Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000190A
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00:02 >: Are you looking for an exciting change in your life? Well, get ready for a breath of new life. Today.
00:06 Dr. Byrd speaks on the topic "Let's Talk about Heaven." And now, here he is, speaker/director of 00:13 Breath of Life Ministries, Dr. Carlton Byrd. 00:18 PB: The Word of God says in Jeremiah chapter 1, verse number 4, "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, 00:24 saying." Verse 5, our key text today, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest 00:32 forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, 00:41 Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for 00:52 thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid 00:59 of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, 01:06 and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have 01:14 this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, 01:21 and to throw down, to build, and to plant." Today, you are called. You are called. 01:31 Father, bless us now. Speak, forgive us for our sins, and when we get to the appeal, move I pray. It's 01:37 in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If there is anybody in Scripture that had nine lives, it was Jeremiah. 01:48 Jeremiah is the weeping prophet that keeps bouncing back, time after time after time again. Every challenge, 02:00 everything he encounters, everything he's faced with, if you follow his story he keeps bouncing back. 02:08 On one occasion, when he felt like giving up, he begins to bounce back by saying, oh, I thought about it. 02:14 And it was just like fire, shut up in my bones. On another occasion, when he writes the book of Lamentations, 02:21 as he laments about having the blues and dealing with depression, he begins to talk about how his good times 02:27 had literally left him. But then he begins to talk about the fact that every morning, new mercies I see. 02:38 Great is God's faithfulness. Jeremiah keeps bouncing back, because Jeremiah's been called. The text says, 02:50 before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee. 02:57 And I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Now, from this text we can get a lot. From this text we have 03:07 the answer to the biologist. In this text we have the answer to the sociologist who wonders, when does life begin? 03:17 I need to tell you that life began before you were an embryo in your mama's belly. Before the sperm hits the egg. 03:28 Before the X chromosome and the Y chromosome came together. Before your mama and your daddy connected, 03:36 God was already at work in your life. Whether you know it or not, God had begun you before you began. 03:45 Let me say that one more time. Before you began, God had begun. Before you were you, God had already 03:58 you'd you. In other words, your I was here before your you showed up. And when your I was here, 04:09 your you showed up and met your me. I wish I had a witness in this place. [Aud. reaction] 04:14 PB: There was a series of events that took place before you were even born. Before you were 04:20 manifested in the flesh, God was already actively involved in your life. God was ordering your steps 04:27 before you even became you. You are a product of divine navigation and divine providence, 04:34 because before you came out of your mother's womb, before your mama thought about even having you, 04:43 God said I already knew you were going to be born on the day that you were born. And I orchestrated 04:52 events so that you had to be born. You see, God was navigating circumstances that before you even began, 05:00 that before your granddaddy decided to go out one day, when your granddaddy went out one day he saw 05:09 a fine woman named your grandmama. And when he saw your grandma, your granddaddy didn't realize that 05:22 God had already hooked that think up. Your granddaddy, he went on and hollered, as the young people would say, 05:32 at your grandmama. Your grandmama gave him a chance. They went on a date riding in his 1944 two-door coupe. 05:43 I wish I had a witness in this place. But maybe then he didn't have a car, so they went skating in the 05:49 basement of Moran Hall. Somebody remembers that. See, young people don't realize, in Moran Hall, 05:54 that's where the older folks used to skate. Somebody know what I'm talking about. He bought her 05:59 some popcorn and a root beer float on his cafeteria meal card. Which, back then, was in the basement 06:07 of Cunningham Hall. And the rest is history. They went to the preacher, got married, had a few children. 