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Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000619S
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00:00 (Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:06 Breath of Life Ministries Presents: 00:12 Sermon #B619 - Who Do You Believe? 00:20 Pastor Byrd: "The gospel according to John, 00:21 chapter 20 verse number 19. If you have it, 00:25 let me hear you say, "Amen." 00:26 [Congregation: Amen.] 00:27 The word of God says to us today, 00:29 John chapter 20 verse 19, "Then the same day at evening, 00:34 being the first day of the week, 00:36 when the doors were shut where the disciples were 00:38 assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus 00:42 and stood in the midst, 00:43 and saith unto them, "Peace be unto you." 00:49 his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, 00:52 when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, 00:58 "Peace be unto you: as my Father has sent me, 01:03 even so send I you." And when he had said this, 01:08 he breathed on them, and saith unto them, 01:10 "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosoever sins ye remit, 01:13 they are remitted unto them, 01:15 and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. 01:17 " Verse 24. But Thomas. Everybody say, "Thomas." 01:20 [Congregation: Thomas.] 01:21 One of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them, 01:24 he wasn't there when Jesus came. 01:28 The other disciples, therefore, 01:30 said unto him, "We have seen the Lord. 01:33 " But, Thomas, he said unto them, 01:35 "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, 01:40 and put my finger into the print of the nails, 01:42 and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 01:47 " And after eight days again his disciples were within, 01:49 and Thomas was with them, then came Jesus, 01:51 the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, 01:53 and said, "Peace be unto you." Then saith he to Thomas, 01:59 "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; 02:04 and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: 02:07 and be not faithless, but believing. 02:10 " Thomas answered and said unto him, "My Lord and my God. 02:14 " Jesus saith unto him, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, 02:18 thou hast believed. But blessed are they that have not seen, 02:24 and yet have believed." And many other signs truly did Jesus 02:29 in the presence of his disciples he did, 02:31 which are not written in this book. But these are written, 02:33 that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; 02:39 and that believing ye might have life through his name. 02:44 Lord, bless us, speak to us on this communion Sabbath, 02:49 in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. 02:53 [Congregation: Amen.] 02:54 Today, I have a simple question with our homily for communion. 02:57 Who do you believe? Who do you believe? Now, for the past few days, 03:12 people's eyes have been glued to television sets,computer screens 03:19 watching two different people with two different stories 03:25 tell two different accounts about 03:28 what happened on one infamous night. 03:33 The question is being asked to us, the American public, 03:37 to government officials in Washington, and to the world over, 03:42 who do you believe? Who is more convincing? Who is more persuasive? 03:51 Who is more credible? Who is more compelling? 03:56 Because the fact of the matter is, none of us were there. 04:00 [Congregation: Amen.] 04:01 None of us were in the room. None of us saw it. 04:07 There are three sides to every story. Yours, mine, 04:13 and the truth. Who do you believe? Brett Kavanaugh said, 04:20 he didn't do it. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford said, 04:24 she's 100% sure he did it. But who do you believe? 04:31 Ford or Kavanaugh? Because we didn't see it and it's hard 04:37 to believe something without seeing it. After all, 04:41 we have to see it before we believe it. If we can't see it, 04:45 we can't believe it. If we can't feel it, we can't trust it. 04:48 If we can't touch it, we can't rely on it. 04:51 And if we can't understand it, we won't even try it. 04:55 It's one week after Jesus' death. 04:58 The disciples are huddled in a room scared. 05:02 All they know is Jesus has been crucified. 05:05 He's dead and they laid his body in the tomb. 05:08 The disciples are now afraid. 