Sunday Morning Worship Service

Calling your attention to the book of Isaiah, chapter number one, verse number 18. We'll read one verse. Isaiah 1:18. Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Everybody say white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. for a few moments this morning. Don't anybody leave because of my title, but I would speak to you on this subject. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let's pray. Jesus, I love you. God, I'm grateful to be in your house. And I thank you for the precious saints of God who are here in this sanctuary, those who are tuning in on our multimedia platforms. Lord, I thank you for the workers who are faithfully here carrying the gospel to our city, to our region, around the world. I pray that your word would minister to our hearts today. Let us be fed. Let us receive and act upon your word today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. It is indeed exciting here in East Tennessee, as in most of the South, when the weather forecast starts predicting snow. A winter storm warning. And please know I'm not minimizing the safety concerns nor encouraging anyone to be cavalier or unsafe. But it's intriguing to observe everyone who starts making their contingency plans for these one or two inch blizzards that we sometimes have here. I'm frankly not completely understanding the correlation between purchasing bread and milk in a snowstorm, but that seems to be part of what everybody in this part of the country does. You know, I I suppose somebody sent me a text said milk and bread sandwich is for everyone. I I'm not sure what all that means. Most of us are probably familiar with a song that's entitled Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow. It has been popularized as a Christmas song and in fact is listed as one of Billboard's top 10 greatest holiday songs of all time. However, it was not originally intended as at all as a holiday song. In fact, in the heat of a California July day in 1945, according to the book Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas, the musicians Juel Stein and Sammy Khan pinned the song on a hot July day in Hollywood. They wanted to escape the toasty temperature and imagined a place much cooler. That's where the idea of let it snow was born. So if they could take such liberties in July, let me take some liberties with the weather situation and the forecasts that we've been experiencing. In our text, Isaiah uses the comparison of God's total forgiveness of sin to say, "No matter your sin, no matter how stained with sin your life is, HE CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE whiter than snow." If this ANALOGY IS JUST HOW CLEAN MY LIFE CAN BE, I'VE GOT A song I need to sing. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. I WANT THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD TO BE POURED OUT ON ME IN AN ABUNDANT WAY. LORD, SEND ME YOUR SPIRITUAL BLIZZARD OF FORGIVENESS. Why does he compare our sins to the colors scarlet or the colors red and crimson? There are glaring noticeable differences and changes between the color red and white. Obviously, we here in the south are well understanding the idea of stains. Our mud's even a different color. You go up north, they've got brown mud that seems to wash out a whole lot easier than the red clay of East Tennessee and Georgia and many of the southern states. But God's forgiveness is a cleansing agent that washes our souls and our sinful lives completely clean clean. It's a glaring contrast between red and white in this analogy. The red blood and the white snow. A life of unforgiven sin versus a forgiven life. But I know there are those of you who will say, "Pastor, I just don't like snow." I get it. But maybe that's because you've probably experienced it when it hindered you from doing something you wanted to do versus teachers and students who get a day free from school. But let's talk about when snow is a bad thing. In Chronicles, we find recorded the acts of a mighty man, Beniah, one of David's mighty men. In 1 Chronicles 11:22, we read, "Beniah, the son of Jaya, the son of a valiant man of Capzil, who had done many acts. He slew two lionlike men of Moab. Also, he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day." Please notice the analogy given in the victories of Beniah. He slew to lionlike men of Moab. What are lionlike men? What does that mean? You see, Moabites were godhaters. They were idoltors that hated the very mention of the true God. And it said they were lionlike men. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, BE VIGILANT, BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour." In your walk with God to be mighty, you will face in the flesh those who have devil motivated agendas. Never mistake, the enemy himself will be working in lives to fight against what you want to accomplish in the Lord. 1 Peter 4:12 said it this way, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials which is to try you AS THOUGH SOME STRANGE THING happened unto you. YOU'RE GOING TO FACE SOME ADVERSITY. YOU'RE GOING TO FACE SOME DEVIL INSPIRED ideologies and influenced individuals in your life. There will be those WHO WILL OUTNUMBER YOU. BENNY, I was outnumbered two to one by lying like men. But you see, those with devilish spirits and attitudes may try to gang up on you, but greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world. You see, Beniah was a mighty man. But scripture went on to say that he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day. Have you noticed in your life that Satan usually does not attack you when conditions and situations are in your favor? It seems that Satan attacks at the worst time, in the worst place, and under the worst circumstances. IT DIDN'T SAY THAT HE WENT up and slew a line on a beautiful sunny day on a level playing field. Notice everything THAT HE HAD GOING AGAINST HIM. HE HAD TO GO DOWN into a pit and fight a lion on a snowy day. The enemy will wait till it seems like the worst storm is in your life and then he wants to pile on. He wants to find you WITH EVERY SLIPPERY DAY OF ICE AND SNOW AND COLD AND MISERY and he wants you to be in a pit AND HE WANTS TO ATTACK. LET ME TELL YOU, MANY OF US WHEN DAYS LIKE THAT COME, WE WANT TO SAY, "SATAN, PLEASE DON'T ATTACK TODAY. You know, I'M WANTING TO CURL UP BY A WARM FIRE WITH A CUP OF HOT COCOA, but I'm here to tell you, you are mighty in the Lord. JOHN 14:12 SAID, "VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, he that BELIEVETH ON ME, THE WORKS that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do." HE SAID, "IF YOU ASK ANYTHING IN MY NAME, I'LL DO IT." If you feel like you're under attack, if it feel like the feels like the weather is not right, you need to wait on the Lord. The Psalmist said, "I waited patiently on the Lord, and he had inclined unto me and heard my cry." Where did he hear my cry from? HE BROUGHT ME UP ALSO OUT OF A HORRIBLE PIT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE FOUND YOUR LIFE IN during this past week or what you're facing this coming week. BUT IF YOU FEEL LIKE LIFE IS THE PITS, if you feel like you've gone as LOW AS YOU CAN GO, there's a storm IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR LIFE and you're facing the lion himself. HE WANTS TO BRING YOU OUT OF THE miry clay. He wants TO PUT YOUR FEET ON THE ROCK AND ESTABLISH YOUR GOING. HE'LL ESTABLISH YOUR DIRECTION. IT SAID HE PUT A NEW SONG IN MY HEART. >> Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. IF THAT MEANS FORGIVENESS, IF THAT MEANS POWER, LORD, PUT YOUR BLIZZARD OF FORGIVENESS ON ME. LET YOUR MERCY BE POURED OUT TODAY. >> It's time to become a mighty man like Beniah. >> But you see, there's more to it than that. The psalmist said in Psalms 91:11, "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against the stone." Pastor Anthony, keep your shoes tied. It even said, "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the See, you got to have good tread to get around in the snow. the young lion AND THE DRAGON SHALT THOU TRAMPLE under feet. I'M VICTORIOUS today over everything that the enemy would put in my way. I'M NOT AFRAID OF THE STORM. I'M NOT AFRAID OF THE COLD. WHY? BECAUSE HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER. HIS MERCY IS POURED OUT NEW EVERY DAY. THE word tells me I'm victorious. If you feel under attack, if you feel like you're in a pit, if you feel like you're suffering in a spiritual snowy day, the answer is to start praising the Lord. The Psalmist said this in Psalms 147:12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem. Praise thy God, O Zion, for he hath STRENGTHENED THEE. THE BARS OF THY GATES he hath blessed thy children within thee. Now listen carefully. He maketh peace in thy borders, and fillth thee with the finest of wheat. That's the God I'm serving. HE SENDETH FORTH his commandments upon the earth. His word runth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool. HE SCATTERTH THE HORROST LIKE ASHES. I don't care what the FORECAST IS. HE CASTETH FORTH HIS ICE LIKE MORSELS. Who can stand before his cold? Now I hope you can see the analogies here. And this then notice this statement. HE SENDETH out his word and melteth them. HE CAUSES HIS WIND TO BLOW AND THE WATERS FLOW. LET ME TELL YOU, THERE'S NO STORMS OF LIFE. THERE'S NO WINTER weather warning THAT I'M AFRAID OF BECAUSE I KNOW WHEN HE POURS OUT HIS FORGIVENESS. OH, HALLELUJAH. WHEN HE POURS OUT HIS MERCY, >> maybe you don't need mercy, man. I need a blizzard in my life. Maybe you don't need forgiven. I need a winter storm of mercy in my life. I need a blizzard. I NEED ONE OF EPIC PROPORTION. I NEED SNOWAGEDDON AGAIN WHEN FORGIVENESS COMES AROUND BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO HAPPEN TO MY SINS. THOUGH YOUR SINS BE AS SCARLET, THEY SHALL BE AS WOOL. THOUGH THEY BE RED LIKE CRIMSON, THEY SHALL BE WHITE AS SNOW. Praise team musicians get ready. I'm thankful for mercy and forgiveness. Proverbs said, "He that coverth sin shall not prosper, but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh him shall have mercy." How do we enact God's mercy? We forsake sin and we confess our sins. Now, that enacts God's mercy. That's confessing our sins is another way of saying we repent of our sins. The first step in the plan of salvation, you must repent of your sins. You know who you should repent to? The one who can forgive you. You see, there's too many folks want to tell everybody else around what they've done. We don't need to have public confession down front and everybody confess all their sins before the church. Church can't forgive you. But an altar of repentance where you kneel before God, whether it be in the church house or in your prayer closet