Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000037
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00:01 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy. . . ♪
00:11 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy. . . ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:18 ♪ (Music) ♪ PB: Hello, I'm Dr. 00:23 Carlton T. Byrd and I'm the speaker 00:25 director for Breath of Life television 00:27 and we're grateful to the Lord that we are 00:29 on location right here at the Southeastern Conference 00:31 at their camp meeting, their campgrounds 00:33 in Hawthorne, Florida. 00:34 And I need the viewers of Breath of Life to know that 00:37 the people of God at this camp meeting are excited 00:39 about Jesus Christ. 00:40 We recognize that our theme this year is "Revive Us 00:45 Again," and we've come to be revived in the name of Jesus. 00:50 You need to understand, I grew up right here on these grounds. 00:54 That's right. 00:55 Playing in the sand, playing in the dirt, 00:58 playing basketball. 00:59 But on these grounds I also found Jesus, and I will never 01:02 be the same again. 01:03 We are grateful to be here in the presence of this wonderful 01:05 conference, over 40,000 members in this conference, 01:08 spanning the state of Florida and southern Georgia. 01:10 The president is none other than Pastor 01:13 Hubert J. Merrill, Jr. 01:14 We praise God for him. 01:15 Come on, church, say amen for Pastor Merrill. 01:19 But I'm also grateful to be here not just with Pastor 01:22 Merrill, his team of administrators and the members 01:24 of the Southeastern Conference family, but my parents are 01:28 here today and they serve in this wonderful conference. 01:31 Pastor and Mrs. W. C. Byrd. 01:33 Won't you give them a big round of applause. 01:35 We are ready now to get into the Word of God and so we ask 01:41 if you would take your Bibles and go with me to the book 01:43 of John, chapter 9. 01:47 Take your Bibles. 01:51 Matthew, Mark, Luke and then John. 01:57 John 9:1. 02:00 The Word of God says to us in John 9:1, "And as Jesus passed 02:09 by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 02:15 And his disciples asked him, saying 'Master, who did sin, 02:20 this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus 02:26 answered, 'Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: 02:29 but that the works of God should be made 02:32 manifest in him. 02:34 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: 02:37 the night cometh, when no man can work. 02:40 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' 02:44 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made 02:49 clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind 02:52 man with the clay. And said unto him, 'Go, wash in the pool 02:57 of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent).' 03:00 He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing." Go 03:04 down to verse 19, if you will. 03:07 Verse 19 says, "And they asked them, saying, 'Is this your 03:11 son, who ye say was born blind? 03:14 How then doth he now see?' His parents answered them 03:18 and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born 03:22 blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not: or who 03:29 hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he 03:35 shall speak for himself.'" Oh, we're going to have a good 03:40 time in the Word today. 03:40 "These words spake his parents, because they feared 03:43 the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any 03:46 man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out 03:49 of the synagogue. 03:50 Therefore, said his parents, 'He is of age: ask him.' Then 03:54 again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, 03:58 'Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.'" 04:03 But I love verse 25. 04:05 "He answered and said, 'Whether he be a sinner or no, 04:12 I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, but 04:28 now I see.'" Turn to your neighbor and say, "Growing in 04:36 the dark." Father God, now tabernacle with us. 04:40 Send your Holy Ghost in this place. 04:43 As we preach your word, God, we need your 04:46 anointing right now. 04:47 Don't let us leave here the same way we came, but Lord 04:50 heal the broken heart, set the captive free, make the lame to 04:54 walk again and cause the blind to see. 04:57 God, we give you all the praise and glory. 04:59 Hide me behind your cross and when the appeal is made, I 05:03 pray that men and women, boys and girls will come running, 05:07 saying what must I do to be saved? 05:11 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou 05:14 shall be saved. 05:17 This in Jesus' name we pray. 05:19 Let the redeemed of the Lord say, Amen. 05:22 Growing in the dark. 05:24 Whether he's a sinner or not, I don't know. 05:28 I just know that I was blind, but now I see. 05:37 Now, you would have thought that this man being 05:41 healed would have evoked great celebration. 