Episode 260: The Battle for Truth: How Do You Stand Firm in a Culture of Feelings?: Jonathan Youssef (Reprise)

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Candid, where we never settle for less than the truth.

[00:00:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, Jonathan Youssef.

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Each week, we'll tackle tough issues, answer your hard questions and take a candid look

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_00]: at the Christian faith.

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Our malls display it.

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Our shows advertise it.

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Our commercials glorify it.

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Our news justifies it.

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Our universities disseminate it.

[00:00:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Have you guessed it?

[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Every aspect of our culture proclaims that what matters in life is our feelings.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Our guide in this world is our pleasure, and anything that would deny us our freedom to

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_00]: follow our own truth should be disbandled.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: This is why the Christian message is so intolerable to our post-truth culture.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_00]: The idea that there is one holy God to whom all will answer is offensive.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_00]: And so our culture seeks to silence Christianity under such pressure and persecution.

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And with the siren song of our culture calling us to capitulate to the ways of the world,

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_00]: how will Christianity survive?

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Before we despair the utter lostness of our society, we must remember the faithful, loving-kindness

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_00]: of our God.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Every moment he is working around the world to grow his kingdom and draw multitudes to

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: salvation.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: The witness of Christ in his disciples over 2,000 years ago is as strong as ever and

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_00]: is yet bearing fruit.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Though our culture asserts that religion is obsolete, a 2015 Pew Research Center study

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: shows that the world is actually becoming more and not less religious.

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_00]: People are searching for answers.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: They cannot escape the hunger for eternity that God has placed in their hearts.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Although Christianity is declining in the West, it is blossoming in other regions of

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_00]: the world.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Today the combined Christian communities of Latin America and Africa number one billion

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: people.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: From 1900 to 2000 the number of Christians in Africa grew from 10 million to 360 million,

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: a number projected to grow to 633 million by 2025.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Over the last century in Asia, Christianity grew twice as fast as the rate of its population

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: growth.

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_00]: It's estimated that more Christian believers are found worshipping in China on any given

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Sunday than in the United States.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: This means that there has been a huge shift in the center of Christianity.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: 100 years ago the average Christian would have been a white middle-aged, middle-class

[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Western man.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Today, religious studies professor Philip Jenkins explains, if we want to visualize a typical

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: contemporary Christian, we should think of a woman living in a village in Nigeria or

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: in a Brazilian favela.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_00]: It is altogether thrilling to hear how the gospel is reaching the nations, how today

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00]: God is fulfilling his promise that his kingdom will be made of people from every

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: tribe, tongue and nation.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_00]: But what about the Western world?

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Christianity is waning in North America and Europe.

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Has God left the West to go its own way?

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Will Christianity die out in our nation?

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: At this critical time, Christians must remember that our struggle is not against flesh

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_00]: and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_00]: There is a battle being waged for each soul we meet, and though it may seem that this

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: secular storm is too strong, we must cling to Christ who can calm any storm with a word.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Far from leaving the West behind, God is still calling and redeeming souls here at home.

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Here are three powerful ways that he is at work in our nation today.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_00]: One, God is sending missionaries here.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: While the United States is still sending the largest number of missionaries by far,

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_00]: God is also bringing missionaries to us.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: In 2010, the United States received 32,400 international missionaries, the largest

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_00]: number received for any country.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: A shocking, isn't it?

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps as Christianity is given a new face, our culture will be more open to hear the gospel

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_00]: for what it truly is.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Not a passe, Western construct but a message of hope for all people at all times.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Two, God is using his church to bring healing in the midst of tragedy.

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Whether our nation is facing the tumult of hurricanes, forest fires, terror attacks

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: or other tragedies, Christians are some of the first to respond and our culture is taking note

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: in these moments of deep need as Christians sacrifice their time, resources and energy

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_00]: out of love for others.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: The gospel is proclaimed to a watching nation.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Three, God is moving in you right now.

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_00]: The time you have spent engaging with this podcast is no accident.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00]: God is at work in you today, even as you listen to this.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And you are not alone.

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: There are millions of people like you who are also seeking to follow Christ and grow in his truth.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Our sovereign God is still growing his church and drawing the loss to himself.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And just as he preserved a remnant of his people time and again in scripture,

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_00]: he is sustaining believers in America today.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: There is hope for the light of the gospel to continue breaking through in the western world,

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00]: but you and I have an important role to play.

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: As our culture gets darker, the light of Christ, his peace, hope and joy will shine

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_00]: all the brighter in us.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00]: For Christ has promised if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_00]: In our post truth world, we must learn how to depend on the Holy Spirit,

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: who alone empowers us to live godly lives.

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00]: We must know the truth and speak it in love.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: We must be prepared to live boldly for Christ,

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_00]: even when it costs us our relationships, our livelihoods and our reputations.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Eternal souls are at stake and our witness is crucial.

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Our lives will testify the truth of the gospel each time we forgive as we have been forgiven,

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: as we love and serve others even at the cost of our own lives just as Christ has done for us.

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: As we persevere through trials because we trust in the purposes of our loving sovereign Lord,

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: as we live righteous lives of humility, integrity, justice and gentleness.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_00]: We need not worry. Through his Holy Spirit, God has given us everything we need to obey

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Christ in this day and age. So will Christianity survive?

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_00]: John's vision in Revelation 7, 9 gives us a resounding yes.

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_00]: He writes after this, I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_00]: from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_00]: All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures.

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_00]: They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying, Amen.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: and ever. Amen. God is faithful to his mission. He has already won the war.

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_00]: There will be no shortage of worship or worshipers in heaven.

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_00]: So perhaps the real question is on our journey home, will you and I be faithful to bring as

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_00]: many souls with us as possible? For now we have work to do. Let us cling to truth and boldly

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_00]: proclaim it, settling our eyes on Christ. Let us remain faithful to Jesus no matter what may come.

[00:08:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Let us persevere in whatever trials he has ordained for our lives, knowing he will use them for his

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_00]: glory. For in that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath

[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_00]: for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_00]: judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Candid is a podcast from Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Don't forget to connect

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[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_00]: to and sharing this episode.