Breath of Life Ministries Presents: 00:00:02.80\00:00:05.47 Sermon #610 - Be Revived, Be Renewed, Be Restored. 00:00:05.50\00:00:10.64 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 00:00:10.67\00:00:21.28 Pastor Byrd: Psalm 85:6 and 7 says, “Wilt thou not revive us 00:00:21.32\00:00:30.43 again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Show us thy 00:00:30.46\00:00:36.60 mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.” So, in essence, 00:00:36.63\00:00:41.70 revive us, Lord, again. Then the renewal. Isaiah Chapter 40, 00:00:41.74\00:00:51.68 verse number 31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall 00:00:51.71\00:00:59.32 renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings 00:00:59.35\00:01:04.49 as eagles; they shall run, and not be,” what, everybody? 00:01:04.53\00:01:10.20 Not be what, everybody? Aud:Tired. 00:01:10.23\00:01:13.00 PB: And they shall walk and they shall not what, everybody? 00:01:13.03\00:01:16.00 Aud:Faint. PB: Then the restoration. Joel 2: 25, 00:01:16.04\00:01:23.28 “And I will restore to you the years that the locust 00:01:23.31\00:01:29.48 hath taken, eaten, and the canker worm, and the 00:01:29.52\00:01:33.59 caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among 00:01:33.62\00:01:41.76 you.” Be revived, be renewed, be restored, and wrap it in 00:01:41.80\00:01:50.51 Revelation. A first message is be revived. Everybody say be 00:01:50.54\00:01:55.51 revived. Aud: Revived. PB: But I'm an old, I'm a young, I'm an 00:01:55.54\00:02:01.82 old man in a young body. All right. Old man in young body. 00:02:01.85\00:02:04.85 And I remember the days of revival. Years ago revival was 00:02:04.89\00:02:14.56 not in a church like this. Years ago revival, we didn't 00:02:14.56\00:02:19.87 have HD video walls like we do now. Some of us can go 00:02:19.90\00:02:25.41 back to revival. And we can go back to that old-fashioned 00:02:25.44\00:02:29.88 tent meeting. There was not concrete under the tent, 00:02:29.91\00:02:34.92 there was not grass under the tent, but somebody remembers 00:02:34.95\00:02:37.95 there was sawdust under the tent. Somebody remembers 00:02:37.99\00:02:44.03 we didn't have screens like this, but we went to Lowe's 00:02:44.06\00:02:48.50 or Home Depot and we bought some two-by-fours. Then we 00:02:48.53\00:02:54.24 went to Sears and bought some white sheets and we took 00:02:54.27\00:02:58.84 those white sheets and we took a heavy-duty stapler 00:02:58.87\00:03:02.04 and we stapled those sheets to those two-by-fours, 00:03:02.08\00:03:06.08 dug some holes in the ground, and we called that a screen. 00:03:06.11\00:03:09.08 Does anybody know what I'm talking about? We did not 00:03:09.12\00:03:12.69 have an old-day revival PowerPoint clicker like we 00:03:12.72\00:03:16.52 have today and my daddy used to run the tent meetings 00:03:16.56\00:03:18.86 and my brother and I, we would have to advance the slides. 00:03:18.89\00:03:22.20 Anybody remember that Carousel machine? And you had 00:03:22.23\00:03:26.23 to where, slide go from slide to slide. The young 00:03:26.27\00:03:29.14 people don't know anything about that. Back in those 00:03:29.17\00:03:32.24 days there was no air condition. I tell the people 00:03:32.27\00:03:35.91 who come to camp meetings in South Central, you all 00:03:35.94\00:03:37.78 don't know what real camp meeting is. Camp meeting 00:03:37.81\00:03:40.62 is victory league. Do I have a witness in this place? 00:03:40.65\00:03:43.12 Camp meeting is down in Southeast and in Hawthorne in 00:03:43.15\00:03:47.16 Florida where there are no, there were tents. Anybody 00:03:47.19\00:03:50.49 know what I'm talking about? And the bathrooms, 00:03:50.53\00:03:53.06 everybody, you had to rotate it. If you wanted 00:03:53.09\00:03:55.00 privacy you had to wake up early in the morning 00:03:55.03\00:03:57.83 to begin the day with, be able to get a shower. 00:03:57.87\00:04:00.54 Anybody know what I'm talking about in this place? 