Thank you for listening to this message from
Lifehouse Church. What an honor to be here this
morning. I'm going to ask you if you'll stand
with me for the reading of the word. And as we
get ready to get into that, it is an honor to
be here with you today. And just come out of
a great leadership retreat for our state, for
our pastors, our elected boards. Pastor Kip not
feeling well and said, hey, can you be at Lifehouse
Sunday morning and preach? And the reason I'm
able to be here is because my wife put me under
strict orders before we left for this retreat.
She said, I have purposely scheduled this Sunday
off so that we can come to Lifehouse Church.
And she said, so don't schedule with anybody.
Even if God says do it, don't do it. Don't schedule
with anybody. But it is an honor to be here.
We would be here anyway because we love this
church. And I'm so honored to be here with our
dear friends, Pastor Kip and Dixie. They're not
just colleagues, but have become some of our
closest friends in this state. And they're not
just pastors at this church. They're great leaders
in our state. And I think it would only be fitting
if we put our hands together for them and let
them know how much we love them and appreciate
them. Pastor Alyssa and Ryan, I cannot say enough
good about them. My youngest son, Bentley, is
in the youth group here. And I want to say the
transition here from Arizona has been the smoothest
transition we've ever had as much as we've moved
because of this place, not only this church,
but this school. My son is a student here at
this school, and I just want to thank all of
the faculty at this school that attend this church,
the great job that you guys do. And last but
certainly not least, I want to say this about
someone else. The light of Lifehouse Church doesn't
stop. at this door or at this building, but on
Derbyshire drive, sister Bobby, who was our neighbor,
love her so much. And she has become, amen. Let's
give her a hand. You know, she does really, she
represents the culture of this church and she
represents Christ, not just here, but where she
lives. And Abigail and I cannot say enough good
about sister Bobby. In fact, the other day, her
name come up and Abigail said this, she said,
It would make my life harder if Bobby moved or
we moved. That's the impact that she's had on
our life. So we love her and we love each and
every one of you. It's so good to be here with
you this morning. In John chapter 11, 25, when
Pastor Kip had mentioned being here this morning,
I'm in the process of, I'm on the home stretch
of finishing a new book for our... for our publisher.
And so these things that I'm going to be sharing
this morning, they're things I'm writing about.
I'm passionate about it. And I'm trying to not
get totally into Christmas because I don't know
what Pastor Kip's plan is. And I don't want to
overstep him as pastor. I want to give him the
opportunity to share those things. So if you'll
allow me to, I want to kind of dance around it
a little bit. In John 11, 25, Jesus says unto
her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall
he live. And he that liveth shall never die.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are entering into the
season of miracles. The greatest miracle that
we've ever thought of was the incarnation of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And what we
find in this season is that God can birth a miracle
in the most unusual places. When he came, he
didn't come to Cairo, Egypt, or the great commercial
centers of the world, but he came to a barn,
to a hay manger. And God can birth a miracle
in the most unusual places. And I want to talk
to you briefly this morning on this subject I've
entitled, A Miracle in the Graveyard. A Miracle
in the Graveyard. Pray with me and for me. Father,
I thank you for this opportunity to be here today.
I do not count this a light privilege. I'm honored
to stand before this great congregation thanking
you not only for what you have done, but what
you're doing. God, as we look back over the last
few years at this church and we see its humble
beginnings in a skating rink and to the former
property and now to this beautiful building we're
in today. Father, all of us can truly say, look
at what the Lord has done. God, we thank you
for what you're doing in this church. I'm asking
you to anoint me in spite of me, in spite of
my past, in spite of all those things that make
me human. But anoint me to deliver, thus saith
the Lord. Not only anoint me to deliver, but
God, I pray you would anoint your people to receive.
And today we declare it's not by might, not by
power, but it's by your spirit, says the Lord.
In Jesus' name, amen. Will you give Jesus a hand
as you're seated this morning? Let's give this
worship team a hand too, man. You guys have got
amazing worship. I want to talk to you briefly
on this subject that I've entitled A Miracle
in the Graveyard. And I want to start off by
saying probably my favorite scripture in the
Bible for me personally is Psalms 91. And if
we were to take time and go around the congregation
and we were to ask, what is your favorite scripture?
