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Sermon #B702 - A New Creation
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Dr. Byrd: And we ask that you
now, if you would take your
Bibles and go with me to the
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book of 2 Corinthians. Just one
text, one verse today. 2
Corinthians 5:17. 2 Corinthians
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5:17, the Apostle Paul is
speaking. The word of God says
in 2 Corinthians 5:17,
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"Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away;
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behold, all things are become
new." Let me say that one more
time. The Apostle Paul says,
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"Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away;
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behold, all things are become
new." Our sermon title for today
is simply, A New Creation. A New
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Creation. Father, in the name of
Jesus, through the intercession
of the Holy Ghost, you are
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already here. And so we ask that
you would just tabernacle with
us right now in this sanctuary.
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Tabernacle with us over the
internet airwaves and the
television airwaves right now.
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Fill us with your spirit, anoint
us with your grace. Give us
something we need today, Lord.
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We need it. We need it. Speak
through me to speak to your
people and God after this
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service, after we would have
spent this time today together
with you, we will be able to say
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it was good for the time well
spent. Now, forgive us of our
sins, hide me behind your cross.
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We give you praise. We give you
honor. We give you glory. Speak
a word. Say a word. It's in
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Jesus' name we pray, asking that
at the appeal time, that by the
power of your holy spirit, oh
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God, that you would move and
men, women, boys, and girls
would surrender and give their
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lives to you. It's in Jesus'
name we pray. Amen. A new
creation. A new creation. It's
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the new year. 2020 is over and
we're now in 2021 and whenever
we get to a new year, we always
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tend to look back at the old
year to evaluate our successes
and our failures. Now it's hard
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- not hard, I should say to look
back at 2020 and conclude that
2020 was a rough year and by the
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looks of what is already
transpired in the first 15 days
of 2021, things are not getting
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better. I wish I had a witness
in this place. But when we look
back at last year, we look to
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see what lessons we learn so we
can do better this year. And
because people are trying to do
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better, many people make New
Year's resolutions to either
break bad habits or to adopt new
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and better habits. Now, most
times these resolutions are not
about becoming a new person, but
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they're about making some
changes in our lives to become a
better person. But today, I'm
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not interested in talking about
changes in our lives to become a
better person like New Year's
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resolutions to lose weight, eat
healthier, write a book, watch
less television, get out of
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debt, or travel more. But today
I want to talk to you about the
complete transformations of our
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lives to become a new person. So
I'm talking not about just a
better person, but I'm talking
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about becoming a new person. I'm
talking about complete
restoration, not simply a
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makeover but a complete do-over.
You see, I want to make this
clear. You're not going to make
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it in this year with last year's
mentality. We're living in a new
normal and I'm not just talking
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about the Coronavirus, racial
unrest, or political chaos. But
today I'm talking about the fact
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that the spirit of God is being
withdrawn from this earth and
God's spirit will not always
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strive with man. Today, I'm
talking about the fact that
Jesus Christ is soon to come. So
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let me say this to everybody on
the front end, anything that
does not glorify God in your
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life in 2021, you need to cut it
off. Mess - cut it off, drama -
cut it off, confusion - cut it
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off, gossip - cut it off. There
may be even some people in your
family that you need to cut off.
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Stop letting them make you feel
bad because you're being
blessed. I've got a beautiful
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wife. We have three beautiful
daughters, a wonderful church, a
wonderful ministry and I'm not
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apologizing anymore for how God
is blessing me. I'm obedient to
God's word and with obedience
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comes blessings and I made up in
my mind that regardless of what
people might say, regardless of
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what people might do, I'm not
going to let them make me feel
bad because I'm trying to live
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right. Folks have spent all
their money on foolishness and
nonsense, yet you tithed and
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returned offering, and the Lord
has blessed you but they think
you ought to give them all of
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yours. No, you need to cut them
off. Are you hearing what I'm
saying? There are some friends
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dragging you down with all their
mess and their confusion and
drama cut them off, ignore their
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calls, unfriend them on
Facebook, don't respond to their
emails or their texts. When you
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see them coming, go the other
way. I do believe that caller ID
is God-ordained. I'm not
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answering that because there's
nothing good coming out of that.