05:43 You would have thought that all of his neighbors, all the 05:45 church folk, and all his friends would have appreciated 05:48 what God had done in his life. 05:51 You would have thought that the consequences of favor 05:54 would have evoked celebration. 05:56 But instead of them celebrating him, controversy broke out 06:01 regarding this man's healing. 06:03 This is particularly significant because 06:07 you must understand, and I have learned 06:09 first hand in my life, that the best moment 06:13 in your life often provokes jealousy and envy 06:17 in somebody else's life. 06:19 We often expect and want and require that those 06:24 around us appreciate the journey that we've 06:28 gone through to get where we are and that they 06:31 would be glad for us. 06:33 But I've learned, more times than not, your best moment 06:37 becomes the source of somebody else's envy, frustration 06:42 and aggravation, and you have to determine for yourself, 06:47 are you mature enough to walk in what God has for your life, 06:53 because what God has for me, it is for me. 06:58 But are you mature enough to walk in what God has for your 07:03 life despite the criticism? 07:05 Because there are some people who make a career 07:07 out of criticizing. 07:09 Do I have a witness in this place? 07:11 But let me throw this in, don't hate the player, 07:14 hate the game. 07:16 You better learn how to be a cheerleader because if God is 07:21 blessing somebody else, God must be in the neighborhood 07:26 and it's just a matter of time before God blesses you. 07:30 Do I have a witness in this place? 07:31 The Bible says in John 9:19, "And they asked them, saying, 07:43 'Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? 07:49 How then doth he now see?'" You'd be surprised at the 07:53 people who look at your miracle and think it's fake. 07:57 Who think it's phony, who think it's not real. 08:01 It's a sham. 08:02 I like what his parents said in verse 20, this parents 08:05 answered them and said, "We know that this is our son." In 08:09 other words, we claim him, we know this is our son. 08:14 We know that he was born blind. 08:16 Verse 21: "But by what means he now seeth, we know not." 08:19 In other words, we can't explain how 08:21 he got better, but we do know this is him. 08:26 Continuing, "or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: 08:29 he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." 08:38 Verse 22: "these words spake his parents, because they 08:42 feared the Jews." They had already made up their mind. 08:46 Isn't it funny how people have already made up their mind 08:49 before they ask you anything. 08:51 They bring a preconceived ideology into the situation 08:56 and nothing you say will move them because they've 08:59 already prejudged it. 09:01 So the Jews had already agreed that if any man did confess 09:06 that he was Christ that he should be put out of the 09:08 synagogue. 09:10 In other words, they're just looking for an excuse 09:12 to put him out. 09:14 Verse 23: "Therefore said his parents, 'He is of age; 09:17 ask him." Verse 34: "Then again called they 09:20 the man thatas blind, and said unto him, 09:23 'Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.'" 09:27 Talking about Jesus. 09:28 In other words, you're giving too much credit to this man. 09:31 Give God the praise. 09:33 The man you're speaking of is a sinner. 09:35 But look at verse 25: The man answers and says, "Whether 09:41 he be a sinner or no, I know not." I don't even know if 09:46 this is the right day. 09:48 I don't know if he stood on the right sidewalk. 09:53 I don't even know the man's name. 09:56 There's only thing that I know. 09:59 I know that I was once blind, but now I see. 10:04 Do I have a witness in this place? 10:10 And so his parents, look at that again, verse 21. 10:14 How was this done? 10:16 We don't know. 10:17 Who opened his eyes? 10:19 We don't know. 10:20 What we do know, he's of age. Ask him. 10:25 He can speak for himself. 10:28 Are you old enough to speak for yourself? 10:32 Can you handle it? 10:34 The Bible says in John, Chapter 9, that Jesus passed 10:38 by and saw a man who was blind from his birth. 10:41 His disciples, who were hungry for information, they have to 10:43 take a crash course to understand who they were and 10:45 how they were supposed to respond and operate, and 10:47 asked, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that 10:52 he was born blind?" You see, friends of mine, historically 10:57 there was a Jewish belief that all suffering was 11:00 punishment from sin. 11:02 But how could a person have sinned before his birth? 11:05 One of my favorite writers, Ellen White, says in 11:07 a book she's written, "Desire of Ages," 11:09 that every affliction in Jewish thought was regarded 11:12 as penalty of some wrongdoing, either of the suffer himself 11:16 or of his parents. 