We would get a lot of scriptures because all
of us tend to connect to that scripture, that
word that we got from the Lord that brought us
through a time of difficulty that many of us
should have never made it through. And for me,
it's Psalms 91. And in Psalms 91, it has two
parts. Part one, he that dwelleth in the secret
place of the most high God. Part two, shall abide.
under the shadow of the Almighty. And as I begin
to read this scripture, I can feel the heartbeat
of David, not just in this specific scripture,
but in all of his writings. For it was David
that said, as the deer panted for the water,
so my soul longeth after thee. It was David that
said, one thing that I will seek after is that
I would dwell in the house of the Lord all the
days of my life, that I would behold the beauty
of the Lord and inquire in his temple. It was
David that said, Lord, create in me a clean heart
and renew within me a right spirit. It was David
that the Bible said had a heart after. God's
own heart. And the reason he uses the word after
here is because he wants you this morning at
Lifehouse Church to understand the context of
the word. He does not use the word after in the
context of being similar as or in the likeness
of, but he uses the word after in the context
that he is in pursuit of. His heart is after
me. His heart is pursuing me. His heart is chasing
me. Ladies and gentlemen, it was David's very
pursuit of God that allowed him to find the heartbeat
of God. It was David's pursuit of God that allowed
him to find the pulse of God. And if you're going
to take the pulse of anything, you got to be
close enough to reach out and to touch it. If
you work in the medical field or you know somebody
that does, you understand you can't take somebody's
pulse from across the room. You can't take someone's
pulse by long distance or by correspondence.
But if you're going to take the pulse of anything,
you have to be close enough to reach out and
to touch it. We love to sing that old gospel
song, he touched me. Oh, he touched me. But can
I ask you a question in this Christmas season?
When's the last time you reached out to touch
him? What's so powerful about the story of the
woman with the issue of blood is that she pushed
her way through the trouble and pushed her way
through the problem and overcame all the obstacles
just to touch the hem of his garment. And the
moment that she touches the hem of Jesus' garment,
Jesus stops everything that he's doing and he
says, who just touched me? Peter said, it must
be this multitude that surrounds you. And Jesus
said, no, no, no. Someone just touched me individually
because I feel it. I feel virtue has gone out
of me. I want to ask you a question. When's the
last time that you pushed your way through the
problem and all the drama and all the sickness
and all the issue just to reach out and touch
the hem of his garment? Because I want you to
understand this morning the thing that stands
in between you and Jesus. You and a healing,
you and a breakthrough, you and a miracle is
a multitude, a multitude of problems, a multitude
of issues, a multitude of bills, a multitude
of devils. Hear me, anytime you get close to
touching Jesus. There will always be a multitude.
There will always be pushback. There will always
be a restrictive force. I would challenge you
this morning to understand that the greatest
opposition you will ever face is when your miracle
is within your reach. Everybody knew Jesus had
come to town. Why? Because there was a multitude.
What am I saying? I'm saying when Jesus shows
up, get ready for problems. Have you ever thought
about what would happen if Jesus showed up to
church this morning? And I'm not just talking
about Lifehouse Church or even the Church of
God of Pennsylvania. I'm talking about the Church
of America, the Church of the world. Have you
ever considered what would happen if Jesus showed
up to church this morning? We'd have to stop
Jesus at the door and say, now Jesus, there's
some things that you really need to know before
you go in there this morning. We'd have to explain
to Jesus what an usher is. We would have to explain
to Jesus what a trustee is. Sister Dixie, we
would have to tell Jesus, now Jesus, I know it's
going to feel personal, and I know it's going
to hurt your feelings, and I know it's going
to make you cry, but it's not personal, but you
need to understand that when you go in there
this morning, there's going to be some people
who are going to be upset at the other people
because they think they praise you too loud.
Now Jesus, I know it feels personal. And I know
it hurts your feelings, but you need to understand
there's going to be some people in there. It's
not personal, but there's going to be some people
in there and they're going to get frustrated
at the other people because they don't like the
songs that they're singing about you because
they have come to a place that they worship,
worship rather than worshiping the king that
they're singing about. Have you ever thought
about what would happen if Jesus come to church?
If Jesus showed up to church? I want to tell
you something. We talk about revival and we say,
Lord, send a revival. And I think all of us would
agree, we would love to have a revival. We sing
songs like, send it on down, Lord, send it on
down, Lord, let the Holy Ghost come on down.
