Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000133
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00:03 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪
00:12 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:19 ♪ all the praise... ♪ Pastor Byrd: We talk about 00:23 what's appropriate and what's inappropriate. 00:25 Noted Adventist historian Ronald Graybill, in his 00:28 article "Enthusiasm in Early Adventist Worship," written 00:31 in "Ministry Magazine," by the way -- 00:33 that's the magazine from the G.C. to the preachers, 00:35 says that our spiritual ancestors had livelier services 00:38 than many of us would be comfortable 00:40 with today. 00:42 That's what he says. 00:43 He says that if those who view the Adventist pioneers 00:46 as cold, stoic and stiff liturgists could turn back 00:50 the clock and visit a 19th-century Adventist 00:52 worship service, they would be shocked 00:54 at what they would hear. 00:57 Now, he says, while the use of musical instruments was 01:00 not a major factor, and you need to know why it wasn't 01:03 a major factor -- let me explain. 01:05 It wasn't a major factor, he says, because many 01:07 of the early Adventist groups met in homes where no musical 01:10 instruments were present because they couldn't afford 01:15 to buy musical instruments, or they lacked the skill 01:17 to play them. 01:18 In fact, in the early Methodist church, 01:20 the Methodist congregation that Ellen White once belonged 01:23 to was one of the first to buy and install an organ 01:26 in their church. 01:29 And she was criticized for doing it. 01:32 Why? 01:33 Not because it was spiritually wrong, but because 01:35 nobody had ever done it before. 01:39 Ronald Graybill continues, he says, the music of that era 01:42 was rhythmic, enthusiastic, repetitious, and possessed 01:47 broad appeal. 01:48 He says the singing was pervasive, provided a powerful 01:50 emotional stimulant, and served the same pragmatic 01:52 function as the music of the frontier revival tradition. 01:55 Adventist pioneer Jeannie Ayars Kellogg, in her article 01:58 "Growing Up With the Third Angel's Message," as recorded 02:01 in the "Adventist Review," said that almost all 02:03 of the early Adventist meetings she attended began 02:06 with singing. 02:08 Singing. 02:09 She said they were full of hearty singing throughout. 02:12 They ended, she said, with hand-shaking, they ended 02:16 with hugging, and they ended with hearty singing. 02:18 According to her, most of the catchy tunes 02:21 of the early Adventist church reflected the ardent hope 02:25 of the soon return of Jesus Christ. 02:27 Since the imminent return of Jesus was the core belief 02:30 that united early Adventists, early Adventists opted 02:34 to discard the primary use of European hymns for music 02:38 that more accurately reflected the contemporary hopes, 02:41 aspirations, dreams and disappointments 02:45 of the church. 02:46 They chose to employ musical styles that were solidly 02:49 grounded in Jesus Christ but were more in touch 02:53 with current popular forms. 02:55 Early Adventists sang gospel tunes to well-known secular 02:59 notes. 03:01 You don't believe me? 03:03 Our Seventh-day Adventist hymnals. 03:05 Today's popular songs such as "What Child is This?" 03:09 "How Sweet Are the Tidings." 03:11 Both of these songs borrow their direct melodies 03:14 from popular secular tunes. 03:16 Which means it can't, that it's the music 03:20 that's Christian. 03:21 We always talk about what's Christian and what's not. 03:23 We've got to listen to the words. 03:25 Early Adventists were also vocal worshipers. 03:27 Ellen White, in a letter written in 1876, after 03:29 attending Adventist camp meetings from Kansas 03:31 to Minnesota, declared, "I saw singing to the glory of God 03:34 often drove away the enemy." 03:39 Drove away the enemy, she said, and shouting 03:43 would beat him back. 03:44 Beat him back. 03:47 Beat him back. 03:48 And would give the victory. 03:50 She said, I saw there was too little glorifying God in Israel 03:54 and too little childlike simplicity. 03:58 So, Pastor Byrd, so Ellen White didn't condemn 04:01 fervent singing or musical instruments or shouting, 04:03 for that matter. 