Sunday Evening Worship Service

Lord everybody praise the Lord amen what a tremendous honor it is to be here tonight and stand in this Pulpit uh uh I give honor to your pastor and leadership team uh what a legacy I said to Bishop MC today you're a legend and he said oh I'm not a legend he said a legend is a relic I said no sir a legend is a man who has left a legacy thank the Lord for the Legacy that has been left through First Apostolic church that has impacted an entire region in fact I I I I think sometimes that we don't even know what we have amen and the truth was in 1957 there weren't a lot of folks preaching truth in East Tennessee but the gift of Billy mcco was swn into the soil of this region and the apostolic message has become fruitful through his leadership amen we give honor to you amen and your family's Legacy amen amen amen an honor and a privilege to have my wife and family here with me I mentioned them this morning amen somebody met my wife this week and she said boy you sure have done a lot with him so I thank the Lord for her investment amen amen so many familiar faces I mentioned some of that this morning uh brother Raymond Sloan and I go back a long way and so I give honor to he and sister Michelle and the good work that they're doing and their family Lauren and Steven and their families a good work that the Lord's doing through them amen my uncle and Aunt are here so there are more huckabees in East Tennessee uh if you see anybody running to the altar it's probably one of them so uh just stand clear amen how many you love the Lord amen the book of Acts chapter 2 is where I'll read my text this evening Acts chapter 2 and verse number one and when the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with 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 where they were sitting there appeared unto them clothing tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance what a powerful picture of Pentecost could I remind us that it's who we are that's right this is who we are I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God and the salvation I'm just going to remind this church this Sunday night and I'm going try not to preach a long time but I just want to remind us that we were born in the Supernatural oh I wish I had a little help here I said we were born in the Supernatural That's who we are we are an Apostolic Church the greatest church that God ever put together is the church that you and I belong to we were born in Pentecost and the signs wonders and miracles of Pentecost are still among us today woo why don't you clap your hands to the Lord and let's give him a High Praise Lord we love you we thank you for your word we thank you for every promise in this book I pray God that you would speak all over this congregation tonight we give you praise and glory and honor in Jesus name would you put your hands together amen and bless the Lord one more time as you're seated I certainly don't claim to be a theologian of the supernatural but I do know that our culture is infatuated with it amen now I I have a few opinions about that and one of them is I believe the reason sometimes even within the context of the church that we are infatuated with the Supernatural is because when God intervenes it often requires less of us and so sometimes in a way to abdicate ourself from any degree of responsibility we want God to step in and take care of the mess that we've created I I want to stop here and make this little parenthetical statement and that is you can't pray your way out of Disobedience so we got a lot of people that's sewing their seed and then praying for crop failure but the truth is the only way to navigate your way out of the seeds you've sown is to obey your way out of it it now I feel a little help you just have to obey your way out of it you can't live any way you want to live and then pray your way out of the repercussions of your lifestyle I know people that live in abject poverty and never have understood the the the whole idea of giving but when they live stricken in poverty they want to pray their way out of something they disobeyed their way into we want to live in a way that's counterintuitive to the word of God and then we want to pray that God will come Deliver us out of the mess we're in and so we become infatuated with the supernatural because we want God to rescue us from our Disobedience well there's some things that God won't do and one of the things that God will not do is he will not swoop into your Disobedience and Rescue out of the Judgment that is the repercussions of living in a way that is opposite of the word of God do you want the favor of God in your life then you have to live the principles of God's word oh I wish I had a little help on Sunday night you got to if you want to favor a God then you got to walk in obedience to God because the supernatural came rescue you out of what you disobeyed your way into but I promise you this if you'll ever get in alignment with the word of God then the favor of God will Rescue out of what you disobeyed your way into we're infatuated with the Supernatural and too often the reason is because we want God to rescue us from Disobedience I know people that have prayer requests Perpetual prayer request oh Pastor could you pray yes I can pray but I can tell you this if you're not living in obedience there are some things that God cannot do and God can't bless you beyond what his word allots him to so when you get in alignment with his word then all of a sudden his favor comes on you and mountains start