Paul Daugherty - Don't Miss Your Moment
A Luke chapter 2, verse 1. And I wanna title this message, "Don't Miss Your Moment". Don't Miss Your Moment. Turn to someone next to you and say, "Don't miss your moment". The story of Christmas is a story of time. It's a story of moments. And I've always been fascinated with the idea of time and how fast it ticks, how fast it goes by, that we literally are never promised another hour. We never know when it's gonna be our last minute on earth or when it's gonna be our last minute with somebody, or when it might be our last moment or opportunity to do something that happens literally only in a window of time. And even just even in the last two weeks, I was looking at my phone and I was looking on the photos.
And I have way too many photos on here. But as I was looking at my photos, you could kind of pinch in. Can you guys see that? Literally these are photos. There's way too many photos on here. And you could kind of zoom in and you can find moments. And I was looking at moments like even just the Rooftop Revival service last year. I was looking at moments with the family, moments at the lake, moments here at the church, moments on staff, celebrating birthdays, celebrating anniversaries, celebrating even the opening of our new building, celebrating the 40-year anniversary here as a church. And I was scrolling through my moments and I was thinking about how Christmas is really a, it's a story about moments. It's a story about making the most of the moments that we have.
And in Luke chapter 2, verse 1, it says, "It came to pass". I love the New King James version. And in verse 1 it says, "And it came to pass". Everybody say, "It came to pass". This year has come to pass. And I am so thankful that we have come to the end of this year and we are all here together. We're still alive. Come on. How many are thankful for this year? What God has done, what he's doing, what he's about to do? Some of us could have died this year. Some of us had near death experiences. How many of y'all should have died at least once this year? Some of you are like, "I don't know, but probably yes".
And in those moments this year where we could have literally not been here, we could have lost our lives, we could have gone through something that was tragic, we're still standing, we're still breathing. We still have a reason to worship. We're still in church. You made it through another year. You are still strong. You are still alive. This is a day to celebrate. It came to pass. As I was looking at pictures on my phone, I just came across some moments in the last two weeks that I wanted to show you. So throw up the first picture. This picture was from 10 days ago. I got a phone call and it was literally on Wednesday. And they said, "Hey, Channel 6 wants to do an interview with you, but you've gotta get there in the next hour and a half. And they want to interview you about the Christmas production".
And I was like, "Oh, okay. All right". And in my mind I was like, "I don't know if I have a whole lot of time to get there. 'Cause we have rehearsals. There's a lot going on". I could have easily made excuses to not show up. Most of the time we miss our moments not because we don't have opportunities, but because we are too lazy to show up. We will make excuses. We'll say, "I got a lot going on. I just don't know if I have time for that. I don't know if I could really stop and do that right now. I don't know if I really wanna buy them a present this year for Christmas".
When is the best time to make the most of a moment that God is creating for you? Right now. Right now. Because time comes to pass, today comes to pass. We only have this moment right here, right now, once in our lifetime, we will never get this moment back. This 11:00 AM service that you are sitting in, that you are watching online right now, it is happening and it will be over in the next hour. And some of y'all are already thinking about what's next. And this week will go by really fast, and you'll never get it back again. Some of y'all are like, "I am okay with that. I am ready for next year. Next year, new year, new me". No, new year, same you. Until you literally learn how to make the most of your time, you carry the same stinky attitude into the next page on the calendar.
Turning the page on a calendar doesn't change your heart, doesn't change your attitude, doesn't change your circumstances. Just because we step into January doesn't mean we step into a new us. We just step into another week. And until I learn how to make the most of this week, then I'll never make the most of next week. Until I learn how to celebrate and finish this year strong, then I'll never start next year strong. How I handle this week determines how I handle next week, and how I handle being here right now with you. What gets in the way of Christmas present is Christmas past. What gets in the way of celebrating today what God is doing is that we're consumed with so many things going on.
