Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000098
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00:01 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪
00:09 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:18 ♪ all the praise ♪ Pastor Byrd: God, 00:24 only thou knowst. 00:26 So now, Ezekiel repeats what God told him to do. 00:33 Prophesy upon these bones. 00:35 Preach unto these bones. 00:37 And, O, dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. 00:42 Now, I must confess, when you stand up here to preach, be it 00:47 here or anywhere else, preaching is not easy, because 00:50 when you stand in audiences and congregations 00:53 week after week, preaching is not easy. 00:55 Everybody expects you to hit a home run. 00:57 You have to have logos and ethos, pathos and stamina 01:01 all at the same time.@ You have to be logical, 01:05 emotional and credible all at the same time. 01:08 And it's hard enough to preach to those that move and stir 01:13 around, but to preach to that which is dead and dry, 01:19 I'm preaching today, is an awful thing. 01:23 My travels have taken me to some dry, dead audiences. 01:31 Has there ever been a pitiful view of Christians who are 01:35 unmoved by the power of God's Word? 01:37 Is there yet a sight of church folk who resemble dead, 01:41 dry bones in the valley and can't get excited 01:44 when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done 01:47 for me? 01:48 Is there yet a glimpse of dead, dry bones who sit in the pews 01:52 week after week and are unaltered by 01:54 the call of God? 01:58 I hope not. 01:59 But I'm here to tell you that it's tough to preach 02:03 to Christians who are like wheelbarrows, 02:06 no good unless pushed. 02:09 It's tough to preach to Christians like canoes, 02:13 where they have to be paddled. 02:15 It's tough to preach to kittens when they're only content when 02:19 they're petted. 02:20 Then there are some Christians like footballs, you don't know 02:23 which way they will bounce next. 02:25 Some are like balloons, full of wind, ready to blow up. 02:28 Some are like trailers, they have to be pulled. 02:31 And then there are some, friends of mine, like lights, 02:35 they keep going on and off. 02:40 It becomes a tough assignment. 02:44 But yet, that's often what God deals with. 02:47 The unusual, the uncanny, the unique, the impossible, 02:51 and God says, if this is your ministry, 02:55 I call you to preach the Word, preach the Word even if they 02:59 are dead, dry and in the valley. 03:02 Speak the Word of God to them and say to them all, 03:08 hear the Word of the Lord. 03:10 Ezekiel was assigned by God to preach to these dry, dead 03:14 bones, but as Ezekiel begins to preach something begins 03:20 to happen. 03:21 As Ezekiel begins to speak, revival begins to take place. 03:27 As Ezekiel begins to speak, reanimation begins 03:31 to take place. 03:33 As Ezekiel begins to preach, reassembling begins 03:37 to take place. 03:38 But it's not just enough to reanimate and reassemble life, 03:42 but there also has to be a reunion of life. 03:46 And so at that moment God begins to reverse the process 03:49 of decomposition. 03:50 He says preach the Word. 03:52 And as Ezekiel begins to preach the Word decomposition reverses 03:56 itself, breath enters the body, tendons fill the bones, 04:01 flesh comes upon the tendons, and then skin comes 04:05 up upon the flesh. 04:07 But that's the reversal of the process of decomposition 04:10 because when a man dies the normal process of death 04:14 is breath leaves the body, the flesh deteriorates, 04:18 the skin and flesh decompose, tendons disintegrate, 04:21 and then there's nothing left but bare skeletal remains. 04:24 But I serve a God who can do the impossible. 04:32 I serve a God who can reverse the decomposition process. 04:39 God can quicken the dead. 04:41 God can raise life among the dead. 04:44 God is the resurrection and the life. 04:47 God is the alpha and the omega. 