Sunday Evening Worship Service
by Anthony McCool
May 9, 2021 · First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: John 2:1-11, Exodus 20:12, Acts 1:14, Galatians 4:26

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/anthony-mccool--sunday-evening-worship-service-173
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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let's give it up for the kids choir go ahead and stand with me where in the world do we go from here i have no idea how do you follow you're a mom usually i try to get a sneak peek of whatever the song is before you come up here because one time inevitably i was a i would say a little bit slower start to my sermon and i came up to i give you glory hey and everybody's just going crazy and i'm like i don't know how to transition out of that but tonight i really have no idea how to transition out of your mom but let's give the kids choir let's give it up for them what an absolute awesome job thank you sister stacy sister brennan all the hard workers that was absolutely fantastic thank you so very much and what a sermon we heard this morning from pastor mccool uh hey let's give him a great big hand that's why i hate birds they were gone about a week and a half half a week and a half ago i don't know what i'm talking about i'm all over the place but i went down to get their mail and i don't know if it was the same bird or maybe maybe a cousin i wouldn't what's going on at y'all's house anyways in the lower part of the mailbox a bird unto my benoit's had uh also made a nest and as i went to retrieve the mail for them trying to do a good deed even though it wasn't mother's day that bird flew out and i'm thankful tonight that there is no recording of that because i might not be able to preach up here this evening i'm only half joking but no what an awesome sermon and i'm not a huge fan of birds either and happy mother's day to all of the moms out there it's such a fantastic day and isn't the uh backdrop and everything for the picture booth out there isn't that awesome thank you brother steven blevins for building that fantastic frame and sister don and my wife kelly and while you are standing tonight i have the honor and privilege to wish and to be married to is she in here i'll wish her happy birthday when she gets back so nobody tell her um where oh she went to rich kids and wait wait for it wait still not yet we'll we'll come back to that we're going to wish her happy birthday when she comes back in so just be ready uh if you have your bibles turn with me to the book of john john chapter two hey so there's a lot of moving pieces tonight so maybe mid-sermon will just break out in in song to her so just just be ready i need y'all's help john chapter 2 we're going to read just a few verses of scripture it says and both jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage and when they wanted wine the mother of jesus saith unto them they have no one jesus saith unto her woman mother what have i to do with thee my my hour has not yet come his mother saith unto the servants whatsoever he saith unto you do it whatsoever he saith unto you do it i want to preach to you for a few moments from the words of mary and i'll entitle my message tonight whatever he tells you to do do it but before we pray i want us all to wish my lovely my beautiful wife a happy 30th birthday let's give her a great big hand this is your surprise party [Applause] as uh oh y'all are too good as romeo said to julia she does teach the torches to burn bright and she certainly does in my life she's brighter than any light and she illuminates my life and i love you so much and happy 30th birthday to you title of my sermon tonight whatever he tells you to do do it please lift your hands lift your voices because we need prayer tonight mighty god we thank you tonight lord we thank you for the opportunity you have given us to assemble here together father we thank you for this new generation coming on and singing lord let their reach be further than ours let their ministry go out in an unprecedented manner lord as we celebrate mothers and moms today lord we thank you for this tremendous blessing lord let your spirit and anointing be upon this word as we look to your words tonight that whatever you tell us to do we're going to do it in your name jesus we pray amen and amen you can be seated across this house whatever he tells you to do mary said do it it's been said that if evolution is true how come mothers still only have two hands that's the truth a bit of history about the day we are celebrating president woodrow wilson in 1914 signed a proclamation designating the second sunday in may as mother's day this was from the prompting from anna jarvis who wanted to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed as we all can attest to the person who has done more for you than anyone in this world is a mother and though we take this day to specially commemorate the great women in our lives who lead us who have influenced us who have cared for us and sacrificed for us in so many different ways i give my mom tremendous honor in my grandmother's tremendous honor tonight we have a biblical mandate most importantly a command to show utmost honor every day to honor our parents and our spiritual leaders exodus tells us to honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the lord thy god giveth thee and yes this is our aspiration and we know with age the appreciation for our mothers grows even greater and we relate to our mothers in different ways and at different ages different stages in our life one writer said when you're age three or four you believe and think that your mom can do anything and when you're 13 you start to think well mom doesn't know everything when you're 16 mom doesn't know anything when you're 18 mom is so out of step with the times and she is so backwards she doesn't understand me and doesn't have a clue what is going on at age 25 though well mom to know a few things at age 35 it said before we decide we better get mom's opinion at age 45 i wonder what mom thinks about this and at age 65 i wish i could talk to my mom just one more time and there are some of you this evening and today who have had this feeling on this day of celebration it can also be a time of sadness but but also a time of gratitude for the great mothers and grandmothers that are no longer with us and we remember them on this day and i remember a statement particularly from my great grandmother this would be bishop's mother who her theology and her philosophy of life and her saying knows as many of you all can recite she would always state i want to go to heaven and take everyone with me what profound words and i invite us tonight in the