Welcome to the Thee Generation Podcast. I’m Bobby Bosler and I’m speaking to you today from Maple Shade, New Jersey. I want to be the first one to wish you a very, very Merry Christmas. And in fact, I do want to mention for those of you that pay attention to numbers and different things like that, that we unfortunately missed a little milestone last week on the Thee Generation Podcast. That’s right. Last week was episode 300. Now, I’d like to say that I had masterminded it so that I would end up being the one to do episode 300. And it looked like it was going to work that way. But about four days, five days before the episode was to be released, God had other plans. I came down with a really, really terrible flu, knocked me flat on my back for three to four days straight where I couldn’t do anything. other than lie in bed, moan, and roll around. It was very, very difficult. But I was supposed to record, and Pastor Gilmore had already gotten ahead on his recording, and so he put his in there last week. But I get the next best thing. I get to do episode 301 here today. What are we going to do for episode 301? Well, I do want to say, and thank you, listeners. Honestly, I know the girls for Faith Talks did an episode just a couple weeks ago thanking you all for your listenership and your great participation, your faithfulness in listening, and I’m sure the many decisions that you all have made, because really that’s the most important thing. A podcast and a program, that is not so much the important thing. What is important is you young people actually making choice and living lives of total surrender to God and total dependence on His power to reach the world with the gospel. And I don’t have the statistics, obviously, because the year is not done. But I know throughout the year, I have been checking the stats and keeping an eye on monthly listens and just the overall trajectory of the year. And I have to say, as of the last time I checked, honestly, it’s been super encouraging. Our listens have been through the roof, and it really has been a record-breaking year in many ways, and I look forward to probably right after the first of the year sharing some more specific stats with you. But it’s been definitely brand new record territory here this year, as it has been every year for the most part of the Thee Generation Podcast. And so I’m really excited about that. But you know, as I thought about this episode, as I’ve meditated on what the Lord would have me challenge you with here today, it’s Christmas, you know? In fact, Lord willing, we’ll be able to get this episode out and published on Christmas Eve. I am currently recording on Christmas Eve, Eve. But I want to encourage you, as you head into this holiday season, and particularly into the day of Christmas itself. Now, Christmas Day is a Sunday. I think you know that. And Lord willing, you’re planning on going to church. It honestly would be kind of ridiculous to not go to church on Christmas Day, the day when we’re celebrating our Savior’s birth. But in any case, I’m sure, whether it’s Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the days surrounding it, you’re going to have lots of opportunities to spend time with family, with siblings, with probably extended family. And as I was meditating on this, I thought, you know, if I could challenge our listenership to do any one thing to make this Christmas a Christmas of impact for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, what would I challenge them to do? And you know, as I thought about that, I thought back to many years ago, one Christmas Eve, in fact, tomorrow night, again, I’m recording on Friday night, whatever the today is, December 23rd. And it’s been a family tradition for us every year to go over my Aunt Janice’s house, Uncle Mike’s house. And last several years, we’ve been going to their daughter’s house. But for as long as I can remember, ever since I was a child, we’d go over their house. And I remember at one point along the way, I was going to be traveling on a ministry team. I was slated to travel as a team member with Dr. Jim on War of Special Forces. I had just finished my third semester of Bible college. And at this Christmas party, all I can say was my mindset was a little bit different. Previously, I would say I would always come to family parties, you know, for the food and yeah, sure to spend time with family and always looking forward to a gift or two, you know. But I would say they weren’t necessarily purposeful times, but this time was different many years ago. I came and I was about ready to head out and travel on a team and preach the gospel to young people across the country. And while we were there, there was a young man who was the next door neighbor to my family. And he always came over to this Christmas Eve gathering. He was a good friend of my extended family, my cousins. But I think he also really just really liked the food they had and enjoyed the wholesome atmosphere. And anyway, he and I, we had our good times and our bad times together over the years. But this year, he was asking me whether I was going back to college. And I said, well, not exactly. I’m going to be taking the semester off, I told him, and traveling on an evangelistic team. He said, a what? I said, an evangelistic team. He said, what does that do? And I said, well, what we’re going to be doing is we’re going to be having this awesome giant four-foot ball, and we’re going to be using it to do competitions for teenagers. He said, why do you do that? I said, well, because at the end of the evening, I said, the preacher is going to be standing up and telling everybody how they can know for sure their sins are forgiven and they’re on their way to heaven. And the little guy, Justin, he said, what do they do after that? And I said, well, after that, we’re going to invite those who are there who wanted to trust Jesus as their Savior to come back in an invitation. He said, what do you do in that? And I said, well, we sit down with someone, we just show them from the Bible again, how they can know for sure their sins are forgiven and they’re on their way to heaven. He said, how do you know that? Well, he and I, we went, we sat down and I opened a Bible and I shared with him the gospel. And there that evening, long story short, Justin bowed his head and trusted Jesus Christ alone as his Savior to wash his sins away, to give him everlasting life and a new purpose for living. Um, this chokes me up because, uh, just recently I saw a Facebook post of one of my cousins, uh, who had just gathered together with Justin and his wife and children who are back on furlough from being a missionary to Japan where they’ve been for several years now. And, you know, of all the Christmas Eve celebrations that I can remember, that Christmas Eve was probably the most impactful Christmas Eve I know for Justin and also for me as well. It showed me that even in these times that can normally be seen as filler times, fun times, God has something he’s trying to do in and through our lives during those times. I was really asking myself the question, how can each one of us have a Christmas and Christmas Eve that can make an impact, that can literally result in lives changed, maybe even missionary sent? I really