Sunday Morning Worship & Word | Pastor Anthony “A Little Strength”

you can be seated across this house there is such a sweet presence and i ask it not as a question because it is the presence of the holy ghost and it's here and it's moving and i encourage you whatever you have need of we believe and i believe that you can leave here transformed today i want to pay special welcome this morning this is sister shayna huff's uncle and brother tom kearns brother brother jerry and his grandson lucas let's give them a great big hand it's an honor to have you all joining with us this morning and i want to also want to say happy anniversary to brother chuck and sister nikki richmond let's give them a great big hand we love them so much and i want to say and echo the sentiments of bishop mccool in welcoming brother robert and sister joy it's an honor to have you all here but let me say as bishop said you came back after his bible said please come back after this morning so it don't look like it was me okay so if y'all could help me with that but in all seriousness let's give them a great big hand it's an honor to have joining with us and it's an honor to be with the greatest church on the face of this earth and it's so awesome to be with you all and i welcome everyone that is joining online with us today as well give honor to our bishop and our pastors and uh i'm just so excited about what god is doing in this day and through this church body if you have your bibles we're going to read two passages of scripture the first one found in revelation chapter 3. we're going to read verses 7 through 9 and then ii corinthians 12 and 9. revelation 3 verse 7 says and to the angel of the church in philadelphia right these things saith he that is holy he that is true he that hath the key of david part of the davidic bloodline the royal bloodline once you're baptized into that name of jesus he that openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth he said i know thy works behold i have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it for thou hast a little strength if you would just say a little strength and hast kept my word and has not denied my name second corinthians 12 9 and he said unto me this is the apostle paul speaking my grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness most gladly therefore will i rather glory in my affirmatives that the power of christ rest upon me i want to preach to you minister to you a few moments this morning on a little strength just right where you're sitting sitting one more time if you would just bow your heads lift up your hands and lift your voices even higher than your hand and let's pray over this word mighty god we thank you for the opportunity that you've given us to assemble here together lord in this day we don't take that lightly or for granted and we give you the highest praise and the highest glory for doing so lord as we open your word we know that it's living and breathing and we ask for it to just be engrafted upon our hearts and our mind that we may apply it in this life lord we thank you for life and we we show you by giving you praise your word tells us that anything that hath breath let them praise the lord and we do so today when we breathe father we thank you for this day we ask for refreshing in our spirit vision for tomorrow and we believe that your spirit is going to move and work and transformation take place today in jesus name we pray amen a little strength a little strength the second and third chapters of revelation are a compilation of letters from jesus to seven churches many scholars believe these were instructions given to the pastors of several literal churches in asia some scholars claim these passages have prophetic implications for the church today still others believe both to be true whether the letters are primarily historic or purposefully prophetic the principles given are clear and trustworthy philadelphia was situated in a strategic place on the main route of the imperial post from rome to the east and it was called the gateway to the east it was also called little athens because of the many temples in the city the church was certainly located in a place of tremendous opportunity as commerce and people migrated there and did business and trade throughout that area jesus addressed this church which was poised for success by first reminding them of god's omnipotence and that unless he allowed something it would not happen revelation 3 7 declares the lord he that is true he that hath the key of david remember as i mentioned earlier once you're baptized into the name of jesus you become part of that royal bloodline the davidic bloodline he that opens and no man shutteth and no man openeth this is important for us to remember because when we face difficult circumstances and when we must make decisions in desperate situations we can become oh so very vulnerable and we can turn and try things out that we wouldn't have any other way but because of that moment of despair or that time of desperation it skews our mind and skews our vision and skews and alters our thought process and we can turn to the wrong sources as we seek a quick fix and as we try to find healing according to an article in september 2019 in the edition of forbes federal investigators pressed charges against two men accused of operating one of the most lucrative tech support scams ever the scam involved tricking more than 7 500 victims in believing that their computers needed fixing and that they could of course be the ones to fix it the scammers roped people in by creating pop-up boxes that issued a fake warning and these pop-up boxes were cascaded red and yellow meaning alert and alarm and emergency stating the pc has been infected with multiple viruses the frantic message provided a telephone number that promised to connect them with technical support who could of course rid the system of these infections and when victims called the scammers asked permission to take control of the victim's pc then they pretend to eradicate the viruses and of course charge them for their time charges sometimes amounted to thousands of dollars and this tech support scheme reportedly made 10 million dollars plus off of these scams we likewise can get scammed when we get desperate when we have a need we can place our trust in untrustworthy sources our judgment and discernment