06:20 One of them was your mama. Your mama went through adolescence, teen life, reached young adulthood and 06:33 then God put her in a position so that one day some man started chasing her. That man said, 06:41 I've forgotten my number, can I have yours? [Aud. reaction] 06:45 PB: But God, 'cause --- got some lines, they got some game. Come on, say amen. 06:53 [Aud. reaction] PB: Come talk to me after church, young men, I can help you. 07:00 [Aud. reaction] PB: Do you know CPR, because you take my breath away. 07:08 [Aud. reaction] PB: I'd like to help you out. But God was doing all of that--and some of you all laugh, 07:17 be cause you use those same lines. Come on, say amen. [Aud. reaction] 07:20 PB: I like raisins, can I have a date? Ha ha ha! But God was-- 07:25 [Aud. reaction] PB: --was doing all of that because He knew that your daddy had to meet your 07:40 mama so you could show up. Everybody say, it was orchestrated. 07:46 Aud.: It was orchestrated. PB: Trying to help somebody in this place. God called you. Jeremiah, 07:50 he says, before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. Before thou camest forth out of the womb, 07:57 I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Look at the text. The word before, 08:06 in this verse, verse number 5, is used twice. How many times, everybody? Aud.: Twice. 08:12 PB: This moves us back in time from the point of conception to sometime in eternity past. 08:17 The word or the letter I is used four times to indicate that God is not only the one speaking 08:24 these words, but God's also the one at work in the womb. And then the word you is used five times. 08:32 This shows us that what's in the womb is a person. It's not a glob, it's not a blob, 08:39 it's not a bunch of cells, but it's a person. A person whom God has called. This lets 08:48 us know that in the womb we are people. Now, I don't want to turn this into an anti-abortion platform, 08:55 but the Word says that even before I formed thee in the belly, even before Jeremiah was conceived, 09:05 God knew him as a person. The word formed is the Hebrew word used to describe the creative work of 09:12 a potter as he molds and shapes a piece of clay. It means to squeeze into a predetermined shape. 09:19 It's also the same word used in Genesis chapter 2, verse number 7, "And the LORD God formed man 09:26 of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became 09:31 a living" what, everybody? Aud.: Soul. 09:33 PB: But notice also what this text teaches. Number two, it teaches that in the womb the preborn 09:40 are preknown. Look at the text. It says, I knew you. The word know in the Hebrew speaks of a personal, 09:51 intimate knowledge and it was used when talking about Adam knowing Eve. The idea is that God has a close, 09:57 personal commitment and intimate relationship with the person He creates even before He creates. 10:04 God knew us before we were even born, in the womb. If we are known to God even before he begins 10:13 his creative work, how much more are we a person after birth? But not only that, number three. 10:20 I told you I wasn't going to be long. But I'm going to spend some time on this one. 10:24 The preborn are prized. Check out the next clause in verse 5. I sanctified you, I set you apart. 10:36 The verb sanctified means, as we know, to set something or someone apart for a specific use. 10:44 Even before Jeremiah was born, Jeremiah was set apart for a special task. So God says, now that 10:53 you've been born, I ordain you to be a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah, when you came out, 11:00 you got your marching orders. When you were born, you got your assignment. That's why there's 11:07 been something inside of you since you were a child that's always guided you, and you realized 11:13 it because when you tried to go this way, it pulled you back that way. When you tried to go that way, 11:19 it pulled you back toward what God had already begun in your life before you were even born. 11:24 It's that thing that wakes you up at night. It's that thing that in spite of what people say, 11:33 in spite of what people do, in spite of the odds stacked against you, it's that thing that gives 11:41 you the passion in life and you don't realize that that passion is tied to a prophetic anointing. 