Gospel Light Minute X with Daniel Whyte III

This past week, Hugo Chavez, who served as president of Venezuela for fourteen years, died. In June 2011, it was revealed that he had gone to Cuba for surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Even though he declared himself fully recovered in July 2012, just four months later, he was back in Cuba for more surgery. His condition worsened as the cancer began to affect his lungs, and after two months of treatment in Cuba, he returned to a military hospital in Venezuela where he remained hospitalized and was "fighting for his life." He developed a "severe respiratory infection", and on March 5, 2013, the government announced that he had died from a massive heart attack. His last words were: "I don't want to die. Please don't let me die." Hugo Chavez's dying words reflect the desire that all of us have to live forever. Death is a painful, unnatural experience. Painful for the people who are left behind to grieve, and unnatural because in God's original plan, death was never meant to be. However, even though we all have to die physically, the Bible tells us that we can live forever through the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Jesus Christ said in John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." The Bible also says in John 3:36: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." These verses tell us that the way to have eternal life is through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour. The life that Jesus Christ provides is permanent -- it lasts forever. Because we live in this sinful world, and because the "wages of sin is death," we will still have to die physically. But instead of fearing what lies on the other side of the door of death, we can be confident and die in peace knowing that Jesus Christ is on the other side of that door and is waiting with open arms to receive us into Heaven. The great evangelist D.L. Moody said that when he died, he would actually be more alive than ever before. And, as he lay on his deathbed, he exclaimed, "Earth recedes and Heaven opens before me!" If you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, death will only be a transition from Earth to Heaven. Even though you will pass from this earth physically, you will be entering upon a new, eternal, existence in Heaven. Wouldn't you like to have this wonderful assurance about death? Wouldn't you like to know that you are going to a better place when you die? You can know this today if you accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and here is how you can do that right now: + Plus, listen to Bethel Live singing "Forever and a Day"

Bible Prophecy Series #1 TEXT: Mark 13:32-37 Before Jesus Christ went to the cross to accomplish the work which he was sent to do on this earth, he informed his disciples of "the things which will be hereafter". In other words, He told them what would happen in the end times after he had established his church on earth and gone back to Heaven. He told them of certain signs which would shake the earth and make us aware of his impending return. These events include: 1. Wars and rumors of wars 2. Increased persecution 3. Famines, diseases, and epidemic 4. Earthquakes and natural disasters 5. "False Christs and false prophets" arising 6. Strange signs in the heavens 7. An increase in violence and immorality We have seen all of these signs in some form or another just over the past few years. This tells us that the return of Christ is imminent. No, we cannot pinpoint the time of his return. And it is foolish for us to try to do so. But we must be ever aware of the fact that that time is soon at hand. This message today is the first in a series of messages that I will be giving on the end times. Lord willing, over the next several months, we will work our way through a timeline of the events that will occur, starting with the rapture, and ending with the return of Christ to the earth to establish his kingdom, and then the passing away of this heaven and earth and the creation of the new heavens and the new earth. The first thing that will happen in the climatic series of events marking the last days is the rapture of the church. We will be addressing this event in more detail next week. However, while we are waiting eagerly for the rapture, Jesus Christ does not want us to sit on our hands. In fact, he gave us specific instructions about what He wants us to do. He wants us to be about our "Father's business." In Mark 13:32-37, Jesus Christ tells his disciples what he expects them to be doing while they are waiting for his return. Today, I want to talk with you briefly about this passage, because we ought to be doing the same things as well.

How to Handle Persecution #23 | with Daniel Whyte III TEXT: Genesis 45:1-8 During our last time together, we saw how God raised up Joseph from the prison to a position of power in Egypt. After Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream through the spirit of God, Pharaoh appointed Joseph to take charge over the entire land during the seven years of plenty so that the seven years of famine would not be so devastating. Joseph wisely stored up extra crops during the seven years of plenty so that when the famine hit, he could distribute it to the people of Egypt. At that time, Egypt was the only major power in that part of the world. So when the famine affected that entire region, all of the people in that region looked to Egypt for assistance. The Bible tells us that the famine also affected Joseph's family back in Canaan. Jacob, his eleven other sons, and their families soon ran out of food, so Jacob sent his sons down to Egypt to buy food from Pharaoh. The Bible relates to us how Joseph tested his brothers to see if they were truly sorry for the wrong that they had done to him those many years ago. We are not going to get in to that part of the story today, however, suffice it to say that they indeed passed the tests. Joseph saw that they truly had changed and were sorry for what they had done. It was at this point that Joseph decided to reveal himself to them, and that is where we pick up on the story today.

