Telling The TRUTH
050711 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. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Genesis 9.5, New King James Version. God is setting up his system of rewards and punishment of the way he is going to operate the world after the return of Noah and his family from the safety of the ark. Now today you and I have the opportunity and with it of course the responsibility of obeying God, of doing what he says to do when he says to do it the way he says to do it. And how do we do that? By reading his word, by heeding his word, praying diligently, fellowshiping with other believers in Christ, and together reaching out to those who need to know the Lord. We have said it before and we say it again, "You can make a difference when you share your faith in Christ with people who need to know him, whom to know right is life eternal." This is your opportunity today. I hope you will pray specifically for people who need the Lord. And then I hope you will go to them with God's glorious gospel and let them know how they can go to heaven when they trust Jesus. God has established laws. He has put into motion ways to do things and ways not to do things. Listen to Genesis 9-6, New King James. "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. For in the image of God he made man." God is saying, "Don't kill somebody because the ultimate result is going to be your life, your blood. So be careful what you do and what you say." Did you know that you could murder another person by reputation, by spreading gossip and slander? So be careful what you say and be always, always available to the Lord to give you the guidance and direction that only he can. But you've got to listen to him. So read the Word of God all the time every single day. The Bible says to pray without ceasing. That means to always be an attitude of prayer, ready to respond to God's still small voice when he tells you what to do and when and how to do it. One of the things that you need to do is to know how to share the Word of God, the plan of salvation, and then go to those people who need the Lord. Get some prayer partners, pray together specifically by name for the right timing to go with God's gospel. Will you? Listen to what God says specifically, directly, personally. Genesis 9-7, New King James Version. And as for you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it. That's a specific direction from God's demand. And now we are able to do likewise, spiritually speaking. Dawson Trotman, who founded the Navigators, said, "We are born to reproduce." One of my prized possessions is a little booklet published by Dr. Theodor Epp. Back to the Bible broadcast with those words penned by Dawson Trotman as the title. We are born to reproduce. He wants us to know that when we have been born again, we have the privilege of going with the gospel to folk who don't know Jesus and telling them how they can know Him. Have you done this recently? Are you willing to pray diligently? Are you willing to get prayer partners to pray with you and to do what God's Word says to do to go into your world and share the gospel? I hope you will. And I hope you will do it diligently, delightfully, and directly. Today can be someone's day of salvation. It's up to you to share the truth. Jesus saves. Christ died, was buried and rose again. Tell somebody to believe. Then God spoke to Noah and to His sons with Him, saying, "And as for me behold, I establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you." Genesis 9, 8 and 9, New King James. God makes promises and He keeps every promise that He has ever made. People are not quite so reliable. People have promised me things and later they have reneged. I remember one specific situation where we diligently worked and labored and toiled and were just so excited about what God was doing and what He was having happen and watching Him do things, watching Him open doors. And at the right place, at the right time, when someone was able to make something happen that couldn't have happened without God's involvement and His intervention. And so, the promise was made and then broken. It's devastating when a promise is broken. A spicy promise that you are relying on and you're depending on. But the person who broke the promise suffered physically and emotionally. Never break a promise. Keep your promises and promise yourself that you will do what God wants you to do today. God took Noah, trusted Him, gave Him a fantastic assignment and Noah followed through. Year after year, He labored to build the ark. And then, when it was time, God told Him what else to do and Noah did it. God had promised the flood would come and mankind in all the creation that He had put together, except for those harbored in the ark would be destroyed. But after the flood, God established a covenant and He said never again would He destroy all of His creation. Listen to Genesis 9-10, New King James Version. And with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. God said, "Not only am I promising this to you, Noah, and your sons, all of your descendants, but also to all of my creations, I will never again destroy what I have created, at least I will never do it totally." So we can rely on God's promises. What about you? Are you following God's Word? Are you reading it? Are you heeding it? Are you sharing the truth? There is somebody out there that doesn't know how to get to heaven. If you know, will you go and tell them? Listen to the strength of the words that God is sharing with Noah as He established a promise He will never break. Genesis 9-11, New King James says, "Thus I establish My covenant with you. Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood. Never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." Sometimes when the high waters come, there are lots of speculations about how deep it's going to get and how far the flood is going to extend, but it is never going to extend worldwide. That's a promise God made. Floods can be devastating and they are certainly going to be destroying all kinds of things, including people and animals, but in the meantime God does care and He gives us warnings now and because of the scientific improvements of our day we can know in advance when things are going to happen to a degree and we can prepare at least somewhat. Are you ready in case God wants you to do something very special for Him? Are you willing to do what He wants, when He wants, where He wants, the way He wants? Are you praying diligently, consistently? Are you reading God's Word? Are you sharing with others? Tell the truth today. There's a rainbow shining somewhere. Listen to Genesis 9.12, New King James. And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations." That's a promise that God has kept. I hope that you will understand that God loves you and that Jesus Christ came to earth to live perfectly and become your sin, substitute, and mine. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried and He rose again because you and I are sinners. Christ came to save sinners. But now that we know that, if you have responded to God's love and if you have trusted the Lord, are you willing to tell other people how they too can know they are going to heaven? There is a heaven. There is a hell. And not everybody is going to heaven. Only those who have believed on Christ. Everybody else is headed for hell already because they have not believed. That's what Jesus said. Help somebody believe today that God's Word is true. Jesus died for them and rose again to give them life everlasting. Who will you tell today? There's somebody waiting for that message. Tell them. 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 and Harmony Road, midway between I-64 and Evansville Regional Airport. Every first Saturday, a good news club for those in 1st through 5th grades is available in a separate area. For more information, call 812-867-2418 or visit www.tripletchristianyouth.org. Who is the majestic person? Listen to Matthew, chapter 1, verses 18 through 25 New King James Version. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you, marry your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. For he will save his people from their sins. So all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated God with us." Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her until she had brought forth her first-born son, and he called his name Jesus. Dave Breeze wrote the book, Discover Your Destiny. My daughter Tammy is a graduate of Liberty University, has done the research into the scriptures to give us the insights and the information and instruction that we need about who that majestic person Jesus Christ really is. Jesus is Immanuel, as we just shared, God with us. God himself became a man. Jesus is the Savior, not another prophet, political leader, or judge. The destiny of mankind turns on the answer to the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" John 1, 1, and 2, New King James says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He was in the beginning with God. The Word, Ultimate Reality. John 1, 14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory, as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The purpose of the book of John is outlined in Chapter 20, verse 31. Again, all the scriptures are New King James. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. Because of the nature of His life and ministry, Jesus Christ has become the person before whom no one can remain neutral. Those who examine the fact of His life are compelled by the logic of His magnificence to choose between acceptance and rejection. Who is Jesus? There are really only two options. He is either the Son of God or a liar, perpetuating the most cruel forest in history. Some have attempted to take a middle ground, saying, "He was a great teacher, a good man, etc., but not the Son of God." But the question of the deity of Jesus Christ allows no compromise. Jesus Christ claimed to be the Son of God. Either this is true or He lied. Consider the words of Christ. Jesus claimed to be equal with God. Several times, the Jews tried to kill Him because of His claim. John 10, 30-39 again, New King James, says this, "I and my Father are one." The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from my Father, for which of these works do you stone me?" The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law?" I said, "You are gods." He called them gods to whom the Word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken. Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? You are blaspheming because I said, "I am the Son of God." If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do, though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know, and believe that the Father is in me, and I in Him. Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. John 12.45, "And He who sees me," Jesus said, "sees Him who sent me." In John 17.3, "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." John 5.18, "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sambeth, but also said God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." Jesus knew that His words were a matter of eternal life or death. He also knew that many would refuse to believe. What about you? Have you believed on the Lord Jesus? Have you understood that the Bible explicitly explains who Jesus is? That Christ came for one purpose to save sinners? That He died because you are a sinner, because I am a sinner, that He didn't stay dead? He was buried, but He rose again the third day. Let's find out the answer to the question. Who is Jesus? He claimed to be the Son of God. Again, there are only two options as we shared a while ago. True, He is the Son of God, false, He lied, perpetuating the most cruel, farce in history. I believe that Jesus says who He says He was, and is the sinless Son of God, God the Son. John 5, 36, 37 again, New King James says, "But I have a greater witness than John's for the works which the Father has given me to finish. The very works that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. And the Father Himself who sent me has testified of me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. Consider the works of Christ as they are outlined here in the book of Matthew verses chapter 4, verses 17 through 20, and then on 23 and 25. Again, New King James. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and entered his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Jesus went out all about Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralyptics, and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him from Galilee, from the Capitalists, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. The Bible goes on to give us more and more insights into who Jesus Christ really is. The Gospel of John chapter 11, verses 43, 44, 45, and the New King James Version say this. Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. And He who died came out bound, hand and foot, with grave clothes, and His face was wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Lose Him and let Him go." Then many of the Jews who had come to marry and had seen the things Jesus did believed in Him. Well, if I had seen a dead man rise, I would believe, wouldn't you? And of course Jesus was there. And the one little two-word verse of Scripture lets us know that Jesus was the God-man. For the Bible says Jesus' web. It was His friend, and He was dead. But Jesus did something that no one else could possibly do for Lazarus. He raised Him from death to life. Consider this testimony of God the Father about His Son. In just a few minutes, I'm going to share with you the Scriptures of Matthew 3, 11-17. But meanwhile, what are you thinking about Jesus right now? What are your thoughts and what are the intents of your heart toward Him? Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Have you admitted that you are a sinner? Do you know that Christ died for your sins? That it was buried that He rose again for you because you have fallen short of God's expectations? Have you believed, truly believed, on the Lord Jesus Christ individually, yourself? And have you shared your faith with others? If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved with the heart when believed to righteousness and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. Stay tuned because I want to share with you these very pertinent, very, very important Scriptures that will help you know more about who Jesus Christ really is. He is who He says He is. If you have received God's gift of eternal life, if you are a child of God by trusting Christ personally, then you'll be interested to know how Jesus' whole ministry began. And even if you haven't yet done that, this might motivate you to really sell out to Christ, to become a member of God's forever family. Listen to Matthew 3, 11-17, as John the Baptist is speaking. I indeed baptize you with water and to repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, who sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and you are coming to me." But Jesus answered and said to him, "Promittent to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him. When he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately. From the water and behold, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." What a great, great coronation on the Son of God as he began his earthly ministry. And this is what happened during that ministry. Later on in Matthew chapter 17 verses 1 through 5, New King James, listen. Now after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, led them up to a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. He shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Meanwhile Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, let us make here three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah." While it was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear him." Peter was rambunctious, always trying to do something, taking things into his own hands, and not listening to God's still-small voice, and he had to get his attention. And finally, that happened. As we read on in the New Testament, as we see what God did with Peter, and John, and James, and the other followers of Christ, and then we see the Damascus Road happening with Saul, who was persecuting Christians, and we see the great white light shining him and blinding him, and we see him going and being surrounded by people who cared and knowing that it was Jesus, that was appearing to him and calling him to get the gospel to the world. And so we have the bulk of the New Testament written by this person converted on the road to Damascus, changed from Saul to Paul. In his book to The Church at Philippi, Philippians 2, 9, and 11, New King James, this is what Paul has written. Listen. "Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So who is this majestic person, the Son of God, God the Son Jesus Christ? He is the Savior of every person who will trust him. I hope you today have done that. And if you haven't, I hope you will. And if you have, I hope that you will tell other people how they too can believe on Christ. I have a gift for you. It's very special, and it's our first time to ever offer this. It's the very special triple T edition of the New King James Bible, the whole Bible. It has our billboard on the front. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with teenagers with their Christian flags unfurled. Picture the building on the back. On the inside, God's ABCs. On the inside back, God's Top 10. To get yours right to TTT Christian Youth Ministries, 13,000, 13,000 U.S. Highway 41 North, Evansville, Indiana, 47725. When you write, ask for the Bible, and we'll send it to you. Know this. Christ through you can change the world. Every Saturday at 7.27 PM, you are invited to attend a live youth event at Triple T, 13,000 U.S. 41 North at Booneville, New Harmony Road, Midway between I-64 and Evansville Regional Airport. Every first Saturday, a good news club for those in first through fifth grades is available in a separate area. For more information, call 812-867-2418 or visit www.tripletchristianyouth.org. For your free copy of The Telling the Truth newsletter, call 812-8672418, 812-8672418, or write Triple T, 13,000 U.S. 41 North, Evansville, Indiana, 47725. Tune in to Telling the Truth next week at this same time on this same station. [MUSIC]