Participants:
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000702S
|
00:01 (Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:06 Sermon #B702 - A New Creation 00:20 Dr. Byrd: And we ask that you now, if you would take your Bibles and go with me to the book of 2 Corinthians. 00:26 Just one text, one verse today. 2 Corinthians 5:17. 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Apostle Paul is speaking. 00:38 The word of God says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: 00:48 old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Let me say that one more time. 00:54 The Apostle Paul says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; 01:03 behold, all things are become new." Our sermon title for today is simply, A New Creation. A New Creation. 01:11 Father, in the name of Jesus, through the intercession of the Holy Ghost, you are already here. 01:16 And so we ask that you would just tabernacle with us right now in this sanctuary. 01:21 Tabernacle with us over the internet airwaves and the television airwaves right now. 01:26 Fill us with your spirit, anoint us with your grace. Give us something we need today, 01:31 Lord. We need it. We need it. Speak through me to speak to your people and God after this service, 01:38 after we would have spent this time today together with you, we will be able to say it was good for the time well spent. 01:45 Now, forgive us of our sins, hide me behind your cross. We give you praise. We give you honor. 01:51 We give you glory. Speak a word. Say a word. It's in Jesus' name we pray, asking that at the appeal time, 02:00 that by the power of your holy spirit, oh God, that you would move and men, women, boys, and girls would surrender 02:05 and give their lives to you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 02:13 A new creation. A new creation. It's the new year. 2020 is over and we're now in 2021 and whenever we get to a new year, 02:28 we always tend to look back at the old year to evaluate our successes and our failures. Now it's hard - not hard, 02:39 I should say to look back at 2020 and conclude that 2020 was a rough year 02:50 and by the looks of what is already transpired in the first 15 days of 2021, things are not getting better. 02:59 I wish I had a witness in this place. But when we look back at last year, 03:06 we look to see what lessons we learn so we can do better this year. And because people are trying to do better, 03:18 many people make New Year's resolutions to either break bad habits or to adopt new and better habits. 03:29 Now, most times these resolutions are not about becoming a new person, 03:37 but they're about making some changes in our lives to become a better person. 03:44 But today, I'm not interested in talking about changes in our lives to 03:51 become a better person like New Year's resolutions to lose weight, eat healthier, write a book, watch less television, 04:05 get out of debt, or travel more. 04:09 But today I want to talk to you about the complete transformations of our lives to become a new person. 04:19 So I'm talking not about just a better person, but I'm talking about becoming a new person. 04:28 I'm talking about complete restoration, not simply a makeover but a complete do-over. 04:37 You see, I want to make this clear. You're not going to make it in this year with last year's mentality. 04:45 We're living in a new normal and I'm not just talking about the Coronavirus, racial unrest, or political chaos. 04:56 But today I'm talking about the fact that the spirit of God is being withdrawn from this earth 05:03 and God's spirit will not always strive with man. Today, I'm talking about the fact that Jesus Christ is soon to come. 05:15 So let me say this to everybody on the front end, anything that does not glorify God in your life in 2021, 05:23 you need to cut it off. Mess - cut it off, drama - cut it off, confusion - cut it off, gossip - cut it off. 05:37 There may be even some people in your family that you need to cut off. Stop letting them make you feel bad 05:44 because you're being blessed. I've got a beautiful wife. We have three beautiful daughters, 05:51 a wonderful church, a wonderful ministry and I'm not apologizing anymore for how God is blessing me. 05:59 I'm obedient to God's word and with obedience comes blessings 06:05 and I made up in my mind that regardless of what people might say, regardless of what people might do, 06:13 I'm not going to let them make me feel bad because I'm trying to live right. 06:18 Folks have spent all their money on foolishness and nonsense, yet you tithed and returned offering, 06:24 and the Lord has blessed you but they think you ought to give them all of yours. No, you need to cut them off. 06:31 Are you hearing what I'm saying? There are some friends dragging you down with all their mess and their confusion 06:37 and drama cut them off, ignore their calls, unfriend them on Facebook, don't respond to their emails or their texts. 06:46 When you see them coming, go the other way. I do believe that caller ID is God-ordained. I'm not answering that 06:56 because there's nothing good coming out of that. God's not in that. 07:01 What it took five seconds to get in your spirit could take five years to get out. 07:07 Are you hearing what I'm saying? Cut them off. 07:11 You can do bad by yourself. You're just not trying to be a better person in 2021, but you're trying to be a new person. 07:18 Paul says, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, all things become new," 07:27 but what exactly does it mean to be new? Does it mean just I'm going to get taller, I'm going to get smarter, 07:36 or I'm going to get shorter? Does it mean that I am going to get a new name and I've got to get a new driver's license? 07:43 Does it mean I've got to get a new family or a new job? What is Paul talking about when he talks about a new creature? 07:51 So I've got three points Imma making, Imma sit down. Number one, a new creation means a new person. 