>: Are you looking for an
exciting change in your life?
Well, get ready for a breath of
00:00:02.03\00:00:06.73
new life. Today. Dr. Byrd speaks
on the topic "Let's Talk about
Heaven." And now, here he is,
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speaker/director of Breath
of Life Ministries, Dr. Carlton
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Byrd. PB: The Word of God says
in Jeremiah chapter 1, verse
number 4, "Then the word of the
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LORD came unto me, saying."
Verse 5, our key text today,
"Before I formed thee in the
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belly I knew thee; and before
thou camest forth out of the
womb I sanctified thee, and I
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ordained thee a prophet unto the
nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord
GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for
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I am a child. But the LORD said
unto me, Say not, I am a child:
for thou shalt go to all that I
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shall send thee, and whatsoever
I command thee thou shalt speak.
Be not afraid of their faces:
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for I am with thee to deliver
thee, saith the LORD. Then the
LORD put forth his hand, and
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touched my mouth. And the LORD
said unto me, Behold, I have put
my words in thy mouth. See, I
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have this day set thee over the
nations and over the kingdoms,
to root out, and to pull down,
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and to destroy, and to throw
down, to build, and to plant."
Today, you are called. You are
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called. Father, bless us now.
Speak, forgive us for our sins,
and when we get to the appeal,
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move I pray. It's in Jesus' name
we pray. Amen. If there is
anybody in Scripture that had
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nine lives, it was Jeremiah.
Jeremiah is the weeping prophet
that keeps bouncing back, time
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after time after time again.
Every challenge, everything he
encounters, everything he's
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faced with, if you follow his
story he keeps bouncing back. On
one occasion, when he felt like
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giving up, he begins to bounce
back by saying, oh, I thought
about it. And it was just like
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fire, shut up in my bones. On
another occasion, when he writes
the book of Lamentations, as he
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laments about having the blues
and dealing with depression, he
begins to talk about how his
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good times had literally left
him. But then he begins to talk
about the fact that every
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morning, new mercies I see.
Great is God's faithfulness.
Jeremiah keeps bouncing back,
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because Jeremiah's been called.
The text says, before I formed
thee in the belly, I knew thee.
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Before thou camest forth out of
the womb, I sanctified thee. And
I ordained thee a prophet unto
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the nations. Now, from this text
we can get a lot. From this text
we have the answer to the
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biologist. In this text we have
the answer to the sociologist
who wonders, when does life
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begin? I need to tell you that
life began before you were an
embryo in your mama's belly.
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Before the sperm hits the egg.
Before the X chromosome and the
Y chromosome came together.
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Before your mama and your daddy
connected, God was already at
work in your life. Whether you
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know it or not, God had begun
you before you began. Let me say
that one more time. Before you
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began, God had begun. Before you
were you, God had already you'd
you. In other words, your I was
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here before your you showed up.
And when your I was here, your
you showed up and met your me. I
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wish I had a witness in this
place. [Aud. reaction] PB: There
was a series of events that took
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place before you were even born.
Before you were manifested in
the flesh, God was already
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actively involved in your life.
God was ordering your steps
before you even became you. You
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are a product of divine
navigation and divine
providence, because before you
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came out of your mother's womb,
before your mama thought about
even having you, God said I
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already knew you were going to
be born on the day that you were
born. And I orchestrated events
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so that you had to be born. You
see, God was navigating
circumstances that before you
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even began, that before your
granddaddy decided to go out one
day, when your granddaddy went
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out one day he saw a fine woman
named your grandmama. And when
he saw your grandma, your
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granddaddy didn't realize that
God had already hooked that
think up. Your granddaddy, he
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went on and hollered, as the
young people would say, at your
grandmama. Your grandmama gave
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him a chance. They went on a
date riding in his 1944 two-door
coupe. I wish I had a witness in
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this place. But maybe then he
didn't have a car, so they went
skating in the basement of Moran
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Hall. Somebody remembers that.
See, young people don't realize,
in Moran Hall, that's where the
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older folks used to skate.
Somebody know what I'm talking
about. He bought her some
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popcorn and a root beer float on
his cafeteria meal card. Which,
back then, was in the basement
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of Cunningham Hall. And the rest
is history. They went to the
preacher, got married, had a few
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children. One of them was your
mama. Your mama went through
adolescence, teen life, reached
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young adulthood and then God put
her in a position so that one
day some man started chasing
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her. That man said, I've
forgotten my number, can I have
yours? [Aud. reaction] PB: But
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God, 'cause --- got some lines,
they got some game. Come on, say
amen. [Aud. reaction] PB: Come
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talk to me after church, young
men, I can help you. [Aud.
reaction] PB: Do you know CPR,
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because you take my breath away.
