Michael Youssef passionately proclaims uncompromising truth from God’s Word. Learn more at LTW.org.
#Religion;Series
#Gospel
#Fear
#Word of God
#Courage
#Shame
#Witness/Witnessing
#Truth
#Self-Denial
#Michael Youssef
#2 Timothy 1:8-18
#Romans 1:16
#Mark 8:38
#2 Corinthians 12:8
Closed captions
Show Timecode
Michael Youssef | Standing For The Gospel | May 16, 2021
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- male announcer: Coming up next on "Leading the Way."
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- Dr. Michael Youssef: You need to be aware of the child
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- of fear, and that's being ashamed of the truth,
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- being embarrassed about biblical truth.
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- Don't be ashamed of the Word of God.
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- Don't repackage the gospel to make it acceptable
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- to the nonbelievers.
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- Don't ever give up on the gospel truth regardless of what names
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- they may call you.
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- announcer: Coming up next.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dr. Youssef: If the apostle Paul himself is able to stand
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- in this pulpit here today, what would he said?
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- I believe with all my heart he would say,
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- "Please do not be ashamed of biblical truth.
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- Please do not be ashamed of biblical morality.
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- Do not be ashamed of the name-calling that they call you.
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- Do not be ashamed please for believing in what is
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- good and godly."
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- If I understand anything about 2 Timothy chapter 1,
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- it is this.
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- Shame is a child of fear.
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- I'm going to repeat this.
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- Shame is a child of fear.
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- Fear and shame belong to the same family.
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- He started letting Timothy know that the spirit of fear is not
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- from God, and here he says you need to be aware of the child
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- of fear; and that's being ashamed of the truth,
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- being embarrassed about biblical truth,
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- being watering it down so that you don't get attacked.
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- While Paul appealing directly to his successor Timothy,
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- he is writing to every one of us and he is appealing
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- to the next generation and to this generation saying,
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- "Don't sell out on biblical truth.
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- Don't be embarrassed about the gospel.
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- Don't be ashamed of the Word of God.
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- Don't dilute it to the point of unrecognition.
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- Don't repackage the gospel to make it acceptable
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- to the nonbelievers.
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- Don't ever give up on the gospel truth regardless of what names
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- they may call you."
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- Please you must understand that the Bible does not waste words.
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- Had Timothy not being tempted to be ashamed of the gospel
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- and ashamed of the prisoner of the gospel the apostle Paul;
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- had he not being tempted in that regard,
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- Paul would not have told him not to be ashamed.
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- Had the apostle Paul himself not experienced the temptation
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- of being ashamed of the gospel, he would not have said
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- in Romans chapter 1, verse 16,
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- "For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
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- for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone
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- who believes."
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- You don't think Jesus understood that temptation?
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- Our Lord Jesus himself did not understand that this is a big,
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- big, big temptation?
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- Why else would have warned in Mark 8:38?
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- Remember at Mark 8:38, "If anyone is ashamed of me
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- and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
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- I will be ashamed of him before my Father in heaven
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- and his holy angels."
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- Every one of us care about the opinion of others, right?
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- Some more than others.
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- Well, I must admit that.
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- In fact, we care more than we're willing to admit it.
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- We all find it a whole lot easier to go
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- with the flow than to swim upstream.
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- We all find it easier to watch television than spend time
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- in the Word of God.
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- We all find it easier to sleep in than get up early
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- and get on your knees.
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- We all find it easier to wink at sin rather than confronting it.
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- We all find it easier to let our kids get away with things than
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- go to the trouble of disciplining them.
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- We all prefer self-affirmation rather than self-examination.
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- We all rather avoid witnessing for the fear of ridicule.
- 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:03.919
- Let's face it.
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- None of us like suffering.
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- None of us enjoy suffering.
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- Our Lord and Savior himself in Gethsemane said,
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- "Father, if there be some other way."
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- Paul said, "I prayed three times for God to remove the thorn
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- in the flesh," whatever it was.
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- And when the crunch came in Caiaphas' house,
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- Peter said to a slave girl when she said,
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- "You are one of his disciples," said, "Who?
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- Who? Me?
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- Jesus? Who's Jesus?
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- I don't know him."
