God Uses Small People For Big Purposes - Herbert Cooper

It's about more people encountering the love of God. It's about more people being healed. It's about more people being set free. It's about more marriages being restored. It's about more people being discipled. It's about more people being set free. It's about more people being saved from their sin and on their way to heaven. And today you can look around this room and there's a diverse church. Black people, brown people, white people, young people, old people worshiping together because with God all things are possible. And it always has been and it always will be about more changed lives. Welcome to People's Church everyone. It is Christmas time here at People's Church. So we invite you all around this room to come along. It's time to get free. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on.

Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. I know. Hey, this is으면 come on. Come on. Come on. Let it rise. Let it rise.

Let it rise up Like a river Over flowing Holy Spirit Let it pour out With no limit Over flowing Holy Spirit Sing oh oh oh, oh oh oh, oh oh oh I got the joy, I got the joy, so much joy The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Sing oh my soul, oh my soul, bless his name All that is within me say Oh my soul, bless his name All that is within me say Oh my soul, bless his name All that is within me say ♪ The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ Because I have, I have, I got the joy of the Lord ♪ ♪ And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know ♪ ♪ Today we are celebrating life changes ♪ ♪ People will call it for Jesus through water, baptism ♪ ♪ And you can turn your attention to my left, your right ♪ Come on, will you put your hands together for more Chains Live! ♪ Angels we have heard on high ♪ ♪ Sweetly singing o'er the plains ♪ ♪ And the mountains in reply ♪ ♪ Echoing their joyous strains ♪ Come on, sing it out. ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Shepherd's wife is jubilee ♪ ♪ Why your joyous strains prolong ♪ ♪ What the gladsome tidings be ♪

♪ Which inspire your heavenly song ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest forever ♪ ♪ Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest forever ♪ ♪ All he has done is unfailing love ♪ ♪ Glory to God in the highest forever ♪ ♪ To come to Bethlehem and see him whose birth the angels sing ♪ ♪ Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the new born King ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo, Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest forever ♪ ♪ All he has done is unfailing love ♪ ♪ Glory to God in the highest forever ♪ ♪ Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest forever ♪ ♪ Glory to God in the highest forever ♪ ♪ All he has done is unfailing love ♪ ♪ Glory to God in the highest forever ♪ ♪ Gloria, Gloria, glory to God in the highest ♪ ♪ Gloria, Gloria, glory to God in the highest ♪ ♪ Oh, we bless your name Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, we give you all the glory, all the honor ♪ ♪ You're so worthy of the praise ♪ ♪ Oh, we worship you Jesus ♪ Come on church, let's sing this out, silent night. ♪ Silent night, holy night ♪ ♪ All is calm, all is bright ♪ ♪ Round yon virgin, mother and child ♪ ♪ Holy infant so tender and mild ♪ ♪ Oh tender and mild ♪ ♪ Sleep in heavenly peace ♪

♪ Sleep in heavenly peace ♪ ♪ Emmanuel, God with us on earth ♪ ♪ Emmanuel, God with us on earth ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord, our Savior's holy birth ♪ ♪ Our Messiah, be lifted higher ♪ ♪ Let all of creation declare your worth ♪ ♪ Emmanuel, God with us on earth ♪ ♪ Silent night, holy night ♪ ♪ Son of God, love's pure light ♪ ♪ Radiant beams from thy holy face ♪ ♪ With the dawn of redeeming grace ♪ ♪ Jesus, Lord, at thy birth ♪ ♪ Jesus, Lord, at thy birth ♪ ♪ Jesus, Lord, at thy birth ♪ ♪ Emmanuel, God with us on earth ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord, our Savior's holy birth ♪ ♪ Our Messiah, be lifted higher ♪ ♪ Let all of creation declare your worth ♪ ♪ Emmanuel, God with us on earth ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, the greatest blessing ♪ ♪ The Son of Heaven living here with us ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, we can't stop singing ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus Christ, the miracle of love ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, the greatest blessing ♪ ♪ The Son of Heaven living here with us ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, we can't stop singing ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus Christ, the miracle of love ♪ ♪ Emmanuel, God with us on earth ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord, our Savior's holy birth ♪ ♪ Our Messiah, be lifted higher ♪

