Sunday Morning Worship Service
by Anthony McCool
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Psalm 23:6, Ephesians 2:4-10, Romans 5:15, Romans 6:2, Revelation 22:17, Isaiah 43:18-19, Daniel 1:1, Genesis 35:1-3, Philippians 4:19, 1 Chronicles 14:11, Micah 2:13

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/anthony-mccool--sunday-morning-worship-service-108
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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just remain standing we're going to be talking about that this morning that you are not alone and I going to go ahead and get right into it Psalms 236 and we're going to read from Ephesians 2 4-10 and I welcome each and every one of you to Sunday morning worship here at fac all those in the house and all those tuning in online we welcome you the same Psalms 236 States surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all everybody say all all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever Ephesians chap 2:4 but God who is rich in Mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by Grace ye are SV and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places with Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding Riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus for by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is a gift a gift of God not of Works lest any man should boast for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them I want to speak to you on the topic this morning and the praise team already set the atmosphere and Bishop set the atmosphere I would be just a sinner if it wasn't for the man Christ Jesus I want to talk to you this morning about a greater pursuer a greater pursuer could we lift our hands across this place and ask the praise team ministered out this morning through song Lord we thank you to come before you Lord as they sing those words that I am not alone Lord let us have that acknowledgement this morning Lord let us have that Faith this morning Lord let us feel your presence here today to know that yes when we come together as the body of Christ we feel your spirit and fill and reap the benefits of being in your presence but also when we leave here and we step back into the circumstances of life when we're by ourselves to know that you are right there beside us that's our prayer this morning we thank you and praise you in Jesus name we pray could you give him a hand clap of Praise across this house you can be seated a greater person sewer in the book what's so amazing about Grace by Philip yansy he relays a story during a British conference on comparative religions where the qu question was raised what's unique about Christianity experts from around the world debated what if any belief was unique to the Christian faith they begin eliminating possibilities is it incarnation perhaps other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form perhaps it was Resurrection again other religions had accounts of returns from Death the debate went on for some time and exchanges took place until CS Lewis wandered into the room and asked what was all of this discussion about and he heard in a reply to his colleagues that they were discussing the question what is Christianity's unique contribution among world religions and Lewis didn't Ponder long he responded fairly quickly and said oh that's easy it's Grace after some discussion the confires had to agree the notion of God's love coming to us free of charge with no strings attached seems to go against every Instinct of humanity it wasn't an eight-fold path or some type of Retribution for one's Behavior or a code of law but each of these other paths offers a way to earn approval only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional aware of our inbuilt resistance to Grace Jesus talked about it often he described a world suffused with God's grace where the Sun Shines on people both good and bad where Birds gather seeds graffiti neither plowing nor harvesting to earn them where unintended wild flowers burst into bloom on Rocky hillsides Jesus saw Grace everywhere he never analyzed or defined Grace and almost never used the word instead he communicated grace through stories we know as Parables and we're talking about a Greater pursuer Grace is an ongoing work of the spirit of God in our lives that begins continues and is fulfilled by his unconditional love although we do not Merit his grace it saves us it teaches us it enables us to serve him and God freely gives this gift to those who put their faith and those who put their trust in him which they demonstrate through obedience to the gospel through one man Adam Humanity inherited the sentence of death but conversely one man name Jesus Christ gives Humanity the opportunity to access the gift of God and all of the blessings and all of the benefits that come with it Romans tells us but not as the offense so also is the free gift for if through the offense of one many be dead much more the grace of God and the gift by grace which is by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many sin cannot overpower the grace of God the abundance of his grace and mercy far surpasses The Emptiness and the ruthlessness of sin on the basis of this precept the Apostle Paul addressed the question if those who sin have had access to Grace does it follow that continuing in sin activates more and more grace he wrote God forbid how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein when Believers partake of the abundant grace of God unto salvation they die out to sin the good news of the Gospel is that the abundant grace of God is available to every single person