Dr. Carlton P. Byrd - Streaming Live from Forest Hill SDA Church

[Music] it's a blast day [Music] it's a day of rest [Music] a happy day a day to celebrate [Music] it was made for me to show [Music] lord i us you for this everything [Music] of is a happy day [Music] a day to celebrate it was made for me to show us [Music] lord i thank you for the sabbath day [Music] is [Music] to [Music] recognize for the sabbath lord i thank you for the sabbath [Music] is [Music] is [Music] us [Music] lord i thank you for the sabbath day [Music] [Music] yes [Music] is [Music] [Music] we work on you [Music] you [Applause] [Music] it's a blast day [Music] it's a day of rest a happy day a day to celebrate it was made for me to show us the way lord i thank you for the seventh day lord i thank you [Music] is [Music] [Music] from you this is [Music] we will [Music] [Music] we welcome you [Music] bless this sabbath we welcome you bless [Music] we welcome you we welcome [Music] we welcome you blessed [Music] we welcome you we welcome you [Music] we welcome you [Music] we from [Music] from your [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] it's time to praise the lord time to praise the lord [Music] is [Music] [Music] is oh [Music] [Music] don't you the lord [Music] [Music] lord [Music] [Music] so this morning we want to share with you philippians chapter 4 verses 4 and 7 and as we begin to read in your hearing it asks you to stand at this time that we will get the blessings of the lord from his word and we're reading philippians chapter 4 verses 4 and 6 rejoice in the lord alway and again i say rejoice and the peace of god which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through christ jesus and be praying father in heaven we thank you for the privilege that we have to come in your presence we pray that your holy spirit will be with us guiding our minds our hearts our thoughts that everything we say and do this morning will be acceptable before you and now father as we continue to worship in spirit and in truth we pray these mercies in jesus name amen next we will continue with the fourth commandment exodus 20 verses 8-11 remember the sabbath day to keep it holy six days shall thou labor and do all thy work but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord thy god in his thou shalt do any work thou not our son nor thy daughter thy man's servant not i made servant not thy cattle nor thy stranger that is within thy gates for in six days the lord made heaven on earth the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day wherefore the lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it at the forest hill 70th adventist church we have a vision statement that is taken from second corinthians 13 14 and reads as follows the vision of the forest hill seventh-day adventist church is to be a healthy church where the grace of the lord jesus christ the love of god and the fellowship of the holy spirit is revealed through us let us continue in spirit and truth and please be seated [Music] good morning and happy sabbath that mike had some pop on it good morning we we're thankful to be here and worshiping in spirit and truth as we come together in fellowship in worship and offering praise together in this place what a blessing it is to come and see your spoiling faces i listen i i may not see your whole face but i can see you smiling your eyes when i know that it's a happy sabbath a good day to be together in the lord and we are so thankful for all that god has done and looking forward with anticipation to what god is going to continue to do we are so blessed to have our um our president of us great southwest region conference dr carlton byrd bless our hearts this morning and certainly we're just thankful for all that god is going to do uh today in this place now friends i have a few things we want you to be aware of friends i hope that you had and got the chance to see our um our announcement about our ongoing crusade which we are starting here we started on last night but we're going again tonight the theme is is there any hope again is there any hope and we look forward to seeing you out 7 p.m sharp every night except for monday and thursday every night except for monday and thursday now friends i'm here to tell you that i may not i i want you to know that if we want this thing to be a success we need you to invite someone we need you to share we need you to like we need you to subscribe we need you to tell a neighbor we need to tell the butcher the baker and the candlestick maker that something is going on here at forest hill friends people need to know that there is hope hope for a brighter tomorrow hope for a brighter tomorrow and so we want to encourage all of you to invite your friends your neighbor even invite little timmy and the dog and they'll have been have a good time in the lord now friends what are we going to do i pray that you brought your walking shoes with you because we're going to go out in the community today now we can still do that socially distance and all that but friends what we're going to need you to do is is is go out we have several neighborhoods that we want to hit and invite our friends our neighbors out to the meeting on tonight and throughout this week and friends i want you to know now that there will be some who will be a little bit squeamish about being around a whole lot of people here's a good news not only are we in person we're also virtual while you hear me this morning so that means if someone says i can't come in person all you got to do is direct them to our church website we're on facebook we're on youtube we're going to find a way to get people the gospel and we're going to use all of god's gifts in order to get the word out there i'm here to tell you that there will be and be on the lookout there will be an ad that's going to be running on facebook on facebook and so be on the lookout for that if you want to get a sneak peek as to what it's going to be just go on the church's youtube page and you'll see the ad that will be running for the next two weeks on facebook as we get the word out that the gospel is being preached and that the spirit of living god is moving here in forest hill you got questions god has answers welcome everyone as we worship him together and lift up the name of jesus in spirit and in truth at this time elder turner is going to give us a very warm forced hill welcome as we come into this place god bless you good morning and happy sabbath to you amen now if forest hill is not your usual place of worship i would like you to stand not your usual place of worship just like you to stand at this time just stand it's not your usual place for worship amen let's give all these visitors and guests a warm amen now tell me this i want to know who traveled the furthest today did anybody travel over 10 miles to get here raise your hand all right anybody do 20 miles got 20. do i hear 30 miles do i hear 40. 50. anybody over 50 all right let's give that young lady a hand for allowing the lord to get on these highways and come out here and worship with us today we're so glad all of you decided to make 7224 forest hill drive your place of worship today also we'll be having a prayer time later on and please be sure to text in uh your request we're gonna have that number on the screen here in a minute uh for you to uh send in any prayer requests that you have here during our prayer time so you can be prayed for by our pastor in case you didn't get it out there that's the number 817-405-6609 send your and text your prayer request in to that number once again we're so glad you came to worship with us today and pray that you will be blessed to have a high day in the lord this time our praise team is going to lead us in our hymn for the morning revive us again so let us all stand [Music] crazy foreign [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] who [Applause] hallelujah hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] us [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] i have no use let's say you woke me up you woke me up this food morning my table brought joy to my legs [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] i am [Applause] [Music] for the rest of my life for the rest of my life [Music] for the rest of my life [Music] you woke me up this morning starting me on my way you put food on my table brought joy to my death you woke me up this morning started me on my way you put food on my table brought joy to my neck [Music] wonderful [Applause] [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] salvation and glory honor and power unto the lord our god for the lord our god is mighty yes the lord our god is [Music] all over the house can we lift that praise together just say hallelujah hallelujah salvation and glory honor and power unto the lord yes the lord our god is omnipotence the lord [Music] let's lift that together again say hallelujah hallelujah [Music] say for the lord our god for the lord our god is mighty yes the lord our god is omnipotent the lord [Music] all right [Music] [Music] [Music] one more time [Music] all right [Music] let me hear you cry [Music] all right tennis it's our turn hallelujah one more time [Music] let's go [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] he is [Applause] [Music] he is [Applause] [Music] [Music] he is is [Music] [Music] oh magnify the name of the lord with me this morning [Music] ain't god good almost wore myself out singing along with that one [Music] praise god from whom all blessings flowed and they know how to bring it oh god is good greatly to be praised he is good he's good he's good he's good he's good oh what a blessing it is to come into god's presence here this morning friends i'll know about you but i am a believer that prayer changes things how many of your living witness this morning there's somebody here this morning you'd be sitting in a prison cell but prayer changes things you'll be strung out on drugs somewhere but prayer changes things are you hearing me this morning there's somebody here you'd be out on skid row somewhere but prayer changes things prayer can reach down into the depths of your circumstance pull you out and transform your reality into what god can make it friends i am a living testimony this morning that prayer can change your life but friends this morning you got to step out on faith step out and believe and claim the promise of jesus in your life this morning we want you to remember again our prayer request line 817-405-6609 again that number is 817-405-6609 for our prayer requests you text him in we mention it we bring it to before the lord in prayer and even if we don't do it on camera in church somebody somewhere is going to be praying for your prayer request because prayer changes things this morning amen saints as we get in the word of god we want to act in prayer as we have our season of prayer those of you joining us online we want you to join us as well and in person as we come to god in prayer heads about eyes are closed this morning as we invite his presence father in the name of jesus [Music] the word of god tells us that the effectual fervent prayer the righteous avails much we know that before jesus went to the cross jesus prayed before he walked on water jesus prayed when he went to the wilderness jesus prayed because there's power in prayer there's deliverance in prayer there's healing in prayer and so god we call upon you now in our time of need father there's a son there's a daughter who's not yet accepted and made they're calling an election sure we place their name before your throne in action pray that your spirit would give them no rest until they make their calling and election shore father we pray this morning lord for our children that are going back to school lord keep them safe place a hedge about them lord surround them and keep them shielded from the enemy's destruction i ask and pray now lord that you be with all of us sick and shut in lord we're praying for bonita lord we're praying for gaston jr lord is praying for his family and himself lord sister francis we're praying for her lord i'm asking and praying for rosalind fraser for self family health and healing we're asking and praying for elder powell sister boyd is praying for charlotte owens frank perez leslie thompson barbara owens artie harris sister mcewing and sister shears lord we're praying for them lord jocelyn francis lord we're praying for her lord lifting her up in prayer and lord we ask and pray that your spirit would fall afresh on this church in a special way lord i ask a special anointing upon the man of the hour dr carlton bird lord be with his ministry lord make him have a wonderful witness for what god can do lord surround him anoint him fill him with the holy ghost lord give him wonderful words of life and use him for your purpose today lord i ask and pray that you would be with all of the church of god as we plot our way through this pandemic that your presence would guide us lord because when there is no vision the people perish so we pray for your vision your guidance and your leading lord towards the greater victory that can be found in you lord i ask and pray now lord that you'd be upon our ongoing crusade i'm praying that souls will be one for the kingdom that people will have a new experience a new outpouring and a new blessing and relationship with a god who wants to save us more than we want to save ourselves keep us we pray until that day lord when you shall come will come and will not tarry keep as we pray until that day when the son of man comes may find faith in the world may find it in us until the day when we see you face to face in the world made new and say this is our god we are waiting for you keep us we pray until that end in jesus name amen it's time we got our children's story oh and we blessed sister cranny god bless you good morning everyone i want to say hello to all the boys and girls and the families and friends good morning and happy sabbath today i'm going to be talking about the cow and the calendar calendar whether we know it or not is a very important valuable part of our lives excuse me of our lives and i want to tell you some values in this calendar the calendar gives us dates as to when you children start back to school dates as to events that's happening at school and dates to holidays dates to vacations when school is out and dates and mine is this month birthdays so everybody who has a birthday this month happy birthday and now it has the values in it of dates and this happened to be an old calendar here and so the dates in it are not very important so we put it aside and i just want to say to the children let's put all things aside that we have done and to do that we have to go to jesus and ask jesus for forgiveness because if we don't go to him there's no one else to go to because no one else can forgive you so let's take all the uh things out of our life the things that we've done wrong to anybody and everybody let's take them and put them behind us because jesus says he will forgive us he would take all of those sins and bad things and take them and hurl them around and throw them deep into the bottom of the sea and they will not be seen anymore not they'll be seen if you don't pray and ask god every day to forgive you so he can change our hearts and our minds and we've got to pray and ask not just today or tomorrow but every day we've got to come to god to ask him to forgive us of our wrongdoing so it will change it'll change our hearts to change our minds it'll make us a new person and and everything will be better but we won't be good till we jesus comes back and take us to heaven but until then we've got to go to him we've got to follow his rules his commands and change our hearts and mind i just want to tell you a little short story that helped me change mine when i was a young girl it was my mother i had asked my mother could i go outside and play so she said yes go outside but stay just in that front yard don't go anywhere else i look across the street and i see my friends i said oh there's my friends so i said i'm gonna go over here go to the curb look to the left and look to the right i said oh there's no cars coming because we lived on a busy street there's no cars coming i go across the street and when i ran across the street i started to play having fun and then i looked up and there my mother was coming out the door and when i saw her i said oh i better get back across the street because i have disobeyed and so when i started to run across the street didn't have time to look for cars and i'm running and bam a car hit me and us my mother looking so she knows what happened and she's run running to me and she's coming with her prayers lord please let my baby be all right and then the man out the car too i had him scared to have to death too but i made it through and as pastor watkins always say somebody is praying for us and they do save you is what i wanted to pass on so children always ask go to the lord and ask for forgiveness and he