BREATH OF LIFE
MINISTRIES PRESENTS:
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SERMON B615 "KNOW
GOD'S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE"
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PB: First Samuel
chapter 1, verse number 1.
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"There was a certain man
from Ramathaim, a Zuphite
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from the hill country
of Ephraim, whose name was
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Elkanah son of
Jeroham, the son of Elihu,
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the son of Tohu, the
son of Zuph, an Ephraimite."
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Read, Pastor Byrd.
I'm doing the best I can.
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[Aud. reaction]   PB:
"He had two wives; one was
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called Hannah and the
other Peninnah. Peninnah had
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children, but Hannah
had none. Year after year
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this man went up from
his town to worship and
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sacrifice to the
Lord Almighty at Shiloh,
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where Hophni and
Phinehas, the two sons of Eli,
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were priests of the
Lord. Whenever the day came
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for Elkanah to sacrifice,
he would give portions
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of the meat to his
wife Peninnah and to all her
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sons and daughters. But
to Hannah he gave a double
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portion because he loved
her, and the Lord had closed
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[or shut up] her womb.
Because the Lord had closed
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[or shut up] Hannah's
womb, her rival [Peninnah]
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kept provoking her in
order to irritate her.
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This went on year
after year. Whenever Hannah
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went up to the house
of the Lord, her rival
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provoked her till she
wept and would not eat.
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Her husband Elkanah
would say to her, ‘Hannah,
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why are you weeping?
Why don't you eat? Why are
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you downhearted?
Don't I mean more to you
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than ten sons?' Once
when they had finished eating
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and drinking in Shiloh,
Hannah stood up. Now Eli
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the priest was sitting
on his chair by the doorpost
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of the Lord's house.
In her deep anguish Hannah
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prayed to the Lord,
weeping bitterly. And she made
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a vow, saying, ‘Lord
Almighty, if you will only
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look on your servant's
misery and remember me,
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and not forget your
servant but give her a son,
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then I will give him
to the Lord for all the
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days of his life, and
no razor will ever be used
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on his head.'  “As she
kept on praying to the Lord,
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Eli observed her mouth.
Hannah was praying in her heart,
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and her lips were moving
but her voice was not heard.
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Eli thought she was
drunk and said to her,
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‘How long are you
going to stay drunk?
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Put away your
wine.'  Not so, my lord,'
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Hannah replied, I am a
woman who is deeply troubled.
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I have not been
drinking wine or beer;
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I was pouring out
my soul to the Lord.'
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Sometime, when you
pour out your soul to
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the Lord, people don't
know what you're doing,
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but that's all right.
God knows. ‘Do not take
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your servant for a
wicked woman; I have been
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praying here out of my
great anguish and grief.'
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Eli answered, ‘Go
in peace, and may the
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God of Israel grant you
what you have asked of him.'
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She said, ‘May your servant
find favor in your eyes.'
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Then she went her
way and ate something,
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and her face was
no longer downcast."
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Verse 19: "Early the
next morning they arose
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and worshiped before
the Lord and then went back
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to their home at Ramah.
Elkanah made love to his
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wife Hannah, and
the Lord remembered her.
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So in the course of
time Hannah became pregnant
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and gave birth to a
son. She named him Samuel,
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saying, ‘Because I
asked the Lord for him.'”
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Know God's purpose
for your life. Lord, bless
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us now. Let the words of
my mouth and the meditations
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of my heart be acceptable
in Thy sight. Speak, Lord,
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because You're my strength
and You are our Redeemer. Amen.
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Let me begin by saying
to our freshman students,
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to our church members,
visitors, and those watching
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by television and the
Internet, Know who you are.
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But more than knowing who
you are, know Whose you are.
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Do I have a
witness in this place?
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You are who you are. You
are who God called you to be.
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You are not Jim, John, Paul,
Brother James or Brother Smith.
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You are not Sally, Sue,
or Jane, or Sister Brown or
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Sister Johnson. You are
you. You are who God called
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you to be. You are not
called to be anything else.
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You are not called to be
any thing else. You are called
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to be what God has called you
to be because you're special.
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You are fearfully--the Bible
says--and wonderfully made.
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You're a King's kid. You're
a child of the Most High God.
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Your Father is CEO of the
universe. Besides Him there
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is none other. He's
God, and you belong to Him.
