(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #B698 -
Enemy of The State
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Dr. Byrd: I will invite you to
take your Bibles and turn with
you to the Book of Matthew.
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Matthew chapter two verse number
thirteen. Matthew chapter two
verse number thirteen.
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Matthew chapter two
verse number thirteen.
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The word of God says to us in
Matthew chapter two verse
thirteen, and when they were
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departing, behold the angel of
the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
dream saying, 'Arise and take
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the young child and his
mother and flee into Egypt.
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Be thou there until I bring the
word. For Herod will seek the
young child to destroy him." And
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he arose. He took the young
child and his mother by night
and parted into Egypt until the
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death of Herod. And was there
until the death of Herod that it
might be fulfilled which was
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spoken of the Lord
by the prophets saying,
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'Out of Egypt, have I called my
son'. Then Herod, when he saw
that he was mocked of the wise
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men, was exceeding wroth,
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and sent forth, and slew all the
children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof,
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from two years old and under,
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according to the time which he
had diligently inquired of the
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wise man. Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremy
the prophet saying,
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'In Rama, was there a voice
heard, and lamentation, and
weeping, and great mourning,
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Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted
because they are not.' But when
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Herod is dead, behold the angel
of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joesph in Egypt saying,
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'Arise and take the young child,
and his mother and go into the
land of Israel for they are
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dead, which sought the young
child's life.' And he rose and
took the young child and his
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mother. And came to the land of
Israel. But when he heard that
Archelaus did reign in Judaea in
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the room of his father Herod. He
was afraid to go thither,
notwithstanding being warned of
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God in a dream, he turned aside
into the parts of Galilee. And
he came and dwelt in the city
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called Nazareth: that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophets. He shall be called
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a Nazarene. A message today is
entitled, Enemy of the State.
Enemy of the State.
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Father God bless us now as
has been sung, come Lord Jesus.
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We ask now for the power of Your
Holy Spirit to come and breathe
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in this sanctuary. And though
the sanctuary is empty, the pews
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are empty, God, we need Your
Holy Spirit to fill us up right
now. And bless those who are
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watching. Bless those who are
hearing. And today I pray that
they would hear the voice of
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God. at the appeal time because
of your voice being spoken to
them that they might respond
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and surrender their life to you.
So hide it behind your cross.
Forgive me of my sins.
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In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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Enemy of the State. Let me begin
today by saying, Herod- King
Herod was an evil monster.
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His reign was one of
hatred, suspicion, jealousy, and
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insecurity. And I believe that
somebody watching right now
knows that jealousy is an awful
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thing. In fact, some have said
that jealousy is a disease. But
you should not be jealous of
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anyone else because what God has
for you, it is for you. And what
God has for me, it is for me.
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Are you hearing what I am
saying? I have learned that a
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flower does not come think of
competing with the flower next
to it. The flower just blooms.
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I have learned over the years
that you cannot be friends with
someone who wants your life.
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And people are probably not
happy with their lives if they
are always discussing yours.
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You see haters do not really
hate you. Haters hate themselves
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because you are a reflection of
what they want to be. Are you
hearing what I am saying?
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Herod was suspicious,
jealous, and insecure.
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And when you put these three
things together you have a
dangerous person, a monstrous
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person. During Herod's reign,
nobody, no man, no woman, no
family member, no one was safe.
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Herod's god was himself. Herod
loved Herod. Herod would do
anything to keep his job.
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History says that Herod was so
paranoid and so fearful about
his grip on power that Herod
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murdered every rival to his
throne. Herod was no respecter
of persons. He cares who he was.
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History says, he married a
beautiful Maccabean princess and
he had two sons by this lady.
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But he was afraid of being
replaced by one of his own two
sons from this lady. So history
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says, he murdered them both. He
also murdered their mother, his
wife because he was suspicious
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of her as well. He also murdered
his sons, his wife's
seventeen-year-old brother
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because he was popular with
Jews. Herod even gave orders for
many prominent Jews to be killed
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on the day that he died so that
people would mourn his death.
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This however was not carried
out. But five days before his
death, he did murder his own
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son, the heir to his throne.
King Herod was a human monster.
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But Herod was the monster of
monsters. He was the poster
child for evil monsters.
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Somebody may say well if he
was so bad, how did he stay in
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power? He stayed in power just
like everybody else stays in
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power, the same way modern-day
monsters have stayed in power.
Herod was a classic politician.
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Herod realized that continuing
his rule depended on two things.
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Number one, he needed to keep
Rome happy. And number two, he
needed to keep the Jews happy.
