Participants: Pr. Carlton Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000505A
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00:04 Join Pastor Carlton Byrd and the Breath of Life team at the
00:08 Mount Olive Church in Apopka, Florida, January 10th to January 23, 00:12 for its 2016 winter revival. Now, each night Pastor Byrd will bring 00:17 a special word from the Lord. There's going to be soul-stirring music 00:20 and Bible teachings that will inspire and change lives. 00:24 We invite you to join us at the Mount Olive Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:29 located at 3350 Clarcona Road in Apopka, Florida. Pastor Byrd is 00:34 the speaker-director of Breath of Life, and he's going to be bringing 00:37 the message on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 00:41 January 10 to January 23. The doors open every evening at 7 o'clock. 00:47 On opening night, Sunday, January 10, we're going to be featuring 00:51 the Grammy-nominated recording artist, The Walls Group. 00:54 Now this dynamic brother-sister ensemble was nominated for 00:58 the best gospel performance song at the 57th annual Grammy Awards, 01:02 for their special rendition of “Love on the Radio.” You are not 01:06 going to want to miss this urban contemporary gospel quartet 01:10 from Houston, Texas. Pastor Byrd and the Breath of Life team 01:13 are looking forward to seeing you, January 10 through the 23rd, 01:18 at the Mount Olive Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:20 3350 Clarcona Road in Apopka, Florida. 01:24 For more information, call (256) 929-6460. (256) 929-6460. 01:36 PB: Matthew chapter 4, verse number 1. The Word of God says, 01:41 Matthew 4:1, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the 01:47 wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 01:52 forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 01:55 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the 01:58 Son of God, command that these stones be made," what, everybody? 02:04 Aud: Bread. PB: "But he answered and said, It is written, 02:08 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that 02:12 proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh 02:14 him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of 02:18 the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, 02:22 cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels 02:30 charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, 02:35 lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 02:39 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not 02:44 tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into 02:49 an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms 02:52 of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, 02:55 All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down 02:59 and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, 03:05 Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, 03:12 and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, 03:20 behold, angels came and ministered unto him." 03:26 Easy promises but empty guarantees. Easy promises but 03:40 empty guarantees. Father, speak now. We have come expecting 03:47 and anticipating a word from You, so we need that today. 03:51 Penetrate the aisles, penetrate the airways, by the power 03:55 of Your Spirit. When the appeal time comes, Lord, 04:00 You do Your work. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 04:04 Easy promises but empty guarantees. Happy New Year. 04:14 Let me try that again. Happy New Year. Aud: Happy New Year. 04:21 PB: One more time. Happy New Year. Aud: Happy New Year. 04:27 PB: Many people can no longer celebrate the arrival of 04:31 a new year, they just celeb rate the survival of the old year. 04:35 Do I have a witness in this place? Somebody today is happy 04:38 not so much that it's 2016, but they're happy that 2015 is over. 04:48 For somebody, 2015 was rough. If we're honest, 2015 was tough. 04:57 2015 was hard; it was difficult. There are some things that 05:04 happened in 2015 that you want to throw into the sea of forgetfulness. 05:10 Do I have a witness in this place? So, when you come to a new year, 05:15 you make promises to improve your life and improve you. 05:21 We call these promises "resolutions." Everybody makes them. 05:28 Don't sit and act like you don't know what I'm talking about, 05:30 everybody makes them. Amen. Let me bowl down your alley. 05:35 Somebody's got a resolution, a promise, to lose weight. 05:39 Exercise more. Drink more water. Get out of debt. 05:49 Save money. Stop being late. Get out of church earlier. 06:04 [Aud. reaction] B: Watch it now. Ha-ha. Let go of grudges. 06:14 Get over your ex, so you can move to your next. 06:19 [Aud. reaction] PB: Stop texting while driving. 06:25 Go to church more. Be on time for Sabbath school. 