the abundant grace of God is available to all and one of the last Promises of Jesus in Revelation 22:17 he said let him that heareth say come and let him that a thirst come and whosoever will let him take of the Water of Life freely Grace is not a license to sin rather it is a healing remedy for those who are sick of sin and who come to him with a repentant heart all right in the opening verse of Ephesians chapter 2 Paul spoke of a Time past or times pass and every single individual who comes to God God has a past Paul looked back over his own life and regretted what he once had been he said I was a blasphemer I was a persecutor I was inous in my behavior and with my words and every single capacity of my life and he even goes on to say by my own estimation I was the worst sinner of all Isaiah in his prophetic imagination prophesying being God's mouthpiece of a time to come in Isaiah 43 he said remember you not the former things neither consider the things of old behold I will do a new thing and if you read this passage Isaiah prophesying about a new thing to come the Israelites had been taken into captivity by Babylon and he was giving them a message of hope that the same God who miraculously delivered them from Egypt the same God who sent plagues to that Empire the same God who allowed them to cross the Red Sea and then the sea collapsed over their enemy that same power the same God that was alive in the Exodus from Egypt was going to be the same same God who would demonstrate his same power to deliver them from Babylon and often times when we talk about coming out of sin we use and rightfully so and it is so a Egypt is a type and uh a type and Shadow of sin we'll sing songs or we'll say when God called me out of Egypt out of bondage and often times that's easy for us to reconcile in our lives and in our minds and when we point to our testimony or we point to those specific times in our life when God called me out of this world and God called me out of bondage and we can easily identify that moment in Daniel chapter 1 it says King Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon came into Jerusalem and besieged it a bit more murky point to look at in our lives is when Babylon comes into Jerusalem and besieges it when Babylon comes in while I'm on a church pew and places bondage on me when Babylon comes in and maybe a a cold season in my life or a a a season of turmoil in my life I make some decisions while I'm in the church house that if I could go back and and do over I certainly would but while I was in the church house while I was on the Pew I can find myself like the parable of the lost coin though I'm in the house I still feel lost I'm in the house and oh I can easily point to when God gave me deliverance from Egypt but now Babylon came into the house while I was on a Pew came into a relationship came into my family while I was serving God while I perhaps made a bold public proclamation of my faith but Babylon came in when I was seemingly doing everything I was supposed to be or I was I was just in just I made a bad decision in my life while I was in a church house those a difficult moment to reconcile in my mind because the enemy comes and says how could you do this after you've made such a strong stance in your life and how could you behave in this manner after you already identified of being called out in Egypt and yes it's easy to recognize the the Flink from Egypt in my life but I can find myself now sitting on a church pew Bound by the constraints of Babylon The Babylon that came in to Jerusalem Babylon that came in to the house but Isaiah begins to prophesy and says remember not the things of old behold I'm going to do something fresh I'm going to do something new I I want you to know that there's not a diminishing return on God's mercy and his grace it's not a a a commodity that has any scarcity on it and I want you to know that the same miraculous provision and the same miraculous power the the same power that created this world the same power that delivered you out of Egypt is going to be the same power that's going to deliver you from Babylon and in the midst of this prophetic voice he's not even talking about Egypt or Babylon at all he's saying behold I'm going to do something new and that new thing that I'm going to do his name is Jesus Christ and his mer mercy and Grace is new every single morning and the point being is that no matter what you do no matter where you've gone whether it's Egypt or whether it's Babylon there is a savior and his name is Jesus Christ and his mercy and Grace encompasses all would you give him a hand clap of praise each time that I give you Deliverance it's going to be greater than the last time there's no diminishing return unlike the wages of sin oh I that's a that's something I I earn that's something I I make a transaction for but one cannot earn eternal life Paul would still have been numbered among the Sinners but for four unmar gifts Mercy Grace faith and Love by these he obtained salvation from his past indiscretions and he became we see that word again a new creature newness something new in the midst of my sin the loving kindness the grace the blood of Jesus blotted his solid past from the Divine memory Paul explained even when we were dead in sins the mercy and love of God it it quickened us together with Christ it it it put us it put us to together with Christ we were spiritually dead in trespasses but his divine grace and his Mercy performed in us a miraculous Resurrection there's something new all right his quickening Spirit breathed new life into us there was his his Spirit just it a great greater pursuer surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life no matter where I go there's something pursu whatever is pursuing me there's something even greater behind that and he he said the the the the the spirit and God's mercy had quickened us to God's spirit right after the resurrection an Ascension of of Jesus he sat down in Heavenly places and shortly before he ascended at Christ instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Ghost he would send and obediently they found an upper room and continued there with one Accord in prayer and supplication wondering what would happened when the promise was fulfilled several days passed as they continued their vigil suddenly the place where they were sitting became a Heavenly place as the sound of a rushing Mighty Wind swept through the room and the promise had arrived and as they received the Holy Ghost they spoke with tongues and rejoiced and it was a gift beyond all expectation and it was a gift beyond all imagination and 2,000 years later Christ has not yet come to claim his bride but Believers We join together and we wait Faithfully anticipating that great day one can only imagine what that day will be like along with the marriage supper celebration however while we wait for his return we can still sit in Heavenly places or as our key verse said we can dwell in Heavenly places dwell in the house of the Lord dwell in his presence as they did in the upper room and As We join together today yes indeed we Proclaim not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as we come Together We Sing Praises and we read his word and we testify to his love and his goodness and we breathe in his Spirit as we spoke about just a little bit ago Lord Quicken us to uh your presence Lord we know when when are when our in trans our transgressions Lord we know that your mercy your spirit just quickens us to you and we listen to the truth being preached and this past Wednesday we had our communion service and we remember and we commune with him and we commune together we partake in any of all the vents to Aspire to be in that Heavenly place we sing that song about take me there in that Divine realm where I can just I can feel the presence of God so strong I can feel his presence and it's as if I'm in an intermediary between between this world and and heaven and I aspire to get to those places and that's why we assemble together and that's why we sing and that's why we preach and that's why we remember through partaking in his body because we know this is a a precursor to the Eternal and it it keeps us and it encourages us and we're with the Body of Christ and I reiterate the iron sharpeneth iron and we come together but in this life when the song Fades away and the Bible closes on Sunday the testimony winds down the sermon [Music] concludes and the last amen ends the prayer we can return back to a situation that is so complex we can turn back to something taking place in our family that I don't have any answers for we can find oursel returning to some of the most devastating circumstances that wear on our minds and it could be something in your health or it could be just something drastic that you've dealing with and continuing to deal with and you walk back to it and there's no choir singing There's No praise team saying that you're not alone there's nobody preaching we're not together praying together like we've done this week but he said surely goodness and mercy shall follow me every single day every single step there's a greater pursuer yes we come together as the body of Christ I reiterate that but the Apostle Paul said how be it the most high dwelleth not in temples made with hands there's a power that's living inside of you there's a savior that's living inside of you and we're quickened to his Spirit through his grace in Psalms 23 David is testifying that whatever threats have chased him there is always a greater pursuer of foot and it's called goodness and it's called mercy and it's called Grace and his spirit is right there with you and though he has been hounded by those things that seek to harm him though you are chased by those things that seek to cause you destruction though you are chased by those things that seek to separate you from his love and to seek to make you feel isolated he remains confident that this Divine love it's going to stalk his every step that no matter where you're at you can dwell in a Heavenly place when you're at home all by yourself or you find yourself in a circumstance where you're the only witness you can be assured that right on your heels yeah there might be something trying to chase you there might be something have you by the ankle but know today that there's a greater pursuer know today that there's a God watching every step you take and no matter where you go you you can be assured as the praise team sang You Are Not Alone could you worship His name for just a second if you believe that could you give him just a little bit of Praise could somebody worship as a testimony this morning when you were all by yourself maybe you were in an office maybe you were in the car you were the only one but you said Jesus I need you to show up right now I need you to do something right this very moment I need you to make a way when there was no way could you could you testify with a little bit of worship oh I believe God's breathing in this place could you pray for just a moment God Quicken us to your spirit oh God you see a situation out there today or somebody tuning in online that needs you right now yes Jesus yes Jesus Lord I need your spirit Lord I Thank you for your mercy Mercy oh would you thank him for his Mercy for just a