Participants:
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000589A
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00:01 Breath of Life Ministries Presents:
00:04 Sermon B589 "It's Not How You Start, But How You Finish" 00:12 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 00:20 Pastor Byrd: And one of the Pharisees desired him that 00:23 he would eat with him and he went unto the Pharisee's, 00:26 what, everybody? And sat down to eat with him. 00:28 And, behold, a woman in the city, Lord have mercy, 00:32 a woman in the city which was a what? Aud: Sinner. 00:36 PB: When she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, 00:39 brought an alabaster box of what, everybody? 00:42 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, 00:44 and began to wash his feet with tears. 00:47 And then wiped them with the hairs of her 00:49 head and kissed his feet and anointed 00:50 them with the ointment. Now, when the Pharisee, 00:53 which had bidden him, saw it, he spake within himself, 00:56 saying, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have 01:00 known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him,” 01:03 for she is a what, everybody? She's a what, everybody? 01:05 Aud.: Sinner. PB: Amazingly, he sees all this, 01:08 but under his breath he says this. And Jesus, 01:12 he heard him, ha-ha, he answered and said unto him, 01:15 “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.” 01:19 In other words, Jesus said, I got something for you. 01:20 Come on, say Amen. And he said, “Master, say on.” 01:24 “There was a certain creditor, which had two debtors, 01:27 one owing five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 01:30 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly 01:32 forgave them both. Tell me therefore, 01:34 which of them will love him most?” 01:37 Simon answered and said, “I suppose that he, 01:39 to whom he forgave most.” And he said unto him, 01:41 “Thou has rightly judged.” And he turned to the woman, 01:43 and said unto Simon, “Seest thou this” what, everybody? 01:47 Come on, seest thou this what? 01:49 And “I entered into thine house, 01:51 thou gavest me no water for my feet: 01:52 but she hath washed my feet with tears, 01:55 and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 01:57 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since 02:00 the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 02:04 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: 02:06 but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 02:10 Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, 02:15 are forgiven,: for she loved much:” 02:17 She loved how, everybody? “But to whom little is forgiven, 02:20 the same loveth little. And he said unto her, 02:24 Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat 02:28 with him began to say within themselves, 02:30 Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 02:33 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath 02:37 saved thee; go in peace.” 02:42 I just stopped by on this last Sabbath of 02:44 the year to tell you, it's not how you start, 02:47 but how you finish. Come on, say Amen. 02:50 Father, in the name of Jesus and through the 02:52 intercession of the Holy Ghost, 02:53 come by Oakwood today. God, help us 02:55 to understand it's not how we start, 02:57 but how we finish. So, God, we want 02:59 to finish strong today. May your Spirit 03:01 move in this place and when the appeal 03:03 time comes, blow our minds. And by the power 03:07 of your Holy Ghost forgive me of my sins, 03:08 hide me behind your cross. Give me clarity 03:11 of thought, your people receptivity of heart. 03:13 In the name of Jesus we pray. 03:15 Let everybody say Amen and Amen. 03:18 It's not how you start, but how you finish. 03:25 All right. So a little boy once shared 03:28 a riddle with his father. He said, Daddy, 03:32 if there are three frogs sitting on a limb 03:36 hanging over a pool and one of the frogs 03:39 decides to jump, how many frogs are left 03:43 on the limb? What's the answer? And the 03:48 father replied, two. No, Dad, the son said. 03:54 Listen to me carefully. There are three 03:56 frogs on the limb. And one decides to jump. 04:04 How many frogs are left? The father says, oh, 04:11 I get it, if one decides to jump the others would too, 04:14 so there are none left. No, Daddy. 