The Pajamas Are A Prophecy

miracles that He's done for all of us. I just invite you to bring your offering with joy today, and maybe your offering is a million dollars. We have had people give a million dollars in these offerings, and you would clap if they gave it to you. And your bank account. I don't know why you're not clapping, because we can use that to help people. Yeah, but it might not be that much in terms of the finances of it. But we all get to stretch our faith together.

So whether you're here in a building or watching online, I'm excited about the opportunity to give. As you give, you will select one word or phrase. Some people make up really creative words, like my word for the year is trusting God, even though I don't see his goodness a lot of hyphens. But whether it's a sentence or a word, something that captures the spirit of what you're believing God to do in your life. And will believe

God with you and stand with you for that. And again at the end of the sermon, I'll pray and we'll have that opportunity, which means that I've got to preach short today, which means that you've got to listen hard. So tell your neighbor, if we get out latest your fault for not listening. I can look and see how good you're listening. If we do this right, I will have you home in time today to watch the Panthers lose or the Panthers playing today all right, that's a prophecy,

Praise the Lord. I started a tradition a few years ago of giving you your Christmas sermon on the week you give the offering. So I'm going to continue that tradition today.

reading of God's word. If you're joining us online today, let us know in the chat where you're watching from. And everybody just say, I trust in God, I trust in God. I trust in God. Are you a soprano? Luke Chapter two, Versus seven through twelve. Luke, Chapter two, verses seven through twelve. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them.

In the end, they were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the Angel said, unto them, fear not, for behold, I bring bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall

be a sign. Unto you, you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Let's put our hands together and thank God for the gift of Jesus Christ. Look at that again with me verse twelve. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. The title I want to give this message today is a little unusual. But stick with me and I'll make it make sense. The Lord told me to tell you the pajamas are a prophecy. The pajamas

are a prophecy. Now touch your neighbor and say, don't sleep through this sermon. This one's going to make sense. In a minute, you may be seated. The pajamas are a prophecy. Amen. Yeah. So when I think about this Christmas announcement to the Shepherds and the Christmas story in general, it causes me to reflect and realize how many times in my life that rejection or the fear of rejection has kept me from receiving a gift that God wanted

to give me. I don't like to admit that because I would like to pretend as if everybody else was to blame for the things I didn't get in life, or that I'm just waiting on the Lord for everything I've prayed for. But this Christmas, in reflecting, I thought a lot about how rejection and I'll break that down just a little bit for you right now. But first let me tell you a story. On Christmas Eve, my grandmother on my dad's side would always come to see us with my uncle Russell, and both of them are

now in heaven. They both died within the last couple of years. I want to tell you about the last time that I saw both of them. They lived just about two hundred yards apart on the same piece of land. My uncle called me to tell me that he was sick and that he didn't have much time. He'd kept it a secret. He didn't tell anybody. And I really loved this uncle too. He was my cool uncle. He was my cool uncle. He didn't give me beer or anything like that when my dad wasn't looking, but he

always had my back. When I called the DJ Jazzy Jeff nine hundred hot line, the Fresh Prince in Jazzy Jeff nine hundred hot line and ran up a seventy dollars phone bill, he was the one to meet me out in the yard and let me know I was in trouble so I could prepare to go face my dad. And he had my back. So I went to see him, and it was really sad because he was already in the bed. Why didn't you tell us sooner? We could

have come and seen you sooner. Be as a very private person and going to see him with my mom, I figured while we were there we would get to see my grandmother too, who was also pretty sick. But something weird happened, and y'all, I didn't want to tell this story at the start of my sermon because it's going to sound heavy, but it's all right to laugh. Because it's kind of funny, and everybody's family it's kind of crazy, and so don't feel bad laughing at this

when I tell you, because kind of funny. We're sitting there with my uncle and my grandmama calls and they pick up the phone, and we're sitting with my uncle, and I hear my grandmama on the phone while my uncle's girlfriend is sitting there, and she says, hey, hey, grandmama. And they had tension in their relationship too, but you know, she was calling because he was very sick and probably days away from dying, and so she I can't believe I'm telling you all this. She goes, what are y'all doing?

