Sunday Evening Worship & Word | Pastor Anthony “The Guidance of Christ”
by Anthony McCool
August 7, 2022 · First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Luke 10:38-42, Luke 12:25, Psalms 32:8, John 10:28-29, John 16:13, Luke 1:79, Psalms 23, Isaiah 49:10, Isaiah 58:11

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/anthony-mccool--sunday-evening-worship-word-6
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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my body clock right now is telling me it's somewhere between midnight and 1am a uh great country poet once said he made the statement It's Five O'Clock Somewhere and I think this poem was referring to if he could just get a substance into his body that he could inebriate his mind just to make it to the next day but I have a scriptural precedent that in the Midnight Hour Paul and Silas began to sing praises and their prison doors just open up and everybody in the prison found relief but that substance that they were calling upon wasn't just to get them to the next morning but that substance had power in it and that substance had the ability to break chains and that same substance that they called upon right there in the prison cell it's the same substance that's in this house tonight and it's the Holy Ghost living and breathing inside of each and every one of you and I just believe if we'll have great expectation and Obey what the praise team just sang about tonight about greater things I believe he's ready to show up and I believe it's midnight somewhere tonight and somebody might be here tonight and it might be the last hour for your marriage it might be the last hour at your job it might be the last hour in your finances it might be the last hour in whatever situation that you made faced with but I believe if you'll just call on that name of Jesus I believe if you'll call on that name that he's going to show up and if you believe that why don't you just give him a hand clap of Praise as we lift up that name above every other name in Jesus name thank you praise team and musicians keep that Spirit as you make your way back to your seats did that praise team not just in musicians just absolutely unbelievable sister Jody goodness that was that was uh that was amazing that blessed my soul I'm so thankful for the choir and the praise team and all of these fantastic musicians and our technical staff and Hospitality ushers greeters the list goes on Etc dot dot dot but all each and every person using their talents and skills to just further this gospel to a great extent thank you Bishop for your your kind words and thank you for your words during offering and Pastor Whitley what an absolutely tremendous sermon this morning what's good with the church I'm about to show you and tell you what's good with the church because where I was at this past week has been greatly influenced and impacted by the prayers the example and the finances of this assembly Pastor Krause who I had the privilege with being with this past Sunday and then through the week camp with their churches in Augsburg and in Munich this church is directly responsible for much of their production equipment the renting of the church the auditorium that they assemble at in Munich and if you could start that highlight video I've got about a two and a half minute just video of some different highlights from where I was and just want to show you what your prayers example and your finances are going to this is the church in Augsburg Germany this is the southern part of Germany and their service every single service is translated into English and or German depending who's speaking and preaching and this is Pastor Krause and his wife preached about holding on and they're the anchor of that area and this is the church in Munich this is the auditorium that this church paid the rent for for the next two years this is the Church there lifting up praises to heaven and this is me with a few young men from that church I had the privilege of doing a a young adult session with them as well outside of the Sunday service this is Pastor Mangold that we know so well our family and that was Bishop sister VI this of the church in Mannheim this is our missionaries to Italy the platanias and this is some of the worship taking place at the camp where I was in Mannheim this Camp is set up similarly to our Tri-State District Family Camp but instead of the Tri-State the whole country of Germany all of the Oneness churches come together right there in Mannheim a little bit more centrally located Pastor Vai was with us just about a month ago after GMC and he's the pastor of this great church I did a session with the high school students during the day as you can see here and God God just continually moved every single session every single service and we just had an absolutely tremendous time in the evening Services during the camp of course every session was again translated in German and English but the evening sessions were going out in those two languages also in French also in Spanish and also in Italian so God's just moving if if if we'll allow him to do so and just like you all do put your put your prayers and put your faith and your resources together and it's just exciting to see what God is doing throughout our world their energy prices there in Germany are very high and they're dealing with inflation just like we are gas prices have soared to upwards of around 12 a gallon it got up to 41 degrees Celsius uh one day and I looked that up and that was around 105 Fahrenheit and many of them are hesitant to even turn on their air conditioning units if they have one because Energy prices are so high but the spirit there is so great and I tell you that to say this you know we we see all of the things that we read about in the Bible about different things happening across our world and it says these things must come this being soon isn't from necessarily the negative things that are taking place across our world's war and pestilence and rumors of War but to see his spirit being poured out upon All Flesh you know that he said in the last days I will pour out my spirit upon All Flesh and we heard it this morning from Pastor Whitley what's good with the church well I think the work in Germany is a product of what is good with the church so I give each and every one of you all honor for your giving your faithfulness your vision and your trust and your faith and God is just doing an absolutely amazing work and we're just I'm so thankful uh to be a part of this great church body and each and every one of them watch our archives every weekend Pastor Krause and his family will be waking up here probably about as as we go to bed or a little bit after tonight and he says on Monday morning first thing they watch is f-a-c Knoxville and he said we we got our light wall up and he said as soon as we did y'all changed to LED wall so they're uh their service structure and everything he said he said who's that guy on