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- Oh my beloved friends, God's Word tells us that sometimes
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- suffering is part and parcel of our faithfulness to God,
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- who is faithful to us.
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- And furthermore, when the crunch comes and we begin to suffer
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- for the--for righteousness, we are not going to be alone.
- 00:06:07.816 --> 00:06:13.422
- He's never going to leave us alone.
- 00:06:13.422 --> 00:06:16.491
- Remember, the worst thing they can do to me is what, kill me?
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- That is a wonderful promotion, and that is why
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- in verses 9 and 10-- look at it with me.
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- Verses 9 and 10 is--he's literally saying to Timothy,
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- "Don't be afraid of death.
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- Don't be afraid of death."
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- Why?
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- Because he said, "God saved us and called us and brought us
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- from death to life."
- 00:06:41.817 --> 00:06:43.885
- But that's not all.
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- He said, "God will give us the power to not be afraid
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- when that time comes."
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- We need to understand this; that when God created Adam and Eve
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- in the garden, he created them having dominion over fear.
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- But when disobedience set in, when God said,
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- "Don't do this," and they did it and disobedience set in,
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- what happened?
- 00:07:14.382 --> 00:07:16.551
- Disobedience brought fear, and in that irrational fear--
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- most fear--fear is irrational.
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- With that irrational fear they thought,
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- oh, they could hide from God.
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- You can't hide from God.
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- Oh, but on the cross Jesus restored that dominion
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- over fear to everyone who believe in him.
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- Therefore, fear has no place in the life of the brothers
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- and the sisters of Jesus.
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- Can I get an amen? How come?
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- You need to know that Jesus has given us authority
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- over principalities and powers and authority of the darkness.
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- If you are ashamed of the gospel,
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- it's because of fear, then you do not know or you have not
- 00:08:03.732 --> 00:08:08.336
- yet learned how to take authority over these powers,
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- authorities, and principalities.
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- We say how?
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- Because on the cross, Jesus disarmed the principalities
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- and the authorities and the powers,
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- and he alone rendered them useless against his children.
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- Because by his death, the apostle Paul said
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- he abolished death.
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- By his death, he abolished death.
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- Can you say that with me?
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- By his...
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- And in abolishing death, he abolished fear,
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- fear of death.
- 00:08:47.409 --> 00:08:50.111
- Now, I need to stop here and make something very clear.
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- The Bible speaks of death in three different ways.
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- The Bible talks about the physical death.
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- That's the separation of the body from the soul,
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- and we all experienced that.
- 00:09:07.162 --> 00:09:10.165
- But the Bible also speaks of the second death.
- 00:09:10.165 --> 00:09:14.135
- It's the spiritual death, where the soul of the non-believer
- 00:09:14.135 --> 00:09:20.208
- is separated from God.
- 00:09:20.208 --> 00:09:24.846
- Then the Bible also speaks of eternal death.
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- That's when forever there is a separation
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- of the non-believer's body and soul from God.
- 00:09:32.988 --> 00:09:38.159
- All these three deaths came as a result of sin.
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- They are sin's reward, but praise God Jesus
- 00:09:43.565 --> 00:09:50.005
- abolished eternal death for the believer.
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- He has not only abolished physical death because
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- all the believers die physically,
- 00:09:58.079 --> 00:10:00.882
- but for the believer our physical death means
- 00:10:00.882 --> 00:10:05.320
- living forever with Jesus.
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- For the believer, physical death is no longer the grim ogre
- 00:10:08.256 --> 00:10:10.992
- that scares us as it does scare the nonbelievers.
- 00:10:10.992 --> 00:10:15.830
- Jesus said in John 11, those who put the trust in him shall
- 00:10:15.830 --> 00:10:20.135
- never, never, never die, shall never be separated from him,
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- shall never experience the second death.
- 00:10:26.775 --> 00:10:31.112
- And because of this, Paul is saying to Timothy,
- 00:10:31.112 --> 00:10:35.016
- "Timothy my boy, Timothy my boy, don't be afraid of it.
- 00:10:35.016 --> 00:10:40.121
- The worst thing they can do is what, kill you?"
- 00:10:40.121 --> 00:10:44.526
- But that's not the end of the world.
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- In fact, that's the beginning of it.