will watch over you and protect you in every way he will watch over and take care of you so uh i bow our heads and i want to sell prayer i thank you the heavenly father for not only watching over me then when i was a child but i thank you lord for still watching over me taking care of me and loving me lord i'm changing every day the old ways of the calendars lord i'm putting behind me and i'm putting you in front of me so lord i just want to thank you thank you for loving me thank you for loving us this whole world although i know we don't do right all the time but you still love us and still give us a chance another chance of forgiveness so just want to say thank you jesus thank you thank you thank you thank you sister crainer and we're so thankful that you survived amen amen indeed amen all right at this time we're going to turn in our wallets to number five to number 10 to number 20 and to number 100 all right it's time to lift this morning's tithes and offering it's time to ask our deacons to come forward uh to lift this morning's ties and offerings all right let us let us pray let us pray father in heaven lord we thank you for your goodness and mercy and your grace toward us be with us as we lift this offering we play in jesus name amen i want to remind you that there's five ways for us to give you can give by the good old-fashioned u.s mail you can give by pickup if you need someone to come pick it up you can do by drop off and the most convenient way is online just go to foresthillsda.org and you'll see adventist giving you can give there most of you give that way and the last way is the way you're doing now in person here in the sanctuary [Music] every time i turn around he keeps blessing me [Music] every time i turn around me and keep i know i don't deserve it i've got to run and tell it how the lord is [Music] every time [Music] i know i don't deserve it [Music] he keeps blessing me [Music] when the praises go up god blessings come down [Music] [Music] let us all stand [Music] where the lord says will a man rob god yet you have robbed me but you say when have you robbed me in tithes and in offerings you are cursed with a curse for you of robbed me even the whole nation bringing all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and try me now and this says the lord of hosts if i will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there should not be room enough to receive it father we've returned it to your storehouse father change these fonts from ordinary common uses to holy sacred uses father to finish the work of the gospel not only around the world but right here at 76140 bless those that have to give and those that didn't in jesus name we pray amen you may be seated [Music] go up [Music] come down [Music] [Music] every time i turn around [Music] let's sing [Music] let's me me every time i turn around [Music] [Music] [Music] the lord i am [Applause] [Music] [Music] i am [Music] hey [Music] in the lord i am [Music] i am [Music] i am [Music] hey [Music] in the lord [Music] hey [Applause] [Music] i [Music] [Music] hey [Music] [Music] [Music] amen again can we praise god for our praise and worship team job well done thank you so much hallelujah hallelujah i am grateful to be at the forest hill church today amen amen and amen again thank you master watkins and sister watkins there she is pastor and sister watkins god bless you and god bless your ministry elder turner and sister turner who i have known for years god bless you god bless you god bless you and there so many other familiar faces i see out in the audience today i said to myself man i know the whole church here at forest hill come on say amen but praise god we can be here with you my wife is unable to beat with us today the southwest region conference has a minister's spouse's retreat and so she is there with them on their minister spouse's retreat so i said well we'll just have to make another trip to forest hill so that you will be able to join and worship with the saints here at this church can you say amen all right we're ready to get in the word of god but i want to tell you i praise god for the privilege of being able to serve as the new president of the southwest region conference can you say amen and we're excited about what god is going to do for us we have four primary things we're seeking to build upon number one evangelism and i'm happy to know and see that here at forest hill we are engaged in evangelism can you say amen and so evangelism number one number two adventist education let me say that again adventist education now in the dfw we have a church school let me try that again get a little closer in the dfw we have a church school and the church school is second to none if i didn't believe that i wouldn't put my own daughter there come on say amen and so happiness education is a part of the emphasis of our conference as we move on evangelism and adventist education we're going to talk more about that amen i said we're going to talk more about that amen all right that's not just a city temple church thing that's a dfw thing we're gonna talk more about that come on say amen all right then number three which i'm so happy about today here at forest hill media and digital expansion and ministry i'm receiving texts from all over this morning people through the breath of life feed are watching today come on say amen and so we are grateful that this church sees the importance of media and digital ministry do you understand even right now there are more people watching us than in this building are you hearing what i'm saying and so we have a responsibility to amplify and build on that so the gospel can go to everyone and then fourth and finally our fourth emphasis is youth and young adult engagement and involvement all right i got one amen behind the mask let me try it again you know all that good singing i thought we'd be a awakened you know i don't know all right all right let's try it again youth and young adult engagement and involvement all right let me help you maybe this will spur your amens a little more the median age of an adventist in north america is 62. the median age of an adventist in north america is 62. the average age of just a citizen or resident in the united states is 35. we've got to bridge that gap are you hearing what i'm saying everybody we've got to bridge and be intentional about it and not just talk about it but be about it are you hearing what i'm saying everybody so those are our four primary areas of emphasis now this year in lieu of camp meeting uh the covid virus and the pandemic and whatnot we were planning a digital or virtual camp meeting but with the election of our new president new executive secretary we said let's let's hold off and let's do a convocation and so we're going to be doing a convocation southwest region conference convocation on october 16th if you have not received the word october 16th we're giving you the word now we're going to get communication to your pastor your head elder communications team here at forest hill but october 16 we are having a fall convocation it will not be too far from here it will be at the 5000 seat mansfield isd performing arts center come on say amen that will allow for good social distancing so we're not on top of each other and all that kind of good stuff but we can worship and fellowship together we're excited yours truly will preach the word of god our special musical guests will be pastor marvin sapp and the southwest region mass choir come on amen everybody we're excited about that we also have something for the children all right and the children in the early teens uh maybe you have heard of them the power team i don't know if you've heard of the power team look them up on google uh later today the power team and they do ministry great great great ministry in an innovative way for young people make sure that you have your child age 4 all the way to 15 for that special special special ministry geared for them that will take place as well registration from 10 to 11 11 to 1 as the adults are in the main auditorium for the adult service we will have something intentional for our children in early teens and then that afternoon we're going to have a ministerial ordination service pastor timothy lee from our new orleans caffeine avenue district in new orleans east church will be our ordinand he and his wife and so we are looking forward to that and then at five o'clock we're going to honor our former conference presidents recognizing the work they have done it's upon