came down to this one verse, Galatians 5. Verse 10 says this, I say then. walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh you know so often during these seasons you know we bounce from one fleshly desire to another whether that’s the fleshly desire for cookies right pies cakes food enjoyment entertainment um really god wants us to be pursuing his will. And if you’ve heard me preach at all on that passage, you’ll know that to walk in the Spirit isn’t a formula. It is a relationship. It is step-by-step, moment-by-moment throughout the day, listening to, being led by, as it says a little bit later, by the Spirit, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit. And as we look to him and listen to him and yield to him step-by-step, moment by moment throughout our day, what will happen is he will produce the fruit of the Spirit. You think about it. What would be the perfect Christmas for you? I really hope in your mind you wouldn’t think, well, if I got this, that, or the other thing. I hope you would say the perfect Christmas would be a Christmas full of love, a Christmas full of joy, and a Christmas full of peace. And I want you to know the only way to have those three things in a way that is unsullied by the flesh is to walk in the spirit because the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace but the way you get that the way you can have a love-filled christmas experience the way that you can have a joy-filled christmas experience the way that you can have a peace-filled christmas experience is not by just hoping it to be so it’s not just by being saved though that’s an essential starting point. It is by walking in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit of God. Listen, God did not just give you the Holy Spirit as a seal of your redemption, though he did that. He did not just give you the Holy Spirit as a helper, though he is that. He did not just give you the Holy Spirit as a stand in for Jesus, though he certainly is that. The Holy Spirit was given to you to be your guide, your partner, your enabler. And you know, if I could challenge you to do anything this Christmas season, wake up a little bit early on Christmas Day. Open up your Bible, open up your heart and say, Spirit of God, I want to be led by you all day today. I present my body, my hands, my fingers, my feet, my toes, my lips, my eyes, every part of who I am, I present them all to you. You know, like the three kings, and I know it wasn’t on Christmas Day and people make big deals about that, but how the three kings laid down their gifts to Jesus, gold, frankincense, myrrh, and all that. Why don’t we lay ourselves at the feet of Jesus? Why don’t we give ourselves to him on Christmas day, Christmas morning, as we’re giving gifts to each other? Why don’t we give ourselves to him and purpose that all day today, I am not going to get drawn away by the lust of my flesh, but I want to be dominated, led by the Holy Spirit of God all day long. I guarantee what that’s going to do. You’re going to pay more attention to people. You’re going to be more in tune to the needs of those around you. You’re going to care a whole lot more about what really matters. You’re going to actually enjoy your day more than you would have otherwise. You’re going have a settled peace that passes understanding. You know, young people, God intends for your Christmas to be a Christmas that makes a difference. And the way that your Christmas can make a difference is if you are completely and totally surrendered to the Spirit of God. And if you’re looking to Him to lead you and guide you and enable you as you spend time with your friends and family. And as he begins to prompt your heart to give a word of encouragement, to give a word of witness, to offer perhaps a prayer, a helping hand, to meet a need, to bear a burden, as you yield to him, you would be shocked with what God will do with your life and through your life this Christmas season. You know, God is interested not just in working throughout the year. He’s interested in working every single day. And in fact, this isn’t something that you just need to live on Christmas Day, though I really do want to challenge you to make Christmas Day a day of total surrender to God. But why don’t you make the day after Christmas a day like that too? In fact, why don’t you make two days? after Christmas, a day like that as well. But let’s just start with Christmas Day. I guarantee you that if you’ll yield to the Spirit of God on Christmas Day, it’ll be a Christmas unlike you’ve ever experienced before. And I think that’s a pretty good gift to give your family and your friends. One other thing I do want to mention, speaking of upcoming ministry opportunities, Our team is going to be heading out on the road. Our meetings are going to be really, we’re book solid from the very beginning of March all the way through to May. It’s looking like it’s going to be nine or ten weeks of wars. But I do have one need. In fact, if you’re listening, I need one more young man on my team. I’ve got a couple of feelers that are out there right now for the second slot. But if you’re listening to this and maybe you’re college age, maybe you’re a little bit out of college age, but you’ve always wanted to travel and be involved in a ministry like this, give me a shout out. In fact, if you send me an email, bobby at vgeneration.org, that’s B-O-B-B-Y at T-H-E-E generation.org. And let me know your level of interest. It would be traveling from, we would start training in February, and it would be going all the way through probably the middle of May, and I’ve got a lot more details that I could share. I need a young man, one more young man. I got one slot filled. I need the second one filled, but let me know. This is a life-changing opportunity. I’ve had many young men who’ve traveled with me, the opportunities to go out recruiting, to be a part of these prayer meetings, to see God break through strongholds and barriers. I’m telling you, it is an opportunity unlike any other. Maybe you’re in Bible college. let me just tell you this I took off my fourth semester to travel that delayed my graduation date but the experience that I gained while traveling on the road was something I wouldn’t trade for anything it’s something you just plain can’t learn in a classroom or in a college environment it’s really something you can only learn on the road and so if this is the kind of thing that might mess up your academic schedule and God leads you to do it so be it I’d love to chat with you about it and talk you through some of the details. But I would love to have some of our listenership do more than just listen, but actually be involved with us on the road doing what we do. But it is a paid position. I can’t pay a lot, but we do take care of the needs, not only of those that while they’re with us, but we do actually give salary for those who travel. So if you’re interested in that, again, send me an email, bobby at thegeneration.org. And this has been episode 301. I hope it’s been a help and a blessing to you. I really do trust that you will have a very Merry Christmas and a Christmas that is yielded to the Spirit of God and dependent upon His power to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks for listening.