Leading The Way

Guest (Male): Welcome to Leading The Way audio with pastor and internationally respected Bible teacher, Dr. Michael Youssef.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Happy and blessed Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I want to thank you for literally taking the call of God on motherhood seriously. God bless you. I know that you are creating a legacy, you are creating a wonderful opportunity for the next generation to grow and be mighty men and women of God. I'm bringing you a message on Deborah, a mother in Israel.

Turn with me, please, to the Book of Judges. The Book of Judges, chapter four and part of chapter five. Here in Judges chapter four, we are introduced to a great woman of God, a woman who was decisive, who was courageous, and her name was Deborah. Deborah delivered Israel by making a decisive commitment to doing the will of God, come what may. But here also we are going to be introduced to a man, a weak, indecisive, and uncommitted man by the name of Barak.

Hear me right, please. If you know anything about the Book of Judges, you would know that this is a period of history right after Joshua led by the power of God to enter into the Promised Land victoriously over Jericho and the walls of Jericho, and then taking the people of God into the Promised Land that God promised them. But just as God had warned them through Moses in the wilderness before they got to the Promised Land, he warned them more than once. He said once you get to the Promised Land, once you get prosperous, once you get comfortable in the Promised Land, you are tempted to turn your back on me.

And that's exactly what happened. Exactly what happened. The one sentence that you hear in the Book of Judges over and over and over and over again is this: the children of Israel forgotten the Lord their God. They have forgotten the Lord their God and everyone did what is right in their own eyes. And in every time of those rebellion times—and you see several of them throughout the Book of Judges—every time when they rebel against God, God basically takes his protective hand off them.

And then they get into trouble with their neighbors, with the Canaanites particularly. And then when they get into the misery of under the chains of the Canaanites, they cry out to God. "Oh God, deliver us!" And God sends them a deliverer whom they call the judge. This happened ad nauseam. During this specific time, God raised a woman by the name of Deborah. Deborah was a prophetess and a judge during that time in Israel's history.

Chapter four, verse one. Look at it with me, please. "And the people of Israel again—underline it in your Bible, again—did what is evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died." Now, Ehud was the judge immediately before Deborah that God raised to deliver Israel, but then as soon as he died, they went back to their miserable way of turning their backs on the Lord and doing their own thing. And so after Ehud, God raises Deborah.

The Canaanites in the Bible are always a symbol of Satan, just like Pharaoh is a type of Satan in the Old Testament. Here we see the Canaanites would inch their way toward the people of God. Not coming out and attack from up front, no, no, they inch their way, inch by inch by inch, just like what Satan does. Satan does not come and attack us at the forefront because he knows that would raise our defenses. But he inches, one temptation at the time, one step at the time, an inch at the time.

Why? Because he knows he doesn't want to alarm us and then we become aware of his deception. Please listen to me. Satan is so patient. He is so insidious. And by the time sometimes we wake up, it could be too late. Listen, I have seen with these two eyes in forty years in ministry individuals, pastors, and churches, and whole denominations who once were on fire for Jesus just a few years earlier. Now they are in a grip of apostasy and full retreat, spiritually speaking.

Here in Judges chapter four, you see the Canaanites edging, edging slowly but surely, and before they knew it, they were in the neighborhood. They were right there, right there. Oh, beloved, please listen to me. If there's a time for decision and for a total commitment to Christ, it's now. If there's ever a time for Christian believers to reject mediocrity, it is now. If there's ever a time for Bible-believing Christians to unite and stop fighting, it is now.

I absolutely love, love, love the way Deborah describes herself. Look at chapter five, verse seven. Look at the way she describes herself. She did not give herself a lofty title, which she could have. She did not give herself a high-ranking position, which she could have. She simply said, "I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel, as a mother in Israel." Listen to me, there can be no more exalted title than a title of mother.

She could have called herself Deborah the judge, or Deborah the deliverer, or Deborah the prophetess. But none of these titles ranked higher than the honor and the respect of a mother in Israel. There is something that is extremely sensitive here that I want to deal with because it's very, very important historically. According to traditions and the values of the ancient Hebrew culture at the time, when a woman rose up to lead the nation, it was God's way of shaming the men in that nation.

It was God's way of saying to the man, "You have abdicated your leadership responsibility. You have abandoned the role of leaders. You have wimped out on God." And so God, in order to humiliate the man, he placed courageous Deborah to be in charge. You say, "Oh Michael, where do you get this? How do you know this?" Well, again, go back to the word of God. The principle is found in Isaiah chapter three throughout the scripture, but Isaiah 3:12 expresses biblical principle beautifully.

When God was fed up with his people with their vacillating, with their compromise, he said, "My people are oppressed by little children and women rule over them. Oh my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your path." In other words, God is saying to his people, "You're a bunch of children. You're behaving like a bunch of children. You're scared like a bunch of children."

