Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000531A
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00:01 BREATH OF LIFE MINISTRIES
00:04 PERSENTS B531 Is Anything Too Hard for God? 00:10 [BREATH OF LIFE THEME MUSIC] 00:21 PB: Esther chapter 4, verse number 13. If you have it, 00:24 let me hear you say amen. Aud.: Amen. 00:26 PB: The Word of God says, "Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, 00:29 Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, 00:34 more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy 00:38 peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and 00:43 deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; 00:46 but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: 00:50 and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom 00:53 for such a time as this? Then Esther bade them return 00:59 Mordecai this answer, Go, gather together all the Jews 01:03 that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, 01:08 and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: 01:11 I also and my maidens will fast likewise; 01:14 and so will I go in unto the king, which is 01:16 not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. 01:22 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to 01:24 all that Esther had commanded him." 01:28 Today's subject and title, "Is There Anything Too Hard for God?" 01:34 Father, bless us now as we open up Your printed page. 01:37 Make it come alive and practically apply it to our lives. 01:40 And Lord, we know the answer to that question. 01:43 There is nothing too hard for You. May we believe 01:45 it even more after this sermon. 01:47 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 01:51 When you read the story of Esther, many life 01:54 lessons come to mind. I can't share them all today, 01:56 but let me just share this one quickly. 01:58 It's not a curse to be single. Now, 02:03 I thought the single folk would say amen off that. 02:06 Let me try that one more time. It's not a 02:10 curse to be single. Yes, I'm married, 02:16 and I'm happily married. And I wouldn't trade 02:20 my marriage for anything or anybody. 02:23 But let me remind that single person out there today, 02:28 it's not a curse to be single. Who you marry, 02:35 however, will likely impact where you spend eternity. 02:40 So take your time. Take your what, everybody? 02:44 Aud.: Time. PB: Come on, say it again. 02:46 Take your what, everybody? Aud.: Time. 02:47 PB: To the freshmen today: Don't get caught 02:50 up with dating the first person you meet at Oakwood. 02:55 [Aud. reaction] PB: You just got to Oakwood, 02:59 and all you can do is think about that one somebody, 03:03 and then you want to get married. No, no, no, no, no. 03:05 Group date. Everybody go out together. Come on, say amen 03:09 Aud.: Amen. PB: Take your time. Too many people 03:13 rush to the marriage altar for the wrong reasons. 03:16 Some feel their biological clock is ticking and running out, 03:19 so I'd better get married because it's getting late in 03:21 the evening and my sun is about to set. Maybe somebody 03:25 feels the pressure of family and friends who say, 03:27 you need to go on and get married, because if you don't, 03:30 you're going to end up by yourself. But then maybe there's 03:34 somebody who got married because they made a mistake 03:37 and got pregnant. And so they felt that if I marry my 03:40 baby's daddy, that will make everything all right. 03:45 But I'm here to let somebody know that sperm donorship 03:48 does not qualify soulmateship. Just because you made 03:54 a mistake, don't make two. And to the brothers--listen 03:58 to me good, brothers--if you wouldn't make her a wife, 04:01 then don't make her mother. Do I have a witness in this place? 04:05 [Aud. reaction] PB: Marry the right person, a godly person, 04:11 somebody who loves you and loves the Lord, 04:13 because it's better to be happily unmarried 04:17 than to be unhappily married. Are you hearing 04:19 what I'm saying? If you are by yourself, 04:23 take your own self out. It's cheaper that way. 04:27 Do I have a witness in this place? 04:29 [Aud. reaction] PB: Buy your own self a gift 04:32 card to Olive Garden, and you and God go out for dinner. 