TEXT: Matthew 2:19-23:
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.
21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
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After preaching the Gospel every day for 367 days straight throughout the 2016 presidential campaign season, I am preaching the Gospel every day throughout the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s term. If you think a new president being in office is the only thing needed to save America and ‘make America great again’, you are woefully deceived. The church must follow through and “keep the main thing the main thing: and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America is not only disobedient presidents, politicians, and people, but disobedient pastors, preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey the Lord’s Great Commission which is to, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,’ and who have refused to obey God’s repeated commands to ‘pray without ceasing’ for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders.” So, we encourage you to pray for the new president, but not to get caught up in the political happenings like the world does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get their hearts right with the Lord. And that is what this campaign is all about.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Acts 5:42 which says, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” And 2 Timothy 2:4 which says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of those saints who still loves to hear the “Old, old story of Jesus and His love” — As another hymn says, “For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.” This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is hell. This is message number 49, day 416 since Jan. 1, 2016.
J.I. Packer said, “The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.”
After receiving a message from an angel of the Lord letting them know that the tyrant Herod was dead, Joseph and Mary return to their home country with the Child Jesus. However, while they were on their way, possibly back to Bethlehem, Joseph heard that Herod’s son, Ar-che-la-us, had taken his father’s place. Ar-che-la-us was just as cruel as his father had been, and apparently had inherited his father’s paranoia about this new “King of the Jews.” Despite his father’s massacre, he probably was still on the lookout just to make sure that this particular Child had not somehow escaped. Because of this, Joseph was “warned of God in a dream,” and he took Mary and Jesus into Galilee instead of Judea.
In Galilee, they settled in the city of Nazareth. Mary had been living in Nazareth when the angel Gabriel first visited her and told her that she would bear God’s Son. It was a small, agriculture-based town, home to about 500 people. In God’s providence, Jesus’ residence there fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene. However, being called a Nazarene was not a positive thing in Jesus’ day. Nazareth was in Galilee and the Jews of Judea considered the Jews of Galilee to be second-class citizens. People in Galilee were not as well-to-do and they did not keep the law as strictly either. For reasons not revealed in Scripture, being a Nazarene also carried an additional stigma. In John, one of Jesus’ future disciples, when he heard about Jesus of Nazareth, remarked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
In the divine orchestration of Jesus’ childhood residence, we see a principle that God demonstrates throughout history. He takes the people and places that the world despises, that the world sees as useless, that the world sees as nothing, and He uses them in a mighty way. He could have had His Son born to a Roman princess, but He chose a common young woman from Galilee. He could have had His Son raised in the religious and political center of Jerusalem, but He chose the obscure and stigmatized town of Nazareth. Jesus could have chosen the learned men, the rich men, the important men of His day as His disciples, but He chose ordinary fishermen and a despised and hated tax collector. As we read in First Corinthians 1:26-29: “Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”
It is highly likely that you have felt despised, rejected, and insignificant at some time in your life. But that is not how God feels about you. You are very important to Him; so important that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for your sins so that you can be with Him forever. One hymn writer expressed it as follows:
Jesus, my Savior, to Bethlehem came,
Laid in a manger to sorrow and shame;
O it was wonderful, blest be His name,
Seeking for me, for me.
Jesus, my Savior, on Calvary’s tree
Paid the great debt, and my soul He set free;
O it was wonderful—how could it be?
Dying for me, for me!
Jesus, my Savior, the same as of old,
While I was wandering in darkness and cold,
Gently and long did He plead with my soul,
Calling for me, for me!
Jesus is calling for you today. He came to Earth to save you because He loves you and because you are important to Him. Here is how you can place your faith and truth in Him for your salvation.
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 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 dw3@gospellightsociety.com 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.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.
He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.
He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.
BCNN1 WP 