Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000194A
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00:03 get ready for a breath of new life. Today, Dr. Byrd speaks on the topic
00:08 "Praise the Lord." And now, here he is, 00:12 speaker/director of Breath of Life Ministries, Dr. Carlton Byrd. 00:18 PB: I just have one text for you today. Just one text. A familiar text, 00:23 it comes from Psalm 107. Psalm 107, verse number 8, the Word of God says, 00:28 "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful 00:36 works to the children of men!" "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, 00:43 and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Father in heaven, 00:46 right now thank You for the assurance that You're working in and out. 00:50 Now, Lord, just for the next couple of moments, we need You to speak to us today. 00:56 We need You to remind us that You are working things out. 01:02 I don't know everyone's story right now, but the reality is everyone in this place, 01:06 everyone within the sound of my voice, has a story. May we be encouraged today 01:11 to know that You are working it out. So, for the next couple of moments as we 01:16 feast in the fact that we ought to praise You for Your goodness, 01:20 and for Your wonderful works to each and every one of us, we pray that God, 01:24 You would speak through the aisles today at Oakwood in the hearts of individuals, 01:28 that surrender would take place to You. It's in Jesus' name we pray. 01:33 Let everyone say amen and amen. 01:37 "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness and for his wonderful works 01:43 to the children of men!" Thank you, Brother Moore, and thank you, remnant for 01:47 sharing your ministry with us today. Let the church say amen. Aud.: Amen. 01:51 PB: Today, this is my testimony of praise. This summer has been a summer that 02:01 we will not soon forget. And the reality is, we still have a month to go. 02:10 Because this summer, if it hasn't been one thing, it's been another. 02:17 We've had prison escapees in New York, and now we have a drug lord prison escapee, 02:26 El Chap Guzman, better known as "Shorty," on the lam in Mexico. There have been storms 02:36 in Pennsylvania which have destroyed schools and buildings, and if you've been reading 02:42 our material, our literature, Adventist World, one of our elementary schools located 02:50 on the campus of Blue Mountain Academy was destroyed. ISIS attacks are rampant. 02:57 Now, a year ago, all these ISIS attacks shocked our senses, but now we just wake up 03:04 with ho-hum feeling like, another ISIS attack. We've got so many ISIS and terroristic 03:09 threats out there, even to the point that it took a Boston father to turn his own son 03:15 in on suspicion that the son was planning an attack. The Supreme Court has ruled in favor, 03:25 as we know, in favor of same-sex marriage. So now, Adam and Eve in the Bible are now 03:34 becoming Adam and Steve and Steve and Yvette in America. Everybody is running for president 03:42 of the United States. I thought about throwing my name in the hat. Come on, say amen. 03:48 [Aud. reaction] PB: Write-in candidate, Dr. Carlton P. Byrd. The pope is calling for 03:56 unity amongst all denominations. We see the news how everyone is South America is wandering, 04:03 but then we don't tie that to prophecy where the Bible says "And all the world wondered 04:08 after the beast." Nine people are shot and killed in Charleston, South Carolina, in a church 04:17 prayer meeting by a young man who says he wants to kill black people. But then this week, 04:23 a gunman opens fire and kills four Marines--I'm told another has just died--right up the 04:29 road in Chattanooga. And what's interesting is, we're quick to call the act in 04:35 Chattanooga terrorism--which is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in 04:41 the pursuit of political aims--but yet we couldn't call the shootings in Charleston 04:44 an act of terror. [Aud. reaction] 04:48 PB: I wish I had time. Even within our own faith group, our church, we've got challenges. 04:57 I just left GC. I had the privilege of being on the nominating committee, and I'm here to tell you, 05:04 what happened in the room was totally different than what happened on the floor. I wish I had time. 05:08 We talk unity and family, but clearly we have issues and actions that are creating separation and divorce. 05:17 This week alone, in our church, we had three funerals. Next week we'll have three more funerals. 05:27 And I'll be honest, I've gotten now to the point where I will say "enough is enough!" I'm tired of mess. 05:39 I'm tired of confusion. I'm tired of drama. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? 