God's not in that. What it took
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five seconds to get in your
spirit could take five years to
get out. Are you hearing what
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I'm saying? Cut them off. You
can do bad by yourself. You're
just not trying to be a better
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person in 2021, but you're
trying to be a new person. Paul
says, "If any man be in Christ,
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he is a new creature: old things
are passed away, all things
become new," but what exactly
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does it mean to be new? Does it
mean just I'm going to get
taller, I'm going to get
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smarter, or I'm going to get
shorter? Does it mean that I am
going to get a new name and I've
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got to get a new driver's
license? Does it mean I've got
to get a new family or a new
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job? What is Paul talking about
when he talks about a new
creature? So I've got three
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points Imma making, Imma sit
down. Number one, a new creation
means a new person. I said a new
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creation means a new person.
When we say creation, we're
talking about something created
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by God and you need to know that
God will still be God even if
God didn't create. I wish I had
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a witness in this place. But God
out of his godliness decided he
was going to create the heavens
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and the earth. The Bible is
clear in Genesis 1:1-2, "In the
beginning, God created the
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heavens and the Earth and the
Earth was without form and void
and darkness was upon the face
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of the deep and the spirit of
God moved upon the face of the
waters," understand what
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happened my friends. God moved
over this muddy mess, steps into
gross darkness with nothing to
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help him but the power of his
mouth and he said, "Let there be
light." Notice God commanded
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light. He didn't create light
necessarily. He commanded light.
Are you hearing what I'm saying?
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He didn't take two sticks and
rub them together and try to
make a fire to make light. He
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didn't go through any human
manufacturing of his light
through the capturing of
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electricity. No, God commanded
light by the authority of his
mouth. God created this world
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out of nothing. There is no
matter, no energy, no reality,
no time, no being, there is no
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person, no place, no thing that
God did not create. If God
didn't create it, it doesn't
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exist. Nothing that exists is
independent of God's sovereign
will and creative action. And
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because God created the world
out of nothing, only God is
supreme. Because God created the
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world out of nothing the world
which once was nothingness is
not to be feared or worshipped
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but it's to be examined,
understood, enjoyed, developed,
utilized, and enhanced. We don't
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have to worship the sun, the
moon, the stars, the earth, the
sky, the sea because the Bible
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teaches us all these things are
exactly that - things created by
God. We don't have to check the
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horoscope, we don't have to
check astrology, Dear Abby, or
palm reading Agnes to know our
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origin or destiny. Everything
that has happened is happening
and will happen has been fixed
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and arranged by God's own power,
God's own sovereignty, God's
authority, creativity, and love.
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The Bible does not explicitly
describe for us a state or a
condition of absolute
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nothingness. So nothingness is
very hard to understand.
Nothingness is very difficult to
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conceptualize. You can only
conceptualize something that can
be defined and named and
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described as discrete knowable
and communicable. If it's
conceivable, it's something and
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if it's somethingness, it can't
be nothingness but yet God
created something out of
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nothing, out of nothing, out of
chaos, out of confusion, out of
darkness, out of a muddy mess.
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God made something. On day one,
light. On day two, the
firmament. On day three,
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vegetation. On day four, the
sun, the moon, and the stars. On
day five, fish and fowl. On day
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six, mammal and man. God created
creation. God created us but yet
the text says, "If any man be in
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Christ, he's a new creature."
But what does Paul mean when he
says a new creature? To
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understand the context of what
Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians
5, we got to understand what
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Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians
4. Because in 2 Corinthians 4:6
Paul says, "For God who
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commanded the light to shine out
of darkness has shined in our
hearts to give the light of the
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knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ." What
is the apostle trying to tell us
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today? What is he really trying
to say? Notice that in this
verse 2 Corinthians 4:6, that
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he's connecting the god of
Genesis 1 to the god of the
Gospel. He's connecting the work
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of the creator God to the work
of the saving God just as
creation came into existence by
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the powerful word of God, a new
creation has come through the
powerful word that God speaks
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through the gospel. That's why I
said that a new creation means a
new person because when God
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creates you over again, he
doesn't just wipe off the dirt
and put some new clothes on you.
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He completely changes you from
the inside out making you into a
brand-new person and the agent
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for this change is Jesus Christ.
But not only are you a new
person in Jesus, but Jesus is
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also the one for whom you now
live. What am I talking about?
