Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000015
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00:01 (Theme Song) ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪
00:12 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:18 (Music) PB: Jesus Himself comes 00:27 back for one person. 00:32 Now, somebody got that? 00:36 That makes me want to shout right there, because I want to 00:41 think Jesus came back just for me. 00:47 He didn't have to do it, but He came for me, in spite of my 00:53 unbelief, He came for me. 00:56 Let me call the roll today of your unbelief. 01:00 Jesus came for you. 01:03 He didn't come to Thomas because Thomas was holy. 01:06 He didn't come to Thomas because Thomas was praying. 01:08 Thomas was faithless, the Bible says, but Jesus still 01:11 came to him. 01:14 Ah. 01:17 I wish I had a witness in this place. 01:20 I wish there was somebody in this church right now who is 01:23 grateful that Jesus came just for you. 01:26 He came and He showed up just for you. 01:32 He came, showed up. 01:33 He came through the door, appeared unto Thomas. 01:37 What does that tell me? 01:38 Well, you didn't come to Jesus, Jesus came to you. 01:42 When you couldn't come to Jesus, Jesus came to you. 01:46 When you are messed up in your mind, confused in your heart, 01:51 Jesus still came to you. 01:53 Now, let me be real right now, loosen you up a bit. 01:57 I know some of us get on your nerves because we shout too 02:04 much, holler too loud, church is too long, we wave our hands 02:10 too much, and we say Amen all the time. 02:13 But the reason why we are so demonstrative in our praise 02:17 and worship is because when I look back over where I was and 02:22 to think that Jesus would come and get me. 02:28 I don't mean to get on your nerves, but I've got to thank 02:31 Him. 02:32 I don't mean to ruffle your feathers, but I've got to 02:35 worship Him. 02:36 I know you may not be used to it, but I've got to magnify 02:38 Him because Jesus came just for me. 02:47 the bible says, he appears again does the whole thing all 02:54 over, for one person. 03:02 If you were the only person left on the planet, if you 03:07 were the only person left on this earth, Jesus still would 03:12 have gone to Calvary to die just for you. 03:17 Hallelujah, somebody. 03:23 Now remember, verse 24, remember, the Bible says, and 03:28 follow me carefully now, the Bible says, "But Thomas, who 03:35 is called Didymus." Who was called what, everybody? 03:38 Didymus. 03:39 The Bible says Thomas, which is called Didymus, was missing 03:42 and was not present. 03:45 Let me throw something on you. 03:46 It is interesting that Thomas is called Didymus. 03:51 Thomas is a Hebrew word meaning twin. 03:56 Look it up. 03:57 Didymus is a Greek rendering for the word twin. 04:04 So whether you spoke his name in the Hebrew or in the Greek, 04:09 when you called his name you called him twin. 04:17 One man is called twin. 04:21 His name is twin. 04:26 The Bible is not saying that he has a twin, the Bible is 04:31 saying that his name is twin. 04:34 Thomas, Didymus, twin. 04:38 You see, whether you know it or not, I've got a twin, and 04:44 I'm not talking about him over there either. 04:46 Come on, say Amen. 04:47 I know I'm Carlton and he's Carl but I'm talking about the 04:51 fact that because my name is twin I have another person 04:56 inside me. 04:59 He wears the same size shoe that I wear, he wears the same 05:04 shirts that I wear. 05:07 He drives the same car that I drive. 05:09 He eats my food, lays in my bed. 05:11 He looks like me, but there's another me. 05:18 What am I talking about? 05:20 You see, there's a difference between the person that you 05:22 appear to be and the person that you are. 05:25 You're not going to get this sermon today, you're not going 05:28 to get this message until you acknowledge that you've got 05:31 two different voices talking to you at the same time. 05:35 One of them is telling you to do right and the other one is 05:39 telling you to do wrong. 05:40 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 05:41 You won't get it today until you understand that you can 05:45 smile in front of people but you can be dying on the 05:50 inside, and nobody will ever know that your name is twin. 05:56 You read all the time in the newspaper about people who 05:58 have good jobs committing suicide, who are at the top of 06:00 their careers. 