But I don't think we truly understand what a
real revival is. Because when we talk about real
revival or a visitation of Jesus, if you will,
a visitation of Jesus and a real revival is not
just about overflowing offering plates. It's
not just about crowded parking lots or your name
in lights or a big paycheck or a Facebook book
tour. But a real revival is about drug addicts
and prostitutes and alcoholics coming down to
an altar and being washed in the blood of Jesus
Christ. Is there anybody that still believes
that there's power, power, wonder -working power
in the precious blood of the Lamb? And that is
my prayer today is that God would just visit
us. One more time. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm
beginning to find out in my own life that most
people don't want anything bad enough from God
to get it. They casually hope that it happens.
And if it don't conveniently come to pass and
just run them over out in the road like a bus
or fall in on top of them, they say, well, I
guess it wasn't meant for me to have it. But
Abigail and I are starting to find out in our
own life that if I'm going to get what God has
for me, I got to be willing. To push my way through
the crowd and push my way through the problem
and overcome the obstacles and make it up in
my mind that I'm not going to stop until I touch
Jesus. I'm going to touch him if they talk about
me. I'm going to touch him if they roll their
eyes. I'm going to touch him if they try to reject
me. And even if they push me away and even if
they hold me back, I have made it up in my mind.
At this service here at Lifehouse Church that
I'm not going to stop until I touch Jesus. If
I have to push my way through the crowd, if I
have to get down on my knees and crawl, and even
if I wrinkle my sport coat, and even if you mess
up your hair and run your eyeliner, there's got
to be something down on the inside of you that
goes off that says, I refuse to walk out of here
with the same issue I walked in here with. I
will not take no for an answer this morning.
I will not be denied. I refuse to walk out of
here the same way that I came in. You've been
through too much. You don't have time to play
games. And it's time to reach out and touch the
hymn of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
And I've made it up in my mind. Let's give God
praise. I'm not going to stop until I touch Jesus.
I'm going to touch him. I'm going to touch him
until the devil takes his hand off my children.
I'm going to touch him until he shuts every meth
lab down in the city. We have got to make it
up in our minds as a church that we are not going
to stop until we touch Jesus. The Bible says
we are all members of the body of Christ. And
as members, we make up the body. And as Christians,
we are part of the body. And having said that,
my wife and I have raised three boys. How many
of y 'all know raising boys is different than
raising girls? Oh, yes. And Abigail comes from
a family of two other girls. She has one sister
10 years older, one sister 8 years older. And
if you meet Abigail's mother, her mother is like
Miss Manners. And so when my boys come along,
Abigail's mother did not have the mental wherewithal
to be prepared for three boys. And Pastor Kip,
we've had to have some very deep theological
discussions with Sister Barbara. Discussions
like, it may be gross, but it's not a sin. It's
just gross, but it's not a sin. And the only
way I know how to describe this, if I were to
describe Abigail's childhood, her childhood was
like an episode of The Little House on the Prairie.
When my boys come along, it was like an episode
of Cops. Complete with the bad boys, what you
gonna do? And raising boys is different than
raising girls, so I can't speak for girls, but
I know for boys, one of the most hilarious things
in raising boys is when they got old enough to
discover their bodies. And as good parents, Abigail
and I had to teach our boys that there are parts
of the body that are public and that there are
parts of the body that are private. And when
you get those two things mixed up, you got problems.
Ladies and gentlemen, what's so powerful about
the story of the woman with the issue of blood,
if I can be transparent, is that her issue is
coming from a private place. Her issue is coming
from a secret place. And although she is injured
and wounded in secret, she is bearing the ramifications
in public. Let me ask you a question this morning.
What do you do? when you've been wounded in secret
places. The secret place is a place of vulnerability.
It is a place of transparency, and that's why
we have to be careful who we allow into the secret
places of our lives. For example, many of you,
your secret place in your home is your bedroom.
That's why if you show up to my house, well,
it ain't my house, it's your house, the Church
of God State Parsonage on Derbyshire Drive. If
you show up to your house, To our house, the
first thing that my wife is going to say is close
the bedroom door. Don't act like y 'all don't
know what I'm talking about. Because it's a secret
place and there are those things in the secret
place that we don't want everyone to see. Can
I be transparent this morning? There can be some
messy stuff in the secret place. Let me say that
again. There can be some messy stuff. In the
secret place. In fact, I would suggest to you
this morning, my brothers and sisters, that we
are defined by the secret places of our lives.
If you want to know how someone's house looks
most of the time, just peek in their bedroom
some of the time. Because see, we will clean
and we will prepare and we will manicure those
places that we know we're going to give you access
to. But that's not who we really are, is it?
