Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000120
|
00:01 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪
00:07 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:13 ♪ all the praise! ♪ ♪ (Theme) ♪ 00:17 Pastor Byrd: Let me tell you all something. 00:22 When I come to church on Sabbath morning, I don't care 00:25 where I am. 00:26 Alabama, Paris, France, where I don't understand what 00:29 they're saying and they don't know what I'm saying, 00:32 I just say, "God is love." 00:33 Come on, say amen, somebody. 00:35 I just say, "Happy Sabbath," and they say "Bon Sabba" 00:38 back to me. 00:39 Come on, say amen. 00:40 When I go to a Spanish country, "feliz Sabbado", happy Sabbath. 00:42 When I come to worship God on God's Sabbath, 00:45 I come to worship God. 00:48 I come to praise God. 00:51 I'm not looking at whether your heart is right or wrong. 00:57 Because the reality is, I don't even know what's 00:59 on your hearts. 01:01 I leave the judging of the heart to God 01:04 and God alone. 01:05 I've got my eyes fixed on Jesus. 01:08 Let me tell you something. 01:09 To live in this world today is rough. 01:13 To live in 2013 is rough. 01:21 It's rough. It's tough, it's more than a notion. 01:26 People will come up here and preach, people come up here 01:28 and sing, and you have no idea what they're going through. 01:33 I'll tell my own testimony. 01:34 My wife and I, for the past few months, we're holding down 01:38 two households. 01:39 The house here in Huntsville, the house in Atlanta. 01:43 And guess what? 01:44 It can get rough. 01:45 But that's why I thank you today, Dr. Morris, 01:48 because I once was young, but now I'm old, but I've never 01:52 seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. 01:58 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 02:00 There are times, because life is rough, in our lives that we 02:03 may have many different things hitting us from different 02:05 directions. 02:06 And oftentimes it's difficult to make sense out of life 02:09 when you're confronted with attack on every angle. 02:12 But if you've ever experienced the Lord, if you've ever let God 02:18 move you, if you've ever had God touch you on a personal level 02:23 and seen God do things in your lives that you thought 02:26 were impossible, then it's clear that it's impossible for you not 02:30 to give God some praise. 02:32 When I worship God, I'm trying to find strength where I can 02:36 get strength. 02:38 Try to find some power where I can get power. 02:42 Let me tell you something. 02:43 God does not need what we're offering him in worship. 02:47 We need it. 02:48 It's not like God is sitting back talking about, 02:50 if you all don't worship, you're all not going to get it. 02:53 Naw, he doesn't say that. 02:54 We need to worship God so that we can tap into God's strength. 02:57 We need to worship God so we can tap into His power. 02:59 We worship God for our benefit, not His. 03:01 When I come into his presence, I humble myself, 03:03 I lift my holy hands, and I begin to worship God. 03:07 Just the privilege of worshiping God is a powerful benefit. 03:10 Worshiping Him. 03:12 When you get to the point where God delivers you 03:14 from people, worshiping Him with no need 03:19 to pretend anymore. 03:21 Worshiping him, not worried about whether you're going 03:24 to be accepted or not. 03:26 Worshiping Him, not worried about who's looking at you 03:29 and who's not. 03:30 Worshiping Him, not worried about who's talking 03:33 about you or not. 03:34 I worship Him just because I know He accepts me 03:38 just as I am. 03:41 There's power when you worship God. 03:47 There's power when you come to the house of God and worship 03:50 God with other like-minded believers. 03:53 And yes, you don't have to be in the house of God 03:55 to worship God, but if you know God, 03:58 you're going to come to God's house because you 04:00 understand something happens when you worship God 04:02 in God's house. 04:03 Something happens when you worship God in God's house 04:06 with God's people, because God's going to give you a word 04:09 through somebody else, when you worship him. 04:12 That's why the Psalmist said, "I was glad when they said 04:15 unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." 04:22 The congregation of worship brings the worshipper 04:24 refreshment, encouragement and joy. 04:26 But the question still remains, why are we here? 04:33 I'm not here only because of obedience 04:36 in corporate worship. 04:39 The text gives me more insight on why I must be here 04:43 in obedience. 04:45 The New International Version says, "Let us not give up 04:48 meeting together, as some are in the habit 04:52 of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more 04:55 as you see the day approaching." 