(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #B668 -
Smyrna: The Faithful Church
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Dr. Byrd: We want to
get in the word of God now.
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I want to invite you to take
your bibles, take your bibles
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with me and turn to Revelation
chapter 2 verse number 8.
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Revelation
chapter 2, verse number 8
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Revelation 2:8, if
you would Revelation 2:8,
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the word of God
says in Revelation 2:8:
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"And unto the angel of
the church in Smyrna write;
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These things saith the first and
the last, which was dead, and is
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alive; I know thy works, and
tribulation, and poverty (but
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thou art rich) and I know the
blasphemy of them which say they
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are Jews, and are not but
are the synagogue of Satan.
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Fear none of those
things which thou shalt suffer:
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behold, the devil shall cast
some of you into prison, that ye
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may be tried; and ye shall have
tribulation ten days: be thou
faithful unto death,
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and I will give thee crown
of Life. He that hath an ear,
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let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches;
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He that overcometh shall not
be hurt by the second death."
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Let's pray. God bless us
now as we preach your word.
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Lord, we feel like going on, and
so we go on and preach your word
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today. Preach to your people,
speak to your people; may the
anointing flow, full and free.
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Forgive me of my sins.
Hide me behind the cross.
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And Lord, as I say every Sabbath
at the appeal, Lord, move in a
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mighty way. In Jesus name, we
pray, begging for forgiveness of
sin. Amen. And amen.
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We now come to the second of
the seven churches, the Book of
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Revelation. We come to church
Smyrna. Now for the sake of
review after Jesus death,
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Rome and the surrounding
territories became increasingly
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hostile towards Jesus followers
and because of this hostility,
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every disciple after Jesus death
except John was martyred for his
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faith. Now, although
John wasn't killed, the Bible,
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lets us know that he was exiled
to a tiny rocky island called
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Patmos. "Excile" was a horrible
sentence, second only to the
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death penalty. So John wasn't
killed but he was supposed to
die by himself on Patmos.
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But it was during his exile
to Patmos that the Lord spoke to
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the apostle John in vision, and
John received the most detailed
vision of things to come in the
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future than any of
the other apostles.
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It was on Patmos in John's exile
that the Lord revealed future
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events and gave John seven
messages to seven churches:
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos,
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Thyatria, Sardis
Philadelphia, and Laodicea
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because these seven churches
were located along a circular
trade route in Asia Minor,
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which by the way
is modern day Turkey.
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The gospel message was given
to these seven churches in these
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seven cities with the goal that
if the message were given to
these seven cities then the
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gospel message would
be spread everywhere else.
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Now the first of these churches,
the first of the seven was
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Ephesus. Remember, Ephesus was
what we call the working church.
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The people in Ephesus were
hard-working people who worked
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and labored and endured for the
Lord, but they had lost their
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first love. They were hard
workers, but the work they did
was no longer motivated
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by love for one another. And so
the message from Jesus to the
Ephesus Church was,
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the truth and love must go hand
in hand. In other words, you
can't labor without love.
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So Jesus says, "Look, I
don't care how hard you work.
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Works without love is a
problem." So Jesus said, "Yes,
work for him. Yes, labor for
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him. Yes, endure for him, but
don't forget why you do what you
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do. You do it because of love."
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Then we come to verses 8-11.
And now we come to the second
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church, Smyrna. Now notice that
with each church Jesus addresses
or greets each church
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individually, which suggest then
that the letter from Christ to
the seven churches is specific
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to each church. Each church has
specific needs, each church has
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strengths, each church has
weaknesses, but notice in Christ
letter to the church at Smyrna.
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He mentions no weaknesses. In
fact, He doesn't rebuke them at
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all but rather instead when you
read these four verses verses 8,
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9, 10, and 11, Christ only
commends and encourages Smyrna.
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Smyrna was home to a large
Jewish community that was
hostile to Christians,
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and slanderous accusations by
Jews against Christians led to
Christian persecution
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by Roman authorities. But
although Smyrna was a persecuted
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church, Smyrna was
also a faithful church.