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- Please hear me right.
- 00:10:48.730 --> 00:10:50.765
- Paul is saying, "The reason I have victory,
- 00:10:50.765 --> 00:10:53.034
- the reason I have victory now even though I'm in this dungeon
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- of four walls and the little hole in the ceiling,
- 00:10:55.737 --> 00:10:59.674
- the reason I have victory now when I am about to die,
- 00:10:59.674 --> 00:11:02.143
- the reason I am not afraid of what can come to me,
- 00:11:02.143 --> 00:11:06.848
- the reason I have not been ashamed of the gospel
- 00:11:06.848 --> 00:11:11.519
- of Jesus Christ no matter what they do or say is because I know
- 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:16.024
- that I have already passed from death to life.
- 00:11:16.024 --> 00:11:20.495
- Dead or alive physically, I'm already seated
- 00:11:20.495 --> 00:11:23.531
- in the heavenly."
- 00:11:23.531 --> 00:11:25.200
- Look at verse 10 again.
- 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.268
- "Christ Jesus has destroyed death and brought life
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- and immortality to light through the gospel."
- 00:11:30.572 --> 00:11:35.210
- Listen, when this body gives up on me,
- 00:11:35.210 --> 00:11:40.281
- and it will, I have a superior body
- 00:11:40.281 --> 00:11:44.185
- that is waiting for me.
- 00:11:44.185 --> 00:11:46.254
- When this body gives up on me, which it will,
- 00:11:46.254 --> 00:11:49.457
- I have a supernatural body that's waiting for me.
- 00:11:49.457 --> 00:11:53.261
- When this body gives up on me, which it will,
- 00:11:53.261 --> 00:11:56.498
- I have a spiritual body that is waiting for me in heaven.
- 00:11:56.498 --> 00:11:59.868
- To be sure, not many of us probably will end their life
- 00:11:59.868 --> 00:12:06.641
- in a dungeon like the apostle Paul,
- 00:12:06.641 --> 00:12:09.110
- not many of us are going to be beheaded for our faith;
- 00:12:09.110 --> 00:12:13.882
- but some of us may lose friends
- 00:12:13.882 --> 00:12:17.886
- over our stand for the truth, some of us may be passed
- 00:12:17.886 --> 00:12:26.694
- for promotion because of righteousness and standing
- 00:12:26.694 --> 00:12:33.902
- for biblical morality, some of us will lose business deals
- 00:12:33.902 --> 00:12:40.608
- because of our righteousness in Christ,
- 00:12:40.608 --> 00:12:45.747
- some of us may be snubbed by neighbors
- 00:12:45.747 --> 00:12:49.551
- and by others because we stand--we take a stand.
- 00:12:49.551 --> 00:12:52.320
- For righteousness sake, some of us--very few of us may lose
- 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:58.760
- their life, but the only thing that will happen when my life
- 00:12:58.760 --> 00:13:03.731
- is snuffed out is I'm going to move from the basement
- 00:13:03.731 --> 00:13:08.536
- to the penthouse.
- 00:13:08.536 --> 00:13:09.971
- Can I get an amen?
- 00:13:09.971 --> 00:13:15.176
- Have you ever asked yourself the question why?
- 00:13:15.176 --> 00:13:17.512
- Why do they hate us so much?
- 00:13:17.512 --> 00:13:19.480
- Why do they hate Christ believers?
- 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:21.482
- What is it that makes biblical faith an irritant and a cause
- 00:13:21.482 --> 00:13:28.356
- of anger to the nonbelievers?
- 00:13:28.356 --> 00:13:30.892
- What about the believers?
- 00:13:30.892 --> 00:13:33.461
- What about the infallibility of the Word of God
- 00:13:33.461 --> 00:13:36.030
- that just want them to reject us?
- 00:13:36.030 --> 00:13:38.933
- The answer actually is much simpler than you think.
- 00:13:38.933 --> 00:13:42.503
- It's very simple. Here it is.
- 00:13:42.503 --> 00:13:46.140
- God saves us by grace, not by works, right?
- 00:13:46.140 --> 00:13:51.279
- He forgives us all our sins when we repent and come to him.
