Wednesday Night Worship & Word | Bishop McCool
by Billy McCool
June 29, 2022 · First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: Bible study
Scripture: Proverbs 24:21, 1 Peter 3:3-4, Galatians 2:18, Jeremiah 20:7-9, Jeremiah 6:15-16, Jeremiah 9:1, Galatians 1:6-12, Romans 1:21-32, Romans 2:1-2, Judges 12, Hebrews 12:25-27

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/billy-mccool--wednesday-night-worship-word-3
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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praise the lord everyone we greet you tonight in that wonderful precious name of jesus the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved aren't you glad you know that name today praise the lord let's see we have a feature we're talking about tidbits from times past and uh i've had a few folks to tell me they are enjoying that and i think that's very very great we'll just kind of go through this just a little bit and let you uh hear some of the things that happened a long time ago there's something in here i saw let me let me find it it's in the month of december i believe let's see if i can find that um well i thought sure i thought sure i had that marked but i'll uh i'll have to get it for you i'll have to get it for you you later but anyway uh the just give me a minute here i i didn't realize how much history we had in the little paper the voice of pentecost but it's it's amazing the things that we have record of as we look back and see the the folks who whose uh past and those who had special days and also uh those who received the holy ghost we've got a record of a lot of that and i thought sure well i'll find that and give it give it to you just a little bit a little bit later but anyway i want to tonight to have special prayer for sister betty richmond she has had a heart attack she is in the hospital and she called me just a little while ago and she was in much pain and we had prayer over the the telephone and i want us to have special prayer for her tonight if you join me right now father in the name of jesus we come before you in that precious name that name that is above every name in heaven and earth we ask you o god to touch sister betty richman's body lord you're able to relieve the pain that she's experiencing right now father we pray you'll bless the bible study tonight as we proceed to talk about the good word of god i told you we're going to start a new series tonight and this is entitled our 50 years recalling 50 years and this goes back of course when we came to knoxville and this topic here for this particular chapter is answering the call the year was 1957 a young preacher and his wife married less than a year were in a revival in north little rock arkansas with bishop a o holmes late one night after a great service i was awakened by the spirit of god and compelled to go to the church and pray it was in this deep compelling prayer that god unmistakably spoke to me to go to knoxville tennessee and start an apostolic church in christian school 21 year old billy and betty mccool were excited excitedly embarking upon the dream ministry of traveling preaching singing and soul winning just then god said go and gross yourself in the founding of a home mission church so leaving the security of a scheduled revival we cancelled all future plans got out the old gospel tent and headed for knoxville tennessee this next little chapter says a tent and no place to put it difficulty was to be experienced immediately a tent evangelist had been to knoxville in a healing campaign and had been arrested for drunk driving the newspapers had covered the story extensively knoxville had seen all the tent evangelists they wanted to see no one was willing to rent a tent for a tent meeting rent a lot for a tent meeting the newspapers would not even sell ads to announce the meeting i had met a knoxville businessman supermarket owner kaz walker and former mayor of knoxville at a gospel singing in kingsport a few years earlier mr walker told me if i ever came to knoxville and needed help to come and see him well i sure needed help i went to see mr walker and told him about the problem mr walker dictated a letter to his secretary quote to whom it may concern i personally know the mccools and know that they are good people and are out to do all the good they can do and they are worthy of any consideration afforded them as a result of this letter the newspaper readily sold advertisements for the revival also as a result of this letter choice property owned by the county was donated for the tent revival to use all summer mr walker owned a chain of grocery supermarkets and he used radio and tv extensively for advertisement he had been responsible for giving many country music stars their start in show business on his cash walker farm and homeowner radio and tv show he invited the mccool twins to appear on his radio show as guest gospel singers we appeared for the purpose of getting exposure and advertisement for our tent revival dolly parton and the mccool twins you didn't know about our partnership with dolly partner did you there were a couple of young ladies sisters dressed in western attire appearing on this show they were dolly and stella parton little did we know we were appearing with such future mega musical legends as dolly parton her appearance on this show catapulted her to the fame and fortune on the grand ole opry stage screen and amusement park mogul our appearance on his show gave us enough exposure to fill a gospel tent with souls who needed salvation the gospel tent filled with people eager to be entertained and hear music and singing and see