Sunday Morning Worship Service

you can be seated across this house keep that same Spirit as you make your way way back to your seats thank you praise team and musicians for just ushering us in to his presence and I welcome each and every one of you here at a First Apostolic church on Sunday morning and all of you tuning in with us online we welcome you the same and if you're a First Time guest it's a high honor that you are worshiping alongside of us if you have your Bibles this morning we're going to read uh three different verses of scripture two of them both from The Book of Luke and then one from The Book of Revelation I give honor to this great congregation and our pastoral staff it's a high honor to serve e with each and every one of you and I'm excited about all of the things taking place this month and let me remind you today is our last day that we're accepting donations for our coats for the cold and other warm items if you have anything else you'd like to bring bring stop bring that by this evening and we'll get that as we work alongside with Knoxville area rescue Ministries The Book of Luke Chapter 2 we're going to read verses 10- 12 to start off it states and the angel said unto them fear not for behold I bring you good tidings everybody say Good Tidings Good Tidings of great joy which shall be to all people for unto you is Born This Day in the the city of David a savior which is Christ the lord and this shall be a sign unto you ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a Manger we'll move forward to chapter 24 verse 5 now upon me start at verse one now upon the first day of the week very early in the morning they came unto the Seer bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others with them and they found the Stone rolled away from the Seer and they entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus and it came to pass as they were much perplexed thereabout behold two men stood by them in shining garments and as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the Earth at these two angels they said unto him why do you seek the living among the dead he is not here but is risen remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee saying the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful man and be crucified and the third day rise again down to Revelation 14: 6 and S and I saw another angel fly in the midst of Heaven having the Everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and Kindred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come and worship him that made Heaven and Earth and the Sea and The Fountains of waters we have a theme Here of angels giving a message for which I will derive my title with Angelic host Proclaim if you would bow your heads right where you're at and let's pray over this sermon right now Heavenly Father we thank you Lord we thank you for the opportunity for bringing us together once again to lift up your name on high Heavenly Father you see every need in every situation of every individual that is in this house today and that is tuning online as well heavenly father in this season let us recognize and acknowledge that you are the Savior that you came to this Earth for us Lord we thank you for your Divine promise and we ask for your spirit to be in this house in jesus' name we pray amen with Angelic host proclaim a Divine an important announcement throughout history all human societies and you can see behind me have used rituals to Mark major events and transitions we got the Oscars and the Grammys and the even the college football playoff last week where teams can just buy their way in to uh to they want to get an important announc out it's important they use lights this is what it looks like when we try to make an important announc on our own it's it's very important we want to get everyone's attention and in our modern day the gender is my chest was just a bit insan but we we want to make important announcements and get everyone's attentions whether it be personal landmarks like birthdays or weddings or group accomplishments such as graduations or government transitions of power who's the best actor who's the best singer and to announce these important occasions will have these uh grandos events with red carpets and all of the resources of the day brightly lights and cameras and stages and huge crowds to announce who is the best in their particular field and these ceremonies send signals that command our attention and strengthen the perceived importance of those monuments as you saw in the last image of a presidential inauguration all of the flags and all of the imagery and all of the Pomp and Circumstance and all of the helicopter flying to let everyone know there's something important about to take place they're wrapped in pageantry they involved music and Banners and speeches and planning and more important the moment the more extravagant the ceremony the more important the announcement and when we attend a ritual loaded with Splendor it is as as if a little voice inside our brain is telling us to pay attention because something important and meaningful is about to happen the announcement is important the Incarnation is the most superlative mystery of the ages when God became one of his own Creations it was a unique convergence of God in man and how could God become a man and continue to be God simultaneously the question that is asked he assumed a body capable of death yet at the same time he was Immortal he was subject to Temptation yet he created the tempter he was executed by the very creatures he formed from clay and gave the gift of Life how could Mary a virgin conceive a child by the holy spirit this was the great mystery of godliness as 1 Timothy 3:16 tells us it was great in its Sublimity and colossal in its scope a part of the mystery was its serous nature even of those who anticipated his coming it was not what was expected by the educated or the religious yet it fulfilled Destiny to Perfection God is a magnificent Creator this epic event was not an afterthought or an improvisation God is a grand planner and he is a meticulous manager of his plan and his Cosmic clock does not miss one nanc and God's providential scheme timing is everything and the Incarnation was deliberate and planned from the very beginning it was Destiny as Galatians 4:4 tells us when the fullness of time was come he came and the word of God as John tells us was made flesh Genesis tells us he would be and was the Bruiser of Satan's head and John would tell us that this would be the Lamb of God the Redeemer for Humanity it was his and our