Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000038
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00:03 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy... ♪
00:11 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy... ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:18 ♪ (Music) ♪ PB: Have you ever thought God 00:23 may be trying to bless you and heal you to bring 00:26 somebody else out? 00:30 Interestingly enough, when Jesus gets ready, 00:35 listen to me good, when Jesus gets ready to heal 00:39 the man, his methods are somewhat unorthodox. 00:46 Now, Jesus could have used a plethora or multiple methods 00:53 to heal the man. 00:56 Jesus could have spoken and said, I command 01:00 you to see. 01:02 But Jesus didn't do that. 01:05 Jesus could have laid hands on the man, laid hands on him, 01:11 touched him and said, I command your eyes to open up. 01:16 But he didn't do that. 01:17 When Jesus got ready to heal the man, he spat on the ground, 01:25 made mud of spit, you all done hearing me, now remember, 01:31 follow me carefully, I'm going to paint 01:33 this picture. 01:34 Remember, the man can't see him, but imagine, 01:38 if you will, you're blind and you come into 01:44 the presence of this healer who everybody is talking 01:48 about, to get healed. 01:50 He has called you out of the crowd. 01:53 You can't see him, so you move toward- him in the dark. 01:57 He's getting ready to heal you, you think, and then you 02:03 hear "spit." Isn't it funny how God's method of bringing 02:14 you out may not have been the method you would have chosen. 02:19 I could preach a whole sermon right there. 02:26 Come back tonight. 02:27 Do I have a witness in this place? 02:29 I've seen God bring Carlton Byrd 02:32 out of a bunch of stuff, but he didn't always bring me 02:36 out to the person I wanted him to use in the way I wanted him 02:41 to use, and he didn't bring me out as comfortable or classy, 02:45 as refined or as conservative that I would liked for 02:49 him to bring me out. 02:50 I had some egg on my face, but he brought me out. 02:57 I had some mud running down my face, but he brought me out. 03:01 They were talking about me, but he brought me out. 03:05 They were hating on me, but he brought me out. 03:08 They were laughing at me, but he brought me out. 03:11 They were criticizing me, but he brought me out! 03:19 It was controversial, but he brought me out. 03:22 They despised me, but he brought me out! 03:28 Which leads me now to the question. 03:31 How bad do you want out? 03:32 How bad? 03:34 You see, there are a whole lot of folk who want changes in 03:42 their life as long as it doesn't cost them anything. 03:46 I want the Lord to bless me. 03:50 I want to lose 50 pounds, but I want to eat ice cream late 03:53 at night while I do it. 03:59 I want to get my degree, but I don't want to go back to 04:02 school to get it. 04:04 I want increased income, but I don't want to work 04:07 another job. 04:09 I want to get out of debt, but I don't want to pay 04:12 anybody off. 04:13 I want a wife, but I don't want to work. 04:22 And in the spirit of equal opportunity, I want a husband, 04:25 but I don't want to submit. 04:26 Do I have a witness in this place? 04:29 From the brother, "uhuhuhuh." 04:36 [Laughter] I want the church to grow. 04:52 I want my church to grow, but I don't want to 04:55 knock on doors, I don't want to give 04:58 Bible studies, I don't want to be nice. 05:02 Smile. Be flexible or change. 05:08 You'd be surprised at folk. 05:10 I think I struck a nerve. 05:11 Come on, say Amen. 05:13 You'd be surprised at people who want things but are not 05:16 willing to go through what it takes to get a breakthrough. 05:19 Well, I don't have a sermon for you. 05:22 Maybe you need to listen to somebody else preach to you. 05:26 But I want to preach to some real folk, some radical folk, 05:30 some folk who will say, whatever it takes, Lord, 05:34 I'm past image. 05:36 God, I'm past sane. 05:38 I'm past what you think. 05:40 I'm past about what I look like. 05:43 I've come to the point in my life right now 05:46 that whatever it takes for me to turn this situation 05:51 around, I've got to get my breakthrough. 05:53 Do I have a witness in this place? 05:55 I don't do well with folk who don't have issues. 06:04 My best anointing is on radical, real, desperate 06:10 people who don't care what anybody says, who don't care 06:14 what anybody thinks, but are willing to climb out by any 06:19 means necessary, spit on me, Jesus, mud, whatever it takes, 06:25 Jesus, save me, whatever it takes, 06:29 whatever I have to go through. 06:31 It's past dignity. 06:32 It's past my image. 06:34 It's past whatever you think about me. 06:37 I've come to the point of desperation. 06:39 I'm the one who's been blind. 06:43 Walking in the dark. 06:45 Talking in the dark. 06:46 Eating in the dark. 06:48 Living in the dark. 06:49 Now is the chance for my deliverance. 