WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.719 Well, good morning. 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:03.040 Grab your Bibles, open them up to Luke chapter 2. 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:04.240 Luke chapter 2. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:06.400 I want to add my word of greeting to Dave's earlier. 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:11.279 My name is Chris Cuba, and I have the privilege of being the lead pastor here at United City. 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:15.839 And uh it is finally cold and Houston has allergies, so I sound like this. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:20.719 So I apologize uh in advance uh for this, fighting through this a little bit. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:27.760 Uh don't don't uh feel nearly as bad as it sounds, but that being said, I've got a word for you today, and I hope that you can fight through this. 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:31.920 What an amazing day of worship we've already been able to experience, baptizing three more. 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:34.320 25 people have been baptized. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:35.840 Uh take that back. 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:42.640 30 people now have been baptized in our church in the last five weeks, which is just kind of phenomenal, just the way God's moving. 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:50.079 So many adults in the midst of all of that, and so grateful to see those of you uh who got baptized today just taking that step of obedience. 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:53.600 Uh so grateful to see how God continues to move in our church. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:01:00.479 I want to just encourage you, uh, whenever you came in, you should have seen these little cars in your seats uh that look like this. 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:02.079 I want to encourage you to take these. 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:08.640 There's plenty of them outside in the lobby as well, and to pass those out as often as you can this coming up week. 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:16.000 Uh, this is gonna let people know about our Christmas Eve services that are gonna take place on Saturday at 3 and at 4:30. 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:19.280 Two identical uh Christmas Eve candlelight services. 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:22.719 Would love to have you come uh as a family and be a part of all of that. 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:30.560 It's gonna be very, very special here at United City and want to encourage you to be faithful to invite someone else to come and to be a part of it. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:37.519 I want to take this opportunity to welcome all of the men at the Ramsey Unit and all of the women at the Plain State Correctional Facility. 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:41.519 It is very, very grateful to bring you in today. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:52.560 Uh last night I was actually at an event with Oaks of Righteousness, which is an incredible ministry locally here that's a transition home for folks who, ladies in particular, coming out of prison. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:02:01.120 Uh and at this Christmas party, uh I was greeted and said, Oh, Pastor Chris, I've seen you, I've watched you in prison, which is definitely something I've never heard before, right? 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:27.680 But it was awesome because not only is that the case, that God's been able to do some great things, uh, and she's been able to watch us there, but also just knowing that there is a mentor from our church that has been meeting with her and just walking with her and just seeing how God has moved in our midst in the last year, particularly in this area of ministry, has truly been amazing and one of the so many stories that we can say about how God has moved in 2022 in the life of United City Church. 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:29.120 And I just want to say thank you, church. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:34.800 Thank you for being a church that is willing to do things that maybe aren't on our radar to begin the year. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:39.599 But we want to be available and ready to say yes and to see what God is going to do. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:45.360 Did you know that greatness comes out of Kingfisher, Oklahoma? 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:51.520 Whenever you hear the words Kingfisher, Oklahoma, you should immediately think of greatness. 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:57.199 Now, I'll be honest with you, I'd never even heard of Kingfisher, Oklahoma before I did research on this message. 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:01.840 Kingfisher, Oklahoma is actually the county seat for Kingfisher County. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:07.039 Uh Kingfisher boasts 4,903 people as their population. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.960 Uh if you were to go to Kingfisher, there's only one place that you can stay. 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.199 It's in the Holiday Inn Express. 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:14.479 They've only got one hotel. 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:20.560 In Kingfisher on their website, though, you can work out at the one gym they have that's open 24 hours a day. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:22.080 You also can play golf there. 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:23.759 They've got an 18-hole golf course. 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:30.080 They also have a movie theater that has three screens, three total screens, all right? 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:31.280 They're very proud of this. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:42.800 If you were to go to Kingfisher, Oklahoma, it's typically the people that live there, it's a bedroom community for those who work in Eniid, Oklahoma, or for those who commute to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.919 But you've got four options in terms of where you're going to eat. 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:52.319 You can either go to the Boomerang Diner, the burger shop, the City Cafe, or El Charo. 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:53.759 Those are your options. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:04:04.639 But in 1918 and in 1921, there were two men who were born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, by the name of Sam and Bud Walton. 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:23.120 They ended up going on in 1952, 62, rather, to be able in Rogers, Arkansas, to launch Walmart, this regional store that was meant to put warehouses close to where people lived, and now, of course, is one of the largest companies in not only in America, but literally in all of the world. 