The Final Word | Pastor Chris Kouba

Open up your Bibles if you would to Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

It is so good to see you.

I was out last week, so I did not have the opportunity to tell you what I want to tell you now, which is happy Thanksgiving.

Uh know how grateful that I am for you and for the people of United City Church for the privilege of being your pastor and just to see what God has done.

I am just so overwhelmed and thankful with gratitude.

It's pretty cool.

Henry Wilcox uh just brought up this table here, uh, called to ministry.

God led him, it saved him here at our church in the last few years.

God is down to work in his whole life, using him in great ways at Kingwood High School.

Just one of so many stories of how God is moving in our church.

And I just hope that maybe you today, even if you're maybe a family member uh that is just here in town and you you leave after this place today, that I hope that United City Church can be your home when you come to Houston and that you see what God is doing here, that you'll pray for us and be excited about all that He is doing.

Just so you know, for those of you that are joining us online, I want to welcome you.

We're gonna be taking communion at the end of our time together today.

So I don't know if we prepared you for this, but I'm telling you this now.

If you want to go ahead and get the elements prepared uh and find what you need to to get prepared to do at the end of the service, we would love for you to be able to partake of that with us uh at the end.

Also, I want to take an opportunity to welcome all of the men at the Ramsey Unit and all of the women at the Plain State Correctional Facility.

We are so grateful to be able to bring this message to you each and every week.

Whenever it is that you hear it, know that we are so thankful uh that you are joining with us today.

I've gotten really involved and really uh uh interested, doing a lot of research and a lot of thinking about the Supreme Court uh in the last probably five to ten years.

Of course, a lot of that is just simply due to the significance of the elections that have taken place and the Supreme Court justices, which are lifetime appointments uh that are placed by the president, by the authority of the president to place someone on the Supreme Court.

But in light of that, I've also just been interested and tried to do a little bit of research just to learn about just the significance and the history of the Supreme Court.

You know, anytime a legal decision is made at really any level, uh, while there is excitement on the one hand for those who wanted the verdict to go one way, and there may be disappointment on the other hand for those who didn't go their way, there always is this thought.

Well, we'll get it on appeal.

The assumption is whatever decision was made, even though the effects of that decision immediately go into place, we also know in the litigious society that we all live in that there always will be an appeal.

Now we know that there are multiple levels of appeals that go along, and that with each appeal, whether it goes in your direction or not, you have the opportunity for that case to be overturned by higher court.

Ultimately, that is the case until you get to the Supreme Court.

Because when the Supreme Court makes a decision, it is the final word.

There is no other court to appeal to.

There is no other jurisdiction that has more authority that will undo or change what the Supreme Court has decided, which is why the Supreme Court is so significant.

Supreme Court sees about 7,000 cases every year that are presented as as worthy of coming up before them.

However, out of those 7,000 cases, only 180 actually ever make it to the court, and out of those 180, only about 60 actually have oral arguments that are presented.

At the end of June, every year, it's a big time in the in the history of our country because we know the Supreme Court will have decided all of the previous docket that it had been brought before it, where the group gets together, they collectively make a decision, and they present their findings, and at that moment, whatever decision is made is final.

There is no other place that you can go.

There is nowhere else that you can turn.

The Supreme Court is the final word.

I've titled the message this morning, A Final Word.

We're gonna be looking at Romans chapter 8, the very end of the chapter, and what I believe is the greatest chapter in the greatest book of all of the Bible.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

That is my personal opinion, but I'm telling you, I think Romans chapter 8 is so good.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

You could literally have spent weeks and weeks and weeks.

We only did three on this book.

There is so much that is there, and what I want to tell you is that we are gonna look at some statements that Paul is going to make, and these statements are the final word.

You see, a lot of times along the way, whenever you're a believer in Jesus, there's certain things that maybe you know to be true, there's certain things that you have heard that are taught to you, and then over time you kind of have some life experiences along the way, or maybe you get a little bit older, or maybe you feel like you get a little bit more mature, or all of a sudden some new information comes to you, and you may begin to question whether what you heard in the past is actually true.

