Sunday Morning Worship Service
by Mark McCool
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Joshua 6:1-3, Joshua 6:20, 1 Peter 4:3-4, Ephesians 5:15-16, Deuteronomy 5:33, 1 Samuel 4:5, Exodus 32:14-18, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 11:30, Romans 13:12-14

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/mark-mccool--sunday-morning-worship-service-151
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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I want to take us to the word of the Lord this morning on this Father's Day I'm going to read you a familiar passage of scripture found in the Book of Joshua the sixth chapter Joshua the sixth chapter we're going to read three verses Joshua 6 3 reads now Jericho was straightly shut up because of the children of Israel none went out none came in and the Lord said unto Joshua see I have given unto thy hands Jericho and the King thereof and the Mighty Men of Valor notice verse 3 and ye shall Compass the city all ye Men of War and go around about the city once this shalt thou do six days for a few moments I would speak to you on this subject we need to walk before we Shout we need to walk before we shout let's pray savior I love you I'm grateful to be in your house and I thank you for this wonderful cloud of witnesses that have joined us here today Lord I pray that your anointing would be manifest your word would be heard and felt for it is ever anointed let us receive and act on your word we're grateful and thankful for this opportunity in Jesus name we pray amen and amen we need to walk before we Shout it seems that few folks want to walk anymore there is an interesting phenomenon I've mentioned this before from the pulpit but I would keep you reminded of it there's an interesting phenomenon that that takes place in our society nowadays there are several places here in town and in most communities that have exercise sinners and if you look through the front window of those exercise centers there will be lines and rows of machines with people walking on them going nowhere and the better they get at it the faster they want them to walk and they will raise the elevation so it's steeper so they're on these treadmills all kind of folks walking and the irony of that same thing is some of those folks will fight you over a parking place up close to the building I mean for free if that are parked on the other side of the parking lot they could have walked for free so there's something just I can't figure out totally about that psychology but it happens wait now if you go to an airport there's very few airports of any size if you go in them that you walk from gate to gate because they have moving sidewalks it's amazing I mean I'm not talking about an escalator now I'm talking about you get on the sidewalk and the sidewalk walks for you you just stand there unless you're in a big hurry and then you can walk on the Walking sidewalk and folks look at you like you're really crazy we have escalators so we don't have to walk up the stairs they even have for security officers and other folks Segways so they don't have to walk their beat anymore they ride there beat those little two-wheel Segways they get it seems that no one really wants to walk anymore yet walking is one of those fundamental motor skills that we get so excited about oh I have to tell you my grandson you knew I was going somewhere didn't you Callaway this week I got the coolest video from Sister Kelly because he's figuring it out and he walked all the way across the room and had a celebration I mean it wouldn't have meant more if it won the World Series he walked across and then he celebrated and the family did with him because he finally took some steps and it seems that most of us spend the first year of our kids life teaching them to walk and then the rest of the lifetime quit stop don't sit down you know walking's important and yes there's a saying that most of us have used before that says you've got to walk before you run but today I would like to Proclaim we need to walk before we Shout now let me Define what I mean by Shout in the Pentecostal movement the apostolic movement in particular shouting has become a catch-all term you know in the strictness of sense to shout means to lift your voice but we have expanded the definition of shouting if you have a shouting service that means somebody danced someone else ran someone jumped up and down yes folks lifted their voice clapped their hands that's called shouting to us I mean it's it's become a catch-all term to shout I mean to get emotional and you're looking at one preacher that believes in shouting you're looking in a church that believes in shouting it's not wrong to shout it's exciting to have a shouting service but you see in our text we read um something taking place the children of Israel you know the story have now compassed about the city of Jericho a walled City it said that the city was shut up it was locked up and the children of Israel had been promised the City by God it was an evil place and they had been given a promise of God that they're going to possess the city and they're going to take that City but now they find themselves stopped by walls and the promise of God Appears very difficult to attain in most human ways of attacking the city and all in the house likely have read the story and heard it taught so you know how it ends that's no secret for scripture told us on the seventh day they accomplished the city about seven times and on the seventh trip around