Sermon #B627 -
It's Time for an Upgrade
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The Prophet Isaiah
chapter 43 verses 18 and 19.
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I believe you have it by now. If
you do let me hear you say Amen.
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All right. We're going to
put those on the screen for you.
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Now, read aloud Isaiah 43
verse18, the word of God says,
“Remember ye not the former
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things. Neither consider the
things of old.” Verse number 19,
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“Behold I will do a new what
everybody, come on I will do it
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what everybody. Now, it shall
spring forth, shall you not know
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it. I will even make a way in
the wilderness and rivers in the
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desert.” Today, I want to
challenge you on the subject,
it's time for an upgrade.
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It's time for an upgrade. Now,
we live in a constantly changing
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world. What was new
yesterday is obsolete today.
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It was just a few years ago that
if you went into a restaurant
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and there was a waiting list
to get seated in the restaurant,
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you would be called by your
name when an empty table was
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available but have you
been to Olive Garden lately?
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No act like you don't
know what I'm talking about.
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If you ever want to find
evidence in Huntsville in a
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restaurant, go to Olive Garden
during the week between 12:00
and 2:00 and you will see some
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Adventist. So, if you don't want
to see the Adventist, don't go
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at that time because they will
look to see what you're eating.
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Do I have a witness at his
place?[Congregation: Amen.]
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If you haven't been Olive Garden
diving to Connors, Bravo, BJs,
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Cotton Row, these restaurants
you go to, they don't put your
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name on a list. When you're
waiting to get seated they give
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you a pager. When a table is
available to meet the number in
your party, they paged you when
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they dail your pager. In
electronic signal goes from
their computer to a satellite
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that is 5,000 miles up in the
air. The signal is turned back
and then aimed at your
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individual pager. The signal
travels 5,000 miles in less time
that it takes for a hostess to
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say your name. Things change. 30
years ago, if a little boy stole
a candy bar from a convenience
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store the parents would find
out. They would drive the little
boy back to the store, make the
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child, give the candy bar back,
make the child apologize to the
manager make the child apologize
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to all the employees in the
store and then they would take
the child home and give him a
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whooping. But today, if the
child does the same thing and
gets caught, he won't be taught
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the lesson of stealing but he
would be punished with a court
record possibly juvenile
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detention center time and the
parents would not whip him
because if he they did they
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might be charged with child
abuse. Things change. My
great-great-grandfather rode a
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horse but was afraid of the
train. My great-grandfather rode
on a train but was afraid of a
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car. My grandfather rode in a
car but was afraid of an
airplane. Today, I ride in an
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airplane but I'm afraid of
riding a horse. Things change.
73% of our college graduates are
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going into jobs today which did
not even exist when they were
more in 22 years ago. We've gone
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from blackboards to chalkboards.
Whiteboards to now smart boards.
We've gone from record albums to
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8-track tapes to cassette tapes
to CDs to mp3s and our internet
downloading. We've gone from
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film strips the VHS tapes the
DVDs to download streaming.
Things change. Gone are the days
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when drugs were something a
doctor prescribed, grass was
something you mowed on the
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weekends. Pot was a thing you
cooked in, aids were teachers
assistants, and snakes were
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reptiles that crawled on the
ground. Things change. Gone are
the day, is when a child would
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see a movie on TV and when a man
and woman kissed the child would
hold their head back and turn it
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around in embarrassment but
today if a man and a woman are
kissing on TV that's ---  if
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they were the only thing we have
to worry about on TV we'd be in
good shape. Movies have gone
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from silent to unspeakable. We
used to have three networks,
ABC, NBC, and CBS. We now have
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750 channels and we can watch
anything anywhere at any time
but more than that we don't have
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to buy cable TV anymore we
should watch everything on the
internet download it and watch
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it. Times change. It's not just
the world that has changed. The
church has changed. Gone are the
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days when the choir would line
up in the back of the church and
walk from the back of the church
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to the front of the church
processing into the sanctuary
for the introit does anybody
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know what I'm talking about?