06:00 You never realize that the same person that sits in the 06:02 chair, they are two people in there, one of them is smiling, 06:05 the other is crying. 06:06 One of the problems with the church today is that we spend 06:10 too much time with one twin and not enough time dealing 06:15 with the other twin, and until we get both of you out of the 06:19 ditch you will never be free. 06:22 Somebody today, you're married to a man who has two sides. 06:31 Somebody, you're married to a woman who has two sides. 06:35 The marriage won't be good, the relationship won't be 06:40 right until you get to that twin. 06:43 There's a person inside of a person and he or she can be in 06:50 conflict and nobody ever knows it, because most of us know 06:54 each other superficially. 06:58 We never develop the discipline to go deep enough 07:01 to find out the multiplicity of who you are. 07:05 Why? 07:05 Because even in the church we are so image conscious, so 07:10 fake, so phony, so pretentious, so many of us 07:16 have what I call "selective righteousness." I'll be a 07:20 vegetarian, but I'll sleep with you. 07:23 I wish I had a witness in this place. 07:25 I thought that would wake you up. 07:35 Come on, say Amen. 07:36 So we send our representative out and we greet people. 07:41 Praise the Lord. 07:45 Bless the name of Jesus. 07:48 Praise the Lord. 07:49 Bless the wonderful name of the Lord. 07:50 Hallelujah. 07:53 And nobody ever has a clue that behind that smile there's 07:59 another twin who's hurting, who's broken, who's wounded 08:03 and real ministry is not until you deal with the first one, 08:08 but real ministry is when you get to the second one. 08:13 Real ministry is when you get to the second twin. 08:15 That's what makes us weep and worship God. 08:19 That's what makes me raise my hands and cry out to God. 08:22 A word got beyond somebody's superficiality and it got down 08:27 to the meat and to the bones of who you really are. 08:31 That's why God says, I hate a proud look because a proud 08:35 look will stop you from really getting ministry. 08:38 It will block you from getting glory. 08:40 You have to humble yourself to receive ministry. 08:44 You have to lower yourself and say, Lord, I need you to touch 08:48 me. 08:49 Not the superficial me but the real me, the broken me, the 08:54 worried me, the distressed me, the in-pain me and here I am, 08:59 I don't even care who's looking. 09:02 I don't care what they say, I don't care what they do, but 09:07 the real me needs some help. 09:10 One of us is happily married, but the other one is trying to 09:14 call it quits. 09:16 One of us goes to church, but the other one in us wants to 09:20 stay home. 09:21 One of us is skipping, leaping, praising God, but the 09:24 other one of us in us is having a pity party. 09:28 One of us just loves the saints, but the other one is 09:31 sick and tired of the saints. 09:34 One of us is absolutely a believer, but the other one of 09:37 us is a doubter. 09:39 One of us is faithful, the other one is faithless. 09:41 God help me, deliver me from my twin. 09:49 Let the real me stand up and all through the years we are 09:59 called Thomas, doubting Thomas, but you know what? 10:04 That's not in the text. 10:05 And if it's not in the Word, it doesn't deserve to be 10:07 heard. 10:09 Jesus never called Thomas, doubting Thomas. 10:13 Thomas, I apologize for the wrong perception about you. 10:18 Thomas, I apologize because I judged your whole life over 10:21 one moment of weakness. 10:23 Thomas, I'm sorry today because I summarized your 10:27 whole discipleship in one brief moment of frailty. 10:31 Thomas wasn't a doubter, not always. 10:36 When Jesus was going to be crucified, read the story. 10:37 It was Thomas who said, "Let us go that we might die with 10:40 him." And if you're willing to die for what you believe, that 10:44 doesn't sound like a doubter to me. 10:46 Why have we given him a permanent name over a 10:50 temporary situation? 10:51 Thomas, we apologize, we called you doubting Thomas and 10:57 I preached even here before that Thomas, you were doubting 11:01 Thomas, but Thomas wasn't doubting Thomas, Thomas was 11:04 discouraged Thomas. 11:08 I respect Thomas. 11:09 I know some of you all don't, but he did better than Peter. 11:12 When Peter thought they were going to kill him, he denied 11:16 Jesus three times. 