? (Theme Song) ? ? Jesus is worthy. . . ? 00:00:01.80\00:00:11.86 ? oh yes, he's worthy. . . ? ? worthy of all... ? 00:00:11.86\00:00:18.83 ? (Music) ? PB: Hello, I'm Dr. 00:00:18.83\00:00:23.26 Carlton T. Byrd and I'm the speaker 00:00:23.26\00:00:25.50 director for Breath of Life television 00:00:25.50\00:00:27.56 and we're grateful to the Lord that we are 00:00:27.56\00:00:29.46 on location right here at the Southeastern Conference 00:00:29.46\00:00:31.36 at their camp meeting, their campgrounds 00:00:31.36\00:00:33.73 in Hawthorne, Florida. 00:00:33.73\00:00:34.73 And I need the viewers of Breath of Life to know that 00:00:34.73\00:00:37.23 the people of God at this camp meeting are excited 00:00:37.23\00:00:39.83 about Jesus Christ. 00:00:39.83\00:00:40.93 We recognize that our theme this year is "Revive Us 00:00:40.93\00:00:45.83 Again," and we've come to be revived in the name of Jesus. 00:00:45.83\00:00:50.26 You need to understand, I grew up right here on these grounds. 00:00:50.26\00:00:54.36 That's right. 00:00:54.36\00:00:55.56 Playing in the sand, playing in the dirt, 00:00:55.56\00:00:58.00 playing basketball. 00:00:58.00\00:00:59.03 But on these grounds I also found Jesus, and I will never 00:00:59.03\00:01:02.36 be the same again. 00:01:02.36\00:01:03.56 We are grateful to be here in the presence of this wonderful 00:01:03.56\00:01:05.80 conference, over 40,000 members in this conference, 00:01:05.80\00:01:08.03 spanning the state of Florida and southern Georgia. 00:01:08.03\00:01:10.50 The president is none other than Pastor 00:01:10.50\00:01:13.20 Hubert J. Merrill, Jr. 00:01:13.20\00:01:14.23 We praise God for him. 00:01:14.23\00:01:15.46 Come on, church, say amen for Pastor Merrill. 00:01:15.46\00:01:19.56 But I'm also grateful to be here not just with Pastor 00:01:19.56\00:01:22.10 Merrill, his team of administrators and the members 00:01:22.10\00:01:24.70 of the Southeastern Conference family, but my parents are 00:01:24.70\00:01:28.03 here today and they serve in this wonderful conference. 00:01:28.03\00:01:31.33 Pastor and Mrs. W. C. Byrd. 00:01:31.33\00:01:33.06 Won't you give them a big round of applause. 00:01:33.06\00:01:35.46 We are ready now to get into the Word of God and so we ask 00:01:35.46\00:01:41.00 if you would take your Bibles and go with me to the book 00:01:41.00\00:01:43.43 of John, chapter 9. 00:01:43.43\00:01:47.73 Take your Bibles. 00:01:47.73\00:01:51.93 Matthew, Mark, Luke and then John. 00:01:51.93\00:01:57.30 John 9:1. 00:01:57.30\00:02:00.70 The Word of God says to us in John 9:1, "And as Jesus passed 00:02:00.70\00:02:09.93 by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 00:02:09.93\00:02:15.73 And his disciples asked him, saying 'Master, who did sin, 00:02:15.73\00:02:20.33 this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus 00:02:20.33\00:02:26.26 answered, 'Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: 00:02:26.26\00:02:29.20 but that the works of God should be made 00:02:29.20\00:02:32.63 manifest in him. 00:02:32.63\00:02:34.06 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: 00:02:34.06\00:02:37.50 the night cometh, when no man can work. 00:02:37.50\00:02:40.26 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' 00:02:40.26\00:02:44.50 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made 00:02:44.50\00:02:49.60 clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind 00:02:49.60\00:02:52.60 man with the clay. And said unto him, 'Go, wash in the pool 00:02:52.60\00:02:57.46 of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent).' 00:02:57.46\00:03:00.83 He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing." Go 00:03:00.83\00:03:04.26 down to verse 19, if you will. 00:03:04.26\00:03:07.66 Verse 19 says, "And they asked them, saying, 'Is this your 00:03:07.66\00:03:11.93 son, who ye say was born blind? 00:03:11.93\00:03:14.53 How then doth he now see?' His parents answered them 00:03:14.53\00:03:18.86 and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born 00:03:18.86\00:03:22.66 blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not: or who 00:03:22.66\00:03:29.33 hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he 00:03:29.33\00:03:35.16 shall speak for himself.'" Oh, we're going to have a good 00:03:35.16\00:03:40.06 time in the Word today. 