Standing for The Truth

Thank you for joining the listeners worldwide for leading the way with pastor and International Bible teacher, Dr. Michael writing as a Christian is more than being part of a local church for hearing to a specific belief system is a relationship is your identity based look at that today on leading the way to remember please that leading the way is listener supported music ministry happens all around the world through your generosity and through your prayerful support. So please consider partnering with Dr. Yousef's a call 866-626-4356, and online where LT W.or now with his message for second date encouraging you stand for the truth. Here is Dr. Michael.

You here in second Timothy chapter 2, Paul gives them a free, free of injuries to help him understand how to stand for the truth and how to invest the truth and to others free of injuries. One is that of a soldier.

The other is an athlete, a number of former now I want to to start thinking with me, particularly verse one verse one is, therefore, my son, be strong. Remember his or some in the faith is not a physical song, be strong in the face. How blood dragging your duties tried to pull yourself by your bootstraps. Now bars self-affirmation I can do this I can do it I can do I can do. Yes we can. Yes, we can know know know, but by becoming strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ, the verb be strong here is an imperative mood, which is making it a loving command from a father to a son, lovingly asking the son to do something that he knows it's wonderful for him. Paul begins the chapter by lovingly, lovingly and gently commanding the sun in the face.

The next generation leaders of the church to draw his strengths, not from himself, not from his qualifications, not even from his gifts, but to draw all of his strength from the grace of God, how will he experience the grace of God, and Paul immediately goes on to explain that you can only experience the power of the grace of God in you. When you invest the stranger when you invest these truth in the lives of others that the only way you can truly experience the power of the grace of God. When you report them to somebody else not only the Timothy to be strong in the grace of God, but he also needs to teach others to be strong in the grace of God. Verse two what you've heard from me before many witnesses entrust this message to faithful men who will also teach others to save them the secret for victory over fear and timidity and anxiety, and sorrow is to invest himself and others listen to me, discipling and mentoring somebody else is the greatest blessing that you can receive. Can I get an amen. By the same token, sitting on your gifts.

All gifts sitting on your blessed assurance would cause you all for silver in anguish. I am absolutely convinced that our faith is like electricity.

It does not enter you and me slowly, notice wasn't fully unless it can pass through us.

Don't electrocute yourself by sitting in hot water. If you are unwilling to pass God's truth to the next generation.

You are the one who misses out on the greatest blessing. Why soldier is the first one why soldier most of you know my deep deep deep appreciation for those who wear the uniform wore the uniform of the United States of America. I deeply, deeply appreciate those who have served this great country. Why because soldiers do not expect a softer easy time soldiers take hardship as a matter of course, because soldiers take risks because soldiers fight to win in the battle. There's only two people there are the victors and there are the victims.

If you want to win and have great purée. You must learn the rules of warfare. If you want to when you have to get into the battlefield you can watch it on television and the reason the secular forces are succeeding in diminishing our biblical worldview from our society today is because as true Christian believers surrendered the battlefield in the schools and the universities the unbelievers took over and as Christians surrendered the battlefield and denominations and Christian institutions. The nonbelievers took over and as Christians deserted the difficult areas in our society. Nonbelievers took over and that is why Paul said, as good soldier in general hardship. Soldiers don't get entangled in civilian life as good soldiers we must not fall in the trap of pleasing people instead only seek to please our commander-in-chief. The Lord Jesus Christ.

The second way we ought to faithfully pass on and transfer of the truth of the gospel is found in the image of an athlete verse five.

Look at it with me as spiritual athletes we do not compete against each other.

We don't try to outperform each other, not in another northerner, but we are competing against the world the flesh and the devil in ancient Greece, a winning athlete receives an Evergreen reef, but the athlete number how good here's no matter how accomplished you may be he had to compete. According to the rules that opposing here is my second motto was, no rules, no reef say that women no rules, no reef, and while we are in the race of all hardships.