♪ Let all of creation declare your worth ♪ ♪ Emmanuel, God with us on earth ♪ ♪ Emmanuel, God with us on earth ♪ Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Come on, somebody celebrate. Our greatest blessing is Jesus. Oh, we worship you, God. We worship you, God. We invite you here into our lives, into our space. ♪ Oh come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant ♪ ♪ Oh come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem ♪ ♪ Come and behold Him, come and behold Him ♪ Born the King of Angels O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him Christ the Lord Sing, choirs of angels Sing in exultation Sing all ye citizens Of heaven above Glory to God Glory in the highest O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him Christ the Lord The Lord His Name shall be

Wonderful Counselor His Name shall be Everlasting Father His Name shall be Prince of Peace, Mighty God His Name shall be Emmanuel We'll praise Your Name forever Christ the Lord We'll praise Your Name forever Christ the Lord His Name shall be Wonderful Counselor His Name shall be Everlasting Father His Name shall be Prince of Peace, Mighty God His Name shall be Emmanuel Hallelujah We worship You, Lord We give You praise today, Father We give You all the glory, all the honor That is due Your Name today And Father, we ask that You speak to our hearts We're here to receive from You All You have for us today In Jesus' Name, Amen Amen, come on, give Him praise one more time Praise the Lord

Well, church family, before you're seated We always love taking the time to connect And get to know each other Why don't you turn to two or three people Learn some names, shake some hands Tell them Merry Christmas today All right, well, welcome to People's Church, everybody. We're so glad to have you with us today. My name is Rob Champion. I'm the campus pastor here at the Oklahoma City Campus. Whether you're joining us online or in the house today, we are family. We're so glad that you're joining us for our People's Church Christmas services. We're so glad to have you here today. We do wanna take a moment to welcome all of our first-time guests. Come on, People's Church family. Would you show them some love today? Welcome to People's Church. We're so glad to have you with us today. Well, People's Church, I'm just so grateful that we are a part of a church that sees people give their life to Christ and have their lives changed every single Sunday. And today, I wanna share this story with you today. This is from Tierney. She said, life before God feels so foreign, dark, and worldly. I was living for the sole purpose

of pursuing everything my flesh desired. My lifestyle consisted of drinking, smoking, and partying. I lived in a world full of sexual immorality and lust that tore down any self-respect or value that I had in myself. For a long time, I have felt blind to my purpose in life and defeated having no clue where my next steps would lead me. I had a great amount of hatred towards God for years, watching my baby brother suffer from childhood cancer. And it wasn't until a great friend of mine invited me to church and a fire inside of me was lit. After falling in love with People's Church, my dearest sister in Christ and I took the deepest dive possible, hand in hand, into our relationship with the Lord. My brother was still suffering and I was slowly finding beauty in the time we still had. My life is brand new. I truly feel born again. I was given a fresh set of eyes with the ability to see the world in a perspective that is so much greater than myself. I found beauty and value in myself that stems from being a daughter of the great Father that reassures me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. People's Church has changed my life. I felt included, seen, and covered in love by complete strangers from the moment I stepped through the door for the first time.