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The church at Smyrna refused to
worship pagan gods or the Roman
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emperors. They were faithful to
the one and only true God but as
a result of their faithfulness,
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they experience pressure,
poverty and persecution.
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In His message to Smyrna; Jesus
by contrast seeks to encourage
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them. He juxtaposes the first
and the last suggesting that the
first will become last
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and the last will become first.
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Put more plainly what He is
trying to say is those that are
faced with material poverty
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are actually spiritually rich.
He didn't says that that which
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was dead will become alive,
meaning that one day those
persecuted will, like Jesus,
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one day find life in death,
which means that when you die in
Jesus the next voice you
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hear, the next voice in that
great getting up morning will be
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the voice of Jesus and you will
live eternally with Jesus.
Hallelujah somebody.
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But then in verse 9, Jesus does
something special. He speaks in
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the first person. He doesn't
speak in the second person and
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say "you". He doesn't speak in
the third person and say "He."
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But Jesus speaks in the
first person and He says,
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"I signifying that he is
intimately and personally
concerned about Smyrna."
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He says, "I know your works not
somebody else, but I know your
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works. I'm not talking about
what somebody else told me. I
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know your works. I'm not talking
about what he said and she said
but I know your works.
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I know your tribulation.
I know your poverty.
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I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews and they
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are not but they are synagogues
of Satan. I know your works. I
didn't read it in the news.
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Now remember Satan by definition
means accuser or adversary.
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So then the Jewish churches
became the synagogue's of the
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accuser. But remember,
healing comes out of brokenness.
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And when you read the
Book of Acts carefully,
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you would discover that many of
the troubles of the early church
grew out of slanderous
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accusations hurled
at them by the Jews,
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and the more the Jews oppressed
them the more the church grew.
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Y'all don't hear what I'm
saying. That shouldn't be a
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surprise to us because back in
the day, back in Egypt when the
children of Israel was being
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oppressed by mean old Pharaoh,
beaten by Pharaoh, oppressed by
Pharaoh, persecuted by Pharaoh,
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the more they grew the more
Pharaoh try to subtract them the
more they multiplied.
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The more he tried to destroy
them the more babies they had
and the larger they became,
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which is a reminder that
sometimes your challenge is not
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sent to defeat you but it sent
to increase you. I wish I had a
witness in this place.
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Now, although the Jews were
persecuting the Smyrna Church,
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Smyrna had not yet felt
the full impact of persecution,
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because they knew they would
suffer in the future the Church
of Smyrna was afraid.
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So Jesus tells them in verse 10;
"The devil will throw some of
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you in prison. The devil will
do all that he can to discourage
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some of you and make you lose
your faith. You will be tried.
You will be arrested.
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You will experience hardship
but remain faithful unto death."
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Here, Jesus is warning Smyrna
that although they may suffer,
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He said, "I will be with you."
And because He is Lord over all
of life's circumstances,
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they had nothing to
fear. Jesus is saying to them,
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"You may be persecuted for
My name's sake, but be faithful
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unto the end." And I just
believe that this warning, this
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admonition, this council from
Jesus is not just for the Smyrna
Church, but it's also for us
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today. In fact, I think this
letter was written for the
purpose of preparing us for
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what's coming in this world.
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Because if we think we're
being persecuted now for being a
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Christian, if we think we're
being talked about now for being
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a Christian, if we think we're
being mocked now for being a
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Christian, if we think we're
being made fun of now because we
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are Christian, we
haven't seen a thing yet.
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Jesus says, "Don't be afraid
that you're going to have to
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suffer. You'll suffer a
while, you'll bleed a while
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but the length of the
tribulation won't be long.
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In fact, it will be short
compared to the promise of
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eternal life. Just know
that I've got your back.
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That no weapon formed against
you it's going to prosper."
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That if God be for us, who can
be against us? That God is our
refuge and strength.
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A very present help in time of
trouble. Therefore, we will not
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fear. We though the earth be
removed and though the mountains
be carried into the midst of
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the sea, therefore though,
the waters thereof war and be
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troubled. Though the mountains
shake with the swelling there
up, there is a river.
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The streams whereof shall
make glad the city of God,
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the holy place of the
tabernacles of the most high.
