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Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000180A
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00:01 Show#180 - Yes, God Is Real. Are you looking for an exciting change in your life?
00:03 Well, get ready for a breath of new life. 00:06 Today Dr. Byrd speaks on the topic "Yes, God IS Real." 00:10 And now, here he is, speaker/director of Breath of Life Ministries, Dr. Carlton Byrd. 00:18 The Word of God says to us in Matthew chapter 11, verse number 1. If you have it, let me hear you say amen. 00:23 Aud.: Amen. The Word says, "And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, 00:29 he departed thence to teach and to preach in their," what, everybody? Come on, preach in their what? 00:35 Aud.: Cities. "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 00:40 and said unto him, Art thou he that should" what? Come on, art thou he that should what? 00:47 Aud.: Come. PB: "Or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, 00:51 Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, 00:59 and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, 01:07 and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 01:19 " Today we challenge you with the subject, Jesus, yes, God is real. I wanted to say Jesus is real; 01:31 I can feel Him in my soul. But let me stick to the title, Yes, God is what, everybody? 01:40 Aud.: Real. PB: Father, we ask that You would bless us now as we go into Your Word. 01:43 We've read the Scripture, we've sung, but now we need a word from You. Disappoint us not, forgive me of my sins. 01:48 Move in this place, move over the television airways and the radio airways, Internet ways as well. 01:54 Thank You for being our God and move when the time comes for the appeal. Forgive us of our sins. 01:59 In Jesus' name, amen. Yes, God is real. You know my story, you know my background. 02:09 You know I grew up in the church. I grew up in the church, and so you will never out-church me, 02:17 because I grew up in the church. Speaking of the Adventist Church, I grew up and I've eaten 02:23 more grillers than anybody in this place. Come on, say amen. When I was growing up in church school, 02:28 we didn't have lunch at the school. We had to take a sack lunch. So, you name it with a griller, 02:34 I've had it any kind of way. Barbecue griller, curry griller, stir-fried griller, just plain griller, 02:42 I've had it because I grew up in the church. Now, growing up in the church there were certain church clichés. 02:50 Certain church lines or sayings that would almost guarantee a certain response from the congregation. 02:59 When talking about Jesus, you would hear the preacher say, "He's a doctor in the" what? Only one person 03:06 knew about that? Sickrooms. He's a doctor in the what? Aud.: Sickrooms. 03:10 PB: A lawyer in the what? Aud.: Courtrooms. PB: Bridge over troubled what? Aud.: Water. 03:15 PB: Wheel in the middle of a-- Aud.: Wheel. PB: Way out of no-- Aud.: Way. 03:19 PB: Company--ahh. Company keeper. Problem-- Aud.: Solver. PB: Burden-- Aud.: Bearer. 03:28 PB: Heavy load-- Aud.: Carrier. PB: I knew Oakwood would have soul. Come on, say amen. 03:33 And when you heard these sayings by the preacher it almost guaranteed a hallelujah; a thank-You, 03:41 Jesus. When I first began my ministry down in Soso, Mississippi, if I just got up and said "The Lord is good 03:49 " the people said, "Hallelujah!" The preacher would share these statements at the ending 03:55 or the climactic point of his sermon, and hands would start to clapping. Feet start to tapping. 04:02 And the congregation would erupt in an emotional frenzy. Anybody know what I'm talking about? 04:09 But another one of these sayings was, "Yes, God is real." And when the preacher would passionately 04:18 proclaim this, in vintage call and response fashion the congregation would report back, "Yes, God is real." 04:28 And then, don't get to the appeal and find a southern, soulful drawl that a person would begin 04:35 to sing that song for the appeal: "Yes, God is real. Very real in my soul." And then the audience 04:42 would get to moving and you would almost have to shut church down, because people would go in. 04:48 Now, I don't know if that was how your church was, but where I grew up they would go in. 04:55 Anybody know what I mean when I say go in? Aud.: Yes. 04:58 PB: They would have "chuch". Not church, "chuch." But as I've gotten a little older, 05:04 I'm learning the same "Yes, God is real" doesn't seem to have the same effect that it once had. 05:15 Either people don't believe it, or we've said it so much that the words are nothing more than 05:23 a cheap practice of garnering premeditated, planned, manufactured, calculated, contrived 05:30 and conjured-up amens and praise the Lords. If your sermon is sinking, shout Yes! God is real, 05:41 and the audience will shout back at you. You got out of church and said, "What did he preach about?" 