What I want to tell you today is this what we're gonna look at, these statements that you're gonna hopefully write down, not only in the margins of your Bible or in the notes app of your phone, but instead, these are things that I hope that you will write down on your heart.

These words are final words.

Nothing's going to change them, nothing's going to undo them.

The culture is not going to shift in such a way where we're going to look up and we're going to see, hey, these things aren't actually true.

I know we thought they were true, but now they're no longer true.

There's no evolving that's going to take place.

Instead, these are declarative statements that can have profound impact on the course of your life if you're a believer in Jesus Christ.

It all starts in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Look with me in verse 31.

This is like the heading for the rest of the passage.

It says, What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

First of all, if we actually believe this was true, we individually and we as a church would live a lot differently than we do.

Because what we see most often is people that live scared lives, wondering, is this gonna work out?

But instead, Romans 8 31 says, if God is for us, who can be against us?

Well, let's first of all just stop for a second.

There's a pretty good little list of who could be against us.

All right?

I mean, let's think about this.

You have an unbelieving world that is persecuting us and coming against everything that we stand for.

Okay?

We also have the indwelling sin that lives inside of us, that is still warring against us, and that is desiring to have attention, the flesh going against the spirit, that is coming up against us.

We also know that we have hardships and we have tragedies that test our faith.

We also know we have an enemy who is patient, who is persistent, who is very personal, and will be more than happy to wait you out in order to take you down.

Death will eventually take out all of us.

Death can be something that haunts us.

But despite all of these things, or the things that I didn't mention, but that you're coming up with, here's what the Bible says: if God is for us, who can be against us?

What this means is, is the implied answer is not a list.

The implied answer is nobody.

If God is for me, I'm good.

What this means is that God in every way is for you.

He doesn't like look at you like you would a potential uh employee that you may be hiring, and what do you do?

You look at all of their social media and you look at who they follow and you look at what they like and you look at all that kind of stuff, and then you make a decision, okay, based upon this, do I really like them?

No, no, no.

He's seen all the stuff you've posted and all the stuff you've thought that you didn't post.

And he's still for you.

Now, why could that be the case?

Well, ultimately, we see the reason why it's not because of you and your worthiness, but instead, the reason this is the case is because of the statements that he makes in the rest of the passage that all begin with the rhetorical questions.

Turn with me, if you will, to Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Look at first of all at verse 32.

It says, He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all.

How will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

In the margins of your Bible or in your notes app of your Bible app, whatever it is that you use to take notes, I want you to write next to verse 32 these words never without.

Never without.

You know, we just got off of a holiday and a weekend that's designed to show you what you don't have and what you can't afford not to have, and they'll even give you a deal in order to make sure that you get it.

It's constantly gonna be bombarded telling you you are not going to be happy unless you have X.

What I want you to understand is this the Bible tells us very clearly here that you are never without.

The reason that we know this is because we have a God who it says here, graciously gives us all things.

What has he given to us?

Ultimately, we know that he most importantly gave us his son Jesus, who died as a substitute and as a sacrifice on the cross for us.

Look, I had some opportunity to reflect last week, and I am so grateful and thankful for the people of United City Church.

I'm so thankful for what God is doing here in our midst.

But can I also tell you this?

When it comes to you or when it comes to my family, my family's gonna win.

As it should be for you, and whatever it is that you do.

And what we see here is that God says that his love was shown for us by giving up his son, by offering his son, as a sacrifice on the cross.

The implication is this if God has given up his son as an eternal sacrifice for you, so that you might be saved from your sins, how much more will he give you all the lesser things that you spend so much time thinking about and worrying about?

Philippians 4 19, listen to what it says.

It says, And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

Let me tell you what that means.

This is a bank that's not worried about inflation.

This is a bank that's not worried about overdrawing.

This instead is a bank that is full and that has abundant resources that are available for us, which means this: because we can trust God with our eternal destiny, then we can certainly trust Him for our daily decisions.

Because we can trust God for our salvation, he can certainly handle our finances.

Because we can trust God with our future, we can trust him with our relationships, we can trust him with our identity.

John Flavil is a pastor in the 16th century.

I love his quote about this verse.

He says these words, he spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all.

How shall he not with him freely give us all things?

