Participants:
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000627A
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00:06 Sermon #B627 - It's Time for an Upgrade
00:20 The Prophet Isaiah chapter 43 verses 18 and 19. 00:24 I believe you have it by now. If you do let me hear you say Amen. 00:28 All right. We're going to put those on the screen for you. 00:30 Now, read aloud Isaiah 43 verse18, the word of God says, “Remember ye not the former things. 00:38 Neither consider the things of old.” Verse number 19, 00:44 “Behold I will do a new what everybody, come on I will do it what everybody. 00:50 Now, it shall spring forth, shall you not know it. 00:54 I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” 01:01 Today, I want to challenge you on the subject, it's time for an upgrade. 01:08 It's time for an upgrade. Now, we live in a constantly changing world. 01:15 What was new yesterday is obsolete today. 01:22 It was just a few years ago that if you went into a restaurant 01:25 and there was a waiting list to get seated in the restaurant, 01:29 you would be called by your name when an empty table was available 01:35 but have you been to Olive Garden lately? 01:40 No act like you don't know what I'm talking about. 01:42 If you ever want to find evidence in Huntsville in a restaurant, 01:44 go to Olive Garden during the week between 12:00 and 2:00 and you will see some Adventist. 01:49 So, if you don't want to see the Adventist, don't go at that time 01:50 because they will look to see what you're eating. 01:52 Do I have a witness at his place?[Congregation: Amen.] 01:56 If you haven't been Olive Garden diving to Connors, Bravo, BJs, Cotton Row, 02:07 these restaurants you go to, they don't put your name on a list. 02:11 When you're waiting to get seated they give you a pager. 02:15 When a table is available to meet the number in your party, they paged you when they dail your pager. 02:25 In electronic signal goes from their computer to a satellite that is 5,000 miles up in the air. 02:32 The signal is turned back and then aimed at your individual pager. 02:37 The signal travels 5,000 miles in less time that it takes for a hostess to say your name. Things change. 02:46 30 years ago, if a little boy stole a candy bar from a convenience store the parents would find out. 02:52 They would drive the little boy back to the store, make the child, give the candy bar back, 02:57 make the child apologize to the manager make the child apologize to all the employees in the store 03:03 and then they would take the child home and give him a whooping. 03:08 But today, if the child does the same thing and gets caught, he won't be taught the lesson of stealing 03:17 but he would be punished with a court record possibly juvenile detention center time 03:22 and the parents would not whip him because if he they did they might be charged with child abuse. Things change. 03:33 My great-great-grandfather rode a horse but was afraid of the train. 03:42 My great-grandfather rode on a train but was afraid of a car. My grandfather rode in a car but was afraid of an airplane. 03:53 Today, I ride in an airplane but I'm afraid of riding a horse. Things change. 04:04 73% of our college graduates are going into jobs today which did not even exist when they were more in 22 years ago. 04:12 We've gone from blackboards to chalkboards. Whiteboards to now smart boards. 04:16 We've gone from record albums to 8-track tapes to cassette tapes to CDs to mp3s and our internet downloading. 04:22 We've gone from film strips the VHS tapes the DVDs to download streaming. Things change. 04:30 Gone are the days when drugs were something a doctor prescribed, grass was something you mowed on the weekends. 04:38 Pot was a thing you cooked in, aids were teachers assistants, and snakes were reptiles that crawled on the ground. Things change. 04:50 Gone are the day, is when a child would see a movie on TV 04:54 and when a man and woman kissed the child would hold their head back and turn it around in embarrassment 04:59 but today if a man and a woman are kissing on TV that's --- if they were the only thing we have to worry about on TV 05:05 we'd be in good shape. Movies have gone from silent to unspeakable. We used to have three networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS. 05:19 We now have 750 channels and we can watch anything anywhere at any time 05:25 but more than that we don't have to buy cable TV anymore we should watch everything on the internet download it and watch it. 05:35 Times change. It's not just the world that has changed. The church has changed. 