11:47 God sanctified you. God set you apart. You've been set aside, you've been ordained by God not by man. 11:56 I don't care, friends of mine, if people call me crazy. I'm doing what God told me to do. 12:03 If I've got to walk by myself, I'm going to stay on course to where God has me, because what 12:10 God has for me, it is for me. I'm going to be like Nehemiah. I'm doing a good work, and I can't come 12:19 down from the wall. I'm going to be like Jacob. If I've got to wrestle with God, I'm not going to 12:27 let go till God blesses me. If I've got to be like David, Yea though I walk through the valley of 12:34 the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. If I've got to be like Paul, forgetting those things 12:39 which are behind me, I press toward the mark of the prize and the high calling of God in Jesus Christ. 12:46 I ain't going nowhere. I'm going to be steadfast. Unmovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord, 12:54 because I've been called. You've been called. We've been called. Quit copping excuses. 13:03 You've been called. Quit quitting. You've been called. Quit running. You've been called. 13:11 Quit worrying about what people think. You've been called. Quit worrying about what people say. 13:18 You've been called. Jeremiah understood that even in his own inadequacies, God called him and 13:27 anointed him for a specific task. Come away then, from the complaint council. Come to the claims window. 13:34 We always have an excuse of why we can't do what God wants us to do. Called to a biblical role, 13:40 Moses stuttered. Abraham was too old. Jeremiah said he was too young. But God, listen to me, never 13:47 had anybody He could use that was perfect. [Aud. reaction] 13:52 PB: Moses was a murderer. Abraham was a liar. Rahab was a prostitute. David was an adulterer. 14:03 Paul was a persecutor of the church. Peter was a liar. Judas was a betrayer. But, you want to 14:10 know why God never used perfect people? Because He didn't have to choose from. 14:16 [Aud. reaction] PB: No one. Listen to me, in this world is pure and perfect. 14:25 No one in this world is pure and perfect. Understand, if you avoid people for their mistakes, 14:35 you will always be alone in this world. So my advice is, don't try to be perfect. Just try to 14:44 be better than you were yesterday. Paul says, we have this treasure in earthen vessels that 14:53 the power is not on us, but it may be upon God. We have to understand that nobody is perfect, 14:59 but God takes us through a process of preparation. He says--young people, listen to me good-- 15:06 in Jeremiah 1:8 He says, don't be afraid of their faces. Don't be afraid of their faces. 15:16 Don't be afraid of their faces. The Bible is clear. He says, because whatever challenge you 15:25 go through, you've got to know God says that I've got your back. Now, how are you going to know 15:33 that I'm with you if I don't allow you to go through things to prove to you that I'm with you. 15:39 How would you know He's a healer, if you've never been sick. How would you know He's a provider, 15:46 if you never been broke. It's all a preparation process. It's all about your anointing, it's all 15:56 about your calling. Listen to me, young people. Some of you, some of you are in high school; 16:01 some of you are in college. College students are away today, that's right. I'm talking to the 16:06 high school folks. Some of you are in high school and middle school, and you can't understand 16:10 why high school, middle school and college are temporary states of poverty. The translation, 16:21 why am I always broke. You're supposed to be broke. You're not supposed to be shot-calling and 16:31 balling in high school and middle school and college. Where do you think you are? You're in school! 16:38 This is building character. You're supposed to be broke. Come on, say amen. 16:44 [Aud. reaction] PB: You're supposed to get napkins from the cafeteria. You're supposed to get-- 16:52 notice I didn't say take--you're supposed to get ketchup packets from McDonald's. You're supposed 17:00 to get jelly from Popeye's. [Aud. reaction] 17:04 PB: You're supposed to look through the couch and the ashtray for some change. Do I have a 17:09 witness in this place? [Aud. reaction] PB: Young people, you're supposed to walk. 17:16 [Aud. reaction] PB: They don't like that one. I need a car. No, you're supposed to walk! 17:27 It's cold, winter semester in Oakwood. It's cold to have a religion class down at the church. 17:32 You're supposed to walk! You're in school. You want rims, you want 20s. A nice car, Prada, Gucci. 