Influential pastor Tony Evans warned that “our anxiety, worry, and fear is outpacing the problem of the virus.”

“Worry and fear have a way of transferring very quickly from to other people,” Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, said in a sermon on Sunday.

“I think that’s what’s happening with this virus. The virus is not the only thing that transfers quickly. Our anxiety, worry, and fear is outpacing the problem of the virus because it’s consumed the mind, the heart, the energy and the emotions of our selves, our families, the whole nation and even the world.”

Evans offered two words to those mired in fear and anxiety: Don’t worry.

“That comes from Jesus,” he said, citing Matthew 6:25-34, where Jesus says “don’t worry” three times.

“Stop it,” the bestselling speaker and author stressed. “You say, ‘How practical is that given all that we’re facing the unknowns, the crisis the expansion, the speed, the sickness? Is that a practical expectation of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, yes it is, because He commands us not to do it.”

Christians have a “legitimate right for legitimate concern,” Evans said, but added, “what we don’t have the right to do is worry.”

“What worry is concern gone haywire,” the Urban Alternative founder said. “God does not expect us not to deal with reality. If you’re sick, you’re sick. If you’re struggling, you’re struggling. But that’s different than worry. Concern you own; worry owns you.”

Evans argued that what began as concern is now causing us to “tremble” due to the onslaught of negative headlines and ever-changing statistics.

“It can draw you from legitimate concern from which you should act responsibly to illegitimate worry,” he said.

“Many people believe in God and still worry because they have little faith,” Evans said, citing Matthew 8:26, where Jesus rebukes those of “little faith.”

“The size of your faith is tied to the size of your God,” he explained. “When you shrink God, you automatically shrink faith. So if you and I have little faith, it’s because we’re operating with a small understanding and view of God.”

The way to get more faith and overcome worry is through “expanding your understanding, view of, and submission to God.”

“The best way I can help you to work through this crisis … is to grow God in your understanding, in your experience, and in your focus,” he stressed, “because when we grow Him, your faith will grow with it and your worry will shrink and become responsible concern.”

Far too many Christians believe in a God they “don’t understand as a father,” Evans noted, adding that it’s important to view “God as a father when it comes to not worrying.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett

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On Friday, March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the CARES Act, which provides financial assistance to both 501(c)(3) organizations and small businesses employing under 500 employees. Within the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, $350 billion is targeted for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding 2 ½ months of an organization’s average monthly payroll costs (including benefits) as a loan. This loan can be forgiven if the size of the organization’s workforce remains the same in 2020 as it was in 2019.[1]

Since Friday, March 20, I have been watching this bill’s development in the Senate and praying that churches, Christian nonprofits, and Christian schools would be included. On a Friday, March 27 webinar with ARC Churches that I was invited to attend, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina clearly communicated that the CARES Act included churches and Christian nonprofits. Senator Scott helped write this bill as a part of the Small Business Task Force.

Many of you have watched Vanderbloemen’s Facebook Live and Webinars this week as we tried to prepare Christian organizations for this infusion of cash from the government that could be forgiven. We have spent many hours answering your questions.

With that being said, there is a need for you to move quickly this week as you prepare your applications.

$350 billion is an enormous amount of money, and it will help many 501(c)(3)s and small businesses, but how far will $350 billion go?

Let’s do some easy math.

In the United States, there are over 5.8 million small businesses[2] with 500 employees or less. There are approximately 300,000 churches[3] and 1.5 million nonprofits[4] in America.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Sutton Turner

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

This is the “chief of sinners,” Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International, with the Gospel Light Minute X Podcast #430 titled, “Except a Man Be Born Again, part 6.” I’m here to remind you of what the Bible says, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” like you and me.

God slew innocent animals, and at the price of the blood of those animals He made coats for Adam and Eve. Thus we have the first blood covering, and since that day when God covered Adam and Eve at the price of the shed blood of the innocent animals, there has been no covering apart from the blood of the innocent sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Rivers of blood flowed from Genesis to Malachi. Tens of thousands of animals, doves, and pigeons were slain and their blood was offered on the altar. But in Hebrews 10 :1-6 Paul declares:

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers there unto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered ? Because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.”

Beloved, every innocent animal slain in the Old Testament era pointed to the blood of the Lamb of God, foreordained before the foundation of the world. His blood, shed on Calvary, made good the offerings of those in the Old Testament who, in faith, offered blood on the altar. Had not Jesus died on the cross, the blood shed throughout the Old Testament era would have been shed in vain, and those who offered it would have died without hope and their spirits would be tormented in the pits of the damned!