And so when I got that phone call, and I want you to throw that picture back up. I got that phone call and I said, "Okay, I'll be there". So I start googling how do I get to Channel 6 headquarters. And I'm trying to figure out where it is. Is it in Tulsa? I don't know. And so I've figured out it's by Guthrie Green. So I start driving there, I pull up and I literally, I'm thinking in my mind, "I missed my moment". Like, "They're already live on the news". And they told me, "This is a live segment. This is not pre-taped or anything". So I go running in, I'm sprinting, and the security guard stops me. He goes, "Who are you"? I was like, "I'm Paul". And he's like, "What are you doing doing here"? I was like, "I'm on the news". He's like, "For what"? I was like, "I'm talking about Christmas".
And he was like, "Are you sure? Do you know where you're going"? I was like, "It's happening right now". So he pushes the button, I go through the door, and literally as I'm running up the stairs, they're like, "You're on, you're on. Throw this mic on". I threw the mic on, I sit down, and I look really calm right here. But I was breathing through my nose. I was like... And the man said, "Tell me about Victory's Christmas production". For the next three minutes, I preached the gospel, live on Channel 6 News, and we invited our city. And last week hundreds of people gave their lives to Jesus. And maybe some of them came because of that moment right there. But I would've missed that moment had I made excuses.
The Christmas story is a story about making the most of the moments that you're in. It says, "And it came to pass that Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken for the entire Roman world while Quirinius was still the governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register". Now this was an urgent moment. This was a window in time. They had to get home by a certain time in order to be registered. So Joseph and Mary, they were hurrying towards their hometown. She was also pregnant. And pregnancy also refers to time because it only lasts for nine months. It's a temporary moment for a woman who's giving birth to a baby. She's laboring for a season and then the delivery comes.
Some of you have been laboring for a season and God says, "You're about to see a delivery. You're about to see a deliverance. You're about to see a due date for the dream that's been inside you for a long time". There's a windows of time. As I was driving up to the church last week, right after that news interview, I pulled into the parking lot, and right in front of me, the sky had turned orange, the air was interesting that day. And it was a moment. And I thought, "I may not get this sunset ever again. God, you painted a masterpiece today".
So I parked my car at 5:05 PM and I got outside with my phone. I said, "Wow God, you are amazing". And I just begin to worship God. You don't need a band to worship. You don't need a church service to worship Jesus. You just need to look at the sunset and go, "God, you deserve the glory. Worthy is your name". Don't miss your moment to worship. So I sat in the parking lot, I walked around, just started taking pictures. I found someone, I said, "Hey, will you take my picture, out there in the parking lot with the sunset behind me"? And it was gorgeous. And I would've missed that moment had I been in a hurry.
And some of us were going into Christmas week, and all we can think about is the to-do list. Even as you're sitting in service right now, you are missing what I'm saying. Some of y'all are like, "What's he talking about? Is it time to go? Are we're leaving now? Okay". You'll walk out here in 30 minutes and you won't know what I just said. Turn to the person next to you and say, "Tune in, Tokyo. Don't miss your moment". Some of y'all are like, "Who's Tokyo? Where am I? Is it Christmas yet"? My kids have been counting down Christmas. They've been waking me up every morning and they go, "Eleven more days".
Liam, this was scary. Liam woke me up early in the morning, 5:00 AM yesterday, and I opened my eyes and he's like right in front of my face and he goes, "Ten more days". And I was like... He's just... He can't wait for Christmas. He can't wait. He doesn't wanna miss his moment. He doesn't want me to miss his moment. He doesn't want me to forget about buying him a present. He's like, "Where's the presents"? We're gonna get them. We're gonna get them. But I think so many of us, we're missing moments because we're busy, we're preoccupied, we're consumed with past situations.