I have been encouraged to proclaim my faith publicly and have felt motivated to find my purpose to serve, to live as a disciple, and to be a part of even more changed lives. Truly a slice of heaven on earth. Yeah, amen. People's Church, I just wanna say, I'm grateful that we are a part of a church helping prodigal sons and prodigal daughters find their way back home to a loving God. And Church, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for faithfully giving of your tithe and giving in the miracle offering from now until the end of the year so that we can continue to see lives change for the glory of God. Your giving makes a huge difference. Father, we thank you for lives that are changed every single Sunday. And Lord, we just pray that, Lord, you would continue to use our giving, our serving, our prayers, Lord, that we would see many more lives changed for your glory and for your name. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. ["Taps"] ["Taps"] ["Taps"] ["Taps"]

["Taps"] Welcome Holy Child, Welcome Holy Child I hope that you don't mind I'm injured How I wish we would have known But long awaited, holy stranger Make yourself at home Please make yourself at home Bring your peace into our violence Bid our hungry souls be filled We're now breaking heaven's silence Welcome to our world Welcome to our world Fragile fingers sent to heal us Tender brow prepared for thorn Tiny heart whose blood will save us Unto us is born Unto us is born So wrap our injured flesh around you Breathe our air and walk our side Rob our sin and make us holy Perfect Son of God Perfect Son of God Welcome to our world How do you welcome a king? We've had many rulers in our world But none who could heal a soul None who could save us from darkness Then, two thousand years ago A new king was born He wasn't announced with trumpets

But with an explosion of light Trillions of miles away A new star in the night sky An answer to the darkness we'd been living in And as forgotten, lowly shepherds kept watch over their flocks An angel of the Lord appeared, blazing with glory He declared, I bring you good news that will change your life forever The king of kings, your savior, has been born The shepherds wondered, how do you welcome a king? Suddenly, as if to answer, a mighty choir of heaven filled the sky Singing of his glory Holy, wonderful, marvelous, glorious, omnipotent, righteous, and mighty They knew their king And now they were announcing him to the world Word of God upon the throne In majesty and strength Surrounded by an endless song That all of heaven sings Holy, wonderful, marvelous, glorious, omnipotent, righteous, and mighty We praise you, we lift you up, we magnify, we glorify We exalt you, we extol you, we adore you Hallelujah The one who wants, the one who wins, behold the great I Am. With holy hands we lift you high, our God, the Lord of all. And our God, the Lord of all. Holy, wonderful, marvelous, glorious, omnipotent, righteous, and mighty. We praise you, we lift you up,

we magnify, we glorify, we exalt you, we extol you, we adore you. Hallelujah. Holy, wonderful, marvelous, glorious, omnipotent, righteous, and mighty. We praise you, we lift you up, we magnify, we glorify, we exalt you, we extol you, we adore you. Hallelujah. Glory to the Lamb, once slain. Glory to the King who reigns. Glory to the one worthy of all. There is only one who's saved. There is only one who'll be praised. There is only one worthy of all. Yeah. And he shall reign forever and ever. Oh, he shall reign. Oh. And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Holy, wonderful, marvelous, glorious,

omnipotent, righteous, and mighty. We praise you, we lift you up, we magnify, we glorify, we exalt you, we extol you, we adore you. Hallelujah. Somebody magnify the Lord. Isn't he magnificent? Isn't he wonderful? Come on, somebody. He's worthy of our praise today. Lord, we give you the praise. Lord, we give you the honor. Lord, we praise your holy name. Come on, choir, give me a little bit more right now. Somebody give God your best praise. We love you. Holy, wonderful, marvelous, glorious, omnipotent, righteous, and mighty. We praise you, we lift you up, we magnify, we glorify, we exalt you, we extol you, we adore you. Hallelujah. Lord, we love you today. We magnify you. We give you all praise, all glory. It belongs to you today. Hallelujah. You can be seated today. How about the People's Church Choir? Wow, what a performance.

