Michael Youssef - Never Give Up

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NEVER GIVE UP by Michael Youssef
Published by Charisma House, an imprint of Charisma Media
600 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary, Florida 32746

Published in association with Don Gates, literary agent at The Gates Group, www.the-gates-group.com.

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version. Copyright New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations from The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible are copyright 2016 by Bible Hub. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations from the Holy Bible: International Standard Version are copyright 19952014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.

Scripture quotations from the (NASB) New American Standard Bible are copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible, public domain.

Copyright 2022 by Michael Youssef
All rights reserved

Visit the authors website at ltw.org, dryoussefbooks.com.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress.

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-63641-088-3
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63641-089-0

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

To the great teachers at Moore Theological Collegethose who are still on earth and those who are already in heaven. To those godly men who between 1972 and 1975 not only taught me to love and revere the Word of God but also modeled for me what it is to never give up and tirelessly and persistently stand for biblical truth.

VERY FEW TIMES over the course of a lifetime does a book come along that marks a defining moment in our lives. I look back over my own life to a handful of books that made indelible impressions on the formulation of my own convictions and helped set me on new and challenging adventures. I am confident and bold enough to say that Never Give Up, a new book by my longtime friend Dr. Michael Youssef, is just such a volume. This straightforward, no-holds-barred, hard-hitting book is a godsend to our evangelical community during these days of compromise and complacency.

Emerging from the old and often repeated words of the apostle Paul to his son in the ministry, Timothy, this book you now hold in your hands is the epitome of power and a sound mind wrapped in a package of love. While some speak the truth but not in love, and others speak in love avoiding the truth, Youssef loves us enough to speak the truth, and he does it in love.

If anyone anywhere at any time could write on this subject with authenticity and integrity, it is Dr. Michael Youssef. Born to a prominent evangelical family in Egypt, he resettled as a young man down under in Australia, resurfaced in America, and earned a terminal degree at one of the countrys most prestigious institutions of higher learning, then founded and built one of the most far-reaching local churches in the Western world. Then he expanded the ministry he received from the Lord into a worldwide ministry. Indeed, his is a story against all odds, and he writes from the proven and credible platform of one who has never given up. So turn the page and read these words with the confidence that they flow from the pen of a man of impeccable integrity and influence whose own life is the essence of every word he has written in this volume.

These words are packed with an ingredient that is much needed in our daytruth! We never have to be afraid of the truth. It always wins in the end. So begin the journey. Read this book and reap its fruitand never give up!

O. S. HAWKINS
PRESIDENT AND CEO, GUIDESTONE

GEORGE MLLER WAS a nineteenth-century Christian evangelist and the administrator of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He provided a home for more than ten thousand orphans over his lifetime and founded more than a hundred Christian schools. He was known as a man of prayer who always expected God to answer his prayers.

In November 1844 Mller made a commitment to pray for five friends, asking God to bring them to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. He prayed every day, whether he was at home or traveling, whether he was well or sick, no matter how busy his schedule. After a year and a half of daily prayer for these five friends, one of them gave his life to Christ. Mller thanked God for answering his prayer, and he continued praying daily for the remaining four.

After five more years of praying, a second man came to Christ. Mller thanked God for the second answer to prayer and continued praying for the remaining three.

Six more years passedand a third man came to Christ. By this time Mller had been praying more than a dozen years without missing a single dayand two of the five men he had prayed for remained unconverted. In 1880 he wrote in his diary, But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.

Mller died on March 10, 1898, at the age of ninety-two. He had been praying for the salvation of these men for fifty-four years. At the time of his death, the last two holdoutstwo sons of one of Mllers friendsremained unsaved. Even so, Mllers prayers were answered, because they both committed their lives to Christ after his death.

Mller patterned his prayer life after Jesus the Master, who taught His disciples to always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1). Mller never gave upand neither should we.

Never give up on prayer.

Never give up on biblical truth.

Never give up on the infallibility of the Word of God.

Never give up on the faith that was once delivered.

Never give up on sound doctrine.

Press on, persevere, and dont ever give up.

One of the great examples of spiritual perseverance is the apostle Paul. Imprisoned in a cold Roman dungeon, Paul knew he was nearing the end of his life. Eager to leave a legacy, he wrote his final letter, addressing it to Timothy, a young church leader he had mentored in the faith. We know this letter today as 2 Timothy.

Paul was not writing to Timothy alone. He knew these inspired words would endure and be read by future generations. So this letter is truly an exhortation not only to Timothy, but to church leaders and church members today, including you and me.

The central theme of 2 Timothy is never give up. In every generation there are temptations to compromise Gods truth. Falsehood and error creep into the church, tainting the purity of the Lords gospel. The tendency to stray from Gods truth was a major problem in the first-century churchand it has reached a crisis level in the twenty-first-century church.