04:36 Are you hearing what I'm saying? You and God go to the mall. 04:40 You and God rent a movie on Saturday night, watch that movie, 04:44 buy you some popcorn, get snuggled up in a blanket with God. 04:48 Sometimes you've got to encourage yourself in the Lord. 04:51 It's not a curse to be single. If you're single or you 04:57 come from a single-parent home, God loves you, 05:02 and God will bless you just like He blesses a married parent 05:07 or an individual from a married-parent home. 05:10 God has a purpose for what He allows. 05:14 Esther was such a person. Esther's mother had died. 05:19 Her father had died. No parents. The Bible says her cousin, 05:24 Mordecai, took her in, became a single parent, 05:27 but God raised her up. Despite then how the enemy 05:32 will afflict you. I believe I've got a witness in 05:35 this place that knows God will raise you up. 05:38 Does anybody know that your setback is just a 05:42 setup for a comeback. God will raise you up. 05:46 I wish I had a witness in this place. 05:48 Quickly, a summary of Esther's book. In chapter 1, 05:52 the king displays his affluence and prosperity 05:54 through parties and celebrations for six months. 05:56 He culminates with a seventh-day feast. On day seven, 06:00 the Bible says he calls his queen, Vashti, 06:02 to come and display her beauty. Vashti refuses, 06:05 so the king is embarrassed. Vashti is banished 06:08 from the king's presence and a new queen is sought. 06:12 In chapter 2, Esther, a Jew, is chosen to become queen. 06:16 Esther goes through 12 months of beauty treatment 06:19 before she even meets the king. Let me throw this in: 06:23 It takes time to look good. [Aud. reaction] 06:25 PB: You can't rush looking good. Get your hair done. 06:29 Are you hearing what I'm saying? Pull your pants up. 06:30 Are you hearing what I'm saying? Make sure you smell nice. 06:33 All this talk about God accepts me as I am, 06:35 as we begin a new school year, when you come to 06:38 God's house, when you come to see the King of 06:40 Kings and the Lord of Lords, you come with your best. 06:42 Are you hearing what I'm saying? [Aud. reaction] 06:44 PB: Now. Chapter 2 also reports the good deed of 06:49 Mordecai in saving the king's life by alerting him 06:52 through Esther of an assassination attempt on his life. 06:55 Mordecai is not rewarded for this act, but this 06:59 deed is recorded in the history books and later 07:02 serves as a blessing for Mordecai in the future. 07:04 In chapter 3, a man by the name of Haman--everybody say Haman. 07:09 Aud.: Haman. PB: Haman is introduced. Haman is 07:12 honored by the king and given a high position in the kingdom. 07:15 Haman is made with Mordecai, because Mordecai refuses 07:18 to bow down to him. But Mordecai remembers, thou shalt 07:22 have no other gods before me. Haman then gets mad. 07:27 Haman plans the execution of not just Mordecai but 07:30 all the Jews in the country. In chapter 4, 07:34 in order to stop the execution of the Jews, 07:36 Mordecai calls on his niece, Esther, to intercede 07:41 with the king on behalf of the Jewish people. 07:44 The king doesn't have a clue that Esther is a Jew. 07:48 Esther has no clue as to how the king will respond 07:52 to her coming in to see him, because if you went 07:55 in to see the king without the king's acceptance, 07:57 or without being called by the king, it was 07:59 punishable by death. Mordecai gives Esther 08:04 some strong counsel. We just read it in chapter 4. 08:06 He says, look, Esther, don't think that just because 08:10 you live in the king's house you're the one 08:14 Jew who's going to get out of this alive. 08:17 In other words, don't think that just because 08:19 you made it to the king's house, you've arrived. 08:22 Some people make it a little higher and they 08:24 forget the folk that helped them get there. 08:26 I wish I had time. He said if you remain silent 08:30 at a time like this, I need you to know, Esther, 08:33 that help and deliverance will come. They will 08:38 come from somewhere else. But you and your family 08:42 will be wiped out. But who knows. Maybe you were 08:47 made queen for such a time as this. 08:52 In chapter 5, Esther goes in before the king. 08:56 The king extends his golden scepter to her, 08:58 signifying his acceptance for her to come in. 09:01 She invites the king and Haman to a banquet. 