And I don't know if y'all called each other, but y'all look colorful. Coordinated. I don't know how that happened. Y'all look good today. You look good. You look good. I love our choir Great job to the team on just a spectacular performance and putting all that together and welcome all of our guests We're glad to have you here at Christmas at People's Church Welcome to all of our locations, Midwest City, Northwest Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Edmond, our Mabel Bassett location. The lady is there at the correctional facility all of you joining us online Welcome to the Sunday Before Christmas, it's a special weekend not only for Celebrating Jesus, but for my wife and I we celebrated 28 years of marriage yesterday Love her so much 28 years of being married and it just keeps getting gooder and gooder and gooder I know that's not good English, but it's the truth. But I'm 28 years and I'm 35 years old Can you believe that? I'm just 35 been married 20 and everybody has this kind of blessing on their life. Are you ready for the Word of God today? Come on. Are you ready for God's Word today? Man, I'm ready to preach today. I want to speak for the next few moments from this thought God uses small people for big purposes You know in the early years of Tiffany and I pastoring People's Church. I felt insignificant. I felt small. I Felt unqualified to be a pastor for those of you that know me. I'm a huge introvert I've I'm not I don't think I'm weird because I I got pretty decent people skills But I am a huge introvert and I really struggled. How could God use me? To pastor people with my personality. I really struggled God. Why? Did you make me like this? I know my personality has to be holding me back God, I don't have what it takes to pastor this church Have you ever? Struggle struggle with feelings like that. Have you ever felt insignificant? Anybody ever felt unqualified or overlooked or like your life really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things Have you ever felt you know, like well God can't use me because I come from a small town Or I come from the wrong family. I Don't have the right education or I don't have the right connections. I've made too many mistakes. I'm not talented enough I'm not gifted enough. I know many of us have struggled with these

kinds of feelings and one of the encouraging things that gives us hope about the Christmas story is that when God Decided to change the world. He did not go to Jerusalem the capital city He did not knock on the door of a king or a queen He did not go to the elite the celebrity or the influencer When God got ready to unveil the most important person and the most important story in human history the birth of Jesus Christ he sent his angel to a little forgotten village called Nazareth and to a non influential teenage girl Named Mary. Let's pick up the story together. We're going to study the book of Luke chapter number one I want us to look at verse number 26 and 27. It says the Christmas story in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. God sent an angel Gabriel to Nazareth to a town in Galilee To a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph a descendant of David the Virgin's name was Mary God looked over Rome He looked over Jerusalem and he picked a small town called Nazareth a little small agricultural town Little small town at the town. I came from we woke Over there by what Lika and what with Tomkins a sock when new Lima come on shot now Seminole County right now What I'm doing my sermon. I'll preach it. I won't I got we we woke up in there Come on, somebody need to know about my town little small town Historians estimate that Nazareth the population was around two to four hundred people that lived in that little town and Nazareth didn't have a great reputation. It was kind of a little sketchy town John wrote this and John chapter 1 verse 46 Nazareth can anything good come from there? Not not only did God look past

Prominent cities, but he but he also looked past the priest The scholars the Kings the artists the celebrities he found an unknown girl from an unknown Family who had no prominence No power No status No fame. He picked the young lady from a little town called Nazareth. Her name was Mary. God loves to use people, the world calls small and insignificant, to accomplish a big purpose. Matter of fact, scripture says this in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verse 27 and 28, instead God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. God loves to use people who seem weak, who seem small, who seem unqualified. I think about Moses in Exodus chapter 4 and verse 10 when Moses said, I can't speak well, God, you can't use me. He felt unworthy, he felt unable, but God turned a stuttering shepherd into a deliverer of Israel. God uses insecure voices to deliver strong messages. I think about in Judges chapter 6 and verse 15, Gideon said, I am the least of my family. I'm the least of my clan. And God used Gideon to defeat an army of thousands with only 300 men. God specializes in turning the least into leaders. I think about 1 Samuel chapter 16 when David was overlooked. He's a little shepherd boy. He wasn't even invited into the meeting when the prophet Samuel showed up at his house to anoint the next king of Israel. All the other brothers were invited inside the house, but David was left out in the field to take care of the sheep. But God chose the overlooked shepherd boy to become Israel's greatest king and a man after his own heart. People may overlook you, but God knows exactly where you are. I think about Jeremiah in chapter 1 and verse 6 when Jeremiah said, I am too young. He felt unprepared and unqualified, but God appointed him as a prophet to the nations. Your age does not disqualify you. In Luke chapter number 22, verse 61 and 62, Peter, he failed miserably by denying Jesus three times. He felt like a complete failure, but God restored him and used him to preach at the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, where 3000 people were saved in one day. Your biggest failure can become God's

