Sunday Evening Worship & Word | Pastor Anthony “A Second Wind”
by Anthony McCool
May 1, 2022 · First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Acts 4:29-30, Acts 4:31, Jonah 3:1-2, Mark 8:24-25, Luke 5:4-6

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/anthony-mccool--sunday-evening-worship-word-5
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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thank you praise team choir musicians our pia what a absolute awesome service that we are in thus far uh what a job pastor whitley did this morning let's give him a great big hand he has an awesome service that was for that was for me and uh i thank him for ministering to me and that was what an awesome word and yeah let's keep pastor and sister mccoy in our prayers they're ministering at a marriage retreat in nashville at pastor batson's and i welcome everyone also that's tuning in online and if my wife's water breaks they've got prepared on the screen up there [Music] but you know if i go start getting to going too long as well they might put put that up there as well to get me but if we have just an immediate altar call you know you'll know why and maybe you'll be grateful uh but i want to preach to us for a few moments tonight uh book of acts chapter 4 verse 31 just one verse of scripture it says and when they had prayed the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the holy ghost and they spake the word of god with boldness with boldness i want to preach to you for a few moments tonight on a second wind a second wind and an article sue begray he wrote concerning a distance runner second wind is a phenomenon in distance running whereby an athlete who is out of breath and too tired to continue suddenly finds the strength to press on at top performance with less exertion the phenomenon has come to be used as a metaphor for continuing with renewed energy past the point thought to be one's prime whether in other sports or careers or in life in general and when you are working rigorously and you are in no condition to continue you are on the verge of collapsing and you feel like quitting that's the time when you shouldn't stop just continue for a few moments and you will surpass your limit it's the toughest part of the conquest and past this moment lies true happiness the second wind you will discover and rediscover a new strength and energy to continue and i i agree with this sentiment tonight and similarly in our day-to-day life and in our career and in our profession in our spiritual walk we need to continue despite our failures let me say that again if you get nothing else out of it or perhaps we get the message on the screen that it's time for me to go at least you got this we must continue despite our failures amen we must continue amen give the lord we must continue it's like the state of a union address we must continue to spite our pitfalls amen we all aspire to be successful in our domain and to achieve great heights and achieving your dreams and your goals and your call for what christ has called you to do is no small task no matter how driven you are no sometimes life's challenges beat you up and feel like you need to just give up and the key to get keep going is to find some strength a second wind from one high and the only thing stopping you from reaching your goals and your dreams is not someone else but it's you but we serve the one who has no limits it's when you meet your limits that you feel resistance and things you want seem harder to achieve the things he's called you to seem harder to accomplish the giants from afar didn't look quite as daunting but as you approach and get closer the enemy seems to have enlarged whether it be fear or doubt or physical abilities or some other mental block it can present a huge barrier to reaching your goal and fulfilling your call in christ and certainly we're very familiar with acts chapter 2 as we describe our experience and how we identify ourselves as being pentecostal and we derive the plan of salvation and rightfully so from the book of acts repentance in the name of jesus being uh baptized in the name of jesus repentance turning away from our sin and baptism in the name of jesus and then filled with the holy ghost acts chapter 2 it's what we preach it's what we live by it's what we identify with our church signs and everything we do and i don't diminish the importance of that one bit and there's not one ounce of sarcasm in my voice but please understand where i'm coming from it's very important and we identify as acts chapter 2 and we're all very familiar with all of the things that take place in this passage 120 hungry hearts come together and tongues like fire come and sit upon each one of them and they were filled with the holy ghost and they begin to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance and this is when the church of the lord jesus christ was empowered with supernatural power from on high and we celebrate that and we identify by this there's a particular sunday coming up soon called pentecost sunday and the power of the holy spirit came up on them and it came into them and this power and anointing came upon them and it sent them directly into the line of fire and we know that jesus had told them to tarry in jerusalem until i send you power from one high and you'll start in jerusalem and you'll go out into judea and samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth and when they receive the holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in another tongue they were they were excited and exuberant and they knew that christ had come into them and they went out to fulfill the commission they went out into extreme spiritual warfare and it began this