(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #B657_Don't
Forget Where You've Come From
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Deuteronomy chapter six and
we want to begin reading verse
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number one. Deuteronomy, the
fifth book of the Bible chapter
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six and we want to begin
reading verse number one.
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If you have it, let
me hear you say, Amen.
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The word of God says, "Now
these are the commandments,
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the statutes, and the judgments,
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which the Lord your
God commanded to teach you,
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that ye might do them in the
land whither ye go to possess
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it. " Verse two. "That thou
mightest fear the Lord thy God,
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to keep all his statutes and his
commandments, which I command
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thee, thou, and thy," what
everybody? "Son and thy son's,"
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what everybody? "All the days of
thy life, that thy days may be
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prolonged. " Verse three. "Hear,
therefore, O Israel, and observe
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to do it; that it may be
well with thee, and that ye may
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increase mightily, as the Lord
God of thy fathers hath promised
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thee, in the land that floweth
with milk and," what everybody?
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Verse four. "Hear, O Israel: The
Lord our God is one," what?
[Congregation: Lord]
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Is one what
everybody? [Congrega tion: Lord]
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"And thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thine," what?
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"And with all thy," what? "And
with all thy," what?
[Congregation: Might]
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"And these words, which I
command thee this day, shall be
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in thine heart. And thou shalt",
do what? "Teach diligently unto
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thy children, and shalt talk of
them when thou sittest in thine
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house, and when thou walkest by
the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up.
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And thou shalt bind them
for a sign upon thine hand,
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and they shall be as
frontlets between thine eyes.
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And thou shalt," do what
everybody? [Congregation: Write
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them] Come on.
Do what everybody?
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"Write them upon the posts
of thy house, and on thy gates."
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Today, I don't want to be long,
but I just want to challenge you
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on the subject, don't forget
where you've come from. Don't
forget where you come from.
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God bless us now, bless this
word. Make Deuteronomy six come
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alive. And God, when
we get to the appeal[?],
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may your Holy Spirit move
in this place and prick[?]
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your people, that they
may give their lives to you.
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Forgive me of my sins, hide me
behind your cross. In the name
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of Jesus. Let everyone
say, Amen. [Congregation: Amen]
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Amen. You may be seated. Don't
forget where you've come from.
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Today, I want to remind you of
the importance of understanding
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your history. Whether you're
black, white, Hispanic, Asian,
or Native American,
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you need to know your history
because when you know your
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history, you can better
understand how to approach your
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future. When you know your past,
people can't define it for you
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and tell you what you
should or should not know.
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When you know your past, people
can't legislate your future
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based on their
understanding of your past.
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When you know your past,
your past is not forgotten
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and you have evidence and fuel
for the future. Are you hearing
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what I'm saying? Now, to say you
don't care about your past is
not necessarily true.
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Because everybody has a desire
to know something about their
history, their past,
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their ancestors, which is
why websites like ancestry.com
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that allow you to search your
background are so popular today
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because to understand your past,
allows you to operate in your
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future. Are you
hearing what I'm saying?
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In the text, it's been three
months since the children of
Israel have left Egypt
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and it's about forty years
before they go into the Promised
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Land. Moses, in essence, is
telling the children of Israel,
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look, don't forget where you've
come from. Don't forget your
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past. It was God who said in
verse number four, "Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God is one
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Lord. And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thine,"
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what everybody? "Hearts and with
all thy soul and with all thy
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might. And these words, which I
command thee this day, shall be
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in thine heart." Now, in this
text, these three simple verses,
God identifies himself
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and reminds the children of
Israel that he is God.
[Congregation: Amen]
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I said, he's God.
[Congregation: Amen]
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He doesn't need you and he
doesn't need me because he's
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God. But he also declares how
the children of Israel should
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respond to him. He doesn't
want the people to forget him or
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their past. But they weren't
supposed to remember their past
just for themselves.
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The text teaches that they were
also supposed to remember their
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past, so they could teach
their history to their children.
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In fact, each generation was
to teach the next generation so
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that nothing was lost with
each subsequent generation.