Now look with me please at the text again. Look at the text, verses six and seven of Judges four. Ineffectual Barak, he was the head of the army. He's the commander of the army of the living God. That is a very important position, okay? When he started wimping out, when he started vacillating, God sent Deborah to challenge him. And here's what she said to him. Listen carefully. "Has not the Lord the God of Israel commanded you—again, if you have your Bible, underline the word commanded you—has not the Lord God of Israel commanded you? Go gather the men on Mount Tabor and I will draw out Sisera."

Now Sisera is the leader of the army of the Canaanites, the enemy. And here comes the most crucial sentence perhaps in this whole message, and don't miss it, please don't miss it. "I will give Sisera into your hand." How can you be more clear than that? She did not say God suggested or God requested, no. She said, "God commanded you, Barak." God commanded it. Oh beloved, God's message could not be clearer.

But there's something about Deborah's character that if you miss it, you miss the whole message. You really would. Something about her character is the heart of the message here. While she was bold and courageous, she was not ambitious for her own glory. She fully recognized Barak's calling. She fully recognized Barak's leadership role. And she fully recognized the role of the commander of God, the army of the living God.

And she would not go beyond God's calling on her life. That's why she's amazing. Instead, she pleads with Barak to be faithful to God's calling for his life. She never tried to dominate Barak. She never tried to seize power for herself. She was not a control freak. She never lusted for power. She simply wanted God's will to be done for his people. Can I get an amen?

And so she acted as God's mouthpiece. Watch this, watch this, please. God gave Barak a divine strategy. He gave Barak a divine promise. He gave Barak a divine calling and a promise of victory. But all he could say—and if you can't see the humor in that, that's all right—"I will not go without mommy." Verse eight. "I will not go to the battle without mommy going with me."

No wonder Israel at that time was in such dire straits. If the commander of the army is shrinking from his responsibility, imagine the condition of the rest of the army. Oh beloved, beloved, beloved, please listen to me. It is only in believing in the promises of God can we truly have the courage to obey God. This is the problem today. We are not believing the promises of God. Barak's failure of nerves was a failure of faith and trust in the promises of God.

Perhaps you can hear the depth of disappointment in Deborah's answer. Verse nine. "I will surely go up with you, but you will lose the blessing and the honor that goes with unconditional obedience." She said, "The Lord will destroy Sisera at the hand of a woman." She was not talking about herself. I'm going to show you in a minute. She was not talking about herself.

She's affirming the biblical principle that when we lack in courage, God raises women to do the job for us. She was not talking about herself. She was talking about another woman by the name of Jael. By the way, it's J-A-E-L. It's pronounced four different ways. I just pronounce it Jael. Here she is, conscious of the biblical order. Deborah knew that she was God's rebuke to the faithlessness of Israel.

Deborah knew that the sovereign God will accomplish his purpose with or without Barak. In fact, one of my anchor verses in the Bible—many of you have heard me say this—is Ephesians 1:11, that God accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will. If you cooperate with God, you get blessed. If you don't, he'll put you on the shelf and move on and use somebody else.

Please listen to me as your under-shepherd, because the only shepherd of this church is Jesus. As your under-shepherd, I know and God knows I have many failures, I have many faults, I have many foibles. But I can tell you as God my witness, I sought with all my heart not only to obey the word of God fully, but to encourage others to do the same. I don't know how many more years, if that, if it's years that God is going to give me.

But I promise you this, that as long as I have breath, I'd rather die than deviate from obeying the word of God. When Jesus announced his vision for his church in Matthew 16:18—and I stood in that place many times, Caesarea Philippi, I taught from that place many times where there was an encounter between him and Peter, where Jesus announced a vision for his church and it's the picture of an army, a mighty force on the move.

It's an invading force, taking territories from Satan, all the way to the gates of hell. And that is why he said the gates of hell shall not—can you say that with me—shall not prevail against the church. And we're all getting scared and running, saying, "Oh, the world is taking over." No, we need to take over the world. Surely you know that when a group of Christians lose sight of the Lord's vision for his church, when they begin to see themselves as an audience instead of the body of Christ, when they begin to see themselves as spectators to be entertained instead of being the army of the living God, spiritual amnesia will set in.

And churches like that will only last for one generation. You know, sometimes I never cease to be amazed at how many people always ask, "I want to know the will of God for my life. I want to know the will of God for my life," especially if they want to get out of something. The Bible tells you what the will of God is. Here it is, I spell it for you. It is the will of God for us to be found faithful. Whatever you are, you be faithful and God will take care of the details.

It is the will of God for us to be trusting and obeying his word, and then he'll take care of our enemies. Listen to what Helen Keller once said, another woman who's a great challenge to me. She said, "Security is nothing but superstition. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure." Then she continued, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." Amen, sister Keller.

