Sunday Morning Worship Service
by Mark McCool
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Numbers 22:11-18, Numbers 22:3-7, Numbers 22:19-20, Numbers 22:22-34, 2 Peter 2:15-22, Acts 2:1-4, Revelation 22:17

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/mark-mccool--sunday-morning-worship-service-162
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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if you would please remain standing I want us to take us just directly to the reading of the word of the Lord Bishop McCool has already reminded us today as also Pentecost Sunday celebrated literally around the world and I'm thankful for the insight for knowing that every Sunday at First Apostolic church is Pentecost Sunday we celebrate Pentecost every Sunday and we're thankful because God has given us the revelation of who he is and the revelation of what took place on Pentecost Sunday that would Usher in a new dispensation of Grace and salvation to we the Believers I take you this morning to the Book of Numbers the 22nd chapter we're going to read a few verses and thank you for standing in reverence to the reading of the word of the Lord numbers 22. and I'll give you just a moment to turn there and I I do just want to pause just a minute because it occurred to me last Sunday we honored Pastor Whitley in his birthday and last Monday was Pastor Anthony's birthday and I want to honor him as well let's give him a great big hand of appreciation you thought I was going to forget it didn't you almost got by we were in the midst of national Christian School competition and oh I would also take just a moment and again I know you've been standing I won't keep you standing much longer but I want to say a special thank you to all of the chaperones all the hard work that went forward and I want to say a special congratulations to all the students of apostolic Christian School for their great presentations and all the different fields of competing what a marvelous showing and if I start calling names I'll get in trouble but I suffice to say I will tell you that one of our students was the top Medal winner in all of the uh the competition so I'm I'm she knows who she is I'm not going to embarrass you much Caitlyn and I thank you all the students the chaperones the parents the facilitators thank you give them a great big hand for their hard work [Music] now you should have had time to find Numbers 22 we'll begin reading in verse number 11. behold there is a people that come out of Egypt which covereth the face of the Earth come now curse me them for adventure I shall be able to overcome them and drive them out and God said unto Balaam doubt shall not go with them Thou shalt not curse the people for they are blessed Balaam rose up in the morning said in the princes of balak get you into your land for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you the princes of Moab rose up and they went unto baelic and said Balaam refuses to come with us and balak sent yet again princes more and more honorable than they and they came to Balaam and said unto him thus Seth baelic the son of zephora let nothing I pray thee hindereth thee from coming unto me now that's a fancy way I'm saying here's a blank check for I will promote thee unto very great honor I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me come therefore I pray thee curse me this people notice Verse 18 and Balaam answered and said to the Servants of balak if balak would give me his house full of silver and gold I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more for a few moments I would speak to you on this subject I cannot go beyond the word of my God I cannot go beyond the word of my god let's pray savior we are grateful and honored to be in your presence today Lord now I pray that you would touch our hearts that we might be open and receive your word that it would speak directly to every one of us God I pray that you would Minister mightily through your word not of anything I can say or do but what your word will tell us let us act and receive what you have in Jesus name we pray amen and amen Lord bless you you can be seated excited to tell you we have at least one to be baptized in Jesus name today at the end of the message so you look forward to that what a great day to get baptized in Jesus name on Pentecost Sunday there's a popular idiom that you hear used in many variations nowadays you'll hear coaches you'll hear athletes motivational speakers all use some form of a term or a statement that says something to the effect of don't talk to talk if you can't walk the wall let you walk and do you talking don't talk if you can't walk it other versions would say talk is cheap still some older version say don't let your mouth write a check that your actions can't cash what you preach actions speak louder than words all of these are comparatively making a statement to say it's one thing to make the statement but it's something else to back up and do what you say you will do I did a little research on this and the philosopher Aristotle was known for walking about with his students and those who would follow his philosophies and they would walk and talk their philosophies and it actually evolved into part of the ideology of Aristotle something that they call parapathetics that said I can walk the talk I can walk the talk well in our scriptures today we read of the king of Moab balak