Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000580A
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00:02 Breath of Life Ministries Presents:
00:07 Sermon B580 Stay On the Right Track 00:12 [Breath of Life theme Music] 00:20 PB: The Word of God says in Proverbs chapters 3, 00:23 verses 5 and 6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine"- 00:29 -what, everybody? Aud.: Heart. 00:32 PB: "And lean not unto thine own"--what? Aud.: Understanding. 00:35 PB: "In all thy ways acknowledge . . . and he shall direct thy paths." 00:44 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and 00:47 lean not unto thine own understanding. 00:49 In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall 00:53 direct thy paths." Stay on the right track. 01:02 Father, bless us now for the next couple of 01:06 moments as we expound upon this text. 01:09 Make it applicable and practical for us, 01:13 and when the appeal comes, God, move in this place. 01:18 I've seen You do it so many times. But God, 01:23 do it today, because somebody needs deliverance 01:26 in this place. It's in Jesus' name I pray this 01:30 prayer and ask these things, ask You to forgive 01:32 me of my sins. Amen. Proverbs chapter 3, 01:38 verses 5 and 6: this passage contains one of 01:43 the greatest promises in the Bible. We quote 01:48 it all the time. In this text, God promises to 01:53 direct our paths, or as the New International Version 01:58 puts verse 6, God promises to make your paths straight. 02:07 But I like how The Message Bible puts it. It says, 02:12 "God will keep you on track." [Aud. reaction] 02:15 PB: Now, you're gonna have to say amen. 02:18 I woke up at 3 this morning to catch two flights 02:21 to get here. I gotta know you're here. Come on, say amen. 02:24 Aud.: Amen. PB: All right. So whatever path you're on- 02:29 -your education path, your career path, your marriage path, 02:34 your having children path, your paying the bills path, 02:39 your retirement path--no matter what path you're on, 02:43 God promises to direct all your paths. But don't get 02:51 twisted on this text. God's promise to direct our paths 02:57 is a conditional promise, which means this promise is 03:02 subject to, based on, determined by, or tied to something. 03:11 Which means, it just doesn't happen. If we want God to 03:16 direct our paths, then we have to stay on the right track. 03:20 Staying on the right track means following the three 03:24 conditions of the text. Trust in the Lord; lean not on 03:31 your own understanding; and acknowledge Him in all your ways. 03:36 Now today I'm gonna deal with these three conditions and 03:39 I'ma hurry up and I'ma sit down. Let's start with condition 03:43 number one: Trust in the Lord with all your--what, everybody? 03:48 Aud.: [indiscernible] PB: Now, if you're gonna stay on 03:50 the right track, you've gotta trust God. God directs the 03:54 paths of those who trust Him with all their hearts. 03:59 Now, one of the greatest biblical examples of this 04:01 trust is Job. Here is a man who lost everything. 04:07 Had everything, lost everything, but in the end got 04:15 everything plus interest back. Let me try that 04:18 one more time. Here's a man who lost everything- 04:22 -had everything, lost everything, but in the end 04:26 got everything plus more back. Disaster took 04:31 Job's fortune, disease tortured his flesh, death 04:37 touched his family, deceit turned his friends, 04:43 but God's deliverance gave him double for his trouble. 04:49 Let that be a reminder for us today: I don't care 04:52 how rough it gets; I don't care how tough it gets. 04:57 No weapon formed against you is gonna prosper. 