Sunday Morning Worship Service

Well, Lord bless you. You may move to your seats. We greet you in the mighty name of Jesus. What a privilege it is to be back at First Apostolic Church with every one of you, with every believer that's in this house. Thank you for joining us this Sunday morning. Let me add to the words of Pastor Anthony Anthony that we spoke earlier that uh we are celebrating this weekend with PIA, our Hispanic ministry, eight years here at First Apostolic Church. And what a marvelous time we had in service yesterday. Uh just uh had a a wonderful crowd of believers here. Baptized another one in Jesus name. I know Friday night uh had a baptizing one received the Holy Ghost. We baptized another one yesterday in the name of Jesus. And just a a day yesterday, frankly, of celebrating what the Lord is doing. And I know they have another service this afternoon. I honor Jeremy and Sister Mary. Uh thank you for your hospitality and what a marvelous thing God is doing uh as another outreach of First Apostolic Church and this wonderful church and ministry of our Hispanic work. I also say to all of the church family uh thank you for your continued prayers and support. a lot of activities this time of the year uh with the Apostolic Christian School and thank you for your faithfulness uh assisting being involved uh our uh the wonderful services we had with the Krauss from Germany last Sunday. God's just doing a lot of marvelous things for us and we are uh enjoying the journey in him. Do give honor to Bishop and Sister Mcool. I love you dearly, Mom and Dad. To all of our leadership, all of our saints, all of our workers. Thank you once again on this Sunday for uh once again carrying the gospel. I'm so appreciative of the opportunities that God is affording us. I want to call your attention to a couple of verses of scripture. And I would uh first of all encourage everyone to relax uh and not get worried because I'm going to begin reading at Genesis 1 and1. But I promise we're not going all the way to the Revelation today. I I wouldn't keep you quite that long. But just stay with me. Most of you can quote uh this first passage. We'll begin reading at Genesis 1 and one. We read in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Then in chapter two beginning with verse number one we read thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made. and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. Notice Genesis 1 and said in the beginning God created. Genesis 2 and one said the heavens and the earth were finished. And verse two says on the seventh day God ended his work and then he rested. So from Genesis 1 to Genesis 2, we're talking about six of God's days that this great heavens and earth was created. So my title this morning would simply be, "What is God up to now?" What is God up to now? Let's pray. Savior, we love you. God, I'm so thankful for this wonderful crowd of believers. I thank you for your mighty presence that has been manifest in this place. Lord Jesus, I pray that you would stir all of our hearts with which you live down inside us to receive your word and find encouragement and strength. Lord, if there's one here in this house that's not yet turned their life over to you, I pray that your word would encourage repentance, encourage obedience to your word. Lord, we thank you for this opportunity. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. And amen. When we read in Genesis 1 and1, it is amazing to recall all that God did in six days of creation. Think about all of the ecological systems, all the climates, the solar system, Earth and its location within that solar system, all the intricacies of life, plants, systems such as photosynthesis, animal life and their instincts, the relationships of plants and animals, all their functions. The innate survival instinct of all life DNA. Now the things that I've named it it starts making your mind go. There are individuals with much more education than mine that have just one of those intricacies. They have devoted their entire life to studying and trying to unlock all of the secrets of those systems and all of those things that we named. And mankind has frankly just barely scratched the surface when we think of all that God created in six days. And verse one of chapter 2 said, "And thus the heavens and the earth were finished." He said, "I'm I'm finished after six. I'm going I'm going to take a break after six days." He rested on the seventh day. Scripture tells us, well, mankind thinks that in our own little finite world that wherever we find ourselves in history, we've gone just about