Leading The Way

Guest (Male): Dr. Michael Youssef with a word about truth and eternity as he begins this episode of Leading The Way Audio.

Dr. Michael Youssef: The test is not whether it feels right, but whether it is the truth. There are too many people who are going around on their feelings: "Well it feels right." Man, I hate to see them in the last day when they cross over into eternity and the shock on their faces realizing that it's not their feelings by which they're going to be judged, but it is the truth by which they'll be judged.

Guest (Male): Once upon a time, right was right and wrong was wrong. Truth was measured by words in the Bible, not by the popular political or world view. We thank you for making time for Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.

And in today’s episode: "Words leading you toward life at its best." Keep in mind that Leading The Way is a listener-supported gospel ministry. Learn ways that you can stand with Dr. Youssef in passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world. Give us a call: 866-626-4356 or you can visit LTW.org. Right now though, go with Dr. Michael Youssef to 1 John, chapter four.

Dr. Michael Youssef: I was reflecting on the time of history in which we live. And I thought to myself that if the Lord tarries, doesn't return meanwhile, our time—this period of history—is going to be written in the history books as a time where right and wrong have been blurred. It will go down in history as a time where evil and good have been confused. A time where truth and error have been mixed up. A time when facts and fictions got muddled. A time when there is a deliberate state of confusion that has been created.

Although this type of deception and confusion have been with us for a long time—they're not new—yet there are certain periods in history when those times seem to be pervasive, seem to be on the increase. This period of time in which we live reminded me of the period of time in which the Apostle John was living and writing his epistles. Remember John was around 20 years of age when Jesus died and rose again. And he lived to be in his nineties. So, this would be around 60 years after Jesus' death and resurrection, give or take few years.

And within 60 years of the time of the Lord Jesus Christ dying and rising again, there were those times in which John was writing. 60 years. Where wolves were dressed in sheep's clothing. It was a time like our day where there were so many people who were deliberately and systematically trying to deceive the believers. It was a time when so many false belief systems have subtly, surreptitiously, have sneaked into the church of Jesus Christ. It was a time when there were so many false teaching and so many false teachers, and who were rewriting the truth as we have seen in the beginning of this series of messages—the Gnostics—who were raising their ugly head, and now they're raising their ugly head again.

But I want to tell you something: the problem is that we have often tempted to undermine Satan's intelligence. We really do. Satan is too clever than to come out in the open and say, "I want to deceive you. I want to take you away from the truth." No, no, he's too clever for that. He is going to mislead us away from the truth by the ever so subtle approach, by the ever so slowly method, by the ever so deliberately attitude. And so, he continues subtly to deceive and to delude and to dupe people away from the truth.

I was reading this week a story about the heyday of the Communists in the Soviet Union. And there was a time when petty thievery was rampant in the Soviet Union, especially in the factories that were, of course, were all government-owned. People would steal little things here and little things there and hide them as they leave. So, the Communist Party decided that they're going to put a guard at the gate, at the door, at the entrance of every factory from where the workers coming out at the end of the day.

And so, there was a particular sawmill factory outside of Leningrad. True story. And there, as the workers were coming out, there was a man by the name of Petrovitch, and he was coming out from that sawmill with a wheelbarrow. And the wheelbarrow was filled with sawdust. And the guard stopped him. He said, "Come on, Petrovitch, what are you hiding in that sawdust? What are you hiding there?" He said, "Nothing. Only sawdust and wood shavings." He said, "Tip it over." So, he tipped it over. And the guard kept on kicking it and wanting to look for something that might have been hidden in that sawdust, and he couldn't find anything. He said, "Okay, pile it up and go."

Well, it happened again the next day. He went through the same routine. "Tip it upside down, I want to see what you're hiding here." Nothing there. He keeps going. The next day, the next day. But the guard was absolutely convinced that Petrovitch was hiding something, and he didn't know what it was. So, finally, he said to him, he said, "Look, I’ve got to find out what you're hiding. I know you're hiding something. You’ve got to tell me what it is. And if you tell me what it is, I will not turn you in. I give you my word for it." Petrovitch said, "Okay, what I was stealing are wheelbarrows."

Wheelbarrows. And listen to me: the devil has been doing the same thing with the church of Jesus Christ for 50 years. He has been stealing not sawdust or wood shavings, but he was stealing wheelbarrows. He has infiltrated our thinking. He has penetrated our belief systems. He has frozen our passions for Christ. He has stolen time, talent, and treasure from the believers. And while we keep on getting hung up on the sawdust of, like, styles of worship or kinds of music or the likes and the dislikes or my opinion and his opinion and somebody's opinion, Satan has been stealing wheelbarrows with the preachers preaching messages to tickle the ears, with gospel that is self-serving gospel, with watered-down, sanitized messages, with self-centered messages and catering to the least common denominator.