who was suddenly realizing that the children of Israel had entered into his country and he had become fearful of what the children of Israel would do when they came in it was not an intended Invasion it was just the path that would lead them through Moab to get to the promised land but he became fearful of God's people because they were blessed and their numbers were many have you noticed that some folks get afraid of things of God when they ought to embrace it don't you wonder had balak been willing to embrace a blessed of God people how different things could have been for Moab but he was afraid of all it's it's an invasion they're going to eat up the land they're going to take all the substance of the land so balip started looking for a voice a spiritual voice now apparently balak didn't lean on a prophet or a preacher very much until he was in great peril that's why a lot of folks operate today too they don't want the voice of a man of God or any spiritual guidance until there's immediate trouble in their lives so balak seeking A Spiritual Authority to curse the people of God remembered Balaam and he sent princes Representatives at the shades if you will to go to Balaam and say I need you I need to bring you to Moab and I need you to curse these people I know that you're in touch with God and I'm needing someone to curse this Bunch that's invading Our Land by just passing through if we go back to previous verses in that same chapter in Numbers 22 verse number three we read in Moab was so afraid of the people because they were many and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel and Moab said unto the Elders of media now shall this company lick up all that all that are around about us as the ox licketh up the grass at the field balak the son of zephora was the son of the moabites at the time he sent Messengers there for him to Balaam and the son of bior to Petro which is by the river of the land of the children of his people in other words it was in his Legacy in his past there was some understanding of the power of God and so he looked for a prophet that would now bail him out so he called for Balaam and behold the people come from Egypt behold they cover the face of the Earth and they abide over against us come now therefore I pray they curse me this people for they are too Mighty for me for adventure I shall Prevail that we may Smite them and that I may drive them out of the land for I walk that he who thou blessed is blessed and he who now cursed is cursed he knew balaam's reputation and the Elders of Moab and the Elders of the medians departed with the rewards of Divination in their hands they're going to buy him a prophecy they're going to buy a curse now understand the idea of divination is not the way God works divination defined as the art or practice of using Omens or magic power to foretell the future the unusual insight and intuitive perception let me tell you this is not the way God works God's word and God's blessings or curses do not come by way of the highest bidder they do not come when they would violate his word and his will I want someone to know today that God has a Divine will for every one of our lives and if we will listen to it and if we will take heed to what God has to say to us there is blessings you can be a part of a blessed people you see when he sent these folks it was not I want God's will for my country it was I want God to do what my will is you see that's the way we all pray too many times we don't pray Lord not my will but thine be done we pray Lord my will be done and let my will be thy will you see when Bala started trying to manipulate the situation he thought his wealth he didn't even understand the true will of God because he thought it was nothing more than divination he thought it was nothing more that if Balaam said it that he could have some special power as a man let me tell you there's power in prayer but that power comes through God it's not what man says it's what God's will is and what God will do can we influence his will certainly we can because he wants us to call on him Numbers 22 12 said it this way and God said unto Balaam did pray about it and God said unto Balaam Thou shalt not go with them Thou shalt not curse the people why because they're blessed basically he told Balaam you step out there in your flesh and curse this Bunch you're out of line it's not my word Balaam rose up early in the morning and said unto the princes these at the shades these representatives of balak get you into your land he said get out of here what do you think you're asking me to do I am not going to do something against God's word he said for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you did you know frankly had Balaam been willing to walk the walk talk to talk this passage should have ended at verse number 13. she said go it's over with but you see those who do not understand the true will of God it said in verse 15 Bala sent yet again princes more and more honorable than them now that was just my first attempt let me send a little more honorary now this time you know I'm sending the vice president I'm sending some folks that have a little more Authority and they're a little more influential than that first bunch and they came to Bala in verse 16 and said in him thus said balak the son and said for let nothing I pray thee hinder thee from coming unto me make this a priority you don't