us perform that we did but along with hearing our music knoxville was hearing the apostolic message of repentance water baptism in jesus name and the infilling of the holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues and uh the next segment i'll take up is hoopla or holiness hoopla our holiness i'll be taking that up the the next time but tonight i'd like to get into a new subject that has been on my heart for for some times and i i'd like for you to give it your best consideration and my scriptures found in proverbs chapter 24 and verse 21 and before i read that i want to read a message from the voice of pentecost april the 27th 1978 met the subject tonight my son fear thou the lord and the king and meddle not with them that are given to change let me read you my topic again found in proverbs 24 21 my son fear thou the lord and the king and meddle not with them that are given to change ornament of a meek of meekness first peter 3 3-4 whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning but let it be the hidden man of the heart and that which is not corruptable even the ornament of meek and a quiet spirit which is in the sight of god of great price in a power-hungry world the emphasis is on strength meekness seems to have lost all attention all attraction in a sports crazy society the desirable attitude is to have the killer instinct don't just knock the other player down but punish him when the coaches view the game field game films players are graded high for their savage blows if a player cripples or maimed the person suffering the misery is hardly mentioned rather the interest is will he be lost for the season in the field of fashion the emphasis is no longer on modesty good taste and practicality but on extremes everything must be shocking our looks and attraction tend to be bold the word of god states that meekness is one of the fruits of the spirit meekness may not be mod quote unquote but it is still pleasing to god back to my topic meddle not with them that are given to change johnny godaire great preacher a young man who uh repented in one of my revivals many many years ago and and portageville missouri uh he preached that he and i both preached at the steadfast conference in caliber tabernacle in indianapolis a few years ago and brother godaire preached an outstanding message at this steadfast conference and his topic was the problem with change is change the basic thought was when you start changing where do you stop changing johnny james put it this way in this pulpit those who have changed their doctrine said of those who had changed their doctrine were you a fool then or are you a fool now that's in johnny james words proverbs 24 21 my son fear thou the lord and the king and meddle not with them that are given to change and i as i studied on that i love to consult different commentaries and different uh views and in my laptop computer i have a dozen or more bible versions and uh a whole library of commentaries and i love to to search them out and read them and those that agree with me i really like them those that don't pass over him and here's what adam clarke had to say about this subject my son fear the lord and the king and metal not with them that are given to change my son fear thou the lord and the king pay to eat the homage do to the lord divine honor and adoration to the king's civil respect civil honor and political obedience and with the changelings mingle not thyself the innovators those who are always for making experiments on modes of government forms of religion etc the most dangerous spirit that can infect the human mind that statement carried a great deal of weight with me if you listen to it closely he called them changelings the innovators those who are always for making experiments on modes of government forms of religion etc the most dangerous spirit that can infect the human mind and this uh got my attention because of the changing world we're living in right now have you ever in your whole life seen anything to compare with the change that's taking place in this world and i must say that many many of those changes are not good changes then from the bible illustrator of the old testament adam littleton dd had this to say on this subject duty to god and the king a double duty laid down or rather a single duty one included and comprehended in the other fear here is a comprehensive notion to contain in all those duties which we owe to god principally and to the king subordinately to fear god is to have awful apprehensions of him in our thoughts and to walk carefully before him in our actions this fear is the bottom of all true spiritual wisdom the security against all other fears a preservative against all sin and willful offenses and a good uh a good preparative for the peace and welfare of society by restraining people's minds within the due limits of their subjection that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty to fear the king we stand obliged both in conscience to god and to our interest to ourselves seeing that he is the public guardian upon whose well-doing and welfare of the whole community depends the sum of all religion is to be as pure and holiness so peaceable in righteousness when we order ourselves to uh piously to god and obediently to the magistrates the interests of religion and policy are so nearly twisted and woven together that they cannot be severed from one another without the utmost hazard to both rebellion and schisms are want to go hand in hand together and what interested me in this these these writers uh adam clark's been dead 200 years and i haven't looked up on on the adam littleton dd but the