Breath Of Life Ministries Persents: 00:00:03.23\00:00:06.43 Sermon #597 - Praise Him 00:00:06.47\00:00:09.17 [Breath of Life Theme Music] 00:00:09.20\00:00:22.15 PB: The Word of God says in Psalm 100, 00:00:22.18\00:00:24.62 "Make a joyful"--what, everybody? 00:00:24.65\00:00:26.05 Aud.: Noise. PB: Come on, talk to me. 00:00:26.09\00:00:27.42 Make a joyful what, everybody? Aud.: Noise. 00:00:27.46\00:00:29.02 PB: "Noise unto the" what? Aud.: Unto the Lord. 00:00:29.06\00:00:30.99 PB: "All ye"--what? Aud.: Lands. 00:00:31.03\00:00:32.16 PB: "Serve the Lord with"? Aud.: Gladness. 00:00:32.19\00:00:34.03 PB: "Come before his presence with"? Aud.: Singing. 00:00:34.10\00:00:36.13 PB: "Know ye that the Lord he is God: 00:00:36.16\00:00:37.93 it is he that hath made us, and not 00:00:37.97\00:00:39.23 we our--" what, everybody" Aud.: Selves. 00:00:39.27\00:00:40.80 PB: "Enter into his gates" - "We are his"--what? 00:00:40.84\00:00:44.01 People, the sheep of his-- Aud.: Pasture. 00:00:44.04\00:00:45.17 PB: "Enter into his gates with"-- 00:00:45.21\00:00:46.54 Aud.: Thanksgiving. 00:00:46.57\00:00:47.78 PB: "Into his courts with" what? Aud.: Praise. 00:00:47.81\00:00:49.48 PB: "Be thankful unto him, and bless"-- 00:00:49.51\00:00:51.75 Aud.: His name. 00:00:51.78\00:00:53.52 PB: "For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; 00:00:53.55\00:00:57.92 and his truth endureth to all generations." 00:00:57.95\00:01:02.79 I'm so grateful for God's truth. What do you say, 00:01:02.82\00:01:04.73 everybody? Tonight, my message and challenge is simple. 00:01:04.76\00:01:07.50 It's simply: Praise God. Ha ha ha. Nothing hard, 00:01:07.56\00:01:11.37 nothing difficult, nothing deep, theological in thought. 00:01:11.40\00:01:14.40 I'm not gonna parse any verbs. Ah, just praise God. 00:01:14.44\00:01:18.71 So, everybody repeat after me and say "praise God." 00:01:18.74\00:01:20.71 Aud.: Praise God. PB: Father, we ask that 00:01:20.74\00:01:22.48 You would bless us as we praise You through 00:01:22.51\00:01:24.25 Your Word. Thank You for the Sabbath, 00:01:24.28\00:01:26.31 the blessings it gives. And now, 00:01:26.35\00:01:27.68 as the Sabbath hours begin to draw to a close, 00:01:27.72\00:01:30.25 as we say this Word for You, Lord, 00:01:30.29\00:01:32.55 prepare our hearts for next Sabbath. 00:01:32.59\00:01:34.59 It's in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. 00:01:34.62\00:01:38.26 Praise God. We've got many reasons to praise 00:01:38.29\00:01:44.23 God this evening, but tonight I'm just 00:01:44.27\00:01:47.04 gonna share two. Two reasons why we need 00:01:47.07\00:01:51.54 to praise God. And these two reasons 00:01:51.57\00:01:53.61 correspond with what this weekend is all about. 00:01:53.64\00:01:56.64 Number one, this weekend is Easter weekend, 00:01:56.68\00:02:01.22 so praise God for the resurrection. 00:02:01.25\00:02:05.25 [Aud. reaction] PB: Let me try that 00:02:05.29\00:02:06.86 one more time. It is Easter weekend, 00:02:06.89\00:02:10.86 so number one, praise God for the resurrection. 00:02:10.89\00:02:14.96 Aud.: Amen. PB: Number two. This weekend 00:02:15.00\00:02:18.17 is Oakwood Alumni weekend, so praise God for Oakwood. 00:02:18.20\00:02:25.04 Aud.: Amen. PB: Let me get it in quick. Number one, 00:02:25.07\00:02:27.88 praise God for the resurrection. This time of 00:02:27.91\00:02:30.65 year is very special because it's a special 00:02:30.68\00:02:33.21 time for us as Christians. It's more than 00:02:33.25\00:02:36.02 just springtime; it's more than just 00:02:36.05\00:02:37.92 April showers; it's more than just college 00:02:37.95\00:02:40.79 basketball or March madness or spring break. 00:02:40.82\00:02:44.13 It's not the Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, 00:02:44.16\00:02:46.43 Easter candy, or Easter festivities, 00:02:46.46\00:02:49.13 but it should all be about the resurrection. 00:02:49.16\00:02:52.50 Too many of us as Adventists--and I can say this, 00:02:52.53\00:02:55.47 'cause I'm fifth generation. Come on, say amen. 00:02:55.50\00:02:57.84 So I'ma talk about myself. Too many of us ignore 00:02:57.87\00:03:01.08 Easter or don't want to celebrate Easter, 00:03:01.11\00:03:03.58 because Easter is on Sunday. But let me be 00:03:03.61\00:03:06.95 clear. We're not celebrating Easter eggs. 00:03:06.98\00:03:09.58 We're not celebrating Easter bunnies. 00:03:09.62\00:03:12.15 We're not celebrating Easter Sunday. 