When Jesus died for you, Jesus
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did so to accomplish a
management change in your heart
where you don't live for
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yourself anymore but Christ
lives in you. I wish I had
somebody who knew who I was
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talking about. 2 Corinthians
5:15, two verses before verse 17
says, "And he died for all that
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they which should live, should
not henceforth live unto
themselves but unto him which
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died for them and rose again."
In other words, my friends, when
Jesus died on the cross, we died
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with him. Let me say that one
more time. If you don't believe
me read Romans 6, but when Jesus
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died on the cross, we died with
him because as one has died for
all, all have died, and when it
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comes to the new or the newness
of life, this new isn't solely
about you. It's not about you
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because you see, many people
want newness, they want a second
chance, and they want a fresh
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start. They want, if you will, a
do-over but don't get 2
Corinthians 5:17 mixed up, don't
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twist it because they think
newness means they can have a
new life where they're still
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living for themselves. So they
do what they want with their
time, they read what they want,
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they watch what they want, they
listen to what they want, their
money goes where they want, the
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words that come out of their
mouth are what they want, who
they spend time with is what and
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who they want, how they dress
and all that might be new in
terms of how they used to live.
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But the newness of this new
creation that Paul is talking
about is not any of these things
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because your life can be new and
all these things, but you can
still be living for yourself.
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But there's a difference between
continuing to sin and continuing
to live in sin. No one reaches
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sinful-- sinless, excuse me. No
one reaches sinless perfection
in this life, but the redeemed
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Christian is sanctified every
day. That sanctification, God's
imparted righteousness, where
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day by day I grow into what God
would have me to be. So I may
not be what I should be but I
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praise God I'm not what I used
to be and I sin now less and I
hate sin more each time I fail
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and the difference now is that
the new creation is no longer a
slave to sin, but we are now
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free from sin and it has no
longer any power over us. So I'm
freed from sin, I'm born again.
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Thank God for his blood. But
number two, a new creation means
a new perspective. So number
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one, it means a new person but
number two, it means a new
perspective. Now, when Paul
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talks about a new creature, he's
also talking about a new
perspective. He's also talking
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about seeing things in a
different way. He's talking
about seeing things through new
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eyes. We no longer see things
from a fleshly or a worldly
perspective. When the world sees
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the sour, we see the sweet. When
the world sees the ugly, we see
the pretty. When the world sees
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the glass half-empty, we see the
glass half-full. When the world
holds their heads down, we lift
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up our eyes to the hills from
whence cometh our help. Our help
comes from the Lord. When the
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Lord says we have no hope, we
say my hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and
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righteousness. When the world
cries all night, we say weeping
may endure for a night, but joy
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comes in the morning time. Why?
Old things have passed away. All
things have become new. We've
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got a different perspective.
We've got a different outlet. We
see through different eyes. The
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old is that part of our old
nature - pride, love of self,
love of sin, reliance on works -
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I wish I had time. Our former
opinions, habits, and passions
and what we love when we are a
00:18:21.70\00:18:27.37
new creature, it has passed
away, especially the supreme
love of self and with it,
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self-righteousness,
self-promotion, and
self-justification. The new
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creature looks outwardly toward
Christ instead of inwardly
towards self. The old things
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have died. They have been
replaced with new things. Lies
are replaced with love. Envy is
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replaced with encouragement.
Jealousy is replaced with joy.
Pride is replaced with peace.
00:19:00.47\00:19:07.04
Fear is replaced with faith.
Gossip is replaced with
goodness. Hate is replaced with
00:19:07.08\00:19:13.65
happiness. Trouble is replaced
by testimonies. We see the world
differently. The Bible even
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seems to be a new book and
although we might have read the
Bible over and over again
00:19:18.79\00:19:26.70
before, there is a beauty and a
relevance about which we never
saw before when we now read the
00:19:26.73\00:19:33.80
word of God. The whole face of
nature seems to be changed to us
and we seem to be in a new
00:19:33.84\00:19:43.14
world. The heavens, the earth
are filled with new wonders and
all things seem now to speak
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forth the praise of God. We have
now new feelings towards people,
a new kind of love toward family
00:19:49.15\00:19:55.56
and friends, a new compassion
never before felt for enemies,
and a new love for mankind. The
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things we once loved, we now
detest. The sin we once held
onto we now desire to put away.