as far as we can go. There's a story that has been perpetuated through US history that's told about the head of the US patent office in 1899 was said to have given his resignation to President McKinley. He was urging that the US patent office be closed because quote everything that could be invented had been invented in 1899. I heard President Reagan tell that story. Everything that had been invented could be in that could be invented had been invented. So let's shut down the US patent office. It would be easy for us in a spiritual sense to believe that when God created the heavens and the earth and mankind even of our own thinking could think that well God was finished with everything he was going to create. In fact, second Peter 3 3 and 4 addresses the way flesh thinks. It says, "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers." You know, those folks who mock and make fun of others ideas of religion or moral values. In the last days there would be scoffers come and it said walking after their own lust. Those who have their own personal agenda and saying where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. He finished in six days and nothing's really changed. Even those who would say they are agnostic, they doubt God, but they're wanting to leave just a little window open just in case. Well, God finished in in six days and nothing has changed since then. There would be those who would try to claim that after the creation, nothing has really changed in mankind. In fact, the enemy of God, Satan himself, would want to destroy God's perfection that he created in those six days. He would try to destroy a perfect relationship that God wanted to have with mankind, with our existence. So, Satan devised something. Satan devised sin. God created the heavens and the earth, but Satan would devise sin. For in Genesis 3:1, we read, "Now the serpent was the more subtle. He was more refined, shrewd, clever than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." And he said unto the woman, "Yay, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Now, take a moment. I want you to notice the enemy's strategy to converse with Eve. His opening statement was a lie. What's the old saying? And how do you know the devil's lying? Cuz his mouth's moving. HIS VERY FIRST STATEMENT, "YAY, HATH GOD SAID, YE SHALL NOT EAT of every tree of the garden." Satan knew better. That wasn't what God had commanded. But Satan in his very first statement skewed God's plan for man. And the reason he DID IT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS WANTING TO cultivate a conversation between himself and Eve. For the Bible says that the woman said unto the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the tree of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden." God had said, "Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." She tried to straighten him out. But you see, he had already cultivated a conversation. Sometimes if the enemy can just get you listening to him and talking, he wants to bring confusion into your mind and into your thoughts. >> There's some things you don't even need to talk to the enemy about. when he tries to try tries to put a conversation between you about what's right and wrong, you already know what the laws of God are. She quoted what the real law was. And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die." He starts disputing God's law. You see, here was another lie with intent to drive a wedge between man and God. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God's, knowing good and evil." Still yet another lie. He's trying to diminish the deity and the authority of God. His motives were impure. He's looking to separate God and man. Verse six says, "And when the woman saw the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." Notice the serpent's methods. He made a ridiculous claim concerning God's law and put Eve on the defensive. And he also established dialogue between them. Let me tell you, if the enemy can put doubt in your mind about God's laws, he's already accomplished the first step of putting division between you and God. Oh, you just don't have to live that close. Oh, you just don't have to give your life completely up. You, you know, uh, if you turn your life OVER TO GOD, YOU'RE GOING TO MISS OUT ON SO MUCH OF THE world's fun. In other words, he appealed to her basic fleshly natures. Good for food. It looked good. It was going to make her wise. When God's law was presented as truth, he disputed it. He questioned God's motives. He said, "Oh, the re only reason God would want it to be that