This is a message from Dr. Michael Yousef, Bible teacher, on leading the way.

Our prayer is that it will encourage you in your walk of faith.

And if you'd like to learn more about Dr. Youssef and the ministry of leading the way,

the place to start is LTW.org.

I want you to turn with me, please, in your Bibles, to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1.

Second Thessalonians chapter 1.

The Apostle Paul was absolutely thrilled at the spiritual and biblical progress of a group of believers in Thessalonica.

He was delighted of their understanding of faith, not like our false understanding of faith among so many in the church, of get all you can, can all you get, and sit on the lid.

He was elated that their faith is not like many in our day where they make it to be like a big

ATM machine in the sky. When you insert your faith, push their prayer, withdraw

whatever they want. These are the false teaching going around about faith. No, no, no.

You have to understand, to the Thessalonians believers, persecution is not something that is happening to some people

out there in a foreign land, in faraway land, some people who have been persecuted for their faith.

Persecution was their daily reality. Persecution was their daily experience. Persecution was

more than just verbal attack or being cancelled by the

walk mob, or just calling us names, or just falsely accuse us of being unloving when they know jolly

well that they are the most unloving people. No, no, their faith was so real

that they endured physical attack in losing of their jobs, in destruction of their properties,

in experiencing imprisonment and even worse. And that is why,

after the familiar introduction of all his letters, the Apostle Paul immediately goes on to say,

we ought to thank God for you. Why? Verse 4, because of your perseverance and faith in the

middle of your trial. And Paul is saying,

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