that base I said that's brother Chuck Richmond he goes I like that he knows what he's doing uh so we're going to turn just that audio base up for you for maybe at the altar pastor of Christ let you hear that a little bit but in in all and I say each and every one of those things with a great deal of seriousness we are impacting this entire world and the whole world is watching The Story Goes Derek Jeter uh shortstop for the New York Yankees uh he's he's either inducted or he certainly will be into the the Hall of Fame but in 1995 as he came won uh 95 or 96 as a rookie veteran Don Mattingly it was his last year and he was kind of even with a little bit of indecision whether he's going to continue that year but he met this young Derek Jeter in spring training who he wasn't even on the uh I don't think he was on the minor league team yet but a top five draft pick and they were warming up in Florida as many of the MLB teams do uh before the season gets going and he he had a little bit of interaction with Derek Jeter at first and again this is rookie Derek Jeter not Hall of Fame Derek Jeter and this is veteran Don Mattingly I think probably the highest paid player for the New York Yankees at that time well they got done warming up and there was about 10 people over in the right field line that were just at the fence line just kind of watching them warm up and as they got done warming up Don Mattingly said Derek Jeter or Derek Jeter was telling the story about dog Madeline that he just kind of started walking to the Dugout and Don Mattingly he said pretty abruptly grabbed him right by the jersey and he said listen rookie you're a New York Yankee we don't walk we jog this might be the first time any one of them have ever seen the New York Yankees in person well that means a lot to me because if they can have that type of expectation and type of standard for a sport in a baseball game what type of Standards should we have when we go across these Airways in every single facet and I'm proud to be a part of a great church body who doesn't walk but jogs and runs and sets the atmosphere of praise and sets the atmosphere of excellence and does every single thing as the word of God says whatever thy hand findeth to do do with all thy might because the whole world is watching you don't know who might be tuning in for the first time you don't know who might be showing up for the first time and we have to set the atmosphere of Praise do we worship to be seen no but we should be seen worshiping because we set the atmosphere and as I said earlier when Paul and Silas prayed at the Midnight Hour and their prison door was open the Bible says not just their prison door but the whole jail cell the whole prison so that's that's our philosophy we don't walk we Jog and I'm proud to be of a part of a church that is determined to do so if you would turn with me to the Book of Luke chapter 10 and we're going to read verses 38 through 42 Luke 10 38 through 42 a familiar passage of scripture to most of us going to look at this just a little bit tonight and uh I know God's ready to speak to us verse 38 now it came to pass as they went that he entered into a certain Village and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house and she had her sister called Mary which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word but Martha was cumbered about much serving and came to him and said Lord Dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone bid her therefore that she helped me and Jesus answered and said unto her Martha Martha Thou Art careful and troubled about many things but one thing is needful and Mary hath chosen that good part what shall not be taken away from her I want to speak to you for a few moments about the guidance of Christ right there we are sitting and just remain seated but if you would lift your hands and let's ask God's presence to be with us during this time mighty God we thank you tonight for the opportunity that you have given us we thank you for what you've done in this service thus far Lord let your word sink down deep into our hearts and let it speak to us let it convict our hearts Lord should there be someone here at the Midnight Hour let them know and through your word that now is the time to call out on your name father we approach your word with great expectation it's not something we do out of form or ritual but Lord we want you to know tonight that when we hear your word it still calls us to attention it still arouses us it still brings excitement and gets us out of our seat it's not just some mundane under Sunday night Lord but we're ready to hear from your word we thank you when we praise you in Jesus name we pray amen the guidance of Christ can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of D.C Rush Hour this is the title of an article written in the Washington Post by Gene winegarden he emerged from the Metro at the lefant plaza station and positioned himself against a wall behind a trash basket from a small case he removed a violin placing the open case at his feet he shortly threw in a few dollars in pocket change as seed money swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic and he began to play it was 7 51 a.m on Friday January the 12th the middle of the morning rush hour in the next 43 minutes as the violinists performed six classical pieces 1097 people passed by almost all of them on their way to work which meant for almost all of them it was a government job as Le effort Plaza is that the nucleus of federal Washington and these were mostly mid-level bureaucrats policy analysts project managers budget officers Specialists facilitators Consultants Highly Educated individual in the center of our nation's capital of Washington D.C each passerby had a quick choice to make one familiar two commuters in any urban area where the occasional street performer is part of the cityscape do you stop and listen do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation aware of your cupidity but annoyed by the unbind demand for your time on your wallet do you throw in a buck just to be polite does your decision change if he or she is really bad or what if he or she is really good do you have time for the beauty shouldn't you what's the moral mathematics of the moment on that Friday in January those private questions would be answered in an unusually public way no one knew it but the Fiddler's standing against a bare wall outside the metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made his performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context perception and priorities as well as unblinking assessment of public taste and a banal setting With An Inconvenient time would Beauty be able to transcend itself and that busy metro subway with one of the finest classical musicians in the world with one of the most expensive violins a one-time child prodigy at 39 years old Joshua Bell has arrived as an internationally acclaimed virtuoso three days before he appeared