can be so clouded that we will turn to vices or even voices that we know we shouldn't listen to much less follow and like esau in a moment to please our flesh and in a moment to receive a quick fix and in a moment to receive an immediate answer to a pressing question we openly allow ourselves to be scammed out of our birthright and out of our inheritance and out of the promises our heavenly father has for us and if we truly evaluated the vice or even the voice we choose to listen to if we truly stepped back and i don't even know if you need the holy ghost to sometimes have this discernment and if you evaluated that person's life and their history of the one that you're taking advice from and the one you're allowing to have influence over your decision-making and thought process again i don't even know if you need the holy ghost for this common sense would allow one to understand that i probably don't need to take too much credence into what this person is saying revelation 3 8-9 our key word says i know thy works behold jesus talking i have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it for thou hast a little strength and has kept my word and has not denied my name he said i know thy works notice the good news the lord gave to the church in philadelphia he had been watching them he saw their faithfulness and he chose to make a way for them and verse 8 he told them i know your works this declaration to us is both a warning but also a mighty comfort because god was reminding them on one hand that no one can fool him but on the other hand his love and appreciation for them was not skewed by what people or life seem to be saying about them when trials or tragedy occur and accusations or feelings come against believers you can have peace to know that god knows everything and not one person in this world can deter you from the promises that god has for you and not one group of people in this world can stop you or be a blockade from the destiny that god has for you because he sees your faithfulness he sees those times when you reach out to him and he will reward him he said i have set before you an open door after speaking to them about his awareness of their works i see how you're being faithful to me in this day i know it's difficult i know you have trials i know you're heavy laden with burdens but i see your faithfulness and there's an open door that i have set before the end and no person no group of people no political power can shut it this promise reveals god's character and his heart for his people because he alone can make a way as you heard the praise team sing when there is no way and when god makes a way no one can hinder his ultimate purpose and when he opens a door he does it in his sovereignty and no man can fort his plans and the promise of his word tells us that even if we personally feel inadequate even if at times we are weak or worn out with his help we can go forward and it is important for listeners to hear god's cheering voice over the roar of the cloud or the opposing team who declares victory because he said if you have just a little bit of strength he didn't say to paint a smile on at all times or that you weren't going to endure trials and affliction he said in those moments in life if you'll have just a little bit of strength i'll i'll make sure the door is open and i will provide for you and i see every single thing you're going through i see every single moment of faithfulness he said you have kept my word and you have not denied my name in continuance of his address to the church at philadelphia the lord began to explain what the philadelphian church was doing right he said you've kept my word and you have not denied my name you have maintained the integrity of this gospel preaching the name of jesus they weren't commended for achievements on the accumulation of wealth they weren't commended on achievements of influence in their society he he didn't know the power that they had he said you've kept my word and maintained my name and throughout time and even in 2022 it's quite natural for us to use temporal achievements to measure one's success but god caused believers to keep his word and be faithful to him to eternity he didn't say oh i see you because you have the largest congregation or the most luxurious church building or you drive the finest car have the largest houses or have the finest clothes oh no he says i see you that you've remained faithful through trials and afflictions and you've maintained my word and you've lifted my name on high and i see exactly what you're doing and i see your faithfulness and the things of this world are going to pass away but you put your hope in eternity and if you'll have just a little bit of strength i'll make sure you have everything you need keeping his word and not denying his name is no small thing it doesn't show up on the latest discipleship notebook or the latest conference about keeping his name and keeping his word the disciples and followers of jesus were persecuted because of his name and we are told to expect the same standing for truth and for the name of jesus sometimes can become overwhelming and it may take all of the human energy a believer can muster he said i i will do all of these things for the church of philadelphia and he will do all of these things for us and right before the commendation mentioned in revelation 3 8 just a short but pointed observation he said i will do all of these things for the church in philadelphia all of these things for first apostolic church of knoxville if you have just a little strength it seems the lord was letting them know he understood the odds that were against them he understood that it was going to be difficult at times for them to remain faithful he is not counting on us to always be strong just faithful in short if he if we will provide the will he will provide the way this is a core theme in all the lives of great heroes of the bible moses was a runaway step-child who murdered an egyptian slave driver yet god told him to leave his sheep in the desert and confront the most powerful leader in the world if you got just a little bit of strength david an overlooked shepherd boy who killed a giant and proved himself as a soldier but was then forced into exile for years by a jealous but very powerful father-in-law who sought to destroy him nothing like the beginning