their shoulders we stand we're going to honor our former conference presidents and our retirees from the southwest region conference i'm baptized to see one of our retirees here i think former pastor this church pastor truman brian god bless you good to see you amen amen we're going to honor them and then after that recognition and honoring we're going to have a special parade of nations where all the nations that represent the southwest region conference over our five state territory will carry our flags and whatnot we'll have musical vespers following that and then we will close the sabbath with vision casting where we're going as a conference understand with leadership you've got to have hindsight you've got to have insight and you got to have foresight are you hearing what i'm saying in order to have vision you've got to have hindsight insight and foresight the bible is clear where there is no vision the people what everybody they perish and so we want to be able to share the vision of what god has given us for our conference and then as a people be able to go back to our five state territory and share this wonderful gospel message of jesus christ because i don't know about you but i want jesus to come and i want his coming to be expedited so i'm going to do all that i can do to expedite his coming is that all right everybody and so we're going to share that and then we would have would have had a great day in the lord together so put that on calendar october 16th in lieu of camp meeting we will have our special convocation uh it's not a bad thing for us here at forest hill because we probably are the closest church physically to the mansfield isd performing arts center praise be to god let's stand now let's read the word of god the scripture as we get into the message today message today 9 11. can you believe it 20 years ago today what transpired in this country 9 11 mercy let's go to the book of ephesians and i want to go to ephesians chapter 6 and let's go to verse number 10 ephesians chapter 6 and verse number 10 ephesians chapter 6 and let's go to verse number 10. the word of god says ephesians chapter 6 verse 10. if you have it let me hear you say amen ephesians 6 verse 10 and i want to hurry up and get out of your way because pastor i appreciate the fact he's talking about we're going to knock on doors this afternoon and we have revival tonight come on say amen all right ephesians chapter 6 verse number 10 the word of god says finally my brethren be strong in the lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armor of god that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil for we rest are not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rules of the darkness of this world against spiritual weakness in what kind of places wherefore taken to you the whole arm of god that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to what stand therefore having your loins gird about with truth and having on the breast plate of righteousness and your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of whom everybody verse 18 praying always with all supplication in the spirit and watching there too with all perseverance and supplication for the saints in harmony with what is transpiring in our world today in our society our subject today is put your war clothes on put your war clothes on father in the name of jesus the intercession of holy ghost we have sung we have given and returned tithe and offering we have testified we have studied your word but now we need to hear a word from you disappoint us not so high behind your cross fill me with your spirit and lord may your holy ghost run and reign in this church and online for all those who view and we be careful to give you the praise god in the glory forgive us of our sins it's in jesus name we pray let everyone say amen and amen you may be seated in the presence of the lord put your war clothes on i must say thank you my brothers god bless you and your music and your ministry and song what a blessing you have been to the people of god today put your war clothes on let's begin this way all of us can attest to the fact that if you have known jesus for 10 years 10 months 10 weeks 10 days 10 hours or 10 minutes you know that the devil has picked you out to pick on you as a matter of fact it is interesting that sometimes it seems as if the devil does not have anyone else to mess with but you do i have a witness in this place but let me remind someone today that if the devil weren't bothering you perhaps you and the devil are running in the same direction because i've learned when you turn your back on the devil you realize that you now become a threat to the devil's kingdom you see somebody knows the devil is mad with you because you love god the devil is mad with you because you trust god the devil is bad with you because you believe in god the devil is mad with you because you obey god and the bible says that the devil is as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour which means forest hill you don't have to go searching for the devil you don't have to go looking for the devil because if you're determined to do god's will if you're determined to be a worshiper for god if you're determined to be a witness for the lord then believe me you don't have to go looking for the devil because the devil will come looking for you i've learned in my ministry 27 years now hard to believe that's why those who have known me for years i cut my hair short now so you don't see the great come on say amen but i've learned in my ministry i've learned that any time that god is trying to take you to another level in him the enemy goes crazy i have learned in my life that the higher the level the higher the devil are you hearing what i'm saying but today i must declare i refuse to let the devil scare me i refuse to let the devil run me i refuse to be petrified terrified and horrified of the devil i refuse to let the devil back me up in a corner i believe the day the devil needs to back up are you hearing what i'm saying let me remind someone today the devil is not afraid of you i said the devil is not afraid of you the devil is afraid of the holy ghost that's living inside of you let me let me put this in so yeah no christian has ever been demon possessed check your bible on that no christian has ever been demon possessed why you can't be possessed by the devil and possessed by the holy ghost at the same time now you may be influenced are you hearing what i'm saying but you are not possessed by the devil if you are possessed by god's holy spirit and you are a christian and i read somewhere in my bible that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world so if there's a greater than there must be a less than are you hearing what i'm saying let me remind you today that 20 years ago 20 years ago today 911 a small group of men hijacked some planes attacked america killed thousands their actions changed the entire course of history they changed the way we travel they changed the way we live they changed the way we view security their actions change the world but let me remind you today that their actions were not necessarily rooted in physical matters as much as spiritual matters they felt they had a spiritual responsibility to attack america which reminds me that the spiritual life is not a playground but a battlefield and there are too few of the lord's people who are armed equipped and dangerous and so i believe on 9 11 it's time for the people of god to stand up against the enemies of god it's time for the people of god to call sin by its right name it's time for the people of god to stand up and be counted if the devil is going to do his thing then the people of god must do their thing put your war clothes on i said put your war clothes on we're at war and the war that we are part of is spiritual warfare in fact we've been in spiritual warfare all of our lives what am i talking about genesis 3 15 the first promise of the bible the bible says and i god speaking will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seat and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel in other words there's an ongoing great controversy there's an ongoing battle between rights and between wrong and this in battle is going to intensify unto the coming of the lord now if you don't believe me let me say this i shared this last week when i was at city temple the war in the middle east will not stop the war in syria will not stop the war in afghanistan will not stop iran will