at the Metro station Bell had filled the house at Boston stately Symphony Hall where he merely pretty good seats went for one hundred dollars two weeks later at the Music City at Strathmore in North Bethesda he would play at a standing room only audience so respectful of his Artistry that they stifled their coughs until silence between movements but on that Friday in January Joshua Bell was just another competing for the intention of busy people on their way to work to get to the Metro from his hotel a distance of three blocks Bell did take the taxi not because he was lazy but he did it for protection for his violin Bell always performs on the same instrument and he ruled out using any other for this gig as well it's called the Gibson X huberman it was handcrafted in 1713 by Antonio stradivari during the Italian Masters golden period toward the end of his career when he had access to the finest Spruce Maple and Willow and when his technique had been refined to absolute perfection he said our knowledge of Acoustics is still in complete Bell said but he just knew how to make them Bell doesn't mention shut Avari by name just he when the violinist shows his strad shorthand for this type of violin to people he holds the inter Instrument gingerly by its neck resting it on his knee he made this to perfect thickness at all parts Bell says pivoting it if you shaved off a millimeter of wood at any point it would totally imbalance the sound no violin sounds as wonderful as strats from the 1710 steel the front of Belle's violin is nearly in perfect condition with a deep rich grain and luster the back is a mess though it's dark red it's finished bleeding away into flat or lighter shade and finally in one section to Barrel wood this has never been refinished Belle proudly proclaims that's his original varnish people attribute aspects of the sound to that varnish each maker had his own secret formula but stradivari is thought to have made is from an ingeniously balanced cocktail of Honey egg white rights and gum arabic from sub-Saharan trees Bell botted a few years ago he had to sell his own Strat and borrow much of the rest and the price tag that he paid was a reported 3.5 million dollars this is what bell adorned in the busy metro subway station a 3.5 million dollar violin from 1710 by one of the greatest most accomplished childhood Prodigy the greatest classical musician in the world playing the most difficult pieces certainly people would stop and flock even if they didn't know who he was regardless of what meeting they had to get to regardless of what policy they had to analyze surely because even in their business no no matter what they had to do unless it was a national emergency unless there was a terrorist attacker maybe another nation was about to invade another Nation surely all of these oddly educated esteemed individuals even regardless of what they're going to certainly they would hear those notes from that 3.5 million dollar violin from the most accomplished musician perhaps in the world as Belle began to play box Chacon and also considered one of the most difficult violin pieces in the world said many try a few succeed it's exhaustingly long 14 minutes and consists entirely of single succinct musical progressions repeated in dozens of variations to create a dauntingly complex architecture of sound composed around 1720 on the eve of the European Enlightenment it's said to be a celebration of the breath of human possibility so that's the peace that Bell start with certainly people would stop and flock and whatever cash they had would be emptied out he'd clearly meant it when he promised not to cheap out this performance he played with acrobatic enthusiasm his body leaning into music and arching onto his tiptoes at the high notes the sound was symphonic caring to all parts of the homely arcade as the pedestrian traffic filed past three minutes though went by before something happened 63 people had already passed when finally oh I guess we'll call this a breakthrough of sorts a middle-aged man altered his gate for just a Split Second turning his head to notice that there seemed to be some guy playing music but he continued to walk but it was something a half minute later Belle got his first donation this this uh the artists who who cheap seats were going for a hundred dollars a piece he finally got his first donation a woman threw in a book and scooted off it was not until six minutes into the performance that someone actually stood against a wall and listened things never got much better in the three quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played seven people stopped what they were doing seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance for at least a minute 27 gave money most of them on a run for a grand total of 32 dollars and change that leaves 1070 people who hurried by oblivious many only three feet away few even turning to look at a music hall he said I'll get upset if someone coughs or if someone's cell phone goes off but here are my expectations quickly diminish I started to appreciate any acknowledgment even if it was somebody just simply lifting their head I was oddly grateful when someone threw in a dollar instead of change this is from a man whose talents can command up to one thousand dollars a minute mastery this Priceless melody in harmony to feed our souls can be right in our midst and we can miss it because of our business we can miss it due to perhaps rushing to the next dot on our plot lines of to do and these dots are often never remembered the next day and I tell us tonight as we look at our scriptural context that the one who was in our midst is much more great than the greatest classical violinist in the world and the riches that he has is greater than a 3.5 million dollar violin and as we look at our key verse tonight the problem with Martha is not that so much she is busy serving certainly Jesus commands this kind of service to our neighbor many times but the problem with Martha is not her cervix but rather that she is worried and visibly distracted the word translated distracted in verse 40 sapato has the connotation of being pulled or dragged in different directions this passage is a call to stop what you're doing wherever you're at and be truly with and in the presence of Jesus because when you're in the presence of true greatness he might just have something to say Martha's worry and distraction prevent her from being truly present with Jesus and she has missed out on what Jesus said the one thing needed so Jesus says that Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken away from her and Jesus words to Martha may be seen as a invitation rather than necessarily A rebuke he says Martha Martha you are worried and distracted by many things but there is only one thing at this time that you need to concern yourself with and the one thing needed is for Martha to receive this gracious precious time she has with the Messiah manifest in flesh and to