Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000546A
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00:02 BREATH OF LIFE MINISTRIES PRESENTS:
00:08 SERMON #546 - "IS THERE NOT A CAUSE?" 00:12 [BREATH OF LIFE THEME MUSIC] 00:20 PB: Daniel 3:16. If you have it now, let me hear you say amen. 00:24 Aud.: Amen. PB: The Word says, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 00:27 answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, 00:30 we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 00:34 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able"--is what, everybody? 00:40 Aud.: Able. PB: Come on, is what, everybody? 00:42 Aud.: Able. PB: "Able to deliver us from the 00:45 burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us 00:47 out of thine hand, O king. But if not"--that's 00:53 my favorite, one of my favorite texts--but if not. 00:57 We know what he can do, but if not, "be it known unto thee, 01:01 O king, that we will not serve thy gods, 01:04 nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." 01:09 Is there not a cause? Father God, bless us now as 01:13 we open up Your printed page. Forgive us for our sins, 01:16 hide us behind Your cross, forgive me of my sins. 01:19 And Lord, I pray that Your people not see me but 01:21 see Thee working and living through me. When the 01:23 appeal time comes move by Your power, sprinkle out 01:26 Your grace, and may Your people, because they 01:29 want to soon see Your face, come give their 01:30 lives to You. It's in the name of Jesus we pray 01:33 this prayer and we ask these things. Let everyone 01:35 say Amen, and Amen. Is there not a cause? 01:42 These words are taken from a young shepherd 01:47 boy by the name of David, who was in a land 01:50 being stalked by a giant. And everyone else 01:52 in the land was scared. And so while everyone 01:56 else cowered around him, including his own brothers, 01:58 David asks, Is there not a cause? 02:03 Is there not a cause to fight? 02:06 Is there not a reason to stand up? 02:09 The world in which we live is full of causes. 02:12 You name it, we've got it: civil rights, 02:16 women's rights, immigration rights, workers' rights, 02:21 voting rights, abortion rights, anti-abortion rights. 02:28 We've all got causes, and some causes are godly 02:33 and some are ungodly. And for that which is ungodly, 02:38 this young preacher down at Oakwood just believes 02:41 that the church has got to stand up and fight. 02:46 There are some people who think the church is 02:50 supposed to watch on the sidelines, 02:54 while people are oppressed, victimized, 02:57 demoralized, brutalized, afflicted, persecuted 03:02 and exploited. But the church must be a voice 03:07 for the voiceless. The church is supposed to 03:10 speak when people can't speak for themselves. 03:14 Martin King said it best. He said the ultimate 03:16 tragedy in our world is not the oppression and 03:19 cruelty by the bad people but the silence 03:22 of the good people. [Aud. reaction] 03:24 PB: There are giants stalking in our land: 03:27 giants in our cities, giants in our states, 03:33 giants in congress, giants in the White House. 03:39 But, the church seems to be burying its head in 03:45 the sand. But we've got to get up, stand up, 03:50 and fight, because there is a cause. Every person 03:55 whether male or female, black or white, young or old, 03:58 rich or old, educated or uneducated, professional or 04:01 common laborer, ought to stand for something. 04:05 Every person ought to live for something and possess 04:07 some basic principles, convictions and beliefs 04:09 that he or she is willing to die for, because a 04:12 man who stands for nothing will fall for anything. 04:16 My daddy taught me at a young age, when you become a 04:18 man you'd better stand on the ground you walk on. 04:20 Are you hearing what I'm saying? But the trouble 04:22 with most of us is that we are too fickle and afraid 04:25 to commit ourselves too much to any one cause or 04:27 course of action. Rather than commit ourselves to 04:31 something that we are willing to back with our lives, 04:33 our jobs, or other symbols of human security, 04:36 too many of us want to play it safe. Safe with indecision, 04:41 where we don't make any choices but we allow others to 04:44 make decisions for us. Safe with popularity, 04:48 where having people speak well of us means more 04:51 than the integrity of our convictions. Safe with convenience, 04:55 where we advocate a cause as long as it doesn't cost us anything. 