Participants:
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000586A
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00:01 Breath Of Life Ministries Presents:
00:08 Sermon #586 "He Hurt Me to Help Me " 00:14 [BREATH OF LIFE MINISTRIES THEME MUSIC] 00:20 PB: Father, in the name of Jesus, through the intercession 00:22 of the Holy Ghost, come by here. Somebody needs You, Lord, 00:25 so come by here. We need a blessing, so come by here. 00:28 Breathe through the aisles of this church, and may 00:30 Your Holy Ghost make itself known this day, we pray. 00:34 And we be careful to give you the praise, the honor and 00:35 the glory, in the name of Jesus we pray. Let everyone say amen. 00:38 And amen. You may be seated in the presence of God. 00:41 He hurt me to help me. He hurt me to help me. Come on, 00:45 say amen. Amen. He hurt me to help me. Amen. All right, 00:51 let me try it this way, let me start this way. 00:52 When I was a little boy, when you acted up you got a whooping. 01:00 [Aud. reaction] PB: Anybody know what I'm talking about? 01:02 [Aud. reaction] PB: All right, let me try again. 01:04 The choir is behind me and I hear them, 01:05 but let me see if you hear me. When I was a little boy, 01:08 when you acted up you got a whooping. It wasn't a spanking. 01:16 It wasn't a paddling. It wasn't a whipping. It was a whooping. 01:23 Do I have a witness in this place? [Aud. reaction] 01:26 PB: There wasn't all this time out, like we have today. 01:31 There wasn't all this grounding, like we have today. 01:36 There weren't all these rules that said you couldn't use 01:40 the belt, like we have today. Back in the day, 01:45 the mind-set was if you spare the rod, you spoil the child. 01:50 Does anybody know what I'm talking about? 01:52 [Aud. reaction] PB: So when you disobeyed your parents, 01:55 you got a whooping. When you lied to your parents, 01:59 you got a whooping. When you talked back to your parents-- 02:05 [Aud. reaction] PB: --you got a whooping. 02:08 When you didn't clean your room, you got a whooping. 02:12 When you didn't do your homework, you got a whooping. 02:17 When you played in church--[Aud. reaction] 02:20 PB: --you got a whooping. When you disobeyed your teachers, 02:27 you got a whooping. And I don't know about for you, 02:31 but I grew up in church school, and back in those days, 02:34 in church school, they could whoop you. And so, 02:38 in my house if you got a whooping at school, 02:41 it was gonna be double trouble. Does somebody know what 02:44 I'm talking about? Because when you got home, you were 02:47 gonna get another what? Whooping. All this time out, please. 02:53 Time out, time out. Naw, it wasn't any of that, you were gonna 02:58 get a whooping. That's probably what's wrong with the world right now. 03:01 All this time out, time out. No. You need a whooping! 03:07 Touch your toes, bend over, you 'bout to get a whooping. 03:13 [Aud. reaction] PB: But then if you were like me, 03:16 after your got a whooping, you asked why. 03:19 There you are crying, Mama, why? Daddy, why? 03:28 Here goes my dad's favorite line: It hurt me more than it hurt you. 03:33 [Aud. reaction] PB: No, it didn't. I'm crying and you're not. 03:38 Does anybody know what I'm talking about? But now as I get older, 03:43 and I have my own children, 16, 14 and 3, modern-day Abraham. 03:49 Come on, say amen. [Aud. reaction] 03:51 PB: Now that I have children of my own, I realize that 03:54 sometimes my parents had to hurt me in order to help me. 04:01 Are you hearing what I'm saying? In the text we have an 04:05 example of hurting to help. In the text we have Jacob. 04:09 Everybody say "Jacob." Aud.: Jacob. 04:11 PB: Now the Bible begins--quickly in the text, 04:12 I don't have much time--the Bible begins and says 04:14 that he was left all alone. Left all what, everybody? 04:18 Aud.: Alone. PB: Now, I want to suggest to you that 04:21 being left alone may not always mean or involve physical 04:26 proximity from other people. It may mean that there are 04:29 other people all around you all the time, but yet you 04:33 feel alone. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? 04:36 All right, you have people all around you, but these 04:40 same people don't understand what's going on in your life. 04:45 You have people all around ya, but nobody to talk to, 04:50 and nobody to identify with what's happening in your life. 04:54 The Bible says that Jacob is left all alone. He's left all what, everybody? 