And God is in the midst of her.
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God is in the midst of her,
I said she shall not be moved.
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God will help her and that right
early, the heathen rage, the
kingdoms were moved.
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He uttered his voice, the Earth
melted. The Lord of hosts is
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with us. The god of Jacob is
our refuge. Hallelujah somebody.
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All things work together for
good to them that love the Lord
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and are the called
according to his purpose.
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Let me tell you
something in the name of Jesus.
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If Satan was smart, if Satan
were wise, he would leave me
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alone. If Satan was
smart, he would leave you alone.
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Why? Because I'm a child of God
and when I say me, I'm not just
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talking about me, but
I'm also talking about you,
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because I understand we share
the same positions as sons and
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daughters of God, because we are
children Hallelujah of the most
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high God and there's nothing
more dangerous in life that's a
mess with somebody's child.
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You want to get somebody mad?
Mess with their child. You want
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to get me mad? Mess with one of
my children. It will bring out
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the hood in you. It will take
you to another level. When
somebody starts messing with
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your child, it starts bring it
out things in you that normally
would not operate in your life.
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Go back with me to Egypt, and
when we read an Exodus how God
began to fight Pharaoh,
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you must remember that the
battle was God's battle and not
the Israelite's battle.
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The battle ensued because God
had gotten tired of Pharaoh,
attacking his children
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oppressing them, persecuting
them and making it more
difficult for them to do what
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they had to do every day.
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Pharaoh is coming up with
another way to make the lives of
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God's children more unbearable.
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It became so difficult that the
children of Israel began to cry
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out to the Lord, and
they begin to cry and say,
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"Lord, deliver us from
this oppressive mean persecuting
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force that's coming against
everything we have to do."
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I wonder are there any folks who
are watching right now who have
cried out to the Lord
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and said, "Lord, deliver me from
the mess that I'm going through
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right now." because if we're
real today, every now and then,
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you have to go to God and
you got to cry out to the Lord.
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I don't know if you
know what I'm talking about,
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but every now and then I've got
to go and I've got to cry out to
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the Lord, and I have to say,
"God, life is getting on my
nerves. Troubles are pressing me
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down. Enemies are
coming from everywhere.
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And if I don't get some help
right about now, I'm not going
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to make it." It was when the
children of Israel cried out to
the Lord that God told Moses,
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"Moses, I've heard
the cry of my children.
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Go down there to mean ol pharaoh
and tell him let my people go.
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You can do whatever you want
with your people, but I need you
to let my people go.
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Because if you keep messing with
my people, I'm gonna deal with
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you." Do you have a
witness in his place?
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In the name of Jesus, I came to
let somebody know that you are a
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child of God and you don't have
to fight by yourself God fights
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for you. If I hold my peace and
let the Lord fight my battles,
victory shall be mine.
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You see, we always see God as
this kind peaceful compassionate
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God who sits on His throne with
all this passivity and docility.
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But let me remind you that while
that is true, it is also true
that your God and my God,
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he's a God of war. Israel
said he was awesome in battle.
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Who is the king of glory, the
Lord strong and mighty, who is
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the King of glory, the
Lord Mighty in battle when God
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fought. I said when God fought,
he swallowed up nations in the
earth by his right hand.
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When God fought,
lion's mouthes were shuts.
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When God fought, Red
Sea's became dry highways.
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When God fought, donkeys begin
to talk. When God fought, the
sun stood still when.
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God fought. God says, "Pharaoh,
stop messing with my children.
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I'm going to fight you."
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He told, "Moses going down to
mean ol' pharaoh and tell him
he's about to get in a fight
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with me now. He's
been jumping on my kids,
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but now he's going to have
to fight thy daddy right now."
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And there's a major difference
between fighting a child and
fighting their parents.
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Do I have a
witness in his place?
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There's a major difference
between fighting the Hebrew
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slave and fighting the King of
kings and the Lord of lords and
if he's got any sense,
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he better let my children
go. And the amazing thing. Oh, I
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wish I had time. Let me
preach it like I feel it.
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The amazing thing about God
is that when God gets ready to
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fight, He will use things
that you never thought about.
