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Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000692S
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00:01 (Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:07 Sermon #B692 - Your Latter Will Be Greater Than Your Past 00:20 Dr. Byrd: and if you have a Bible, I want you to take them and turn with me to the Book of Job. 00:23 Job Chapter 8 is where we're going. Job Chapter 8, and I want to begin reading verse number one, 00:31 Job 8:1, your latter will be greater than your past. Your latter will be greater than your past. 00:38 The word of God says, "Then answered Bildad the Shuhite then said, 'How long wilt thou speak these things 00:45 and how long so the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind, doth God pervert judgment? Or 00:53 doth the Almighty pervert justice? If thy children have sinned against him 00:57 and he has cast them away for their transgressions; if thou wouldest seek unto God the times 01:03 and make my supplication to the Almighty; if thou were pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, 01:12 and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous." Verse 7 is the clincher here, 01:17 "Though thy beginning was small yet thy latter end should greatly increase." Let me say that one more time, 01:26 "Though thy beginning was small yet thy latter end should greatly increase." 01:35 Your latter will be greater than your past. 01:40 Father in heaven, right now we're about to go into your word and we need your Holy Ghost right now. 01:44 So forgive us of our sins, cleanse us from those things that are not right and pleasing in that sight. 01:48 Lord, I pray by the power of your Holy Ghost that you stop the devil 01:52 and his imps right now from seeking entrance in this place in the homes of your people wherever people might be, 01:59 that God, we might hear this word this day, disappoint us not, hide us behind the foot of Jesus Christ's cross. 02:06 We promise we'll give you the praise, God, and the glory for what you're gonna do today. Thank you, Lord, 02:12 for hearing this prayer. Thank you for answering this prayer, and thank you for this word we pray today. 02:17 In Jesus's name, amen, and amen. Your latter will be greater than your past. 02:28 Let me start this way today - 2020 thus far has been a year that many people want to forget. 02:40 The drama and the trauma that we've experienced this year has been problematic, to say the least. 02:51 There have been 45 million Covid-19 cases worldwide with 1.2 million deaths. In the United States alone, 02:58 there have been over nine million cases and 230 million deaths and things aren't going to get better 03:04 because things are getting worse with hospitals across the country being at full capacity and 03:09 there's another-- they're expecting I should say 250,000 people to be dead by Thanksgiving. 03:17 Not only that, this year the Atlantic hurricane season, there have been 28 tropical storms with 11 hurricanes 03:26 and four major hurricanes, eight of these 28 storms alone have hit the Gulf Coast with 143 persons losing their 03:35 lives, but not only that, there have been over 47,000 wildfires that have burned eight 03:43 and a half million acres across North America this year, 03:46 with yearly half of this acreage being in the state of California alone. 03:51 In California, there have been over 10,000 structures damaged or destroyed and at least 31 deaths. 03:58 The over 4 million acres burned in 2020 are the most in a single year since California fire 04:06 began keeping records and more than the three last years combined. But not only that, we've seen the unmerited, 04:15 unwarranted deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd 04:21 and others which have motivated the resurgence of global civil rights activism, social justice engagement, 04:29 and the continued fight against injustice, oppression, poverty, and racism. 04:35 In 2020, we've been through all types of issues, all types of drama, all types of mess. We've had problems. 04:48 We faced trials. We faced tribulations. We faced troubles. But in the name of Jesus, 04:57 I'm so glad that I know troubles don't last always. I'm so glad to know that weeping may endure for a night, 05:06 but joy comes in the morning time. I'm so glad that after the rain, the sun is going to shine again. 05:15 And I believe that while 2020 has been an unforgettable, unremarkable, unexplainable, problematic, 05:24 difficult trying year, I'm so glad today than my God's got the last word 05:30 and we've got two months that what are you talking about, Pastor? I'm just believing 05:35 and I'm claiming that in the final two months of this year, God is going to do some amazing, incredible, 05:41 miraculous, and marvelous things because I just believe that sometimes endings can be better than beginnings 05:48 and somebody's latter is going to be greater than their past because if you can handle tough times with faith, 05:54 demanding times with patience, dangerous times with trust, racist times with justice, bigoted times with love, 06:02 and stormy times with confidence, that God will see you through, 06:06 then you better believe that better day is coming after a while. 