04:49 God is the first and the last. 04:52 God is the beginning and the end. 04:54 And so God says to Ezekiel, Ezekiel, preach the Word. 05:03 And don't preach just cotton candy preaching either, 05:06 where sweet on the outside and hollow and empty 05:09 on the inside. 05:10 Preach the Word. 05:11 It is our duty to preach to all men. 05:14 We are to preach beside all waters. 05:16 We are to preach in season and out. 05:18 When it's two people we are to preach just as hard 05:20 as we would to two thousand. 05:21 God said, where there are two or three gathered in my name 05:23 I shall be in the midst. 05:24 All we've go to do is preach God's truth and God's strength, 05:28 God will quicken whom he will, when he will, where he will, 05:32 how he will. 05:33 Ezekiel began to preach and revival began to take place 05:37 in the valley. 05:39 Somebody knows what happens when revival happens. 05:42 Somebody knows what happens when revival gets good, 05:45 the preacher gets to preaching, the choir gets to singing, 05:49 the organist gets to playing, the Holy Ghost gets to moving, 05:53 the saints get to shouting, souls stop sinning, 05:57 gossipers stop gossiping, complainers stop complaining, 06:01 and prayer warriors start praying when 06:04 revival takes place. 06:06 Ezekiel begins to preach to the dry, dead bones, 06:11 and the bones, the Bible says, begin to fit together. 06:16 Now Ezekiel gets a little happy. 06:19 Now Ezekiel begins to raise his voice a little bit. 06:22 Now Ezekiel begins to clap his hands a little bit. 06:26 Now Ezekiel bends down like this and begins 06:28 to stomp his feet a little bit. 06:30 Now Ezekiel begins to whoop and hum a little bit, 06:32 because he's thanking God for his dry bones. 06:37 His valley let him see God perform orthopedic surgery 06:40 that lets the ankle bone be connected to the leg bone, 06:45 the leg bone be connected to the knee bone, 06:48 the knee bone be connected to the hip bone, the hip bone 06:51 be connected to the backbone, the backbone be connected 06:54 to the shoulder bone, the shoulder bone be connected 06:58 to the neck bone, the neck bone be connected to the head bone, 07:04 and O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. 07:08 I'm a witness today that preaching the Word of God 07:13 will wake up dry, dead bones. 07:17 I said, preaching the Word of God will wake up 07:20 dry, dead bones. 07:23 Thank God for the Word. 07:25 I said, thank God for the Word. 07:27 God's Word sharper than any two-edged sword. 07:29 God's Word is a lamp unto to my feet and a light unto my path. 07:34 God's Word have I hid in my heart that I like not sin 07:38 against thee. 07:39 I asked myself all the time, how can people come to church, 07:43 hear the Word, and leave the same way they came? 07:49 It's because, according to the text, they got 07:52 the reanimation and they got the reassembly, 07:56 but that's not the end of the process. 07:58 Because when you read the Word of God in verse 8, it says 08:02 that these people, although they now had 08:03 shape and form, they still had no breath in them. 08:08 Which means Ezekiel had a measure of success 08:11 in preaching to the bones and a wonderful success 08:13 it appeared to be. 08:14 The bones came together, bone to bone, but the Bible says 08:16 there was no breath in them. 08:17 Ezekiel had done, yes, his work in preaching, but there was 08:20 still something else that was needed. 08:23 And that's just like many of us. 08:26 We preach and we think we've done something, 08:30 we clap, we stomp, we shout, and people pat us on the back 08:37 and we think we've done something. 08:41 But, friends of mine, if it's void of the breath, 08:44 if it's void of the Holy Spirit, if it's void 08:48 of the anointing, all it is is sounding brass 08:52 and tinkling cymbals. 08:53 Life can only come from God's spirit. 08:59 The best preaching cannot create life. 09:02 The best singing cannot create life. 09:04 The best testimonies cannot create life. 09:07 Only God can give life. 09:10 Only God can wake you up this morning. 