05:00 If God be for us, who can be against us? So when 05:09 trouble comes, trust God. Things may get tough, 05:13 but trust God. Things may get rough, but trust God. 05:19 You may feel like giving up sometimes, but you've 05:23 got to trust God. There may be sickness in your body, 05:26 but you've gotta trust God. Your bills may be due 05:29 and your money is low, but you've gotta trust God. 05:31 Your marriage may be in trouble; your children may 05:34 be out of control, but you've got to trust God. 05:38 'Cause the Bible says, I once was young but now 05:41 I'm old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken 05:45 nor his seed begging bread. So that means, 05:49 regardless of your troubles you've got to keep 05:52 trusting God. No matter what you suffer, 05:56 you've got to keep trusting God. No matter what 06:00 people say to you or do to you; no matter what 06:02 the diagnosis is, you've gotta keep on trusting God. 06:05 Man's extremity is God's opportunity. Your setback 06:10 is just a set-up for a comeback. What lessons can 06:15 I learn from setbacks? They teach me that something 06:18 is about to break, and I'm not talking about a 06:20 breakdown or a break-up either, but I'm talking 06:23 about a breakthrough. Do I have a witness in this place? 06:25 [Aud. reaction] PB: The very thing that somebody's 06:27 dealing with right now; the issues you're confronted 06:30 with right now have everything to do with your faith 06:33 walk in God. Now, that doesn't mean that if you're 06:36 gonna go through trouble that you don't have a 06:38 relationship with God. Just because you love God 06:41 doesn't mean you won't have trouble. Just because 06:44 you go to church doesn't mean that everything is 06:46 going to be peaches and cream. Just because you came 06:49 to Oakwood University doesn't mean everything is 06:51 gonna be all right. Some people think that if they 06:55 serve God, if they worship God, that your marriage 06:57 will always be great, your kids will always be great, 07:00 your finances will be great, your job will be great, 07:02 your grades will be great, your health will be great. 07:04 But the Bible says that they that live godly lives 07:07 will suffer persecution. Which means, you can 07:11 believe God and still go through tests, trials, 07:15 troubles, tribulations, adversities, perplexities, 07:21 and complexities. Just because you have a relationship 07:24 with God doesn't mean you won't go through trouble. 07:29 Life happens. Rain falls on the just and the unjust, 07:34 the good and the bad. Listen to me, it might not 07:37 be the lack of your faith that got you in trouble, 07:40 but it's the strength of your faith that's gonna 07:42 get you out of trouble. [Aud. reaction] 07:44 Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 07:50 The very definition of the word "trust" is the 07:53 belief that someone or something is reliable, 07:57 is good, is honest. And I just came to remind 08:02 you today that God is good. I said God is good. 08:07 [Aud. reaction] PB: God is reliable. 08:10 [Aud. reaction] PB: God is honest. I say, God is good. 08:15 [Aud. reaction] PB: God is reliable. God is honest. 08:20 Society has programmed us not to trust anybody or 08:24 anything, but friends you can trust God. God is good, 08:29 God is reliable, and God is honest. Think about it. 08:33 You go to a doctor whose name you can't pronounce 08:38 and whose degree you've never verified. He gives 08:42 you a prescription you can't read. He gives you--uh, 08:46 take it to a pharmacist you've never met, and he gives 08:49 you a chemical compound you don't understand. 08:52 Then you go home and you take a pill that you 08:55 don't know what's in it, all in trusting faith. 08:58 But friends, if you can trust a doctor, 09:00 if you can trust a pharmacist, if you can trust 09:04 a pill, then surely you can trust God. If you 09:09 want God to direct your paths, you've got to trust Him. 09:13 [Aud. reaction] PB: Stay on the right track. 09:17 Young people, let me talk to you in the balcony. 09:20 You didn't come to Oakwood to get lost. Stay on 09:24 the right track. You didn't come to Oakwood 09:28 to flunk out. Stay on the right track. 09:33 Your parents did not spend all this money 09:37 for you--and make all these sacrifices for 09:41 you to mess up. Stay on the right track. 09:45 Young people, you did not come to Oakwood 09:49 to just find a man or find a woman. 09:55 Stay on the right track. But then some of 10:01 you probably just did. So if you just did 10:04 for that reason, somebody say yeah, help him, 10:06 Holy Ghost. [Aud. reaction] 10:07 PB: Let me give you some counsel. Men find women-- 10:11 [Aud. reaction] PB: --and women find men. 10:16 Do I have a witness in this place? 