04:04 But Pastor Byrd, what about what Ellen White said about 04:07 the Indiana Flesh Heresy Movement of 1900 and her 04:11 terms "the bedlam of noise"? 04:13 Now, remember, read it carefully. 04:17 If you will read what she wrote about the bedlam 04:20 of noise, number one, she was writing a letter 04:22 to a specific person. 04:24 In her writing a letter to a specific person, 04:27 she was writing a letter to the person based on 04:29 what they had told her, which means Ellen White 04:32 was not an eyewitness to what transpired at that 04:35 Indiana camp meeting. 04:37 Somebody wrote a letter to her and, based on what they 04:40 had written to her, she responded to them. 04:45 Careful contextual study of this incident will reveal 04:47 that Ellen White and the Holy Flesh Heresy condemned 04:51 the doctrinal fallacies of the Holy Flesh Heresy. 04:54 The people were believing, they were believing 04:58 that Jesus had attained holy flesh in Gethsemane 05:01 like that of Adam before the fall. 05:04 Likewise, the people erroneously believed 05:07 that when revived by the Holy Ghost, they would never die. 05:10 You don't believe me, look it up in the SDA Encyclopedia. 05:13 Now, in this incident, Ellen White in "Selected Messages," 05:16 page 31, condemned the extreme use of emotive 05:21 elements that produce scenes of insanity and utter confusion 05:26 in the Holy Flesh Heresy. 05:27 She said people were shouting, people were praying and singing 05:33 until somebody in the congregation would fall 05:36 prostrate and unconscious from his or her seat. 05:39 Then, she said, one or two men walking up and down 05:42 the aisle for this purpose, would drag the fallen 05:45 person up on the rostrum. 05:48 She said then about 12 people, a dozen individuals, 05:51 would gather around the prostrate body, 05:53 some singing, some shouting, some praying, 05:56 all at the same time. 05:58 Now, let me be clear. 06:00 I would be the first person to say that if we sang, 06:04 preached, prayed and shouted at the same time, until 06:12 somebody fell unconscious and they're unconscious from 06:16 their seat, and they brought their unconscious body up 06:19 here by me, and we stand over them and we start singing, 06:22 shouting, preaching and praying at the same time, 06:25 something would be wrong with us. 06:30 But let's not take her writings out of context. 06:32 Ellen White did not endorse worship experiences that were 06:37 too weighted toward emotion. 06:40 But she also constantly challenged the tendency 06:43 of some to trust experience and feeling. 06:46 What did Ellen White promote, then? 06:49 Balance. 06:51 Balance. 06:54 Ronald Graybill in his article "Enthusiasm in Early Adventist 06:57 Worship" said that even in her condemnation 07:00 of the issues of emotion in the Holy Flesh Heresy, 07:03 Ellen White left proper room for the use of these emotional 07:06 components and instruments of worship, declaring that 07:08 if conducted right, they would be a blessing. 07:12 Which further illustrates for us today why we need balance 07:15 in our worship. 07:16 You hear me say it at Oakwood all the time. 07:18 We need something for everyone. 07:21 We need law and grace. 07:25 We need redemption and relationship. 07:30 We need cognition and emotion. 07:34 We need information and inspiration. 07:38 We need integrity and intensity. 07:42 We need Amen and we need Hallelujah. 07:47 We need the Holy Scriptures, but we also need 07:51 the Holy Ghost. 07:52 It's my baptized brain that makes me want to shout. 07:56 It's my sanctified psyche that makes me say glory. 08:00 We need something for everyone. 08:02 Do I have a witness in this place? 08:06 When Israel used the string instruments, the horns, 08:09 the trumpets, everything had to have synergy. 08:15 It had to be in harmony. 08:17 It had to be in intonation. 08:22 It could not be in dissonance. 08:25 It had to be in harmony, because their music was 08:29 the representation of the harmony 08:31 among the people. 08:32 So when the people played in harmony, they said, let's 08:36 play in harmony because if we play in harmony we send 08:39 the enemy a message that we're together. 