09:13 The alarm clock didn't do it, God did it. 09:16 Only God can sustain your life. 09:19 The doctor didn't do it, God did it. 09:22 God is life. 09:23 All life begins in God and flows from God. 09:26 God is the life of life. 09:28 God is the giver of life. 09:30 God is the sustainer of life. 09:31 God is the way to life. 09:33 God is the way in life. 09:34 God is the way for life. 09:36 God is the way of life. 09:39 And God is a joy in my life. 09:41 So now, Ezekiel must prophesy to the wind, to the Holy Ghost, 09:47 to breath on dry, dead bones and make them live. 09:53 In the Hebrew, breathe in the text 09:55 is synonymous with ruach in Genesis 2:7, which is 10:00 the same word for spirit. 10:02 Genesis 2:7 says, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust 10:06 of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils 10:09 the breath of life; and man became a living 10:12 soul." Adam had form and body when God took dust 10:17 of the ground, but Adam did not come 10:19 to life until God breathed his Holy Spirit in him. 10:25 Which means, friends of mine, these bones can't come to life 10:30 unless God's spirit is breathed on them. 10:34 The church can't come to life until God's spirit 10:41 is breathed in them. 10:42 The school can't come to life until God's spirit is breathed 10:48 in them. 10:49 Our ministry won't come to life until God's spirit is breathed 10:55 on them. 10:56 Our communities won't come to life until God's spirit 11:00 is breathed on them. 11:01 And some of us are dead and dry and we won't come to life until 11:07 the Holy Spirit breaths on us. 11:12 That's why when I travel the world, I listen 11:14 to folks sing. 11:16 And you can have some folk that can sure enough sing, 11:19 but when they get up and sing they're just singing a song. 11:21 And you can have somebody else who does not sing as well, 11:24 but they minister and they see and you feel 11:26 and sense the anointing of God. 11:28 And so you have the singer over here that can sure enough sing, 11:31 and you have the singer over here that may not 11:33 be able to sing that well, but they've got the Holy Ghost 11:35 anointing, and the Holy Ghost anointing 11:42 destroys yokes, and because they've got the Holy Ghost, 11:44 that one sounds good, but there's something 11:46 about this one, they've got the Holy Ghost. 11:48 We need new life to come back to lifeless bones, 11:51 lifeless churches, lifeless ministry, 11:54 lifeless communities, lifeless lives. 11:56 We need the Holy Ghost. 11:59 When Ezekiel prophesied the Bible says, 12:03 the wind comes and there stood up a great 12:06 exceeding army. 12:07 And that's what the spirit of God does for us. 12:11 The spirit of God makes that which was dead 12:14 alive again. 12:15 For God says in Ezekiel, what you have seen, the revival 12:21 you've just witnessed is a picture of my people, 12:23 a picture of people who are dried up, 12:25 the Bible says, a picture of people who 12:27 are low with a hope that's lost. 12:29 A picture of people where they are cut off. 12:32 A picture of my people who are dry. 12:34 A picture of my people who are dead. 12:36 They don't know who I am. 12:37 They think I'm restricted to one place, but they've 12:41 forgotten that I'm not only the God of Abraham 12:45 at Mount Mariah, but I'm also the God of Moses 12:48 at Mount Sinai. 12:50 I'm not only the God of Moses at Mount Sinai, but I'm the God 12:53 of Elijah at Mount Carmel. 12:55 I'm not only the God of Elijah at Mount Carmel, 12:58 but I'm the God of Carlton Byrd at Oakwood. 13:01 I am not restricted to one place. 13:04 I'm sovereign. 13:05 I'm omnipresent, which means I'm everywhere 13:08 at the same time. 13:09 Wherever you are, I am. 13:12 Wherever you go, I've already been. 13:14 God says, your bones may be dried up, 13:17 your hope may be lost, you may be cut off, but you 13:21 can live again. 