listen to his words and to know that she is not valued for what she is doing or for how well she is doing it but because she is a child of God and because of who she is and a culture of hectic schedules and Relentless and Relentless pursuit of productivity we are tempted to measure our worth by how busy we are we are tempted to look at the activities of the church and just strive for busyness by We Will We Will value ourselves by how much we accomplish in this certain amount of time or how much we can meet the expectation for someone else and we can be in such a hurry as Bishop preached to us on that sermon series to what was it too busy serving Jesus to serve Jesus that we can be in such a hurry that the master musician Josh Bell is passed by as just a mundane everyday street performer when there is a sweet melody intricately prepared to refresh the depths of our soul many people in our congregation many people at fac Knoxville and if fac Knoxville uh means anything and if fac Knoxville personifies anything it is hard work and working to make sure that the job gets done and many people in here would identify and as we should with Martha feeling pulled in different directions serving and working and looking out for your family and you come in being pulled in all different directions feeling worried they're distracted by many things and these seem to be common threads of life in our increasingly fast-paced world and yet as Jesus says in Luke 12 25 can any of you by worrying add even a single hour to your life we know that warring does no good and that much of what we worry about is not so important in the larger scheme of things and yet we know this but it's difficult for us to quell our anxiousness and thoughts and the feeling of what of the worry that comes if we're not busy in our frantic activity we can find ourselves so enthralled over something that if we are honest we may not even remember it a week from now or if we step back from it and compare it to the impact of what would happen if we made a purposeful effort to stop in the midst of our busyness and allow Jesus to further reveal himself to us even when we don't have everything ready even when we're on the move or even when things aren't yet how they're supposed to be Jesus is inviting us through this passage in Luke to stop Right Where You Are because the master is in the house and the master is in the room and the investment you're going to make in me at this current time is going to be an eternal one and whatever you're worried about right now whatever you're focused about right now whatever you're trying to check off on your to-do list is meaningless in comparison to the time that I'm about to reveal myself to you to the time that I'm about to speak to you it is true that much of our busyness and distraction stems from Noble intentions indeed and we want to provide for our families we want to give our children every opportunity to enrich their lives we want to serve our neighbors and yes we want to serve the Lord and this is not a call to for one second back down as I mentioned at the Forefront of this message that we should pursue excellence in every single capacity and every single Ministry of this church because what would the church be without its marthas or what would the church be without that type of spirit where whatever takes place we're willing to roll up our sleeves and make sure we're able to accomplish what God has called us to do and all of these things are important but most important is that we can't get too busy serving Jesus to actually serve Jesus and when he begins to speak to us in this place regardless of what you might have brought into here regardless of everything's not how it's supposed to be at this certain point of time regardless of how busy you feel or how many directions you feel that you're being pulled in we have an invitation tonight to stop what you're doing right now and listen to what the Savior has for us and yet if all of our activities leave us with no time to be still in the Lord's presence and hear God's words we are likely to end up anxious and troubled we are likely to miss appropriate excuse me misappropriate what is truly important in the kingdom of God we are likely to end up with a kind of service that is devoid of love and is resentful of others Dr Elizabeth Johnson said both listening and doing receiving God's word and serving others are vital in the Christian Life just as inhaling and exhaling are both breathing yet how often do we forget to breathe in deeply trying to serve without being nourished by God's word is like expecting good fruit to grow from a tree that has been uprooted Matthew Henry said sitting at Christ's feet regardless of what's going on signifies Readiness to receive his word and submission to the guidance of it Martha was providing for the entertainment of Christ and those that came with him here were respect to our lord Jesus and right care of her household affair but there was something to be to be blamed she was for much serving plenty variety and exactness worldly business can be a snare to us when it hinders us from serving God and getting the good to our souls what needless time is wasted and expense often laid out on the things that will so quickly fade though Martha was on the occasion faulty yet she was a True Believer and in her General conduct did not neglect and her General conduct did not neglect the one thing needful the favor of God is needful to our happiness the favor of God the salvation of Christ is needful for our safety where there is attended to all other things will be rightly pursued when we put Jesus first when we put his will first when we are led by his Spirit first and foremost regardless of what our plans are he will lead us and guide us in the direction we should go Christ declared Mary hath chosen the good part for one thing is needful all of those other things are insignificant in comparison to listening what I have to say this one thing she has done to give up herself to the guidance of Christ the things of this life will be taken away from us at the furthest when she shall be taken away from them but nothing shall separate the love of Christ and part of that love and I just believe tonight that even though though First Apostolic church is a church that personifies hard work even though First Apostolic church is a church that pursues Excellence it's a church that when the word of God begins to go forth It's a church that no matter how many hours I'm serving I know that when Jesus steps in the room as the praise team sang about that it still gets my attention and I know that I need to listen up because Jesus has something to say and I wonder just across this house where you're sitting if you could respond to the invitation that Jesus is giving you this very moment because he is in the room do you believe it if you believe it I think you'd be out of your seats if you really believe Jesus was in the room if he was in the room I think you'd be