05:43 Gone are the days when the choir would line up in the back of the church 05:50 and walk from the back of the church to the front of the church processing into the sanctuary 05:55 for the introit does anybody know what I'm talking about? [Congregation: Yes. Amen.] 05:58 Gone are the days when visitors were made to stand say their name and where they came from. 06:06 Gone are the days when pulpit chairs used to be up on the rostrum 06:11 and the Deacon chairs were up in the front and the Deacons would be mean mugging folk. 06:17 Gone are the days when after the offering was lifted. The elder would lift his or her hands. 06:25 The Deacons would walk down this aisle and we would sing we give thee but thine own 06:30 whatever gift may be all that we have is thine alone, I trust the Lord in thee. 06:35 And we would sing it every Sabbath and we never could get the words rights. 06:42 Things change. Speaking of change in the church, people don't even have to come to church anymore. 06:49 They can watch it online. I will see people during the week here in Huntsville who are not a church 06:54 and they can tell me everything I said, everything I did, everything I had on, 07:01 they weren't at church but they know everything that's a place at church. 07:05 So, then it's no longer a Bedside Baptists, St. Mattress Methodists or hearing a word from Pastor Pillow, 07:13 it's now online Adventists. You can even now return you to have an offering online. 07:20 You don't have cash at Oakwood Church we have cash app. Come on say amen. [Congregation: Amen.] 07:25 You can return you to have an off and do cash app -- 07:27 --and please don't misunderstand me now I'm not disparaging these changes 07:31 but I'm pointing out that we're living in a changing world and these changes are impacting the church. 07:35 So, either you were changed with the times and be relevant to today's society or you will die a slow death 07:41 because you refuse to change. Newsflash, not just Adventist churches but all churches. 07:49 85% of the churches in America are losing members. Nearly 96% of Americans don't consistently go to church. 08:00 This has all come about in the past 40 years. What is the result? 08:05 Our children are receiving no religious training which means 08:09 that as time goes by as the delay of the Lord's coming is just that delayed. 08:13 It will get harder and harder to minister as a church in our society. 08:19 Which means church has to change. 08:22 Not change its message but change its methods. So, it leads me today to our subject that it's time for an upgrade. 08:35 What do I mean? Most people today for example don't like to read like they read 20 years ago. 08:42 They'd rather get their information from the television or the internet. 08:44 So, if a church wants these same people to learn our message 08:49 we must present our message in the way they're used to that's why we have PowerPoint audio-visual tools in this church. 08:56 We don't have them. So, we can brag and say we have the latest technological equipment. 09:01 We don't have all of this just so we can say we have HD cameras. 09:05 We don't have all of this just so we can boast video walls but we have what we have 09:10 because we have to speak in a language in 2019 that people understand. 09:15 We're changing the method not the message. God's got to do a new thing. Why? Times have changed. 09:22 Philosophies are different. Attitudes are not the same. Respect levels are not what they were 10, 20, 30 years ago. 09:31 Regard for human life is not what it used to be. 09:34 God's got to do a new thing and a new thing means, a change a change in our thinking, a change in our ideas, 09:43 a change in our methods. God says, Behold, I will do a new thing.” 09:48 Shall we not spring forth, shall you not know it. 09:52 Just like God wanted to do a new thing for his people in the eighth century before Christ and Babylon, 09:56 God wants to do a new thing for his people in the 21st century after Christ in Huntsville. 10:01 God is at work. God is doing a new thing but many of us don't see it. 10:06 God is at work making things happen that have never happened before but we can't see it. 10:11 Our Creator who has made all things new, our Redeemer in whom we are a new creature 10:17 and our indwelling Holy Ghost who brings new life says, “I'm about to do a new thing. 10:23 I'm going to make a right way in the wilderness. 10:26 I am going to make a way in rivers in the desert responding to the dilemma of the people in the Judah.” 