11:17 Judas betrayed the Lord, but Thomas said, I'll die with the 11:22 Lord. 11:25 I admire Thomas because what Thomas did, he took his 11:28 doubting, discouraged self and drug that doubt right onto 11:31 church anyhow. 11:33 He didn't have joy, he didn't have any happiness, he didn't 11:36 have any peace, but he still came anyway. 11:38 Sometimes you have to drag your doubting, worried, 11:42 fearful, burdensome self here anyhow. 11:46 You may say, I don't feel like it today. 11:50 It's not about how you feel. 11:52 I'm so glad Jesus wasn't on Calvary talking about how "I 11:55 feel." Because, let me tell you something, let's be real 12:01 today, if you don't drag your flesh to Jesus, your flesh 12:05 will drag you to hell. 12:08 So here we come. 12:11 With all of our doubts, all of our worries, all of our fears, 12:19 but we're still here, Jesus. 12:23 You're sitting in church. 12:25 Jesus appears in the room and He comes for the audience of 12:32 one. 12:34 I don't know who I'm preaching to right now. 12:38 Among all these hundreds and thousands of people in this 12:40 church and watching on this broadcast, I don't know who 12:44 I'm preaching to, but the Lord sent me here today for a word 12:49 just for you. 12:53 Not the churchy you, not the holier-than-thou you, not the 13:00 glory-to-God, thank-you-Jesus you, but for that twin in you. 13:06 That part of you that is weary and worn, tattered and torn. 13:10 Thomas wasn't so much a doubter as much as he was 13:13 discouraged. 13:15 Discouraged, that's the absence of courage. 13:18 He was losing courage because sometimes believing hurts. 13:22 Let me pause right there. 13:27 Sometimes believing will get you in trouble. 13:31 You all know what I'm saying. 13:32 Believing will make friends walk away and leave you. 13:38 Believing will get you fired from jobs when you could have 13:41 gotten the promotion. 13:43 Sometimes, I'm learning in my life, it hurts to believe. 13:49 Believing will cause you to give your all and get nothing 13:53 in return. 13:54 Thomas had given his all and gotten nothing in return and 13:56 had gotten himself in trouble. 13:58 Let me tell you all something. 13:59 There he was in a mess and Jesus had not established His 14:03 kingdom on earth. 14:06 Jesus had not done what Thomas thought He was going to do. 14:09 And so Thomas says, and this is us preaching and speaking 14:13 now, Thomas says, I don't want to go through that again, so, 14:16 please, just leave me alone. 14:18 Don't even encourage me. 14:21 Don't preach any revival, Pastor Byrd, to me because 14:24 I've been through that stuff before. 14:28 I believed God and I still lost my job. 14:31 I believed God and I still lost my marriage. 14:34 I believed God but I still didn't pass the test. 14:37 I believed God but I still contracted cancer. 14:41 I believed God, I returned an honest and faithful tithe, but 14:43 I still lost my house and I don't want you to preach any 14:47 of that stuff to me anymore. 14:49 Because I tried to believe being real today, I tried to 14:52 believe God like you said and it didn't work for me and so 14:56 now I'm hiding. 15:00 Sometimes it looks like believing doesn't work. 15:05 Can we be real? 15:06 Have you ever been discouraged? 15:08 Have you ever gotten tired of fighting? 15:11 Have you ever gotten to a state in your life where you 15:14 didn't want anybody to encourage you? 15:16 Don't call me. 15:17 Don't e-mail me. 15:17 Don't visit me. 15:18 Leave me alone. 15:19 Thomas is at that point and here comes Jesus. 15:25 Right in the midst of his troubles. 15:28 You do know that Jesus is a very present help in time of 15:30 trouble. 15:31 You see, you would think that the Lord only comes to the 15:35 saints who are shouting and jumping about the victory. 15:37 But let me tell you who Jesus really comes to, the saints 15:42 that have lost their joy, lost their faith, lost their 15:45 victory, and you're sitting there will all types of 15:49 trouble bombarding your mind. 15:50 It is to you that Jesus comes. 15:53 And Jesus says, I'm going to fix this thing for you. 15:59 You thought nobody understood. 16:02 You thought nobody heard your cry. 16:04 You thought nobody knew you were in the mess that you were 16:06 in. 16:07 Just because you're smiling on the outside. 16:10 Bt He didn't come for the twin on the outside, He came for 16:15 the twin on the inside. 