warfare began to break out against them and this infant church was stressed into the heat of battle and they experienced great persecution and by the time if you read your bible martyrdom suffering persecution oppression going before the courts in the land and saying hey if i'm here because i'm preaching the name of jesus i'm guilty all of these things packed in and we get to chapter four and we see that they had been beaten up pretty good but how did they respond to their battles what was their methodology if you will for their warfare the bible says they assembled together and they prayed and it says now the lord behold their threatenings and grant unto thy servants and that with boldness they may speak thy word by stretching forth on hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of the holy child jesus acknowledging the virgin birth acknowledging the perfect life of a messiah acknowledging a savior that had conquered death and the grave and acknowledging that resurrecting power that had come inside of them they they gathered together to once again encourage one another and remind each other of what they were preaching about and then in verse 31 our key verse it says and when they had prayed the place was shaken where they were assembled and they were filled with the holy ghost and spake the word of god with boldness what happened they got a second wind the same wind that blew in the upper room was the same wind that came to them in chapter four and this phrase that we've become oh so familiar with that all of us use in our day-to-day slang and all of us use it as a metaphorical statement a second win it's experienced by a runner who has run until they have reached the point of exhaustion typically just before they catch that second win most runners feel like their lungs are about to explode and every muscle in their bodies are on fire and it's telling them to quit and then all of the sudden out of nowhere and without any explanation for it comes a sudden revitalization and energy and strength to keep running and it actually almost seems supernatural and in many cases this has actually pushed the runner into winter circles some scientists believe this phenomenon they call the second wind to be the result of the body finding the proper balance of oxygen to counteract the buildup of lactic acid in the muscles others claim it's due to a high degree of endorphin production while others believe it to be purely psychological regardless of the cause of it there's no disputing the fact that it actually happens but i came to tell you tonight church of not a second wind that takes place in your life because of your biological makeup i'm not talking about a second wind that's going to come tonight because you have the mindset i'm not talking about a second wind tonight that when you stop and get your gatorade and get you a few more electrolytes in your system that you're going to have the strength to carry on i'm talking about a second wind tonight that's going to come from on high and acknowledge that the same wind that you experienced in the upper room is the same wind that you're going to get in your chapter 4 of your life the same wind that got you started and that you were commissioned by is the same wind that's going to give you the strength to carry on and when they pray they were shaken one only has to do a biblical subject study on when to see the impact and imagery used by god to display his power and provision from genesis all the way to revelation there's a movement taking place the valley of dry bones was no threat to the devil but when the wind when the breath of god when the holy ghost began to blow across those dry bones there stood up a mighty army to plunder hell and the devil knows when the wind blows every thing changes and there's something even more special about the second time that it comes through it was the wind of god that blew through the upper room on the day of pentecost and it turned a bunch of broken-hearted discouraged disciples into the greatest force for god that earth has ever seen and it gave birth to the new testament church and then in our reading just a few chapters later many of the same disciples who had experienced persecution who would experienced isolation some of them knew their friends were killed some of them knew that they were going to be locked up we see their boldness and their testimony of jesus christ they had been persecuted they had been threatened and commanded not to preach or teach anymore in the name of jesus but we see them gathering together they didn't get together to have a pity party oh look what happened to this person they didn't get together to say well i don't know if we're going to be able to go any further than this look what happened to this person look what look what's going to happen if we if we start teaching the name of jesus if we start preaching the name of jesus he gave us his spirit from on high in acts chapter two but here we are in acts chapter four and you know they didn't get together and oh i look what the world's doing look at the persecution oh no no they instead of gathering together and complaining and comparing their wounds to one another they didn't take the passive aggressive approach they didn't split off and become disgruntled with one another they didn't start to place the blame game on one another but they stayed unified and they stayed together and they said we're going to gather again together and they begin to pray not a house of complaint but a house of prayer and they said god we need more power we need a double dose we need another touch lord we know that you visit us in acts chapter 2 but we've gone out and fulfilled what you call us to do but we're a little bit broken