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Who would have ever thought
of releasing boils against your
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enemies? May be
tanks and bombs, but boils?
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Only God could clap his hands
and cause boils to break out on
the backs of his enemies.
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When God got upset, God walked
out of the ponds of Egypt and
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spoke to the frogs and
said, "Hop on over into Egypt.
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I'm going to release Weaponry
that they've never seen before."
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God looks at some flies and call
for the flies to descend upon
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Egypt, when God
gets ready to fight,
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"God, will use stuff that you
never thought of to give you the
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victory," but God says
just continue to be faithful.
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He says, "Be faithful unto death
and I will give thee a crown of
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life." Faithful!
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I'm almost done. Smyrna was
faithful. God made a promise to
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them. He will reward
them for their faithfulness.
00:18:31.87\00:18:33.88
The Bible says, he said he
would give them a crown of life.
00:18:33.91\00:18:36.81
They may have to face
persecution. They may have to go
through tribulation.
00:18:36.85\00:18:41.15
They may get
arrested, they may even die.
00:18:41.18\00:18:44.42
But God hallelujah
promised them a crown of life.
00:18:44.45\00:18:47.79
And God is going to do the same
for us. You need to know the
time of trouble is coming,
00:18:47.82\00:18:53.56
persecution is coming,
oppression is coming, arrests
00:18:53.60\00:18:58.67
are coming, but if we're
faithful, God is going to give
us a reward in the struggle
00:18:58.70\00:19:04.71
against Satan and this reward
won't be temporary but this
reward is going to be permanent.
00:19:04.74\00:19:09.51
Late in the midnight hour, God's
gonna turn that thing around.
00:19:09.54\00:19:13.48
It's going to work in
your favor. Romans. 8:18 says,
00:19:13.52\00:19:16.99
the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be
compared to the glory that
00:19:17.02\00:19:20.92
they shall be revealed in us. So
Jesus refers to the faithful as
00:19:20.96\00:19:29.03
overcomers. That's us, that's
you, that's me overcomers.
00:19:29.06\00:19:32.17
He says in verse 11; "He that
overcometh shall not be hurt in
00:19:32.20\00:19:40.78
the second death." Second death?
What is Jesus talking about?
00:19:40.81\00:19:44.68
Now, remember there are
going to be two deaths and two
00:19:44.71\00:19:50.39
resurrections. The first death
will be the death of the wicked
at Jesus second coming.
00:19:50.42\00:19:55.72
According to verse
Thessalonians, 4:16 and 17; "At
Jesus second coming,
00:19:55.76\00:20:01.90
the dead in Christ, the
overcomers shall rise first."
That's the first resurrection.
00:20:01.93\00:20:09.37
Revelation 20:6 says, "Blessed
and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection
00:20:09.40\00:20:17.61
on such the second death hath
no power at the second coming of
00:20:17.65\00:20:24.79
Jesus." The righteous
dead, the overcomers rise first.
00:20:24.82\00:20:28.29
The righteous living, the other
group of overcomers will be
caught up to meet the Lord
00:20:28.32\00:20:33.80
in the air. The wicked living
will die at the brightness of
00:20:33.83\00:20:38.27
His coming. The wicked dead
who are already dead will remain
00:20:38.30\00:20:42.57
dead. The righteous will live
and reign with Christ for 1,000
00:20:42.60\00:20:46.44
years. The wicked will be dead
here on planet Earth. Satan will
not be able to tempt anybody.
00:20:46.47\00:20:53.35
Satan will not be
able to resurrect anybody
00:20:53.38\00:20:56.35
because Satan does not
have resurrection power.
00:20:56.38\00:20:58.75
But at the end of the 1000
Years, God's going to resurrect
00:20:58.79\00:21:03.99
the wicked. This is
the second Resurrection.
00:21:04.03\00:21:06.13
Satan will deceive them into
thinking that they can overtake
00:21:06.16\00:21:10.87
Jesus, that he resurrected them,
that they can overcome Jesus and
00:21:10.90\00:21:15.27
the righteous, the New
Jerusalem, with Jesus and the
00:21:15.30\00:21:18.97
righteous, will descend
out of Heaven to this earth.