always be at war iraq will always be at war the bible told us this was going to happen why abraham the father of many nations because of his lapse of faith laid with his handmaid hagar who bore him a son ishmael and there has been 4 000 years of bloodshed and fighting between the son of promise isaac and the son of disobedience ismail and they all fight in the name of the lord it will not end but you know what i keep reading genesis 3 15 and i start to shout when i read the latter part of genesis 3 15 because the bible says satan would bruise the heel of jesus which means jesus would have to go to calvary he would have to go to calvary to die but the text also says that one day jesus is going to crush the head of satan hallelujah somebody so we don't have to wait till the battle is over we can go on and shout now because in the end we're going to win are you hearing what i'm saying now if we're going to be successful in this battle if we want to be successful in this fight you we've got to be prepared for the fight and part of being prepared is not only having the right weapons but the right uniform you have to have the right uniform on to complement the weapons because if you don't have on the right uniform you won't maximize the weapons on your uniform are you hearing what i'm saying now understand every country has a military here in the united states we call it the navy the army the air force and the marines and every day these soldiers wake up and they put on a uniform a uniform that identifies them a uniform that distinguishes them a uniform that protects them in order to properly fight you have to have on the right uniform the right clothes but remember today we're talking about a spiritual battle and spiritual battles require spiritual uniforms spiritual battles require spiritual weapons spiritual battles require spiritual strength are you hearing what i'm saying paul says put on the whole armor of god that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil which means without god's armor we won't be able to stand bible continues before we wrestle not against flesh and what everybody come on flesh and what everybody but against principalities against powers against the rules of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places and the first thing we need to understand we talk about put your war clothes on first thing we need to understand is who the enemy is what is paul trying to tell us church paul is trying to tell us your enemy is not your brother your enemy is not your sister your enemy is the devil and what you have to understand is that the devil will use people and if we are not spiritually mature enough we'll get in a fight with a person when we're really at war with the devil do i have a witness to this place let me make this practical because somebody's still not getting it all right have you ever had one of those weeks where it seemed like everyone you spoke with or everyone you came in contact with there was some level of conflict anybody know what i'm talking about tell the truth saying the devil anytime they said something to you or anytime you said something to them there was an argument to deal with this every now and then what god will do to me when i'm dealing with that kind of conflict what the lord will do to me is put me on a word fast everybody say word fast what does the word fans dr byrd i'm so glad you asked a word fast is god will tell me don't talk to anyone now some folk would think you're being stuck up some folk will think you're being aloof but you're not being aloof you're just under assignment not to say anything to anybody because if they say the wrong thing to you you just might go off on them are you hearing what i'm saying can we keep it real everybody so every now and then god will say don't say a thing god will say don't call them back god will say pray about it first and then think about it second and then after you realize that you prayed about it and after you've thought about it you recognize it's not even worth it for you to go down to their level to respond what they're saying are you hearing what i'm saying everybody that's why i believe caller id is god ordained you don't hear what i'm saying somebody i got a witness back there i said caller id is god ordained god in his uh god in his express will he afforded some computer techie to invent caller id hallelujah somebody because sometimes i have to say you know what i'm not answering that because there's nothing good coming out of that are you hearing what i'm saying what took five seconds to get in your spirit could take five weeks to get out for rewrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness and what kind of place is everybody high places this thing is spiritual we are engaged in spiritual warfare so now i know and you know and we know who we're fighting but what kind of uniform do we need to fight because a soldier is no better than his or her equipment in the text paul identifies seven uniform pieces because seven signifies completion and in the first five paul talks about uniform pieces that are designed to defend paul describes the armor of a roman soldier and he uses the image of their armor to teach us how we need to dress up on the battlefield because what he's saying is that if we're going to win the war we've got to be dressed right he starts out with uniform peace number one in verse number 14. he says stand therefore having your loins gird about with the what everybody with the truth come on talk to me stand with your loins get about with the what everybody with the truth now you know or maybe you don't know but women know girdles are tight i hear a witness in the place the ladies in the church know that girdles are tight girdles tighten things up don't look too hard at the women today come on say amen girdles tighten things up paul says you need the girdle of what everybody truth why did he say that back in the day the girdle like today encircled the waist and served to stabilize the body the girdle was designed to protect the midsection and provide the soldier with a pl with a place to hold his garments in place so that the movement in battle in the heat would be unaltered if you watch running backs and football wide receivers you all know i'm a cowboys fan come on say man if you watch running backs and wide receivers when they put on their uniforms they're tight why are they tight because they don't want to give their opponent anything to grab i want god's truth to be so tight on me y'all don't hear what i'm saying that my opponent can't grab me and mess me up with vain ludicrous foolish false doctrine are you hearing my saying have your longs gird about with the truth means knowing the truth of the bible sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free the truth will tr to stop us and prevent us from being tripped up in the battles of life the truth will protect us the truth will keep us the truth will save us jesus said i am the way the truth and the life so when you put on truth you're putting on jesus do i have a witness to this place number one the girdle of what everybody truth the girl of what everybody truth number two what does the text say paul continues in verse 14 with uniform piece number two paul says the breastplate of righteousness now let me remind you that the breastplate refers to the body armor that was worn to protect the tender areas of the body specifically the breastplate covered and protected the heart the devil is going after your heart in the bible the heart speaks to the hidden part of you that no one else sees but you and god the bible says man looking at the outward appearance but god looketh at the hearts the bible says love the lord thy god with all thy heart the bible says blessed are the pure in heart the bible says god will give you the desires of your heart the bible says trust in the lord with all your what heart when the devil attacks i'm here to tell somebody today that the devil is coming after your heart he's trying to get that hidden person the hidden part of you the part that nobody sees because he knows if he can disrupt your heart he can disrupt you but god i'm so grateful i serve a god i said i'm so grateful i serve a god who wants to protect our hearts he wants to protect my heart and the breastplate protects our hearts but notice paul doesn't just say idiot breastplate but paul says the breastplate of righteousness you see before we found jesus we weren't right with god now you can sit up in here act like you all that then summon a