Breath of Life

The Forecast Calls For Rain, Pt. 1

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Carlton P. Byrd

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Series Code: BOL

Program Code: BOL000012


00:01 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪
00:10 ♪ oh yes he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all ♪
00:17 ♪ (Music) ♪ PB: I would like to welcome
00:24 those viewers watching the Breath of Life telecast
00:27 those watching our Internet ministry here at the Berean
00:29 Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Atlanta Georgia
00:31 home of Breath of Life.
00:32 I'm Dr. Carlton P. Byrd speaker and director of the
00:34 Breath of Life ministry.
00:34 We are grateful that you have tuned in today with us.
00:39 I want to invite you to take your Bibles and go with me to
00:42 the Book of Joel.
00:44 Joel Chapter 2 and you're going to need to
00:46 keep your Bibles open to Joel Chapter 2 and
00:51 we're going to verse 28.
00:52 Joel 2:28.
00:56 I will read in your hearing verses 28 29 30 31 and 32.
01:03 Joel prophet in the Old Testament Chapter 2
01:12 verses 28-32.
01:13 If you have it let me hear you say Amen.
01:15 Praise be to God.
01:16 The Word of God says: "And it shall come to pass
01:18 afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;
01:24 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy
01:27 your old men shall dream dreams your young men
01:31 shall see visions."
01:32 Verse 29: "And also upon the servants and upon
01:35 the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
01:40 And I will show wonders in the heavens
01:42 and in the earth blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
01:44 The sun shall be turned into darkness
01:47 and the moon into blood before the great and the
01:49 terrible day of the Lord come."
01:50 Verse 32: "And it shall come to pass that
01:53 whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
01:58 delivered." Hallelujah somebody.
02:01 "Shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
02:04 shall be deliverance as the Lord hath said
02:08 and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." Today I
02:16 would like to take some time to speak with you all on the
02:20 subject "The Forecast Calls for Rain." God be with us.
02:27 Breath in us and through us.
02:32 May your anointing be seen be felt and be heard
02:35 as we preach your word from your Bible today.
02:40 We pray that God hearts would be receptive
02:44 to your spirit.
02:45 Forgive us for our sins and Lord when the appeal is made
02:47 I pray that individuals respond giving their lives to you
02:50 in the name of Jesus we pray asking you
02:54 to forgive us of our sins.
02:55 Let everyone say Amen.
02:57 And Amen.
02:59 The forecast calls for rain.
03:02 When I was growing up my parents loved
03:07 watching the news.
03:10 And I must confess today I hated the news.
03:13 I would only want to watch the news to see the sports.
03:18 So I would have to wait until the headlines were over wait
03:23 until the weather was over and then I would
03:26 see the sports.
03:28 The funny thing now is as I've gotten a little older
03:31 you can't keep me from watching the news.
03:33 ABC I watch it. Live. Local.
03:39 Late breaking.
03:42 This is Channel 5 Action News. NBC
03:47 I watch it.
03:48 Eleven Alive news.
03:50 CBS I watch it.
03:52 CNN I watch it.
03:54 MS-NBC and sometimes sometimes
04:00 even Fox News I watch that too.
04:05 And the older that I get I pay more attention
04:09 to the weather.
04:11 Will it be sunny today?
04:14 Will it be cloudy today?
04:17 Will it be raining today?
04:19 Is snow in the forecast?
04:23 I even go to the Internet now to see the 10-day forecast.
04:27 And now they've got this thing where you can read the
04:30 forecast and know what is happening every hour
04:33 on the hour.
04:36 I was even looking at the forecast for today and the
04:40 forecast called for rain.
04:43 Someone said to me when I was there in the back
04:47 since it's raining outside Pastor preach as long
04:50 at you want.
04:51 They're not going anywhere because folks don't like to
04:53 go out in the rain.
04:56 There are car accidents in the rain.
04:59 People drive slower in the rain.
05:03 Your hair gets wet in the rain.
05:08 Your feet get wet in the rain.
05:11 Your car gets dirty from the rain.
05:15 You may even get sick from the rain.