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He created you, and
you are not an accident.
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God has a plan for
you, God has a purpose for
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your life, And the
two most important days of
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your life were the
day you were born and the
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day you found out
why. Even though God has a
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purpose for all of
our lives, there are many
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people who wonder
throughout their entire life,
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not knowing their
purpose. And I'm not just
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talking about young
people, either. We've got
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young people and
we've got older people who
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don't know their
purpose. We've got some people
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who are 20 and we've
got some people who are 50,
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who still don't
know their purpose. Yes,
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they've achieved a
measure of success and
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experienced accomplishments,
got an education,
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you have a nice car,
you have a nice house,
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you have done a good
job, have a great job,
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but you still ask
yourself the question:
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Have I done the thing
that God created me to do?
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But in the name of
Jesus, I declare to everybody
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in this place: God
has a plan for your life.
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And everything happens
according to His sovereign plan.
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His plan was in place before
the foundation of the world.
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His plan was in place
before your mama and daddy
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got together. You
might have thought that your
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parents just happened
to stumble upon each other,
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but God orchestrated
when they met, where they met,
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and how they met. So
then it's not by happenstance
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that you're here today.
To the new Oakwood student,
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the freshman, the
transfer student, it's all
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according to God's
purpose and His plan.
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And so because it's
all about God's plan,
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there's no devil in
hell that can stop God's
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plan and purpose
for your life. Remember,
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a Red Sea couldn't
stop God. A fiery furnace
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couldn't stop God. A
lions' den could not stop God.
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Herod's decree to
kill all the baby boys in
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the land could not
stop God. God is sovereign.
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God can do what He
wants, when He wants,
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where He wants, how
He wants, and He doesn't
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have to ask us for
permission to do what He wants.
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God is God. God has a
plan and purpose for your life.
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Now, I've learned over
the 24 years of pastoring
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that many people aspire
to what they see up front.
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So there are some
students that are gonna come
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to Oakwood, and you're
gonna aspire to what you
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see up front. But
when people do that,
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we have people
operating outside of God's
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purpose because
they want to do what they
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see rather than what
God sees. Everybody wants
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to do something that
is important. They do it
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because they think if
they do something that
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is important, that
will make them important.
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But take it from one who knows:
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All that glitters is
not gold. [Aud. reaction]
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PB: What you might
see may not be what is.
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What you may see as
financially prosperous
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may be a
robbing-Peter-to-pay-Pa ul,
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living-month-to-month,
waiting-on-the-15th-
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and-the-30th of every
month, burdened-with-debt
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individual who's
praying for a financial
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breakthrough. What
you may see, when you see
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Dr. Pollard, you may
see a prestigious position,
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a president, but it
might be a perpetual
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position of
heartache, headache, and grief.
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You can have more
titles than space to put them.
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More degrees than a
thermometer. More letters
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behind your name than
the alphabet, but if it's
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not what God has for
you, you will be nothing
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more but sounding
brass and tinkling cymbal.
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Speaking of operating
outside of God's purpose,
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have you ever worked
on a jigsaw puzzle and
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there was a puzzle
piece that you were trying
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to cram in--not the
puzzle, but it didn't fit
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because you were
trying to cram it in because
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you were tired of
looking for the right spot
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in the puzzle. Anybody
know what I'm talking about?
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And so, because the
puzzle was getting on
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your nerves, you
said enough is enough.
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I'm tired of this
puzzle, and so you said,
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I'ma take my fist and
I'ma hammer the pieces
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in this puzzle the
way I want to. Anybody
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know what I'm
talking about? And while it
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may have been
hammered in, the pieces would
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keep popping out of
the puzzle, because the
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puzzle piece was not
designed to fit in that spot.
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Are you hearing what I'm saying?
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That's what happens to
somebody in their life.
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They've popped out of
something that they were
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never supposed to be
in, in the first place.
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[Aud. reaction]  PB:
Somebody's hand pushed
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them into something
that they were never meant
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to be in, and so
they're now hurt and they're
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now upset, and as the
old saying goes, "hurt
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people hurt
people."  [Aud. reaction]
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PB: But know who
you are. Know who God
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created you to be.
Know God's purpose for
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your life. And so I
like this text, because
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a lot of people try
to use this text with
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Hannah for many
different reasons,
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but it's from
this text that we can
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learn something about
purpose. In this text,
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we've got two women.