00:03:40.06\00:03:40.93 "These words spake his parents, because they feared 00:03:40.93\00:03:43.93 the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any 00:03:43.93\00:03:46.70 man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out 00:03:46.70\00:03:49.00 of the synagogue. 00:03:49.00\00:03:50.03 Therefore, said his parents, 'He is of age: ask him.' Then 00:03:50.03\00:03:54.50 again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, 00:03:54.50\00:03:58.86 'Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.'" 00:03:58.86\00:04:03.86 But I love verse 25. 00:04:03.86\00:04:05.70 "He answered and said, 'Whether he be a sinner or no, 00:04:05.70\00:04:12.86 I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, but 00:04:12.86\00:04:28.30 now I see.'" Turn to your neighbor and say, "Growing in 00:04:28.30\00:04:36.36 the dark." Father God, now tabernacle with us. 00:04:36.36\00:04:40.23 Send your Holy Ghost in this place. 00:04:40.23\00:04:43.60 As we preach your word, God, we need your 00:04:43.60\00:04:46.16 anointing right now. 00:04:46.16\00:04:47.36 Don't let us leave here the same way we came, but Lord 00:04:47.36\00:04:50.46 heal the broken heart, set the captive free, make the lame to 00:04:50.46\00:04:54.23 walk again and cause the blind to see. 00:04:54.23\00:04:57.03 God, we give you all the praise and glory. 00:04:57.03\00:04:59.73 Hide me behind your cross and when the appeal is made, I 00:04:59.73\00:05:03.30 pray that men and women, boys and girls will come running, 00:05:03.30\00:05:07.53 saying what must I do to be saved? 00:05:07.53\00:05:11.60 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou 00:05:11.60\00:05:14.73 shall be saved. 00:05:14.73\00:05:17.93 This in Jesus' name we pray. 00:05:17.93\00:05:19.13 Let the redeemed of the Lord say, Amen. 00:05:19.13\00:05:22.46 Growing in the dark. 00:05:22.46\00:05:24.70 Whether he's a sinner or not, I don't know. 00:05:24.70\00:05:28.43 I just know that I was blind, but now I see. 00:05:28.43\00:05:37.83 Now, you would have thought that this man being 00:05:37.83\00:05:41.26 healed would have evoked great celebration. 00:05:41.26\00:05:43.40 You would have thought that all of his neighbors, all the 00:05:43.40\00:05:45.53 church folk, and all his friends would have appreciated 00:05:45.53\00:05:48.26 what God had done in his life. 00:05:48.26\00:05:51.33 You would have thought that the consequences of favor 00:05:51.33\00:05:54.30 would have evoked celebration. 00:05:54.30\00:05:56.93 But instead of them celebrating him, controversy broke out 00:05:56.93\00:06:01.70 regarding this man's healing. 00:06:01.70\00:06:03.73 This is particularly significant because 00:06:03.73\00:06:07.66 you must understand, and I have learned 00:06:07.66\00:06:09.43 first hand in my life, that the best moment 00:06:09.43\00:06:13.43 in your life often provokes jealousy and envy 00:06:13.43\00:06:17.63 in somebody else's life. 00:06:17.63\00:06:19.96 We often expect and want and require that those 00:06:19.96\00:06:24.80 around us appreciate the journey that we've 00:06:24.80\00:06:28.10 gone through to get where we are and that they 00:06:28.10\00:06:31.10 would be glad for us. 00:06:31.10\00:06:33.20 But I've learned, more times than not, your best moment 00:06:33.20\00:06:37.90 becomes the source of somebody else's envy, frustration 00:06:37.90\00:06:42.73 and aggravation, and you have to determine for yourself, 00:06:42.73\00:06:47.30 are you mature enough to walk in what God has for your life, 00:06:47.30\00:06:53.96 because what God has for me, it is for me. 00:06:53.96\00:06:58.10 But are you mature enough to walk in what God has for your 00:06:58.10\00:07:03.03 life despite the criticism? 00:07:03.03\00:07:05.66 Because there are some people who make a career 00:07:05.66\00:07:07.76 out of criticizing. 00:07:07.76\00:07:09.23 Do I have a witness in this place? 