biggest platform for your life. I think about Paul in first Timothy chapter 1 and verse 15, when Paul called himself the worst of sinners because he persecuted the church, but God transformed him into the greatest missionary, church planner, and writer of most of the New Testament because your past does not cancel your purpose. When you feel small, remember, God does his best miracles with small materials. God specializes in turning little into much. He specializes in turning weakness into weapons. God loves to use people nobody notices to accomplish what nobody can ignore. And he showed up in Nazareth and he said, I choose Mary. I want to give you four reasons why God not only chose Mary, but used her to give birth to Jesus and to raise the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We're going to cover four qualities that she possessed, four qualities, four qualities. We're going to cover two of the qualities today. And then we're going to cover the final two qualities in our Christmas Eve services. So today is part one and our Christmas Eve services will be part two. Now it's important for us to understand these four qualities because God has chosen you just like he chose Mary. Obviously you're not going to raise the savior of the world. God hadn't chose you for that, but you have been chosen by God to accomplish his plan and his purpose on the earth. You've been chosen to advance the kingdom of God and to push back the kingdom of darkness. So many people struggle with this concept. They're going, how could God choose somebody like me? Could God really choose me? Yes, he chose you. John chapter 15 and verse 16, you did not choose me. Jesus said, I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last and ask whatever you will in my name and the father will give it to you. God has chosen you for his own purpose. to bear much fruit. God has a fruitful plan for your life and the way that you step into God's fruitful plan, God's fruitful purpose for your life is by possessing the same four qualities that Mary possessed. The first quality is this, God uses the humble over the high and mighty. God didn't choose and use Mary because she was famous, because she was well-known. He didn't choose her because she was wealthy or because she came from a powerful family. Mary didn't have a whole lot going for her. Why would the God of the universe choose and use Mary? I'll tell you why, because she was humble. When God chose Mary, I want you to see what Mary sang to the Lord in Luke chapter 1 verse 48. Mary sings, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. Mary had a humble heart. She did not think more highly of herself than she ought. She did not say,

well God, I know why you chose me. You owe me God. God, I know why you chose me because I'm pretty special. I'm pretty amazing. Your girl here has got it going on, God. That was not Mary's posture. She was humble. She said, God, I can't believe it that you've been mindful of the humble state of your servant. God, I'm humbled that you would choose me. I'm humbled that you want to use me. God uses humble people. I want to help somebody this Sunday before Christmas because you want the help of God. You need the hand of God. You're trying to figure out, pastor, things are not working out the way that I want them to work out. How do I get God's help? Let me tell you something about your heavenly father. God is attracted to humility. James chapter 4 and verse 6, but he gives us more grace. Scripture says God opposes the proud but shows grace to the humble. God opposes the proud. Perhaps some of you are not stepping into God's fruitful purpose for your life because of your pride. Perhaps today God is against you. God's not supporting you. God is not helping you with your career or your business or your education. God's not helping you with your ministry or your relationships because of your pride, but God shows favor to the humble. God says, I'm going to put my touch. I'm going to put my hand. I'm going to put my blessing. I'm going to put my favor on the life of humble people. Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 34, he mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and the oppressed. The word mocks in that verse means God actively opposes. God actively pushes against, frustrates, or stands against people who are arrogant, who are self-sufficient, who mock God's ways. Pride will put you in opposition to God and God will put himself in opposition to your pride. I think Jesus says it best in Matthew chapter 23 and verse number 12 when he said, for those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. You see, the prerequisite for God to exalt you is for you to humble yourself. See, God is attracted to humble hearts. Question for you, how are you doing when it comes to humility? Do you have a humble heart? Let's take a humility test right now. Just real quick, I want you to rate yourself from one to ten on each of these questions. One being, I'm not doing too good. Ten, I'm doing amazing. All right, here we go. Here's the first one, a humility test. Do you admit you don't know everything or are you a know-it-all? Anybody ever been around a know-it-all? Anybody sitting next to a know-it-all? Don't raise your hand, wink at me. Come on, rate yourself. Do you choose listening over talking or are you just always talking? Do you celebrate others more than yourself? Rate yourself one to ten, one to ten. Do you