04:59 Safe with two-facedness, where you say one thing in 05:04 my face but you say another thing behind my back. 05:07 [Aud. reaction] PB: But no one respects anybody 05:09 who tries to stand on both sides of the fence. 05:13 No one respects anybody who talks out of both 05:16 sides of their mouth. No one respects anybody who 05:20 is nothing more than an opportunist, and the Bible 05:23 supports that. Joshua told Israel, Choose you this 05:26 day whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, 05:30 we're going to serve the Lord. Elijah told the prophets 05:33 there on Mount Carmel, when fires came down from heaven, 05:36 How long do you halt between two opinions? 05:38 If the Lord be God, then follow Him. But if Baal, 05:43 follow him. But Jesus the Christ even said, 05:45 No man can serve two masters. Either he will 05:48 hate the one and love the other. The story in 05:51 our text is of three young men who decided to 05:54 stand for a cause and found themselves in a fiery furnace. 05:57 Now the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 06:00 is not foreign to us. We know the story all too well. 06:04 But familiarity with the story of the fiery furnace 06:06 can also be an impediment to our spiritual walk, 06:09 because familiarity breeds contempt. We are told 06:13 that car accidents happen close to home because 06:16 we're so familiar with the area, we pay less 06:19 attention to our driving. I am reminded that 06:22 after driving on a long trip, most speeding 06:26 tickets are received within 50 miles of your 06:28 destination. Because we are so familiar with 06:31 the area, we pay less attention to where the 06:34 police may be hiding out. In the same way, 06:37 familiar passages of Scripture may receive 06:40 less of our attention. We know the stories of 06:43 David and Goliath, Samson and Delilah, 06:47 Jonah and the big fish, but too often we 06:50 fail to grasp the meaning and message they 06:52 were intended to convey because of our 06:54 superficial understanding of the characters and events. 06:57 But not only that, some folks have filed this 07:00 story of three Hebrew boys, under the category 07:03 of fairy tale or myth. They say this story is 07:07 just a myth, that it's just a fairy tale. 07:10 It's not history, because they've heard this 07:12 story so often. They've lumped Shadrach, 07:15 Meshach and Abednego with Cinderella, 07:18 Winnie the Pooh, Little Red Riding Hood, 07:22 and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 07:25 But friends of mine, we've got to see 07:27 this story not as a fairy tale, 07:30 but we've got to see it as history. 07:31 We must feel the heat of the fire, 07:34 and smell the smoke of the furnace 07:37 in order to grasp what this story is 07:40 trying to teach us. Daniel chapter 3, verse number 4. 07:44 Nebuchadnezzar directed that at the sound of all kinds 07:48 of music everyone was to bow down and worship the 07:52 golden image Nebuchadnezzar set up. Now notice, 07:55 friends of mine, that Nebuchadnezzar's grand idolatry 07:58 was accompanied by music, which reminds us of the 08:03 great power in music, and the fact that music can 08:07 be used for both good and evil. I don't care if it's 08:12 choral music, classical music, anthem music, a cappella music, 08:19 or gospel music, because we try to classify music in 08:24 a certain genre as holy or not. Put music in the wrong 08:28 hands and it can be used for the wrong purpose. Notice, 08:33 however, not just the kind of music, but notice the 08:37 instruments in Daniel, chapter 3. There weren't drums, 08:43 there was not a Hammond, there was not a bass guitar or keyboard, 08:49 because we try to label instruments and say that a drum is demonic, 08:54 that the Hammond is diabolical, and the bass guitar is devilish. 09:00 But notice, if you read the text, that the instruments in 09:04 the text that were being used for devilish, demonic and 09:08 diabolical purpose were the cornets. The flutes, the harp, 09:14 the sackbut, the psaltery and dulcimer. I know you're quiet, 09:17 I'm going to preach it anyhow. Let me remind you today 09:21 that no instrument in and of itself is bad, it's the 09:24 person playing the instruments. [Aud. reaction] 09:27 PB: There is nothing wrong with those drums, 09:30 it's the person playing the drums. Is the person 09:35 playing the drums consecrated? Is the person on 09:37 the piano Christlike? Does the organist love Jesus? 