of a healthy marriage elijah was a poor itinerant preacher who witnessed the miraculous but was often homeless outnumbered and politically harassed daniel the faithful believer exiled in babylon believable by political rivals who used power in entrapment ploys in an attempt to eliminate him this is a little different from the gospel that we hear about today mary the mother of jesus was a poor misunderstood teenager from an unimportant family in a remote village jesus a poor itinerant teacher who had no place to lay his head no powerful political or religious connections only a small band of young students to help him change the world when we have little strength the lord truly becomes our strength to the flesh the idea that our strength is made perfect in weakness may seem nonsensical but to the believer it makes perfect sense the more god's children need him the more they rely on him allowing him to demonstrate his power the end result will be the great works of god and he will receive the glory to his name the apostle paul dealt with the difficult issue of weakness and made this now famous confession for this thing i besought the lord thrice that it might depart from me and said unto men my grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness most gladly therefore will i rather glory in my affirmatives that the power of christ dressed upon me therefore i take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches in necessities and persecutions in distress for christ's sake for when i am weak i am strong that doesn't mean he's walking around with a cavalier attitude just letting whatever happens happens no but he's acknowledging that he's only on this earth for a short amount of time and that life is but a vapor and that there are going to be trials and discomforts and afflictions and some things that he's going to have to live with but he has a greater hope and he the lord he's acknowledging that even though i am weak that's when the lord shows up and that is my strength and the things that i've endured and the things that i have gone through and the trials and the burdens i have to carry make me a stronger and greater minister for christ's sake give the lord a handcrafter please if i have just a little bit of strength when i am weak i am strong my aunt ola denny this is bishop mccool and my uncle gary's older sister it's also sister jessica perry's great aunt as well her grandmother's sister in her mid-life she was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer to the extent the doctor told her he said ola you need to go home and take care of all of the business that you need to this cancer is very aggressive so my aunt ola listening to what the doctor said went home and she began to take care of her business and the first thing that she did is she took out a pen and began to write in one of her most fragile states she penned these words i don't understand the mystery milk and honey flowing free walking down the streets of purest gold beauty is their mind to see a king to welcome you and me so i don't plan to stay here very long i'll lose the bonds of gravity make my entrance wait and see the moon won't even be a stopping place our eyes above the stars in space catch a glimpse of jesus face no i don't plan to stay here very long we'll hear the voice of a millions ring a song the angels cannot sing will march and sing his praise around the throne the saints of every time and race will meet with us in shining grace no i don't plan to stay here very long celestial things our eyes will see like walking by a crystal stream viewing jasper walls and gates of pearl we'll meet with those we've known before shout his praises forevermore no i don't plan to stay here very long and while she began to pin these words in the most dire state that she had ever experienced experiencing an aggressive form of breast cancer the doctor telling her she only had months to live as she began to write and begin to give god's praise as she knew how to in poetry and in songwriting god began to move right there in her midst she was down to absolutely nothing but she had just a little strength and if you saw her she was the tiniest woman you had ever seen but as she began to write god began to show up and god began to move and i want you to know she only lived for 30 more years after that and she died of old age in a nursing home if we can acknowledge when we're down to absolutely nothing when our mind is heavy laden with everything and the cares of this world if we have just a little bit of strength that's when he is made strong yes jesus yes jesus we must draw strength from god and endure we must measure our lives against god's word rather than our infirmities reproaches necessities persecutions and distresses this is not a denial of facts but a recognition that such challenges will be the standard fare for those called to fight the good fight of faith this is not a denial of going to the doctor or seeking modern medicine in any type of situation for god has given us minds and he's anointed people to go out and study and give their lives to these different things and he anoints them to help us so understand that today but we must the believer's job is to keep god's word and god's commitment is to keep the believer there are times when finishing comes down to absolute raw determination the kenyan runner michael konyaga pressed on with burning lungs and wobbly knees the kenyan runner michael kanyaga collapses just short of the finish line but with such determination and such passion will you see him crawl across he said whatever i have to do if i have to crawl across the finish line i will he said i have given too much i have trained too much i have come too far that even though at the very end of the race i might be knocked down if i have to crawl across the finish line i will i know some of you this morning you might be like the kenyan runner who crawled in here to church with heavy laden of caring for somebody else or maybe you've been faced with a trial that's been going on and on and your mind is heavy and your body is fatigued and you crawled in here to church oh but god sees that little bit of strength oh and when he sees that little bit of strength he says that's the time oh that i'm going to show up it's the contractor the builder who works late into the night to ensure the job gets finished and