the the foresight and the insight they had on people that are constantly looking for change and changing their doctrine changing their politics and innovating this and innovating that and he talks about the danger of this now it used to be that we were instructed to to respect the law now we have several officers in our church and uh i i've got to say this that um the the the the men and women who watch out for our safety should be respected and when they the the uniform and the car they drive what it says on the side we're we're here to serve but in the last few years it's become fashionable even some of the leading politicians have this movement going defund the police now can you imagine that now those who are preaching deep on the police they live behind gated communities and they've got personal bodyguards that watches for them day and night and yet they're calling for defunding the police total disrespect to the to the police my son fear the king uh it's an important thing for us to have our values correct to know what to uh to honor and what to obey and and when people lose their respect now uh years ago during the uh the gulf war they had a big scandal uh one of the prisons over there going to be that's not the name of it and pronounce it wrong grave or something but anyway the some of the american generals and they had lost their their uh respect for one another and i read an article they no longer required to salute they required a lot of things that they now the the regimentation is not to it's not to show who's boss but it is to show respect for something there are some things that's important enough to to stand attention on the bible even talked about the old man the gray hair when it comes to stand when from day one when we opened our christian school we we taught when an adult visits our school and they step in the classroom the children are supposed to stand to their feet and that's to show respect now what that does that that places in them i respect not only for the individual but it's respect for themselves to have something that you can you can have reverence for and when we lose our our reverence you you you used to wouldn't call your daddy the old man or your mother the old woman if you did if you'd uh we're being told uh ask why why why well all mama had to say because i said so there are some things that we we need to learn to respect your parents the bible said to honor your father and your mother that your days may be long on the earth you need to honor your parents you need to honor the magistrates now keep in mind my thought tonight is meddle not with them that are given to change and it it it says to respect the king and and if you if you don't respect civil authority and religious authority you lose all uh balance and you don't have a you don't have a compass to go by nothing to go by and that's just about where we are in this country right now we we we're losing our compass we don't have anything to to go by the caution we're still reading from uh dr adam littleton as an expedient he says the caution is as an expedient for duty the way to keep in the fear of god and the king is to forbear the company of these restless folks to keep at a distance from them and have nothing to do with them now the scripture said metal not with you start hanging around with the wrong crowd you're going to become the wrong crowd so many times we've heard through the years that uh my son got in trouble for my daughter because they've got to run with the wrong crowd well that is true however sometimes when they start running with the wrong crowd they become the wrong crowd and they influence others now in my 73 years of ministering i have never seen such a change in in in the religious world men and women that used to preach holiness look nothing like holiness and and they they take a an adverse opinion and idea and presentation of holiness as a consequence of this duty he that hath any fear of god and the king will keep himself within compass a pious soul a loyal heart will admit of nothing that may shake or call in question it's fidelity now if you the the i hope you can understand why i'm impressed with these uh comments on this scripture as to these changers inquire who they are men who say are do again and again men who go over things again and never have done men who bury their course through all points of the compass now men who vary their course no matter what the compass says you go against the compass you're going to get lost you're going to you're going to get in trouble and i fear that in the day in which we're living uh just some people admire change just for the sake of change to to to to follow after somebody else has done something very shocking that'll disturb you and and we seem to be impressed with that detractors that speak evil of dignities both temporal and spiritual stragglers who go out of god's and the king's highway what is it not to meddle with them it is to mark these men and observe the dangerous mixture of their fine parts and foul designs consider well the tendency and drift of such principles as theirs now you see what i'm talking about the comments on this ancient scripture don't meddle with them because you see what they're doing the reason why such men are not to be meddled with there is no knowing how far they may lead you though you may be innocent you may get wrapped up in others guilt if you escape now you will suffer one day in the peace of thy conscience and thou dost endanger the eternal safety of thy soul since it is so let us take heed to ourselves and establish our spirits in the fear of the lord and the king and as we wish well