Telling The TRUTH
121512 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 Dooms. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life to which you also were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses, 1 Timothy 6, 12, New King James Version. Are you fighting the good fight of faith? It's a tough battle out there. The enemy is at large, but greater is he that is in you than he that's in the world. Put on the whole armor of God and go into battle. Lay hold on eternal life. The gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord. And when you admit you have sinned, and turn to Jesus from your sins, and believe with all of your heart that he is the Son of God, God the Son, that he lived perfectly, born of a virgin, and yet died for your sins and mine, was buried and rose again according to the Word of God. Because we have this eternal life, we now can share it with as many people as possible. It's your job, and it's my job, your opportunity, and my opportunity to go with the good news of the saving power of Jesus Christ. It's Christmastime, and people everywhere are waiting for the answer to the why of Christmas. Tell them the why is Jesus, that the songs they're hearing are true songs, and it's a real happening. Listen to Paul writing to Timothy. "O Timothy, guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and vain babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. By professing it, some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you, amen." 1 Timothy 6, 2021, New King James. Paul has a very, very compassionate interest in his Son of the Ministry, Timothy. He wants to let him know that he has got to keep his guard high because there were things committed to his trust. And he wants him to avoid vain babblings and profane contradictions, false things that pass as knowledge. And then Paul talks about some straying from the faith by professing these false ideas and ideals. Then he says this wonderful phrase, "Grace be with you, amen." That's a wonderful thing to have confidence in someone else, knowing that they are involved and inundated by temptations. I don't know how it is with you and your family and friends, but I do know this, God loves you. Jesus died for you. He wants you to live for him. He wants you to tell other people about him. He wants you to let people know that the Christ of Christmas is real, and he will live inside anyone who will invite him. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul shares his confidence. Second Timothy 1-5, New King James Version says, "When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois, and in your mother, Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also." The continuity continues as grandmothers and mothers and sons and daughters, and sometimes fathers and grandfathers share their faith with the family. And here God is using his word that has been entrusted to his grandmother and then his mother, and then the Timothy himself, and Paul is commending him. It's the faith factor that makes all the difference genuine faith. Do you have genuine faith in God in the Lord Jesus, in the power and presence of God's Holy Spirit? Are you fellowshipping with other believers? Are you reading the word of God consistently? Are you talking to the Lord on a regular basis? Are you going with the good news of Jesus during the Christmas time to people who need the Lord? Are you letting them know who the Christ of Christmas really is? That babe in the manger is the Jesus on the cross and the triumphant one from the tomb. That's the Christ of Christmas. 2 Timothy 2.22, New King James, carries a warning and an admonition. Listen. "Flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Watch the people with whom you associate. Fellowship with other believers in Christ who are living godly lives, people who have an interest in helping others come to know Jesus. And as you pray with these people, as you read the word of God together, as you lean on what God has said and is saying and wants to continue to say to you and to them, then together pray for those who need the Lord. Believe that God is going to make you usable and use you and your friends to help people come to know Christ. Let the Christ of Christmas shine through you. Do something special for people who need the Lord. It's a wonderful time to share your faith in Christ. Silver bells, silent night, deck the halls, all kinds of songs are in the air. But in the middle of it all is the Christ who really came and who really lived and who lives now and wants to live in the hearts of every person who will invite them in. Paul is being complementary to Timothy, not just glibly saying, "Everything is fine and you're a wonderful person," but giving specifics. Listen to 2 Timothy 3-10, New King James. "But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, perseverance." Each of those words is descriptive in its own right. "Follow my doctrine, manner of life, purpose." What is your purpose in life? Faith. Is your faith in Christ complete? Long-suffering. Are you willing to row with the punches? Love. Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Are you persevering? Are you hanging in there? No matter what the circumstances around you might be. Paul is saying to Timothy, "You are doing this like I am doing it, and I commend you for it." Each of us can reflect on those words, and we can do something about it. We can take our faith, and we can share it with people who need to know who Jesus is. Again, during this Christmas season, let your light shine and tell people that Christ came to save sinners, and he will save anyone who will call on the name of the Lord. Timothy had a magnificent background. His family was together with the Lord, and he learned a great deal. Paul is reminding him of this in his second letter. 2 Timothy 3, 14-15, who King James says, "But as for you, continue into things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Earlier, Paul had said, "It was your grandmother and your mother, Lois and Eunice, that taught you the Scriptures." Now, put those Scriptures into effect. Be wise. Know that your salvation comes because you have admitted you have sinned. You have turned to Jesus from your sins. You have believed on him, and now you are telling other people about him. Can you do that too? Just like Paul was advising Timothy to do? I hope you can. I hope you will. Fellowship of other believers, pray together, read God's Word, and then take the gospel to people. People need to know the Christ of Christmas. Would you tell them about Jesus? I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Second Timothy 4, 7, New King James Version. It's been my privilege to know people who can say that exactly like Paul said it, or it can be said about them when they have gone to their heavenly reward. Walking with giants, my friend Dr. Elmer Towns has written a book by that title and I reflect greatly on what he has shared because I too have had that marvelous opportunity of walking with giants of the faith. As I think about some of those people, and what they have done for God's glory, those fights that they have been in, and the battles that they have fought, and the wonderful victories that have been won for the gospel of Jesus Christ, it's an honor to have known them. When one day it will be your last day, and if you are a believer, you will spend your eternity with God, will he be able to say to you, "Yes, you have fought the good fight. Yes, you have finished the race. Yes, you have kept the faith." Don't keep the faith to yourself, but share your faith with others, with other believers, and together with those who have not yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. You have opportunity and responsibility. Go for it. Every Saturday at 7.27 p.m., you are invited to attend a live youth event at Triple T, 13,000 US-41 North at Boone Building 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. Quite often at Triple T Christian Youth Ministries, we have a thing called "Tiger Team Training," training in pure evangelism and leadership. We call it "leading youth." Leading youth, two words that can be very meaningful, not just two words that we happen to put together. Hopefully and prayerfully, you will help put into effect what "leading youth" really means. You can become involved in leading youth to Christ and leading them for Christ. The first and most important step is to pray. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is a will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Second step, seek God's will. What He wants is of the utmost importance to you and to the world of teenagers and youth that you can help influence and attract to Jesus Christ. When you begin to discover God's will for your life, you have really reached the major milestone that can make all of your tomorrow's fantastic. In the book of Matthew, Jesus said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." But before you really get into seeking God's will, you need to understand that a relationship must be established between God and you. If you have been at Triple T any Saturday, you have heard this before. You know that everyone is a sinner. There is none righteous, no not one. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned each one to his own way, and the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. That's what the Bible says. The Bible also says the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. You know the next thing to do after admitting that you are a sinner is to believe on Jesus Christ. Believe that He is who He says He is, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. The third thing to do is let the redeemed of the Lord say so. You need to tell your family and your friends that you are a believer. It's all basic in seeking God's will. You're headed for heaven when you admit you have sinned and believe on Christ and confess Him publicly. Set your goals to reach out to others. Man is a goal-setting creation. God designed you and me divinely so that we can determine what we are going to be in advance of its happening. Every one of us programs ourselves to succeed or to fail in every single set of circumstances. You see, when you set a goal, you then determine whether you're going to meet that goal or whether you aren't. Whether the goal is important to you or whether it isn't. And if it's important enough, you will do everything possible to make that goal a reality. You activate your influence and you put yourself into the position