Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000544A
|
00:01 BREATH OF LIFE MINISTRIES PRESENTS:
00:07 SERMON #544 GIVE THEM A FIGHTING CHANCE 00:14 [bREATH OF THEME MUSIC] 00:20 PB: Mark chapter 10, verse number 13. 00:24 The Word of God says in Mark chapter 10, 00:26 verse 13--if you have it, let me hear you say amen. 00:28 Aud.: Amen. PB: The Word says, "And they brought 00:30 young children to him, that he should touch them: 00:34 and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 00:40 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, 00:43 and said unto them, Suffer the little children 00:46 to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such 00:49 is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, 00:52 Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God 00:55 as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 00:59 And he took them up in his"--what, everybody? 01:02 Aud.: Arms. PB: Took them up in His what, everybody? 01:04 Aud.: Arms. PB: And He "put his hands upon them, 01:07 and"--He did what, everybody? Aud.: Blessed them. 01:09 PB: Do me a favor. Turn to your neighbor and say, Neighbor-- 01:10 Aud.: Neighbor. PB: Give them a fighting chance. 01:13 Aud.: Give them a fighting chance. PB: Father, bless us now 01:16 as we go in Your Word. Move in this place. 01:18 It's not about me but it's about You. 01:22 So speak to us today. And I pray that when the 01:28 appeal time comes, by the power of Your Spirit, 01:30 after You would have spoken to us, we would be 01:33 moved by Your Spirit to make a decision for You. 01:37 Forgive us for our sins, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. 01:41 You may be seated. Give them a fighting chance. 01:45 Everybody say, Give them-- Aud.: Give them. 01:47 PB: A fighting chance. Aud.: A fighting chance. 01:49 PB: All right, now, when we come to a new year, 01:51 everybody talks about new beginnings. 01:56 But some people don't celebrate the arrival of a new year, 02:00 they just celebrate the survival of the old year. 02:05 Somebody in this place is not so much as happy 02:09 that it's 2017, but you're just happy 2016 is over. 02:16 Do I have a witness in this place? So we come to 02:19 a new year. Somebody is trying to lose weight in 2017. 02:24 Somebody is trying to let go of stress and mess in 2017. 02:32 So because you're letting go of stress and mess, 02:33 you're letting go of stressy and messy people in 2017. 02:39 But I believe I've got somebody in this place that's 02:41 trying to graduate in 2017. [Aud. reaction] 02:44 PB: So, you're not fooling around. You're like, look, 02:49 this past week was my last registration at Oakwood. 02:54 Come hell or high water, in May I'm walking across 03:00 somebody's stage. Come on, say amen. [Aud. reaction] 03:03 PB: But then, somebody's trying to find a man in 2017. 03:06 Somebody's trying to find a lady in 2017. 03:10 Somebody's trying to get over there so they 03:12 can move on to their next in 2017. 03:16 [Aud. reaction] PB: Speaking of that, 03:18 I read this week where--I won't call names, 03:20 so let's do it this way--Person A gave some advice 03:25 to Person B. Person B was trying to get over their ex, 03:29 because Person B saw their ex with somebody else, 03:34 so Person B was crying. "There was somebody else. 03:38 What am I going to do?" But Person A said to him, "Hey, 03:41 hey, hey. Never get jealous when you see your ex with 03:46 somebody else, because our parents taught us to give 03:49 our used toys to the less fortunate." Amen! 03:53 [Aud. reaction] PB: Goodbye--Sister Johnson, 03:58 you like that one, don't you? You're like that. 04:01 Aha! Goodbye 2016, hello 2017. They are used toys. 04:10 Do I have a witness in this place? Let the less 04:13 fortunate have them. It's a new year, but the church 04:17 is not immune to new ideas, plans, goals. When the 04:21 church comes to a new year, we talk about these 04:24 new ideas, goals and plans through mission and vision. 04:28 So everybody say "mission." Aud.: Mission. 04:32 PB: Come on, say it like you mean it. Say "mission." 04:33 Aud.: Mission. PB: Now say "vision." 04:35 Aud.: Vision. PB: But don't confuse the two. 04:36 Mission and vision are not the same. Mission 04:39 is not the same thing as vision, and vision is 04:41 not the same thing as mission. Mission Is the general 04:44 purpose or calling shared by all congregations of believers. 