Honoring and giving glory to God and Jesus Christ, and remembering their servant Billy Graham by preaching an adaptation of one of his powerful messages.
TEXT: Matthew 24:1-8:
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
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Jesus gave His disciples several signs that would indicate that the time of His Second Coming was near. As we look at our world today, it appears that these signs are playing out all around us. These signs include revival of religion, wars and rumors of wars, an increase in violence and hatred, and people living as they did in the days of Noah.
Another sign Jesus gave is recorded in Matthew 24:14 where Jesus says, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” The Gospel today is being preached for the first time in history to all the nations. Every nation in the world today can hear the Gospel. Nearly every tribe in the world is in the process of being reached. Wycliffe Translators are now in the process of translating the Bible in scores of languages and dialects all over the world. And they say that it is now possible that, within the next ten or fifteen years, every language in the world will have a Bible.
I received a letter recently from a man in Moscow. He wrote, “I heard ‘The Hour of Decision’ last night.” That’s just one radio program. Thousands and thousands are listening to the Gospel all over the world by radio and television for the first time in history. Christian literature is being distributed around the world. And the prediction of Christ that looked hopeless at that time, that looked hopeless a hundred years ago, is now reaching its fulfillment.
But, coupled with this, is another sign that Jesus also indicated would take place. Scripture calls it the great “falling away.” Second Thessalonians 2:3 also describes it as the great apostasy. We are seeing that today as well. The falling away is a desertion of Christ — people who once claimed to know Christ are departing from Him. To the church at Ephesus, Jesus wrote, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
There are people who used to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of the living God. They used to believe in God’s holy words, but intellectually they have fallen away. They no longer believe. There are others who fall away morally. They still believe intellectually, but they fall away in their lifestyle. It is very much like when Paul wrote, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” He stopped loving Jesus and had fallen away. You can fall away by Phariseeism. You can become cold and hard and callous, still believing the creed and the dogmas, but not producing the fruit of the Spirit. You have lost your first love, that freshness and joy which you had when you first came to Christ. That is where many people are today.
I believe these signs all point to the fact that Jesus will soon come. And the only way that you can escape the wrath of God that will fall on the world at that time is through Jesus Christ, by placing your faith and trust in Him and Him alone. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are not ready for His Second Coming. Allow me to show you how you can receive Christ as Savior today.
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 just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving 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.”
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 