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Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000567A
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00:01 Breath of Life Ministries Presents
00:06 Sermon B567 "Don't Miss Out" 00:13 [Breath of Life Theme Music] 00:20 PB: Mark 10:46, the Word of God says, 00:23 “And they came to Jericho: and as he went out 00:31 of Jericho with his disciples and a great 00:35 number of people, blind Bartimaeus, 00:39 the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 00:43 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, 00:47 he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, 00:50 thou son of David, have mercy on me. 00:56 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: 01:01 but he cried the more a great deal, 01:05 Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 01:12 Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. 01:17 And they call the blind man, saying unto him, 01:20 Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 01:23 And he, casting away his garment, rose, 01:26 and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and 01:28 said unto him, What wilt thou that I should 01:31 do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, 01:35 Lord, that I might receive my sight. 01:39 Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; 01:43 thy faith hath made thee whole. 01:48 And immediately he received his sight, 01:52 and followed Jesus in the way.” 01:56 Don't miss out. Lord, bless us now. 02:03 Bless this Word. Speak, because there's 02:09 somebody today that needs this specific 02:11 word just for them. In Jesus' name, Amen. 02:17 History records countless stories of missed 02:22 opportunities. One of these examples was a 02:26 few years ago, some time, actually, ago, 02:27 at a resort, along the East Coast, a small community 02:32 was having an open town hall meeting, discussing 02:36 some financial problems they were experiencing. 02:41 There were about 20 people at this town hall meeting, 02:45 but in this 20 there was a man that nobody knew. 02:51 The unknown man was visiting the area, and he 02:54 decided to drop in on the “open meeting.” 02:58 As the discussion was going on, the man started 03:01 doing the comments, to making his comment during 03:04 the meeting. But as he began to talk, as he began 03:07 to speak, somebody interrupted him. 03:11 “You're not one of us. You're not from this community. 03:16 Be quiet. This does not concern you.” 03:20 For the rest of the time at the meeting, 03:23 the man then just kept quiet, and eventually 03:26 he left up leaving early. But just as the man 03:31 was leaving the premises, somebody came in running 03:33 late to the meeting, out of breath, and saying, 03:35 “What was he doing here? Is he going to help us?” 03:41 The other people looked at him strangely and said, 03:43 “What do you mean? What are you talking about? 03:44 Who was that man?” The man who ran in said, 03:49 “You mean you don't know? That was John D. Rockefeller. 03:56 His yacht is in our harbor. Didn't you get his help?” 04:05 They all dropped their heads. In despair, somebody cried, 04:11 “No, we didn't get his help. We didn't know who he was.” 04:15 Missed opportunity. Don't miss out. The Bible says that 04:25 in Noah's day the people had a chance to get in the ark, 04:27 but they didn't listen to Noah. They saw the ark being built, 04:30 but they laughed at Noah. They mocked Noah. 04:32 They ridiculed Noah. They scorned Noah. 04:35 But one day it started raining, and the people 04:39 weren't laughing anymore. God shut the door. 04:44 They died in the flood. Missed opportunity. 04:48 Don't miss out. There has been the story of the 04:53 two thieves on the cross. Both had an opportunity. 04:57 One realized who Jesus was, and that he was no 04:59 ordinary man dying beside him. So he looked at 05:02 Jesus and said, “Look, remember me when you 05:05 come in your kingdom.” But the other thief said, 05:08 “Look, if you're really the Son of God, 05:10 get us out of this mess.” He didn't want 05:14 to serve God; he just wanted out of his discomfort. 