way is because he don't want you to have or be equal with him." You think about what we're facing today. Much of mankind in our so-called wisdom feels that we are wiser than God. We figured things out. Oh, many of the headlines that we're seeing nowadays is controversy over AI, artificial intelligence. I saw a an interview here recently and I please I cast no dispersions on the individual for I know not his beliefs or background. So, let me give that disclaimer. But I saw Mark Zuckerberg, that's the way you say his name, interviewed and he was talking about his AI creature that he calls Muse. But he had named his muse. His muse name was a Grippa. And he spoke to his phone. He said, "Hey, a grippa." And the voice spoke back to him. Mark, how are you doing? Now it may be totally of coincidence. I would not say, but do you know what the most famous words that a grippa uttered in the Bible are? He said, "Almost thou persuadeest me to be a Christian. Let me tell us today devices are still being invented and I don't mean the mechanical part and the the uh uh uh intellectual uh advantages but I'm talking about there are things that are being made and created by the enemy himself to separate us from God to make man think he is equal with God. Let me tell you, whatever device comes along, whatever is created, it cannot come between us and God, it can never separate us from his wisdom and his infinite knowledge. FOR YOU SEE, THE GOD THAT CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH is still on THE THRONE. HE'S STILL IN CHARGE. NEVER LET YOURSELF FIND YOURSELF THINKING THAT MAN IS BECOMING EQUAL WITH GOD. It will not happen. The disputing would take place until sin would enter into the human family and Eve would violate the one law that God had said not to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So now God, what are you going to do about this? Disobedience has taken place. WHAT CAN YOU CREATE? YOU CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. What can you create to repair the violation of your one law? For you see, there was judgment and consequences, the curse that would go along with violating God's law. Oh, but God in his infinite wisdom said, "Here's what I'm going to create." He said, "I'm going to create blood sacrifice." Now, stay with me. I told you we'd start in Genesis, and I I realize we're not running the aisles, but I hope you're listening to me today. He didn't stop when he said he's finished creating the heavens and the earth. He knew in in the mind of God and his infinite wisdom that there would be A NEED. AND GOD CREATED BLOOD SACRIFICE, NOT TO FORGIVE SIN, BUT TO COVER SIN. In this particular dispensation of innocence, he would clothe man with a blood sacrifice, the death of an animal, and he would establish a new dispensation. God would create the blood sacrifice. From then even until now, there has been a perpetual conflict between the enemy and what God has for a relationship with man. In fact, man would become so wicked that God himself would repent himself of creating man. This would create another need for man. We find in Genesis 6:5, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Mankind without God will not get better. Mankind without God will not EVOLVE INTO GOODNESS. MANKIND WITHOUT GOD BECOMES EXCEEDINGLY and continually wicked. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth. And it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I WILL DESTROY MAN whom I have CREATED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH, both man and beast and CREEPING THING AND FOWLS of the air. And for it repenteth me that I have made them. God repented of his creation of six days. Oh, but scripture says in verse eight, God's about to create something else. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. AREN'T YOU THANKFUL THAT AFTER HE CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, AFTER HE CREATED A BLOOD SACRIFICE, GOD SAID, "I WANT TO MAKE UP SOMETHING. I'M GOING TO CREATE SOMETHING." IT'S CALLED GRACE. I'M GOING TO CREATE GRACE. BEFORE THEN, THERE WAS NO GRACE. THE GOD I'M SERVING CREATED GRACE JUST FOR ME. HE CREATED GRACE FOR EVERY ONE OF US IN THIS HOUSE. AREN'T YOU THANKFUL FOR THE GRACE OF GOD THAT HE CREATED FOR US? OH, SATAN THOUGHT, "I'VE GOT IT. I HE'S GOING TO HE'S GOING TO DESTROY THE WHOLE EARTH." OH, but he created grace. After all, if you'll recall, at the cross when flesh would cry out, Jesus said, "It is finished," Satan again thought he had victory. But notice what he didn't say. He didn't say, "I am finished." He said, "It is finished." Satan didn't understand what the