07:58 I said a new creation means a new person. When we say creation, we're talking about something created by God 08:04 and you need to know that God will still be God even if God didn't create. I wish I had a witness in this place. 08:10 But God out of his godliness decided he was going to create the heavens and the earth. 08:16 The Bible is clear in Genesis 1:1-2, "In the beginning, God created the heavens 08:22 and the Earth and the Earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep 08:27 and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," understand what happened my friends. 08:33 God moved over this muddy mess, steps into gross darkness with nothing to help him 08:39 but the power of his mouth and he said, "Let there be light." Notice God commanded light. 08:47 He didn't create light necessarily. He commanded light. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 08:53 He didn't take two sticks and rub them together and try to make a fire to make light. 08:58 He didn't go through any human manufacturing of his light through the capturing of electricity. 09:04 No, God commanded light by the authority of his mouth. God created this world out of nothing. 09:12 There is no matter, no energy, no reality, no time, no being, there is no person, no place, 09:20 no thing that God did not create. If God didn't create it, it doesn't exist. 09:26 Nothing that exists is independent of God's sovereign will and creative action. 09:31 And because God created the world out of nothing, only God is supreme. 09:36 Because God created the world out of nothing the world which once was nothingness is not to be feared or worshipped 09:44 but it's to be examined, understood, enjoyed, developed, utilized, and enhanced. We don't have to worship the sun, 09:54 the moon, the stars, the earth, the sky, the sea because the Bible teaches us all these things are exactly that - 10:01 things created by God. We don't have to check the horoscope, we don't have to check astrology, 10:08 Dear Abby, or palm reading Agnes to know our origin or destiny. Everything that has happened is happening 10:17 and will happen has been fixed and arranged by God's own power, God's own sovereignty, God's authority, creativity, 10:26 and love. The Bible does not explicitly describe for us a state or a condition of absolute nothingness. 10:35 So nothingness is very hard to understand. Nothingness is very difficult to conceptualize. 10:40 You can only conceptualize something that can be defined and named and described as discrete knowable and communicable. 10:46 If it's conceivable, it's something and if it's somethingness, it can't be nothingness 10:52 but yet God created something out of nothing, out of nothing, out of chaos, out of confusion, out of darkness, 11:02 out of a muddy mess. 11:05 God made something. On day one, light. On day two, the firmament. On day three, vegetation. 11:16 On day four, the sun, the moon, and the stars. On day five, fish and fowl. On day six, mammal and man. 11:26 God created creation. God created us but yet the text says, "If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature." 11:36 But what does Paul mean when he says a new creature? To understand the context of what Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 5, 11:43 we got to understand what Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians 4. Because in 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul says, 11:49 "For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge 11:57 of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." What is the apostle trying to tell us today? 12:03 What is he really trying to say? Notice that in this verse 2 Corinthians 4:6, 12:08 that he's connecting the god of Genesis 1 to the god of the Gospel. 12:13 He's connecting the work of the creator God to the work of the saving God just as creation came into existence 12:21 by the powerful word of God, a new creation has come through the powerful word that God speaks through the gospel. 12:28 That's why I said that a new creation means a new person because when God creates you over again, 12:36 he doesn't just wipe off the dirt and put some new clothes on you. 12:41 He completely changes you from the inside out making you into a brand-new person 12:48 and the agent for this change is Jesus Christ. But not only are you a new person in Jesus, 12:55 but Jesus is also the one for whom you now live. What am I talking about? When Jesus died for you, 13:04 Jesus did so to accomplish a management change in your heart where you don't live for yourself anymore 13:12 but Christ lives in you. I wish I had somebody who knew who I was talking about. 2 Corinthians 5:15, 13:19 two verses before verse 17 says, "And he died for all that they which should live, 13:25 should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again." 13:34 In other words, my friends, when Jesus died on the cross, we died with him. Let me say that one more time. 13:44 If you don't believe me read Romans 6, but when Jesus died on the cross, we died with him because as one has died for all, 13:54 all have died, and when it comes to the new or the newness of life, this new isn't solely about you. 14:03 It's not about you because you see, many people want newness, they want a second chance, and they want a fresh start. 14:11 They want, if you will, a do-over but don't get 2 Corinthians 5:17 mixed up, don't twist it 14:17 because they think newness means they can have a new life where they're still living for themselves. 14:24 So they do what they want with their time, they read what they want, they watch what they want, 14:29 they listen to what they want, their money goes where they want, the words that come out of their mouth are what they want, 14:35 who they spend time with is what and who they want, 14:37 how they dress and all that might be new in terms of how they used to live. 14:43 But the newness of this new creation that Paul is talking about is not any of these things 14:49 because your life can be new and all these things, but you can still be living for yourself. 