Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000086
|
00:00 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy... ♪
00:07 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy... ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:14 ♪ all the praise... ♪ Pastor Byrd: Take your Bibles 00:21 and go with me to the book of I Thessalonians, 00:25 Chapter 5, and we're going to verse 15. 00:30 Not going to keep you long today. 00:32 I Thessalonians 5, "See that none render evil for evil unto 00:39 any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among 00:44 yourselves, and to all men." 00:46 Paul says, "Rejoice evermore. 00:50 Pray without ceasing. 00:53 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God 00:57 in Christ Jesus concerning you. 01:00 Quench not the Spirit. 01:03 Despise not prophesying. 01:06 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 01:09 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 01:12 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray 01:17 God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless 01:20 unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." With the holiday 01:27 Thanksgiving season I zero in on verse 18. 01:32 "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in 01:38 Christ Jesus concerning you." 01:43 Paul was en route to Rome with a layover in Corinth 01:46 when he wrote this letter to the young church 01:48 at Thessalonica. 01:50 In this chapter on Christian deportment, Paul offers several 01:54 titbits on how Christians ought to conduct themselves 01:57 with one another. 01:59 In the text he offers eight --how many, everybody? 02:02 Eight Christian principles for us to live by. 02:05 But today we only deal with four. 02:08 First, Paul says in verse 15, don't render evil for evil 02:13 unto anyone. 02:14 In other words, you can't live a Christian life based on the 02:19 philosophy of payback. 02:20 Which means you can't go around trying to get even with folk 02:26 who have wronged you. 02:27 Two wrongs never make a right. 02:30 If you kick my dog that does not give me license 02:34 to kick your cat. 02:36 Christianity is not an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, 02:39 because an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth will leave 02:42 somebody snaggletoothed or blind. 02:45 If you're a follower of Christ, you must return good for evil. 02:51 Do I have a witness in this place? 02:53 Number two, Paul says, Rejoice. 02:55 He says what, everybody? 02:57 Rejoice evermore. 02:59 Now, quickly, I don't know about you, 03:02 but I don't have time for a religion that won't 03:05 let me rejoice. 03:06 When I come to church, I don't come for foolishness. 03:10 When I come to church, I don't come for somberness, 03:14 I don't come for mess. 03:15 I don't come for despair, despondency, defeatism 03:18 or negativity. 03:19 You get enough of that during the week. 03:22 I come to church to rejoice. 03:24 This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice 03:29 and be glad. 03:30 I come to praise the name of Jesus. 03:33 I come to magnify the name of Jesus. 03:35 I come to lift up the name of Jesus 03:37 and if something is right and it ought to be affirmed, 03:40 somebody ought to say something. 03:42 If God's been good to you, somebody ought to say something. 03:47 If God has blessed you, somebody ought to say something. 03:52 If God has been your bridge over troubled waters, somebody ought 03:56 to say something. 03:57 If God has helped you raise those children by yourself, 04:02 somebody ought to say something. 04:03 Because if God has kept you, if God has raised you, 04:07 if God has rescued you, if God has delivered you, 04:10 if God has redeemed you, somebody ought to 04:13 say something. 04:14 Somebody is sitting there, say I don't know what to say. 04:16 If God woke you up this morning, clothed you in your right mind, 04:21 somebody ought to say something. 04:23 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. 04:26 Rejoice evermore. 04:28 Some of us sit in service all day long, never smile, never 04:33 sing, never pat our foot. 04:36 You know folk pat they feet. 04:38 Come on, say Amen. 04:39 Never moan, never groan, never say Amen, 04:42 never do anything. 