00:20:02.76\00:20:09.27
We've got a new perspective on
life. If any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature, old things
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are passed away, all things
become new. But there's one more
thing. A new creation means a
00:20:16.81\00:20:23.92
new purpose. A new creation
means a new person, a new
creation means a new
00:20:23.95\00:20:29.02
perspective, and a new creation
means a new purpose. You see,
we're in you're in Christ, your
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purpose changes. Help me, Holy
Ghost. You understand that your
purpose is to live for Christ
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and share Christ with others.
You understand now why you were
created - to glorify God, edify
00:20:41.44\00:20:45.87
his people, and horrify the
devil. You're not your own, oh,
I feel my help coming. You're
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not your own. You've been bought
with a price. You're on a
mission for Christ and nothing
00:20:50.21\00:20:54.15
can stop you from that mission
in spite of what people say, in
spite of what people do, in
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spite of the odds being stacked
against you. When you're in
Christ, there is just something
00:20:57.12\00:21:03.46
within you that makes you want
to go on. It's that thing that
gives you passion in life. It's
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that thing that keeps you up
late at night. You want to share
his love. You want to share his
00:21:10.10\00:21:17.31
gospel. And I don't care if
people call me crazy. I'm doing
what God told me to do. If I got
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to walk by myself, if I've got
to stay on course by myself, I'm
doing what God told me to do.
00:21:23.78\00:21:32.12
I'm going to be like Nehemiah.
I'm doing a good work and I
can't come down off the wall.
00:21:32.15\00:21:38.26
I'm going to be like Jacob if
I've got to wrestle with God,
I'll wrestle but I'm not going
00:21:38.29\00:21:43.00
to let go till He blesses me.
I'm going to be like David and
though we've had death a lot the
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past two weeks, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil.
00:21:47.50\00:21:52.11
I'm gonna be like Paul
forgetting those things which
are behind me. I'm reaching to
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those things which are before
me, press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling
00:21:54.98\00:22:02.68
with you a new creature in
Christ. You know God's purpose
for your life and you're not
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trying to be something that God
has not called you to be because
what God has for me, it is for
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me. Make sure you know God's
purpose for your life. Make sure
you know God's calling on your
00:22:14.40\00:22:20.07
life. There's nothing worse than
investing twenty years into
nothingness, ten years into an
00:22:20.10\00:22:26.84
illusion, five years of my life
is too long to spend some time
doing something I was not
00:22:26.88\00:22:31.91
created to do. And when you're a
new creature and you know your
purpose, it will make you a
00:22:31.95\00:22:40.26
target because the brighter the
light is, the more you attract
bugs. I wish I had a witness in
00:22:40.29\00:22:46.09
this place. Whenever you're
doing something for the Lord and
you're fulfilling God's purpose
00:22:46.13\00:22:53.64
for your life, there will always
be an element that envies what
you have and they will plot
00:22:53.67\00:23:00.58
against you and undermine your
efforts and reputation at every
turn. That element is a part of
00:23:00.61\00:23:05.38
the process, but I dare you -
keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep
your eyes on Jesus and know your
00:23:05.41\00:23:07.05
purpose. I told you before,
growing up in my home, we used
to have what we call the Byrd
00:23:07.08\00:23:09.98
Carwash. As a kid, we had the
Byrd Carwash. We didn't go to
these drive-in car washes we see
00:23:10.02\00:23:17.03
today and pay all this money to
get our car washed. But back in
the day, my brother, my sister,
00:23:17.06\00:23:21.53
and I, we were the Byrd Carwash.
Does anybody know what I'm
talking about? And at the Byrd
00:23:21.56\00:23:28.07
Carwash, we didn't get paid, in
fact, we didn't even get a tip.
My daddy said, "Wash the car,"
00:23:28.10\00:23:32.84
and we wash the car, but there
is something I learned at the
Byrd Carwash. I learn that if
00:23:32.87\00:23:40.02
you want the water to shoot
further, you have to squeeze and
bend that water hose. Y'all
00:23:40.05\00:23:47.02
don't hear what I'm saying. And
the more you squeeze and bend
that water hose, the further the
00:23:47.06\00:23:53.83
water is going to shoot because
it's the restriction, it's the
restraint, it's the constraints,
00:23:53.86\00:24:00.40
it's the pain that creates the
pressure for the propelling of
your destiny and you will never
00:24:00.44\00:24:08.51
discover your purpose, you will
never understand your calling
until you understand the core of
00:24:08.54\00:24:16.99
your pain. You've got to go
through some pain. You can't
have a testimony without a test.