05:46 [Aud. reaction] PB: And I just get to the point in my life now, can Jesus just come back 05:52 so we can get out of this mess? Do I have a witness in this place? [Aud. reaction] 05:56 PB: But you know what, through it all, through all the talk, through all the parking lot conversation, 06:04 through all the Facebook and social media chatter, through all the talk show opinion, 06:11 through all the stress and mess--this morning I just want to know, can we praise the Lord? 06:22 Aud.: Amen! PB: I mean, everybody is talking about everything and everybody. What do you think about this? 06:28 What do you think about that? But can we just praise the Lord? We come to church to hear sermons. 06:36 We come to hear professional pontification through the parsing of passages. 06:41 We come to church to see who's here and who's not here. We come to church to see what's going on. 06:48 But for one Sabbath on the calendar at Oakwood, can we just praise the Lord? 06:58 [Aud. reaction] PB: We have doctrine this and doctrine that. We have rules this and rules that. 07:09 We have practices this and practices that. We have contemporary movements and conservative traditions. 07:19 We have committee after committee. I think the 11th Commandment is Thou shalt call a committee. 07:27 I wish I had a witness in this place. [Aud. reaction] 07:32 PB: Board after board. Study groups after study groups. Focus groups after focus groups. 07:37 We have everything, but can we, just one Sabbath, come to church, forget our troubles, 07:46 turn off the television, turn off the Internet, put our cell phones down, 07:52 quit worrying about what folk are thinking, and just praise the Lord. 07:58 [Aud. reaction] PB: Can we forget our degrees for a minute. 08:01 Can we forget what side of town we live on? Can we forget our history, our pedigree, our lineage? 08:09 Forget what brands of clothes we have on, what kind of cars we drive, 08:13 and can we just praise the Lord. Can one Sabbath--just one--can we just let go and let God. 08:24 Just one Sabbath. Can we let our hair down and stop watching the clock and just praise God. 08:32 Can we just let the Holy Ghost--we always pray the Holy Ghost--but can we just let the 08:38 Holy Ghost get loose up in here, one good time. The Psalmist said, "Oh that men would 08:46 praise the LORD for his goodness." For his what, everybody? Aud.: Goodness. 08:50 PB: Come on, for his what, everybody? Aud.: Goodness. 08:52 PB: "and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" You see, I've learned that 08:55 many people who express their gratitude to God are often criticized for being too emotional 09:00 or out of control. But I believe that when you look back over your life, at what you used to be, 09:08 you haven't always had what you have now. You haven't always driven what you drive now. 09:15 I know what I'm talking about, because some of you last week at GC thought you were 09:18 going to die because you had to walk from this point to that point. Do I have a witness in this place? 09:22 [Aud. reaction] PB: You haven't always lived where you now live. But God's been good to you. 09:28 Aud.: Amen. PB: And I don't understand how you can just sit back and not praise His name. 09:32 How you can't bless His name. One Sabbath, just glorify His name. 09:37 Dary shares this song that if God has been good to you, there ought to be some 09:43 evidence of His goodness in your life. The old folks used to sing--I don't hear 09:47 it anymore--If you've got good religion, then you ought to show some signs. 09:52 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Do I have a witness in this place? I mean, listen. 10:00 For the past three weeks I've been traveling here, I've been traveling there, 10:04 I've been sitting in meetings here and boards there. I just wanted to come 10:09 to church and praise the Lord today. [Aud. reaction] 10:12 PB: Does anybody else want to praise Him? That God kept you when the bottom was falling out. 10:17 That God made a way out of no way. That God healed you when they said nothing could be done. 10:23 That God hired you when they said they weren't hiring. That God gave you money when 10:28 you didn't have any money. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, 10:35 and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Now, the entire 107th division-- 10:42 let me give integrity to the text. The entire 107th division of the Psalms 10:45 is really David's attempt to explain the goodness of God. In this text, 10:50 you're able to understand that David was a praiser. He was a what, everybody? 10:54 Aud.: Praiser. PB: Come on, he was a what, everybody? Aud.: Praiser. 10:56 PB: Praiser. Four times in the chapter, David says the same thing. 