How many women, everybody?
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Aud.: Two.  PB:
Two women. We've got
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Peninnah and Hannah.
Peninnah and whom, everybody?
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Aud.: Hannah.  PB:
They are married, two women,
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to one man. Elkanah.
Now, don't get it twisted.
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Polygamy was
practiced back in the day,
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but it's not supposed
to be practiced today.
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The Bible says, "Be
the husband of one wife."
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When God created Eve,
God took one rib out of
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the side of Adam. Which
means, you're not supposed
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to be going around
with a slab. One means one.
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Do I have a
witness in this place?
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But Elkanah has two
ribs, Hannah and Peninnah.
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And there's a
problem between the two,
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because you can't have
two cooks in the kitchen.
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But it's not the
existence of Peninnah that's
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bothering Hannah, but
it's rather the blessings
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of Peninnah that
are bothering Hannah,
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because Peninnah was
blessing Elkanah with
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children and Hannah
wasn't. Hannah didn't
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have the blessing
because the Bible says,
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"The Lord."
Everybody say "The Lord."
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Aud.: The Lord.  PB:
Come on, say "The Lord."
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Aud.: The Lord. 
PB: The Lord shut up,
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or closed, her womb.
Not the devil, not Satan,
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not a doctor, not
a nurse. It was not a
00:11:38.86\00:11:43.90
medical defect. It
was not a birth defect,
00:11:43.93\00:11:47.04
but the Bible says
"The Lord shut up her womb."
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Somebody's gonna get
this in a minute. God,
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in His divine purpose,
has created a restriction
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on Hannah's life. This
is not the devil's doing,
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this is the Lord's
doing. "The Lord has
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shut up her womb."
So let me ask you this
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morning: What do you
do when the One you're
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praying to has
hurt you? What do you do
00:12:13.70\00:12:20.67
when the One to
whom you seek a solution
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has created the
problem in the first place?
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What do you do when
the One you serve is
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in conflict with the
one who's serving Him?
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[Aud. reaction] 
But then not only that.
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Let's compound the
situation. Elkanah,
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Hannah's husband,
can't understand why she's
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so depressed. He
says, "Why are you angry?
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Why are you unhappy?" I
mean, he's a wealthy man.
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The Bible says that
he's given her everything.
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She has wanted
nothing. She has a nice house,
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has nice furniture,
a nice donkey to ride,
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nice clothes, nice
shoes. But what Elkanah didn't
00:12:54.17\00:12:57.97
realize was,
purpose cannot be bought.
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Somebody knows--I
believe I've got a witness
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in this place--that
purpose will make you leave
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a job that pays more and
take a job that pays less.
00:13:05.55\00:13:08.98
Purpose will make you
go to a smaller college
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that costs more,
because it's not about your
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earthly home, it's all
about your eternal home.
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Some things can't be
bought. Some things are
00:13:16.19\00:13:20.53
better than money.
And so it's from this
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narrative of
Hannah's life that we all can
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learn some
lessons about purpose.
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So lesson number one,
from the story: I've learned,
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purpose does not
start with fulfillment.
00:13:30.77\00:13:34.38
Purpose starts with
pain. Not with money,
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not with a job, not
with a fine wife or a
00:13:39.78\00:13:43.52
wonderful husband, but
purpose starts with pain.
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The Lord shut up her
womb to make sure she hurt
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bad enough to be
used by Him. God says,
00:13:52.33\00:13:56.13
"I'm gonna make you
broken in all the right places."
00:13:56.16\00:13:58.63
"I'm gonna make sure
that you're so uncomfortable
00:13:58.67\00:14:00.94
that you will see My
face." "I'm gonna create enough
00:14:00.97\00:14:03.41
tension in your life so
you will look up from whence
00:14:03.44\00:14:05.84
cometh your help." No
battle, no blessing. No pain,
00:14:05.87\00:14:08.98
no gain. No valley, no
victory! To everybody in
00:14:09.01\00:14:14.02
this place under the
sound of my voice, especially
00:14:14.05\00:14:15.48
the freshmen, be careful
of wishing you were somebody
00:14:15.52\00:14:18.92
else or something else.