How is it imaginable that God should withhold after this spirituals or temporals from his people?

How shall he not call them effectually, justify them freely, sanctify them thoroughly, and glorify them eternally?

How shall he not clothe them, feed them, protect and deliver them?

Surely if he would not spare his own son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, one circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever he should, after this, deny or withhold from his people, for whose sakes all this will suffer any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them.

Final word has been spoken.

There is no place that you can go to undo it.

You are never without if you know Jesus.

Look with me in verse 33.

It says, Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies.

I want you to write in the margins of your Bible next to verse 33 the words never accused.

Never accused.

This brings the idea of a legal setting where maybe you are in a courtroom, but it also kind of carries the idea of being maybe in an interrogation room.

I've never been arrested and I've never been under interrogation.

But I've watched enough shows on Netflix to know that seems like a very scary thing to do, right?

Like that seems like that would be a terrifying situation, all right?

I mean, I know how I react when I am driving along the road and I see a police officer, even if I'm not speeding, I immediately slow down, I tense up, and I begin to look in my rear view mirror multiple times just to make sure I didn't accidentally do anything wrong, right?

I mean, I I just I have that feeling of just kind of tension.

Okay, now picture that in an interrogation room where now you are being accused of something.

Let's just say that you know you did not commit.

But I mean, let's be honest, I've seen the shows.

People will confess to stuff they didn't do, right?

And I'd like to think that I'd be strong and I'd be I'd be bold, but I'm telling you, they get people, right?

And they flip them, and all of a sudden you're in that moment and it's tense.

And being accused is not a comfortable place for you to be.

Now, can you imagine what it may feel like if you're being accused when you are not guilty?

Can you imagine how much even more difficult it would be to be accused when you know you're guilty?

You see, that's exactly what happens to us.

Romans 1 through 3, we looked at it in our series, The Ugly Truth.

None of us are exempt from the list.

All of us are sinners, all of us have fallen short of the glory of God.

None of us are with without accusation coming up against us.

Yet the Bible says here in verse 33, who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies.

What he's saying is this is that even though you know you are guilty, no one can bring an accusation up against you.

Why?

Because you are God's elect.

Word election may immediately begin to cause shivers down your spine.

Maybe you grew up in a church where like election was like that doctrine which like no one ever talked about, or election was like the litmus test as to whether you were truly a Christian or not.

I want to tell you this idea of election is kind of a summary statement coming off of what we just read last week.

Look with me in Romans chapter 8, verses 28 through 30.

Romans 8:28–30

It says, And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

And those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and those whom he justified, he also glorified.

You see in here this concept of predestination and foreknowledge.

You also see this word election.

What do we got going on here?

Okay, let's just talk about this from a theological standpoint for just a second.

The idea of election and the sovereignty of God compared to man's free will have been a debated thing throughout all the history of time.

What the idea is, is that is God sovereign and that basically we are all just robots doing whatever God has already decided?

Or do we have free will and God basically reacts to whatever we choose to do along the way?

What I would tell you is what is difficult for us to understand, how God's sovereignty and free will go together, is not in contradiction in the Bible.

And so, in light of that, we have to leave it to the mystery of God, even though we don't understand it, and recognize that the doctrine of election is never meant to be something where we get to look out at unbelievers and determine whether you're saved or whether you're not saved.

The Bible, instead, I see says this the more we share Christ, the more people get elected.

In fact, election is a reason why we should be more passionate about evangelism, not less.

I would argue the reason that we would ever have any success on a mission trip, going to another place with a different language, with a different nationality, with a different people, thinking that somehow by us showing up, speaking the words of Jesus, their lives can be changed forever.

We are not so arrogant to somehow think that depends on us.

But instead, that is God choosing and that is God saving.

That being said, what I believe the doctrine of election is always presented in scripture is not a means to determine who's saved and who's not, but it's always meant to be a comfort to those who are already saved.

What it shows is this is that even though the liar, the accuser, says things about you that are actually true, repeating to you and repeating to the Father all of the sins that you've committed in the past, all the sins that you've committed in the present, all the sins that you will commit in the future, because it is God who justifies, guess what?

They don't get heard.

It's a box where it's like not wanted.