00:03:12.19\00:03:14.26 We're celebrating the fact that Jesus died, 00:03:14.29\00:03:17.53 He rose, and He got up. Do I have a witness 00:03:17.56\00:03:20.93 in this place? Don't get so caught up with 00:03:20.96\00:03:23.47 Easter being on Sunday that you miss the deeper 00:03:23.50\00:03:25.90 meaning of celebrating Christ's resurrection. 00:03:25.93\00:03:28.67 Don't get caught up in all those Easter pagan 00:03:28.70\00:03:30.97 origin arguments, either. We're always talking 00:03:31.01\00:03:34.24 about pagan origins. Well, let's also talk about 00:03:34.28\00:03:36.98 the names of the weekdays, the names of the months, 00:03:37.01\00:03:40.32 the steeple on this church, and the list could 00:03:40.35\00:03:43.32 go on and on. This celebration is about Jesus. 00:03:43.35\00:03:47.29 This celebration is about the fact that Jesus 00:03:47.32\00:03:49.52 rose with all power in His hands. This resurrection 00:03:49.56\00:03:53.40 is a Christian celebration. It's our celebration, 00:03:53.43\00:03:57.53 our opportunity to celebrate the tremendous, 00:03:57.57\00:04:01.10 awesome, miraculous resurrecting power of God 00:04:01.14\00:04:04.87 when the stone was rolled away. And on the third 00:04:04.91\00:04:08.11 appointed day Jesus got up, with all power in His hands. 00:04:08.14\00:04:13.01 Praise God for the resurrection. He died on Friday. 00:04:13.05\00:04:17.92 He lay resting in the grave on the Sabbath. 00:04:17.95\00:04:20.22 Which means, even in death He was obedient to 00:04:20.26\00:04:23.32 His law. But my Bible tells me that early 00:04:23.36\00:04:26.19 Sunday morning, on the first day of the week, 00:04:26.23\00:04:28.60 He got up with all power in His hands. 00:04:28.63\00:04:31.00 Power over death. Power over hell. 00:04:31.03\00:04:33.77 Power over the grave. Power over Satan. 00:04:33.80\00:04:37.17 Power over sin. Power over trouble. 00:04:37.21\00:04:40.28 Power over trial. Power temptation. 00:04:40.31\00:04:43.61 Power over cancer. Power over arthritis. 00:04:43.65\00:04:46.98 [Aud. reaction] 00:04:47.02\00:04:48.32 PB: Power over diabetes. 00:04:48.35\00:04:49.98 Power over cataracts. 00:04:50.02\00:04:51.79 Power over headaches. 00:04:51.82\00:04:53.86 Power over heartaches. 00:04:53.89\00:04:55.69 Power over backaches. 00:04:55.72\00:04:57.66 Power over toothaches. 00:04:57.69\00:05:00.26 Power over demons. 00:05:00.30\00:05:02.66 Power over debts, deceit. 00:05:02.70\00:05:06.23 Power over the devil. 00:05:06.27\00:05:07.34 Jesus got up with all power. 00:05:07.37\00:05:09.97 The first promise in the Bible comes to us 00:05:10.01\00:05:12.64 in Genesis 3:15, and in this promise 00:05:12.67\00:05:15.44 the Bible says that Satan would bruise 00:05:15.48\00:05:18.11 Jesus' heel. But Jesus would crush Satan's head. 00:05:18.15\00:05:23.35 Which means, friends of mine, the warfare 00:05:23.39\00:05:25.95 between Satan and us lies not in the struggle 00:05:25.99\00:05:29.29 to win, but rather in strife to avoid defeat. 00:05:29.32\00:05:32.76 You see, we've got this thing wrong. 00:05:32.79\00:05:35.26 What do I mean? We think we must fight in 00:05:35.30\00:05:39.50 order to win. But no Christian is able to 00:05:39.53\00:05:42.64 fight and win. We fight because we've already won. 00:05:42.67\00:05:49.54 Jesus already defeated Satan. Jesus already 00:05:49.58\00:05:57.65 defeated him at Calvary. Satan has totally 00:05:57.69\00:05:59.15 lost on his own ground. Satan's battle today 00:05:59.19\00:06:02.69 is to recover. Our battle is to retain. 00:06:02.72\00:06:06.23 You see, we don't fight in order to get. 00:06:06.26\00:06:09.66 We fight to protect what we've already got. 00:06:09.70\00:06:12.27 Preach, Pastor Byrd. 00:06:12.30\00:06:13.70 [Aud. reaction] 00:06:13.74\00:06:14.57 PB: Our goal is not to wrestle victory 00:06:14.60\00:06:16.81 from Satan but rather to keep victory 00:06:16.84\00:06:18.77 from being robbed. Satan is a defeated foe. 00:06:18.81\00:06:23.21 Satan was done at the cross, and the same 00:06:23.24\00:06:26.55 power that defeated Satan at the cross is the 00:06:26.58\00:06:29.48 same power available to us to defeat Satan today. 00:06:29.52\00:06:33.42 The resurrection means that Jesus not only 00:06:33.46\00:06:36.73 defeated death for Himself, 00:06:36.76\00:06:38.33 but that He defeated death for us. 00:06:38.36\00:06:40.63 [Aud. reaction] 00:06:40.66\00:06:42.16 PB: The moment you receive Christ, 00:06:42.20\00:06:43.33 the moment you accept Christ as your 00:06:43.37\00:06:44.73 personal Savior--hallelujah!