14:55 But there's a difference between continuing to sin and continuing to live in sin. 15:03 No one reaches sinful-- sinless, excuse me. No one reaches sinless perfection in this life, 15:09 but the redeemed Christian is sanctified every day. That sanctification, God's imparted righteousness, 15:17 where day by day I grow into what God would have me to be. So I may not be what I should be 15:24 but I praise God I'm not what I used to be and I sin now less and I hate sin more each time I fail 15:34 and the difference now is that the new creation is no longer a slave to sin, but we are now free from sin 15:42 and it has no longer any power over us. So I'm freed from sin, I'm born again. Thank God for his blood. 15:51 But number two, a new creation means a new perspective. So number one, it means a new person but number two, 16:00 it means a new perspective. Now, when Paul talks about a new creature, he's also talking about a new perspective. 16:05 He's also talking about seeing things in a different way. He's talking about seeing things through new eyes. 16:11 We no longer see things from a fleshly or a worldly perspective. When the world sees the sour, we see the sweet. 16:19 When the world sees the ugly, we see the pretty. When the world sees the glass half-empty, we see the glass half-full. 16:26 When the world holds their heads down, we lift up our eyes to the hills from whence cometh our help. 16:31 Our help comes from the Lord. When the Lord says we have no hope, 16:35 we say my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. 16:40 When the world cries all night, we say weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning time. 16:46 Why? Old things have passed away. All things have become new. We've got a different perspective. 16:54 We've got a different outlet. We see through different eyes. The old is that part of our old nature - pride, 17:02 love of self, love of sin, reliance on works - I wish I had time. Our former opinions, habits, 17:14 and passions and what we love when we are a new creature, it has passed away, 17:19 especially the supreme love of self and with it, self-righteousness, self-promotion, and self-justification. 17:27 The new creature looks outwardly toward Christ instead of inwardly towards self. The old things have died. 17:35 They have been replaced with new things. Lies are replaced with love. Envy is replaced with encouragement. 17:45 Jealousy is replaced with joy. Pride is replaced with peace. Fear is replaced with faith. Gossip is replaced with goodness. 17:58 Hate is replaced with happiness. Trouble is replaced by testimonies. We see the world differently. 18:08 The Bible even seems to be a new book and although we might have read the Bible over and over again before, 18:15 there is a beauty and a relevance about which we never saw before when we now read the word of God. 18:21 The whole face of nature seems to be changed to us and we seem to be in a new world. 18:27 The heavens, the earth are filled with new wonders and all things seem now to speak forth the praise of God. 18:35 We have now new feelings towards people, a new kind of love toward family and friends, 18:41 a new compassion never before felt for enemies, and a new love for mankind. The things we once loved, we now detest. 18:50 The sin we once held onto we now desire to put away. We've got a new perspective on life. If any man be in Christ, 19:00 he is a new creature, old things are passed away, all things become new. 19:07 But there's one more thing. A new creation means a new purpose. 19:13 A new creation means a new person, a new creation means a new perspective, 19:18 and a new creation means a new purpose. You see, we're in you're in Christ, your purpose changes. 19:26 Help me, Holy Ghost. You understand that your purpose is to live for Christ and share Christ with others. 19:33 You understand now why you were created - to glorify God, edify his people, and horrify the devil. 19:43 You're not your own, oh, I feel my help coming. You're not your own. You've been bought with a price. 19:49 You're on a mission for Christ and nothing can stop you from that mission in spite of what people say, 19:55 in spite of what people do, in spite of the odds being stacked against you. When you're in Christ, 20:02 there is just something within you that makes you want to go on. It's that thing that gives you passion in life. 20:09 It's that thing that keeps you up late at night. You want to share his love. You want to share his gospel. 20:16 And I don't care if people call me crazy. I'm doing what God told me to do. If I got to walk by myself, 20:23 if I've got to stay on course by myself, I'm doing what God told me to do. 20:29 I'm going to be like Nehemiah. I'm doing a good work and I can't come down off the wall. 20:34 I'm going to be like Jacob if I've got to wrestle with God, I'll wrestle but I'm not going to let go till He blesses me. 20:41 I'm going to be like David and though we've had death a lot the past two weeks, 20:45 though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. 20:50 I'm gonna be like Paul forgetting those things which are behind me. 20:54 I'm reaching to those things which are before me, 20:57 press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling with you a new creature in Christ. 21:03 You know God's purpose for your life and you're not trying to be something that God has not called you to be 21:10 because what God has for me, it is for me. Make sure you know God's purpose for your life. 21:17 Make sure you know God's calling on your life. There's nothing worse than investing twenty years into nothingness, 21:23 ten years into an illusion, five years of my life is too long to spend some time doing something I was not created to do. 21:32 And when you're a new creature and you know your purpose, it will make you a target 21:38 because the brighter the light is, the more you attract bugs. I wish I had a witness in this place. 