04:18 There are, like many of you have said, 04:21 still three frogs left on the limb. 04:25 The first frog only decided to jump. 04:30 He didn't jump, but he decided to jump. 04:34 Today, as we approach this, the end of 2017, 04:38 my question to you is, are you still 04:41 sitting on the limb? Maybe you decided 04:44 at the beginning of 2017 to jump in the 04:46 deep with God, but here we are 12 months 04:48 later and you're still sitting on the limb. 04:53 Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about. 04:55 Let me call the role. You started off the 04:58 year trying to lose weight, but it hasn't happened. 05:04 You still on the limb. You went to school 05:07 to take a class hoping to get a better job. 05:10 But it hasn't happened. You trying to break a habit, 05:14 but it hasn't happened. You began this year 05:17 saying you were going to read the Bible through 05:19 from Genesis to Revelation. You were going to go 05:23 to prayer meeting, go to Sabbath school, 05:25 deepen your relationship with the Lord and now 05:27 we're at the end of the year and you didn't 05:29 get past Exodus, you stopped going to prayer meeting, 05:35 you don't go to Sabbath school, let alone study 05:38 a Sabbath school lesson, and your relationship 05:42 with the Lord is either where it's always been or worse. 05:47 Can I give you some good news today? 05:49 It's not about how you start, but it's about how 05:55 you finish. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 05:57 Now, if you don't believe me, ask some sports fans. 05:59 Ask the Atlanta Falcons, who blew a 28 to 3 06:05 lead against the Patriots in last year's Superbowl, 06:10 losing 34 to 28 in overtime. It's not how you start, 06:15 but how you finish. Ask that race car in the 06:19 Indy 500 that was leading the race the entire 06:21 way only to run out of gas in the final lap. 06:23 It's not how you start, but how you finish. 06:27 But let's move from the secular and let's 06:29 go to the spiritual. The Apostle Paul hated Christians, 06:35 tortured Christians, tormented Christians. 06:39 But God turned his life around on that Damascus road. 06:43 He became the most prolific writer of the New Testament, 06:46 preached and won thousands to Christ. It's not how you start, 06:50 but how you finish. What about that thief on the cross? 06:55 A criminal, a crook, a convict, but in his final hours he said, 07:02 Lord, remember me. Remember me when you come in your kingdom. 07:07 What did Jesus say, “Today thou shall be with me in paradise.” 07:12 It's not how you start, but how you, what everybody? 07:16 Aud.: Finish. PB: So, I've got some good news. 07:18 Somebody's still on the limb. It's December 30th 07:21 and we've got two days left in 2017 and you're 07:25 still on the limb. And we've got two days left, 07:28 but I just stopped by to tell you it's not how 07:30 you start, but how you finish. 07:33 Now, one of the greatest of biblical illustrations 07:35 about finishing strong is in Luke, Chapter 7. 07:38 Luke, Chapter what, everybody? Now, we just read it. 07:41 Meet Simon in this text today. Simon is a Pharisee. 07:46 Simon is a what, everybody? Pharisee. 07:48 And Pharisees as you know were religious. 07:50 In fact, Pharisees had spent their entire 07:53 lives being religious. They were so religious 07:56 that they forgot God's law was rooted in love. 07:59 The first four commandments are love for God. 08:02 The final six commandments are love for our fellow man. 08:04 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 08:06 But the Pharisees were so strict in their 08:10 understanding of keeping God's Sabbath Day holy, 08:12 for example, they say that because the Old Testament 08:14 said that the Holy of Holies was to be situated 08:17 two thousand cubits or one thousand yards away 08:20 from the nearest structure or building, 08:21 they created a law stating that on the Sabbath 08:24 people could only walk one thousand yards. 08:27 And anything and more than that would be considered work. 08:31 They thought you showed your love for God by not 08:33 keeping the Sabbath holy--not by keeping the 08:36 Sabbath holy, but by not walking more 08:38 than one thousand yards. I think about this and 08:41 I ask myself, isn't it amazing how some people can 08:43 start loving God, but then get so caught up and 08:45 locked up into a religious system of rules and 08:48 regulations that they leave God's grace and mercy 08:50 at the door? That's what happened to the Pharisees. 