[Aud. reaction] PB: I'd like to
help you out. But God was doing
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all of that--and some of you all
laugh, be cause you use those
same lines. Come on, say amen.
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[Aud. reaction] PB: I like
raisins, can I have a date? Ha
ha ha! But God was-- [Aud.
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reaction] PB: --was doing all of
that because He knew that your
daddy had to meet your mama so
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you could show up. Everybody
say, it was orchestrated. Aud.:
It was orchestrated. PB: Trying
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to help somebody in this place.
God called you. Jeremiah, he
says, before I formed thee in
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the belly I knew thee. Before
thou camest forth out of the
womb, I sanctified thee, and I
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ordained thee a prophet unto the
nations. Look at the text. The
word before, in this verse,
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verse number 5, is used twice.
How many times, everybody? Aud.:
Twice. PB: This moves us back in
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time from the point of
conception to sometime in
eternity past. The word or the
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letter I is used four times to
indicate that God is not only
the one speaking these words,
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but God's also the one at work
in the womb. And then the word
you is used five times. This
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shows us that what's in the womb
is a person. It's not a glob,
it's not a blob, it's not a
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bunch of cells, but it's a
person. A person whom God has
called. This lets us know that
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in the womb we are people. Now,
I don't want to turn this into
an anti-abortion platform, but
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the Word says that even before I
formed thee in the belly, even
before Jeremiah was conceived,
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God knew him as a person. The
word formed is the Hebrew word
used to describe the creative
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work of a potter as he molds and
shapes a piece of clay. It means
to squeeze into a predetermined
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shape. It's also the same word
used in Genesis chapter 2, verse
number 7, "And the LORD God
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formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and
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man became a living" what,
everybody? Aud.: Soul. PB: But
notice also what this text
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teaches. Number two, it teaches
that in the womb the preborn are
preknown. Look at the text. It
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says, I knew you. The word know
in the Hebrew speaks of a
personal, intimate knowledge and
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it was used when talking about
Adam knowing Eve. The idea is
that God has a close, personal
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commitment and intimate
relationship with the person He
creates even before He creates.
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God knew us before we were even
born, in the womb. If we are
known to God even before he
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begins his creative work, how
much more are we a person after
birth? But not only that, number
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three. I told you I wasn't going
to be long. But I'm going to
spend some time on this one. The
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preborn are prized. Check out
the next clause in verse 5. I
sanctified you, I set you apart.
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The verb sanctified means, as we
know, to set something or
someone apart for a specific
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use. Even before Jeremiah was
born, Jeremiah was set apart for
a special task. So God says, now
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that you've been born, I ordain
you to be a prophet to the
nations. Jeremiah, when you came
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out, you got your marching
orders. When you were born, you
got your assignment. That's why
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there's been something inside of
you since you were a child
that's always guided you, and
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you realized it because when you
tried to go this way, it pulled
you back that way. When you
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tried to go that way, it pulled
you back toward what God had
already begun in your life
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before you were even born. It's
that thing that wakes you up at
night. It's that thing that in
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spite of what people say, in
spite of what people do, in
spite of the odds stacked
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against you, it's that thing
that gives you the passion in
life and you don't realize that
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that passion is tied to a
prophetic anointing. God
sanctified you. God set you
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apart. You've been set aside,
you've been ordained by God not
by man. I don't care, friends of
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mine, if people call me crazy.
I'm doing what God told me to
do. If I've got to walk by
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myself, I'm going to stay on
course to where God has me,
because what God has for me, it
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is for me. I'm going to be like
Nehemiah. I'm doing a good work,
and I can't come down from the
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wall. I'm going to be like
Jacob. If I've got to wrestle
with God, I'm not going to let
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go till God blesses me. If I've
got to be like David, Yea though
I walk through the valley of the
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shadow of death, I will fear no
evil. If I've got to be like
Paul, forgetting those things
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which are behind me, I press
toward the mark of the prize and
the high calling of God in Jesus
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Christ. I ain't going nowhere.
I'm going to be steadfast.
Unmovable. Always abounding in
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the work of the Lord, because
I've been called. You've been
called. We've been called. Quit
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copping excuses. You've been
called. Quit quitting. You've
been called. Quit running.