06:32 Go to prayer meeting. Return a faithful tithe - amen! 06:42 [Aud. reaction] PB: I just pray that these are 06:47 easy promises and not empty guarantees, because in 06:51 many cases a New Year's resolution is a promise to 06:54 stop doing the things you enjoy the most. 06:58 But you know what? 2016 will be an interesting year, 07:02 because there will be a lot of promises made in 2016. 07:06 Why? 2016 is an election year, and it seems as though 07:13 everybody's still running for President. 07:16 Everybody is making promises from tax cuts to job 07:22 creation to national security to building walls to 07:28 separate Mexico from the United States. To denying 07:33 some people from entering into the United States, 07:36 promises are being made. But are these easy promises 07:41 with empty guarantees? I mean, really, can you deny 07:48 anybody from coming in to the United States? 07:51 Can you really build a wall separating Mexico 07:54 and the United States? Can you really lower taxes? 07:58 Can anybody keep ISIS out? Somebody said that 08:04 promises made during any presidential candidate's 08:07 campaign should really be called "proposals," 08:10 because after all, campaigning for President of 08:14 the United States is really a marketing process 08:18 where candidates present themselves as products, 08:21 differentiate themselves from other products and 08:25 then make proposals on how they will perform if they 08:28 get the job. While campaigning can be enticing, 08:34 talk is cheap. And even candidates with the best 08:40 intentions can have difficulty making them happen. 08:44 So don't promise what you can't keep. Young people, 08:49 don't promise good grades, but you don't want to study. 08:55 Brothers, don't promise her a big house, a nice car, 08:59 a fat bank account but you don't want to work. 09:04 Always fitting to do something. It's a new year 09:07 and I'm fitting to do something. Talking about 09:10 you following your dream, you can still work a 09:13 9 to 5 while you're following your dream. 09:15 Do I have a witness in this place? Ladies, 09:17 don't promise him support and nurture, 09:21 and all you want to do is nag and complain. 09:25 Stop overpromising and underdelivering. 09:30 Easy promises but empty guarantees. 09:36 But this business of not keeping promises 09:39 didn't just start with New Year's resolutions. 09:42 It didn't just start with presidential campaigns. 09:46 It didn't just start from that man to that woman 09:48 or that woman to that man. Matthew, chapter 4 tells 09:53 us that Jesus, the Son of God, was hungry, 09:57 tired, is approached by Satan with easy promises 10:02 but empty guarantees. The text says that Jesus was 10:08 led up into the wilderness. He was tempted of the devil. 10:12 Now, don't get it twisted. God doesn't tempt; 10:16 but God does test. According to James 1:13, 10:20 God doesn't tempt anybody, but He does test, 10:23 because remember, James teaches that the testing 10:26 of our faith produces perseverance. Any teacher 10:30 you've ever had tested you. They tested you to 10:34 reinforce what you knew, or they tested you to 10:36 try to find out what you didn't know. When God 10:39 tests you in life, what kind of test giver is He? 10:43 Is He reinforcing, or is He teaching, or is He 10:48 doing both? I wish I had time. 10:50 God tests; Satan tempts. Satan tempts Jesus three 10:56 times in the text. First, he tempts Jesus by appealing 11:00 to his physical needs; specifically, food. Somebody 11:04 knows that when you're hungry, it can make you do a 11:06 bunch of foolish things. Ironically, the same way 11:10 that Satan begins to tempt Jesus is the same way he 11:14 begins to tempt Adam and Eve, with food. That's why 11:18 for some of you, your problem is not drugs. You know, 11:21 for Adventists, we shouldn't have a problem with alcohol. 11:25 Our problem is not immorality - it shouldn't be. 11:29 Your problem is not gossip. Your problem is not money. 11:34 But if there's one problem that we have as a church, 11:38 it's food. I wish I had a witness in this place. 11:42 And Satan knows your problem. Jesus is not in a 11:48 beautiful garden, though. Jesus is in a desert. 11:52 Adam and Eve were not hungry, but Jesus was. 11:57 Jesus hadn't eaten for 40 days and 40 nights, 11:59 and the devil tempts Him to make stones become bread. 12:04 But Jesus stood His ground by standing on 12:09 the Word of God. You can always defeat the 12:12 devil with the Word. I wish I had a witness 12:14 in this place. Notice also in the text, 12:17 Jesus doesn't say "Hold up. Wait a minute. 12:21 Let me look in the Bible and find a verse 12:24 to defend my position." But Jesus already 12:27 knew the Word, because God's Word was hidden 12:30 in His heart that He might not sin against thee. 12:33 Know what you believe. I heard a preacher say, 12:37 "Know why you believe it, and know where it's found." 