(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #B700 - Greater Things
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Dr. Byrd: It is now time for us
to present the word of God and
so I invite you to take your
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Bibles and go with me to the
Book of John. We are going to go
to John 14. Just one verse today
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and we are going to read this
one verse from The New
International Version of the
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Bible, John 14:12. John 14:12,
the word of God says, "Very
truly I tell you, whoever
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believes in me will do the works
I have been doing. They will do
even greater things than these,
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because I am going to the
Father." Let me read that one
more time, "Very truly I tell
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you, whoever believes in me will
do the works I have been doing.
They will do even greater things
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than these, because I
am going to the Father."
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Today I want to challenge you
the First Sabbath of 2021 with
the subject "Greater Things".
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Greater Things. Father in
Heaven, Lord, right now, speak
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to your people. I first ask that
you would forgive me of my sins
and hide me behind your cross
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because I am unworthy to stand
here before your people today.
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But Lord, cover me with your
robe of righteousness, cleanse
me with your blood right now.
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I pray that this word penetrate
the hearts, the minds, bodies,
the souls, and spirits of all
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who listen. Go now to the
internet. Go to the television.
Go to the computer, and God
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speak. We be careful and give
you the praise and the glory
now. When we get to the end of
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the message today, I pray that
people everywhere, people in
Huntsville, people in Madison,
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people in Alabama, people in the
North, the South, the East, the
West, people in the Caribbean,
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people in Africa, people in the
UK, people in Australia, people
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everywhere, that God we would be
changed as a result of your word
this day. I thank you for
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hearing this prayer. I thank you
for answering this prayer. God
this is one of those days I got
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to preach it. So God speak to
me. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
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"Very truly I tell you, whoever
believes in me will do the works
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I have been doing, and they will
do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the
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Father." Greater things. 2020
was supposed to be the year.
2020 was supposed to be the year
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where we could accomplish
anything. It was supposed to be
a year of great exploits, great
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discoveries, new opportunities.
2020 was supposed to be the
year, a vision. We were supposed
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to see things so clearly. When
2020 began, everybody was
talking about vision. It was
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supposed to be amazing. But it
wasn't so amazing. By the time
we got to March, by the time
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April rolled around, and May,
and June, because COVID-19 hit
us. Infection rates skyrocketed.
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There are lockdowns,
stay-at-home orders,
ventilators, deaths, job losses,
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toilet paper shortages, stock
market plummets, Church doors
closed, sports venues cancelled.
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Then there were unmerited and
unwarranted killings of black
people. Racial injustices,
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racial unrest, hurricanes,
wildfires, election drama,
election protesting, bombings,
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and then the second wave of
COVID-19. More closings, more
lockdowns, more stay-at-home
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orders, more ventilators, more
deaths. And at midnight
yesterday, there was this
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thought among many that on
January 1, we can put 2020 in
our rearview mirror and things
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magically will return to normal.
We live through 2020, and we
believe that things have got to
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get better in 2021. I must admit
that I really hope that they do.
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I pray they do. I want things to
not only get back to a sense of
normalcy, but I want them to be
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better than normal. Better than
it was before COVID. But then,
what happens if they don't? What
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happens if things get worse?
What happens if there are more
coronavirus cases? What happens
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if there are more COVID deaths?
What happens if there are
adverse effects to the vaccines?
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What happens if people's
personal finances don't bounce
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back? What happens if the church
doesn't return to normal and
people don't come back to church
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as normal? What happens if this
year is just a repeat of last
year or turns out to be even a
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worse year? What happens if this
is not a better year, a brighter
year, a greater year because we
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all want greater? Greater
health, greater wealth, greater
security. But what if things
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don't get greater or what if we
are being called to a different
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greater? In the text Jesus says
that if we believe in Him, we
will do greater things than He
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did. What is Jesus talking
about? We can't do greater
things than Jesus did.
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There is no one who comes close
to the work that Jesus did. This
verse, though it is inspiring,
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it is one of the most difficult
text in all of Scripture to
understand. Jesus is giving
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encouragement. Jesus is giving
inspiration and comfort to His
distraught disciples,
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who are troubled by the fact
that He was leaving them to go
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to His Father. But then He tells
them that after He is gone, they
will do greater works and
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greater things than He did. And
whatever they ask in His name,
it would be done. But friends,
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how can that be? At this point,
in John 14 prior to that, Jesus
in John 2 has turned water into
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wine. He has read the mind
of a Samaritan woman in John 4.