understand the urgency for I will promote thee unto very great honor what do you need now you need folks to brag on you you need a new house you needing a new car you're needing some kind of uh special attention I'm going to give you honor I'm going to promote you I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me now look at this carefully the king said I'll do whatever you tell me to do however I want you to do this I want you to curse the people and then I'll do whatever you say why didn't he do what he said in the first place I'm not going to curse the people notice the promises of Honor reaches of obedience I'll even obey you and Balaam answered and said unto the servant of balak balak would give me his house full of silver and gold he said there's no price no price I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more what a statement man he's talking The Talk how great our lives would be if we all learned to accept God's answer the first time all right I came to tell somebody today you've been praying about something that God's already given you an answer you're just not satisfied with the answer you need to back up and say Lord I receive you sent me here you sent me to do this you call me to do this and I need to quit asking you to change your mind I'm just going to do what you call me to do he said I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God one set of commentators Jamison Fawcett and brown stated about this passage some judging from his language have thought him a saint others look to his conduct and have described him as an irreligious charlatan a third class consider him a novice in a third class consider him a novice in the faith who had a fear of God but who had not acquired power over his passion let that word sink in right there sometimes we need God to give us power over our passion God let me not reconsider the offers that have been made to compromise what you've called me to do compromise where you call me to be compromise where you've directed me for in verse number 19 Balaam asks God one more time for the opportunity to go with the princes of Moab Now understand this is not moab's Prince is asking this is balak who had already made these he's talked to talk he's made his stand but he says I'm just going to ask God one more time notice verse 19. now therefore I pray you Terry you also here this night that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more he told those princes you may as well go home but spend the night I'm going to check just one more time Balaam is hoping for a new revelation from God came to tell you there are no New Revelations if God's called you to do something do it if call God's called you to be someplace be there whatever it is don't start asking out and the situation just do what God called you to do make a determination I've said it now I'm going to do it do it and notice verse 20 it says and God came to Balaam at night and said unto him notice this if the men come to call thee up call thee rise up and go with them but yet the word which I shall say unto thee Thou shalt do now maybe your Bible has a different version that will reveal something that happened between 20 and 21 but I haven't found it yet I can find no record of where the men came back and called on Balaam again now God said if they call on you again go with them and I'll tell you what to say but I find no record where they ever called on him again I feel like Balaam just heard what he wanted to hear Balaam in his own mind looked for some little something that God might have changed his mind they never said come he's the one said y'all spend the night and I'm going to check on things and he heard what he wanted to hear from God it was never fulfilled that they would ask him to go again the Bible just tells us in verse number 20 he got up and he went to Moab if you read it with an open mind you'll see that Balaam was totally out of God's will even though God gave him an if statement because the if was never fulfilled sometimes we pray again looking for a technicality to get around God's will you've talked big now but somewhere in the back of your mind the dollar signs of the rewards of divination you see when you're in the midst of commitment sometimes the devil will put up his past offers to you to ask you to one more time violate what you've promised unto God and what you've been called to do don't ever waver don't ever give up you may not be to where you're going to be yet but don't back up and let the Temptations of divination the temptation of the world's rewards try to take you away from your calling so he saddled his beast and he began his journey to Moab verse 22 said and God's anger was kindled because he went well it's bad to have God mad at you and the angel of the Lord stood in the way of an ad for an adversary against him now he was riding him upon his ass and his two servants were with him when God's representative becomes your adversary you are out of God's will there are some things that God has already given you and given you an answer to but your flesh will look for that way to get around it and try to hear God's word different verse 23 says and the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way and his sword drawn in his hands notice who didn't see the angel Balaam didn't see the angel when you get get out of God's will a dumb Beast may see more than you can see when you get out of God's