04:43 I could not go anywhere for three hours 04:46 and just sit still and do nothing. 04:48 Paul says, Rejoice. 04:49 Paul says what, everybody? 04:52 And be what? 04:53 Glad. 04:54 God desires that his people be joyful. 04:57 Let me be honest. 04:58 As Christians we should be the happiest people 05:00 in the world. 05:01 Christians shouldn't have long faces. 05:03 Christians shouldn't have mean dispositions. 05:05 Christians shouldn't have cruel characters. 05:07 Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always: 05:11 and again I say, Rejoice." 05:14 Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, 05:17 bless his holy name. 05:19 I will bless the Lord at all times and his praise shall 05:23 continually be in my mouth. 05:25 My soul shall make a boast of the Lord and the facts, 05:29 humble shall hear and be glad thereof. 05:31 O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt 05:34 his name together. 05:35 Paul says, Rejoice evermore. 05:38 But then number three, Paul says, pray without what, 05:40 everybody? 05:41 Come on, pray without what? 05:43 Now, there's something that life has taught me. 05:46 Life has taught me how to pray. 05:47 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 05:50 Somebody knows that if you're a child of God, 05:53 you will learn, Sure enough, how to pray. 05:56 When you live long enough, young people, 05:58 you will learn how to pray. 05:59 You may not be able to have all these fancy pancy cliches, but 06:03 somebody knows what it's like to go in your secret closet, in the 06:07 midnight hour, and call on the name of the Lord. 06:10 When you live life long enough you will learn how to pray. 06:14 There should be a constant spirit of prayer breathing 06:17 through the Christian's life. 06:19 You need to understand today, the devil is always busy. 06:23 I said, the devil is always busy. 06:25 When you sleep, the devil is busy. 06:27 When you're awake, the devil is busy. 06:29 When you think you're at your spiritual best, 06:32 the devil is busy. 06:33 When you're at your spiritual worst, 06:35 the devil is busy. 06:36 When you've got your guard up, the devil is busy. 06:39 When you've got your guard down, the devil is busy. 06:41 Bottom line, the devil is busy. 06:45 Satan is on the loose, the devil is never satisfied 06:47 with peace prevailing. 06:49 Satan is the author of confusion and whenever he can get 06:53 a foot in, he will. 06:55 That's why Paul says, pray without ceasing. 06:59 When you pray the devil will leave you alone. 07:02 You've got to pray without ceasing. 07:04 That means, don't stop praying. 07:06 Where there's much prayer, there's much what, everybody? 07:09 Where there's little prayer, there's little what, everybody? 07:12 And where there's no prayer, there's no what? 07:15 I'm a witness. 07:16 Prayer still changes things. 07:18 Pray for your family. 07:20 Pray for the one sitting next to you. 07:22 Pray for the elders. 07:24 Pray for the deacons. 07:25 Pray for the ushers, they've got to put up with us. 07:28 Pray for the deaconess. 07:30 And, God knows, pray for the pastor. 07:32 And while you're saying Amen and praying for everybody else, 07:34 pray for yourself. 07:35 And then fourth, and finally, Paul says, in every thing 07:44 give what, everybody? 07:46 For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus 07:51 concerning you. 07:52 Now, when I was a child, because I'm an old man now, 07:56 forty years old, I'm an old man, I was taught 08:01 to say, Elder Thomas, when I was a little boy, 08:03 thank you. 08:05 When somebody did something for you, I was taught to say 08:12 thank you. 08:13 And if you didn't, Sister Williams, it was 08:16 a reflection on your home training and your upbringing. 08:19 And because my Daddy didn't believe in being embarrassed, 08:23 I had better learn how to say thank you in response to 08:26 people's kindness because in his house a hard hand 08:29 made a soft bottom. 08:30 Somebody knows what I'm talking about. 08:32 He said, you may not have money but you can have manners. 08:35 You may not be rich but you don't have to be rude. 08:38 You may be poor but you can be polite. 08:41 Everybody can say thank you. 08:43 Do I have a witness in this place? 