05:16 Both men had an opportunity. One took it, 05:20 and one did not. In the text, we have an example 05:27 of an opportunity, however, that was taken by 05:30 a man named Bartimaeus. The text says Bartimaeus 05:34 was blind, that he couldn't see. Which means when 05:39 his mother smiled at him, he couldn't see it. 05:43 When the night sky above Jericho was bright 05:46 with a million stars, he couldn't see it. 05:49 When the bevy of flowers and trees were right 05:51 in front of him, he couldn't see it. 05:52 At night when he closed his eyes, 05:54 and in the morning when he opened his eyes again, 05:56 it was all the same: blackness. He couldn't see. 06:00 Bartimaeus was blind. And there are a lot of 06:04 folk who are blind in our world today, 06:06 but they're not physically blind, 06:08 but spiritually blind. They don't see 06:11 and know the living God. They live in 06:14 a world of blackness. Tell them the story 06:16 of Jesus; they can't see it. Tell them the 06:19 promises of God; they can't see them. 06:22 Bring them to a church service; they hear 06:24 the preaching, they hear the singing, 06:25 but they can't see the points. They're blind. 06:29 Because the devil has put a thick black 06:32 blindfold around your eyes. Spiritual blindness 06:35 is worse than physical blindness because when 06:38 you're spiritually blind, God can be doing 06:40 something right in front of your face and 06:42 you still won't see it. [Aud. reaction] 06:44 But not only was Bartimaeus blind; 06:48 Bartimaeus was also destitute. 06:51 Which means he was poor. Now, don't get 06:54 it twisted today. Just because you're 06:57 blind doesn't mean you're poor. 07:01 Bartimaeus was poor. He didn't live in 07:07 an affluent home. He didn't have family 07:10 to care for him. He was unable to work a 07:12 job to provide for himself. There was no 07:14 Institute for the Blind to teach him a trade. 07:18 There was no social security. He did not 07:21 receive a disability check. There were no 07:23 welfare or government programs to sustain him. 07:26 He was a man who had no idea where his next 07:28 meal was coming from. And if he did eat, 07:31 it was because somebody was nice enough to 07:34 give him a little money or give him a piece of bread. 07:36 He was blind and poor, but although he was blind, 07:38 although he was poor, although he was uneducated, 07:41 I've learned from the text that Bartimaeus was nobody's fool. 07:45 Sometimes handicapped people get treated like they're 07:50 not bright when, in fact, they're intellectually brighter 07:54 than the people shouting or talking down to them. 07:57 Just because somebody's blind doesn't mean they're dumb. 08:03 Ray Charles was blind, but he could play a piano 08:07 like nobody's business. Helen Keller was blind and deaf, 08:12 but she was one of the greatest authors in American history. 08:15 Stevie Wonder is blind, but he's __ number seven for 08:19 being the best singer of all time. 08:21 The Five Blind Boys of Alabama are blind, 08:25 but they are one of the greatest gospel groups 08:27 in this country. Don't you call anybody disabled. 08:31 They are not disabled, but they are differently abled. 08:34 For whenever there's a defect, God will bring 08:38 about a surplus. If you have a defect, 08:41 God will give you a spiritual overblow. 08:44 Bartimaeus was blind, but he was not dumb. 08:47 Bartimaeus, in fact, had good sense. 08:50 So good that when he heard Jesus was coming, 08:54 he put his good sense to good use. 08:58 Medical science says that when you lose one sense, 09:03 your other senses kick in. So if I can't see, 09:09 my hearing gets better. If I can't hear, 09:13 my eyesight gets better. If I can't touch, 09:17 my taste gets better. If I can't taste, 09:21 my smell gets better. And if I can't smell, 09:24 my taste, my touch, my sight, understand, 09:29 my hearing gets better. Bartimaeus couldn't see, 09:32 but Bartimaeus could touch, taste, talk, and hear. 09:36 Bartimaeus had heard of many miracles that Jesus 09:40 had performed. Somebody told him about this man 09:43 from Galilee that had cleansed lepers and made 09:47 them clean. Somebody told him about the man 09:50 that had cast out demons. Somebody told him 09:53 about the man that made the deaf to hear, 09:55 the lame to walk. Somebody told him about 09:58 a man that walked to the tomb of another man, 10:01 named Lazarus, raised him from the dead after 10:04 he had been in the grave three days. 10:06 Somebody told him that Jesus had healed 10:09 a man who was born blind. So Bartimaeus 10:11 couldn't see, but maybe he thought, 10:14 if all I can do is this, if he can do all 10:17 of this, he can give me my sight. 