it was when he said, "It is finished." Suddenly there was victory over death, over hell and over the grave. A NEW DISPENSATION HAD COME INTO BEING FOR THE BLOOD SACRIFICE THAT PUSHED SIN AHEAD YEAR AFTER YEAR SUDDENLY HAD BECOME THE ULTIMATE SUPREME SACRIFICE FOR THE WASHING AWAY OF OUR SINS. GOD HAD CREATED A NEW DISPENSATION WHEN JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS AND SAID IT IS FINISHED. HALLELUJAH. IT'S A NEW INVENTION FOR ME. WHAT'S GOD UP TO NOW? WHAT'S GOD UP TO NOW? I DON'T CARE HOW EVIL YOU THINK YOU'VE BEEN. GOD'S GOT SOMETHING TO FORGIVE YOU WITH. HE'S CREATED HIS GRACE FOR YOU. >> ISAIAH SAID IT THIS WAY. HE WAS WOUNDED FOR our transgressions. HE WAS BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES. THE CHASTISEMENT OF OUR PEACE WAS UPON HIM. AND WITH HIS stripes were healed. The wound that he took in his side, I'm inventing and solving your sin, the bruises that he suffered from the abuse of the Roman soldiers. It was for my wickedness, my iniquities. the stripes he TOOK ON HIS BACK, IT WAS FOR MY HEALING. If there's going to be sickness IN THE HUMAN FAMILY, THEN I'M GOING TO CREATE HEALING. >> But you see, every time Satan devises something, God creates something to defeat it. Proverbs 24:8 says, "He that debiseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person." Isaiah 59:2 said, "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear." Satan devised something. Scripture refers to it and identifies it. We've read and studied it before, but to read the laundry list off again just to see where I am in my humanity. In Galatians 5:19, here's all the things that Satan devised. Scripture calls it works of the flesh. Now, the works of the flesh are manifest. Which are these? Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, LASCIVIOUSNESS, IDOLATRY, WITCHCRAFT, HATRED, VARIANCE, EMULATION, WRATH, STRIFE, SEDITIONS, HERESY, ENVINGS, MURDERS, DRUNKENNESS, REVELINGS, and such like of what I tell you before, as I have also told you in times past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, if I read that laundry list, you said, checked them off. None of those are me. Scripture also says all liars shall find >> their place. You see, we're all in that list right there. Our flesh, every one of us is found in that list in the desires of our flesh. But you see, when the enemy devised less of the flesh, God said, "Well, I'm going to create the fruits of the spirit." Here's my list. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, TEMPERANCE. AGAINST SUCH THERE IS NO LAW. AND THEY THAT ARE CHRIST HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH WITH THE AFFECTIONS OF THE LUST. FOR IF WE LIVE IN THE SPIRIT, LET US WALK IN THE SPIRIT. I'M HERE TO TELL YOU, DEVIL, WHATEVER YOU'VE TRIED TO DEVISE FOR ME, GOD'S GOING TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT'LL TAKE CARE OF IT. GOD, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO NOW? I THOUGHT I WAS TOO EVIL. I THOUGHT I WAS TOO FAR DOWN. LET ME TELL YOU, THERE'S PEOPLE IN THIS HOUSE TODAY, THE ENEMY'S BEEN LYING TO YOU. HE'S BEEN TELLING YOU, YOU'VE DONE TOO MUCH. YOU'VE GOT TOO MUCH OF A PAST. I'M HERE TO TELL YOU, GOD'S GOT GRACE FOR YOU TODAY. HE'S HERE TO FORGIVE YOU OF YOUR SINS. >> OH, PREACHER, you're screaming. You better know I am. I WANT YOU TO HEAR IT. >> YOU JUST HADN'T DONE ENOUGH >> THAT HIS GRACE CAN'T FIX WHAT YOU'VE MESSED UP. >> SO, what's he up to now? 2 Samuel 14:14 says, "For we must needs die." We got to die up to the flesh. And are as water spilt on the ground. Your past is as water spilled on. You can't pick it up. Can't gather it up. Which cannot be gathered up again. Neither neither does God respect any person. Bro Mcool, you can preach like that. You're a multi-generation apostolic. Listen, if you didn't couldn't even spell apostolic, if I spotted you the A, it doesn't matter. If you're multi-generational or just hearing the gospel for the first time, God is no respector of persons. those who would try to divide humanity because of who we are or who we're not because of the color of our skin or our ethnicity. God is no respector of person. IT MATTERS NOT WHAT COUNTRY YOU WERE BORN INTO OR WHERE YOU'VE COME FROM. God is no respector of persons. HE LOVES EVERY ONE OF US EQUALLY. HE CARES ABOUT EVERY ONE OF US EQUALLY. HE PUT GRACE TOGETHER. HE INVENTED GRACE FOR EVERYBODY IN THE HOUSE. >> DON'T GET TO THINKING THAT SOMEBODY'S BETTER AND THEY'VE GOT AN ADVANTAGE WHEN IT COMES TO GOD. >> And notice what it said. YET DOTH HE DEISETH means that his banished be not expelled from him. That term devise means to