destiny the birth of the Savior was the greatest gift ever given to humanity the gift came in the fullness of time when the need of a deliverer had peaked and the soil was prepared for the seed this great gift was beyond human comprehension the condens of the Creator to the level of his creation was an unthinkable event yet he participated in his Plan of Redemption because of love for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life in the pantheon of world religions no other deity has ever conferred such an honor upon his or her worshippers job and time before telling about a mediator that would come he would Muse about his need for somebody to speak on his stead he said for he is not a man as I am that I should answer him and we should come together and judgment neither is there any dazan betwix us that might lie his hand on us both job wanted and needed and we saw this foreshadowing and prophetic vision of a mediator between God and himself but that gift had not yet been given to the world and it could not be until the time was rip in the time that God had planned it to be so we now have a mediator between God and Humanity a gift delivered through the Incarnation and the Redemptive work of Jesus Christ for there is one God and one mediator between God and man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time the Son of God bridged the chasm of sin separating God from his creation and when we read in Acts 2028 that God purchased the church with his own blood the Eternal invisible God caused Mary to conceive and the word of God became flesh and the angels gave this Proclamation with Angelic host Proclaim as the title is and we see these different instances in the New Testament in the word of God of angels giving a very important announcement the message of the birth of a savior who was so tremendous that God used angels to Proclaim it after the initial Proclamation men and women were commissioned to propagate the joyful news however the first announcement was so important that God used Angels greater than a red carpet greater than the Majesty of a stage adorned in Lance greater than large throngs of crowds but angels to announce this event that was taking place angels to announce specific events that to humanity might not have been adorned with all of the resource of the world but God said this is such an important event Convent that I'm going to have Angels announce that I'm about to show up that the god you serve has risen from the grave that this gospel is for every person and that this gospel is Everlasting for those who will serve him I'm going to use angels and with an Angelic host I'm going to send out a message all right right the ministry of the angels in the matter of preaching the gospel is quite significant in the New Testament God used Angels four particular times to Proclaim messages of great importance the first one being as we mentioned in our initial text the birth of Jesus the second being in the resurrection of Jesus the third being a special announcement to the Gentiles indicating that this word this good news was for every single person and the fourth in the The Book of Revelation the Everlasting gospel at no time did the Angels explain God's plan of how a man might be saved but the Angels were used to Proclaim an announcement of great importance to those who were charged with the task of telling the unsaved about salvation and announcing the birth of Jesus to Shepherds watching their sheep on the hillside the Angels were the first to bring the message of the good news they announced the glory message that a savior was born in Bethlehem and the good news would bring great joy to all the people and the angel said unto them fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all Circle that people for unto you is Born This Day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the lord and as we move forward to the resurrection the angel said why do you look for the living among the dead he is not here but he has risen from the grave the god that you serve is still alive and this is such an important message that I'm going to send an Angelic host to proclaiming the tremendous announcement of the Resurrection Was Made By Angels but they gave no explanation just how to they gave no explanation how you should go about to save Souls of men and women this was left for Humanity to do in the book of Acts we read and now send me to japa and call for one Simon whose surname is Peter when the gospel was preached to the Gentiles Peter had H A Vision an angel was sent to Cornelius and the angel gave Cornelius instructions to send for Peter who would preach the gospel to him the angel did not tell Cornelius how to be saved but he sent him an important message that this gospel was going to be to the Gentiles and this would be the start of it as well and in the Book of Revelation in the 14th chapter it's recorded that an angel is to preach the Everlasting gospel looking down on Humanity telling fear God and give glory to him for the hour of judgment is come such an important announcement from Matthew all the way to Revelation from the birth to the resurrection that it's for every person for the Everlasting for today the announcement the proclamation given by an Angelic host two Millennia removed from the birth of Jesus now we often think of the story in its romantic loftiness somehow we get caught up in the idealic thought of Shepherds and angels and wise men forgetting what things must have truly been like for Mary and Joseph and how humiliating it would have been to have your baby in a barn and if God coming to Earth was less than tidy Emmanuel god with us we should not be stressed by life's imperfections God works in awkward settings he Reveals His glory far from the center stage he does not depend upon human institutions or cultural expectations but he sends his angels to declare a message that is counter of the cultural expectations and counter of the Majesty of what this world deems as great he said with Angelic host I will send my message let Emmanuel God With Us be proof that the infirmities that we experience on this day let Emmanuel God With Us be proof that the heartache or the weariness or the troubling of my mind or the physically demoralizing circumstances that I find myself on this day might just very be a pre cursor to the miraculous what you are in in the situation you find yourself currently is the atmosphere for an Angelic host to come around and say Emmanuel is about to show up Jesus is about to reveal himself when you're going through these things and continuing to walk in faith