I want you to hear me right. Just not so long ago, I heard a preacher and he declared the following: he said, "The resurrection is not an event, it's a process." And I nearly wept. Listen to me: we live in a time when good and evil are so mixed up that we can't tell the difference. And while we have been scrutinizing the wood chips and the shavings and the sawdust, the devil has been plundering. He has been plundering our commitment to the truth. He has been plundering our commitment to holy living—and we exchange holiness for happiness. He has been plundering our commitment to sacrificial giving. He has been plundering our commitment to faith sharing. He’s plundering our commitment to reaching to the lost. Our commitment to Jesus Christ is now being questioned.

And that is why the very last verse in chapter three of 1 John which we saw in the last message says that God gave us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us. And immediately in verse one of chapter four, he goes on to say: "test the spirits." Now, there are people who think that to be a Christian is to be naive, is to be gullible. That to be a Christian is to believe everything and everybody and not to question or probe or test claims of folks.

In fact, the postmodern disease—the postmodern disease says that everybody's opinion, everybody's idea is valid. That all beliefs are equal in value. That all truth are the same. And that we must never question other people's worldview. John says, "No, not at all." On the contrary: you must put everything to the test. You must put everything to the test and see if it measures up against the word of God. That you must put everything to the test and see if it is consistent with the testimony of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you.

Now, if you haven't turned to 1 John 4, let me tell you this is a good time to do it. 1 John, chapter four: "Dear friends, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they're from God." Why? Why? Because, he said, "many false prophets are gone out into the world." Well, what kind of a measuring stick are you supposed to use? What kind of scales are you supposed to use to do that kind of measuring and testing?

He tells us here, verse two: "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God. Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God." By the way, that means that Jesus Christ was God of very God, and that without Jesus you've had it. That's Youssef translation, but you get the meaning. That's what he means here.

Verse three: "But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God." Well, you say, "People are saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus all the time." Well, that is why I gave you the explanation: that Jesus and Jesus alone, that you'll never make it to heaven without Him. That all the people who think they’re going to all they die they’re going to go to heaven, they will not, because if they don't want to have fellowship with Jesus now and live for Jesus now, how they’re going to live with Him in heaven?

"But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." I had a dear friend who was a headmaster of a private school, old private school, that part of their tradition was to have a chaplain on staff. And he said to me, he said, "I got so weary hiring chaplains who don't believe anything, I finally boiled down my interview to two questions."

Two simple questions. He just said, "I didn't want to get into philosophy, I didn't want to get into theology, I didn't want to get into psychology, I didn't want to get into this." He said, "Two simple questions and here's how he asked them." He said, "Number one, I need you to tell me yes or no: was the baby in the manger God of very God? Second question: did Jesus get out of the grave and walk on the third day or not? That's all you need to say, yes or no." Out of the 23 clergymen that he interviewed, only one without hesitation said yes to both questions.

Listen to me: the test is not whether it feels right, but whether it is the truth. The test is not who says it or who teaches it—including this one—but is it the truth? Does it measure against the word of God? There are too many people who are going around on their feelings: "Well it feels right." Man, I hate to see them in the last day when they cross over into eternity and the shock on their faces realizing that it's not their feelings by which they're going to be judged, but it is the truth by which they'll be judged.

Hear me right on this one: if you love your neighbors, if you love your coworkers, if you love your family members, you must say it. Say it lovingly, say it humbly, say it carefully, say it thoughtfully: that God will not judge you based on whether something feels right or wrong, but whether it is the truth or not.

Sometimes I think people erroneously say: "What we need is more light in the world." No, no, no, we don't need more light, we got light everywhere in the world. The light of Jesus is everywhere in the world. And out experiencing from broadcasting to the vast majorities of the population of the world, we know there's plenty of light in the world. The light of Jesus is already in the world. What we need to pray for is sight. There's plenty of light. But until people get the sight, they will not be able to see the light.

Why does John say that believing that Jesus is God of very God and that He’s the only way to God, He’s the only way to heaven—why is that of such importance, why he keeps emphasizing it here as we've been seeing it throughout the epistle? Listen to me: because if Jesus is not the only way to heaven, then Christianity would have been just another religion. Christianity would have been just another approach to God. Christianity would be just another way of groping and trying to find the truth. But God became man, John said, so that the search can be over.

And that is what sets the Christian faith apart. And that's what makes it the absolute truth and nothing but the truth. And because God took upon Himself human nature, John said Jesus gave His divine nature to everyone who comes to believe in Him, surrender to Him, receive Him as Savior and Lord of the life. Did you get that? Just as He, God of very God, took on human nature, Jesus Christ gave His divine nature to those who come to him, believe in Him, trust in Him. If you got it say amen. I can keep repeating it, I love it.