08:56 They had the right intentions, but they went 08:57 about it in the wrong way. Now, be careful of 09:01 some church folk. Let me say that one more time. 09:06 Be careful of some church folk. Remember, 09:10 we have rules for which we have no Scriptures. 09:13 We have all kinds of ideas and concepts of what 09:16 is appropriate and inappropriate and we kill people 09:18 over things we later find out were not that deep. 09:21 Be careful of church folk. Simon invites Jesus to 09:27 his home for dinner. Now, there's something a bit 09:29 unusual about this invitation because when it came to 09:32 Jesus and the Pharisees it was more of a butting of 09:34 heads than a meeting of the minds. So what's the point 09:38 of having Jesus in your house when your religion stops 09:42 you from appreciating the Jesus that you have access to? 09:45 Yes, Simon could bring Jesus in his house, 09:49 but he didn't know what to do with Jesus once 09:52 Jesus was in the house. Maybe he feels that God 09:56 should appreciate the fact that he took time out 10:00 for Him because some of us are so important that 10:03 if we give God Sabbath, God forbid we come out on 10:06 a Wednesday night. Because after all, 10:09 we feel that all of heaven should stand at attention 10:11 because we made time for God, who by the way woke 10:14 you up this morning. Who, by the way, put breath 10:16 in your body, started you on your way, 10:18 put food on your table, clothing on your back, 10:20 and makes your heart beat even when you're sleeping. 10:23 But yet, look at us. You give God what you want to, 10:27 when you want to, how you want to, if you want to, 10:28 because some of us are more important in our own 10:31 minds than God Himself. Preach, Pastor Byrd. 10:34 But not only that. In Jewish culture it was normal 10:39 to have family and friends over to your house like 10:41 we do at the holidays when someone important was there. 10:44 So, because Jesus had come over to their home, 10:46 to the Pharisee's house for dinner, 10:48 Simon's house for dinner, and because Jesus was important, 10:51 do I have a witness in this place, a large crowd 10:54 gathered to hear what Jesus had to say. 10:57 And it's into this important, sadiddy, 11:02 righteous, pious, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou 11:11 environment that according to the Bible a sinful 11:16 woman of the city, aka, a prostitute, comes into the house. 11:23 Now, let's understand what we read. 11:25 Remember, a Pharisee has spent all of his life 11:29 being steeped in the legalities, the laws, 11:32 what was appropriate and what was inappropriate. 11:34 Pharisees knew the rules. They knew the regulations. 11:37 They knew the rituals. They knew the ceremonies. 11:40 They saw God through the lens of legalism, 11:43 because we all see God through something. 11:46 And so they approached their relationship 11:49 with God on the basis of their commitment 11:51 to religion, not their love for Him. 11:53 The thought was, the more you kept the 11:55 law the closer you were to God. 11:57 The Pharisees were disciplined. 11:58 They were trained, they were committed, 11:59 they were moral people, they were clean people, 12:01 they were a holy people. They didn't touch 12:03 certain things. They did not eat certain things. 12:06 They didn't go certain places. 12:07 They kept the Sabbath holy. They kept the Law. 12:11 And don't get it twisted. Don't misunderstand me today. 12:14 There's nothing wrong with keeping God's Law. 12:17 We're supposed to keep God's Law, 12:19 but it must be motivated by love. 12:21 Jesus said, if ye what? Love me, keep my commandments. 12:25 If we say we love God like we say we love God, 12:28 keeping God's laws should not be a problem. 12:31 In fact, I don't keep God's Law to be saved. 12:36 I keep God's Law because I'm already saved. 12:39 Are you hearing what I'm saying? I said, 12:41 I don't keep God's Law to be saved. 12:44 I keep God's Law because I'm already saved. 12:47 I love me some Jesus. Before the foundation 12:50 of this world, God already had a plan of 12:52 salvation in place for Carlton Byrd. 12:55 Jesus died for me. Jesus rose for me. 12:59 Jesus is coming back to get me. 13:03 And no devil in hell can stop Jesus 13:06 from coming to get me. Oh, how I 13:08 love Jesus, because He first loved me. 13:11 But the Bible says Simon was a Pharisee. 