Gospel Light Minute X with Daniel Whyte III

The Coming Darkness (Part 2)

TEXT -- Daniel 9:9-19 I want us to focus on how Daniel prayed for the children of Israel in light of Israel being an Old Testament depiction of the church as God's chosen people. Much of what we see in the history of the children of Israel can be seen in the history of the church. In this, the New Testament era, while the Jews are still God's chosen people, God has chosen the church to be His representatives on earth. And, frankly, just like the children of Israel, we have failed in our fulfillment of that duty. So today, I want us to see how we can use Daniel's prayer as a guide in praying for the church today. In 1520, Martin Luther wrote an essay which he called "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church." What he meant by that title was that forces that were foreign to Christ and to his Word had captured the mind and heart of the church. The church of Martin Luther's day was in bondage to godless forces, just like the children of Israel were in bondage to the godless Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. Many Christians today have allowed themselves to be under the bondage of worldly and godless forces and the church is not as effective as it should be because of it. Just like Jerusalem lay desolate for seventy years, much of the church of today has become a desolation of disobedience, disunity, and dishonor to the name of Christ. How do we pray for a desolate church? Let's see what we can learn from Daniel's prayer for the children of Israel: 1. The first thing we should do is get back to the Word. 2. The second thing we should do is confess our sins. 3. The third thing we should do is appeal to God's zeal for his own glory.

100 Days of Preaching the Gospel #81 | with Daniel Whyte III SCRIPTURE: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 During our time together on yesterday, we talked about the wonderful event called the Rapture in which the Lord Jesus Christ calls all of those who believe in Him to a glorious reunion in the air. After that meeting in the air, every believer will go to be with the Lord in Heaven for eternity. All of the promises of eternal life, peace, joy, and happiness will come to fruition for every believer. However, on earth, it will be quite a different story. Once the believers are gone from the earth, the darkest days in the history of mankind will begin, and that is what I want to talk about today. You may think that with the unemployment rate, the economic crisis, the rise of poverty even in places like America, numerous and frequent natural disasters, and constant wars and violence, we are already living in dark days. But I want to let you know that this is just the twilight -- that will be the darkness. Our passage today tells us about three different aspects of the dark days that are ahead for this world. Let us briefly look at them. 1. First of all, notice with me the blasphemous dictator. 2. Secondly, notice the unrestrained spirit of evil. 3. Thirdly, notice with me the mastery of Satan. + Plus, listen to Andrae Crouch singing "Soon and Very Soon" and Deitrick Haddon singing "Sinner's Prayer"

How to Pray for a Nation (Part 6)

The Coming Darkness (Part 1)

100 Days of Preaching the Gospel #80 | with Daniel Whyte III SCRIPTURE: Acts 1:1-11 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Lord willing, over the next ten days, I am going to be shifting gears a little bit, and we will be talking about the events surrounding the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. In Acts 1, the Bible records for us Jesus' last meeting with His disciples before His ascension into Heaven. The disciples were standing there on the Mount of Olives with their heads tilted back straining at the cloud that had received Jesus on His way up. The Bible says, "And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." This news that Jesus Christ would return one day brought joy to the disciples' hearts. Their Master and Saviour would not be gone forever. One day, He would return. Our passage for today tells us about the return of Jesus Christ. On that glorious day, the Bible tells us that "the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first." On this day, the King will call His own out of the world to be with Him in Heaven forever. We will rise up from this old sin-cursed earth to be with the Master of the Universe. Notice with me three things about this rising up that will take place when Jesus returns for His followers. 1. This rising up involves a very special Person. 2. This rising up involves a very special people. 3. This rising up involves a very special power. + Plus, listen to Al Green singing "He's Coming Back" and Deitrick Haddon singing "Sinner's Prayer"

He Will Be Back

100 Days of Preaching the Gospel #79 | with Daniel Whyte III SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 12:1-3: "And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." In our text for today, I want you to notice that there is one word that is used three times. That word is salvation. It is one of the most important words in the entire Bible. In fact, it is used 164 times in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the word comes from a Hebrew word which means "deliverance and victory." In the New Testament, it comes from a Greek word that means "deliverance, preservation or safety." Salvation is what we receive when we place our trust in Jesus Christ as the lamb of God who was sacrificed for our sins. However, salvation is not just a gift that you receive and then do nothing with. Rather, salvation is a gift that does something with you. If you study the instances of salvation recorded in the Bible, you will find that salvation is responsible for moving people from the place they are to another place. Salvation always takes you somewhere! Notice this: - Salvation brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt. - Salvation brought Jonah out of the belly of the whale. - Salvation brought David out of the pit of despair. - Salvation brought Paul out of his lost condition. - And salvation brings every sinner out of the darkness of bondage to sin and Satan Some of you might remember the popular book by Dr. Seuss titled, "Oh, the Places You'll Go." It is often given as a gift to those who have just graduated from college, and celebrates the opportunities that are now open to that person since they have graduated. Today, I want to share with you three places that salvation will take you, because it will take you some wonderful places indeed. 1. Salvation will take you into holy living. 2. Salvation will take you to the House of God. 3. Salvation will take you to Heaven. + Plus, listen to The Canton Spirituals singing "Glad I've Got Jesus" and Deitrick Haddon singing "Sinner's Prayer"