10:19 But before you find a man, before you find 10:22 a woman, you'd better find Jesus. [Aud. reaction] 10:25 PB: I'm going into my sixth school year, 10:31 and I'm frankly tired of seeing all these 10:34 people, with all this godly promise on their 10:37 lives, and as soon as they meet somebody, 10:40 they're not in church. They don't want to 10:44 hear anything about God, and you let them bring 10:47 you down to their level. Now you're too tired 10:51 to come to church, too tired to come to choir 10:53 rehearsal, too tired to come to AYM. 10:56 You don't have any money to give God because 10:58 you're traveling the world, hanging out with him, 10:59 eating out with him, buying any and everything, 11:01 paying their rent and paying their car notes. 11:04 [Aud. reaction] PB: Preach, Pastor Byrd. 11:06 I'm doing the best I can. [Aud. reaction] 11:10 PB: But God says, why don't you bring them 11:12 up to your level. Why don't you say to them, 11:15 if you're gonna be with me, you gotta come 11:18 to church! Because as for me and my house-- 11:22 [Aud. reaction] PB: --we gonna serve the Lord! 11:24 [Aud. reaction] PB: Let me tell you something. 11:26 Some of you think--and I wish the upperclassmen 11:29 were here--some of you think that God has 11:31 given you to change them. But let me tell 11:35 you something, you can't change any body. 11:37 Only Jesus can do that. And if they're not 11:40 doing what God says do, you should know 11:42 they aren't gonna do what you say do. 11:44 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 11:45 So young people in the balcony, turn to 11:47 your neighbor. Right now, young people. 11:49 Say, don't play yourself. [Aud. reaction] 11:50 PB: Okay. Young men, if the relationship is 11:57 of God--young women, if the relationship is of God, 12:02 then your goals, your dreams, your desires that 12:06 God has placed within you will be the same goals, 12:09 dreams and desires that God will place in that 12:11 special somebody you're trying to get with. 12:13 [Aud. reaction] PB: There is no way you can 12:17 want good credit and they don't. [Aud. reaction] 12:19 PB: There is no way you can want salvation and 12:25 they don't. There is no way you could want the 12:27 best out of life and they don't. Amos 3:3 says, 12:32 "How can two walk together less they agree?" 12:37 So, my interpretation: If dogs can get with dogs, 12:42 if cats can get with cats, if fish can get with fish, 12:46 then Christians oughta get with Christians. 12:49 [Aud. reaction] PB: Second Corinthians 6:14 says, 12:52 "Be ye not unequally"-- what, everybody? 12:55 Aud.: Yoked. PB: "Together with unbelievers: 12:57 for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? 12:59 and what communion hath light with darkness?" 13:02 And let me throw this in right here free of charge. 13:04 It's my church, I can say it. [Aud. reaction] 13:06 [Yes. Go ahead, Pastor.] PB: Both of you can be 13:09 Oakwood students; both of you can be Adventists. 13:14 But you can still be unequally yoked. 13:17 [Aud. reaction] PB: So somebody needs to say, 13:23 I don't have time to be trying to change anybody. 13:25 You'd better be changed before you get with me; 13:27 I'm not trying to do social work. Are you hearing 13:29 what I'm saying? [Aud. reaction] 13:32 PB: Whoever you date will very well impact where 13:37 you spend eternity. [Aud. reaction] 13:40 PB: Whoever you date or whoever you get with when 13:42 you're at Oakwood, you'd better tell them, 13:43 Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to me. 13:50 And anybody that loves me has to love me like 13:55 Jesus loves me. Stay on the right track! Find Jesus. 14:02 Find your grades. Seek ye first the kingdom of God 14:08 and His righteousness, and all these things shall 14:12 be added unto you. Stay on the right track. 14:15 And let me throw this in: In four years, you're 14:17 supposed to get off this track and get on another track. 14:20 [Aud. reaction] PB: Oakwood for students is a 14:25 college not a career. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 14:29 [Aud. reaction] PB: This is four years to get a degree, 14:33 not 40. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 14:35 [Aud. reaction] PB: Stay on the right track. 