13:14 He was a what, everybody? Aud.: Pharisee. 13:16 PB: He was a what, everybody? Aud.: Pharisee. 13:17 PB: And it was appropriate that if 13:19 Jesus were a man of God He should have 13:20 been with Simon, but not with a prostitute. 13:25 But my question in this text is, 13:27 if the Pharisee is supposed to be so 13:30 holy and she's a prostitute, how did the women- 13:33 -woman get to the house in the first place? 13:36 What's she doing at the house in the first place? 13:40 Be ye sure your sin will find you out. 13:44 What's she doing there in the first place? 13:45 How did she know the address? She's not holy. 13:49 You all don't hear what I'm saying. 13:51 She's not pure. She's not righteous. 13:52 She's been around the block. 13:54 She's messed up so bad that people knew 13:56 her by what she did and not her name. 13:59 Where did she come from in the first place? 14:03 How dare she come up and mess up our nice, 14:09 pretty church? Our clean, holy church, 14:14 with her ankle bracelets, her rings. 14:18 I know it's getting quiet. Her tattoos. 14:21 Her urban seductive disposition. 14:24 Who is she to walk up in Oakwood looking 14:27 like that? How dare she put her foot 14:30 in our church? Can I put a kickstand right here? 14:35 I've learned in these 23 years as a 14:37 pastor-evangelist list that some people 14:39 like the idea of evangelism. 14:42 They like the concept of evangelism. 14:44 They give money to support evangelism, 14:47 but don't mess up our pretty church with 14:49 your sinful ways. That's just like some 14:51 folk in the church. They want to keep the 14:53 people out who need the church the most. 14:56 But this woman, she goes in this house, 15:02 into this atmosphere, against all odds, 15:05 because it's sometimes hard to get to God 15:08 because of God's people. I wish I had time. 15:10 She comes up behind Jesus. She knows that 15:16 according to the customs of the times, 15:17 she knows that according to customs of 15:19 Scripture and standards of religion she 15:22 shouldn't be in the room, but she's in 15:24 the room anyway. The Bible says that tears 15:28 begin to fall out of her eyes. They begin 15:32 to fall--Alleluia--they begin to fall on Jesus. 15:36 Now, she doesn't seek His face. 15:39 She doesn't seek His hand. 15:40 She's not trying to get a blessing. 15:42 She's not trying to seek His favor. 15:44 All she wants is to get in His presence. 15:47 Somebody knows in His presence there's 15:50 fullness of joy, at His right hand there 15:54 are pleasures for evermore. 15:56 She falls down at His feet. 15:58 And he feels the warm sensation 16:02 of her tears at His feet. 16:05 Let me break this down. Somebody's 16:07 still not getting this. Have you ever 16:10 walked in a room and walked up in a 16:14 room where you know you were being talked about? 16:17 Aud.: Yes, yes. PB: I have. I mean. 16:23 Have you ever, you know how we are, 16:24 people talking about you. 16:26 They hear you walk up, happy Sabbath. 16:27 Eh Have you ever walked up to a group 16:33 of people who you knew were talking about you? 16:36 Have you ever walked into the room, 16:38 and you can feel the tension. 16:40 You can feel the malice. 16:42 You can cut the tension with a knife, 16:44 the strife and hatefulness towards you. 16:46 It's enough to make you turn around 16:48 and walk out of that room. 16:51 But something pushed this woman over 16:56 the top of hatred. She said, 16:58 hate me if you want to, but I came to 17:03 see Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, down at His 17:09 feet she begins to fall. I just want to 17:12 know on this the final Sabbath, 17:13 can a sinner fall at the feet of Jesus? 17:16 Can a sinner come down the aisle in Oakwood 17:19 in front of all you church folk, in front 17:22 of all you educated folk, in front of all 17:25 you big people and say, if it had not been 17:29 for the Lord on my side. Simon is standing 17:38 in the corner. He's turning up his nose. 17:41 He's rolling his eyes. He's hissing his teeth. 17:46 And he says, if Jesus were such a prophet 17:50 He should have known she was a prostitute and 17:54 He wouldn't have touched her. But you 17:57 know what I love is, the Bible says, 17:58 let's read the whole Bible, that the 18:00 foolish heart doesn't seem to understand 18:02 that Jesus is all knowing. Which means, 18:05 Jesus knew the woman was coming before 18:08 the woman even knocked on the door. 18:10 You all don't hear what I'm saying. 