him.
Jesse: Well, and they constantly see him
do these works and almost after every
great miracle he does, like, he calms
the waves, and it usually ends that
chapter with, and they were afraid, right?
It's like all the time, they're constantly
overcoming their fears because they're
like, this guy is doing one major miracle
after another and they're constantly
like, what is going ? And it's like
this constant fear, and then they go
into sections of just amazing rapturous
joy of like, we get to be with this guy
who's doing these amazing works, right?
Yeah.
So, well, I know that us and probably all
of our listeners are really excited for
you to delve into this more on Sunday.
Um, Zach will be preaching and
talking to us more about fear and joy.
And just overall, we want to encourage
you guys to be joyful this season.
There's so many reasons that everyone
wants to tell you why this Christmas
isn't going to be very good.
Whether it's, you can't get this thing
because of supply chain issues or, uh,
you know, if you're listening to future
people, if you're listening to this,
we're still in the middle of coronavirus.
You still might be in the middle of
coronavirus and your time, who knows,
but you know, there's so many reasons
why everyone wants to tell you this
isn't going to be a joyful season.
And we here at the Salty Pastor from
myself and Zach and Pastor Doug and
our staff here at Foothills and just
the church as a whole want to tell
you, there's plenty of reason to
be joyful and the primary reason,
his name is Jesus, and he wants you
to have real true, authentic joy.
There may be points where you're
not overly happy, but that's
not what the point of joy is.
The point is to have an, a true eternal
joy that you can only get through Jesus.
So we encourage you guys to focus
on that this season, too, if you're
not in, uh, in doing the advent
study with us, do an advent study.
If you're not doing our evidence
study, do any kind of advent study
cause your study of Jesus and
understanding why he came to help you.
It's going to help you in your
growth and your walks so much more,
especially as you get closer to
his birth and celebrating that.
So thank you guys so much for joining us.
We'll see you on Thursday, Pastor Doug,
we'll be back on the desk to talk a little
bit more about, um, how some of these
things apply to our modern day stuff.
And it's just going to be such a great
week here on the Salty Pastor Podcast.
Thank you so much Zach for joining
us and we'll see you on Sunday
here at Foothills Christian Church.