What this means is this, because of God's election of you, it protects you from the accuser who would lob lies at you, which let's just talk about this.

Some of you are still living beat up for things that God has already forgiven you of.

Write down those words.

You are never accused.

There's not gonna be a what what?

I I didn't know this was coming.

You know, uh, besides TCU, if you're a college football fan of pretty much any team right now, you're kind of having a man, I would love to have a redo.

Uh I had all this expectation and all this excitement and all this hope and hope and hope and hope and hope.

And in Texas in particular, I mean, a lot of teams are kind of like wishing, man, can we get a look?

There's never gonna be a time when God looks at the mess you've made of your life and say, you know, I just want to redo.

He knows it's a mess.

And because he is the one who justifies, you are never accused.

Let's look at the next verse, verse 34.

It reads, Who is to condemn?

Christ Jesus is the one who died.

More than that who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

You are never without, you are never accused.

Next to verse 34, I want you to write these words in the margin of your Bible.

You are never condemned.

You are never condemned.

This should remind you of what I consider to be one of the greatest verses in all of the Bible.

I know I keep saying that because there really is that many good ones, alright?

Romans chapter 8, verse 1.

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

What this means is that legally there is no condemnation, but here's the beauty of it: there also is no shame or guilt feelings that you should feel because there is no condemnation.

Verse 34 describes why we can have this confidence.

It says there, first of all, that Jesus Christ died, and when he died, he served as our substitute, he paid our sin debt.

You see, we had this sin problem.

It wasn't like our sin was just over ignored or overlooked or just dismissed.

Instead, it was paid for through a bloody sacrifice on a cross, a weighty sacrifice on the cross for us.

But the Bible says there as well in verse 34 that Jesus, more than that, who was raised, this is the doctrine of the resurrection.

We talked about this in Romans 6.

We saw that when Jesus Christ died and then he was buried and then he rose from the dead, that our union with him, displayed in the ordinance of baptism, which we just saw, literally is a picture that shows that not only have we died with Christ, but we've risen with him, which now means that we've overcome the power of sin and the power of death in our lives.

Our identification with him means that guess what?

His resurrection we get the benefit of.

Look at what it says there.

It says next that he is at the right hand of God.

What this means is that Jesus ascended from the earth in Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

He is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The right hand of the throne of God is the position of Authority in the position of rule, which means this that now Jesus is sitting in the place of authority, so that now when our account is brought before the Father and determine where it stands, look at what it says the one who is seated in that position is doing at the end of verse 34, who indeed is interceding for us.

Folks, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty confident that whenever I die, I'm gonna be in heaven because verse 34 makes it pretty clear.

There's like all these different gates and all these different checkpoints along the way, and Jesus has got every one of them covered.

Romans 8.26, we talked about it last week.

It says the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

How amazing is Romans 8.34, which says that Jesus Himself intercedes for us, which means this whenever we need an advocate, guess what?

We got somebody that can speak up for us.

We got somebody who can say, Oh, no, no, no, no, they're with me.

They're with me, they're good.

No, no, no, they're not good, but I'm good and I'm giving them all my goodness.

Therefore, because of that, I can now with confidence know that I am never condemned.

Look at verse 35 to 39.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long.

We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

Know in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, let this be like a word spoken over you.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Our Lord.

I can look at each one of these, literally, spend a whole sermon series looking at each aspect of all of this.

The whole point and idea of this is basically to ensure this there's nothing that's gonna come up that's ever going to throw off the love of God for you.

Here's what I want you to see too.

I was afraid of that.

Can you still hear me?

Am I good?

David, are we good?

Good.

Uh verse 34.

Am I good?

Verse 34, it actually references a passage from the Psalms.

Excuse me, not the verse 34.

Uh, I'm sorry, it mentions in Psalm chapter 44, verse 22, and verse 36, it quotes that to remind his readers that suffering and hardship is unavoidable.

Psalms 44:22

I love that.

Because in the midst of saying that there's nothing that we could ever do that could separate us from the love of God, he doesn't say that you won't suffer.

I like that because you know what?

The Bible's real.

Some of you just came off of Thanksgiving, where suffering was the definition of it.