- 00:06:44.77\00:06:45.93 -you take possession of what Christ did 00:06:45.97\00:06:47.64 for you 2,000 years ago. Your identity as 00:06:47.67\00:06:51.07 a child of God, your authority over spiritual 00:06:51.11\00:06:53.38 powers are not things you are receiving 00:06:53.41\00:06:56.41 or will receive, but you have 'em right now. 00:06:56.44\00:06:59.58 So don't wait till the battle is over. 00:06:59.61\00:07:01.62 Go on and shout now. [Aud. reaction] 00:07:01.65\00:07:04.15 PB: You possess authority. You possess 00:07:04.19\00:07:07.32 power over the kingdom of darkness right now. 00:07:07.36\00:07:10.86 You have power to defeat demons right now. 00:07:10.89\00:07:14.00 You have power to tread over serpents right now. 00:07:14.03\00:07:17.50 You don't fight for Calvary; you fight from Calvary. 00:07:17.53\00:07:21.84 Satan was defeated 2,000 years ago. 00:07:21.87\00:07:24.11 His defeat is not pending. His defeat 00:07:24.14\00:07:28.41 is not future. His defeat has already happened. 00:07:28.44\00:07:32.65 So as we sing in church, Victory Is Mine. Ha. 00:07:32.68\00:07:35.98 Victory is mine, victory today is mine. 00:07:36.02\00:07:40.49 I told Satan, get thee behind. 00:07:40.52\00:07:43.49 Victory today is mine. Somebody's still 00:07:43.53\00:07:46.03 not getting it. Let me give you this 00:07:46.06\00:07:47.50 illustration that I like. 00:07:47.56\00:07:48.76 Has anyone ever seen a snake die? 00:07:48.80\00:07:51.70 I love this illustration. Church members, 00:07:51.73\00:07:53.64 act like you haven't heard it before. 00:07:53.67\00:07:54.94 Come on, say amen. Has anyone heard or 00:07:54.97\00:07:57.04 seen a snake die? You go out there. 00:07:57.07\00:08:00.04 Somebody will chop that snake or shoot that snake. 00:08:00.08\00:08:04.15 Snake is as dead as it can be. But that tail 00:08:04.18\00:08:08.62 is just moving. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 00:08:08.65\00:08:13.36 The tail is just wiggling. And giving the image 00:08:13.39\00:08:17.63 that it's still alive. But that snake is as 00:08:17.66\00:08:22.86 dead as it can be. [Aud. reaction] 00:08:22.90\00:08:26.57 PB: And so the Lord told Satan, on Calvary, 00:08:26.60\00:08:30.21 you may have bruised my heel, 00:08:30.24\00:08:32.77 but I crushed your head. 00:08:32.81\00:08:36.08 And all you've got now is the wiggling. Ha ha. 00:08:36.11\00:08:40.08 [Aud. reaction] PB: That's all that's left. 00:08:40.12\00:08:41.85 You can't fight, you can't strike, you can't kill. 00:08:41.88\00:08:45.59 All you're doing is wiggling. I dare somebody 00:08:45.62\00:08:48.89 right now to take your foot right now, 00:08:48.92\00:08:51.73 and I know the devil is invisibly there, 00:08:51.76\00:08:54.20 but you oughta tell the devil right now, 00:08:54.20\00:08:56.46 I believe I need to step on you right now. 00:08:56.50\00:08:59.20 You stepped on me long enough. You trampled 00:08:59.23\00:09:02.27 on me long enough. You walked on me long enough. 00:09:02.30\00:09:05.14 But now I'm gonna walk on you. Now I'm gonna 00:09:05.17\00:09:08.08 trample on you. Now I'm gonna step on you. 00:09:08.11\00:09:10.91 The difference is, you can step on me and hurt me, 00:09:10.95\00:09:13.62 but I can power--have power to step on you and crush you. 00:09:13.65\00:09:17.29 Satan thought he had defeated Jesus at Calvary. 00:09:17.32\00:09:21.56 But know this--and I've learned this in my life; 00:09:21.59\00:09:24.99 even for you in your own life- 00:09:25.03\00:09:26.70 -after every crucifixion, 00:09:26.73\00:09:30.20 there must be a resurrection. 00:09:30.23\00:09:35.57 [Aud. reaction] PB: When the devil thinks 00:09:35.60\00:09:37.37 he has you down, always remember you will get up. 00:09:37.41\00:09:42.21 Ha ha. No matter how bad things look right now, 00:09:42.24\00:09:45.48 God has the power to get you up. 00:09:45.51\00:09:49.08 If sickness has you down, 00:09:49.12\00:09:50.89 it can't keep you down. 00:09:50.92\00:09:52.22 Somebody knows, God has the power 00:09:52.25\00:09:54.42 to get you up. God has the power to 00:09:54.46\00:09:56.59 change your situation. The grave, 00:09:56.62\00:09:58.79 literally and figuratively, 00:09:58.83\00:10:02.50 is not your final destination. 00:10:02.53\00:10:05.17 Jesus died on Friday, lay resting 00:10:05.20\00:10:08.57 in the grave on the Sabbath, 00:10:08.60\00:10:10.37 but on the third appointed day He got up. 00:10:10.41\00:10:14.01 And because He lives, I live. 00:10:14.04\00:10:18.21 Because He got up, one day the 00:10:18.25\00:10:21.45 dead in Christ are gonna get up. 00:10:21.48\00:10:23.59 I serve a risen Savior, 00:10:23.62\00:10:25.65 He's in the world today. 