[Congregation: Yes. Amen.] Gone
are the days when visitors were
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made to stand say their name and
where they came from. Gone are
the days when pulpit chairs used
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to be up on the rostrum and the
Deacon chairs were up in the
front and the Deacons would be
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mean mugging folk. Gone are the
days when after the offering was
lifted. The elder would lift his
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or her hands. The Deacons would
walk down this aisle and we
would sing we give thee but
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thine own whatever gift may be
all that we have is thine alone,
I trust the Lord in thee. And we
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would sing it every Sabbath and
we never could get the words
rights. Things change. Speaking
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of change in the church, people
don't even have to come to
church anymore. They can watch
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it online. I will see people
during the week here in
Huntsville who are not a church
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and they can tell me everything
I said, everything I did,
everything I had on, they
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weren't at church but they know
everything that's a place at
church. So, then it's no longer
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a Bedside Baptists, St. Mattress
Methodists or hearing a word
from Pastor Pillow, it's now
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online Adventists. You can even
now return you to have an
offering online. You don't have
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cash at Oakwood Church we have
cash app. Come on say amen.
[Congregation: Amen.] You can
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return you to have an off and do
cash app -- --and please don't
misunderstand me now I'm not
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disparaging these changes but
I'm pointing out that we're
living in a changing world and
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these changes are impacting the
church. So, either you were
changed with the times and be
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relevant to today's society or
you will die a slow death
because you refuse to change.
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Newsflash, not just Adventist
churches but all churches. 85%
of the churches in America are
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losing members. Nearly 96% of
Americans don't consistently go
to church. This has all come
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about in the past 40 years. What
is the result? Our children are
receiving no religious training
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which means that as time goes by
as the delay of the Lord's
coming is just that delayed.
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It will get harder and harder
to minister as a church in our
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society. Which means
church has to change.
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Not change its message but
change its methods. So, it leads
me today to our subject that
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it's time for an upgrade. What
do I mean? Most people today for
example don't like to read like
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they read 20 years ago. They'd
rather get their information
from the television or the
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internet. So, if a church wants
these same people to learn our
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message we must present our
message in the way they're used
to that's why we have PowerPoint
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audio-visual tools in this
church. We don't have them. So,
we can brag and say we have the
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latest technological equipment.
We don't have all of this just
so we can say we have HD
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cameras. We don't have all of
this just so we can boast video
walls but we have what we have
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because we have to speak in
a language in 2019 that people
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understand. We're changing the
method not the message. God's
got to do a new thing. Why?
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Times have changed. Philosophies
are different. Attitudes are not
the same. Respect levels are not
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what they were 10, 20, 30 years
ago. Regard for human life is
not what it used to be.
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God's got to do a new thing and
a new thing means, a change a
change in our thinking, a change
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in our ideas, a change in our
methods. God says, Behold, I
will do a new thing.”
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Shall we not spring
forth, shall you not know it.
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Just like God wanted to do a new
thing for his people in the
eighth century before Christ and
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Babylon, God wants to do a new
thing for his people in the 21st
century after Christ in
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Huntsville. God is at work. God
is doing a new thing but many of
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us don't see it. God is at work
making things happen that have
never happened before but we
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can't see it. Our Creator who
has made all things new, our
Redeemer in whom we are a new
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creature and our indwelling Holy
Ghost who brings new life says,
“I'm about to do a new thing.
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I'm going to make a
right way in the wilderness.
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I am going to make a way in
rivers in the desert responding
to the dilemma of the people in
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the Judah.” Caught in exile in
Babylon wondering if they were
ever going to get home again the
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prophet Isaiah insists that if
they were just opened up their
eyes and see that God is trying
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to do a new thing, that God is
already at work, that God is
working on our behalf. Don't you
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see it? Don't you get it? Wake
up. God is making a way to go
home do we not see God's new
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thing. Maybe we can't see and
don't see what God is doing
because we are afraid about
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change. I said afraid about
change. I didn't say we're
afraid of change. I said we're
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afraid about change. Somebody's
not getting this a minute. We're
afraid that change is coming.
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We're afraid that if we don't
change we will miss out but
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we're also afraid that if we
change too much we'll veer off
the right path, so we're afraid
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about change. Fear prevents us
from trusting God's leadership.
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Fear keeps us paralyzed and
unwilling to make decisions
because there is always the
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agony of choice before the
promise of change but God says,
“I want to do a new thing. I
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want to make a way through the
wilderness. I want to make a way
through the rivers in the
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desert. It's time for an
upgrade.” What is an upgrade?