08:44 We send the enemy a message that we, along with God, 08:49 are together. 08:50 That's why when you read Psalm 137, when they 08:52 were taken into exile, their captain said, 08:55 "Sing us one of those songs out of Zion." 08:57 They said, "How can we sing the Lord's song 08:59 in a strange land? 09:01 How can we sing this in a place where there is no 09:03 harmony, where there is no unity." And so regardless of 09:06 the instrument, regardless of what you praise God with, 09:09 regardless of how you praise God, it must be done in 09:11 unity. 09:12 There must be harmony, because if there is no harmony, 09:14 then God rejects it. 09:15 Praise God with the sound of the trumpet. 09:19 Praise him with the psaltry and the harp. 09:22 Praise him with the stringed instruments and organs. 09:24 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon 09:26 the high sounding cymbals. 09:28 But make certain that when you praise him, 09:30 there is harmony. 09:32 So let me make this practical. 09:34 Everybody say harmony. 09:35 Come on, say harmony. 09:37 All right, Uncle Jimmy, I'm ready. 09:40 Lower register, give me an A-flat. 09:42 [Organ] Give me a C, give me 09:44 an E-flat. 09:45 Everybody say harmony. 09:50 That's intonation, that's a chord. 09:52 That's what we call an A-flat chord. 09:54 You didn't think I knew that. 09:55 Come on, say Amen. 09:57 [Aud response] PB: Now, Uncle Jimmy, 09:59 hit an E with an E-flat. 10:03 [Organ] Hit a C, hit an A-flat. That's what we call 10:07 dissonance. 10:10 That's out of harmony. 10:12 Now, upper register. 10:13 Give me an E, give me a C, give me a G. 10:18 Hit that chord. 10:20 That's called harmony. 10:22 Everybody say harmony. 10:24 Now give me an E, give me a C, give me an A-flat. 10:28 That's called disharmony. 10:32 God says, I'm looking for, give me an E, give me a C, 10:37 give me a G. 10:39 But what I'm getting is, give me an E, give me a C, give me 10:44 an A-flat. 10:47 And so what's happening is, God says, I'm watching you 10:50 praise me. 10:52 But your issues are coming through. 10:54 And when it looks like you're praising me, all your stuff 10:57 is sounding crazy to me, all your stuff isn't right, it's 11:02 out of harmony, it's dissonance. 11:04 You're all not hearing what I'm saying. 11:06 [Aud response] PB: So let me try it this way. 11:08 Let me go to this side. 11:09 Auntie, come to this piano. 11:12 move quickly. 11:14 Aud: [laughter] PB: All right, 11:19 this is what Satan wanted to do in heaven. 11:20 Let me show you. 11:21 Auntie, play "I'm So Glad Jesus Lifted Me." 11:24 Play it, don't be scared. 11:28 Play it. 11:30 [Piano] Steven, play "Amazing Grace." [Organ] Rodney, play, 11:36 "What a Fellowship." [Third instrument] It's a mess. 11:42 Stop. 11:43 Aud: [laughter] PB: They're all playing, but they're 11:48 playing their own thing. 11:50 It's all music, but it's not sounding right because 11:55 they're not playing harmony. 11:56 Aud: [clapping] PB: The same thing, are you hearing what 11:59 I'm saying? 12:00 Aud: [applause] PB: That's what God is saying. 12:03 Listen to me, church. 12:05 God is saying, how can you come in my house, how can you 12:10 come in my house, how can you be praising, and when you 12:13 leave out, you don't speak to each other? 12:15 Aud: [applause] PB: When you leave out, you talk about 12:20 each other. 12:22 You do harm to one another, you do your own thing. 12:25 God is looking for harmony. 12:30 [Aud response] PB: That's why music has to have meanings. 12:33 The songs were songs, they were sung in public worship, 12:37 the words pointed to a faith in God. 12:39 Study your Bible. 12:40 Careful study will reveal that when Israel went into 12:42 battle in the Old Testament, most times they never used 12:46 bows and arrows. 12:47 They never used swords, they never used shields, they did 12:50 not have guns, they did not have tanks or explosives. 12:52 All they had in the Bible was a preacher and a choir. 12:55 Think about it. 12:59 Jericho's walls came tumbling down through a preacher 13:06 and a choir. 13:07 Gideon and the Israelites defeated the Midionites 13:11 through a preacher and a choir. 13:14 Which means victory has always been in our praise. 