08:45 But I've gotten a little older now. 08:47 When I take folk out to dinner, church folk, "Stanlieo's" 08:55 and I see people sit at dinner tables 08:58 out at restaurants, invited to go out, and people will pay for 09:02 your entire meal and folk will get up and never say thank you. 09:09 I mean, people get their meal paid for. Young people, 09:12 when you go to a church member's house 09:14 on Sabbath, dinner, when you leave the house, 09:16 you say thank you. 09:18 Take folk out to dinner, they don't say thank you, 09:21 but, you know what, I keep a record of it. 09:27 I'm not going to lie, I've got my list. 09:29 Come on, say Amen. 09:30 That determines who I'm going to let go out with me again. 09:32 Do I have a witness in this place? 09:34 But we live in a world that has been conditioned 09:38 to be unthankful. 09:41 This whole type of consumer mentality that most of us live 09:43 by where we just take the attitude of entitlement, 09:46 that people owe what they give to you. 09:50 But nobody owes you anything. 09:52 It's that same kind of entitlement, that same kind 09:56 of ungrateful mentality that we demonstrate 09:59 toward God. 10:00 That God owes me. 10:01 That God needs me. 10:04 That God must do for me. 10:07 But God doesn't have to do a thing for me. 10:09 God doesn't have to do another thing for me in my life. 10:13 In fact, if God--I feel like preaching today--if God doesn't 10:17 do anything else for me, God's already done enough. 10:20 Two thousand years ago Jesus went to Calvary to save a wretch 10:27 like you and me. 10:28 Has God done anything for anybody? 10:32 Has God been good to anybody? 10:34 I think there's 50 people who don't mind praising the name 10:37 of Jesus for what God has done. 10:39 Paul says, in every thing 10:44 give thanks. 10:46 This means in the good times, praise his name. 10:49 In the bad times, do the same. 10:52 In every thing give the King of Kings 10:55 all the thanks. 10:56 You see, it is no test of faith to say thank you 10:59 when the sun is shining. 11:01 It is not great character when everything you touch 11:04 turns to gold, when every idea of yours 11:07 is a stroke of genius. 11:08 That won't make any face for you. 11:11 You see, it's easy to give God face when things are going well. 11:14 It's convenient to be grateful when things are going great. 11:16 When all is going well in your life, 11:18 it's easy to say thank you. 11:22 But Paul says, in every thing give thanks. 11:27 Which means when things go wrong, thank God. 11:32 When your world turns upside down, thank God. 11:37 When sickness comes in your body, thank God. 11:41 When death comes on your doorstep, thank God. 11:45 When your enemies and your foes come to eat of your flesh, 11:48 thank God. 11:50 When people talk about you, thank God, because now you know 11:53 who your real friends are. 11:55 When your employer comes on your job with a pink slip, thank God, 11:58 because God must have something better for you up the road. 12:01 When hard times put you down, when hard times knock you down, 12:06 when rough times hold you down, thank God in every thing. 12:11 In what, everybody? 12:12 Give thanks now. 12:13 Let me tell you something. 12:15 Make it practical. 12:18 If you have a bad day at work, be thankful. 12:22 Appreciate that you have a job. 12:23 Some people don't. 12:26 When you can't pay your bills, be thankful. 12:30 At least you're not one of your bill collectors. 12:32 Do I have a witness in this place? 12:34 When you're in Oakwood Church, sitting next to somebody 12:40 who can't sing, be thankful. 12:45 At least you have ears that can hear and you're not deaf. 12:48 Come on, say Amen. 12:50 If you look in the mirror and you see gray hair, 12:53 be thankful. 12:54 Think about cancer patients taking chemotherapy who only 12:57 wishes for any kind of hair, any color hair. 12:59 When you find yourself in the grocery line and you're the 13:03 recipient of poor customer service, be thankful. 13:05 Think about the people who have no food at all to eat. 13:08 When you realize how much it takes to take care of a house, 13:12 be thankful you have a house. 