The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses from ALL sin. The Old Testament Christian looked forward to Calvary, the New Testament Christian looks back to Calvary, where Jesus, on the cross, settled the sin-debt for ALL, forever. He offered His blood once, to be offered no more. Therefore there remains no sacrifice for sin. We must either put our faith in the shed blood of Jesus, or suffer the eternal torment of a devil’s hell. Apart from the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no covering, no remission, no forgiveness for sin.

“. . . A body thou hast prepared me.” What the law could not do because of the weakness of the flesh, God accomplished when He gave His only begotten Son in a body like unto sinful flesh, and in that body He condemned sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:1-4).

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2 :9) .

This verse gives a very clear statement concerning Jesus–how and why He came into the world. Notice that He was made “a little lower” than the angels. He did not take a body like unto the angels, but like unto sinful man, in order that He might suffer, and die. He DID suffer death, and He is now crowned with glory and honor.

Jesus came into the world “that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man.” Had it not been for God’s grace, He would never have allowed Jesus to suffer the terrible death of the cross. Christ did not come into the world to make men moral, or to make men good, nor to clean up lives and cities. He came into this world, took a body like unto the body of sinful flesh, that He might suffer and die, that He might taste the bitter dregs of death, for every man.

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” ( I Pet. 3:18). Beloved, do you see the sinless Son of God as He suffers He who knew no sin, but was made to be sin for us? Can you imagine the agony of His Suffering ? Is it possible for the finite mind to even think of His suffering? Consider that the sinner’s place is in hell; and since Jesus took the sinner’s place He suffered all the agony, all the woe, all the torment and sorrow of an everlasting hell the Just suffering for the unjust, that he might bring us to God !

If you are not born again, bow your head, receive the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will save you this very moment.

First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.

But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, “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.”

The phrase “For God so loved the world” means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.

The next phrase, “that He gave His only begotten Son” refers to Jesus Christ. He is God’s son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.

Our next phrase is “that whosoever believeth in Him”. The word “whosoever” means anybody at anytime. The phrase “believeth in Him” means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.

Our next phrase, “should not perish”, refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.

And, lastly, the phrase “but have everlasting life” means to live eternally in Heaven with God.

The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour!

Thank you for listening to this Gospel presentation. If you have decided to trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour after listening to this podcast, please email us at [email protected]ightsociety.com and let us know. To find out more about what you need to do after trusting Christ as Savior, visit GospelLightSociety.com and read “What to Do After You Enter Through the Door”.

The message this podcast is based on is by evangelist Oliver B. Greene published by the Gospel Hour in Greenville, South Carolina.

He did not suffer that He might make us moral, or that He might make us good, or that He might make us religious. He suffered that He might bring us to God and it took all the pain and agony He endured to keep you and me out of hell ! By like token, those who refuse to receive Him, those who refuse to trust in His finished work, will suffer in hell all that HE suffered to keep them OUT of hell !

I want us to hear the testimony of the Holy Spirit as the Word of God gives it to us in the Gospels. First, let us hear Matthew:

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And He took with Him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: Tarry ye here, and watch with me” (Matt. 26:36-68).

The Garden of Gethsemane was a place where Jesus often went to pray. Matthew tells us that on this occasion the Saviour cried out, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death !” In other words, He said, “My soul is about to die!” Jesus was literally pouring out His soul for sin. Beloved, get this: JESUS TOOK THE SINNER’S PLACE and the sinner’s place is in an eternal hell. That is what God declares in His word: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die . . .” (Ezek. 18:20). “The wages of sin is death . . .” (Rom. 6:23). “. . . Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1 :15 ) . Sin and death are synonymous.

Is it possible for us to imagine the agony of that hour when Jesus cried out, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” ? And yet, that hour was imperative, as we will see a bit later in our study. It was absolutely necessary that Jesus suffer the agony He described in that prayer!

Now let us hear Mark’s testimony as the Holy Spirit speaks through Him: “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and He saith to His disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And He taketh with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch” (Mark 14 :32-34).

What do we find in Mark’s account that Matthew did not tell us? Mark declares that Jesus “began to be sore AMAZED.” Scholars tell us that the Greek world used here is the same as that used in Mark 16:5 where the Spirit describes the women as being affrighted (or terrified).