11:01 Oh that men would praise the--whom, everybody: 11:05 Aud.: Lord. PB: For his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men. 11:08 Four times. How many times? Aud.: Four. 11:10 PB: Now, why does David do this? David does this because David knows repetition 11:14 deepens the impression. David knows God has delivered him out of some mess; 11:20 that God has delivered him out of some trouble. Because if you look further 11:25 down in this text, in verse 19, David says "I cried unto the Lord in my trouble 11:30 and he saved me out of my distresses." Well, some of you can't get excited about that, 11:37 let me help you a little bit. All of us have done some foolish stuff in our lives. 11:45 Come on, tell the truth, shame the devil. You weren't always sitting up in Oakwood 11:49 holier than thou. All of us have done some things we shouldn't have done, 11:54 said some things we shouldn't have said. Come on, say amen. Gone some places 11:59 we shouldn't have gone. I know some of you don't want to tell it. You may not want 12:03 to testify but you know, you've been there. Has anybody ever played the fool? Come on, say amen. 12:08 Quit acting like you don't know what I'm talking about. You were close to death, 12:12 you were playing with your destiny, taking chances with your life, drinking. 12:18 That's right, some of you all. Sipping. Sniffing. Smoking. Tipping. 12:27 I'm trying to help you understand why you ought to praise Him. Oh, 12:31 you've got amnesia now. [Aud. reaction] 12:33 PB: Facebook can go get you a pass. I wish I had a witness in this place. 12:39 [Aud. reaction] PB: Somebody was one drink away from alcoholism, 12:42 one snort from an overdoes, one date from AIDS. One argument from divorce. 12:49 One action from termination. Somebody knows they were foolish, but hallelujah, 12:54 God was faithful! [Aud. reaction] 12:57 PB: And I talking to anybody in this place? I'm telling you now, 13:01 this is not going to be deep. We just came to testify of God's goodness today. 13:05 And your praise is due to the fact that in spite of all you were caught up in, 13:11 God didn't take you out. That God didn't kill you. Aren't you glad God was patient? 13:22 [Aud. reaction] PB: Aren't you glad God's wrath didn't come down? 13:25 Aren't you glad that God dispatched His mercy, His grace, 13:29 His unmerited favor to hold back the consequences? Somebody knows 13:35 that if God hadn't been patient, that you wouldn't be here today looking 13:38 all sanctimonious and holy. If it had not been for the grace of God, 13:43 none of us would be here today. Somebody had to overcome an addiction; 13:48 but you're here. You had to overcome depression; but you're here. 13:54 You had to overcome the loss of a loved one; but you're here. 13:59 You had to overcome that painful divorce, and after you got divorced 14:03 people were looking at you crazy. You had to overcome a bad relationship; 14:08 but aren't you glad today that in the midst of your past, that God kept 14:16 you when nobody else would keep you. And if you are like me, if you're like David, 14:24 there are some times when you come to church that you've got to tell your testimony. 14:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works 14:39 to the children of men! Now, quickly. Praise is commanded by God. Now, 14:45 many times in Scripture God commands us to praise Him. Psalm 150p, verse 6. 14:48 "Let everything that hath"--what, everybody? Aud.: Breath. 14:51 PB: "breath praise the Lord." Praise ye the what, everybody? Aud.: Lord. 14:54 PB: Praise means to speak well of. It's adoration. It's important to understand 14:57 this because when you look aback over your life, all the things God has done for you, 15:00 all the things God has brought you out of, all the things that God has healed 15:03 your body from, and all the times God made a way out of no way--you have to be 15:07 convinced that God is worthy. He's what, everybody? Aud.: Worthy. 15:11 PB: And when we ascribe worth to something, worth is always based on credibility. 15:18 I say it all the time, it's based on a certain amount of experiences that a person 15:23 gains credibility. Somebody knows that God's credit is good with us, because we've 15:28 tried Him over and over again. And because we've tried Him and God has come through, 15:33 we have found God to be credible. We have found God to be worthy of our praise. 15:38 Do I have a witness in this place? And it is our expression of praise that often 15:43 comes in conflict with people who don't understand the magnitude of what God has 15:47 done in our lives. Because it's impossible to praise God and not be demonstrative or 15:52 expressive in such a way that others might know the goodness of God in your life. 15:58 It is through what God is doing in my life that somebody gets inspired. 