09:41 I wish I had time today. [Aud. reaction] 09:43 PB: Nebuchadnezzar wanted everybody to worship 09:46 the golden image he had set up, and if look carefully, 09:49 you will notice, eschatological Christians, that there 09:52 are some parallels between Daniel chapter 3 and Revelation 14. 09:56 Both texts are about worship. Either you're going to 10:01 worship an image, or you're going to worship God. 10:04 It's all about who we're going to give our worship to. 10:07 Satan wants our worship, and God wants our worship. 10:12 So our worship is either going to be heavenly or hellish. 10:15 Who are you going to give your worship to? In the last days, 10:19 you'd better be reminded that Satan will use a system to 10:23 enforce idolatrous worship on all, imposing the death 10:26 penalty for those who refuse to worship him and give 10:29 him their allegiance. But I can hear an angel, 10:32 in Revelation 14, saying that it's time for the 10:34 people of God to fear God and give glory to Him, 10:37 for the hour of His judgment is come, and worship 10:40 Him that made heaven and earth, the seas and the 10:42 fountains of waters. In case you didn't know it, 10:45 the Spirit of God is being withdrawn from this earth. 10:49 Religious freedom is being slowly taken away. 10:55 Can we be honest today? I know I'm on the television, 10:59 but I'm going to say it anyhow. This is my church, 11:00 my program, and I can say what I want to say. 11:02 Come on, say amen. [Aud. reaction] 11:05 PB: If Muslims can be persecuted, then Methodists 11:12 can be persecuted. If Methodists can be persecuted, 11:17 then Mormons can be persecuted. If Mormons can be 11:22 persecuted, then Seventh-day Adventists can be 11:28 persecuted. It's all about music. We've been 11:32 preaching this thing, we've been teaching this thing, 11:35 we've been talking about this thing that Jesus 11:37 is coming since I was a little boy. Friends of mine, 11:40 wake up. The time of trouble is now! [Aud. reaction] 11:46 PB: But the text says that when the music was played, 11:50 everybody didn't bow down. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 11:55 stood up. So there were some folks that ran to the king. 11:59 O King, you're a great king. You're the greatest king 12:01 we've ever had in this land. You are king to your 12:03 subjects and your requests are not burdensome or unreasonable. 12:07 You made a simple request that when the music was played, 12:09 everybody was to bow down and worship the golden image, 12:12 which is a tribute to your greatness. But you've got some boys, 12:16 some boys you passed over some of us for. Some boys you 12:22 promoted before us. Some boys you gave the big church 12:25 before you gave it to me. Some boys that you're always 12:28 bragging about, boys you're always looking out for. 12:30 Those three boys, your boys, didn't bow down to your image. 12:35 Let me just throw this in. There are always some folk 12:38 who are ready to run to the king on us. On a job, 12:43 in our communities and our churches, there are always 12:45 those who consider it their personal mission to be 12:47 that of reporting to the king on their brothers and 12:49 sisters who are also in captivity. During slavery times, 12:53 one of the greatest obstacles to the freedom of blacks 12:55 would be those people who would run to the king, 12:58 who in an effort to show loyalty, they were in actuality 13:02 showing cowardice in the fact they couldn't be trusted. 13:06 For anyone who will betray his or her own will betray somebody else. 13:09 I get scared of people, when I hear them talking about 13:11 somebody else, 'cause guess what? When I leave the room, 13:13 they're going to talk about me. A dog that will bring 13:15 a bone will carry a bone. Some folk will sell you out 13:19 to push their agenda. You all will be surprised at the 13:22 emails I get, and all the calls I got this past weekend 13:24 with Al Sharpton. Same folk rightly say he shouldn't 13:27 come were the same folk on their feet clapping 13:28 when he was speaking. [Aud. reaction] 13:31 PB: During the periods of antebellum slavery, 13:34 the blacks of Charleston, South Carolina, 13:36 under the leadership of Jim Mark Bessey, 13:38 had a brilliant plan to take over the town, 13:40 but their strategy was never executed 13:42 because at the last minute somebody ran 13:47 to the king and told him about the plan. 13:51 Let me tell you something, there will 13:53 always be some brown noses. Some gossips--oh, 13:56 I know some of you all don't like this, 13:58 but it's the truth anyhow. Some tattletales 14:00 in the midst that no matter how or what it is, 14:05 they don't mind going to the king and reporting 14:07 everything we say or do so they can get where we are, 14:11 or get what they think we have. These are professional 14:15 haters who don't have what you have, 14:18 can't get what you got, so instead of 14:22 being happy for you, they hate on you 14:24 and discredit everything you do. Everybody, 14:26 young people, do not joy in your success. 