to move when you start walking in this in obedience and you step out of Disobedience and you walk in alignment with God's way and God's purpose then God can bless you boy you know too frequently we want God's will I preached a single conference and they called me and they said brother huge what subject would you like to address I said the will of God that was the title of my session the will of God you know why because I knew that my room was going to be packed out because you don't have to compete against anybody else if you just write will of God on your session you know why because everybody's looking for the will of God I want the will of God I want God's will in my life I want to find out what it is that God wants me to do I want to find out what my purpose is in the Kingdom I'm looking for God's will well can I stop here and help you that sometimes we want God's will but we don't want God's way it and the truth is God's way is as important as God's Will and we say God I want your will but I want you to do it this way and I want you to do it that way and I want you to work it out this way and we got this issue trying to control God but if you want to find what God's Will and purpose is for you you have to come into alignment with his way I don't just want his way but I want his will but I don't just want his will I want to know that I'm doing it his way because if I'll do it his way he'll bless it and he'll reach into the corners of where I am in the middle of my struggle and he'll resurrect me out of it because he puts his favor and Promises on those who walk in his will and his way I want the will of God but I want the way we want God to work it out and he will and he wants to rescue you but he may not rescue you the the way that you want to be rescued he may not navigate this season with you the way that you told him how to navigate it I was preaching in Cincinnati Ohio and brother Tom Ellis took me to a museum and in the museum there's a professor from the University of Jerusalem who had has written about these artifacts that have been Unearthed in an archaeological dig and the little note in the museum said this Israel was not always a monotheistic Society but many times throughout their history they worshiped a plurality of gods here on display is an example of one of those gods and it was an as God God and I was standing there in that Museum and I said to the Lord Lord why would a people that you brought out of Egypt and you navigated them through the Red Sea and you kill the armies of pharaoh as they chased them and you give them houses they did not build and Vineyards you did not they did not plan you drove out from before them their enemies little by little why in the world would they leave worshiping you to turn their affections to a pocket sized paper weight that's right with ears that cannot hear and eyes that cannot see and sure as I'm standing in this Pulpit the Holy Ghost spoke to me and he said because they wanted a god they could control because they wanted a God that had to show up at every birthday party they dictated that he needed to be an attendance at they wanted a God that they they could tell what to do because the Bible said in the Old Testament that the idols became a mirror image of the one who crafted them let me tell you what an image is an image or an idol is something that has to do everything you say and it takes on your personal values and so thus you can control what it is but I want to help somebody when your life is out of control you want a God that's in control when the doctor says cancer you don't want to be in control when the doctor says cardiovascular disease you want a God who can do absolutely anything who can do exceeding and abundantly above all you can ask or think according to the power that worketh in you there are certain things about the Supernatural and I'm not sure about I'm I'm not sure how manels are given or transferred in fact I can't say that I have a deep theological understanding about impartation however I am aware that in our culture and even within the Evangelical community that we've been influenced to rely on the natural we think and reason and depend on intellectual abilities and while I'm certain that God is not unreasonable I in fact believe that faith is risky but it's still the safest place to live I understand that Faith takes risk but it is also the safest Dimension to live in however it is the tug of war between faith and our natural abilities that seem to leave us with a lot of unanswered questions but I want to provoke the church tonight I want to provoke the church tonight to take a look at the birth of the first century Church and be reminded that we were born in the Supernatural and thus Even in our modern culture we're called set apart to live in the Supernatural we were born in it and we need to live in the Supernatural we ought to believe in the gifts of the Spirit old men shall dream dreams and young men shall see visions and these signs shall follow them that believe a spirit-led church ought to be a church with the gifts operating a spirit-led church ought to be a church where the supernatural shows up every Sunday morning and every Sunday night where you can walk into this house and the supernatural presence of God will walk into this sanctuary and do what no other power can do acts three and Peter fastening his eyes upon him with John said look on us and he gave heed unto them expecting to receive something of them then Peter said Silver and Gold Have I None but such as I have give I Thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength and he leaping up stood and walked and entered with them into the temple walking and leaping and praising God brother willly he didn't even have things formed in his feet he's never walked he is without strength he don't have the capacity to move without the aid of his fellow man and every day they pick him up and they move him in front of the gate and there he begs for just enough to get him through to the next minute or next day or next week or however long it is that he can pray upon the kindness of a passerby but on this day a man who is about to step into a dimension he's never walked in before doesn't have to stay this way because of all the people he's encounter Ed in front of the gate what he is reminded of in Acts chapter 3 that he is meeting a supernatural Church yeah hold on lame man you're not in the same place you were a few days ago but you just came in contact with a supernatural Church the Bible said that the Apostle pet Peter is walking through the temple and those gathered begin to ask him by what power did you do this miracle and he said by the power of Abraham Isaac and Jacob I wonder why that he reached back into history bishop and of all the Patriarchs he could put on full display he said the lineage of Abraham Isaac and Jacob I believe this is why because Abraham's been faithful and what Peter's saying is if you'll be faithful to God he'll be faithful to you if you'll be faithful to God he'll be faithful to you let me tell you what kind of God we serve that is Supernatural that if you need a supernatural Miracle when you are faithful to God it automatically puts you in line with a supernatural God he ain't done he said Isaac you know why because Isaac's a promise seed and I can tell you this about the character of God that if he's ever made you a promise honey you may not have it today but if you'll tie a noty into your rope and hold on your season is coming I'm preaching to every man woman boy and girl in this room that has an old promise from God and you're wondering if it's ever coming to pass well I come to remind you you're in a supernatural church and you serve a supernatural God and he baptized you with a supernatural Holy Ghost and that same Holy Ghost is able to fulfill every promise you've ever received he wasn't done he said by the god of Abraham and the god of Isaac and the god of Jacob he didn't say Israel because Israel's post encounter with the angel at bethl Israel is after the change Israel is after his encounter with God god brother Jones and really the truth is in in most of the ways that we evaluate what he should have said is on behalf of the god of Abraham Isaac and Israel but he didn't he said Abraham Isaac and Jacob because Jacob's name is liar and thief and Sur planter and undeserving and someone who is not worthy and the truth is that the god that walked in First Apostolic church tonight he is going to give a miracle to those who are faithful and he'll give a miracle to those who have a promise but for every Jacob in this room that is undeserving of the goodness of God the supernatural will work on your behalf it's a supernatural Church we're just a couple of verses in and the Bible said that the angel of the Lord delivers the apostles from prison now I'm going just step on The Fringe of heresy right here and you fix it all when I'm done but old Pete's in prison and they've already killed James and Pete's nexts they're waking for the holidays to be over and they have a prayer meeting at John Mark mother's house and the Bible said that the angel walked into the prison and delivered Peter but when Peter showed up at the door and began knocking on the door Roa came to the door and she went back and she began to express the good news and they said no it must be Peter's Angel they get to pray a little more Bishop Raymond they they're praying a little more she said no I promise Peter's at the door can't be Peter he's in prison well for Pete's sake literally come on now we've been here having this prayer meeting asking God to deliver him out of prison and he shows up to the door and we can't even let him in on Ro to that can't be Peter he it must be his angel can I stop here and tell you this that for the supernatural to work in your church and on your behalf you don't even have to have faith for it because the truth is they didn't have faith for Peter's Deliverance but that didn't stop the angel from walking through four quarteron of soldiers and taking him by the hand and navigating him down the street I want to help somebody you're a part of a supernatural church and even on the days when your faith is weak he'll still work on your behalf because he's a supernatural God in a supernatural Church doing Supernatural things you know I don't I don't know if God can do it or not I don't care that it going to stop him from doing what he has assigned in power to you know sometimes we pray the wrong stuff we pray for power anybody prayed that prayer Lord give me power give me power Lord I need your power you don't need God's power you need God's purpose cuz if you'll go look at the New Testament there is never power assigned to anything outside his purpose but if you'll ever get a hold of what his purpose is there'll be enough power there to do whatever it is that God's positioned you to do you don't need to pray for power you just get in alignment with his will you don't even have to have the faith that it can be accomplished you just have to walk in obedience and when you get in alignment obedience the supernatural