According to God’s Word, Jesus was present when God the Father threw Satan out of heaven and cast down the disobedient angels with him. He witnessed the flood in Noah’s day, when every living creature (save Noah and his family) was destroyed. He witnessed the ground opening and swallowing up “all the men that appertained unto Korah . . . they went down alive into the pit” (Num. 16 :32, 33). He sat in heaven’s glory and saw the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Beloved, I ask you, in the name of all that is high and holy, if Jesus saw all of these sights of torture and torment without amazement or fright, then what did He see in the Garden of Gethsemane that sorely amazed and terrified Him? Surely there are not enough words in all the languages of all the world to describe the agony through which He passed in that hour!

Personally, I believe He saw the devil and all hell marshalled against Him to stop Him. Satan knew that the shed blood of Christ on the cross meant sure defeat for him; and if you will make a careful study of the Old Testament you will discover that from Genesis to Malachi a river of blood flowed as the devil attempted to stop the seed of the woman whom God Almighty informed him would bruise his head. I believe that Jesus saw all the emissaries of hell, the powers of spiritual wickedness, marshalled in all their strength against Him. He saw the cup that contained all the bitter dregs of sin and He saw these things in the flesh as He had never seen them before. The scene was so much more horrible, so much more terrifying, when He saw it through the eyes of the flesh, that the sight amazed and terrified Him. Beloved, the sinless Son of God suffered all this and more that you and I might be saved!

Now let us hear the testimony of Luke concerning the suffering of our Lord: ‘And He came out, and went, as He was wont, to the mount of Olives; and His disciples also followed Him. And when He was at the place, He said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow, and said unto them, Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation” (Luke 22:39-46).

What does Luke point out that Matthew and Mark did not tell us? He tells us that in this terrible agony, Jesus prayed so earnestly that His sweat he came “as it were great drops of blood!” I am sure that all who read these lines know that Luke was a physician and who would detect bloody perspiration more quickly than a doctor; Luke points out that as Jesus knelt and prayed, His suffering was so terrible that the arteries in His body, the veins in His face yea, the smallest vessels in His hands, were so energized in agony that they began to shed forth His atoning blood!

But beloved, Jesus did not come into this world to spill His blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was imperative that His blood be shed on the cross. Satan’s struggle against the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was so great that he attempted to shed His precious blood before He reached Calvary as He lay prostrate on the ground in the agony of prayer! But God sent an angel from heaven to lift up and strengthen the Saviour.

We have considered the testimony of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Now let us listen to John the Beloved as he records the words of Jesus:

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to Him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This He said, signifying what death He should die” (John 12 :27-33) .

Nowhere does John refer to the Lord’s perspiration being stained with blood, nor to the fact that Jesus was sorely amazed, nor that He was exceeding heavy and sorrowful. But he gives us the words of Jesus as He faces the hour when He will taste death for every man.

Jesus cried out, “What shall I say? Shall I say, Father, save me from this hour?” Then He answers, “No, I dare not say, Father, save me from this hour, because I came into the world for this very hour, this hour when I shall taste death for every man, this hour when I shall battle and conquer all hell for all who will accept my finished work!”

Now beloved, is it to be supposed that Jesus left the glories of heaven, stepped from the bosom of the Father to the manger in a stable, gave up the riches of glory for the poverty of His earthly ministry, just for the sake of setting an example? Did He suffer all of the agony of Gethsemane, plus the humiliation of His trial, the scourging, the plucking out of his beard by the roots, the piercing of His brow with the crown of thorns, the buffeting and the mocking of the crowds, just to make men moral? In the words of Isaiah, was He wounded, bruised, chastened, smitten, and crucified on a Roman cross just to make sober men out of drunkards, ladies out of harlots, and honest men out of thieves? Did He suffer the shame of the cross that we might become respectable citizens and clean-living people?

The Word of God gives the answer. Christ did NOT endure all of the agony, sorrow, heartbreak and humiliation that was heaped upon Him simply that we might become moral beings and make this world a better place to live in. Until the very moment when He said, “It is finished !” and passed His spirit back to God, all that He did, all that He said, all that He suffered was in order that you and I might be born again and have within our bosom the Spirit of the living God!

Through the miracle of the new birth we poor, finite creatures have the divine nature of the eternal God and that miracle is made possible ONLY as we believe in the shed blood, the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, according to the Scriptures.

We do not hear much about the suffering of Jesus in this age of anemic, “sissy” religion. Too many sermons today are bloodless, void of the message of suffering. Today we hear a gospel that detours around the cross, a gospel that is without suffering, without blood, and without repentance.

