Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000117
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00:01 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪
00:10 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:18 ♪ all the praise ♪ ♪ (Theme) ♪ 00:21 Pa Byr Take yoibles and turn with me to Acts 2:1. 00:42 If you have that scripture, just let me hear you say Amen. 00:45 The Word of God says to us today, "And when the day 00:51 of Pentecost was fully come, 00:55 they were all with one accord in one place. 01:01 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing 01:08 mighty wind, and it filled all the house 01:12 where they were sitting. 01:14 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, 01:18 and it sat upon each of them. 01:19 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, 01:27 and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit 01:33 gave them utterance." 01:34 I like verse 41. 01:35 It says, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: 01:45 and the same day there were added unto them 01:50 about three thousand souls." 01:54 Hallelujah, somebody. 01:56 Verse 47: "Praise God, having favor with all 02:00 the people, and the Lord added to the church daily 02:05 such as should be saved." 02:11 It's power time. 02:15 It's power time. 02:16 Father God, now, for the next couple of moments, show us 02:21 your power through your word. 02:24 Forgive us of our sins, hide us behind your cross. 02:28 God, at the appeal time, move, move by your power, 02:33 sprinkle out your grace. 02:36 My prayer, Lord, is that men, women, boys and girls 02:39 would give their lives to you. 02:42 In Jesus' name, Amen. 02:47 It's power time. 02:51 The Book of Acts records the early actions 02:55 of the New Testament church. 02:58 Acts teaches that the early church witnessed the power 03:02 of God moving in miraculous ways. 03:07 Acts lets us know that 3,000 people were saved in one day. 03:13 Acts lets us know as we read on that 5,000 were saved 03:19 on another day. 03:22 In fact, souls were being saved every day. 03:27 The power of God was seen, the power of God was felt, 03:32 and the power of God was heard. 03:36 The power of God was on the church in such a mighty way 03:38 that Acts 2:43 says, "Fear came upon every soul, and many signs 03:43 and wonders were done by the apostles. 03:47 Acts 4 then goes on and teaches that many of the Jewish leaders 03:51 tried to arrest the apostles and stop them from 03:54 preaching the gospel, but that didn't work. 03:58 In fact, the Bible teaches that the more they persecuted 04:01 the people of God, the more people got converted 04:04 and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. 04:08 Which means the more they persecuted the church, 04:11 the church grew even more. 04:14 Let that be a lesson for you and me. 04:16 The word of God cannot be stopped. 04:19 The word of God will be preached. 04:21 The gospel will go forth. 04:24 Souls will be saved, people will be baptized, 04:28 with or without you. 04:31 I've heard many church folk say, "Pastor, 04:34 they can't make it without me. 04:36 Pastor, they won't make it without me." Well, the cemetery 04:39 is full of folk who thought the church would die 04:41 without them. 04:43 Don't be a legend in your own mind. 04:46 This is God's church. 04:50 And His truth still marches on. 04:52 Do I have a witness in this place? 04:54 In the book of Acts, God clearly reveals 04:56 that the Christian today can experience the same presence 05:01 of the same Holy Spirit who came with the same power 05:05 at Pentecost and fueled the gospel message into a flame. 05:09 In other words, friends of mine, the powerful acts of the Holy 05:13 Ghost through Peter, Paul, Silus, James, John and others, 05:17 can be repeated in us today. 05:21 I'm a fifth-generation Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 05:24 I'm proud of that too. 05:25 I'm a fifth-generation Adventist both paternally 05:27 and maternally. 05:28 And if there's ever been a hindrance to the body 05:30 of Christ, it is not tapping into the full 05:32 power we have in God. 05:34 Let me remind you, in case you forgot, 05:37 that Jesus got up at Calvary. 05:41 You will remember that he was crucified on Friday, 05:44 he did die, and his body did rest 05:46 in the grave according to the commandment 05:48 on the Sabbath day. 05:49 But he did get up. 05:52 And when he got up, he got up with all power in his hands. 05:57 And because he got up with all power in his hands, there was 06:00 a transfer of that power from Christ to you and to me. 06:05 Ellen White says in "Testimonies," volume 6, 06:07 that the fullness of divine power has been 06:09 imparted to God's people, that they may impart to others 06:12 light and joy and refreshing. 