13:21 [Aud response] PB: Let me say that one more time. 13:23 Victory has always been in our praise. 13:29 Even the slaves. 13:30 Victory was in their praise. 13:34 Deliverance is in your praise. 13:37 Your healing is in your praise. 13:40 Your salvation is in your praise. 13:43 That's why I'm blessed in the city, I'm blessed in the 13:48 field, I'm blessed in my going out and my coming in. 13:53 I'm blessed. 13:54 The psalms were written out of experiences in Israel. 13:59 When they wrote these psalms, David and the other psalmists 14:01 wrote them, and they were saying, these are our 14:05 experiences. 14:06 The Lord is my light and my salvation. 14:12 Whom shall I fear? 14:16 The Lord is the strength of my life. 14:20 Of whom shall I be afraid? 14:21 The Lord is my refuge and my strength, a very present help 14:27 in time of trouble. 14:28 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 14:32 I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from which cometh 14:37 my help. 14:38 My help comes from the Lord, lift up your hands, oh ye 14:43 gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors. 14:50 And the king -- [Organ] That's what makes 14:55 these songs different. 14:56 That's what makes gospel different from the blues. 14:59 You've got to pay attention to the words. 15:01 Stop singing all the words to these songs that don't make 15:04 sense. 15:06 In church we do it too. 15:08 Singing that song, I'm coming up the rough side of the 15:11 mountain. 15:12 You've gone and come up the rough side of the mountain. 15:14 God told me to speak to that mountain, and that mountain 15:16 will be removed, that that mountain will get out of my 15:18 way. 15:19 Do I have a witness in this place? 15:21 [Aud response] PB: Quit trying to do something that's 15:23 not in the will of God. 15:24 Let me tell you something. 15:25 Whatever I can get my hands on, I'm going to praise God 15:27 with it. 15:29 Wherever I am, I'm going to praise God. 15:33 Let me tell you all something. 15:35 I love you all. 15:36 I love me some Oakwood church. 15:38 Got married in this church. 15:39 Come on, say Amen. 15:40 My wife was baptized, married, she'll be buried in 15:42 this church. 15:43 Come on, say Amen. 15:44 Thank God for the Oakwood church. 15:46 Come on, say Amen. 15:47 I love you all; but let me tell you something. 15:49 If I've got to praise him by myself, I'll do it. 15:55 [Aud response] PB: I love the choir, but I don't need no 15:57 choir. 15:59 I don't need a praise team. 16:01 I don't need musicians. 16:02 Folk may look at me and say, Pastor Byrd, why are you 16:06 always trying to sing? 16:07 Aud: [laughter] PB: I know you all don't say that. 16:12 Come on, say Amen. 16:14 Let me tell you why, since you must know. 16:20 Because you can't sing what I can sing, I sing 16:28 because I'm happy. 16:29 [Aud response] PB: I sing because I'm free. 16:34 You see, I don't want to be in any worship experience 16:40 where I'm in a straitjacket. 16:44 Because the Word says where the spirit of the Lord is, 16:46 there's liberty. 16:49 The psalms, then, give us our motivation for praise. 16:53 Verse 6: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. 17:02 Praise ye the Lord. 17:06 What does this mean? 17:08 Any person with breath. 17:10 Everybody go [breathes in]. 17:12 You have an obligation to praise God. 17:14 You see, God has not called me to be a member of Praise 17:20 Anonymous, where nobody knows you praise God but you. 17:25 And let me be clear, because I don't want you to 17:27 misinterpret Pastor Byrd. 17:28 That does not mean that everybody has to 17:30 jump up and down. 17:32 I've do praise and worship seminars across the country, 17:34 and I tell people, if a person does not want to 17:37 get up for praise and worship, you don't have to force them. 17:39 You don't have to beat them up, you don't have to beat 17:42 them down. 17:43 Some folk can praise God from their seat. 17:45 Do I have a witness in this place? 17:48 [Aud response] PB: Some people praise God with 17:50 meditation, reflection, some people praise God with tears 17:55 flowing down their cheeks, some people praise God in 17:59 their testimony to others, some people praise God by 18:03 saying Amen, some people praise God by clapping their 18:07 hands, some people praise God by saying, "Praise the Lord." 18:11 Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. 