04:59 Aud.: Alone. PB: And so he wrestles with a man until 05:01 the breaking of day. Now, the Bible does not tell us who the man is. 05:07 Many theologians and writers, including Ellen White, 05:10 have suggested and I concur that this man was God. 05:14 So in Genesis 32 we have Jacob wrestling with God. 05:19 Now, it's one thing for us to have struggles with each other. 05:23 It's one thing for us to have struggles and fights with 05:27 each other, but it's another thing for us to struggle with God. 05:30 But I've learned in my life--I'm 45 years old now, getting 05:33 a little old now--I've learned in my life, whenever God is 05:37 working on us, whenever God is trying to do something in our lives, 05:42 whenever God is trying to get our attention there's gonna be a struggle. 05:47 Has anybody ever struggled with God? Come on, 05:50 if you're honest today, have you ever struggled with God? 05:52 Have you ever had a pow-wow with God? Have you 05:55 ever wrestled with God? Has anybody had an 05:58 experience where you've said, God, I know You're 06:00 doing something, but I don't really know what You're doing. 06:04 Verse 25. Look at it, look at it, look at it, look at it. 06:07 The Bible says, "And when he [the man] saw that he 06:10 prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his"- 06:13 -what, everybody? Thigh. Everybody say "thigh." 06:15 "And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, 06:18 as he wrestled with him." Now, look up. 06:21 Don't misunderstand the text. Jacob did not prevail 06:24 in his wrestling over God. Jacob didn't beat God. 06:29 Jacob didn't win over God. That's not what the text 06:33 is saying. Understand, Jacob does not have as much 06:36 power as God. God is omnipotent, which means God is 06:41 all powerful. Do I have a witness in this place? 06:43 The maximum of our power is a joke to the minimum 06:46 of God's power. God's power on our--our power on our 06:50 best day pales in comparison to God's power on God's 06:54 worst day. But God, the Bible says, touches Jacob. 06:59 God had to touch his hip to bring his flesh back into 07:07 submission to God's Spirit. You see, whenever your 07:11 flesh begins to prevail over the spiritual requirements 07:16 in your life that you need to go through, God will hurt 07:20 you In order that He might help you. Oh, you don't understand. 07:25 By the time this is over, you gonna understand. 07:27 Let me tell you something. All of your hurt is 07:29 not rendered upon you by the devil. 07:31 [Aud. reaction] PB: All of your hurt does not 07:33 come from the devil's folk. All of your hurt does 07:37 not come from the devil's imps. Sometimes, 07:39 I've learned in my life, God has to knock you down, 07:43 that in order you might look up from whence cometh your help, 07:46 because when you're lying on your back all you can 07:50 do is look up. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 07:52 Sometimes God will hurt you to help you, because 07:55 God knows that if you're ever gonna get in your purpose, 07:58 if you're ever gonna be where you need to be, sometimes 08:01 God has to hurt you so that you might realize the 08:03 spiritual purpose in your life. God chastises those 08:07 whom He loves. Are you hearing what I'm saying today? 08:11 I mean, are you really hearing what I'm saying? 08:12 Have you ever been there, struggling with God? 08:14 If we're real today, you pray, but you can't pray, 08:17 struggling with God. You try to sing, but you can't sing, 08:21 struggling with God. You come to church but you just here, 08:25 struggling with God. The sermon means nothing, 08:30 the songs mean nothing, fellowship means nothing, 08:34 you're just numb, struggling with God. What do you 08:39 do when God comes into your life, and you end up 08:42 wrestling and nobody understands? I've come to tell you, 08:45 you'd better do like Jacob did. God, if we gonna wrestle; 08:50 God, if we gonna struggle, God, if we gonna fight, 08:54 I tell you what. I ain't moving, I'm not going 08:59 anywhere until You bless me. I'm not go--I'ma stay 09:04 right here. I'm not going anywhere until You bless me. 09:08 I know the day breaketh, I know the dawn of a new day 09:12 is on the horizon, but I'm not going anywhere until You bless me. 09:17 Look at verse number 27. Don't have much time left. 09:19 Look at verse 27. The Word of God says, God asks Jacob, 09:23 What's your name? Now, anytime God asks you a question, 09:29 you'd better be careful. I say anytime God asks you a 09:34 question, you'd better be careful. What am I talking about? 