And I wanna give you four ways to not miss your moment. Number one, don't miss your moment to look up. Don't miss your moment to look up. Look at this Christmas story. "So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem". He had to go up, which meant he had to look up. And he would go to the town of David because he belonged to the house and the line of David. Now, Joseph was dealing with a lot of disappointment because his girlfriend got pregnant and it wasn't his baby. And so in his mind he was wrestling with, "Do I stay in this relationship that's confusing, that's causing more harm in my heart than help, or do I leave?" until an angel interrupted him in his sleep.
God had to get into his thought life in order to change his plans, because "as a man thinketh so is he". So if I think defeated, if I think disappointed, if I think like I'm deflated, if I think that I've missed my chance, if I think that things aren't gonna turn around in my relationship with Mary, then I got my head down until God lifts my head up and says, "Hold up. Don't make a permanent decision because of a temporary feeling, Joseph. Things are about to change for the better. Don't miss your moment to look up and see your wife. Don't miss your moment to look up and propose to your girlfriend. Don't miss your moment. She won't wait around forever, Joseph. Don't miss your moment".
Holy Spirit, I'm speaking to somebody. Don't miss your moment to look up. Time is passing us by. Some of you have been sitting on songs and dreams and books and ideas and businesses, as if you have the next 80 years to figure it out. And God says, "You are not promised tomorrow. Don't miss your moment, Paul. Don't miss your moment, Joseph. Time is running out. Get to Bethlehem". "So he went to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and she was expecting".
Expecting. Expecting a moment for this baby inside her to be born. "And while they were there, the time came to completion". The days came to completion, the time came. The time is about to come for your dream to come true. And the baby was born. "The time she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in cloth and he placed him in a manger, because there was no room available for them". Don't miss your moment to make room for Jesus this week. Don't miss your moment. You won't get this week back. It's gonna happen and it'll be over.
We're living in a world that doesn't wanna show up to work, that doesn't wanna show up to do anything. And we'd rather just receive whatever it is that people want to give us. But I'm telling you, the world, the future, the harvest belongs to the laborers who are willing to get out in the field and bring in the harvest, the impact. You were not born to just Netflix and chill. You were not born to just sit on a couch your whole life. You were born to do something significant. You were born to make a difference. Moments are passing you by. Don't miss your moment to look up.
"And so the shepherds, they were out there living in the fields nearby," in verse 8. And they were keeping watch over their flocks. Moms who were keeping watch over their children at night. Dads who were keeping watch over their stocks. Businessmen and businesswomen and pastors keeping watch. And there were people and there were students keeping watch over their studies. And God interrupts them in the middle of their watch.
Now, shepherds who are watching their sheep are looking down 'cause this is where their sheep are. This is where their work is. And I'm consumed with my work. Even Mary and Joseph had to look up when God was speaking to them about their child, what to name him. Don't miss your moment to look up at your children. Just this last week, or the last month, I was driving through Walmart with three of my kids. And while we were there they saw this homeless man sitting outside. They looked up out their window and they said, "Daddy, let's go help that man". So we stopped because they looked up. And we were able to pray for him. We were able to give him food. We were able to minister to him. All because they were looking up. Kids most of the time are looking up. It's parents that need to look up.
I remember seeing this article of this man who was on his phone, and he was on a boat. And in front of him, three humpback whales had breached the water and they were looking beautiful. And someone was taking a photograph, and it's an amazing photograph of these whales coming out of the water. But this man the whole time is just on his phone. And he's just not even seeing the whales 'cause he's consumed with his phone. And we're missing moments because we're just looking down at things that don't matter that much. It just doesn't matter.
This week God's gonna give you opportunities to look up and to treasure those precious moments with your family. My dad used to look up at the dinner table and he would say, "This is it. This is it, Paul. This is it, Sarah, Ruthie, John. This is it. This is a moment for us to love each other. I love you, I love you". And we were like, "This is odd, how he's acting. It's as if he's not sure if he's gonna be here next year". So the shepherds, they heard the angel. The angel of the Lord appeared to them. Look up. And the angel said, "Do not be afraid".