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But not only that, they weren't
supposed to just teach passively
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to their children, but they were
to aggressively and
intentionally, teach their
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children. When you read verse
number seven, it says, "And you
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shalt diligently." Everybody
say diligently. [Congr egation:
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Diligently] "Diligently
teach your children."
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The Hebrew word for teach is
[Sana] which means to sharpen.
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So the idea here then is
that just as words are cut
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and embedded into a stone
tablet with a sharp object,
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so God's word and
God's law was to be impressed
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on the hearts of
childrenof every generation.
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God commanded the children of
Israel to pass on their history
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and religious instruction to
their children from one
generation to another
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generation. They were to
preserve their tradition but
they were also to remember God's
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word. And I believe the day has
come that we need to get back to
that. [Congregation: Amen]
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We need to get back to the
tradition of passing down our
family's history to our
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children. We need to get back
to the tradition of passing down
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our insight and our faith to our
children. [Congregation: Amen]
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We need to get back to the
tradition of passing on the
wisdom of our elders to our
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children. It's not simply enough
friends of mine to hand our
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children a book. It's not enough
to sit them in front of a
television hoping they just be
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quiet. It's not enough
for them to surf the internet
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or to let them stay on
a smartphone all day long.
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We must get back
to some of these old
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waymarks and sit our children
down and talk to them about God,
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Talk to them about our history.
Talk to them about Jesus.
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Don't you forget
where you've come from.
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Don't forget where you were as
compared to where you are now.
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Now, let's be real. You haven't
always been able to live like
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you now live. You haven't always
been able to drive like you now
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drive. Don't you get the big
head. Don't you forget that it
was God who brought you out.
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God brought the
children of Israel out.
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Moses was God's agency to lead
them out, but God brought them
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out. And let me throw
this in free of charge,
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the emancipation proclamation
did not free the slaves.
[Congregation: Yeah]
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The emancipation proclamation
preserved the union.
[Congregation: Yeah]
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Read your history.
Abraham Lincoln was a good man.
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But Abraham Lincoln
did not free the slaves.
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God freed the
slaves. [Congregation: Yeah]
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Don't forget where you've come
from. We are people of an oral
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tradition. And yes, we need to
pass in our history through the
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verbal word. But number two, we
also need to pass down our
history through the written
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word. Our culture is a
culture of oral tradition.
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But if you study history,
you will also discover that the
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African tradition, African
culture produced the Egyptian
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hieroglyphics. African culture
and tradition also produced the
Mesoptomian cuneiforms.
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And so verse nine of our text,
I got to move quickly, says,
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"The commandments
that God had given Moses,
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they were so important that they
were to write them down."
[Congregation: Amen]
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Dr. Byrd: Put them on their
doorposts. Put them on their
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gates. They were to be publicly
displayed so all could see, all
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could read, and all could know
nothing was to be hidden.
[Congregation: That's right]
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February is Black History Month.
And Black History Month is to
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make sure that the contributions
of people of color are not
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hidden. These contributions
should be shared just like the
achievements from our brothers
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and sisters of other races.
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We have Black History Month
though and some people including
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some black people don't even
know why we have it. Don't you
let anybody tell you we
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shouldn't have it. It's for good
reason that we should reflect on
the historical contributions
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blacks have made not only in
America but around the world.
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Are you hearing what I'm
saying? [Congregation: Yes]
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Let me remind you what Mayor
Reed said because repetition
deepens the impression.
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The forerunner to Black History
was created in 1926 here in the
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States. Historian Dr. Carter
Woodson and the Association for
the Study of Negro Life
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and History announced that the
second week of February was to
be Negro History Week.
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Like Mayor Reed said, this was
chosen not because February was
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a short month, but this was
chosen because Abraham Lincoln's
birthday was on February 12th
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and Frederick Douglass's
birthday was on February 14.
[Congregation: Yeah]
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In its early days of celebrating
Negro History, the goal, listen
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to me. The goal was to teach the
history of American Blacks in
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public schools. The expansion
of Black History Week to Black
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History Month was first proposed
not by the government. Movements
always start at the ground
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level. Was first proposed by
students at Kent State
University in 1969.