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #102 TEXT: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 The Italian historian and philospher Niccolò Machiavelli said, "Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration." We live in a society where much emphasis is placed on a person's outward appearance. We make judgments of people based on how they look on the outside, instead of taking the time to learn more about their character and personality -- how they really are on the inside. How many people have gotten into relationships with somebody who looked like they had it all together on the outside, but after a few weeks or months with that person, they found out that that person was not all they appeared to be. Appearances can be deceiving. Today, I want us to look at a man who looked like he had it altogether. He looked like he was a born leader. He was somebody the people of his nation were willing to follow. However, he failed them because, even though he looked good on the outside, there was something wrong in his heart. He did not have the kind of respect for and relationship with God that he needed to have. First, we'll take a look at Saul -- the failed king. Then, we'll look at the type of king God wanted for his people. And, finally, we will look at the selection of David as the king of Israel. + Plus, listen to Shirley Caesar singing "Yes, Lord, Yes" and the West Angeles COGIC Choir singing "Lord, Prepare Me To Be A Sanctuary"

Watch!

Lessons from Living in a Strange Land (Part 5)

Don't Let Looks Deceive You: David (A Picture of Christ)

For Former "Three 6 Mafia" Rapper, Delmar "Mr. Del" Lawrence, a Stop in Church Unexpectedly Changed his Life Forever (Gospel Light Minute #89)

GLMX #136: The Last Words of Hugo Chavez: "I Don't Want to Die. Please Don't Let Me Die"

Praying Through the Bible #28 | with Daniel Whyte III TEXT: 1 Chronicles 21:13-17 We are in a series of messages titled "Praying Through the Bible: A Series on Every Passage and Verse Regarding Prayer in the Bible". The purpose of this series is to encourage and motivate you to pray to the God of the Bible. We highlighted each of these over 500 verses and passages in the new Prayer Motivator Devotional Bible. So far, we have done 27 messages in this series. This is message #28 titled "David's Other Sin." We oftentimes talk about David's sins of adultery and murder. But, we rarely hear about David's sin of pride as recorded in our passage today. This sin came at a time late in David's reign, when the nation was at rest from all of its enemies, when the country was prosperous and at peace. Oftentimes, when things have been going well for people for some time, they have a tendency to make a mistake which causes them to mess things up. These mistakes happen because they grow lax in their devotion to God, they are not as vigilant in resisting the devil, and they allow a little temptation to slip past the door of their hearts. Just this past week, I had to remind my family that when things are going well, they have to be extra soberminded, and extra prayerful, because those are the times when the devil is waiting in the corner ready to pounce on somebody who has let their guard down. In our passage today, we find that David let his guard down at a time when things were doing well. And because he did not resist the devil, he messed up in a big way. 1. How did David let his guard down? In the midst of the prosperity and success of the kingdom, the Bible says that "Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." This is the first time the word "Satan" is used as a proper name in the Bible. The name "Satan" means adversary or one who withstands. Satan was the enemy of Israel and he was trying to get King David to do something that he knew God would be displeased with. He was trying to get David to number the fighting men of Israel. The Hebrew word for "provoke" means to "incite" of to "lure". Satan started to mess with David's mind, telling him how great he was, feeding his pride and his ego, until David decided he wanted to know how many men he had at his command. 2. Notice the punishment that resulted from David's sin. The Bible says that after Joab brought the results of the census back to David, "God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel." The Hebrew word for smite has several meanings ranging from killing someone to a plague that affects crops. But verse 14 of our passage tells us that God sent a pestilence against Israel that caused seventy thousand men of Israel to die. The very thing which had become the source of David's pride was now the source of David's pain and punishment. 3. Notice how David repented. The Bible says that when David saw the destruction of the people of Israel, he said to God, "Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued." David admitted his sin and admitted that he deserved his punishment. He asked God to have mercy on the children of Israel. Thankfully, David was a man who kept short accounts with God. He did not let sin pile up in his life. Whenever he was confronted with his own wrongdoing, either by God or by others, he immediately confessed and repented in prayer to God.