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He has healed the man at the
pool of Bethesda who was
crippled for 38 years.
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He has fed five thousand with
two fish and five loaves of
bread. He has walks on water.
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He has healed the man who was
born blind. He has raised
Lazarus from the dead.
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So, what does Jesus mean?
What is He talking about when
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He says whoever believes in Him
will do greater things? I mean,
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let us be honest. It is 2000
years later and I don't know of
anyone who has exceeded walking
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on water, feeding five
thousand, or raising the dead.
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I don't know of anyone other
than Jesus who has done all
three of these things,
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all three of these miracles, let
alone something more miraculous.
But experience your mind more
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than that. I am Carlton Byrd, I
am a believer. I am a Christian.
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I am a pastor, and Jesus has
never used me to perform a
miracle. I can't say that
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whatever I asked Him to do, He
does it every time because if
that were the case, Mr. Roddy
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wouldn't have died. Be careful
of the health and the wealth
preachers who use this text to
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name it and claim it, and blab
it, and grab it. Give me a
mansion and give me a Mercedes.
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Heal me of my cancer. They tell
people to claim it by faith, and
when it doesn't happen as the
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people have asked, these same
preachers tell the disappointed
person that the reason they
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didn't receive what they asked
for is because they didn't ask
in faith. But don't get it
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twisted. Jesus isn't promising
us that He will do anything we
ask as long as we tack on "in
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Jesus' name,
Amen" to your prayer.
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Prayer isn't a means of getting
God to give us what we want so
that our lives can be more
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comfortable. But prayer is
the means by which we ask God to
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extend His Kingdom and do His
will on Earth as it is in
heaven. But let us get back to
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the question, I digress. Is it
really possible for us to do
greater things than Jesus?
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The answer to that question is
a resounding "no". You are not
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God. Quit trying to be
God because you are not God.
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Genesis 1:1 says, "In the
beginning God created the
heavens and the Earth",
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which means God created us. God
made us. God does not need us.
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God can work all by God's
self-independent of all human
agency and assistance.
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God has the power to go and do
any and everything without us.
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There are those who say God has
no hands but our hands, but the
fact is God made our hands
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without our hands. God made us
without our help. God is
Sovereign. God doesn't need help
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from anybody else. Genesis 1:1
says, "In the beginning God says
I am to beginning. I am the
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first. I am the last. I am the
end. I am God." God says I can't
show you my beginning
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because I never had a beginning.
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Jesus is God. In the beginning
was the word and the word was
with God, and the word was God,
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and the same was in the
beginning with God. All things
were made by Him. Without Him,
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there was not anything that was
made. The word became flesh,
dwelt among us, and we beheld
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His glory, the glory as the only
begotten of the Father, full of
grace and full of truth.
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So, can anybody do greater
things than Jesus? No, because
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He is God. Don't you
misunderstand this text. Don't
take what Jesus said in the text
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out of context. Jesus was not
saying that every believer would
walk on water or raise the dead.
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Jesus was not saying that every
believer would feed multitudes
or healed blind men.
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If Jesus meant that people would
do greater miracles than He
performed in the sense of
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displaying more power and
greater things than He did, then
He obviously one of the things
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that Jesus failed to perform was
sound the prophecy, because
nobody exceeded Jesus' works.
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Now, let me be clear just in
case someone tries to twist what
I am trying to say.
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We should never doubt that
if it's God's will, God can
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miraculously heal or do other
miracles through His people. But
I do not know of anyone in our
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day experiencing near the same
or greater miracles than Jesus
did. The greater things that
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Jesus promised cannot refer
to greater miracles that He did.
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Then what is Jesus talking
about? Jesus says, "Greater
things." What does he mean?
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When Jesus says, "Greater
things", He is talking about
greater in quantity rather than
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quality. You see when Jesus was
on this Earth, Jesus' activity
have been largely limited to
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Galilee and Judea. But after His
Ascension, after He went back to
His Father, and like the text
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says, His disciples were going
to extend His ministry to the
uttermost parts of the Earth.
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When Jesus my friends ascended
back to Heaven, His followers
only numbered in the one
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hundreds, but
empowered by the Holy Ghost.