06:52 So, Jesus, excuse me, put it right here. 07:05 Jesus, my Lord. 07:08 Jesus, my Savior. 07:10 Jesus, my bulwark. 07:13 Jesus spat on the ground, made mud, 07:20 put it on the man's eyes. 07:23 Incidentally, when you're trying to open somebody's eye, 07:28 generally you don't make it worse. 07:33 Putting mud in my eyes is not a normal progression 07:37 so Carlton can see. 07:40 Isn't it funny that when you're closest to your 07:44 greatest miracle, things get worse. 07:49 You all don't hear what I'm saying. 07:52 Is there anybody here today who understands how things get 07:56 worse before they get better? 08:01 And understand that if you're a person that's going to give 08:06 up, this is not for the faint of heart. 08:11 This is for the tough and the tenacious. 08:15 Relentless people who can take a lickin' and keep on tickin' 08:20 and know that things just might get worse before 08:25 they get better. 08:28 This is not the for the holy folk in the room. 08:32 This is for the folk who are messed up. 08:35 This is for the folk who've lied, who've cheated, who've 08:40 talked about somebody, who know that if Jesus hadn't 08:44 picked them up, turned them around, placed their feet on 08:47 solid ground, that they wouldn't be here today. 08:52 This is not for the holy people. 08:56 Because people who perceive themselves to be holy are 08:59 never great worshippers. 09:08 Teach all the worship seminars you want, you'll never worship 09:12 God when you feel like God ought to be happy 09:17 that you're here. 09:24 But when you know you've been to an earthly hell and back, 09:30 when you know that you've slept around and fooled 09:34 around, you know that you've messed around and played 09:39 around, could have been in jail, could have been dead 09:43 somewhere, could have been strung out somewhere, could 09:48 have been out there but it was nobody but Jesus. 09:54 You recognize that I've come too far to go back home to get 09:59 what I need, you'll take mud and all I'm in. 10:06 I wish I had time to do this text justice. 10:08 You all will be invited back, that will be part two. 10:13 The Bible says that he takes spit and earth and makes this 10:21 mud, puts it in the man's eyes and tells him, now go wash 10:26 in the pool of Siloam. 10:30 Now, listen to me good. 10:33 In this statement you have the whole controversy. 10:39 Here's the controversy. 10:41 Jesus sent this man somewhere else to get his miracle. 10:50 To the chagrin and frustration of the religious, pious, 10:56 holier-than-thou, self-righteous institutions 10:59 who want to claim ownership. 11:01 You see, people generally criticize God's favor in your 11:07 life because they can't claim rights to your accomplishment. 11:16 You all don't hear what I'm saying. 11:18 This is too much, I'm saying. 11:21 If Jesus had sent this man to the Pharisees, the Pharisees 11:27 could have said they did it, and then it would have been 11:32 all right for the man to get healed. 11:38 But because this man got healed outside the system 11:45 Help me, Holy Ghost. 11:47 Now don't misinterpret me, but many of you recognize 11:50 that in order to get what you need from God, 11:55 sometimes you've got to break some rules. 11:59 Sometimes you've got to get outside the box. 12:01 Sometimes you've got to get outside the norm, out of your 12:04 comfort zone and do something different. 12:10 The Bible says that Jesus sent him to the pool of Siloam. 12:17 And the Bible says that he went and he washed and 12:20 he came forth seeing. 12:23 Suppose God sends you somewhere else. 12:30 Suppose God uses something outside of your tradition. 12:39 Suppose God uses something outside of your comfort zone. 12:48 You see, anytime you get blessed outside of the box, 12:50 outside of the institutional structure, it breeds contempt 12:53 and resentment because people feel like they 12:56 didn't validate it. 13:00 They didn't authenticate it, and now they're going to fight 13:03 it because they can't accept that God did it. 13:06 Somebody knows that if it had not been for the Lord on my 13:14 side, you wouldn't be able to do the very thing 13:18 that you did. 13:21 Now, it could be a big thing, it could be a little thing, it 13:25 doesn't matter what it is. 13:26 For some people, other people's normal 13:28 is your miracle. 13:34 And it took a miracle for God to open a door for you to get 13:41 something that the person sitting next to you 13:44 takes for granted. 13:49 They drove to camp meeting and they didn't think 13:53 anything of it. 13:55 But you drove to camp meeting knowing that if God hadn't 13:59 pulled some strings you wouldn't have a car 14:03 in the first place. 14:07 I've got a witness in this place. 14:09 So there you are shouting over something that they're 14:14 accustomed to and they think that they're entitled to have 14:18 it, but you waited all of your life just to be able 14:23 to see this blessing. 