11:20 Whenever we have adversity in our lives, we have the 11:24 tendency in our own human reasoning system to have 11:26 to understand. 11:26 Why did this happen? 11:28 Who is to blame for this? 11:30 I'm like this because my parents were like this. 11:32 I'm like this because I didn't have this growing up. 11:35 I'm like this because I'm black. 11:37 I'm like this because I'm white. 11:38 I'm like this because my father dropped me on my head. 11:41 I'm like this because my mother had eaten ice cream 11:43 when she was pregnant. 11:44 We always look for something or some reason to explain 11:48 the issues of life. 11:51 Jesus blows all of this out of the water by saying, 11:56 neither did his parents nor did he sin. 11:59 In other words, it was nothing he did to bring 12:03 this on himself. 12:06 Do you hear what I'm saying? 12:07 Let that sink in for a moment, because somebody here is 12:10 blaming himself or herself for something you had no 12:14 responsibility in. 12:15 Jesus said, it was nothing that you did to bring 12:20 this on yourself. 12:21 Things happen. 12:23 This happened. 12:24 Nothing your parents did brought this on yourself. 12:28 Things happen. 12:29 Bad things do happen to good people. 12:33 So rather than spending your energy on who do you blame for 12:36 this condition, you ought to be preparing yourself because 12:38 God is about to give you a breakthrough in your life. 12:41 Do I have a witness in this place? 12:43 Look at the text. 12:44 Jesus says in verse 3 of John, Chapter 9, neither did this 12:48 man or his parents, but that the works of God should be 12:52 made manifest in him. 12:56 Jesus here in the text is suggesting that the works of 13:01 God are made manifest through the adversities of men. 13:06 Let me say that again because somebody missed that. 13:08 The works of God are made manifest through the 13:13 adversities of men. 13:15 What am I saying? 13:16 Sometimes you have to go through something 13:19 to get something. 13:23 In other words, if you didn't go through anything that was 13:26 adverse, God wouldn't have a way of showing how 13:29 strong he is in your life. 13:31 You see, I've learned in my life, you can't have a 13:35 testimony without a test. 13:37 But too many of us test a lie instead of testify. 13:44 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 13:47 But when you see the works of God manifested in your life, 13:50 look for somebody who's in the most deplorable situation 13:54 because God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. 13:58 When we are at our worst God is at his best. 14:03 And just because, for somebody today, just because you're in 14:08 crisis mode right now, doesn't mean you're 14:11 going to stay there. 14:12 Hold on, help is on the way. 14:14 Too many times we have a tendency that we want to 14:18 categorize people and put them in a file. 14:21 This is a good person. 14:22 This is a bad person. 14:24 This is a successful person. 14:27 This is a failed person. 14:29 This is the black sheep of the family. 14:31 This is the person who has favor in the family. 14:34 But I want to warn you today against snap judgments. 14:37 Because the very people that you see who you think lag 14:41 behind, look like they were never going to bud, blossom or 14:46 bring forth any fruit, they may be the very person who has 14:51 an appointment with destiny. 14:53 But because you judge them prematurely, before they had 14:58 developed and gone through their changes, you might have 15:01 x-ed somebody out where God checked the box. 15:09 I'm going to bless her, but it might not be 15:12 in January, it might not be in February, it might not be 15:16 in March, April or May. 15:19 It just might be on June 18th at 1:15 p.m. 15:24 that there's going to be a turning point in 15:27 somebody's life. 15:29 Oh, I feel my help coming now. 15:31 Many of you have lived your life with a sense of feeling 15:35 that something is going to happen in your life. 15:38 You've been through adversity and challenges. 15:41 You've felt like giving up, throwing in the towel. 15:43 Sometimes you felt like life was not worth the living, but 15:46 at the moment of your greatest adversity, there was an 15:49 intrinsic voice that kept you in your spirit, saying, hold 15:52 on, something is about to happen. 15:55 You don't know what's going to happen, but you know you're 15:58 holding on because something is about to happen. 16:01 You don't know what it is, you can't describe it, 16:02 you can't explain it, you have no point of reference 16:06 for it, you have not seen it before, it's just a gut feeling 16:10 that where I am right now is not going to be where I end up. 16:18 And somehow or another, I'm going to come out of this 16:22 thing on my feet. 16:24 Something, I don't have a name for it, I can't explain it, 16:29 I've never seen it happen before, I don't see it coming 16:35 quickly, but down in my spirit I sense something. 