they stopped there were seven priests blowing seven Rams horns that walked seven times and they brought a great shout and the walls fell flat so we know the end of the story some have even equated that there's so many sevens in that story that that must be a a special and significant number uh to God the number seven and I won't get into all of that theology with you of the importance or lack thereof of certain numbers but I would tell you this before seven was important in this story I submit to you that 13 was important you might ask preacher where do you get that for you see before their shout could have an effect it was required by God for every day for six days they would just walk around the city in fact if you read that passage of scripture when you have study time rather than me reading the whole story you'll find about verse number 10. God told them not to shout he said just walk for six days all they did once a day was walk around the city I submit to you that even on that seventh day they walked six times as they had been that was 12 trips around the city and it wasn't until the 13th walk that God said when you complete that I want you to stop and blow the trumpets and shout and I'm gonna do a work I submit to you God would not have brought the walls down on just a shout somebody had to do some walking first now I hope all we dance in the house can get a message from this and we'll let the moms and everybody else listen to for I submit to you I'm excited when I see dads and leaders of families come around and alter and shout and dance and get emotional but you know what earns you the right to really get that done is having a walk with God we're going to have to walk sometimes six days a week before we've earned the right for our shout to mean anything you see you can shout in Emotion but you can't walk in Emotion you can get all excited like everybody else I mean you can get your Hallelujah two-step on you can Huck a buck and run if you want to but have you been walking it have you been living it dads I want to tell you we need to walk before our family we need to have a walk with God before we Shout man let's face it praise team gets to singing singing the praise down musicians get to play and everything feels just right somebody walk in this house don't know anything about them that feels good several years ago one of our mayors visited our church we invited him because of his position to come and he was on the platform with us choir got to singing folks got to stand and clapping their hands and we kind of noticed the mayor he started going for long he started doing this right here when we introduced him to greet the crowd he said this is the first church I've ever been in that I couldn't keep my right foot still sounds good feels good to shout but I'm here to tell you if you want to bring down walls in your life you got to do some walking before you do some shouting there's a walk that goes along with it you see 13 trips around the wall didn't seem very spiritual but it was being obedient to God it was going on a walk you see there's significance to the walk walking took obedience discipline and consistency yeah we shout some walls down but Monday obedience disciplined lives consistent Walkers is what will keep us you see it can't all be in our shout and oh if you're interpreting that this preacher is preaching against shout and you've missed it completely the results of a consistent walk does not always have immediate results it took days it does not always achieve immediate gratification but its final results will be complete in fact when you're walking you're likely more exposed and vulnerable to the attack of the enemy you think about it had those inside Jericho's wall been willing to do so the children of Israel would have seen quite vulnerable from the inhabitants of Jericho we're up here above them we have what appears to be a tactical advantage man we can attack them from here I I believe I can hit them with a stone from here I believe if I had a bow I could take some of them out but they couldn't figure out exactly what was going on you see if you'll walk with God the enemy will stay so confused the enemy will not know what to do first Peter 4 3 I didn't give you folks upstairs this this is an extra scripture so don't worry about it first Peter 4 3 says for the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness less excess of wine revelings banqueting and abominal idolatries now if you're going to have a walk with God you can't walk like you used to walk let me say that again if you're gonna have a walk with God you can't walk like you used to walk first Peter said when when you were walking with the Gentiles referring to in this instance the unsaved those not walking with Christ he said we walked in lasciviousness you can't walk with God and walk the way you used to walk I like it when the choir sings that song he made the difference it says I don't walk like I used to walk I don't talk like I used to talk he made the difference you can't walk like he used to he said we used to walk in lasciviousness unless excessive wines revelings banqueting and abominable idolatries wherein they think it's strange that you run not with them to the same excess of right speaking evil of you this was talking about the change that takes place when you start walking different the folks that you used to walk with you need to love them but you don't need to walk with them anymore it's Father's Day would I dare quit preaching and meddle a little bit let me tell