14:39 If you want to stay on the right track, you've got 14:41 to trust Him with all of your heart. God is looking 14:43 at your heart and God, when He finds a heart that 14:45 trusts Him, He directs that person in the path 14:47 that he or she should go. And let me tell you, 14:49 I had to merge it all together. This is not just 14:51 for the young folk either! [Aud. reaction] 14:52 PB: So to the old folks--you knew I was coming. 14:55 [Aud. reaction] PB: God wants us to trust Him 14:59 with all of our hearts so He can also direct our paths. 15:02 Somebody just got baptized and you're wondering 15:05 if this right. Believe me, it's right. 15:07 Keep trusting God. Stay on the right track and 15:11 God will direct your paths. Somebody is contemplating 15:14 a career move right now. Trust God. Stay on the 15:18 right track. God will direct your paths. 15:21 Somebody's considering a health procedure, 15:22 but you gotta trust God. Stay on the right track. 15:28 God will direct your paths. Somebody is worried about 15:32 getting married. You'd better trust God. 15:34 It's better to be happily unmarried that to 15:38 be unhappily married. Trust God. Stay on the 15:43 right track. God will direct your paths. 15:45 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and 15:50 lean not to your own understanding. 15:52 In all thy ways acknowledge Him and 15:55 He shall direct your paths. 15:58 Condition number two: God directs the paths 16:02 of those who lean not on their own understanding. 16:07 Pastor Byrd, what you talking about? 16:09 Are you saying God refuses to direct 16:10 the paths of those who think for themselves? 16:13 God didn't create us, Pastor, to be robots. 16:15 God created us with the power of choice. 16:17 To not have the ability to exercise free 16:19 will is one of Satan's biggest claims 16:21 against God. But again, don't get the text 16:25 twisted. Yes, we have power of choice. 16:28 Yes, we were not created to be robots. 16:31 Yes, we exercise free will. But if you 16:35 want God to direct your paths; if you want 16:37 God to order your steps; if you want God 16:40 to stay on your--you to stay on God's track 16:43 for your life, then you can't lean to your 16:46 own understanding, because if you lean to 16:50 your own understanding, there is a thing 16:54 called getting sidetracked. When you get 16:58 sidetracked, you forget your purpose. 17:02 God has a purpose for your life. 17:05 Before you were even thought of, 17:07 before your mama and daddy hooked up 17:08 and got together, God said I formed thee 17:10 in the belly. God says, I knew thee. 17:13 Before you came out of the womb, 17:14 I had already sanctified you and ordained 17:16 you to be a prophet to the nations. 17:17 Friends of mine, it's not by happenstance that 17:21 you're here today. It's not by coincidence that 17:24 you're an Oakwood University student. 17:26 It's not by chance that you're an 17:28 Oakwood University Church member. 17:30 It's not by accident that you're in this church, 17:33 listening to this sermon. It's not luck that 17:37 somebody stumbled across the broadcast today. 17:40 It's all according to God's plan and purpose 17:43 for your life. There's a calling on your life. 17:45 God has a purpose for your life, and no devil 17:48 in hell can interrupt God's plan and purpose 17:50 for your life. If you don't believe me, 17:52 a Red Sea couldn't stop God. A fiery furnace 17:56 couldn't stop God. A lions' den couldn't stop God. 17:59 No wedding punch at a wedding could stop God. 18:03 No food on a New Testament countryside could 18:06 stop God. God will quicken whom He will, 18:08 whence He will, where He will, and how He will. 18:11 God is God, and God has a purpose for your life. 18:14 And whenever--listen to me good, I've learned this. 18:16 Forty-five years old now and I've learned it- 18:18 -whenever you're fulfilling God's purpose for 18:21 your life, you will become a target. Whenever 18:25 you're trying to stay on the right track, 18:28 you will become a marked man or a marked woman. 