16:18 He says, I'm going to fix it. 16:22 The Lord sent me to tell somebody today. 16:25 Sent me to tell somebody that He's got two much invested in 16:30 you for you to sit back and let you down. 16:33 God has been through too much just for you to bring you 16:38 where you are and let this setback destroy you, because a 16:42 setback is just a set up for a comeback. 16:47 He told me to tell somebody that greater is He that is in 16:50 me than he that's in the world and if there is a greater 16:54 than, there must be a less than, and whoever I'm 16:57 preaching to right now, you've got to get happy on credit. 17:04 You ought to get glad in advance. 17:09 You ought to rejoice over what God is getting ready to do. 17:14 You ought to learn how to have what I call a "yet praise." It 17:19 hasn't happened yet, but I know that I know that I know 17:23 that I know, it's about to happen and since I know it's 17:27 going to happen, I've got a "yet praise." You maybe say, 17:32 Pastor Byrd, I don't have the faith that I used to have. 17:35 I don't care about the faith that you had, it's about the 17:39 faith that God has for you. 17:43 God's already done the work. 17:45 All you have to do is stand still and see the salvation of 17:51 the Lord. 17:53 All you have to do is let the real you stand up. 17:59 We spend a lot of time preaching about saints having 18:03 a sin crisis, but the real trouble is having a faith 18:06 crisis. 18:08 The sin is the symptom, but the unbelief is the root. 18:14 Here comes, last point, here comes Thomas to Jesus. 18:21 Now, I wonder what it would be like to stand in the presence 18:27 of God, discouraged, but look Him dead in the eye, tired, 18:35 tattered, torn, worn, no longer believing that God 18:39 could save that husband of yours, no longer believing 18:43 that God could save that wife of yours, no longer believing 18:45 that God could save that child of yours, no longer believing 18:48 that you can get out of that rut. 18:52 And yet you come to church and you stand in the presence of 18:56 God. 18:59 You've got the nerve to sit in the presence of God and still 19:03 be worried, but yet He still comes to you. 19:11 He says, tell my people that I'm available to them, that 19:22 I've made myself available to the discouraged, the 19:23 disenfranchised and the doubting. 19:24 I'm coming to you. 19:26 I'm making myself available to you. 19:27 I'm coming to where you are and I'm going to show you by 19:29 the Holy Ghost, because I know you're discouraged, I know 19:33 you're doubting, I know you're vulnerable, I know you're 19:35 insecure, but don't worry, I'm going to do the work. 19:40 Jesus says to Thomas, Thomas, reach hither, stretch, reach 19:49 hither your hands. 19:52 Now, wait a minute. 19:54 Let's expand on this theologically. 19:57 How did Jesus know what it would take specifically to 20:01 make Thomas believe when Jesus wasn't even in the room when 20:06 Thomas said, "Unless I feel the nail prints in his hands 20:11 and see whether they pierced him in the side." Jesus wasn't 20:16 even in the room when Thomas said that. 20:19 You know what that means? 20:21 That means that God can hear us even when He is not there 20:24 and He knows what it takes for you to get your breakthrough 20:28 in your life. 20:34 He says, I don't have to do this. 20:38 I'll be God whether you believe me or not. 20:42 But God says, because I have chosen you, I'm going to fix 20:47 it that there's no doubt in your mind that I am God, that 20:55 I am Jehovah-jireh, I'm a provider, that I'm God and to 20:59 whomever I'm preaching to today, God says, I'm going to 21:05 show you where you can touch, where you can reach hither 21:11 your hand so you can get your hands on the spot that's going 21:17 to empower you to serve me in this final hour. 21:22 I'm going to show you exactly where you have to lay your 21:26 hands so when the enemy, the devil, comes against you, you 21:30 can say that I know for myself that my redeemer liveth and He 21:36 is able to deliver me. 21:39 God wants the real you, the real twin, the real person 21:44 inside of you to stand up for Him. 21:48 Thomas, I want the real you to stand up. 21:52 I want the you that's been searching for love to stand 21:56 up. 21:58 I want the you that's been searching for truth to stand 22:01 up. 22:02 I want the you that's been searching for peace to stand 22:04 up. 22:05 I want the you that's been trying to break that bad habit 22:09 to stand up. 22:10 I want the you that's been hurting to stand up. 22:12 I want the real you to stand up. 22:13 Will the real you stand up? 22:15 Step up for your miracle. 