00:10:25.69\00:10:27.66 I know that He is living, 00:10:27.69\00:10:29.26 whatever men may say. 00:10:29.29\00:10:30.53 I see His hand of mercy; 00:10:30.56\00:10:31.49 I hear His voice of cheer. 00:10:31.53\00:10:32.73 And just the time I need Him, 00:10:32.76\00:10:34.86 He's always near. 00:10:34.93\00:10:37.00 Praise God for the resurrection. 00:10:37.03\00:10:41.84 [Aud. reaction] 00:10:41.87\00:10:42.67 PB: But then number two and then 00:10:42.70\00:10:43.97 I'll sit down. In my vesper thoughts. 00:10:44.01\00:10:46.27 [laughter] 00:10:46.31\00:10:47.71 PB: Praise God for Oakwood. 00:10:47.74\00:10:54.05 [Aud. reaction] 00:10:54.08\00:10:55.05 PB: Now, Oakwood has been around for 122 years. 00:10:55.08\00:10:59.32 Praise the Lord. And let me say this, 00:10:59.35\00:11:02.42 and I'm glad this is being recorded and 00:11:02.46\00:11:04.86 its' being seen right now. 00:11:04.89\00:11:06.66 And we're not going anywhere. Ha ha. 00:11:06.70\00:11:09.90 [Aud. reaction] 00:11:09.93\00:11:11.67 PB: This is God's school. 00:11:11.70\00:11:14.17 Founded by God's prophetess. 00:11:14.20\00:11:17.24 And we're not going anywhere! 00:11:17.27\00:11:20.71 We're not going to die. 00:11:20.74\00:11:23.24 We're not going to close. 00:11:23.28\00:11:25.81 We're not going to merge. 00:11:25.85\00:11:27.85 This is Oakwood. This is- 00:11:27.88\00:11:30.82 -do I have a witness in this place? 00:11:30.85\00:11:34.42 [Aud. reaction] PB: But in the 122 years 00:11:34.46\00:11:36.89 that we've been around, a lot has changed at Oakwood. 00:11:36.93\00:11:40.00 And I've learned that, since I've been 00:11:40.03\00:11:41.30 back as a pastor. In 1896, when Oakwood was founded, 00:11:41.33\00:11:46.47 tuition, room and board cost $8 per month. 00:11:46.50\00:11:52.24 [Aud. reaction] 00:11:52.27\00:11:53.11 PB: Now, Elder Bradford's mother was one 00:11:53.14\00:11:59.05 of the first 16 students at this school. 00:11:59.08\00:12:02.62 When she was here, it cost $8 a month. 00:12:02.65\00:12:08.06 So if you multiply 8 by 12, it cost $96 00:12:08.09\00:12:13.26 per year to go to Oakwood. Just bring the old days. 00:12:13.29\00:12:19.57 What do you say, ha ha ha. [Aud. reaction] 00:12:19.60\00:12:23.07 PB: Today, tuition, room and board at Oakwood 00:12:23.10\00:12:28.74 is $26,000 a year. In 1896, there were 16 students. 00:12:28.78\00:12:39.55 Today, there are about 1600 students. Back then, 00:12:39.59\00:12:48.93 there were 380 acres of property. Today, 00:12:48.96\00:12:50.73 there are nearly 1200 acres of property. 00:12:50.77\00:12:54.17 Back then, Oakwood had a principal. 00:12:54.20\00:12:58.34 Today, Oakwood has a president. 00:12:58.37\00:13:02.54 Oakwood University is a 122-year-old 00:13:02.58\00:13:06.58 institution founded on the principles 00:13:06.61\00:13:08.55 of Seventh-day Adventist Christian education. 00:13:08.58\00:13:11.75 These principles have allowed us to endure the 00:13:11.79\00:13:15.42 Great Depression, the Civil Rights Era, 00:13:15.46\00:13:18.39 the Cold War, the Gulf War, recession after 00:13:18.43\00:13:21.50 recession, and many other events that have 00:13:21.53\00:13:24.20 caused other, similar institutions to close 00:13:24.23\00:13:27.37 its doors. But praise God, Oakwood is still 00:13:27.40\00:13:33.78 alive and well. Oakwood is still a place where 00:13:33.81\00:13:38.65 loveliness keeps house. Oakwood is still a 00:13:38.68\00:13:41.38 place where precious memories last forever. 00:13:41.42\00:13:44.25 Oakwood is still a place where students 00:13:44.29\00:13:46.49 enter to learn and depart to serve. 00:13:46.52\00:13:48.39 Praise God for Oakwood! [Aud. reaction] 00:13:48.42\00:13:51.19 PB: Oakwood has produced great preachers, 00:13:51.23\00:13:53.33 great teachers, prized physicians, 00:13:53.36\00:13:55.93 awesome attorneys, accurate accountants, 00:13:55.96\00:13:58.70 super psychologists, consummate communicators, 00:13:58.73\00:14:01.60 excellent engineers, vivacious videographers. 00:14:01.64\00:14:04.91 Praise God for Oakwood! [Aud. reaction] 00:14:04.94\00:14:08.51 PB: When somebody said we'd close, 00:14:08.54\00:14:11.45 we stayed open. When they thought we wouldn't 00:14:11.48\00:14:14.12 make it, we made it. A hundred and 22 years later, 00:14:14.15\00:14:18.12 we're still here. Praise God for Oakwood, 00:14:18.15\00:14:23.22 and praise God for the resurrection. 