05:11 Are the people going to come and get us now that Jesus is dead? 05:14 They had laid down their lives, they had laid down their jobs, 05:18 given up their careers to follow Jesus. They had left their families, 05:22 they have left their friends to follow Jesus 05:24 when he was healing the sick, raising the dead, 05:26 restoring sight to the blind. It was cool to be a disciple. 05:29 [Congregation: Amen.] 05:31 But understand, now he's dead. And all of a sudden, 05:37 it's no longer popular to be one of his disciples. 05:41 Because I believe somebody knows being in the will of God 05:44 causes you to be outside the favor or people. 05:48 Jesus has risen from the dead. Mary Magdalene sees him. 05:54 She runs and tells the disciples but they don't believe her 05:58 but then all of a sudden, in the midst of their fear, Jesus shows up. 06:06 The Jesus they knew. The Jesus they had rolled the stone 06:11 in front of the tomb to keep in the tomb. 06:14 The same Jesus that they had rolled the stone in front of the tomb 06:17 to keep anybody from taking him out of the tomb. 06:20 This same Jesus appeared in the very same room that he was 06:25 in prior to his crucifixion and says to his disciples, 06:28 "Peace be unto you." But the disciples, the Bible teaches, 06:34 don't get excited by these words. 06:37 Because it was not until they saw his hands. 06:41 It was not until they saw his feet. It was not until they saw his side. 06:47 It was not until they saw his wounds. 06:49 It was not until they saw evidence, then the bible says, 06:53 they were glad. Words were not enough for the disciples. 06:58 They had to see it. They had to touch it. 07:01 They had to feel it so they can understand him. 07:04 When Jesus showed them the wounds on his side 07:06 and the nail prints on his hand, then they were glad. 07:10 Then, they were rejoicing. Then, they were excited. 07:14 Except for one of them. He wasn't there. 07:19 One of them was missing. Now, remember, 07:26 there were twelve disciples to begin with, 07:29 but Judas committed suicide, which leaves eleven disciples 07:35 but there are only ten in the room. 07:39 The bible says that one of them, Thomas, was not in the room. 07:44 But when the other ten disciples saw Thomas, they were excited. 07:49 They had seen Jesus. They had touched Jesus. 07:52 They had felt Jesus and when you're excited, 07:56 you want other people to be excited. When you're glad, 07:59 you want other people to be glad. When you're happy, 08:03 you want other people to be happy. When I'm excited in Jesus, 08:06 I want other people around me to be excited in Jesus. 08:10 That's why I don't like coming to church and being around folks 08:14 who aren't happy in Jesus because the joy of the Lord is my strength. 08:20 [Congregation: Yeah. Amen.] 08:21 The disciples are happy; but instead of Thomas being happy, 08:25 instead of Thomas being joyful, instead of Thomas being excited and glad, 08:27 Thomas is, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands 08:34 and put a finger on the mark of the nails, and my hand on his side, 08:39 I would not believe. I would not believe what I can't see. 08:44 I would not trust what I can't touch. I would not risk what I can't count. 08:49 I got to see it, taste it, feel it touch it for myself before I believe in it. 08:56 " Now before we're too hard on brother Thomas, let's look at ourselves. 09:00 Some of us are just like Thomas. We don't take anybody's word for it. 09:05 Somebody can tell us some dab smack in our face and we won't believe it 09:09 because we've got to see it for ourselves. 09:11 Remember, the other ten disciples weren't glad either. 09:14 They shouldn't be hard on Thomas because they weren't glad either initially 09:18 when they saw Jesus for themselves. 09:20 Thomas demanded to see something and so do we. 09:22 Thomas walks around with his doubts for one week. 09:25 [Congregant: Come on, now.] 09:27 I said Thomas walks around with his doubts for one week. 09:33 America would delay to bring it to the Senate floor for one week. 09:41 Thomas walks around in suspicion and doubt for one week. 09:50 But eight days later, Jesus returns to the same room where the disciples 09:59 had gathered before but this time, Thomas is in the room. 10:05 Now, remember, the other ten disciples are already convinced. 10:10 They are already persuaded that it's Jesus, they're all excited. 