Leading The Way

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Guest (Female): Ask a ministry representative to send your copy of *The Daily Way* today when you call us at 866-626-4356 or LTW.org. Hey, thank you for joining listeners across six continents for this episode of *Leading The Way Audio* with Dr. Michael Youssef.

In all of Bible history, Abraham is the model of faith. But the fact is, Abraham struggled in his faith journey too, like we all do. Even after hearing God speak to him directly, "I am your shield. I am your great reward," he had to grow roots to move forward in faith. And as we all come to understand, it takes a lot of faith to have a little faith. So today, Dr. Youssef continues his teaching series, "Counting Stars in an Empty Sky," taking you through key moments in Abraham's life that are sure to encourage you in your faith walk.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Every one of us, I think, has experienced some level of fear in all its variety. I think just about every one of us fears some things more than other things. Every one of us deals with fear differently. There are varieties of fears, and they affect us all differently.

But do you know that there is a type of fear that only manifests itself after a great victory, after a great success, after a great blessing? I'm going to explain that. There is a type of fear that only moves in on us after a great achievement or a great accomplishment.

The Bible gives us many examples of this. Whenever you see God saying to someone, "Fear not," it's because that person is fearful. He might not have said it, he might not have verbalized it, but God does not waste words. I'll give you an example. Joshua supernaturally crosses the Jordan River and then supernaturally pulls down the fortified walls of Jericho. Flushed with victory, the next thing God says is, "Fear not." Why? After all of that victory, he had fallen into that fear, that fear of success or post-successful fear.

I want you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 15, verse 1. Here comes God in a vision to Abraham, and He said to him, "Fear not. I am your shield and your great reward." Now you can look at chapter 14. Here you're going to find that the promise of counting stars has turned Abraham into an Old Testament Rambo. I know some of you don't want to have that vision, but that's exactly what he did. He went out and wiped a whole bunch of people.

There were terrorists in the area. There were always terrorists in that area. There were terrorists in the neighborhood. And these terrorists came to Sodom and Gomorrah, to these little towns down in the Dead Sea, and not only ransacked the whole town, but they took some hostages with them. These gunmen took these hostages by force. Look at verse 12. Among those taken hostage was Abraham's nephew, Lot.

These terrorists from Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and Goyim, they kidnapped Lot and his family for a ransom. One of the kidnapped boys cuts loose, runs back, goes to Uncle Abraham, and he said, "Your nephew Lot and his family, he has been taken hostage, and the FBI is not negotiating with terrorists." And so, magnanimous, generous, loving Uncle Abraham springs to action. Now I want you to remember, he was 85. Just keep that in your head.

Armed with the promise of God to count stars when there are none, imbued by God's supernatural intervention and delivering him from the consequences of his own sin, empowered by genuine compassion, Abraham takes 318 Green Beret rescue squad and he storms the place. Now, it's not in your Bible, but it's like a friend of mine said, I'm not exaggerating, I'm just blowing it up so you can see it.

But that's really what happened. I'd like to have those boys around. Hear me out, please. You can be absolutely sure that when Abraham and his 318 Green Beret commandos came back to town, they received a hero's welcome because they came with all the hostages and with all the goodies that were stolen. They marched through the town and there they received the hero's welcome. I mean, they gave them a ticker tape parade made of goat's hair and palm branches falling from the sky, skyscrapers or mud huts, or whatever it was back then.

That excitement was so impactful that the king of Sodom, who lost his country and got it back, got so excited that he hands Abraham a blank check with only his signature on it. He said, "Fill in the amount." Now, here's an important point. Don't miss this. Had Abraham accepted this offer, he would have been what kids say, a gazillionaire. He would have been a very rich man. I mean, his ranching operation would have been as big as any Texas operation.

His empire stretched from sea to sea. And there is no doubt the offer was tempting. He's made of flesh and blood, right? It was tempting. But here Abraham remembers the promise of God of counting stars without seeing any because God is the one who's going to bless him. And he turns that generous offer flat down. Look at verses 22 and 23, chapter 14. "I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth"—not a gazillion dollars, but possessor of all of heaven and all of earth—"I will not take a thread of anything from you, lest you should say, 'I made Abraham rich.'" All I want to say is wow.

Do you know why so many people get squirmish and worried and anxious about their so-called financial security? Do you know why so many people leave God out of their finances and they work diligently organizing their finances? Listen, you can spin it any which way you want to, but I'm going to give you the bottom line. The bottom line is because they have failed to recognize that God and only God is their provider.