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Then, seven years later, in 1976
as part of the United States
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bicentennial, so the US is now
celebrating two hundred years
and they don't get on this.
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The expansion of Negro History
Week to Black History Month
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was officially recognized by
the United States government.
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It was then-President
Gerald Ford who said that
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"The time had come to seize the
opportunity to honor too often
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neglected accomplishments
of Black Americans."
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Do I have a witness to
this place? [Congregation: Yeah]
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Because some people would have
you to believe that blacks
weren't in the Bible.
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That's a lie from the pits
of hell. [Congregation: AMEN]
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Blacks were in the Bible. Let me
mention three and I will because
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I have the mic. Do I have a
witness in this place?
[Congregation: Yeah]
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Number one, the Queen of
Sheba. [Congregation: Yeah]
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She was Ethiopian. Ethiopia
is in Africa. Africa is black.
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Do I have a witness in this
place? [Congregation: clapping]
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The Queen of Sheba visited
Solomon to test his wisdom.
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She had learned about his wisdom
and wanted to see for herself
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if what she had heard was true.
She tested his wisdom, study
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your Bible, through a series of
questions in 1st Kings chapter
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10. Once she was satisfied, she
acknowledged Solomon's God who
had given him such wisdom.
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But let's not stop with the
Queen of Sheba. What about Simon
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of Cyrene? He was a man of
color, who carried the cross
when our Jesus was too weak to
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carry the cross. What am I
trying to say? A black man
carried the cross for my Jesus.
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Are you hearing what I'm
saying? [Congregation: Yes]
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But number three, Ham. I ain't
talking what you eat either.
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And I'm going to put my
preaching kickstand right here
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for a minute because there are a
lot of lies out there that have
been told about Ham.
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Ham was one of Noah's sons
who helped Noah built the Ark.
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Ham sinned against his father
Noah by seeing the nakedness of
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his father. When you read
Genesis chapter nine verse
number twenty-five, you would
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discover that Noah placed
a curse on Canaan. Follow me.
00:12:29.11\00:12:35.85
Ham's son, not on Ham
who committed the act.
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It has been taught for hundreds
of years, that the curse was
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placed on Ham and that
caused his skin to become black.
00:12:50.10\00:12:54.44
Ham is widely considered to
be the father of the black race
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because the curse placed
upon him changed his skin color.
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But remember the curse,
was put on Canaan, not Ham.
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But regardless of whether Noah
put the curse on Ham or Canaan,
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why would God, my friends, curse
a skin color when everything he
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created he said was good
and it was created in his image.
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The erroneous notion that Ham's
curse was for his skin to be
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made black and thus all of
his descendants should be black,
00:13:36.48\00:13:40.78
would be black, foolishly
justified slavery for hundreds
of years both in Europe and in
00:13:40.82\00:13:48.32
America. Now, imagine being told
as a child that your skin color
was caused by a curse
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upon a man who
sinned against his father.
00:13:57.40\00:14:00.87
Imagine thinking that there are
truly was something wrong with
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having brown skin. It was bad
enough when others believed it
00:14:07.21\00:14:09.54
about you, but imagine if
you believed it about yourself.
00:14:09.58\00:14:14.48
But this was a prominent
teaching in racist circles,
00:14:14.52\00:14:17.62
that God created us inferior
because of something Noah's son
Ham did thousands of years ago.
00:14:17.65\00:14:23.49
And while this inferiority idea
is ludicrous and there have been
00:14:23.53\00:14:28.76
many who have argued against
this belief since its inception
hundreds of years ago,
00:14:28.80\00:14:31.83
the belief still exists. But
I hear Moses saying, teach your
00:14:31.87\00:14:43.45
children. But if you've been
taught that you're inferior and
00:14:43.48\00:14:48.52
someone points out that your
race has not had any impact of
historical significance
00:14:48.55\00:14:52.39
because it's not
recorded anywhere,
00:14:52.42\00:14:55.76
that lends itself to an
acceptance of the facts by a
preponderance of the evidence
00:14:55.79\00:15:00.93
even if the evidence is wrong.
[Congregation: You're right.