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Now when we read the book of the
Word of God and we read the book
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of Matthew. Matthew chapter one,
Jesus was born. In Matthew
chapter two, Jesus's birth
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became known to others. The wise
men, the Magi heard that Jesus
had been born. So they wanted to
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go and worship baby Jesus. So
the Bible says, they went to
Jerusalem because they assumed
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that the great King Jesus would
have been born in a great city.
They told Herod about Jesus's
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birth. And let me remind you
here about the wise men that we
do not really know exactly how
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many wise men there were. A lot
of people try to suggest that
there were three wise men.
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But the Bible never says that
there were three wise men. The
Bible says that wise men brought
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three gifts, gold, frankincense,
and myrrh. But the Bible never
says that there were three wise
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men. I hope you are
hearing what I am saying.
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But back to our narrative,
the wise men, the Magi wanted to
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worship Jesus and they wanted to
know where Jesus was. And when
they told King Herod up their
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desire, this got Herod's blood
to boiling. His jealousy started
to kick in. His insecurity
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started to kick in. His
suspicion started to kick in
because all Herod could hear was
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a rival to his throne had been
born. Herod pretended to be
sincerely interested in the
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birth of the newborn king. Herod
listened carefully to the wise
men, gave him instructions on
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how to go, and then come back
and tell him the location of the
child in Bethlehem so he too
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could worship the child. But
Herod did not want to worship
Jesus. Herod wanted to kill
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Jesus because Jesus was a threat
to Herod. Jesus was his rival
competition, he thought. Jesus
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was an enemy of the state. But
Jesus was not an enemy of the
state by definition.
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Because by definition an enemy
of the state is the person
accused of certain crimes
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against the state, against the
government. Jesus was a newborn
baby. Jesus had not committed
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any crimes. But when an
authoritarian regime wants to
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maintain power, some
authoritarians refer to an enemy
of the state as one who is a
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social or political dissident of
their authority which means any
time you oppose anyone in
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autocratic authority you are a
problem. Then why? Why would
Jesus even want to be emperor of
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the Roman Empire? What would
Jesus want with Herod's kingdom?
Jesus was CEO of the universe,
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president of all galaxies. What
does Jesus want with Herod's
little kingdom? But then again
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maybe Jesus was an enemy of
Herod's state. Herod's state-
Herod's government was built on
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jealousy, built on insecurity,
built on suspicion. And Jesus
was not about that. Jesus was
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not about jealousy. Jesus was
not about insecurity. Jesus was
not suspicious. Jesus was not a
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monster. Jesus was not a
murderer. Jesus did not come to
take life but Jesus came to give
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life and to give life more
abundantly. Herod was not
interested in worshipping Jesus.
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Herod wanted to kill Jesus
because Jesus was an enemy of
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the state. But I am so glad
today that we serve an on-time
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God. Yes, He is. And God warned
the wise men not to return to
Herod. And the wise men- they
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followed the voice of the Lord.
Now, let us be clear. The wise
men could have sold Jesus out.
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The wise men could have traded
Jesus for twenty pieces of
silver like Joseph's brothers
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did. The wise men could have
betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces
of silver like Judas did.
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The wise men could have
all disobeyed the voice of God.
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The wise men could have also
expected something else other
than what they found when they
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found baby Jesus. The wise men
dismissed any disappointments
they may have had upon getting
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to the manger, and seeing
simplicities surround Jesus's
birth, and they acted with
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adoration and compassion through
their gifts. But friends of
mine, their greatest gift was
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not gold. Their greatest gift
was not frankincense. Their
greatest gift was not myrrh.
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But their greatest gift was the
gift of their fourth offering,
the gift of justice
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by refusing to return to King
Herod and collaborate in his
diabolical scheme to find
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and kill the child whom they
believed-- who he believed was
his rival and an enemy of the
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state. The wise men refuse to be
accomplices of evil and
oppression by choosing at great
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risk not to report the child to
Herod as Herod had commanded
them. Praise God for their moral
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decency. Praise God for their
principled ethics. Praise God
for their honorable convictions.
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Praise God for their stand to do
what was right. Candor makes me
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comment here that we are living
in a world where people do not
want to take a stand.
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We are living in a world where
people do not have convictions.
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and at least the wise men had
convictions. At least the wise
men were willing to stand
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and follow what the Word of God
and God told him to do. Then,
Herod, we know the story,
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acted according to the evil
character. He sent soldiers to
kill every male child in the
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city, two years and under.