10:14 They are already glad but then a second time, Jesus himself, not his proxy, 10:23 not his representative, not his ambassador, not his associate, 10:28 not his angels but Jesus himself comes back a second time just for one person. 10:38 Oh, that should make somebody shout right there. [laughter] 10:41 Congregation: [cheering] [clapping] 10:42 That Jesus will come even if it's for one person. 10:48 I wish I had the church in his place. 10:50 If Jesus had to go to Calvary for one person, 10:54 he would have done it and I'm so glad that Jesus-- 10:58 Congregation: [cheering] [clapping] 11:00 -- even would go for you. Jesus went to Calvary for one person. 11:06 He didn't have to do it, but he came just for me in spite of my mess. 11:13 He came for me. In spite of your mess, he came for you. 11:17 Is there anybody glad that Jesus came just for you? 11:21 Congregation: [cheering] [clapping] 11:23 In fact, when you didn't come to Jesus, Jesus came to you. 11:31 I like that song I preached it before. 11:34 I like that song, "I'm Chasing After You. 11:38 " But theologically, that's not right. 11:43 The reality is I have never really been chasing after Jesus. 11:47 The fact of the matter is, Jesus has always been chasing after me. 11:54 When you couldn't come to Jesus, Jesus came for you. 12:00 When you didn't want to come to Jesus, Jesus came to you. 12:04 When you are messed up, Jesus came to you. 12:07 Oh, you all act like you're holy. 12:09 When you were drinking up, smoking up, shooting up, 12:12 lying up, living up, sleeping up, 12:15 and cracking up, Jesus came to you. 12:22 And when you look back over your life, 12:26 I can never repay you, Lord, 12:29 for what you've done for me. 12:30 How you lose my shackles and set me 12:34 how you made a way out of no way, turn my darkness into-- 12:38 you all don't hear what I'm saying. Somebody ought to shout and give God praise right now. 12:42 If you were the only person on the planet, 12:47 Jesus would have entered heaven just for you. 12:49 Ellen White says in Christ Object Lessons, she says, 12:51 "If there had been just one lost soul, 12:55 Christ would have died for that one lost soul. 12:59 " You all don't hear what I'm saying. Let me hurry up. 13:01 Congregation: [cheering] [clapping] 13:02 Jesus sees Thomas and he says to Thomas in verse 27: 13:07 "Reach hither thy finger, behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, 13:16 and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 13:24 " Oh but you know, we just read the bible. We don't know what we're reading. 13:27 Read the story, wait a minute. 13:30 How does Jesus know exactly what it -- yeah Pastor Williams. 13:36 How does he know exactly what it would take to make Thomas believe? 13:41 Jesus wasn't in the room when Thomas was in the room with the other disciples 13:48 when Thomas said in order for him to believe that he had to feel 13:52 the nail print of his hands and see where they pierced him in the side. 13:57 Jesus was in the room when Thomas said that which means, 14:01 God can hear us even when we don't think he hears us. 14:04 He knows what we need before we even ask him. 14:10 So Thomas gets excited and he says, "My Lord, my God. 14:18 " So then Jesus says to Thomas, "Thomas because you now have seen me, 14:22 thou hast believed me, but blessed are those that have not seen, 14:30 but have yet believed. Somebody is with me today. you got this, all right? 14:35 Congregation: Yeah! [cheering] [clapping] 14:37 Here, Jesus lets us know that he reserves a greater blessing for those 14:42 who have not seen, but yet you still believed. Sight can impede faith, 14:51 confuse love and hinder hope. We can become so attracted to what we see, 14:58 that we lose the ability to achieve what we have not seen. 15:03 Think of the woman who married the wrong man 15:05 or the man who married the wrong woman, 15:06 going by what they saw then what was really there. 15:10 Just because a woman is seen as pretty does not make her pure. 15:14 Just because a man is seen as handsome does not make him holy. 15:17 Just because church folk appears consecrated doesn't make them Christ-like. 15:22 Sight can be a greater risk than blindness. 15:27 You can believe in too much in what you see, 15:29 never then thinking that what you see can be confusing and misleading. 