17:41 Hugo Boss. But you're in school! Let me tell you what you need. You need a book. 17:48 [Aud. reaction] PB: I wish I had a witness in this place. [Aud. reaction] 17:54 PB: You need a book. These kids today, best cars, their tennis shoes cost more than my suit. 18:03 Best phone, I phone. Smart phone. Android. But you don't have a book. You need a book! 18:13 You need food. How about that, food! So what this character-building experience is doing, 18:22 it's helping you understand that while you're broke now, when you finally get blessed, 18:27 you're going to thank God for what you had to go through. You're going to remember from whence 18:34 your help cometh. Now, let me throw this in for the older folks. Yes, some of our young people 18:43 are this way and that way. Some of them have colored hair. How do you do that? When I was a student here, 18:55 people that colored their hair, they'd get Kool-Aid and color their hair. I don't know how that happens. 19:01 Yes, some of our young people are this way and that way. Yes, they do this and yes, they do that, 19:06 and we wonder why they act the way they act and do some of the things they do. But in the words of God, 19:13 there's nothing new under the sun. And some of you did the same things they're doing now or even worse. 19:27 Do I have a witness in this place? I was telling Dr. Pollard, some of the students that are here now, 19:31 I went to school with their parents, so I know what their parents are doing. I can only pray what their 19:36 children are doing. Do I have a witness in this place? Oh, don't let me call the roll this morning. 19:43 [Aud. reaction] PB: But God takes all the stuff in our youth, and He's preparing us. Listen to me, 19:52 older people: that's why I'd better be nice to Anthony. You'd better not give up on some of these young 19:57 people because they're acting the way they act. You don't know what God's going to do with some of these 20:01 young people. Some of these young people are going to be doctors; some of them are going to be lawyers; 20:06 some of them are going to be business owners; some of them are going to be donors to Breath of Life. 20:11 I can't get a witness in this place. Some of them are going to be teachers, some of them are going to 20:15 be preachers, some of them are going to sign your checks! [Aud. reaction] 20:20 PB: Some of them may give you your last cup of water to drink. You'd better be nice, you'd better be friendly. 20:29 Yes, be firm, but be nice. They've been called, claimed, anointed and set aside. 20:35 Finally, number four. The text teaches us that the preborn have a purpose. Now the last part of verse 5, 20:46 our key text, tells us about Jeremiah's purpose. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Everybody say purpose. 20:55 Aud.: Purpose. PB: Come on, say it like you mean it. Say purpose. Aud.: Purpose. 20:58 PB: All right. Now, in the very first verse of Jeremiah chapter 1, we see that Jeremiah's father was a priest. 21:08 Actually, if you look at the lineage carefully, his granddaddy was a priest as well. Now, to be a 21:15 priest was a good thing, it was a cool thing. But Jeremiah, the Bible says, was called to be a prophet. 21:23 That wasn't so nice, that wasn't so cool, that wasn't so hype and hip, because a prophet was not always 21:28 popular among the people. Everybody liked having the priests around, but not everybody liked it when 21:37 the prophet would show up, because the prophet's preaching wasn't always positive. Now, Jeremiah's 21:43 40-year ministry focused on the nation's sinfulness and impending judgment. Jeremiah, his message was 21:52 not a prosperity message. You know, what we hear today. Sometimes you see it on TV. Five steps to this; 21:58 10 steps to that; if you give this, you'll get that; donate on GoFundMe so I can get my own private jet. 22:07 I wish I had a witness in this place. Jeremiah's message was a message of a coming tragedy, so as a result, 22:18 Jeremiah was misunderstood, he was arrested, imprisoned and was in constant danger of losing his life. 22:26 But that was all right, because a prophet's purpose was to announce God's message. Exposing sin and calling sinners. 22:36 Calling sinners back to their covenant responsibilities before God. A prophet is not a fortune teller. 22:44 A prophet is not a foreteller. A prophet is not a predictor. But a prophet is a spokesperson, a mouthpiece for God. 22:57 Jeremiah had a work to do, and so do you. God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. God's Word is not 23:09 just for one group of people. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to everybody. It's for all the nations. 23:17 That's Jews and Gentiles, that's blacks and that's whites, that's young and that's old, that's male and that's female, 23:26 that's student and that's adult, that's Adventists and that's non-Adventists. Each one of us has a purpose 23:38 and a calling according to God's plan. Now listen to me carefully: God is a calculated God who has a methodology. 