Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000040
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00:01 ♪ (Island Music) ♪ PB: Hello, my name is
01:02 Dr. Carlton Byrd and I'm the speaker director of Breath of 01:05 Life television ministry. 01:07 Right now I'm standing on the beautiful island of Bermuda. 01:11 That's right, Breath of Life is in the country of Bermuda, 01:14 this wonderful island nation of 20 miles long, pink sand, 01:19 beautiful beaches, palm trees, it's just paradise on earth. 01:24 But when I think about how beautiful it is, I say to 01:28 myself, God must have something even that much 01:31 better for us because the Word of God says, eyes have not 01:35 seen, neither have ears heard the things that God hath 01:38 prepared for them that love him. 01:41 Heaven is going to be that much better than this, and 01:43 while I can come here and vacation, I can come here and 01:48 swim and jet ski, we've come, Breath of Life has, to preach 01:51 the Word of God. 01:53 That's right, we're here for their tent meeting and we're 01:56 preaching that Jesus Christ loves us and he is soon to 02:00 return. 02:01 May God bless you as you watch as we minister to you to tell 02:05 a dying world that Jesus saves. 02:11 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪ 02:21 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 02:25 (Music) PB: Hello, my name is 02:31 Dr. Carlton Byrd and I'm the speaker director for 02:33 the Breath of Life television ministry and I'm excited 02:36 tonight because I am here with my brothers and my sisters on 02:39 the island of Bermuda for their camp meeting. 02:43 They are also celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 02:46 conference. 02:47 I'm excited, they're excited, we hope you're excited. 02:50 To God be the glory. 02:53 Great things he has done. 02:55 And so tonight, Breath of Life is happy to be here on the 02:58 island of Bermuda and we'll be here for a couple of days 03:02 preaching the Word of God. 03:04 We are very happy tonight that we have been invited not only 03:06 by the people of the Bermuda Conference here on the island 03:08 of Bermuda, but also the conference president 03:11 of this great conference, Dr. Jeffrey Brown. 03:13 Let's put our hands together and praise God for 03:16 Dr. Jeffrey Brown. 03:17 Praise be to God. 03:18 He and his lovely wife are sitting here this evening. 03:20 We're ready to go to work. 03:22 We're ready to go to the Word of God. 03:24 Are you ready? 03:25 Let me hear you say Amen. 03:26 I said, are you ready? 03:27 Let me hear you say Amen! 03:28 Do me a favor, take your Bibles and go please to the 03:30 book of Luke. 03:31 What book, everybody? 03:32 Let's go to the Gospel according to Luke. 03:35 Matthew, Mark and then Luke. 03:36 Luke, Chapter 7 and we're going to verse 36. 03:46 The Gospel according to St. 03:47 Luke 7:36. 03:53 We'll begin reading here. 03:55 The Word of God says to us tonight: "And one of the 03:58 Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. 04:04 And he went into the Pharisee's house, 04:07 and sat down to meat. 04:10 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, 04:16 when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the 04:19 Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box 04:23 of ointment. 04:24 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash 04:26 his feet with tears, and did wipe them with 04:30 the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, 04:33 and anointed them with ointment. 04:35 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, 04:38 he spake within himself, saying, 'This man, 04:42 if he were a prophet, would have known who 04:47 and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: 04:50 for she is a sinner.' And Jesus answering 04:57 said unto him, 'Simon, I have somewhat to say 04:58 unto thee.' And he saith , 'Master, say all.' "'There was 05:02 a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owned 05:04 five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 05:06 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly 05:08 forgave them both. 05:10 Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?' 05:16 Simon answered and said, 'I suppose that he, to whom 05:17 he forgave most.' And he said unto him, 'Thou has rightly 05:21 judged.' And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, 05:26 'Seest thou this woman? 05:30 I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my 05:34 feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, 05:38 and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 05:42 Thou gavest me no kiss: But this woman since the time 05:46 I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 05:51 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman 05:54 hath anointed my feet with ointment. 