16:39 The old folk used to say, something within me that 16:43 holdeth the rain. 16:45 Something within me that banishes pain. 16:49 Something within me I cannot explain, oh, but I know I'll 16:53 thank my God I've got something within. 16:57 Something is about to happen. 16:59 Something is about to move. 17:02 Something is about to take hold of me. 17:05 Oh, let me just stay here just a little while. 17:08 Sometimes I'm learning in my life you've got to feel 17:12 your way through it. 17:14 Sometimes you've got to crawl your way through it. 17:16 Sometimes you've got to pray your way through it. 17:19 Sometimes you've got to fast your way through it. 17:22 Sometimes you've got to moan your way through it. 17:27 But something is going to happen. 17:32 Now for all of you out there who have received enough 17:35 blessings in your life, you don't have to get 17:40 into all of this. 17:43 But if all of you are like me, who are waiting on yours, 17:47 something is about to happen. 17:50 You've prayed and cried, but something is about to happen. 17:56 And all this business about the brother being born blind, 17:59 this means that from the moment he was an infant he was blind. 18:04 He never saw a sunrise or a sunset. 18:07 He grew up in a world where people talked about 18:09 things he could describe but couldn't see. 18:13 Isn't it amazing how you can live in a world, how you can 18:18 live in a city, how you can live in a community, how you 18:21 can go to a church and be in the neighborhood or even be 18:24 here, like I say, in a church where somebody's going through 18:27 great blessings but you're not out of it. 18:33 They have a successful job, but you're unemployed. 18:38 They have a clean bill of health, but you have cancer. 18:43 They have a wonderful marriage, but you are divorced. 18:47 You've heard about it, but you can't see it. 18:51 You listen to the radio or you watch two other people about 18:54 it's going well for them, but you don't see it. 18:57 You listen to your friends talk about their upcoming 19:00 wedding, but for you, you don't see it. 19:04 You go to church with people who are getting a breakthrough 19:06 in their lives, but you don't see it. 19:09 And so there you are in a state of blindness, but yet in 19:16 spite of this man's blindness he's still growing in the 19:21 dark, growing in isolation, growing through rejection, 19:27 growing through unemployment, growing without having the 19:31 benefit of having other people around you, but still growing. 19:36 Now you can come to church, come to camp meeting with your 19:39 suit on, with your hat on, your dress on, looking prim 19:44 and proper from head to toe, but I have to respect people 19:47 who grow in adverse circumstances. 19:50 I have to respect folk who have been through hell 19:53 and high water. 19:54 But you're still growing because our trials come to 19:58 make us strong. 20:00 You can say what you want to say, but somebody else who had 20:03 to deal with what this brother had to deal with may have 20:06 committed suicide. 20:09 Thrown in the towel, say, I can't take it anymore. 20:11 I can't hack it. 20:13 I can't handle it. 20:14 I'm at my wits' end. 20:14 But in spite of his blinded eyes he kept feeding 20:20 everything else and growing anyway. 20:24 There are people in this world, there are people in 20:27 this church, there are people in this campground who are 20:31 growing in spite of a dark situation. 20:33 They're growing in the dark. Let's be real. 20:36 Somebody today got dressed in the dark. 20:38 They came to church in the dark. 20:41 Bought a house in the dark. 20:43 Raising their children in the dark. 20:47 Growing to adversity in the dark. 20:49 Go to work in the dark. 20:51 Pay bills in the dark. 20:53 They don't have everything else that everybody else has. 20:56 They haven't been receiving the blessings that other 21:00 people are having, but you're still going ahead anyway. 21:04 If that sounds like you, then the Lord sent me here today to 21:09 preach to you, to challenge you. 21:13 You can't wait until the change comes to occur, to 21:18 strengthen yourself. 21:20 But I hear Isaiah saying, but they that wait upon the Lord, 21:25 God shall renew their strength. 21:29 That means that in spite of the adversity, in spite of the 21:34 bleakness, in spite of the trauma, in spite of the 21:39 rejection, the pain, the divorce, the abuse. 21:42 Whatever it is you face, you still have to move forward in 21:46 your life to prepare yourself that something is going to 21:49 happen in your life. 21:51 You're not going . . .hummmmm to tell me that God 21:54 brought me into this world to live in misery 21:59 and die in misery. 22:01 I refuse to live and die in misery. 22:04 A breakthrough is coming. 22:06 Do I have a witness in this place? 22:08 Hey, hey, hey. 22:10 I feel an anointing coming on right now. 22:12 Better tell somebody. 22:15 There's about to be something else. 22:19 You see, I've learned. 