00:04:00.57\00:04:02.74 Back in those days we had the tents. My daddy 00:04:02.77\00:04:05.01 taught my brother and I. He said, listen, now, 00:04:05.04\00:04:07.08 you dig a trench around the tent. If the rain 00:04:07.11\00:04:10.18 begins to come down, you make sure the trench 00:04:10.21\00:04:12.48 has been dug, because the water has to go in 00:04:12.51\00:04:15.92 the tent so the water won't come in the, water 00:04:15.95\00:04:18.82 has to go out the tent, so the water doesn't 00:04:18.85\00:04:20.72 have to go in the tent. Anybody know what I'm 00:04:20.76\00:04:22.49 talking about? And then you had a charismatic, 00:04:22.52\00:04:24.46 sweaty faced, hoarse throated, foaming flecks 00:04:24.49\00:04:32.60 evangelist shouting, Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus. 00:04:32.63\00:04:39.54 Praise the Lord. I don't think anybody remembers 00:04:39.57\00:04:42.28 this one. We're going to twist that old devil's 00:04:42.31\00:04:45.65 tail tonight. Come on, say Amen. Give your heart 00:04:45.68\00:04:51.85 to the Lord and only asked after you are done, 00:04:51.89\00:04:54.56 let the ushers bring forth the offering buckets 00:04:54.59\00:04:57.06 at this time. That was revival. That's what I 00:04:57.09\00:05:01.73 grew up under. Revival comes, and back then, 00:05:01.76\00:05:04.70 anybody remember, revival wasn't two weeks. 00:05:04.73\00:05:06.94 Revival was six weeks back then. Sometimes 00:05:06.97\00:05:13.21 back in the islands, somebody knows it was 12 weeks. 00:05:13.24\00:05:15.61 Elder Cleveland and Elder Ward used to run 18-week meetings. 00:05:15.64\00:05:18.61 Anybody know what I'm talking about? People, 00:05:18.65\00:05:21.75 I can't come out two weeks, it's too much. 00:05:21.78\00:05:23.69 You don't know what it was back in the day. 00:05:23.72\00:05:26.22 Revival. Comes from the Hebrew word “tekhiyah” 00:05:26.25\00:05:30.56 meaning to bring back to life, to restore to a 00:05:30.59\00:05:32.43 previous condition. So then, to be revived implies 00:05:32.46\00:05:36.33 that a revival has occurred before. And when I 00:05:36.36\00:05:41.04 think of revival in the Bible, my mind always 00:05:41.07\00:05:44.11 goes to Ezekiel 37, because Ezekiel sees a valley 00:05:44.14\00:05:48.04 full of dead, dry bones. Anybody know what I'm 00:05:48.08\00:05:50.91 talking about? When God showed Ezekiel a vision, 00:05:50.95\00:05:54.32 the valley of dry bones depicting the Israeli nation, 00:05:54.35\00:05:57.02 is Ezekiel thought that to speak of returning to 00:05:57.05\00:06:00.76 success to the nation of Israel was like talking 00:06:00.79\00:06:03.76 of restoration and vitality to dead, dry bones. 00:06:03.79\00:06:08.00 But I believe I've got a witness in this place, 00:06:08.03\00:06:10.67 that knows that the Spirit of God can breathe life 00:06:10.70\00:06:14.00 back into tired lives, and can revive, renew, 00:06:14.04\00:06:19.51 and restore that which was once alive and is 00:06:19.54\00:06:22.68 now dead. Ezekiel surveyed the site, he saw 00:06:22.71\00:06:26.48 the valley full of dead, dry bones, but Ezekiel 00:06:26.51\00:06:29.65 knew that if God wanted to, God can bring the 00:06:29.68\00:06:32.39 dead back to life. But it appeared that there 00:06:32.42\00:06:34.66 was no hint of hope, no suggestion of possibility, 00:06:34.69\00:06:37.36 no indication of probability, but somebody 00:06:37.39\00:06:40.73 knows God's, man's extremity is God's opportunity. 00:06:40.76\00:06:44.70 So God asks Ezekiel, Ezekiel, “Son of man, 00:06:44.73\00:06:49.70 can these bones live?” And now Ezekiel doesn't 00:06:49.74\00:06:56.14 answer God's question too quickly, because after all, 00:06:56.18\00:06:58.61 why would all-creating, all-knowing, all-sovereign, 00:06:58.65\00:07:02.15 immortal God ask Ezekiel, a mere mortal, 00:07:02.18\00:07:04.89 that kind of question when He knew the answer. 00:07:04.92\00:07:07.52 But let's take that question for a minute from 00:07:07.56\00:07:09.92 the sixth century B.C. and let's move it to our 00:07:09.96\00:07:11.76 present day, 21st century A.D. “Can these bones live?” 00:07:11.79\00:07:15.03 Because everyone at some time or another has 00:07:15.06\00:07:17.43 been in the valley of dry, dead bones. 00:07:17.47\00:07:19.57 For somebody it was a divorce. For somebody 00:07:19.60\00:07:23.10 else it was a loss of a child. For somebody 00:07:23.14\00:07:25.34 else it was learning you had cancer or some 00:07:25.37\00:07:27.74 other debilitating disease. For somebody else 00:07:27.78\00:07:30.48 it was the satanic stronghold of substance abuse, 00:07:30.51\00:07:33.31 or the ungodly soul-ties of a relationship that 00:07:33.35\00:07:36.62 you thought was a match made in heaven, 00:07:36.65\00:07:38.59 only to learn it was a nightmare on Elm Street. 