will you'll be blind as a bat and a dumb Beast can see something you can't even see and the ass turned aside out of the way when you get out of God's will you're out of the way and he went into the field and Balaam smote the ass to turn her into the way get back on the path what's wrong with you and when the ass saw the angel of the Lord she thrust her well go back to to verse number 24 but the angel of the Lord stood up in a path of the vineyard a wall being on this side and a wall on that side it got narrow and the angel showed back up and the angel of the Lord stood in a path of The Vineyards a wall being on this side and a wall on that side verse 25 and when the ass saw the angel of the Lord she thrust herself into the wall and she crushed balaam's foot against the wall and he smote her again Not only was he out of the way now he was injured folks that get out of God's will will be out of the way and you'll find yourself injured if you aren't careful he's been smoed up against the wall and the angel of the Lord went further and stood in a narrow place and there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left and when the ass saw the angel of the Lord she fell down under Balaam and balaam's anger was Kindle and he smote the ass with his staff the very dumb Beast the very simple creature that was trying to save his life had more insight than he did he was beaten up on it let me tell you when you get out of God's will you'll beat up on some of the things he's trying to save you you'll reject some of the very things that's trying to take care of you and keep you away from Calamity and disaster oh I don't want to go to church I don't need to hear any more preaching I don't need anybody to tell me anything I've got this figured out somebody hear me today don't let the enemy send you some kind of Temptation of divination that gets you out of God's will [Music] sometimes God uses some strange things to communicate I'm just reading the narrative here and the Lord opened the mouth of the ass and she said unto Balaam what have I done unto thee now what kind of moment would that be like in your life if the dumb Beast that you've been beaten on been running off the road and running into walls bow and down won't go any farther suddenly turns around starts talking to you she said what have I done unto thee that they're smitten me these three times what you beating up on me for it had had the conversation going farther I'm sure the dumb beastman said can you not see that great big Angel there what is your problem she went on further say am I am not I thine ass upon which thou has written ever since I was thine unto the day was I ever want to do unto thee have I not always been the Beast of Burden well what's your problem why you've been beaten up on me yeah and you've all seen it before this is no new revelation I don't know who was speaking whose language because he looked it at the Beast and said nay so maybe there was an intertwining of tongues being spoken at that point Balaam you can talk to talk now you're talking to a dumb Beast maybe some of us are needing God to send the simplest of things to reopen our eyes maybe God's just needing to send not some great fire or flood just a simple message to reconfirm in our lives that I've got direction for you I've given you instruction don't back up don't stop doing what I called you to do verse 31 says then the Lord Open the Eyes of Balaam and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way and his sword drawn in his hand and he's speaking of Balaam bowed down his head and fell flat on his face God sometimes is calling us again to re-repent of some of the things we've done I've called you please repent I don't want you to go in the wrong direction I've got instruction for you I've got a wonderful thing for you can't go beyond the word of my God I can't go behind bound what God has called me to do God help us when we try to go beyond his word look for New Revelations that would change the tenets of the faith there is no new revelation we are still a Holiness Jesus name Apostolic Church there's no new direction we're going in the right direction somebody hear me things may change we may have different modes oh I'm thankful for all we've got cameras uh all are multimedia but we will not change from being what God has called us to be the modesty and Holiness and dress in appearance and in behavior of the church must not change with the world society we cannot embrace the social norms of this day the social norms are not normal at all there is abnormal and as sinful and perverted as they've ever been somebody hear me today we will not change our Direction oh Hallelujah the angel of the Lord said in him wherefore hast thou smitten that thine ass these three times behold I went out went to withstand thee because thy way is perverse before me your ways perverted listen we must love all Sinners but when we start embracing what's being called the social norms of this world we will become a perverse a perverted Church and will be no real church at all the Beast the the ass saw me and turned for me these three times unless she had turned from me surely now also I had slain thee and saved her life he said oh boy when I wielded that sword it would been Surgical the Beast would live but you'd have been a dead man and Balaam said in the angel of the Lord I have sinned let me tell you there's times that every