22:21 I've learned that you've got to praise God not 22:25 because of, but in spite of. 22:27 You've got to get to a point in your life where you learn 22:31 to say, I praise God in spite of recession. 22:35 I praise God in spite of unemployment. 22:39 I praise God in spite of illness. 22:41 I praise God in spite of death. 22:44 I praise God in spite of bad finances. 22:47 I praise God in spite of a bad marriage. 22:50 Hallelujah, I praise God. 22:52 This is not the final verdict, this is not the end, this is 22:56 not the benediction. 22:57 There has to be something else. 23:05 Now this requires that you believe God for something 23:11 which with you have no point of reference. 23:15 Let's think about it. 23:16 Let me challenge your mind now. 23:18 If the man had been born sighted, if he had been born 23:26 with sight, and then gone blind, are you hearing what 23:31 I'm saying? 23:32 Then at least he would have had a point of reference of 23:36 what it would have been like to have his eyes opened. 23:40 But because this man was born blind, this man is now 23:46 believing God for something of which he has no point 23:50 of reference. 23:51 Are you hearing me? 23:53 A fighting faith, a tenacious faith, a faith for which there 23:59 is no verbiage or vernacular, a faith that attacks your 24:04 spirit and gets down in your heart. 24:08 You can honestly say that you've never been happy, that 24:11 you've never had joy, that things have always gone 24:13 right, but you believing in God for something 24:15 for which you're never seen in your life. 24:18 Who am I talking to today? 24:21 You have to have a faith that things are not going to 24:27 end up like they started out, that somewhere in your life 24:32 there is a U-turn where you can turn things around 24:36 and go in another direction. 24:38 Jesus said, this man is in this condition that the works 24:44 of God might be made manifest in his life. 24:54 Have you ever thought, God may be trying to bless you 24:56 and heal you to bring somebody else out? 25:03 PB: Be sure to join us again next week as we continue to 25:06 explore God's Word. 25:08 Remember, God has a word just for you from the Holy Bible. 25:14 Also, I'd like to invite you to become a partner of the 25:17 Breath of Life ministry. 25:18 If you would like to join us as we seek to share the gospel 25:22 of Jesus Christ with others, feel free to give us a call at 25:25 877-BOL-OFFER. 25:38 Or feel free to write us at the address shown 25:42 on your screen. 25:44 Finally, you can reach us by logging onto our web site at 25:48 www.breathoflife.tv. 25:56 Thank you for tuning in. 25:57 Thank you for joining us and may God continue to bless you. 26:02 >: Life is full of questions. 26:04 Sometimes we don't know which way to go or where to turn, we 26:07 have doubts and fears and we wonder what it all means. 26:11 But there are answers and there is hope waiting for you 26:15 in God's word, the Bible. 26:17 And there's no better way to start exploring the plans he 26:20 has for you than in the "Discover Bible Guides." It's 26:23 the Breath of Life gift offer this week and your ticket to 26:26 the heart and soul of God's word. 26:29 These easy to read and illustrated Bible studies help 26:32 you to understand God's plan for you quickly and clearly. 26:35 You'll be enlightened by studies such as "Is God Fair," 26:38 "When Jesus Comes for You," "The Secret of Answered 26:42 Prayer," and "Bridge to a Satisfying Life." If you've 26:46 ever wanted to understand the Bible but didn't know where to 26:48 start, or if you've read the Bible from cover to cover but 26:51 simply yearn for more, then the "Discover Bible Guides" 26:54 ares especially for you. 26:56 The guides are also good for family members or friends who 26:59 might be seeking spiritual guidance and have 27:02 questions of their own. 27:03 Just call our toll-free number at 1-877-BOL-OFFER. 27:09 That's 1-877-265-6333 and ask for your copy of the 27:16 Discover Bible Guides. 27:17 Or you may write to us at Breath of Life, Box 340, 27:21 Newbury Park, CA 91319. 27:25 The "Discover Bible Guides," discover for yourself. 27:33 PB: Are you hearing what I'm saying. 27:35 >: To order a DVD or CD copy of this Breath of Life 27:37 broadcast with Carlton Byrd just call our toll-free 27:40 number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:43 That's 877-265-6333. 27:47 Please visit us online at breathoflife.tv where you can 27:51 see our broadcast schedule, send us your prayer requests, 27:54 sign up for our newsletter and make a donation. 27:58 Thank you for watching and supporting Breath of Life. 28:00 God bless you. 28:03 PB: That somewhere in life there is a U-turn where you 28:08 can turn things around and go in another direction. 28:13 I know that I was once blind, but now I see. 28:18 You can't have a testimony without a test, and it's just 28:24 a matter of time before God |
Revised 2015-02-05