00:24:17.02\00:24:24.69
If your New Year's resolution is
to be a new person and to grow
deeper in the Lord and to grow
00:24:24.73\00:24:26.76
and build your faith and have a
closer relationship with the
Lord, I'm here to tell you, I'm
00:24:26.80\00:24:29.53
not a meteorologist, but I'm
here to tell you pain is in your
forecast. No pain, no gain. No
00:24:29.56\00:24:41.38
battle, no blessing. But the
good news is the greater the
battle, the greater the
00:24:41.41\00:24:47.52
blessing. Y'all don't hear what
I'm saying. And there's no sound
more pleasing in God's ears than
00:24:47.55\00:24:55.49
the sound of people who've been
delivered, people who've been
through tests, people who've
00:24:55.52\00:25:01.43
been through trials, people
who've been through tribulation,
but you made it over. You don't
00:25:01.46\00:25:09.14
need a praise team leader to
tell you to give God praise. You
don't need the preacher to stand
00:25:09.17\00:25:14.71
here and tell you to give God
glory, but when God has kept
you, when God has provided for
00:25:14.74\00:25:20.68
you, when God has helped you
raise those children, when God
has opened doors men have shut,
00:25:20.72\00:25:25.82
when God has made a way when it
looked like there was no way,
nobody has to stand up here and
00:25:25.85\00:25:30.16
tell you to give God praise. The
sound that you raised in the
site and presence of God is a
00:25:30.19\00:25:34.66
sound of deliverance because you
know it was nobody but Jesus.
Let me tell you something. Let
00:25:34.73\00:25:40.94
me tell you something. I'm
almost done, but I'm gonna tell
you something. Whenever healing
00:25:40.97\00:25:45.74
takes place, scars are left
behind. And some of us have
scars from 2020 but don't cry
00:25:45.77\00:25:52.08
about your scars because your
scars are just a sign that
you've been healed. Hallelujah,
00:25:52.11\00:26:02.32
somebody. I need some
worshippers who are watching
right now who've been wounded by
00:26:02.36\00:26:14.04
pain, suffered because you tried
to serve the Lord with your
whole hearts. Giving God the
00:26:14.07\00:26:27.82
best in your service, but yet
you've been lied on. You've been
talked about, you've been
00:26:27.85\00:26:41.50
criticized not because you've
done anything wrong, but just
because you try to serve Jesus.
00:26:41.53\00:26:55.31
People have criticized how you
praise Jesus. They mocked and
they laugh at you because you
00:26:55.34\00:27:04.05
make so much noise watching this
service on the internet and you
and your house saying, "Preach,
00:27:04.09\00:27:18.13
Pastor. Sing, Praise Team. Go
ahead, Pastor Rafael." And folks
are looking at you and they
00:27:18.17\00:27:28.68
don't understand what's going
on. They don't know there's a
story behind your Hallelujah.
00:27:28.71\00:27:32.95
They don't know that there's a
history behind your, "Thank you,
Jesus." They don't know there's
00:27:32.98\00:27:37.55
a reason for your, "Praise the
Lord." You've got so much to
thank God for. God has heard
00:27:37.59\00:27:40.06
your prayers. God is even giving
you somethings you didn't ask
for. And I've learned that in
00:27:40.09\00:27:45.93
order for God to heal you, you
got to sometimes go through some
pain. So, Lord, if you have to
00:27:45.96\00:27:58.87
hurt me to help me, if you have
to bruise me to bless me, if
you've got to knock me down to
00:27:58.91\00:28:04.81
raise me up, if you got to take
me out to bring me back in, do
what you have to do. Because if
00:28:04.85\00:28:15.52
any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature, old things are
passed away, all things become
00:28:15.56\00:28:26.53
new. And a new creation means a
new person. A new creation means
a new perspective. A new
00:28:26.57\00:28:37.95
creation means a new purpose. I
don't know about you but I want
to be a new person. I don't just
00:28:37.98\00:28:47.82
want to be a better person, I
want to be a new person. And I
want to be a new person with a
00:28:47.86\00:29:02.90