Telling The TRUTH
011213 Telling The Truth 28 Minute Program
[music] You're listening to "Telling the Truth" from Triple T. Christian Youth Ministries, "Telling the Truth to and Through Teenagers." Here is Triple T. Founder and President George Dumes. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, then to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. Hebrews 11, 24 through 26, New King James. Moses was a very, very special person in God's scheme of things, but he sets an example for you and for me to do a very similar thing in our day to try to please the Lord far beyond pleasing people and ourselves. God has a plan for you, maybe not quite as dramatic or dynamic as Moses, but a plan nonetheless, a special personal plan that only you can accomplish if you will do what God would have you to do. It begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Make sure you know the Lord, and then pray, read God's Word, fellowship with other believers, and share God's great and glorious gospel story with everyone you can. There are people out there who need the Lord. You know who they are, and they know you. So pray for them, get other people to pray with you for them, read God's Word, and then go with the gospel. Moses, chosen by God, presented his body to the Lord a living sacrifice. Listen to Hebrews 11, 27, New King James Version. By faith, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Moses knew that God was leading him. He knew that God had a plan for him, and he wanted to pursue that plan with every fiber of his being. What about you? Are you willing to serve the Lord and not fear the wrath, or the disdain, or the complaints of others? You will be criticized if you put Jesus Christ in first place, not by God, just by people who don't understand. But some of them can be reached in a loving, considerate way. You can go to them with God's gospel and share with them how they can get to heaven. Pray, pray with other believers, read the Word of God, and put the Word of God into effect in your life, let God make you usable, and then let him use you for his glory. It's your call. It's totally up to you. You can be like Moses, or you can go along with the crowd. You have to make the decision. You have to make the determination. Moses continued to be obedient to the Lord. By faith, he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. Hebrews 1128, New King James Version. Yes, Moses was very, very much in tune with the Lord. He listened to God, he followed his directions, and then he accomplished God's purpose for his life. God has a purpose for you, and he wants all of us, you and me and every other believer to understand what God's Word says. Take a look again at Romans 12, one through the end of the chapter. And as you look at God's Word, understand how it affects you and how it can direct you in a very personal way. God wants each one of us to serve him. Will you be yourself God-servant? I hope you will. Make sure you have trusted Christ, and then get in tune with other believers. Read the Word of God together. Pray together, and go together to people who need the Lord. Who do you know, who needs Jesus? Somebody's waiting for you to tell them the truth. Jesus is the answer, the way, the truth, and the life. Moses led the children of Israel to follow God. He was 1129, New King James says, "By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned." It's the faith factor that causes things to happen in the lives of people. When you follow the Lord, He will give you the guidance that you need for every circumstance, every situation. Whatever your environment, whatever your problems are that you face today, God has a plan and He will make a way through the wilderness. He will make a way through places that look impossible. God, any rivers you think are uncrossable? God, any mountains you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things thought-impossible, and He can do what no other one can do. That song I learned as a teenager and found out later that Vic Elias and his father wrote the song. Vic has been a friend for a long, long time, and I was shocked when I learned the background of that special song. Sing it, believe it. Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things thought-impossible, and He can do what no other one can do. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. He was 1130 New King James Version. When you listen to God's instructions, when you do it His way, wonderful things transpire. Yes, God does have a perfect plan for every one of us to accomplish His will, and one of the things that God wills is that none should perish, but all should come to repentance. But He depends on people like you and me who have trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior to take the gospel, to tell people to admit they have sinned, to believe on the Lord Jesus, to confess Him publicly so that the gospel is shared, is expanded, is extended worldwide. It happens one by one. There is no such thing as mass evangelism. There is, of course, mass communication of the gospel, but people come to Jesus one at a time. So you have the possibility to be the catalyst for God's glory, to share His Word, and the way of salvation was someone for whom you care, for whom you are concerned. Pray with other believers, read God's Word, and then go with the gospel. Someone is waiting. It's up to you. Will you go? I hope you will. God can use anyone who is willing to put their faith implicitly in Him, who will turn to Jesus from their sins. God can use people who have sinned, He will, and He has, and He shall. Listen to Hebrews 1131, New King James. By faith, the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace. She knew what to do, and she did it because she followed the leadership of God's Holy Spirit. Then she was used of the Lord to be in the lineage of David, and she was in that list of people who were the ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ. Check it out. The book of Matthew, chapter 1, watch for her name. Yes, God will forgive sins, and He uses forgiven sinners to serve Him. Are you willing to serve Him with all of your heart? I hope you will. You can. When you mess up, just say, "God, I've sinned, and I'm sorry." Please forgive me. If we confess our sins, His faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Sinners need a Savior. Will you tell them about Jesus? Hebrews 11, 39, and 40, New King James Version gives us a very, very wonderful insight into God's scheme of things. Listen, all of these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. God, having provided something better for us