Matt Chandler - The Advent of Christ

Well, Merry Christmas! It’s great to see you. I always think when we do this—which isn’t very often—that this is sweet, and then there are people on staff, maybe one in this room, who say we should do this every year. I say no, we won’t do this, but I’ll tell you what: 11 years from now, meet me right here, and we’ll do this again. It was three days before my 18th birthday when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to believe, to see the wickedness of my sin and the beauty of Jesus. So, three days before my 18th birthday, I became a Christian. I had a friend who had been walking with me, answering questions, giving me books, and taking me to church with him. It took about a year before the Holy Spirit ignited all that little kindling around my heart. Then, 10 years later, as a 28-year-old, I was named the senior pastor of Highland Village First Baptist Church. I quickly changed that title to lead pastor because «senior» felt like it didn’t quite fit. As a 28-year-old, I had never really led adults; I had spent almost all of my time in youth ministry and college ministry. There were some questions about whether I, as a 28-year-old with very little pastoral experience—in fact, this was my first and only pastorate—could step into this role and do it. By the way, when I got here, Lauren was seven months pregnant with Audrey, who’s almost 20, sitting right here on the front row with that epic hat and great pajama pants. In the early days, as I tried to lead—and by the way, this church has never been anything but gracious to me—I mean, when I think about some of the ways I was thinking as a 28- to 30-year-old, I see the patience of this group of men and women whom I feel so indebted to for their kindness towards me. Consistently, in those early days, if we were having an intense dialogue about holiness, there would be men and women further along who would tell me that one day I would understand, when I got older, when I had experienced more, and I honestly always found that bothersome because I thought, man, I’m trying to base this off the Scriptures, not my own experience. I’m trying to base this on what the Word of God says. The truth is, I had some edges that needed to be softened, and I needed to be humbled in significant ways. The Lord did that in those seasons, but now, as a 48-year-old, I still have plenty of edges that need to be softened. I don’t know how your night went, but while we were worshiping at the seven, I had to lean over and apologize to my daughter for snapping. I can still feel my edges. If you think you’re holier than that, email me, and I’ll give you a shot up here. I’ve still got those edges; I’m still a work in progress. By the grace of God, His commitment to keep me low is one of the places I see His love for me most frequently: a refusal to let me get puffed up. Now, as a 48-year-old, still with edges that need to be softened and still needing to be kept humble, I’m learning to try to do it myself so He doesn’t have to get too involved, but I feel more confident than ever in the passage we are about to look at together. I feel more rooted and confident after seven years of a difficult marriage, and the Lord saw us through. Seven years is a long time. After brain cancer, the Lord brought us through public failures and private failures, and He is still bringing us through. I could go on and on, but the testimony I see more clearly now than ever in my life is that in Him is life, and that life is the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it. I can see His love, and I’m looking around this room—you know it. I was telling Patterson that the Patterson family had two rows taken up last night with multiple generations of faithfulness and the redemption of brokenness. I was deeply moved, thinking, «Oh my gosh, that’s it!» Multiple generations, brokenness everywhere, and the Lord just puts them back together. You guys have been through it, and the Lord’s like, «You know this; you can see it: in Him is life, and that life is the light, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.» It’s just all over these two rows. I’m looking around the room, and I mean, I know something…