05:45 I don't know, but we were shouting anyway. But we now live in a world where we are witnessing the rise of atheism. 05:55 You know what atheism is. Atheists are people who don't believe God exists. A 2010 Gallup Poll 06:03 found that 5 percent of all Americans report that they are convinced that God does not exist. 06:09 This is nearly a 200 percent increase from just three years before that, in 2007 when only 06:15 1.6 percent of Americans believed that God didn't exist. In fact, in a UPI poll it showed 06:24 that only 75 percent of United States adults say they believe in God. Down from 82 percent in 2005, 06:34 and 2007 and 2009. What are these statistics telling us? In the church we shout yes, God is real. 06:42 But now the world is asking, is God real. The cancer patient at Huntsville Hospital who has had chemotherapy, 06:54 who has undergone radiation treatments, who has practiced alternative medicine, who has changed their diet, 06:59 who has prayed to the Lord and begged for healing wants to know--is God real? The single parent today, 07:06 who's trying to raise those children by themselves, who has kept their children in church school, 07:12 paying tuition faithfully and on time, trying to stay positive when it seems the world is caving in on 07:18 them really wants to know--is God real? Children--we watched all this week in Africa. Better yet, right 07:25 here in the inner cities of America, who are starving. Can't find enough food to eat. 07:30 They want a grade-A education--questioned His existence in the first place, but every day things 07:38 seem to get worse before they get better--wants to know: is God real? The individual, who watches 07:45 CNN and sees people beheaded, tortured, mutilated by an extreme group of terrorists known to us as ISIS, 07:52 wants to know: is God real? Church members, even in this church, whose bills are mounting higher and higher 08:02 but still they faithfully return an honest tithe and offering, but when they find themselves with no lights, 08:08 no water, no place to live and no help from anybody else, want to know: is God real? And then, our neighbors, 08:31 preach about Jesus but yet they don't see us living Jesus--they want to know: is God real? But what does God being 08:44 real have to do with a church member being real? Well, if we're supposed to be God's hands, God speaking, 08:51 God's mouthpiece in the world, our realness should testify to the realness of God. The church is called to witness 08:59 and make disciples of Jesus Christ in a society where so many people question the authenticity and realness 09:04 of the church and its members. We're already dealing with a rising number of people who don't believe in 09:10 the existence of God, but a recent poll revealed that many people who say they believe in God are suspicious 09:17 of the church itself. This skepticism is magnified by the fact that we live in a society where it's 09:26 difficult to tell the real from the unreal. For example, just this week in the vegan family 09:31 alone--talking about real and unreal. We've got vegan mayonnaise, vegan butter. Amen. Vegan cheese, 09:42 vegan eggs, vegan meat, and I was shopping before I left for Africa. I won't tell you what store, 09:52 'cause you'll know where I go to. I was shopping and they now have vegan leather. You know you can 10:00 get a vegan belt--how about that, huh? Is it real or unreal? People hear our pious platitudes; 10:14 they see our pretty processions; they read about our promotional programs; they take notice of 10:24 our prophetic pronouncements; they are impressed with our professional preparation; but as the old saying goes: 10:31 they don't care how much we know until they know how much we care. Deep down within they want to 10:37 know if our deeds match up with our creeds. They want to know if our love service matches our lip service. 10:46 They not only want to know if we can talk the talk, but they also want to know if we can walk the walk. 10:52 There was a young man that attended church one day, and he was seen leaving a church before the worship 10:55 experience was over. An usher ran to the young man to see what was wrong, and asked him, "Are you leaving the church?" 11:02 He said, "No. I'm not leaving the church. I'm looking for it." In the text, the realness of Jesus is questioned by John, 11:12 Jesus' own cousin. Suspicious of the authenticity of Jesus, John, because he's in prison, sends some of his 11:23 disciples to ask Jesus: "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" In other words, 11:30 are you for real? Here we have John, Jesus' cousin, asking Jesus whether He's the one who was prophesied to come. 11:42 Forgotten is the day that he baptized Jesus. Forgotten is the day when he himself saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus. 11:49 Forgotten are the words from heaven that he heard: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." But he asks, 11:55 "Are you the one who's supposed to come, or shall we look for another?" Jesus does not try to avoid the question. 