it's only a matter matter of time before Emmanuel God With Us Jesus Christ reveals himself in your situation it's not going to be the way you imagined it it's not going to be according to the expectation of society it's not going to be how I would offer it but when Mary and Joseph had gone just as far as they could when there wasn't even any room for them that's when Jesus began to show up Emmanuel God With Us and she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus it's the good news of Salvation and it's to be proclaimed to all Humanity by being born into this troubled world and dying on a cruel cross Jesus provided salvation into the hands of others he committed the responsibility of telling all men everywhere of this Angelic message unto you is born a savior we have to remember this in 2023 that unto us is born a savior we can't get caught up in some ritualistic expectation we can't get caught up in just going through the motions but we've got to remember every single day that no matter what I face no matter what I'm going through no matter what circumstance I might find myself in it is the precursor if I'll be faithful if my my journey is part of my worship if I'll be faithful I know that Emmanuel is about to show up unto you is born a savior unto you is born a savior unto you in your situation it's not some far off fairy tale but he's ready to show up right where you are at God God made no other provision for a lost world to to hear the good news this was his what only plan for Humanity to hear the Plan of Salvation the gospel is Good Tidings Luke 2:10 and 12:32 the gospel removes fear from the hearts of those who receive its message the gospel brings great joy into the life of a Believer Isaiah 123 Luke 210 Romans 14:17 acts 88 the gospel gives peace Luke 2:14 Romans 14:17 John 14:27 and Philippians 4:7 the Shepherds were told three things about this Jesus he is the savior he is the Christ and he is the Lord and as we read on about his life and the Miracles he performed we would read that he would be crucified on a cross and then the Angels would give that message why are you looking for the living among the Dead the god that you serve the god that wrapped himself in flesh the savior of this world is not here he has conquered death in the grave and because he conquered death in the grave whatever situation you're facing you have Victory and Authority in it in Acts 238 the Apostle Peter used the keys to the kingdom to the open the door of Salvation however before the penitent sinner can walk through that door of repentance and water baptism in the name of Jesus for the remission of sin he or she must hear the good news of what Jesus provided for them musicians and singers you can come let this story of the Gospel the good news the Savior that came into this world the Christ let this story ReSound to someone today to know that he doesn't show up because you have some P Picture Perfect Hallmark movie play setting he doesn't show up because you've met all of the cultural expectations or all of Humanity's standards for this world he came and died for you in the situation that you are in it may seem if you're having trouble finding Jesus in this season you might be listening by way of the internet or sitting on a Pew here this morning where this particular season I I I'm ready to celebrate the this this season and all of the joy that comes with it but I'm having trouble seeing where Emanuel fits into all of this you might have trouble finding Jesus in this season and you might feel as if there is a certain pressure that things have to look a certain way for Emmanuel to show up maybe Christmas is a time and maybe this season is a time that floods your memories of special times with loved ones that are no longer here with us or certain situations that you wish like anything you could go back and live once again in them in that memory but it's over and it has passed and you find yourself on this new day with a great deal of confusion in your heart is troubled and your mind is plagued and you're wondering just where is Emmanuel in this season I I am a believer and I'm and I'm faithful but I'm still struggling with this or I'm still going through this or I'm suffering this loss in my family or I'm dealing with this pain in my body and I asked the question Emmanuel where are you maybe unrelated to the holiday all together you're experiencing a difficult situation maybe it's in your family or there's suffering or there's loss or there's Illness but let any hardship let any heartbreak be proof that your journey your faithfulness is worship unto God and in those moments when you've gone just as far as you can go when there doesn't seem any room for one more thing I want you to know today that I believe that there's hope in this word I believe that there's hope in our savior Jesus Christ and I just believe when you've gone just as far as you can go and you've got your hands up and surrender and you ask that question Emmanuel where are you in this season I believe that's the moment when he comes down and I believe he's going to show up right in the difficulty that you face this morning would you give him a hand clap of Praise just for a moment Jesus we love you Jesus I need you I need you to show up right now stand with me [Applause] hallelu when Jesus revealed himself when Jesus came into this Earth he came into a mess he didn't choose to arrive in a palace he didn't choose to arrive in the front of a parade but he came down to be with you and when you feel like you're at the end when you feel like you are in the darkest of nights when you are desperate I believe that is the precursor for the Jesus that we serve for the Emmanuel that you so Faithfully serve for him to show up we don't read where Mary and Joseph were leaping for joy and running the aisles but their their journey and their their faith in the unknown their faith in the speculation their faith in the doubt their faith in the tribulation their faith trying to run for their safety in the safety for the newborn king every step was hands lifted High every step was adorations of Praise given from the lips and even though they didn't know even every those every step was unknown it was mighty worship and when you find yourself in a season of uncertainty when you find yourself when you're just surrounded by question marks in every situation in your life I believe if he'll just take those steps forward and worship him and walk in him by faith that's when Emanuel is about to show up that's when Jesus would somebody say that name just for a second Jesus just say it to