18:30 The brighter the light, the more you attract bugs. 18:34 [Aud. reaction] PB: You see, dogs don't bark at 18:45 parked cars. Dogs bark at moving cars. And whenever 18:54 you're doing something for the Lord and you're 18:57 fulfilling God's purpose for your life, 18:59 there will always be an element that envies 19:02 what you have and will plot against you and 19:06 undermine your efforts and reputation at every turn. 19:09 That element is a part of the process. 19:11 But stay on the right track. Don't get 19:16 sidetracked. Keep your eyes on Jesus. 19:21 Know your purpose. Trust in the Lord with 19:26 all your heart, and lean not to 19:29 your own understanding. Now in the text, 19:32 the implication is that there are two very 19:35 different types of understanding going on. 19:37 One understanding is your own understanding. 19:42 The other understanding is God's understanding. 19:46 Let me say that one more time. Two conflicting 19:49 understandings: your own understanding and 19:54 God's understanding. And based on this implication, 19:57 your own understanding must be an understanding 20:00 that contradicts God's understanding. 20:02 The Bible says, there is a way that seemeth 20:06 right unto a man. But the end thereof is destruction. 20:10 Which means, something can seem right by your 20:15 own understanding, but it can be totally wrong 20:18 by God's understanding. Somebody missed that. 20:22 Let me say that one more time. Something can 20:25 seem right by your understanding, but it can be 20:29 totally wrong by God's understanding. God says, 20:33 My thoughts are not your thoughts; My ways are 20:37 not your ways. Oh, let me make this practical. 20:39 Somebody's still not getting this. By your own 20:42 understanding, you can think that that man might 20:46 be right for you, but by God's understanding, 20:49 that man is wrong for you. By your understanding, 20:54 she's fine. She looks good. She seems right. 20:58 But by God's understanding, she's wrong. 21:02 By your understanding, that job is the right 21:06 one for you. But by God's understanding, 21:09 the job is the wrong one for you. By your 21:13 understanding, that church, that ministry, 21:15 that day of worship is the right one for you. 21:22 But by God's understanding, it's the wrong one for you. 21:27 Well, Preacher, how do I know if my own understanding 21:31 is in contradiction to God's understanding? 21:34 If your understanding lines up with the Word of God, 21:39 it's always an understanding from God. Are you 21:43 hearing what I'm saying? But if your understanding 21:46 contradicts the will of God and the Word of God, 21:49 it's never God's understanding. And knowing the 21:52 Word of God increases your trust in God. 21:57 Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing by the 22:01 Word of God. Thy Word have I hid in my heart 22:05 that I might not sin against Thee. Thy Word 22:09 is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. 22:15 There are a lot of us who say amen. 22:18 There are a lot of us who shout. There are 22:22 a lot of folk who clap their hands. 22:24 And folk don't know why you shout or 22:27 why you say amen, but our joy is based 22:31 on a revelation. Our joy is based on a 22:34 word from God. That's why I love the Word of God. 22:39 Let me tell you something. I don't care what 22:41 you retain on this side of life, but you'd 22:43 better have a word from the Lord in time 22:45 of trouble. When you're going through it, 22:47 you'd better have a word from the Lord. 22:48 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 22:49 You can know the roux of Hebrew, 22:51 the evangelions of Greek, the buenos 22:53 nocheses of Spanish. But like wood it 22:55 will deteriorate, water in a glass will 22:57 evaporate. The car will depreciate. 22:59 The money in your pocket will devaluate. 23:01 Heaven and earth may pass away, but the 23:04 Word of our God shall stand forever. 23:05 When you get enough of God's Word in you, 23:13 in your DNA, you can look at folk and say, 23:17 if you knew what I knew, you'd understand 23:20 why I act like I act. [Aud. reaction] 23:23 PB: Oh, you all don't get it. Let me hurry up 23:25 and sit down. Some of you, [indiscernible] talking 23:29 about when you have a word in you. When I was 23:32 growing up--in fact, probably all of us remember 23:33 growing up--and there was a little toy that I 23:34 used to have. You probably used to have it. 23:36 I've told this before. But there was a toy 23:38 I used to have. Maybe you didn't have it, 23:40 but I remember having it. It was called a 23:42 See and Say. Anybody remember a See and Say? 23:46 [Aud. reaction] PB: I see you remember See 23:48 and Say. Anybody know what I'm talking about? 