12:03 He knew it was a legitimate question, so He responds to John's followers straight up. "Go tell John what 12:12 you've seen and heard. Tell John the blind receive their sight. Tell John the lame walk. Tell John the 12:22 lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 12:27 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me." But sad to say, this suspicion of Jesus still remains today. 12:37 You hear people all the time ask, is He really the Son of God? Was He really the Messiah who came to earth 12:44 to rescue His people, or was He just an important religious figure who went about doing good things? 12:49 Did Jesus perform a work on the cross that brought about my salvation, or was He just a dedicated religious 12:53 person who was actively involved in the social and spiritual world of His day? Is Jesus really the only way 12:59 we can find salvation in this life, or is Jesus just one way among many, which a postmodern person can come 13:07 and know and experience God? Did Jesus actually perform miracles and raise people from the dead in a real 13:13 earthly history? Is Jesus real? Is God real? Does God exist? 13:22 There was a man who went to the barbershop one day to have his hair cut and beard trimmed. 13:28 The barber began to cut his hair and they began to have a good conversation. If you want to have a 13:34 good conversation, go to the barbershop. The barber knows everything about everybody and everything. 13:39 That's why I go to Jeff Johnson. I wish I had a witness in this place. But this man and the barber 13:46 talked about so many things and different subjects, when they eventually touched on the subject of God 13:53 the barber said to the man, "I don't believe God exists." The man said, "Well, why do you say that?" 14:01 The barber said, "Well, you just have to go to the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Because tell me, 14:09 " the barber said, "if God exists, would there be so many sick people? If God exists," the barber said, 14:16 "Why are there so many abandoned children? If God exists, there would be no suffering nor pain. I can't 14:22 imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things." Well, the man, the customer, wanted to respond 14:33 to the barber, but he didn't respond right way because he didn't want to start an argument. After all, 14:41 the barber still had the clippers in his hand. Do I have a witness in this place? You will learn, don't 14:53 So, after the barber finished the man's hair, and the man left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, the man saw 15:05 another man in the street. And this other man he saw had long hair, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. The man 15:34 I just cut your hair." The man said, "No, barbers don't exist, because if they did, there would be no people with long, dirty, 16:19 Yes, God is real, but have you gone to it? Yes, God is real, but have you looked for Him? Yes, God is real, but have you 16:40 an experience with the Lord so you will move from knowing God theoretically to experiencing and knowing God experientially. 16:48 Think about it. Think about Paul and Silas. They theoretically and academically knew about God, but their discovery in that 16:57 Philippian jail was that God was real. I was reading this, and this author says that all of us come to know God on three 17:15 somebody else's experience. Remember Mama said, He's a doctor in the what room? Sickroom. Daddy said, 17:23 He's a lawyer in the what room? Aud.: Courtroom. 17:25 PB: Big Mama said, He'll feed you when you're what? Hungry. And while these declarations represent reality, 17:31 the reality is somebody else's and not our own. Secularly we know about God, academically. We learn about God through study, 17:53 prophecy seminars, and the list could go on and on. This is needed, it is necessary; but it's not enough. Which moves us 18:00 to point number 3. At some point, our understanding of God must move beyond the vicarious; must move beyond the academic; 18:09 and it must move to the practical and the real. Paul had learned about God in his head, sitting at the feet of Gamaliel. 18:17 Paul spoke multiple languages. Paul was considered a most studious and learned rabbi, but it was not until that midnight 18:25 experience in that Philippian jail cell that Paul discovered how real God is. God does not become real unless God becomes 18:35 practical. Practical means He shows up and He delivers us from our crisis. Delivers us from our calamities. Delivers us 18:53 God is real when God delivers us from bondage and addictions and disease and abuse and negative attitudes, and lying, cheating, 19:02 anger, gossiping, jealousy, envy and insecurity. Because Paul got to know God in a real way. Paul was able to say nay, 19:12 we are more than conquerors. It was Paul who said I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. It was Paul 19:25 who said present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. It was Paul 19:45 Church, we've got to get to know God in a real way. 19:49 Two thousand years ago Jesus did something especially for you. He died on the cross of Calvary. 