Now, I know some of y 'all, y 'all have come
to church this morning and you're looking for
a word, a life -changing word, a word of revelation
that's going to change your mind. The good news
is I've come with it. Are you ready? Here it
comes. Wait for it. Stay off Facebook for one
week. Now, listen, I've got to be honest. I'm
not a Facebook hater. We use it in our office.
It's probably the greatest evangelistic tool
of our generation. But the problem comes when
some of you get on Facebook and you come off
of Facebook more depressed than you went on Facebook
because you see those pictures of those other
families. And you know who they are. They've
got like 19 kids and they're all dressed in white.
They're barefooted, clean. Their hair's combed.
They're all sitting on a log out in the middle
of the wilderness, smiling, acting like they
love each other. And you think it would take
me 47 tries to get my kids to act right long
enough to get that one picture. But what you
don't understand is it took them 47 tries. But
you only see what they allow you to see. because
we will clean and we will manicure those places
that we know that you're going to have access
to. Now, I realize this morning that there may
be a small group of people here that this does
not apply to you, and you have got the victory
over this, and I'm happy for you. I thank God
for you because these are the people that you
can show up to their house unannounced, and their
house can look like it got hit by a Category
5 hurricane. And they will just open up the door
and say, well, come on in if you can get in.
But for the rest of us, we'd like you to call
first. Now listen, everybody in this building
under the sound of my voice, you have my permission.
To tell all your friends, all your family, all
your co -workers that you have a beautiful second
home, a timeshare, a vacation home at the golf
course right there on Derbyshire Drive. You are
welcome to come see me anytime. But I need you
to call me first before you come. Because see,
I'm not married to a woman that has the mental
wherewithal if y 'all all show up at the same
time unannounced. Because I don't know how it
is at your house, but at our house, when we know
we got people coming over, honey, there is a
militaristic drill that goes into place. We start
picking up the living room. I bet we have 40
blankets in the living room, probably 20 pillows
like we're afraid we're going to freeze to death.
And we start picking up the blankets and picking
up the pillows and we throw cocoa in the bathtub
and we give the poodle a bath. And in the final
moments, right before you come, the last thing
that my wife is going to say is close the bedroom
door, even if it is clean. Because it's a secret
place and we have to be careful who we allow
into the secret places of our lives. You change
your clothes in your bedroom. You sleep in your
bedroom. And that's why it's important that we
be extremely careful who we allow into our secret
places. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell
you today there are people in this Christmas
season who are setting in churches all over the
United States of America. and the world for that
matter, who have had their entire life turned
upside down because they left a wrong person
in a secret place. Secret place is a place of
vulnerability. It's a place of transparency.
Life's greatest tragedies come from being wounded
in secret places. What do you do when you have
been wounded in a secret place? What do you do
when you've been injured in a place no one can
see? I mean, it's one thing if you get injured
in here, if you're hurt in here, if you're injured
in here, Pastor Kip, the staff, we're going to
call 911. We're going to get you the help, the
support that you need. But what do you do when
you've been wounded behind closed doors and you've
been wounded in secret places and there's a feeling
of isolation and a feeling of anxiety and fear
that help may never come? And even if it does,
it'll probably show up and be four days late.
This is what's going on in John chapter 11. Lazarus
has died. He's been dead for four days when Jesus
comes strolling right back into town. The moment
that Mary and Martha saw Jesus coming in the
distance, their first words to him were not,
it's so good to see you, Jesus. Their first words
to him is, Jesus, we missed you. The first words
out of their mouth to Jesus was not, tell us
about the wonderful things that have been accomplished
in the kingdom. The first words out of their
mouth were, if you would have been here. Anybody
besides me ever heard that one? If you would
have been here, my brother would not have died.
And Jesus looks at her and said, your brother
will rise again. And with an attitude, she puts
her finger up and says, duh, I know he'll rise
again at the resurrection. But even in her tears
and even in her sorrow, she still had enough
faith to say, but I know that even now, even
now, even now you still have the power to do
what you said that you were going to do. Can
I tell you, there is an even now anointing this
morning at Lifehouse Church. Even now, even after
the funeral, even after the divorce. Even after
the addiction, even after the betrayal, he still
has the power to do what he said he was going
to do. He said, your brother will rise again.
She said, I know he's going to rise again at
the resurrection. And he said, I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And Pastor Kip,
it's right here that Jesus does something extraordinary.