Number two, don't miss your moment to listen up. Don't miss your moment to listen up. As they begin to listen, the angel begin to speak to them. "Do not be afraid, Victory Church". "Do not be afraid, Christian brothers and sisters, for I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people". Y'all, the Bible is not condemnation. The Bible is good news. Some people say, "I just feel judged when I come to church". You should feel saved. You should feel loved. You should feel forgiven. You should feel accepted. You should feel "God sent his son for God so loved the world that he gave his son not to condemn the world but to save the world".
We're listening to so many voices. We're listening to podcasts. We're listening to so many news things. And we're reading articles and we're listening. And God says, "Listen to me. Do not be afraid". The voice of the Lord is speaking. "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy today". Everybody say, "Today". Notice that the angel didn't say, "Tomorrow," "next week," "next year," "when the calendar changes. Things are gonna get better in your life January 1st". No, he says, "Today".
Today is the day of salvation. Today is a moment to worship. Today is a moment to encourage. Today is your moment to forgive. Don't miss your moment to let go of something that you just need to let go of. Don't spend another day holding onto bitterness. Don't spend another day holding on to an encouraging word that you could give today. Don't put off for tomorrow what needs to get done today. We have to-do list this week. All of you, you're thinking about your to-do list. Go ahead and put at the top of that to-do list that you would do what God's asking you to do today. That you would put that on the top of your to-do list. Who do I need to pray for? Who do I need to encourage?
I'm gonna take 10 seconds just to give praise to God. Go ahead and just take 10 seconds just to worship God. That's one thing you can do right here, right now. Cross it off the to-do list. Come on, give him praise. That's a golf clap. Give him like a good big time celebration, Victory. Come on, Jesus. We have short moments, short opportunities to engage, to experience, to act on, to say words that we'll never get a chance to say again. It's like that window passes and you go, "Snap, I should have said that. I wish I would've said that then. If I could go back, if there was a time machine and I could go back". But you can't 'cause time moves forward. This is why today is the day to make the most of your moments.
So as soon as the shepherds heard what the angels had to say, it says in verse 15, "When the angels had left and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go to Bethlehem now and let us see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about'". Verse 16, "So they hurried off". There was an urgency in their steps. We don't have time to waste. This child is growing up. We've gotta see this baby as a baby. Don't miss your moments to look at your children and stop wishing away the diapers, Paul David Daugherty. And enjoy the season that you're in, 'cause this season moves fast. You blink and they're graduating from high school. You blink and they're getting married. You blink and the whole year is over. And days are long and nights are long, but years are fast. Don't miss this moment.
So the shepherds hurried 'cause there was an urgency. "We've gotta find the baby while he's still a baby. We gotta find Mary and Joseph". "And there was the baby lying in the manger. And when they saw him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child". Look at this. They didn't miss the moment to speak a word of encouragement to the parents. When's the best time to encourage parents? When's the best time to say something nice about somebody's baby? Some of y'all are like, "I ain't seen no good-looking babies. I'm lying if I say their baby looks cute".
When's the best time to speak a compliment to somebody? When's the best time to prophesy over your children? Is it after they've messed up or in the middle? Like right before? Like right now? The best time to speak life is today. The best time to prophesy is now. The best time to compliment, to encourage, the best time to come alongside of those parents and say, "We're with you" is not next year, not when they're in a crisis, but right now. Let's stop waiting for people to mess up before we come and lift them up. Let's lift them up while they're still in this process of becoming who God's called them to be. So the shepherds came there and they begin to encourage Mary and Joseph. "And when they saw him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. And all who heard it..."