04:59 Now, preachers, we usually use this text to remind people 05:07 to be faithful in their church attendance. 05:11 And we remind people to be faithful in their church 05:13 attendance and then we stop there. 05:17 But notice, if you read the text, the conjunction 05:21 "but" in the verse. 05:26 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in 05:30 the habit of doing, but..." 05:36 This conjunction gives a strong contrast between the clauses 05:41 "Let us not give up meeting together" and "let us encourage 05:49 one another." Which means that even if we attend church 05:55 worship services, if we fail to encourage others, 06:02 we have not obeyed this verse to the full extent. 06:07 Encouragement is the purpose of our meeting together. 06:13 We belong, and need to belong, to a community of faith 06:17 that includes our brothers and sisters in Christ 06:19 who are trying to live out the gospel just like we are. 06:22 Yes, sometimes you have to encourage yourself 06:27 in the Lord. 06:29 But I'm encouraged when I hear, when I come to church, 06:34 of the moving of God in other people's lives. 06:39 I'm motivated, Dr. Morris, when I hear of God's moving 06:43 in your life through the returning of tithes 06:45 and offerings. 06:46 I'm encouraged when I hear people pray to God, call upon 06:50 the name of the Lord, and they tell me their cancer goes 06:53 into remission. 06:54 I'm encouraged when I hear people testify of God's 06:57 goodness on their marriage when their marriage was headed 07:00 to divorce court, and now they're having second 07:03 ships and island getaways. 07:08 I'm encouraged when I hear miraculous stories of healing 07:14 from addictions and bad habits. 07:17 I'm encouraged when I hear that when somebody's money 07:20 was low and the bills were due, but somebody knows 07:25 God made a way out of no way. 07:28 God made a way out of no way, and they came to church 07:31 and somebody just happened to walk by and slip them 07:35 something in their hands, and say, "I was thinking 07:38 of you." And let me tell you something. 07:41 When I hear these testimonies, I don't hate on people, 07:46 but I encourage people. 07:49 Because you understand, God says he'll make your enemies, 07:52 he'll make your haters your footstool. 07:55 Which means your haters, you're walking on them 07:58 right now, and they're pouring the concrete you're 08:01 going to walk on. 08:02 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 08:05 Because if God did it for them, God will do it for me. 08:10 Because it is no secret what God can do. 08:13 What he's done for others he'll do for you. 08:15 I'm encouraged when I come to this church and I come 08:20 to the house of God, and I've had a rough, 08:23 tough week, and somebody shakes my hand and says, 08:28 "It's good to see you, Pastor Byrd." 08:31 I'm encouraged when I come to church, and I'm walking 08:35 through the halls, Sister Blake, and you see me 08:38 this morning and you say, "It's good to see you," 08:40 and you lean out and hug me. 08:42 I'm encouraged. 08:44 And you know what? 08:46 It's genuine. 08:48 And I know you mean it. 08:50 I'm encouraged. 08:52 And I can't get that on the Internet. 08:57 I can't get that from a DVD, you all hear what I'm saying? 08:59 I can't get that from the streaming ministry. 09:03 The streaming ministry is for those who can't get 09:05 to church because they're sick. 09:07 I wish I had a witness in this place. 09:09 But I can only get that in a safe environment, 09:11 in an affirming environment, in a loving environment, 09:17 in a happy environment, in a supportive environment, 09:21 in a non-threatening environment, 09:23 in a non-critical environment, in a non-complaining 09:26 environment. 09:27 I can get that only in a nonjudgmental environment. 09:31 I can only get that in a hospital environment, 09:33 because that's what this is. 09:35 A hospital. 09:39 Guess what? 09:41 All of us are sick. 09:44 I said, all of us are sick. 09:49 All of us need some type of healing. 09:54 All of us need some help. 09:58 Do I have a witness in this place? 10:00 We're all sick. 10:03 Somebody's on the headache floor. 10:06 Somebody's on the backache floor, 10:08 somebody's on the toothache floor, somebody's on 10:11 the cancer floor, on the addiction floor, 10:15 on the psychiatric floor, but we've all got a floor. 10:21 Stop looking for a perfect church. 10:23 There's no perfect church. 10:24 You can run here, you can run there, but there's no 10:26 perfect church. 10:26 All you're doing is running from sickness to sickness. 10:29 We all sick. 10:30 I said, we all sick. 10:32 We all on a floor. 