06:00 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are 06:03 forgiven; for she loves much: but to whom little is forgiven, 06:06 the same loveth little.' And he said unto her, 06:08 'Thy sins are forgiven.' "And they that sat at meat 06:14 with him began to say within themselves, 'Who is this that 06:17 foregiveth sins also?' And he said to the woman, 06:23 'Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.'" 06:33 Do me a favor. 06:34 Turn to your neighbor and say, "Neighbor, you don't know the 06:37 cost of my praise." 06:38 Father God, we thank you. 06:41 We praise you. 06:43 Now, God, we ask that you would come in this place. 06:48 May your Holy Ghost breathe through these aisles 06:49 this evening. 06:51 And, God, we'll be careful to give you all the praise beyond 06:53 the glory, hide me behind your cross. 06:55 May your anointing make the difference, we pray. 06:59 Forgive us for our sins, give me clarity of thought, 07:01 articulation of word, and thy people receptivity of heart. 07:05 It is in Jesus' name we pray. 07:08 Let everyone say Amen. 07:10 And Amen. 07:12 You don't know the cost of my praise. 07:16 I want to begin this message by saying that this evening, 07:24 in many ways, I'm a conflicted Christian. 07:28 What do you mean, conflicted, Pastor Byrd? 07:31 Well, there's a conflict in my soul torn between religion 07:41 and relationship. 07:43 Religion is embodied in the things that we are taught. 07:46 The ideas and philosophies that are conveyed to us 07:50 that form religiosity. 07:52 But somewhere in the midst of embracing religion it is God's 07:58 divine will that we ultimately evolve into relationship. 08:03 For religion without relationship ends up with folk 08:08 worrying about what you have on, where you live, and who 08:13 you know instead of you getting to know Jesus. 08:17 Religion without relationship leads into cults, cynicism and 08:23 self-righteousness. 08:25 Religion without relationship ends up with war 08:31 in the Middle East. 08:35 Religion without relationship ends up with the KKK. 08:37 Religion without relationship ends up in terrorism and 08:41 planes flying into buildings like they did on 9/11. 08:48 Religion without relationship ends up with bigotry and pride, 08:52 self-absorption and strife. 08:53 Religion without relationship has killed more people on this 08:58 planet than anything else in the world where people have a 09:03 form of godliness but they deny the power thereof. 09:06 Tonight, I'm sick and tired of religion without relationship. 09:13 Like a heat-sensored missile, I want to see it explode. 09:18 I want to see it destroyed. 09:20 I want to seek it out and kill it, 09:23 even if it's in me. 09:25 There's a constant slipping away of what I've been taught 09:29 versus what has been revealed. 09:33 And so I should tell you as a pastor, as a preacher, 09:37 I should tell you that I've mastered it and I understand 09:40 it and I've got it all together and I'm sure, 09:44 and I have everything, but this evening 09:47 I'm conflicted. 09:49 There's a constant peeling away of the veneer 09:53 of the religion that I've been taught, and a seeking, 09:56 perpetual, ongoing effort to find the truth, the kernel of 09:59 truth behind the hard walls of religion. 10:02 Somewhere in the hybrid seed with it's shiny exterior 10:05 there's life in the core, but there's no life 10:09 in the seed itself. 10:10 Life is in the core inside the seed. 10:15 That's why we bury the seed in the ground, so that the seed 10:19 will be conflicted enough that the outer encasement might die 10:23 and that the inner life might be brought forth. 10:26 And so, we are constantly dying as believers, not just 10:31 to sin, not just to our own weaknesses, but we are dying 10:36 out to the hard veneer of what we've been taught, 10:39 to find the life beneath of what really matters. 10:43 Out of all we've been taught, where is the life in it? 10:47 And so it is that Jesus, my Lord, my Savior, my Prophet, 10:56 my Priest, my King, has come into the house of a Pharisee. 11:04 Now, the Pharisee had religion. 11:08 There's no question about that. 11:11 He had resources. 11:12 He could invite Jesus to dinner. 11:15 He understood protocol. 11:16 He understood appropriateness. 11:18 This was the house of a Pharisee. 11:22 Pharisees spent their lives being religious. 11:28 And before you are too critical of them, all of us, 11:31 too, for varying degrees, we, too, are religious. 11:34 Let me tell you this, and I've learned it in my Christian 11:37 experience, I'm a pastor's kid, a PK, and then I've been 11:39 pastoring 17 years, and I've learned in my experience, 11:43 there is nothing as dangerous as turning yourself over to a 11:48 room full of church folk. 11:54 We have rules for which we have no scriptures. 