00:07:09.23\00:07:11.20 But let me throw this in, don't hate the player, 00:07:11.20\00:07:14.40 hate the game. 00:07:14.40\00:07:16.96 You better learn how to be a cheerleader because if God is 00:07:16.96\00:07:21.76 blessing somebody else, God must be in the neighborhood 00:07:21.76\00:07:26.73 and it's just a matter of time before God blesses you. 00:07:26.73\00:07:30.30 Do I have a witness in this place? 00:07:30.30\00:07:31.96 The Bible says in John 9:19, "And they asked them, saying, 00:07:31.96\00:07:43.73 'Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? 00:07:43.73\00:07:49.33 How then doth he now see?'" You'd be surprised at the 00:07:49.33\00:07:53.83 people who look at your miracle and think it's fake. 00:07:53.83\00:07:57.46 Who think it's phony, who think it's not real. 00:07:57.46\00:08:01.76 It's a sham. 00:08:01.76\00:08:02.76 I like what his parents said in verse 20, this parents 00:08:02.76\00:08:05.50 answered them and said, "We know that this is our son." In 00:08:05.50\00:08:09.63 other words, we claim him, we know this is our son. 00:08:09.63\00:08:14.20 We know that he was born blind. 00:08:14.20\00:08:16.03 Verse 21: "But by what means he now seeth, we know not." 00:08:16.03\00:08:19.33 In other words, we can't explain how 00:08:19.33\00:08:21.96 he got better, but we do know this is him. 00:08:21.96\00:08:26.16 Continuing, "or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: 00:08:26.16\00:08:29.60 he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." 00:08:29.60\00:08:38.00 Verse 22: "these words spake his parents, because they 00:08:38.00\00:08:42.96 feared the Jews." They had already made up their mind. 00:08:42.96\00:08:46.46 Isn't it funny how people have already made up their mind 00:08:46.46\00:08:49.66 before they ask you anything. 00:08:49.66\00:08:51.10 They bring a preconceived ideology into the situation 00:08:51.10\00:08:56.36 and nothing you say will move them because they've 00:08:56.36\00:08:59.66 already prejudged it. 00:08:59.66\00:09:01.66 So the Jews had already agreed that if any man did confess 00:09:01.66\00:09:06.06 that he was Christ that he should be put out of the 00:09:06.06\00:09:08.63 synagogue. 00:09:08.63\00:09:10.06 In other words, they're just looking for an excuse 00:09:10.06\00:09:12.56 to put him out. 00:09:12.56\00:09:14.36 Verse 23: "Therefore said his parents, 'He is of age; 00:09:14.36\00:09:17.73 ask him." Verse 34: "Then again called they 00:09:17.73\00:09:20.86 the man thatas blind, and said unto him, 00:09:20.86\00:09:23.66 'Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.'" 00:09:23.66\00:09:27.36 Talking about Jesus. 00:09:27.36\00:09:28.70 In other words, you're giving too much credit to this man. 00:09:28.70\00:09:31.86 Give God the praise. 00:09:31.86\00:09:33.03 The man you're speaking of is a sinner. 00:09:33.03\00:09:35.56 But look at verse 25: The man answers and says, "Whether 00:09:35.56\00:09:41.36 he be a sinner or no, I know not." I don't even know if 00:09:41.36\00:09:46.53 this is the right day. 00:09:46.53\00:09:48.56 I don't know if he stood on the right sidewalk. 00:09:48.56\00:09:53.10 I don't even know the man's name. 00:09:53.10\00:09:56.80 There's only thing that I know. 00:09:56.80\00:09:59.20 I know that I was once blind, but now I see. 00:09:59.20\00:10:04.76 Do I have a witness in this place? 00:10:04.76\00:10:10.50 And so his parents, look at that again, verse 21. 00:10:10.50\00:10:14.83 How was this done? 00:10:14.83\00:10:16.76 We don't know. 00:10:16.76\00:10:17.93 Who opened his eyes? 00:10:17.93\00:10:19.43 We don't know. 00:10:19.43\00:10:20.66 What we do know, he's of age. Ask him. 00:10:20.66\00:10:25.70 He can speak for himself. 00:10:25.70\00:10:28.00 Are you old enough to speak for yourself? 00:10:28.00\00:10:32.76 Can you handle it? 00:10:32.76\00:10:34.10 The Bible says in John, Chapter 9, that Jesus passed 00:10:34.10\00:10:38.60 by and saw a man who was blind from his birth. 