midst of all of these memories that we commemorate and celebrate and remember on this day that flood our mind on these special occasions let us recall the great influences we have had to remember those lessons and those words from the great mothers and the grandmothers and the spiritual mothers and let their words reverberate throughout our lives on this day and this evening and let them speak directly into the situations that we face to further aid us in this effort i would call our attention tonight back to our key text to the words of the most notable mother and that is mary the mother of jesus mary who never wavered from her complete submission to god's will was she nervous certainly was she unsure of her own abilities who wouldn't be would she be anxious about the prophecy that part of her future would include a great deal of pain of course but mary had a chance to see god's entire plan played out right before her eyes she was the earthly mother of jesus she raised him she suffered through the crucifixion she celebrated in the resurrection in acts 1 14 tells us she was even part of the group that witnessed the powerful presentation of the holy ghost on the day of pentecost and what a gift from god it is to see the entirety of the story unfold and you might be here tonight where you could be at a crucifixion state with a loved one or a situation but we read mary continued to believe on the promise and she saw the resurrection and the holy spirit poured out and i believe tonight through mary's testimony that if you will wait and be diligent and be patient on the promise that there is a time coming where there is going to be resurrecting life and a fresh breath of the holy ghost is going to take place in a fresh way and a healing will take place and a need is going to be met and i believe that prodigals will come home and like mary you are going to see this played out right before your eyes if you will be faithful and if you will wait upon the promise and if you're here under the sound of my voice tonight whatever situation you find yourself in if you might find yourself in as i mentioned previously in a crucifixion state or a state of chaos but let us look to mary's testimony to understand that the story is not over and the story in your life is not over either mary spoke approximately words in the four gospels and these words would be absolutely power packed and the words we will focus upon tonight were the words that would release the miraculous upon this earth and they would show the impact of a mother's words john 2 tells us that on the third day a wedding took place in cana of galilee and jesus's mother was there and jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding and when the wine was gone jesus mother said unto him jesus they have no more wine and he responded woman mother why would you involve me with this and we've all been beckoned in that manner before by our mothers and jesus replied what am i able to do my my hour has not yet come and his mother said to the servants do whatever he tells you to do whatever he tells you to do do it and nearby stood six stone water jars the kind used by the jews for the ceremonial washing each holding 20 to 30 gallons and jesus said to the servants fill these jars to the brim with water so they did and then he told them now draw out of it and take it to the master of the banquet and they did exactly as mary had told them to do that whatever jesus said to do to do it and they did so and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine he did not realize where it had come from and though the servants who had drawn the water knew then he called the bridegroom aside and said you know everyone brings the choice wine first and then the cheaper later after the the guests have drank much but you have saved the absolute best until now and what jesus did there in cana of galilee was the first of signs through which he revealed his glory and it notes the disciples believed in him on that day the wedding at cana serves as the inaugural event for the works of jesus the bible tells us that this was the very first miracle of jesus one would think such a happening would be recorded in every single gospel yet the passage of the wedding at cana only appears in the gospel of john and the gospel of john intends to point out that without question jesus is indeed without any controversy the holy one and the messiah and the narrative and the miracle of the wedding at cana accounts begins by telling us all who were in attendance and a statement of the location where the ceremony was taking place is noted as well of cana of galilee and as the event unfolds and the miracle of water and dwine takes place it is important to note that the disciples were in attendance and verse 11 tells us that jesus glory was revealed and his disciples believed on him at this time and at times throughout the gospel of john there's such an intimacy as john tells and unfolds the story of jesus throughout his gospel it's such an intricate detailed manner and what appears to be ancillary elements they become visible foreshadows to what was to come and in addition to these details that only john was able to convey in the way that he did of this inaugural miracle this first miracle of jesus he notes the presence of jesus's mother mary and mary would call upon jesus to intervene in the absence of wine she said jesus they have no one what does that have to do with me what does that have to do with us my hour has not yet come why even involve me in this and mary of course is like okay jesus then she looks at the servants and says whatever he tells you to do do it it wasn't a hey guys if you don't mind my son might make a recommendation here shortly and what he is potentially able to do he might just be able to fix the dilemma we're currently in no it wasn't the absence of even including him in the dilemma because of doubt skepticism or kicking around the idea that because perhaps he's not ever going to display his power on his earth after all it's been 30 years and if he indeed has power why would he just now be waiting to do it no no she said this is my son jesus oh and no doubt when there was an absence of wine oh as mothers do she began to recall and to remember that from gabriel the angel when he came to her and said fear not mary now she's looking at her 30 year old baby boy jesus who was now all grown up no doubt she began to remember that angel visiting her and saying fear not mary for thou hast found favor with god and behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name jesus and he shall be great and he shall be called the son of the highest and the lord god shall give unto him the throne of his father david and he shall reign over the