14:25 You all don't hear what I'm saying. 14:27 Let me tell you something. 14:29 Some of you been waiting a long time and you're just 14:31 coming into your season and if God begins 14:34 to bless you, you better listen to me good. 14:36 Yes, I am fifth generation Seventh-Day Adventist 14:38 Christian, but listen to me good. 14:40 Don't you let people intimidate you with their 14:43 negative carnal selves. 14:48 You better learn how to celebrate the goodness of God 14:52 and know what God has done for you in your life. 14:57 Do I have a witness in this place? 15:00 Don't you be afraid to bless his name. 15:03 Don't you be afraid to thank the name of Jesus. 15:06 Don't you be afraid to praise God. 15:09 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. 15:13 Who cares how prim and proper you are? 15:17 Say something. 15:18 Who cares what island you're from? 15:21 Say something. 15:22 Who cares what side of town you grew up on? 15:26 Say something. 15:27 Who cares if you raised those children by yourself? 15:37 You better say something. 15:38 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. 15:42 What I like about the man in the story in the text is that 15:55 the condition he had started from his birth. 16:01 He lived through it all his life, but all the while 16:05 he was growing up. 16:10 How many of you today are growing up? 16:17 I know that's funny to some because we think that we've 16:20 got a little salt and pepper in our hair. 16:22 I know I have some now. 16:24 And we don't feel like we're growing up. 16:27 But how many people know we don't finish growing at 21. 16:32 How many of you know you can be 30 years and still growing? 16:35 Forty years and still growing. 16:36 Some of you 50, 60, 70 and you're still growing up. 16:40 We're just getting to the point now that we don't care 16:43 what you think. 16:44 Do I have a witness in this place? 16:47 You see, you couldn't get the blessing earlier because you 16:52 would have been so conscious of what "they" were saying 16:56 that you wouldn't be able to receive your blessing. 16:58 But now you're finally old enough, mature enough, 17:01 ask him, he's of age, that you can be blessed 17:05 while people are still murmuring, complaining 17:08 and arguing, but all you know is that God worked a 17:13 miracle on your behalf. 17:15 Give God some praise right now. 17:17 The time is right, I'm now ready, 17:21 I can handle it now, I can deal with it now, 17:25 the time is right. 17:26 If God would have done it five years ago I wouldn't 17:28 be able to handle it. 17:29 But I've grown up now. 17:31 You can release what you have for me now. 17:34 Now I know how to hold it. 17:35 Now I know how to hold the job. 17:37 Now I know how not to blow the favor. 17:39 Now I know how to treat somebody in my life. 17:41 Now I know how to do business in high places. 17:44 I'm ready now. 17:46 I don't know who I'm talking to, 17:50 but you're now getting ready. 17:52 The favor of God, in our country now they're forever 17:57 listening for terrorists. 17:58 They're listening for the underground communication of 18:00 terrorists to see what the plots and plans are and then 18:03 when there's a lot of turbulence, a lot of e-mails, 18:05 they call it chatter. 18:07 Everybody say chatter. 18:08 And chatter gives you an image of a whole lot of noise going 18:10 on in the room and when the chatter increases, a lot of 18:13 times the threat level is raised because 18:15 the chatter has raised. 18:16 And I want to tell you something today, people of 18:17 God, when you're being blessed by God, expect 18:20 a lot of chatter. 18:22 You can't be blessed, and everybody sit back and fold 18:28 their arms and say, go ahead. 18:30 Child of God, bless you. 18:32 I'm happy for you. 18:33 It's going to be a whole lot of, I don't think it's right. 18:38 I don't think it's right. 18:39 Who is he to be doing that? 18:41 Who is she to be doing that? 18:42 Who does she think she is? 18:43 I don't think he should get that. 18:47 But in spite of the chatter, God has blessed you. 18:53 You ought to put one foot in front of the other, hold your 18:56 head up, stick your chest out, tell your neighbor, don't let 19:02 the noise stop you. 19:05 Think about it. 19:10 All the while they were arguing, chattering and making 19:15 noise, the man was just looking, seeing, 19:25 that's a sunset. 19:30 Seeing, that's a mountain. 19:35 I've never seen a palm tree before. 19:39 Look at the water moving in the river. 19:43 And all the while they're talking, 19:45 is this the man? 19:46 Is this the same man? 19:47 I don't believe he was blind in the first place. 19:50 What's he doing getting healed? 19:52 Does Jesus have the right to heal him? 19:54 Heal him on the sabbath day. 19:55 Isn't there a scripture about that? 19:57 But sometimes God has to break a rule, break a tradition 20:00 to bless you. 20:03 Sometimes óóó about the Lord. 20:05 Sometimes God has to reach over people who thought they 20:09 were supposed to get the blessing and say, not you, 20:11 not you, but you. 20:13 I want you. 20:17 And God's favor will snatch you up. 20:21 And so they asked his parents. 