00:10:38.60\00:10:41.20 His disciples, who were hungry for information, they have to 00:10:41.20\00:10:43.36 take a crash course to understand who they were and 00:10:43.36\00:10:45.30 how they were supposed to respond and operate, and 00:10:45.30\00:10:47.83 asked, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that 00:10:47.83\00:10:52.46 he was born blind?" You see, friends of mine, historically 00:10:52.46\00:10:57.66 there was a Jewish belief that all suffering was 00:10:57.66\00:11:00.33 punishment from sin. 00:11:00.33\00:11:02.26 But how could a person have sinned before his birth? 00:11:02.26\00:11:05.03 One of my favorite writers, Ellen White, says in 00:11:05.03\00:11:07.16 a book she's written, "Desire of Ages," 00:11:07.16\00:11:09.36 that every affliction in Jewish thought was regarded 00:11:09.36\00:11:12.76 as penalty of some wrongdoing, either of the suffer himself 00:11:12.76\00:11:16.83 or of his parents. 00:11:16.83\00:11:20.26 Whenever we have adversity in our lives, we have the 00:11:20.26\00:11:24.16 tendency in our own human reasoning system to have 00:11:24.16\00:11:26.03 to understand. 00:11:26.03\00:11:26.93 Why did this happen? 00:11:26.93\00:11:28.03 Who is to blame for this? 00:11:28.03\00:11:30.33 I'm like this because my parents were like this. 00:11:30.33\00:11:32.86 I'm like this because I didn't have this growing up. 00:11:32.86\00:11:35.26 I'm like this because I'm black. 00:11:35.26\00:11:37.06 I'm like this because I'm white. 00:11:37.06\00:11:38.70 I'm like this because my father dropped me on my head. 00:11:38.70\00:11:41.40 I'm like this because my mother had eaten ice cream 00:11:41.40\00:11:43.80 when she was pregnant. 00:11:43.80\00:11:44.90 We always look for something or some reason to explain 00:11:44.90\00:11:48.06 the issues of life. 00:11:48.06\00:11:51.76 Jesus blows all of this out of the water by saying, 00:11:51.76\00:11:56.06 neither did his parents nor did he sin. 00:11:56.06\00:11:59.86 In other words, it was nothing he did to bring 00:11:59.86\00:12:03.40 this on himself. 00:12:03.40\00:12:06.53 Do you hear what I'm saying? 00:12:06.53\00:12:07.43 Let that sink in for a moment, because somebody here is 00:12:07.43\00:12:10.90 blaming himself or herself for something you had no 00:12:10.90\00:12:14.10 responsibility in. 00:12:14.10\00:12:15.83 Jesus said, it was nothing that you did to bring 00:12:15.83\00:12:20.06 this on yourself. 00:12:20.06\00:12:21.96 Things happen. 00:12:21.96\00:12:23.36 This happened. 00:12:23.36\00:12:24.43 Nothing your parents did brought this on yourself. 00:12:24.43\00:12:28.00 Things happen. 00:12:28.00\00:12:29.06 Bad things do happen to good people. 00:12:29.06\00:12:33.03 So rather than spending your energy on who do you blame for 00:12:33.03\00:12:36.83 this condition, you ought to be preparing yourself because 00:12:36.83\00:12:38.60 God is about to give you a breakthrough in your life. 00:12:38.60\00:12:41.50 Do I have a witness in this place? 00:12:41.50\00:12:43.26 Look at the text. 00:12:43.26\00:12:44.20 Jesus says in verse 3 of John, Chapter 9, neither did this 00:12:44.20\00:12:48.30 man or his parents, but that the works of God should be 00:12:48.30\00:12:52.73 made manifest in him. 00:12:52.73\00:12:56.53 Jesus here in the text is suggesting that the works of 00:12:56.53\00:13:01.06 God are made manifest through the adversities of men. 00:13:01.06\00:13:06.16 Let me say that again because somebody missed that. 00:13:06.16\00:13:08.00 The works of God are made manifest through the 00:13:08.00\00:13:13.13 adversities of men. 00:13:13.13\00:13:15.40 What am I saying? 00:13:15.40\00:13:16.73 Sometimes you have to go through something 00:13:16.73\00:13:19.96 to get something. 00:13:19.96\00:13:23.70 In other words, if you didn't go through anything that was 00:13:23.70\00:13:26.23 adverse, God wouldn't have a way of showing how 00:13:26.23\00:13:29.53 strong he is in your life. 00:13:29.53\00:13:31.10 You see, I've learned in my life, you can't have a 00:13:31.10\00:13:35.26 testimony without a test. 00:13:35.26\00:13:37.80 But too many of us test a lie instead of testify. 