Salvation Will Take You Places Beyond Your Wildest Imaginations

100 Days of Preaching the Gospel #78 | with Daniel Whyte III SCRIPTURE: John 8:1-11: "Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." The story of the woman caught in adultery is a very familiar story to most of us. Normally, however, when we look at this story we focus on the woman's self-righteous accusers and their hypocrisy. Today, I will not be focusing on this story from that persepctive. Rather, I want us to focus on the woman and the beautiful message of salvation that this story holds for each of us. 1. First of all, I want you to notice that the woman was caught in her sin. 2. Secondly, notice that this woman was condemned by the law. 3. Thirdly, this woman is cleared by the Saviour. + Plus, listen to Linwood Dillard singing "The Old Account Was Settled" and Deitrick Haddon singing "Sinner's Prayer"

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #81 Scripture: Hosea 10:1-12 As you know, we are in a long series titled "Break Up Your Fallow Ground: It Is Time to Seek the Lord" which is based on Hosea chapter 10. In this passage of Scripture, Hosea urges the children of Israel to turn away from their sins, repent, and get right with God. As we begin today, let's take a close look at verse 5 of Hosea chapter 10. The verse reads, "The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it." This verse speaks of the unrepentance of the children of Israel even while they were under chastisement. The people of Samaria (another name for the northern part of Israel) were worried or afraid for the golden "calves" that they had set up in Bethaven as idols to be worshipped. Even as they were being carried off into captivity themselves, they still did not turn to the God of their fathers. They were not worried about pleasing the one true God. Rather, they were more concerned about the safety of the golden idols that they had carved. The Bible says that the Israelites "feared" for them and "mourned" over them. They were not willing to let go of the evil that they had been doing. When God is calling us to repent, my friend, we must be willing to let some things go. Unlike the children of Israel in this verse, we must stop holding on to that which is sinful no matter how uncomfortable it may be. We must let it go and turn back to God. Now, in this series of messages, we are addressing specific sins that folks in the church need to confess and repent of in order to get our hearts right with God, and so that we can ask God to send revival in our personal lives, our families, our churches, our communities, and our country. So far we have addressed fifty-three sins in total, and today, we are going to continue this series by addressing three more sins from our list. 1. The first sin we will address today is the sin of not controlling our tongues. 2. The second sin we will address today is the sin of coveting. 3. The third sin we will address today is the sin of listening to ungodly counsel. + Plus, listen to Hezekiah Walker singing "I'll Fly Away" and Albertina Walker singing "Give Your Life to Jesus"

He is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. The most notable characters he has portrayed are boxer Rocky Balboa and soldier John Rambo. The franchises that stemmed from these characters solidified him as a mainstay in Hollywood. His film "Rocky" was inducted into the National Film Registry and its film props were placed in the Smithsonian Museum. He was voted into boxing's Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010. As a child, he used to attend church regularly, but as he got older and his acting career progressed, he stopped going to church. After several years of Hollywood fame and fortune, he says "I got back to my Christian roots. After my daughter was born ill in 1996, I turned myself over to the process of believing in Jesus. That conversion experience released me from the pressures of the world." He went on to say, "In the past, my ego and worldly temptations took over in my life and I went spiraling out of control. Rather than living like Rocky with some sense of ideal, I didn’t. I thought I was entitled to things but you’re not entitled to anything. You are what you leave behind. The more I go to church and the more I turn myself over to the process of believing in Jesus and listening to His Word and having Him guide my hand, I feel as though the pressure is off me now.” He said that the latest and final chapter in the ‘Rocky’ series, "reflects my conviction that life is about following Christ, not battling it out alone...You need to have the expertise and the guidance of someone else. You cannot train yourself. I feel the same way about Christianity and about what the church is: The church is the gym of the soul." His name is Sylvester Stallone.

The baseball playoff season is well underway. This exciting series of games leading up to the World Series pits the best teams of Major League Baseball against each other. The playoffs begin with the eight best teams in the league competing against each other for division titles. After each series of five games, one team is eliminated. Soon, there are only two teams left to compete against each other in the World Series, and only one can win. Costly mistakes and team disunity can cost a team a spot in the playoffs and a chance to compete for the World Series. In a way, the baseball playoffs reflect a lot about life. We are in competition with ourselves, and sometimes against others, to do what is right in life. We aim to live good and upstanding lives, but just like a baseball team, mistakes can cost us a lot. In fact, in God's economy, mistakes, which God calls sins, can cost us the chance of our entrance into Heaven. Because of our tendency to sin, we are often eliminated from receiving the greatest prize in all the world -- eternal life and a home in Heaven with God. However, because God loves us, He does not want us to miss out on such a valuable prize. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins -- taking the punishment that we deserve. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” + Plus, listen to Tobymac singing "Lose My Soul"

Caught, Condemned, and Cleared All in the Same Day

Break Up Your Fallow Ground: It is Time to Seek the Lord (Part 19)