And Sandy says, well, Faith and Stephen are here, and Grandmama goes, Faith and Stephen, oh God. Now I love my grandmama. It's not like we had some horrible relationship. Again. She would come every Christmas Eve. My grandmama was the one who would record the pay per view WrestleManias for me when I was a boy. So I owe her a great debt of gratitude, love and honor. Anyway, she said, Faith and Stephen, oh God. Then she goes, are they

coming over here. She know we could hear, and Sandy said, oh, I don't know, Grandmama, and Grandmama goes, god, I hope not. I know. It's kind of like ray for pestor Stephen, and and so it was the weirdest thing. And we didn't go see her and then never saw her again. I never saw her again. And I don't know that I regret that necessarily, because I mean, it was pretty obvious we weren't wanted. But you know, my mom said something, and in fact checked this with her to make sure

she actually said it. This week when we were driving away, we were like, what that crazy that we were like these unwanted aliens invading She didn't want to see us, And she goes, my mom goes, well, maybe it wasn't that she didn't want to see us. Maybe she didn't want us to see her in that state and the house in that state, and she had raised another girl after she had raised one of her son's daughters, and then those kids were there, and so the house was

always a mess. Maybe she wasn't reject us, Maybe she was protecting herself from being seen by us. The reason I mention that as embarrassing as the story is, and as awkward as it is, Merry Christmas, everybody, there's a heart wrenching Christmas story. To warm your spirits. We'll put some hot cocoa into communion cups a Christmas even make it up to you something like that. The reason I share it is because it made me realize that a lot of times we reject blessings in our life because

we don't accept the messes that come with them. And what I love about Luke chapter two and the way that God comes to earth in the form of a baby born in a barn in Bethlehem, is that it lets me know that God is very comfortable stepping into my mess. I want to say to somebody today whose life is a mess going into this holiday season. House is a mess, mind is a mess, marriage is a mess. Money is a mess. If I look long enough, I'll find a mess. Don't make me get up under the bed.

I will fight. I'll open the doors in the closet. In the room, you don't let anybody in. Everybody in here has a mess. And I think one of the greatest sins of the Church is the cutification of Christmas. I made that word up. Cutification little baby Jesus. You know, babies are only cute when you're waving at them. They're chaotic if you're raising them. I will repeat that again because you are a little slow today. Y'all came in on that dial up modem spiritual setting. Okay, I'm gonna

say it again. Babies are cute when you wave all. Look have babies so cute? But when you're raising them, Jesus Christ, the baby becomes the perfect symbol of Christmas because it teaches us that God is comfortable in our chaos. So don't wait till you get it all together to invite God in. Don't be like Grandmama and think, well

if they saw how I was living. The beauty of the incarnation of Jesus Christ is that while o Romans five eight, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and while we were in our lowly state, he came. Notice where he came. He came in a field to the shepherds. So it reminds me to know that God can reach me wherever I am. God can reach me wherever I am. Let's get that confession, go and say it out loud. God can reach me wherever I am.

And this is why we sing the Christmas Carol. I've got friends in low places the Christmas Carol because because it's good to know that this season you have some expectations for great moments and peaceful moments and wonderful reunions and wonderful gifts and all of that. But if you really want to have a blessed Christmas season, might I give you some unspiritual sounding advice. Lower your expectations right,

set your expectations low. And you're like, but no, the Bible said, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. So in that sense, we expect blessing to come into our life. How many are expecting God to bless you before the year is over in a brand new, beautiful way. Well, don't be shy about it. You're not gonna get in like that little timid Christian. How many are expecting God to bless you?

You never seen this before in the Christmas story it said, and lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them. You missed it. While we're so busy looking for God to come from up here from a high experience. While we're so busy waiting for God to come up here, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, the Bible says, and Lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them. So if you're looking for God in your life right now, looking for provision and protection in your life, right now,

I got a piece of advice. Look low. Imagine Heaven wanting to get the word out that the Savior of the world is born, and so Heaven puts together an

advertising agency, a marketing team. We got to get the word out and let everybody know that the Savior is born, that the one who was prophesied is coming, that the one who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah is here, right now today is born to you in the City of David, a savior, which is Christ, the Lord, who will we assemble to be the influencers that will spread this heavenly message. And so God looks at Silicon Valley and finds some tech startup billionaires, but he can't give

them the message because they're too high for it. And God looks at somebody else who has a perfect standing in society, some socialite who is accepted by all, who has entree into every environment, but he can't give them the message because they're too high for it. And God puts together a search committee. We need to give somebody the message that the Savior is born, and we can't find anybody except these shepherds. You got to understand something

about the shepherds. The shepherds, we're the lowest people in the society of the day. So when God get ready to shout, got ready to give the high, highest announcement, he picked the lowest people to give the highest announcement. And I wonder, is he looking for somebody today who's been real low because he wants to show you something. I had to learn this that the Lord looks slow.