bag of chips but you haven't always been who you are today come on say amen i get i get i laugh at church folk come to church act like they all holy everybody up in here is an ex something i wish i had a witness in this place before we found jesus we were not right with god but praise god for jesus praise god for calvary paul says in ii corinthians 5 21 for god hath made jesus to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of god in him children of the most high god we have to be well grounded in the things of god are you hearing what i'm saying i said we've got to know the word of god but not only that we need his righteousness the righteous of god covers the child of god so girdle of truth breastplate of righteousness then number three number three breastplate of right says what else we have number three the shoes of the gospel look at verse 15 and your sheep shoot feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace now why did paul say that quickly roman soldiers wore sandals that had nails driven through the bottom of their shoe to provide the soldier with sure footing on the battleground the soldier didn't have to worry about his or her feet slipping in battle for he was always well grounded as believers of god we've got to be well grounded in the word of god that's why we come to church that's why we come to revival somebody thinks revival's for everybody else but us it's for non-church members no revival and evangelism is for us too because we got to know what we believe we got to know why we believe it and we got to know where it's found and when we preach the word of god when we engage in evangelism on a consistent basis repetition deepens the impression are you hearing what i'm saying that's why we come to church because you can't fight the devil slipping and there are too many folk out there slipping come on say amen number four the shield of faith verse 16. look at it the word of god says above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked all right so what is this shield we're talking about here this was not a little round shield okay like you see with superman or wonder woman a shield this was not that type of shield but this was a large rectangular shield which behind a soldier could be safe from all the fiery darts of the enemy the child of god must know that before he or she goes into battle they must have in their possession the shield of faith our shield is not leather our shield is not brass our shield is not iron but our shield my friends is faith this shield will never fail because faith honors god and god honors faith let me tell you i'm a witness to this when you have faith in god god will protect you when you have faith in god god will not let the enemy embarrass you when you have faith in gods faith will allow you to stand in the battle and receive victory regardless of the foe we my face faith cometh by hearing hearing by the word of god now faith is the hope is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen without faith it is impossible to please god and the bible says that god is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him which means forest hill and everyone else who's watching things make it rough but you got to keep on trusting in god things may get tough but you've got to keep on trusting in god you're going to feel like giving up sometimes but you've got to keep on trusting in god sickness might be running through your body but you got to keep on trusting in god your bills may be due and your money may be low but you got to keep on trusting in god you might not have a dime to your name but you got to keep trusting in god your marriage might be in trouble but you've got to keep trusting in god your children may have run from the world lord and have gone wild but you've got to keep trusting in the lord you may be lonely and want companionship but you've got to be keep trusting in the lord because the word of god says i once was young but now i'm old but i've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread you've got to trust in god and have faith in god are you hearing what i'm saying number five uniform piece look at verse 17 and take the helmet of salvation why did paul say this well the helmet was given to the roman soldier to protect the soldier's head so regardless of how well the rest of the body of the soldier was protected a blow to the head of the soldier rendered the soldier ineffective which means you can have everything else on but if you don't have anything to protect your head you're in trouble that's why i tell you and they tell you i love football you'll see they tell you in football whatever you do if you get into a fight if you get into a skirmish on the field whatever you do don't take your helmet off protect your head are you hearing what i'm saying one blow by the enemy across your head you'll fall with your girdle on you'll fall with your breasts played on you'll fall with your shield in your hand and you'll fall to the ground with shoes on your feet knocked out dressed well looking good but knocked out because there was nothing to protect your head salvation provides the helmet that is necessary to protect you from the attacks of the enemy and my bible tells me that there's only one name under heaven whereby we can be saved you see buddha can't do it muhammad can't do it shima can't do it confucius can't do it bird can't do it watkins can't do it turner can't do it there's only one name under heaven whereby we can be saved and that's the name of jesus there's salvation in the name of jesus there's healing in the name of jesus there's protection in the name of jesus you see satan fickles at the name of jesus demons cower at the name of jesus there's something about the name of jesus helmet of salvation let me tell you something let me throw this in when we stand firm for the truths of god satan is going to attack us from every angle possible if it's not your dog it's gonna be your cat if it's not your spouse it's your child if it's not family members it's church members satan will attack you are you hearing what i'm saying but the helmet of salvation thank you jesus protects us the mind must be protected that's why the old folks we got some here today we used to sing that song i'm walking and talking with my mind stayed on jesus the girdle of truth the breastplate of righteousness the shoes of the gospel the shield of faith the helmet of salvation they were all weapons they were all part of the uniform that was designed to defend but god has some more weapons god has some more uniform pieces god has some more accoutrements that were not designed to defend but they were designed to defeat what am i talking about you see when the enemy comes in if you just stand still and let the lord fight your battle god will flip the scripts and god will move you from defense to offense i wish i had a witness to this place you see you ought not go looking for a fight don't start no stuff won't be no stuff you ought not go looking for a fight but if the enemy comes and fights you better fight back and hit hard if the enemy comes and strikes you somebody you ought to strike him back how do i strike him back verse 17 i'm moving from defense to offense the sword of the spirit which is the word of god how do i fight back how do i strike back by studying the word of god thy word have i hid in my heart that i might not sin against thee thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path to the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them i strike back i go on offense by studying the word of god and applying the word of god to my life let me tell somebody in the name of jesus there's something about the word of god it will not return void it will accomplish what god set it out to do if you just preach it if you just sing it if you just teach it if you just speak it if you just use it as a weapon against the enemy the devil can't stand the word of god in sabbath school tanya we used to sing the b-i-b-l-e yes that's the book for me i stand alone on the word of god to be iblee but i got some more offense i got some more offense what you got doc remember i said there are seven uniform pieces well what's uniform piece number seven i'm so glad you asked number seven after the word i strike with prayer look at verse 18 praying always not sometimes but always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching there and too with all perseverance and supplication for all saints all right this time i'm getting ready to shout somebody said