10:33 And let me tell you something I learned about the hospital. 10:35 When you're in the hospital, most rooms have two beds. 10:40 Bed number one and bed number two. 10:44 And when you're sick in your bed, more often 10:49 than not, you and your roommate are in bad condition. 10:52 And your roommate in the other bed encourages 10:56 you, listens to you, prays for you. 11:00 And guess what you do, after you tell them about your 11:03 grandchildren. 11:04 Come on, say amen. 11:05 You encourage them. 11:06 Listen to them. 11:07 Pray for them. 11:11 And you tell each other, we're going to make it. 11:14 We've got to just keep holding on. 11:19 And I'm so glad that Dr. Jesus, the Great Physician, he stops 11:25 by and he makes rounds on every floor, that we 11:29 might be made whole. 11:30 And that's the blessing of being a part of God's church, 11:34 being a part of God's body. 11:36 It encourages us to keep on keepin' on. 11:39 It encourages us to hang on in there in spite of sickness. 11:48 You see, I praise God not because of, 11:53 but I praise God in spite of. 11:59 I don't think you all heard me. 12:01 I said, I praise God not because of, but I praise God 12:07 in spite of. 12:08 Is there anybody in this place praising God today 12:12 not because of, but in spite of. 12:17 You're not praising God because of sickness, you're praising God 12:22 in spite of sickness. 12:24 You're not praising God because of bereavement, you're praising 12:28 God in spite of bereavement. 12:31 You're not praising God because of bad days, you're praising 12:34 God in spite of bad days. 12:37 You're not praising God because of bad finances, you're praising 12:41 God in spite of bad finances. 12:44 You've got to learn how to praise God not because of, 12:48 but in spite of. 12:50 Do I have a witness in this place? 12:53 I encourage you. 12:56 You encourage me. 12:58 In case you didn't know, that's why we shake hands. 13:03 That's why during the welcome time we welcome one another. 13:06 That's why we smile. 13:10 That's why we laugh. 13:12 That's why we hug. 13:14 If it were just about coming up in here, looking at each other, 13:16 that wouldn't be enough. 13:18 I can look at you on Skype, do I have a witness 13:21 in this place? 13:22 A cold church is like cold butter; it never spreads well. 13:30 Acts 2:42 says, "And they steadfastly continued 13:36 in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, 13:40 breaking of bread and prayer." 13:43 Let me tell you all something. 13:45 People are always talking about the church is full 13:48 of hypocrites. 13:54 Our chances of finding people we can count on in the church 14:00 are far better than finding somebody we can count on 14:04 anywhere else in the world. 14:08 Now, there may be some few exceptions, but it's 14:12 a cutthroat world out there. 14:15 Believe me. 14:17 That's why we come into the house of God. 14:19 You don't have time to put on airs. 14:22 You don't have time to pretend. 14:25 You don't have time to be cute. 14:28 I mean, if you're a worshiper, can you just worship the Lord 14:35 for a few minutes? 14:37 If you worship him, you will experience a powerful benefit. 14:41 If you worship him, you experience his power. 14:44 Somebody needs to forget about what somebody else 14:47 is saying. 14:48 Just worship him. 14:49 Forget about what somebody else is thinking. 14:51 Just worship him. 14:53 I am here today in response to what God has done for me. 15:01 Taste and see that the Lord is good. 15:08 Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. 15:16 Bless his holy name. 15:18 My soul doth magnify the Lord. 15:23 My soul shall make a boast of the Lord. 15:27 The Lord is my strong power. 15:29 The Lord is my shepherd. 15:31 The Lord is my refuge and my strength. 15:35 The Lord is my life, and he's my salvation, 15:39 my soul doth magnify the Lord. 15:43 Hallelujah, somebody. 15:44 And then finally, out of our obedience, 15:50 why are we here? 15:52 We must pursue the mandate of why we're here. 15:57 The major function of what we're called to do, 16:00 the mission of the church. 16:04 Matthew 28, the gospel commission. 16:06 When I was a student, Elder Ward made us say 16:07 it every Sabbath. 16:10 "Go ye therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them 16:15 in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; 16:18 teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever 16:21 I have commanded you. 16:22 And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." 16:25 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 16:28 in all the world as a witness unto all nations, and then 16:32 shall the end come." 16:33 We're here to afflict the comfortable 16:38 and comfort the afflicted. 