00:15:00.96\00:15:03.97
You're right] We need to know,
understand, and believe in the
truth and he shall know the
00:15:04.00\00:15:13.54
truth and the truth shall
set you free. We must read,
00:15:13.58\00:15:20.18
we must research and learn
ourselves and stop accepting any
00:15:20.22\00:15:27.46
lie as fact just because we
refused to verify it. We must
tell our children our history.
00:15:27.49\00:15:33.23
Tell them our stories. Tell them
our struggles and how we made it
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over. We must instill within
them a sense of self that is not
based on how others define them,
00:15:39.13\00:15:47.11
but on how they define
themselves based on what they
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can do. You see, something went
very wrong for us after the
Civil Rights Movement
00:15:51.48\00:15:56.92
and struggle the 50s and 60s.
00:15:56.95\00:15:59.69
You see, we believed that we
were fighting for integration.
00:15:59.72\00:16:05.59
And after we achieved the Voting
Rights Act and after we achieved
00:16:05.63\00:16:11.47
access to public facilities and
public schools, after we won the
use of public transportation,
00:16:11.50\00:16:18.14
we thought we had achieved
the goal of integration.
00:16:18.17\00:16:23.58
But we were tricked. The powers
that were and still are, if you
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don't believe me, they still
are, watch CNN, told us that we
had achieved integration.
00:16:31.95\00:16:41.06
But what they actually
gave us was assimilation.
00:16:41.10\00:16:45.97
There's a difference between
integration and assimilation.
00:16:46.00\00:16:51.77
In true integration, we gain
something when we become part of
00:16:51.81\00:16:58.15
the whole. But in assimilation,
we lose something when we become
a part of the whole
00:16:58.18\00:17:04.02
and we lost so much. We've
lost our culture. We've lost our
00:17:04.05\00:17:08.69
identity. We've lost our
history. Our children sit beside
other children in public schools
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and they all learn about the
great white people of Europe and
00:17:15.53\00:17:20.00
America. But they are taught
little about the great people,
black of Africa and America.
00:17:20.04\00:17:27.34
This is assimilation. In
school classroom settings,
00:17:27.38\00:17:30.75
the teacher may mention
Frederick Douglass, Booker J.
Washington, Martin Luther King,
00:17:30.78\00:17:34.08
but there's often no in-depth
study of these persons and their
00:17:34.12\00:17:38.65
backgrounds. And usually, no
mention of them is made until
Black History Month in February.
00:17:38.69\00:17:42.92
This is assimilation. And so
many of us are fooled by this.
00:17:42.96\00:17:50.43
This is why there are so many
of us were forgotten who we are.
00:17:50.47\00:17:52.73
We have forgotten our heritage.
Forgotten our identity.
Forgotten our history.
00:17:52.77\00:17:56.40
But don't you forget
where you've come from.
00:17:56.44\00:18:00.94
When Israel held on to its
heritage and cultural identity,
it prospered and progressed.
00:18:00.98\00:18:07.02
But when it abandoned its
heritage and cultural identity,
it stumbled and fell.
00:18:07.05\00:18:13.86
Sadly, many of us are in the
midst of the so-called success
00:18:13.89\00:18:20.66
and we believe that we've
arrived. And we believe we no
00:18:20.70\00:18:26.00
longer need God. Now, that we've
got a good job. Now, that we've
00:18:26.03\00:18:31.71
got a big office. Now, that
we've got some letters behind
00:18:31.74\00:18:34.48
our names, a big house with
two cars or three cars in the
00:18:34.51\00:18:37.65
driveway. Now, that we have four
or five bedrooms, three or four
bathrooms in our homes,
00:18:37.68\00:18:41.62
some of us act like God
is dispensable in our lives.
00:18:41.65\00:18:48.32
But there's only one way,
that we're going to survive as a
00:18:48.36\00:18:53.40
people, and that's to
let God back into our lives.
00:18:53.43\00:18:58.27
The only way we're going to save
our families is to let God back
00:18:58.30\00:19:05.37
in our families. The only way
we're going to save our schools
is to let God back in our
00:19:05.41\00:19:13.92
schools. The only way we're
going to save our churches is to
let God back in our churches.