14:29 Everybody is not happy for you when you do well. 14:32 I have learned firsthand that the greatest moments 14:35 in ministry in my life have produced the greatest 14:37 moments of envy and jealousy in somebody else's life. 14:40 But I believe, if you do what's right, if you do the 14:47 right things for the right reasons, God will always bless you. 14:53 I've learned, friends of mine, that when people try to hurt you, 14:59 when people try to hate on you, when people try to block you, 15:04 they don't realize they're actually blessing you. 15:06 Because the Bible says that He will make your enemies 15:09 your footstool, which means your enemies will be placed 15:12 under your feet, which means your haters are actually 15:15 pouring the concrete you're going to walk on. 15:18 So your haters are your elevators that are going 15:21 to help you walk in higher levels in Jesus Christ. 15:23 I wish I had a witness in this place. 15:25 Nebuchadnezzar says in verse 14, Is it true, 15:28 O Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you will 15:32 not serve my gods or worship my image? Is it true 15:36 that you will not bow down? The word on the street is this, 15:39 that you three have defied my decree. But don't you remember, 15:44 I'm the one who promoted you. I promoted you from 15:47 nothings to noblemen, from the lower class to 15:51 the upper class. I changed your name. I opened 15:56 doors for you. I made a way for you. I gave you a job. 16:03 I made you who you are. You don't want to cross me. 16:07 So tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to give 16:10 you one more chance. Let's just say you didn't 16:14 hear the music. Let's just say you weren't 16:17 paying attention. Let's just say you didn't 16:20 fully understand. Let's just say you are from 16:24 another country, and the reason you didn't bow 16:26 down is because you didn't understand what 16:28 was going on, because if you don't bow down, 16:30 I must throw you into a burning fiery furnace. 16:34 But then verse 16 in our text gives their response. 16:40 Look at it, everybody. O Nebuchadnezzar, 16:44 we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 16:51 In other words, we're not scared of you. In other 16:57 words, we're not intimidated by you. We've talked 17:02 this over. We've put a motion on the floor, 17:06 and the vote was unanimous. We ain't bowing. 17:12 This doesn't take a lot of thought; 17:14 this doesn't require discussion or debate. 17:18 No matter what you do, no matter what you say, 17:22 we're not going to bow. Yes, we should be 17:26 obligated to you. Yes, we should be indebted to you. 17:30 Yes, we should be loyal to you. Yes, you've elevated us. 17:33 We appreciate what you've done, but we have 17:36 a different perspective. For every time you opened 17:40 the door for us, we've thanked you but we've praised God. 17:44 Every time you elevated us, we thanked you but 17:48 we praised God. Every rank you promoted us to, 17:52 we've thanked you but we've praised God. In fact, 17:55 King, we can't worship you, because you are just 17:58 a courier, a conduit, a channel through which God 18:01 sent our blessing. We can't worship you anymore 18:04 than we worship a tree for giving us shade, 18:06 a cow giving us milk, a bee giving us honey, 18:09 or rain giving us water. We thank you, 18:12 but you're not worthy of our praise. 18:15 We might love you, but we ain't going to worship you. 18:18 We might respect you, but we're not going to worship you. 18:21 We might honor you, but we're not going to worship you, 18:23 because God and God alone is worthy of our praise. 