06:09 The life of Job illustrates this. The Bible says that Job is a prosperous man. Seven thousand sheep, 06:19 3,000 camels, 500 yokes of oxen, 500 female donkeys, seven sons, three daughters. The Bible says he was perfect. 06:31 He was upright. He was one who hated evil. And don't hate on Job 06:37 and don't hate on the modern-day Jobs of the world because God has blessed them. 06:42 Somebody knows you can be anointed and affluent at the same time. 06:46 The Bible said it was hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, 06:51 but the Bible did not say it was impossible. You can be rich and godly just like you can be poor and godly. 06:58 Godliness is not determined by how much you have but godliness is determined by who has you. 07:03 Are you hearing what I'm saying? Satan suggests to God that Job will remain might righteous as long as it was 07:10 profitably, financially profitable, I should say, for him to do so. The Lord then permits Satan to try Job's 07:18 faith as long as Satan doesn't take Job's life. 07:24 You know the story. Job loses his children, his servants, his livestock, he's left with nothing. 07:31 But the Bible says in Job 1:22 that in all of this, Job sinned not nor charge. God foolishly. 07:39 So does Satan do? Satan says to God, he says, look touch his bones, touch his flesh, 07:49 and surely he will curse you to your face. The Bible says that Job is afflicted with boils from the crown of 07:56 his head to the soles of his feet sitting in the midst of his ashes, Job's wife tells him to curse God 08:02 and die but Job, he refuses to curse God. He holds on to his faith in God 08:10 because he knew that his setbacks which is a setup for a comeback. 08:15 Now the story says that Job has three friends. Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar, and while he's going through it, 08:24 they all come to him. In the time of need, they come to him with sensitive and sympathetic hearts at first. 08:33 The Bible says in Job 2:13 that while they initially began their visit with him, 08:37 the Bible says it was seven days and seven nights. No one said a word 08:42 because they saw his suffering was too great for words. So they wept for him and they wept with him 08:50 and sat quietly with him as he grieved the loss of his children, his livelihood, and his health. 08:58 And sometimes this is all a person who is suffering or grief-stricken needs from you. Listen to me good. 09:05 Your presence is all they need. They don't need sermons or opinions. They just need a friend. 09:14 They just need a shoulder to lean on. They just need the presence of their friends. 09:19 Are you hearing what I'm saying? No talking. No preaching. Just be there. 09:25 Job's friends are quiet. But the Bible teaches they don't remain quiet. 09:31 They began to share why they felt Job was going through what he was going through. Job's friends 09:37 and even Job himself adhere to a strict cause and effect law of blessing and cursing. 09:45 They believe that God always blessed good people and God always cursed bad people. 09:52 Good people were never to suffer and bad people were the only ones who are to suffer 09:58 and so the three friends felt that it was their job to help Job admit to whatever sin in his life was 10:06 causing great suffering. Now before we're too hard on jobs three friends, 10:10 it's true that there are consequences to sin that caused suffering in our lives and the lives of others. 10:16 The Bible is true, you do reap what you sow, but this was not the case with Job. 10:22 Conventional wisdom is not always right. We can't always make sense of some things that happen. 10:29 We can't always explain the reason for our suffering. Everything does not always add up. 10:36 Now when you read the story of Job 10:38 and his three friends - Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar, 10:44 they all were wrong in their assumption that Job's suffering was evidence of his life or in the case of Bildad, 10:53 Bildad said Job's children's lives without God. 10:58 But there's something in Bildad's response that's worth noting in our sermon today. Bildad says in Job 8:7, 11:09 "Although thy beginning was small, thy latter end is going to greatly increase." Hallelujah, somebody. 11:19 That should make you want to shout at home. Let me say that one more time, "Although thy beginning was small, 11:27 thy latter end is going to greatly increase." 