10:19 It's clear that somebody somewhere told 10:24 Bartimaeus about Jesus. Which is why it's 10:27 so important for us to tell somebody else about Jesus. 10:32 Because when they hear and see the change 10:35 that Jesus has made in our lives, 10:37 they will be motivated to get Jesus to 10:40 do the same for them, because it is no 10:42 secret what God can do. What He's done 10:45 for others, He'll do for you. But verse 10:47 46 tells us that when Jesus came to 10:51 Jericho─everybody say Jericho. Aud: Jericho. 10:53 There was a large crowd that followed him. 10:57 Bartimaeus couldn't see the crowd, 10:59 but he could hear the crowd. 11:01 So he asked somebody, “What's going on? 11:04 What's all this noise? What's all this commotion?” 11:08 Somebody tells him that Jesus, the man he had 11:11 heard about, was passing by. What was Bartimaeus' 11:15 response? Did he think, well, here's a crowd, 11:18 so here's an opportunity for me to beg for alms 11:21 and make some money? Did he think that people 11:23 on their way to Jerusalem, to the Passover feast, 11:24 and because these are religious folk, they would 11:26 be more generous than ever and feel sorry for a 11:28 blind man? Did he take advantage of Jesus being 11:31 there to line his own pockets and make some money? 11:34 No. Bartimaeus, the Bible says, began to shout. 11:41 [Aud. reaction] He began to shout, “Jesus! Jesus! 11:47 Jesus! Son of David. Jesus! Have mercy on me.” 11:55 Why does Bartimaeus ask for mercy? Mercy, 12:00 you will remember, is compassion or forgiveness 12:03 given to somebody when they have the power to punish them. 12:07 And so Bartimaeus saw himself as a guilty man. 12:12 He took responsibility for his own sin. But he said, 12:17 “In Jesus I can get some mercy.” But notice in the 12:21 text that the church folk, the holier-than-thou folk, 12:25 the religious folk, the Jericho-ites, rebuked 12:30 and told him, “Hush your mouth. Quit screaming. 12:34 Quit yelling Jesus.” Here's a beggar calling on Jesus, 12:39 and the so-called blessed are telling him to be quiet. 12:43 Here's a man calling for mercy, and the members are 12:46 telling him to hush. Let me put a kickstand right there. 12:50 Whenever somebody knocks on the gates of mercy, 12:54 and the devil and his imps hear it in hell, and make, 12:59 they make attempt to drive people away. Satan will 13:03 do all that he can to hinder lost people from getting to Jesus. 13:07 The devil will use our friends; he will use our family; 13:09 he will use church folk to distract you from turning 13:13 to Jesus. Here's Bartimaeus. Jesus hears the people. 13:19 “Be quiet.” “Jesus! “Hush your mouth!” 13:22 “Jesus!” Clapping his head, “You're too loud.” 13:25 “Jesus!” Stomping that foot. “We don't do that here.” 13:30 “Jesus!” Some folk will tell you that this whole 13:34 Christianity thing is a sham. It's a hoax. 13:38 They'll say there is no God. Some will tell 13:41 you that there is no such thing as a heaven. 13:43 They'll tell you that hell is a myth. 13:45 Some will even tell you, you can't be saved. 13:48 They'll make you believe that you're too lost 13:50 for your salvation. They'll make you believe 13:52 that you've gone too far or done too much to 13:56 be saved. But in the name of Jesus. . . 13:58 [Aud. reaction] . . .the devil is a lie. 14:01 The men of Jericho yelled at Bartimaeus, 14:06 but the text says Bartimaeus was not going 14:10 to be stopped. The louder they got, 14:13 the louder he got. “Hush up.” “Jesus!” 14:20 “Be quiet.” “Jesus!” Let me encourage somebody today. 14:25 When people tell you to stop crying out to Jesus, 14:28 people, cry it out. And guess what? Do it a 14:32 little louder so you can drown them out. 14:35 Are you hearing what I'm saying? If you would 14:38 be saved from Satan, if you will be delivered 14:41 from being intimidated by other folk, do exactly 14:44 what Bartimaeus did. “Jesus!” Call the name of Jesus. 14:52 In the morning, in the noonday, in the evening. 14:56 Call the name of Jesus. [Aud. reaction] 15:00 There comes a time when a man's got to cover 15:03 the ground he stands on. There comes a time 15:05 when you will need some steel in your backbone. 