09:05 She does this to get the timing right before 09:08 she informs the king about Haman's plot to kill 09:10 all the Jews. In the meantime, Haman's hatred 09:14 for Mordecai is growing by the minute. On the 09:18 advice of his friends and his wife, Haman builds 09:21 gallows to hang Mordecai. But in chapter 6, 09:26 God moves to save the Jews. The king can't sleep 09:32 one night, and so he asks for the history books 09:36 to be read to him. The deeds of Mordecai in saving 09:39 the king are, as recorded I chapter 2, are read to him. 09:43 The king--I love this part--then asks Haman what 09:46 should be done for a man that the king wants to honor. 09:50 Haman thinks the king is talking about him. He orders 09:54 an abundant feast to be given for him. Little did he know, 09:57 the feast wasn't for him but it was for God's anointed, 10:01 Mordecai. The king orders Haman to do this feast for Mordecai. 10:06 Isn't it amazing how God will turn a situation around? 10:10 [Aud. reaction] PB: One day you can be up. 10:12 The next day you can be down. And one day you can be down, 10:17 and the next day you can be up. That's why I've 10:20 got to treat Pastor Bolden right. He may sign my 10:22 check one day. Do I have a witness in this place? 10:25 [Aud. reaction] PB: In chapter 7, Esther reveals 10:28 to the king that she's a Jew. Haman has plotted to 10:32 kill them all. Haman is then hung on the very gallows 10:37 that he prepared for Mordecai. You all don't hear 10:42 what I'm saying. Let me just say it this way: 10:44 Be careful of the traps you set for others. 10:48 You do reap what you sow. The same traps that 10:53 you set for somebody else may be the same trap 10:57 you fall in yourself. Be ye sure your sins 11:01 will find you out. In chapters 8, 9 and 10, 11:05 all the Jews are saved, and all of Haman's children 11:08 are killed. In fact, on the day that Haman had 11:11 assigned for the Jews to be killed, the Jews 11:14 defeated their enemies, killing 75,000 who hated them. 11:18 Somebody knows the battle is not yours; it's the Lord's. 11:21 Is there anything too hard for God? Let me give 11:28 you my five points, if I can make it to five, 11:31 then I'm going to sit down. Number one, 11:33 God is sovereign, and we know that all 11:38 things work together for good to them who 11:41 love the Lord and are the called according 11:44 to His purpose. Let me tell you something quickly. 11:47 God has a plan, and everything happens according 11:50 to His sovereign plan. Why are you positioned 11:54 where you are? Why do you work where you work? 11:58 Why do you live where you live? Why do you go 12:02 to school where you go to school? Why do you 12:05 go to church where you go to church? You do 12:08 what you do because God has assigned you here 12:11 and there for such a time as this. 12:15 Here's a little girl. No money, no parents, 12:20 seemingly no future, but God would use her to 12:25 become the very key to the survival of her people. 12:28 In spite of her past. In spite of her brokenness. 12:34 God used this young lady. God can do the same for you. 12:39 Let me tell you something I was reading this week. 12:41 God doesn't recruit you without a calling. 12:46 Let me say that again. God doesn't recruit you 12:48 without a calling. God calls everybody to use 12:52 the gifts they have, but not everybody picks up 12:54 the phone. But not only that--listen to me--sometimes, 12:59 because God is sovereign, God will employ people 13:03 whose motives are not godly, and whose actions are 13:07 not saintly, to accomplish His purpose for your life. 13:11 Sometimes God employs the sins of other people and 13:16 their rebellion against Him and His people to further 13:19 His purposes. Even when a man like Haman is doing his 13:23 best to deny and defeat God's promises and purposes, 13:26 nothing can interrupt or hinder God's purpose. 13:31 You don't believe me? A Red Sea could not stop /God. 13:35 Afflictions and boils and loss of family on Job 13:39 couldn't stop God. A lions' den could not stop God. 13:43 A fiery furnace could not stop God. I dare you to 13:48 put God on the front line of your life, and see if 13:52 God won't fail. I dare you, 'cause out of all the 13:55 things that God can't do, God can't fail. Because He's God. 14:00 CEO of the universe. You didn't vote Him in, and you 14:05 can't vote Him out. God is sovereign. God can do what 14:10 He wants, when He wants, where He wants, how He wants, 14:15 and He doesn't have to ask you or me for permission 14:18 to do as He wants. Understand God is sovereign. 