09:37 Here is God, omniscient, all knowing, but God's 09:42 asking a question. Here is God who knew you before 09:47 you knew yourself, but He's asking a question. 09:52 Here God knows every hair on your head, 09:55 but He's asking a question. Jacob, what's your name? 10:02 And Jacob says, my name is Jacob. 10:07 Now remember, I teach you then I preach you. 10:08 Understand, in Hebrew culture, your name was 10:11 symbolic of your character. So your behavior 10:15 defined you name. So in the Bible, Joseph meant 10:19 God will give increase. Moses meant to pull out, 10:22 to draw out of water. Samuel meant God has heard. 10:25 David meant beloved. Jesus' name was the transliteration 10:28 of the word Yahshua, which means Jehovah saves. 10:32 Whatever your name was, it was symbolic of your character. 10:35 Your behavior defined your name. What would your name 10:42 be if your behavior defined your name? It's getting 10:50 quiet in here now. If your past defines your name, 10:55 what would your name be? That's why you can't point 10:59 at other people, you've got three fingers pointing 11:01 back at you. You don't live in a glass house, 11:03 we all sinners saved by grace. I'm not talking about 11:06 what your mama named you; I'm not talking about what 11:08 Daddy named you, but I'm talking about if you look 11:12 back over your life, what would your name be? Jacob says, 11:17 God, my name is Jacob. Jacob means supplanter, trickster, 11:22 player, hustler, get over, gamer, deceiver. But as a result 11:30 of his wrestling experience with God, Jacob's name changed. 11:36 Let that be a lesson for us today. Sometimes you've got to 11:41 wrestle with God in order to experience a change. 11:45 I wish I had a witness in this place. You've got to 11:47 go through some stuff to experience a change. 11:51 You've got to go through some tough times, some dark days, 11:55 to experience change. You've got to shed some tears to 12:00 experience change. And let me tell you this, when your 12:02 life has been changed, it doesn't happen overnight. 12:06 It's a process. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 12:08 If we're honest with ourselves today, the first time 12:11 we heard Jesus' voice, many of us did not come. 12:15 We did not respond. We wrestled with God. And if you've 12:19 never wrestled with God, you'll never understand who you're 12:23 supposed to be. You'll never understand your purpose. 12:26 Let me put a kickstand right here. You see, there are a 12:29 lot of people who are doing things because that's what 12:31 other people named you. They named you preacher, 12:37 they named you teacher, they named you doctor, 12:41 they named you engineer, they named you doctor, 12:44 and what happens is, because people named you, 12:46 you set your mind on a particular field or career 12:49 and then you realized that while you study for it, 12:52 or while you're doing it every day, you don't have 12:54 completeness. You see, I've learned in my life--and 12:58 look at the young people at Oakwood--and I learned 12:59 in my life, people aspire to what they see up front. 13:04 People aspire to what they see up front. So then, 13:10 now, we have people operating outside of God's purpose 13:13 because of what they see, rather than what God sees. 13:17 But all that glitters is not gold. What's on the 13:21 outside may not be what's on the inside. What you 13:24 see may not be what is. Let me give you some counsel today. 13:28 Be careful of wishing you were something else or 13:31 somebody else, because I've never known anybody who 13:34 was not--who was unbelievably powerful, who was not 13:37 equally painful. No battle; no blessing. No pain; no gain. 13:44 No valley; no victory. People always want your power, 13:49 but they never ask you for your pain. And if you're not 13:53 willing to carry my cross, you can't wear my crown, 13:57 because my crown is created by the intensity of my cross. 14:02 Y'all don't hear what I'm saying. [Aud. reaction] 14:04 PB: You see, I've learned in my life, Pastor, 14:06 when you know your purpose, it will make you a target. 