will show up and do what no other power can do it's a supernatural church do you know that Revival Revival is Supernatural and the word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly in a great company of priest were obedient to the faith and stepen full of faith and power did great wonders and miracles among the people you know why do you know why the word of God increased because it was a supernatural church and because God was working through Believers and as people begin to believe and get in alignment obedience and the supernatural started to work through them and they started to do exploits that they couldn't do on their own because it's a supernatural church I'm telling you if you're looking for Revival It's Supernatural yeah you need to knock the doors and you need to give the Bible studies but this is what the Bible said except the Lord build a house they labor in vain that building It's Supernatural but when God gets involved with your Revival the enemy cannot stop it because he opens a door that no man can shut and the people verse six with one Accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake and seeing the Miracles which he did for unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many that were possessed with them and many taken with pusies and that were lame were healed uhoh and there was great joy in the city you know what's in the Supernatural Choy Church Joy I'm telling you I know people that can turn a cold into cancer it's a truth they go to the doctor and they got an allergy and some L's in the waiting room going I don't know if they're going to make it or not I don't know if they're going to survive this one they got an allergy for Pete's sake it's not the end of the world it's a little trial you're going through it's a little something you got to get through in this season but you need to be reminded that the byproduct of a supernatural church is a church that's filled with joy for the joy of the Lord is my strength if you want to be strong in the Lord and you're a supernatural first century Apostolic Church then the joy of the Lord ought to flow out of your spirit Joy Bishop Raymond weeping may endure for a night just for a night you know what that means I don't know how long your night is and I can't Define how long your night is but I can tell you this your Shelf has a your your night has a shelf life it can only last so long man I got to reading the word of God y'all to try sometimes I got to reading the word of God one day in Genesis chapter 1 said that he created the greater light to rule the day next verse and he created the Lesser light to rule through the night yeah you ready he never gave Darkness Dominion he just said there'd be a little season where you got lesser light than you do at other times but that don't mean the enemy ought to be able to Rob your joy because you're going through a little season a lesser light I get that you were hurt I get that you're struggling I get that you're in a trial but a supernatural Church ought to be baptized in Joy because the Lord never gave the enemy the right to govern the amount of light that you have in your spirit the joy of the Lord is my strength but the enemy don't have dominion over me I'm going tell you some of you need to quit letting the enemy dictate The Rules of Engagement you're letting the enemy decide whether you have joy or not you're letting the doctor's report decide whether you have joy or not you're letting your employer decide whether you have joy or not you're letting your Health crisis decide whether you have joy or not Darkness doesn't have dominion in your life just a little season of lesser light but you still got the joy of the Lord that gives you strength this is a super natural Church which means you can have joy in lesser light it's a super natural Church Phillip Phillip preached Revelation and truth then the spirit said to Phillip I won't get hung up right here but I got less of a problem with all you people that say God spoke to me than all the people who say God didn't speak to me because according to this book we don't serve a God that went silent oh I wish I was in a preaching church I said we don't serve a God that went silent but there are 66 books in that Holy RIT of a speaking God that showed up at midnight hours that navigated people through struggles that delivered people from the woes of their life and he spoke things into existence and that same God wants to speak to us today and you ought to be hearing the voice of the Lord if you're a supernatural born LED of the spirit Christian and the spirit said to Phillip go near and join thyself to The Chariot and Philip ran thither to him and heard him and read the prophet asias and said understandest what thou readest how does philli know to get there how does Phillip know where the lost people are I wonder what would happen if we'd start praying and say God would you just lead me to the hungry would you just lead me to the people that are struggling would you let me partner with someone who is in a tragedy right now because the supernatural wants to work through me and I'm telling you when you through the purpose of God meet a crisis his voice becomes adamantly clear about your next steps because a good man's steps are ordered of the Lord It's Supernatural it's a supernatural conversion I said this morning my Mom and Dad my mom and dad weren't in church my dad was selling drugs my dad was bartending my grandmother was praying and my mom after my brother was born told my dad Harold we're going I'm going