Upgrade its change. Everybody
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say upgrade. [Congregation:
Upgrade.] All right. Upgrade is
what I have a seat on the
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airplane in coach but because
I've got frequent flyer miles
the gate agent says, “Carlton
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Byrd, will you come to the
podium. Your seat has been
upgraded to first class.” Don't
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hate. Celebrate. When all the
people are lined up around the
gate, I love it when I said,
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“Excuse me.” Excuse me. They're
calling for first class. They
are calling my name. Do I have a
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witness to this place? Everybody
say upgrade. [Congregation:
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Upgrade.] Upgrade is when you
have a Toyota Camry. It's 10
years old. I hope nobody has a
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ten year old Camry in here. It
has two hundred thousand miles
on it. It doesn't have the
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latest features. There is no
navigation system. It does not
have satellite radio. It does
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not have Bluetooth capability.
It does not have access to a USB
port and your children are
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sitting in the backseat and
they're telling you, “This car
is old. Drop me off at the
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corner and I will walk the rest
of the way.” It's time for an
upgrade. Somebody's looking at
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me. You're still not getting me.
Let me try this way. Back in the
day, we had a rotary phone then
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we had a touch-tone phone then
we had a cell phone and now, we
have smartphones. When cell
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phones first came out they were
big bulky and expensive. Does
anybody know what I'm talking
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about? When we first got cell
phones young people don't even
notice, we used to pay a dollar
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per minute to talk. So,
therefore when we had cell
phones we only use them in time
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of emergency do I have a witness
at his place? [Congregation:
Amen.] But now, we talk on our
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cell phones all the time. Long
distance? My girls say, “What's
long distance?” They don't even
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know what long distance is.
Somebody know what I'm talking
about? In fact the reality is
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many of you don't even have home
phones anymore. You can use your
smartphone for everything. I
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don't even think they sell the
flip phones anymore. Are you
hearing what I'm saying
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everybody? But one of the
biggest problems with modern
technology and smart phones is
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that they become outdated very
quickly. You can pick up the
latest iPhone or Android device
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and it will become obsolete in
six months but your phone can no
longer perform basic tasks, so,
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listen to me. When your phone
can no longer do what it used to
do, when your phone is
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irrelevant to the user, you're
told, it's time for an upgrade.
When your phone system stops
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working, it's time for an
upgrade. When your phone apps
will work anymore, it's time for
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an upgrade. When you need a
faster phone, it's time for an
upgrade. When you need bigger
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and larger storage, it's time
for an upgrade. When your phone
has a bad camera, it's time for
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an upgrade. When you break the
screen on your phone, it's time
for an upgrade. If you want your
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smart phone to work, you have to
upgrade. That means you got to
change. It's the same way in
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business. When you refuse to
change, when you refuse to
upgrade your business you go out
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of business. Let me illustrate.
So, there's this man who came to
this town and he wants to open a
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barber shop. He rent some
building and he buys and
installs his barber chair and
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all this other equipment and
then he runs ads for his barber
shop in the newspaper of the
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city. He got a few people in but
most of the people who came in
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they left. The ones that kept
him as their barber were
individuals who were similar in
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age like he was. No matter what
the man did he just couldn't get
new customers to return into his
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barber shop. So, pretty soon he
had to close up the barbers and
go out of business. What did the
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man do wrong? He would only cut
hair the way the care was cut
back in the day and so,
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since most men want to wear
their hair differently today.
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They wouldn't go back to him. He
was so concentrated on what he
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wanted, that he completely
dismiss what the customers
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wanted. So, the bottom line was
that he had to close his shop
because he refused to upgrade.
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He refused to change. If we look
in our secular business world,
if we look at K-mart, it refused
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to upgrade. If we look at Sears
& Roebuck, it refused to
upgrade. If we look at
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Montgomery Ward's, it refused to
upgrade. If we look at JCPenney,
it refused to upgrade. If we
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look at Blockbuster Video, it
refused to upgrade. The church
is the same way. If it refuses
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to upgrade, it will die. So,
somebody's looking at me saying
but Pastor Bird, “The church is
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not a business.” “Oh, but I beg
to differ.” The church is a
business. The church is a
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soul-winning business. The
church is in the business of
saving men, women, boys, and
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girls. Can I tell you something?