04:48 Our Adventist mission is rooted in the gospel 04:51 Commission of Jesus. Go ye therefore, teach all nations, 04:56 baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 04:59 That's mission. But vision is different. 05:05 Vision is the distinct manner or method God 05:07 has given to us for the carrying out of that mission. 05:09 Now, let me be clear. Some of you may challenge me 05:12 on this subject, but it's the truth anyhow. 05:14 God gives vision to the leaders. I knew I wasn't 05:20 going to get any Amens on that. [Aud. reaction] 05:22 PB: God gives vision to the leaders. 05:28 God doesn't give vision to a committee. 05:32 God gives it to a leader. That's biblical. 05:36 If you don't believe me, if God had given vision 05:40 to the committee of Israel, the children of 05:44 Israel would still be tending fleshpots in Egypt. 05:48 God gave the vision to Moses. It's the leader's 05:53 responsibility to impart the vision to the people. 05:59 But oftentimes the problem with a dying church is, 06:03 it has no vision. Because the Bible says where there 06:07 is no vision, the people do what, everybody? 06:10 Aud.: Perish. PB: Remember, it was the blind activist, 06:13 Helen Keller, who was asked, "What could be worse than being born blind?" 06:17 She said, "Having sight with no vision." 06:21 But when God gives you a vision for ministry, 06:24 you know it's of God when the vision outlives you. 06:29 If the vision does not outlive you, then the vision 06:32 wasn't of God. God-given vision is bigger than you. 06:38 God-given vision is bigger than me. God-given vision 06:43 doesn't die with you or me. God-given vision doesn't 06:48 rest in your pocketbook or wallet. I've never had a 06:52 vision for ministry that I could afford. If I could 06:55 afford it, then I would say I did it. So God makes 06:58 sure I can't afford it, and you can't afford it. 07:01 So when God does it, we will all say it was God 07:05 who did it. If it's God's will, it's God's bill. 07:11 If it's God's choice, it's God's invoice. 07:16 This past Saturday night at this church we had our 07:18 church business meeting, and we talked about our 07:21 church mission. But I also shared the vision that 07:25 the Lord has given me for this church this year. 07:28 Yes, we need to preach the gospel--that's mission. 07:32 Yes, we need to teach the gospel--that's mission. 07:35 Yes, we need to spread the gospel--that's mission. 07:39 But our vision for ministry, our methods for ministry, 07:44 our manner for ministry this year must center around 07:49 children, youth, and young adults in this church. 07:55 Amen, somebody. Aud.: Amen. 07:57 PB: If not, we're going to die. 08:01 Now I know you don't want to hear it, 08:02 but it's the truth anyhow. If not, we die. 08:07 And because this is a hospital and not a hospice, 08:13 because there's a difference. Does somebody know 08:15 what I'm talking about? A hospice tries to make 08:18 you comfortable before you die, while a hospital 08:21 tries to make you well so you won't die. 08:24 We've got to make ministry to children, youth, 08:26 young adults a priority because we're not here 08:29 to make this church comfortable to die. 08:32 Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not here to 08:35 disparage anybody or here to displace anybody, 08:37 seniors included. We, as young people, stand on 08:40 the shoulders of those who have gone before us. 08:42 But this message today, as we begin the new academic year, 08:45 is a challenge to us to intentionally reach our young people. 08:50 [Aud. reaction] PB: Amen light. You see, 08:57 Satan is trying to take our young people out. 09:00 Satan is trying to destroy our young people. 09:04 Satan is trying to kill them. What do I mean? 09:07 For one, young people today are exposed earlier 09:11 than ever to illegal drugs. Based on a survey by 09:15 the CDC, 45 percent of high school students 09:18 nationwide drank alcohol and 19.7 percent smoked 09:21 pot during a one-month period. According to the 09:24 same survey, 30 percent of all young people between 09:27 the age of 12 and 17 years old said it would be 09:29 fairly easy or very easy to get marijuana. Weed. 09:33 Gonzo. I'm doing the best I can. [Aud. reaction] 09:42 PB: One in five said it would be easy to get cocaine. 09:50 One in 10 said it would be easy to get heroin. 09:54 Let me be clear, it's not just happening in the world. 