person in this house including the preacher right here needs to step to an altar of repentance without any reservations and say God I'm sorry I've sinned I've messed up I had the now look hear me hear what the pastor's about to say don't look for somewhere around it all Sin is Sin that's right all Sin is Sin man Waits certain sins as being senior if I could coin a turn than others all Sin is Sin Paul said I Die daily when we get to throwing our shoulders back and thinking that stuff on our shoulders is angel dust instead of dandruff and think we're so perfect we're in trouble let me tell you when Paul said I died daily he said I've got to go repent every day is what he's saying we need to be able to come before God without any reservation without any excuses and say God straighten me out I had my mind wrong I had my thinking wrong I Repent Lord I've sinned Forgive Me Lord Hallelujah stand with me baptismal candidates get ready praise team get ready Balaam had to have a spirit change Balaam said I have sinned for I knew not that thou stood Us in the way against me now therefore if it displeased Thee I will get me back again said I'm turning around I'm making a U-turn what happens when you repent you say I'm stopping the sentence I'm going the other way I'm not going to be this way anymore God give me a spirit of I'm going to get back where I was I'm going to get back to holiness I'm going to get back to righteousness I'm going to get back to dedication I'm going to get back to Commitment I'm going to get back to loyalty the enemy's not worried about our talk it's our walk he fears don't put your walk for God up for sale the highest bidder has already paid the ransom debt with his own blood second Peter referring gives a quick synopsis of the story we've read II Peter 2 15 says which have forsaken the right way and gone astray following the way of Balaam the son of bozar who love the wages of unrighteousness but it was rebuked for his iniquity the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbid The Madness of the Prophet it's Madness I said it's Madness to turn from the path that God's put you on there's no New Revelations no new movements no new enlightenment those who tear down the old landmarks of Holiness and standards of living and the protections of a separated life it's Madness to do so verse 17 describes it this way these are wells without water clouds that are carried with a tempest to whom the midst of the darkness is reserved forever for when they speak great swelling words of vanity they Allure through the lusts of the flesh through much wantonness those that were clean escape from them who live in error while they promised them Liberty they themselves are the Servants of corruption from whom a man has overcome of the same as he brought into bondage for if after they have escaped the pollutions of this world after you've been delivered through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ they again entangle them therein and overcome the latter end is worse with them than the beginning for had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them but it happened unto them according to the true proverb the dog is turned to his own vomit again the cell was washed to her wallow in the mire [Music] man I can't turn away I can't do more or less than the word I cannot go beyond the word of my God today if you come to First Apostolic Church seeking a watered down [Music] milk toast Doctrine I submit to you you're not in the right place but if you come looking for a Ministry and a message and an opportunity to follow the word of God to fulfill the call that God has placed on your life to follow the paths of righteousness that he laid for every one of us I submit to you that you're in the right place today is our day of Salvation today is Pentecost Sunday and once again we fulfill the call in Acts 1 and 8 and the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all in one Accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing Mighty Wind and it filled all the house I want this house to be filled where they were sitting and they're appearing in them flowing tongues like as of power and it's on each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with tongues as the spirit gave them utterance I'm here to tell you you're still in a tongue-talking church [Music] the scripture said there's Wells without water all the well with that water is is a deep hole in the ground with a lot of dust [Music] but the Revelation said and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the Water of Life freely the Holy Ghost is free for you today on this Pentecost Sunday I know not your condition it doesn't matter what I know God knows and cares if he's calling you to repentance today should be a day of repentance if he's calling you as we have one candidate already that's going to take his name on in baptism get baptized in Jesus name as acts the second chapter verse 38 tells us to do Gavin received the Holy Ghost it's a gift gifts are free there's no strings attached all you got to do is be obedient and come and receive the gift that God has for you whatever your need is I would ask everyone to step out and gather around this Altar for a season of prayer if it's a season of repentance come and repent if it's a season of rededication rededicate whatever you need to do before God would you come and receive the water freely today Hallelujah