15:09 People will tell you you're too caught up in 15:11 the church thing. They'll tell you all you do 15:13 is talk about the Bible. You pray too much. 15:15 You read the Bible too much. You study too much. 15:18 You give too much to the church. You go to 15:20 church too much. But you better ignore those 15:22 kind of folk. [Aud. reaction] 15:24 Because if you know that Jesus is somewhere, 15:26 you better go there. I don't understand how 15:29 we live in the times in which we live, 15:31 and people barely want to come to church and 15:33 meet Jesus. And for people to come to church, 15:36 church has to be pleasurable. Church has to 15:39 be entertaining. Something special has to be going on. 15:42 But I told the folk Wednesday night, I'm going 15:44 to tell it again today, because repetition deepens 15:45 the impression: Church, we're living in some dark times. 15:49 I said, we're living in dark times. Do you 15:54 realize the times in which we live? Now, 15:58 I know all these preachers have preached that. 16:00 But do you really realize the times in which we live? 16:03 Playing church. Sweating small stuff. 16:07 Dealing in the paralysis of analysis. 16:10 Do you realize that the image of the second 16:12 beast of Revelation 13, the United States, 16:14 its president has met with the image of the 16:16 first beast of Revelation 13. The papacy was 16:17 in the past three months. Do you realize that 16:21 last week--I said it Wednesday night--that just 16:23 last week the president of the United States 16:25 met with the president of Russian. And I don't 16:27 care what the news reporters say. Let's be real; 16:29 we don't know what they talked about. 16:31 [Aud. reaction] Do you realize that North Korea 16:34 is increasing its number of missile tests? 16:37 And any time you have a test (this is an educational institution), 16:41 any time you have a test, it's preparation for the real thing. 16:45 [Aud reaction] U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.N. Ambassador, 16:51 said in response to Kim Jung Un and North Korea's missile test, 16:56 she said this: “Time is short. Action is required.” 17:01 And then in response to what she said, Kim Jung Un said, 17:04 “We have an even bigger package for the Yankees.” 17:08 He actually said something else. He called us American 17:11 something else. But I dare not say it in the pulpit. 17:14 Some of you all realize it. Do you realize what 17:16 Matthew 24 said, the times in which we live? 17:18 That when you hear wars and rumors or wars, famines, 17:20 earthquakes, pestilence in diverse places, 17:21 these are the beginning of sorrows? 17:23 Do you realize they control the House, 17:27 the Senate, and the White House, 17:29 and they still can't solve healthcare? 17:31 [Aud. reaction] They talked about my friend, 17:41 but they haven't come up with anything, 17:44 and they control everything. Do you realize, 17:48 somebody ought to like this, it's the truth anyhow? 17:50 Do you realize that the union of church and state 17:56 is happening right before our eyes? 18:00 I said on Wednesday night that on May 4, 2017, 18:04 President Trump signed an executive order to 18:07 defend the freedom of religion and speech. 18:09 Why? He has a purpose in erasing the 18:12 Johnson amendments. Pastor Byrd, what is 18:15 the Johnson amendment? I told you, a good preacher, 18:17 a good Adventist preacher, when he preaches eschatology, 18:19 he has the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in another. 18:22 [Aud. reaction] Some of you all don't even 18:24 know what the Johnson amendment is. 18:26 The Johnson amendment was proposed in 1954 18:28 by U.S. Senator then and former president 18:30 Lyndon Baines Johnson. It's a provision 18:32 in the United States Tax Code, __ 501c(3), 18:35 nonprofit organizations, primarily universities 18:38 and churches, from endorsing ___ and political candidates. 18:42 All right, Pastor Byrd, what's the big dealing? 18:44 You going off on __? Well, during the 2016 18:47 presidential campaign, the president called 18:49 for the repeal of the Johnson amendment. 