When you come to the realization that none but God is your provider, you will not be insecure. You will live in fear about financial future if you think somebody and someone and somewhere is your provider and is your blesser. I want you to imagine this scenario, and I couldn't help but think about this. Here's his greedy, ambitious nephew Lot, who's always want to grab. And he's standing there and watching his uncle and the king of Sodom.

The king of Sodom says, "You must take it." "No, no." "You must take it." "No, no." And he's standing there and saying, "Take it, take it, take it. And give it to me. Uncle, take it. Take it from him." I mean, he is ready to get any crumbs tossed his way by the king of Sodom. Abraham is saying, "Buster, God is the one who's going to bless me, not you." To compound this incredible trust in the provision of God, when Melchizedek shows up from nowhere, Abraham takes not 10 percent of his income, not 10 percent of his salary, 10 percent of his entire net worth, and he gives it to him.

Melchizedek, which means the king of righteousness and the king of peace, Hebrews chapter 7 tells us he's a type of Christ. He's a type of Christ. Abraham gives him 10 percent of everything. Don't ever listen to anyone who says to you tithe is under the law. That's 400 years before the law was given. Abraham did that. Please, please, please, don't miss this. Not only did Abraham turn down this big fortune because he's trusting in God as his provider, but he turns around and gives away tenth of everything that he owns.

And so Melchizedek brings wine and bread and he has communion with Abraham. He's a type of Christ. Melchizedek, Psalm 110 said, is a high priest of the highest order, and His name is Jesus. This is the pre-incarnate Jesus, and He appeared many times in the Old Testament. Theologians have a big name to describe this; they call it theophany. That's when Jesus appeared, the pre-incarnate Jesus appeared in the Old Testament, and we see that in a number of occasions.

Let me say another word for those who are fearful financially and they see the market whether it's up or down and they panic and they get worried and concerned about their financial security. You will continue to live in fear as long as you think that your security comes from anyone or anything other than the Lord Jesus. Amen?

Back to the story. After this great military victory, after turning down a huge fortune, after taking 10 percent of everything he owns and gives it to God, Abraham gets into a funk. Have you ever been there? I have. Some of you know what I'm talking about. I mean when you are physically and emotionally and spiritually absolutely spent, wiped out. If you have ever experienced a great victory over the enemy of your soul, if you have ever battled in the spiritual battle and you came on the winning side, you know what I'm talking about.

You will understand the absolute drain that takes place after you made a sacrifice for the Lord. You get so wiped out because you are fighting doubt, you are fighting apprehension, and you're fighting remorse and you're fighting all kinds of feelings inside of you. Some of you are saying, "Wait a minute, Michael, when I experience that kind of thing, I'm on top of the world. How come Abraham feels down after he's securely home?"

I read something years ago and it stayed with me and I'll never forget it. And it goes something like this: Cowards fear before the battle, but heroes fear after the battle. This was Abraham. This was true of Abraham. You say, "Well, how do you know that?" Well, that's why we get back to 15:1. Chapter 15, verse 1: The word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision saying, "Do not fear, Abraham." God doesn't waste words. "Do not fear, Abraham. I am your shield and your great reward."

I want to share something so precious to me that I have learned in my walking with the Lord, and it is this: God knows your needs before you do, and He ministers to you accordingly. There are times when the Lord ministers to me and I can't even see the need, hasn't arrived yet. And I was overwhelmed, and all of a sudden I face the need and I said, "How precious You are. You knew my need before I needed it, before I knew it, and You ministered to me accordingly."

Recently I preached a message on Satan's opportune times. One of those times I said in which we are really vulnerable to sin is the moment after a flash of victory and success. Be very careful. Why? You are not only exhilarated and surprised, but you are filled with a mixture of pride and fear. And the devil knows it. Abraham steps down from the pinnacle of victory, and he was about to plunge into depression when the gracious hand of God grabbed him in mid-fall.

Isn't that wonderful? That's why I love the Word of God. I really love the Word of God because it tells you everything. It doesn't give you the stuff that you just want to know to make you feel good; it tells you everything. So don't miss what I'm going to tell you. God did not say to Abraham, "Abraham, don't fear. Remember my promise of telling you to count stars when you can't even see any. Abraham, don't fear. Remember I protected you against Pharaoh in Egypt and I got you out whole.

Abraham, don't be afraid. Can't you see how I gave you the strength of 100 men and you took on all those four armies?" That would have been fine if the Lord said that. But God said, "The reason you should not be afraid is because I am your shield." Can you say that with me? "I am your shield." A shield completely covers you from all of the enemy's weapons. As if to say to Abraham, "Abraham, you are under my impenetrable cover. Abraham, you are under my strong care. Abraham, you are in my protection program. Abraham, your enemies will not be able to get to you before they get to me first."