Did you know that the Lord looks low. Jesus said, I am lowly in heart for all of those who are in a spiritual low today, he's looking for you. Tell your neighbor in case they're going through, say he's looking for you. He's looking for you. Hey, angels over here, we're important now. I'm not looking for you. Hey angels over here, I'm real smart. I'm not looking for you. Hey angels over here, I'm accepted by everybody. I'm not

looking for you. I'm looking for a low person. You say, what does that mean if my life is going good, that God won't bless me. It doesn't mean that at all. It just means that the only reason your life is going good is because He reached down when you were lone. And some of us have forgotten. I'm gonna give you twenty three seconds to remember how he reached down low, how you didn't deserve for him to answer your prayer, how you had to pray for him to get you

out of a situation that you got yourself into. Fake people on Christmas. That's cute Christmas phrase I'm talking about. He reached down Loa.

noticed is that God promises to reach you. There are three points in this sermon. If you choose to write them down, he will reach you. And then the second thing what really got my attention. And y'all, I don't get tired of preaching the Christmas story. I don't know why. It's the same every time I read it, but I'm not That's why we come back around to this again. It's the same. But I'm not. I'm growing, I'm changing, I'm not staying a baby. Jesus didn't and he's in me.

And so it's interesting, isn't it that God would reveal himself to lowly people and reach them. What a strategy. I got to point this out. The Angel could have told everybody Jesus was born.

sense to you. Jesus is in the juxtaposition. Jesus is in the juxtaposition because on one hand, I'm given a promise of great joy. On the other hand, I am told to look in a manger for a baby. There's nothing great about a baby physically speaking. Now, I want to teach you a little bit so we don't just have a sentimental Christmas. Let's really let's really dig into this. The smallness of the body that God chose to inhabit says something about the way He works in our lives.

If God being God could be born of a virgin right than he could have skipped to the highest version of humanity to come to earth. That would have been more efficient. God chooses the least efficient way possible to save the world. And the only way I can explain this to you is to tell you that God does not always work in the way that makes the least mess or takes the least time. He works in the way that brings him the most glory. Y'all better help me preach, you better help me preach. This is the

Christmas sermon. He looks for a shepherd. They're messy, they're in the fields. When they go to see the baby. They didn't even get to wash their hands. They were in the middle of their mess. And God shows up. You are in the middle of a mess and God, God will show up. But how will he show up?

little package. The fact that Jesus came as a baby lets us know that there is a development process to everything that God does in your life. So you pray for something and get frustrated because what God gave you doesn't match what you ask for. The fact that He came as a baby lets me know that there is a part of God that I must grow into. Feels so annointed to preach this to somebody who has been frustrated. You have been frustrated because you have been comparing your

starting place to somebody else's finished product. If God says, if you look for me, you'll find me as a baby, just a small thing, just a small prayer, Holly. The other day, one of the men I met at the wrestling match said, I got a question to ask you. Elevation church, right, I said, because that could go either way. He could say my whole family got saved there, or he could say I heard y'all pass out marijuana instead of communion bread. Is that true?

grave clothes and let him go. All right? So he said, did you meet in a basement? I said, yeah, we actually did for a few weeks. That's where we started, at the Matthews Community Center basement. He said, how long did you meet there? I said not long, but it was the longest six weeks of my life. I used to go in the bathroom in the baseman of the Matthews Community Center and I would stand over the toilet because every week I felt like I would throw up

because I was pregnant. You ever had mourning sickness for something God was doing in your life? No offense. I know it's just a metaphor, but I felt like that. I felt like I was carrying something big. Maybe that's why I wanted to preach about Mary, because maybe I was standing over the toilet feeling like I was carrying something. But I'm scared of something. But I'm carrying something. But I'm scared of something, And in that chucks the position.

