Miracle in the Graveyard - Bishop Shea Hughes

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

John 11 · chapter mention

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

John 11 · chapter mention

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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