18:16 So let me tell you this before I take my seat. 18:19 Reflect back on what you've been through. 18:23 When you begin to think about what the devil took you 18:25 through, if the devil had his way, you wouldn't be alive 18:29 today. 18:30 Somebody ought to thank God that they are alive. 18:37 You may be sick, but you're alive. 18:42 You may not have a dollar to your name, but you're alive. 18:48 You may not be in life where you wanted to be in life, but 18:51 you're alive. 18:52 Is anybody just glad to be alive? 18:56 [Aud response] PB: Every time you inhale, every time you 19:02 exhale, every time you breathe, it ought to be a 19:06 testimony to the goodness of God. 19:08 You see what breath means, let everything that hath 19:10 breath, comes from the word ruach. 19:12 Let everything that hath ruach, let everything that 19:14 has breath, praise the Lord. 19:15 Let it praise the Lord. 19:16 Where does this breath come from? 19:18 We know, Genesis 2:7 says, "And the Lord God formed man 19:20 of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils 19:22 the breath of life, man became a living soul." So, 19:24 when God made Adam, when God made Adam's hands and feet, 19:28 Adam still wasn't alive until God breathed in him. 19:33 That's when he became alive. 19:35 Ezekiel 37, what do you see? 19:37 A valley full of dry bones. 19:39 óó bones. 19:40 Disjointed bones. 19:41 It's not until God breathed on these bones that these 19:45 bones became alive. 19:46 This breath that I have, it does not belong to me. 19:51 The breath that you have, it does not belong to you. 19:56 The fact that I am standing breathing is a gift. 19:59 The fact that you're breathing is a gift. 20:01 Which means what I'm supposed to do with this breath, I'm 20:05 supposed to give glory to God. 20:08 We've got too many folk who don't understand the gift you 20:10 have. 20:11 When somebody is knocked out, when somebody is laid out, 20:14 when somebody is stretched out on the floor and you run 20:17 to see if they're okay, when the paramedics get to them, 20:20 the first thing they do is check to see if the person is 20:22 breathing. 20:25 If you're breathing, you're all right. 20:27 Why is breathing important? 20:29 Your breathing is important because your breathing is an 20:31 indication that whatever you went through didn't kill you. 20:36 [Aud response/applause] PB: Hey, hey! 20:43 That you're still surviving, if you're breathing. 20:50 And I just stopped by to tell somebody that I'm still 20:54 breathing, because the devil couldn't kill me. 20:59 I'm still breathing, because the folk that said I'd never 21:03 be anything need to know I'm still here. 21:07 I'm breathing. 21:08 Because when they said I'd never recover, I did. 21:14 I'm breathing. 21:15 Because God blocked whatever the devil had coming my way. 21:18 And by God didn't let me fall. 21:23 Let me tell you, I didn't come to Oakwood today DOA. 21:27 I said I didn't come to Oakwood DOA, dead on arrival. 21:36 But I come today to praise the Lord. 21:40 [Aud response] PB: For his loving kindness, for his 21:44 tender mercy, for making a way out of no way. 21:49 For allowing me to be here today, for allowing me to get 21:52 an education from this institution. 21:54 I've got to praise him. 21:58 And so today all the choir singing and the praise team 22:01 and óó, Brother Byrd, with all this music, I notice 22:04 praise. 22:05 My praise may get on somebody's nerves, but let me 22:07 tell you this as I take my seat. 22:10 I'll make a deal with you. 22:14 When God stops blessing me - 22:20 [Aud response] PB: Then I'll stop blessing him. 22:25 When God stops blessing me, I'll stop praising him. 22:35 You see, you want me to stop praising him, but he woke me 22:37 up this morning. 22:38 You want me to stop praising him, but he put food on my 22:42 table. 22:43 You want me to stop praising him, but as an old man I'm 22:46 about to have a baby. 22:47 Come on, say Amen. 22:49 Aud: [applause] PB: Hey, hey, hey, hey. 22:53 [organ] PB: It still works. 