- 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:56.551
- The moment we recognize the gravity of sin in our lives
- 00:13:56.551 --> 00:14:01.422
- and our need for forgiveness, God by his grace and mercy
- 00:14:01.422 --> 00:14:07.228
- forgives us, transforms us, and justifies us.
- 00:14:07.228 --> 00:14:12.166
- You say, "Well, what's the problem?
- 00:14:12.166 --> 00:14:13.534
- What's the problem with that?
- 00:14:13.534 --> 00:14:14.869
- Why should this irritate them?
- 00:14:14.869 --> 00:14:16.671
- Why should this upset them?
- 00:14:16.671 --> 00:14:18.239
- Why does this make the non-believers angry?
- 00:14:18.239 --> 00:14:20.875
- Well, because the natural mind, the natural mind,
- 00:14:20.875 --> 00:14:24.212
- the non-believing mind does not want to admit
- 00:14:24.212 --> 00:14:27.882
- the gravity of sin.
- 00:14:27.882 --> 00:14:30.385
- They want to take pride in it.
- 00:14:30.385 --> 00:14:32.620
- You see, they don't want to confess it and repent of it,
- 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:36.591
- they want to brag about it.
- 00:14:36.591 --> 00:14:38.927
- The natural non-believing mind does not want to admit their
- 00:14:38.927 --> 00:14:42.363
- inability to save themselves.
- 00:14:42.363 --> 00:14:45.199
- "What's this business somebody dies 2.000 years ago that can be
- 00:14:45.199 --> 00:14:48.703
- seeking save me?
- 00:14:48.703 --> 00:14:50.238
- No. I save myself."
- 00:14:50.238 --> 00:14:52.373
- And that is why today many are preacher--and that's
- 00:14:52.373 --> 00:14:56.277
- really where my burden is.
- 00:14:56.277 --> 00:14:57.879
- Many are preacher would rather preach
- 00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:01.749
- man's virtue than Christ's cross.
- 00:15:01.749 --> 00:15:05.586
- They reverse them.
- 00:15:05.586 --> 00:15:08.423
- Today they substitute one for the other.
- 00:15:08.423 --> 00:15:10.725
- They really do.
- 00:15:10.725 --> 00:15:13.227
- "Ah, you, if you have good thoughts,
- 00:15:13.227 --> 00:15:16.864
- good things happen to you.
- 00:15:16.864 --> 00:15:19.367
- If you say it, it'll be yours.
- 00:15:19.367 --> 00:15:22.837
- It's all you, you, you, you.
- 00:15:22.837 --> 00:15:25.974
- You have the power.
- 00:15:25.974 --> 00:15:27.308
- You can do anything you want to do."
- 00:15:27.308 --> 00:15:29.477
- Right.
- 00:15:29.477 --> 00:15:31.446
- But why do they substitute the cross of Christ
- 00:15:31.446 --> 00:15:34.649
- for man's virtue?
- 00:15:34.649 --> 00:15:36.451
- Oh, they want to be liked.
- 00:15:36.451 --> 00:15:38.953
- They just want to be liked.
- 00:15:38.953 --> 00:15:40.355
- They want to be accepted.
- 00:15:40.355 --> 00:15:41.689
- They want to be admired by the non-believing world.
- 00:15:41.689 --> 00:15:44.092
- Question, what is Timothy to do?
- 00:15:44.092 --> 00:15:48.262
- What are you and I to do?
- 00:15:48.262 --> 00:15:50.498
- Verse 13.
- 00:15:50.498 --> 00:15:51.833
- We are to guard the truth.
- 00:15:51.833 --> 00:15:54.969
- We are to follow it literally.
- 00:15:54.969 --> 00:15:57.005
- Why? Because it is God's blueprints.
- 00:15:57.005 --> 00:16:03.978
- The word translated patent here--patent of sound words,
- 00:16:03.978 --> 00:16:10.284
- it's really the same word used for architectural design
- 00:16:10.284 --> 00:16:14.722
- or what we call the blueprints.