00:13:37.80\00:13:44.10 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 00:13:44.10\00:13:47.56 But when you see the works of God manifested in your life, 00:13:47.56\00:13:50.60 look for somebody who's in the most deplorable situation 00:13:50.60\00:13:54.00 because God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. 00:13:54.00\00:13:58.60 When we are at our worst God is at his best. 00:13:58.60\00:14:03.70 And just because, for somebody today, just because you're in 00:14:03.70\00:14:08.03 crisis mode right now, doesn't mean you're 00:14:08.03\00:14:11.06 going to stay there. 00:14:11.06\00:14:12.40 Hold on, help is on the way. 00:14:12.40\00:14:14.03 Too many times we have a tendency that we want to 00:14:14.03\00:14:18.70 categorize people and put them in a file. 00:14:18.70\00:14:21.13 This is a good person. 00:14:21.13\00:14:22.96 This is a bad person. 00:14:22.96\00:14:24.66 This is a successful person. 00:14:24.66\00:14:27.13 This is a failed person. 00:14:27.13\00:14:29.20 This is the black sheep of the family. 00:14:29.20\00:14:31.90 This is the person who has favor in the family. 00:14:31.90\00:14:34.93 But I want to warn you today against snap judgments. 00:14:34.93\00:14:37.86 Because the very people that you see who you think lag 00:14:37.86\00:14:41.96 behind, look like they were never going to bud, blossom or 00:14:41.96\00:14:46.96 bring forth any fruit, they may be the very person who has 00:14:46.96\00:14:51.23 an appointment with destiny. 00:14:51.23\00:14:53.73 But because you judge them prematurely, before they had 00:14:53.73\00:14:58.10 developed and gone through their changes, you might have 00:14:58.10\00:15:01.50 x-ed somebody out where God checked the box. 00:15:01.50\00:15:09.10 I'm going to bless her, but it might not be 00:15:09.10\00:15:12.23 in January, it might not be in February, it might not be 00:15:12.23\00:15:16.26 in March, April or May. 00:15:16.26\00:15:19.03 It just might be on June 18th at 1:15 p.m. 00:15:19.03\00:15:24.93 that there's going to be a turning point in 00:15:24.93\00:15:27.93 somebody's life. 00:15:27.93\00:15:29.66 Oh, I feel my help coming now. 00:15:29.66\00:15:31.96 Many of you have lived your life with a sense of feeling 00:15:31.96\00:15:35.30 that something is going to happen in your life. 00:15:35.30\00:15:38.83 You've been through adversity and challenges. 00:15:38.83\00:15:41.20 You've felt like giving up, throwing in the towel. 00:15:41.20\00:15:43.76 Sometimes you felt like life was not worth the living, but 00:15:43.76\00:15:46.36 at the moment of your greatest adversity, there was an 00:15:46.36\00:15:49.50 intrinsic voice that kept you in your spirit, saying, hold 00:15:49.50\00:15:52.80 on, something is about to happen. 00:15:52.80\00:15:55.66 You don't know what's going to happen, but you know you're 00:15:55.66\00:15:58.56 holding on because something is about to happen. 00:15:58.56\00:16:01.40 You don't know what it is, you can't describe it, 00:16:01.40\00:16:02.93 you can't explain it, you have no point of reference 00:16:02.93\00:16:06.50 for it, you have not seen it before, it's just a gut feeling 00:16:06.50\00:16:10.13 that where I am right now is not going to be where I end up. 00:16:10.13\00:16:18.33 And somehow or another, I'm going to come out of this 00:16:18.33\00:16:22.80 thing on my feet. 00:16:22.80\00:16:24.30 Something, I don't have a name for it, I can't explain it, 00:16:24.30\00:16:29.96 I've never seen it happen before, I don't see it coming 00:16:29.96\00:16:35.00 quickly, but down in my spirit I sense something. 00:16:35.00\00:16:39.86 The old folk used to say, something within me that 00:16:39.86\00:16:43.60 holdeth the rain. 00:16:43.60\00:16:45.26 Something within me that banishes pain. 00:16:45.26\00:16:49.56 Something within me I cannot explain, oh, but I know I'll 00:16:49.56\00:16:53.66 thank my God I've got something within. 00:16:53.66\00:16:57.63 Something is about to happen. 00:16:57.63\00:16:59.93 Something is about to move. 00:16:59.93\00:17:02.53 Something is about to take hold of me. 00:17:02.53\00:17:05.76 Oh, let me just stay here just a little while. 