00:14:23.26\00:14:27.40 And so tonight, I echo the words of the Psalmist: 00:14:27.46\00:14:30.80 Make a joyful noise until the Lord all ye lands. 00:14:30.83\00:14:35.70 Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before His 00:14:35.74\00:14:39.37 presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord 00:14:39.41\00:14:41.78 He is God. It is He that hath made us and not 00:14:41.81\00:14:44.08 we ourselves. We are His people, the sheep of 00:14:44.11\00:14:46.92 His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving. 00:14:46.95\00:14:49.55 Enter His courts with praise, 00:14:49.58\00:14:51.15 and be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. 00:14:51.19\00:14:57.26 [Aud. reaction] PB: For the Lord is what, everybody? 00:14:57.29\00:14:58.79 [Aud. reaction]Good. PB: Come on, 00:14:58.83\00:15:00.06 the Lord is what, everybody? 00:15:00.10\00:15:01.10 [Aud. reaction]Good. PB: His mercy is 00:15:01.13\00:15:02.50 everlasting and His truth endureth 00:15:02.53\00:15:03.43 to all generations. I'm not done yet. 00:15:03.47\00:15:05.37 We're talking about praise God for the 00:15:05.40\00:15:08.34 resurrection, and praise God for Oakwood. 00:15:08.37\00:15:09.84 But if there's one area of the Christian 00:15:09.87\00:15:12.01 faith I believe we underestimate, 00:15:12.04\00:15:13.81 it's the area of praise. We're talking 00:15:13.84\00:15:17.05 about praise God for Oakwood and 00:15:17.08\00:15:18.35 praise God for the resurrection, 00:15:18.38\00:15:19.48 but we underestimate praise. 00:15:19.51\00:15:20.68 Praise means to speak well of a person. 00:15:20.72\00:15:24.39 Praise means to speak well of a personality. 00:15:24.42\00:15:26.79 Praise means to speak well and loud. 00:15:26.82\00:15:29.49 That's where we get the word Shabbat from. 00:15:29.52\00:15:31.09 But for the believer, there's so much 00:15:31.13\00:15:34.10 time to praise, some of us just haven't 00:15:34.10\00:15:36.06 gotten it yet. I used to admit, 00:15:36.10\00:15:38.60 when I grew up in the church, 00:15:38.63\00:15:40.17 I used to wonder why some people praised 00:15:40.20\00:15:42.07 God like they did. I mean, at that time 00:15:42.10\00:15:44.74 I really felt it didn't take all that. 00:15:44.77\00:15:48.11 But as soon as I discovered that I hadn't 00:15:48.14\00:15:52.01 been through anything, and I was criticizing 00:15:52.05\00:15:55.98 folk because I didn't understand the things 00:15:56.02\00:15:58.52 that they were going through, I came to 00:15:58.55\00:16:00.66 understand that I had judged them unfairly, 00:16:00.69\00:16:03.39 because when I had gone through some things 00:16:03.43\00:16:05.59 for myself, when I had been dragged through 00:16:05.63\00:16:08.36 the mud, when I had been talked about. 00:16:08.40\00:16:10.30 Anybody ever been talked about? 00:16:10.33\00:16:12.43 [Aud. reaction] 00:16:12.47\00:16:13.40 PB: Lied on. Criticized. Misunderstood. 00:16:13.44\00:16:17.71 Then I came to understand why people praise 00:16:17.74\00:16:21.01 God like they do, because I found out that 00:16:21.04\00:16:24.55 if God has ever done anything for you, 00:16:24.58\00:16:27.15 you just can't help but praise His name. 00:16:27.18\00:16:30.75 Does anybody know what I'm talking about? 00:16:30.79\00:16:32.72 [Aud. reaction] 00:16:32.75\00:16:33.72 PB: You see, whenever you've gone through 00:16:33.76\00:16:35.62 some things, and God has brought you out, 00:16:35.66\00:16:38.66 you literally stop trying to be cute. 00:16:38.69\00:16:40.96 [Aud. reaction] 00:16:41.00\00:16:41.90 PB: You stop worrying about what other 00:16:41.93\00:16:43.70 folks say about you. You stop worrying 00:16:43.73\00:16:45.73 about what other folk think about you. 00:16:45.77\00:16:47.44 Can I tell you when my ministry took off? 00:16:47.47\00:16:49.60 When I stopped worrying about what people said, 00:16:49.64\00:16:53.21 and I got delivered from people. 00:16:53.24\00:16:55.04 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 00:16:55.08\00:16:56.71 You've got to start learning how to praise God. 00:16:56.75\00:16:59.28 As a matter of fact, God's been so faithful, 00:16:59.31\00:17:01.12 by now you don't even have to wait until 00:17:01.15\00:17:03.59 you come up out of your situation, 00:17:03.62\00:17:05.59 but you've learned how to praise God 00:17:05.62\00:17:07.36 right in the midst of your what you're going through. 00:17:07.39\00:17:10.19 [Aud. reaction] 00:17:10.23\00:17:11.06 PB: Do I have a witness in this place? 