serve in ways no one can see? Do you apologize quickly and sincerely or have you not apologized since 1942? I'm not apologizing, I'm not saying I'm sorry, I'm not apologizing. Do you ask for feedback and listen without getting defensive? Do you choose gratitude over entitlement? Come on, rate yourself. Are you willing to take the lower seat, the lower role? Do you make others feel seen, valued, and important? Do you remember who God is and who you are not? Are you humble? If you rated yourself a nine or a 10 on every one of those, you're not humble. Come on, somebody, you're struggling a little bit today. I'm just trying to help you, trying to help somebody today. Are you going low so that you can step into God's fruitful plan and purpose for your life? God chose Mary because she had a humble heart. Number two, the second quality that she possessed, God uses character over credentials. Let's go back to our key verse here in the book of Luke chapter number one, in verse 26. It says, in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Now, I want to really zoom in here on verse 27. To a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. Now, when God sent Gabriel to Mary, Gabriel did not bring up her resume. He didn't say, hey, I just left God, I just left the Lord, and I'm here, and let me tell you some things about yourself. He didn't bring up her education.

He didn't bring up her experience or her connections. He highlighted the fact that she was from Nazareth and that she was a virgin. Matter of fact, twice in verse 27, it says Mary was a virgin. It says that she was pledged to be married, and scripture is letting us know she was handling the engagement with purity and integrity. She was pledged to be married to Joseph, but she was still living a holy life. She was faithful to God. She was committed to God. She was honoring God when no one was watching. God is not impressed by our credentials. He's moved by our character. A double life will eventually become a divided life that will distract you from God's plan for your life. Private compromise will eventually sabotage God's purpose for your life. There's a lot of people who can light up a room with their personality. Lot of people who can sing the roof off the building. I mean, they can blow. There's a lot of smart people, intelligent, articulate. Lot of people who are charming. They got style. They got shine. They got swagger. They got riz. But God is not looking for any of that.

What God is looking for is a heart that says, even when nobody is watching, I'm going to honor God. You see, you can fake talent. You can fake popularity. You can even try to fake purity, but Mary's life was a reflection of quiet obedience. Obedience. And when God looked across the earth, I'm looking for someone to raise my son. I'm looking for someone to give birth to my only son. He looked across the earth and he saw a young woman who was not trying to be seen. She was trying to be surrendered to God. The world looks for the strong. God looks for the surrendered. And God said, that young lady right there is who I want to be the mother of my one and only son. God was attracted to Mary because of humility and her character. How's your character? How's your character? You can be gifted, but not godly. You can have charisma, but not have character. You can have intensity, but not have integrity. You can have popularity, but not purity. You can be hip, but not be holy. And you can never grow beyond your personal character. Your character must be louder than your microphone. God is not looking for perfection, but he is looking for a heart of obedience.