21:43 Whenever you're doing something for the Lord and you're fulfilling God's purpose for your life, 21:47 there will always be an element that envies what you have and they will plot against you 21:52 and undermine your efforts and reputation at every turn. That element is a part of the process, 21:54 but I dare you - keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus and know your purpose. I told you before, 22:02 growing up in my home, we used to have what we call the Byrd Carwash. As a kid, we had the Byrd Carwash. 22:09 We didn't go to these drive-in car washes we see today and pay all this money to get our car washed. 22:14 But back in the day, my brother, my sister, and I, we were the Byrd Carwash. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? 22:20 And at the Byrd Carwash, we didn't get paid, in fact, we didn't even get a tip. My daddy said, "Wash the car," 22:26 and we wash the car, but there is something I learned at the Byrd Carwash. 22:31 I learn that if you want the water to shoot further, you have to squeeze and bend that water hose. 22:40 Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. And the more you squeeze and bend that water hose, 22:46 the further the water is going to shoot because it's the restriction, it's the restraint, it's the constraints, 22:53 it's the pain that creates the pressure for the propelling of your destiny and you will never discover your purpose, 23:00 you will never understand your calling until you understand the core of your pain. 23:05 You've got to go through some pain. 23:07 You can't have a testimony without a test. 23:10 If your New Year's resolution is to be a new person and to grow deeper in the Lord and to grow and build your faith 23:17 and have a closer relationship with the Lord, I'm here to tell you, I'm not a meteorologist, 23:21 but I'm here to tell you pain is in your forecast. No pain, no gain. No battle, no blessing. 23:28 But the good news is the greater the battle, the greater the blessing. Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. 23:32 And there's no sound more pleasing in God's ears than the sound of people who've been delivered, 23:40 people who've been through tests, people who've been through trials, people who've been through tribulation, 23:47 but you made it over. You don't need a praise team leader to tell you to give God praise. 23:53 You don't need the preacher to stand here and tell you to give God glory, but when God has kept you, 24:00 when God has provided for you, when God has helped you raise those children, when God has opened doors men have shut, 24:08 when God has made a way when it looked like there was no way, nobody has to stand up here and tell you to give God praise. 24:17 The sound that you raised in the site and presence of God is a sound of deliverance because you know it was nobody 24:24 but Jesus. 24:26 Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. I'm almost done, but I'm gonna tell you something. 24:29 Whenever healing takes place, scars are left behind. And some of us have scars from 2020 24:41 but don't cry about your scars because your scars are just a sign that you've been healed. 24:47 Hallelujah, somebody. I need some worshippers who are watching right now who've been wounded by pain, suffered 24:55 because you tried to serve the Lord with your whole hearts. Giving God the best in your service, 25:01 but yet you've been lied on. You've been talked about, you've been criticized not because you've done anything wrong, 25:09 but just because you try to serve Jesus. People have criticized how you praise Jesus. 25:14 They mocked and they laugh at you because you make so much noise watching this service on the internet 25:20 and you and your house saying, "Preach, Pastor. Sing, Praise Team. Go ahead, Pastor Rafael." 25:25 And folks are looking at you and they don't understand what's going on. They don't know there's a story 25:30 behind your Hallelujah. They don't know that there's a history behind your, "Thank you, Jesus." 25:34 They don't know there's a reason for your, "Praise the Lord." You've got so much to thank God for. 25:40 God has heard your prayers. God is even giving you somethings you didn't ask for. 25:45 And I've learned that in order for God to heal you, you got to sometimes go through some pain. 25:52 So, Lord, if you have to hurt me to help me, if you have to bruise me to bless me, 26:02 if you've got to knock me down to raise me up, if you got to take me out to bring me back in, do what you have to do. 26:14 Because if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, all things become new. 26:27 And a new creation means a new person. A new creation means a new perspective. A new creation means a new purpose. 26:41 I don't know about you but I want to be a new person. I don't just want to be a better person, I want to be a new person. 26:55 And I want to be a new person with a new perspective. I want to be a new person not only with a new perspective, 27:04 but I want to be a new person with a new purpose because if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. 27:18 Old things are passed away, all things become new. 27:28 Thank you very much for tuning in to this week's Breath of Life broadcast. 27:32 We hope and pray that you've been blessed by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 27:37 If you would like to hear this sermon in its entirety, 27:40 please feel free to visit us at www.breathoflife.tv. 27:45 Or, call us at (256) 929-6460. 27:58 When I was eight years old, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. 28:04 When I was fifthteen, I had my first surgery. When I think about the time that I lost 28:15 during my adolescent years, I just can't seem to put it togther. Even now I'm doing 28:26 treatment for my disease. Everyone experiences loss. It's not of matter of if but when. 28:37 www.breathoflife.tv 28:47 [END] |
Revised 2021-01-21