out of your seats giving him the praise he deserves he's in this house and whatever distraction you may have whatever you might have brought into this place he's wanting to speak to you right now he's wanting to reveal himself to you right now so could you give him praise right now this is your response to say Jesus I'm here listen Jesus I'm sitting at your feet Jesus I'm at the edge of your feet listening to whatever you have to say maybe you're bouncing your checkbook right now maybe you're looking at your phone scrolling through see if you have any likes maybe you're checking on your to-do list for tomorrow I I don't know what you're doing but Jesus is here speaking to you Jesus has something for you it can be seated we have to be ready at all times to hear the word of God As It Goes Forth the spirit will guide us in three different ways it's that important it's that important by his counsel with his eye and by his hand this isn't rebuke remember that this isn't a rebuke Martha was a firm believer Martha was trying to make sure that everything was in its place Jesus said those things are going to pass away and the most important thing you could do for your life right now is listen to the words that I have to tell you because I want to reveal myself to you I want to strengthen my relationship with you you're worried about a lot of things but if you would listen to what I have to tell you that anxiety is going to go away and peace is going to come in but maybe you're too busy by his counsel the spirit of God guides Us by his counsel or word we have a large Manual of instructions inspired by the spirit that is apropos to every situation in our lives if a person will search he will find the portion of the word of God that addresses his need or problem when the preaching Goes Forth oh you're saying that cause you're up there when the preached word of God Goes Forth somebody up here man of God's been up here studied this is a supernatural book do we believe that the infallible inspired word of God when the preaching Goes Forth I can't imagine why you would find yourself out loitering in the lobby while the preaching is going on [Applause] is that okay is that all right oh I know we have Hospitality Hospitality staff and security I know all of those things and we have teams that rotate that's why we have rotation you know that's not what I'm talking about but I'm talking about making a purposeful attempt maybe just to shoot the time away when the preached word of God is going forth when Jesus is speaking to us because there's not one thing his word says that's more important than the word of God going forth especially if you're a choir member okay especially if you're on the praise team especially if you're a musician especially if you're a preacher especially if you're in any leadership position especially if you're a saint of God especially if you're a believer that Jesus Christ resurrected from the grave is God manifest in flesh when the word of God Goes Forth I need to be in here giving him praise and worshiping it looks like I care what's going on is that all right I got a smile while I'm saying it all right hey we don't walk we jog it's about being somebody's first time imagine if it's her first time and I was out there sitting in the lobby with my feet kicked up drinking a coffee aren't you a pastor yeah it's not my job tonight or I just got done with what I was supposed to do but in the preaching going on yeah but it's that's not my turn tonight what would that look like people are watching you saints of God are watching you people's first time are watching you ever every single person I'm gonna feel bad later for saying this stuff but should I no hey we is that all right we don't walk we jog The Whole World's watching this might be their first time so he guides Us by his word the Israelites would write that word hero Israel the Lord our God is one on the door post they tell their children morning and night everywhere they everywhere they'd go just to remind themselves that I've got to be led by his counsel I've got to be led now some people are into getting all these different type of New Revelations and God told me this and me and God were shooting pool together and he said this too everything you need right here is in this book this is his word this is the infallible inspired word of God okay everything you need is right here if an angel from heaven come down and tell you something else you need to rebuke that angel okay because that's false why don't we just get our heads in the book everything we have is right here every answer we need is right here in this book and when his word Goes Forth it ought to just do something to us we got to prepare for what he's going to do if I got to ride it up in my room and I remind myself of it daily next one the Spirit guides us with his eyes Psalm 32 8 says I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which Thou shalt go I will guide thee with mine eye even though the Bible uses anthropo anthropomorphisms I practice that word and it just didn't come out right hey it's 1am for me that's my excuse that is attributing to God the shape or characteristic of a human it permits us as humans to understand just a little bit better how God guides us God is omnipresent there is no place in the universe where he does not exist yet we often think of God as being elevated to such a great degree above the Earth and looking down upon us if this concept helps us to understand his watchfulness over us it does no harm however he also observes us and he does observe us for the eyes of the Lord or over the righteous not only can we receive comfort in knowing the eye of the Lord Caesar but we also take Assurance in knowing his eyes sees much further than we do he sees the future and he knows therefore how to lead us accordingly our inability to see beyond our limited vision is the main reason that we need Divine guidance because when we try to do it on our own when we try to rely on just our own talent I promise you you're going to get off course because we are human so we have to rely on the one who is in the future we have to rely on the one who is omnipresent omniscient and omnipotent since we cannot see where we are going we don't know the way to go he does busy trying to provide if you'll just stop what you're doing again this isn't a rebuke I know we're busy I know things have to take place I I know we're working in every single capacity I know sometimes uh you get here two and three hours of rehearsal before church and you you you're spent in every different Direction with your family and you gotta get up early in the morning for work and uh this is not a rebuke this is an invitation but so many times if we can just whatever it takes just to get his his feet there's something that's just going to uplift our spirits and take us to the next level our nation boasts of an elaborate system of surveillance that involves satellites that can pinpoint anything on the ground