Welcome Home! To all of you who have been part of the Epic story for some time. To all of you who used to be part and are back. And especially to those of you who are at Epic for the first time ever – Welcome Home! Some huge thank you’s: 1)all of you who have given and are still giving to make this possible 2)staff team 3)Will & Lindsey

It’s our first Sunday in this beautiful new building. Okay, so it’s a 100-year old building…but we’ve remodeled it so that it’s completely new to us. There are so many things I love about our new home; how about you? But one of the things I love most is the natural light coming through all of the windows and skylights here. For the last 13 years, Epic Church has met in a basement. And while we’re grateful for everything that has happened below ground all these years, there was simply no way for natural light to get into the auditoriums we met in.

Fast forward to the room we’re inhabiting right now. We have the option of bringing in so much natural light. Why? Well, you might say it’s because we’re no longer in the basement. That’s true. But what if there were no windows and skylights on the 2nd floor of 414 Brannan? There would be no way for light to get in. The walls and the ceiling would be crowding out the light. But the window and the skylights make room for light to come in. The purpose of light is to come into a space that would be dark without it and make things visible.

I believe God is wanting to bring more light into each of our lives and through each of our lives. And yet, we often have no room or space for this light. We want to make sense of life and discover how to live the best life possible. And that’s a good thing. But our search for the best life can lead us to a self-absorbed life, which crowds out the light we need most.

Is it possible that a self-consuming life is crowding out the light in your life?

In seeking to discover the life we were meant for, becoming more self-aware can be a gift to us and to others. However, being consumed with ourselves will keep us from living the life we were designed for. The great temptation we receive from inside of us and outside of us is this one:

Make your life all about you.

We are starting an advent series we’re calling Where the Light Comes Through. We believe that Jesus was sent by God to bring light to the world and into each of our lives.

Advent means arrival. God did so many things to prepare for the arrival of Jesus. And one of the most unique things God did was to send a man named John to prepare the way for Jesus. You might know him as John the Baptist or John the Baptizer.

John was sent to shine light on the coming Messiah, yet he would be challenged and invited to make his mission all about himself.

John 1:6-8 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

John 1:19-23 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

John was hand-picked by God for this significant role. He was so clear on who he was and who he was not. He never tried to diminish the significance of his role, but he also never tried to go beyond the part that was assigned to him. He himself was not the light – he had great clarity on that.

Are you crowding out the space in your life that Jesus wants to inhabit?

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

This is the promise of Jesus, but it will not be actualized if we have no space for him to exist in our lives. It is so easy to give into self-absorption, whether that self-absorption is about positive things or negative things about you. We know it’s wrong when we’re self-absorbed with how awesome we are. But for some reason, we think it’s fine if we’re consumed with how terrible a person we are. The truth is this – if you are obsessed with yourself, there’s literally no space for Jesus to get in. And you and I wonder at these times, “Why can’t I find God?”

You will not be able to find God when you’re consumed with looking only for yourself.

For example, if you’re consumed only with yourself when you’re seeking to discern what job to take – you’ll only think about things like money, status, and if you’ll be happy. But if you invite God to lead you through the discernment process – you get his wisdom, proper motivation, and an understanding of how you can contribute to his mission.

If you’re dealing with relational conflict and you’re consumed with yourself, you’ll spend all your time blaming the other person or all your time blaming yourself. But create space for God and see what He might want to expose and heal in you and the other person.

Or maybe the worst is when we’re trying to get over our anxiety and depression. The great temptation is to turn even more inward, which never pulls us out of the misery we’re in. What if, instead, we made space to draw near to God and those He’s put into our lives to help us?

John had to be tempted to put all of the light and attention on himself. And the people are going to invite him to do that exact thing. But John knew he wasn’t the light; he came as a witness to testify concerning the light. I love how one commentator describes the role of a witness:

A good witness does not attract attention to himself but to the person or facts which he represents.

John’s mission as a witness to the light was to help all believe in Jesus. Do you want to be a witness to the light or are you trying to be the light? One word of caution for all of us – it is easy to start off making your life about God and move into making your life all about you, especially when other people invite you to do that exact thing.

Later, you have these Jewish leaders come and ask him who he was. Another great opportunity to talk about how amazing he is. But the text says, “He did not fail to confess – ‘I am not the Messiah.’” People were more than happy to make him more than he was. There are people who are more than happy to try and make you more than you are too. Of course, there are plenty of people who want to make you believe you’re less than who you are – don’t buy that either.

The world keeps inviting us to make ourselves the point of every story.

The crowd continued to do this with John the Baptist. He was the one who was baptizing so many people. And then Jesus shows up and people start leaving John to follow Jesus. How will he reply?

John 3:27-30 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”

I keep coming back to this moment because this is everything about what we’re learning today. Don’t crowd out the true light by trying to be the true light. Jesus > Me. John has fully made space in his life for Jesus.

And let’s be honest, especially this time of year, it’s easy to be consumed with yourself. Christmas travels and how it will affect you. It’s that time of year when you start wondering if you’ll get that big year-end bonus. What goals will you have for 2025? It can also be a very lonely time for some, which could cause us to want to turn in on ourselves. It is so easy to crowd out the light in this season.

How might we make room for Jesus, the light of the world? Choose who or what you want to MAGNIFY. When Mary learned she would be the mother of the Messiah, she could have magnified so many things. Instead she said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” A few other things you can do. Keep Jesus as the Lead Story in your life. Position your life to listen to Jesus (Scripture, Prayer, Silence). Jesus must become greater, you must become less. Not less than who you are; just less than who Jesus is. But here’s the big one for the majority of us here:

You will not make room in your heart for Jesus if you do not make room in your calendar for Jesus.

Response: make this time all about making room for Jesus; open space for His light to get in

-Magnify

-Humility + Confidence

-Confess how you’ve crowded him out and share your desire to make more space this season and as we enter a new year