Now I come to the rest of the story. The rest of the story is an evidence of how faithful, always faithful, forever faithful God is to his promises. And so he supernaturally defeated the enemies of God. Supernaturally. Chapter four, verses eleven all the way to twenty-four. I want to summarize it because it's a long passage. Basically, God clicked his fingers—not that God has fingers, but you understand what I'm talking about—he clicked his fingers and they start running like jackrabbits.

Sisera, their leader, fled on foot. He didn't even get a carriage or a horse. He fled on foot all the way to the tent of a woman named Jael. She was the wife of Heber the Kenite. The Kenites at the time were allies of Israel. And Mrs. Jael came to meet Sisera. She said, "Come into my tent, big boy, I'll take care of you." And boy, did she take care of him. "Don't be afraid. Come into my tent, I'm going to cover you."

And oh man, she took care of business. She did exactly what Deborah prophesied a woman will do. She killed the commander of the enemies of God's people. Even when Barak finally went to the battlefield, Deborah in hand, even then she had to prod him. She had to prod him. She said to him, "Go up! Go up! This is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?"

Oh beloved, listen to me. Christian leadership—are you listening, say amen—Christian leadership is simply obedience, nothing more and nothing less. If you fully obey God and God's word, you are a leader by definition. And you will stand head and shoulder above most of your peers. Oh, but let me warn you, let me warn you, let me warn you. I need to absolutely warn you.

Leaders are often target for cruel criticism, cruel opposition, and cruel anger without cause by the enemies of God. But don't let that deter you from obedience. Don't let that deter you in the least. As long as you know you are doing the will of God as it is revealed in the word of God, then there will be no need to second guess yourself or defend yourself to critics. Can I get an amen?

Judges 5:6, there's the song of Deborah. It's a song of victory, song of thanksgiving, song for the glory of God. In order to lead a fallen culture, we have to make a decision and commit ourselves to that decision. We are to be willing to put away our idols, the secret idols. We have to be willing to serve God and God alone, unashamedly, no matter what the culture calls us.

When our children were growing up, I often said to them, "Someone has to lead, might as well be you." Why let the unbelievers lead you? You lead them. And therefore today my exhortation to every one of you men, women, boys, and girls: be a leader in your school, be a leader in your workplace, be a leader in your neighborhood, be a leader wherever God calls you to be this day. For any leadership to be impactful and have a great effect, it has always to be by example. By example. Can't only be in words only.

Look at the part of this song of Deborah, chapter five, verse thirty-one. "So may all your enemies perish, oh Lord! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might." It is my plea for each of us to make a decision and stand firm in that decision. No waffling, no going back, no listening to detractors, no distrusting in God's promises, no self-serving aggrandizement, and above all, no compromising of the word of God. That is the only way we're going to impact and influence the next generation. Be a friend of God and you will shine like the sun.

Guest (Male): Dr. Michael Youssef with a challenge to stand firm in obedience. Maybe you'd like to speak with someone about what you heard today and how Dr. Youssef's message challenged you. Well, won't you consider speaking with a Leading the Way pastor or counselor? You can begin your conversation at ltw.org/jesus.

Guest (Male): My name is Augustine. I'm in my last year studying statistics at the University of Waterloo. When I started my first year, school was extremely difficult. I had trouble making friends. I just got so burnt out and I ended up failing some courses.

Dr. Michael Youssef: God's word is saying to everyone here...

Guest (Male): My mom's been an avid listener of Leading the Way for many years. And when I went back home to BC and told my mom what was going wrong, she told me to just go and listen to a sermon by Dr. Michael Youssef. I listened to one of his sermons on being joyful in all circumstances. It felt like that he was talking to me individually, as if he was talking directly to me.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Because happiness depends on the circumstances. You passed that exam, you got that bonus, you did—something happened, it makes you happy. But joy is dependent on what is true about God. You rejoice always...

Guest (Male): I was listening and I just began to cry. It was just the realization that God had been with me. I just had this overflowing joy and thankfulness even through the ups and downs. There's this constant steadiness. These past three years, God has really blessed me with friends.

As you learn to give everything to God, your will will begin to align with God's will. You'll just have this inexplicable joy and peace in your life. I'd like to thank Dr. Michael Youssef for preaching his uncompromising truth that comes from the word of God. There are so many more people that he's impacted, people like me. I would just like to encourage Dr. Michael Youssef through this story.

Guest (Male): When you stand with Dr. Youssef and Leading the Way, you partner in taking the gospel into your neighborhood and neighborhoods like yours around the world, impacting individuals, families, and communities. Join Dr. Youssef and Leading the Way while doors for the gospel are still open. Learn how by calling 866-626-4356 or online at ltw.org. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world. Learn more at ltw.org.