18:51 Then on February 2, 2017, President Trump vowed 18:54 at the National Prayer Breakfast to totally 18:56 destroy the Johnson amendment. With White 18:59 House Press Secretary Sean Spicer─you know him─announcing 19:03 to the press that the president is committed to 19:05 get rid of the Johnson amendment, allowing our 19:07 representatives of faith to speak freely and without 19:10 retribution. Then the Republican lawmakers 19:13 introduced legislation that would allow all 19:15 501c(3) organizations to support political 19:18 candidates as long as any associated spending 19:20 was minimal. What's the big deal, Doc Byrd? 19:24 I'll tell you what it is. The significance of 19:26 this is that the president signed the executive 19:28 order, which does not repeal the Johnson amendment, 19:30 but it does direct the Department of Treasury 19:33 that churches should not be found guilty of 19:36 implied political endorsement where secular 19:39 organizations would not be. Wake up, folks. 19:43 We're slowly seeing the blending of church and state. 19:48 We have moved to a [indiscernible] society. 19:51 Remember, the church cannot force anybody to 19:53 do anything, but the state government can. 19:55 When there's a union of the two, we've got a problem. 19:57 So now I can get up in church and speak freely 20:00 about political candidates. What do you think 20:02 is going on? Remember, historians, the Catholic 20:05 Church could not force Sunday religious observance, 20:09 but the government, the state government, could. 20:12 In 321 A.D., Constantine, the Roman emperor, 20:15 declared that on the ___ day of the Sun, 20:17 the first day of the week, we should rest 20:19 and honor Sun worship. The church didn't do it, 20:22 but the state did. Do you realize the dark days 20:29 we're living in? People don't want church stuff, 20:32 ‘cause people don't want the church. 20:35 They don't know Jesus, don't appreciate Him, 20:38 and don't want to know Him, and don't want 20:42 Him interfering in their lives, because they 20:43 love their sins too much. So they don't come 20:45 to church to meet Jesus at His church. 20:48 But what I love about this story is, 20:50 Bartimaeus was so determined to meet the 20:54 one person whom he longed to tell his troubles to. 20:57 Bartimaeus, though they told him to hush up, 21:01 he continued to call out to Jesus. And the 21:03 more they told him to--the more he called Him, 21:06 the more they told him to be quiet. 21:07 And the more they told him to be quiet, 21:09 the louder he got. He needed a miracle, 21:12 and he knew Jesus was his only hope. 21:16 [Aud. reaction] That it was now, or never. 21:19 He couldn't miss out on this opportunity. 21:22 If he didn't get his eyes opened now, 21:24 then what would happen if Jesus, when he went 21:26 to Jerusalem, where Bartimaeus knew that 21:28 many people at Jerusalem hated him? 21:30 Follow biblical history, because Bartimaeus 21:33 had heard that, as he sat and listened to 21:36 people walking down the streets of Jericho, 21:37 that many people in Jerusalem were waiting on him. 21:40 So Bartimaeus said, I can't stop. 21:43 I have to get to Jesus. [Aud. reaction] 21:46 I have to get His attention. Blind and all, 21:52 I've got to get to Jesus. Church, if you're lost, 21:57 and Jesus is your only hope, you can't give up. 22:03 You can't lose hope. You can't throw in the towel. 22:08 You've got to get to Jesus. A father asked his son, 22:11 he told his little boy, he said, “Son, move that big rock. 22:15 Move that big boulder in the backyard.” 22:17 The little boy tried as hard as he could. 22:19 He tried to move it by himself. He couldn't. 22:21 He tried pushing it. He tried pulling it. 22:22 He tried to get fancy and get a lever to extract it. 22:25 He even enlisted the support of his dog, 22:27 but nothing worked. Finally, he was tired, 22:30 ready to give up. The boy told his dad, 22:32 “Daddy, I can't do it. It's impossible. 22:35 I can't move the rock.” The father said, 22:38 “Son, have you tried everything?” 22:40 The boy replied, “Yes, Daddy, I tried everything.” 22:44 But then the father replied, “You never tried asking me.” 22:47 [Aud. reaction] Many of us are going through life 22:53 situations where we try just about everything to 22:57 get a new start. But the problem is, we haven't 22:59 asked our Father. Have you tried asking God for 23:04 His power, for His grace, for His mercy? 