we're a little bit weary we're physically tired we know you brought us this far i'm not going to blame my brother i'm not going to blame my sister we're all in this together and we need to get a hold of god and i believe when we're unified i believe when we're unified together no matter what one of us is going through that we can come together and lift up that name and start reminding each other of why we're here and what we're doing knowing that it's not about one of us but if it's about all of us together and about reaching others and we start to lift up that name of jesus there's a second wind that's going to enter into this house that no hell can't stop no demon can prohibit and no matter what persecution no matter what oppression god's going to send a second wind into the situation when you're working rigorously and you're in no condition to continue you're on the verge of collapsing and you feel like quitting that's the time that you shouldn't stop just continue for a few more moments till you surpass what you're capable of when you surpass your limit when you surpass your skill set when you get involved in a situation that's bigger than you when you take on a task that's larger than what you're able to do that's when he shows up it's the toughest part to the conquest you're tired you're worn out and dehydrated running on empty and you can barely breathe but it's at those moments where you can just see the trees off on the horizon if you'll stay faithful you can see a little movement coming your way and there's a second wind that's going to be blown in your situation and the same wind that you experienced in the upper room the same wind that commissioned you to go out of your comfort zone the same wind that commissioned you to get involved in a particular ministry the same wind that told you to go out and start your own business start your own family go out in whatever venture that is in your life that you had to take a risk for because everything we do is centered around god's calling on our life so they're all interconnected but whatever that is in your life when you've gone as far as you can go that's when the second wind comes in sometimes we can feel almost ashamed of getting tired sometimes the enemy attacks our minds and he makes us think that we're less than able for running out of breath maybe for all of us at different points our spiritual altitude has dropped from the high places but the danger is relying on your own strength and thinking that you on your own can push through and when you're giving your all for the kingdom of god and you're giving your all for your family and you're giving it all in the arena of life it doesn't matter how spiritual you are it doesn't matter how anointed you are or you think you are you're going to have times when you feel like you're running on empty and it's not necessarily an attack of the enemy it's because you're exerting all of your energy and all of your resources and everything that from what god has called you to do and that's okay you feel like you've hit a wall we've all been there it's those times where we have to say well we have to be transparent god i can't do this on my own i know i have a particular skill set and i've exhausted every resource possible but i need you to show up i need you to show up a second time and it's those at those times when i say lord i've gone just as far as i can go and i know that the same wind that filled the upper room the same wind that commissioned me to get where i'm at now i believe that you're going to send it again the trio used to sing i don't believe he's brought me this far to leave me he gave me power to start and he's going to show up again and he's going to give us power to finish and to continue on and i want to tell us tonight don't throw in the towel just yet don't close up shop just yet i believe that there's some movement taking place i believe there's a shaking taking place if you'll remain faithful and realize you've gone just as far as you can go no you don't understand and there there'll be people that say but preacher you don't fully understand what i'm going through and i would say you're probably right i agree with everything you you're saying but unfortunately in my life i never got started i know that god has called me to do some things i know that in those intimate times that god's placed some burdens on my heart but i i never started i i didn't adhere to them in fact i didn't even listen and it was almost as if as if i just stayed stagnant and actually kind of backed away from what god was calling me to do but i have good news for us tonight the book of jonah chapter 3 verse 1 it says and the word of the lord came unto jonah a second time saying arise go on to nineveh that great city and preach unto it the preaching that i bid thee now jonah was better humbled and prepared though jonah rebelled and ran away from his call we see that god shows back up to him to feel fulfill his commission he says you still have a calling on your life jonah i know you ran away i know you turned away from what i called you to do but you still have a calling on your life jonah you still have a purpose and though this city needs to repent god calls them great they just need someone to go preach to them and i've called you to do that and it's not too late for you to get started because we see the word of the lord coming to him a second time and i just believe in my heart tonight there's some people under the sound of my voice and you can think back to those times where maybe you were in a service and at the altar at the close of service or maybe the praise team the choir was seeing maybe you were driving in your car and maybe it wasn't just a direct audible voice from god