06:14 So in case you didn't know, you have power today. 06:17 We have Holy Ghost power. 06:19 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 06:21 Acts opens by telling us of Jesus' transfer of power 06:25 to his disciples and then his subsequent ascension 06:28 to heaven. 06:29 The power in Acts 1:8 refers to God's power to exercise his 06:34 strength and authority in our lives. 06:37 I have learned in my life that God can strengthen 06:42 and God can energize those who put their trust 06:45 in him. 06:47 God is the source. 06:49 That means that you, that means that me, that means we can't 06:54 fight the devil in our own strength. 06:57 That's why so many folk give up. 06:59 They're fighting the devil in their own strength. 07:02 But the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:10, "Be strong 07:06 in the Lord and in the power of His might." 07:09 Which means when a believer's faith is in God, 07:13 then God's power becomes the power of that believer. 07:17 You see, when we as a church, when we grasp the concept, 07:21 when we grasp the concept that we are as strong 07:25 as that in which we trust, we will revolutionize 07:28 this world. 07:29 You see, if you trust in yourself, you are as strong 07:36 as you are. 07:37 Let me say that one more time. 07:40 If you trust in yourself, you are as strong 07:46 as you are. 07:47 But somebody knows, when you trust in God you are as strong 07:55 as God is. 07:56 Somebody's still not getting it. 07:58 Let me illustrate it this way. 07:59 I know I cannot fly. 08:05 I know my last name is Byrd, but I cannot fly. 08:10 I tried it as a child. 08:11 You know what I'm talking about. 08:13 My brother and I, we had bunk beds and I 08:15 used to sleep on the top bunk, and I would jump off, 08:17 talking about I can believe I can fly. 08:19 But I knocked my head on the way down. 08:21 Does somebody know what I'm talking about? 08:23 I learned as a little boy that the law of gravity 08:27 is real. 08:28 I cannot fly. 08:29 But when I put myself in an airplane and I yield 08:35 to the airplane's power, suddenly I have the ability 08:38 to soar 36,000 feet in the air. 08:42 I cannot run fast. 08:44 I cannot run 70 miles per hour. 08:47 But when I get in my car and I yield to my car's power, 08:53 I suddenly have the ability to achieve speeds that I 08:56 could not achieve on my own. 08:58 Which means when my faith is in God's, when my faith 09:03 is in God's power, then my strength, hallelujah, 09:06 somebody, becomes His strength, my power becomes His power. 09:11 That's why the Bible says in Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him 09:15 that is able to do exceeding, abundant and above all we could 09:19 ever ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." 09:24 Now, there are two types of power. 09:27 How many types of power, everybody? 09:29 Two types of power. 09:32 Power number 1, dutamas. 09:34 Everybody say dutamas. 09:36 Dutamas is dynamite, or miracle-working power. 09:41 Number 2 power is exousia. 09:44 Everybody say exousia. 09:46 Exousia is authoritative power. 09:50 Exousia gives you the authority to use the dutamas. 09:56 Somebody missed that. 09:57 There are two types of power. 10:00 Dutamas power is dynamite, miracle-working power. 10:03 The second type of power is exousia, 10:06 or authoritative power. 10:07 Exousia gives you the authority to use the dutamas. 10:13 Oh, you all don't know what you have. 10:16 You don't know the strength that's in you. 10:18 You don't know the power that's in you. 10:21 You don't know the authority that's in you. 10:24 Listen to me good. 10:25 The devil is not afraid of you. 10:30 The devil is afraid of who's inside of you. 10:33 You're sitting on a ton of dynamite. 10:37 Listen to me carefully. 10:39 No Christian has ever been demon-possessed. 10:44 Check your Bible on that. 10:47 No Christian has ever been demon possessed. 10:49 What do you mean, Pastor Byrd? 10:50 If the Holy Ghost is living in you, you cannot be, ooh, 10:57 possessed by a demon. 11:00 You can be influenced but not possessed. 11:06 Why? 11:07 Because I'm already possessed by the Holy Ghost. 11:10 And the Holy Ghost and a demon can't live inside of you 11:14 at the same time. 11:17 Darkness can't stand light. 11:19 You're already possessed by the Holy Ghost, 11:23 so what you're dealing with is demonic influence. 11:27 But all you gotta do is yield to the power of the Holy Ghost. 11:30 We've got Holy Ghost power today. 11:34 It's power time. 11:34 Everybody say "Its Power Time" I want to live in the power 11:37 of the Holy Spirit. 11:39 God wants his people to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. 11:42 But how does the church live in the power of the Holy Spirit? 