00:19:13.95\00:19:20.96
If we want to fly, if we
want to survive and stay alive,
00:19:20.99\00:19:24.93
we must hold on to what God
has given us. Don't forget your
00:19:24.96\00:19:32.90
past. Don't forget
where you've come from.
00:19:32.93\00:19:37.41
But before I take my seat, let
me give you a word of caution.
00:19:37.44\00:19:42.71
Don't forget where you come
from. But don't forget where you
00:19:42.74\00:19:48.62
need to go either. Too often we
think we've arrived. Too often
we think we've made it.
00:19:48.65\00:19:53.79
That the struggle is over.
00:19:53.82\00:19:57.09
But the average income still
significantly lower than our
white counterparts.
00:19:57.13\00:20:01.36
We're still the last to be hired
and the first to be fired in
00:20:01.40\00:20:05.70
most cases. We're still rejected
for bank loans at an alarmingly
00:20:05.73\00:20:09.84
high rate. Our children still
make up the largest percentage
of those who are incarcerated.
00:20:09.87\00:20:14.28
Gonna be real. It's good to
have a black man in the Supreme
00:20:14.31\00:20:21.78
Court. But justice is still
unjust when the prisons are
filled with just us.
00:20:21.82\00:20:29.22
It's great that the Constitution
gives us the right to vote,
00:20:29.26\00:20:33.46
but the 15th Amendment is
worthless if we're turned away
00:20:33.50\00:20:38.37
at the polls for senseless
reasons or the oldest voting
machines are placed in our
00:20:38.40\00:20:46.41
communities, where the tags
don't fall off and our votes are
00:20:46.44\00:20:51.68
not being counted.
[Congregation: That's right]
00:20:51.71\00:20:53.58
It is great to have the
opportunity to go to college, go
to Oakwood, to go to A&M.
00:20:53.62\00:20:56.79
But the opportunity is worthless
if too many of our children end
00:20:56.82\00:21:01.76
up flunking out because of our
inadequate and inferior
elementary education.
00:21:01.79\00:21:06.26
It's wonderful to have racial
tolerance as part of our
elementary school curriculum.
00:21:06.29\00:21:12.30
But we need to teach it also to
the real estate broker, to the
00:21:12.33\00:21:19.77
bank loan officer, to the law
enforcements, to the human
resources departments of major
00:21:19.81\00:21:26.08
corporations, and our neighbors
who move out when we move in.
00:21:26.11\00:21:32.05
History's reflection can
be wonderfully satisfying
00:21:32.09\00:21:35.89
but be aware fo letting it
ruin your appetite for progress.
00:21:35.92\00:21:39.53
There are still so
much work to be done.
00:21:39.56\00:21:44.60
"So, pastor, why do you bring
this to us?" Deuteronomy six.
00:21:44.63\00:21:47.10
Well, what role do we as
Christians play in this quest
00:21:47.14\00:21:52.97
for equality? Black traditions
says that hope for change always
began in the black church.
00:21:53.01\00:22:03.52
Black Christians have been
the catalyst for revolutionizing
00:22:03.55\00:22:06.25
and transforming our
circumstances and we can't stop
00:22:06.29\00:22:10.59
now. The children of Israel were
challenged not to think that
their greatest victories
00:22:10.63\00:22:15.13
with the Lord were behind them.
Because if you keep reading the
00:22:15.16\00:22:19.77
Old Testament, you will read in
Isaiah 43, where God in Isaiah
43 reminded the children of
00:22:19.80\00:22:25.64
Israel that he had brought
them through the Red Sea.
00:22:25.67\00:22:29.64
But if you read Isaiah 53,
you also read where he said,
00:22:29.68\00:22:32.08
I brought you through the Red
Sea, but I'm about to do a new
00:22:32.11\00:22:38.12
thing. He said,
"Behold I will do a new thing.
00:22:38.15\00:22:41.76
Now, it shall spring
forth, shall ye not know it.
00:22:41.79\00:22:46.36
I will even make a way in
the wilderness and rivers in the
00:22:46.39\00:22:49.83
desert." He commanded
the Israelites to look ahead.