09:57 It's happening in the church. It's happening here in 10:02 Huntsville. It's happening at Oakwood. I'm doing the 10:09 best I can, Sister. This is a great school. 10:15 I am proud to be an alumnus of this school, 10:19 but you also need to know that whatever you're 10:22 looking for at Oakwood, you will find it. 10:28 If you want Jesus at Oakwood, you'll find it. 10:33 And if you want weed at Oakwood-- [Aud. reaction] 10:40 PB: --you'll find it, too. [Aud. reaction] 10:43 PB: I don't want a witness in this place! Ha ha ha. 10:46 [Aud. reaction] PB: Don't act like you don't know 10:48 what I'm talking about. Do I need to walk down the 10:51 halls of the dorms? Or better yet, do I need to walk 10:59 down Oakwood Road. Getting quiet in here. 11:04 Pass the Unity Pond. It's getting quiet in here. 11:11 Pass Dr. Warren's house. Do I need to walk down 11:17 towards Jordan Lane? But not only that, 10 million 12- 11:22 to 20-year-olds drink and 65 percent of those binge drink. 11:26 Nearly 70 million Americans age 12 and over use tobacco, 11:29 and 59 percent of new smokers were under the age of 18 11:32 when they first started smoking. Three out of 10 American 11:35 girls will get pregnant before age 20, and 90 percent of 11:37 all teenage births occur outside of marriage. 11:41 But then there is violence. My daddy's hometown, Chicago. 11:45 I'm going there to tour, a revival. We're going to plant 11:47 a church there, Breath of Life, this summer. But we're 11:50 going to Chicago, and I was doing a study on Chicago and 11:52 there were 762 murders reported in Chicago in 2016 alone. 11:58 And notice, reported murders. One child, age 16 and younger, 12:04 is murdered in Chicago on average every week. So, what does 12:09 that mean? Children in Chicago have learned to hit the floor 12:12 at the sound of gunfire before they're even old enough to 12:15 set foot in a classroom to learn to read or write. 12:18 But it doesn't just affect us. It means nothing to us until 12:25 it's our children. Our grandchildren. So let me talk 12:30 about our children and our grandchildren. Let's go to 12:36 the Adventists, because for some of you living in the 12:38 twilight zone of a fuzzy existence, what's happening 12:41 in the world is also happening right here in the church. 12:44 Let's talk about our belief system. In a study conducted 12:48 by the Barna Group for the Adventist church in 2013, 12:50 27 percent of all Adventist youth between the ages of 12:54 18 and 29--that's the young people in the balcony--feel 12:57 it's okay to use illegal drugs. Thirty-nine percent 13:01 believe it's okay to engage in premarital sex. 13:04 Sixty-two percent feel it's okay to drink alcoholic beverages, 13:08 and 79 percent don't even feel modesty is important. 13:13 Wear what you want to wear. And we're sitting up here 13:17 arguing about whether we should go to the movies or not. 13:20 [Aud. reaction] PB: Millennials, persons who reached 13:25 adulthood in the 21st century, make up 26 percent of the 13:29 United States population, but only 14 percent of the 13:31 Adventist population of the United States. The average 13:35 age of the United States resident is 35, while the average 13:38 age of an Adventist is 61. In the last eight years, 13:44 33 percent of our Seventh-day Adventist members in the 13:46 North American Division have left the church. And of 13:49 those who left, 63 percent were young adults. 13:53 We're sitting up--not just Oakwood, I'm talking about 13:58 everywhere--worried about who can be president of this 14:01 and president of that. Worried about women's ordination 14:04 and women in ministry, arguing about drums, arguing about 14:08 music and what time the young people get to church. 14:11 I'm just thankful that they're in church, singing praises 14:16 to God in church. Do I have a witness in this place? 14:21 [Aud. reaction] PB: I said it on Saturday night. 14:23 Some people want to say, "Well, Pastor, it's the 14:25 shaking time. This is what's going to happen right 14:27 before the Lord comes, so oh well if the young people leave. 14:30 Let's just give up." No! We cannot just give up. We've got 14:37 to fight for our children. Fight for our young people. 14:41 Fight for our young adults. [Aud. reaction] 14:43 PB: Give them a fighting chance. These young people 14:48 are our future. They are our children, they are our kids, 14:52 our grandkids. Yes, their music is sometimes too loud. 14:57 Yes, their hair is sometimes red, yellow, black and white. 