We must not run according to our own fantasies and desires.according to the rules of the new morality, not according to the rules of reinvented Christianity, not according to the rules of feel-good Christianity, not according to the rules of some false preaching false teacher, not according to the rules of I will get to it. If I feel like it. Know the crown and the victory is awarded to those who compete according to the rules of the word of God and the authority of the Scripture. The next imagery. Paul gives us here that he uses for faithfully passing on the baton passing on the baton of the truth of the gospel to the next generation is a hard-working former being a soldier on active duty. Being an athlete willing to run according to the rules in verse six. Being a hard working former in the old days. Of course, before the days of mechanization farmers did some backbreaking work.

I mean, they tilled the soil whether the song was good or bad they worked, whether the weather is good or bad they could not afford to sit back and say well you know I just don't feel like planting today on the harvesters ready so you know I don't feel of the Lord that I need to be harvesting a tip my hat. The farmers because they cannot afford to be lazy and just operated by their emotions, how they feel they don't feel like they don't do the book of Proverbs it says the lazy farmer loses his harvest either because he's asleep when he ought to be reaping or because he's too lazy to plow the fields. Verse six look at it again. That's why Paul said the hard working former deserve the first fruit of his labor. That means that we ought to be very careful in the filling of the soil of our character that we daily plant the seed of the word of God and that we harvest a crop of holiness in our lives.

But that's not enough.

That is not all some careful lesser burden of his heart. In this passage here, we will not get a great harvest unless we do the same things in other people unless we tell the soil and plant the seed then gather the harvest is a summary there will be no victory for the soldier who does not fight to win. There will be no reef will be athlete who is not completed according to the rules there will be no harvest for the farmer unless he tells the soil and plant the seed and gather the harvest look with me at verse seven. Please because here he gives us a balance that enforces our faithfulness as being soldiers and athletes and farmers. What I mean by this is, this is what he said reflect on the word of God and the Holy Spirit is going to grant you understanding of everything. Why is that because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, the Holy Spirit, who have written the book the Bible is the same person who wrote the book is the same person who dwells in us and that's why you must never start your Bible reading before praying the Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see wonderful truths from your word that he will do, he will answer that one.

Otherwise, that some people might read the Bible every day.

You know why because I want to take the box.

Read the Bible done that.

James said the person who does that is like a person… America see what it looks like and then he goes away forgets what he saw because that person is not reading and applying the word of God into his or her life that person who reads without meditating on the word of God in his life is not going to take hold and that is why as I often say pray Holy Spirit open my eyes in the early hours of the morning when I'm all alone with God in the book is open on my lap and I cried to the Holy Spirit, open my eyes and teach me from his word invariably invariably the lobby's reading something in the Holy Spirit will stop me and say Michael read that again. This encouragement supposed to be for you.

This affirmation is for you today. All this review is for you because in hip on his fingers on things I needed to be rebuked about this challenge is for you. This correction is for you and then he goes in verses 8 to 13 Paul really just takes Timothy back to basics.

This is 101.

He takes them to basics those verses 8 to 13. Look at them with me please.

Remember Jesus what happened to say forgets his sissy. He said that he remembered his teen years will encounter Christ coming to Christ with tears.

How could he forget Jesus you forget Jesus and I forget Jesus don't jump the gun on me. So, alas, impossible women just jog your memory and only face a problem or crisis pops up all of a sudden and you start making decisions and very quickly and you begin to think what certification was implication by the consequences you thinking of Jesus. Now what is you want me to do, what steps does he need me to take what decisions that you want me to make to glorify him. First and foremost or let's get closer to home. Okay when you have a humbling argument with your spouse and the first thing you think about all first thing that happens is that all your self defense mechanism start rising up to the surface thinking of Jesus, are you going on now.

The last thing you thinking of Jesus. Somebody said if there is an epitaph written over Israel of the Old Testament will be go something like this. How soon they forgot the Lord read the Bible and Paul is telling Timothy remember Jesus not only because he is the heart of the good news.

Not only is the heart of the good deposit that only because he is the essence of the gospel, but is also a role model that you can only follow by the power of the Holy Spirit without the part of the Holy Spirit working in us without his strength without his grace will stumble in the first upper Tech. Remember Jesus. He is risen from the dead.