14:10 When you know your purpose, you will become a marked man; 14:15 a marked woman. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 14:18 The brighter the light, the more you attract bugs. 14:22 [Aud. reaction] PB: Dogs don't bark at parked cars. 14:28 Dogs bark at moving cars. Are you hearing what 14:31 I'm saying? And I've learned in my life, when you're 14:34 operating in God's purpose there will always be an element; 14:38 an element of envy and jealousy that seeks to undermine 14:42 you at every possible turn. But I'm a witness that if 14:46 God be for us, who can be against us. No weapon formed 14:51 against us is gonna prosper! It won't work. In the name 14:55 of Jesus! Get in your purpose today. If not, you'll 15:02 be frustrated. You'll be making money, you're doing well, 15:06 but you're not in your purpose, and you're frustrated 15:08 because you let people tell you what to do and when to do it. 15:11 You're supposed to be this, you're supposed to be that. 15:13 And because you felt pressure, there you are doing this 15:15 and doing that, but it's not what God called you to do. 15:18 But there comes a point in your life when you have to say, 15:22 God, I need You to name me. I need You to name me. 15:26 There's a calling on your life. God has a purpose for 15:30 your life. No devil in hell can stop God's purpose and 15:34 plan for your life. You don't believe me? A Red Sea 15:37 couldn't stop God. A lions' den couldn't stop God. 15:41 A fiery furnace couldn't stop God. No wedding punch 15:45 at a wedding could stop God. No food on a New Testament 15:48 countryside could stop God. God will quicken whom He will, 15:52 when He will, where He will, and how He will. God is sovereign. 15:57 God can do whatever He wants, when He wants, where He wants, 16:01 and how He wants. God is God. He's CEO of the universe. 16:06 You didn't vote Him in and you can't vote Him out. 16:09 You can't impeach Him, and He's not gonna resign. 16:12 [Aud. reaction] PB: God is God. Let God name you. 16:18 Are you hearing what I'm saying today? And so, 16:21 God tells Jacob, Jacob! Your name is not what you 16:25 used to be. Your name is no longer Jacob. 16:28 That's what everybody calls you, but your name, 16:31 your old name, has too much baggage. Your new name 16:34 is Israel. Israel means chosen. Everybody say "chosen." 16:40 Aud.: Chosen. PB: You see, after you wrestle with God, 16:41 God says, I'll choose you. God says, I'll choose you. 16:45 You're the head and not the tail. You're above 16:49 and not beneath. You're on the top, you're not 16:52 on the bottom. I had to wrestle with you, 16:54 but I renamed you, and when I renamed you I chose you. 16:59 The days of trickery are over. The days of games are over. 17:03 The days of getting over are over. The days of 17:07 player-player are over. I didn't choose you for you, 17:11 I chose you for Me. I chose you that I might get the glory. 17:16 Let me tell you something. People run away from struggle. 17:19 People fear tension. People don't like drama. 17:25 But you can't clean clothes without agitation. 17:29 [Aud. reaction] PB: You have to irritate an oyster 17:32 before it becomes a pearl. You have to shake a bottle 17:36 of medicine in order for the healing substance to take effect. 17:39 That's why any doctor will tell you, shake it before 17:42 you take it. It takes tension to change. The struggle 17:46 is necessary. The battle is necessary. The wrestling 17:50 is necessary. I've got to hurt you in order to help you. 17:55 I've got to break in order to bless you. I've got to scar 18:00 you in order to save ya. I've got to change your name. 18:06 Changing your name means that God will change you from 18:10 the inside out. He changed Abram to Abraham. He changed 18:17 Saul to Paul. He changed Jacob to Israel. And somebody knows, 18:24 you can sit up here like you all that and then some, 18:26 but somebody knows, He changed you from sinner to saint, 18:31 from drunkard to deacon. He changed you from a convict to 18:38 a Christian, from an alcoholic to an Adventist, from a 18:44 mess to a miracle. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. 18:50 Old things are passed away; all things become new. 18:54 And I know there are people who like to remind you of yo- 18:57 -their pa--your past. And they call you everything but a 19:01 child of God. But somebody knows, God will change your name. 19:05 That God will pick you up and He will turn you around. 