15:05 [Aud. reaction] PB: Yes, their dresses sometimes are too short. 15:18 Yes, the young men sometimes have hats on in church, 15:23 when they need to take them off. But I'm telling you, 15:27 my vision for this year--I'm not giving up on them. 15:30 [Aud. reaction] PB: I'm going to fight for them. 15:38 If the Lord delays His coming, one of them will 15:42 lead this church one day. If the Lord delays His coming, 15:45 one of these young people today will be the speaker-director 15:48 of Breath of Life. The devil cannot, will not, 15:53 shall not have our young people. [Aud. reaction] 15:58 PB: Our young people are a heritage from the Lord. 16:05 So that's why Jesus said in the text, "Suffer the 16:07 little children to come unto me and forbid them not, 16:10 for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 16:11 But I like the way The Message Bible puts it. 16:13 It puts it this way: "Don't push these children away. 16:15 Don't ever get between them and Me." This is Jesus. 16:19 "These children are at the very center of the 16:21 life of the kingdom, and unless you accept God's 16:23 kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you will never get in." 16:27 But look at the text. Look at verse 13. 16:31 Look at Mark 10:13. Come on, look at it, 16:32 I want you to read the Bible today. 16:34 Look at Mark 10, verse number 13. Mark 10:13, 16:37 if you have it let me hear you say amen. 16:39 Aud.: Amen. PB: The Word says in verse 13, 16:40 "And they brought"--they did what, everybody? 16:42 Aud.: Brought. PB: "They brought young children"--to whom? 16:44 Aud.: Him. PB: Come on, talk to me. And they what, 16:46 everybody? Brought young children to what? 16:49 Aud.: Him. PB: Now stop. Let's go through the text. 16:53 Notice the text says, "They brought young children to him." 16:58 They, that's the pronoun used here. Notice, the text does 17:02 not specifically state that the children were brought 17:04 by their parents. Okay, that may have been the case with 17:09 some of the children, but it does not specifically say 17:13 it was the parents who brought the children. The text says, 17:18 "And they brought young children to him," which means, 17:22 some parents may not have brought them. Which I then translate, 17:27 eisegesis, not every parent is interested in the spiritual 17:32 well-being of their child. The story is told of a four-year-old 17:38 little boy who, after the dedication of his baby brother in church, 17:40 cried all the way back home in the backseat of the car. 17:43 The boy's parents asked him, "Son, what's wrong? 17:46 Son, what's wrong? Son, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" 17:49 Getting no reply initially, they kept asking him, 17:52 but he finally replied, "Mommy and Daddy, 17:55 the preacher said he wanted us to be brought 17:59 up in a Christina home, but I wanted to stay with you guys." 18:02 [Aud. reaction] PB: Are you interested in the spiritual 18:08 welfare of your child? But truth be told, God is calling us 18:14 to be sensitive to the spiritual welfare of all children, 18:18 not just our own. Some folk don't understand the importance 18:21 of teaching young people about Jesus now. They want to wait 18:23 until their children are old enough to decide for themselves 18:29 about spiritual things. He's too young, he's too young, 18:32 she's too young. Let them decide when they get old. 18:34 But it's funny, because they don't let them wait until 18:37 they're old enough to decide for themselves if they 18:39 should go to school, go to the doctor, or clean their room. 18:45 I have a pastor friend who says, if they're old enough to be lost, 18:48 then they're old enough to be saved. 18:51 [Aud. reaction] PB: A preacher wanted to show off his garden, 18:54 trying to make a point to one of his members, 18:56 a man in his church who wouldn't let his children 18:58 go to church. The man wanted his children to wait 19:00 until they were old enough to decide to go to church 19:02 for themselves. So as the man and the preacher are 19:03 walking through the preacher's garden, the garden is 19:05 full of weeds. And the weeds are choking out the preacher's squash, 19:08 okra and beans. The man then says to the preacher, 19:11 "Preacher, this is a pitiful excuse for a garden." 