He says, take me by the hand. take me to the
place that you buried your brother take me to
the place that you buried your dreams take me
to the place that you buried your career take
me to the place that you buried your marriage
take me to the place that you buried your brother
take me to the place that you gave up on your
children take me to the place that you gave up
on your ministry Take me to the place that you
got weary in well -doing. Take me to the place
that you buried your brother. Take me to the
place that you don't want to go back to, the
place of hurt, the place of pain, the place of
betrayal that you have buried in the graveyard
of your past, the place of anxiety where your
nights have been consumed with anxiety and your
days with depression. Take me to the place that
your faith gave up. Take me to the place of the
what if. Well, what if this happens? And what
if that happens? And what if what happened to
my mama happens to me? And what if what happened
to my daddy happens to me? And let me take you
to the place of the what is, my plan, my purpose,
and my agenda for your life. Take me to the place
where you have become a spectator when you used
to be a participator. Take me. to the place.
Take me to the place, Shea Hughes, where it's
become more about the church of the Lord than
the Lord of the church. Take me to the place
where it's become more about the work of the
Lord than the Lord of the work. Take me to the
place where it's become more about the house
of the Lord than the Lord of the house. He said,
if you'll take me there, I'll heal it. If you'll
take me there, I'll resurrect it. If you'll take
me there, I'll turn the light on. If you'll take
me there, I'll speak life to the dead places.
What he was saying was, Mary and Martha, what
you don't understand is that there is a miracle
in the middle of that graveyard, and I'm getting
ready to bring life. to the dead places. Psalms
27 says, the Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of
my life. In whom shall I be afraid? When the
wicked, even my foes, my enemies came upon me
to eat my flesh, they stumbled and they fell.
Though a host should rise against me, my heart
will not. fear. Though war may rise, and I'm
sorry, I'm emotional about this because I'm living
it right now. Though war may rise against me,
in this will I be confident. One thing that I
have desired of the Lord that I will seek after
is that I would dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, that I would behold
the beauty of the Lord and inquire in his temple.
For in the time of trouble, he shall hide me
in his tabernacle. In the secret place will he
hide me. He shall set my feet on a rock and now
shall my head be lifted up amongst mine enemies
who were gathered against me round about and
I will offer in his tabernacle praises. I will
sing praises. Yes, I will sing praises unto the
Lord. Now listen, I don't know about you this
morning, but I didn't come to church to show
off my new outfit. Lord knows I didn't come to
pass out business cards, but I come to lift up
my hands and praise the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords all my life. He has been faithful
all my life. He has been so, so good. I'm going
to praise him in the good times. I'm going to
praise him in the bad times. I'm going to praise
him in the middle of the storm because David
said, he that dwelleth in the secret place of
the most high God. And the devil is here this
morning. Can I tell you that the devil don't
miss church? As a matter of fact, Satan has perfect
church attendance. Did you know that if God in
his sovereignty in eternity should decide, I'm
going to give an award for perfect church attendance,
Lucifer is going to be cast into the lake of
fire with a gold medal wrapped around his neck
because he's here as the accuser of the brethren.
In fact, he's sitting right back here, and if
you will allow me to, I'd like to come back here
and grab a seat with you guys. He's sitting right
back here, and he's saying, you mean... I need
you to help me with something. You mean you're
going to come in here and sing these songs like
all my life he has been faithful after that report
you got from the doctor? Really? You mean you're
going to lift up your hands and say he's been
so, so good after what's been happening with
your children? Really? You're going to lift up
your hands and sing all these Christmas carols
lifting up the king of the seasons after what
happened in your finances? Really? You're going
to sing, I will sing of the goodness of God after
what you went through in your childhood? Really?
Yeah. Yeah, devil, I'm going to praise him. I'm
going to praise him. Job said, though he slay
me, yet will I worship him. And I'm going to
tell you something else, devil. I'm not just
praising him about the secret place. I'm praising
him in the secret place. I'm not just praising
him for the secret place. I'm praising him in
the midst of the secret place because I know
in this Christmas season, in the middle of the
secret place, I still got the second part of
that verse left. And if you're sitting next to
somebody that's going through a tough time right
now, look over and tell them you still got the
second. part of that verse left. And the second
part says, shall abide, shall abide, shall abide.