to take the boys and go up here to this denominal church that my parents are involved in well my dad didn't say much I don't think which was rare so she went up there and liked it and she come home and she told my dad she said now Harold I'm really enjoying going up there to church with Mom and Dad and he said no you ain't going back up there no more and she said well why not he said well they don't believe in the Holy Ghost she said okay so they're having a Revival at the church on the hill brother Jones you'll know where that is there was a little hole in this church there in the community the coal mining Community they lived in and they went to the Holiness Church and my mom got the holy ghost in a Revival service she came home told my dad Harold I got the Holy Ghost he said I don't care you ain't going back to that church she said why can't I go back to the church he said because they believe in three gods and you ain't raising my boys in no free God Church she said well then I ain't going he said I don't care among other things that I can't say from the pulpit one night my mom has a dream and in the dream she's in trouble and she's in a room I feel the Lord she's in trouble in the room brother M and she looks around the room and there's no escape from these people that are closing in to destroy them but on the wall in a foreign language is written the exit strategy when she woke up she told my dad she said there was only one man in the room that could read the language and when I turned to look at him it was your dad Harold she said what does that mean and he said well Lord I don't know he said drive over and talk to the old man and see what what he says she got in the car she drove over to his house a many many year backslider living in sin she walks in the house and tells him her dream and he said oh I know what that means and he reaches beide his bedside pulls out a Bible and flips through it and shows my mom the Oneness of God and said I think there's a church over there about 22 miles from here and if you'll go over there and see them they'll baptize you in Jesus name if you're worried about how your family's going to be converted I'm going to tell you how they're going to get converted he'll show up in a vision he'll show up in a dream but you're not part of just any kind of worshiping assembly you're part of a supernatural Church brother Raven accept the Lord build the house we're laboring in vain but I'm glad to be part of a supernatural Church keep standing I'm done I'm telling you you're not part of just any kind of church you're not part of just any kind of worshiping a you didn't just gather on a Sunday night at First Apostolic church just together for a social Gathering or some kind of event but you're in a supernatural Church where Supernatural things happen where signs wonders and miracles follow them that believe where dreams show up in people's nights to convert them where bright lights come on the road and reveals God to people and Ministries are born through the revelation of the supernatural and those sick vexed were healed that word Vex translates to be alarmed agitated or anxious I want be careful right here because I believe there is within the context of the church a wonderful place for Christian counselors I bring one in two or three times a year to counsel my people at the church I Pastor I believe God has gifted them I'm a little old school in believing this that there's not a whole lot that can't be healed with a touch of the spirit I'm going to tell you there's not much that can't be done in a good altar call you may walked in this room vexed and agitated and anxious and have all kinds of trauma and trouble draped all over you but if you'll ever indulge in the spirit for just a few minutes and the spirit of the Lord begins speaking through you all of a sudden the joy of the Lord will become your strength and a supernatural inundation of the spirit will take away the perplexities of your life I'm in a supernatural Church where Supernatural things happen where people are supernaturally one to the Lord healed people with one a one Accord gave heed unto them of the things which Philip spake hearing and seeing the Miracles that he did and unclean spirits came crying out of people because the supernatural you know brother M there are there are some people that I'm never going to be able to reach I hate it there are gated communities I'll never get into there are closed Hearts and Spirits that have built walls in such a way that I'll never be able to reach them I wonder how complex that the church was and stepen is Stone he's an icon in the church he's led the church in deliverances and conversions Paul with his letters shows up and accommodates the men and incites a rebellion and the church can't do anything about it nothing they can't somehow get the heart of the king and turn his affections toward the Church Steven Stone and Paul has letters perhaps the days of the church is numbered it seems but the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord and the Bible said Paul's on the road and out of nowhere comes a light it says Paul Paul why persecutest sa sa why persecutest thou me why is it that you kick against the pricks I want to tell you the church can't convert you but a light a supernatural light out of Heaven can convert the people that you cannot reach and it may feel like today that you don't have any recourse to the Dilemma you're in but the H of the king is in the hand of the Lord and the supernatural can show up and do what no other power can do