00:07:38.62\00:07:41.62 Everybody has a valley. Everybody has a low point. 00:07:41.66\00:07:47.13 But can these bones live? Let's take this 00:07:47.13\00:07:51.33 question to now our personal, individualized, 00:07:51.37\00:07:54.30 from our individualized through the collective 00:07:54.34\00:07:56.54 light for the church, and look at the people 00:07:56.57\00:07:58.41 who sit up in church every week, and ask the 00:07:58.44\00:08:01.24 question, can these people that look alive, 00:08:01.28\00:08:04.58 but are no more than dead cadavers, can these 00:08:04.61\00:08:09.25 bones live? Can our churches that used to be 00:08:09.28\00:08:13.02 alive and well, packed and full, bastions 00:08:13.05\00:08:16.42 of energy, but now they're dying, decaying, 00:08:16.46\00:08:18.63 deteriorating, can these bones live? 00:08:18.66\00:08:21.86 Can our churches, who used to perform, 00:08:21.90\00:08:24.07 who are performing still, eight-track ministry 00:08:24.10\00:08:27.60 in a social media society? Can these bones live? 00:08:27.64\00:08:31.74 Can our churches know all the wonderful truths 00:08:31.77\00:08:35.21 about the life, liberty, and love of 00:08:35.24\00:08:36.85 Jesus Christ and all His life-changing miracles? 00:08:36.88\00:08:39.35 But can all these churches, who know all these things, 00:08:39.38\00:08:41.28 wake up and realize the times in which we live? 00:08:41.32\00:08:45.59 We've got imminent war with Syria, ISIS attacks, 00:08:45.62\00:08:49.56 misunderstandings with North Korea, gun control 00:08:49.59\00:08:51.93 out of control, increased allegations of sexual 00:08:51.96\00:08:55.10 assault by high-powered celebrities, and we've 00:08:55.13\00:08:58.10 got a president who says, make America great again, 00:08:58.13\00:09:01.30 who allegedly had a, an affair with a porn star, 00:09:01.34\00:09:05.21 and allegedly describes black countries in Africa 00:09:05.24\00:09:07.88 and the island of Haiti as “blank” nations. 00:09:07.91\00:09:10.81 He's trying to build a wall to keep people out. 00:09:10.85\00:09:13.68 I just want to know, can these bones live? 00:09:13.72\00:09:16.72 And the only answer that I can come up with is 00:09:16.75\00:09:19.52 the same answer that Ezekiel came up with. 00:09:19.55\00:09:22.19 O Lord God, only thou knowest. And God tells 00:09:22.22\00:09:30.03 Ezekiel, Ezekiel, if you want revival, 00:09:30.07\00:09:31.87 you got to prophesy. You got to preach 00:09:31.90\00:09:34.34 to these bones. And those dry bones, 00:09:34.37\00:09:35.84 hear the Word of the Lord. But I'm here 00:09:35.87\00:09:37.31 to tell you and I've told you before in 00:09:37.34\00:09:38.91 my church family, preaching is not easy. 00:09:38.94\00:09:41.91 I've been doing this almost 24 years now 00:09:41.94\00:09:44.35 and preaching is not easy. Every week you 00:09:44.38\00:09:46.65 gotta come up with something. Preaching day, 00:09:46.68\00:09:49.15 you're preaching every night. Preaching 00:09:49.18\00:09:51.42 is not easy. And it's hard enough to preach 00:09:51.45\00:09:54.69 to those that move, but to preach to that 00:09:54.72\00:09:57.23 which is dead and dry, it's an awful thing. 00:09:57.26\00:10:01.96 And my travels have taken me to some dead, 00:10:02.00\00:10:05.63 dry places. I'm up there preaching my heart 00:10:05.67\00:10:09.80 out and folk just looking at me. Then I get 00:10:09.84\00:10:12.01 to the line and shake hands, oh, you really preach. 00:10:12.04\00:10:13.81 Why I couldn't tell. [Audience cheering and clapping] 00:10:13.84\00:10:19.88 It's tough to preach to Christians who are like 00:10:19.91\00:10:22.48 wheelbarrows, no good unless you push ‘em. 00:10:22.52\00:10:26.25 It's tough to preach to Christians who are 00:10:26.29\00:10:28.59 like kittens, only content when they're petted. 00:10:28.62\00:10:31.16 It's tough to preach to Christians who are like 00:10:31.19\00:10:34.10 footballs, you don't know which way they going 00:10:34.13\00:10:36.26 to bounce next. It's tough to preach to people 00:10:36.30\00:10:40.04 like balloons full of wind ready to blow up. 00:10:40.07\00:10:42.74 And then there are some like lights that keep 00:10:42.77\00:10:44.74 going on and off. It's tough, but that's what 00:10:44.77\00:10:49.11 God calls us to do. Preach the Word in season 00:10:49.14\00:10:53.75 and out of season. Sow beside still waters. 