to our own persons and to our posterity after us let us have nothing to do with them i i don't know many short scriptures that i've studied that i have gotten so many lengthy comments than these very few scriptures williams stands for says our duty to god and man civil government is the great comprehensive worldly blessing for it is the foundation of peace and quiet that spring and foundation of those in inestimable advantages which adorn human society the duties to which we owe to god and the king the fear of god is oft times put for the whole sum of religion we are also to fear the king and though there's not an equal person there's not an equal reason yet there is a sufficient one for this fear the king is god's vice general and a representative and there must be something to work upon men's fears as well as to convince their understandings before they learn or practice the duty of subjection religion and loyalty have a close dependence on each other and a strict connection with each other no man can be truly religious who is not a good subject no man can be steadily and immovably loyal to to his or not own truly and that's no man can be steadily and immovably loyal who is not truly and sincerely religious a proper means prescribed for securing and preserving us in our duty beware and again each one of these writers closes their remarks with a warning beware of those who are given to change the atheists the restless the rebellious now i i think i think this is important because i have seen so many changes in the apostolic ranks uh i've seen church names change i've i've i've seen doctrines change and when very little uh i believe it was brother uh brother blevins made mention that he looked looked up some churches on the internet to see what their religious statement was and they said nothing about water baptism in jesus name one group actually said we are very similar to what billy graham teaches well i'm not criticizing billy graham but it's a sad day when we overlook the apostle peter and the apostle paul and john and james and refer to some a denominational denominal preacher of our day uh if we can't admit that we're jesus name water baptized holy ghost filled speaking in tongues and believing living a holy life there's something wrong with our doctrine we need don't meddle with those that are given to change well let us go on uh as we as we go forward in galatians chapter 2 uh verse 18 paul said for if i build the apostle paul wasn't billy graham or one billy sunday or billy mccool it was it was the apostle paul says for if i build again the foundation the things which i destroyed i make myself a transgressor if i build again the things that i destroyed i make myself a transgressor it's sad indeed when things once preached against become acceptable and even promoted now when you when you look and you see churches that used to preach the old apostolic message and you could you could tell they were they were holiness but they've changed so much metal not with them jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet because he wept openly about the sins of his nation he was also depressed at times about the futility of his message as the years passed his words of judgment went unheeded he lamented his unfortunate state he said oh lord you induced me and i was persuaded you're stronger than i and have prevailed i am in derision daily everyone mocks me he was putting this in a strange way uh god you laid this burden on my heart to preach what i'm preaching but it's got me in trouble i'm held in derision all to everything god i know what you told me to preach but when i do preach it i'm held in derision all day all day long jeremiah 6 15 where were they ashamed when they had committed abomination nay they were not at all ashamed neither could they blush their of now what do you make of that verse of scripture were they ashamed you could see people in walmart i'd be ashamed to walk through the house the way they're dressed uh le less clothes than they go to bed with let's close and they sleep in and and are they ashamed absolutely not and jeremiah said they can't blush they they don't have a a sense of respect for themselves and they're there there is no shame whatsoever about them neither could they blush therefore they shall fall among them that fall at the time that i visit them they shall be cast down saith the lord now uh and teaching like this i i'm not i'm not jumping on you folks because i i don't i don't i don't know of a one in this congregation that would fit this category but i'm saying the world in which we live is like this and we are admonished not to meddle with them and we'll go on further to to to tell you why you shouldn't meddle with them thus saith the lord stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths where is the good way and walk therein and you shall find rest for your souls but they said we will not walk there in see and ask for the old paths now i'm not i'm not saying we want to go back to the to a tent or go back to a dirt floor to go back i'm not talking about the building which we uh worship in thank god for air conditioning thank god for uh the facilities the lord has given us and i'm not talking about that but i'm talking about the old gospel way said stand ye and see and ask for the old paths wherein is the good way and walk therein but they said we will not walk it we found it we found another way we we found somebody that showed us a different way so we're not going to walk there in jeremiah 9 1 oh but now here's the way now we just read about those who couldn't blush no matter how they how they did how they looked what they they