11:49 well, number one... 11:50 three points and then I'm going to sit down. 11:52 Number one, we've got to recognize the presence 11:55 of his power. 11:56 Everybody say "the presence of his power." 11:59 Now, notice the text, Acts 2:1 begins with, "And when the day 12:05 of Pentecost was fully come." 12:07 Repeat after me, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully 12:13 come." Now, let's stop there. 12:15 Now, remember, I told you I grew up in an Adventist home. 12:18 I grew up in the Adventist church. 12:20 And growing up in the Adventist church, 12:22 we didn't talk much about Pentecost. 12:27 We didn't talk much about Pentecost 12:29 and Pentecostalism. 12:31 That was a no-no, because we primarily branded Pentecostals 12:36 as overzealous, charismatic, loud people who didn't have 12:40 much substance, and all they did was shout and make noise, 12:44 and we called them the sanctified, 12:46 or the Holy Roller church down the street because of all 12:48 their running, all their jumping, 12:50 all their shouting and loud brand of worship. 12:54 But in my deeper study of the Word of God, 12:56 I discovered that this was merely their worship 13:01 methodology. 13:02 But this methodology did not mirror the message 13:06 or the definition of the word Pentecost. 13:10 Fifty is what Pentecost literally means. 13:16 It's important to get this because a lot of people 13:19 have misunderstandings and misinterpretation about 13:23 Pentecost, that the word Pentecost is bad, is wild, 13:27 is crazy. 13:28 But Pentecost is not bad. 13:35 Pentecost is not wild or crazy. 13:39 Pentecost just means fifty. 13:43 It was a reference to the fifty days between the beginning 13:46 of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast 13:48 of the First Fruits, exactly 50 days after Jesus' 13:50 resurrection, 40 in which Jesus had repeated contact 13:54 with his disciples, just before his ascension, 13:56 and then another 10 days in which the disciples, 13:59 after Jesus' ascension, were in earnest prayer, 14:01 something the Bible says like never before happened. 14:07 Acts 2:1 says, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully 14:11 come, they [the disciples] were all with one accord 14:18 in one place." Now, I like that. 14:22 Because you know what the text is really suggesting here? 14:24 It suggests that they had the right environment. 14:27 They had the right culture. 14:29 On the day of Pentecost, the Bible says 14:32 they were in one accord. 14:34 There was a spirit of agreement. 14:37 They were all together. 14:39 They were all unified. 14:42 Unity existed amongst the disciples. 14:45 Can I tell you something right quick? 14:47 The reason why we don't see many manifestations in the house 14:51 of God anymore is because there's too much discord. 14:57 But the Bible declares that the power of the Holy Ghost 15:00 is present when the people of God come together 15:03 in one accord. 15:04 Which means personal agendas have to get out of the way. 15:08 Ego has to get out of the way. 15:11 Self has to get out of the way. 15:13 How can two walk together lest they agree? 15:16 But somebody knows that whenever there are two 15:19 or three gathered in the name of Jesus, God is in the midst. 15:25 Somebody knows that whenever we come together in agreement, 15:28 there is power. 15:29 There is strength in unity. 15:30 Understand that regardless of your intellectual training, 15:36 regardless of your analytical mind, you have to move beyond 15:39 skepticism into a realm of corporate faith that says, 15:43 "I believe that God is about to do something." 15:50 I don't know what it is, but I believe that God 15:54 is about to do something. 15:57 And when the people of God come together like this, 16:00 when the people of God believe together like this, 16:04 the people will come in sick and they'll leave healed. 16:08 People that come in blind will leave seeing. 16:11 The lame that come in crippled will leave walking, 16:16 when you create the right atmosphere. 16:18 When you create the right culture, power will be released 16:23 over this church. 16:24 How can people be in the church for so long and their lives 16:29 are in the same place? 16:32 Because there's no environment, no atmosphere for miracles 16:36 to take place. 16:37 You see, friends of mine, when we come on Sabbath morning 16:40 and we call people down to the altar, 16:42 I don't know about you, I'm not just calling people 16:44 to come down to come down. 16:45 We're calling people down because we believe 16:47 that sooner than right now, faster than immediately, 16:50 the Lord is going to answer prayer. 16:52 When folk come down to the altar, 16:54 I don't know about you, but I'm looking for a miracle. 