00:10:53.78\00:10:57.32 If this is your ministry, if this is your calling, 00:10:57.35\00:11:02.06 I call you to preach the Word even if they're dead, 00:11:02.09\00:11:05.86 even if they're dry, even if they're in the valley. 00:11:05.89\00:11:08.93 Because when you preach the Word, revival will 00:11:08.96\00:11:12.50 take place. Somebody knows what happens when revival 00:11:12.53\00:11:15.90 takes place. The preacher gets to preaching, 00:11:15.94\00:11:18.57 the choir gets to singing, the organist gets to playing, 00:11:18.61\00:11:22.61 the Holy Ghost gets to moving, saints get to shouting, 00:11:22.64\00:11:26.95 souls stop sinning, gossipers stop gossiping, 00:11:26.98\00:11:30.99 complainers stop complaining, pray warriors start praying. 00:11:31.02\00:11:35.46 When revival takes place it's like fire shot up 00:11:35.49\00:11:40.13 in the bones. Ezekiel claps his hands. Ezekiel 00:11:40.16\00:11:44.83 scuffs his feet. And God let Ezekiel see Him perform 00:11:44.87\00:11:49.14 orthopedic surgery that let the ankle bone be 00:11:49.17\00:11:53.88 connected to the leg bone, the leg bone connected 00:11:53.91\00:11:57.01 to the knee bone, the knee bone connected to the hip bone, 00:11:57.05\00:12:00.48 and the hip bone connected to the back bone, 00:12:00.52\00:12:02.75 and the back bone connected to the shoulder bone, 00:12:02.78\00:12:04.82 and the shoulder bone connected to the neck bone, 00:12:04.85\00:12:06.96 and the neck bone connected to the head bone, and O, 00:12:06.99\00:12:09.56 dry bones. Hear the word for the Lord. Praise God for revival. 00:12:09.59\00:12:16.26 The psalmist said it, Wilt thou now revive us again? 00:12:16.30\00:12:20.77 That thy people may rejoice in thee. 00:12:20.80\00:12:24.67 God says, yes, I can revive you, but you 00:12:24.71\00:12:27.18 got to want it. Because we're living in a 00:12:27.21\00:12:30.41 time where people don't want revival. People 00:12:30.45\00:12:33.98 don't want spiritual resurgence. They'd rather 00:12:34.02\00:12:37.69 stay in bed and watch Pastor Byrd online. Preach, 00:12:37.72\00:12:40.12 Pastor Byrd, I'm doing the best I can. [Clapping] 00:12:40.16\00:12:42.86 They don't want to share their faith. They don't 00:12:42.89\00:12:46.96 want to pass out tracts, that's old school. 00:12:47.00\00:12:50.73 You see what passing out tracts has done, 00:12:50.77\00:12:52.97 do I have a witness in this place? They don't 00:12:53.00\00:12:56.44 want innovation and creativity in church methodologies. 00:12:56.47\00:13:00.38 They don't want revival. But revival is needed 00:13:00.41\00:13:02.41 whenever the love of God's people has grown cold. 00:13:02.44\00:13:05.65 You see, Revelation speaks of seven churches 00:13:05.68\00:13:09.52 that cover the same periods of history that 00:13:09.55\00:13:13.86 the seven seals represent. I wish I had more 00:13:13.89\00:13:17.43 than two weeks, because I would have gone into 00:13:17.46\00:13:18.93 the seven seals and the fact that the events of 00:13:18.96\00:13:21.93 the seven, sixth seal, have already happened. 00:13:21.96\00:13:25.33 Are you hearing what I'm saying? There's only 00:13:25.37\00:13:27.44 one seal left and what happens in that seventh 00:13:27.47\00:13:30.91 and final seal? Jesus is soon to come. For us 00:13:30.94\00:13:36.31 today the most important of these churches is 00:13:36.34\00:13:39.31 to understand the seventh church, the final church, 00:13:39.35\00:13:41.38 Laodicea. Aud: Laodicea. 00:13:41.42\00:13:43.65 PB: That's what we're in right now. I thought 00:13:43.69\00:13:45.45 about, but Bruce, you would have gotten mad because 00:13:45.49\00:13:46.99 I had to keep with the theme, but I thought about 00:13:47.02\00:13:48.76 calling today's message, “Welcome to Laodicea.” 00:13:48.79\00:13:52.19 Laodicea was a prosperous, commercial center in 00:13:52.23\00:13:56.06 John's day, but Jesus described it as neither hot 00:13:56.10\00:13:58.67 nor cold. When you read Revelation, Chapter 3, 00:13:58.70\00:14:01.34 verses 15 through 17, Revelation, Chapter 3, 00:14:01.37\00:14:04.61 verses 15 through 17, the Bible tells us about Laodicea. 00:14:04.64\00:14:08.91 The Bible says in Revelation 13--3, 15 through 17, 00:14:08.94\00:14:12.71 “I know thy works,” Jesus speaking, “That thou art 00:14:12.75\00:14:15.52 neither cold nor” what? “Hot. I would thou were cold or hot. 00:14:15.55\00:14:19.95 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor 00:14:19.99\00:14:22.92 hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, 00:14:22.96\00:14:27.66 I am rich, increased with goods, have need of nothing.” 