It is not surprising that some preachers preach only once a week–and only a twenty-minute sermonette, at that! When a minister detours around the virgin birth, the blood atonement, the sufferings of Christ at Calvary, repentance for sin, and the verbal inspiration of the Bible, and confines his sermon to “the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man,” it is understandable that it takes him six days of the week to prepare his sermonette for Sunday morning! It would take me many long hours, I am sure, to prepare a sermon from a social Gospel–but beloved, by the grace of God and as much as in me is, I will preach the Gospel of the cross the “bloody” Gospel, if you please until the Lord Jesus calls me home!

My Bible tells me that without the shedding of blood is no remission for sin. It tells me that we are redeemed –not with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of the Lamb of God. It tells me that the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses from all sin. And as it was in the land of Egypt the night the death angel passed through, so it is today. God is still saying, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you !”

I am convinced that this side of heaven we will never know the power of the Word of God. Please turn to the eighteenth chapter of John’s Gospel, and read the first eleven verses. You will note that a band of men and soldiers, led by Judas, came to the garden to arrest the Lord. They came with lanterns, and torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing all things, asked them, “Whom seek ye?” They replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus then said unto them, “I AM HE”- and they “went backward, and fell to the ground!” What I want to point out here is the power of the Word. Jesus very calmly spoke three words “I am He” and the power of those words flattened His enemies to the ground.

But I can assure you that if you will receive the Word, it is the power of God unto salvation. If you reject the Word, you will be judged by the Word in the last day. Jesus said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the WORD that I have spoken, ~he same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12 :48) . If you will receive the Word, it is the power of God unto the salvation of your soul; but if you hear and reject the Word, woe be unto you when the power of that Word falls upon you in judgment!

I am aware that the minister who dares preach the blood today is branded “a slaughterhouse preacher,” but I must preach the whole truth of the Gospel, and I know that the blood is what will determine a soul’s eternal destiny. If you are covered by the blood, you will hear God say, “Enter thou into the joys of thy Lord.” If you are NOT covered by the blood, you will hear Him say, “Take him away bind him and cast him into everlasting darkness, where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth !”

Before going further in the message, let me ask you- Are YOU saved? Do you KNOW that you are born again? Do you know that you are covered with the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Can you sing, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine”? When a minister asks you, “Are you saved?” do you reply, “I am a church member . . . I have been baptized . . . I live the very best I know how”?

If that is the way you answer the all-important salvation question, then I beg you to get on your knees NOW and call on God. Ask Him to save you for Christ’s sake. Put your faith in the shed blood of His cross. If you are hoping in church membership, good works, good living, or morality, you HAVE no hope you are lost! The Bible clearly declares, “Ye MUST be born again . . . Except ye repent, ye shall perish.”

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Welcome to the Prayer Motivator Devotional Broadcast #773. This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International. The simple purpose of this podcast is to encourage you, exhort you, and motivate you to Just Pray. This podcast is not necessarily for people who already know the secret and power of prayer and who actually practice genuine prayer on a regular basis, rather it is for those who may find it difficult to pray or for people who claim they do not have time to pray. I am convinced that most Christian people do not need to learn how to pray; they need to Just Pray! If I can get you to just pray, all sorts of wonderful things will begin to happen for you, your family, and whatever God has called you to do. We do not pray based upon our subjective feelings, we pray based upon objective facts in the Word of God.

Our prayer motivator passage from the Word of God today is Matthew 6:13 which reads: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

Allow me to share with you some more important points regarding this passage from Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

Lastly, To all this we are taught to affix our Amen, so be it. God’s Amen is a grant; his fiat is, it shall be so; our Amen is only a summary desire; our fiat is, let it be so: it is in the token of our desire and assurance to be heard, that we say Amen. Amen refers to every petition going before, and thus, in compassion to our infirmities, we are taught to knit up the whole in one word, and so to gather up, in the general, what we have lost and let slip in the particulars. It is good to conclude religious duties with some warmth and vigour, that we may go from them with a sweet savour upon our spirits. It was of old the practice of good people to say, Amen, audibly at the end of every prayer, and it is a commendable practice, provided it be done with understanding, as the apostle directs (1 Co. 14:16 ), and uprightly, with life and liveliness, and inward expressions, answerable to that outward expression of desire and confidence.

Our featured prayer motivator quote is from R.C. Sproul. He said, “The kingdom of God is not of the people, by the people, or for the people. It is a kingdom ruled by a King, and God does not rule by the consent of His subjects but by His sovereign authority. His reign extends over me whether I vote for Him or not.”