00:17:05.76\00:17:08.30 Sometimes I'm learning in my life you've got to feel 00:17:08.30\00:17:12.30 your way through it. 00:17:12.30\00:17:14.03 Sometimes you've got to crawl your way through it. 00:17:14.03\00:17:16.70 Sometimes you've got to pray your way through it. 00:17:16.70\00:17:19.70 Sometimes you've got to fast your way through it. 00:17:19.70\00:17:22.30 Sometimes you've got to moan your way through it. 00:17:22.30\00:17:27.56 But something is going to happen. 00:17:27.56\00:17:32.10 Now for all of you out there who have received enough 00:17:32.10\00:17:35.60 blessings in your life, you don't have to get 00:17:35.60\00:17:40.36 into all of this. 00:17:40.36\00:17:43.33 But if all of you are like me, who are waiting on yours, 00:17:43.33\00:17:47.46 something is about to happen. 00:17:47.46\00:17:50.50 You've prayed and cried, but something is about to happen. 00:17:50.50\00:17:56.56 And all this business about the brother being born blind, 00:17:56.56\00:17:59.46 this means that from the moment he was an infant he was blind. 00:17:59.46\00:18:04.40 He never saw a sunrise or a sunset. 00:18:04.40\00:18:07.03 He grew up in a world where people talked about 00:18:07.03\00:18:09.33 things he could describe but couldn't see. 00:18:09.33\00:18:13.73 Isn't it amazing how you can live in a world, how you can 00:18:13.73\00:18:18.43 live in a city, how you can live in a community, how you 00:18:18.43\00:18:21.36 can go to a church and be in the neighborhood or even be 00:18:21.36\00:18:24.03 here, like I say, in a church where somebody's going through 00:18:24.03\00:18:27.06 great blessings but you're not out of it. 00:18:27.06\00:18:33.06 They have a successful job, but you're unemployed. 00:18:33.06\00:18:38.46 They have a clean bill of health, but you have cancer. 00:18:38.46\00:18:43.03 They have a wonderful marriage, but you are divorced. 00:18:43.03\00:18:47.33 You've heard about it, but you can't see it. 00:18:47.33\00:18:51.46 You listen to the radio or you watch two other people about 00:18:51.46\00:18:54.33 it's going well for them, but you don't see it. 00:18:54.33\00:18:57.76 You listen to your friends talk about their upcoming 00:18:57.76\00:19:00.46 wedding, but for you, you don't see it. 00:19:00.46\00:19:04.06 You go to church with people who are getting a breakthrough 00:19:04.06\00:19:06.53 in their lives, but you don't see it. 00:19:06.53\00:19:09.96 And so there you are in a state of blindness, but yet in 00:19:09.96\00:19:16.43 spite of this man's blindness he's still growing in the 00:19:16.43\00:19:21.13 dark, growing in isolation, growing through rejection, 00:19:21.13\00:19:27.73 growing through unemployment, growing without having the 00:19:27.73\00:19:31.83 benefit of having other people around you, but still growing. 00:19:31.83\00:19:36.76 Now you can come to church, come to camp meeting with your 00:19:36.76\00:19:39.76 suit on, with your hat on, your dress on, looking prim 00:19:39.76\00:19:44.16 and proper from head to toe, but I have to respect people 00:19:44.16\00:19:47.93 who grow in adverse circumstances. 00:19:47.93\00:19:50.33 I have to respect folk who have been through hell 00:19:50.33\00:19:53.63 and high water. 00:19:53.63\00:19:54.83 But you're still growing because our trials come to 00:19:54.83\00:19:58.03 make us strong. 00:19:58.03\00:20:00.36 You can say what you want to say, but somebody else who had 00:20:00.36\00:20:03.63 to deal with what this brother had to deal with may have 00:20:03.63\00:20:06.96 committed suicide. 00:20:06.96\00:20:09.36 Thrown in the towel, say, I can't take it anymore. 00:20:09.36\00:20:11.86 I can't hack it. 00:20:11.86\00:20:13.23 I can't handle it. 00:20:13.23\00:20:14.00 I'm at my wits' end. 00:20:14.00\00:20:14.76 But in spite of his blinded eyes he kept feeding 00:20:14.76\00:20:20.43 everything else and growing anyway. 00:20:20.43\00:20:24.26 There are people in this world, there are people in 00:20:24.26\00:20:27.36 this church, there are people in this campground who are 00:20:27.36\00:20:31.10 growing in spite of a dark situation. 