from 100 miles in orbit that's quiet in eye but it is not begin to compare to our savior's surveillance the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good and God is not just seeing us but he's also steering us many people feel that his eye is only to spy and that is the impression of the unrighteousness but the righteous know that his gaze is to protect and God he said I will guide thee with thine eye not only does God guide us by his hands but he guides Us by holding us in his hands number three he guides Us by his hands so he guided them by the skillfulness the skillfulness of his hands the psalmist use of the hands of God again human characteristics help us understand how God accomplishes this guidance to us as he watches us with his eyes he guides us with his hands we may watch The Gifted Hands of the Artist as they work on the canvas or with the bow of the violin as we spoke about earlier in the skilled hand of the surgeon guides the scalpel in delicate operation the trained hands of an airline pilot holds hundreds of lives and care as he definitely Maneuvers the controls though we can appreciate the expertise manifested in each of these varied activities none can compare with the skillfulness of the Lord's hands as it guides his people through this life and what a comfort it is not only to feel that his hand is up on us but also to know that by the word what that is the calm of his palm the calm of his palm is all the guidance we need and not only does God guide us but by his hands but he guides Us by holding us in his hands John 10 28 says and I give unto them eternal life and they talking about you while shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand my Father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hands that is how the spirit leads us he leads us by his counsel this word that we've been given that is such a treasure that is such a gift Pastor Whitley told us about going to the Museum of the Bible and he told us about all of these cultural cultures and languages that the word of God has not even been translated into and we have 50 versions can look it up any commentary and sometimes it was by okay too busy too busy too busy he watches us with his eye and he holds Us by the hand leading us and there's three places that he's going to lead the first thing he's going to do and this is why it's so important to make sure that we're at his feet is that he's going to lead us into all truth when you start to stray away from his word when you start to become an island under your stove when YouTube is your main commentary for your interpretation of the word of God you're going to just begin to sway John 16 13 tells us how be it when the spirit of Truth has come he will guide you to all truth I I believe that any honest-hearted person any person as Bishops told us in the past who hasn't been indoctrinated for years with different Church doctrines if they just read this word for itself for for what it is that without a shadow of a doubt they would come away from it seeing their need to repent seeing their need to be baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ knowing that the Holy Ghost is a gift and it's evidenced by speaking with another tongue this guidance system of the spirit will not only guide us into the way of Peace but it will direct us into all truth it's our foundation it's the thing that keeps us going in the way that we should go number two this is so important again not a rebuke it's an invitation to understand how important it is to make sure that we're at the Master's feet number two it will lead us into the way of peace Luke tells us the day spring from on high hath visited us to guide our feet into the way of Peace the word way in Luke 179 is translated from a word meaning Road there are many roads but the Holy Spirit guides us to the right one once our feet are on the road he continues to guide us along the way but we are not of them who draw back let thine eyes look right on and let that eyelids look straight before thee Ponder the path of thy feet you need to you you need to have some self-evaluation in the direction that you're going and the council that you're taking and let all thy ways be established I would say this is a pretty established method to rely on turn not to the right hand or to the left remove thy foot from Evil the narrow way alluded to in the scriptures is the way of Peace as well as the way of life the broad way the busy way leads to strife and destruction the Bible reveals the way of peace and the Holy Ghost guides us and helps us to remain in the way of Peace notice our seven statements of guidance in Psalms 23 the Lord is my shepherd that's who I'm following he maketh me to lie to down in Green Pastures he leadeth me beside the Still Waters he leadeth me in the past of righteousness for his namesake I will fear no evil thou rod and thy staff they comfort me thou preparest the table before me in the presence of mine enemies I just want to tell you tonight if you're in this building you've made a conscientious decision you didn't get here by accident I could go through this audience I know the testimony of so many of you all I know the hours if you could work a regular schedule that would be great because you work so many hours of overtime you're up before the sun even gets up and you take care and you provide for your family and we just saw one of the the daughters of this church congregation over in another country because of the sacrificial giving again listen to me tonight this is not a rebuke this is an invitation from the word of God just to say what you're doing is good keep doing it you're doing a good job but don't ever forget don't ever get too busy to not realize how important this is for you if you need peace this evening in a situation we can try a lot of different things and I'm preaching to myself first we can try so many different things before we get right here we can try so many different Avenues and books and I'm for whatever resources are available to help that's not what I'm talking about but we need to start right here I believe there's some Green Pastures and still waters for you to drink from tonight A refreshing of the Holy Ghost a visitation from on high but you have to stop even though XYZ it hasn't happened yet even though I did this and there's some uncertainty there even though I'm just unsettled in in this situation as I said you've made a purposeful decision to sit at his feet tonight in every single Pew you know every every person can't sit up front you know so we this this altar is this whole entire place tonight any person that is sitting on that Pew tonight maybe unless you somebody may have held you Hostage to get in here it's okay it might be a new form of evangelism but you've you've made a purposeful decision to be here tonight to sit at his feet and I just believe his word is true to what it says that you've said it doesn't matter whatever else is going on I'm going to hear his