19:15 The preacher responded, "Well, I just wanted to wait 19:17 until the vegetables had the chance to decide for 19:19 themselves what they wanted to do." [Aud. reaction] 19:23 PB: Look at verse 13 again. "And they brought young 19:28 children to him." Second point, "that he should touch them." 19:33 That He should do what, everybody? Aud.: Touch them. 19:34 PB: Come on, that he should do what, everybody? 19:35 Aud.: Touch them. PB: Now quickly, the people wanted 19:38 Jesus to touch the children. It was a common thing in 19:43 the Bible times for people to bring children to a prophet 19:46 or priest for them to bless their children. It was like 19:47 when we have a child dedication service for us today. 19:50 So in the text, the people wanted Jesus to pray and 19:53 touch their children, to tell them how much He loved 19:56 them and give a special blessing to them. But there were 19:58 hindrances to the children being touched. Look at the 20:03 next part of the text. "And his disciples rebuked those 20:09 that brought them." The disciples rebuked those that brought them. 20:18 The disciples, Christ's followers. The disciples, Christ's ambassadors. 20:27 The disciples, Christ's elders. The disciples, Christ's deacons. 20:34 The disciples, church folk. The disciples thought that 20:41 Jesus was too important to give attention to the children. 20:45 They thought that the children were a bother, a nuisance. 20:48 They thought they were trouble. Can't you see that Jesus 20:51 is busy with more important things than the children? 20:54 Jesus has work to do, leave Him alone. He's busy teaching us. 20:58 He does not care about them. The disciples were trying to 21:04 keep the children and young people away from Jesus. 21:07 The principle application for us is, sometimes without 21:10 realizing it, we keep the children away from Jesus. 21:13 You see, they can't drive to Sabbath School. 21:17 It's getting quiet in here. They can't drive to church. 21:21 They can't drive to choir rehearsal. They can't drive to AY. 21:23 I'm too tired. Nothing's going on over there, anyway. 21:26 You don't have to go. And we don't even realize it, 21:28 but we're keeping them away from Jesus, because if 21:30 they can't get to God's house, how are they 21:32 going to know about Jesus? [Aud. reaction] 21:35 PB: Oh, but it's not just the children, it's the youth. 21:38 It's the young adults. We don't even realize that we're 21:43 keeping them from Jesus. You can only sing one type of music. 21:49 You can't clap in here. You can't play the drums in here. 21:54 We don't do it that way. You can't serve in the pulpit. 21:56 You can't get a Sabbath School lesson. You don't give 21:59 money to the church. You don't contribute to the church. 22:04 It's quiet in here today. You're a liability, not an asset. 22:09 You're an expense, not a source of revenue, so be seen 22:13 and not heard. And then, without even realizing it, 22:17 we're keeping our very young people away from Jesus, 22:20 because then they don't want to come to the house of God. 22:23 But you know what? Our world is full of enough hindrances 22:26 for our children. We've got enough hindrances in our world 22:30 that we don't need to keep them from Jesus. We've got drugs, 22:32 alcohol, sexual perversion, violence, bad influences, 22:34 peer pressure, to keep them out. Let's not help the world. 22:38 Give our young people a fighting chance. The disciples didn't 22:43 want the children to come to Jesus. The disciples thought 22:46 they were more important to Jesus. They thought Jesus was 22:48 more interested in them. After all, they were the ones 22:51 who did the most important things. They tithed. 22:55 They gave offering. They taught Sabbath School. 22:59 They sang in the choir. They knew the Bible. 23:03 They thought they were more important to Jesus than the children. 23:06 Oh, but Jesus. Jesus uses this as a great time to teach a lesson. 23:13 The lesson is a lesson of grace. Jesus' love for you, my friends, 23:19 is not based on performance. Jesus' love for you is not based on activity. 23:25 Jesus' love for you is not based on what you do, it's based on what 23:29 He's already done. Jesus' love for you is based on grace. 23:34 For by grace are ye saved, through faith and not of yourselves. 23:38 It is a gift from God. The disciples were trying to outdo each 23:41 other to earn favor with Jesus, to see who could get promoted 23:44 first in the kingdom. They were trying to earn favor with God, 23:49 so they asked, What had these children done to deserve the love of Jesus? 23:54 Had they sacrificed and put money in the Restoration 40 project? 