18:12 You see, Jesus didn't come and sacrifice 18:16 His life and die on Calvary just for 18:18 the important, holy people. Because I've 18:22 learned in my experience, growing up as 18:24 a kid and as an adult now, people who 18:27 perceive themselves to be holy are 18:29 never great worshippers. When you think you holy, 18:34 you not a good worshipper. But when you've 18:37 been through it, when you've been through, 18:40 are you hearing what I'm saying? 18:42 When you've been drug through it and 18:45 you come and you say, I will lift up 18:46 mine eyes onto the hills from which cometh 18:49 my help, my help comes from the Lord. 18:51 When you've gone through it and you say, 18:53 we have this hope. When you've been to 18:58 an earthly hell and back, when you've slept 19:01 around and fooled around, you've messed 19:03 around and played around, should have been 19:06 in jail, should have been dead. 19:08 Should have been strung out somewhere. 19:11 Should have been broke, broke, bankrupt, 19:13 and unemployed. Should have been in the 19:15 hospital on your death bed, but somehow God, 19:18 God in His mercy, God in His wisdom let you 19:23 have another chance, it will make you praise 19:26 God like you just don't care and you get in 19:30 church and you'll say, S.O.S., scoot over, 19:33 son, because I will bless the Lord at all times 19:38 and His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 19:42 Oh, come and magnify the Lord with me and let 19:44 us exalt His name together. Jesus says, hold up, 19:50 Brother Simon. Let me tell you something, Simon. 19:55 There were two men who were in debt to a banker. 19:59 One owed five hundred. How much, everybody? 20:03 And the other owed fifty. How much, everybody? 20:06 Now, neither of them, Jesus says, 20:08 had the money to pay the banker. 20:13 But what the banker did was, 20:15 he cancelled both of their debts. 20:19 So he says, which of the two do you 20:22 think is more grateful? Simon says, 20:27 the man who owed five hundred dollars. 20:30 The man who was forgiven the most. 20:33 Jesus says, you're right. Now, 20:37 since thou this woman. You all don't 20:45 hear what I'm saying. Of course, 20:47 Simon sees her because Simon is not blind. 20:51 But Jesus knows that sometimes people 20:55 can see you, but still not know you, 20:57 because we sit up in church and act holy, 21:00 but everyone has a past and has done 21:03 something in the dark. Do I have a 21:05 witness in this place? Jesus said, 21:07 seeth thou this woman? He says, 21:12 I came to your house, but you provided 21:15 no water for my feet. But this woman rained 21:18 down tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. 21:23 But you gave me no greeting, but from the 21:27 time I arrived in your house, 21:29 she hasn't quit kissing my feet. 21:32 You provided nothing for my freshening up, 21:35 but this woman has soothed my feet with her perfume. 21:39 She was forgiven for many, many, many, 21:42 many sins and she is very, very grateful. 21:45 But Jesus says, when the forgiveness is little, 21:49 the gratitude is little. Somebody says, 21:55 Pastor Byrd, what's Jesus talking about? 21:57 Jesus was telling Simon that those who really 21:59 understand their need for forgiveness are the 22:01 ones who demonstrate the most loving gratitude. 22:03 But then, the flip of that, Jesus was also telling 22:07 Simon that the reason he was expressing so little 22:09 love is because he didn't realize his need for forgiveness. 22:12 Well, somebody might say like Pastor Byrd. 22:16 I know what Jesus has done for me. 22:22 [Applause] PB: He loosed my shackles 22:26 and He set me free. Oh, boy, 22:30 you can be cute all you want. 22:33 You can sit up in here like a lump 22:35 on a log all you want, but if the Lord 22:38 has done something for you, if the Lord 22:42 has brought you through 2017, if you're still 22:46 above ground and there's a roof over your head, 22:50 somebody ought to say something. 22:53 Who cares what people say. Somebody ought 22:58 to say something. Who cares how folk look at you. 23:01 Somebody ought to say something. Who cares 23:06 if folk talk about your past. Somebody ought 23:10 to say something. If redeemed by the Lord, say so. 23:14 When God's been good to ya, you ought to show some sign. 23:18 God's been good to me. I can't keep it to myself. 