13:23 Let me tell somebody this in testimony, 13:25 maybe life has gotten the best of you, 13:28 but you can live again. 13:30 Maybe somebody has done you wrong, but you can live again. 13:34 Maybe somebody has gotten on your nerves, 13:37 but you can live again. 13:39 Maybe you're down to your last dime, 13:41 maybe your utility bill is due and you don't have 13:44 any money, maybe you're supposed 13:46 to graduate next month, but you need to clear 13:48 your student accounts. 13:52 Maybe your spouse left you to raise those children 13:56 by yourself. 13:58 Maybe you've been diagnosed with cancer. 14:00 I don't know today what your situation is, 14:02 but I'm here to tell you, you can live again. 14:08 How do I live again? 14:11 Verse 12 gives the answer. 14:13 Prophesy, say to them, thus saith the Lord God, 14:21 I will open up your graves and call you to come up out 14:27 of your grave and bring you to the land of Israel. 14:32 In other words, friends of mine, I'm going 14:34 to resurrect you. 14:36 Now, you know God can do it. 14:38 Does anybody know God can resurrect? 14:40 Does anybody know God's got resurrection power? 14:43 Because God's not only a God who works in the area 14:45 of the impossible, but God knows how to weave 14:47 his way out of a grave. 14:50 Whatever it looks like that has God bound, 14:54 it can't keep God down. 14:57 God says, did you think you have me bound? 14:59 Let me show you that I have the power to open things up. 15:05 In fact, if you're looking for a nickname, 15:09 call me the God of the open up. 15:12 I opened up the Red Sea. 15:14 I opened up Sarah's womb. 15:17 I opened up Hannah's womb. 15:19 I opened up jail doors for Peter. 15:22 I opened up Philippians jail doors for Paul and Silas. 15:26 But I died on Friday. 15:28 I lay resting in the grave on the Sabbath. 15:32 But on the third appointed day, I opened up doors for my Jesus 15:37 and I just stopped by to tell somebody. 15:41 He can open up your life. 15:43 For when you look at resurrection, somebody once 15:46 said resurrection says that God laughed at death's face. 15:54 Now, last point. 15:57 This is the only example in the Old Testament 16:01 of a physical resurrection. 16:05 What's interesting is no New Testament writer makes 16:08 reference to this vision. 16:11 But this passage is clearly one that gives us resurrection hope 16:15 just like 1 Thessalonians 4 or 1 Corinthians 15. 16:18 Which means then, church, the grave is not the end. 16:25 Death, we say it all the time, is not a period, 16:29 but only a comma in the story of life. 16:32 God will not be unmade by death or hemmed in by the very 16:37 finitude he himself created. 16:39 God is infinite. 16:41 God will not let finitude and the limits of this life 16:44 be the last word on us. 16:46 God is infinite. 16:48 God will not be without his people and his people will 16:51 never be without their God. 16:52 God is infinite. 16:54 And that's why the vision closes with the fact that 16:59 there's not only resurrection, but there's reunion. 17:04 Verse 14 says, and I shall put my spirit in you. 17:07 You shall live. 17:09 I shall place you in your own land. 17:11 Stop there. 17:12 We had resurrection. 17:15 Now we have reunion. 17:18 Hallelujah, somebody. 17:19 I said, we had resurrection, but now we have reunion. 17:26 At his first coming Jesus came to save his people. 17:31 At his second coming Jesus is coming to get his people. 17:36 The dead in Christ are going to rise first. 17:41 Then we which are alive remain to be caught up together 17:44 to meet him in the clouds. 17:45 We will be united with loved ones 17:47 who have fallen asleep in the Lord. 17:49 There will be a resurrection and there will be a reunion. 17:52 You see, friends of mine, it seemed as if God 17:55 had turned his back on the Hebrew people. 17:58 But God wanted them to see that he could not be localized, 18:01 that he could not be restricted. 18:03 God says, you can't dictate to me the way you want me 18:06 to operate for exile was not a Babylon power, 18:08 but it was my power. 