Some of you just came off of a setting and a season when maybe you walked through a time when maybe a loved one who was supposed to be at the table wasn't at the table.

Maybe some of you walked through a time and a season whenever there was so much chaos and there's so much difficulty and so much relational strife.

As a result of that, you wanted to get out of there as quick as you possibly could.

Suffering is a real thing that exists.

I want you to know this.

The love of God is with us in the midst of the suffering.

And because of Jesus, we are more than conquerors.

David, I'm gonna bail on this.

This thing's driving me crazy.

This is too good to have a weird microphone sticking out on the side.

And here's what the Bible tells us as well.

Not only does the love of God, nothing can happen that could ever separate us from the love of God.

But here's what it also tells us.

Because of the love of God, we are more than conquerors.

Do you live and act like you are a conqueror?

Because I know a lot of times what it looks like is that believers, we walk around like we're just constantly defeated.

We walk around like basically the world's got us and the government's got us, and our boss has got us, and our friends have got relationships got us.

And it's this constant sense of defeat instead of what God is telling us is that we are never separated from his love, which allows us to be more than conquerors.

Now we don't need to take this to a false theology where basically we can name it and claim it.

But I also would tell you this: we also don't need to turn our nose as though the promises of God are not real and are not true.

Here's what I want to close and talk to us about.

The fact that we're never without, we're never accused, we're never condemned, and we're never separated.

If these things are actually true, here's what I believe the application for you today is this.

We've got to never stop.

We've got to never stop.

I want you just to think about this, not just on a personal level, although I encourage you and hope that you will.

But if I'd like to take just a few moments to be able to spend some time thinking through what this could look like for us on a corporate level as a church of United City Church.

Hopefully, you've been following us online, you've been following us on some of our social media channels, and you've been able to see some of the stories that we've been able to post the last few days.

We've got another one that's coming out tomorrow as well, just as a way to express gratitude in the midst of this week, uh, just for some of the things that God has done.

And I had the opportunity this week as well, just to begin to reflect and think specifically, thanking God for all that He has done in our church in the last year.

Last calendar year has truly been phenomenal.

We've had new ministries that have been launched.

We've got young adults.

We have more young adults serving at United City Church than we've ever had before.

Uh we have our Espignol ministry, which you're going to hear a little bit more about here in just a minute, that God is just blowing up and doing some amazing things at.

We've been able to see people getting baptized.

We saw the story of Amanda and how she went through Growth Track.

Growth Track's been an incredible resource for us as a church, and so many people have gone through our growth track and have realized their next step and have taken whatever next step that is, whether that's serving or being baptized or membership.

We're going to see tomorrow the story of a coach who saw that God was using his platform not just to be able to influence people on the football field, but to influence people for eternity.

It's been an open door that God has allowed us to be able to have in the schools like never before.

It's just amazing to think about what God has done in the midst of our church.

Literally, today, being able to see six people baptized, there almost doesn't have a Sunday that goes by when we don't see at least one person baptized.

And I just was at a conference with a bunch of pastors just a couple of weeks ago, and I'm telling you, this is not normal.

What God is allowing us to experience and to see, I'm hearing more and more conversations about pre-COVID stuff.

Are you guys back to where you were before COVID?

We have so far exceeded where we were before COVID.

It's not even a conversation that we have anymore.

And I just thank God, I and my heart is so full because of all that God has done in our midst at United City Church.

But I have had this tension for a long time.

And this tension is this while I am extremely thankful for what God has done the last year, it feels like all we are doing is what we always should have done.

This is what God wants us to do.

This is what the church does.

The church is active in evangelism, the church is active and doing what God's asking them to do.

And I read Romans 8 31, and I have to ask the question of myself personally, but I also have to ask the question of us as a church collectively.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

If that is actually true, what more do you want us to do?

Like what more do you have for us to be a part of?

I say thank you, Lord, for all you have done, while I expectantly beg and say, but God, what else do you have for us to do?

I believe that God desires for us to be able to reach Northeast Houston.

I believe that God wants us to be an anchor church to help make that happen.

I believe the location that we are in, I believe the facility that we are in, I believe the people that we are in, I believe the budget that He has.

