Leading The Way

Female Voice: Thank you for listening to Leading The Way with author, cultural expert and internationally respected Bible teacher, Dr. Michael Youssef. In this episode, Dr. Youssef helps you understand how to live life in anticipation of the return of Jesus and the reality of eternity. This episode is part of Dr. Youssef's life-changing series called, Enduring Wisdom. Challenging you to view all that you do in the light of eternity. So listen with me as Dr. Youssef begins today's teaching.

Dr. Michael Youssef: The Bible from cover to cover makes it absolutely clear that history is going to come to an end one day. That Jesus is coming back to take his children home and to punish the wicked. That the second coming of Jesus will end the world as we know it.

That just as the first coming of Jesus, the Christ, it was a historic event, so will the second coming going to be a historic event. The doctrine of the second coming of Christ is a vital important part of the Gospel.

Every detail in the Bible regarding the second coming of Christ will be fulfilled with the most meticulous details and the most meticulous precision. Just like the first coming of the Lord fulfilled all the prophetic pronouncements about his first coming that we see in the Old Testament, so will the second coming will fulfill all the prophetic pronouncement.

Therefore, anyone who denies or obscure or misinterprets or abandons the truth of the second coming of Christ will be severely judged. At the end of the Bible, the very last book in the book of Revelation, chapter 22, verses 18 and 19.

The Apostle John said, "I testify to everyone who hears the words of this book, if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his part in the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book."

Beloved, listen to me, most of you know that Christians are divided on the minute details about the second coming of Christ. They're divided over, you know, the rapture or the thousand year reign or the tribulation, is it, is past, is post, is pre, all of that, all of that. And I'll tell you, I have studied all these different positions, because they're held by some people I love and respect. They're people who love God and love the word of God.

But I came to my own solid conclusion. I believe that's from the Lord and a conviction from the word of God. My own conclusion is this, I must live every day in a state of readiness. Whether I go to him first or he comes back to take me home first, I'm a happy camper either way.

I have, and I tell the Lord this literally every day. I have my spiritual bags packed and ready. He can call me home anytime or he can come back anytime. I will not waste my time, I will not waste my life arguing and debating the finer points about the return of Christ.

Please hear me right. I think in this passage here, the Lord Jesus Christ is far more concerned about those who will get so bogged down with this life that they will totally forget about his second coming. Let's look at Luke chapter 12, verse 35. "Be dressed and ready and keep your lamps lit."

Now, this is more of an interpretation really than even translation. Because in the literal translation it says, "Gird your loins." Well, that language comes from the time of Jesus when men and women wore flowing robes, long caftans or whatever. And they are wonderful if you're sitting there in leisure kind of having a conversation. But they're not very good when you are doing some manual work or in the battlefield.

They're going to get in the way. They're going to trip you and you're going to fall and stumble all over the place. So what he's saying literally is, you take these up and you tuck them into your belt. You tuck them into the sash, and so that you are free to move and not be hampered.

He is taking this image and applies it to the mind. You see, our mind, visualize this with me, it's like a free-flowing robe. They get all over the place, right? We get all sorts of distractions. A lot of things that can trip us up in our walk and in anticipation of the coming of Christ.

I've always been an ADD. I'm still an ADD. Thank God they did not discover Ritalin back then. It would have slowed me down. And so, what I need to do is to tuck in these flowing robes in my head, all these distracting thoughts that go through my head. I need to put these distractions away. I need to get some spiritual Ritalin into my head.

And the Psalmist says, "Unite my heart, unite my mind, unite my mind so that keep it from distraction of the fear of you or the worship of you." Now, whether things that are trying to weigh us down in terms of our circumstances, or issues of life. We need to be tucking them away, so that we keep our focus on the coming of Christ. We keep our focus on that great day.

Let everything you do, let every decision you make, let every lifestyle choice be motivated with that day in mind. Also, it said, "Keep your lamp lit." Still the same verse, 35. Again, this language comes from the time of Jesus, where they would have lamps or candles or torches would they lit up and be able to go around in the dark and see where they're going. That's what the purpose of the lamp is.

And this is a figure of speech for knowledge. Knowledge. But it's not enough to have just head knowledge. That's not what he's talking about. You need to be watchful of where you're heading, where you're walking, how you're living, where you're going. Make sure that your knowledge of the coming of Christ motivates your life. Keeps you in a state of watchfulness. Keeps you in a state of preparedness. That you're not going to be surprised when he comes.