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He wanted to make sure
that the enemy of the state,
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he wanted to make sure that the
rival to his throne was killed.
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And he believed that if a few
peasant boys were killed in the
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process, big deal. Because he
who killed his own children
thought nothing of killing
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somebody else's children. In
Matthew two-thirteen, makes it
clear and says that after the
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wise men departed, the angel of
the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
dream saying, "Arise, and take
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the young child and his mother
and flee into Egypt and be thou
there until I bring the word:
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for Herod will seek the young
child to destroy him." Again, we
serve an on-time God.
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And the point I want to drive
home to you right now is this,
that when you stand for the
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rights, when you shun evil, when
you do not tolerate mess, when
you are an antagonist of the
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wrong, when you are an enemy of
the state that opposes Satan's
kingdom, the good news is God
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will still protect you. In this
text, God reminds us that He
wants to give us the hope of His
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protection. You see friends of
mine only when we get to heaven,
only when we get to heaven,
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will we realize all the times
God protected us from danger.
All the time God protected us
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from car accidents. All the time
God protected us from people.
All the time God protected us
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from certain jobs. All the time
God protected us from ourselves.
God sends us angels. We do not
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see angels but all nights,
all day and night angels are
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watching over me. Sometimes we
do not even know where they are.
But you better believe that they
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are there. The angel of the Lord
encampeth round about them that
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fear Him. Be not forgetful to
entertain a stranger, for
thereby some of us have
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entertained angels unaware. Even
as I preached this sermon right
here, I cannot see it. You
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cannot see it. But Jesus has a
fence all around about me. And
angels are securing me right
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now. Demons are trying to get
in, but I thank God for His
angels because God protects his
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people. God is always present
with us. Somebody said He is a
very present help in time of
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trouble. His presence is unseen.
But it is more real than life
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itself. And I believe I have got
a witness today that knows that
God protects His children.
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And the day is going to come
when the people of God cannot
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buy or sell, when the people of
God are going to be persecuted,
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when the people of God are going
to be enemies of the state.
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But just like God protected His
son, just like God protected the
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King Jesus, God is going to
protect us because, in the time
of trouble, God will protect His
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people. The Lord is my light,
my salvation; whom shall I fear?
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The Lord is the strength of my
life of whom should I be afraid.
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When the wicked, even mine
enemies and my foes came to eat
upon my flesh, they stumbled and
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fell. Though war should rise
up against me, in this will I be
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confident. And one thing that
I have desired of the Lord now,
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what I seek after, that I will
draw on the house of the Lord
all the days of my life.
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But not only does God want
to give us the hope, of His
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protection. But God also wants
to give us from this text, the
hope of His purpose.
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What am I talking about?
Obeying the angel of the Lord
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Verse number fourteen says that
Joseph took the young child and
took his mother by night,
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and departed for Egypt. Now you
need to understand, Joseph did
not have to do that.
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Danger was coming. And Joseph
could have bailed on Mary and
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Jesus. After all, Joseph was not
Jesus's birth father, had Mary
really been impregnated by the
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Holy Spirit. Joseph could have
left. But Joseph was faithful.
He was faithful to his family
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and faithful to his God. But
Joseph also knew God's purpose
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in his life. God, what is the
purpose you have for my life? If
it is to be the best pastor, be
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the best pastor. If it is to be
the best doctor, be the best
doctor. If it is to be the best
00:18:34.74\00:18:41.05
attorney, be the best attorney.
If it is to be the best
educator, be the best educator.
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Be what God has called you to
be. Everybody always asked me,
"Carlson Byrd, what is it you
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want to be?" I want to be what
God would have me to be because
what God has for me, it is for
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me. And when you know your
purpose, you will become a
target. Dogs do not bark at
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parked cars. Dogs bark at moving
cars. People shoot at the deer
they see, not the one in the
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bushes. And whenever you are
doing something for the Lord,
whenever you are fulfilling
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God's purpose for your life,
there will always be an element
that envies what you have, and
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probably against you and
undermine your efforts and
reputation at every turn. You
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will become an enemy of the
states, an enemy of some people.
You have not done anything. You
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have not said anything. But
this element is a part of the
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process. But I encourage you
today, keep your eyes on Jesus,
and know your purpose.
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God has given us the hope of His
purpose for our lives. Joseph
knew God's purpose for his life.
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And because Joseph knew God's
purpose for his life, Joseph did
not bail on his family.
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But Joseph fulfilled God's
purpose for his life and obey.