but you just had an impression on your heart to do some things for some people and you know in your prayer that god called you to serve in this capacity or serve and reach out to these people but for whatever the case you never pursued it or you you never signed up to uh in this ministry and you feel as it's too late or maybe because of the mistakes in your life you feel like you could you could never get to that certain point where god's going to use you like you think you could be used and maybe there was just some things where you just incrementally digressed and just kind of became stagnant that you it wasn't something inherently sinful in your life but and i wouldn't even say that you're cold on god but maybe there were some things that god called you to do and some areas that god called you to serve but you just kind of just not one big step and not out of church but just kind of incrementally digressed out of what god called you to do but i've got good news for you tonight whatever the case whether it's a mistake whether you messed up the first time whether you never got started or whether you just not hitting it with the same passion and the same tenacity that you should we read and have biblical president that the word of the lord came to jonah a second time and i believe tonight as these words go forth not mine but the word of god that there's some people under the sound of my voice that said that's confirmation what i needed i need to get involved in this area of ministry i need to get back on fire like i once was i don't need to be backing up i need to get more on fire for god and serve in more areas than i ever have before because the word of the lord is coming to a second time and he's the restorer of time so don't place any limitations on your expectations because we serve the one who has no limits and if we can just get a second win tonight [Music] in the book of mark we read that jesus comes to a town of betheada and we read that he took the blind man by the hand and it first says it led him out of the town jesus tells the blind man he says i can give you healing i can provide you with deliverance i can bring the miraculous to your situation but initially you can't stay where you're at you've got to get out of this city you've got to get out of this place of familiarity you've got to get out of this comfort zone or you've got to get out of this faithless place or if you're if you're going to fulfill what i have called you for you've got to take a step by faith out of where you currently are okay you've got to get out of this city out of this town and notice once he's out up until this point we see that miracles took place with a snap of a finger if you will in it in an instant manner just by the touch of jesus or at his voice or just we we read that a woman just fought through a crowd and just touched the tip of his garment and we see the miraculous and take place but this time jesus rubbed spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him and he says do you see anything keep in mind the blind man had to trust jesus to step out of the place where he was begin his journey of faith not yet knowing the final destination had a promise for it but trusting in jesus for his healing and at the first touch jesus says do you see anything the blind man looked up and said i see people but they look like trees walking perhaps the man received a glimpse of what was to come he he hadn't been able to experience the full story he knew the clarity he wanted he knew the promise that he had on his life and he had stepped out of the place where he was but he was on a journey to receive his promise it didn't come instantaneously but there was a journey to get to his promise and to get to his miracle perhaps this was the beginning of his walk of faith and there was a process to his restoration there was a faith walk that had to take place for his miracle sometimes miracles are instantaneously and sometimes miracles come through a process this particular miracle was done in stages and some of you under the sound of my voice have been given a promise and you trusted in jesus and you stepped out of the place where you were you had that upper room experience and you were commissioned to go out you stepped out from a place of comfort in your life it could have been with starting a business it could be with pursuing more education to get you to another level at your job it could be a goal you've set for yourself it could be a ministry pursuit whatever that arena whatever the area of arena of life that it is for you you stepped out maybe you stepped out and resigned from a job or stepped out of a relationship to pursue something else but you were focused and you were prepared and then jesus commissioned you and you have no doubt and you started seeing results quick and progress was happening fast and all of a sudden he started breathing just a bit heavier your mind started to be being plagued with doubt and you got to a certain point you you knew you had a promise and you had vision enough to take a few steps out but you know it's not the end but you start thinking lord have you left me jesus i thought you called me to this and i started out so well and now it seems as if i've hit a wall and breathing heavier fatigue has been beginning to invade my motivation and the red ticker on life's fuel gauge just begins to kind of click on me out of money overworked i set high expectations for myself i made bold public proclamations and now i'm not sure if i'm going to be able to finish much like the blind man jesus let him out and at the first touch he gave him enough vision to take the next step and we had spit on his eyes he put his hands upon him he asked what he saw and he looked