00:14:27.66\00:14:36.30 And knowest not that thou art wretched, that you're miserable, 00:14:36.34\00:14:40.98 you're poor, you're blind, you're naked. Being lukewarm, 00:14:41.01\00:14:44.21 Jesus said, is worse than being hot or cold. Lukewarm 00:14:44.25\00:14:47.85 Christianity preserves enough of the form and just 00:14:47.88\00:14:50.35 enough of the content of the gospel. It's content 00:14:50.39\00:14:52.75 with things the way they are and proud of the little 00:14:52.79\00:14:54.96 progress it made, has made. You got a lot of motion 00:14:54.99\00:14:59.63 in the church, but we don't have enough movement. 00:14:59.66\00:15:01.56 It's almost impossible to convince Laodicea of its 00:15:01.60\00:15:05.53 greatest theme and of how far it is from the goal 00:15:05.57\00:15:08.54 of perfection. Our modern world with all of its modern 00:15:08.57\00:15:10.47 conveniences has made life easy for many of us. 00:15:10.51\00:15:13.51 It has lulled us into complacency, stagnation, 00:15:13.54\00:15:18.81 inactivity. And when the church has become complacent, 00:15:18.85\00:15:22.22 when the church is satisfied with the status quo, 00:15:22.25\00:15:26.22 when there's a lack of concern for the lost and 00:15:26.25\00:15:29.52 the suffering of the world, when we're hiding or 00:15:29.56\00:15:32.36 covering up our secret sins, when he have unforgiving 00:15:32.39\00:15:36.03 spirits, when we're filled with pride, when we have 00:15:36.06\00:15:39.80 animosity towards other Christians, or when we're in 00:15:39.83\00:15:43.61 a condition of spiritual standing where we are less 00:15:43.64\00:15:46.41 than where we were before, we need revival. 00:15:46.44\00:15:51.05 We need a revival that will rekindle old flames, 00:15:51.08\00:15:55.32 rekindle that first love when we first found Jesus. 00:15:55.35\00:15:59.32 We need to cry out to God like the psalmist said, 00:15:59.35\00:16:02.16 “Wilt thou revive us again?” We need personal revival. 00:16:02.19\00:16:07.40 That means individuals getting right with God. 00:16:07.46\00:16:10.17 We need home revival. That means families getting 00:16:10.20\00:16:13.47 back to the place they need to be. How many of us 00:16:13.50\00:16:17.84 still have family worship? How many of us still 00:16:17.87\00:16:21.48 have family worship to bring in the Sabbath? 00:16:21.51\00:16:24.05 We need church revival. That means doing the work 00:16:24.08\00:16:27.78 Jesus told us to do. We need revival, be revived. 00:16:27.82\00:16:32.35 But my second sermon, not only be revived, 00:16:32.39\00:16:35.52 we need to be renewed. Now, to renew means to 00:16:35.56\00:16:39.83 resume an activity after an interruption. So, 00:16:39.86\00:16:43.03 to renew means to get started again after you stopped, 00:16:43.06\00:16:47.64 to begin again after you've quit. You may have stopped 00:16:47.67\00:16:51.01 going to church. You may have stopped going to choir 00:16:51.04\00:16:54.94 rehearsal. You may have stopped in your service to 00:16:54.98\00:16:58.91 the church, stopped in personal Bible study, 00:16:58.95\00:17:01.08 stopped in your prayer life. But now that you've 00:17:01.12\00:17:04.15 been revived, your strength has now been renewed. 00:17:04.19\00:17:09.29 And so the prophet said, “But they that wait upon 00:17:09.32\00:17:12.76 the Lord, God shall renew their strength. 00:17:12.79\00:17:16.06 They shall mount on the wings of eagles, 00:17:16.10\00:17:17.57 they shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint.” 00:17:17.60\00:17:20.24 But then, the apostle Paul continues on this renew 00:17:20.27\00:17:23.04 thing in the New Testament in Romans 12:2 and he said, 00:17:23.07\00:17:25.61 “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed 00:17:25.64\00:17:30.18 by the renewing of your” what, everybody? 00:17:30.21\00:17:32.05 By the renewing of your what, everybody? Aud: Mind. 00:17:32.08\00:17:34.55 PB: All right. Let me be clear. Quickly. 00:17:34.58\00:17:36.58 The devil wants your mind. The devil is cunning. 00:17:36.62\00:17:39.79 The devil is clever. The devil is slick, sly, 00:17:39.82\00:17:41.89 subtle and the devil will get you caught up in 00:17:41.92\00:17:43.46 something and before you know it you can't figure 00:17:43.49\00:17:45.33 out how it happened. Do I have a witness in this place? 