00:20:31.10\00:20:33.60 They're growing in the dark. Let's be real. 00:20:33.60\00:20:36.26 Somebody today got dressed in the dark. 00:20:36.26\00:20:38.96 They came to church in the dark. 00:20:38.96\00:20:41.96 Bought a house in the dark. 00:20:41.96\00:20:43.80 Raising their children in the dark. 00:20:43.80\00:20:47.30 Growing to adversity in the dark. 00:20:47.30\00:20:49.96 Go to work in the dark. 00:20:49.96\00:20:51.60 Pay bills in the dark. 00:20:51.60\00:20:53.50 They don't have everything else that everybody else has. 00:20:53.50\00:20:56.56 They haven't been receiving the blessings that other 00:20:56.56\00:21:00.50 people are having, but you're still going ahead anyway. 00:21:00.50\00:21:04.20 If that sounds like you, then the Lord sent me here today to 00:21:04.20\00:21:09.83 preach to you, to challenge you. 00:21:09.83\00:21:13.33 You can't wait until the change comes to occur, to 00:21:13.33\00:21:18.16 strengthen yourself. 00:21:18.16\00:21:20.06 But I hear Isaiah saying, but they that wait upon the Lord, 00:21:20.06\00:21:25.76 God shall renew their strength. 00:21:25.76\00:21:29.86 That means that in spite of the adversity, in spite of the 00:21:29.86\00:21:34.40 bleakness, in spite of the trauma, in spite of the 00:21:34.40\00:21:39.23 rejection, the pain, the divorce, the abuse. 00:21:39.23\00:21:42.03 Whatever it is you face, you still have to move forward in 00:21:42.03\00:21:46.33 your life to prepare yourself that something is going to 00:21:46.33\00:21:49.26 happen in your life. 00:21:49.26\00:21:51.30 You're not going . . .hummmmm to tell me that God 00:21:51.30\00:21:54.33 brought me into this world to live in misery 00:21:54.33\00:21:59.90 and die in misery. 00:21:59.90\00:22:01.00 I refuse to live and die in misery. 00:22:01.00\00:22:04.63 A breakthrough is coming. 00:22:04.63\00:22:06.16 Do I have a witness in this place? 00:22:06.16\00:22:08.66 Hey, hey, hey. 00:22:08.66\00:22:10.23 I feel an anointing coming on right now. 00:22:10.23\00:22:12.80 Better tell somebody. 00:22:12.80\00:22:15.33 There's about to be something else. 00:22:15.33\00:22:19.86 You see, I've learned. 00:22:19.86\00:22:21.70 I've learned that you've got to praise God not 00:22:21.70\00:22:25.23 because of, but in spite of. 00:22:25.23\00:22:27.10 You've got to get to a point in your life where you learn 00:22:27.10\00:22:31.23 to say, I praise God in spite of recession. 00:22:31.23\00:22:35.30 I praise God in spite of unemployment. 00:22:35.30\00:22:39.46 I praise God in spite of illness. 00:22:39.46\00:22:41.76 I praise God in spite of death. 00:22:41.76\00:22:44.43 I praise God in spite of bad finances. 00:22:44.43\00:22:47.46 I praise God in spite of a bad marriage. 00:22:47.46\00:22:50.36 Hallelujah, I praise God. 00:22:50.36\00:22:52.33 This is not the final verdict, this is not the end, this is 00:22:52.33\00:22:56.03 not the benediction. 00:22:56.03\00:22:57.83 There has to be something else. 00:22:57.83\00:23:05.46 Now this requires that you believe God for something 00:23:05.46\00:23:11.06 which with you have no point of reference. 00:23:11.06\00:23:15.00 Let's think about it. 00:23:15.00\00:23:16.30 Let me challenge your mind now. 00:23:16.30\00:23:18.36 If the man had been born sighted, if he had been born 00:23:18.36\00:23:26.23 with sight, and then gone blind, are you hearing what 00:23:26.23\00:23:31.46 I'm saying? 00:23:31.46\00:23:32.66 Then at least he would have had a point of reference of 00:23:32.66\00:23:36.80 what it would have been like to have his eyes opened. 00:23:36.80\00:23:40.93 But because this man was born blind, this man is now 00:23:40.93\00:23:46.06 believing God for something of which he has no point 00:23:46.06\00:23:50.63 of reference. 00:23:50.63\00:23:51.76 Are you hearing me? 00:23:51.76\00:23:53.10 A fighting faith, a tenacious faith, a faith for which there 00:23:53.10\00:23:59.76 is no verbiage or vernacular, a faith that attacks your 00:23:59.76\00:24:04.16 spirit and gets down in your heart. 00:24:04.16\00:24:08.20 You can honestly say that you've never been happy, that 00:24:08.20\00:24:11.56 you've never had joy, that things have always gone 00:24:11.56\00:24:13.16 right, but you believing in God for something 00:24:13.16\00:24:15.20 for which you're never seen in your life. 00:24:15.20\00:24:18.53 Who am I talking to today? 