up he said i see man there's trees walking i see that you've led me out jesus i know what my ultimate promise and my ultimate goal is i've had faith for you to get me to this point i've left my home i'm trusting on you for my promise i can see partially what you have in store for me but lord i need another touch i thank you jesus for blessing me to get me to this point i'm not going to complain i'm not going to speak doubt i'm not going to curse you but i'm just not satisfied i'm just not content until i see clearly and we see in verse 25 it says that jesus put his hands on him again he put his hands on him a second time a second touch and made him look up and he was restored and he saw every man clearly i want to tell you tonight there are some people under the sound of my voice that you need a second touch you've gone just as far as you can go and you need the lord to touch you just one more time you had the upper room experience you were commissioned by him but you need to lift up and tell him again that lord you're victorious you're the supreme creator of this world and i need your power to rain down in my situation and i need you to touch me one more time lord i know you've got me this far but i don't i know you got me this far and you're not going to leave me but i need that second wind to come in in luke 5 we read that now when he had left speaking says jesus talking he said unto simon launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a drop and simon answering unto him said master we have toiled all night and taken absolutely nothing oh but at your word i'll let down the net essentially what simon was saying to jesus i'm the fisherman i know these waters better than you i have a a specific skill set that i've been trained for for many generations you're a great teacher and all jesus and yes i've seen you perform the miraculous and i i'm with you and your teacher teaching i'm still a follower of yours and i love you i respect you but i'm the expert in this situation i know at this particular season at this pacific time there are no fish out here i've been educated in this i i know the right time of day i know the right time of night i know the specific spot to go to plus we've been out here all night and there is nothing if there's one thing i know about yeah i know you can go into the synagogues and you know talk back and forth with the rabbis and you you're very well spoken jesus and i know you can uh do all of these miracles but if there's one thing i know about it's fishing some of y'all said amen out there we've already been out there all night there's no fish i've cleaned my boat it's tied up nets are folded up and jesus said go out a second time because there's another wind coming there's a breath of god from on high that's going to be with you this time you've been relying on your expertise and you're you're talented indeed but right now you're relying on your expertise you're relying on your pride you're relying on your flesh but i'm about to send provision from on high and we read that with a little bit of pushback they went out and still had faith though this is foolish though in my intellect this doesn't make any sense we see the disciples still obedient to the word of god and verse 6 says and when they had done this they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net break why because they didn't quit they question their circumstance indeed much like we do we rely on our expertise sometimes to think that we're going to be the ones to get us through a horrific situation we all do that but even in their doubt they still acted by faith and when they got out there they didn't even have their nets broke and their their ship wasn't even large enough to take in all the fish and i believe tonight regardless of your doubt regardless of your skepticism regardless of the statistics if you'll take action despite your logical understanding or your well-reasoned intellect and believe for a second chance a second touch a second wind i believe that the same wind that met you in the upper room when you were commissioned to go out i believe there's going to be a chapter 4 experience in your life as well when you've been out in the line of fire when you've faced a giant when you've been embarking on spiritual warfare i believe he's going to meet you again right where you're at if the musicians would come whatever the situation is tonight it's so easy for doubt and fear to come in and it seems like these things are exacerbated when we're fatigued and our minds are plagued and we know we're called we know that god has led us to a certain point but if we're truly transparent we just think about throwing in the towel one time we were at let's talk and this was a let's talk was a conference designed for ministers of all ages and it was a time to ask questions to some of the older pastors and just just a resource to talk about ministry and the different things that take place in ministry and i remember this uh young man brother j.h osborne was up on the panel and this young man went into this big spill to brother osborne he said uh brother osborne you you preach at all of these great conferences you're one of the most well renowned uh preachers and just you know on on and on as brother osborne is for sure but the young man went on and on he said do you ever feel like quitting and you know some of us in our humanity would say absolutely not i i'm taking on the name of jesus and every day i wake up and i tell the enemy this and that we hear that kind of preaching right from and you're like okay that's not how i feel on monday morning but whatever and all brother osborne said was today like a question mark like every day he feels like quitting and that was very that