Are you there right? Now, you know God has given you a word. You know God has called you to do something. You know God has made you a promise. You know he reached out and saved you. You know he's given you a testimony. You know he brought you out of a miri pit. You know he set your feet on the rock. But in that basement, behind the closed door of a bathroom stall, I was privately petrified. Yeah, and I didn't think it'd be good if I threw up in front of my team. I didn't think that

would be a good look for leadership. And yet somehow from that basement. Now I'm preaching about a barn in Bethlehem and a basement in Matthews. But I'm really preaching about the low place in your life today, whatever it is, the small beginning in your life today, because God said, not only will I reach you, I will wrap you. Think about Jesus. Come on, let's consider it before we get real cute with it and put money on our credit cards to tell Jesus Happy Birthday before we go

into debt. Show the Lord how much we appreciate all He's done for us, before we get into all that chaos. Let's take a moment, and consider the Christ A babe born in a manger, laid in a manger. Why give me Luke two seven? Because there was no room for him In the end, he was rejected. The Savior came and he was rejected. He was rejected because they had no room. And so now I wonder, am I talking

about Jesus or am I talking about you? Because maybe you've been rejected not by a person, but maybe your dream has been rejected or denied, or delayed or deferred this year and in that place of rejection, where you could not find room for yourself, could not feel at home in your emotions, could not see a solution through your red seat, could not see a way through your storm, could not find peace in your night, could not figure out your next step to take in that place of rejection,

watch this, you will find a babe in a manger. It wasn't Mary's plan to place him in a manger. It was not her preference to place him in a manger. Sometimes we end up in places we didn't plan to be. I didn't plan for my season to get ended early. I didn't plan for my job to go overseas or replaced by a computer. I didn't plan for my kid to come home and say I need some money. I'm

on drugs. I didn't plan for any of this. But just because you did not expect it doesn't mean God hasn't covered it to you, whom this word is for, it is a specific word. You have been rejected by people, could not find anyone to help you, didn't get it from where you wanted to get it from. It didn't come through when you needed it to come through. Jesus was laid in a manger, but watched the Bible put it back up. It says he's wrapped in swaddling clothes

laying in a manger. The manger is a cold place, the manger is a strange place. But the swaddling clothes, see these strips of linen that were wrapped around him were a symbol of his mother's care. How many would say, I was rejected, but God wrapped me. I was disappointed, but he wrapped me. I was lost and lonely, but he rapped me. I was turned away, but he rapped me.

I was done wrong, but he rapped to me. And this becomes the prophecy that the promise of God does not mean we will never find ourselves in a low place. It simply means that wherever life lays you, God has you rapped. Say God has me rapped. Say it again, God has me rap. In fact, right now I feel the Everlasting Father wrapping his arms around somebody to let you know that you didn't plan to be here, but

he planned for your arrival, and he prophesied. Joseph and Mary didn't think this was the right time to have the baby. They were headed to Bethlehem, which wasn't even where their hospital was or their gift registry. But the prophet had said Micah chapter five, verse two, from you Bethlehem will come a ruler. So they had to be in Bethlehem at that exact moment so they could give birth to this king. And the Spirit wants you to know right now, he's got you rapped. He's got you rapped.

He welcomes you with your weird self, He welcomes you with your weak self. I know it because of how he came. He reached me, He rapped me. I never paid attention to the swaddling clothes, never thought much about them. I was too busy trying to get to the frankincense and the gold and the mirrh, the good stuff. But I found out some some times God will allow you to be rejected and he will wrap you, and that sometimes people's rejection is God's protection. Don't assume God isn't

doing it. He's just got it under wraps right now. Don't assume it's insignificant. You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, long strips of linen that wrapped the Savior. He's got you wrapped right now. I can't get off of it, y'all. He's got you wrapped right now. Because this cold in this manger, this cold in this divorce, is cold in this condition. It's cold in this hospital room. It's cold in this prison bed. It's cold in this

loveless home. It's cold in this adolescent trial, is cold in this court case is cold right now. But I'm covered, but I'm covered. Put it in the chatters cold, but I'm covered. Tell your neighbor is cold, but I'm covered. I siffer sometimes. But he came to the shepherds to let me know that I'll never go so low he can reach me, that I'll never make a mess too bad, that he won't step into it. Stop turning God away, Grandmama, because your house is a mess.

tell your neighbor. Pretend like you're an angel for a minute. Make the announcement. Everybody. Say he'll reach you. Put it on the line. Say he'll reach you. Say he'll rap you. He'll rap you like a gift. How many know some of you have been taken for granted, and you think you don't have a gift, and you think you're not good at anything. You got it. You're just rapped right now because when God gets ready to unwrap it, he's gonna use it, and he needs you to be mature

enough to handle it. Yes, Lord, I feel no doubt that this is the message God wanted us to shout about this Christmas. Y'all keep clapping like an angel wants to shout like a separate one time. Sound like He paid for you.

