I want to begin this new year
by believing and looking for the impossible to happen, because
that's exactly what's got to happen if we stay here. Impossible. But we have an impossible
working God who's able to do exceedingly abundantly above
all that we ask or think. This morning, I made a little
list on the way to church. I said on my list, Dustin's downstairs
teaching the children. But I said, Dustin, where were
you five years ago? He was in prison. I said, well,
you shouldn't call names like that. Well, if I don't call your
name, today, it doesn't mean I don't know about you, but I
want to call some names here. Martoni up here in the choir,
where were you just a few short years ago? Rob and Joe and Joe
Curtis. Marty and Laura, where were you
just a few years ago? Dorothy and Luke, do you believe
it's impossible for God? You're here. You're a miracle. Am I right about that? Jeff Andrews
and Shannon, Ryan and Sarah, miracles of the grace of God. Nick, Rob and Kristen who just
got engaged this week. Dakota and Jennifer, Mike and
Courtney, Joe and Haley, Joel and Mary, I mean, my list
could go on and on. I just ran out of time. We pulled
in the parking lot out here. Do you believe it's impossible for
God to do anything? I mean, just think about where
you were and where you are now. Oh, it took a miracle to put
the sun in space, but when he saved my soul, cleansed and made
me whole, it took a miracle of the grace of God. Here we are.
your church, your pastor, your community, your family, your
city doing it's God's way. Nobody has the answer to the
heroin addiction in this city, except us for the most part,
we do. We believe it's the gospel. We
believe it's the power of God. We believe it's the spirit of
God. And the proof is in the pudding. All of those people
that I named just a little while ago were in jail. Locked up,
slaves to addiction. You've come in here and been
converted. You've come to know Christ. You've
gotten off drugs. You've seen him to be life, abundant
life. And we've formed a community
or God has formed a community here. And we love each other. And we're in this thing called
life together. We need the impossible to happen
right now, this morning. There are people sitting here
right now just so duped in their sins. Have no life. You don't have abundant life.
You don't know what I'm talking about. In fact, yesterday you were just
thinking about taking your own life because life is so miserable. You've messed up so much. You've
wallowed in the stables of sin. You feel like there's no hope.
Say, do you know why we call over there grace centers of hope? Because you don't need a hand
up. You need the grace of God in
your life. Unmerited, undeserved favor. You need a miracle of
God Almighty on your inside to bring you out of that darkness.