you've been shouting since you got up here you ain't heard nothing yet god's word says that anything you ask in my name if you owe hallelujah somebody anything you ask in my name if you just believe it shall be done and this is the confidence we have in approaching god that whatever we ask we know we have asked and it shall be given seek and ye shall find knock and the door shall be opened unto you mahelia jackson used to sing a song i found the answer i've learned how to pray hallelujah jesus on the main line tell him what she wants call him up and tell him what you want yes i have defense yes i have the girdle of truth yes i have the breastplate of righteousness yes i have the shoes of the gospel yes i have the shield of faith yes i have the helmet of salvation they are all weapons they are all uniform pieces that are designed to defend but i've got some uniform pieces that are designed to defeat i've got some uniform pieces that are offense i got the sword i said i got the sword i said i got the sword which is the word of god i've also got prayer i'm about to take my seat but let me tell you something about prayer prayer time is high time i said prayer time is high time i can fall on my knees and pray i serve a prayer answering god can i tell you something let me keep it real the enemy can't stand prayer but you got to pray without ceasing you have to pray to the spirit in the spirit let me tell you something we have direct communication with the commander-in-chief which means i don't have to go through any generals i don't have to go through any sergeants i don't have to go through any lieutenants i don't have to go through any captains but i can go directly to my commander-in-chief i don't have to go to another man in a window and confess my sins to another man in a window but i can boldly go to the throne of grace the bible says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness i am a witness for his heal i am a witness pastor watkins i am a witness that god will answer prayer prayer brings you into the presence of god prayer changes people prayer changes things are you hearing what i'm saying prayer unleashes the power of god in your life the devil can't stop you from praying and the devil can't stop god from answering prayer because whatever you want god's got it whatever you need he will supply i'm a soldier in the army of the lord i've got my war closed arms in the army of the lord if i die let me die in the army of the lord because i'm a soldier and i just want to know are there any more soldiers out there yes we've got 9 11 but are there any soldiers out there yes we've got terrorists but are there any soldiers out there yes we've got enemies of god out there but are there any soldiers out there god wants soldiers not scaredy cats god wants warriors and not whips god has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of love power sound mind and understanding nowhere not formed against you is going to prosper if god before us who can be against us the kingdom suffereth violence but the violence sub take it by force the lord is my light my salvation whom shall i fear fret not thyself because of evildoers neither be thou envious of the workers of iniquity god's gonna come down like the grass so lift up your hands ogee gates lift up your hands oh ye gates lift up your hands o ye gates and p e lift it up ye everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in somebody said who is the king of glory the lord strong and mighty who is the king of glory the lord strong in battle put your war clothes on put your wardrobes on are you ready this is what we've been preaching for this is what we've been teaching for this is why we haven't come to church that's why we have sabbath school that's why we've been having prayer meeting this is why we have revival that's why even when the devil thought he was going to stop us from having church in kobe 19 we kept having church this is why because we in warfare put your war clothes on jesus went to calvary save a wretch like you and me i'm glad you know that praise god [Music] we're in warfare let me say this you all oh yes i like preaching at this church you haven't said something we're in warfare but the fight is fixed the battle has already been won the battle is not yours the battle is the lord's we don't fight for calvary calgary's already been won we fight from calvary we don't fight for victory we fight from victory because jesus went to calvary to save a rich like you and me they hugged him i they stretched him wide he hung his head for me he died and that's not how the story is in three days he rose again that's love i said that's love the war is won we've got some battles along the way but the war is one jesus already won jesus died but he got up and because he got up one day the dead and christ are going to get up and then we're going to be caught up to meet the lord and so shall we ever be with him jesus went [Music] to save a rich [Music] jesus went to [Music] hallelujah stand with me everybody stand let's get [Music] like you [Music] oh oh [Music] and that's not three days again [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] like you and me [Music] let me say this let me close this way talk about putting on the war clothes and putting on the right uniforms let me close this way quickly a roman conquistador was different than a roman centurion soldier all right so in paul's day we got a roman conquistador and a roman centurion soldier and there was a difference a roman conquistador wore a breastplate that covered and protected the entire body the front the back the entire body was protected but a roman centurion servant wore a breastplate that only protected the chest on the roman centurion servant the back wasn't protected which means once you started in battle you had to move forward a roman centurion servant you got it couldn't go backward a roman centurion servant couldn't turn around a roman centurion servant couldn't retreat there was no option of turning back because the back was not protected and as i close today i just want to remind somebody that god has called you to be not a roman conquistador but he's called you to be a roman centurion servant where you go forward and you don't go back i'm going forward i'm pressing toward the mark of the high calling of god in jesus christ i won't go back i can't come back i can't turn back because i've come too far to turn back now it's about eyes closed father god in the name of jesus through the intercession of the holy ghost there's a man there's a woman there's a boy or girl who today wants to be a roman centurion soldier not a conquistador but a roman centurion soldier because they want to go forward in the right uniform and not turn back so father in the name of jesus through the intercession of the holy spirit for those in the building in this space and for those who are watching in the virtual space i believe and i know there are some roman soldiers modern day roman soldiers who want to go forward and not turn back and so god i need a double portion of your spirit right now forgive us of our sins forgive me right now and lord move in this space move in the virtual space because there are individuals who need to say right now i'm going forward and i'm not going turning back because jesus already won the war at calvary and so i paused this prayer there's a man there's a woman there's a boy there's a girl you're going through something today you come to church you put on an outside show for an unfriendly world you put on your suit you put on your dress you put on your slacks and you smile happy sabbath but inside you are hurting you going through it god told me to tell you today put on his armor but not only put on his armor lord told me to tell you today don't turn back that you come too far to turn back i don't care what people say about you i don't care what people think about you i don't care what the devil is throwing at you you can't turn back you've come too far and so today you're saying pastor byrd i just need some strength from god's spirit i just see some power from god today to help me to keep going forward i don't know who you are i don't know what you are but you need baptism today you need re-baptism today maybe today you just need to rededicate your life maybe today you're saying pastor byrd i i need to just tell the lord i need to begin a new chapter in my life i'm not going back i refuse to go back i'm not a conquistador i'm not going back i've got to go forward but i need god's