00:24:18.53\00:24:21.83 You have to have a faith that things are not going to 00:24:21.83\00:24:27.10 end up like they started out, that somewhere in your life 00:24:27.10\00:24:32.30 there is a U-turn where you can turn things around 00:24:32.30\00:24:36.26 and go in another direction. 00:24:36.26\00:24:38.93 Jesus said, this man is in this condition that the works 00:24:38.93\00:24:44.23 of God might be made manifest in his life. 00:24:44.23\00:24:54.43 Have you ever thought, God may be trying to bless you 00:24:54.43\00:24:56.13 and heal you to bring somebody else out? 00:24:56.13\00:25:03.23 PB: Be sure to join us again next week as we continue to 00:25:03.23\00:25:06.43 explore God's Word. 00:25:06.43\00:25:08.83 Remember, God has a word just for you from the Holy Bible. 00:25:08.83\00:25:14.03 Also, I'd like to invite you to become a partner of the 00:25:14.03\00:25:17.16 Breath of Life ministry. 00:25:17.16\00:25:18.80 If you would like to join us as we seek to share the gospel 00:25:18.80\00:25:22.40 of Jesus Christ with others, feel free to give us a call at 00:25:22.40\00:25:25.80 877-BOL-OFFER. 00:25:25.80\00:25:38.53 Or feel free to write us at the address shown 00:25:38.53\00:25:42.83 on your screen. 00:25:42.83\00:25:44.20 Finally, you can reach us by logging onto our web site at 00:25:44.20\00:25:48.20 www.breathoflife.tv. 00:25:48.20\00:25:56.43 Thank you for tuning in. 00:25:56.43\00:25:57.66 Thank you for joining us and may God continue to bless you. 00:25:57.66\00:26:02.56 >: Life is full of questions. 00:26:02.56\00:26:04.83 Sometimes we don't know which way to go or where to turn, we 00:26:04.83\00:26:07.86 have doubts and fears and we wonder what it all means. 00:26:07.86\00:26:11.03 But there are answers and there is hope waiting for you 00:26:11.03\00:26:15.56 in God's word, the Bible. 00:26:15.56\00:26:17.16 And there's no better way to start exploring the plans he 00:26:17.16\00:26:20.46 has for you than in the "Discover Bible Guides." 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If you've 00:26:42.03\00:26:46.23 ever wanted to understand the Bible but didn't know where to 00:26:46.23\00:26:48.73 start, or if you've read the Bible from cover to cover but 00:26:48.73\00:26:51.96 simply yearn for more, then the "Discover Bible Guides" 00:26:51.96\00:26:54.90 ares especially for you. 00:26:54.90\00:26:56.56 The guides are also good for family members or friends who 00:26:56.56\00:26:59.50 might be seeking spiritual guidance and have 00:26:59.50\00:27:02.03 questions of their own. 00:27:02.03\00:27:03.16 Just call our toll-free number at 1-877-BOL-OFFER. 00:27:03.16\00:27:09.36 That's 1-877-265-6333 and ask for your copy of the 00:27:09.36\00:27:16.16 Discover Bible Guides. 00:27:16.16\00:27:17.83 Or you may write to us at Breath of Life, Box 340, 00:27:17.83\00:27:21.33 Newbury Park, CA 91319. 00:27:21.33\00:27:25.76 The "Discover Bible Guides," discover for yourself. 00:27:25.76\00:27:32.80 PB: Are you hearing what I'm saying. 00:27:33.60\00:27:35.46 >: To order a DVD or CD copy of this Breath of Life 00:27:35.46\00:27:37.46 broadcast with Carlton Byrd just call our toll-free 00:27:37.46\00:27:40.46 number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 00:27:40.46\00:27:43.43 That's 877-265-6333. 00:27:43.43\00:27:47.16 Please visit us online at breathoflife.tv where you can 00:27:47.16\00:27:51.40 see our broadcast schedule, send us your prayer requests, 00:27:51.40\00:27:54.43 sign up for our newsletter and make a donation. 00:27:54.43\00:27:58.40 Thank you for watching and supporting Breath of Life. 00:27:58.40\00:28:00.53 God bless you. 00:28:00.53\00:28:03.66 PB: That somewhere in life there is a U-turn where you 00:28:03.66\00:28:08.16 can turn things around and go in another direction. 00:28:08.16\00:28:13.86 I know that I was once blind, but now I see. 00:28:13.86\00:28:18.53 You can't have a testimony without a test, and it's just 00:28:18.53\00:28:24.00 a matter of time before God 00:28:24.00\00:28:25.00