23:50 God is not a God who is asleep and slumbering. But God's a God that has a plan and a strategy, and sooner than 24:01 later you're going to come to the point where you ask the Lord, Lord, how do I fit into Your plan? How do 24:11 I fit into Your purpose? Young people, you've matriculated here and you're about to leave. God, how 24:17 do I fit in Your plan? Last weekend, before I left to go out of town I had the privilege of speaking 24:24 to the student leaders, the AIA Conference for Worship. Oh, ---- used to be a USM president, 24:30 so come speak to the student leaders. And I shared with them, I've learned in my life--birthday, 24:35 43 years old now--I've learned in my life that people aspire to whatever they see up front. 24:42 People without purpose seek the position of the person up front. So they see this person up front, 24:54 that's what they want. They see Elder Pollard up front, that's what they want. People aspire to 24:58 what they see up front. So then, we're inundated with preachers. Everybody wants to preach. 25:07 We're inundated with teachers, because everybody wants to teach. Everybody wants to be a doctor; 25:14 everybody wants to be a lawyer; everybody wants to be a singer; everyone wants to be the next 25:18 recording artist coming out of Oakwood. Everybody wants to do something that they think is 25:24 significant and important, because they subscribe to the ideology that if I do something that 25:29 is important, that's going to make me important. But you're going to have more titles than you 25:36 have space to put them. More degrees than a thermometer. But if you don't know who you are; 25:44 if you don't know whose you are; a title will not give you direction, a title will not give 25:52 you fulfillment, either will a title give you purpose. Leadership is not title; 25:59 leadership is following. People always subscribe to the idea of things. 26:05 The idea of being a president, the idea of being a pastor, the idea of being a lawyer, 26:12 being a doctor or being a singer. But if you don't have the passion to push yourself 26:16 over the obstacles of life to do what it takes to be what you're called, it's not your purpose. 26:22 Listen to me, young people very carefully on this Youth Day. Be careful by what you see. 26:27 All that glitters is not gold. I'll tell you, Pastor Byrd, being Breath of Life and 26:34 Oakwood University Church, on average, Danielle will tell you, I get 5 hours of sleep every night. 26:40 Dr. Pollard will probably tell you he gets the same. All that you see is not what is. 26:45 What's on the outside may not be what's on the inside. Make sure you know God's purpose for your life. 26:51 Make sure you know God's calling on your life. There's nothing worse than investing 20 years into nothingness. 26:59 [Aud. reaction] PB: I was born to do this, that's why I wake up and don't have to worry about whether 27:10 or not a conference office or a general conference is looking at me, 'cause I was born to do this. 27:14 You'd better have a passion to do what God has called you to do. God, why am I here? What's my purpose? 27:23 What's my calling? Not what my parents want me to be; not what teachers think I should be; not what 27:31 the brethren believe I should be, but God, what have You called me to be? There's nothing worse 27:41 than living and dying and never being what you were supposed to be when you were supposed to be 27:47 and how you were supposed to be. The story is told, have you ever done a jigsaw puzzle and you 27:54 had a piece--you're working with this puzzle, you're tired of working on it--and you had a 27:58 piece that you tried to cram in a place that didn't fit, because you were tired of looking 28:04 for the right spot. Anybody know what I'm talking about? And the puzzle was getting on your 28:09 last nerves, and you said, this is enough. So if you're like me, you took your fist and you 28:16 took that piece of the puzzle, put it down, and tried to hammer the piece in the rest of the way. 28:21 Talking about I'm done. The devil is a lie. I may have been hammered in, but the piece kept popping 28:30 out because it was not designed to fit in that spot. I'm trying to help somebody. 28:36 >: Thank you for joining us for another exciting broadcast. We'd like you to partner with us 28:42 as we offer the Breath of Life to a dying world. All of our sermon titles and 28:47 DVDs can be purchased at www.BreathofLife.tv. Until next time, God loves you. |
Revised 2015-05-21