05:19 Most people don't like being out in the rain.
05:25 But having rain is not all that bad.
05:29 Because we need water to survive.
05:32 We need water to drink.
05:34 Do I have a witness in this place?
05:36 We need water to cook.
05:37 Do I have a witness in this place?
05:40 And God knows we need water to wash.
05:42 Do I have a witness in this place?
05:45 We need water to clean water is essential for life.
05:51 What would we do without water?
05:52 Your body is made up of more than 60% water.
05:54 Seventy percent of our planet is composed of water.
05:58 Lack of water leads to dehydration
06:02 excessive thirst fatigue headaches dry mouth
06:06 muscle weakness dizziness and
06:10 lightheadedness.
06:12 Water is essential for life and the more water we get
06:18 we get it from rain.
06:21 Think about it.
06:23 If it didn't rain our land wouldn't cultivate
06:31 our seeds wouldn't sprout our gardens wouldn't grow
06:37 our plates would be empty because there would be
06:42 no food to grow.
06:44 So praise God that the forecast calls for rain.
06:51 The Bible is full of rain stories.
06:56 The great flood that Noah preached about.
07:00 He said it's going to rain.
07:02 It's going to rain.
07:05 You better get ready.
07:07 And bear this in mind God showed Noah
07:12 the rainbow sign.
07:13 He said it won't be water but fire next time.
07:18 It was on Mount Carmel that God showed up and showed out.
07:25 Elijah was hated by Ahab.
07:28 Elijah was hated by Jezebel.
07:31 Elijah was hated by the people and when you're following
07:37 God you are going to be hated.
07:40 But quit being a people pleaser and be a God pleaser.
07:46 God always has your back.
07:48 Elijah said you can call on your gods but I'll call
07:53 on my God and we'll see who's the real God.
07:58 God rained down fire.
08:01 The prophets of Baal were no match for the Almighty God.
08:06 Ahab was no match for the Almighty God.
08:09 Jezebel was no match for the Almighty God.
08:13 God sent down fire he sent it down to Elijah.
08:18 He set the altar on fire didn't it rain.
08:22 But then my mind goes to the New Testament.
08:26 When Jesus was on the Sea of Galilee
08:28 the waves were tossing the wind was blowing
08:33 the rain was falling the disciples were scared.
08:38 The disciples were looking for Jesus.
08:40 Jesus was in the bottom of the ship.
08:44 The disciples cried out Master careth thou not that we parish.
08:48 How can thy lie asleep?
08:51 Jesus got up from his sleep.
08:54 Jesus simply said peace be still.
08:59 The waves stopped.
09:01 The winds hushed.
09:02 The rain ceased.
09:05 Let that be a lesson also to you.
09:07 You can be in a storm in your life
09:11 but all the master of the sea has to do is speak peace
09:17 in your life peace on your job
09:20 peace in your home peace in your mind.
09:24 Somebody knows that whenever the Lord says peace
09:29 there will be peace.
09:31 Jesus even draws upon rain in the parable of the wise man
09:34 and the foolish man.
09:35 He said the wise man built his house upon the rocks
09:38 the foolish man built his house upon the sand.
09:42 The rains came down.
09:44 The floods came up.
09:46 The wise man's house stood tall.
09:49 The foolish man's house fell down to pieces.
09:52 Let that be another lesson to you
09:56 that if you want your house to stand
09:59 you've got to build your house on the solid rock
10:02 you've got to build your house on Christ Jesus
10:07 on Christ the solid rock I stand. All the other ground is
10:12 sinking sand.
10:14 Do I have a witness in this place?
10:16 We need rain.
10:18 Water is essential for life.
10:21 And just like we need rain in the physical world
10:25 somebody knows we need rain in the spiritual world.
10:29 We need the raining down of God's Holy Spirit.
10:33 We need a down pouring.
10:35 We need an out pouring.
10:37 We need a tropical storm.
10:40 We need a tropical depression.
10:42 We need a hurricane.
10:45 We need some rain.