00:21:19.01\00:21:21.41
Satan and the wicked will
surround the New Jerusalem as it
00:21:21.44\00:21:26.41
descends, but God will did rain
down fire. He will destroy Satan
and the wicked sin,
00:21:26.45\00:21:32.72
and Satan will be destroyed
forever. That's the second
00:21:32.75\00:21:37.69
death. But hold up. Wait a
minute. Let's go back. Why does
God resurrect a wicked?
00:21:37.73\00:21:42.93
Why does God raise the dead
for them only be dead again?
00:21:42.96\00:21:46.40
They were dead in the first
step, why must there be a second
00:21:46.43\00:21:49.84
death? Well, when God resurrects
the wicked, this is the only
time at the end of the thousand
00:21:49.87\00:21:54.58
years where everyone who's ever
been alive. We will all be alive
00:21:54.61\00:21:59.61
at the same time. Why must we
all be alive at the same time?
Why must Carlton Byrd be alive?
00:21:59.65\00:22:04.29
Why must Hitler be alive?
Why must Donald Trump be alive?
00:22:04.32\00:22:07.52
Why must Barack Obama be alive?
Why must Alexander The Great be
00:22:07.56\00:22:11.56
alive? We must all be alive,
because the prophecy must come
00:22:11.59\00:22:14.86
to pass, that one day every knee
shall bow. Every tongue must
confess that Jesus Christ is
00:22:14.93\00:22:21.34
Lord. Hallelujah.
00:22:21.37\00:22:24.04
But Smyrna Church, but
commandment-keeping church, but
followers of Christ.,
00:22:24.07\00:22:31.98
he that overcometh shall
not be hurt in the second death.
00:22:32.01\00:22:37.25
Jesus is going to give us a
crown of life. Death may come
but it won't last forever.
00:22:37.29\00:22:49.10
Oppression may come but it won't
last forever. Persecution may
00:22:49.13\00:22:57.07
come but it won't last forever.
We may be attacked down here
00:22:57.11\00:23:02.68
but God has something better for
us up there. Eyes have not seen.
Neither ears heard.
00:23:02.71\00:23:10.59
Neither has it entered
into the hearts of man.
00:23:10.62\00:23:12.69
The things that God has prepared
for them that love him and God
00:23:12.72\00:23:18.16
tells us what the overcomers
will experience. In Revelation
chapter 21, John says,
00:23:18.19\00:23:23.90
"And I saw a new heaven and I
saw a new Earth; for the first
heaven and the first earth
00:23:23.93\00:23:29.40
were passed away, and there was
no more sea." and I John saw the
00:23:29.44\00:23:35.21
holy city. New Jerusalem
coming down from heaven.
00:23:35.24\00:23:37.45
As prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband
00:23:37.48\00:23:40.15
and God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes, and there
should be no more death,
00:23:40.18\00:23:44.75
no more crying, no more dying,
no more high blood pressure, no
00:23:44.79\00:23:49.49
more strokes, no more cancer, no
more arthritis, no more
coronavirus, no more house note,
00:23:49.52\00:23:54.60
no more car note, no more
tuition, the former things are
00:23:54.63\00:24:01.14
passed away. All
things shall become new.
00:24:01.17\00:24:02.87
Let me tell you something, I'm
here by myself but I feel the
Holy Ghost in this place.
00:24:02.90\00:24:10.28
So the devil better back up
right now. Cancer better back up
00:24:10.31\00:24:17.85
right now. High blood pressure,
you better back up right now.
Arthritis back up right now.
00:24:17.89\00:24:24.43
Leukemia back up right now.
Sickle cell back up right now.
00:24:24.46\00:24:30.50
Bankruptcy back up right now.
Unemployment back up right now.
00:24:30.53\00:24:35.87
Fear back up right now.
Discouragement backup right now.
00:24:35.90\00:24:40.71
I feel the presence of the Lord
in this place. Who Wants to Be
an overcomer today?
00:24:40.74\00:24:47.48
Who wants a crown of life? Who
wants to hear, well done thou
good and faithful servant?