some of you young marriage I'll talk to fathers but this goes both ways did you know when you get married I'm not even talking about necessarily sinful living but there's some walking that you used to do with some of your best buds you need to be staying home with your wife that needs to become your best friend oh does that mean I don't have a social life no it means your social life needs to change you don't need to be leaving your wife sitting at home all the time while you're still running with your buds that see I told you I was going to meddle instead of preach that goes for ladies too now do we become Hermits no you're still going to have friends but your best friend needs to be your mate sir when you become a father you have new responsibility I may as well say it I've gone this far midnight Top Golf may be off your agenda from now on you need to be with your wife a little more young lady running with your girlfriends that needs to be limited and closed down your best friend is your husband now there's a new commitment that takes place we're talking about a walk a walk of maturity even y'all don't have to run now no shouting now either the old song used to say just a closer walk with thee it didn't say just a closer Shout with me the writer knew it said just a closer walk with thee Granite Jesus Is My Place daily walking close to thee let it be dear Lord let it be Ephesians said it this way see then that you walk circumspectly that term circumspect means unwilling to take risks some folks want to walk a risky life even serving God if you walk circumspectly you stay away from the edges you stay away from the gray areas I want to make sure I'm walking with Jesus seeing that you walk circumspectly not as fools but wise Redeeming the time because the days are evil you see if we're going to have an effective Shout that's going to be nothing more with some than an emotional experience I don't want just an emotional shout I want a shout that takes down and tears down walls I want to be able to have a worship that tears down walls not just gives me a few Goosebumps on Sunday nights Deuteronomy 5 33 said ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you and you may that ye may live that it may be well with you that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye possess it didn't say ye shall shout in the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you and said walk in his ways those who only shout usually get tuned out those who never shout or rarely heard but those who shout after a walk bring down walls I want to be one that can shout a shout that brings down walls you see there are examples of God's people when they stop walking with God that they felt like all they needed to do was shout and take care of business let me give you a couple examples first Samuel 4 5 says and when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp all Israel shouted with a great Shout so that the Earth rang out now as I said in our flesh we can get our shouting down we can get our emotionalism choreographed if you will we can get our services so moving that that's what we think we need to conquer the walls of the enemy and here's what happened the Philistines Now understand there was conflict between God's people Israel and the Philistines man they brought the Ark of the Covenant back it had been taken captive and hadn't been cared for a problem they brought it back but they hadn't been walking right the Philistines heard the noise of the shout and they said what means the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews and they understood that the Ark of the Lord was coming to the camp and the Philistines were afraid never mistake the world will be afraid of your shout in origin for they said God has come into the camp and they said woe unto us for there have not been such a thing here and too woe unto us who shall deliver us out of the hands of these Mighty Gods these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness the Philistines were intimidated by the shout but then verse 9 indicates what happens when you shout and you hadn't been walking it said be strong quit yourselves like men owe you Philistines that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews as they have been to you quit yourself like men and fight and the Philistines fought and Israel was smitten and they fled every man into his tent and there was a great Slaughter for their fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen I've got news for you a shout alone don't bring victory I'll say again I'm not speaking against having a shout we need to have a shout you must have a shout but you need to be walking before you shout we must be walking with God before we shout our shout will be none effect it will be nothing more than an emotional display if we don't have a walk with God a daily walk a consistent obedient walk before him still there was another time when Moses would go out of the camp to receive the Commandments from God and the people got Restless they got tired of waiting to hear from Moses so while Moses was gone they entered into gross idolatry that took all of their gold everything that they had and they made a golden calf and they begin worshiping that golden calf and verse 14 of Exodus 32 it says in the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do it into his people Moses has been pleading their cause and Moses turned and went down from the mount and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hands a handwritten letter from God written