18:28 So the king then says, But if you don't, 18:31 you're going to burn. But the boys said, King, 18:34 that's all right. If it be so, our God whom we 18:40 serve is able to deliver us from the burning 18:45 fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out 18:47 of thy hand, O King. But if not--oh, 18:54 I wish I had a shouting church right about now. 18:56 [Aud. reaction] PB: We know He can save us, 19:00 but if not. We know He can free us, but if not. 19:06 We know He can rescue us, but if not. 19:10 We know He can give us a job, but if not. 19:14 We know He can help us get in law school, 19:17 but if not. We know He can remove the cancer, 19:21 but if not. We know He can financially clear us, 19:25 but if not. We know we can break that habit and 19:31 He will help us, but if not. We're still not 19:36 going to worship you. We're still going to 19:38 worship the God of heaven and earth. 19:40 The God of Abraham and Isaac. The God of 19:43 Jacob and Joseph and Miriam and Moses. 19:45 The God of Enoch and Elijah. 19:48 As a child of God, friends, let me tell you, 19:51 you've got to get to the point in your life, 19:52 in your faith, where you can say that even 19:55 if God doesn't, even if God doesn't, 20:03 even if I lose my job, even if I lose my house, 20:09 even if I lost my car, even if my spouse walks 20:12 out on me, even if my family doesn't understand 20:16 I have to stand on my own, because God is able. 20:20 Because it's not a matter if God can, 20:24 but I now that God will. Let me tell you something. 20:28 I'm going to let you know today, no matter what 20:32 you're dealing with, no matter what you're facing, 20:34 I'm a witness that God is bigger than the 20:36 stuff you face. God is bigger than your problems. 20:39 He's bigger than your circumstances. He's bigger 20:42 than your situation. He's bigger than your fears. 20:44 He's bigger than your troubles. He's bigger than 20:46 your giants. He's bigger than your personal demons. 20:49 God is bigger than you because God is God. 20:53 So if you don't get anything else today, get this: 20:56 God is able. So Nebuchadnezzar gets mad. 20:59 Nebuchadnezzar goes off and flies off into a rage. 21:02 He orders Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to appear 21:04 before him. Now, understand, when we stand for a cause, 21:08 we must be prepared to oppose those whom we consider 21:11 important people. Kings, queens, presidents, judges, 21:20 employers. Sometimes we have to be prepared to 21:22 lay our futures and our lives on the line for 21:24 what we believe. Dr. Emmons said it today, 21:26 sometimes you've got to speak truth to power. 21:30 Sometimes you've got to just tell it like it is. 21:33 I'm not saying be disrespectful, but you've got 21:36 to tell it like it is. Sometimes you have to 21:38 stand for what is right, even when nobody 21:40 else is standing. Sometimes you can't be scared. 21:44 If I were scared, I wouldn't be here at Oakwood. 21:47 If I were scared, I wouldn't be at Breath of Life. 21:51 Sometimes you can't be scared. That's why people 21:54 can mean-mug me all they want. I'll smile at 21:56 them in the name of Jesus, onward, upward, keep it moving. 22:00 [Aud. reaction] PB: It was during the darkest, 22:07 deepest days of apartheid, Elder Julius, 22:12 when the South African government--and I had 22:14 to go there, and I had to look at it, Robben Island, 22:16 where Nelson Mandela was. Because it's not just 22:18 education in the classroom, it's exposure. I had to 22:23 go down to South Africa, where the government tried to 22:26 shut down opposition by canceling a political rally that 22:29 Archbishop Desmond Tutu declared that he would hold a 22:32 church service anyhow. On that day in 22:35 St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, 22:40 that day the church was filled with worshippers. 22:42 Outside the cathedral, hundreds of police gathered. 22:46 A show of force, designed to intimidate. 22:50 As Tutu was preaching, the police then all 22:54 entered the cathedral, armed, and they lined 22:57 the walls of that church. They took out notebooks 23:02 and they recorded Tutu's words. But Tutu wouldn't 23:06 be intimidated. He preached against the evils of apartheid, 23:12 declaring this won't last. At one extraordinary 23:18 point in his sermon, he looked at those police, 23:21 dead in their eyes. He said to those police, 23:24 You are powerful. You are very powerful, 23:28 but you are not God. And I serve a God who 23:36 cannot be mocked, so since you've already lost- 23:41 -because you've got to learn to speak those things 23:43 that aren't as though they already are- 23:45 -since you've already lost, I invite you 23:50 today to come to the winning side. 23:53 [Aud. reaction] PB: With that, you know, 23:55 they had a little Hammond organ, I'm assuming then. 23:58 The congregation broke out in song and dance, 24:01 and the police didn't know what to do. That's 24:04 why you understand that when Joshua and the 24:06 children of Israel walked around Jericho, 24:07 they didn't need bows and arrows. All he 24:10 needed was a preacher and a choir, 24:12 because when the praises go up, the blessings come down. 24:15 The people erupted in praise. The police didn't know what to do. 24:21 Their attempt at intimidation had failed, overcome 24:23 by Tutu's confidence that God and goodness will triumph over evil. 24:28 Let me tell you something today. It may not look like it, 24:33 but truth will always overcome lies. Love will always 24:37 overcome hate. Right will always trump wrong. 