We are a church that has an opportunity to be able to see Northeast Houston mobilized with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Uh last week, our United City Espanol, which kind of had a soft launch in August, it actually has its official launch coming up here in the spring.

They hosted an event with 130 people that were in attendance, called their uh United City or Espanyol.

It was a celebration festival.

It's a celebration festival.

What they did is they had people bring food from all the different countries that were represented in United City Espanol.

There's 10 different flags that are represented here in some of these videos.

So ten different countries are represented by the people that we are experiencing coming to United City Espanol.

Did you realize that the average church nationally in Espanol has about 60 people that includes kids?

We haven't even officially launched yet, and we're already averaging 70 adults without kids.

And 10 different countries that are being represented.

Church, would you pray with me that we would have 25 flags at next year's event?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

We mobilize people to go to the nations.

I think that is vitally important.

But I also need you to understand this the nations are in our backyard.

We have the opportunity to now speak the native language that people are speaking and to be able to reach them.

We have a building, we have resources, we have a pastor that God has brought to us supernaturally.

If you've not heard the story, go back at the beginning of August and listen to the story.

God wants to do amazing things, and I want to ask, are we willing to pray and say, God, we're so happy that you brought 10 countries, or are we still willing to pray and say, God, we beg you that you do 25.

25 countries in our midst.

We as a church are very blessed to have resources.

We as a church have a building that costs a lot of money.

Costs a lot of money to repair.

We're kind of in that season of a house.

Many of you may know what this looks like when you're kind of in a house long enough to where you kind of love it, but it's also long enough in the house where stuff just starts breaking all the time.

And you're just like, ah, Lee, what you know, this is just stuff, and it's not stuff that you love and care about.

It's not stuff that like everyone sees.

It's not aesthetic stuff, it's like the boring stuff.

We're kind of in the midst of that season.

We got a lot of maintenance and things like that in our building.

Can I just please beg you, what could it look like for us as United City Church to be in a position to where we're not having to spend budget money on maintenance, but instead we're having to spend, we're able to spend even new budget money on ministries that God wants to launch, like young adults and like Espanol.

What could it look like for us to be in a financial position to where we are heading into 2023 totally outside of the norm in a financial stronghold, ready to do whatever God calls us to do?

We as a church give a lot to some mercy ministries.

We give to a pregnancy center, for example.

Uh we also give to uh some local poverty initiatives and some ministries.

I just have got to wonder, though, instead of us just being a church that funds things, what if God wanted us to be a church that starts things?

What if we were a church that didn't just vote pro-life, but we are a church that has a pregnancy center birthed out of our church?

That existed to not only show people about the life that is inside of their womb, but also tell them about the eternal life that can change their entire future?

Please hear me for some of you that may hear this and you're like, man, that'd be awesome.

What if God wants you to start it?

What if God may be raising you up to be the very answer?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

What if God allowed us as a church to be a place that begins to launch and start ministries to help the human trafficking issue, which is one of the largest issues in all of the city of Houston, the city where we live in?

And maybe God wanted to mobilize us to do the uncomfortable hard stuff.

Not only just to give, but to serve, to mentor, to help, to come alongside.

I'm gonna be at a retreat this coming Wednesday with a group called the Houston Church Planners Network.

I'm gonna be with about 75 pastors all across the area.

This is a group that has come together to basically talk about what it looks like to plant new churches in the city of Houston.

Uh one of the things that I continually hear as I talk to the folks at the Houston Church Planners Network, we've hosted a couple of events and considering doing some giving towards them as we move forward in the future in our missions budget.

But one of the things that I continually realize is that when it comes to the issue of planting churches in the city of Houston, the Northeast region is woefully underrepresented.

Woefully underrepresented.

I believe United City Church needs to change that.

I believe that if God is for us, who can be against us?

What could it look like for us to not only launch some of you out of this place to start a new English congregation, but also, we've already talked about it with LEL, for him to start a new Spanish work out of the church that hasn't even started yet over there.

What could God begin to do if we were serious about launching people and not just doing church but planning churches?

I believe if we're going to reach Northeast Houston, that God desires that we are not limiting ourselves just to the 19901 Townsend Boulevard location.