plot, to invent, to create. See, God, that great creator of the heavens and the earth, he's still creating ways. He's devising means away that is banished. What does it mean to be banished? To be exiled, to expatriate, TO OSTRACIZE, TO OUST HE devised means that those that do not deserve to be in the safety of his salvation that they be not expelled. To be expelled means to be permanently dismissed. You see, Satan and his followers were expelled from heaven. And ever since then, he's been wanting to get every bit of the human family to join his expelled group. But all the time, God's been creating, devising means that has banished those that deserve to not be not be permanently dismissed. Now, preacher, are you saying he says cover sin? Of course not. Second Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." He created repentance. in the book of numbers the 12th chapter. I will not read the entire passage but I'll kind of paraphrase for the sake of time. We find a passage of scripture of couple of folks that had to be banished but there was a means devised that they be not expelled. So in Numbers 12:1 we read, "And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married, for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, "Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?" And the Lord heard it. Now, Miriam and Aaron, a priest, these were both people in leadership, but they came up against Moses because they didn't like something Moses had done in his personal life. They didn't approve of who he had married. Now, you can try to read all things into there's been a lot of misinterpretations of this passage of scripture. Bottom line, scripture doesn't say, and there's no no need for us to try to figure out. Bottom line was they criticized a personal relationship that Moses had. And when they criticized it, God was listening. Let me tell you, before you run your mouth too much about anything, you better know God's listening. Before you get your nose in too much and you interject yourself into things that you have no business being involved in, you better know that God's listening. I got news for you. If Moses was doing right, wrong, God was going to take care of it. But their attitude toward Moses and his leadership, now you think of all that Moses had led God's people from up to that point. Now, are you saying Moses was infallible? Absolutely not. It would be Moses who would violate commandments of God that would keep him from entering into the promised land. He would see it but not get to put his feet there. But in this particular instance, he had not violated something that God had a problem with. But it was their own personal likes, dislikes, their own personal prejudices that they found themselves criticizing God's leader who was called. God was listening. Scripture says it gives a a description of Moses personality. Then it says, "Now the man Moses was very meek above all men which were upon the face of the earth." We can go back and look at Moses history. He he was very reluctant to even be the mouthpiece of God. He he had a uh a a difficulty in speaking and and he he had to meet some challenges in his own life to even be God's mouthpiece to Pharaoh. But now he's being criticized by his own. And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses and unto Aaron and Miriam. He God spoke to all three of them. HE SAID, "COME OUT ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation." And they three, the three came out. Now understand, they said, "The Lord speaks to us just like he does Moses." And the Lord came down in a pillar of the cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forth. And he said, "Hear now my words. If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and I will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouthto mouth. He said, let's establish something. When there's prophets around, I'll give them a dream. I'll give them an impression. He said, when I talk to Moses, we get face to face. He said, "I have a special calling on Moses, and you've disputed. You've criticized something you should have kept your hands off of. Even apparently, and not in dark speeches, the similitude of the Lord shall behold. Wherefore then ye where ye not af were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" He said, "Who do you think you are?" is basically what God is saying. You got a little too struck on yourself and think you're equal with Moses. He said, "I speak to Moses face to face." This was a particular relationship. >> And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle. And behold, Miriam