In my years, I have never
00:14:18.95\00:14:23.36
known anybody who was
unbelievably powerful who was
00:14:23.39\00:14:26.59
not equally painful.
People always want your power.
00:14:26.63\00:14:30.13
"I want to be
Pastor Byrd." "I want to be
00:14:30.17\00:14:32.40
speaker-director
of Breath of Life."
00:14:32.43\00:14:33.57
"I want to be the pastor of the
00:14:33.60\00:14:34.67
Oakwood University
Church." They always want
00:14:34.70\00:14:35.70
your power but they
never ask for your pain.
00:14:35.74\00:14:38.57
And if you're not
willing to carry my cross,
00:14:38.61\00:14:40.34
you can't wear my
crown, because my crown is
00:14:40.38\00:14:42.21
created by the
intensity of my cross.
00:14:42.24\00:14:46.01
God, what have You
called me to be? God,
00:14:46.05\00:14:51.09
what is it that
YO have for my life?
00:14:51.12\00:14:53.86
Not Pastor William's life;
00:14:53.89\00:14:54.99
not Pastor Goodridge's life;
00:14:55.02\00:14:55.96
not Dr. Pollard's life, but God,
00:14:55.99\00:14:56.93
what do You have for my life?
00:14:56.96\00:14:59.76
What have You called me for?
00:14:59.79\00:15:01.56
Some people---you
know, the political people-
00:15:01.60\00:15:04.50
-They say, Pastor
Byrd, you've been here
00:15:04.53\00:15:07.17
six and a half
years. GC is coming in 2020,
00:15:07.20\00:15:10.31
Pastor Josiah. What
is it that you want?
00:15:10.34\00:15:13.48
I had somebody
ask me that this week.
00:15:13.51\00:15:15.71
What and where do you
ultimately want to land?
00:15:15.74\00:15:19.45
Where do you want to go? And so,
00:15:19.48\00:15:23.25
I'll tell you what I told them:
00:15:23.28\00:15:24.95
I just want to be
the best Carleton Byrd
00:15:24.99\00:15:28.99
that God would have
me to be, because what
00:15:29.02\00:15:33.90
God has for me, it
is for me! So if that
00:15:33.93\00:15:39.37
means being at
Oakwood, I'm good.
00:15:39.40\00:15:41.67
If that means being
with Breath of Life,
00:15:41.70\00:15:44.67
I'm good. But
what God has for me,
00:15:44.71\00:15:48.71
because I don't
wanna be what I'm not.
00:15:48.74\00:15:52.78
I wanna be what
God would have me to be
00:15:52.81\00:15:54.58
but I understand that
purpose begins with pain.
00:15:54.62\00:15:56.85
You crawl before you
walk. Some of you will
00:15:56.89\00:15:59.19
make an F before you make an A.
00:15:59.22\00:16:01.79
You may lose an
election at Oakwood before you
00:16:01.82\00:16:04.13
win an election. You
may break up with him before
00:16:04.16\00:16:07.03
you meet Mr. Right.
Purpose begins with pain,
00:16:07.03\00:16:10.23
and when you know your
purpose it will make you
00:16:10.27\00:16:12.47
a target. When you know
God's purpose for your life,
00:16:12.50\00:16:16.04
you will become a
marked man, you will become a
00:16:16.07\00:16:17.74
marked woman, because
somebody will be mad that
00:16:17.77\00:16:20.14
your purpose is
not their purpose.
00:16:20.18\00:16:22.44
Can I tell my
testimony? Understand,
00:16:22.48\00:16:24.95
the greatest moments
of your life can sometimes
00:16:24.98\00:16:27.18
be the greatest
moments of envy and jealousy
00:16:27.22\00:16:29.25
in somebody's else's
life. Dogs bark at moving cars,
00:16:29.28\00:16:32.62
they don't bark at parked
cars. The old saying says,
00:16:32.65\00:16:35.46
"The brighter the light,
the more you attract bugs."
00:16:35.49\00:16:37.96
Whenever you're doing
something for the Lord or
00:16:37.99\00:16:40.46
fulfilling God's purpose
for your life, there will
00:16:40.50\00:16:42.16
always be an element
that envies what you have
00:16:42.20\00:16:44.27
and wishes they had
what you have, and they will
00:16:44.30\00:16:47.07
plot against you and
undermine your efforts,
00:16:47.10\00:16:48.54
because people
shoot at the deer they see
00:16:48.57\00:16:50.67
not the one in the
bushes. [Aud. reaction]
00:16:50.71\00:16:54.51
PB: But this element
is a part of the process.