10:48 We've got war in Iraq war in Afghanistan
10:53 fighting in the Middle East imminent fighting between
10:56 north and south Korea.
10:57 Crime is on the rise.
11:00 Recession is on the rise.
11:02 Social Security is being threatened.
11:05 We need some rain.
11:07 And I'm so glad that the forecast calls for rain.
11:12 God says my spirit will not always strive
11:16 with man.
11:17 As it was in the days of Noah so shall it also be in the
11:20 coming of the Son of Man.
11:21 For as in the days that were before the flood
11:24 they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in
11:27 marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and
11:30 knew not until the flood came took them all away and so
11:35 shall also the coming of the Son of Man be
11:37 and just like the forecast called for rain then
11:41 the forecast is calling for rain now.
11:47 Let's look at the text.
11:49 Go back to Joel 2.
11:52 Don't start at verse 28.
11:53 I want us to start at verse 21.
11:57 "Fear not O land; be glad and rejoice:
12:05 for the Lord will do great things. "
12:08 I can preach that text all day long
12:11 that God will do great things.
12:13 Verse 22: "Be not afraid ye beasts of the field: for the
12:19 pastures of the wilderness do spring
12:22 for the tree beareth her fruit the fig tree
12:25 and the vine do yield their strength.
12:27 Be glad then ye children of Zion
12:30 and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the
12:37 former rain moderately and he will cause to come
12:43 down for you the rain the former rain
12:48 and the latter rain in the first month.
12:49 And the floors shall be full of wheat
12:51 and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
12:52 And I will restore to you the years that
12:57 the locust hath eaten the cankerworm
13:01 and the caterpillar and the palmerworm
13:04 my great army which I sent among you.
13:06 And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise
13:12 the name of the Lord your God that hath
13:16 dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall
13:19 never be ashamed.
13:22 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel
13:28 and that I am the Lord your God
13:30 and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
13:39 "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons
13:45 and your daughters shall prophesy
13:47 your old men shall dream dreams
13:49 your young men shall see visions.
13:51 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those
13:53 days will I pour out my spirit.
13:55 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth
13:56 blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
13:59 The sun shall be turned into darkness
14:02 and the moon into blood before the great and the
14:06 terrible day of the Lord come.
14:08 And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on
14:12 the name of the Lord shall be delivered." The forecast
14:19 calls for rain.
14:22 Anybody ever been in a dry place?
14:25 Ever been in a dry place?
14:28 When you're in a dry place spiritually
14:30 you begin to question God.
14:32 What is a dry place?
14:35 A dry place is no job.
14:38 A dry place you're lonely.
14:42 A dry place no money.
14:46 Dry place you can't pass the test.
14:49 Dry place your marriage
14:52 is on the rocks.
14:54 When you're in a dry place and you're in the desert
14:59 it's dry.
15:01 Some places I have found in my travels
15:04 are dead and dry.
15:08 Dead and dry spiritually.
15:11 And as things get worse and the time of Jesus' second
15:14 coming gets closer it's going to become
15:16 more dry.
15:19 But I'm glad that the forecast calls for rain.
15:25 How do I know this?
15:26 Well we've already experienced as we read in Joel 2
15:28 but we've already experienced the dark days.
15:31 Those who prophecy on it.
15:33 We've already experienced the dark day when across the
15:35 entire United States the sun didn't shine on a specific
15:39 day and at night the moon turned to blood. Look it up.
15:43 May 19 1780.
15:44 These events have already happened.
15:46 They're the sixth seal.
15:47 According to Revelations Chapter 6 and Matthew 24
15:50 which means we're already living in the time
15:52 of the seventh seal.
15:54 It's under the seventh seal that Jesus comes.
15:58 God is about to pour out his spirit upon all flesh.
16:03 Now the primary application of the text of the former rain
16:07 and the latter rain is the restoration of
16:10 adequate rainfall.
16:11 The former rain fell in the fall
16:14 promoted germination; the latter rain fell in the spring
16:19 and helps to bring the grain crops to maturity.
16:22 In its application to us God's church
16:25 the former rain and the latter rain both represent the
16:29 work of the Holy Ghost.