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:27.759 Greatness coming out of Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:32.160 Greatness coming out of unlikely places with unlikely people. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:40.480 Have you ever thought about your garage whenever you pull into your garage as a place that exhibits greatness? 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:43.279 If you don't, you should. 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:55.759 In fact, you're probably gonna be given some gifts, or maybe you're gonna give gifts to other people this Christmas, places from like Apple and Dell and Microsoft and Mattel and Disney and Harley Davidson. 00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:59.040 The one thing all of these companies have in common. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:02.160 They all started in a garage. 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:14.000 Whenever you pull into your garage today, I want to encourage you not to just park your car, get out, and assume that the day is over, but instead visualize greatness. 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:19.600 Because who knows, maybe your garage can be a place where greatness can come. 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:23.680 This morning we're continuing in our series called Prepare Him Room. 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:42.720 We've been looking for the last couple of weeks at how we can make sure that we fight to not just endure Christmas, not just get through Christmas, but instead that we would prepare room in our hearts in order to understand and fully appreciate the miracle that took place at Christmas. 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:44.720 It truly is an incredible thing. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:55.279 It's a story that is told that tells us not only of unexpected unexpected things, but also the most unlikely of people in the most unlikely of places. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:02.800 I want to begin to read the Christmas story to you, beginning in Luke chapter 2, and I want to read beginning in verse 1. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:15.199 It says, In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:22.399 This was the first registration when Quirnus was governor of Syria, and all went to be registered, each to his own town. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:36.399 And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.680 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:50.000 And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in his swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:52.319 In this passage, I want you to see two things. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:57.360 First of all, I want you to see that God uses unlikely people. 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:01.360 God uses unlikely people. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:13.759 Of all the people that he could have chosen to be the mother of Jesus, God's son, being born into the world, he chooses an unwed teenage girl. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:21.680 A girl, by the, by all accounts, doesn't have anything necessarily significant about her life other than the fact that she was chosen. 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:26.800 We don't necessarily get the impression that she was from a great wealth or great influence. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:30.240 Instead, she was by all accounts ordinary. 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:33.920 Luke chapter 1, verses 26 and 27. 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:45.279 It says, In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:48.000 And the virgin's name was Mary. 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:54.720 The word Mary there is the Greek word, uh Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam, meaning exalted one. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:08:03.040 So we at least know that she had some sort of significance in the fact that she was chosen, but we don't necessarily see why she was chosen. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:17.680 In fact, what seems most interesting about Mary being chosen as the one to be God's son is the fact that there was nothing extraordinary about her that made sense for her to be the one that was chosen. 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:19.600 This is what God does. 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:24.319 God makes a habit of choosing unlikely people. 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:27.360 Just think about the story of the Bible. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:29.600 There's so many different testimonies of this. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:35.279 Think about the history of Moses, one of, if not the most influential figures in all of the Old Testament. 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:46.480 In Deuteronomy chapter 34, verse 10, it says, And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:52.879 Yet his origins are the scenes out of a political drama. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:59.440 Literally, Moses was born and his people were being separated for infanticide. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:07.679 Literally, they were going to be taken out, and Moses is spared because his mom puts him in a basket and floats him down the river. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:11.519 He ends up getting picked up by Egyptian royalty. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.679 He gets raised in Egyptian royalty. 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:26.080 And while this looks like it has the making of a great story, Moses, through poor decisions of his own, ends up killing one of his own people and ends up being condemned and sent out into the wilderness. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:28.879 Moses then has a speech impediment. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:39.279 So when God chooses him and says, Hey, I want you to be the guy that is going to be able to lead my people out of slavery and into the promised land, here's a guy you can't even talk right. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:46.320 What you see is the fact that Moses, by all accounts, is the most unlikely of choices. 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:57.840 A stuttering prophet who did not want to be used by God is exactly who God chose to be the one that would lead his people out of slavery and into the promised land. 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:00.480 God uses unlikely people. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:02.799 I want you to think about the story of Saul. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:08.159 We now know him as Paul, the same person, but before he became Paul, he was initially Saul. 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:10.879 Saul was somebody who was a persecutor of Christians. 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:17.679 Saul was somebody who went out and looked for ways to be able to go and to literally kill Christians. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:19.200 Pick up the reading with me. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:32.799 We see in the story in Acts chapter 7, verse 58, it talks about the martyrdom of Stephen, who was a great prophet, and it says in verse 58, Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:38.080 And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:44.799 Fast forward to chapter 8, verse 1, it says, And Saul approved of his execution. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:55.200 And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:59.120 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:03.360 But Saul was ravaging the church, entering house after house. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:07.519 He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:12.399 Saul literally is a terrorist, somebody who is a persecutor of Christians. 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:28.720 Yet the Bible tells us that on his way to Damascus, God intervenes and shows and reveals himself to him, changes his name from Saul to Paul and says, Hey, instead of persecuting Christians, you are about to become the greatest church planner in all of history. 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:36.240 And now most of our New Testament was written by the Apostle Paul, who was formerly a terrorist. 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:44.879 This is the same Paul that would write in 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 15 this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:51.360 That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:54.879 Jim Daly of Focus on the Family. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:12:04.080 He writes this list, which I think is pretty interesting because it talks about all the different characters in God's word and it talks about them a little bit and their background. 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:17.679 Here's what he says: he says, Noah got drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob lied, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses was a murderer and couldn't talk. 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:19.360 Gideon was afraid. 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.840 Samson had long hair and was afraid. 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:23.679 Rahab was a prostitute. 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:26.000 Jeremiah and Timothy were too young. 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:28.320 David was a murderer and adulterer. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:30.080 Elijah was suicidal. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:31.759 Isaiah preached naked. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:33.360 Jonah ran from God. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:35.120 Naomi was a widow. 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:36.720 Job went bankrupt. 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:38.639 John the Baptist ate bugs. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:40.159 Peter denied Christ. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:42.399 The disciples fell asleep while praying. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:44.320 Martha worried about everything. 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:46.559 Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed. 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:49.279 The Samaritan woman was divorced more than once. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:51.039 Zacchaeus was too small. 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:52.320 Paul was a murderer. 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:55.519 Timothy had an ulcer, and Lazarus was dead. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:12.960 It says, For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:24.000 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:26.559 What's your story? 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:31.120 What are the things that can be said after your name is mentioned? 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:41.519 What is your past that you have that has caused you to maybe think that you are not qualified or that you're not educated enough or that you're not good enough to be used by God? 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:47.279 What are the past things that you've done that you don't want anyone else to know about? 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:54.879 And if they did, you feel like you would be so embarrassed for everyone to be able to see these things, they wouldn't take you seriously. 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:58.720 Some of you in this room, maybe you've got adultery in your past. 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:04.879 Some of you in this room, maybe you've got debt racked up because of poor choices that you've made in your past. 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:08.000 For some of you in this room, you've got marital problems. 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:11.919 Marital problems that honestly you're not really sure how this thing's gonna hold together. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:22.720 For some of you, you made very, very bad decisions in 2021, and as a result of that, you're now paying the consequences, even as you had into 2023. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:32.720 For some of you, the choice that you made, of the problem that you made, or the decision that you made that you may think somehow disqualifies you took place 10 years ago. 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:35.519 It still haunts you as though it happened yesterday. 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.840 Can I please tell you God uses unlikely people? 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:43.360 You're not out. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:48.000 I want you to know that God sees you and He sees an opportunity. 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:58.399 I want you to know that when God sees you, He sees the potential and the opportunity to do a miracle not only in your life, but perhaps you being able to be a part of a miracle in somebody else. 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:03.919 And it all simply comes whenever we recognize that look, I don't qualify, but guess what? 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:05.279 None of us do. 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:13.919 And it's shown the most vividly in the very story of the fact that he chose Mary, someone by all accounts, was ordinary. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:30.240 Yet in the midst of her ordinariness, God used her to bring about the story of Jesus, which of course gives every single one of us in all of our ordinary states the ability to have significance and value and purpose. 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:31.600 The pattern is clear. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:42.559 He can't use distracted people, he can't use busy people, he can't use disinterested people, but one thing that he can use, no matter what your past is, is willing people. 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.919 God uses unlikely people. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:55.600 The second thing I want you to see from this Christmas story is this not only does God use unlikely people, but God uses unlikely places. 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.559 God uses unlikely places. 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:06.240 The story of Christmas is so specific, it's in a very specific setting when people were headed to Jerusalem for the census. 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:06.799 I can't wait. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:12.480 In about uh 10 days, I'm actually gonna be there in Bethlehem at the site where Jesus was born. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:22.000 And I'm telling you, whenever you drive up and you you kind of go there, even today, yes, they've got this church that kind of represents the church of the nativity, but but it's so just plain. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:26.879 Like there's really nothing that kind of sticks out in the midst of the nativity. 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:34.639 But I want you to see here the story and the setting, what happened was is that it wasn't like today, whenever we fill out the census, we just do it online, right? 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:41.919 Or back in those days, you actually had to go to the town that you were born in and be registered in order to complete the census. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:48.240 So you had a lot of people that were moving and making their way over towards Jerusalem and also towards Bethlehem. 00:16:48.320 --> 00:17:01.039 And it says there that they were making their way towards Bethlehem, and they and because so many people had descended upon the city trying to find a place to stay in order to register, there was no more rooms left in the hotel, if you will. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:15.839 And so it says there in verse 7, it says, And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:19.680 I want you to picture outside the hotel where the animals stay. 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.960 The word manger there literally means a feeding trough. 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:33.839 So the idea here is that literally this royalty of Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, is not being born into a grand display. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:42.400 Instead, he's being born into the most unlikely, smelliest, filthiest of places that you possibly could ever have. 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:47.039 Philippians chapter 2, listen to what it says in verses 5 through 8. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:53.680 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:18:00.240 Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:16.400 But he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:25.680 Jesus traded the luxuries and the beauty of heaven to enter the world in a smelly, filthy stable. 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:29.839 The inn and the manger were not places fit for royalty. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:36.400 This was not the grand, pristine entrance that Jesus and the significance of who he is deserved. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:44.160 But it was yet again another example of God doing miraculous things out of the most unlikely of places. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:46.960 Church, this is what God does. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:52.720 I want you to think about the story in Genesis chapter 11, the story of Babel, the town of Babel. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:19:00.559 Whenever you hear Babel mentioned, it is not typically a place that you associate with good because of what took place in Genesis 11. 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:19.599 The story goes is that the people were all together and they began to get prideful because they they were such a big city and they were such a big group of people that they thought to themselves, we're gonna build a tower that goes all the way up to God, and by doing so, not only are we gonna get up to God, but we're also gonna show the whole world how great we are. 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:28.079 God saw their pride and he decided to judge them for it, and the way that he did that was by scattering the people all across the world. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:36.160 And by doing that, he also gave them many different languages so that they would not be able to work together the way they were in Genesis chapter 11. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:41.839 Again, when you hear the term Babel, you do not think about it as a place that is associated with good. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:03.039 And by your blood you ransom people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:08.400 And you have made them a kingdom and priest to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:19.599 Every tribe and language and nation will speak the name of Jesus, and it all happened because of a messy situation in a messy place. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:22.319 Church, this is what God does. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:34.000 He uses the mess that we make in the places that we make them, and he makes them into a miracle that he performs, and he does amazing things in our lives and in those around us. 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:39.519 What I want you to know then is this God can use your mess too. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:41.920 He can use your story too. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:44.559 He can use your place too. 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:49.920 Consider the location of one of Jesus' greatest miracles in John chapter 11. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:55.680 Lazarus, a good friend of Jesus and brother of Mary and Martha, was sick. 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.880 And it says that while Jesus was away, he dies. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:11.759 So Jesus, as he's making his way there to the city, it says that Mary and Martha both come up to him and they're they're kind of mad at him because ultimately they're like, Jesus, if you were here, then my brother would not have died. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:17.599 And in that moment, Jesus said these words in John 11, verses 40 through 42. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:23.279 Jesus said to her, Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:29.680 So they took away the stone, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:37.440 I knew that you would always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me. 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:45.680 And then in that moment, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and from the tomb, out of that smelly tomb, Lazarus comes out. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:59.759 And in that moment, God used a smelly tomb in order to not only perform this miracle here with Lazarus, but also to cast a vision for the fact that one day he would die, and even though he died, he would one day. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.440 They rise again. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:02.480 Here's my point. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.160 God can use your mess. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:20.960 And if you got a mess, and if you got a situation that is not all put together, some of you may feel like your setting is not quite all that impressive. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:23.519 Maybe you feel like your house isn't all that much. 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:28.000 Maybe you look at your job and it seems average, or maybe it feels like it is struggling. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:31.759 Maybe your resources don't blow anybody away. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:38.559 Maybe you are listening to this message and you are in prison wondering how in the world God is going to do something there. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:42.480 Let me just tell you God has a habit. 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:46.079 I'm taking the most unlikely of situations. 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:55.119 And using them to perform a miracle. 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:57.759 Let me ask you to think through this. 00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:04.079 What does this look like for you to have your home be a place that God decides to use to spread the gospel to other people? 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:08.240 How can God use the house that He has given to you? 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:20.960 Whatever square footage that it is, and whatever address that it may be, and whatever level of repair that it may need, let me just tell you this God can use whatever you give him in order to use it to be a blessing to somebody else. 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:23.200 What about your job? 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:28.160 Is it possible that God wants to use you in your place of influence? 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:33.200 To be able to be an agent for the cause of Christ and somebody else? 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:46.640 Is it possible that God wants to use your passions and your interests, the things that you spend all your time and your energy and your affections on, to be the very place which He gives to you, to have a platform for the cause of Christ. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:50.559 What you think about our church here in Northeast Houston? 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:56.079 I was talking to some pastors this week and I was telling them where we are located. 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:58.559 And uh I was mentioning that we're in Northeast Houston. 00:23:58.640 --> 00:23:59.440 They said, Where specifically? 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:00.720 And I said, We're in humble. 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:01.599 And they said, humble? 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:05.599 Like, I was like, Yeah, it's it's humble, but you don't say the age. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:07.680 They're like, Why do you why do you do that? 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:12.000 It started giving me a hard time, and it made me think, what could God do? 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:16.720 A church that's located in a city that can't even pronounce its name right. 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:23.839 A church located in a 500-year floodplain behind a gas station. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:26.960 What would God want to do? 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:38.720 I mean, if you look at the story of history, it's not all the places and all the situations that have all the things all lined up in order for something miraculous. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:43.759 You're like, oh, of course, this led to this, led to this, led to this, led to this, and then it resulted in this. 00:24:45.119 --> 00:25:00.640 Instead, what you typically always see is a group of people who come before the Lord, who have no business to be used by God, who instead say, God, I'm available, I am ready, I am willing, and I give all that I have as little as it is. 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:05.599 And I say yes before you even tell me what it looks like. 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:24.960 As a result of that, God begins to use those unlikely people in unlikely places to be able to cause his message for his glory to be expressed and expanded far beyond what we could have ever asked or even thought. 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:30.079 Would you bow your heads and would you close your eyes all across this room with me? 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:33.519 If you're watching me online, I want to invite you to do the very same thing. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:37.359 I just want to enter into a season of prayer. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:48.480 Who do you need to pray for? 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:54.000 That God would do a miracle in their life this Christmas. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:25:59.759 Is it a family member? 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:02.160 Is it a close friend? 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:06.000 Is it a coworker? 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:14.400 Would you pray right now and would you ask the Lord to do something in their life this Christmas? 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:17.359 Cry out to him. 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:43.920 Let's continue in that season of prayer. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:45.519 Let me ask you, is it you? 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:49.680 Does God want to do a miracle in you? 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:56.880 Is he calling you to do something for his glory? 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:05.119 You gotta know this, it's gonna require you to say yes before he clarifies what to do. 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:07.039 Are you open? 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:17.920 You might even give me reasons why you don't think that you would qualify and you would add up, and I might even agree with you, but thank God he doesn't look at things the same way that we do. 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:22.880 He instead uses the most unlikeliest of people. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:27.039 Does he want to use you to commit to him right now? 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:28.960 Say yes. 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:42.960 Confess your fears, your hesitations, and your hangups. 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:44.319 He already knows them. 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:54.000 Give those things that are holding you back to the Lord. 