My personal encouragement for you today is this: The best and only pattern to follow when you pray is the one that our Lord gave to us which is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer,” which is found in Matthew 6: 9-13. Now you do not have to pray this same prayer, but you can use it as a guide in your own prayer life. According to Jesus’ pattern of prayer, you should: (1) Praise God first; (2) Put His will before yours; (3) Ask for your daily provisions; (4) Ask for forgiveness of sin; (5) Ask God to keep you from evil; and (6) Give God the glory. Lay everything on your heart and mind before God and enjoy His peace.

Our prayer motivator devotional today is titled “THE MINISTRY AND PRAYER” part 4 from the book, “The Weapon of Prayer” by E.M. Bounds.

E.M. Bounds goes on to say:

Our Lord is the pattern for all preachers, and, with Him, prayer was the law of life. By it He lived. It was the inspiration of His toil, the source of His strength, the spring of His joy. With our Lord prayer was no sentimental episode, nor an afterthought, nor a pleasing, diverting prelude, nor an interlude, nor a parade or form. For Jesus, prayer was exacting, all-absorbing, paramount. It was the call of a sweet duty to Him, the satisfying of a restless yearning, the preparation for heavy responsibilities, and the meeting of a vigorous need. This being so, the disciple must be as his Lord, the servant as his Master. As was the Lord Himself, so also must be those whom He has called to be His disciples. Our Lord Jesus Christ chose His twelve Apostles only after He had spent a night in praying; and we may rest assured that He sets the same high value on those He calls to His ministry, in this our own day and time.

No feeble or secondary place was given to prayer in the ministry of Jesus. It comes first—emphatic, conspicuous, controlling. Of prayerful habits, of a prayerful spirit, given to long solitary communion with God, Jesus was above all else, a man of prayer. The crux of His earthly history, in New Testament terminology, is condensed to a single statement, to be found in Hebrews 5:7:

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.”

As was their Lord and Master, whose they are and whom they serve, so let His ministers be. Let Him be their pattern, their example, their leader and teacher. Much reference is made in some quarters about “following Christ,” but it is confined to the following of Him in modes and ordinances, as if salvation were wrapped up in the specific way of doing a thing. “The path of prayer Thyself hath trod,” is the path along which we are to follow Him, and in no other. Jesus was given as a leader to the people of God, and no leader ever exemplified more the worth and necessity of prayer. Equal in glory with the Father, anointed and sent on His special mission by the Holy Spirit, His incarnate birth, His high commission, His royal anointing—all these were His but they did not relieve Him from the exacting claims of prayer. Rather did they tend to impose these claims upon Him with greater authority. He did not ask to be excused from the burden of prayer; He gladly accepted it, acknowledged its claims and voluntarily subjected Himself to its demands.

His leadership was preeminent, and His praying was preeminent. Had it not been, His leadership had been neither preeminent nor divine. If, in true leadership, prayer had been dispensable, then certainly Jesus could have dispensed with it. But He did not, nor can any of His followers who desire effectiveness in Christian activity do other than follow their Lord.

Now, friend, it is time for us to pray…

Remember, the announcer will provide the information for you to send in your prayer request at the end of this broadcast.

Please join me in prayer……..

We pray collectively and individually for the following:
> 3 million people to come to know you as Saviour
> the revival of the church
> the healing of families
> the healing of this nation
> blessings and guidance for all pastors, church leaders, and missionaries
> Salvation, leadership, and wisdom for the president and for all governmental officials who run this country and all other countries.

Now, Lord, we pray for three people who have sent in prayer requests:

Name: Steven
Please bring his wife back safely from Europe, guide them in their marriage and protect them from the Coronavirus

Name: Ravi
Please remove the Coronavirus from the world and provide him with soaps, tissues, sanitizer, masks and food to give to the poor children

Name: Bobbie
Please bless Beth with a kidney transplant, heal Kyle from cancer everywhere in his body; for them both to receive the treatment they need in the present state of this country

—-

Holy Father God, we pray for the following people who have accepted you into their hearts. We pray, Lord, that you would confirm them in the faith and have them grow in the faith to become the Holy Spirit-filled Christians that you want them to be. We pray specifically for —-

Rick
Alongbar
Christie

Now, Lord we pray for the following people who have been saved for a while but who have recommitted their lives to You. We rejoice with them in this decision and pray that they will keep their commitments to you and be strengthened in the faith. We pray specifically for —-

Otieno
Jullie
Donatus

***

Now, if you are listening today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “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.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Until next time,

Remember, friend, Pray, Think, Do! God Bless You!