And being a shield is not even the whole story. If it was, it would have been enough. He says in addition to being a shield, he said, "I am your great reward. I am your great reward." All that God is, all that God has, "I am your great reward. Not only that you are under my cover, not only you are under my protection program, but when you receive me"—and this is a Word of God to everyone who's listening—"I will satisfy your lonely heart. I will fill your empty void. I am the only one who give joy to the joyless.

I am the only one who compensate the victims. I am the only one who vindicate the righteous. I am the only one who supply all of your needs according to the riches of the glory in Christ Jesus." Amen. When you trust God as your true provider—true provider—when you trust God with your tithes and offerings, when you take tangible steps of faith and say, "Well, when this happen I do this," no, it's say, "Lord, I'm going to take a step of faith at the front end."

God not only meet all of your needs, but He's going to give you Himself. What does God mean, "I'm your great reward"? It means that you will share everything that God has. Are you with me? What does God have? Everything in the entire universe. Heaven and earth, the solar system, the galaxies, all the stars—He owns everything. Abraham received many revelations. We saw some and we're going to see some more. The Lord revealed Himself to him in his lifetime. All of them, all of them has God's name attached to it.

Abraham got to know God as Jehovah Jireh, his provider. He got to know God as El Elyon, the Most High God, Creator of all things. He got to know God as his protector. He got to know God as his defender. Now, beloved, if you have placed your whole trust in Jesus, here's what Paul said in Romans 8:17—memorize it. Paul's talking about the adoption, God adopting us as His children, and he said, "If we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ."

Every time I get to that verse, it blows me away. Listen to me. There is a world of difference between a single heir and being one of ten. A single heir inherits everything. If you're one of ten, you're going to get only 10 percent, right? But if you are co-heirs, that's very different. Even if you are one of a billion, everyone inherits the whole thing. I told you it's mind-blowing. Everyone inherits the whole thing undivided.

That means that everything belongs to Christ is yours, all of it. We're not just going to get a piece of the action; we're going to get the whole enchilada. And that's what it means to be co-heirs with Christ. To have God as your greatest reward means that you will share in all that God is. And even now, even in this life, sometimes we see it and we experience part of it. Hear me out, please. You can live your Christian life one of two ways.

You can live it feeling totally secure in God no matter what goes on in life. You can live it feeling anchored in God regardless of your circumstances. You can live it already anchored in God's character. You can live it already resting in His presence. Or you can live it in fear and insecurity. You can live it in uncertainty and anxiety. The choice is yours, really. You either feel confident that He is able to present you faultless before His Father, or you're going to constantly worry if you're going to make it.

In Genesis 15:2 and 3, you see Abraham yearning for assurance. Again, that's okay. You would think verse 1 would have been sufficient when he said to him, "I am your shield. I am your great reward." And yet in verses 2 and 3, particularly 2, you see a note of despair, a note of disappointment, a note of discouragement in Abraham's voice. All of us can sympathize with Abraham. I know God does, and God did.

See, God made him a promise 10 years ago. He was 75 years old. Now, 10 years later, and the biological clock, not only his but Sarah's, going tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. And he began to say, "God, I trust you. But what's going on here? It's been 10 years." Beloved, God's delay are never His denial. Can you say that with me? God's delay are never His denial. Verse 3. Abraham was doing his estate planning.

I think everybody should do estate planning. And he was doing his estate planning, and he decided to share his estate plan with God. He said, "My faithful servant, this is the chief of staff, Eliezer of Damascus, he's going to inherit my estate." He's still looking for that assurance from God, and God was so gracious to him in response. He was so gracious to him and He renews His promise to Abraham.

In verse 6 of chapter 15, it says Abraham believed the Lord and He credited to him as righteousness. God gave him the faith to believe and then He gives him credit for it. Isn't that like our God? It doesn't matter where you are. It doesn't matter the degree of your despair. It doesn't matter the length of your waiting for Him. You can begin to trust Him afresh now, today, this very moment.

Guest (Female): You've joined Dr. Michael Youssef and *Leading The Way*. Learn more about the many ways the gospel is being spread worldwide through *Leading The Way* when you visit LTW.org. Now another way to grasp the impact of the ministry is by subscribing to *My Journal*. Get your free subscription started when you call 866-626-4356 or fill out a form at LTW.org.

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