at home. I don't have a prayer closet. You better make room for one. Everybody ought to have a place that they can go pray. Everybody ought to have a place they can kneel before the Lord and say, "God, I'm sorry. Listen, do you know why his mercy is new every morning? Because you need it every morning. I DON'T NEED YESTERDAY'S MERCY. TODAY'S A NEW DAY. I NEED TODAY'S MERCY FROM THE LORD. WHY? BECAUSE I'M FLESH AND I NEED MY SINS TO BE FORGIVEN every day. OH, BROTHER WHITLEY HAS SO BEAUTIFULLY TAUGHT US FROM FIRST JOHN ABOUT THE MERCIFUL God and how every day HE DESIRES TO FORGIVE THE FRESHNESS OF HIS MERCY. But if you cover your sins, you're not going to prosper. Scripture said, "But if you confess and then forsake, that means your intentions change." Will you be perfect? No. But your intentions change. It is your intentions in the lifestyle that you live, the places you go, the things you do, the things that you try to do or an attempt to forsake a sinful life. I read from one of the scriptures that Brother Whitley dwelt on. First John 1:9 said, "If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we've not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us." How do we make him a liar if we say we haven't sinned? Because the scripture says all have sinned and come short. So, are you going to believe the book or you gonna believe yourself? All have sinned. And then here's the prayer that we should be looking to pray. The psalmist in Psalms 32:5 said it this way. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Think about that. How profound, how beautiful, how lovey. I acknowledge my sin. That's repentance. But you see, I now that I've admitted it, what must I do? I must take on his name. I need to go down in the name of Jesus. I need to be baptized for the remission of my sins. Why do we say in baptism, "My brother or my sister, upon the confession of your faith and in obedience to the word of the Lord, I do now indeed baptize you in the name of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF YOUR SINS." FOR YOUR SINS TO BE REMITTED, YOU NEED TO TAKE ON THE NAME OF JESUS. OH, YOU WANT THAT STORM OF FORGIVENESS TO OVERSHADOW YOU. I NEED A SNOW DRIFT TO CLEANSE ME. I NEED TO BE WHITE AS SNOW. Stand with me. And you see, you're promised the gift of the Holy Ghost. It's just that simple. It's just that easy. So, pastor, what do you want to happen today? Here's what I want us to do on this day that we're thankful that we didn't get the brunt of a natural storm. I want us to in our life once again be grateful for a spiritual outpouring. Scripture tells us our God who is rich in mercy. I'm glad God's not having to ration mercy today. Aren't you? Aren't you glad he's not have to having to ration forgiveness? I don't have enough to go around. He's got enough forgiveness for everybody in the house. He's got enough forgiveness for everybody listening online. He's got enough FORGIVENESS FOR THIS WHOLE WORLD. But all I've got to do is claim my part by confessing to him and forsaking my sinful ways. Today, as the praise team steps out to lead us in song, I would ask everybody in the house, I want us to step out in the aisle and start making our way around the altar for a season of saying, "God, thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your for your forgiveness. Let it flow out on me like a storm. Lord, let it overtake me. Let it take over my life, Lord. Cleanse my life from unrighteousness. Lord, would you wash me clean white as snow? Let me be what you'd have me be. Would you come today thanking him for his mercy, for his forgiveness? >> If you have unforgiven sin in your life, >> it's unconfessed. I call you. I call you. >> Hallelujah. >> Risen and ready. Something comes out of the grave. Oh, >> every time I call you Jesus, I call you. I call you save. You're worthy of glory forever. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I call your name, change break way. Every time I call your name, the g of hell shake. Every time I call your name, change drive way. Every time I call your name, every time I call your name, Lord. Hallelujah. >> Hallelujah. Sing it under the Lord. Where is now your king? Where your name is your yeah is now yours and where all your death is Now your sing come alive. Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus. Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus. Dead things comes alive. Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus. Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive in the name of I call you Jesus. I call you. I call you healer. Risen and reigning in power. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I call you Jesus, I call you. I call you Savior. Worthy of glory forever. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I would lift your hands and love Jesus together right now. Hallelujah. We praise you, Savior. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your power. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. First Apostolic Church do love you dearly. Thank you for being here. And I pray that everyone will be safe and cautious. It is our intentions to be here in the house of the Lord. Service begins at 6:30 tonight. All of those involved in music and media, you will have your personal schedules ready. Uh I as we understand forecast for now, we should be good this evening. I would ask everyone