16:40 When Christians feel too safe and comfortable, the church is 16:43 in its greatest danger. 16:44 Listen to me good. 16:46 Yes, the church is a hospital. 16:52 But that doesn't make this a hospice. 17:00 In a hospice you're made comfortable until you die. 17:05 But in a hospital you come looking for a cure. 17:11 You come in a wheelchair, but you're looking 17:16 to go out walking. 17:17 You come with heart problems, but you're looking to walk out 17:23 with a clean heart. 17:24 You come with headaches and backaches and toothaches, 17:28 and all kinda aches, but you're looking to go 17:30 out ache-free. 17:32 The writer of Hebrews stresses corporate worship in the text 17:38 because there were some New Testament church members 17:40 neglecting fellowship with their fellow believers in seasons 17:43 of worship and devotion. 17:45 The Bible says that as trouble, as difficulty, as perplexity 17:50 and persecution increase, so should our exhortation. 17:54 So should our encouragement in other corporate worship 17:56 and grief. 17:57 Which means as the world gets worse, our church participation, 18:09 our church attendance and our church witness 18:12 ought to get better. 18:14 I can't understand how the world gets better 18:17 when prayer meeting attendance is going down. 18:21 Oh, it's quiet in here now, yes? 18:23 Let me close this way. 18:27 We don't have time to sweat the small stuff. 18:32 We don't have time to major in minors. 18:37 We don't have time, I don't have time, 18:41 to dwell and debate on themes that have nothing to do 18:44 with our souls' salvation. 18:48 Let me tell you all something. 18:50 It may not be happening to you, but people are dying left 18:54 and right, and we're sitting up in church, not just Oakwood, 18:59 but everybody. 19:00 This is going to everybody. 19:01 We're sitting up in church arguing about who 19:03 the head elder's going to be. 19:05 Oh, it's quiet now. 19:06 Who the treasurer is going to be. 19:09 What the conference is doing. 19:10 What is the pastor doing? 19:11 How many folk should be on the church board, 19:13 what's the church's budget, what color should the carpet be? 19:16 Should we clap in church? 19:18 What kind of music should we have in church? 19:20 And we have totally forgotten the primary mission 19:23 of the church, which is to speak and to save the lost. 19:28 And let me tell you something. 19:32 Satan is smiling. 19:38 Because he has diverted us from our attention of why 19:44 and what our purpose is. 19:51 I'm a young man. 19:54 I'm an old Adventist. 19:57 Our Music may be a little bit more energetic, 19:59 but I'm an old Adventist. 20:02 I grew up in a home, you all, where my daddy was a preacher. 20:06 Elder Bradford hired my father. 20:10 And it would come that after camp meeting, every preacher 20:17 would line up with their U-haul truck, and we just knew you 20:25 had to load that tent, load them chairs, 20:30 and go to that city, and you didn't ask whether 20:33 or not the U-haul run or not. 20:37 The president said, when are you running? 20:41 And my daddy used to tell my brother and me, sons, 20:44 after church--Malcolm, you know about this. 20:47 After church it's over on Saturday night, the last night 20:50 of camp meeting. 20:52 You go in that pavilion and you get the best-looking chairs 20:57 before everybody else gets them, so that when we go back 21:01 to our city we have the best-looking chairs. 21:04 Does somebody know what I'm talking about? 21:07 But Satan is smiling because he has diverted us 21:13 from all of that. 21:15 Understand, we are here to grow in corporate worship. 21:20 We are here to encourage and support one another, 21:23 and we are here to go tell somebody that Jesus 21:28 is soon to come. 21:30 That's why we're here. 21:37 Because a church that is not reaching out is a church 21:41 that's passing out. 21:43 The church needs workers, not a wrecking crew. 21:48 The gospel's not just something we come to church to hear, 21:51 but it's something we leave the church to tell. 21:54 So go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. 22:02 Go tell somebody what a wonderful Savior 22:05 you serve. 22:06 Go tell somebody what a wonderful change 22:11 in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart. 22:15 Tell somebody, I'm a miracle of mercy. 22:20 I'm a miracle of God's grace. 22:25 I'm a miracle, you're looking at a miracle. 22:28 After my daughter died, I should have lost my mind. 22:32 I'm a miracle of God's favor. 22:37 I'm a sports fan. 22:38 And the NBA championship has just ended. 22:43 And when you're a preacher, you can get a sermon 22:48 out of anything. 