moment oh it's nothing I can do it's nothing I've done Lord I Thank You for Your Grace yes Jesus yes Jesus salvation comes through faith how can a sinner expect Faith to give him access to the throne of grace the answer Jesus Christ who offered himself as the propitiation for the sinner's death sentence being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God ha set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood the declare of righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God we deserve the judgment and wrath of God which are appeased only when Jesus Christ becomes our propitiation the Willing sacrifice appeases the wrath of God reconciles the individual to God and atones for our sins when The Sinner believes the propitiation propior removes his guilt and heals the broken relationship between him and God therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand for by grace are you Sav through faith and not of ourselves not yourself it is the the gift of God as Bishop sang earlier right before offering I would be just another dying sinner if it wasn't for the man who gave his life for me we can ever come into his house for one moment and think that there's one thing that I've done or one talent I have or one thing I'm entitled to that makes anything possible for us it's only by the grace of God that we can do anything it's only by the mercy of God that we're able to minister in any single capacity and we've got to recognize every time we come into his house with a spirit of gratitude and say thank you Lord for saving me thank you Lord for giving me an opportunity Lord I know I'm just a wretch sinner but only only through your grace oh when God extends that mercy and Grace The Sinner humbly accepts and submits to baptism in the name of Jesus Jesus Christ I go down in water for the one who died for my sins and we rise in New Life and he gives us that gift of the Holy Ghost the evidence of speaking in another tongue and we're a new creature forgiven cleansed and endued with power to live a holy life and as the Apostle Paul said I got to die out and remember my baptism every single day because there's going to be things on my heels there's going to be things in this world that try to separate and try to isolate but there's a greater pursuer this morning there's a greater pursuer the same power that created this world the same power that was alive in the Exodus from Egypt the same power that delivered them from captivity in Babylon it's the same power that's alive in every one of our situations and the spirit that lives inside of you and you can dwell in that Heavenly place in that Heavenly realm wherever you find yourself if the musicians would come at this time salvation is a gift a gift from God and it comes at Great cost to the giver but the sinner cannot purchase it for any sum of money there's no amount of self-righteousness humanity can boast of our abilities and technological advances and medical expertise or in space exploration but none of these abilities can determine his or her Eternal Destiny moreover The Works of humanity can neither secure salvation nor guarantee a person A Place In Heaven There is no quantifiable substance on this Earth that can be placed for a trade for one's Soul the only way you can achieve this place in heaven is through the work of the spirit in Genesis 35 we read and God said unto Jacob arise go up to bethl and we see that word dwell dwell there there get back in my presence and make there an altar unto God that place I appeared unto thee when thou fled us from the face of Esau thy brother then Jacob said unto his household and all that were with him put away the strange gods that are among you and be clean and change your garments let us arise and go up to bethl and I will make an altar unto God who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me in the way in which I went Jacob God had first met Jacob at this place bethl when he was on the run when he was at the end of his life seemingly God met him in that place but years later Jacob had trusted God and he followed God and God blessed and prospered Jacob Jacob had increased in all Fast assets of his life Jacob had grown wealthy Jacob was no longer alone Jacob's family had increased and it was large Jacob now had many descendants heirs and flocks a great support staff but true to human nature even though God had blessed and prospered him it seemed with every blessing that Jacob had he just drifted off course just a little bit further with every moment of prosperity with every success in his life he got further and further away from that desperate time in his life where the only thing he had was a relationship with God he he forgot that there was a a God that met him on the lowest point of his life he had forgot that there was a God that extended mercy and Grace in the lowest point of his life and and now not only him but his descendants had become wealthy and they had began to intertwine with pagan gods forgetting the true God drifted off course just a little further and further Lord let that not happen in my life oh when I when I think that oh man my aren't my words so good am I'm not I'm doing such a great job boy we really know how to have church don't we when we can we can go through this motion and we can start to think that what takes place in a service is because of our talent or somehow because I'm so gifted and we can just continually drift off course from the truth of the matter there not a one of us would be be here if it wasn't for God's mercy and Grace or oh I I've been saved for so long I've been as Pastor ball talked about last week will say oh I've been