10:32 Caught in exile in Babylon wondering if they were ever going to get home again the prophet Isaiah insists 10:38 that if they were just opened up their eyes and see that God is trying to do a new thing, 10:44 that God is already at work, that God is working on our behalf. Don't you see it? Don't you get it? Wake up. 10:51 God is making a way to go home do we not see God's new thing. 10:58 Maybe we can't see and don't see what God is doing because we are afraid about change. 11:06 I said afraid about change. I didn't say we're afraid of change. I said we're afraid about change. 11:17 Somebody's not getting this a minute. We're afraid that change is coming. 11:22 We're afraid that if we don't change we will miss out but we're also afraid 11:26 that if we change too much we'll veer off the right path, so we're afraid about change. 11:33 Fear prevents us from trusting God's leadership. 11:37 Fear keeps us paralyzed and unwilling to make decisions because there is always the agony of choice before the promise of change 11:48 but God says, “I want to do a new thing. I want to make a way through the wilderness. 11:53 I want to make a way through the rivers in the desert. It's time for an upgrade.” 12:00 What is an upgrade? Upgrade its change. Everybody say upgrade. [Congregation: Upgrade.] 12:11 All right. Upgrade is what I have a seat on the airplane in coach 12:18 but because I've got frequent flyer miles the gate agent says, “Carlton Byrd, will you come to the podium. 12:28 Your seat has been upgraded to first class.” Don't hate. Celebrate. 12:36 When all the people are lined up around the gate, I love it when I said, “Excuse me.” Excuse me. 12:44 They're calling for first class. They are calling my name. Do I have a witness to this place? 12:52 Everybody say upgrade. [Congregation: Upgrade.] 12:55 Upgrade is when you have a Toyota Camry. It's 10 years old. I hope nobody has a ten year old Camry in here. 13:04 It has two hundred thousand miles on it. It doesn't have the latest features. There is no navigation system. 13:12 It does not have satellite radio. It does not have Bluetooth capability. 13:17 It does not have access to a USB port and your children are sitting in the backseat and they're telling you, “This car is old. 13:27 Drop me off at the corner and I will walk the rest of the way.” It's time for an upgrade. Somebody's looking at me. 13:38 You're still not getting me. Let me try this way. Back in the day, 13:41 we had a rotary phone then we had a touch-tone phone then we had a cell phone and now, we have smartphones. 13:50 When cell phones first came out they were big bulky and expensive. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? 13:58 When we first got cell phones young people don't even notice, we used to pay a dollar per minute to talk. 14:05 So, therefore when we had cell phones we only use them in time of emergency do I have a witness at his place? [Congregation: Amen.] 14:13 But now, we talk on our cell phones all the time. Long distance? My girls say, “What's long distance?” 14:22 They don't even know what long distance is. Somebody know what I'm talking about? 14:25 In fact the reality is many of you don't even have home phones anymore. 14:30 You can use your smartphone for everything. I don't even think they sell the flip phones anymore. 14:34 Are you hearing what I'm saying everybody? 14:36 But one of the biggest problems with modern technology and smart phones is that they become outdated very quickly. 14:44 You can pick up the latest iPhone or Android device and it will become obsolete in six months 14:51 but your phone can no longer perform basic tasks, so, listen to me. 14:55 When your phone can no longer do what it used to do, when your phone is irrelevant to the user, you're told, 15:03 it's time for an upgrade. When your phone system stops working, it's time for an upgrade. 15:12 When your phone apps will work anymore, it's time for an upgrade. When you need a faster phone, it's time for an upgrade. 15:21 When you need bigger and larger storage, it's time for an upgrade. 15:26 When your phone has a bad camera, it's time for an upgrade. 15:31 When you break the screen on your phone, it's time for an upgrade. 15:35 If you want your smart phone to work, you have to upgrade. That means you got to change. 15:41 It's the same way in business. 15:44 When you refuse to change, when you refuse to upgrade your business you go out of business. 