be wrapped in class. That's because it was hidden. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is hidden. It does not yet appear what we shall be ah. But watch this. Although the pajamas were not directly prophesied, the pajamas are a prophecy. I told you it would make sense when I finished. Now, let's appreciate when Jesus comes in human form, we see him wrapped in strips of linen. The next time we will see strips of linen in the story of Jesus. The next time we

see strips of linen. Let me teach the Bible. The Bible says in John chapter twenty, verse five that when Peter got to the tomb where the body of the Savior used to lay, he came following John, and he went into the tomb, and he saw the linen cloths lying there. What's he trying to say, Fernick, I'm trying to say, what use to holdings? Couldn't hold it anymore? Man, That's why he was wrapped in strips of linen. He was letting me. Now they're gonna.

were a prophecy, y'all. He was swaddled, not only so he wouldn't shiver. Jesus was God. He could have made his body a seat warmer even as a baby. He was swaddled in strips so you would know that He came to die for you, and that whatever has died in your life will rise again in His name. And this is my Christmas message to you. This is the prophecy of the pajamas. Every Christmas, my wife gives every member of our family pajamas. It's a tradition. Every Christmas,

she gives us pajamas on Christmas Eve. When the kids were little, they didn't like the pajamas, but they knew what the pajamas signified. It meant, not many hours from now, we got something for you. We got something for you. Tell your neighbor. God's got something for you. God's got something for you. Because when they opened the pajama they could know, oh, it's Christmas Eve. It became like Pavlov's dog. They started getting excited about the pajamas because of what

the pajamas prophesied. I need you to start getting excited again about what God can do in your life despise, not today a small Beginning's Linen's strips are lying there. An empty grave is there to prove my savior lips. Not just a manger birth, but an empty grave showing my family and pajamas every Christmas Eve, every Christmas Eve? What is going on with my hair? Every Christmas Eve? That's back when I used to preach seven thousand Christmas services.

Look at my hair. It's a wonder I didn't end up in a rehab facility preaching that many Christmas services. Oh God, that was the year. You know what I think this woman was when she gave them those pajamas with a dog on it. I think I just thought about this. She was prophesying to show up the other picture. Now we got a dog for real. Now we got a dog for real. The pajamas were a prophecy. I want you to get the picture in your mind. One more time of Christmas for real. You can have your

Christmas scented candles all you want. If they really smelled like Christmas, you wouldn't want to light them because it was messy, it was smelly, it was rough. You would light a candle to cover up the smell of the First Christmas, but from that game a savior. So I give you this charge Christmas. Expect a blessing. Expect a blessing. And Lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord chilling round about them.

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which shall be to all people, shepherds and sages, all people, billionaires and broke, all people.

your arms around yourself right there where you are. Yeah, yeah, yeah, God, I thank you that you got me covered. I thank you for covering my family. I thank you for covering my special needs child. I thank you for covering the soldier who's overseas and can't be with their family. I thank you, Lord, I thank you for covering me as I look at an empty seat. I thank you for covering me as I wish I could do more for people,

but I can't right now. I thank you for covering those who are waiting for a breakthrough in their emotions. I thank you that they're covered even in the cold. This Christmas, you said you'll find Jesus wrapped. Thank you Jesus for rapping me. Oh come lis.

And each year as a church, we get to come around a special offering and offering that contributes to both outreach efforts in local and global cities and as well as the expansion of our ministry continuing to reach people all over with the hope of the Gospel. And we'd invite you to take part and participate in our year end offering. To do so, you can go to Elevationchurch

dot org. Just click the banner there at the top, and then you'll be able to see everything that you need to be a part of our year end offering. You'll see two options. The first is to begin tithing. Maybe you've been wanting to prioritize God in your finances, but you haven't taken that step to make a commitment to doing so. This is a great place to begin.

Or perhaps you've been giving consistently in this season. God may be challenging you to stretch above and on the tithe to give a sacrificial gift to our year end offering. If you're part of one of our physical locations, you can choose your campus there, or if you're part of our online ministry, of course you'll choose Epham or online and then enter the amount that you'd like to give.

We are believing for all the ways that God is going to stretch our faith in this season through our year end offering, and we can't wait to see what God does through you. God bless and we'll see you soon