that was very encouraging to so many the transparency and we often feel like that because we can get up and and say all these things and yeah and i believe empowerment and i believe positivity and you know i you know i said we're crazy earlier and we are we're crazy but we get tired we get fatigued it sets in and it's not a sin but those are the times when we can't get together and complain and can't lose focus of what we're doing can't forget how we got here and we got to get together the bible says iron sharpeneth iron and stand with me and sometimes i need to get around brother jones and say hey this is what we're doing this is why we're doing this we're celebrating a risen savior give me a testimony and i i got to get around brother vanilla but like just hey tell me let's encourage one another let's let's build each other up and when we come together when we know we're not in this by ourself regardless of whatever circumstance or situation when we've gone as far as we can go that's when we got to gather we got to continue to gather and just lift up that name of jesus because when we do there's a second wind the same wind in the upper room in acts 2 that we celebrate and we identify as there's another wind that's going to come in our lives in chapter four of our lives the same experience that that you had when you started your faith walk he's going to meet you again a second wind the second chance the second touch a second time with every head at bowed i want to give an invitation tonight and again i've said this the last time a few times i've preached and i'm i'm going to keep preaching it one of the worst things we could ever do as a church body is create some kind of stigma around being uncomfortable coming to the altar that we think that you know how we're going to be perceived or that we perceive somebody else in a negative light heavens know heavens know this altar is for every single person because we all get tired we all have needs and as we pray tonight whatever the situation if you're needing a second wind maybe it's in a pers a life pursuit in a in a job in a in a relationship or something in your family i want to open this altar to you right now and i believe the same wind on the day of pentecost is going to show up at this chapter 4 in your life maybe you're under the sound of my voice tonight and you've made some mistakes you in fact rebelled and you ran away from what god has called you to do [Music] maybe you just kind of backed up and you're not living because the enemy claims victory listen to me for a second the enemy claims victory if you're stagnant in your calling if you just come in and i'm just going to sit on the pew and go through the motions the enemy claims victory but when you take it out of neutral and say lord i know what you've called me to do i believe the word of the lord is going to come to you a second time and you're going to get a second wind no matter what you've done no matter where you're at he's going to bring it to you maybe you're here tonight and you've gone just as far as you can go you know what you've been promised you know what the ultimate goal is and it's like the the headlights on your vehicle they they only shine just so far bright and you're at you're at a certain point but out at your destination you need jesus to apply another touch in your life until you see clearly oh as we pray tonight as we come together as we gather together this is not a house of complaint this is not a house of showing off our wounds this is not a house of showing off our persecution but we lift up the name of jesus and we believe that the same spirit that met us in the upper room is going to meet us in this chapter 4 right now and i believe there's a second wind that's going to enter into this place and they began to speak with tongues and they went out and spoke the word of the lord with boldness there's some people tonight where you're fatigued and you've got doubt and you're a bit weary and you started talking the language of the enemy and i i don't know if this is gonna happen i don't know if this is gonna happen but oh no you started speaking with boldness i believe under the authority of the name of jesus my business is going to be successful i believe under the authority of the name of jesus my marriage is going to make it i believe under the authority of the name of jesus my children are coming home i believe under the authority of the name of jesus i'm going to get healing in my body i'm going to get provision in this situation i'm going to get deliverance over this thing that's been plaguing my mind with boldness a second wind it's coming into this house if you'll lift up your hands right now oh this thing only goes to the upper room it's here right now in chapter four it's here again it's coming down i see the trees beginning to move on the horizon oh [Music] mountains [Music] you're not too far away [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] away [Music] away [Music] give me the strength [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] and we're standing here [Applause] [Music] there is nothing [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] there is no [Music] [Applause] and we're standing here [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] one more time won't you lift up your hands the holy ghost is ministering here come on we're going to get our second wind we're going to get our second wind he's going to touch us a second time another time [Music] not just a second wind a third wind a fourth win a fifth win just when you feel like giving up he'll keep showing up just when you feel like throwing in the tail he'll touch you one more time to make it another day another week another month