15:49 Let me illustrate. So, there's this man who came to this town and he wants to open a barber shop. 15:55 He rent some building and he buys and installs his barber chair and all this other equipment 16:00 and then he runs ads for his barber shop in the newspaper of the city. 16:04 He got a few people in but most of the people who came in they left. 16:07 The ones that kept him as their barber were individuals who were similar in age like he was. 16:13 No matter what the man did he just couldn't get new customers to return into his barber shop. 16:20 So, pretty soon he had to close up the barbers and go out of business. What did the man do wrong? 16:27 He would only cut hair the way the care was cut back in the day and so, 16:33 since most men want to wear their hair differently today. 16:35 They wouldn't go back to him. He was so concentrated on what he wanted, 16:40 that he completely dismiss what the customers wanted. 16:44 So, the bottom line was that he had to close his shop because he refused to upgrade. He refused to change. 16:56 If we look in our secular business world, if we look at K-mart, it refused to upgrade. 17:05 If we look at Sears & Roebuck, it refused to upgrade. If we look at Montgomery Ward's, it refused to upgrade. 17:19 If we look at JCPenney, it refused to upgrade. If we look at Blockbuster Video, it refused to upgrade. 17:32 The church is the same way. If it refuses to upgrade, it will die. 17:43 So, somebody's looking at me saying but Pastor Bird, “The church is not a business.” “Oh, but I beg to differ.” 17:50 The church is a business. The church is a soul-winning business. 17:56 The church is in the business of saving men, women, boys, and girls. Can I tell you something? 18:04 When only two people come to church, it's time for an upgrade. 18:09 When the baptismal pool has become nothing more than an antiquated artifact of antiquity on the outside 18:16 and a storage bin of junk on the inside, it's time for an upgrade. 18:22 When you only have five children coming out to the front for children's story, it's time for an upgrade. 18:28 When prayer meeting has been reduced to two songs and three sentence prayers, it's time for an upgrade. 18:34 When people come to church and they can't share their burdens and problems simply 18:38 because they're afraid of what other folks might say about them after they come clean, it's time for an upgrade. 18:45 When people are being delivered from their problems their difficulties and demons 18:49 and they don't understand the power of the Holy Ghost that's inside of them to cast out those same demons to tread on serpents 18:57 and stop out the devil, it's time for an upgrade. 19:02 When the emphasis of policy is placed over the needs of people, it's time for an upgrade. 19:09 When people want real authentic life-changing life savings scratching where the people its ministry and they can't find it, 19:16 it's time for an upgrade. When families are falling apart, divorce is rampant, 19:22 children are leaving the church and suicide is on the rise, it's time for an upgrade. 19:28 When people can't find jobs, illiteracy is rampant, children are failing in school 19:35 and there are more young men of color in jail prison or some other police form of scrutiny, 19:41 than there are black young men in higher education, it's time for an upgrade. I'm not just talking my carpets. 19:51 I'm not just talking my pews. I'm not just talking about a bathroom but I talk about ministries. I'm talking about methods. 20:01 I'm talking about the delivery of God's unchanging message. 20:05 I'm talking about the welcoming of God's Spirit to move upon the people. 20:09 If God's Spirit just moved in Oakwood one good time, 20:13 I mean one good time when people came down to the front during the prayer intersession, 20:17 if this place became an inviting place rather sick are healed, the blind can see, the dead are raised, 20:25 the lame walk, the dumb talk, chains are broken, it's time to upgrade. 20:32 Ellen White says, “The book evangelism that everyone connected with work, 20:37 should keep fresh ideas and by tact and foresight bring all that is possible in your work to interest your hearers.” 20:44 She continues. She says, “Means will be devised to reach hearts. 20:47 Some of the methods used in this work will be different from the methods used in the work of the past 20:52 but let no one because of this block the way because of criticism.” 20:59 Everybody know about Wheaties Cereal? If you know about Wheaties Cereal raise your hand. 21:05 Wheaties, Wheaties, all right. Wheaties Cereal began making cereal back in the 1940s. 21:14 In the early days, Wheaties was good Wheaties Cereal was good but it wasn't particularly popular. 21:21 So, in the early 1950s, the owners, managers, presidents, leaders of Wheaties Cereal took a big financial risk 21:30 and this something no one else had ever done. Some of you were living back then you know what I'm talking about. 