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Peter preaching on the day of
Pentecost, that number from
hundreds leaps into the
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thousands. And the Bible says
that on the day of Pentecost,
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the Bible says that three
thousand people were saved in
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one day. And then the Book of
Acts says that the message kept
spread. It kept growing first
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around Jerusalem and eventually
to the Gentiles around the
entire Roman Empire as a result
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of the Pentecostal outpouring.
The Gospel was proclaimed with
such power that about 40 years
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later, Paul could say in
Colossians 1:23 that the gospel
was preached to every creature
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which was under Heaven. Jesus
departure was the catalyst to
the Disciples' greater works.
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The gift of the Holy Ghost
depending on Jesus return to the
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heaven and it was through the
Holy Ghost that the church was
able to do the work of God.
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So even after Jesus's Ministry
on Earth ended, His work would
go on. The followers of Christ,
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empowered by the Holy Ghost,
will continue to preach and
teach. The followers of Christ,
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empowered by the Holy Ghost,
will continue to help and heal,
and the Gospel would have
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worldwide impact. There is one
more thing from this text before
we put theory into practice.
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Jesus doesn't get exclusive in
the text. Jesus says, "Whoever
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believes in me." You all have to
hear what I am saying. "Whoever
believes in me will do greater
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things." That whoever is every
believer, not just the
Disciples, not just Peter, not
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just Paul, not just the pastors,
not just the elders, not just
Bible workers, not just the
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general conference, not just the
local conference, but whoever is
all of us, which means all of us
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because we are all Believers
that can do greater things for
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the Lord. I don't know because I
am not a fortune teller. I don't
know what is going to happen in
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2021. I don't know what the
future holds. I don't know if
things on planet Earth are going
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to get better or worse. But what
I do know is that God is calling
whoever. God is calling us.
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God is calling
Believers to greater things.
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There are three things I believe
that He is calling us greater
things. Number one,
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He is calling us to greater
methods. I said He is calling us
to greater methods.
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My great-great-grandfather rode
a horse but was afraid of the
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train. My great-grandfather rode
on a train but was afraid of a
car. My grandfather rode in a
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car but was afraid of an
airplane. Today I ride in an
airplane, but I am afraid to
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ride a horse. You all
hear what I am saying?
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Things changed. Seventy-three
percent of college graduates are
going to jobs today that didn't
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exist when they were born
twenty-two years ago. Things
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changed. The church has changed
too. Gone are the days when the
choir would walk in
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before Divine worship from the
back of the church with their
robes on swinging in the aisles,
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walking to the front of the
church, processing into the
sanctuary for the intro. Things
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changed. Gone were the days when
pastors and elders set in pulpit
chairs on the rostrum,
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and the deacons sit in front
chairs facing the congregation
in the sanctuary. Things
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changed. Gone all the days when
every church would sing after
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the offering and we really
didn't know the words, "we give
thee but thine own. Whatever the
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gift. May be all that we have is
thine alone. A trust O Lord from
thee." Things changed.
00:17:45.13\00:17:50.43
Do I have a witness in this
place? And now with the
coronavirus, even before the
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coronavirus, people don't have
to physically come to church
anymore. They can watch it
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online. It is no longer Bedside
Baptist, St. Matthew's
Methodists, or hearing a word
00:18:05.35\00:18:13.96
from Pastor Pillow. It is
now virtual viewing. It is now
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online Adventists. You can now
even return your time and
offering online with the click
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of a button. You don't have
cash, you can now return your
tithes and offering to the
00:18:24.50\00:18:30.27
Oakwood University Church cash
app. Please don't misunderstand
me. I am not disparaging these
00:18:30.31\00:18:34.98
changes, but I am just trying to
point out to somebody somewhere
that we live in a changing world
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and these changes are impacting
the church. So either you go
change with the times
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and be relevant to the times, or
you go die a slow death because
you refuse to change.
00:18:44.92\00:18:52.63
God is calling us in
2021 for greater methods.
00:18:52.66\00:18:57.07
For example, today most people
don't like to read like they did
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twenty years ago. They would
rather get their information
from the television or the
00:19:02.74\00:19:05.37
internet. So if a church wants
these people to learn our
message, we must present our
00:19:05.41\00:19:10.95
message in a way they are used
to. That is why we have to have
PowerPoint and we have to have
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audiovisual tools in the church.