00:17:45.36\00:17:47.96 The devil knows the Bible better than you. The devil 00:17:47.96\00:17:50.80 can preach better than you. The devil can quote 00:17:50.83\00:17:53.57 scripture better than you. But you've got to tell 00:17:53.60\00:17:56.81 the devil, you can't have me. You got to tell the devil, 00:17:56.84\00:17:59.57 you can't have my marriage, you can't have my children, 00:17:59.61\00:18:02.94 you can't have my worship, you can't have my money, 00:18:02.98\00:18:06.41 and you can't have my mind. Can I testify one minute? 00:18:06.45\00:18:10.12 Some of you know and maybe some of you don't know, 00:18:10.15\00:18:12.75 but I'm coming up on May 11th. And May 11th is a very 00:18:12.79\00:18:17.56 trying time in my life. Because on May 11th, 00:18:17.59\00:18:20.83 Danielle and I, our firstborn daughter would have 00:18:20.86\00:18:24.47 been 19 years old on May 11th. Some of you didn't 00:18:24.50\00:18:28.00 know that, but my wife and I lost, 19 years ago, 00:18:28.04\00:18:33.14 our four-and-a-half month old baby girl in a terrible 00:18:33.17\00:18:37.35 car accident, which is a reminder that everybody 00:18:37.38\00:18:41.62 up in here, everybody listening to me has gone 00:18:41.65\00:18:43.52 through something. [Clapping] 00:18:43.55\00:18:47.46 PB: I wish I had time. Let me give you some good news. 00:18:47.49\00:18:49.19 The good news is you're going through. God never 00:18:49.22\00:18:52.39 intended for you to stay. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 00:18:52.43\00:18:55.10 [Clapping and cheering] PB: For those of you who 00:18:55.13\00:18:58.70 thought we had three children, there were actually four. 00:18:58.73\00:19:03.20 Shortly after our firstborn daughter's death I 00:19:03.24\00:19:06.68 went through an incredible mental state in my mind. 00:19:06.71\00:19:09.74 You better understand, mental illness is real. And, 00:19:09.78\00:19:13.92 and we sometimes don't like to say it because 00:19:13.95\00:19:15.68 we're embarrassed, but depression is real. 00:19:15.72\00:19:19.69 PB: I went to a place in my mind that I 00:19:19.72\00:19:24.06 didn't understand. I went to a place that 00:19:24.09\00:19:26.46 I'd never had been before. Can I be vulnerable today? Can I? 00:19:26.49\00:19:30.33 PB: I, I know we have time, but can I be, 00:19:30.37\00:19:32.37 can I be real? I was mad at God. I went to a place 00:19:32.40\00:19:38.71 where I had never been before because some people 00:19:38.74\00:19:41.24 think and they look at me, oh, Breath of Life, 00:19:41.28\00:19:42.84 Oakwood Church, they think that just because I'm the pastor, 00:19:42.88\00:19:45.15 just because I lead the church, just because I'm 00:19:45.18\00:19:46.85 anointed and appointed by God, you don't think I 00:19:46.88\00:19:49.02 contemplate some stuff in my mind. But I went to a 00:19:49.05\00:19:55.06 place in my mind, 19 years ago, that scared me. 00:19:55.09\00:19:57.79 Because sometimes when you go to a place in your 00:19:57.83\00:19:59.63 mind where you begin to think for a moment these 00:19:59.66\00:20:03.26 little half-a-second moments. Anybody know what 00:20:03.30\00:20:05.80 I'm talking about? They can be profound. The good news is, 00:20:05.83\00:20:08.70 I've got too much Word in me to linger. Are you hearing 00:20:08.74\00:20:11.37 what I'm saying? So for me, it, it was never a full second, 00:20:11.41\00:20:14.98 it was a half-a-second. You're all not feeling what 00:20:15.01\00:20:18.48 I'm saying. But I had the moment. With some of you, 00:20:18.51\00:20:21.92 these moments stay a minute or two, some of you keep 00:20:21.95\00:20:24.42 them a day or hour. But half-a-second, that's all 00:20:24.45\00:20:28.59 I was going to give the devil. And God is working 00:20:28.62\00:20:31.03 on me now not to give him that. Are you hearing what I'm saying? 