24:41 Faith will overcome fear. Why? God is able. 24:47 He still sits high, and He looks low. 24:52 He still has the whole world in His hands. 24:56 We may not know how the king or queen may react 24:59 to what we will say or do when we take a stand; 25:01 we may not even know how family or friends will 25:04 treat us when we take a stand. But know this: 25:07 God is able. There is something about a righteous 25:13 cause that transcends the fear of death. 25:16 That's why Martin King could say it. 25:19 That's why Malcolm X could say it. 25:21 That's why Medgar Evers could say it. 25:23 That's why John Lewis could say it. 25:26 That's why Nelson Mandela could say it. 25:29 That's why James Reeb--'cause it wasn't 25:32 just black folk in the Civil Rights movement. 25:34 There was some white folk that joined forces, too. 25:36 I wish I had a witness in this place. 25:38 [Aud. reaction] James Reeb, R-e-e-b, 25:39 was the white Unitarian minister who had 25:42 traveled to Selma, Alabama, to support 25:44 African American voting rights, but he was killed, 25:47 but he still stood. Because a righteous cause is 25:51 grounded in a God who is too wise to make a mistake, 25:54 and He works all things together for our good to 25:57 those who love the Lord and are the called according 25:59 to His purpose. So even if God doesn't answer the 26:01 prayers the way we want, just remember the three 26:05 Hebrew boys' words: But if not. We shall not bow 26:11 to the unrighteous edict of a fallible king. 26:14 Even if we're not delivered in this life, 26:16 we will not forsake our faith. We will not worship 26:18 at the altar of strange gods. Even in defeat, 26:21 we're going to love and trust the God we know, 26:23 because there is a cause. So Nebuchadnezzar is mad. 26:27 He commands that the fiery furnace be turned up 26:33 seven times hotter than normal. In fact, 26:36 the Bible teaches in verse number 22 that 26:38 because the furnace was much hotter than usual, 26:39 that the very ones who threw the three Hebrew boys 26:42 in the fiery furnace, they were killed by the 26:45 flames of the furnace. Let that be a lesson for us today. 26:48 Be careful about fueling the flames for somebody else. 26:52 Because the same flames will reach out and grab you. 26:54 I wish I had a witness in this place. 26:56 [Aud. reaction] PB: Too many of us are so 26:57 busy setting traps for others, waiting for 26:59 others to fall in the same traps, and the same 27:02 traps we set for others are the same traps we 27:04 fall in ourselves. Nobody in this place lives 27:07 in a glass house. You can be so busy turning somebody 27:11 against somebody else, you'd better be careful that 27:12 these same people don't turn on you. Because you 27:15 reap what you sow. And payday is coming one day. 27:22 The lies we spread on others, the gossip we 27:26 spread on others, the dirt we do to others, 27:28 it will boomerang and come back and get us. 27:32 Be ye sure your sins will find you out. 27:36 Nebuchadnezzar turns up the heat seven times. 27:42 I've always wondered, why seven. Yeah, 27:44 I know seven means completion, but why seven? 27:46 Why did the Bible say that? I was reading Ellen White, 27:49 and Ellen White says to us, she says that Nebuchadnezzar 27:53 felt that it required more than an ordinary power to deal 27:59 with these men. She says Nebuchadnezzar's mind was so 28:05 strongly impressed that something unusual was going to 28:09 interpose on their behalf, so he intensified the heat. 28:13 He put his strongest men in front, she says, 28:16 >: Thank you for joining us 28:17 for another exciting Breath of Life television broadcast. 28:20 Tune in next week at the same time, 28:22 as Dr. Byrd will deliver another dynamic message from the Lord, 28:26 just for you. Until next time, 28:28 may God bless you. 28:30 [END] |
Revised 2017-02-15