word tonight and I believe just I just believe what it says I believe God's going to give you a blessing tonight musicians come on I believe that Jesus is in the house and I believe that every single person here I'm not yelling and I'm not screaming and unless you're they've been taken hostage then we might have to reevaluate that but I want you to know that I just believe the word of God for what it says and I believe tonight your purposeful decision your your presence and your your purposeful decision to be here tonight to sit at his feet regardless of what's going on in your life regardless of the needs in your life I believe that as as the time comes here shortly I believe I'm going to give an invitation and I believe that you can lift up your hands and I believe the Holy Ghost is just going to be poured out on you tonight I believe that I just believe that number three and lastly he's going to lead us beside Springs of water it says Isaiah said they shall never hunger nor thirst neither shall the heat nor son Smite them for thee that hath Mercy on them shall lead them even by the Springs of water shall he guide them the Spirit guides into the way of Peace into all truth and besides Springs of water the latter represents spiritual renewal and spiritual renewal is necessary I don't know about you but I have to be spiritually renewed just as many times as possible for the journey is rigorous every Journey needs a rest stop every Journey needs a time of rest and every desert needs an oasis the trip to heaven on the road of life is no exception thank God he has provided for this need he leadeth me beside the Steel Waters if we existed spiritually in a physical vacuum perhaps the problems of attrition would not be so great but we do not we live in a real world every day is not youth conference and every day is not camp meeting every day is not our families sitting around the dinner table like oh golly gee didn't you have a good day today no we live in a real world with real problems where things go bad where we experience different mood swings and tragedy happens and as my Uncle Bob says he He Reigns on the just and the unjust and he said I feel so sorry for all those just people haven't experienced the same things I do but he is ready tonight to lead you beside the Still Waters and how long will he do this for oh well I've I've messed up and I if I could go back in this situation I would have done this I would have said this to that person or I wouldn't have done that and I just don't know if I can ever get to where I once was This Is A Lie from the enemy he comes and Whispers in our ears and brings up the mistakes of our past and he's content if we're living our life in neutral he he he proclaims Victory if if you're just a neutral and just going through the motions and every time you take a step forward he'll he'll grab that ankle just to try to hold you back and say well God's done this for you and he's done it for you a second time and he's done it for you a third time but you know you've reached Your Capacity uh for what God's able to do in your life that is an absolute lie because that same Psalms 23 says surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all all the days of my life stand with me the wear and tear on the body and soul is a real factor and that's why we need renewal daily is he going to do it two times three times have I reached my capacity for God's mercy and Grace absolutely not Isaiah tells us and the Lord shall guide thee continually he's the restorer of time things we go through aren't meant to they're not just to Define us but they're to refine us as we come forth as gold and satisfy thy soul and drought and make fat thy bones and you shall be like a watered garden and like the spring of waters who fell not intermittent may be a word we use to describe rain rheumatism and possibly even Revival but not the guidance of the spirit there's no room the etymology of the word continually for the words periodic you can't associate the word periodic with continually you can't you can't associate the word sporadic with continually you you can't associate the word recurrent with continually you can't associate the word of run out or scarce with the word continually surely goodness and mercy shall follow me oh capitalize that make it red put it in a big bold and italicize font and put quotations around it and circle it and highlight it all the days of my life we have to make a purposeful decision every single day to give him our attention in the midst of our daily life and to sit at his feet in the midst of everything that is going on recently A man was told of a frightening incident by his friend while making a trans-oceanic flight on a large military plane during the war he awakened in the middle of the night to the laboring sound of the engines when he got up and went to the cockpit he found the pilot and the co-pilot asleep the automatic pilot they had set before catching a nap had malfunctioned they were at 2 000 feet and losing altitude the vibration was caused by the plane flying slightly sideways now due to the wind for which the autopilot was not compensating the friend quickly awakened the pilot and he was able to make the proper adjustments to avert disaster Humanity's guidance system even when we think we've got it all put together and we've got things locked in on auto they don't have the capacity to deal with this turbulence and the storms that come with life and the least Bittle little thing even if we think it's just a little bit of wind can push us off course if we don't continue to calibrate the direction of our life Humanity's guidance system May malfunction Rockets may be erratic missiles may be misguided but God's guidance system never fails he guides us correctly and continually so I want to give you an invitation tonight not a rebuke I'm preaching to me first I give you an invitation tonight that whatever situation you may be facing I know it's the start of the school year and I know people are working so many different jobs and it's that time of the year where so many things just get Compact and and placed together in the the end of summer is upon us and starting a new school year and all of these decisions and all of this busyness and you might be dealing with a health situation for yourself or maybe you're a caregiver for a family member and or maybe you've got children and yeah and you're taking care and providing for your family or you've got this decision coming up or this tragedy happened and you're carrying this burden for this person or you're standing in the gap for this person or my son or my daughter's lost and I'm praying for them and I'm caring for this person and work starting and I got to get up early enough and it's been late and all of these things can come at us and and I'm still serving at the same time and my my head's just in a tailspin and I I don't know what to do and I want to invite you to this altar tonight to just come and lift your