22:53 My home team, the Miami Heat, and I'm not a bandwagon fan. 23:00 Those who know me, know that's where I grew up. 23:02 The Miami Heat won the championship, game 7. 23:08 Lebron James was named the MVP. 23:13 And after the game, the commentators said, 23:19 find Lebron, we're going to interview him. 23:24 He was asked, now that you've won the NBA championship, 23:29 what do you have to say to your critics. 23:33 Some of you watched it, you know what I'm talking about. 23:37 What do you have to say to your haters? 23:41 He said, you know what? 23:44 I really don't care. 23:48 People are going to talk, people are going to say stuff 23:52 about you. 23:54 He said, but I don't care. 23:58 He said, I'm not even supposed to be here. 24:02 He said, "I'm supposed to be in Akron, Ohio, 24:05 running the streets of Akron. 24:08 I'm not even supposed to be here with this trophy, 24:11 with this money." 24:12 He said, "Every time I go in the locker room and see 24:15 my name, I just say to myself, I'm not even supposed 24:19 to be here. 24:20 I'm just blessed to be here." 24:24 And I've come to tell somebody that it's just a miracle 24:30 that I'm here. 24:31 It's just a miracle of somebody else that you're here. 24:35 You should be locked up somewhere, you should be dead 24:39 somewhere, you should be strung out somewhere, you should be 24:44 crazy somewhere, you should be suicidal somewhere. 24:49 But I am here. 24:52 So I've got a right to praise him. 24:58 You been through what I've been through, you've got a right 25:01 to praise him. 25:02 Who cares what you have on? 25:05 Who cares who's looking at you? 25:07 I know Jesus loves me, I know my wife loves me, 25:11 I know my two girls love me, and that's all I need to know. 25:17 Somebody, you ought to be glad you're just not 25:19 in a crazy house. 25:21 You ought to be glad you're not in a crack house, 25:24 You ought to be glad you're not in an outhouse. 25:26 You just ought to be glad that you can come into God's house. 25:32 So I've got to tell it. 25:34 I've got to tell it. 25:35 I've got to tell of his goodness, I've got to tell 25:41 of its mercy, I've got to tell somebody he's worthy. 25:47 >: The Breath of Life gift offer this week is the book 25:49 "What the Bible Says About the Sabbath." 25:52 God blessed the seventh day, Saturday, and made it holy. 25:55 In this book you'll discover the truth in the blessings 25:57 about God's gift to mankind. 25:59 It's a time for building our relationship with God, 26:02 to serve others, to restore our souls, grow spiritually, 26:05 and to get in touch with the peace and beauty 26:08 of God's natural world. 26:09 Learn how to make Sabbath special, the truth about 26:12 Sabbath and Sunday observance, what Jesus said about 26:14 the Sabbath, and how those 24 hours can change 26:17 your life. 26:18 "What the Bible Says About the Sabbath" is yours for a gift 26:22 of $5 or more. 26:24 Just call our toll-free number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 26:29 That's 877-265-6333. 26:30 Please have your credit card ready when you call. 26:32 Or you may write us to request your copy. 26:35 Just send your check to Breath of Life, P.O. Box 340, 26:38 Newbury Park, California 91319. 26:40 Get your copy of "What the Bible Says About the Sabbath" 26:45 and find out what a difference a day makes. 26:48 PB: Thank you very much for tuning in and watching 26:50 Breath of Life today. 26:51 We do hope that you were blessed by our ministry 26:54 and that we gave a healing word in a hurting world. 26:59 In order for Breath of Life to continue ministry, 27:01 we need you. 27:03 We need your prayers, we need your support. 27:05 We want you to know that any and all donations, 27:08 small or great, they are sincerely welcomed 27:11 and appreciated. 27:12 To contact us or to make your donation, please feel free 27:16 to give us a call at 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:27 Or you may write to us at Breath of Life, P.O. Box 340, 27:33 Newbury Park, California 91319. 27:42 Or log onto our web site at www.breathoflife.tv. 27:47 >: Are you on Facebook? 27:48 Carlton Byrd invites you to join his Facebook page. 27:51 Just go to Breath of Life TV on Facebook and click "like." 27:55 There you'll find inspirational posts and short devotionals 27:59 from Carlton to help you through your day. 28:01 You will also be able to get the latest updates on Carlton's 28:04 preaching schedule and see what's new with 28:06 Breath of Life television. 28:07 Stay in touch, stay blessed. 28:09 Go to Breath of Life TV on Facebook and click "like" 28:12 today. 28:17 PB: As the world gets worse, our church participation, 28:24 our church attendance and our church witness 28:27 ought to get better. |
Revised 2015-02-06