00:24:47.52\00:24:53.15
Because thou has been
faithful over a few things.
00:24:53.19\00:24:56.62
I will make thee ruler over many
things. Enter thou into the joy
00:24:56.66\00:24:59.96
of thy Lord. Hallelujah.
00:25:00.06\00:25:01.03
[Congregant: Amen]
00:25:01.06\00:25:02.70
Dr. Byrd: Christ returnith.
Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah
00:25:02.73\00:25:11.84
Christ returnith. Revive us
again. Be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a
00:25:11.87\00:25:27.16
crown of life. "Pastor, why are
you doing all this recording and
trying to make church all nice?
00:25:27.19\00:25:30.63
We're in a pandemic. It
doesn't make a difference."
00:25:30.66\00:25:32.56
No, because I'm
going to be found faithful.
00:25:32.59\00:25:38.60
"In times like these why
do you still return tithe and
00:25:38.63\00:25:42.94
offering?" Because I'm
going to be found faithful.
00:25:42.97\00:25:47.84
"Why are you preaching as
if it is your last sermon?"
00:25:47.88\00:25:52.18
Because I'm going to be
found faithful. God rewards
00:25:52.21\00:26:01.76
faithfulness. The church at
Smyrna was a faithful church.
00:26:01.79\00:26:07.23
And so they were able to face
the future knowing that God had
00:26:07.23\00:26:14.24
their back. God is
calling us to be faithful.
00:26:14.27\00:26:16.74
And he said. "When
you're faithful you will be an
00:26:16.77\00:26:20.94
overcomer. You will endure
persecution. You will endure
00:26:20.98\00:26:24.65
arrests You will endure
oppression." He says, "But you
will be an overcomer
00:26:24.68\00:26:28.42
because I've got you're back."
00:26:28.45\00:26:32.35
I don't know what you're going
through today but I feel like a
00:26:32.39\00:26:42.00
going on. We get on that sea of
glass, when we study war no
more, when there's no more death
00:26:42.03\00:26:49.34
and dying sickness and
pain no more coronavirus.
00:26:49.37\00:26:53.48
We'll be able to say
heaven was cheap enough.
00:26:53.51\00:26:58.81
I'm going to look into the eyes
of my Jesus and I just want to
00:26:58.85\00:27:06.32
hear him say, "Well done."
Because you've been faithful,
00:27:06.35\00:27:15.60
well done. The lesson for the
church at Smyrna is a lesson for
00:27:15.63\00:27:22.30
all of us. Be thou faithful unto
death. And when I get to heaven
I'll just be able to say,
00:27:22.34\00:27:32.71
"I'm saved." Today that you
would be saved. Today, do you
want to be an overcomer?
00:27:32.75\00:27:36.52
Thank you very much for tuning
in to this week's Breath of Life
00:27:36.55\00:27:40.39
broadcast. We hope and pray that
you've been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:27:40.42\00:27:45.13
If you would like to hear
this sermon in its entirety,
00:27:45.16\00:27:47.40
please feel free to visit
us at www.breathoflife.tv.
00:27:47.40\00:27:53.47
Or, call us at (256) 929-6460.
00:27:53.50\00:27:59.44
[END]
00:27:59.47\00:28:05.91
GONE BOOK PROMO
00:28:05.95\00:28:06.61
Dr. Byrd: Pain, loss, trama,
00:28:06.65\00:28:15.62
in life we
experience these things.
00:28:15.66\00:28:18.93
My wife and I have a story,
00:28:18.96\00:28:21.86
we have a
testimony of how we lost
00:28:21.90\00:28:26.00
our first born daughter
in a horrific car accident.
00:28:26.03\00:28:32.94
We have this new sharing
book, its en-titled “Gone.”
00:28:32.97\00:28:37.98
And, in it I
want to share with you
00:28:38.01\00:28:41.55
how God has helped me,
00:28:41.58\00:28:44.22
how God has helped my
wife, how God has helped us,
00:28:44.25\00:28:48.82
as we had to endure the fact
that our first born daughter is
00:28:48.86\00:28:55.96
gone. www.breathoflife.tv
00:28:56.00\00:29:11.08