11:31 Understand Bildad is prophesying right here, but I don't even believe he knows what he's saying. 11:38 Job is in a situation that none of us would want to be in - no possesions, no position, no family, no future. 11:46 But Bildad, with inspired insight, is able to prophesy, though you're beginning was small, 11:55 though you might curse the day you were born, though you might have lost everything, 12:02 though your wife might have turned her back on you and told you to curse God and die, 12:08 though the friends who have come to visit you including Bildad himself blame your sin for the predicament that 12:16 you're in, your latter is going to be greater than your past. 12:22 Now, you need to know that in chapters 3, 6, and 7 of The Book of Job, Job pours out his heart 12:30 and he cries to God, trying to figure out why is all of this happening to me, why me? 12:36 But then in Job chapter 8, Bildad with spiritual insight is able to declare, "Though your beginning was small, 12:48 your end will increase greatly. Your latter will be greater than your past," 12:57 Let me tell you something. God has a plan for your increase. I said God has a plan for your increase 13:04 and you have to believe that it's the will of God for you to have increase in your life. It's not a curse. 13:09 It's not a shame for you to start small. In fact, most of us will start small in life 13:15 but God's will for us is to increase in life, and to progress in life, you don't have to settle for a small life. 13:23 God didn't invest in you and your redemption only to be expecting a small outcome. 13:30 God wants you to live your life to the fullest, smallness is not his plan for you. 13:34 He wants your latter to be greater than your past and don't let the devil make you believe anything different. 13:40 In fact, let me remind you that the devil is not your friend. 13:43 The devil is your enemy and the devil wants to play the motion picture of your past continuously. 13:49 Your past is designed to keep you down and keep you where you are. 13:53 But friends of mine, if you press forward God already has prepared your future in a way that you can't even 13:59 imagine. God has already prepared a future for you that's going to blow your mind. 14:04 The devil can't stop God from working on your behalf. The only one that can stop God working for you is you 14:11 and the devil will try to make you think that you are powerless. 14:14 He wants you to think you can't change your past. He wants you to think you can't change certain aspects of your 14:19 life but the devil is a liar. He lied to your mama. He lied to your daddy. He lied to your grandmama. 14:25 He lied to your granddaddy and he's trying to lie to you. He's the father of lies, 14:29 but I want somebody to know today you are not powerless. You are powerful. 14:34 You're stronger than you think because while the devil has power, you've got some power too. 14:39 Greater Is He that is in me than he that is in the world. That's why Job was able to say, Naked I came I in this world, naked I 14:46 shall leave. the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away but blessed be the name of the 14:50 Lord all of the days of my appointed time. I'm going to wait until my change comes. 14:57 It's not how you start but how you finish. If you don't believe me ask Job. If you don't believe me ask David, 15:05 ask Rahab, ask Samson, ask Peter, ask James, ask John, ask Paul, 15:11 ask the woman caught in the very act of adultery, ask the woman with the issue of blood, 15:16 ask the Samaritan woman at the well, ask Zacchaeus, ask Mary Magdalene, ask the thief on the cross. 15:23 Your latter would be greater than your past. 15:28 There are many stories and many things, tidbits, and nuggets that I find in the story of Job 15:33 and this single text, this one text in particular. 15:36 But there are three things I want to mention then I'm gonna sit down. 15:38 I shared them earlier in this flow of the sermon but I want to accentuate them right now. 15:43 Lesson number one - you better remember God's timing is always perfect. I said God's timing is always perfect. 15:50 God's never early, God's never late because he's always right on time. 15:54 I remember the old folks used to say all the time, "He may not come when you want it, 15:58 but he's always right on time." I wish I had a witness in this place. Our timing is not God's timing. 16:04 For us, God's timing often feels like a long desperate delay, but delay is not denial. 