00:17:11.09\00:17:12.76 Somebody's still not getting it. 00:17:12.79\00:17:14.36 Let me help you. So there's this lady 00:17:14.36\00:17:16.43 who goes to see her pastor one day, 00:17:16.46\00:17:19.87 in his study. And she says, "Pastor, 00:17:19.90\00:17:23.54 I'm going through problems with my family." 00:17:23.57\00:17:28.88 Pastor said, "Hallelujah!" The lady said, "Pastor, 00:17:28.91\00:17:32.85 I've two more things. I'm going through 00:17:32.88\00:17:35.95 problems on my job." The pastor said, 00:17:35.98\00:17:39.69 "Glory, hallelujah!" She then stood up 00:17:39.72\00:17:42.82 and said, "Pastor, but there's one more thing. 00:17:42.86\00:17:45.29 I'm going through some health problems." 00:17:45.33\00:17:49.16 The pastor said, "Oh, thank You, Jesus." 00:17:49.20\00:17:52.20 She said, "Hold up, Pastor. Wait a minute. 00:17:52.23\00:17:55.94 You're mocking me. I came here to tell you 00:17:55.97\00:18:00.28 I was going through problems with my family, 00:18:00.31\00:18:04.28 I was going through problems with my job, 00:18:04.31\00:18:07.82 I was going through problems with my health. 00:18:07.85\00:18:11.52 And you mean to tell me you're going to make 00:18:11.55\00:18:13.05 mockery of my trials? You gonna sit up in here 00:18:13.09\00:18:17.79 and shout praise the Lord, when I'm talking 00:18:17.83\00:18:20.60 about going through all of this?" The pastor said, 00:18:20.63\00:18:25.10 "Sister, you don't get it. The reason why 00:18:25.13\00:18:27.77 I'm praising God for you is because you said 00:18:27.80\00:18:31.61 you were going through. You weren't in it 00:18:31.64\00:18:36.34 to stay, but you are just going through." 00:18:36.38\00:18:41.02 And I just stopped by to tell somebody. 00:18:41.05\00:18:43.59 I'm trying to help somebody understand 00:18:43.62\00:18:46.09 right now that you're just going through 00:18:46.12\00:18:48.79 some stuff. You're just going through sickness, 00:18:48.82\00:18:53.26 through death, through that bad car, 00:18:53.29\00:18:56.33 through that bad house, through that 00:18:56.36\00:18:58.53 bad relationship. We're just going through 00:18:58.57\00:19:00.50 Donald Trump. I wish I had a witness in this place. 00:19:00.54\00:19:04.64 [Aud. reaction] 00:19:04.67\00:19:08.48 PB: You're just going through to get to. 00:19:08.51\00:19:16.02 David says, "Make a joyful noise unto the 00:19:16.05\00:19:21.62 Lord all ye lands." That's everybody. 00:19:21.66\00:19:24.13 He says, your praise ought to be audible. 00:19:24.16\00:19:26.43 The text says "Make a joyful noise." 00:19:26.46\00:19:28.00 Now--I'm about to sit down, but I'm a good 00:19:28.03\00:19:29.73 ol' Adventist, so I know, some of us, noise frustrates. 00:19:29.76\00:19:33.67 [Aud. reaction] 00:19:33.70\00:19:35.80 PB: Hee hee hee hee. Some people just don't like noise, 00:19:35.84\00:19:43.61 and I understand that. I get it. It's okay. 00:19:43.65\00:19:47.05 But I have to say this: If you don't like noise, 00:19:47.08\00:19:51.99 I don't know where you're gonna spend eternity. 00:19:52.02\00:19:56.36 [Aud. reaction] 00:19:56.39\00:20:00.36 PB: Because if you die and go to hell, 00:20:00.40\00:20:03.26 there's gonna be wailing and gnashing of teeth noise. 00:20:03.30\00:20:08.14 [Aud. reaction] 00:20:08.17\00:20:09.24 PB: And if you make it to heave with the rest of us, 00:20:09.27\00:20:11.24 there's gonna be sho 'nuff noise, because when 00:20:11.27\00:20:14.11 we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing 00:20:14.14\00:20:20.18 that's gonna be. When we all see Jesus, 00:20:20.22\00:20:24.22 we gonna sing and shout the victory! 00:20:24.25\00:20:28.76 [Aud. reaction] Aud.: Hallelujah! 00:20:28.79\00:20:31.89 PB: But what is noise? Noise if information 00:20:31.93\00:20:35.50 that I'm trying to communicate. 00:20:35.53\00:20:38.27 But when I try to communicate it, 00:20:38.30\00:20:40.14 it comes up on the other side of articulation. 00:20:40.17\00:20:43.04 In other words, nothing is more than something 00:20:43.07\00:20:45.71 God has done for me, that when I try to tell 00:20:45.74\00:20:48.71 you about it, it goes beyond nouns and verbs. 00:20:48.74\00:20:52.08 It goes beyond adjectives and adverbs. 00:20:52.11\00:20:54.52 I can't explain the goodness of God, 00:20:54.55\00:20:57.12 so when I open up my mouth and tell 00:20:57.15\00:20:59.82 you what God has done for me, all that 00:20:59.85\00:21:02.69 comes out of my mouth is some noise! 