23:50 Let me help you. A See and Say was a round 23:53 little toy, and the toy had a little arrow. 23:57 And you would pull the string and the little 24:02 arrow would turn, and after turning for a while, 24:06 it would land--the arrow--on an animal. 24:09 And if landed on a sheep, it would say 24:13 "This is what a sheep sounds like: baa, baa." 24:17 [Aud. reaction] PB: You pull the string again, 24:21 it will land on a cow. "This is what a cow sounds 24:23 like: moo, moo." You pull the string again, 24:27 it will land on a pig, and it would say 24:29 "This is what a pig sounds like: oink, oink, 24:31 oink, oink, oink." What's interesting here is 24:34 that the engineers of the See and Say put a chip, 24:36 or something, in the See and Say. They recorded voices. 24:39 They recorded words, and they stored them in 24:42 the See and Say. You wouldn't know the voices 24:44 were in the See and Say. You wouldn't know 24:46 the words were in the See and Say until you 24:49 pulled the string. I'm trying to help somebody. 24:52 [Aud. reaction] PB: Help me. Turn to your 24:55 neighbor. Say, you really don't know how 24:57 much Word is in me. You're afraid of what 25:05 I'ma say. I know. [Aud. reaction] 25:06 PB: Until you pull my string. Ha ha ha ha ha. 25:11 [Aud. reaction] PB: The devil's been messing 25:15 with somebody's health. The devil has pulled 25:20 the wrong string. The devil is saying, 25:24 you're going to be sick. Well, devil, 25:27 you pulled the wrong string. He was wounded 25:30 for my transgressions--[Aud. reaction] 25:32 PB: --bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement 25:37 of my people is upon Him, but by His stripes 25:40 I am healed. Devil, you've been messing with 25:43 my money. Devil, you pulled the wrong string. 25:47 For my God shall supply all of my needs 25:52 according to His riches in glory. Devil's 25:56 been messing with somebody's mind. Devil, 25:59 you'll pulled the wrong string. Get thee 26:02 behind me, Satan! Because my God shall keep 26:07 me in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. 26:13 Touch your neighbor and say, neighbor, 26:15 don't you pull my string. Ha ha ha. 26:17 [Aud. reaction] PB: Third and final condition: 26:23 God directs the paths of those who acknowledge 26:29 Him in all their ways. Now, what does the 26:35 Bible mean by the word "acknowledge"? 26:38 What does it mean to acknowledge God? 26:42 To acknowledge God is to acknowledge God 26:44 for who God is. To acknowledge God is to 26:52 recognize God for who God is. Now, when Moses 26:58 was called by God into service, 27:00 in Exodus chapter 3, Moses offered all these 27:03 excuses of why he couldn't lead the people of God. 27:06 In his second excuse, Moses said, but God, 27:10 when I go before Pharaoh, when I go before 27:12 the Egyptians, by whose authority am I being sent? 27:16 Who should I tell them that sent me? God told him, 27:21 Moses, when they ask you who sent you, you just 27:26 tell them that I AM that I AM has sent you. 27:33 I'm about to preach now, y'all. 27:34 [Aud. reaction] In other words, Moses, 27:36 this thing doesn't have anything to do with 27:39 who you are, but it has everything to do with 27:43 who I am. I AM that I AM. So you better 27:50 acknowledge who I am. I AM your creator. 27:55 I AM your Rock of Ages. I AM your will in 28:00 the middle of a wind. I AM your way maker. 28:03 I AM your company keeper. I AM your mountain mover. 28:09 I AM your bill payer. I AM your financial clearer. 28:14 I AM your scholarship giver. I AM your -- 28:17 >: Thank you for joining us for another exciting 28:18 Breath of Life television broadcast. 28:20 Tune in next week at the same time, 28:23 as Dr. Byrd will deliver another dynamic message 28:25 from the Lord, just for you. 28:28 Until next time, may God bless you. 28:30 END |
Revised 2017-08-31