22:55 Come on, say Amen. 22:58 I've got a right, I've got a right to praise him, 23:03 I've got a right to bless him, when I think of the goodness 23:07 of Jesus and all he's done for me, my soul cries out, 23:18 hallelujah. 23:19 [organ] PB: Thank God for saving me. 23:24 Praise God in his sanctuary. 23:26 Praise him in the firmament of his power. 23:29 Praise him for his mighty acts. 23:33 Praise him according to his excellent greatness. 23:36 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with 23:40 the psaltery and harp. 23:42 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with 23:46 stringed instruments and organs. 23:49 Praise him with the loud cymbals: praise him upon 23:55 the high sounding cymbals. 23:56 Let everything, let everything, let everything 24:06 that hath breath praise ye the Lord. 24:18 God loves you, God won't fail you, 24:22 God's coming back to get you. 24:24 Praise ye the Lord. 24:30 Lord, you are the source of my strength, you are the 24:35 strength of my life. 24:40 I lift my hands in total, total praise to you. 24:59 Whether if it's to say Amen, or whether it's to sit 25:04 quietly in my seat, I've got to praise the name of Jesus. 25:12 If a person wants to sit and worship and just meditate, 25:17 leave them alone. 25:20 If a person wants to say Amen in church, leave them alone. 25:24 Just give your total praise to God. 25:32 Lord, I will lift together, everybody. 25:39 >: The Breath of Life gift offer this week is "Surprised 25:40 By Love" by pastor and international speaker 25:42 Elizabeth Vierra Talbot. 25:43 Find out how people in the Bible were surprised by God's 25:44 love. 25:45 Adam and Eve were surprised. 25:46 The deceitful serpent and the Pharisees were surprised. 25:50 It surprised the disciples and even the heavenly angels. 25:52 And God's surprises of love continue all around us today. 25:55 Journey with Elizabeth as you get a fresh view of the 25:59 greatest story ever told, from the kidnapping of God's 26:02 children to the rescuers, from the ransom to the 26:04 reunion. 26:05 "Surprised By Love" is yours for a gift of $5.00 or more. 26:09 Just call our toll-free number, 877-BOL-OFFER. 26:12 That's 877-265-6333. 26:17 Please have your credit card ready when you call. 26:19 Or you may write to us to request your copy. 26:21 Just send your check to Breath of Life, P.O. 26:24 Box 340, Newbury Park, California 91319. 26:26 Get your copy of "Surprised By Love" today. 26:31 Be encouraged and touched by the unexpected rescue of 26:33 God's children. 26:36 >: Are you on Facebook? 26:38 Carlton Byrd invites you to join his Facebook page. 26:41 Just go to Breath of Life TV on Facebook and click "like." 26:44 There you'll find inspirational posts and short 26:47 devotionals from Carlton to help you through your day. 26:50 You will also be able to get the latest updates on 26:53 Carlton's preaching schedule and see what's new with 26:56 Breath of Life television. 26:57 Stay in touch, stay blessed. 26:59 Go to Breath of Life TV on Facebook and click "like" 27:02 today. 27:06 PB: Thank you very much for tuning in and watching Breath 27:09 of Life today. 27:10 We do hope that you were blessed by our ministry and 27:14 that we gave a healing word in a hurting world. 27:17 In order for Breath of Life to continue ministry, 27:20 we need you. 27:21 We need your prayers, we need your support. 27:24 We want you to know that any and all donations, small or 27:27 great, they are sincerely welcomed and appreciated. 27:31 To contact us or to make your donation, please feel free to 27:34 give us a call at 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:39 That's 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:45 Or you may write to us at Breath of Life, P.O. 27:49 Box 340, Newbury Park, California 91319. 27:54 P.O. 27:55 Box 340, Newbury Park, California 91319. 28:00 Or log onto our web site at www.breathoflife.tv. 28:03 PB: You need to learn that you're just going through 28:09 some stuff. 28:10 You're not in it to stay, you're just going through it, 28:14 trying to get to it. 28:15 But when God has been there for you, when all else has 28:21 failed you, and you have nothing else to sustain you 28:25 but God, you will learn to |
Revised 2015-02-06