- 00:16:14.722 --> 00:16:18.993
- If the blueprint of godly living--we begin to tamper
- 00:16:18.993 --> 00:16:23.364
- with it and change it at whim, sooner or later,
- 00:16:23.364 --> 00:16:27.502
- there's going to be spiritual starvation on the inside,
- 00:16:27.502 --> 00:16:31.105
- and sooner or later the appetite for the Word of God
- 00:16:31.105 --> 00:16:33.941
- will have gone, and sooner or later the desire
- 00:16:33.941 --> 00:16:36.544
- to fellowship with other believers would wither.
- 00:16:36.544 --> 00:16:40.448
- And sooner or later, a critical spirit is
- 00:16:40.448 --> 00:16:43.017
- gonna set in and like a house of cards, it will collapse.
- 00:16:43.017 --> 00:16:49.257
- That is why the dying apostle is looking to death in the eye
- 00:16:49.257 --> 00:16:54.262
- it could have been days, no more than weeks,
- 00:16:54.262 --> 00:16:57.565
- when he was writing those words and is pleading
- 00:16:57.565 --> 00:17:00.802
- with the next generation.
- 00:17:00.802 --> 00:17:02.804
- "Please, please follow the patent of sound words.
- 00:17:02.804 --> 00:17:07.208
- All of it.
- 00:17:07.208 --> 00:17:09.010
- Please follow the blueprints.
- 00:17:09.010 --> 00:17:12.313
- Please do not try to improve on it.
- 00:17:12.313 --> 00:17:16.751
- Please don't try to deviate from it.
- 00:17:16.751 --> 00:17:20.288
- Please don't try to modify it.
- 00:17:20.288 --> 00:17:23.858
- Above all, don't you ever give up or get tired of upholding it
- 00:17:23.858 --> 00:17:30.198
- regardless of the suffering, regardless of the price,
- 00:17:30.198 --> 00:17:34.635
- regardless of the temporary cost."
- 00:17:34.635 --> 00:17:38.306
- Salvation is by grace alone.
- 00:17:38.306 --> 00:17:41.642
- We receive it as a gift from God when we repent of our sins;
- 00:17:41.642 --> 00:17:47.115
- but daily growing in Christ, what the theologians
- 00:17:47.115 --> 00:17:50.218
- call sanctification.
- 00:17:50.218 --> 00:17:52.053
- Growing more like Christ every day,
- 00:17:52.053 --> 00:17:54.355
- growing in a spiritual sense.
- 00:17:54.355 --> 00:17:57.191
- It's a partnership between you and the Holy Spirit,
- 00:17:57.191 --> 00:18:01.729
- between me and the Holy Spirit, between us and the Holy Spirit.
- 00:18:01.729 --> 00:18:04.432
- Children of Jesus, listen to me.
- 00:18:04.432 --> 00:18:07.135
- You and I seek him, and he is found.
- 00:18:07.135 --> 00:18:11.072
- You and I knock, and he will open the door.
- 00:18:11.072 --> 00:18:14.609
- You and I call upon the Lord, and he will answer us.
- 00:18:14.609 --> 00:18:18.713
- You and I walk with him, he walks with us.
- 00:18:18.713 --> 00:18:22.450
- You and I delight ourselves in him and in his will,
- 00:18:22.450 --> 00:18:25.653
- and he will give us the desire of our hearts.
- 00:18:25.653 --> 00:18:29.090
- You and I draw near to him, he'll draw near to us.
- 00:18:29.090 --> 00:18:33.961
- And that is why Paul said, verse 12,
- 00:18:33.961 --> 00:18:35.796
- "I know, I know--"
- 00:18:35.796 --> 00:18:38.966
- Oh yeah, this is knowing experientially,
- 00:18:38.966 --> 00:18:42.970
- not theoretically.
- 00:18:42.970 --> 00:18:44.739
- Knowing experientially whom I have believed.
- 00:18:44.739 --> 00:18:47.742
- I know experientially that he is able to keep me faithful.
- 00:18:47.742 --> 00:18:52.713
- I know experientially that he is able to keep and guard
- 00:18:52.713 --> 00:18:56.584
- the truth of the gospel.
- 00:18:56.584 --> 00:18:59.287
- I know experientially that he can empower me to uphold
- 00:18:59.287 --> 00:19:03.457
- unto the truth unmolested till the end.
- 00:19:03.457 --> 00:19:09.096
- Question, what is Paul's burden?