16:02 It is through the goodness of God in your life that I can aspire, 16:07 because I say if God can do it for you, then surely God can do it for me. 16:11 When you are demonstrative, when you express your praise to God out of the box, 16:16 when people see the move of God in your life, you don't mind giving God the glory 16:20 in such a way that others don't understand, when folk look at you funny and they say 16:25 "it doesn't take all that." But when they tell you it doesn't take all that, 16:33 I need you to let them know: Yes, it does take all that. Because when you look 16:40 back over your life at how God picked you up, turned you around, and placed your 16:49 feet on solid ground, yes it takes all of that! That doesn't mean everybody stands; 16:56 that doesn't mean everybody does cartwheels. But you've got to show some sign, 17:00 if it's just smiling in your seat when you figure the goodness of Jesus, 17:04 when you think about where you could have been or what you could have been 17:08 and what you should have been. Yes! It takes all that. I just came to praise the Lord. 17:16 My testimony today a praise. I believe, I believe God put us through some stuff 17:26 over the past couple of weeks. But there are some people that are going to praise Him 17:30 regardless of what folk are thinking about them; regardless of what people are 17:35 going to say about them. There are some people in this place that are going to 17:38 praise God regardless of what's happening in your life, because praising God is 17:42 not a suggestion. It is a command. Ellen White says in volume 2 of the Testimonies 17:47 that the Christian life is under obligation to give praise to God. 17:50 Now, don't misunderstand me. God does not want people to praise Him because they 17:55 feel they have to. If you feel you've got to praise God, don't do it. 18:00 God is looking at your heart, the sincerity and authenticity of your heart. 18:06 God is not looking for professional praisers; people who read, cite and say 18:12 prayers that are rehearsed. All right, when it gets this good, 18:15 when Pastor Byrd starts preaching, when we start singing the hymn, 18:17 I'm going to jump up and just praise Him. Nah, He don't need professional praise. 18:20 He needs authentic, sincere thanksgiving and praise. God is looking for 18:25 men and women that have been transformed from the inside out. People who will let 18:32 praise flow out of them like a mighty stream of living waters. God is looking for 18:38 people who are not ashamed to praise Him. People who are like David, who are not 18:42 worried about what other people around them think of them if they praise God. 18:45 Because you know what? The Bible says if you don't praise Him, God can make the stones, 18:50 God can make the rocks, God can make creation shout out a praise to Him. 18:58 And I don't know about you, but I'm not going to let some rocks out-praise me. 19:02 I'm a child of God, I'm saved, I'm sanctified, I'm born again, I've been redeemed 19:10 by the blood of Jesus, born of the Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, 19:16 this is my song. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 19:24 You see, friends of mine, I needed this for me today because when you praise God, 19:28 you're doing the will of God. Because we're doing what God created us to do. Dogs bark. 19:34 Eagles fly. Cows moo. Pigs oink. [Aud. reaction] 19:45 PB: Frogs leap. Snakes crawl. But man was created to have communion with God. 19:56 Man was created to praise and worship God. In fact, praise is what we're going to do 20:04 here on this earth and also when we get to eternity. Isaiah 66 says, 20:10 "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me, 20:14 sayeth the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. But it shall come to pass 20:19 from one new moon to another new moon, from one Sabbath to another Sabbath, shall all flesh. 20:24 " How much of flesh? Aud.: All. "Come to worship me before the Lord." 20:27 Ellen White even says in Evangelism--I was reading her this week--that the new earth will 20:31 be filled with praise to God. [Aud. reaction] 20:34 PB: So if you don't like to praise Him here, if praise and worship is too long here, 20:43 if it's too loud here, if we sing too much here, if my preaching is too loud here, 20:52 I don't know what you're going to do when we get up there. Because when we all get to heaven, 20:59 what a day of rejoicing that's going to be. When we all see Jesus, we're going to sing and shout 21:09 the victory! Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, 21:15 and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 21:17 Now, quickly, before I take my seat. Why is praising God important? 21:22 There are numerous reasons, but today, let me just give you a few. Number one, 21:26 God deserves to be praised. God what, everybody? Aud.: Deserves. 21:30 PB: And He is worthy of our praise. Psalm 96:4, "For the Lord is great and 21:34 most worthy of praise. He is to be feared above all gods." Psalm 145:3, 21:37 "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom." 21:42 Revelation 4:11: "You are worthy, our Lord, our God, to receive glory 21:48 and honor and power. You created all things, and by your will they were created 21:55 and have their being." Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, 22:03 and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Now, I am also amazed at how church folk, 22:13 even within the Adventist Church, specifically worship leaders, are always 22:21 seeking to assist us in worshiping and praising God. Get up on your feet and praise Him. 22:28 Hasn't God been good to you? If you love Him, you'll stand on your feet. 22:33 "I can love Him from my seat." Do I have a witness in this place? 22:36 [Aud. reaction] PB: We now have people that are designed to help us praise God. 22:43 In fact, now we have props and aids to help us praise God. So we have created, 22:53 or added things to our services, to help us praise the Lord. So we've got praise 23:02 and worship teams; we have praise dancers; we have flag wavers; we have praise leaders, 23:11 who spend an inordinate amount of time telling us that they're not there to pump us 23:18 and prime us, but yet that's what we're doing. I'm guilty of instructing people: 23:25 "Tell your neighbor this! Tell your neighbor that!" But the reality is, when you 23:33 realize how much God has done for you, you don't need a pumper-upper. You don't need 23:42 somebody else to tell you to praise God. I had my praise this morning, before I drove up to Oakwood. 23:54 'Cause I didn't know how you were going to praise Him, so I had to praise Him by myself. 23:59 Because I know that God deserves our praise. If it's me, myself and I, by myself, 24:08 I will praise God. God said, "Where there are two or three gathered in my name, 24:13 I will be in the midst." When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all He's done for me, 24:18 I will praise Him by myself. Hey, hey, hey! Nobody has to make me praise God; 24:24 God is worthy to be praised. Oh that men would praise the LORD! 24:31 Secondly, praising God is useful and favorable to us. By praising God, 24:41 we remind us of the greatness of God. The power, His presence in our lives, 24:45 reinforcing our understanding. Psalm 135 says, "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good. 24:49 Sing praise to his name for that is pleasant." Third, praise discharges strength in faith, 24:59 which causes God to move on our behalf. Psalm 8 says, "From the lips of children 25:06 and infants you have ordained praise"--listen to this--"because of your enemies 25:11 to silence the foe." Silence the avenger. When you praise God, it silences the foe. 25:24 It silences the avenger. It silences the enemy. Praising God transforms the 25:30 spiritual environment that we have. It changes our atmosphere. That's why we 25:35 sing songs at Sabbath school for song service. It changes the environment; it changes the culture. 25:42 Praising God is a weapon against discouragement. Ellen White--I was reading Evangelism, 25:49 I told you--she continues, page 499. She says that if there was much more praising the 25:55 Lord and far less doleful recitation of discouragement, many victories would be achieved." 26:04 We get up and testify and talk about what the devil's doing to us. Quit talking about what 26:09 the devil's doing, and talk about what God's about to do. You see, praise affects you; 26:15 it affects the devil; and it affects God. Praise touches every part of your life. 26:23 On the flip side, a lack of praise affects you in a negative way. A lack of praise 26:30 turns the devil loose in your life. A lack of praise doesn't bless God. You see, 26:37 you can't be praising God and influenced by the devil at the same time. 26:41 Praise affects you positively; it affects the devil negatively; and it 26:47 affects God supremely. Do I have a witness in this place? 26:51 Number one and finally. God inhabits the atmosphere of praise. 26:59 Psalm 22: "But thou art holy, O Lord, that inhabiteth the praises of Israel." 27:06 If then we want to see a clear manifestation of God's blessings and God's grace, 27:12 all we need to do is praise God with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul. 27:24 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to 27:37 the children of men! Is there anybody in here that knows God is good? 27:47 Aud.: Amen! PB: Is there anybody in here that knows God is able? 27:55 Aud.: Amen. PB: Is there anybody in here that knows God is worthy of our praise? 28:04 Aud.: Amen! PB: I'm getting ready to sit down, but let me tell you something. 28:08 I've been in church situations-- 28:10 >: Thank you for joining us for another exciting broadcast. 28:14 We'd like you to partner with us as we offer the Breath of Life to a dying world. 28:19 All of our sermon titles and DVDs can be purchased at www.BreathofLife.tv. 28:26 Until next time, God loves you. |
Revised 2015-08-27