This is a message from leading the way with Dr. Michael Youssef.

We pray that it will encourage you in your walk of faith.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. Youssef or leading the way,

please visit ltw.org.

Counterfeiting is as oldest creation. Counterfeiting is as old as creation.

Counterfeiting has been in existence throughout history.

Counterfeiting, I think, is a problem that is going to be with us until Jesus comes back.

It's never going to go away.

Counterfeiting does not only exist in the area of currency or precious stones. Counterfeiting also

exist in people. How many times probably you've heard it, and if you haven't, I'm going to tell

you, that you hear people say, boy, I thought I knew him. I thought I knew her. And they're mainly

referring to a person who have conducted themselves in a certain way, that they have lived

and behaved in a certain manner for a period of time, and then all of a sudden they see a country behavior than the one that they've exhibited for a period of time, and then all of a sudden they see a contrary behavior than the one that

they've exhibited for a period of time. I have known people who have shown in every way that they

are committed to Jesus Christ, and then all of a sudden they abandoned the faith.

There are people even in the ministry who give every appearance that they are called of God.

And then all of a sudden not only abandon the ministry but abandon the faith and bring disgrace to the name of God.

Now I'm not talking about sin or moral failure that causes a person to step down from a ministry. I'm talking about a person abandoning the faith. But I do thank God

for one thing, is that this is a rare occurrence. It is not too common, thank God. But it teaches me this, that the real and the fake can be indistinguishable.

That the true and the imitation can be frighteningly similar.

That the genuine and the counterfeit can look alike, most often for a long time.

We can't tell the difference between the real and the counterfeit.

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