When only two people come to
church, it's time for an
00:18:04.38\00:18:09.78
upgrade. When the baptismal pool
has become nothing more than an
antiquated artifact of antiquity
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on the outside and a storage bin
of junk on the inside, it's time
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for an upgrade. When you only
have five children coming out to
the front for children's story,
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it's time for an upgrade. When
prayer meeting has been reduced
to two songs and three sentence
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prayers, it's time for an
upgrade. When people come to
church and they can't share
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their burdens and problems
simply because they're afraid of
what other folks might say about
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them after they come clean, it's
time for an upgrade. When people
are being delivered from their
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problems their difficulties and
demons and they don't understand
the power of the Holy Ghost
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that's inside of them to cast
out those same demons to tread
on serpents and stop out the
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devil, it's time for an upgrade.
When the emphasis of policy is
placed over the needs of people,
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it's time for an upgrade. When
people want real authentic
life-changing life savings
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scratching where the people its
ministry and they can't find it,
it's time for an upgrade. When
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families are falling apart,
divorce is rampant, children are
leaving the church and suicide
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is on the rise, it's time for an
upgrade. When people can't find
jobs, illiteracy is rampant,
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children are failing in school
and there are more young men of
color in jail prison or some
00:19:35.24\00:19:41.54
other police form of scrutiny,
than there are black young men
in higher education, it's time
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for an upgrade. I'm not just
talking my carpets. I'm not just
talking my pews. I'm not just
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talking about a bathroom but I
talk about ministries. I'm
talking about methods. I'm
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talking about the delivery of
God's unchanging message. I'm
talking about the welcoming of
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God's Spirit to move upon the
people. If God's Spirit just
moved in Oakwood one good time,
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I mean one good time when people
came down to the front during
the prayer intersession,
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if this place became an inviting
place rather sick are healed,
the blind can see, the dead are
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raised, the lame walk, the dumb
talk, chains are broken, it's
00:20:25.92\00:20:32.59
time to upgrade. Ellen White
says, “The book evangelism that
everyone connected with work,
00:20:32.63\00:20:37.67
should keep fresh ideas and by
tact and foresight bring all
that is possible in your work to
00:20:37.70\00:20:44.24
interest your hearers.” She
continues. She says, “Means will
be devised to reach hearts.
00:20:44.27\00:20:47.78
Some of the methods used in this
work will be different from the
methods used in the work of the
00:20:47.81\00:20:52.25
past but let no one because
of this block the way because of
00:20:52.28\00:20:58.99
criticism.” Everybody know about
Wheaties Cereal? If you know
about Wheaties Cereal raise your
00:20:59.02\00:21:05.06
hand. Wheaties, Wheaties, all
right. Wheaties Cereal began
making cereal back in the 1940s.
00:21:05.09\00:21:14.77
In the early days, Wheaties was
good Wheaties Cereal was good
but it wasn't particularly
00:21:14.80\00:21:21.88
popular. So, in the early 1950s,
the owners, managers,
presidents, leaders of Wheaties
00:21:21.91\00:21:30.95
Cereal took a big financial risk
and this something no one else
had ever done. Some of you were
00:21:30.99\00:21:35.19
living back then you know what
I'm talking about. They paid big
bucks to have a popular athlete,
00:21:35.22\00:21:40.43
grace the front of the cereal
box and then their new slogan
was “Breakfast Of Champions.”
00:21:40.46\00:21:50.47
Anybody know what I'm talking
about? [Congregation: Yeah.]
00:21:50.51\00:21:52.61
All right. Their plan worked.
Wheaties became an overnight
00:21:52.64\00:22:00.58
success. Wheaties has been one
of the top-selling cereals ever
since then, but they also had to
00:22:00.62\00:22:07.52
do something else. They had to
keep finding new athletes that
people knew to put on the cover
00:22:07.56\00:22:14.46
of the box so then throughout
the years to be able to
introduce the cereal to new
00:22:14.50\00:22:18.63
people. They changed the outside
of the box to become more
relevant to the Society of that
00:22:18.67\00:22:25.34
day. Not once during this time.