00:21:02.72\00:21:06.43 Make a joyful-- Aud.: Noise! [applause] 00:21:06.46\00:21:10.70 PB: The devil doesn't mind making noise. 00:21:10.73\00:21:17.87 Look at the devil. I saw a young man coming 00:21:17.91\00:21:21.74 down the street one day. He's in his old beat-up car. 00:21:21.78\00:21:24.88 I call it a "hoopdie." Everybody say "hoopdie." 00:21:24.91\00:21:27.08 Heh, heh,, heh. But he has a three-thousand-dollar 00:21:27.12\00:21:30.59 sound system in his car. I mean his sound system 00:21:30.62\00:21:37.03 is worth more than the car. You know, 00:21:37.06\00:21:39.86 it's those kinda cars when you stop at 00:21:39.89\00:21:41.40 a red light, you can feel the ground vibrating. 00:21:41.43\00:21:44.20 You know what I'm saying? [Aud. reaction] 00:21:44.23\00:21:46.03 PB: Boom! Boom-boom! About to tear that 00:21:46.07\00:21:49.07 poor car to pieces, with all that bass, 00:21:49.10\00:21:52.74 all that noise. I said to myself, Bro, 00:21:52.77\00:21:55.08 why don't you get a paint job? Heh heh. 00:21:55.11\00:21:57.55 Fix that transmission, buy some tires, 00:21:57.58\00:21:59.28 buy some brakes. But he was so concerned 00:21:59.31\00:22:02.82 with investing in the boom-boom system, 00:22:02.85\00:22:05.22 because he wanted everybody to know that 00:22:05.25\00:22:07.49 he had some noise. He wasn't concerned with 00:22:07.52\00:22:11.69 how he looked; he was just concerned with 00:22:11.73\00:22:14.46 everybody hearing his noise. 00:22:14.46\00:22:18.00 I just wanna know, do we have some folk tonight-- 00:22:18.03\00:22:20.30 [Aud. reaction] 00:22:20.34\00:22:21.34 PB: --who don't mind making some noise for Jesus. 00:22:21.37\00:22:27.74 Who don't mind going and telling this wonderful 00:22:27.78\00:22:30.38 gospel of a Jesus that we serve. But you 00:22:30.41\00:22:33.82 know what our problem is? We're so concerned 00:22:33.85\00:22:35.65 with how we look. You don't want your powder to run. 00:22:35.68\00:22:41.72 You see, in our group Adventist home, 00:22:41.76\00:22:43.63 you didn't call it makeup, you called it powder. 00:22:43.66\00:22:45.26 Anybody know what I'm talking about? Ha ha ha. 00:22:45.29\00:22:48.93 [Aud. reaction] 00:22:48.96\00:22:49.76 PB: You don't wanna break a nail. 00:22:49.80\00:22:52.77 You don't wanna mess up the shoes 00:22:52.80\00:22:54.57 on your feet. You wanna be cool; 00:22:54.60\00:22:57.41 you wanna be suave. You young people say, 00:22:57.44\00:22:59.51 you wanna be dope. You know what--lit. 00:22:59.54\00:23:02.21 That's what they say right here. Lit. 00:23:02.24\00:23:04.45 You wanna be lit, Pastor Byrd. All right, 00:23:04.48\00:23:06.18 I'm lit, whatever that means. 00:23:06.21\00:23:07.65 [Aud. reaction] PB: But let me remind you, 00:23:07.68\00:23:09.28 before I sit down, that whatever you 00:23:09.32\00:23:11.05 have on, God gave it to you. 00:23:11.09\00:23:16.12 [Aud. reaction] 00:23:16.16\00:23:17.09 PB: You walk around with Jimmy Choos 00:23:17.13\00:23:18.26 on your feet, red bottom shoes, Allen Edmonds, Magnanni. 00:23:18.29\00:23:22.73 Somebody's looking down at their feet right now. 00:23:22.76\00:23:24.03 Look at me. Come on, say amen. 00:23:24.07\00:23:25.93 [Aud. reaction] 00:23:25.97\00:23:27.04 PB: But if it weren't for God healing those feet, 00:23:27.07\00:23:30.21 you wouldn't be able to get in them shoes. 00:23:30.24\00:23:32.37 You're too worried about your hair, 00:23:32.41\00:23:33.88 you oughta be glad God gave you the 00:23:33.91\00:23:35.58 money to get your hair done or buy 00:23:35.61\00:23:36.75 some extra hair. Come on, say amen. 00:23:36.78\00:23:40.05 Aud.: [applause] 00:23:40.08\00:23:41.85 PB: You oughta just thank God, and open up 00:23:41.88\00:23:43.42 your mouth and give God praise. The world 00:23:43.45\00:23:46.49 is making noise but the church is quiet. 00:23:46.52\00:23:50.99 Go ye therefore, teach all nations, 00:23:51.03\00:23:53.56 baptizing them in the name of the Father, 00:23:53.60\00:23:55.53 the Son and the Holy Ghost. Always running 00:23:55.56\00:23:58.73 around here talking about "if I had ten 00:23:58.77\00:24:00.57 thousand tongues, it wouldn't be enough 00:24:00.60\00:24:02.30 to praise Him." Why don't you start with 00:24:02.34\00:24:03.81 the one tongue you've got right now? 00:24:03.84\00:24:08.68 Aud.: [applause] 00:24:08.71\00:24:09.54 PB: Heh, heh, make a joyful noise. 00:24:09.58\00:24:14.92 So you don't, so you have a degree. 00:24:14.95\00:24:19.52 Say something. So you don't have a degree. 00:24:19.55\00:24:24.69 Say something. So you have a nice house. 