24:00 Had they taught a Sabbath School class? Had they participated 24:05 in the Heaven's Storehouse and Cabinet Corner ministry? 24:09 But Jesus in the text shows them a loving picture of grace. 24:13 Jesus shows them love for a little child who hadn't done 24:17 anything to earn it. Jesus shows what His grace is all about. 24:21 The disciples have rebuked those children that had come to Jesus, 24:24 but Jesus then rebuked them. They thought they were going to 24:30 get those children told. But then Jesus got them told. Jesus said, 24:36 the way you treat a child is the same way you're treating Me. 24:39 Children are what the kingdom is all about, and when we invest 24:44 in our young people, we're investing in the kingdom. 24:47 But not only that, what we invest in our young people we're 24:51 investing in the kingdom. I don't know if you know it, 24:53 but 83 percent of those who come to know the Lord do so 24:55 before the age of 18. IN fact, two out of every three solid 24:59 Christians make the decision for Christ between the ages of 25:02 13 to 19, which means if the Lord delays His coming, 25:05 if we don't do anything about this, where will His church 25:07 be 20 years from now? We invest in houses, and they will 25:13 get eaten by termites. They will burn, blow away in a tornado 25:18 or hurricane. We invest in cars that will rust, break down 25:23 and get crushed for scrap metal one day. We invest in clothes 25:29 that go out of style, get too big, get too little. 25:34 I won't be able to take my house with me to heaven, 25:38 because I've already got a mansion waiting in heaven for me. 25:43 I won't be able to take that Mercedes with me to heaven, 25:47 but I'm going to take up wings and fly from my mansion 25:50 to your mansion. I don't need any clothes in heaven, 25:54 I've already got a robe of righteousness that's waiting for me. 25:59 The things I spend my money and time on here on earth won't 26:03 mean a thing in heaven. But what we invest in our children 26:09 and young people will count for eternity. 26:12 Let me tell you something. This church-- 26:17 do not out-Adventist me--this church was started by young people. 26:24 And the servant of the Lord says it will be finished by young people. 26:31 You don't believe me? Ellen White says that “with such an army 26:33 of workers as our youth,” she says, “rightly trained, 26:37 might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, 26:40 risen, and soon-coming Savior might be carried to the world.” 26:43 Serving the Lord is not just for the older folks. 26:48 Serving the Lord is not just for young folks. 26:53 Serving the Lord is for everybody. So Jesus, 26:58 He says it, when He closes out in verse number 15. 27:01 He puts the people beneath the children. 27:03 "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as 27:06 a little child," He says, they "shall not enter therein." 27:10 Ministering, then, to youth cannot be taken lightly. 27:12 We are losing our youth to many false religions of drugs, 27:16 alcohol, sexuality, homosexuality, and the lifestyles of this world. 27:26 The message of our old forms of teaching is no longer having 27:30 an effect on our young people. I say it all the time: 27:34 you can't do 8-track ministry in a DVD society. 27:37 We're up here preaching and talking, and they sit 27:40 in the pews on their phones, Twitter, Instagram, 27:43 Snap Chat, because they're finding this message 27:45 boring and of no interest. Now don't misunderstand me, 27:48 there's nothing wrong with our message. That's not the problem. 27:49 The message is the same, but the methods must be different. 27:52 The same way you found Jesus may not be the same way somebody 27:56 else finds Jesus. The way your mother came in may not be 27:59 the way you came in, and the way you came in may not be 28:02 the way your child comes in. But are we so caught up in 28:05 our past that we can't be ready to take God's message 28:07 in the future? Are we so enslaved in the way it used 28:10 to be that we can't be liberated by the way it ought to be? 28:13 Folk are tired of revelation without relevance. 28:15 >: Thank you for joining us for another exciting 28:17 Breath of Life television broadcast. 28:19 Tune in next week at the same time, 28:21 as Dr. Byrd will deliver another dynamic message 28:24 from the Lord, just for you. 28:26 Until next time, may God bless you. 28:28 END |
Revised 2017-01-25