16:10 Are you hearing what I'm saying? God's perfect timing does two things, number one, 16:14 it grows our faith as we're forced to trust and wait on the Lord; number two, it makes certain that God 16:20 and God alone gets all the praise, gets all the honor, gets all the glory for pulling us through 16:27 and I'm a living witness today that God will provide for your need. At the right time, God will protect you. 16:34 At the right time, God will deliver you. At the right time, God will rescue you. At the right time, 16:40 God will restore you. At the right time, God will save you at the right time, which is his time. 16:47 Number two, God's ways are not always our ways. 16:53 Isaiah 55:8-9, "Make it clear that his thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways." 16:59 Remember when I repeated and said Jeremiah's question earlier, why do the wicked prosper? 17:05 Why does it seem that the good folks lose out and you can be a vegan but still get cancer? 17:11 Remember I said that? Well, God's ways are not our ways. Remember God has an eternal perspective, 17:19 God is the great I Am. God knows the past, the present, and the future and what do we know? Nothing. 17:29 Nothing compared to God. You see let's break this down. 17:36 If I were Jesus, when word got to me that Lazarus was sick, I would have healed Lazarus immediately. 17:48 I would have healed him right then but because Jesus wanted to stretch the faith of his disciples who after 17:57 Jesus's death would be the catalyst to take the gospel message of Christ to the entire world, 18:03 he waited four days. So now the disciples knew that he had the power to heal people. They knew that. 18:11 But to heal a four-day corpse that's taken faith to another level. 18:16 If I had been Jesus I would have just healed the blind man in John Chapter 9 by saying, "Your eyes be healed," 18:26 but Jesus didn't do it that way. Jesus wanted the blind man, his parents, the Pharisees, 18:34 and he wanted us to know that sometimes God's way of healing, 18:39 God's way of bringing you out may not be the way you want it to come out. 18:43 Sometimes I've learned in my life when God is trying to bring you out, 18:48 God does not bring you out comfortable or classy. He does not bring you out refined or polish. 18:54 Sometimes you got to have spit on your eyes. Sometimes you've got to have mud on your face, 19:00 sometimes you got to be in a pig pin. So when you do come out, you know, it wasn't your mama. 19:07 It wasn't your daddy. It wasn't the preacher. It wasn't the church. It wasn't the children, 19:13 but it was nobody but Jesus who brought you out. 19:17 If I had been Jesus I would have just told the man in Mark chapter 2 who was sick of the palsy whose friends 19:23 had to lowered him to the roof. I would have just said, "Arise, pick up thy bed and walk," 19:28 but Jesus, no, no, no. Jesus said thy sins be forgiven thee. Now, remember the scribes 19:35 and Pharisees said only God could forgive sin and Jesus was guilty of blasphemy 19:41 because he couldn't forgive sin because he wasn't God, but because Jesus was God, 19:47 Jesus said thy sins be forgiven thee. In fact, he actually said what is easier to say, 19:57 thy sins be forgiven thee or take up thy bed and walk. Jesus told the man what to do 20:04 because he had already given him the power to do it. God's ways are not our ways 20:10 and knowing God's ways are not my ways means that I have to put all my faith and trust in his ways. 20:16 Last lesson - God always has the final say. 20:22 Remember I told you earlier in the sermon that God's got the last word. 20:28 No matter how bad the situation, thank you, Jesus. No matter how impossible the situation appears, 20:35 no matter how awful you feel, no matter how there appears to be no answer, no help, no hope, 20:43 God will see you through because God's got the last word. You see friends, 20:50 we put periods in our lives where God puts commas. We think it's over, period. Our jobs, period. 21:01 Our families, period. Our marriages, period. Our children, period. Our health, period. Our futures, period. 21:12 The world put a period at Jesus' death but God had the last word. Jesus died on Friday. 21:22 Jesus lay resting in the grave on the Sabbath but early Sunday morning on the third appointed day, 21:30 God raised Jesus from the dead and he's alive. Oh, death, where is thy sting? 21:37 Oh, grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law, 21:46 but thanks be to God who gives us victory in Jesus Christ because of Jesus' death 21:52 and the grave no longer have the last word in our lives. Jesus has the last word and because he lives, we live. 22:01 Because he got up one day the dead in Christ are going to get up 22:06 and then they're going to be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in there, 22:11 and so shall we ever be with the Lord. This is the great ending that God is planning for you. 22:19 Oh, help me, Holy Ghost. 