14:23 But then number two, purpose will make you au target. 14:28 Because Mordecai wouldn't change his mind about bowing 14:31 to Haman, the other officials in the kingdom went 14:33 and told Haman, he won't bow to you. Haman orders 14:37 the genocide of the entire Jewish human race. 14:40 Whenever you're doing something for the Lord, friends, 14:42 and fulfilling God's purpose for your life, there 14:44 will always be haters. Haters are a part of the process. 14:49 I preached a sermon, "How to Handle Hate.” 14:51 Hate is a people who are jealous of you, 14:53 envy what you have, and when you put envy and 14:54 jealousy together, guess what you have. A hater. 14:56 These are people who cannot stand to see you blessed. 15:00 All they do is talk about what you do have and try 15:03 to figure out how you got it. But somebody needs to know, 15:06 what God has for me, it is for me. 15:10 Ellen White says, "Satan seeks to excite envy among 15:14 God's people." She says, "Envy grieves God." 15:18 There are some people who don't like you on your 15:20 job because they think you're going to take their position. 15:24 There are some people who don't like you in the 15:26 church because they think you're going to take 15:28 their position. They think that you want what they've got, 15:30 but the truth of the matter is, they don't have a thing. 15:32 And how can you want nothing? I wish I had a witness 15:34 in this place. [Aud. reaction] 15:36 PB: That's why you've got to make up your mind. 15:39 I'm getting older, elders, I'm understanding. 15:40 I'm getting older and understanding that you can't 15:43 have negative folk around you, You can't have 15:46 depressed folk around you. You can't have trifling 15:50 folk around you. So many people, you're in the same 15:54 rut year after year after year because you keep 15:58 the same negative, trifling, depressed folk around you, 16:01 who don't have nothing, don't want nothing, 16:04 and don't want anybody else to have nothing. 16:06 Excuse the double negatives. [Aud. reaction] 16:10 PB: I'm tired of hanging around folk who aren't going 16:12 where I'm going. Blessed is the man who walketh not in 16:15 the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of 16:18 sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 16:20 His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his 16:22 law doth he meditate day and night. I don't know about you, 16:26 but I'm calling the devil out. The devil is alive. 16:30 Young people who are new here, change your crown. 16:33 If you ain't with me, then get from around me because 16:37 I'm going somewhere, and what God is doing in my life, 16:42 don't hate me, just love me, because I'm trying to tell 16:45 you it's of God and not of me. So don't hate the player, 16:49 hate the game. Do I have a witness in this place? 16:51 [Aud. reaction] PB: And then if you're the victim 16:54 of somebody hating you, remember this like Mordecai. 16:56 Don't retaliate in your own strength. God is your 16:59 deliverance. God's favor on you is His greatest weapon. 17:02 If I hold my peace and let the Lord fight my battles, 17:07 victory shall be mine. Number three. 17:12 God's timing is not your timing. Let me say that again: 17:17 God's timing. God's what, everybody? Aud.: Timing. 17:19 PB: Is not your what, everybody? Aud.: Timing. 17:21 PB: Think about it. Think about it. 17:24 Esther and Mordecai didn't orchestrate the 17:27 king's sleepless night, in chapter 6. 17:30 They didn't give him something to keep 17:32 him up all night. Neither did they determine, 17:35 in chapter, 2, that Mordecai would uncover 17:38 the assassination attempt on the king's life, 17:40 and that Mordecai would be honored, in chapter 6, 17:43 for his efforts in chapter 2. But God. But God, 17:49 who doeth all things well, knew that Mordecai 17:55 didn't need to be honored, in chapter 2. 