Pastor Pua Palakiko & Pastor JesseTagura
December 13, 2020 - W2050

"An Avocado Toast Christmas"

Uncommon Gifts Strangely Wrapped

Pastor Pua Palakiko & Pastor Jesse Tagura  

December 12, 2020

PASTOR PUA: "A Happy Avocado Toast Christmas!"  I know you're probably confused that we used such a title as this! I promise you that Pastor Jesse will touch upon this--and maybe he might not--maybe it's just a title that we thought was fun and would grab your attention!  But what a great introduction into a Millennial Christmas Message by two Millennial pastors!  

When the older generations think of "Millennials," there may have been moments when you scratched your head at what we had done and thought we are a weird generation who are overly digitally stimulated and the most distracted multitaskers! Then, there is Generation Z, who will be the first generation never to remember a time when the Internet did not exist!  I can't imagine the uproar made by them, marching to wherever the Internet is, and pleading, "Just turn it on!"  

But I want to unmask some things about the Millennials: We are the middle child stuck between these great generations--the Baby Boomers, the Traditionalists, and Generation X--who really worked hard!  The Millennials are right in the middle--privileged to inherit lot of the things that our parents and grandparents had worked hard to get.  But Generation Z is rising up and is considered the Baby Boomers of their time!  Isn't that crazy?  Just think about how every generation is trying to make their mark in society--all trying to make sense of how to find purpose without being patronized?  Here's a question I want to bring to your attention:

What if I say that Jesus was the Millennial of His time?  I found a tweet that said, "Jesus is the Original Millennial:  He still lived at home with his mom and stepdad at the age of 30 (maybe some of us are still there); He fermented his own alcohol--His first miracle done at a wedding; He thought that He was God's gift to the world--I mean, aren't we?  And the last one I love is that He tried to start a career as an influencer because he had 13 followers!  I'm pretty sure His mom was His biggest fan! Jesus did things that were not normal; His reputation was on the line; oftentimes, He abolished a lot of religious ideas and defined what a true king looked like.  The people probably thought that He was a rebel; but I believe that Jesus was a Restorative Revolutionist with God's heart!

This Christmas, I (a Millennial), along with Pastor Jesse, will learn from The Millennial Jesus that His heart was to restore every generation!  Upon His arrival to this earth, Jesus' birth alone brought hope, peace, joy, and love.  He was changing the perspective of a problematic generation, and it wasn't just one generation, but every generation! So how does Jesus do that through His birth?  

1. The Arrival of Jesus is the Answered Hope to Generations Past, Generations Now, and Generations to Come--Future

Jesus was the hope that the world needed!  I love what Pastor John Tilton said last week, that Jesus is the ultimate and greatest gift that you and I can ever receive.  Jesus was the Messiah that they had been waiting for--the promise of a future blessing!  

The Old Testament prophets echoed the voice of God; Isaiah is considered one of the greatest prophets of all time as he always prophesied about the coming Messiah.  Oftentimes, Isaiah was considered a Traditionalist of his time because he respected authority and was willing to work hard. He lived in a godless generation with a lot of corruption; and his desire was to shine a light of hope into the darkened area and prophesied in...  

Isaiah 9:6 NIV: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

It was 700-plus years of waiting before Isaiah's prophesy was fulfilled, and Jesus was born! That's a lot of waiting. Christian Hope has to do with the ultimate future--not the immediate now.  This kind of Hope keeps us in anticipation of the promise that is about to be given to us; it is the Hope that we get to lean on God's faithfulness--not on our own strength!  

God is the God of all generations!  He wants to bridge together what has been divided. Every generation thinks that the next generation is odd; maybe it's because the younger crowd might want to replace them with new traditions.  The Apostle Paul is speaking the wisdom of an older generation into Titus, a young leader, of how to lead the next generation under his leadership:   

Titus 2:3-8 NASB says: "³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, ⁴ so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. ⁶ Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; ⁷ in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, ⁸ sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us."

It's never about labeling the next generation; but learning from each generation's experiences.  Jesus teaches through His birth and shattered statuses--they were looking for a king in a robe; but He came as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes!  God wants to transplant His heart into the next generation through the experiences of the seasoned disciples.  We need the wisdom of the old; and, I know, for sure, that our older generation needs the wisdom of the younger generation to help them learn to use their iPhones--right?  For me, I need their wisdom when I don't even know what to do with a certain situation! Would you mentor me through this?  It's about generations learning together. Isaiah foretold that we would receive a Wonderful Counselor and promised the Prince of Peace!