00:16:54.54\00:16:57.08
Keep your eyes on
Jesus, and know your purpose.
00:16:57.11\00:17:01.48
I'd rather be blessed
of God than be blessed
00:17:01.52\00:17:05.42
of people, because I
always know God's got my back.
00:17:05.45\00:17:10.23
[Aud. reaction]  PB:
Which leads me to number two.
00:17:10.26\00:17:12.99
Lesson number two:
Sometimes God will allow
00:17:13.03\00:17:14.83
people in your life to
provoke you. Listen to me:
00:17:14.83\00:17:22.40
Sometimes God will
send people and allow people
00:17:22.44\00:17:25.27
in your life to
provoke you so you will learn
00:17:25.31\00:17:28.21
how to depend on Him.
Think about it. God allowed
00:17:28.24\00:17:33.42
Peninnah in Hannah's
house. God opens up her womb.
00:17:33.45\00:17:39.85
God allows, in His
permissive will--not express,
00:17:39.89\00:17:43.76
but permissive will--for
Peninnah to have baby after
00:17:43.79\00:17:46.63
baby after baby. And
this provokes Hannah. It gets
00:17:46.66\00:17:51.57
on Hannah's nerves,
because if we're truthful today,
00:17:51.60\00:17:54.80
there's nothing that
gets on your nerves more
00:17:54.84\00:17:57.27
than seeing somebody
else do what you've always
00:17:57.31\00:18:01.34
wanted to do. In fact, in this
day and age of social media,
00:18:01.38\00:18:04.15
where everyone's lives
are on display, comparison
00:18:04.18\00:18:07.18
can make you crazy. Comparison
will make you depressed
00:18:07.22\00:18:10.29
and dissatisfied with
your own life because the less
00:18:10.32\00:18:12.89
fulfilled you are with
your own life, the more likely
00:18:12.92\00:18:14.82
you are to become distracted
and discontented by what
00:18:14.86\00:18:17.46
you see somebody
else doing or having.
00:18:17.49\00:18:20.13
Tell the truth, shame the
devil: let's get real today.
00:18:20.16\00:18:22.60
It gets on your nerves
when you see other people
00:18:22.63\00:18:26.33
stepping into what you
were created to do, because
00:18:26.37\00:18:30.14
you say "What's wrong
with me?" I mean, look at
00:18:30.17\00:18:34.04
the story, you all.
Hannah says, I'm a woman just
00:18:34.08\00:18:37.35
like Peninnah is.
We've been with the same man,
00:18:37.38\00:18:41.68
so it can't be him.
It must be me. So now,
00:18:41.72\00:18:49.36
Hannah has this woman in
her house who taunts her,
00:18:49.39\00:18:54.46
provokes her, and says "I
can have it but you can't."
00:18:54.50\00:18:59.43
Now, it's one thing to
deal with Peninnah when
00:18:59.47\00:19:03.07
she's out of
sight and out of mind,
00:19:03.10\00:19:05.81
but how do you handle
Peninnah when Peninnah's
00:19:05.84\00:19:07.78
sitting up in your
house? How do you handle
00:19:07.81\00:19:11.01
Peninnah when she's
in the same office that
00:19:11.05\00:19:13.45
you're in? How do
you handle Peninnah when
00:19:13.48\00:19:15.88
she's sitting down a
pew from you? How do you
00:19:15.92\00:19:18.52
handle Peninnah when
Peninnah's in your class
00:19:18.55\00:19:20.76
or Peninnah's on
your dorm wing? People who
00:19:20.79\00:19:23.29
have negative
energy, people who have what
00:19:23.32\00:19:26.03
you want, and if
we're real today,
00:19:26.06\00:19:27.66
it gets on your
everlasting nerves when
00:19:27.66\00:19:30.27
you see other people
blessed and you're not.
00:19:30.30\00:19:33.47
They're married,
and you're still single.