- 00:19:09.096 --> 00:19:12.099
- Obviously, you see it right here in this chapter.
- 00:19:12.099 --> 00:19:14.902
- His greatest burden as he is dying is that false teachers
- 00:19:14.902 --> 00:19:20.041
- and false preachers has infiltrated the church.
- 00:19:20.041 --> 00:19:23.444
- They infiltrated the church while he's still alive,
- 00:19:23.444 --> 00:19:25.947
- just like they're infiltrating the church now.
- 00:19:25.947 --> 00:19:29.750
- These false teachers and preachers,
- 00:19:29.750 --> 00:19:32.220
- they are bent on corrupting the gospel.
- 00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:35.690
- They are determined to rob the church of its most and only
- 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:41.963
- priceless treasure that has been entrusted to us,
- 00:19:41.963 --> 00:19:45.833
- and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- 00:19:45.833 --> 00:19:48.903
- But I know--say that with me.
- 00:19:48.903 --> 00:19:51.739
- congregation: But I know.
- 00:19:51.739 --> 00:19:53.841
- Dr. Youssef: But that he is able to protect it and keep it safe
- 00:19:53.841 --> 00:19:58.112
- to the next generation, until Jesus comes back.
- 00:19:58.112 --> 00:20:02.683
- Remember, the burden of the apostle Paul as he
- 00:20:02.683 --> 00:20:10.024
- was facing death is that Timothy be an instrument in preventing
- 00:20:10.024 --> 00:20:17.565
- the truth of the gospel to be corrupted,
- 00:20:17.565 --> 00:20:21.068
- but he also is aware of Timothy's proclivity
- 00:20:21.068 --> 00:20:26.340
- toward fear and intimidation.
- 00:20:26.340 --> 00:20:30.978
- And so the great apostle is advising Timothy,
- 00:20:30.978 --> 00:20:32.680
- "Timothy, you don't have to feel that you must carry
- 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:39.186
- that burden alone.
- 00:20:39.186 --> 00:20:42.156
- Timothy, you don't have to feel that you can do this
- 00:20:42.156 --> 00:20:45.860
- in your own strength.
- 00:20:45.860 --> 00:20:48.596
- Timothy, you do not have to feel alone in carrying
- 00:20:48.596 --> 00:20:52.900
- this awesome responsibility.
- 00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:55.403
- Timothy, you need to ask God for help.
- 00:20:55.403 --> 00:20:58.572
- Timothy, you need to be on your guard,
- 00:20:58.572 --> 00:21:01.876
- but don't ever, ever, ever forget
- 00:21:01.876 --> 00:21:04.645
- who upholds you as you uphold the truth.
- 00:21:04.645 --> 00:21:07.915
- Timothy, be urgent in the task of holding on to the truth
- 00:21:07.915 --> 00:21:14.455
- as you lean on God."
- 00:21:14.455 --> 00:21:19.694
- It's clear from the last few verses of chapter 1.
- 00:21:19.694 --> 00:21:23.798
- It's very clear that so many people in the church
- 00:21:23.798 --> 00:21:27.168
- of Asia--remember, Timothy was pastoring the church in Ephesus
- 00:21:27.168 --> 00:21:30.771
- when he wrote him--when he received this letter from Paul.
- 00:21:30.771 --> 00:21:34.075
- He was in Asia.
- 00:21:34.075 --> 00:21:35.409
- Paul was in Rome, and apparently the word got back
- 00:21:35.409 --> 00:21:40.548
- to the apostle Paul that there are some in the church
- 00:21:40.548 --> 00:21:45.219
- of Jesus Christ in Asia.
- 00:21:45.219 --> 00:21:47.355
- Just couldn't take the heat and opted to turn their backs
- 00:21:47.355 --> 00:21:52.259
- on the truth, but thank God there are exceptions.
- 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:58.466
- As always, I thank God that there are many faithful knees
- 00:21:58.466 --> 00:22:02.203
- have not bowed down to Baal.
- 00:22:02.203 --> 00:22:04.538
- I thank God for them every day.
- 00:22:04.538 --> 00:22:06.640
- Others sold out to the cultural demands and cultural conformity.
- 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:13.280
- Others have defected from the demands of the gospel.