12:40 Know the Word. The second temptation is to take 12:44 a shortcut. The Bible says the devil took Jesus 12:48 way up to the Holy City. Set Him, the Bible says, 12:53 on a pinnacle and says to Him, "If Thou be 12:56 the Son of God, cast Thyself down. 13:00 For it is written, 'He shall give His angels 13:02 charge over Thee.' " Now, notice, the devil 13:06 took Jesus way up. The devil took Jesus high up. 13:11 Way up in His spirituality, way up in His religious 13:16 consciousness. And if the devil will take Jesus to 13:19 the temple, you'd better believe the devil will 13:21 bring you to Oakwood. The devil will make you sit 13:25 up in here and refuse to sing. Refuse to smile. 13:30 Refuse to shake hands. Refuse to pray. Refuse to praise. 13:34 Refuse to thank God, as if God hasn't blessed you. 13:38 As if God hasn't delivered you; as if God hasn't brought 13:40 you through another year. The devil took Jesus way 13:44 up in the temple and said, "If you are the Son of God, 13:47 prove it. Jump. Throw Yourself down and define what 13:52 You should be doing, since You are who You say You are. 13:56 " He says, the law of gravity does not apply to You. 14:00 You don't have to worry about things like height and depth; 14:02 distance and danger; drops and death. Just jump. 14:05 You're always talking about the Word. Doesn't the 14:09 Word say in Psalm 91 that God will give His angels 14:12 charge over you to keep you in all your ways"? 14:14 If that's, what the Word says, then jump! Jump! 14:19 The angels will bear You up. Jump! You see, friends, 14:22 the devil knew the Scriptures. In fact, I tell you 14:25 all the time, the devil knows Scripture better than 14:28 you and me. The devil can preach better than you; 14:29 he can preach better than me. The devil always, 14:31 however, takes Scripture out of its context. 14:33 And if you take Scripture out of its context, 14:36 you can make the Bible say whatever you want 14:38 the Bible to say. But when you look at the context 14:41 of Psalm 91, it's talking about protection from 14:45 dangers that someone might accidentally or 14:47 unfortunately be in. It's not talking about 14:51 manufacturing situations which would try and 14:54 force God to act in a particular way. 14:57 It's one thing to ask God for God's protection 15:02 if you accidentally trip over something; it's 15:05 another thing to jump off a bridge and try to 15:08 force God to rescue you. Don't tempt God. 15:14 Don't tempt God to make God work an unnecessary 15:17 miracle just to protect you from your own foolishness. 15:21 God intends for you to act within intelligence 15:25 and integrity. God doesn't want just a dead church, 15:28 but God doesn't want a dumb church, either. 15:31 God intends for His people to be balanced. 15:35 To be what, everybody? Aud: Balanced. 15:37 PB: To be what, everybody? Aud: Balanced. 15:38 PB: If life insurance covers your life, 15:39 you can't commit suicide. If automobile 15:42 insurance protects your car, you must not 15:44 deliberately destroy it. If homeowners' 15:47 insurance protects your house, you must not 15:49 burn your house down. Don't you tempt God. 15:52 Don't let the devil use Scripture to tempt 15:55 you to tempt God. The devil knows how to 15:58 manipulate Scripture to twist and turn Scripture. 16:01 The devil will take all the love out of life, 16:04 all the dignity out of labor, all the joy out 16:07 of worship. Where, instead of being released, 16:09 we become robots. Instead of being free, 16:13 we become fanatical. But read the Word of God. 16:17 God's Word says, "Praise thee the Lord. 16:20 Praise God in his sanctuary. Praise him 16:24 in the firmament of his power. Let everything 16:27 that hath breath praise ye the Lord." 16:30 That's why you've got to read and know the 16:32 Word of God for yourself; not based on what Mama said. 16:35 Not based on what Daddy said. Not based on what 16:38 the preacher said, but you've got to know 16:40 the Word of God for yourself. "Thy word have 16:43 I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." 16:46 To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not 16:49 according to this word it is because there is no 16:51 light in them. Jesus told Satan, "It is written. 16:54 Thou shalt not tempt the Lord they God." 16:58 But you know what? Satan hasn't had enough. 17:01 That's just like some of us; we don't get enough. 17:04 The devil comes back a third time. Somebody said, 17:08 three's a charm. But this time the devil takes Jesus 17:12 up as high as he can. He takes Jesus up, the Bible says, 17:15 into an exceeding high mountain, and he shows Him all 17:18 the kingdoms of this world and he said, "All these things 17:21 will I give Thee, if You just fall down and worship me." 17:28 Satan had the unmitigated gall, the most audacious 17:33 temptation of all. Here is Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus, 17:40 who is God, being asked to fall down and worship Satan. 