16:32 The former rain or the early rain represents the outpouring
16:36 of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost as
16:38 recorded in Acts Chapter 2.
16:40 Whereas the latter rain represents the final
16:43 outpouring of the Holy Ghost which produces a ripening of
16:48 the harvest in the last days.
16:49 The time of the latter rain is the time of the loud cry.
16:54 It's a message of Christ's righteousness
16:57 it's a sound from one end of the earth to the other to
17:00 prepare the work of the Lord.
17:02 This is not merely a little downpour
17:06 but this is a heavy rain a heavy downpour because
17:09 as one of my favorite writers in great controversy writes
17:12 the great work of the Gospel cannot close with less power
17:16 than marked its opening.
17:19 The latter rain gives power to the loud voice of the third
17:25 angel of Revelations 14.
17:28 It prepares God's church for the coming of Jesus Christ on
17:33 the day of Pentecost with the Apostles the disciples
17:37 according to Acts Chapter 2 were filled with
17:41 the Holy Ghost.
17:41 Peter asserts that this is that which was spoken by the
17:46 prophet Joel in Joel Chapter 2.
17:48 This was the former rain the manifestation of the
17:52 spirit was to prophet to everybody. Well the events
17:57 of Pentecost were but a partial fulfillment of
18:04 Joel's prediction.
18:06 In other words excuse my English
18:08 but you ain't seen nothing yet.
18:12 The prophecy great controversy says
18:16 is to reach its full accomplishment in the
18:20 latter rain in the last days.
18:25 Then that means it will reach its full manifestation in us.
18:32 That's why now the forecast calls for rain.
18:38 God wants the Holy Ghost to rain in us now.
18:43 I'm in church because I need some rain in my life.
18:49 I've been in a drought.
18:52 I need some rain.
18:54 And the forecast calls for rain. Now let me
18:58 be clear.
19:00 I'm a preacher.
19:01 I'm not a weather man.
19:03 I'm not a meteorologist.
19:05 But I can tell you something about rain.
19:08 Number one let me tell you this
19:11 if the atmosphere is cold before clouds are heavy
19:16 enough to precipitate water molecules bond with
19:21 particles in the air.
19:23 So if the atmosphere is cold you get snow. Now if
19:28 the atmosphere is cool the same water molecules will
19:33 bond with cool particles in the air and you will get sleet.
19:38 But if the atmosphere is warm and water molecules bond with
19:44 warm particles in the air you get rain.
19:48 I'm going somewhere.
19:49 So you have cold with snow.
19:52 You have cool with sleet.
19:55 And with warm you have rain.
19:57 Now when it snows things shut down.
20:02 Things are cloudy when it snows.
20:06 Visibility is limited when it snows.
20:09 When it snows I know you get snowed in.
20:14 You get locked in.
20:15 You can't go anywhere in a blizzard.
20:18 You can't go anywhere in a snowstorm.
20:21 When you get sleet the roads get icy and
20:25 seemingly normal situations because of sleet
20:32 become very difficult.
20:34 It's hard to drive in sleet.
20:34 It's hard to walk in sleet.
20:36 You slip you slide
20:37 you fall in sleet.
20:39 But when it rains rain has a way of washing
20:46 things away.
20:48 Rain refreshes things.
20:51 Rain makes things clearer cleaner
20:55 brighter.
20:55 Wh you ask God to come into your life
21:00 if your heart is cold your life will shut down.
21:08 Your life will be snowed in.
21:11 You won't go anywhere.
21:13 If the atmosphere in your heart is cold
21:17 your heart bonds with cold particles and your life shuts
21:21 down.
21:22 If the atmosphere in your life is cool
21:25 when it seems like you're ready to move forward
21:27 that which would seem like normal steps
21:29 you will find yourself in sleeting situations.
21:34 Slipping sliding
21:37 falling.
21:39 But when your heart is warm.
21:42 When it's just right to receive the Holy Ghost
21:48 the Holy Ghost will begin to rain down in your life.