Not so we can brag and say,
"Look at us, we are Oakwood. We
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have the latest technological
equipment." No, that is not the
reason for it. Not so we can
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boast video laws, not so we can
boast HD or 4K cameras, but we
have to speak in a language that
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people in 2021 understand. We
are changing the method, not the
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message. What if the church
never returns to what it was
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before COVID-19? What if we
never have fellowship dinners
like we had before? During this
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current period, listen to me, do
we just operate in maintenance
mode hoping things change or
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return to what they were? No, I
don't believe that is what God
has called us to. God has called
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us to do greater things. Greater
things for him even now. You
know what that means? I'm a bowl
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down somebody's alley right now.
But you know what that means if
we got to change our methods?
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That means our infrastructure
must change to reflect a more
00:20:07.44\00:20:12.91
digital emphasis. That means our
financial budgets must change to
facilitate the divisional
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emphasis. That means the
allocation of our resources must
change to facilitate the Gospel.
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I hear people all the time. We
are not like Oakwood. We don't
have the money for digital
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Ministry. The devil is a lie. I
hear people all the time. We
don't have money for media
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staff. We don't have money for a
communication scene. We don't
have money for cameras.
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We don't have money for screens.
Yes you do, but you got to
reallocate your resources.
00:20:37.60\00:20:42.37
Your methods must change. You
can't do 8-track Ministry in a
00:20:42.40\00:20:47.61
COVID world. God wants to do
greater things. Greater things
means change. A change in our
00:20:47.64\00:20:55.92
thinking. A change in our ideas.
A change in our methods. He is
calling us to greater methods.
00:20:55.95\00:21:04.59
But not only He is calling us
the greater methods, number two,
He is calling us to greater
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Ministry. Now, Ministry is
service. In 2021, God is calling
us to greater Ministry through
00:21:09.93\00:21:19.77
service. All right, what am I
talking about? Greater Ministry
that has businesses to employ
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it's members, reducing
unemployment numbers, and
providing employment
00:21:29.88\00:21:36.42
opportunities for people who
have Sabbath work conflicts, and
also provides residual streams
00:21:36.46\00:21:42.63
of income for the church to be
able to do increased Ministry
for the community and the world.
00:21:42.66\00:21:46.37
Praise God for our church
barbershop. Praise God for our
church food market. But God is
00:21:46.40\00:21:56.61
trying to say, "Greater things
than these." Greater Ministry
where our in-person
00:21:56.64\00:22:04.12
and our online membership is
financially faithful. Where
everybody is returning an honest
00:22:04.15\00:22:10.53
tithe and giving a liberal
offering so when children need
to be in church school, we can
00:22:10.56\00:22:16.33
help. When we want to respond to
persons and communities in
crisis here in Huntsville and
00:22:16.36\00:22:22.60
beyond, we can help. So whether
it is clothes in Huntsville,
clean water in Flint's, blankets
00:22:22.64\00:22:31.05
in Buffalo, or food in the
Caribbean on the Gulf Coast
after a hurricane, we can help.
00:22:31.08\00:22:37.59
Greater Ministry where if our
tithe and offering receipts for
a single church are over 6
00:22:37.62\00:22:45.96
million dollars annually, that
we have a credit union, we have
a bank where our people online
00:22:45.99\00:22:55.30
and traditional can get help and
realize their professional and
personal callings by God
00:22:55.34\00:23:02.28
enabling them to do greater
Ministry exploits for the Lord.
Praise God for Bank of America.
00:23:02.31\00:23:12.15
Praise God for Regions Bank.
Praise God for BB&T. Praise God
for the Southern Union Revolving
00:23:12.19\00:23:23.03
Fund. But God says, "Greater
things than these." Greater
Ministry where we can have our
00:23:23.06\00:23:30.51
own Video and Studio Ministry
Center for our Oaktown
Children's Ministry where
00:23:30.54\00:23:39.88
children in Huntsville, children
in Atlanta, children in New
York, children in Chicago,
00:23:39.91\00:23:43.85
children in Los Angeles,
children in Jamaica, children in
Africa, children in London can
00:23:43.89\00:23:51.63
come here to Huntsville and they
can come to Oakwood and we can
record gifts that God has given
00:23:51.66\00:23:57.03
them through preaching, through
singing, through playing an
instrument, through drama,
00:23:57.07\00:24:01.04
through the hearts so they don't
have to go to other places. They
don't have to go outside of a
00:24:01.07\00:24:06.34
Christian environment to pursue
their God-given talents and
gifts, but we can do it right
00:24:06.37\00:24:15.35
here. It can be seen on the
internet, seen on television,
seen on Breathe of Life. Greater
00:24:15.38\00:24:21.16
methods, greater Ministry, and
the number three, God is calling
us to greater motivation for
00:24:21.19\00:24:26.80
Ministry. As of yesterday, 84
million people worldwide have
contracted the coronavirus,
00:24:26.83\00:24:34.74
and 1.83 million people have
died of the coronavirus. In the
United States alone,
00:24:34.77\00:24:40.61
the most industrialized nation
in the world, 20 million people
have contracted the coronavirus
00:24:40.64\00:24:46.45
and 346,000 people here in this
country have died from it,
including people in our church.