20:24 Is this your child? 20:27 Yes, this is our child. 20:31 He's legitimate. 20:33 Was he born blind? 20:35 They said, we can tell you for sure he was born blind. 20:40 We don't know how he got healed, but he's of age. 20:44 Ask him. 20:50 Let him speak for himself. 20:55 So they brought the man forward and said, you mean, 20:58 this controversial Jesus, this water-walking Jesus, this 21:03 mission-minded, out-of-the-box Jesus. 21:07 This Jesus who doesn't obey rules and doesn't 21:09 follow instruction. 21:10 This Jesus who didn't come from our university. 21:18 This Jesus who was not endorsed by our group. 21:23 You mean he healed you? 21:24 This man is a sinner. 21:26 The former blind man said, I don't know what school he went 21:33 to, I don't know what the conference committee said, I 21:37 don't know what the church board said, I don't know what 21:41 the board of elders said, I don't even know if he's a 21:46 sinner or not, all I know is that I was blind but now I see 22:00 amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved 22:06 a wretch like me. 22:08 I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind--was blind 22:14 but now I see. 22:18 When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for 22:23 me, my soul, my soul, my soul cries out, hallelujah, 22:35 hallelujah, thank God, thank God, thank God for saving me. 22:46 Put your hands together and give God some praise. 23:01 The Lord is my light, my salvation, whom shall I fear? 23:06 The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom 23:11 shall I be afraid? 23:12 The Lord is my refuge and strength, 23:15 a very present help in time of trouble. 23:17 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 23:20 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me 23:24 beside the still waters. 23:25 He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the path of 23:28 righteousness for his name's sake. 23:31 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 23:34 I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy 23:45 staff they comfort me. 23:49 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine 23:51 enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth 24:00 over." Surely Surely Surely Popking. 24:03 Surely, Brother Irwin. 24:11 Surely, Brother Gunn. 24:13 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days 24:23 of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for 24:39 ever." Many of you know my story, you know my wife, 25:02 you know our story. 25:07 God never promised me a bed of roses, but he did say he would 25:13 never leave nor forsake me. 25:24 I don't know what your story is, but all of us 25:27 in here have a story. 25:31 And all thewhile, all the while God's been trying to 25:43 grow you, grow you in the dark. 25:49 There are things now in my life that if they happened to 25:57 me 20 years ago, I would not have been able to handle it, 26:01 but because God has allowed certain things in my ministry 26:08 to grow me now, I can look, I can smile and I can say that 26:11 I've been growing in the dark. 26:19 PB: Be sure to join us again next week as we continue to 26:21 explore God's Word. 26:24 Remember, God has a word just for you from the holy Bible. 26:29 Also, I'd like to invite you to become a partner of the 26:33 Breath of Life ministry. 26:34 If you would like to join us as we seek to share the gospel 26:37 of Jesus Christ with others, feel free to give us a call at 26:41 877-BOL-OFFER. 26:55 Or feel free to write us at the address shown 26:59 on your screen. 27:01 Finally, you can reach us by logging onto our web site at 27:03 www.breathoflife.tv. 27:11 Thank you for tuning in. 27:12 Thank you for joining us and may God continue to bless you. 27:18 >: The "Desire of Ages," the life story 27:21 of the greatest spiritual leader the world 27:23 has ever known. 27:24 Just call 877-BOL-OFFER and ask for your copy of 27:30 "Desire of Ages. 27:32 This book is yours for a gift of $5 or more. 27:35 Or you may write to Breath of Life, Box 340, 27:39 Newbury Park, CA 91319. 27:41 PB: Are you hearing what I'm saying? 27:50 >: To order a DVD or CD copy of this Breath of Life 27:51 broadcast with Carlton Byrd just call our toll-free 27:54 number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:58 That's 877-265-6333. 28:02 Please visit us online at breathoflife.tv where you can 28:05 see our broadcast schedule, send us your prayer requests, 28:09 sign up for our newsletter and make a donation. 28:13 Thank you for watching and supporting Breath of Life. 28:15 God bless you. 28:18 PB: That somewhere in your life there is a u-turn where you 28:24 can turn things around and go |
Revised 2015-02-05