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You've been called. Quit
worrying about what people
think. You've been called. Quit
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worrying about what people say.
You've been called. Jeremiah
understood that even in his own
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inadequacies, God called him and
anointed him for a specific
task. Come away then, from the
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complaint council. Come to the
claims window. We always have an
excuse of why we can't do what
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God wants us to do. Called to a
biblical role, Moses stuttered.
Abraham was too old. Jeremiah
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said he was too young. But God,
listen to me, never had anybody
He could use that was perfect.
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[Aud. reaction] PB: Moses was a
murderer. Abraham was a liar.
Rahab was a prostitute. David
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was an adulterer. Paul was a
persecutor of the church. Peter
was a liar. Judas was a
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betrayer. But, you want to know
why God never used perfect
people? Because He didn't have
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to choose from. [Aud. reaction]
PB: No one. Listen to me, in
this world is pure and perfect.
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No one in this world is pure and
perfect. Understand, if you
avoid people for their mistakes,
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you will always be alone in this
world. So my advice is, don't
try to be perfect. Just try to
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be better than you were
yesterday. Paul says, we have
this treasure in earthen vessels
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that the power is not on us, but
it may be upon God. We have to
understand that nobody is
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perfect, but God takes us
through a process of
preparation. He says--young
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people, listen to me good-- in
Jeremiah 1:8 He says, don't be
afraid of their faces. Don't be
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afraid of their faces. Don't be
afraid of their faces. The Bible
is clear. He says, because
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whatever challenge you go
through, you've got to know God
says that I've got your back.
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Now, how are you going to know
that I'm with you if I don't
allow you to go through things
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to prove to you that I'm with
you. How would you know He's a
healer, if you've never been
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sick. How would you know He's a
provider, if you never been
broke. It's all a preparation
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process. It's all about your
anointing, it's all about your
calling. Listen to me, young
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people. Some of you, some of you
are in high school; some of you
are in college. College students
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are away today, that's right.
I'm talking to the high school
folks. Some of you are in high
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school and middle school, and
you can't understand why high
school, middle school and
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college are temporary states of
poverty. The translation, why am
I always broke. You're supposed
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to be broke. You're not supposed
to be shot-calling and balling
in high school and middle school
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and college. Where do you think
you are? You're in school! This
is building character. You're
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supposed to be broke. Come on,
say amen. [Aud. reaction] PB:
You're supposed to get napkins
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from the cafeteria. You're
supposed to get-- notice I
didn't say take--you're supposed
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to get ketchup packets from
McDonald's. You're supposed to
get jelly from Popeye's. [Aud.
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reaction] PB: You're supposed to
look through the couch and the
ashtray for some change. Do I
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have a witness in this place?
[Aud. reaction] PB: Young
people, you're supposed to walk.
00:17:48.30\00:17:54.03
[Aud. reaction] PB: They don't
like that one. I need a car. No,
you're supposed to walk! It's
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cold, winter semester in
Oakwood. It's cold to have a
religion class down at the
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church. You're supposed to walk!
You're in school. You want rims,
you want 20s. A nice car, Prada,
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Gucci. Hugo Boss. But you're in
school! Let me tell you what you
need. You need a book. [Aud.
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reaction] PB: I wish I had a
witness in this place. [Aud.
reaction] PB: You need a book.
00:18:27.56\00:18:34.60
These kids today, best cars,
their tennis shoes cost more
than my suit. Best phone, I
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phone. Smart phone. Android. But
you don't have a book. You need
a book! You need food. How about
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that, food! So what this
character-building experience is
doing, it's helping you
00:18:55.53\00:19:01.10
understand that while you're
broke now, when you finally get
blessed, you're going to thank
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God for what you had to go
through. You're going to
remember from whence your help
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cometh. Now, let me throw this
in for the older folks. Yes,
some of our young people are
00:19:13.13\00:19:27.90
this way and that way. Some of
them have colored hair. How do
you do that? When I was a
00:19:27.90\00:19:31.56
student here, people that
colored their hair, they'd get
Kool-Aid and color their hair. I
00:19:31.56\00:19:36.66
don't know how that happens.
Yes, some of our young people
are this way and that way. Yes,
00:19:36.66\00:19:43.40
they do this and yes, they do
that, and we wonder why they act
the way they act and do some of
00:19:43.40\00:19:52.00
the things they do. But in the
words of God, there's nothing
new under the sun. And some of
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you did the same things they're
doing now or even worse. Do I
have a witness in this place? I
00:19:57.00\00:20:01.86
was telling Dr. Pollard, some of
the students that are here now,
I went to school with their
00:20:01.86\00:20:06.43
parents, so I know what their
parents are doing. I can only
pray what their children are
00:20:06.43\00:20:11.26
doing. Do I have a witness in
this place? Oh, don't let me
call the roll this morning.