In Matthew 25, the Lord Jesus Christ tells us a parable of ten bridesmaids. Five had oil in their lamps and as soon as the bridegroom came, they were ready. The others were not. First, our minds should not be distracted.

Secondly, our lamps should have oil and lit up. Thirdly, verses 36 to 38, "You are to be a faithful servant." What are the descriptions of a faithful servant, the Lord Jesus Christ himself tells us here. And the reason he uses the imagery of a Jewish wedding, because a Jewish wedding, not like ours, you know, here you come at 6 o'clock and the reception is 7:00 till 9:00 or whatever.

A Jewish wedding just went on and on and on days. They never knew when it starts and they never knew when it's finished. That's the image here, they understood that. And so, they're always ready whenever the bridegroom comes, they're ready to go on and have a party, right?

That uncertainty was not going to put off a faithful servant. He's going to be dressed and ready with his lamp ready. No matter what time of night the master shows up, the faithful servant not only dressed and ready and lamp lit, but he's ready to go.

Dr. Michael Youssef: My beloved friends, you know, as I get on the road and I meet so many of you, and you tell me how long you have been watching or listening to Leading The Way for years, and you've wanted to give financially in support of this ministry and our global impact for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But you haven't been able to focus on it or take the time to just write the check or go online and make the donation.

Now, I'd like to ask you to stop and do that right now. Our ministry together is more important now than ever before. Our greatest opportunity to make a real lasting impact and difference for the cause of Christ is now. And as you know, this is my labor of love. I have no financial consideration with Leading The Way whatsoever. I give it all of my time now, full-time, literally. So, would you join me in worshipping the Lord through giving? Souls will be in heaven because of our partnership. I encourage you to give right now. You won't regret it. In fact, it will bring you great joy to know that your dollars are impacting lives. Visit LTW.ORG for details. That's LTW.ORG. Thank you in advance. God bless.

Dr. Michael Youssef: You know, in my previous life, I traveled overseas a great deal. And I would literally jam my travel and I would go around the world, I'll make seven country stops and try to be home within 10 days. I don't want to be stay away from home more than 10 days. But the greatest joy is when I come home and my family expecting me. And the joy that they have for my arrival, it's indescribable. And that kind of a similar image here, verse 38.

It would be good for those servants whose master found them ready. They're not just dressed and they're not just have the lamps lit, but they're ready. And it doesn't matter what time. Whether it is the second watch or the third watch. What is that? The second watch was from 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM. The third watch was from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM. What they call that, the graveyard shift.

This tells us that there is a special blessing all its own that is reserved for those who are waiting for the Lord. Isn't that amazing? Those who are ready are neither the ones who put on the white robes and hid for the mountains, setting dates, nor the ones who are so bogged down in this life and the affairs of this life and the circumstances of this life, that they have no thought of the return of Christ. Neither of them. Neither of them.

Well, brothers and sisters in Christ, we're to be dressed and ready mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and in every way. Then our lamp is lit, constantly witnessing the light of Christ. Awake, not asleep. And fourthly, the owner of the house is constantly alert. Look at verses 39 and 40.

You know, in the Middle East, back then and even now, most break-ins do not happen in the daytime. Because now in our culture, most people are out in the daytime, over there somebody's in the house. So the robbers don't come in the daytime, they only come at night when everybody's asleep. And they come in and out, take whatever they came in to take and then run.

And that is why Jesus said about his return, to some people, it's going to be like a thief in the night. Totally unaware, they did not have a clue, they're not thinking about it. They did not know that sometime during their sleep, he's going to sneak in. If the owner of the house knew exactly what time or what hour the thief is coming, he'll be up all night and ready to defend his family, ready to defend his possessions.

And that is why often the man of the house kind of hardly slept. And the Bible talks about the shepherd, you know, the good shepherd actually to this day, he'll sleep with one eye closed, one eye is open because he wants to defend the sheep. Robbers do not send you a postcard and say to you, "On such and such night, we're going to be visiting in your neighborhood." Just want you to know, please place all your valuables in a place where I can get in and out and get them very quickly. No, no, no. That does not happen.