00:24:24.73\00:24:28.40 Say something. So you don't have a nice house. 00:24:28.43\00:24:33.23 Say something. So you're educated. Say something. 00:24:33.27\00:24:39.77 So you're not educated. Say something. 00:24:39.81\00:24:44.71 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. 00:24:44.75\00:24:51.99 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. 00:24:52.02\00:24:55.86 But David wasn't the only one who praised 00:24:55.89\00:24:58.53 God in the Bible. When I get to the New Testament, 00:24:58.56\00:25:01.53 I see that Paul praised Him too. 00:25:01.56\00:25:04.67 It was Paul who said, Rejoice evermore. 00:25:04.70\00:25:08.20 Pray without ceasing. In everything give 00:25:08.24\00:25:12.61 thanks. If God be for us, who can be against us? 00:25:12.64\00:25:19.45 Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors. 00:25:19.48\00:25:23.52 I can do all things through Christ which 00:25:23.55\00:25:27.32 strengtheneth me. Paul was educated. 00:25:27.36\00:25:30.49 Paul was smart. Paul spoke 13 languages, 00:25:30.53\00:25:34.73 but Paul also had the Holy Ghost. 00:25:34.76\00:25:38.20 Because Paul knew that you can't 00:25:38.23\00:25:40.57 let your learning cause you to lose 00:25:40.60\00:25:42.44 your burning. Paul knew that if you had 00:25:42.47\00:25:46.14 a B.A. degree in the world, you still 00:25:46.17\00:25:48.08 needed to be born again. Paul knew that 00:25:48.11\00:25:49.94 if you had a B.S. degree, you still needed 00:25:49.98\00:25:51.38 to have--be born of the Spirit. Paul knew 00:25:51.41\00:25:53.92 if you had a Ph.D, you still had to praise Him daily. 00:25:53.95\00:25:56.69 It amazes me sometimes that there's a strange 00:25:56.72\00:26:00.52 irony between education and sophistication. 00:26:00.56\00:26:04.73 Now, it would seem to me that the more educated 00:26:04.76\00:26:07.40 you became, the more you'd praise God, 00:26:07.46\00:26:10.10 because you'd ask yourself the question: 00:26:10.13\00:26:12.10 how would you get the degree if God didn't 00:26:12.13\00:26:15.14 bring you through it? But sometimes, 00:26:15.17\00:26:19.04 it's just the opposite. The more educated 00:26:19.07\00:26:21.94 you become, the less you praise God. 00:26:21.98\00:26:25.08 But in the name of Jesus, I'm gonna 00:26:25.11\00:26:29.85 lift my voice and praise God. 00:26:29.88\00:26:35.39 God's been too good to Carlton Byrd, 00:26:35.42\00:26:39.29 for Carlton Byrd to be quiet. 00:26:39.33\00:26:42.13 And you may not praise Him like I do 00:26:42.16\00:26:44.60 --that's okay. But please, give God 00:26:44.63\00:26:47.94 some praise. Give Him some thanks. 00:26:47.97\00:26:51.94 He's worthy to be praised. 00:26:51.97\00:26:55.91 I'm thankful for my teachers at Oakwood. 00:26:55.94\00:26:59.18 I'm thankful for my education at Oakwood. 00:26:59.21\00:27:02.25 I'm thankful for my friends at Oakwood. 00:27:02.28\00:27:05.19 I'm thankful even for the food in the cafeteria 00:27:05.22\00:27:07.89 at Oakwood. But I praise God, 00:27:07.92\00:27:11.73 because God made it happen. 00:27:11.76\00:27:15.16 Because if it had not been for 00:27:15.20\00:27:18.80 the Lord on my side, where would I be? 00:27:18.83\00:27:25.27 Praise God for Oakwood. Praise God 00:27:25.31\00:27:29.71 we didn't go under. Praise God we're 00:27:29.74\00:27:32.78 not going to go under. Praise God for Oakwood. 00:27:32.81\00:27:37.25 Praise God for the resurrection. Make a 00:27:37.29\00:27:40.79 joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. 00:27:40.82\00:27:43.89 Serve the Lord with gladness. 00:27:43.93\00:27:45.99 Come before His presence with singing. 00:27:46.03\00:27:48.30 Know ye that the Lord, He is God. 00:27:48.33\00:27:50.07 It is He that hath made us and not 00:27:50.10\00:27:51.57 we ourselves. We are His people, 00:27:51.60\00:27:53.20 the sheep of His pasture. 00:27:53.23\00:27:54.50 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 00:27:54.54\00:27:56.54 into His courts with praise. 00:27:56.57\00:27:58.34 >: Thank you very much for tuning in to this week's 00:27:58.37\00:28:01.08 Breath of Life broadcast. 00:28:01.11\00:28:02.91 We hope and pray that you've been blessed by 00:28:02.94\00:28:05.21 Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 00:28:05.25\00:28:07.55 If you would like to hear this sermon in its entirety, 00:28:07.58\00:28:09.75 please feel free to visit us at 00:28:09.78\00:28:11.79 www.BreathofLife.tv. Or, call us at (256) 929-6460. 00:28:11.82\00:28:21.80 [END] 00:28:21.83\00:28:36.85