00:20:11.26\00:20:15.10
[Aud. reaction] PB: But God
takes all the stuff in our
youth, and He's preparing us.
00:20:15.10\00:20:20.46
Listen to me, older people:
that's why I'd better be nice to
Anthony. You'd better not give
00:20:20.46\00:20:29.26
up on some of these young people
because they're acting the way
they act. You don't know what
00:20:29.26\00:20:35.90
God's going to do with some of
these young people. Some of
these young people are going to
00:20:35.90\00:20:46.40
be doctors; some of them are
going to be lawyers; some of
them are going to be business
00:20:46.40\00:20:55.16
owners; some of them are going
to be donors to Breath of Life.
I can't get a witness in this
00:20:55.16\00:20:58.46
place. Some of them are going to
be teachers, some of them are
going to be preachers, some of
00:20:58.46\00:21:08.33
them are going to sign your
checks! [Aud. reaction] PB: Some
of them may give you your last
00:21:08.33\00:21:15.60
cup of water to drink. You'd
better be nice, you'd better be
friendly. Yes, be firm, but be
00:21:15.60\00:21:23.06
nice. They've been called,
claimed, anointed and set aside.
Finally, number four. The text
00:21:23.06\00:21:28.93
teaches us that the preborn have
a purpose. Now the last part of
verse 5, our key text, tells us
00:21:28.93\00:21:37.10
about Jeremiah's purpose. I
appointed you as a prophet to
the nations. Everybody say
00:21:37.10\00:21:43.53
purpose. Aud.: Purpose. PB: Come
on, say it like you mean it. Say
purpose. Aud.: Purpose. PB: All
00:21:43.53\00:21:52.33
right. Now, in the very first
verse of Jeremiah chapter 1, we
see that Jeremiah's father was a
00:21:52.33\00:21:58.06
priest. Actually, if you look at
the lineage carefully, his
granddaddy was a priest as well.
00:21:58.06\00:22:07.53
Now, to be a priest was a good
thing, it was a cool thing. But
Jeremiah, the Bible says, was
00:22:07.53\00:22:18.10
called to be a prophet. That
wasn't so nice, that wasn't so
cool, that wasn't so hype and
00:22:18.10\00:22:26.06
hip, because a prophet was not
always popular among the people.
Everybody liked having the
00:22:26.06\00:22:36.73
priests around, but not
everybody liked it when the
prophet would show up, because
00:22:36.73\00:22:44.93
the prophet's preaching wasn't
always positive. Now, Jeremiah's
40-year ministry focused on the
00:22:44.93\00:22:57.30
nation's sinfulness and
impending judgment. Jeremiah,
his message was not a prosperity
00:22:57.30\00:23:09.26
message. You know, what we hear
today. Sometimes you see it on
TV. Five steps to this; 10 steps
00:23:09.26\00:23:17.80
to that; if you give this,
you'll get that; donate on
GoFundMe so I can get my own
00:23:17.80\00:23:26.56
private jet. I wish I had a
witness in this place.
Jeremiah's message was a message
00:23:26.56\00:23:38.90
of a coming tragedy, so as a
result, Jeremiah was
misunderstood, he was arrested,
00:23:38.90\00:23:50.96
imprisoned and was in constant
danger of losing his life. But
that was all right, because a
00:23:50.96\00:24:01.90
prophet's purpose was to
announce God's message. Exposing
sin and calling sinners. Calling
00:24:01.90\00:24:11.46
sinners back to their covenant
responsibilities before God. A
prophet is not a fortune teller.
00:24:11.46\00:24:17.73
A prophet is not a foreteller. A
prophet is not a predictor. But
a prophet is a spokesperson, a
00:24:17.73\00:24:24.23
mouthpiece for God. Jeremiah had
a work to do, and so do you. God
called Jeremiah to be a prophet
00:24:24.23\00:24:30.00
to the nations. God's Word is
not just for one group of
people. Jeremiah was called to
00:24:30.00\00:24:35.90
be a prophet to everybody. It's
for all the nations. That's Jews
and Gentiles, that's blacks and
00:24:35.90\00:24:42.80
that's whites, that's young and
that's old, that's male and
that's female, that's student
00:24:42.80\00:24:54.00
and that's adult, that's
Adventists and that's
non-Adventists. Each one of us
00:24:54.00\00:24:58.46
has a purpose and a calling
according to God's plan. Now
listen to me carefully: God is a
00:24:58.46\00:25:07.23
calculated God who has a
methodology. God is not a God
who is asleep and slumbering.