in stone and the tables were written on both their sides on the one side on the other they were written and the tables were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God Graven upon the tables and when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted he said unto Moses there's a noise of war in the camp and he said it's not the voice of them that Shout with Mastery in other words it doesn't sound like a victory's taken place neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome it's not a loser shout it's a confused Shout but the noise of them that us that sing do I hear what had happened they had turned to idolatry idolatry happens when you're not walking with God and you think you can work up a move of God with an emotional display hear me Daddy's Hear Me Mamas I want to see you worship and praise God but I want your kids to see you on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday Walking with God you may not say a thing but I want them to see your integrity I want them to see your honesty I wanted to see you deal in stressful situation no you're not going to be able to get together and dance and Shout but if they see you're walking with God you're doing things the right way that's pleasing to God suddenly your Shadow on Sunday is going to mean something suddenly when there's some walls that come up and daddy lifts his hands and starts dancing and shouting and praise it your baby's gonna say that means something he's been walking with God I know something good is about to happen Hallelujah stand with me second Corinthians 5 7 says for we walk out by faith not by sight we've got to be walking in faith now lest you need a confirmation of what the word ultimately said Hebrews 11 30. when given a history lesson about what took place back in Jericho said by faith the walls of Jericho fell down notice what it says after they were compassed about seven days notice what it didn't say by faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they shouted on the seventh day history Biblical history in Hebrews would record the most important part of that victory was the walk around the place seven days not just the shout long after your shout may be forgotten your walk with God is what will keep you and will tear down walls could it be that our most complete victories will be remembered not from our shout but because of our walk with God Romans said it this way in Romans 13 12. the night is far spent the day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness let us put on the armor of light let us walk honestly as in the day not writing after drunkenness not in chambering and wantedness not in Strife in an Envy but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ the way you walk with him is put him on clothe yourself in Christ make not Provisions for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof to be clothed with a person is a Greek phrase signifying to assume the interests of another to enter into his views to imitate him to be holy on his side that's what I want to be holy completely on his side we've got one of our Kids Quest kids gonna be baptized in Jesus name I've got a feeling that's because he's been seeing some folks walk the right way I just know he's been seeing some folks walk the right way [Music] we've got a church full of another generation that's so dedicated that so desired to do a work in the kingdom of God and I've got news for you it's not just because we have shouting services because somebody's been walking to make their shout effectively I want to walk honestly decently orderly not an excess not in pleasing the less of the flesh not in contentions and altercations that's some of the [Music] alternative definitions of those things that are mentioned in Romans but I want more consistent before God so let it be known after reading all of that from Joshua we started with Joshua 6 1 you can read all that took place between just to remind you after you walk right verse 20 did say so the people shouted when the priest blew the trumpets and it came to pass when the people heard the sound of the trumpet and the people shouted with a great Shout that the wall fell down flat so that the people went up into the city every man straight before him and they took the city and they utterly destroyed all that was in the city both men and women young and old Ox sheep and ass with the edge of the sword now don't worry about the graphic nature of the story for the example is this when God honors your walk and your shell and he tears down that wall that's been hindering you from Victory you don't need to take any detours you need to go straight in and claim your Victory you need to defeat everything when the walls come down it's your turn to be strong and fight the good fight of Faith against anything the enemy would place in your way fight for your family Fight for Your Existence fight for your ability to serve God every day I wonder on this Father's Day if there might be one that would say you know I'm needing to renew my walk with God I I want to make sure I'm walking for you see if you'd step forward and make sure your walk is sure I'm here to tell you your shout will follow you will have the freedom to really shout could we all examine ourselves would you step out and make your way around an altar of prayer and say let my walk with God be sure let my walk be consistent let my walk be obedient let my fault my walk be what would please Christ could you walk with him today hallelujah hallelujah could you walk with him today