yourself Jesus I believe that's when he's about to appear Carol McGruder wrote this song and he was his wife Priscilla would sing it it states I've walked through vast valleys surrounded by mountains with Peaks that seemed too high to climb but I recall learning how great mountain climbers they conquered one step at a time I've watched blue Rivers strong currents raging I wondered if they could be crossed but my rivers and mountains became soft gentle fountains because of an Old Rugged Cross and that song would sing We have a savior such a wonderful savior I wonder if somebody would lift your hands up across this house and just say I know it's Sunday morning I know the weather's been horrible I know my power might have been out last night and I'm tired and the Thunder and the lightning woke me up I know I came into your house Lord and I uh to be honest I wasn't expecting a blood but but I was faithful and I took another step by faith and I don't know how this Situation's going to turn out but I keep lifting my hands to you father I don't know what's going to happen in my family here but I I turn it over to you father and I just believe in this uncertainty I just believe in this confusion I just believe in this mess I believe that's when you're going to show up oh would you lift your hands across this place and worship that name yes Jesus Jesus Jesus in The Book of Revelation let me give you some end time prophetic word right here you ready for some end time prophetic word it says and I saw another angel fly in the midst of Heaven having the Everlasting gospel to preach un them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and Kindred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear God for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him that made Heaven and Earth and the Sea and The Fountains of waters this same book where it says that you're going to be saved by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony who's there that's you that's the people of God here's some End Time stuff it says blessed blessed is he blessed is she that keepeth watch blessed is he that is faithful and I believe this morning that whatever situation you find yourself in I believe this morning whatever confusion you might find yourself in an unknown and uncertainty I believe there's an Angelic host encircled around you oh it doesn't meet the cultural expectation of this world it doesn't meet Humanity standards but there's some angels encompassed about your situation and they're making a proclamation to this world and there's some angels looking down saying is there anybody going to be faithful in this last day and I believe there are some people across this house that said I'm going to worship the one who created this world and there's some angels saying Jesus is about to show up in this testimony oh there's still some people preaching this gospel and this gospel is being preached by their walk of Faith oh I believe he's about to show up to this morning let's worship that name in spirit and truth yes Jesus yes Jesus oh we thank you Father oh we thank you yes Jesus say that name out right now yes Jesus Oh yes Jesus God in your name we praise you yes Jesus Jesus the only would you find somebody to pray with right now say you're not alone in this uncertainty you're not alone in your circumstance we have a savior we have a savior yes Jesus God we thank you God we thank you we praise you oh yes Jesus [Music] yes your hands across this [Music] house the beautiful oh there's Angels encamping around your situation let say look at this person look at their faithfulness look at their love Jesus has showed up Jesus is present Emmanuel God With Us Emmanuel God With Us [Music] Jesus [Applause] Jesus be exalted be exalted be exalted Lord be exalted oh higher High be exalted be exalted be exalted be exalted be exalted Lord be exalted oh higher and higher be exalted be exalted be exalted Lord be exalted be exalted be exalted higher and higher be exalted be exalted be exalted be exalted be exalted Lord be exalted higher and [Music] higher other name I know other name no other name I know no other name no other name I know [Music] [Applause] no other name no other name I know no other name no other name I know no other name no other name I [Applause] know other name no other name Jes I know no other name no other name I know no other name no other name no other name I know no other name no other name I know no other name no other name I [Applause] know so be exalted be exalted be exalted be exalted be exalted Lord exed oh higher and high be exalted be exalted be exalted Lord be exalted be exalted Lord exed higher and higher I want to do something real quick I want to pray a focus prayer and I want every single individual to get a need on their mind a specific situation that you that you call out I'm not talking for somebody else to hear but something that you personally are facing or maybe you're standing in the gap for somebody else and as the sermon went and as we heard the precedent of the Angelic Host proclaiming this message of good news and all of these different messy situations I have good news for you today and I want you to know that there is an Angelic host around that knee that you're about to pray for and it's saying that Jesus is here and alive in that situation and he's saying fear not for I am with you let's lift our hands across this place and we're going to pray a focus prayer heavenly father he mighty God we thank you this morning for your word Lord we thank you for that Proclamation and declaration that you are alive Lord you see the needs and specifics of every individual under the sound of my voice and father I ask for your hand of comfort to come down right now I ask for your hand of healing to come down right now I ask for the acknowledgement of victory in the midst of a giant right now and Lord let us understand and know that right now there's good news being proclaimed that you are present that you are ever presentent in the time of trouble you are the everpresent help in the time of storm and Lord we declare together with one voice today that you are Emmanuel God With Us and we lift up that name of Jesus that name that is high and lifted up above every other name in this world we know when we call on your name Jesus that chains begin to break we know when we call on your name Jesus that healing takes place and provision takes place and Lord we lift up your name on high today and we proclaim the good news and we believe that we're going to be victorious through you in the name of Jesus we pray yes Jesus Hallelujah