15:34 But faith is the substance of things held far. 15:41 The evidence of things not seen. Thomas, you have believed me only 15:50 because you have seen me. But blessed are those who have not seen 15:57 but had come to believe me, trust in me, die in me, 16:03 will rise one day in the second coming in me 16:06 and will live with me throughout eternity. 16:09 Blessed are those who have not seen but have believed. 16:14 You all ought to hear what I'm saying. Now, don't misunderstand me today. 16:17 I'm not saying God can't bless us through what we see, 16:22 but it is far better to believe without seeing. 16:26 Anybody can believe evidence that's in your hand. 16:29 Anybody can believe an evidence that you can see 16:31 but can you believe today in what you can't see. 16:34 Don't let your eyes fool you. Sight is a hindrance to faith 16:37 because sight is distorted. What am I talking about? 16:40 The color of something may be blue but you will not see the color as it is. 16:46 You'll only see the color as it is filtered through the shape of your eyes, 16:49 the state of your brain, and the nature of your prior experience. 16:53 The color you see is not a perfect representation of a color that is there. 16:56 We all suffer from some form of color blindness, 17:00 some visible imperfection, some optical illusion. 17:03 It's evident in some of the clothes we wear. 17:05 Congregation: [talking all at the same time] 17:10 How some of us - can put this color with that color 17:16 and say it matches is beyond me. 17:23 What we think is green, maybe blue. 17:28 Just like what we think is a burden, 17:31 might be a blessing. 17:32 [Congregation: Amen.] 17:33 What we think is a mean deprivation might be a mighty deliverance. 17:38 What we think is important today, may prove to be trivial and cheap tomorrow. 17:45 Don't be confused by what you can see 17:47 because there's always more to it than what you see. 17:50 Thomas, you have believed me because you have seen me 17:54 but blessed are those who have not seen but yet believed. 17:56 Without seeing because they were unconfused by human eyes, 18:00 unhindered by human sight, unattached to the things of this world, 18:04 unlimited by human circumstance and happenstance, unbound by human reason 18:09 but yet they believe, they walk by faith. 18:12 Congregation: Yeah, yeah. [cheering] [clapping] 18:13 Not by sight. So the story was told of a little girl, 18:20 a story was told of a little Jewish girl in Warsaw, 18:23 Poland who during the World War II, was hiding in a cave from the Nazis. 18:27 She was waiting to be rescued by allied forces but died before they got there. 18:33 But above her lifeless body, she had written a note scribbled on the wall. 18:39 And the note went something like this, "I believe in the sun even when I can't see it. 18:46 I believe in love, even when I can't feel it. And I believe in God, even when I can't find it." 18:58 What are you going to do when there's not much to see? 19:07 What are you going to do when you're prayers are not answered immediately? 19:12 Your sicknesses are not healed immediately and your needs are not met instantaneously. 19:20 What are you going to do as Christ delays his coming? 19:27 We ought to believe in God before God does what God will do in God's own time 19:34 and in God's own way because he may not come when you want him. 19:39 But he's always right on time. Blessed today are those who have not seen 19:49 but have yet believed. Thomas, there's no need to doubt. Don't dig up 19:58 and doubt what you have planted in faith. Faith is believing what you can't see. 20:06 Now, our faith system, our belief system is bigger than Christine Blasey Ford 20:16 or Brett Kavanaugh. In reality, they are just pawns in a bigger struggle. 20:25 In fact, in some ways, they are both victims of the partisan politics in Washington. 20:33 In reality, they are just pawns in a bigger struggle. 20:38 The bigger struggle and the bigger question is Christ or Satan, 20:45 good or evil, right or wrong, truth or error. To my church family and my student body, 20:58 do you believe Christ or Satan? Do you believe in the one who woke you up this morning? 21:08 Started you on your way, put food on your table, clothes on your back, 21:14 made a way out of no way. Do you believe in the one who turned water into wine, 21:20 healed the woman with an issue of blood, spat on some dirt, 21:25 made mud put it on a man's eyes and made him see? 21:30 Do you believe in the one who showed up in a fiery furnace and one day is coming 21:37 to redeem us from this earth? Do you believe in the one who went to Calgary, stripped, 21:43 was crucified on Friday, lay resting in the grave on the Sabbath, 21:48 but early Sunday morning, got up with all power in his hands, 21:53 ascended back to heaven is coming back to get us? Do you believe? 