00:19:33.50\00:19:37.54
They live in a
five-bedroom house and you're
00:19:37.57\00:19:39.77
in a one-bedroom
apartment. They have their
00:19:39.81\00:19:42.21
2018 Benz, but
you're driving the
00:19:42.24\00:19:44.11
1990 Volkswagen bug
with no air, no heat,
00:19:44.15\00:19:48.15
no radio and no
power anything. They got
00:19:48.18\00:19:50.85
the job and you
didn't. They got the church
00:19:50.89\00:19:55.29
and you didn't.
They got the speaking
00:19:55.32\00:19:58.06
appointment and you
didn't. They got the
00:19:58.09\00:20:00.20
scholarship and you
didn't. They got the
00:20:00.23\00:20:02.16
fellowship and you
didn't. They made the
00:20:02.20\00:20:04.17
A and you didn't.
And the Lord will use
00:20:04.20\00:20:06.40
Peninnahs in your
life to provoke you.
00:20:06.43\00:20:10.31
But I've learned,
sometimes God blesses people
00:20:10.34\00:20:13.44
around you to make
you pray. God will bless
00:20:13.48\00:20:17.68
people around you to
make you fast. I wish
00:20:17.71\00:20:19.71
I had a church
in this place today.
00:20:19.75\00:20:21.35
Sometimes God
will put people in your
00:20:21.38\00:20:23.99
life to provoke you.
Why? He's trying to save you.
00:20:24.02\00:20:28.26
[Aud. reaction]  PB:
I need you to understand
00:20:28.29\00:20:30.76
this today because
there's somebody in this place,
00:20:30.79\00:20:33.16
young or old, and you're
mad at God. You're bitter;
00:20:33.19\00:20:34.50
you're angry; you're
mad. Because you ask,
00:20:34.56\00:20:35.80
why does it seem like
everybody else's program
00:20:35.83\00:20:38.07
is working but mine?
Why does it seem like
00:20:38.10\00:20:40.40
their career is
taking off but not mine?
00:20:40.44\00:20:42.00
Why is everybody
getting the blessing,
00:20:42.04\00:20:43.64
and I'm not? But
maybe just maybe,
00:20:43.67\00:20:44.94
God is trying to
get you to a place of
00:20:44.97\00:20:46.34
total dependence
upon Him, where your
00:20:46.37\00:20:48.61
money can't buy you
out, your degree can't
00:20:48.64\00:20:51.01
think you out, your
charisma can't charge
00:20:51.05\00:20:53.45
you out, and your
family can't bail you out,
00:20:53.48\00:20:56.22
so when you do come out
you'll know it was nobody,
00:20:56.25\00:21:00.29
it wasn't your family,
it wasn't your finances,
00:21:00.32\00:21:06.09
it wasn't your connections,
it wasn't your friends,
00:21:06.13\00:21:08.43
but it was nobody but
Jesus who brought you out.
00:21:08.46\00:21:13.77
[Aud. reaction] 
PB: Let me tell you,
00:21:13.80\00:21:15.70
sometimes God will
make you fall straight on
00:21:15.74\00:21:17.64
your back, so you
can look up to the hills
00:21:17.67\00:21:19.31
from whence cometh
your help. "I will life up
00:21:19.34\00:21:22.24
mine eyes unto the
hills from whence cometh my
00:21:22.28\00:21:23.75
help. My help cometh
from the" what, everybody?
00:21:23.78\00:21:25.25
Aud.: Lord.  PB: "Who
made heaven and" what,
00:21:25.28\00:21:27.42
everybody? Earth.
Sometimes God will allow
00:21:27.45\00:21:29.05
people to provoke you
so you can depend on Him.
00:21:29.08\00:21:32.29
Number three: When
you want to get in God's
00:21:32.32\00:21:35.56
purpose for your life,
I have learned sometimes
00:21:35.59\00:21:39.29
in my life that
sometimes God will hold you back
00:21:39.33\00:21:45.10
to shoot you forward.