that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Now, that sounds complex, complicated, but it really isn't. In the list of people that God used that are shared in Hebrews, chapter 11, we have some outstanding individuals that did not receive what we can because we have the Lord Jesus Christ, who has been given to us to be our Savior. You see, God sent His Son. A baby was born, a virgin gave birth, and the baby grew and never sinned, although tempted. And the baby became a man, and the man died on a cross for our sins. He was buried, and He rose the third day, and He now intercedes for you and for me. Pray in Jesus' name. God, I've sinned, and I'm sorry. Forgive me. Turn to Jesus, receive the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Tell others that you believe, and tell them how they too can have eternal life by turning to Jesus from their sins. Every Saturday at 7.27 p.m., you are invited to attend a live youth event at Triple T, 13,000 U.S. 41 North at Booneville and Harmony Road, Midway between I-64 and Evansville Regional Airport. Every first Saturday, a good news club for ages 6 to 9 is available in a separate room. For more information, call 812-867-2418 or visit www.tripletchristianyouth.org. Deuteronomy 1112, New King James, is a very unusual verse. I don't remember ever really seeing it before, but Mary and I were having our morning devotions on New Year's Eve. And this is what we learned. A land for which the Lord your God cares. The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it. From the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. Deuteronomy 1112, that really says a lot. In context, what God was saying, look, I'm going to take care of you. I've promised I will. He's talking to the children of Israel, but we can relate it. Our Triple T Saturday nights have been exciting. From January 7, 2012, the very first Saturday, two weeks ago, December 29, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year, God blessed abundantly all 52 Saturdays. Tigers trained in leadership and peer evangelism, invited friends and brought them to Triple T. And many of these first, second and third timers responded personally to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the New Year has begun. July and January was a theme last Saturday, January 5, and included sitting on beach towels, building sand castles, beach volleyball, and snow cones. Tammy shared traveling tigers and teen missions summer opportunities. Shelley and Zapora told 2012 fair share experiences. Several students planned to attend Tiger Team training January 19. That's just one week from today. I was privileged to present a challenge to pray and seek God's will. I share Deuteronomy 11, verses 10, 11, and 12. God's promise to the children of Israel, as I mentioned. And then we related these things to youth evangelism possibilities across the Tri-State. Project Proclaim is a wonderful opportunity that God has put together and people are responding. Last Thursday, that is a week ago, Thursday, January 3, pastors and leaders with local church partners in youth evangelism met with Triple T staff for lunch at Triple T. They represented seven Tri-State counties, Edwards and Wabash in Illinois, Gibson, Jackson, Knox, Posey, and Vandenberg, Indiana, plus two Florida teenagers who were with us. We began with Rejoice Always, Pray Without Ceasing. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Each congregation represented has hosted Triple T teams and guests. We prayed about the need for the key action plan, training youth and adults to prepare for Tiger Team Impact Evangelistic Youth Efforts in these seven counties and 24 more this year. The presentation of the eight key faith factors by Tammy and me was followed by interaction, sharing, questions and some answers and prayer time by each person present. And as we prayed around the circle, it was marvelous to listen to the prayers of people who believe in the power of prayer and who are expecting God to do fantastic things in the days ahead. Please pray for God's will to be accomplished all through to 2013. The GEL is 100 local congregations to be partners in youth evangelism, hosting or co-hosting Tiger Team Impact Evangelistic Youth Efforts in 31 Tri-State counties. The Renew campaign, the Triple T team, continues to seek God move in magnificent ways. Thank you if you have been one of those who've prayed. All glory goes to God for every person who helped meet the $15,000 one for two matching challenge. Only was the goal of $30,000 met. It was actually surpassed. So the $45,000 total goal was raised. Pray for the Lord to bless each of the 115 different people who participated with the challenge. Schlebranard has now been serving the Lord faithfully for over two years as associate staff with Triple T. Richard and Ethel Colmer, Kim Foltz, Carol and Woody Youngs, Jeff and Bobby Mobley and Family, and James Dooms are invaluable members of the Triple T team. Please be praying for the Triple T Key Legacy Society a state and financial planning seminar to be held Thursday, January 24, hosted by Terry Wheeler. More than two to three hundred Tiger teammates invested time, talent and treasure with Triple T during 2012. Many helped with Triple T's booth at the Westside Nut Club Fall Festival and other projects, pastors, parents, grandparents and youth workers, transported youth to and from Triple T's Saturday nights and other events. Special thanks go to Teen Missions, BMW student Tony O'Fava and his brother Matthew. They drove the Triple T from Florida after Christmas to volunteer for a week. They invested many hours helping with several very much needed projects. What a blessing these guys are and made their tribe increase. We need you to pray with us for God to send more people into the picture who will volunteer their time, their talent, their treasure. There are a lot of people who just goof off. They sit around watching TV, they play little games, they do this when they could be serving Jesus. You could be too. I don't know who you are, don't know what talents you have, but God can use you if you will allow him to. Will you? Since 1980, we've teamed with Teen Missions International in multiple ways. Triple T's culture of cooperation continues to grow. For every person involved in any way, we are indeed grateful. So we ask you to be a prayer partner with us as we pray and care and share with each other. We want to pray for your needs. Will you tell us how to best pray for you? You can call us. It's area code 812-867-2418. Repeat 812-867-2418. Or you can send us an email. Just send it to me personally. George@ttchristianyouth.org. That's