18:10 You're not in Babylon for exile purposes because they overthrew 18:12 my country, but I allowed them to overthrow you so that exile 18:15 could become your discipline. 18:20 So today, somebody's living in their own exile. 18:27 You're all the way from hopeful possibility. 18:30 But you're there maybe not because God isn't faithful, 18:36 but maybe, just maybe, you're there because 18:38 God is faithful. 18:42 Because God allows certain things to come our way to prove 18:44 to us over and over and over again that he's the one who 18:48 will get us out of even what we got our own selves into, 18:51 hallelujah. 18:53 They got themselves into exile long before Babylon had come 18:59 and taken them. 19:01 They had abandoned God. 19:03 They had forgotten God. 19:05 They are the ones who had been unfaithful to God, 19:07 and sometimes, I'm learning in my life, 19:09 that God disciplines us just for the purpose to get 19:12 the best out of us that he has put inside of us. 19:18 Some of us are dead, dry, in the valley, and we need 19:26 reanimation, we need reassembly, we need 19:31 resurrection, we need reunion, we need revival. 19:35 We need to wake up and see the times in which we live. 19:39 We need to wake up and see what God is trying to do. 19:43 We need to wake up and get excited about Jesus. 19:46 We need revival. 19:47 God's not dead. 19:48 God's alive. 19:51 And you can't be alive if you don't have the Holy Spirit. 19:56 God's people will always be in exile if they don't have 20:00 the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling within them. 20:03 We need a revival. 20:05 Now, it's time out, time out, the game is over, for being 20:15 dry, dead and in the valley. 20:18 God is not coming back for the frozen chosen. 20:24 God is coming back for people who are on fire for him. 20:30 For he who has no fire in himself cannot warm 20:34 anybody else. 20:35 So, if all the sleeping folk would wake up, 20:39 if all the lukewarm folk would fire up, 20:44 if all the disgruntled folk would sweeten up, 20:46 if all the discouraged folk would cheer up, 20:49 if all the depressed folk would look up, 20:53 if all the discontented folk would lighten up, 20:56 if all the cutthroat folk would build up, 20:59 and if all the gossiping folk would shut up, 21:03 then the work of God could be done. 21:07 And so, yes, I serve a risen Savior. 21:10 He's in the world today. 21:13 I know that he is living, whatever men may say. 21:17 I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer, 21:22 and just the time I need him, he's always near. 21:26 And so, he calls it in verse 14 and says, I am the Lord. 21:32 I have spoken it. 21:35 I have performed it. 21:37 I am the Lord. 21:40 In other words, I am that I am. 21:44 That's who I am. 21:47 I am that I am. 21:49 I am everything you need. 21:52 I am your bread. 21:54 I am your water. 21:56 I am your shelter, I am your shield. 21:59 I am your buckler. 22:01 I am your bill payer. 22:02 I am your student account clearer. 22:05 I am your heart fixer. 22:07 I am your problem solver. 22:09 I am your wheel will in a middle of a wheel. 22:11 I am your way out of no way. 22:13 I am your chemotherapy. 22:16 I am that I am. 22:19 I am Adonai. 22:20 I am Lord over every lord. 22:22 I am El Shaddai. 22:24 I am God Almighty. 22:26 I am Elohim, the plurality of my own divinity. 22:29 I am Jehovah Jireh. 22:34 When you need a sacrifice I will provide. 22:36 I am Jehovah Shalom. 22:38 When you can't sleep at night, I am your peace. 22:42 I am Jehovah Raphe. 22:43 When your body is racking with pain, I am your healer. 22:47 I am Jehovah Nissi. 22:50 When you fight life's battles, I'll hold up the banner. 22:55 We've already won. 22:58 Don't wait till the battle is over. 23:00 Go on and shout now. 23:02 I am that I am, old dry bones. 23:06 Hear the Word of the Lord. 23:08 A great many of us are on the salvation train, 23:11 but too many of us have gone to sleep. 