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:16.240 Early in January, we're gonna be calling the church to pray and fast for a week. 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:24.319 I'm gonna ask that you would even right now, this morning, though, begin to ask and cry out to God and ask him what he's calling us to do as a church. 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:30.079 To believe him for, to seek his face to make a difference in our generation. 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:37.839 I want United City Church to be a place that prays big, bold prayers. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:44.240 Asking God to use us far beyond our wildest imagination. 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:57.920 We'd be a church that's willing to do the hard things, but being willing to be on mission in the most unlikely of places. 00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:03.039 Would you pray and ask God to guide us, to lead us? 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:28.640 Maybe you're here today and you need to enter into a relationship with Jesus. 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:38.319 To confess your sins before Him and experience the forgiveness that comes through a relationship with Him. 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:44.160 Today I want to invite you to experience the miracle of salvation if you never have. 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:49.920 It can happen when you admit that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:53.920 You may not realize it yet, but apart from Jesus, you have no hope. 00:29:54.880 --> 00:30:05.039 But Jesus came and he died on the cross for your sins and he rose from the dead, and he now offers you the miracle of eternal life if you'll receive it. 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:09.519 Right now, would you just pray and in your own words? 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:18.559 Ask God to save you, to forgive you, to change you. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:49.200 Asking him to come into your life, I want to ask you to do something for me in just a moment. 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:51.200 We're gonna have a time of invitation. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:54.240 I want to ask that you come forward. 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:58.559 Come to one of these staff members and let them know that you gave your life to Jesus. 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:03.680 Others of you need to come and join United City Church. 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:06.559 We're a church that's gonna believe God for big things. 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:13.359 We believe that the message that Jesus has given to us is something we don't want to keep to ourselves, but instead we want to share with others. 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:18.799 If God is leading you to be a part of that mission with us, would you lead the way today? 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:22.720 By your coming, you're gonna help and encourage and inspire others. 00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:28.079 Maybe some of you need to be baptized like these three that we saw just now. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:34.000 What an unbelievable, beautiful testimony of God working in each and every one of their hearts and their lives. 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:37.279 If that's you, would you come forward and let us schedule your baptism? 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:39.119 Maybe you need prayer today. 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:49.359 As we do each and every week, we want this to be an opportunity whenever you can experience the prayers of the church on your behalf. 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:51.279 We want to come alongside of you. 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:52.559 We want to help you. 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:54.880 I want you to know that you're never alone. 00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:59.200 Father, I pray you'd move in these moments we have left together. 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:02.079 And that God, you would call people to yourself. 00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:06.319 We thank you, Father, for the way that you move in our hearts and our lives. 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:12.160 And thank you, Father, that you call us and equip us to take next steps. 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:14.240 I pray, God, that we would do that today. 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:16.480 It's in Jesus' name that I pray. 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:17.200 Amen. 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:18.000 Would you stand up? 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:19.920 And as you stand, our team is up front. 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:21.359 It is on the sides. 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:22.559 You come right now. 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:30.400 What an incredible message. 00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:34.880 Hey, if you made a decision today to give your life to Jesus, we'd love to know about it. 00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:36.079 We'd love to celebrate with you. 00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:37.599 We'd even love to pray with you. 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:42.799 And so if you made that decision, would you text next to 55498? 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:45.599 And someone from our team would love to follow up with you. 00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:51.839 In the meantime, I would love to pray with you even right now as God continues to do things in your heart moving. 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:53.839 And so, Jesus, we love you so much. 00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:55.759 We say thank you for the truth of your word. 00:32:56.240 --> 00:33:00.720 Thank you for uh still showing up in people's lives and still doing all of what you can do. 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:04.000 Jesus, I pray that you continue with your hearts and your lives. 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:05.359 Uh, bring peace to mind. 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:06.880 Jesus wants to do it. 00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:12.799 This has been an incredible service. 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:14.240 It's been so fun worshiping. 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:18.240 Uh everything going on in the life of our church. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:22.960 We'd love you to follow us on Instagram and on Facebook, we'd like to stay up to date on everything. 00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:30.000 And we'd love to see either in person or online, right back here, next week, 93.