13:14 Think of those folk who wish they had a house 13:16 to take care of. 13:17 When you feel like complaining because you have to walk a long 13:19 distance from your car when you park at Oakwood Church, 13:22 be thankful. 13:23 Think of what it must be like if you didn't 13:25 have feet to walk. 13:26 When you get irritated by people's anger, apathy, 13:29 ignorance, bitterness or insecurities, be thankful. 13:32 Things could be worse. 13:33 You could be one of them. 13:39 When you think everything in your world is terrible 13:42 and you want to give up, think about all the people 13:45 who have been told they only have a certain amount 13:47 of time to live. 13:48 They don't want to give up, they want to live. 13:52 You ought to be thankful. 13:55 In everything, give thanks. 13:58 Ellen White says in Ministry of Healing, 14:00 I was reading last night, she says that even though 14:02 things which appear to be against us 14:04 may work out for our good, because God will not ask us 14:08 to be thankful for that which would harm us. 14:15 The text continues, in every thing give thanks. 14:21 For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 14:26 Let me break this down quickly. 14:28 The word for this, everybody say "for this." Make reference 14:34 to this thankful spirit The phrase "is the will of God" 14:39 makes reference to God's desire. 14:41 So, when we put these two phrases together, 14:45 what we're saying is our thankful spirits are 14:50 God's desire. 14:52 Our thankful spirits are God's desire. 14:59 In other words, God loves it when we thank him. 15:04 God loves it when we praise him. 15:07 God is happy when we thank him. 15:10 God is pleased when we thank him. 15:13 God inhabits our thanks and praise. 15:16 When we praise God, demons tremble. 15:19 When we praise God, enemies stumble. 15:22 When we praise God, the devil grumbles. 15:25 Ellen White says men are too sparing of giving thanks to God. 15:29 She says to give thanks to God in your heart 15:31 and with your voice. 15:34 Our thankful spirits are God's desire for this is the will 15:37 of God in Christ Jesus. 15:38 When you're in Christ Jesus, you're in God's will. 15:41 When you're ungrateful, unappreciative, unthankful, 15:43 angry and mad, you're not fulfilling 15:45 God's wi. 15:47 But Paul's not finished. 15:48 Paul continues in the text. 15:50 He says, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of 15:52 God in Christ Jesus concerning you." But it's God by the gift 16:00 of his son, Jesus Christ, has laid you, 16:03 has laid me, has laid us under the obligation 16:06 of perpetual or continual thanksgiving. 16:09 Which means our whole lives, not just during 16:12 Thanksgiving season, but our whole lives ought to be 16:16 continual thanks offerings for the blessings 16:18 of Jesus Christ. 16:19 Every day is a day of thanksgiving. 16:23 Take the time to glorify the Lord today. 16:27 That's why I bless the Lord at all times and his praise 16:30 is continually in my mouth. 16:32 Notice that Paul in the text tells us to offer thanksgiving 16:37 right after he tells us to pray without ceasing. 16:42 Which means thanksgiving must also accompany praise. 16:47 Thanksgiving springs out of faithful prayer. 16:51 Faithful prayer brings us into the presence of God. 16:54 And when we come into God's presence, 16:57 we must give God thanks. 17:00 That's why, Elder, when you read this morning, "Make a joyful 17:03 noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 17:05 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence 17:09 with singing. 17:10 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, 17:13 and not we ourselves; we are his people, 17:15 and the sheep of his pasture. 17:18 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his 17:21 courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 17:26 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting and his truth 17:30 endureth to all generations." 17:32 You can't enter into God's presence and not 17:36 give him praise. 17:37 You can't enter into God's gate and not give him thanks. 17:44 You can't enter into God's church and not give him thanks. 17:50 You cannot come into Oakwood University Church 17:53 and not give God thanks. 