that he or she provides for their family it's a teacher with the cares of life as well as the duty of educating her students can find herself overwhelmed by the tremendous task at hand it's the first responders who have no idea when they wake up in the morning what they may face and in the back of their mind as they kiss their loved ones goodbye could it be the last time and maybe even getting a call in the middle of the night on call at all hours of the night all for the purpose of protecting and serving their fellow citizen it's the nurse who prays for a second wind and summons inner strength to meet the challenge of a surgery met with complications not knowing what the next task may hold with all of the duties of and all of the stress of the work environment not to mention the family life that one might have to go home to when they clock out caring for a father or a mother or children i saw sister ronda henson back there and this morning sister rhonda henson she's if we all stood up that she's delivered she's literally helped deliver just about half of us in here literally but with eleanor was born that's my almost three-year-old daughter i didn't know much about the birthing process believe it or not but i found our way to the hospital and all the joy and the excitement and all of the preparations that go into especially your first child you've got it all laid out now the second one's coming we're like whenever that happens we'll we're ready right but that first one all the joint excitement sister rhonda came in and checked in you know at the convenient hour of about 10 30 p.m for an eight hour shift and in the middle of the night well i was sleeping she was working about 2 30 a.m there began to be some heart complications and i saw sister rhonda in her skill set and in her experience and in the thing that she had trained for and in her ministry go over to this look like some kind of computer from something be developed for 100 years from now all kind of different codes and bars going and she began to to work as she knew how and that heart rate began to make an alarming sound and we began to become very very nervous and she was over there like a a skilled uh captain of a mighty ship vessel in a storm or or a pilot in the midst of a great deal of turbulence you don't think i'm thankful for her for my protecting and being able to make sure my baby was going to be delivered healthy you don't think i need her you don't think this world needs what you have you don't think god's watching out for you and protecting you if we have just a little bit of strength i know sometimes it doesn't always seem spiritual when you're clocking in on a monday morning or when you clock out in the middle of a night on on thursday night but god sees every single moment that he's he's watching after you every shift that you that you take and every every care you give to someone else he's watching you and he sees when you're down to down to absolutely nothing and you're empty it's it's the caregivers for all type of different situations who faithfully pour into others who who have no expectation of of getting back and they sacrifice their time and their resources and their their energy for the comfort and for the well-being and for the purpose of someone else and i preach it i preached it over the last three or four months that we have to be aggressive and and strong and show a strong work ethic and god is going to provide and i believe those things and i i don't diminish that message at all and i i've preached about elisha was in the field plowing when the mantle from elijah came and he was found working not just sitting idle by and he was working and that's where he received his anointing and i believe that a few weeks ago i i preached about uh the armies were out in the desert and they were about to thirst and god threw his prophet and said if you'll dig ditches i'm going to send water i'm going to send the rain and no matter how much forever how much you dig that's the amount of blessing that i'm going to give and i talked about we got to roll up our sleeves and get to work and yes i i believe that and it's been said before that god promised us the land that flowed with milk and honey but sometimes you've got to get up in the morning and go squeeze those udders and knock down a beehive right but but and i believe all those things yes but these hands whatever the hand finds to do do with all thy might we believe that but sometimes these hands get tired and sometimes our bodies get fatigued sometimes our mind can be so heavy laden with the cares of life he said if you've got just a little bit a little bit of strength if you can help each other we know the woman who fought through the crowd with a little bit of strength just to touch the hem of his garment but maybe she was only able to be there on that moment because some physicians had taken care of her up to that point we know that friends in bethsaida brought a blind man to jesus to be healed there was a man who was unable to move and his friends who carried him weren't able to get in the presence of jesus because the crowd was so large so they dropped him in from a roof jesus was commanded to carry his cross we're commanded to carry our cross but due to the excruciating pain that he had undergone in the trial that had met him about halfway there a lit almost three-fourths of the way there simon the cyrene had to step in and help jesus carry his cross yes in the book of exodus we read and moses said unto joshua choose us out men and go out fight with amalek tomorrow i will stand on top of the hill with the rod of god in my hands moses and joshua at the same time you know that's a recipe for success so joshua did as moses said to him and fought with amalek and moses aaron and her went up to the top of the hill and it came to pass when moses held up his hand israel prevailed and when he let down his hand amalek prevailed but moses hands started to get very heavy and the weight of the war and the time that it took his hands started to get very heavy so they took a stone and put it underneath him so he could sit down and he sat there on and aaron and her stayed up his hands one on one side and one on the other side and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun i tell you what church this morning we have to have each other and when we have each other oh i