19:08 Hallelujah! Jesus saves. I got one more point to make. 19:12 I'm on 28, 30 minutes, so I gotta hurry up and finish. 19:15 Ellen Whi--I'm doing the best I can--Ellen White says 19:19 in Patriarchs and Prophets, chapter 18, that the night 19:22 of the wrestling, that Jacob had to know that the unknown 19:26 Wrestler was more than human. Because no single touch 19:32 from a human, no single touch from a human would have 19:36 had the power to leave him permanently crippled. 19:39 Which means--Carlton Byrd's interpretation--sometimes 19:43 God will deliberately give you a deformity to create 19:47 a divine dependence. [Aud. reaction] 19:50 PB: Did you hear what I just said? 19:57 [Aud. reaction]Yes. PB: God will deliberately 19:59 give you a deformity to create a divine dependence. 20:06 Let me tell you something. People will walk around- 20:09 -I'm fifth generation Adventist, I can say this- 20:11 -we got off the morning star. Y'all don't hear what 20:13 I'm saying. I'm more Adventist than anybody in this room. 20:17 Somebody says, Pastor Byrd, no you're--yes, I am. 20:20 I say it all the time. I've eaten more Grillers than everybody. 20:22 [Aud. reaction] PB: I've eaten more Stripples 20:25 than anybody. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 20:27 Are you hearing what I'm saying? Y'all don't--let 20:29 me try this. I grew up in a home where we kept the Sabbath 26 hours. 20:34 [Aud. reaction] PB: Somebody know what I'm talking about. 20:38 Somebody know what I'm talking about? What do you mean, 20:40 Pastor Byrd? We kept the Sabbath one hour before the 20:42 Sabbath started, one hour after the Sabbath ended, 20:46 because we were guarding the edges of the Sabbath. 20:48 Does somebody know what I'm talking about? 20:50 So I am more Adventist than you, so I can say this. 20:53 People who walk around like they got it going on, 20:59 and that they don't have any sin or problem in their lives. 21:03 Let me tell you something. These are folk who have never 21:05 really met the Lord. They're just frontin' and fakin', 21:10 like the young people say, because when you really meet 21:12 the Lord, you're gonna be in touch with your own human condition. 21:16 You're gonna really see yourself in a mirror. Am I preaching 21:19 to anybody in this place today? You see, self-righteous folks, 21:22 who always got Bible in hand, Sabbath school lesson in hand, 21:26 dressed to the nine, in your suit, your tie, your bow tie, your hat, 21:30 who know how to walk the walk and talk the talk, and every word 21:33 out of their mouth, "happy Sabbath. Praise the Lord." Let me tell 21:37 you something. I've learned these are some of the biggest sinners 21:40 in the world. [Aud. reaction] 21:42 PB: It's not always the demons on the outside 21:45 that are the problem, but the pretentious, 21:46 phony fake angels on the inside who have 21:50 skeletons in their closets. Jacob's character 21:54 has been changed. God allows Jacob to leave 21:57 the struggle, but God gives Jacob permanent 22:01 evidence of the struggle. Look at verse 25 again. 22:07 "And when he"--everybody say "he." 22:10 PB: Come on, say it like you mean it. Say "he." 22:12 PB: "The man saw that he prevailed not against him, 22:15 he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of 22:17 Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him." 22:20 God touched Jacob's hip. God intentionally crippled him. 22:29 God purposely deformed him. He was limping. 22:35 Everybody say "limping." Aud.: [limping] 22:37 PB: Say it like you mean it. Say "limping." 22:39 Aud.: Limping. PB: You see, the bruise in 22:42 his thigh is symbolic of his rebellion against 22:46 the will of God. So God deliberately leaves Jacob 22:50 with this deformity in order to help Jacob's ego, 22:54 because ego is the acronym that stands for easing 22:57 God out. So God had to hurt him in order to help him. 23:03 You see, before the hurting of the hip, 23:05 Jacob was self-sufficient. You couldn't tell Jacob 23:09 a thing. Jacob was bullheaded, strong-willed. 23:12 Jacob always had an answer for everything. 23:15 He always had a way to get around the system. 