17:57 Let me give you a tidbit of love. 17:59 When you come into Oakwood, when you come into God's house, 18:05 understand this sanctuary is God's house. 18:08 This sanctuary is not the gymnasium. 18:10 It's not the skating rink. 18:12 It's not just a general auditorium. 18:15 This sanctuary is God's house. 18:17 And when you come into God's house, before you speak to 18:21 anybody, before you see who's here, before you see who's 18:25 not here, before you see what's going on, before you get 18:28 comfortable, you ought to thank God. 18:31 You ought to bless God and praise God 18:33 for bringing you into God's presence. 18:37 When you come into his presence you humble yourselves, you lift 18:43 up holy hands, and you begin to worship him. 18:47 Thanksgiving-like prayer should be without ceasing. 18:50 It should be in every thing. 18:52 This is the will of God. 18:55 God wants your life. 18:56 God wants my life. 18:57 God wants our lives to be lives of joy, lives of unceasing 19:02 prayer, lives of perpetual, continual thanksgiving. 19:06 In everything give thanks. 19:10 During this Thanksgiving season we have a lot 19:19 to be thankful for. 19:22 I said, during this Thanksgiving, we have 19:27 a lot to be thankful for. 19:31 Just to have life, we should be thankful. 19:37 Just to have strength, we ought to be thankful. 19:43 Just to have breath, we ought to be thankful. 19:48 Even though your husband complains when his dinner's not 19:51 on time, be thankful your husband is home with you and not 19:55 with somebody else. 19:57 Even though your child is complaining about doing dishes, 20:00 be thankful because that means he or she is at home with you 20:03 and not on the streets somewhere else. 20:05 Even though you have to pay taxes, be thankful, that means 20:08 you've got a job somewhere. 20:10 Even though you have clothes that might fit a little tight, 20:12 be thankful because that means you have enough food to eat. 20:15 Even though you have piles of laundry, be thankful 20:18 because that means you have clothes to wear. 20:20 Even though you have a lawn that needs mowing, 20:23 leaves that need raking, windows that need cleaning, 20:26 gutters that need fixing, be thankful you have a home. 20:30 Even though your alarm clock goes off early in the morning, 20:33 be thankful because that means somebody is alive, because in 20:37 every thing give thanks. 20:39 Now, Adam was thankful for Eve. 20:42 Noah was thankful for the ark. 20:45 Elijah was thankful for ravens. 20:47 Samson was thankful for strength. 20:49 Naomi was thankful for Ruth. 20:52 Ruth was thankful for Jesse. 20:54 Esther was thankful for Mordecai. 20:56 Job was thankful for trials. 20:58 David was thankful for a pile of smooth stones. 21:01 Solomon was thankful for wisdom. 21:03 Daniel was thankful for an answer to prayer. 21:06 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thankful for air 21:09 conditioning in the fiery furnace. 21:11 Ezechiel was thankful for dry bones. 21:13 Jonah was thankful for a great fish. 21:15 The blind man at Jericho was thankful for sight. 21:18 The woman with the issue of blood was thankful for healing. 21:21 The woman caught in the act of adultery was thankful for grace 21:25 and mercy. 21:26 The woman whose son died is thankful for the Resurrection. 21:29 Today, I'm thankful for life. 21:30 I'm thankful for my wife. 21:32 I'm thankful for my church. 21:34 I'm thankful for my children. 21:35 I'm thankful for Jesus. 21:42 And even though we can't have what we want, we ought to be 21:47 thankful that we don't get what we deserve. 21:51 The wages of sin is death. 21:57 But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. 22:03 I want to thank God for Jesus. 22:07 Thank God for Jesus' shed blood. 22:08 Thank God for the nail pierced hands, the nail pierced feet. 22:13 Thank God for the crown of thorns that he wore 22:16 on his head for me. 22:18 When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory 22:23 died, Jesus paid it all. 22:25 All to him I owe; sin has left a crimson stain, 22:29 but he washed it white as snow. 22:31 So, rejoice evermore. 22:32 Pray without ceasing. 22:34 Quench not the Spirit. 22:36 Despise not prophesying. 22:40 Prove all things. 