21:54 And I'm here to tell you I've seen it rain so hard
21:59 that entire houses have been washed away
22:02 entire communities and cities have been washed away.
22:06 They've been cleaned up and cleaned out.
22:08 And that's what the Holy Ghost would do in your life
22:12 when you let him rain in your life.
22:14 Holy Ghost will clean you up.
22:16 Holy Ghost will clean you out.
22:19 You will be a new man a new woman.
22:22 If any man be in Christ he's a new creature.
22:26 Old things are passed away.
22:27 All things become new.
22:29 When it rains God changes you.
22:31 God changes the old man.
22:35 God washed the old man away.
22:38 God cleans you up.
22:40 God cleans you out.
22:42 Let me tell you when it rains
22:44 let me help you understand saints are
22:47 made out of sinners deacons are made
22:50 out of drunkards delivered preachers are
22:53 made out of dope pushers prayer warriors are
22:57 made out of prostitutes.
22:58 When it rains choir members are made
23:01 out of club goers character builders out of
23:06 character assassins evangelists out of infidels
23:10 believers out of doubters strong men out of weak
23:15 men brave men out of scared men good men out of mean
23:17 men humble men out of high-minded men
23:22 best men out of the worst men
23:24 church builders out of church fighters
23:26 church lovers out of church haters
23:32 conquerors out of cowards gospel writers
23:37 out of tax collectors fishers of men
23:41 out of fishermen.
23:43 If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.
23:49 The forecast calls for rain because when it rains
23:52 ravens feed prophets prophets condemn princes
23:57 lions lay down like house dogs
24:02 Red Sea becomes dry highway air conditioning cools down
24:05 fiery furnaces.
24:07 When it rains donkeys talk.
24:09 When it rains the sun stands still.
24:13 When it rains dry dust becomes fleas and
24:17 lice in defense of the children of God.
24:19 When it rains stars shoot across the sky.
24:22 When it rains rains fall in torrents and in
24:25 gentle showers.
24:26 The forecast calls for rain.
24:28 Let me tell you all something.
24:31 God is about to bring somebody out.
24:34 Let me tell you that again.
24:35 You all don't believe me.
24:36 I said God is about to bring somebody in this place out.
24:40 God is going to bring you out of your dry season.
24:44 Some people some places
24:45 some things are dead and dry and God is about to bring you
24:49 out.
24:49 But you've got to hear God say it before you even see it.
24:53 Let me tell you something about rain.
24:57 Number two again I'm not a meteorologist
25:00 I'm not a weather man but I can tell you
25:03 something about rain.
25:04 Number two you hear rain before you see rain.
25:08 Somebody missed that.
25:09 Let me say that again.
25:10 You hear it before you see it.
25:16 You hear thunder and lightening before you see it.
25:21 You've got to learn to hear God say it's going to rain
25:25 before you see it's going to rain.
25:27 God told Noah Noah it's going to rain.
25:32 He told him that before Noah even saw rain.
25:35 You've got to hear God say you're going to be healed
25:39 before you even see your healing.
25:42 You've got to hear God say you're going to get a new
25:46 job before you even see the new job.
25:48 You've got to hear God say you're going to get married
25:51 before you even see that man or that woman.
25:58 You've got to hear God say that your
26:01 son your daughter your grandchild is coming
26:02 back to the Lord before you even see them
26:03 coming back to the Lord.
26:04 The forecast calls for rain and you hear rain
26:05 before you see rain.
26:07 So you better tell somebody I don't see it
26:11 but I can hear it.
26:12 PB: Be sure to join us again next week as we continue to
26:15 explore the word of God.
26:17 Remember, God's got a word just for you
26:20 from his holy Bible.
26:22 Also I'd like to invite you to become a
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27:01 Again thank you for tuning in.
27:06 We look forward to seeing you again next week.
27:09 May God continue to bless you.
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28:10 ♪ (music) ♪ PB:Folk are tired of
28:16 playing Church...
28:18 ...for me I want to see some Holy Ghost rain up in
28:20 this place...
28:22 ...Folk are tired of eight-track ministry in an iPad society...


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Revised 2015-02-06