16:57 I'm expecting the impossible. 17:00 I'm believing the invisible, because the sky is the limit 17:04 to what I can have. 17:06 When the environment is right, the people of God 17:09 are of one accord, the presence of his power 17:11 will be evident, the world will be turned upside down, 17:13 the gospel will be preached, individuals will be baptized, 17:15 and souls will be saved. 17:17 I was studying this week, and the "Bible Commentary" 17:19 says on this subject that whatever interferes 17:21 with such unity must be removed. 17:25 It must be removed or it will obstruct God's spirit. 17:29 The Bible says they were in one accord, in one place. 17:36 Now what we're seeing in Acts 2 are the embryonic 17:39 or developmental beginning stages 17:41 of the ecclesia, the church, defined as God's called-out. 17:46 The church. 17:47 The text continues in verse 2, "And suddenly there came 17:52 a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, 17:58 and it filled all the house where they were sitting." 18:01 The Bible says "suddenly," which means without warning. 18:06 Suddenly, which means unexpected, immediately. 18:10 The disciples had no idea in the way in which 18:16 the Holy Spirit would come; the Holy Spirit 18:19 just came. 18:20 And so now I hear today, I hear God saying 18:24 to his commandment-keeping, remnant people, 18:26 I hear him saying that when you come to a place 18:29 of agreement that there are some manifestations that are 18:32 going to happen in the light of the church. 18:35 Not next week. 18:37 Not next year. 18:39 Not 10 years from now. 18:41 But suddenly. 18:43 God's going to bring about healing for somebody, suddenly. 18:47 God's going to bring about deliverance for somebody else, 18:50 suddenly. 18:52 Rescue for somebody else, suddenly. 18:55 God is going to bring about Salvation, suddenly. 19:00 God is trying to tell us today, I'm tired of things 19:01 taking so long in your life. 19:04 There are some things I'm trying to do suddenly. 19:07 Verse 3 he continues, "And there appeared unto them 19:09 cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 19:13 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began 19:18 to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them 19:27 utterance." Now, let's paint this picture 19:30 This is not just a mere moving of the Spirit. 19:34 This was not merely the breath of the Spirit. 19:39 This was the complete possession of the disciples by 19:43 the Holy Ghost. 19:45 There was something within the disciples that they 19:48 could not explain. 19:50 Let me pause here. 19:51 Anybody ever have something in you, and you just couldn't 19:56 get it out? 19:57 You tried, but it was in you. 20:00 For somebody maybe it was a song. 20:04 You tried to get it out, but you just couldn't 20:06 get it out. 20:07 Maybe it was a saying, maybe it was a feeling, 20:10 but it just wouldn't leave you. 20:12 You couldn't get it out of you. 20:14 Let me tell somebody something. 20:16 When you get Jesus in you, hallelujah, somebody, nobody 20:21 can take him from you. 20:23 When you get the Holy Ghost in you, nobody can 20:27 take him from you. 20:28 A thief can come in your house and try to take everything, 20:32 but they can't take the Holy Ghost. 20:35 Verse 4, the Word of God says, "And they were all filled 20:38 with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak 20:41 with other tongues." 20:42 Now, you know I'm a teacher preacher, so let me teach 20:45 this for a minute. 20:47 Let me stop there because we need to know and be reminded 20:49 what the Word of God says, not what somebody told you, 20:51 not what you heard, but you need to know biblically 20:53 what the Word of God says regarding the speaking 20:56 of tongues. 21:00 Because if it's not in the Word, it doesn't deserve 21:03 to be heard. 21:04 And I'm finding we'll say to folk, "Well, we just don't do 21:07 that." Well, why don't we do that? 21:09 You need to know what you believe, why you believe it, 21:11 and where it's found from the Word of God. 21:13 Now, the Greek work for tongues is glossa. 21:16 That's where we get the word glossary from. 21:20 It is a fact that the disciples began to speak in languages 21:26 that were known by other people. 21:29 Unknown to them, but known to other people. 21:32 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 21:34 The ability to speak foreign languages was a gift 21:38 given to the disciples for the special purpose 21:40 of carrying the gospel message into all the world. 21:43 Because at Pentecost everybody came from everywhere. 21:49 People came from the four corners of the earth: 21:51 the north, the south, the east, the west. 21:54 People were assembled in Jerusalem for 21:56 the Feast of Pentecost. 