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Think about it. Number one,
having a child early in one's
marriage can bring about a lot
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of stress. Number two, traveling
by donkey for eighty-five miles
from Nazareth to Bethlehem with
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a new wife, who was due to give
birth at any moment, could also
bring about a lot of stress.
00:20:14.54\00:20:19.45
When you fulfill God's purpose,
number three, I have learned you
have to learn how to be
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flexible. On several occasions,
Mary and Joseph had to stop what
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they were doing and move to an
entirely different country. The
Bible says in verse number
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thirteen, they had to leave
Bethlehem and go to Egypt. The
Bible did not say in verse
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nineteen after Herod died, they
had to leave Egypt and go to
Israel. Then the Bible says in
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verse twenty-two, when they were
in Israel, they heard that
Archelaus, Herod's son, had
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succeeded his father Herod as
King. So, Joseph was afraid, and
Joseph did not want to go there.
00:20:50.68\00:20:54.68
So, in a dream, Joseph was told
to go to Galilee. So, Joseph
packed up his family again, and
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he moved them again, and they
settled in Nazareth because they
had to fulfill the promise that
00:21:01.32\00:21:09.60
Jesus should be called a
Nazarene. Joseph obeyed God and
fulfill God's purpose for his
00:21:09.63\00:21:14.77
life. But I am so glad today
that not only did Joseph fulfill
God's purpose for his life,
00:21:14.80\00:21:20.74
but Jesus fulfilled God's
purpose for his life. Now,
unless you understand someone's
00:21:20.78\00:21:32.95
purpose, you will never really
appreciate them. Let me say that
again. Unless you really
00:21:32.99\00:21:41.66
understand someone's purpose,
you will never appreciate them.
A husband will never appreciate
00:21:41.70\00:21:49.17
his wife until he understands
her purpose in his life. He will
always take her for granted. He
00:21:49.20\00:21:54.08
will never know because he will
never understand that this woman
is praying for him. This woman
00:21:54.11\00:21:58.78
is nurturing him. She is taking
care of him. And until he
understands her purpose, he will
00:21:58.81\00:22:06.12
never appreciate her. A wife
will never appreciate her
husband until she understands
00:22:06.15\00:22:11.96
his purpose, that he is covering
her, that he is protecting her.
00:22:11.99\00:22:15.50
That is purpose. A child will
never appreciate a parent until
that child understands purpose.
00:22:15.53\00:22:20.47
A church will never appreciate
its pastors, it will never
appreciate its church,
00:22:20.50\00:22:26.31
it will never appreciate its
ministries until you understand
that pastor's purpose,
00:22:26.34\00:22:31.81
that church's purpose, that
ministry's purpose. And when you
get the purpose, then you
00:22:31.85\00:22:39.52
understand. And that is
why a lot of people do not get
00:22:39.55\00:22:43.22
Christmas because they do not
understand Christ's purpose. We
think that the Christmas story
00:22:43.26\00:22:49.13
is just some cute little story:
baby born in a manger, wrapped
in swaddling clothes, gifts
00:22:49.16\00:22:57.81
brought to him. But when you do
not appreciate it, you take it
for granted. You know what
00:22:57.84\00:23:05.81
Jesus' purpose was? We were
messed up in sin. We were
handcuffed by hell,
00:23:05.85\00:23:12.45
walking across the cobwebs of
carnality over a fiery pit. And
God, thank you Jesus,
00:23:12.49\00:23:19.76
sent prophet after prophet,
tried to bring us back to Him
but we kept on missing it.
00:23:19.79\00:23:27.44
So it was through Jesus, the Son
of God, who said, "Send me
Father, I will go."
00:23:27.47\00:23:35.44
So, God wrapped himself up in
human flesh. Jesus was born. But
Jesus was born to die
00:23:35.48\00:23:44.45
because even though baby Jesus
escaped death in Bethlehem at
the hands of Herod,
00:23:44.49\00:23:51.93
Jesus did not escape death
totally. The death He would
suffer was far greater than a
00:23:51.96\00:23:59.60
swift blow of the sword. This
Jesus who fled with His parents
to Egypt, which is Africa, would
00:23:59.63\00:24:05.07
return. And after three and a
half years of ministry, in which
he preached repentance,
00:24:05.11\00:24:10.11
preach the kingdom of God,
healed people, performed
miracles, he would be rejected
00:24:10.15\00:24:15.38
and condemned to suffer the
coolest of all deaths on the
00:24:15.42\00:24:19.62
cross. The Bible says He would
rise on the third day, and He
was sent back to His father.