23:19 But now he leaves this experience with a limp. 23:24 And this limp will become a permanent memorial of 23:28 his dependence upon God. You see, without the limp 23:32 Jacob would have said "I prevailed. I won. I got 23:40 it goin' on. I'm all that." But God gives Jacob a 23:47 limp in his flesh. He's in his purpose now, 23:54 but he still has a limp in his flesh. Y'all don't 24:00 hear what I'm saying, let me hurry up. He's anointed, 24:04 but he has a limp. He's gifted, but he has a limp. 24:10 He's talented, but he has a limp in his flesh, 24:15 which means he's got to depend on God. 24:18 And that's what I want to leave with somebody today. 24:21 All of us in here have been purposely left with a 24:25 spiritual deformity, a spiritual limp so we 24:29 won't get the big head. Can I preach? Doc Bradwait, 24:35 can I preach for a minute? We've taught, 24:36 now we preachin'. I don't care how well you can preach. 24:40 I don't care how well they can play. I don't care 24:43 how well they can sing. I don't care how well you 24:47 can plan and organize. I don't care how long you've 24:51 been in the church. We all have a limp. And in case 24:57 somebody has forgotten, let me tell you what a limp is. 25:01 A limp is something that you will always struggle with 25:05 in your flesh, that's between you and God. Are you 25:09 hearing what I'm saying? And God will put it there 25:12 so you have to depend on Him. I know there are some 25:15 holier-than-thous, pious, fake folk who want you to 25:20 believe that they're not limping. But let me tell you something, 25:24 if you just look at them preaching long enough; 25:26 if you look at them teaching long enough; 25:30 if you look at 'em singing long enough; 25:32 if you look at 'em talking long enough, 25:34 when they get through preaching, when they 25:35 get through teaching, when they get through 25:37 singing and talking, you will realize they're limping. 25:41 Paul said, I've got a thorn in my flesh, and he asked 25:45 the Lord, "God, remove it." Three times he asked the Lord, 25:48 remove it, remove it, remove it. But God said, 25:50 "I can't remove it." But God said, "My grace is sufficient." 25:55 There is within all of us a thorn in our flesh. 25:59 There are people all across this city, all across 26:04 this country, all of 'em on TV, on the Internet, YouTube, 26:08 radio, preaching, teaching, singing on the anointing of 26:11 the Holy Ghost. They're anointed. But you know what? 26:15 You don't follow them home. Because if you follow some 26:19 of them home, you've realized they have a limp. 26:23 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 26:25 You'd better understand in Dupont Park today that 26:27 everybody sitting next to you, everybody sitting behind you, 26:31 everybody sitting in front of you, everybody in this church, 26:34 everybody on this property, everybody here has a limp. 26:37 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 26:43 We are all as sheep gone to the slaughter. I don't 26:47 care how much Bible you know. I don't care how much 26:50 spirit of prophecy you know. I don't care how much of 26:54 the manual you can recite. I don't care. Everybody 26:58 in here has a limp! [Aud. reaction] 27:01 PB: And God gave you the limp so you would learn 27:07 how to depend on Him. God gave you the limp so you 27:11 wouldn't walk with your head so big. God gave you 27:15 a limp so you wouldn't walk with your nose so stuck 27:17 up in the air that if it rained, you'd drown. 27:20 God gave you a limp. He had to hurt you 'cause 27:30 He's trying to help you. I'm about to take my seat 27:33 but the Bible says that Jacob--gotta finish the text- 27:37 -Jacob called the place Penuel. Everybody say "Penuel." 27:40 Aud.: Penuel. PB: Now anytime you see the name of 27:43 a place in the Bible, you better know it must be important. 27:45 There's a meaning behind it. When Abraham offered up his son Isaac, 27:49 he said, "I'll name this place Jehovah Jireh, 27:53 for it's on this mount of the Lord, the Lord did provide." 27:56 Are you hearing what I'm saying? And that's how we 27:58 get Mount Moriah. Everybody say "Mount Moriah." 28:00 "Thank you very much for tuning into this 28:02 week's Breath of Life Broadcast. 28:04 We hope and pray that you have been blessed 28:06 by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 28:09 If you would like to hear this sermon in 28:10 its entirety, please feel free to visit us at 28:13 www.breathoflife.tv or call us at 256.929.6460. 28:23 Again, thank you very much for joining us, 28:25 powerful message from Dr. Byrd." |
Revised 2017-11-27