22:22 Well today, is there anybody who wants to stand up for 22:30 Jesus? 22:32 Is there anybody here who's willing to reach hither their 22:35 hand and stretch for Jesus? 22:40 Is there anybody in Berean today, anybody watching by 22:44 church on Breath of Life, anybody who's got their hand 22:46 on the spot that will give God a praise?? 22:54 To the one today that's not sure, this is my message to 22:58 you. 23:01 You're so close to the answer that if you would just reach 23:04 hither, if you would just stretch forth, the power of 23:13 God will meet you right where you are. 23:17 Stretch, reach hither, you're almost there. 23:23 If you would just stretch a little bit. 23:25 The enemies that you see today you will see them no more. 23:30 Stretch. 23:33 God's going to show you where the power and the glory are. 23:36 Let me tell you something, devil, you should have killed 23:40 me when you had the chance. 23:46 Devil, you should have killed me before I touched this. 23:51 But now it's too late. 23:54 I've got a feeling everything is going to be all right. 24:00 Every big thing, every little thing, every physical thing, 24:06 every spiritual thing, every financial thing, every 24:11 emotional thing is going to be all right. 24:13 Stretch. 24:15 I dare somebody in this place to stretch. 24:19 God says, I want the inner you, the real you, the twin 24:23 inside of you, to give me the praise. 24:28 I want the worried you to give me the praise, the troubled 24:31 you to give me the praise. 24:34 Praise Him in the balconies. 24:37 Praise Him on the main floor. 24:40 Praise Him in the overflow. 24:44 Praise Him in the choir. 24:46 Praise Him on the pulpit. 24:51 Let everything that has breath praise Ye the Lord. 25:02 God wants the real you, not the superficial you, not the 25:09 thank you, not the plaid-suit, white-shirt, white-tie you. 25:13 God wants you. 25:18 And so, will the real you, will the real you stand up. 25:30 PB: Be sure to join us again next week as we continue to 25:35 explore the Word of God. 25:37 Remember, God has a word just for you from his Holy Bible. 25:41 Also, I'd like to invite you to become a Breath of Life 25:44 television ministry partner. 25:45 How can you become a partner? 25:48 Just give us a call at 877-BOL-OFFER. 26:01 If you would like towrite us you may do that as well. 26:04 The address is shown on your screen and we'd love to hear 26:07 from you. 26:09 Finally, you may reach us by logging onto our web site at 26:12 www.breathoflife.tv. 26:22 Again, thank you for tuning in. 26:27 We look forward to seeing you again next week. 26:28 May God continue to bless you. 26:30 >: Two thousand years ago Jesus did something 26:34 especially for you. 26:35 He died on a cross at Calvary. 26:38 That day you were on His mind. 26:40 Our offer this week is Max Lucado's instant classic, "He 26:44 Did This Just for You." This inspirational book 26:48 reveals what God did to win your heart. 26:51 Read it for yourself for encouragement and growth, or 26:53 give it to a friend or loved one who doesn't know Jesus. 26:56 Let Max Lucado, as only he can, beautifully lay out the 27:00 way home to our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, 27:03 our Lord and Savior. 27:04 We would love for you to have this powerful 27:07 book. 27:07 Call today and ask for "He Did This Just for You." It's yours 27:11 for a gift of $5 or more. 27:13 The toll free number is 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:17 That's 877-265-6333. 27:22 Come up close and personal with a passion and promise of 27:25 God Almighty in "He Did This Just for You." Again, the 27:29 number is 877-265-6333. 27:33 Or you may write to Breath of Life, Box 340, Newbury Park, 27:37 CA 91319. Again, the number is 877-265-6333. 27:45 Or you may write to Breath of Life, Box 340, Newbury Park, 27:49 CA 91319. 27:51 Remember to include your gift of $5 or more. 27:55 God did something extraordinary to win your 27:57 heart and He did it just for you. 28:02 (Music) Jesus never called Thomas, doubting Thomas. 28:09 God wants you. 28:13 You ought to rejoice over what God is getting ready to do. 28:21 But the real me needs some help. |
Revised 2015-02-06