00:24:19.65\00:24:30.80
John tells us that right now He
is preparing a place for us and
00:24:30.83\00:24:39.47
He will return. And we will be
gathered together with Him to
live forever. So, Jesus's
00:24:39.51\00:24:47.62
purpose, the purpose God had for
Jesus was to be born to die, so
that we might live. So,
00:24:47.65\00:24:58.13
because Satan cannot stop God's
purposes, Herod could not stop
00:24:58.16\00:25:06.20
God's purposes, Jesus was born,
he had to die but he did not die
in Bethlehem but he died on a
00:25:06.23\00:25:15.71
cruel cross. Somebody is not
getting it. Let me help you
understand, and I am going to
00:25:15.74\00:25:19.28
sit down. Let me try to help you
understand God's purpose in the
00:25:19.31\00:25:23.49
life of Jesus. Jesus was born in
Bethlehem to identify with all
00:25:23.52\00:25:29.79
babies. He was laid in a manger
to touch the depths of human
needs. He was smuggled into
00:25:29.82\00:25:40.64
Egypt to rescue all exiles. He
was reared in Nazareth to under
guard the existence of children.
00:25:40.67\00:25:45.74
He was baptized in the muddy
Jordan to plunge Himself into
00:25:45.77\00:25:51.28
our plight. He was put out of
the organized church to
emphasize people over policy.
00:25:51.31\00:25:57.35
He was arrested in Gethsemane
to make common cause with common
00:25:57.39\00:26:02.82
criminals. He was condemned by
Pilate to embrace conventional
00:26:02.86\00:26:07.93
convicts. He was crucified
on Calvary to challenge death on
00:26:07.96\00:26:12.93
its own grounds. He was buried
in a tomb to conquer the
boundaries of helplessness.
00:26:12.97\00:26:17.97
But on the third appointed day,
He rolls with all power in his
hands to be our help in ages
00:26:18.01\00:26:26.58
past, and our
hope for years to come.
00:26:26.61\00:26:28.62
Today, I understand Jesus's
purpose. And because I
understand His purpose,
00:26:28.65\00:26:34.79
I have an appreciation for what
Jesus has done. Today, we are
not worshiping a dead Jesus.
00:26:34.82\00:26:41.20
We do not live in the hope that
Christ is alive. Christ is
alive. I serve a risen savior.
00:26:41.23\00:26:48.64
He is in the world today. I know
that He is living whatever man
may say. I see His hand and
00:26:48.67\00:26:54.84
mercy. I hear His voice of cheer
in just the time I need Him. He
00:26:54.88\00:27:01.45
is always near. Jesus, you may
have been the enemy of Herod's
state. But He is the savior of
00:27:01.48\00:27:17.43
mass' state. He was born. He
lived. He died. He rose. He
ascended back to heaven. And one
00:27:17.47\00:27:33.72
day soon, He is coming back. He
died that we might live. And all
He asks is that we live for Him.
00:27:33.75\00:27:48.70
He is the enemy of Satan's
state, the Redeemer of my state.
00:27:48.73\00:27:54.34
Thank you very much for tuning
in to this week's Breath of Life
00:27:54.37\00:27:58.54
broadcast. We hope and pray that
you've been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:27:58.57\00:28:03.31
If you would like to hear
this sermon in its entirety,
00:28:03.35\00:28:05.65
please feel free to visit
us at www.breathoflife.tv.
00:28:05.68\00:28:11.45
Or, call us at (256) 929-6460.
00:28:11.49\00:28:23.00
GONE BOOK PROMO
00:28:23.03\00:28:24.50
Dr. Byrd: Pain, loss, trama,
00:28:24.53\00:28:33.54
in life we
experience these things.
00:28:33.58\00:28:36.85
My wife and I have a story,
00:28:36.88\00:28:39.91
we have a
testimony of how we lost
00:28:39.95\00:28:44.02
our first born daughter
in a horrific car accident.
00:28:44.05\00:28:50.66
We have this new sharing
book, its en-titled “Gone.”
00:28:50.69\00:28:55.76
And, in it I
want to share with you
00:28:55.80\00:28:59.40
how God has helped me,
00:28:59.43\00:29:02.17
how God has helped my
wife, how God has helped us,
00:29:02.20\00:29:06.84
as we had to endure the fact
that our first born daughter is
00:29:06.88\00:29:18.32
gone. www.breathoflife.tv
00:29:18.35\00:29:23.12
[END]
00:29:23.16\00:29:38.14