of saying, "Hey, it's really up to me." So as you set your goals, pray about them. Just as seeking God's will must be done with an open heart before Almighty God, sending goals must happen the same way. If the goals are in keeping with God's will for your life, some great things can happen. If your goals aren't in tune with the Lord, you may just fall flat on your face. It's really up to you. The fourth step is start where you are. You don't have to make a geographic move to begin. You can start right where you are in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, or wherever. You don't have to cross an ocean to become a missionary. A teenager can just cross the aisle or that little space between lockers to reach out for Christ. Fifth, use what you have. God has entrusted to all of us a multiplicity of talents. But we need to fair it out those talents, pay the price to develop each one, and then put them into effect for God's glory. God wants you to do exactly that. Use what you have. Moses was asked by God, "What is that in your hand?" Moses said, "A rod." And God said, "Throw it down." And the rod turned into a snake. God said, "Pick it up." Fearfully, Moses did what God told him to do, and the snake turned back into a rod. God used that illustration to let Moses know that it's what you do with what you have that counts. So use what you have, and then sixth, do all you can. You can do so much more. You can make another phone call. You can write another letter. You can put one more ounce of energy into effect for God's glory. You can give another dollar. It's important that you activate your influence for Jesus Christ. Whatever your hand to do, the book of Ecclesiastes says, do it with all of your might. The New Testament book of Philippians says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." A long time ago, I saw that two-word phrase, "Can do just pop off the page." I can do all things for Christ. Be a can-do Christian. One of the things that can be very discouraging is dealing with some people, someone who can say, "It can't be done." That's not true. With God, all things are possible. Then seventh, you need to shoot for the stars. I'm delighted in what I see happening. More and more people are attending these outreaches, these leading youth sessions. Progress is being made. Someone is catching the vision. Someone is shooting for the stars. Someone won't take no for an answer. The Triple T-30 Acre Campus will someday have dormitories. We've got some portable dorms now. We'll have more classrooms. Some day more facilities to accommodate more and more people. When the dream is realized, those hundreds of individuals are at the Triple T nearly every weekend during the school year. The Triple T auditorium will be filled to capacity every Saturday night. Hearts will be changed, lives will be rearranged. You see, God wants us to keep on keeping on, no matter what. His Word says, "One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead." I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And that's the continuing part. Step 8. Keep everlastingly at it. Don't quit. Don't stop. Don't give up. When we started our ministry, we had two teenagers in the living room. And that Saturday night, way back in 1966, I made a very bold statement. I even was concerned that maybe it was too bold, but I said it. I said we're going to be here every Saturday for 30 years. We're going to present the Gospel. We're going to share an invitation to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You're invited to come back and bring friends. The second Saturday, there were two teenagers, not the same two, two other teenagers. But we've continued to go. And when we reached our 30th year, we said we're not through. We've got to keep on going. And so we went for another 10 years. And then for another five, and now for another one after that. And we're just about to wrap up our 46th year, getting ready to celebrate 47 years on February 2, 2013. We're moving forward to the days ahead. God willing, we'll be having our 48th birthday in 2014, our 49th, the Jubilee year in 2015. And at that time, we're going to put together the plans for our golden anniversary, the 50th year coming up the 1st of February, the 1st week in February of 2016. And during that year of Jubilee, we're going to lay the groundwork for the next 50 years of outreach if God keeps us here and the Lord terries. Now, I won't be here probably for all of those 50 years, but I'll be here as long as God wants me to be here. And we're bringing people into the picture, people willing to invest their time and their talent and their treasure, people to keep the ministry moving ahead, people to reach more people for Christ. And we're excited about what God has done. Again, God willing. Next year, 2013, we want to go to 31 counties. In 2012, we've been in 15 counties, sharing the Gospel of Christ at fair share at street festivals and in all kinds of different places. And now next year, we want to double plus one. And then the following year, 2014, we want to go to 62 counties within 100 miles of where we are. And then the next year, our 49th, we want to go to all 93 counties within the 100 mile radius. Did you know that there are over 400,000 10 to 19 year olds who live within 100 miles in these 93 counties? And we want to get the Gospel to every one of them. We're not stopping there. We want to go on and reach out across America. There are 41 million 10 to 19 year olds in United States in 31, 41 counties, 3,141 counties in the 50 states. And we want to reach all of them with God's glorious Gospel. We have to start where we are using what we have, doing what we can. But we're going to shoot for the stars consistently and continuously. We need your prayers and we invite you to be a Tiger teammate. Tiger means teens involved, going evangelizing regularly. We're praying right now about some very special possibilities to happen in the days ahead. We'll tell you more about that in just a moment. Stay tuned. 