That's his divinity.

He is the son of David that his humanity. Remember Jesus regarding the cross. But he did not stay on the cross. Remember, Jesus was buried in the tomb, but he did not stay in the tomb.

Remember, Jesus was Good Friday, followed by Easter Sunday.

Remember, Jesus is disseminated was followed by the resurrection. Remember Jesus Timothy remember Jesus. Robert remember Jesus to remember Jesus Fred remember Jesus Joe remember Jesus Susan remember Jesus as you are soldiering for him. Remember Jesus as you compete as an athlete for him. Remember Jesus as your labor is a farmer for him.

Remember Jesus as you strive to fight temptation by his power and his strength and his victory. Remember his pain and suffering all alone. Remember Jesus who suffered alone is also saying to you that your suffering is only for a season that your pain will not last forever. The time of coming Timothy when all of the strain on the struggle will be over.

The time is coming when the tears will be no more. The time is coming when the heavy weight of sin will be no more than the apostle concludes this particular section with a human.

Most historians believe that this was a hymn that was sung in the early church. If we die with him. We shall live with him. If we die to self with regard to self gratification.

With regard to self-centeredness will arise with him in glory. If we endure, we shall reign with him forever. If we persevere and stand up our biblical grounds. If we do not give up the battle. We will be honored by God himself.

But if we deny him, he will deny us, you find that hard to take the truth. If we deny him.

If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful to himself that you get that there's a whole movement among certain evangelicals who preach something called hyper grace. He said Michael what is hyper grace will me tell you, because I'm glad you asked that you can send your hearts content. And don't worry about it. God's grace will cover it. You don't need to confess you don't need to repent so you don't need to do anything, you will need to acknowledge your sin class will cover it in the uses verse as a cover and so Paul said, if we are unfaithful. Christ remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. They say here's the license will be looking for, then looking for. He covers all the shortfalls where he does. But when there is an acknowledgment Windows confession when there's repentance when there is such hatred of sin in us. Beloved.

This could not be further from the truth. Here's what Paul is saying really listen carefully if we are unfaithful to him, he will be faithful to himself.

He will always be faithful to his promises. What are these promises. If we deny him, he will deny us as a promise is faithful to his promise is a much better translation if we disbelieve him, he remains faithful he cannot deny who he is, he cannot deny who he is, he cannot be untrue to himself.

That's the one thing God cannot do is deny himself or be contrary to himself, he remains forever himself. Some of these false teachers and preachers misinterpret this verse and say will in the end God is gonna feel sorry for people and is gonna let them all commenters heaven really that would be contrary to himself that we got contradicting himself. In fact, God's faithfulness to himself is demonstrated in his justice as much as it is demonstrated in his love, his love says come to me come to me in repentance and faith and I'll forgive you his justice says you reject me, you reject my truth. I will deny you before my father in heaven and his holy angels. His love and justice are two sides of the same coin. His love and his justice of the evidence of his faithfulness and that is why every believer under the sound of my voice must us themselves. The question mark passing on this truth to other faithful men and women Boys and Girls Club bypassing the truth, soldiering my running the race. According to the rules, telling the soil planting the seed gathering the harvest, but for those who are also under the sound of my voice whom I never taken the first step of coming to Jesus in brokenness and humility to Jesus.

I can save myself from a sinner. Forgive me and if you haven't done that. There is no greater time to do that than today this very moment. Whatever conviction the Holy Spirit who brought the book brought to you.

Please don't shrug it respond and I am absolutely certain there is many people here the different conviction God speak to us differently. We come from different places in different situations in the Holy Spirit is convicting us differently, but whatever it may be, please let me plead with you, don't put enough respond as we go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, thank you for your love.

Thank you for your patience with thank you for your perseverance. Thank you for loving us all the way to the end. Father I pray for that person who may be tempted to say, I give up my that person be strengthened and no one at the sound of muffled will give into the spirit of discovery, but of courage, love and self-control Jesus name, amen. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael you set or another challenging message in his series, never give up.

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