couldn't blush they had no shame about them whatsoever now then jeremiah said oh that my head were waters and my eyes are fountains of tears that i might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people no wonder he was called the weeping prophet no wonder he wasn't popular no wonder he was held in derision all day because he was so grieved at at his generation the way they were doing jeremiah 27-9 oh lord thou hast deceived me and i was deceived they are stronger than i and has prevailed i am in derision daily everyone mocks me what he is saying is god you call me to preach but you call me to preach something that's that that's causing me to be a ridicule i'm not a popular preacher what i preach is not acceptable for since i spake i cried out i cried violence and spoil because the word of the lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily now never mistake this when you preach the word you are not going to always be received enthusiastically and now who but me preaches so very often about the preacher sought acceptable words and uh i for one don't like to hear a preacher scold people and you meet them over the head and you hear me talk about that there's there's a way to present it but that that's not overlooking the fact that when you preach the word the way it is everybody is not going to accept it some are going to turn and and walk one day when jesus he lost 5 000 one day and he turned to his disciples and said will you also go away and peter said lord to whom shall we go where do we go where do you go when you leave the lord where do you go when you leave the apostolic message where do you go when you when you leave the message of of of holiness and in chattanooga tennessee right now brother nate uh our one of our pastors he's presenting a book about the the the holiness message he's assigned several different preachers to write on that subject to keep us reminded that holiness is still a bible doctrine and he asked my permission to use my article what's wrong with holiness and yes hey but yes sir brother we put it yes siree use it because i put in that what's wrong with wholeness there's nothing wrong with holiness jeremiah said for since i spake i cried out i cried violence and spoil because the word of the lord was made a reproach unto me and a derision daily then i said i will make mention of him nor speak any more in his name jeremiah just decided man i i just i don't like this kind of preaching i i'm just not going to preach like this anymore but when he said that he said but his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones and i was weary with forbearing and i could not stay let me tell you something if you really love the word you love the book and you believe it you can't leave it and and live in peace he said i was weary with forbearing i just it was like fire shut up in my bones i've got to preach it i've got to preach it galatians 1 6 through 13 paul writing to the galatian church she said i marveled i'm marveled i'm amazed that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of christ into another gospel which is not another i i do you find yourself amazed marveling at the direction some churches and some people have gone in the last few years the word of god hasn't changed it's still it's still the same word and paul said i marveled that you were so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of christ into another gospel which is not another but there'll be some that would trouble you but said they would pervert the gospel some that would would you start meddling with them the next thing you know you begin to think like them you begin to act like them and there'll be some that would trouble you but they would pervert the gospel of christ but then paul said but though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached to you let him be accursed some of you may remember the message that brother joe osborne preached cursing an angel said if if you don't if you don't preach what the apostle paul preached said let him be a curse because this gospel does not change as we said before so say i now again if any man preach any other gospel unto you then that ye have received let him be accursed now that that's some pretty strong teaching for do i now persuade men or god or do i seek to please men for if i yet please men i should not be the servant of christ but i certify you brethren that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man for i neither received it of man neither was i taught it but by the revelation of jesus christ what i am emphasizing tonight is and in in my little book common questions concerning apostolic doctrine i make a point in the preface to to preach with the right spirit and and and not not to not try to hurt and slam and hurt folks but but to stick with the word of god and and do it in a kind uh benevolent way paul said in romans 1 21 because that when they knew god they glorified him not as god neither were thankful but became vain in their imagination and their foolish heart was darkened professing themselves to be wise they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptable god into an image made like unto a corruptable man to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things wherefore god also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves who changed the truth of god into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the creator who is blessed forever amen for now notice this you wonder why this world is in the shape it's in notice what it says for this cause god gave them up to vile affections for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature and likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lusts one toward another men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was me the very thing that we are seeing promoted publicly in the media are the the very things that this book is so against and it says and even as they did not like to retain god in their knowledge god gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient now the the apostle paul is using a a delicate language that you don't have to be as as coarse to to know what he's talking about if you if you notice what he's saying being filled with all unrighteousness fornication wickedness covetousness maliciousness full of envy murder debate deceit malignity and whispers backbiters haters of god despisers despiteful proud bolsters inventors of evil things disobedient to perish without understanding covenant breakers with unnatural affection implacable unmerciful who knowing the judgment of god that they which commit such things are worthy of death not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do it make movies do plays do things magnifying and glorifying the wicked and the evil things that's in the heart of man not only do they do them but they take pleasure and watching other people do it this is a little bit on the plain side tonight but it's the word romans 2 and 1 therefore thou are inexcusable o man whosoever thou art that judgeth for wherein thy judges another thou condemnest thyself for thou that judgeth doeth the same thing but we are sure the judgment of god is according to truth against them which commits such things now i'm going to close with this in with this next segment and the 12th chapter of judges it has a fascinating story which is uniquely summarized by easton's bible dictionary uh there was a the the people of god god that got divided uh because of the leadership or lack thereof one one name one went the other the tribes living on the east of jordan separated from their brethren on the west by the deep ravines in the rapid river gradually came to adopt peculiar customs and from mixing largely with the moabites ishmaelites and ammonites to pronounce certain letters in such a manner as to distinguish them from the other tribes thus when the evil knights from the west invaded gilead and were defeated by the gilanites under the leadership of jephthah and tried to escape by the passage of jordan the gileanites seized the forge and would allow none to pass who could not pronounce shiboleth as the word was pronounced by the tribes on the west and they were detected 42 000 were thus detected and without reprieve were put to death they could not say shiva they said it's civil now there there is a there is a great message this because you hang around there's those i have preached for and with through the years they used to con preach holiness but they can hardly say the word holiness anymore because holiness almost seems like a a dirty word uh that to say doctrine to the certain things now meddle not with this crowd that changes stick with the book stick with the word the bible said come out from among them and be ye separate saith the lord and touch out the unclean thing and i will receive you and will be a father unto you and you shall be my sons and daughters saith the lord almighty hebrews 11 25 see that you refuse not him that speaketh for if they escape not who refused him that spake on earth much more shall they not escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven whose voice then shook the earth but now he has promised saying yea once more now listen to this as we close yea once more i shake not the earth only but also heaven and this word yet once more signify the removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made that those things which cannot be shaken may remain what god is doing in this last day he's shaking some things and everybody that's not rooted and grounded in truth they'll meddle with this and they go after that and they'll marathon but let me tell you he's going to shake everything that can be shaken that that's what's going on there's going to be some things that cannot be shaken they're going to remain what they were as paul said if another come preaching another gospel that's what you received let him be a curse would you stand your feet with us please praise the lord and again i i solicit your prayers for sister betty richman she has been through a tremendous uh ordeal for several years she stood by her husband put up a little tent during covert when they wouldn't even let her in the facility and she'd walk up to the window to hold her phone up to her ear and talk to him brother charles richmond and through the cold and the heat and now she herself having some very serious health problems and i'd like for us to hold her up in prayer pray for pastor mccool pray for pastor whitley and pastor anthony they've all been busy with our national conference down in chattanooga father we thank you tonight for the word of god for thy word is truth our word is the lamb to our feet and the light to our path i pray o god you let the word of god sink deep into our hearts that we will be rooted and grounded not arrogant and naughty and ugly but be so firmly planted in this great truth that we can hold to it with great tenacity and love this world as a a product that needs to be saved i pray lord your dismissions from this place but not from your presence bring us back this weekend for another great weekend in jesus name we pray amen uh follow your proper protocol whatever you shake hands bump knuckles or elbows whatever you're comfortable with do that god bless you you're dismissed in jesus name