became lepous, white as snow. And Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was lepous. Now to give the quick definition to be a leper in this day. Leprosy is a damaging of the nerves and nervous system, the respiratory system, the skin and the eyes. It's damage. If you look up the definition of leprosy may result in a lack of the ability to feel pain which leads to a loss of parts of the extremities. A very horrible disease that she would be unable to feel and she would injure herself not even know she was injured. Her her skin became white as snow. It says immediately God struck her with leprosy. And some have asked, well, why did God strike her and not Aaron? Well, I would give you my opinion. For Aaron was the priest. It was the priest's job in that day to identify when someone had leprosy. For when someone had leprosy, they were banished from the camp because it was quite contagious. If someone had leprosy, even the laws of that day required if someone was lep lepous, they had to leave all human contact. And if they were approached by human contact, they had to cry out, "I'm a leper. I'm a leper. Don't get close to me. It was a expulsion, if you will, from human contact. But God said, "I'm going to give it to Miriam and Aaron. You're going to be the one that has to testify that she's got it. You're the priest. I'm going to make sure that both of you understand the consequences of what you have done. Sounds like they're being expelled to me, not just banished. But scripture goes on. Verse 11 says, "And Aaron said unto Moses, alas, my Lord, I beseech thee, lay not thy sin upon us, wherein where we have done foolishness, and wherein we have finished." That's called repentance. He started apologizing and repenting. Let her not be as one dead of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. God right now is devising a way to avoid expulsion. And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, "Heal her now, oh God, I beseech thee." the very one who had been criticized, the very one who had been ridiculed and HIS AUTHORITY QUESTIONED. HE TURNS AROUND AND HE SAID, "OH GOD, WE SPEAK FACE TO FACE. I'M BEGGING YOU, GOD, WOULD YOU HEAL MIRIAM?" YOU SEE, SOMETIMES THE CHURCH CARES MORE ABOUT YOU THAN YOU CARE ABOUT YOURSELF. YOU MAY CRITICIZE. YOU MAY RIDICULE, BUT LET ME TELL YOU, THERE'S SOMEBODY PRAYING FOR YOU. THERE'S SOMEBODY THAT LOVES YOU. THERE'S SOMEBODY THAT CARES ABOUT YOU. OH, HALLELUJAH. AND THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES, IF HER FATHER HAD BUT SPIT IN HER FACE, should she not be ashamed seven days? He said, at the very least, had her father turned her away and dishonored her, she'd have to leave for seven days. Let her be shut out of the camp seven days. And after that, let her re be received in again. This is what the Lord told Moses to do. And Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days. And the people journeyied not till Miriam was brought in again. You know why the people didn't leave her out in the wilderness? Because they were following God's direction. He led with a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. If the cloud didn't move, they didn't move. If the fire didn't move, they didn't move. And God said, "We're gonna wait right here for seven days." What was he doing? He was devising a means that is banished. Be not expelled. So after seven days, scripture says, "And afterward, the people removed from Hazar and pitched in the wilderness of Pan. After seven days, Miriam was restored. And the same priest, Aaron, who had been a criticizer and then beg for forgiveness. He had had to identify that she was lepous, it would also be his responsibility to now identify that she's clean, she's healed, and she's made whole. Let me TELL YOU, GOD DEVISTH means >> that his banished be not expelled. Praise team musicians, get ready. So, what's God up to in your life today? There's some of you under the sound of my voice that you feel like you've made a real mess of your life. You feel like you're not even worthy to be in his presence. But I'm here to tell you, God's creating a means. He's developing. He's formulating the intricacies. He's concocting a new creation to bring forgiveness and salvation to every one of us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 said, "There hath no temptation taken you, but which as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above all that ye are able, but will with THE TEMPTATION ALSO make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it." God's got a way of escape from your situation. God's got forgiveness for your sin. God's