19:56 That day you were on his mind. Our offer today is Max Lucado's "He Did This Just For You." 20:03 This easy to read inspirational book reveals what God did to win your heart. 20:09 Let Max Lucado beautifully lay out the way home to our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. 20:16 Call today and ask for "He Did This Just For You." It's yours for a gift of five dollars or more. 20:32 Get up close and personal with a passion and promise of God Almighty, in "He Did This Just For You." 21:08 real with God, God gets real with you. And I'm so glad that God got real on somebody's sick bed; that God got real in 21:24 real in your defeats. Get real with God, and God will get real with you, because yes, God is real! Moses knew about God, 21:46 until God opened up Hannah's womb that she discovered how real God was. Daniel knew about God, but it was not until God 22:05 not until God showed up in the fiery furnace that they knew how real God was. The woman with the issue of blood knew who God was, 22:34 it on the man's eyes, the man was healed, and then the man knew how real God was. 22:42 I grew up, Carlton Byrd, knowing about God, but it was not until God spared my life 15 years ago in that car accident, 22:57 restored me in my grief after her death, and used me as a vessel and a mouthpiece for His glory, expanding my ministry 23:07 and my horizons in areas that I could only dream of, that I knew how real God was. Somebody in here today, you grew up 23:18 knowing about God, but it was not until God put that cancer in remission that you knew how real God was. 23:28 Somebody knew about God, but it was not until He took away that taste of cigarettes, that alcohol and love 23:37 addiction that you knew how real God was. Somebody grew up knowing about God, but it was not until you got into the 23:51 student accounts line, knowing you're standing there and you don't have any money to clear, you don't have any scholarships, 24:03 you don't have any grants, you don't have any anonymous donors; but then all of a sudden monies start coming in, scholarships 24:14 start coming in, financial aid starts coming in and the student accounts officer stamped "clear" on your form, and now you 24:25 know how real God is. Yes, God is real. If you're sick, He can make you well. If you're depressed, He can get you up. 24:40 If you're down, He can pick you up. If you're falling, He can hold you up. If you're in sin, He can fix you up. 24:50 If you're stained from sin, He can wash you up. Yes, God is real. Does anybody know God is real? If you know He's real, 24:59 hold your head up. Stick your chest out. Dry your weeping eyes. Jesus still lives, the Holy Ghost is still at work, 25:09 God is still on the throne, and God is still real. The psalmist says in Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God 25:22 and the firmament showeth his handiwork." In other words, look around you. The universe is stacked with pointers that point 25:34 to the existence of God. Pointer number one of the existence of God is the existence of stuff. 25:41 See, stuff not only happens, but stuff, things, exist, which creates a huge problem for the atheists. 25:51 Because if nothing exists, then we don't have to explain it. But the minute we acknowledge that something is real, 26:01 then we have to come up with an explanation for it. The universe exists. It's real. We live in it, we see it, we hear it, 26:12 we feel it, we breathe is air. The existence of stuff. Number two pointer to the existence of God is the nature of stuff, 26:21 or more specifically the nature of the universe. The universe is a large, huge, complex, marvelously well-ordered place. 26:28 Since it exists, you have to explain where it came from. One possible explanation for how something got here is, 26:34 listen to me good, that it was self-created. That it all came from itself. But that doesn't follow logically when 26:45 you talk to an atheist. That doesn't follow logically, why? Because scientists can study this sort of thing, 26:52 and they tell us that just about everything in the universe is contingent on something else. Which mean, 27:00 it's dependent on something else in order to exist. Take trees, for example. They need air to exist, air to survive, 27:34 to be able to exist. Nothing we observe around us seems to be 27:47 us did not exist at one time and probably will not continue to exist forever. 27:53 So if everything we depend and everything we observe is dependent on something else and is not independent or self- 28:04 caused, the principle of dependency leads us to ask if all that exists. 28:11 Announcer: Thank you for joining us for another exciting broadcast. We'd like you to partner with us, 28:16 as we offer the breath of life to a dying world. 28:20 All of our sermon titles and DVDs can be purchased at www.BreathofLife.tv. Until next time, God loves you! |
Revised 2015-02-26