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Nearly one in five United States adults who consider themselves religious are still attending worship services amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, according to a newly released poll.

The poll was conducted March 23-25 by three political scientists: Paul Djupe of Denison University, Ryan Burge of Eastern Illinois University, and Andrew Lewis of the University of Cincinnati. It focused on a national sample of 1,038 people who said they attend services “more often than never,” with the margin of error being 3 percent.

The researchers found that while 88 percent of respondents said that their house of worship canceled services or was closed, 17 percent were still attending in-person services of some kind, as reported by Buzzfeed News.

“Djupe speculated that … some of the 17% who said they were still attending in-person services, may have been referring to smaller worship groups outside of their churches or temples, though this was not a question that had been asked in the survey,” Buzzfeed reported.

The poll also found that 22 percent of respondents said that they were “encouraged” to attend in-person worship services “because of the virus.”

Additional findings were published in a report titled “Would They Rather be Dead Right? Support for Congregations Staying Open.”

Djupe and his colleagues asked respondents if they agreed with the statement “The freedom to worship is too important to close in-person religious services due to the coronavirus.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski

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This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening podcast. This is Episode #73.

Charles Spurgeon was a prominent English Particular Baptist preacher. He was very influential among the Christians of various denominations during his age and even today, and is commonly called the “Prince of Preachers”. After some time of alternately searching for God and running from God, he had a powerful encounter which led him to give his life to Christ. Spurgeon was only 16 when he preached his first sermon and he began publishing books shortly afterward. At the time of his death, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions. Spurgeon said, “encouraging thoughts are like honey to the heart”, and wrote this devotional in hopes that its uplifting messages for each day of the year would bring comfort and refreshment to our walk with God. He was inspired by Isaiah 50:4 which reads, “He wakeneth morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” and Psalm 63:5-6 which says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.”

Ephesians 6:18 reads: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

What multitudes of prayers we have put up from the first moment when we learned to pray. Our first prayer was a prayer for ourselves; we asked that God would have mercy upon us, and blot out our sin. He heard us. But when he had blotted out our sins like a cloud, then we had more prayers for ourselves. We have had to pray for sanctifying grace, for constraining and restraining grace; we have been led to crave for a fresh assurance of faith, for the comfortable application of the promise, for deliverance in the hour of temptation, for help in the time of duty, and for succour in the day of trial. We have been compelled to go to God for our souls, as constant beggars asking for everything. Bear witness, children of God, you have never been able to get anything for your souls elsewhere. All the bread your soul has eaten has come down from heaven, and all the water of which it has drank has flowed from the living rock—Christ Jesus the Lord. Your soul has never grown rich in itself; it has always been a pensioner upon the daily bounty of God; and hence your prayers have ascended to heaven for a range of spiritual mercies all but infinite. Your wants were innumerable, and therefore the supplies have been infinitely great, and your prayers have been as varied as the mercies have been countless. Then have you not cause to say, “I love the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplication”? For as your prayers have been many, so also have been God’s answers to them. He has heard you in the day of trouble, has strengthened you, and helped you, even when you dishonoured him by trembling and doubting at the mercy-seat. Remember this, and let it fill your heart with gratitude to God, who has thus graciously heard your poor weak prayers. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

PRAY.

Thank you for listening to the Morning and Evening podcast. If you do not know the Lord as your Savior, here is how you can be saved from Hell and walk with the Lord morning and evening until you go to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die:

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “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.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

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This is Daniel Whyte III president of Gospel Light Society International with The Scripture & the Sense Podcast #459, where I read the Word of God and give the sense of it based on an authoritative commentary source such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary or Matthew Henry Commentary. This podcast is based upon Nehemiah 8:8 where it says Ezra and the Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The aim of this podcast is that through the simple reading of the Word of God and the giving of the sense of it, the church would be revived and the world would be awakened.

Today we are reading Amos 5:19.

19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

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That was Amos 5:19. Now here is the sense of it.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads:

Their experience on that day would be like that of a man running from a lion who then meets a bear. Somehow eluding this second threat, he managed to flee to his house where he rested his hand on the wall in exhaustion and relief. But there, in the supposed safety of his home, a poisonous snake bit him. Similarly Israel would find no haven from God’s judgment.

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Thank you for listening to the Scripture & The Sense Podcast. Remember to read the Word of God each and every day and pray without ceasing to God for wisdom to understand it and apply it to your life. Most importantly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Please stay tuned for a complete presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can get your soul saved from Hell to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.

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