00:20:31.06\00:20:33.66 But I went through a place, to a place in my mind 00:20:33.70\00:20:37.40 where it appeared to be more easy to walk away, 00:20:37.43\00:20:40.57 to quit, to say, forget it. God is not real. I mean, 00:20:40.60\00:20:47.48 sure I've never drunk in my life. I've never smoked 00:20:47.51\00:20:50.41 in my life. I've never done drugs in my life. 00:20:50.45\00:20:53.38 I got married, then had children. I'm a good, 00:20:53.42\00:20:59.12 old Adventist Christian. You all don't hear what 00:20:59.15\00:21:01.69 I'm saying. It's about being real. I'm talking about 00:21:01.72\00:21:04.33 when you've got to cry and still preach. When you've 00:21:04.36\00:21:07.66 got a question mark, do I really believe this stuff 00:21:07.66\00:21:10.00 is real? That's why when I preach in revival and in 00:21:10.03\00:21:13.00 Revelation, you see the passion come out of me, 00:21:13.03\00:21:15.20 because I know this stuff is real, because I know 00:21:15.24\00:21:18.14 what Jesus has done for me. You don't know like 00:21:18.17\00:21:21.44 I know what He's done for me. [Clapping and cheering] 00:21:21.48\00:21:24.41 PB: So I say, God, why me? And you got to understand 00:21:24.45\00:21:30.39 what's going in my mind, because I was driving the car. 00:21:30.42\00:21:33.42 Why me? But the truth is, God came speaking back 00:21:33.46\00:21:39.63 to me because the Holy Ghost will start bringing 00:21:39.66\00:21:43.50 the Word back to your remembrance. Now I understand 00:21:43.53\00:21:46.33 why my Sabbath School teachers made us memorize those lessons. 00:21:46.37\00:21:49.47 See, back in the day, we had to memorize all 13 lessons 00:21:49.50\00:21:53.01 for the quarter and we had to stand in the front and 00:21:53.04\00:21:55.61 recite them. I'm thankful that happened for me, 00:21:55.64\00:21:57.51 because God started bringing all that stuff back to memory. 00:21:57.55\00:21:59.75 And God said, Carlton Byrd, don't you realize that a 00:21:59.78\00:22:03.02 lot of folk would have gone through what you would have, 00:22:03.05\00:22:04.92 what you've gone through and they would have lost their mind. 00:22:04.95\00:22:08.96 [Yell] PB: A lot of folk would have been popping Prozac 00:22:08.99\00:22:12.99 and they would have been in an institution somewhere. 00:22:13.03\00:22:16.53 But, Carlton Byrd, pick yourself up. I kept you preaching. 00:22:16.56\00:22:21.57 I kept you teaching. I kept you showing up. He said, 00:22:21.60\00:22:26.47 don't you realize, if I kept you back then, 00:22:26.51\00:22:29.74 I'll keep you right now. He's a keeper. 00:22:29.78\00:22:34.15 Yes, He is. God said, Byrd, you still alive. 00:22:34.18\00:22:41.22 You may not have what you want, but you've got 00:22:41.26\00:22:44.39 what you need. You just survived it. You didn't quit. 00:22:44.43\00:22:49.76 But the devil wants you to quit. The devil wants 00:22:49.80\00:22:53.97 you to give up. The devil wants you to throw in the towel. 00:22:54.00\00:22:58.01 He wants to attack your mind. Why? He is the father 00:22:58.04\00:23:01.34 of lies. Now, Jesus, on the other hand, wants to give 00:23:01.38\00:23:05.41 us truth because the truth, somebody knows, 00:23:05.45\00:23:07.88 will set you free. But the devil wants to come 00:23:07.92\00:23:10.72 in and attack us and one of the ways he attacks 00:23:10.75\00:23:13.29 is through our mind. Through our what, everybody? 00:23:13.32\00:23:15.26 Aud: Mind. PB: You don't realize it, 00:23:15.29\00:23:16.86 there's a constant battle for our minds. 00:23:16.89\00:23:19.26 I'm glad we've got prayer warriors in the church 00:23:19.29\00:23:21.76 praying right now for me, because right now 00:23:21.80\00:23:24.20 I'm trying to listen to the voice of God, 00:23:24.23\00:23:25.67 but the devil and his imps are all around me 00:23:25.70\00:23:29.17 trying to get. But God, in the name of Jesus, 00:23:29.20\00:23:31.21 is a fence all around about me. Every day the devil says, 00:23:31.24\00:23:35.91 if I can mess with your mind, then I can mess you 00:23:35.94\00:23:40.45 up on the truth. But the devil is a liar. God will 00:23:40.48\00:23:44.79 not be defeated. God is the winner. 00:23:44.82\00:23:47.96 The devil is a loser. God defeated Satan in heaven, 00:23:47.99\00:23:53.13 in the wilderness, at Calvary, at the Resurrection, 00:23:53.16\00:23:57.43 and He's going to defeat him again at the Second Coming. 00:23:57.47\00:24:00.54 Let me tell you all something. Satan is a created being. 