11:59 We have all kinds of ideas and concepts of what is 12:03 appropriate and inappropriate. 12:05 We will kill people over things that we later 12:09 find out are not necessary. 12:11 Church folk can be dangerous and even when we have 12:15 scriptures, we don't search them for appropriateness. 12:19 Many times we just hurl them out after the fashion of our 12:23 fathers without questioning the possibility that our 12:27 fathers could have been wrong. 12:29 And so we kill our sons, our future, trying to be loyal to 12:33 our fathers, our past, and our future is desecrated by our 12:36 commitment to our history because we love our history 12:40 more than we seek our destiny. 12:41 Tonight I'm conflicted. 12:47 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 12:49 What good is it if you can afford to bring Jesus into 12:52 your house when your religion stops you from appreciating 12:57 the Jesus you have access to? 12:59 Sure, Simon did bring Jesus into his house, but he didn't 13:07 know what to do with Jesus once Jesus was in his house. 13:12 Maybe he is too blessed to be appreciating this. 13:17 Maybe he feels that God should appreciate the fact that he 13:20 took out time for him, because that's wrong. 13:24 Most of us are so important that if we give God a sabbath, 13:28 God forbid that we should come out on a Wednesday night, 13:31 because we feel all of heaven should stand at attention 13:36 because you made time for God. 13:39 Who, incidentally, put breath in your body, woke you up this 13:43 morning, started you on your way, put food on your table, 13:48 makes your kneecaps operate and makes your heart beat even 13:53 while you're still asleep. 13:56 But yet you give God what you want to, when you want, how 14:00 you want to, if you want to, because some of us are more 14:04 important in our minds than God himself. 14:07 So it is, into this regal, sanctimonious, righteous, 14:13 pious, holy environment comes a lady of the night. 14:22 Now, a Pharisee--follow me carefully in this story--a 14:26 Pharisee has spent all of his life steeped in the legality 14:30 of the law's appropriateness, Feast of Wheat, Feast of 14:33 Tabernacles, Feast of Unleavened Bread, they know 14:36 all the ceremonies, all the cleansings, all the washings. 14:39 They approach God, but they see God through the lens 14:43 of legalism. 14:44 Because all of us see God through something, 14:47 be it communion, be it baptism, creeds, concepts, preachers, 14:50 denominations. 14:51 We all see God through the lens of something. 14:56 And they saw God through the lens of legalism, because that 15:00 is, in fact, what they had been taught. 15:03 And so, they approach their relationship with God 15:06 on the basis of their commitment to religion, 15:09 not for their love for him. 15:10 They thought that the more you kept the law, 15:13 the closer you were to God. 15:15 The Pharisees were disciplined, they were trained, 15:20 they were committed. 15:21 They were taught to discipline themselves. 15:24 The Pharisees were moral people. 15:28 They were clean people. 15:29 They didn't touch certain things. 15:32 They didn't eat certain things. 15:36 They didn't go to certain places. 15:39 They kept the sabbath holy. 15:39 They kept the law. 15:41 They were tedious, and don't get it twisted, 15:43 there's nothing wrong with this when it's motivated 15:46 by love. 15:48 Because, after all, Jesus said, if you love me, keep my 15:51 commandments. 15:52 If we love God like we say we love God, we're supposed 15:55 to keep God's laws. 15:56 Do I have a witness in this place? 15:59 But in a world where if it feels good, do it, don't act 16:05 like you can do any and everything you want to, when 16:10 you want to, where you want to, how you want to and 16:13 then say you love Jesus. 16:15 Your keeping of God's laws will testify to who you love. 16:20 I'm going to kill somebody, but I love God. 16:23 I'm going to sleep with somebody who's not my wife, 16:27 who's not my husband, but I love God. 16:30 No, you don't love God, you love yourself. 16:33 Love law is the religion; love is the relationship. 16:38 You have to have both and not either or. 16:42 Love and law. 16:43 Faith and works. 16:45 Religion and relationship. 16:48 Our motivation for keeping God's laws should be a love 16:51 relationship not solely religion, and this, my 16:55 friends, is where the Pharisees had it all wrong. 16:58 The Bible says, this man was a Pharisee and it was 17:03 appropriate that if Jesus was a man of God, it is 17:08 appropriate that Jesus should be seen with a Pharisee 17:12 in his house. 