house of jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end and the holy ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall become the son of god and that's all she could see and remember when she looked at her now 30 year old son and she said everybody listen to me servants you listen up right now whatever my son jesus tells you to do you better do it jesus said i my time has not yet come oh but there was a mother in the midst that knew what the promise was she had absolute confidence in the ability of jesus to intervene in the absence of wine she did not know how the miraculous would take place she did not know when the miraculous would take place but she knew at the touch of her son jesus that the miraculous could take place at any time and regardless of whatever circumstance or whatever situations they had faced even though it had been 30 years she said whatever my son jesus tells you to do you better do it there's nothing more influential there's nothing more powerful there's nothing more encouraging than the confidence from a mother all of us can attest tonight when maybe it wasn't a song or it wasn't a sermon that lifted your spirits but your mother or a mighty church mother came up and gave you a word of encouragement and believed in you and knew that you were able and had what it takes to make a difference we see through the words of mary to her now grown-up baby jesus that these mother's words can unleash the miraculous as pastors so eloquently preached to you this morning the church is the living embodiment and described through scripture as a mother and the church is to be the mother and have the same impact as mary did the prophets foretold and disciples such as paul reiterated the imagery and jesus himself laid the foundation that his church should not be depicted as one of a powerful empire with militaristic might it should not be depicted and have the imagery of a courtroom where individuals will be judged and sentenced based on their conduct but she is to be depicted as having the characteristics of an unconditional loving mother and this maternal symbolism affirms the significance of motherhood and the vital imperative role of moms and throughout church history when thinkers and teachers and saints and bishops and pastors of all looked around for a symbol of the church they needed something that was essential something that was life-giving something that was glorious something that was nourishing something that was vital something that was indispensable and they looked to moms and motherhood additionally and importantly this maternal imagery affirms the vital role of the church galatians 4 26 tells us but jerusalem which above is free which is the mother of us all we are to be that mother to this world letting those that come in know hey we believe in you hey you are going to make it we believe you have a ministry and we believe that in the presence of the problems of this world that you have such a calling and such a power upon your life because you've taken on the name of jesus we believe that you can step into your workplace that you can step up onto your campus and fac knoxville is right behind you saying to all the people there whatever he tells you to do you better do it whatever she tells you to do you better do it because we know that you have a ministry and you matter and there's going to be people that only hear this gospel and they're not going to hear about it any other way than through your ministry and through your testimony and i believe we're going to get to heaven one day and there's going to be people there rejoicing and they're going to say i am only here in heaven because this person or that person witnessed to me and if you're here under the sound of my voice and you have any doubts or have any skepticism that you feel like you're not good enough or you don't have what it takes that's an absolute lie from the enemy and there's a church body here tonight saying hey we believe in you hey we know that you have what it takes and whatever this person says go ahead and do it whatever she says go do it we have to be [Applause] the mother to those as pastor mccool told us this morning of those that become in mary said whatever he says to do do it i would say that's pretty good theology right there there's been so much conjecture there's so many commentaries on the first miracle of jesus and the wedding at canada what does it mean what's all the symbolism i wouldn't overthink it whatever jesus says to do it as we come up on verse 6 we continue to approach our key subject matter for our sermon this evening it says now standing there were six stone water jars for the jewish rites of purification this is what they would have cleansed their hands with as they entered into the ceremony each holding 20 or 30 gallons these would be the vessels used as the container for this first miracle of jesus and the reason for these rites of purification jars would have been for the washing of hands and in mark chapter 7 we understand that jews did not eat unless thoroughly washing their hands thus observing the tradition of their elders and this was not only a practice of literal sanitation but it also had spiritual significance based on the precedent of their ancestry and as i mentioned the intimacy and the details provided by the disciple john he takes the time to point out that these stone jars that were used by the attendees of the wedding used for purification would be the same jars used by jesus that he would command to be filled with water and after the water being placed in them was drawn out it had become wine and we read we know not just ordinary wine but verse 10 explains to us the very best wine and it's important to note that jesus did not allow just any old wine to come through these stone jars but it was the absolute best and it is showing us that new wine was created in old vessels empty vessels symbolizing that the old forms are given a brand new content these jars stood empty waiting to be filled and jewish vessels were filled with this wondrous new gift the creation of something new right there in the midst of judaism right there at the inaugural miracle of jesus these jars original purpose was never to contain wine but at the command of mary's son jesus the water was changed and this symbolizes the change that takes place in us and only through jesus it couldn't be through adam it couldn't be through noah it couldn't be through moses it couldn't be through isaiah it couldn't be through king david it couldn't be through jeremiah only through jesus can our vessels and our temples be changed we sit here tonight and in our lives as these stone jars at the wedding and at certain times in our life before we turn our lives over