17:45 Jesus is the One who should be worshipped, not Satan. 17:51 And here is Satan trying to tempt Jesus to worship him. 17:55 The devil says, "If you worship me, then I will give you 17:59 all of this. If you bow down to me, I will give you all 18:04 the kingdoms of this world." That the Son of God would 18:08 worship Satan, that's crazy. That the Son of God would 18:11 bow down to the devil; that's absurd. That the Son of God 18:15 would reverence Satan; that's foolish. Satan offers Jesus 18:19 an easy promise with an empty guarantee. How could Satan 18:25 promise Jesus anything? How could Satan promise Jesus the 18:28 very world that Jesus created in the first place? How 18:35 could Satan promise Jesus kingdoms when Jesus is the King 18:40 of kings and the Lord of lords? Jesus is God. I said, 18:46 Jesus is God. At His word the heavens were made. 18:51 At His word, worlds upon worlds swung yonder into space. 18:56 At His word, the earth was formed with living things. 18:59 At His word, something came out of nothing. At His word, 19:04 the sun took its station in the sky. At His word, 19:08 the moon took her station as queen of the night. 19:11 At His word, stars took their stations and unify 19:14 the heavens. At His word, beautiful birds came leaping 19:17 from the waters. At His word, the beasts of the field, 19:21 the fowl of the air, every living creature brought 19:23 forth food in their season, after their time. At His word, 19:28 Adam was created. At His word, Eve was created. At His word, 19:35 I was created. At His word, you were created. At His word, 19:41 we were created. At His word, He woke you up. At His word, 19:47 He started you on your way. At His word, He gave you 19:51 something to eat, something to drink, something to drive, 19:54 something to live in, and something to live for. At His word! 19:59 Who does Satan think he is? How can he promise Jesus anything? 20:07 It's an easy promises with an empty guarantee. And friends 20:14 of mine, if you're not careful, Satan will do the same thing 20:16 to you. He will promise you love, but in all the wrong places. 20:21 He'll promise you a man, but that man is really a monster. 20:24 He'll promise you au lady, but that lady is a modern-day Gomer. 20:28 He'll promise you financial blessings, but because you 20:30 haven't returned to God, you're still cursed with a curse. 20:33 He promises you a job, but God didn't give it to you, 20:35 so it's short-lived. He promises you good health, 20:38 but you haven't stopped smoking, stopped drinking, 20:40 eating fast food, drinking all that soda, and you're 20:42 still sick, in the hospital, on meds, under doctor's orders. 20:46 Don't fall prey to the devil. Don't fall prey to 20:51 his easy promises with empty guarantees. 20:55 You've got to fight the devil. 20:57 2016, I'm declaring war on the devil. 21:05 Aud: PB: And the devil doesn't just have a pitchfork. 21:08 The devil just doesn't have a red suit. 21:12 The devil just doesn't have horns coming out 21:14 of his head. Some of you sleep with the devil. 21:17 Some of you work for the devil. Some of you are 21:21 neighbors with the devil. Some of you are sitting 21:24 next to the devil. I've come to declare war on the devil! 21:29 [Aud. reaction] PB: When Jesus was in the wilderness, 21:34 being tempted by the devil, He had to fight in four ways. 21:38 Number one, He had to fight in private. In what, everybody? 21:42 Aud: Private. PB: Come on, what, everybody? 21:44 Aud: Private. PB: In private, not public. 21:46 Satan took Jesus away. Satan tempted Jesus and 21:50 took Him away when Jesus was all alone. We don't 21:54 fight the devil in public; we fight him in private. 21:57 We may fight the devil's temptations in public, 22:00 but the outcome of that public confrontation depends 22:03 upon how much we did with our private battle with Satan. 22:06 The fight with evil is about the control of our minds 22:10 and our spirit. That's not a public battle, 22:12 that's a private battle. Before the devil can 22:15 get you to fall publicly, he must first capture 22:18 your mind and spirit privately. Think about it. 22:24 Whenever a bad thought or a bad desire enters 22:27 the privacy of your mind and your spirit, 22:30 when that wrong impulse comes into the privacy 22:32 of your mind and your spirit, you have to decide 22:35 whether you will fight with the devil or run 22:37 with the devil. You see, nobody else - I'm looking 22:41 at Elder Ashley, I'm looking at Pastor Julius - 22:43 but I'm looking at them, but I don't see the devil 22:46 in what he's doing. Nobody sees the devil capturing 22:50 your mind and binding your spirit. That is done 22:53 internally, in the privacy of your thoughts and in 22:57 the secret yielding of your spirit. 