think you ought to get out of your seats on that one when we have each other when we're holding up our neighbor's hand when i hold up my brother's hand when i hold up my sister's hand that little bit of strength turns into something very mighty and it's called the body of christ oh i need my brother and i need my sister oh and he sees everything that we're doing and that we're doing it together oh and he sees that we're unified and we need each other oh and when my brother's holding up my hand and when my sister's holding up my hand oh i believe there's going to be victory if it takes until the sun goes down no matter how long the war is over until the war is over i am going to stay lifted up remain standing with me we've got to have each other because that little bit of strength when it's connected to each other it turns into the body of christ and that little bit of strength turns into a great multitude of strength because we're connected and lifting up one another and that is the recipe that is the formula that is the remedy if you will for god to do something mighty why is the god of miracles the god of signs and wonders why don't he just help his people by clearing a path no doubt we've all prayed this prayer before but scripture clearly demonstrate that god chooses to empower rather than giving them free passes because that empowerment that he gives us is the per for the purpose of saving us and keeping us is to be used not only for me me me but it's used to go out and minister and witness to others the holy spirit caused mary to conceive miraculously but the gestation period for jesus was as normal as any other developing baby although god will sometimes intervene in situations life is intended to be lived out and the apostle developed great confidence in god for that he wrote this because thou has kept and jesus ended his admonition to the church of philadelphia with a great promise that echoed the same sentiment of the apostle paul because thou has kept the word of my patience i also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth behold i come quickly so hold fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown him that overcometh will i make a pillar in the temple of my god and he shall go no more out and i will write upon him the name of my god and the name of my city of god which is new jerusalem which cometh down out of heaven from my god and i will write up on him a new name this is our ultimate dream this is our hope knowing the promise of god it's not dependent upon skill or on what your last name is or upon your performance or upon your social standing or your political finesse all we must do is obey god's command and endure sometimes it takes everything in us when we're down to absolutely nothing say god i need you to fill me up right now i need and i need some strength to go on to this next step god you see me i've trained i started off the race feeling great but as i came down the last stride but if i have to crawl to get into your house i will because in my weakness your strength is made perfect as we close our eyes this morning there is a whole host of needs and prayers with each person that is in this place i obviously will open this altar to someone that needs to repent of their sins and turn their life over to god but at this point in the service as you're praying and your eyes are closed i want to ask you this morning as you pray what need do you specifically need god to intervene in what situation do you need god to just place his hand of provision and protection in lift that need up right now because he sees and he hears it lift that need up right now all across this place every single person whatever the need is [Music] as you pray that i want to ask you the altar is open right here i want to ask you this morning do you have just not asking you to come just with boldness and and privacy do you have just a little bit of strength to bring it before him right now and just a little bit of strength just to lift up your hands not asking not asking for you you might have come in here this morning with down to absolutely nothing but do you have just if you got to crawl to the altar do you have just enough just to lift it up to heaven right now oh and i believe i believe he sees you right where you're at he's saying well done my good and faithful servant oh i see your weariness i see your emptiness i see your loneliness i see the stress of life i see the situation you're in i see all those times you've remained faithful i've seen all those times you've lifted up my name i've seen all those times on your break in between shifts where instead of eating your lunch you said god i just need to cry out to you oh i see it oh now you brought me just a little bit of strength well i'm gonna turn that strength i'm going to turn that strength and to sum your weakness into a great strength right now in my name jesus [Music] he's moving right now [Music] there is [Music] we'll see our [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] as bishop and pastor have just so mightily led us in this great congregation through the years to where we're at now we wage a war all of us in our daily lives and the daily things that we face and they stand up here at the top of the hill with the presence of god lifted high i wonder if symbolically right now with a brother to another brother and sister to another sister if we could lock arms right now and say i've got just a little bit of strength but i'm going to help you i'm going to help you carry i'm going to help your arms lift up that spirit of god i'm going to help my brother lift that up because when the hands are lifted up when moses hands were lifted up victory was taken place when moses hands were lifted up that little bit of strength just interconnected together with the body oh and it turned into the body of christ and there's no devil in hell there's no force plotted against us that's going to be able to stop us oh and when we're united together oh what a mighty strength i'm stronger because of my brother i'm stronger because my sister i'm getting into the presence of god because of my friends in jesus name yes jesus [Applause] ready to work in your weakness [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] we'll see a miracle god we believe that we believe it from the impossible we'll see a miracle god we believe [Music]