22:42 Hold back that which is good. 22:45 Avoid the appearance of evil. 22:48 And in every thing give thanks for this is the will of God 22:58 in Christ Jesus concerning you. 23:02 Now I'm finished. 23:05 But if we're going to have a happy Thanksgiving, 23:08 some of us need to have a holy amnesia and you 23:14 need to forget those things that have happened 23:17 to you in your past. 23:20 When the devil reminds you of your past, you remind 23:23 the devil of his future. 23:25 Forgetting those things which are behind and pressing towards 23:30 those things that are before; I press toward the mark of the 23:34 high calling of God in Jesus Christ. 23:37 There are some of us in Oakwood today who come to this place 23:42 for the specific reason to worship. 23:44 We have guilt, though, in our past. 23:46 Some of us are having the very life strangled out of us because 23:49 of some bad choices we've made in the past. 23:52 Some of us have been crippled by the associations 23:55 that we have been affiliated with in the past. 23:58 And we wish that on this day we can take, if you will, a magic 24:02 eraser and erase all the hurts of our past. 24:12 And although we can't do it, 24:16 there is one who can. 24:22 One that can take my bad past experiences and throw them in 24:29 the depths of the sea. 24:33 And then, as I say all the time, put up a sign that says 24:38 to the devil, devil, no fishing allowed. 24:41 Because he was wounded for my transgressions, 24:46 bruised for my iniquities, the chastisement of our peace 24:49 was upon him, by his stripes I am healed. 24:51 In every thing give thanks. 24:59 What is it that God has done in your life that is so significant 25:06 that every time you pray you thank God for it? 25:11 What about those times when God intercepted things in your life 25:16 and you didn't even know he did it? 25:19 What about those secret moments when God has been so gracious 25:23 t o you and you've been mad at God because God 25:27 didn't allow you to have what you thought you should have, 25:29 when you wanted it, and all the time God was looking out 25:33 for you and your future, preparing you for a better way 25:36 all the time. 25:45 When you pray, I don't know what you thank God for all the time, 25:50 but I'm going to tell you, Carlton Byrd, every day, always, 26:01 I thank God for my salvation. 26:10 We always come to church and when we shout, 26:16 oftentimes we shout on the wrong stuff. 26:23 We shout on the new house, the new car. 26:27 We shout on the good singer or the good choir 26:30 or the good organist. 26:32 We shout and we should when we get excited about the fact we're 26:37 about to next week have groundbreaking for the school, 26:40 we shout. 26:41 We say Amen on the wrong stuff. 26:43 We shout over food, clothing and shelter, and, yes, 26:47 thank God for that. 26:48 But it doesn't get any better than my salvation. 26:54 Because you can buy that other stuff, but you can't 27:00 buy salvation. 27:02 Jesus already paid the price and so when I think 27:07 of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for me, 27:12 my soul, my soul, my soul cries out Hallelujah, thank God 27:20 for saving me. 27:23 >: It's an age-old question, what happens after we die? 27:26 The Breath of Life gift offer this week is "What the Bible 27:30 Says about Death." This little book peels back the theories 27:33 the world has on the afterlife and carefully explains 27:36 what's accurate based on a source we can really rely on, 27:40 God's Word. 27:41 Discover what the Bible says about the soul, human nature, 27:45 talking to the dead, the coming millennium, 27:47 the resurrection and hell. 27:49 "What the Bible Says about Death" is yours 27:51 for a gift of $5 or more. 27:52 Just call our toll free number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 28:00 That's 877-265-6333. 28:01 Please have your credit card ready when you call. 28:04 Or you may write us to request your copy. 28:06 Just send your check to: Breath of Life, P.O. Box 340, 28:08 Newbury Park, California 91319. 28:14 Find comfort in what's to come after we pass 28:17 from this world to the next. 28:18 Get your copy of "What the Bible Says about Death" today. 28:24 PB: Jesus went to Calvary to |
Revised 2015-02-06