00:24:46.48\00:24:53.79
It is ripping at my heart.
Health experts are forecasting
that things are not going to get
00:24:53.82\00:25:03.43
better, but things are going to
get worse. We've got racial
unrest, election drama, stimulus
00:25:03.47\00:25:15.11
strife. If we ever needed the
Gospel like we've lost our
minds, we need it right now.
00:25:15.14\00:25:23.92
Daily, people are going to
Christless graves. We don't have
time for confusion.
00:25:23.95\00:25:30.06
We don't have time for mess. We
don't have time for gossip. If
we ever needed the Lord before,
00:25:30.09\00:25:38.00
we sure do need Him now. If we
ever needed to be motivated from
Ministry, it is rights now.
00:25:38.03\00:25:45.07
Yeah, but His church in North
America. Through the first three
00:25:45.11\00:25:46.47
quarters of 2019, According to
the Pew Research Center here in
00:25:46.51\00:25:49.54
the United States, only one in
five online worshipers say they
will watch virtual worship
00:25:49.58\00:25:57.49
services more now that we are in
a pandemic. Also, according to
the Pew Research Center,
00:25:57.52\00:26:00.72
35% of virtual church viewers
are still exclusively watching
00:26:00.76\00:26:05.59
their own church, while 14% have
switched churches from their
00:26:05.63\00:26:09.53
pre-COVID church, 32% have
stopped viewing church during
this COVID-19 pandemic,
00:26:09.56\00:26:15.37
and 18% are viewing multiple
churches throughout the month,
00:26:15.40\00:26:19.77
and then 50% of all Millennials
have stopped attending online
00:26:19.81\00:26:29.88
church altogether. Now, if these
statistics don't motivate the
Church Universal to do greater
00:26:29.92\00:26:39.16
Ministry, then I don't know what
will, and God is calling
Believers in 2021 to do greater
00:26:39.19\00:26:54.01
things, greater methods, greater
Ministry, greater motivation for
Ministry. For me, for Carlton
00:26:54.04\00:27:06.25
Byrd, I can't worry about what
everybody else is doing. I can't
worry about what everybody else
00:27:06.29\00:27:14.60
is not doing. I just want to
hear Jesus say to me, "Well
done." I just want to do greater
00:27:14.63\00:27:23.17
for Him. You see, if I testify
right now, God has blessed me.
God has blessed me with a
00:27:23.20\00:27:30.15
wonderful, beautiful wife who
loves me and I love her. We just
celebrated our 23rd wedding
00:27:30.18\00:27:38.19
anniversary. God has blessed me
and my wife with three beautiful
daughters. We love them and they
00:27:38.22\00:27:45.29
love us. God has blessed us with
a beautiful church and a
wonderful television Ministry.
00:27:45.33\00:27:51.93
God has blessed us with the best
pastoral staff, church staff,
media staff, and music staff.
00:27:51.97\00:27:59.47
But God says, "Greater things
than these." Greater things I
have for you. He has not called
00:27:59.51\00:28:08.95
us to mediocrity. He has not
called us to maintenance
Ministry, but God has called us
00:28:08.98\00:28:17.36
to greater. Thank you very much
for tuning in to this week's
Breath of Life broadcast.
00:28:17.39\00:28:21.76
We hope and pray that you've
been blessed by Dr. Byrd's
inspirational message.
00:28:21.80\00:28:26.40
If you would like to hear
this sermon in its entirety,
00:28:26.43\00:28:28.84
please feel free to visit
us at www.breathoflife.tv.
00:28:28.87\00:28:34.64
Or, call us at (256) 929-6460.
00:28:34.68\00:28:40.42
[END]
00:28:40.45\00:28:55.43