17:59 Because there would be a greater time for 18:02 Mordecai to be recognized in chapter 6, 18:05 because in chapter 7 when Esther would go 18:08 in to see the king on behalf of the Jews, 18:10 the king remembered what Mordecai had done 18:12 for him back in chapter 2, honored him in 18:15 chapter 6, and in chapter 7 would preserve 18:17 the Jewish people because of what he did, in chapter 2. 18:22 Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. [Aud. reaction] 18:24 PB: He's an on-time God, yes He is. 18:29 He may not come when you want Him, but He's 18:32 always right on time. Somebody's sitting there, 18:36 asking God when are You going to come through? 18:38 When are You going to deliver me? When am I 18:41 going to get the job? When am I going to get married? 18:43 When am I going to get the financial scholarship? 18:46 When am I going to get financially clear? Let me 18:48 tell you something, in the name of Jesus. 18:52 In God's own way, in God's own time, 18:58 God will come through. Number four. 19:03 Your background does not hinder your 19:08 future with God. Esther was an orphan. 19:13 Her parents died. She didn't live in 19:17 the big house. She lived in the outhouse. 19:20 But God still exalted and used her. 19:24 Church, students, everybody: your background 19:29 does not determine what God can do with you. 19:33 Your faith does. Somebody said, I didn't come 19:38 from the right family. Don't worry about it. 19:41 I didn't come from the right city. 19:42 Don't worry about it. I didn't come from the 19:45 right background. Don't worry about, 19:47 I didn't come from the right country. 19:50 Don't worry about it. I didn't come from the 19:53 right circumstances. God says, don't worry about it. 19:57 Understand, I use ordinary people. 19:59 People like you and me who are willing to 20:01 do as He commands. Let me call the biblical 20:04 roll this afternoon. Noah was a drunkard. 20:07 Abraham was too old. Josiah was too young. 20:11 Jacob was a liar. Joseph was abused. 20:15 Gideon was scared. Elijah was suicidal. 20:19 Samson had dreads. David was an adulterer. 20:22 Solomon was a womanizer. Rahab was a prostitute. 20:26 Jeremiah was a whiner. Jonah ran from God. 20:30 Job went bankrupt. The Samaritan woman 20:33 had five husbands. Zacchaeus was too short. 20:36 Peter denied Christ. Judas betrayed Christ. 20:40 The disciples fell asleep while praying. 20:42 Mary was lazy. Martha worried about everything. 20:45 Lazarus was dead! [Aud. reaction] 20:50 PB: But God. But God can use whom He wants, 21:00 when He wants, where He wants, and how He wants. 21:05 Do I have a witness in this place? [Aud. reaction] 21:07 PB: Let me be clear to you. God can use those 21:10 that are ill-borne, or born without perceived hope 21:12 or honor, or with the shadows of dishonor. 21:15 So-called illegitimate. Let me be clear. 21:17 In Oakwood today and those watching by 21:19 Breath of Life, there are no illegitimate children 21:22 in God's family. There are no illegitimate parents 21:26 in God's church. If you made a mistake, 21:30 God doesn't want you to wallow in the guilt, 21:33 gutter of guilt, grief and shame. Confess your sins, 21:38 hold your head up, stick your chest out; 21:43 put one foot in front of the other. 21:46 Don't let folk knock you down. 21:49 Don't let the so-called sanctified saints 21:52 skin you up. Take God at God's Word. 21:56 There is therefore no condemnation to those 21:59 who are in Jesus Christ. If God has washed it 22:03 in God's blood, if God has covered you in God's love, 22:07 if God has forgiven you of your sins, hold your head up. 22:12 Put your foot in front of the other. 22:15 Start walking by faith not by sight. 22:20 Forget what somebody might say about you. 22:23 Forget what somebody might think about you. 22:25 Forget how somebody might feel about you. 22:28 Know that God needs you. God loves you. 22:31 God died to save you, and that's all you need to know. 22:36 It's not about how you got here that counts. 22:41 It's what you decide to do, once you arrive. 22:45 Let me tell you something: the devil hates you. 22:49 Because every one of you, all of you young people, 22:52 you have potential to devastate his kingdom. 