23:08 Old Bartimaeus was blind, but Bartimaeus had 23:12 enough vision to see that Jesus was the only one 23:14 who could help him. He had enough vision to see 23:18 that he needed God's grace. Jesus, Jesus, 23:23 Son of David, have mercy on me! The Bible says 23:29 that when Jesus heard Bartimaeus, the Bible says 23:34 Jesus stood still. Which means Jesus stopped 23:39 in His tracks. I'm doing a whole p___ on that. 23:42 Jesus stood still. Jesus stopped. Just like the 23:44 woman in Luke 8, when she touched the hem of Jesus' 23:47 garment, Jesus stopped and said, “Who touched me?” 23:50 Jesus said, “Wait a minute. Call him.” But Jesus, 23:55 there are hundreds of people out here. Jesus said, 24:00 “Call him.” When Jesus calls somebody to 24:04 salvation─listen to me─it's a personal call. 24:07 There was a large crowd in Jericho that day. 24:11 The twelve disciples were there. 24:14 Many of the followers of Christ were there. 24:17 A great number of the townspeople were there. 24:20 There was a large crowd assembled there, 24:22 but no man, but one man, rather, one, 24:26 was changed forever. One man received a 24:29 personal call from Jesus. And the same is true today. 24:33 There's a large crowd here today. But guess what. 24:37 You may be the one person who receives a call 24:41 from Jesus that will change your life forever. 24:47 [Aud. reaction] I urge you, don't miss out. 24:51 The people hurry over to Bartimaeus─I'm almost done- 24:54 -and they say, get up. Cheer up. He's calling you. 25:00 Well, wait a minute. Weren't these the same people 25:04 that just two minutes ago were telling him to hush up? 25:10 But now they're telling him to get up. You all don't 25:14 hear what I'm saying. [Aud. reaction] 25:16 That's why you can't listen to people. 25:19 They will tell you one thing one minute, 25:22 and another thing another minute. Remember, 25:25 you all do remember, just in Passion Week, 25:27 just before Jesus was crucified, the week before 25:30 leading up to his crucifixion, the same people that 25:33 shouted “Hosanna!” at the beginning of the week 25:36 were the same people who shouted, “Crucify him!” 25:38 at the end of the week. One minute, hush up. 25:42 Next minute, get up. One minute, be quiet. 25:48 The next minute, be glad. One minute, he's bad. 25:53 Next minute, he's good. People will switch on you in a minute. 25:59 [Aud. reaction] They blow whichever way the wind blows. 26:04 That's why Ellen White says, don't you be a mere 26:06 reflector of somebody else's thoughts, because you 26:09 don't know what they're thinking and when they're 26:11 going to think it. So when people come running 26:14 and telling you stuff, you better know there's 26:17 a back story. There's three sides to the story: 26:20 yours, mine, and the truth. I have a coin that 26:24 sits on my desk, because every time you come 26:26 and tell me about somebody else, I flip that 26:28 coin over. It's another side to the story. 26:30 [Aud. reaction] When people come telling you stuff, 26:33 consider your source. Because if it looks like a duck, 26:37 swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be a what? 26:44 Duck. [Aud. reaction] 26:45 I'm almost done. But have you ever seen a 26:52 blind man jump? I mean, we've heard a blind man shout. 26:59 But have you ever seen a blind man jump? In his blindness, 27:06 Bartimaeus leaped. He threw aside his coat. 27:11 He knew that certain opportunities only come once 27:15 in a lifetime. He knew that this was one of them. 27:20 Bartimaeus comes to Jesus. This is what I love. 27:23 Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” 27:29 Now, remember, all the questions in the Bible that 27:32 God asks men seem like naive questions, beginning 27:36 with the first question of all, when he asked Adam, 27:38 “Adam, where are you?” Because why would an all-knowing, 27:42 immortal God ask a finite knowing mortal human a question? 27:47 Jesus never asked a foolish question in his life, 27:51 because whenever God asks something that seems to be foolish, 27:54 you know it has to be wise, because God takes the foolishness 27:56 of this world and can balance the wise. 27:58 So it must be something wise about the question, 28:00 because God is too wise to be foolish. 28:03 [Aud. reaction] “Bartimaeus, what do you want me to do?” 28:07 “Lord, give me my sight.” 28:11 But Jesus─that's why I love Jesus─He needs us for . . . 28:15 >: Thank you for joining us for another exciting 28:16 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 2017-08-17