23:00 Let me break it down. You all still don't have this. 23:03 You can't fight a cold in public. The only thing you 23:09 can do is spread a cold in public. The only way you 23:15 can fight a cold is to go to bed and rest, so the 23:20 immune and defense systems in your body can do the 23:23 fighting. When you try to fight the devil in public 23:26 - I wish somebody was getting this - the only thing 23:29 you're doing is spreading the d evil. But to fight 23:32 the devil, you've got to come aside and you've got 23:36 to yield to God, so that God's immune systems are in you. 23:40 That the power of God's name, the covering of God's name, 23:44 the covering of God's blood, the promises of God's Word, 23:49 the anointing of God's Spirit, God's goodness and mercy 23:52 can come to your defense. [Aud. reaction] 23:56 PB: Number two: You've got to the fight the 23:59 devil in prayer. It's a new year, but I still 24:04 believe in prayer. I wish I had some witnesses in here. 24:08 [Aud. reaction] PB: Let me tell you something: 24:09 You can't outrun the devil. You can't outtalk the devil. 24:13 I know I talk a lot, but I can't outtalk the devil. 24:17 You can't outthink the devil, I don't care how many 24:19 degrees you have behind your name. You can't outthink 24:22 the devil. You can't out-trick the devil. You can't 24:26 out-politic the devil. You can't out-buy the devil. 24:30 You can't out-sing the devil. You can't out-preach 24:35 the devil. You can't out-play the devil. You can't 24:39 out-breathe, out-amen, out-shout or out-work the devil. 24:45 Your only defense against the devil, you've got to 24:48 out-pray the devil. Ellen White says to us in "Messages 24:53 to Young People" that daily prayer is as essential as daily food." 24:59 She says, "Angels hover around the faithful who are given to prayer." 25:03 Somebody once told me that the strongest demon in hell 25:10 trembles when the weakest Christian prays. I sound the anthem; 25:17 I've learned how to pray. When people come up against 25:22 me in attack, I don't have to worry about - I'm getting 25:25 older now - I don't have to argue back with them. 25:27 God bless you, thank you for sharing. I fall 25:29 down on my knees. [Aud. reaction] 25:33 PB: When we pray Jesus intercedes, 25:38 the Holy Ghost anoints, and God, like He did 25:42 in Matthew 4, sends angels to minister to us. 25:46 Number three: Jesus fought the devil with persistence. 25:53 Now, there is no such thing as a one-time knockout 25:58 punch with the devil. That's what's wrong with some of us, 26:02 we think once beaten always beaten. But let me remind you, 26:06 as the text says, the devil will leave you; but he only 26:08 leaves you for a season. You can beat the devil today, 26:12 but if you're not prayerful, he will come back with the 26:16 same test and the same temptation and beat you tomorrow. 26:19 That's why, if you pray that God would use you to beat 26:22 him last year, you'd better be prayed up this year. 26:25 The devil is persistent. The only way you can beat the 26:30 devil is to be more persistent. That's why the Bible says 26:34 you've got to pray without ceasing. It's been said that 26:37 with persistence, the slowest turtle and the smallest snail - 26:41 >: Thank you for joining us for another exciting Breath of 26:45 Life television broadcast. Tune in next week at the same time, 26:48 as Dr. Byrd will deliver another dynamic message from the Lord, 26:52 just for you. Until next time, may God bless you. 26:56 >: You're invited to join Dr. Carlton P. Byrd, speaker 27:00 and director for the Breath of Life television ministry, 27:02 and senior pastor here at the Oakwood University Church, 27:05 in Huntsville, Alabama, for a very special taping of the 27:09 nationally syndicated program. On January 30, 2016, 27:13 right here at Oakwood University Church, Breath of Life 27:16 will be recording an Easter special. It's going to be 27:19 aired on the ABC television network. Featuring a message 27:23 from Dr. Byrd, with musical guests, Grammy award-winning 27:26 songbird, CeCe Wynans; violinist Jaime Jorge; and the 27:31 internationally renowned Oakwood University Aeolian Concert Choir. 27:35 With God's help, this program is going to reach millions 27:38 of curious and interested individuals who otherwise 27:42 might not be able to be reached through traditional methods. 27:45 Please, join Pastor Byrd in this exceptional evangelistic 27:49 initiative. Your prayers, presence, and financial support 27:53 are both meaningful and essential. Again, join us 27:58 January 30, 2016, at 11 o'clock in the morning, 28:02 right here at the Oakwood University Church, 28:05 5500 Adventist Boulevard, in Huntsville, Alabama. 28:09 For more information, this is our 28:11 website: www.BreathofLife.TV. Dr. Carlton Byrd, CeCe Wynans, 28:18 Jaime Jorge, the Oakwood University Aeolians for 28:21 ABC's Easter special, to be aired March 27th 28:25 on the ABC television network. |
Revised 2016-01-08