21:35 They paid big bucks to have a popular athlete, 21:40 grace the front of the cereal box and then their new slogan was “Breakfast Of Champions.” 21:50 Anybody know what I'm talking about? [Congregation: Yeah.] 21:52 All right. Their plan worked. Wheaties became an overnight success. 22:00 Wheaties has been one of the top-selling cereals ever since then, but they also had to do something else. 22:07 They had to keep finding new athletes that people knew to put on the cover of the box 22:14 so then throughout the years to be able to introduce the cereal to new people. 22:18 They changed the outside of the box to become more relevant to the Society of that day. 22:25 Not once during this time. Did they ever change the cereal in the box? Somebody-- y'all don't get it. 22:35 The cereal has remained the same all these years and I just came out in the first half of 2019 to let somebody know 22:46 that the church needs to change the outside of the box. 22:53 We must present ourselves to where the average person outside the church will be willing to receive what we have inside our box. 23:04 If they can't relate to the outside of the box, they won't receive what we have inside the box. 23:11 If they can't relate to our method they won't receive our message. Now, don't get it twisted. 23:21 Our message must remain the same. Malachi 3:6, God says, “I am the Lord.” I change not. 23:29 Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” The message doesn't change but the method does. 23:39 If God told me to tell you that I'm trying to do a new thing, then I'm going to make a way through the wilderness, 23:46 I'm going to make a way through the rivers in the desert, God is trying to do a new thing for this church. 23:51 He's creating a new way in the desert but we must be willing to travel new roads to meet new people. 23:58 It's time for an upgrade. We can't be content with what was any more than we can be comfortable with what is 24:05 because we must crave what can be, it's time for an upgrade. 24:10 When we focus our attention on the Lord, setbacks will become opportunities 24:14 and springboards and obstacles will turn into opportunities, it's time for an upgrade. 24:19 Let me tell you all something flexibility is one of the greatest blessings of God to his church 24:24 not flexibility in our message but flexibility in the way we presented to others, it's time for an upgrade. 24:30 So friends of mine, if you have to upgrade your tires, if you have to upgrade your car, your house, your furniture, your clothes, 24:38 if you have to upgrade your phone then you also have to upgrade the church. 24:43 Some things that used to work before don't work today because things have changed and it's time for an upgrade. 24:48 But maybe you're not a member of Oakwood, it's still time for you to upgrade and make Jesus your personal Savior. 25:01 2018 has come and gone. It's time for you this year to upgrade in Jesus in 2019. 25:18 God wants to use you now. I'm not good enough. I'm not righteous enough. I'm not holy enough. 25:28 I'm not old enough. God doesn't usually as I told you last sounds because you're good enough 25:34 but God uses you because God is good enough to use you. It's time for an upgrade. 25:44 An upgrade in this church, upgrade the church worldwide. 25:52 It's time for everybody in here remember, non-member, visitor, 25:55 everybody it's time for us to have a personal upgrade. 26:01 Behold, I will do a new thing. 26:07 It will make a way in the wilderness, a way in the rivers, in the desert. 26:20 Shall ye not know have you not heard and I who do a new thing. 26:32 My motto is Lord, if you can use anything, you can use me. 26:40 Do you believe that? If you--- come on now. 26:43 Choir: If You can use anything Lord, You can use me. 26:49 Thank you very much for tuning in to this week's Breath of Life broadcast. 26:53 We hope and pray that you've been blessed by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 26:58 If you would like to hear this sermon in its entirety, 27:01 please feel free to visit us at www.breathoflife.tv. 27:06 Or, call us at (256) 929-6460. 27:13 [END] 27:18 Revisit Breath of Life classics with Dr. C.D. Brooks. 27:22 For your gift of $35 or more 27:24 you'll receive the entire set of 28 sermons on 7 DVDs. 27:28 Please call (877)265-6333 and mention giving code CDBGIF. 27:36 “Experience the Power” with Walter Pearson! 27:40 For your gift of $35 or more 27:42 you'll receive the entire set of 23 sermons on 6 DVDs. 27:47 Please call (877)265-6333 and mention giving code EXPGIF. |
Revised 2019-01-15