And because we have received that divine nature, we are able to discern the truth from falsehood. Not only that, but that divine nature is so powerful that it can overcome falsehood and false teaching. This divine nature is so powerful that it can overcome deception and deceivers. That divine nature is so powerful that it overcomes temptation and tempters. Look at verse four: "My dear children, you dear children are from God and have overcome them." Why? "Because the one who's in you is greater than the one who's in the world."

Because I want to tell you something, this is a message that believers, listen, I would literally shake you upside down until you get it because if you don't get it, you are living a defeated life. If you don't understand this truth, you are not walking in victory. When you understand that you are partaker of the divine nature of Christ, you will be an overcomer, you will have the victory, you will be more than conqueror.

And the howling wolves of false teaching, they may pound on your door, but they cannot come in. The howling wolves of fake living, they will try to tempt you, but they will not prevail. That the howling wolves of smooth talking will try to entice you, but they will never succeed. That the raging wolves of sin and temptation will come in sheep's clothing, but you’re going to uncover them. Why? Because they cannot overcome you according to John. They cannot defeat you, they cannot ravage you, they cannot deceive you, they cannot despise you.

Here's what Jesus said in John, chapter 10, verse five: He said, "My sheep do not recognize a stranger's voice." They may hear it, they may be tempted to follow it, but they know it’s not the Shepherd's voice. They will recognize it. Christ's own sheep do not have their confidence in themselves, they do not have their confidence in their successes, they do not have their confidence in their circumstances, they do not have their confidence in their connections. No, they have their confidence in the cross and in the empty tomb.

And so my beloved friend, if you are defeated or discouraged today, if you are despondent, listen to me: it is because you have forgotten that you are a partaker of the divine nature of Christ, which is the truth that is declared by Peter and by John and by Paul and the writers of the New Testament. It is because that you have forgotten that you are more than conqueror through Christ who continuously strengthens you. It is because you have forgotten that you have been predestined to victory, that you’ve been predestined to triumph in Christ, and that you have limitless resources of power and strength. Because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

In a culture of poll taking and majority voting and who believes what, who says what, a celebrity worship where we’re confused. But the Bible made it clear: if you know who you are in Christ, you will know that you're a partaker of the divine nature, you will know that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Because God has given you the power to say: "Even if the whole world departs from the truth, I will not. I will not."

Listen to me as I conclude: that divine power does not make us arrogant. No, no, no, it does not make us proud. We have nothing to be arrogant about, everything we have is given to us. In fact, the opposite is true: it drives us on our knees in humility. Look at verses seven to 12. I wish I had time that expand the rest of those verses, but because of the duration of time, I'm going to give you a summary of it.

John is saying that the clearest testimony that you can have to prove that you are a child of God, that you are saved, that you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest testimony to the fact that you are partaker of the divine nature, the clearest testimony is your commitment to Christ and to one another. That's the clearest testimony.

And let me give you the bottom line of those verses. I know they're just kind of Michael's interpretation, but listen: when you are dealing with a cantankerous person and you still love that person, when you are dealing with an obnoxious person and you still love that person—I mean genuinely love them and not just say, "Well I love you because I have to." I mean when you genuinely love the person. When that person is betraying you, when that person is lying about you, when that person is betrayed your trust and you still love that person.

You know what you need to do according to John—it’s Michael's interpretation again, I want to make sure you got this—you want to go home and say, "I am saved! I am saved! I am saved!" I'm a child of the living God. I know I'm going to heaven. You say, "Well how come?" Because when you love the unlovable, you know that you are partaker of the divine nature. That's what John is saying here, I'm just making it easier for you. You know that you have the power to love like Jesus loves. Because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Guest (Male): God's recipe for a fulfilled life on Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Listen to this message again when you click listen at LTW.org. You can also subscribe to the podcast or download the Leading The Way app. Details about all of these at LTW.org.

Dr. Michael Youssef: We stand at a crossroads of history, and we can walk through these doors of opportunities that God has opened for us, or we can do nothing. We have the choice.

Guest (Male): Leading The Way continues to embark on a bold vision to passionately proclaim the uncompromising truth of Christ in three strategic areas where the need is greatest and the doors are open. In North America, where only 4% of adults have a biblical worldview, we are delivering solid biblical teaching through every media platform available. We continue to pray for a spiritual awakening in the Western church, asking the Lord to mobilize believers to stand firm for uncompromising biblical truth in their homes, churches, and communities.

Dr. Michael Youssef: The answer is not frustration, but proclamation of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and holding that truth uncompromisingly.

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Dr. Michael Youssef: I made a vow to God that as long as He gives me a breath, that I will proclaim Him and His truth of His Gospel until my dying day. Will you go through it with me?

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Guest (Male): Well I must say goodbye for this episode, but do accept this invitation to join Dr. Michael Youssef right here next time for more Leading The Way Audio.

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