2. The Arrival of Jesus Affirms Problem Will Cause Pressure, but His Presence Releases Peace  

Peace was promised; and Peace came in the person of Jesus Christ!  When we know Jesus, we will know peace; when there is no peace, there is no Jesus! Jesus is the Hope--the affirmed Peace! 

John 16:33 NIV says: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

PASTOR JESSE:  As I was preparing this message, I wanted to do my best to write down all the encouraging things I could about Millennials; but when I finished, I realized that nothing was encouraging at all! Here's the list:

We are great at spending money that we don't have--we are professionals at it!

We are great at posting photos that absolutely no one cares about but ourselves. 

We are great at making avocado toast. (If you don't get the joke, I don't either.)

Millennials buy way too many avocados--the reason we will never own anything! 

At first glance, I realized why the Baby Boomers look at us and probably think that we are the most problematic generation to ever walk the earth!  We are the generation that wants to change the world, but at the same time, we don't want to leave our room!  I know why we are so frustrating to look at--we're always focusing on the wrong things! We are the poets and romanticists, and we try to impress the people around us.  We try to create our own world and dream of a beautiful eutopia; and all of a sudden, we are slapped over the head by a wave of common sense by the generations before us--we're always focusing on the wrong thing! 

Pastor Pua mentioned that we missed the definition of hope and peace, and I believe that we've done the same thing with love, as well.  If you ever come across a confused looking younger person (we all look confused 100 percent of the time), and ask them:  "What are you looking for in life?"  They will give you some silly answers like free money from the government or unlimited Taco Bell, and probably find this three?letter word on their list: L?U?V.  Every Millennialis looking for true love.  

The only problem is that we don't even know what love really is.  We think it's finding someone that compliments and cares about us, and someone to share our life with.  We think it's a feeling, an emotion to be felt and found.  Take that distorted definition about our generation with the culture of immediacy and instant gratification, and you get a complete mess!

I think my generation has made the fatal flaw of equating love with pleasure, and they are two very, very different things.  We have made pleasure our God and made it an idol to chase after.  But I don't think it's just the millennials chasing after love, I believe it's all of us, really.  Now, the millennials are more vocal about it and will post about it a bit more but, really, everyone is looking for just a glimmer of love! Maybe we're looking for love and validation from our parents because we never heard it from them growing up.  I know many parents that have never heard their parents say to them, "I love you."  Or maybe you've been married for a long time, and you can't remember the last time your spouse said those three words to you; or maybe you're a young adult, and actually looking for love in another person because you think that they will complete and fulfill your life.  We're all just looking for love.  And God, in His compassion, draws near and says to us, "Let me remind you what true love looks like this Christmas...

1 John 4:8-10 ESV says: "⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

If you want an accurate description of love, look to the person of Jesus Christ.  

3. The Arrival of Jesus Teaches us This:  Love Is Not a Feeling to be Found, But Rather A Person to be Encountered 

The incarnation, crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus are what love looks like!  Jesus redefines love and it looks a lot like sacrifice! Jesus doesn't just redefine love; He redefines joy!  The millennial generation are breaking world records, but not in a good way.  Statistically, they are the most depressed, most anxious, most worried, and the most distraught generation to ever walk the earth! Maybe we're a little more vocal about expressing our feelings, but it has to exist within every generation.  It may look a little different, but it's there--it's present!  

If you're thinking, "Man, I just want my joy back. You can honestly keep all of the presents.  I just want joy! Joy in my family and in my own heart--it's readily available in the person of Jesus!  

Luke 2:9-12 ESV says: "⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

4. The Arrival of Jesus Teaches Us that Joy Is Not Just Observable, It's Experiential

Joy cannot be sustained by what is in front of us; it can only be sustained by what Jesus did for us.  But our joy rests in the fact that Jesus has done the impossible, that the kid from Bethlehem, the infant born in a dark cave, would be the one to conquer hell, sin, and death! That's something to rejoice in.  Our joy must be found in what Jesus did for us rather than what's in front of us.

Joy won't happen overnight, and it will not be solved in a 20?minute message by two millennials, for sure; but it can point us in the right direction to the One who holds joy in His hands.  C.S. Lewis said, "If you want to get warm, you must stand near the fire.  If you want to be wet, you must get into the water.  But if you want joy...you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them."  Jesus is the joy you've been looking for!

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. How did Jesus' birth bring hope, peace, joy, and love to this earth?
2. Share what you learned from an older generation; what were you able to teach them.
3. Share your testimony of the joy of knowing Jesus.
4. There's a flaw of equating love with pleasure.  What does true love look like?