22:57 The devil hates you. Every one of you has the 23:02 potential to walk in the same power and the 23:04 same anointing that Jesus did. The devil hates you. 23:09 Jesus said, however, that "the works that I shall do, 23:13 ye do also, and greater works than these shall you do." 23:19 The devil has tried to destroy you. The devil has 23:22 tried to kill you. Some of you have had to fight 23:25 for your sanity. And if it weren't for the Lord, 23:30 you'd be in some institution right now. 23:32 Somebody else, if it weren't for the Lord, 23:35 you would have died in some tragic accident. 23:38 But somebody else, if it weren't for the Lord, 23:40 you would be spending the rest of your life 23:43 watching this service in cell block B. 23:47 [Aud. reaction] PB: The devil has done his 23:50 best to kill you. But is there anything too hard for my God? 23:58 Some of you, it's a miracle that you survived your teen years. 24:04 All around you, folk die from some senseless 24:07 disease or gang violence, but the devil has been 24:10 trying to kill you. Why? He wanted to kill you before 24:16 you discover your identity and destiny, because the 24:19 most dangerous people in the world to the devil 24:22 re men and women who have discovered their destiny, 24:25 because when you discover your destiny, you're a threat to hell. 24:28 Remember, wind never blows in the direction of a 24:37 ship with no direction and no destination. But when 24:41 you discover your destiny, all the power of heaven 24:43 comes to empower you. The devil wanted you dead, 24:46 but you're still here. You're still here. 24:49 And it's your turn now. Esther was waiting; patiently 24:55 Esther was waiting. Waiting for her time to come 24:58 before the king. Like Esther, many of you have felt 25:02 like you have been in the waiting room forever. 25:05 But now you're getting ready to move in the 25:09 delivery room, because it's your turn now. 25:13 Some of you have felt like the old saying, 25:16 always a bridesmaid never a bride. 25:22 But it's your turn now. Some of you have felt 25:25 like the batter in the warmup box. You're saying, 25:30 will I ever get to bat? Will I ever get to hit? 25:34 Will it ever be my turn? You watch others get promoted. 25:38 You've seen others move in the anointing. 25:40 You've seen God bless others, and you're 25:43 saying when will it be my time? 25:45 I may not hit a home run, but at least I 25:49 want my shot at it. I want to swing at it. 25:53 I want to stand in the batter's box and know 25:55 that I'm there because I paid my dues. 25:58 Well, it's your time now. Swing for the fence. 26:03 You may not hit a home run; it may not be a triple, 26:08 a double, not even a single. But that's all right, 26:12 because the good news is, you're not the only 26:15 one on the team. Don't be afraid to swing, 26:20 because you've got a God, and you serve a God, 26:24 who's got your back. "Fear thou not, 26:29 for I am with thee. Be not dismayed for I am thy God. 26:33 I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee. 26:37 I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." 26:41 If God be for us, who can be against us? No weapon formed 26:47 against us is going to prosper. It won't work, 26:51 because I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 26:55 Is there anything too hard for God? [Aud. reaction] 27:00 PB: And then number five: salvation is of the Lord. 27:08 Despite the sins of the Jews over the years--' 27:12 cause don't think that the people of God have 27:14 always had their stuff together. The children of 27:16 Israel were stiff-necked at times. We're also 27:20 stiff-necked at times. The children of Israel 27:25 wandered in the wilderness 40 years. 27:27 We're probably wandering 120 years. 27:29 But despite the sins of the Jews over the years, 27:34 God spared them from the destruction Haman 27:38 had prepared for them. 27:40 Let me tell you something. Here it goes. 27:42 God's joy is not found in the punishment 27:47 of the wicked. God's joy is in the salvation of sinners, 27:56 so they can spend eternity with Him. 28:01 God is not willing that any should perish, 28:06 but that all should come to repentance. 28:09 God has not come back to the earth yet, 28:12 because He told the angel, hurt not the earth-- 28:14 >: Thank you for joining us for another exciting 28:15 Breath of Life television broadcast. 28:18 Tune in next week at the same time, 28:20 as Dr. Byrd will deliver another dynamic 28:23 message from the Lord, just for you. 28:25 Until next time, may God bless you. 28:27 END |
Revised 2016-08-31