17:13 But not with a lady of the night. 17:18 But what I want to know is this, when I study the text, 17:21 if the Pharisee if supposed to be so holy and if she's a 17:26 prostitute, how did this woman get in the house anyway? 17:34 Why is she even knocking on the door? 17:38 What's she doing in this house? 17:41 She's not holy, she's not righteous, she's not pure, 17:47 she's been around the block, she's messed up so bad that 17:52 even church folk knew who she was and what she was about. 17:56 People knew her by what she did and not by her name. 18:01 Where and what did she leave to come there 18:06 in the first place? 18:09 How dare she mess up our nice, clean, holy church with her 18:14 mess, her ankle bracelets, her rings, her tattoos, her urban, 18:22 seductive disposition? 18:25 Who is she to walk up in our church looking like that? 18:31 How dare she set foot in our church? 18:37 See, I have learned, some people like the idea of 18:40 evangelism, they like the concept of evangelism, they 18:44 like to give money to support evangelism, send money to 18:48 foreign missions to help people who are in trouble, but 18:51 don't mess up our nice, pretty church 18:54 with your peculiar ways. 18:58 And that's just like some church folk, they want to keep 19:01 the people out who need church the most. 19:07 And then, she's a woman. 19:09 Most of the time in the Bible women aren't even listed 19:13 in the genealogy. 19:15 She wasn't significant. 19:17 She's not important. 19:18 She couldn't vote. 19:20 She couldn't make decisions. 19:22 She couldn't lead. 19:23 Why is this woman breaking in among all these important men? 19:28 And not only is she a woman, considered a second-class 19:32 citizen, property of a man, she's not even a good woman. 19:38 She's a prostitute. 19:40 But this woman comes into this atmosphere against all odds. 19:46 I've learned that sometimes it's hard to get to God 19:50 because of his people. 19:54 One day I told the Lord, Lord, I love you but it's your kids 19:57 that get on my nerves sometimes. 20:00 Do I have a witness in this place? 20:02 Have you ever loved somebody but you couldn't 20:05 stand their children? 20:06 Their kids were wild, rude, disrespectful, throwing stuff 20:10 in the air, drawing pictures on the wall, screaming, and 20:13 you're trying to have a conversation and you're saying 20:16 to yourself, if I could just have them for one weekend. 20:21 When I get through with you your momma wouldn't 20:23 know who you are. 20:27 The woman comes up behind Jesus. 20:31 She knows according to the customs of the time, she knows 20:34 that according to the culture of the day she shouldn't 20:37 be in the room. 20:39 She knows that according to the standards of absolute 20:41 scripture she shouldn't be in the room. 20:43 A prostitute touching a priest. 20:46 When I was a little boy in grade school they used to give 20:51 us pictures in school and I remember one being a picture 20:54 of a living room and in the living room there was a couch, 20:58 a sofa, a chair, an end table, and then a refrigerator. 21:02 And the teacher would then say, what's wrong 21:05 with this picture? 21:08 And they wanted to see if your cognitive skills were 21:11 bright enough to discern appropriateness and if you 21:14 had reasonable skills you would circle the refrigerator 21:16 to say that this does not go with that. 21:22 What's wrong with this picture? 21:25 It's not Simon, he's a Pharisee. 21:30 It's not Jesus, he's preacher, prophet and priest. 21:36 But let's just circle the prostitute. 21:41 She doesn't have any business in here, 21:45 but she's here anyway. 21:48 She cries. 21:49 I--I--I--know that by the standards of your religion 21:52 I shouldn't even be in here. 21:55 But she's in here anyway. 21:58 Tears are falling down her cheeks on him. 22:03 She does not seek Jesus' face. 22:06 He doesn't even have to look at her and she doesn't try to 22:09 get his favor, she doesn't want to get his face, she 22:12 doesn't seek his hand, she didn't come 22:15 for a blessing plan. 22:17 Five ways to get a car, three ways to get out of debt, 22:22 10 ways to get a husband. 22:27 She doesn't want a blessing, she's just glad to be 22:31 in the picture. 22:34 She has no right to be in the picture and so she falls down 22:38 at his feet and Jesus feels the warm, salty sensation as 22:43 her tear ducts give way to her emotional compassion, and as 22:47 the water breaks in her soul, the overflow happens in her 22:51 eyes and drop by drop, running down her face, cascading on 22:56 his face, his feet, are the tears of a sinner's praise. 23:03 And she begins to praise him in a conflicted atmosphere. 23:08 See, I've learned it's easy to praise God when 23:12 the whole room is praising God. 23:14 It's easy to praise God when folk are smiling, happy 23:18 and excited about Jesus. 