00:25:07.23\00:25:14.20
But God's a God that has a plan
and a strategy, and sooner than
later you're going to come to
00:25:14.20\00:25:18.30
the point where you ask the
Lord, Lord, how do I fit into
Your plan? How do I fit into
00:25:18.30\00:25:24.40
Your purpose? Young people,
you've matriculated here and
you're about to leave. God, how
00:25:24.40\00:25:29.33
do I fit in Your plan? Last
weekend, before I left to go out
of town I had the privilege of
00:25:29.33\00:25:36.03
speaking to the student leaders,
the AIA Conference for Worship.
Oh, ---- used to be a USM
00:25:36.03\00:25:44.63
president, so come speak to the
student leaders. And I shared
with them, I've learned in my
00:25:44.63\00:25:52.83
life--birthday, 43 years old
now--I've learned in my life
that people aspire to whatever
00:25:52.83\00:25:59.06
they see up front. People
without purpose seek the
position of the person up front.
00:25:59.06\00:26:05.50
So they see this person up
front, that's what they want.
They see Elder Pollard up front,
00:26:05.50\00:26:12.16
that's what they want. People
aspire to what they see up
front. So then, we're inundated
00:26:12.16\00:26:16.43
with preachers. Everybody wants
to preach. We're inundated with
teachers, because everybody
00:26:16.43\00:26:22.00
wants to teach. Everybody wants
to be a doctor; everybody wants
to be a lawyer; everybody wants
00:26:22.00\00:26:27.43
to be a singer; everyone wants
to be the next recording artist
coming out of Oakwood. Everybody
00:26:27.43\00:26:34.76
wants to do something that they
think is significant and
important, because they
00:26:34.76\00:26:40.66
subscribe to the ideology that
if I do something that is
important, that's going to make
00:26:40.66\00:26:45.53
me important. But you're going
to have more titles than you
have space to put them. More
00:26:45.53\00:26:51.90
degrees than a thermometer. But
if you don't know who you are;
if you don't know whose you are;
00:26:51.90\00:26:59.43
a title will not give you
direction, a title will not give
you fulfillment, either will a
00:26:59.43\00:27:10.00
title give you purpose.
Leadership is not title;
leadership is following. People
00:27:10.00\00:27:14.53
always subscribe to the idea of
things. The idea of being a
president, the idea of being a
00:27:14.53\00:27:23.43
pastor, the idea of being a
lawyer, being a doctor or being
a singer. But if you don't have
00:27:23.43\00:27:31.93
the passion to push yourself
over the obstacles of life to do
what it takes to be what you're
00:27:31.93\00:27:41.43
called, it's not your purpose.
Listen to me, young people very
carefully on this Youth Day. Be
00:27:41.43\00:27:47.33
careful by what you see. All
that glitters is not gold. I'll
tell you, Pastor Byrd, being
00:27:47.33\00:27:54.53
Breath of Life and Oakwood
University Church, on average,
Danielle will tell you, I get 5
00:27:54.53\00:27:58.30
hours of sleep every night. Dr.
Pollard will probably tell you
he gets the same. All that you
00:27:58.30\00:28:04.63
see is not what is. What's on
the outside may not be what's on
the inside. Make sure you know
00:28:04.63\00:28:09.10
God's purpose for your life.
Make sure you know God's calling
on your life. There's nothing
00:28:09.10\00:28:16.43
worse than investing 20 years
into nothingness. [Aud.
reaction] PB: I was born to do
00:28:16.43\00:28:21.10
this, that's why I wake up and
don't have to worry about
whether or not a conference
00:28:21.10\00:28:30.56
office or a general conference
is looking at me, 'cause I was
born to do this. You'd better
00:28:30.56\00:28:36.83
have a passion to do what God
has called you to do. God, why
am I here? What's my purpose?
00:28:36.83\00:28:42.13
What's my calling? Not what my
parents want me to be; not what
teachers think I should be; not
00:28:42.13\00:28:47.66
what the brethren believe I
should be, but God, what have
You called me to be? There's
00:28:47.66\00:28:48.66