David's Other Great Sin and Prayer

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #101 TEXT: Ruth 4:1-10 Have you ever been expecting somebody to do something and then found out that they were unable or unwilling to do it? Sometimes it is not a big deal, but at other times it is a cause for great disappointment. The fact is that, in life, people let us down and often fail to do their responsibilities. If we are honest with ourselves, we would admit that each of us have probably let someone down in our own lives, or failed to fulfill a responsibility that we were obligated to fulfill. In our passage today, from the book of Ruth, we read about a man who could not fulfill a duty that was expected of him in relation to Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite woman who married an Israelite man. However, after her husband died, she returned to the land of Israel along with her mother-in-law, Naomi, because there was a famine in Moab. Once they arrived in Bethlehem, Ruth went to work in the fields of a man named Boaz to provide for herself and her mother-in-law. God blessed Ruth to find favor in the sight of Boaz, and Boaz made sure that Ruth had everything she needed to take care of herself and Naomi. One day, as Ruth came home with an abundance of food, she told Naomi about the kindness that Boaz had shown to her. Naomi informed Ruth that Boaz was one of their near-kinsmen, or close male relatives, and that as such, he was required under the Mosaic law to fulfill the role of the "kinsman redeemer." A kinsman redeemer was required to do several things on behalf of his brother and his brother's family. All of these tasks were spelled out in the law which God gave to Moses for the children of Israel. Ruth and Naomi expected Boaz to fulfill his role as the kinsman redeemer which would involve buying the property of Naomi’s family and marrying Ruth. However, first today, I want us to look at another man who should have been the redeemer. 1. Let’s take a look at this ‘redeemer’ who could not redeem. One night, Ruth approached Boaz about fulfilling his role as the kinsman redeemer. Boaz was very interested in doing both of these things, however, Boaz was an upright and honest man who wanted to obey God's law above all. Boaz knew that there was another man who was even more closely related to Ruth and Naomi than he was, and he knew it was right to give that man a chance to fulfill the role of kinsman-redeemer first. 2. Now, let's look at the requirement that stood in the way of redemption. You might be wondering why Boaz did not just go ahead and marry Ruth and buy the land. Well, the law required that the nearest of kin be given the opportunity to do so first. And, as we have said before, Boaz was not the nearest of kin. Boaz was a righteous man, and so he gave the other man who was more closely related the opportunity to do his duty. Boaz fulfilled the requirements of the law. 3. Now I want us to look more closely at Ruth’s redeemer -- the righteous rescuer. You already know his name is Boaz. When the unnamed redeemer failed to fulfill his responsibility, he had to agree to let Boaz do it. The Bible says that “the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.” The taking off of one’s shoe was an ancient custom in Israel. The man who relinquished his right to redeem his brother’s inheritance gave his shoe to the one who would fulfill the requirements of the redeemer. If a man tried to go back on his promise, the other party could bring out the shoe to remind him of their agreement. + Plus, listen to Jessy Dixon singing "I Am Redeemed" and Jonathan Butler singing "Let The Redeemed Say So"

He is a well-known television producer who currently produces five network television programs: Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice, The Voice, Shark Tank, and The Job. He has worked with Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil, Martha Stewart, and Samuel L. Jackson, among many others. His work in the television industry has earned him four Emmy Awards and four People Choice Awards. Currently, he and his wife are producing "The Bible", a 10 hour History Channel drama based upon stories of the Bible. As a child, he grew up in a strict Scottish Presbyterian/Catholic home where he always saw a Bible and from a young age, he was aware that the Bible contained certain rules to which strict consequences were applied. As he grew older, he became a Christian and his love and passion for the Bible increased. He said in an interview, "People apply personal meanings to the Bible. Our job is to tell the stories in an emotionally connected way." He further says, his previous view of the Bible as just a rule book, "distorted God's love for all of us, because there's only one perfect character, which is Jesus. Everybody else is flawed to a lesser or a greater degree, especially in the time of kings in the Old Testament. Still, God didn't give up, even when people were making the worst mistakes. And I think that relief has made me feel it's a story of love and less about harsh rules." He says of "The Bible" project that he is working on: "Even though we came into this as people who love the Bible and people who love the Word and who love the Gospel, we have experienced a deepening of our own faith in the three and a half years that we have been working on [The Bible] together. I don't think you can work on the scripture day after day, after day as deeply and for as many hours as we have been, and not be impacted by it." His name is Mark Burnett.

This past week, the world witnessed the resignation of Pope Benedict the 16th. To the surprise and disappointment of many people around the world, the now Pope Emeritus decided that he was no longer strong enough to be the leader of the over 1.2 billion strong Catholic Church. He became the first Pope in over 600 years to resign while serving in the papal office. As the world watched the pomp and ceremony of the resignation of Pope Benedict the 16th, many were left wondering who the next leader of the Church would be and whether or not he would be able to handle the numerous scandals that surround it. Perhaps the Pope was not able to handle so many negative situations that have engulfed the church, and thus saw the reason to step down. As the Cardinals convene to elect a new leader who is expected to take the church in a new direction soon, we must understand that nothing in this world lasts forever. People do not stay in the same position forever. Situations do not stay the same forever. But there is One Who never steps down. He sits on the throne of Heaven and is the ruler of the billions of people that live on the earth. He will never step down or resign from His position as King of kings and Lord of lords. He never gets tired of forgiving people, helping people, and saving people. He stands at the door of every person's heart and is waiting to be allowed in. His name is Jesus Christ and He can be your leader right now and forever.

Have You Met Your Kinsman Redeemer?