- 00:22:13.280 --> 00:22:18.052
- Others have opted for entertainment.
- 00:22:18.052 --> 00:22:20.287
- Others have opted for tickling the fancies.
- 00:22:20.287 --> 00:22:23.257
- "But as far as you are concerned,
- 00:22:23.257 --> 00:22:25.393
- Timothy, resolve to ground your confidence not
- 00:22:25.393 --> 00:22:30.064
- in public opinion, but in Jesus, the guardian
- 00:22:30.064 --> 00:22:32.466
- and a guarantor of the gospel."
- 00:22:32.466 --> 00:22:35.836
- And that is why Paul said, "Don't be afraid, Timothy.
- 00:22:35.836 --> 00:22:39.774
- Don't be afraid.
- 00:22:39.774 --> 00:22:42.042
- God will never allow the light of the gospel
- 00:22:42.042 --> 00:22:45.880
- to be extinguished completely.
- 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:48.816
- He is watching over it.
- 00:22:48.816 --> 00:22:51.752
- God is making sure that he will preserve it.
- 00:22:51.752 --> 00:22:55.089
- Oh, Timothy, remember that he is trustworthy,
- 00:22:55.089 --> 00:22:59.460
- remember that he is faithful, remember that he will accomplish
- 00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:03.197
- all things according to the counsel of his will."
- 00:23:03.197 --> 00:23:06.200
- And so, my friends, wherever you are and whatever you going
- 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:10.538
- through right now, you can trust Jesus the faithful and true
- 00:23:10.538 --> 00:23:16.377
- and you can trust him all the way until he takes you
- 00:23:16.377 --> 00:23:22.483
- home and be with him for all of eternity.
- 00:23:22.483 --> 00:23:26.020
- Can I get an amen?
- 00:23:26.020 --> 00:23:28.155
- ♪♪♪
- 00:23:28.923 --> 00:23:35.296
- male: There are many ways to God,
- 00:23:35.296 --> 00:23:36.630
- and people waste their time focusing too much on the Bible.
- 00:23:36.630 --> 00:23:39.467
- female: I think it is close-minded to believe
- 00:23:39.467 --> 00:23:41.635
- that there is only one way to God.
- 00:23:41.635 --> 00:23:43.637
- female: My church believes that we should love people
- 00:23:43.637 --> 00:23:46.006
- instead of offending them with difficult
- 00:23:46.006 --> 00:23:47.341
- parts of the Bible.
- 00:23:47.341 --> 00:23:48.809
- male: I think sharing your faith with someone is unloving.
- 00:23:48.809 --> 00:23:51.912
- female: It is more important to make an impact in our
- 00:23:51.912 --> 00:23:54.114
- world today instead of worrying about eternity.
- 00:23:54.114 --> 00:23:56.984
- Dr. Youssef: I believe with all my heart that if there is
- 00:23:58.419 --> 00:24:01.288
- a desperate need today is to help Christians to be able
- 00:24:01.288 --> 00:24:05.826
- to sort out the truth from fiction, to be able
- 00:24:05.826 --> 00:24:10.631
- to expose falsehood, to be able to call them for what they are.
- 00:24:10.631 --> 00:24:14.835
- The Bible does not tell us that we have to choose between
- 00:24:14.835 --> 00:24:17.905
- two truths within the Word of God.
- 00:24:17.905 --> 00:24:20.574
- male: I think it is more important how we feel about
- 00:24:20.574 --> 00:24:22.576
- God in our personal experiences than exactly
- 00:24:22.576 --> 00:24:24.712
- what the Bible says.
- 00:24:24.712 --> 00:24:26.647
- Dr. Youssef: "Saving Christianity" is
- 00:24:26.647 --> 00:24:28.949
- the most controversial book that I've ever written
- 00:24:28.949 --> 00:24:31.385
- because I'm exposing why and how all this modern defection
- 00:24:31.385 --> 00:24:37.992
- from biblical truth by some Christian pastors
- 00:24:37.992 --> 00:24:42.429
- and what causes that defection from the faith;
- 00:24:42.429 --> 00:24:45.599
- how it starts, and why you need
- 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:49.203
- to immune yourself and to galvanize yourself,
- 00:24:49.203 --> 00:24:53.340
- to protect yourself from that false teaching.