to christ or at times in our life when we're in a difficult place we find ourself like these stone jars incomplete and empty and we know that for all have sinned and come short of the glory of god and all of us all of us at one point find ourselves in that condition and it is appropriate tonight that the first miracle of jesus that we looked at and the influence and the impact and the role that his mother played at that ceremony it's important tonight to know that this took place at a wedding which represented relationship union and commitment if the musicians would come tonight and our baptismal candidate can make their way on up the wedding celebration the foreshadowing of the coming of christ is about to take place and jesus told us to prepare for this and all of us like these jars were futureless empty vessels but thankfully jesus stepped on to the scene the completer the redeemer the author and finisher of our faith and i came to tell you tonight that your story is not over we must first invite jesus to our wedding we must first invite jesus into our lives and inviting him by repenting and turning away from our sins and we as those stone jars that are emptied we must fill ourselves up with what we have available god asked one thing from you tonight he's asking what is it that you have to give me and we all have to give ourselves to him and we do that by going down in a watery grave and taking on the name of jesus we give him what we have he told them to fill it up with water he said go fill it up with what you have and then i am going to make the difference we turn our lives over to him by repenting of our sins we go down in water in his name the name of the one that died for us giving him ourselves what we have and the bible says that he's going to make a new wine flow through us and that is the baptism of the holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in another tongue the plan of salvation right there in the midst of this inaugural miracle and how appropriate that it took place at a wedding symbolizing a union the commencement of a relationship a beckoning of a mother's words who stated whatever he tells you to do do it stand with me tonight i ask you tonight what's he telling you to do tonight what's his word telling you to do tonight if you have not yet repented of your sins there is an altar here for you to do so tonight and to take that step forward in your relationship with him we have a baptismal pool ready to baptize you in his name tonight and when you come up he is going to fill you with his spirit let's all bow our heads tonight oh as we pray tonight i want you to i want you to ask what's he telling you tonight he told us to trust him that we need not worry he'll protect us and he'll fight for us he said cast all of your cares upon him whatever he tells you to do you better do it he said forgive others if i as i have forgiven you oh when you do what jesus says it's going to unleash the miraculous in your life is there one here tonight who finds their self like those stone containers that were empty this was supposed to be a time in your life of celebration this was supposed to be a momentous time of your life but through the circumstances of life you find yourself now empty i want you to know tonight that the party is not over and that jesus has stepped onto the scene and i want to invite you to take a step forward tonight and say lord i need a touch from you tonight i need some things in my life i'm turned into one i need the miraculous to take place in my life would you step forward tonight oh if you need the healing if you need deliverance in your life why don't you bring that emptiness forward tonight and say i'm going to give you lord everything that i have i'm going to give you some praise i'm going to rejoice in advance i'm going to give you everything and that i have and when you do that jesus is going to step onto the scene and he's going to turn that situation completely around he's going to perform the miraculous in your life he's going to turn what you give him into the best wine tonight show me one thing that's too hard show me show me one thing you can do show me he's the god of the breakthrough but you've got to give him yourself something you've got to give him what you've got [Music] he said prepare and wait an expectation for his return if you're not ready to see him tonight oh it's not too late there's going to be a time of celebration there's going to be a time when he's reaching and it's going to be a great wedding to celebrate oh you need something new in your life tonight he's ready to do something new for you tonight show me shake off despair as i sing i'm joining a victory dance i will dance out in three i will crush disappointment and break every chain all of my fear i will turn into grace shake off this bear as i seek out your name a victory something new is taking place something new taking place you were never and he made something new right there in the midst of something old right there in the midst of a container that wasn't meant to contain it because when jesus put his hand on when jesus puts his touch on it oh it's his divine plan in jesus name something new is important something precious happening there's breath of life that's resurrection power the story's not over you might be in a state of payoffs right now and it might be that crucifixion state but the story's not over there's life coming spirits being poured out we've got [name redacted] who has saw his need to be baptized here tonight he's a sophomore at apostolic christian school and just a fantastic tremendous young man and he has made his commitment to take his next step tonight just what we talked about what we preached about he's turning your life over to him everything you've got and we're going to pray over him right now and knowing that god has a tremendous work in his life let's pray mighty god we thank you tonight forgave god we thank you for his calling we thank you for his ministry lord we know tonight as your word so told us that he has a calling on his life and a testimony on his life that only he is going to be able to achieve only through his words only through his testimony are there going to be those that hear and receive your gospel and we're going to get to heaven one day and they're going to be there because of how [name redacted] treated them how gave witness to them about you lord we pray a prayer protection around his heart and around his mind we know you're going to fill him with your spirit guide him and leave him the rest of the days of his life in jesus name we pray on the profession of your faith and obedience to the word of god i now baptize you in the name of the lord jesus christ for the remission of your sins