You see, getting your purpose
00:21:45.13\00:21:48.70
is not easy. You gotta
fight for it. And sometimes,
00:21:48.74\00:21:53.94
God will hold you back
to shoot you forward, to
00:21:53.98\00:21:58.38
propel you into your
destiny. I wish I had a witness
00:21:58.41\00:22:00.12
in this place. Somebody's
not getting this. Let me
00:22:00.15\00:22:02.18
illustrate it this way:
When I was growing up as
00:22:02.22\00:22:04.95
a kid, we weren't able
to go to the car wash every
00:22:04.99\00:22:08.66
week like we go now. My
brother, my sister and I,
00:22:08.69\00:22:14.56
we were the Byrd Car
Wash. Somebody knows what I'm
00:22:14.56\00:22:19.23
talking about. See,
young people today, you got
00:22:19.27\00:22:22.57
it too good. We gonna
take the car to the car wash-
00:22:22.60\00:22:24.21
-no. We WERE the car
wash. But I learned something
00:22:24.24\00:22:30.85
about the Byrd Car Wash
that I didn't get paid for.
00:22:30.88\00:22:35.88
I learned at the Byrd
Car Wash that if you want a
00:22:35.92\00:22:41.36
water hose to shoot
further, if you want a water
00:22:41.39\00:22:48.26
hose to shoot further--somebody
knows where I'm going-
00:22:48.30\00:22:50.57
-you have to squeeze
the hose, because the more
00:22:50.60\00:22:57.87
you squeeze the hose, the
further the water will shoot.
00:22:57.91\00:23:03.98
Are you hearing what I'm
saying? Somebody's gonna get
00:23:04.01\00:23:05.31
this in a minute. It's
just the same with a bow
00:23:05.35\00:23:08.35
and arrow. The more
you pull the bow back,
00:23:08.38\00:23:11.12
the further the arrow
will shoot. Are you hearing
00:23:11.15\00:23:14.29
what I'm saying? And
sometimes, when God wants to
00:23:14.32\00:23:18.03
shoot you forward, God
will sometimes hold you back.
00:23:18.06\00:23:22.70
People get mad when they
get a demotion. People get
00:23:22.73\00:23:26.40
mad when they're
passed over for a promotion.
00:23:26.43\00:23:29.17
In my profession, if
I'm transparent, people
00:23:29.20\00:23:31.91
get mad when they get
moved to a smaller church.
00:23:31.94\00:23:36.48
Maybe God has shut
00:23:36.51\00:23:37.85
up your womb. Maybe
God has closed your womb,
00:23:37.88\00:23:40.15
because if your womb
were open, you wouldn't
00:23:40.18\00:23:42.52
be able to handle it.
You'd walk around with
00:23:42.55\00:23:45.09
your head so big,
your nose so stuck up in
00:23:45.12\00:23:48.86
the air that if it
rained, you'd drown.
00:23:48.89\00:23:51.36
Your chest so stuck
out that you couldn't
00:23:51.39\00:23:53.83
get through the
door. So what will God do?
00:23:53.86\00:23:55.60
God will make you
wait 25 years, like He did
00:23:55.63\00:23:59.83
Abraham for the fulfilling
of the divine Covenant,
00:23:59.87\00:24:02.44
so you will fully
surrender to Him. Sometimes,
00:24:02.47\00:24:05.04
God will make you work
seven years, then another
00:24:05.07\00:24:08.54
seven years like He did
Jacob, so you will fully
00:24:08.58\00:24:11.21
surrender to Him.
Sometimes, God will leave you
00:24:11.25\00:24:13.72
in the wilderness for
40 years, like He did the
00:24:13.75\00:24:16.25
children of Israel,
so you will learn how to
00:24:16.28\00:24:18.49
depend on Him. God
will leave you in a city,
00:24:18.52\00:24:22.89
leave you in a
community, leave you on a job,
00:24:22.92\00:24:26.53
leave you in a
school. He'll hold you back so
00:24:26.56\00:24:29.26
in His own time,
at the right time,
00:24:29.30\00:24:34.07
He'll shoot you forward.
Are you hearing what I'm saying?
00:24:34.10\00:24:36.94
[Aud. reaction] 
PB: Lesson number four.
00:24:36.97\00:24:40.48
Final lesson. If you
want to get in your purpose.
00:24:40.51\00:24:43.88
If you want to know who
you are, you've got to seek
00:24:43.91\00:24:47.32
the Lord. Now, in the
narrative, Hannah stops
00:24:47.35\00:24:53.22
debating with Elkanah.
Hannah stops letting Peninnah
00:24:53.25\00:24:59.49
get under her skin.
She gets up and says uh,
00:24:59.53\00:25:04.07
"Elkanah, what I
need you don't have.