- 00:24:53.340 --> 00:24:57.011
- announcer: In his book, "Saving Christianity,"
- 00:24:57.011 --> 00:24:58.879
- Dr. Michael Youssef exposes the false teachings that are
- 00:24:58.879 --> 00:25:02.216
- infiltrating churches today and shares the keys to seeing
- 00:25:02.216 --> 00:25:05.619
- a revival of true Christianity in our day.
- 00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:09.023
- Receive your own copy today for a gift of any amount.
- 00:25:09.023 --> 00:25:12.426
- Don't fall for a false faith.
- 00:25:12.426 --> 00:25:15.129
- Don't settle for less than the truth.
- 00:25:15.129 --> 00:25:17.197
- Order your copy of "Saving Christianity" today.
- 00:25:17.197 --> 00:25:20.734
- It's the most important book of our time.
- 00:25:20.734 --> 00:25:23.571
- You can call, write, or visit us online at ltw.org.
- 00:25:23.571 --> 00:25:29.810
- ♪♪♪
- 00:25:30.644 --> 00:25:33.981
- announcer: The world is changing.
- 00:25:33.981 --> 00:25:36.150
- In an increasingly complex society moving at a pace faster
- 00:25:36.150 --> 00:25:41.121
- than any in human history, people have more questions
- 00:25:41.121 --> 00:25:44.191
- than ever before.
- 00:25:44.191 --> 00:25:46.026
- And as people all over the world wrestle with questions
- 00:25:46.026 --> 00:25:48.629
- of morality, justice, and faith, fewer and fewer people
- 00:25:48.629 --> 00:25:51.832
- are turning to the one who made them for answers.
- 00:25:51.832 --> 00:25:54.702
- Who will reach this growing mission field for Christ?
- 00:25:54.702 --> 00:25:58.105
- The answer is Dr. Michael Youssef
- 00:25:58.105 --> 00:26:00.040
- and "Leading the Way."
- 00:26:00.040 --> 00:26:01.775
- From dual language radio programs to on-the-ground
- 00:26:01.775 --> 00:26:05.012
- discipleship teams, "Leading the Way"
- 00:26:05.012 --> 00:26:07.348
- is uniquely equipped to cross cultural barriers
- 00:26:07.348 --> 00:26:10.050
- to share the love of Jesus.
- 00:26:10.050 --> 00:26:12.086
- Through our vision 2025 initiative,
- 00:26:12.086 --> 00:26:14.254
- "Leading the Way" is using traditional media,
- 00:26:14.254 --> 00:26:16.957
- social channels, on-the-ground networking,
- 00:26:16.957 --> 00:26:19.460
- and live events to send the gospel forward
- 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:21.996
- to communities hungry for the Word of God.
- 00:26:21.996 --> 00:26:25.299
- Contact us today to find out how you can get involved.
- 00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:30.004
- ♪♪♪
- 00:26:30.004 --> 00:26:39.313
- announcer: Dr. Michael Youssef invites you to join him
- 00:26:39.313 --> 00:26:41.315
- every Sunday morning
- 00:26:41.315 --> 00:26:42.650
- on "Leading the Way Live at Apostles,"
- 00:26:42.650 --> 00:26:44.251
- a live video stream from the church he founded
- 00:26:44.251 --> 00:26:46.687
- and pastors.
- 00:26:46.687 --> 00:26:48.022
- Raise your voice with thousands of others from around the world,
- 00:26:48.022 --> 00:26:51.191
- led by musical artists Mac Powell.
- 00:26:51.191 --> 00:26:53.727
- "Leading the Way Live at Apostles" is available
- 00:26:53.727 --> 00:26:56.130
- at LTW.org, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram,
- 00:26:56.130 --> 00:27:00.100
- making it easy to share and invite your friends
- 00:27:00.100 --> 00:27:02.369
- on Sunday mornings.
- 00:27:02.369 --> 00:27:03.704
- Mark it on your calendar now,
- 00:27:03.704 --> 00:27:05.372
- "Leading the Way Live at Apostles," Sundays online.
- 00:27:05.372 --> 00:27:08.842
- ♪♪♪
- 00:27:10.077 --> 00:27:30.990