serving God so long he said that's a Mighty High statement to make but I think it's God's been serving you that's right for so long where I could just Drift Away from that moment where he found me that moment where I was down to nothing that moment where he met me when I when I deserved this and I deserved punishment and I deserved but God said strip those strip that Pride away strip those things away and and get back to that place go back back to that place and dwell there in my presence and I'm going to meet you again you're not too far Jacob you're you're not too far there there's a greater pursuer I want you to know today that no matter what you're going through no matter what you've been through no matter what's nipping at your heels there is a greater pursuer that's watching every step that you take stand with me across this house praise God hallelujah hallah God begins his work in a person by granting the grace to believe on Jesus Christ and receive receive this good news and we're created a new in Christ Jesus all things are passed away and what that mercy and that Grace and that goodness and that unconditional love needs to do in our lives it's with every conversation and every evaluation before I get too high and mighty ready to take a stone at someone else I need to say God work in me Lord M what are you guilty of M what have you done and with every conversation and with every individual I come and my family and our workplaces needs me to put some things down and say I know what I'm guilty of I know what I've done I know that I'm I'm only here because God's mercy and his grace and his goodness and it gives me that Assurance as we read that I can dwell in his house I can dwell in his presence I can dwell in those heavenly places no matter where I'm at because there is a greater pursuer Philippians tells us that my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and Glory so who this who is this word for today it's for you for whatever you are going through God is wanting to let you know that you are not alone and he's ready to work and he's on your Trail maybe you need to come to an altar of repentance maybe you're dealing with a circumstance where you feel like you're all by yourself maybe there's some things in your life that you need to strip away and get back to that place and dwell in his presence in every single situation and in every capacity he wants you to know this morning that he's there that there's a greater pursuer that no matter what's after you whether it's sin whether it's turmoil in your life God's looking out for you John said there's there's one coming after me there's one coming after what I do here surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever but not only is the God we serve on our heels 1 Chronicles tells us so they came up to B perm and David smoked them there then David said God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters therefore they called the name of that place B pzm which means the Lord of the breakes Micah 2:13 says the breaker has come up before them they have broken up and have passed through the gate and are gone out by it and their King shall pass before them the Lord ahead of them the God we serve is the greater pursuer he's not only behind you he also goes out ahead of you if the praise team would step forward this morning with every head bowed and every eyes closed and all eyes closed I want you to pray a focused prayer this morning whatever trouble that you might have in your life something might be plaguing your mind sleepless nights inability to enjoy your time with your F something that's just that moment you you feel like you have a little bit of Victory it just come comes back right at you maybe there's unrepentant sin in your life and you're having trouble reconciling how how could I find myself in this situation after I've been faithful for so many years I want you to know that God's grace this morning there's a there's a greater pursuer and it quickens you to his spirit and God's ready to forgive God's ready to breathe life into that deadness oh as we pray this morning Lord I ask you to convict someone's heart Lord I ask you to encourage someone Lord to let them know that there's an altar right here there's a place to dwell that they you could just get in your presence oh if I could just get in your presence Lord I know that you're going to meet me there yes in Jesus name I open this altar to every single individual this morning for whatever you have need of that his Mercy is here for you his goodness is here for you his grace is here for you yes Jesus yes Jesus say the Lord is my shepherd [Music] everybody he goes out before me yes Jesus Defender behind me Defender behind me say [Music] I Lord soften our hearts this morning work on my heart this morning work on my Outlook this morning Jesus no can har [Music] me huu would you lift your hands and say that sing that out right now I'm not alone I'm not alone yes Jesus yes Jesus I'm going to dwell in your presence I'm going to dwell in your house a [Music] comforter would you let him work this morning let him work on you this [Music] morning yes Jesus breathe on on us right now father breathe on us right now yes Jesus I Need Your Mercy yes Jesus I Need Your Grace God I need your love God I need you God work right now work right now Jes yes Jesus oh there's a greater pursuer there's a greater pursuer there's a greater pursuer he hasn't left you he hasn't given up on you he's on your Trail he's on your Trail oh would you worship him across this house God's Deliverance is in this house God's mercy his grace and his goodness is in this house yes Jesus yes Jesus