22:21 I said this is the great ending God is preparing for you. Not fourteen thousand sheep, not six thousand camels, 22:33 not 1,000 yokes of oxen, not 1,000 female donkeys, not seven sons or three daughters, 22:42 but God for you have a greater ending than even Job enjoyed. God has planned for your eternal life. 22:52 God has prepared a house for you by Jesus himself. Let not your heart be troubled. 22:58 You who believe in God believe also in me, 23:01 in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go 23:06 and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, 23:08 I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also 23:14 and that's why I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free, His eye is on the sparrow, 23:21 and I know he watches after me. 23:23 So, excuse me if I get loud sometimes. Excuse me, if I stomp my feet sometimes. 23:30 Excuse me, if I clap my hands sometimes. Excuse me, if I lay down my dignity sometimes. 23:37 I know I went to college. I know I went to graduate school but before I went to Oakwood, 23:42 before I went to Andrews, I went to Jesus and He gave me joy that this world can't give 23:48 and a joy that the world can't take away and Jesus told me that my latter is going to be greater than my past. 23:58 So coronavirus is here. Hurricanes are here. Wildfires are here. Racism is here. A national election is here. 24:15 Drama is here. Poverty is here. Unemployment is here. Depression is here. Fear is here. 24:33 But God told me to tell somebody today that your latter will be greater than your past 24:42 and I believe that God is about to do something big for his glory. 24:48 Yes, 2020 has been rough, but it ain't over until God says so. Yes, 2020 has been tough, 24:57 but it ain't over until God says so. God's got the last word. God's ways are not your ways. 25:06 God's timing is not your timing. God's way is perfect. 2020 may be bad, but I sense something, 25:17 I sense something about to happen in November. I sense mighty things occurring in December. 25:24 The devil can only have his way but so long God's got the last word. Chains are going to be broken, 25:32 addictions alleviated, strongholds pulled down, wrongs made right, a way out of no way. 25:41 Something good is about to happen. Somebody's about to get a job. 25:46 Somebody's child is about to come back to Jesus. Somebody's marriage is going to be restored. 25:52 Somebody's cancer is gone in remission. Somebody's about to get a scholarship. 25:57 My house note is about to be paid. It's about to happen. Your latter is greater than your past. 26:06 So if I were the devil I run up out of here. If I-- if I were Eliphas, Bildad, 26:11 and Zophar I'd look for the closest exit. Why do I say that? I say it all the time - cancer backup, 26:19 coronavirus back up, hurricanes back up, wildfires back up, depression back up, fear back up, debt back up, 26:28 divorce back up, suicide back up, poverty back up, mental abuse back up, physical abuse back up, 26:37 sexual abuse back up, physical everything back up because somebody's latter will be greater than their past. 26:48 A woman came to the pastor, told the pastor, "Pastor, it's been a rough 2020. I've gone through bankruptcy." 26:59 He said, "Praise the Lord." She said, "I've gone through a breakup." He said, "Praise the Lord." 27:06 She said, "I've gone through pain and suffering." He said, "Praise the Lord." She said, "Wait a minute, 27:13 Brother Pastor, you're making fun of me, you're making a mockery of me. 27:18 I told you I was going through bankruptcy. I told you I was going through a bankruptcy. 27:22 I told you I was going through pain and suffering and you're talking about praise the Lord." 27:27 The Pastor said to the church member. He said, "Lady, I'm praising the Lord, sister, 27:30 because you said you were going through. But you were not there to stay." 27:35 I wish I had a witness in this place and I'm here to let somebody know who's right now watching you may be 27:41 going through it, but you're not there to stay. 27:45 You need to understand that God is going to bring you through that thing and that your latter is going to be 27:51 greater than your past. 27:54 Thank you very much for tuning in to this week's Breath of Life broadcast. 27:59 We hope and pray that you've been blessed by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 28:03 If you would like to hear this sermon in its entirety, 28:06 please feel free to visit us at www.breathoflife.tv. 28:12 Or, call us at (256) 929-6460. 28:25 When I was eight years old, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. 28:30 When I was fifthteen, I had my first surgery. When I think about the time that I lost 28:41 during my adolescent years, I just can't seem to put it togther. Even now I'm doing 28:52 treatment for my disease. Everyone experiences loss. It's not of matter of if but when. 29:05 www.breathoflife.tv 29:13 [END] |
Revised 2020-11-10