Thieves always silently, stealthily, undetected. The goal is to come on the inside and leave very quickly. Nobody notices. There's another imagery the Lord gives us in Matthew 24 and 25. Another imagery, and I'm going to explain the two for you in a minute. And it's going to make you rejoice.

And that is the imagery of an expectant mom who's experiencing labor pain. Don't miss this, don't miss this, very important. Because there is a great deal of difference between a thief coming suddenly, totally unexpectedly in the middle of the night, and an expectant mom experiencing labor pains is about to give birth.

The thief is totally unexpected. The labor pains, while they come suddenly, but they are certainly expected. Why? Because the expectant mom had months to think about it and planned for that happy event. And that is why I am absolutely convinced that to the non-believers, or to the professing Christians, for those who are bogged down with this life and the affairs of this life, those who have rejected biblical truth, the day of the Lord is going to be like a thief in the night.

But for those who are waiting, those who are expecting, it's going to be like labor pain. The ones to whom it's going to be like a thief in the night, they haven't given a thought about eternity, they haven't given a thought about where they're going to spend eternity. It's just not their focus. These people are too busy building their nest egg here on earth. They are too distracted by too many responsibilities.

They are so concerned of what people think of them. They are so worried about this planet earth and ignore the fact that the Bible said it's not only going to burn down, but even the elements going to burn. They have places to go and people to see, they're busy. But those who love Jesus, those who are waiting for the return of Christ, those who live expectantly of the return of Christ, those who are prepared for the return of Christ, they are prepared mentally, they're prepared emotionally, they're prepared spiritually.

To them it is not going to be like a thief in the night, but it's like a pregnancy that culminates in labor pains and a happy moment of birth. Labor pains are expected as inevitable. We do not know exactly when the labor pains are going to begin. But we're waiting for them. We're waiting for them. We know they're coming. We don't know when and how, but we know they're coming.

And that is why a pregnant mother is described as expecting. Expecting. And we, the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are living this life expecting. But there's more. There's more. Labor pains which are painful, and they're painful to experience. They announce the joyful deliverance.

The thief in the night brings calamity and disaster. And that is why it's going to be a day of judgment for those who have rejected Christ. Those who refused to believe, those who profess Christians, but never believed the doctrine of the second coming. But labor pains brings rejoicing and a new life which we will experience. Not so the thief.

Beloved, when the day of the Lord comes, it is my prayer, it is my prayer that you would be ready, be expecting, be prepared. Not will be to you like a thief in the night. A day of judgment. Always be ready, dressed and ready. Always be prepared. Always serving and giving and expecting of that day. Always working with that day in mind.

Verses 41 to 48. There is consequences for the state of readiness. Peter asked a question, verse 41. "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, the 12, or are you telling it to everybody else?" He did not answer his question directly, but indirectly he gives him another parable.

First, he said, "The faithful believers who are ready for the return of Christ are going to be uniquely blessed." There is a blessing with the name written on. As Paul out of the five crowns in the Bible, out of the five crowns, he says, "There's one crown that is specifically dedicated and will be given to all those who love his appearing."

But the unfaithful servants, those who are not ready for the return of Christ, they will be judged. They will be judged. But that's not all. The unfaithful person who becomes an abuser. Listen to me, we talk a lot about abuse. Who becomes an abuser. Abuser of both the divine stewardship, the divine trust that was placed in our hand. And abusing of human beings who are under their authority, misleading them and misguiding them. They will be judged more severely.

You notice there's a degree of punishment. Listen to me, God is not a communist. He's not going to deal the judgment exactly the same for everybody, nor is he going to deal the reward the same for every one of his faithful people. It's going to be a degree of it. The unfaithful professing Christian who only want to please themselves, unfaithful professing Christians who are unfaithful stewards with their life.

Unfaithful professing Christians who live under the illusion they have plenty of time to get right with God, to do things for God before he returns. They're going to be in deep trouble. They're going to be in deep trouble. But somehow to a lesser degree than those of us who are in leadership.

Why do you think I weep? When I hear that some of the great men of God who preached the gospel turn their back on the gospel, apologize for preaching the gospel. It tears me up. In fact, Paul uses very similar imagery here in First Thessalonians chapter 5, First Thessalonians 5, verses 4 all the way to 11. Paul said, "The unprepared person is like living in a state of darkness,"