00:24:00.57\00:24:06.11 Which means he can't have all power. He has limited power, 00:24:06.14\00:24:11.88 but not all power. He can only do what God permits him to do. 00:24:11.91\00:24:15.75 But not only is Satan a created being, Satan is a 00:24:15.78\00:24:19.69 corrupted being. He was corrupted, the Bible says in 00:24:19.72\00:24:24.06 Ezekiel 28, the iniquity was found in him. Revelation 12:7 00:24:24.09\00:24:28.40 says there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought 00:24:28.43\00:24:33.34 against the dragon and the angels, and God, Jesus, Michael beat the devil. Understand, 00:24:33.37\00:24:38.61 any time creation tries to war against the Creator, 00:24:38.64\00:24:41.91 you're asking for a loss because the Creator will 00:24:41.94\00:24:45.48 never lose to His creation. I wish I had a witness 00:24:45.51\00:24:48.08 in this place. Satan is a created being. Satan is a 00:24:48.12\00:24:52.95 corrupted being. And Satan is also a condemned being. 00:24:52.99\00:24:57.96 So you don't have to wait till the battle is over, 00:24:57.99\00:25:00.30 you can shout now. The fight is fixed. Jesus has 00:25:00.33\00:25:05.13 already won. Your salvation is already secure. 00:25:05.17\00:25:08.57 It's already done. Jesus is coming back. 00:25:08.60\00:25:12.61 I don't care how bad it gets, Jesus is coming. 00:25:12.64\00:25:16.64 I don't care how stressed out life is, Jesus is coming. 00:25:16.68\00:25:21.15 I don't care how many wars and rumors of wars we hear, 00:25:21.18\00:25:23.95 Jesus is coming. I know your bills are due and your 00:25:23.99\00:25:27.99 money is low, but Jesus is coming. Cancer is 00:25:28.02\00:25:31.56 destroying people, but Jesus is coming. 00:25:31.59\00:25:35.03 Children go to bed hungry every night, but Jesus 00:25:35.06\00:25:38.37 is coming. Students, I know your papers are due, 00:25:38.40\00:25:45.37 but Jesus is coming. I know your projects are due, 00:25:45.41\00:25:50.68 but Jesus is coming. I know your final exams are coming, 00:25:50.71\00:25:55.52 but Jesus is coming. I know you feel like giving up, 00:25:55.55\00:26:00.46 but Jesus is coming. Because the prophecy must come 00:26:00.49\00:26:04.89 to pass that a day is coming where every knee shall bow, 00:26:04.93\00:26:08.36 every tongue must confess that Jesus the Christ is Lord. 00:26:08.40\00:26:14.37 Christ returneth, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Amen. 00:26:14.40\00:26:19.64 But my third sermon, be restored. After you've 00:26:19.67\00:26:28.45 been revived, after you've been renewed, it's now 00:26:28.48\00:26:33.05 time to get restored. It's time to take everything 00:26:33.09\00:26:37.59 back that the devil took away. Your family, take it back. 00:26:37.63\00:26:42.30 Your marriage, take it back. Your children, take it back. 00:26:42.33\00:26:50.17 Your money, take it back. Your mind, take it back. 00:26:50.21\00:26:56.28 Your ministry, take it back. This is God's church 00:26:56.31\00:27:01.32 collectively worldwide and we've got to take it back. 00:27:01.35\00:27:05.89 Joel says, “And I will restore you to the years that 00:27:05.92\00:27:12.36 the locust have eaten, the canker worm, the caterpillar, 00:27:12.39\00:27:15.93 the palmerworm.” Somebody knows what this text is all about. 00:27:15.96\00:27:19.03 I'm almost done, because they haven't always been good. 00:27:19.07\00:27:22.40 You haven't always been on the right track. 00:27:22.44\00:27:26.14 But God is faithful even when you weren't faithful. 00:27:26.17\00:27:30.68 God loved you when you didn't love yourself. 00:27:30.71\00:27:34.48 Let me tell you something. One of the reasons 00:27:34.52\00:27:37.72 I love the dancers and I love listening to these 00:27:37.75\00:27:39.52 individuals tell their testimony. You ever want to 00:27:39.55\00:27:42.86 find somebody with a powerful testimony, 00:27:42.89\00:27:44.69 show me somebody that's been out in the world 00:27:44.73\00:27:46.73 and then God turned their life around. 00:27:46.76\00:27:48.63 That's somebody who's on fire for the Lord. 00:27:48.66\00:27:51.73 Somebody is over here that knows He can get 00:27:51.77\00:27:54.20 take crackheads and make them choir members. 00:27:54.24\00:27:57.14 He can take pimps and make them preachers. 00:27:57.17\00:28:00.71 He can take drug dealers 00:28:00.74\00:28:02.48 >: Thank you very much for tuning into 00:28:02.51\00:28:04.25 this week's Breath of Life broadcast. 00:28:04.28\00:28:06.75 We hope and pray that you've been blessed 00:28:06.78\00:28:08.88 by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 00:28:08.92\00:28:11.55 If you would like to hear this sermon in its entirety, 00:28:11.59\00:28:13.92 bless feel free to visit us at www.breathoflife.tv. 00:28:13.96\00:28:20.43 Or call us at 256-929-6460. 00:28:20.46\00:28:28.47 [END] 00:28:28.50\00:28:43.52