Did they ever change the cereal
in the box? Somebody-- y'all
00:22:25.37\00:22:35.95
don't get it. The cereal has
remained the same all these
years and I just came out in the
00:22:35.98\00:22:46.83
first half of 2019 to let
somebody know that the church
needs to change the outside of
00:22:46.86\00:22:53.13
the box. We must present
ourselves to where the average
person outside the church will
00:22:53.17\00:23:04.41
be willing to receive what we
have inside our box. If they
can't relate to the outside of
00:23:04.45\00:23:11.02
the box, they won't receive what
we have inside the box. If they
can't relate to our method they
00:23:11.05\00:23:21.03
won't receive our message. Now,
don't get it twisted. Our
message must remain the same.
00:23:21.06\00:23:29.80
Malachi 3:6, God says, “I am the
Lord.” I change not. Hebrews
13:8 says, “Jesus is the same
00:23:29.84\00:23:39.71
yesterday, today, and forever.”
The message doesn't change but
the method does. If God told me
00:23:39.75\00:23:46.29
to tell you that I'm trying to
do a new thing, then I'm going
to make a way through the
00:23:46.32\00:23:51.39
wilderness, I'm going to make a
way through the rivers in the
desert, God is trying to do a
00:23:51.43\00:23:58.43
new thing for this church. He's
creating a new way in the desert
but we must be willing to travel
00:23:58.47\00:24:05.91
new roads to meet new people.
It's time for an upgrade. We
can't be content with what was
00:24:05.94\00:24:10.71
any more than we can be
comfortable with what is because
we must crave what can be, it's
00:24:10.75\00:24:14.85
time for an upgrade. When we
focus our attention on the Lord,
setbacks will become
00:24:14.88\00:24:19.42
opportunities and springboards
and obstacles will turn into
opportunities, it's time for an
00:24:19.45\00:24:24.56
upgrade. Let me tell you all
something flexibility is one of
the greatest blessings of God to
00:24:24.59\00:24:30.00
his church not flexibility in
our message but flexibility in
the way we presented to others,
00:24:30.03\00:24:38.27
it's time for an upgrade. So
friends of mine, if you have to
upgrade your tires, if you have
00:24:38.31\00:24:43.24
to upgrade your car, your house,
your furniture, your clothes, if
you have to upgrade your phone
00:24:43.28\00:24:48.78
then you also have to upgrade
the church. Some things that
used to work before don't work
00:24:48.82\00:25:01.80
today because things have
changed and it's time for an
upgrade. But maybe you're not a
00:25:01.83\00:25:18.11
member of Oakwood, it's still
time for you to upgrade and make
Jesus your personal Savior. 2018
00:25:18.15\00:25:28.12
has come and gone. It's time for
you this year to upgrade in
Jesus in 2019. God wants to use
00:25:28.16\00:25:34.36
you now. I'm not good enough.
I'm not righteous enough. I'm
not holy enough. I'm not old
00:25:34.40\00:25:44.57
enough. God doesn't usually as I
told you last sounds because
you're good enough but God uses
00:25:44.61\00:25:52.91
you because God is good enough
to use you. It's time for an
upgrade. An upgrade in this
00:25:52.95\00:25:55.65
church, upgrade the church
worldwide. It's time for
everybody in here remember,
00:25:55.68\00:26:01.59
non-member, visitor, everybody
it's time for us to have a
personal upgrade. Behold, I will
00:26:01.62\00:26:07.60
do a new thing. It will make a
way in the wilderness, a way in
the rivers, in the desert.
00:26:07.66\00:26:20.64
Shall ye not know have you not
heard and I who do a new thing.
00:26:20.68\00:26:32.69
My motto is Lord, if you can
use anything, you can use me.
00:26:32.72\00:26:40.53
Do you believe that?
If you--- come on now.
00:26:40.56\00:26:43.03
Choir: If You can use 
anything Lord, You can use me.
00:26:43.06\00:26:49.70
Thank you very much for tuning
in to this week's Breath of Life
00:26:49.74\00:26:53.88
broadcast. We hope and pray that
you've been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:26:53.91\00:26:58.51
If you would like to hear
this sermon in its entirety,
00:26:58.55\00:27:01.12
please feel free to visit
us at www.breathoflife.tv.
00:27:01.15\00:27:06.92
Or, call us at (256) 929-6460.
00:27:06.96\00:27:13.19
[END]
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