23:20 It's even easy to clap; even folk who have no rhythm can 23:24 clap when everybody else is clapping. 23:27 But, friends of mine, it's hard to praise God in a room 23:30 where you're hated. 23:33 It's hard to praise God in a room where you're 23:36 being talked about. 23:39 It's hard to praise God in an environment where you're 23:42 being criticized. 23:43 You don't have to be a spirit-filled believer to be 23:45 able to sense when somebody hates you. 23:49 People can be in a group and you walk up to them and all of 23:53 a sudden they stop talking. 23:55 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 23:59 You don't have to be born again to be able to sense 24:02 when somebody doesn't like you. 24:03 Have you ever walked in a room and you can feel all the 24:06 malice, the strife, the hatefulness toward you? 24:08 It's enough to make you turn around, go out of the room 24:11 and shut the door. 24:14 But there was something in this woman that pushed her 24:17 over the top of hatred and she said, hate me all you want, 24:21 but I've got to get to Jesus. 24:24 Jesus! Jesus! 24:27 And down at his feet she falls. 24:31 As she does, what only a prostitute in Jesus' day would 24:34 do, she lets her hair down. 24:40 Tell your neighbor, neighbor, sometimes I've got to let 24:44 my hair down. 24:49 I can't be pinned up all the time. 24:53 I can't be bound all the time. 24:55 I can't always try to live up to your expectations and give 25:00 in to you all the time. 25:01 Sooner or later I've got to let my hair down. 25:03 I can't worry about what you think, can't worry about what 25:07 you feel, I've got to let my hair down. 25:11 Hello I'm Dr. Carlton Byrd, Speaker Director 25:14 for the Breath of Life Television Ministries. 25:16 For the past year it has been my joy to preach the gospel of 25:21 Jesus Christ across the globe, but principally from the 25:25 sanctuary of the berean adventist church in 25:27 Atlanta Georgia. 25:29 Beginning in January 2012, I will continue to preach 25:33 the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Breath of Life 25:35 will still be here, but it will come 25:38 from the sanctuary of the Oakwood University Church 25:41 in Huntsville Alabama, on the Campus of 25:43 Oakwood University. 25:45 It will be the same Breath of Life, 25:47 The same preacher, The same gospel 25:50 of Jesus Christ, the same channel, 25:52 the same station, at the same time; 25:55 Just a different location. 25:56 We solicit your continued prayers, and support, 26:00 as we take this wonderful gospel 26:02 of Jesus Christ, to a dying world. 26:05 May god bless you. 26:09 ♪ (music) ♪ >: To order a DVD or CD copy 26:14 of this Breath of Life broadcast with Carlton Byrd 26:16 just call our toll-free number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 26:22 That's 877-265-6333. 26:25 Please visit us online at breathoflife.tv where you can 26:29 see our broadcast schedule, send us your prayer requests, 26:32 sign up for our newsletter and make a donation. 26:36 Thank you for watching and supporting Breath of Life. 26:39 God bless you. 26:44 >: The "Desire of Ages," the life story of the greatest 26:47 spiritual leader the world has ever known, Jesus Christ. 26:51 "Desire of Ages" goes in depth into events surrounding the 26:55 life of Jesus, giving you more meaning and a clear picture of 26:59 his impact on the world and on those who choose to follow him 27:02 even to this day. 27:04 In these uncertain times, "Desire of Ages" gives 27:07 direction for all who seek it. 27:09 The book answers hard questions confronting us all. 27:13 It examines basic spiritual truths, gives hope and 27:15 encouragement for tomorrow and brings you face to face 27:18 with the Savior. 27:19 Get to know him like never before. 27:21 "Desire of Ages" has been acclaimed by many to be the 27:24 most significant and deeply spiritual story of the life of 27:27 Christ ever written. 27:29 It is rich with wisdom and compassion, written by the 27:32 most translated woman writer in the entire history of 27:35 literature, Ellen White. 27:37 Just call our toll-free number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:45 That's 877-265-6333 and ask for your copy of 27:51 "Desire of Ages." 27:53 This book is yours for a gift of $5 or more. 27:56 Or you may write to Breath of Life, 27:59 Box 340, Newbury Park, CA 91319. 28:05 The "Desire of Ages," it's the greatest story ever told 28:09 in a whole new light. 28:15 PB: It is God's divine will that we ultimately evolve 28:17 into relationship. 28:20 ..."Because we feel that all of Heavan should stand 28:23 at attention, because you made time for God" |
Revised 2015-02-06