23:23 I've got to tell somebody. Make a joyful noise unto 23:26 the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness, 23:31 come before His presence. We're singing. 23:37 You see, He loved me when I was unlovable. 23:43 He didn't wait for me to get right until He 23:46 started loving me. He loved me 23:49 when I wouldn't do right. 23:50 He loved you when you were acting up. 23:53 He loved you when you were shacking up. 23:56 He loved you when you were shootin' up. 23:59 He loved. He stopped the car from crashing. 24:02 He stopped the cancer from spreading. 24:04 He stopped you from dying. 24:07 He stopped you from being destroyed. 24:10 He stopped your marriage from divorce. 24:13 And if none of you all will praise Him, 24:16 I will praise Him by myself. 24:21 Praise Him in the morning, praise Him 24:24 in the noon day, praise Him in the midnight hour. 24:27 Praise Him when the sun goes down, 24:30 from the rising of the sun to the going 24:33 down of the same, the Lord is worthy to be what, 24:36 everybody? I'm done. But I've got one more point. 24:44 And this is the point that struck me in this text. 24:47 I've read this all my life and this is the point 24:49 that struck out for me this week. There are two 24:52 kinds of sin and two kinds of sinners in the text. 24:58 Let me say that again. There are two kinds of 25:03 sin and two kinds of sinners in this text. 25:09 Now, the Bible says that all, how much, everybody? 25:13 How much, everybody? All have sinned and 25:16 come short of the glory of whom, everybody? 25:18 But in our finite minds, listen to me, 25:22 we tend to separate sin and sinners into different camps. 25:27 Reprobate sin and sinners and respectable sins and sinners. 25:36 I wish I had a witness in this place. 25:39 You see, we see this played out in this text. 25:43 In the Pharisee's life and lifestyle, in the 25:45 prostitute's life and lifestyle. But reality is, 25:48 it really doesn't matter if we're a good sinner 25:50 or a bad sinner, sin is still sin and the 25:54 Bible says the wages of sin is what, everybody? 25:56 Death. What Simon and many people fail to realize 26:02 and understand is that living according to what 26:05 society or religion says doesn't mean a person 26:08 is right with God. Because what good is 26:12 the law if you don't have love? 26:14 What good is religion is you don't 26:17 have a relationship? Somebody still 26:20 not getting this. Let me illustrate one more time. 26:23 Let me use volcanoes as an example. 26:25 Some volcanoes blow their tops. Wow. 26:30 Some volcanoes just kind of leak out. 26:33 And while they're both different, 26:36 they're different volcanoes, they both 26:37 have lava flows. Inside volcanoes there 26:42 is a crust covering a massive lava lake. 26:46 Some of the crusts are thick and strong, 26:48 keeping the lava inside, but sometimes 26:50 cracks appear and the lava leaks out. 26:53 And then there are those volcanoes where 26:57 the crusts are thin and with one good shake, 27:02 the whole thing blows up. The Pharisee 27:06 and the prostitute are like these two 27:09 different volcanoes. They both have 27:11 within them, inside of them, a molten 27:14 lava of sin. One's just more obvious 27:18 than the other. While on the outside 27:22 Simon and this woman seem as different 27:24 as night as day. On the inside, 27:26 they're both the same, because the 27:29 sin nature that resides within both 27:31 of them needs to be forgiven. 27:34 Jesus wants to forgive the reprobate 27:38 sinner and the sin and the respectable sinner, 27:43 sinner and sin. But to be forgiven, 27:47 we've got to humbly come to Him and 27:52 ask in faith, like the woman, that our 27:55 sins be forgiven whether reprobate or respectable. 28:01 "Thank you very much for tuning into this 28:04 week's Breath of Life Broadcast. 28:06 We hope and pray that you have been blessed 28:08 by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 28:11 If you would like to hear this sermon in 28:12 its entirety, please feel free to visit us at 28:15 www.breathoflife.tv or call us at 256.929.6460. 28:25 Again, thank you very much for joining us, 28:27 and please tune in next week for another 28:30 END |
Revised 2018-01-11