And the devil's saying, you mean you're going
to come into life house church and lift up your
hands and give God praise? Yeah, devil, I'm going
to praise him this morning. I'm going to praise
him if I want to, because I know what's coming
next. I know what's about to overtake me. He
that dwelleth in the secret place of the most
high God shall abide under the shadow of the
almighty. And I'm going to ask the music to come.
I'm moving quick. I'm landing the plane right
now. Remember the Bible says, blessed is he that
is short -winded for he shall be asked to return.
Amen. Selah. And Mary and Martha said, okay,
Jesus, if you really want to go, we'll take you
there. But Jesus, you need to understand that
Lazarus died of COVID -19. As a matter of fact,
we had to quarantine him in a tomb. We put him
in a secret place and we found the biggest stone
that we could find and we sealed the entrance
because Jesus, we can't afford to get this. And
Jesus, you can't get this either because you're
the son of God, you're the word made flesh and
you got a work to do and you're too busy to be
sick right now. And it don't matter anyway, Jesus,
because by now he stinks. As the music begins
to play, I don't know about you, but I'm so thankful
that we serve a God of second chances. A God
that's not afraid to get his hands dirty and
reach down in the mud and the muck and the mire
to save a wretch like me. Because let me tell
you something, I didn't always do. what I'm doing
right now my whole life. Can I be transparent?
Abigail and I have never been leaders on a white
horse on a hill. I haven't been saved all my
life. And I don't know if anybody in here can
identify with this, but man, there's some of
us in here, we're just thankful that the Holy
Ghost drove the car when we were no shape to
do it by ourself. Truly all my life has been
faithful. And if it had not been for the goodness
of God, and Jesus said, And they rolled the stone
away from the place that the dead was slain.
And I've come to tell you today, as we get ready
to pray, that that stone that's been keeping
you captive in that tomb, that stone that's been
blocking your doorway to success, that stone
that's been blocking your pathway to opportunity,
that stone that's been keeping God out of your
secret places, getting ready to shake, Rattle
and roll under the anointing of the Holy Ghost.
And today, the master, the creator, the Alpha
and Omega is calling you by your name. And he's
saying, Lazarus, come forth. And the reason God
had to call him by his name, you know why Jesus
had to call him by his name? Because if Jesus
had walked up in that graveyard and just said,
come forth, everybody in the whole graveyard
would have got up. God wants you to know he knows
your name. He knows exactly where you are. And
that's why you don't have to worry about somebody
taking something away from you that God destined
you to have. They can't take your title. They
can't take your job. They can't take your promotion.
And he's calling you by your name. And he's saying,
Lazarus, come forth. Listen, I don't care if
you're wrapped up in an addiction. I don't care
if you're on drugs. I don't care if you're an
alcoholic. I don't care if you're depressed or
have anxiety. When he calls you by your name,
you've got to come out of that mess in the name
of Jesus. He says, Lazarus, come forth. And right
here, Lazarus comes walking out. He steps out
of the tomb. And Jesus steps in. Is there anybody
in here besides me? And I know Abigail and I
are radical. I get that. We're probably more
radical than most people. We've been through
a lot. But is there anybody here besides me that's
ever had God just step in? You didn't know how
you were going to pay the bill? You got a bad
report from the doctor. Your kids were on their
way to a devil's hell, but God stepped in. And
that's why I've got to praise him here this morning.
I don't care if you laugh at me, roll your eyes,
stare at me, or call me a fool. When I look back
from where he's brought me from, and I think
of the goodness of Jesus and all that he's done
for me. And if you're sitting next to somebody
that they've never been through anything, you
would be okay this morning. But I want to warn
you that if you're sitting next to somebody that's
ever had God step in, honey, they're liable to
jump up and lift their hands and shout their
shoe heels off at the drop of a hat and drop
their own hat to do it. Because when I think
of the goodness of Jesus and all that he's done
for me, I should have lost my marriage, but he
stepped in. I should have lost my accounts, but
he stepped in. The devil thought that he had
me, but God. And here comes Lazarus walking out
of the tomb. And I'm stopping right here in conclusion.
What we understand is that this is the second
to the last miracle before the crucifixion. Technically,
the last miracle being the healing of the soldier's
ear in the garden that night when Peter lost
his mind, okay? But this is the second to the
last miracle. When Jesus performs this miracle,
he is days away from the crucifixion. And so
when he calls Lazarus out of the tomb, he knew
he was getting ready to step inside the tomb.