hands and say Jesus I'm trusting in your word right now that I'm acknowledging that I'm just going to sit I'm going to sit at your feet I'm stopping what I'm doing I'm stopping my busyness because I I know that you're in the room I know that you have something to say I know that you're ready to reveal yourself I'm not too busy to hear from you Lord I'm not too busy nothing else is important everything is temporal I'm ready to hear from the master tonight and I believe he's going to send a refreshing on you I believe the Holy Ghost is just going to be poured out of you and there's going to be a fresh peace I believe some anxiety is just going to to begin to fade away I believe some answers are going to be reveal themselves because you answered the invitation tonight foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] everybody [Applause] [Music] says you [Applause] I'm just encouraged by the great example that this church sits I can't tell you how many students and how many individuals this past week said we watch every one of your services and I I preached a sermon he goes I remember you preaching that I was like hey you're watching too much uh but I know there's so many different things going on there's there's hospitality and and greeters and ushers and Technical staff and everybody can't always be in here at the same time but I just wonder if we could make this entire room and if you're watching online wherever you're wherever you're at right now could we make this entire room just an altar just for a moment with our hands lifted high and our voices and our heads to Heaven as we acknowledge and accept the invitation tonight oh mighty God you see this group of Believers Lord you see the faithfulness of every musician and every praise team member and every choir member and all the hospitality staff and all of the ushers and greeters and all of the technical staff and every Sunday school teacher every Kids Quest and middle school and high school and the turn and project 180 and adulter sin uh Pia and turn University Tennessee campus and all of our ACS and AKA teachers and then if I begin to try to name out occupations I can't and every single saint of God in every Ministry that they do Lord Lord you see our service to you you see our spirit of Martha Lord we we're determined to roll up our sleeves and meet whatever Giants and and whatever challenge father but tonight we also accept the invitation that in our busyness and in our aspiration for excellence we know how to just stop what we're doing and give you praise we know how to just stop what we're doing and lift up our ears to the King of Kings and the Lord of lords we know how to stop and say Jesus what do you have for me I can't do this on my own talent I can't do this on my own Merit I gotta have you to leave me I gotta have you to guide me I celebrate your word your word still arouses my soul when I hear let everything that have breath praise the Lord it just does something to me I know this trial has taken place I know there's uncertainty in this situation but I know you're going to show up Lord I I love you and I pray a special blessing on every person in this room every person I watch her online every person watching the archive that we're accepting the invitation we know how to seek your voice and have faith in your word Lord I pray a special blessing on every single person the Lord fill them with the refreshing of your spirit tonight tonight we're not passing you by [Music] e we're not passing you by [Music] e in Jesus name in Jesus name in your name Jesus yes yes [Music] foreign give them strength right now [Music] [Applause] right now oh Jesus we're investing in the Eternal we're investing in your kingdom yes Jesus yes Jesus Christ [Music] [Applause] remember [Music] me [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] why don't you lift up your hands all over the sanctuary come on lift up your hands all over the sanctuary today we've heard from Heaven this evening we've heard from Heaven we've heard from his word [Music] we heard Bishop several years ago I believe it was before the pandemic he taught a series on Wednesday night I think he first kicked it off on a Sunday too busy serving Jesus to serve Jesus that was a message that revolutionized my thinking about how he served Jesus because Mary [Music] did the better thing by sitting at his feet we need to be a Mary in a Martha world you didn't hear me we need to be a Mary in a Martha world where we can shut down the distractions we can put aside the things that get our attention all the time and spend time in the presence of Jesus because you can't serve effectively if you don't learn how to sit efficiently at his feet if you can learn to sit at his feet and get into his presence then we can make a difference in the world wherever we are serving I wonder if somebody one more time before we leave this place can say Lord let me be a Mary in a Martha's World let me be somebody who knows how to sit at your feet I would rather be for Effective sitting at your feet than serving others Lord I try I know I'm gonna gain my anointing I know that's where I'm going to gain my power in your presence there is fullness of joy and there are Pleasures forevermore father we thank you for your word that we've heard today we thank you for your spirit that you have ministered to us with today but I pray God that you would help us today to take this with us so we can live it tomorrow through the wet the rest of this week in Jesus name why don't you clap your hands unto the Lord tonight come on somebody give him praise somebody lift up your voice it's a little bit louder Hallelujah what a day what a day I like kicking off our week on Sundays bringing the Lord our first fruits but Wednesday night we have church here as well don't you miss Wednesday night Wednesday night 7 30 we have Bible study we have discipleship taking place all over this campus project 180 Kids Quest adulthish lots of things for you to be a part of be here I didn't dismiss you yet I'm not sure where y'all going I'm still talking I'm telling you about Wednesday night you need to be here in the house of the Lord on Wednesday night you'll be dismissed when I tell you you're dismissed but you need to be here on Wednesday night Wednesday night's not optional for you if you're a child of God you need to be here and hear the word we heard it tonight if you want your life changed you need the word of God in your life I'm not going to be upset about it I'm not going to feel bad later but don't you be in that lobby while this man is teaching the word of the Lord you be in this room receiving the word oh hallelujah hallelujah Friday Night concert revive concert we're gonna have a great time you can be here seven o'clock then Sunday Landon Gore will be here Sunday morning Sunday night back to school Revival I'm ready for Revival now tell somebody you're what's right with the church then you can be dismissed in the name of the Lord God bless you