I have no idea what this looks like, and I have no idea what this means, but I do know this.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

And I want us to be able to have a bold faith as a church that says this.

If God is for it, I'm in.

I'll do whatever God calls us to do because I know that I am never accused, I am never separated, I am never without.

And so therefore, Lord, we will go where you call us to go.

We will do what you call us to do, we will mobilize as you call us to mobilize.

We do not want to just play church.

We instead want to be the church and reach this community as you've called us to do.

We have a couple of uh residents already on our staff.

I am a product of a residency.

We just recently hired a couple of folks from various residencies as well at other churches.

I firmly believe that one of the things that God desires for us to do is to be a leadership development factory where we raise up people who are trained and called to ministry, who can come and be on staff at United City Church, helping us reach Northeast Houston, and whether they stay on staff here or whether they come and are sent out to other places and other locations, we know this that God desires for us, I firmly believe, for us to be a place that has a residence.

Now, here's what this means.

Some of you that just got your house all of a sudden now clean because you got that college kid finally moved out and you finally got a little bit more space.

I think God wants to use that as a place where a resident can live for free so they can go and not only pursue education, but they can also pursue work and training here at United City Church for the next generation.

So that when people think about building up the church, they think United City Church, they're serious about this.

They've been doing it all over Northeast Houston and beyond.

The natural thought is yeah, but, yeah, but what about what about this?

Or what about this?

What about this?

And I just go back to Romans 8.31.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

C.S.

Lewis, he says this quote.

I love it.

He says, Here's how you know that you're truly living by faith.

It's when what you are doing for God scares you.

Let me ask you the question.

Is what you are doing for God scaring you?

Is the level of giving that you are giving at scaring you?

Is the level of serving that you are serving at scaring you?

Is the level of commitment that you are committed scaring you?

Or does God have more work to do in your life?

One of the reasons why we have the opportunity to be able to dream big and to be able to ask God to do great things in our midst is because ultimately we have the greatest message of all to share.

God give us two ordinances to be able to celebrate at the local church, the testimony of Jesus Christ.

We saw one earlier, and that is the testimony of baptism.

But the second one that He has given to us is the Lord's Supper, communion.

Many of you gathered around with your families this past week and you shared a family meal together.

You had the opportunity to be able to maybe have some certain traditions that you do as a family, maybe meals and dishes that you eat together as a family.

But God has given us this opportunity as well to gather as a family of believers and to be able to celebrate the sacrifice that He gave for us on the cross.

In just a moment, our deacons are going to serve you the elements of the Lord's Supper, the bread and the cup.

They're going to be in one, they're going to be on stacked up on top of each other.

If you're a believer in Jesus, I want to ask that you just pass it down and that you grab those and you just hold them, and we will eat these together and we will drink these together after everyone has been served.

But as we worship, I just want to ask that you begin to reflect.

You begin to thank the son of suffering, who has the final word, who's never accused.

He's going to leave you at a place where you're never without.

You're never separated.

You're never condemned.

Father, we come before you and we ask that you would bless this time.

Father, as we take these elements together, Father, I pray that you would allow our hearts to be so full of gratitude because of what you have done for us.

It's in the name of Jesus that I pray.

Amen.

What an incredible message.

Hey, if you made a decision today to give your life to Jesus, we'd love to know about it.

We'd love to celebrate with you.

We'd even love to pray with you.

And so if you made that decision, would you text next to 55498?

And someone from our team would love to follow up with you.

In the meantime, I would love to pray with you even right now as God continues to do things in your heart moving.

And so, Jesus, we love you so much.

We say thank you for the truth of your word.

Thank you for still showing up in people's lives and still doing all what you can do.

Jesus, I pray that you continue leading your hearts in your lives.

Uh, bring peace to minds.

And Jesus, what do you just do?

United City Fans, this has been an incredible service.

It's been so fun worshiping with you.

Hey, to stay in the know on everything going on in the life of our church.

We'd love for you to follow us on Instagram and on Facebook to stay up to date on everything happening.

And we'd love to see you either in person or online right back here next week.

Services are at 9 30 and 11.

We hope you have a fantastic week, and we'll see you soon.