our email address as well as our website. Check us out. Find out what's happening. Learn more about Triple T. Watch one of our videos on the website www.ttchristianyouth.org. We hope that you will understand that God has a plan for your life. It's something that you can do. That nobody can do quite the way you could do it if you would do what you need to do. Tigers, teens involved, going evangelizing regularly are great kids and they're trained in peer evangelism and leadership. But to back them up, we have to have a group of adults that we call tiger teammates. Some are encouragers. They give at least $20 of actual money or time in its equivalent. And they're a part of the behind-the-scenes happenings all across the area. Here is the very, very special message from God, the need of the hour. Jesus gave the request. The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. That's Matthew 9, 37, 38. Every tiger teammate and courier provides a leading youth scholarship to train another 10 to 19-year-old in peer evangelism. And these tiger team youth together with adult youth worker coaches implement tiger team impact youth evangelism efforts on or near secondary schools in their communities to help claim their county for Christ. We are targeting 31 counties. One of them is my home county of Wabash County, Illinois. We have people there who are tiger teammates from several different churches, and they are praying diligently for God to do something special during the year of 2013. Will you be a prayer partner with us for Mount Carmel and Allendale and the other communities in Wabash County that God will make us usable and use us to make an impact there that will not be forgotten. We want to share the gospel. We want to train many, many youth in peer evangelism and leadership. The next opportunity is one week from today. It begins at 11th during the morning. It's tiger team training. And there's a $20 scholarship available for any 10 to 19-year-old that wants to come or any youth worker from a Bible-believing church that wants to be involved. The scholarships are available, and we just need to hear from you. Again, you can check it on the website www.ttchristianyouth.org or you can call us and we'll send you one or you can write and we'll send you one. Whatever you want to communicate. Stay tuned as we give you the opportunity to become a tiger teammate personally. You can be an encourager or you might even want to be in the next category and in larger or an expander and we'll give you the details about how you can be involved. Stay tuned. Here's how you can be a tiger teammate. Number one, pray. Number two, contact us and let us tell you what categories are available. There are three. Number one, entry level, encouragers, pray and give, 20 to $299 each year. We need your help. We need your prayers. We need your support. Or you can move on up and become an enlarger. Pray and average giving, $25 or more monthly. Or you can be an expander. Pray and give a monthly average of $100 or more. There are those who do and any more who should and we need all of you to be a part of the team. In his book, "Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams", Pat Williams of Orlando Magic fame says, "Why do teams exist?" Answer, "Teams exist to enable people to work together and achieve high goals that would be out of reach for individuals working separately." Teamwork multiplies abilities and strengths. Teamwork enables individuals to complement one another and compensate for one another's lacks and weaknesses. The Bible says a very similar thing, even more emphatically, in Romans chapter 12. Listen, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, do you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, an acceptable, and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we being many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another, having in gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us that us use them. Are you using the gift that God's entrusted to you or the multiple gifts? You can if you will. Every one of us stands on equal land, a very, very level piece of territory when it comes to time. You and I have exactly 24 hours every single day. You and I have 60 minutes in every one of those hours. You and I have 60 seconds in every one of those minutes. And as God enables us to keep going, we have 52 weeks every year, 365, 24 hour days. It's what you do with your time that counts the most. You can redeem the time, the Bible says, and the way you begin is by praying. God, make me usable and use me to reach out to other people with those talents you've entrusted to me. I don't know what your talents are. We're looking for what we call creative Christian communicators. Last week, I had to go to a funeral visitation. And it was the father of somebody that grew up in our ministry. And it was a guy there that I hadn't seen for a long, long time. And he said, "Yeah, the two of us were friends at Triple T." He said, "I still have my trophy." I was a winner in the Teen Talent Contest. And the young lady said, "And I was, too, in a different category." A lot of wonderful thing it is to know that here these people now are married and have their own teenagers are remembering the times at Triple T when they were involved. And both are saying, "We want our kids to come now to be where we were a long time ago." Now, it's not that long ago because we've only been here 47 years, but it's a long time ago for some folk in their looking at things. But it continues every single Saturday and some of the world's greatest teenagers continue to come. We even have preteens now that come. Ten years old and up can be involved in our Tiger Team training. And we're training coaches to reach out to those and to help these people who are trained in peer evangelism to grow in Christ and to use those great of Christian communications for God's glory. So pray with us and for us and be a Tiger teammate. Christ, through you, can change the world. Every Saturday at 7.27 p.m., you are invited to attend a live youth event at Triple T, 13,000 U.S. 41 North at Booneville and Harmony Road, midway between I-64 and Evansville Regional Airport. Every first Saturday, a good news club for ages 6 to 9 is available in a separate room. For more information, call 812-867-2418 or visit www.tripletchristianyouth.org. For your free copy of The Telling the Truth newsletter, call 812-867-2418, 812-867-2418 or write Triple T, 13,000 U.S. 41 North, Evansville, Indiana, 477-25. Tune in to Telling the Truth next week at this same time on This Same Station. [MUSIC] (dramatic music)