23:14 God doesn't want any dry, dead bones. 23:17 Paul said, present your body a living sacrifice, 23:22 holy and acceptable unto God, which is your 23:25 reasonable service So, excuse me if I get loud 23:30 sometimes. 23:32 Excuse me if I stomp my feet sometimes. 23:36 Excuse me if I clap my hands sometimes. 23:41 Excuse me if I wave my hands sometimes. 23:45 But you don't know like I know what he's done for me. 23:49 You don't know like I know how he's picked me 23:52 up out of the mire, placed my feet on solid ground 23:59 to stay. 24:01 You don't know, so excuse me. 24:04 We need a revival. 24:05 We need to wake up. 24:07 Jesus loves us. 24:09 Jesus died to save us. 24:16 Jesus is coming back to get us. 24:19 I just need 50 radical folk who don't mind praising 24:26 the name of Jesus. 24:28 I just need 50 radical folk who don't mind going into 24:32 the city of Huntsville and telling somebody that 24:34 the seventh day is the Sabbath. 24:36 I just need. 24:41 Oh, come, magnify the Lord with me. 24:46 Let us exult his name together. 24:49 O taste and see that the Lord is good, 24:53 his mercy endureth forever. 24:56 Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is 25:02 within me bless his holy name. 25:04 I once was young, but now I'm a little older, but I've never 25:09 seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 25:13 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 25:17 The Lord is my light and my salvation. 25:22 Who is the King of Glory? 25:24 The Lord mighty in battle. 25:27 Lift up your heads, O ye gates. 25:31 Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and see ye lifted up. 25:38 Ye everlasting Doors. 25:40 And the key, the King, the King of Glory shall, shall, 25:50 shall come in. 25:52 Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. 25:57 Just to take him at his word. 26:02 Just to rest upon his promise. 26:07 Just to know thus sayeth the Lord. 26:14 Jesus. 26:15 PB: Thank you very much for tuning in and watching 26:18 Breath of Life today. 26:19 We do hope that u were blessed by our ministry 26:22 and that we gave a healing word in a hurting world. 26:26 In order for Breath of Life to continue ministry, 26:29 we need you. 26:30 We need your prayers, we need your support. 26:33 We want you to know that any and all donations, small 26:36 or great, they are sincerely welcomed and appreciated. 26:40 To contact us or to make your donation, 26:42 please feel free to give us a call at: 26:45 877-BOL-OFFER. 26:48 That's 877-BOL-OFFER. 26:54 Or you may write to us at Breath of Life, P.O. Box 340, 27:00 Newbury Park, California 91319. 27:05 P.O. Box 340, Newbury Park, California 91319. 27:10 Or log onto our web site at www.breathoflife.tv. 27:16 >: It's an age old question, what happens to us 27:19 after we die? 27:21 The Breath of Life gift offer this week is "What the Bible 27:23 Says about Death." 27:24 This little book peels back the theories the world has 27:26 on the afterlife and carefully explains what's accurate based 27:30 on a source we can really rely on, God's Word. 27:34 Discover what the Bible says about the soul, human nature, 27:37 talking to the dead, the coming millennium, the resurrection, 27:41 and hell. 27:42 "What the Bible Says about Death" is yours for a gift 27:44 of $5 or more. 27:46 Just call our toll free number 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:51 That's 877-265-6333. 27:54 Please have your credit ready when you call. 27:57 Or you may write us to request your copy. 27:59 Just send your check to Breath of Life, 28:01 P.O. Box 340, Newbury Park, California 91319. 28:05 Find comfort in what's to come after we pass 28:09 from this world to the next. 28:11 Get your copy of "What the Bible Says about Death" today. 28:14 PB: Preach the Word even if they are dead, 28:19 dry and in the valley. 28:21 Preach the Word of God to them and say to them all, 28:26 hear the Word of the Lord. 28:27 Ezekiel was assigned by God |
Revised 2015-02-06