strength to help me go forward if that's you today baptism rebaptism rededication of your life special prayer and you want to move forward i invite you in this space to move to the front right now because i want to pray for you today baptism rebaptism rededication of your life a new chapter you want to begin in your life you need special prayer i don't know who you are but you're saying pastor i got to go forward i can't go back today if that's you i want you to come god bless you god bless you god bless you god bless you you're saying i can't go back god bless you sis from well god bless started from god nobody told me nobody told me the road [Music] [Music] [Music] god never told you it was gonna be easy [Music] i'm not close but close but there's somebody else who needs to come today there's somebody else who needs to come today and in the stillness of this moment september the 11th your testimony needs to be not that i escaped the world trade center towers not that i escaped the government building but your prayer and your testimony needs to be today i escape the wiles of the devil and i refuse to go back i'm moving forward now a lot of times when we say that people think oh that's the big sin that's the adultery that's the promiscuity that's the drugs that's we think that's the big sin but but somebody today you have a lack of faith somebody today your tongue is not what it should or needs to be and you said i'm not going back to that place but i need you to walk i need a new talk there's somebody today before i close i feel impressed i understand now what it means i keep saying this but i understand now what it means to pray for grown children i understand now i understand now what it means when you have grown children and you've done all you could do but all you could do at this point is lift them up in prayer i understand i want to pray for somebody's child today i want to pray for somebody's child today i want to pray for someone who's in this sanctuary you may be up here you may be online you may be still in the audience i want to pray for you today because you're praying for your son you're praying for your daughter you're praying for your grandson your prayer for your granddaughter they've wandered from god and you they're out there and you're saying lord i'm claiming your promise train of a child the way he or she should go and when they're old they will not depart from it and so you're saying today lord my child can't stand but i'm standing for my child believing you're gonna bring them today if that's you i invite you to come i invite you to come i invite you to come oh god you see your people lord we just want to be saved on this 9 11 20 years from the infamous tragedy at the twin towers there in new york and pentagon and the maryland area virginia area and then in shanksville pennsylvania but god this day 20 years later save us from the wilds of the devil teach us how to talk teach us how to walk teach us how to live teach us how to trust you lord when we feel like giving up i pray that god you just give us an extra unction of your holy ghost to help us to hold on god when the world is talking about us when things just don't seem to be going well we prayed we've cried god step in and we believe you're gonna do it but we're roman centurion soldiers we're not going back but we're moving forward in you so lord i pray right now for the individuals who've come to the front i pray for the individuals who are online who have responded in the chat for their desire to put their war clothes on and fight in the name of jesus so god we're gonna fight for our children we're gonna fight for our grandchildren in the name of jesus we're fighting for our marriages and our families in the name of jesus we're to fight for employment in the name of jesus we're going to fight thoughts of doubt and depression in the name of jesus we're going to fight for this church we're going to fight for this message in the name of jesus lord we're going to fight for you so we put our war clothes on we put our uniform pieces on pieces designed to defeat and defend pieces of defense and pieces of offense so be with these individuals lord i can't touch them all but you know who they are you know where they are you know why they've come some for baptism some for rebaptism some for special prayer some for rededication some of them interceding for somebody else oh meet their need right now i pray and we be careful to give you the praise the honor of the glory we love you lord and we thank you in jesus name amen let's sing that praise team i don't feel before you return to your seats make sure the elder records your prayer requests your needs [Music] [Music] nobody told me the road [Music] one more time everybody [Music] [Music] from nobody told me nobody told me the world would be easy [Music] [Music] me hallelujah hallelujah i said somebody if you love the lord jesus put those hands together and praise them all over the building hallelujah your war clothes on [Music] put your war clothes on put them on the girdle of truth breastplate of righteousness shoes of the gospel shield of faith helmet of salvation your sword which is the word of god and praying always in the spirit today is going to be the beginning of a new day for somebody do you believe that that today is going to be the beginning of a new chapter for somebody because you're not a roman conquistador you are a roman soldier are you hearing what i'm saying don't go back keep looking forward keep your eyes on jesus because blessed is he that will come he shall come and he's not going to terry pastor god bless you god bless the ministry of the forest hill church and i'll be back because danielle has to come with me come on say amen god bless you keep us in your prayer prayers as we seek to move god's work forward forward jesus is coming and we've got to move god's word forward we love you but god loves you even more have a great sabbath [Music] boy didn't we hear a word this morning oh i prayed that the lord would anoint him boy god answered that prayer i tell you what let me show you a little bit of inside ball here we talked to elder bird this this morning he said he got off a plane about one o'clock in the morning and i don't know how he where that all the energy came from but i read somewhere that we shall receive power after that the holy spirit is upon you so friends we god has truly blessed us this morning we are certainly thankful for what god is doing and what he's going to continue to do through his ministry as our president and through the ministry continued ministry here at forest hill now friends right before we close i want to give you a little commercial here friends we are going to be going out in the community you want to put your work clothes on but friends you can't go to war if you ain't show up to battle amen whereas the battle is right there in the community so those of you who will be joining us going out and knocking on doors we want to invite you we got our streets and assignments and all of that so after church please come down front and meet with elder turner he's got all of our streets all of our assignments and the places that we're going to be going to also friends we want you to remember that we're going to be meeting on tonight at 7 00 p.m sharp for our evangelism series is there any hope we want to find out the message tonight the greatest story ever told tomorrow night we're going to speak on the subject sign language for the hearing impaired you don't want to miss a night bring your friends bring your neighbors bring little jimmy everybody needs to come and hear about what god is doing we look forward to god giving the word and changing our community isaiah all right friends all right now we're going to go ahead and close and with a word of prayer why don't you stand with me if you do our as we pray for the benediction this morning now unto him who is able to keep you from falling to present you faultless before his throne in glory to the only wise god be both majesty dominion and power both now and forever keep us we pray as we depart here may we never depart from your presence in jesus name we pray amen you may be seated friends thank you for joining us those of you joining us online as we dismiss we want you to know and always remember never forget that a city center hill cannot be here thank you for worshiping with us at forest hill [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

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Published: Sat Sep 11 2021