2012 began with Light the Night. Triple T's New Year's Eve All-Nighter. It seems hardly possible. But in just 17 more days, we will wrap up 2012 and begin 2013 again at Triple T with Light the Night. We'll again have a pancake breakfast at 7.27 a.m. on New Year's Day. We're thrilled about what God has done and is doing across this past year. We've had a lot of great things happen. We've had partners in youth evangelism, local churches that have worked with us, over 15 of them, in all three states, across the area. And we've had wonderful happenings in the summertime. We had Jesus Christ changed in a world summit. We're planning another one for 2013. We've had a part in the Motorcycle Sunday School Mission across Africa. And just last week, we were able to sponsor our 12th Sunday School. We're excited about what God has done and is doing. And all of these Sunday schools are in areas where kids are orphans. Their parents have died of AIDS. They're on their own. And we take the motorcycles out to the villages. We set up the Sunday schools there and they learn God's Word. They learn phonetics. They learn the English language. And it's a wonderful, wonderful happening. And God's been gracious to let us be a part of all of this, especially right now. We are thrilled about the telling the truth circuit, they called it, across Madagascar. And we have Sunday schools there and in Cameroon and hopefully in a couple of other places very, very soon. And so we continue to put into effect what we call Project Proclaim. Thousands have heard the Gospel this year. Triple-T teams and guests have ministered in these 15 tri-state counties. Hundreds of 10 to 19-year-olds have received a Triple-T New King James Bible. Thousands more have been given a copy of God's ABCs. Additional thousands have listened to telling the truth daily radio broadcast or podcast. We're on 34 stations now in nine states. Multiple thousands have seen the message believe on the Lord Jesus Christ on billboards and affairs in street festivals. And now as we turn the page in a very, very short time to move into 2013, this is what we anticipate. These are some of the projections. Light the night will bridge 2012 and 2013 at Triple-T. The theme, Tiger Tracking Safari. Youth are helping with the 1 million Dimes for Digital Campaign. Underway now to provide a large two-sided digital sign with a constantly changing message along US-41 at Triple-T. Audio-visual messages inside. Computer upgrades. Among the people in more than 25,000 vehicles passing Triple-T every day or more than 2,500 students and faculty traveling to and from North High School and junior high, just one mile north of Triple-T. Keynote, a new blog that Tammy and I are putting together, is going to be giving information, ideas, inspiration. Who's doing what, what's happening where, and biblical insights. Local church pastors and youth leaders partner in youth events in Triple-T to reach youth in their communities with the gospel. And we're hoping and trusting that more and more youth will be transported to and from Triple-T and that we will have the opportunity of again ministering together with these local congregations. Our goal is by this time next year to have at least 100 local church partners in youth evangelism going alongside Triple-T. We are reaching out to others. We are working diligently with other ministries. Triple-T's culture of cooperation allows us to work with Evansville Christian Life Center, Evansville Dream Center, right to life of Southwest Indiana, Teen Missions International, AIDS, orphans and street children, motorcycle Sunday school mission, youth evangelism association and more. And we're thrilled about what God has done and is doing and we're looking forward to all of the days ahead. On July the 13th, God willing of 2013, Jesus Christ changed the world's summit will feature creative Christian communicators, achievement awards will be presented based on a standard of excellence for each category. Minster cooperating in youth evangelism are again invited to participate. As more adults become tiger teammates, thousands of unreached youth can hear the gospel, turn to Jesus from their sins and receive God's gift of eternal life. When you pray, care and share, know this. 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 US 41 North at Booneville in 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 US 41 North, Evansville, Indiana 47725. Tune in to Telling the Truth next week at this same time on This Same Station. [MUSIC] [MUSIC PLAYING]