He's looking for someone who will obey his word. He's looking for someone who will repent of their sin versus justifying their sin. God has a fruitful plan and purpose for your life. You've been chosen by God, just like Mary, to accomplish something great on this earth. But you will never step into what God, I'm not talking about what you have. You'll never step into what God has for your life if you lack humility and character. I'm going to give you the final two qualities in our Christmas Eve services but for the next few moments as I pray would you examine your heart would you examine your life and would you be honest with yourself as you examine your heart in the area of humility and character Heavenly Father thanks for your word today thank you for shining a light by the power of the Holy Spirit into our hearts reveal to us what we're prideful we're arrogant we're haughty we're not teachable we're know-it-all reveal to us our pride shine a light let's shine a light on our lack of character when we say one thing and do another we don't follow through we make up stories when we embellish stories when we don't live to honor you we make decisions that don't bring you glory God I pray shine a light on our character we watch things we shouldn't watch and listen to things we shouldn't listen to God shine a light on our character and I thank you that you love us so much that you convict us change us because you want to use us for your fruitful purpose his eyes are still closed and heads are still bowed and there's somebody here today that you're far from God you're not serving God you're not living for God and and then there's somebody in a second category you used to serve God but you've drifted away and now you're living for yourself you need to rededicate your life to the Lord and what I've learned after 23 years of pastoring people's church my wife and I here's what I've learned one of the number one things that keep

people away from God it's pride I'm gonna do it my way I think my way is better than God's way I'm gonna follow what I want not what God wants well you know I'm gonna kind of run my life and not let God run it pride will cause us to get in the driver's seat of our life and to keep God away and somebody today needs to make up your mind no no pride you're not gonna get the best of me I'm not living for me any longer I'm gonna live for Jesus I'm not living for the devil any longer I'm living for God I'm not serving the world and the culture any longer I'm serving the king of kings I'm not going to hell and spending eternity with the devil I'm surrendering my life to Jesus I'm gonna spend eternity in God's presence in a place called heaven I'm not living life for me any longer I'm living life for Jesus if that is I count to three would you shoot your hand high in the air I want to lead you in a prayer to say yes to Jesus today is your day to say yes to him have your sins forgiven to rededicate your life to him and to come home one two three just lift your hand high say pastor that's me see your hand there see your hand there see your hand there see your hand thank you so much see your hand there see your hand there so awesome hands are going up all around this building other locations just lift your hand high all of our campuses just lift your hand high others today you want to surrender your life to Jesus I'm gonna ask every hand that's raised to pray this prayer with me confess it with your mouth believe it in your heart and God's gonna wash away your sins pray with me now Heavenly Father I turn from my sin and I turn my life over to Jesus I believe he's the Son of God he died on the cross he rose again and I surrender my life to Jesus I will no longer live for myself for the world for the devil from this day forward I will live my life for Jesus Christ I surrender to him my life is his in Jesus name I pray amen and amen come on with somebody give God praise come on give the Lord praise we're gonna close in just a moment just remain seated but come on give God some praise today what a powerful message I know I was very challenged by this message and about how pride and lacking integrity and those things how we have to sacrifice those things to the Lord we

need God's help how many you know we need God's help hey we are we are in this flesh that is broken and fallen and without God's presence and his help in our life we can't do it and so before we leave today can we take some time in this service before we wrap things up to just say God I adore you I need you this song is gonna talk about he's a mighty God he's able to help you today amen you believe that would you stand up with me all over this place come on if you're comfortable would you lift your hands come on would you adore him today come on he's a mighty God let's ask him for himself let's worship him today He's able to help you today. Come on, let's declare it today. Prince of Peace, Mighty God, His name shall be Emmanuel. We'll praise your name forever. We'll praise your name forever. We'll praise your name forever. Christ the Lord. We'll praise your name forever. We'll praise your name forever. We'll praise your name forever. Christ the Lord. Are you glad you got a Savior who loves you today, amen? And if you're our guest with us here today, you're joining us for the first time, we hope you are having a great experience. And if you're looking for a home church, we hope you don't need to look any further. We're looking for the most kind, loving people in all of Oklahoma. Give us a year of your life, really get plugged in, and watch what God will do in and through your life. We're family here at People's Church.

We shout it at the end of every service because we really do believe it. Come on, shout it with me on three. One, two, three. We're family. God bless your church. Have a great day. We'll praise your name forever.