00:22:49.86\00:22:52.73
He said, "I'm not through with
you yet." And that's a word for
00:22:52.77\00:22:59.21
somebody today. That if God can
part the Red Sea, if God can
make a way in the wilderness,
00:22:59.24\00:23:06.05
if God could make
rivers in the desert,
00:23:06.08\00:23:09.35
we know that God is able to move
our present mountains out of the
00:23:09.38\00:23:14.82
way. God never told us to
climb up the rough side of the
00:23:14.86\00:23:18.89
mountain. God said, speak to
that mountain and tell that
mountain to be removed.
00:23:18.93\00:23:25.83
If the Lord can cause a virgin
to conceive, then God can
restore our families.
00:23:25.87\00:23:34.51
If the Lord can open a Red Sea,
then surely the Lord can open
windows of opportunity.
00:23:34.54\00:23:41.65
If the Lord can resurrect
Lazarus, I'm sure that he can
resurrect our dying churches.
00:23:41.68\00:23:51.06
If the Lord can heal a woman
with an issue of blood, surely,
00:23:51.09\00:23:57.43
God can heal somebody of cancer.
The Lord can do it because he's
00:23:57.47\00:24:05.14
God and so I hear the
prophet of this church saying,
00:24:05.17\00:24:08.28
"We have nothing to fear for the
future, less we forget how God
has led us in the past."
00:24:08.31\00:24:16.28
Don't forget where you come from
and don't forget where you're
00:24:16.32\00:24:21.96
going. God is going to do a new
thing. I'm glad he did what he
did for the children of Israel.
00:24:21.99\00:24:27.96
I'm glad he parted the Red Sea.
I'm glad he led them through the
00:24:27.96\00:24:32.77
wilderness. I'm glad he led them
to the Promised Land. But that's
what he did for them.
00:24:32.80\00:24:38.57
And I just believe that he's
getting ready to do something
00:24:38.61\00:24:43.31
for me. Somebody ought to
testify. I'm glad he'll heal
somebody else of cancer.
00:24:43.35\00:24:47.72
I'm glad he restores
somebody else's marriage.
00:24:47.75\00:24:50.92
I'm glad he got you a new job,
the new house. I'm glad he gave
00:24:50.95\00:24:56.02
you peace. I'm glad
he's done something for you.
00:24:56.06\00:24:58.53
But now, now, now, He's getting
ready to do something for me.
00:24:58.56\00:25:05.47
Oh, taste and see that the
Lord is good. His mercy endureth
00:25:05.50\00:25:10.24
forever. I will bless the Lord
at all times. His praise shall
continually be in my mouth.
00:25:10.27\00:25:14.98
The humble shall
hear thereof and be glad.
00:25:15.01\00:25:17.35
Oh, come and magnify the Lord
with me and let us exalt his
00:25:17.38\00:25:21.88
name together. Don't forget
where you come from and don't
forget where you're going.
00:25:21.92\00:25:28.26
Heaven is a wonderful place.
Filled with glory and grace.
00:25:28.29\00:25:39.63
I plan to see my Saviour's face.
Because Heaven is going to be a
00:25:39.67\00:25:51.78
wonderful place. Don't forget
where you've come from. But
don't forget where you're trying
00:25:51.81\00:25:59.32
to go. I'm trying to meet my
God. I'm trying to see my God.
00:25:59.35\00:26:07.30
I'm trying to live forever with
God. Because he's the joy and
the strength in my life.
00:26:07.36\00:26:19.07
He moves all misery and strife.
God is. God is [Congregation:
00:26:19.11\00:26:27.35
singing] Dr.
Byrd: [Singing] God is
00:26:27.38\00:26:31.42
Thank you very much for tuning
in to this week's Breath of Life
00:26:31.45\00:26:35.86
broadcast. We hope and pray that
you've been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:26:35.89\00:26:40.50
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this sermon in its entirety,
00:26:40.53\00:26:42.76
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00:26:42.80\00:26:48.80
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00:26:48.84\00:26:55.18
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00:26:55.21\00:27:10.29