He knew, ladies and gentlemen, when he was calling
Lazarus out, he was getting ready to step in.
And I believe that's when he said, Lazarus, me
and you getting ready to change places. You're
coming out and I'm getting ready to step in.
I'm getting ready to step into your secret place.
I'm getting ready to step into your childhood.
I'm about to step into those places of betrayal
and hurt. I'm getting ready to step into those
places that you don't ever wanna go back to again.
He said, Lazarus, I'm gonna take your place.
Will you stand with me this morning? I don't
know about you, but I'm so thankful for a God
that took our place. I'm so thankful for a God
that stepped in to the secret places of our lives
and said, you don't ever have to be worried about
going back to that place ever again. He said,
because I've already been there and done that.
I've already got the victory over it. That's
why the Bible says, he that dwelleth in the secret
place of the most high God shall abide under
the shadow. You can't have a shadow if you're
in there all by yourself. The fact there's a
shadow means something is standing beside you.
Something is standing with you. God sent me here
this morning to tell somebody that there is a
miracle in the place of death. There is a miracle
in the graveyard. Can I tell you, God has a way
of taking us back to the places we were hurt
the worst. to use us the most. Would you agree
with me today that Jesus is really Alpha and
Omega? Would you agree that he knoweth the number
of stars and calleth them by their name? Would
you agree that he is the beginning and the end?
So would you also agree that he knew where Lazarus
was? Jesus don't need Siri. Jesus knew exactly
where Lazarus was. It wasn't about Mary and Martha
taking him. It was about him taking them back
to the place of their worst tragedy to show them
his glory like they had never seen it before.
We're getting ready to pray. And in my younger
years, I had an idea. opportunity to travel around
and do a lot of preaching and one of my very
close friends that was a spiritual mother it
was a lady by the name of Tina Sadler and if
you follow gospel music you know who she is but
she's probably one of the most prolific gospel
songwriters of our generation with the Gaithers
and I would go preach and she would go with me
and sing and she wrote that song isn't it great
when he's four days late but he's still right
on time and can I tell you it may seem like All
hope is lost. And it may seem like he's never
going to show up. And it may seem like it's the
end. And the devil told you it was never going
to happen. Just when you thought that he was
right. Jesus shows up. Because he is the healer.
And he's able to speak life. into the dead places.
Pastor, with your permission, I'd like to pray
this morning, and I want to make sure that I
flow into the guidelines and the rules of the
house, but if there's a prayer team, I'm going
to ask you guys, if you will, to come to the
front. Abigail, I'm going to ask you to join
me, and Pastor Kip and Dixie, if you guys will
come, and whoever's on the prayer team, if you'll
come. I'd like to have an opportunity to pray
with you this morning. I know this might be a
little bit different. But I want you to understand
as we enter into this season of miracles, a season
of Christmas, that the greatest miracle of all
is Jesus Christ stepping off of his throne and
coming and being born out of the womb of a woman.
I told our leaders this weekend, there have been
many children that have grown up to be great
kings, but only one king come to be a child,
and his name is Jesus Christ. And it really doesn't
matter what you need this morning. It doesn't
matter what your need is. The Bible says he is
able to supply all of our needs according to
his riches and glory. And maybe you're here and
maybe you feel like Mary and Martha. And you've
been praying and it's been four days. And it
don't look like it's ever going to happen. I
want to tell you Jesus is on the way. He's the
only one that can show up four days late and
still be right on time. Maybe you're here and
you feel like Lazarus and you feel like this
tomb has become your new norm. Maybe it's a tomb
of financial depression. Could be mental depression.
Could be something that you've been struggling
with for a little while. But I'm telling you,
he's about to roll the stone away. Here's the
good news. He's not waiting for you to come to
him. I come from the old church like Miss Dixie
and Pastor Kip and, you know, in the old church.
Dixie, I don't know if you guys had that here,
but I know in our church, the old timers would
stand up and they would say, I just want to thank
God because I remember the night that I found
Jesus. And while I understand the heart in which
they said it and it blessed me, the truth of
the matter is you didn't find him. He found you.
We were the one that was lost. Remember? He's
come to where you're at. And he's not only come
to where you're at. He's calling you by your
name. He's saying, come forth. Come forth. Come
out into the light. Your greatest days are not
behind you, but the best is yet to come. God
sent me here to tell somebody, you will be happy
again. You're going to be happy again. Weeping
may endure for the night, but joy is coming.
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