Here's number three. Don't miss your moment to light up. So number one, don't miss your moment to look up. Number two, don't miss your moment to listen up. And number three, don't miss your moment to light up. These shepherds shared what they experienced. They found other people who needed to hear the good news. They found other people who didn't know about the power of this Messiah. They found other people who needed to know God sees them too, that if God's speaking to us, God wants to speak to you. Someone needs you to light up. You may be the only Christmas lights they see this year. You may be the only light they experienced. You might be the only Jesus they encounter in their lifetime.
This morning I was at Starbucks. I was getting coffee. I want the band to come out. I was getting a coffee and I asked the baristas across the desk, I said, "Hey, what are you doing for Christmas"? And one said, "I'm gonna be in town doing nothing". And I was gonna invite them to Christmas Eve service. And I did. The other one said, "I'm performing this week". I was like, "Where are you performing at"? And I was like thinking maybe you she'd performing as a violinist at somewhere. And she says, "No, I'm performing as an elf at the strip bar". And I was like, "Okay... And nice". "And I'll be with Santa Claus and I'm the representative of the drag queens in the LGBT community". And I just kept my face just looking. And I said, "Hey, Merry Christmas".
You know what? The world needs to know that the church is not gonna shun people that might sin different than you've sinned, that might live a lifestyle that you don't understand. And I think just my presence there, just smiling and saying, "You should come to our Christmas Eve service if you can". I want our church to be a church where all people can come in, where we don't just welcome people in who look like us, dress like us, think like us, sin like we did. I was walking into Walmart, and I was headed in there and this guy was walking out. I didn't know him, but I felt the Lord was saying, "Tell him that I love him". I was like, "Okay". So I'm walking towards him. He's got a Slipknot t-shirt on, and it's like clowns. No, no, no, it was, oh, it was a band called Insane Clown Posse. That's what it was. Not Slipknot. And it was like clowns stabbing each other. And it was just weird and crazy. And I was like, "Oh, this is gonna be interesting".
And so he's walking past me. And again, I'm so glad that the love of God supersedes our human judgments of people. That we judge people by the cover of the book, but God says, "He is my child. Doesn't matter how he dresses or how he identifies himself or what shirt he's wearing, he is my kid. I don't create accidents. So you interrupt him, like the angel interrupted the shepherds, and you tell him I love him, and you tell him I brought peace and good news of great joy, even for the elves and Santa Claus at the strip bar". You go down there, you share the... Don't go inside. You share the love of Jesus. So I'm out there and this guy's walking. None of this is in my notes. We might have to edit some of this out. But hey, you know what, you get this when you come live to church. Don't miss your moment to show up live at the 11:00 AM service.
And so this guy, I walk up to him. I said, "Hey, man". He's carrying his bags and he's like... He kind of steps back from me. I said, "Hey, can I help you carry those bags"? He goes, "No man, I'm straight. I'm not like that, I'm straight". I was like, "I'm not trying to hit on you". I think he thought I was trying to hit on him. I was like, "What vibes am I putting off right now? I don't mean to put off any of these vibes. I'm straight too". And I was like, "I got five kids. Of course I'm straight". So long story short, me and this guy. I said, "Hey man, God loves you". And he said, "What"? He dropped his bags. I said, "God loves you". And he said, "You're the second person to tell me that in the last week". And I said, "Yeah".
And he drops his bags and he kind of like shakes his head. And he said, "I've not heard that my whole life, but in one week I've heard that twice. You're the second person, second stranger, to tell me that". And I said, "Well, I felt like the Lord wanted me to tell you that". He goes, "I think God's trying to speak to me". And I was like, "I think he is too". And he says, "Man, I'm sorry I wouldn't let you carry my bags, I just thought you were weird". I was like, "Yeah. No, that was weird of me. I was an awkward person. I'm not the best at being normal". And, and we're standing there talking in the parking lot. And I said, "Can I pray for you"? So we start praying. He tells me something's going on in his family he need a prayer for. And I said, "Do you want to receive Jesus in your heart"? He said, "I do". And he accepted Jesus in his heart because I made the most of a moment in the Walmart parking lot.