21:57 For the disciples' sake and for those who 22:00 would receive the message through them, the Holy Spirit 22:03 enabled the disciples to proclaim the gospel 22:06 in the native languages of the different people. 22:08 The Holy Spirit gave the disciples not only the gift 22:12 of speaking other languages, but he also gave them 22:15 their message. 22:16 They spoke under direct influence of the Holy Spirit's 22:19 guidance. 22:21 Now, this is important, because a lot of this stuff 22:25 out there that we hear today -- I'm talking about speaking 22:28 in tongues -- is not tongues. 22:31 You see, this is what has messed people up. 22:35 And we have folk in the church who are confused. 22:41 I don't know about you, but I'm looking for an authentic 22:45 experience from God. 22:47 I'm not looking to learn how to speak in tongues. 22:54 So don't carry me up to a room and make me stay in there 22:59 until I learn how to speak in tongues. 23:03 The intent of tongues was to show those who had not 23:08 experienced the power of the Holy Ghost that the power 23:11 had shown up, because when they began 23:13 to speak in other tongues, other languages, men sat 23:16 from afar off and said, "These men don't naturally 23:19 speak our language, so how could they know this 23:22 unless the Holy Ghost be upon their life?" 23:27 And as a result of the tongues, the people were evangelized 23:30 because the power of God moved in that way. 23:32 When you read 1 Corinthians 12, go home and read it, 23:35 you discover that tongues are a gift. 23:38 But the gift of tongues is not exclusive evidence 23:42 of the Holy Ghost. 23:46 What am I saying? 23:48 Don't let anybody tell you that yodon't have 23:52 the Holy Ghost just because you don't speak in tongues. 23:55 Because I don't have to speak in tongues to have the power 24:02 of the Holy Ghost. 24:04 Tongues are a gift that is given. 24:07 But the Bible declares, when you read on in 24:09 1 Corinthians, chapter 14, it talks about how the tongues 24:12 ought to be used in order. 24:13 Because if there are tongues in an assembly, 24:16 there must be an interpreter, because all gifts 24:18 are for the edification of the body of Christ. 24:20 And if a spiritual gift is not manifested to edify 24:25 the body of Christ, then it's not an authentic gift 24:28 from God. 24:29 Do I have a witness in this place? 24:31 I Corinthians 14:4 says, "He that speaketh in an unknown 24:34 tongue edifieth himself." 24:38 If somebody spoke in tongues in church without 24:41 interpretation, those others present wouldn't know 24:44 what they were talking about. 24:46 How could they take part in worship? 24:49 How could they be edified? 24:50 You don't have to speak in tongues to prove 24:53 you've got the Holy Ghost. 24:57 And we don't have to stay in church all night 24:59 to prove and wait on the Holy Ghost. 25:03 We're living with the power of the Holy Ghost. 25:07 The presence of the power. 25:10 Number two, not only do we have the presence of the power, 25:14 but we have the promise of his power. 25:20 Acts 2:17, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, 25:23 saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: 25:35 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your 25:38 young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream 25:41 dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens 25:44 I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall 25:47 prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, 25:49 and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, 25:52 and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned 25:54 into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great 25:56 and notable day of the Lord comes: And it shall come 25:59 to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name 26:03 of the Lord shall (hallelujah) be saved." All I've got to do 26:11 is call on the name of the Lord. 26:13 Not only has God given us the presence of his power, 26:18 but God has also given us the promise of his power. 26:21 PB: Thank you very much for tuning in and watching 26:24 Breath of Life today. 26:26 We do hope that you were blessed by our ministry 26:28 and that we gave a healing word in a hurting world. 26:32 In order for Breath of Life to continue ministry, 26:35 we need you. 26:36 We need your prayers, we need your support. 26:39 We want you to know that any and all donations, 26:42 small or great, they are sincerely welcomed 26:44 and appreciated. 26:46 To contact us or to make your donation, please feel free 26:49 to give us a call at: 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:01 Or you may write to us at Breath of Life, P.O. 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Revised 2015-02-06