00:25:04.10\00:25:09.40
What I want you can't
provide. What it takes,
00:25:09.44\00:25:15.11
you can't afford. But
I'm going to the temple.
00:25:15.14\00:25:21.15
I'm going to the
church. I'm seeking the Lord.
00:25:21.18\00:25:28.89
Forgetting those
things which are behind,
00:25:28.92\00:25:31.69
I'm reaching to those
things which are before me.
00:25:31.73\00:25:35.06
I press toward the
mark of the high calling of
00:25:35.10\00:25:39.93
God in Jesus Christ."
Hannah goes to the temple.
00:25:39.97\00:25:44.97
She walks in that nice,
clean, quiet sedate service,
00:25:45.01\00:25:49.78
with one thing on her
mind. She's seeking the Lord.
00:25:49.81\00:25:53.92
And sometimes when
you're seeking the Lord,
00:25:53.95\00:25:56.69
you don't care how
you look, you don't
00:25:56.72\00:25:59.59
care how you act, you
don't care what people
00:25:59.62\00:26:02.86
think about ya, but
you're seeking the -
00:26:02.89\00:26:05.33
-anybody know
what I'm talking about?
00:26:05.36\00:26:07.73
[Aud. reaction]  PB:
You've come to the alter,
00:26:07.76\00:26:09.40
and you say, "I don't
care what anybody thinks.
00:26:09.43\00:26:14.37
I need my blessing."
She comes down the altar,
00:26:14.40\00:26:19.44
she passes the priests,
the pastors, the elders,
00:26:19.47\00:26:23.91
because to step in your
purpose sometimes you've
00:26:23.95\00:26:26.18
got to step past some
people. I wish I had a
00:26:26.21\00:26:28.85
witness in this place.
Eli thinks she's drunk.
00:26:28.88\00:26:33.46
But she doesn't care. She
says, "Man, I'm not drunk.
00:26:33.49\00:26:38.16
Religion doesn't hold her back.
00:26:38.19\00:26:41.13
Tradition does not hold
her back. Ritual does not
00:26:41.16\00:26:46.00
hold her back. But she
makes a vow to the Lord.
00:26:46.03\00:26:50.14
"Give me a son and I
will give him to You for
00:26:50.17\00:26:55.41
the rest of his life."
 The Bible says that God
00:26:55.44\00:27:00.62
opened up her womb. God
blesses Hannah with a child,
00:27:00.65\00:27:07.36
Samuel, and then He blesses
her with five more children.
00:27:07.39\00:27:12.76
I just heard
somebody say "won't He do it?"
00:27:12.79\00:27:16.67
Ha. You see, my
friends, you don't understand
00:27:16.70\00:27:20.74
why Sister O'Quinn
shouts like she shouts.
00:27:20.77\00:27:23.74
You don't understand why
Marva shouts like she shouts.
00:27:23.77\00:27:27.64
But they don't care
that you look at them funny.
00:27:27.68\00:27:30.38
They don't care that
they might get on your nerves.
00:27:30.41\00:27:33.58
They don't care that
they're clapping their hands.
00:27:33.62\00:27:36.15
They've been
through hell and high water,
00:27:36.18\00:27:39.52
and they're running out
of time! And I don't know
00:27:39.55\00:27:42.82
who I'm speaking to
right now, but if you're gonna
00:27:42.86\00:27:45.49
get in your
purpose, it begins with pain.
00:27:45.53\00:27:49.63
It begins with pain.
God will send somebody
00:27:49.66\00:27:53.54
to provoke you. God will hold
you back to shoot you forward.
00:27:53.57\00:27:59.71
[Aud. reaction]  PB: But
you've got to seek the Lord.
00:27:59.74\00:28:08.78
"Thank you very
much for tuning into this
00:28:08.82\00:28:10.62
week's Breath of Life Broadcast.
00:28:10.65\00:28:12.72
We hope and pray
that you have been blessed
00:28:12.75\00:28:14.82
by Dr. Byrd's
inspirational message.
00:28:14.86\00:28:17.49
If you would like
to hear this sermon in
00:28:17.53\00:28:19.16
its entirety, please
feel free to visit us at
00:28:19.19\00:28:21.53
www.breathoflife.tv or
call us at 256.929.6460.
00:28:21.56\00:28:31.54
[END]
00:28:31.57\00:28:46.59