got grace immeasurable. He's got an escape route. Would you stand with me? Yes. The enemy may place new temptations. Technology has separated much of mankind from God. But you know what God's doing? He's providing us means to carry the gospel through technology. He's devised, he's created a simple plan that if you obey that simple plan, it brings salvation. Repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. But I also want to finally give you some encouraging words about this. If God could create the heavens and the earth in six days, that's what Genesis said. And now he's been gone over 2,000 years. Man, what's he been doing over 2,000 years? IF YOU THINK OF THE GREATNESS OF THIS PLANET, YOU THINK OF THE GREATNESS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEMS, YOU THINK OF ALL THE GREATNESS THAT GOD CREATED IN SIX DAYS. WHAT HAS HE DONE IN OVER 2,000 YEARS? >> JOHN SAID IT THIS WAY, "LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED. YE BELIEVE IN GOD, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME. IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS. IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. OH, can everybody in the house, can everybody out there that's listening in, can we get it in our minds JUST HOW GREAT HEAVEN'S going to be? Our human understanding can't even COMPREHEND WHAT GOD HAS WAITING ON US. I submit if EVERYBODY REALLY REALIZED WHAT HEAVEN'S GOING TO BE LIKE, WE WOULD BE MORE INTENT on getting there. >> Hallelujah. 1 Corinthians 2:9 said this, "But as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him." OH MY LORD, HOW GREAT IS HEAVEN GOING TO BE? I WANT TO GO. I WANT EVERYBODY IN THIS HOUSE TO BE IN HEAVEN. I WANT TO TELL THIS WHOLE WORLD GOD'S DEVICE MEANS THERE'S A WAY TO GET THERE. I wonder if this great throng of believers in this house today. I wonder if we can just take a moment and reflect on how great heaven's going to be and we can re-examine our desire. Oh God, I don't want to be distracted by the lusts of the flesh. They're fleeting. They're shortterm. Oh God, don't let me be distracted. And Lord, don't let me be tempted by the devices that the enemy would place in my way to make me think that that's all that there is. Oh God, I pray that I can refocus and recalibrate my desires on heavenly things. Oh God, I pray that I would accept your mighty grace today. I would accept your mercy that you've so freely given me. Hallelujah. I wonder if we could step out from where we are and gather around the altar for a season of saying, "God, let me accept what you've created for me that I might be the servant that would please you. And God, I might take every step to never miss heaven. That I would not be banished. I would not be expelled. But God that your mighty grace would make a way. If you're in this house today and you haven't turned your life over to Jesus, would you come with us and would you lift your hands in repentance and say, "God, you've created a way of escape. I'm going to follow that path. I'm going to repent of all I've done wrong. God, I know your grace is sufficient for me." Would you love him together as we sing and worship the Lord? Hallelujah. >> Singing unto the Lord. >> Oh, and I'm coming alive with joy and destiny. You're restoring me. >> Let him restore you today. There's nothing too dirty that you can make worthy. You wash me in mercy. I am. >> Let him clean your soul today. There's nothing to die. >> Oh yeah. >> And you can make worthy. >> You wash me in mercy. I am. >> Sing it unto the Lord. Hallelujah. >> Washed in the blood of your sacrifice. Your blood glory has made me dirty are purified. >> I'm clean. I'm clean. Can you make that proclamation today? >> I've been washed in the blood. The sacrifice of glory are purified. I'm clean. I'm clean. Washed in the blood of your sacrifice. Your blood flow red my dirty rome. Hallelujah. There's nothing today that you can make worthy. >> You wash me in mercy. I am a just one more time. Hallelujah. There's nothing tonight >> that you can't make worthy in mercy. >> Would you thank the Lord for his cleansing power? Would you thank him for the shed blood that has washed us clean? for his grace, for his mercy, for his enduring love, for the fruit of his spirit that now lives in us. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Lord, bless you, First Apostolic Church. Let's go from this place excited about carrying the gospel to others. Please join us tonight. Prayer time at 6. Evangelistic service 6:30. Come expecting a great time in the Lord. Please greet your brothers and sisters in Jesus day. You are dismissed.