21:59 Congregation: Yeah. Yes! [cheering] [clapping] 22:01 Or do you believe in the one who comes but to steal, kill, and destroy? 22:11 Who do you believe? Not Kavanaugh or Ford but Christ or Satan. 22:17 Now, Satan has shown you for 6000 years who he is. 22:25 Jesus has shown you for 6000 years who he is. And as Maya Angelou said, 22:34 "When someone shows you who they are, believe them." Jesus has shown you who he is. 22:46 Believe him. Do you believe in his broken body? Do you believe in his shed blood? 22:55 Do you believe that his blood cleanses you from all sin? 22:59 Do you believe you've been washed in the blood? I don't walk around like a victim. 23:05 I'm a victor. Victory is mine - in Jesus. 23:09 Congregation: [cheering] [clapping] 23:11 Do you believe that he loves you, died to save you, is coming back to get you? 23:16 Christ returneth. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen! 23:23 It does not yet appear what we shall be but when he does appear in a moment, 23:28 in a twinkling of an eye, we shall see him as he is. Do you believe? 23:38 So, if you believe, then act like it. 23:43 Congregant: Act like it.[inaudible] [shouting, cheering] 23:46 Walk like it. Talk like it. Live like it. 23:55 There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from ... 24:05 Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood, 24:13 lose all the guilty stains. What can wash away my souls? 24:19 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? 24:28 Nothing, but the blood of Jesus. When I surveyed the wondrous cross 24:34 on which the Prince of Glory died, Jesus paid it all. 24:40 All to him, my old sin had lived the crimson stain 24:43 but he washed it - white as snow. This is deeper than Kavanaugh. 24:53 This is deeper than Blasey Ford. Today, who are you going to believe? 25:01 Christ or Satan? I have not seen him but I believe. 25:15 I have not physically, literally seen the nail-pierced hands, 25:20 or the nail-pierced feet. I have not seen the wounds in his side 25:28 but blessed are those who have yet to see but have believed. 25:39 "Thank you very much for tuning into this 25:41 week's Breath of Life Broadcast. 25:43 We hope and pray that you have been blessed 25:45 by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. 25:48 If you would like to hear this sermon in 25:50 its entirety, please feel free to visit us at 25:52 www.breathoflife.tv or call us at 256.929.6460. 26:02 [END] 26:16 During our revival in Huntsville, AL 26:19 the Breath of Life team was inspired by the story of a young lady by the name of Amber Pearson. 26:25 While battling drug addiction, Amber's life was transformed forever by the preaching of the word. 26:34 “I am thankful for Breath of Life 26:36 because I heard Dr. Byrd preaching when I was at my lowest point in my life. 26:40 I was an addict for twenty years. 26:46 [sigh] Well thirty-three years old, february 8th of this year. 26:51 I wanted to jump in front of a car more than I wanted drugs. 26:55 My boyfriend brought me to the Breath of Life revival. I started hearing things that - 27:04 that made sense, things that started connecting in my head, 27:09 that made me realise that God never left me. 27:11 God was with me the whole time. 27:13 He was with me through all the trauma that I went through; 27:17 and near death. 27:24 And I heard something in my spirit said it was time, it was time to give up. 27:29 I was time to give it to Him, it was time to surrender. 27:32 So I did, and I asked Pastor Byrd to baptize me.” 27:39 I'm so glad we had the privilege of baptizing Amber, 27:42 who is now drug-free and a committed church member and member of the family of God. 27:49 God truly still is in the miracle-working business! 27:53 To help us to continue our mission of spreading this wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ, 27:59 please share a gift with us today. 28:03 Make your tax deductible gift payable to Breath of Life by mail, 28:06 at Breath of Life PO BOX 5960, Huntsville, AL 35814. 28:12 Give us all call the number is 256.929.6460 28:18 or you can visit us online at www.breathoflife.tv 28:29 [End] |
Revised 2021-11-03