Leading The Way

Dr. Michael Youssef: Do you find yourself living in fear? Today there are so many people who are hiding from God and they're living in fear. Listen to me, God's will for His children is not to live in fear. God's will for His children is not to live in anxiety. That only happens when we get away from Him, when we don't fellowship with Him, when we get away from His word.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Leading The Way with long-term pastor and author of more than 50 books, Dr. Michael Youssef. Join friends who have already pre-ordered his soon-to-be-released book, An Unholy Alliance. Information is available about the current special offer at 866-626-4356 or ltw.org.

You don't have to go far to recognize that many people are just swimming in fear. And as you'll hear today, fear can rule over and ruin your life, rendering you useless in what God has called you to do and to be. But there is hope. Today marks the beginning of a thought-provoking series from Dr. Youssef called Freedom from Fear. Join me in listening to his encouraging words.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Growing up under dictatorship, you're not allowed to verbalize what you think, especially if it's critical of the socialist dictator who's running the country. And so, in public places what you do, if you ever want to say something even to a family member and you're in public, you have to whisper. You have to lower your voice. You have to look around and make sure nobody's listening. And then you say what you have to say. In fact, we had the saying that the walls have ears. In other words, be very careful. And that's how we were trained to be terrified. And that's how dictators dominate and rule and really destroy by the power of fear.

You cannot speak your mind. You're terrified to speak your mind. You cannot express your own thoughts. In school, you basically parrot the dictator's party line and dare not say anything to the contrary. Otherwise, you'll probably disappear and nobody will know where you are. So, I understand this incredible power. After escaping to the freedom of the West, it took me a long time to get out of that grip of fear. In fact, I remember one time in a restaurant and I was talking to a friend and I was saying something and then I turned around and I was looking around. And then I said what I said. And he said, "Why did you do that?"

And for the first time, I came face-to-face with that incredible power of fear that had gripped me and continued even though I had been away from the country for several months. At that moment, I came face-to-face with the realization of the enormity of the power of that evil spirit. I knew of course what the Bible said about fear. I knew the Bible warnings about fear. I knew the Bible repeatedly said, "Fear not, fear not." I knew that intellectually. I understood that from the scripture. I knew all of that. But knowing it and actually overcoming fear and having freedom from fear are two different things.

I thank God every day that I live in the West and the freedoms that we have in the West. The freedom of speech and the freedom of religion, the freedom of assembly and all of it. We may not have it for too long, but at least I'm thankful while we got it. But here is the incredible irony. Here really is the incredible irony. While we have these so-called political freedom and have all these freedoms, and yet fear imprisons millions of people in this country. Fear is bounding millions of people in chains. Fear is holding millions of people as slaves to its mastery. Fear is paralyzing more people than all of the dictators and all of the despots put together. Why? Because fear is a powerful evil spirit.

And many believers who know the Lord Jesus Christ, who know His word, have never learned to master fear, have never learned to live free of fear. We need to know a few things about fear. You see, originally in God's plan, fear was a gift from God. You say, "Wait a minute, you just said fear is an evil spirit." Yes. Fear originally was a gift from God. The same thing as sex. Sex is a gift from God. The fact that those gifts got perverted and twisted and inverted doesn't make them any less of a gift. The gift of fear was given to us by the hand of God so that we might fear God. It doesn't mean be terrified of God, but honor, revere, respect God.

The Bible said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. To exercise that gift of fear in its proper context is to render reverence to God, honor to God, is to render respect to God. That is healthy fear. And that's the original gift of God. The Bible said that children are to fear their parents. Again, it doesn't mean to be terrified of their parents. No, but to honor their parents, respect their parents, obey their parents. That is healthy fear and God intended for us to have that healthy fear. The Bible said that we as citizens are to fear the law of the land. That means we respect the law. It means that we honor the law of the land.

The gift of fear tells us that if you step in front of the traffic, you're going to be mincemeat. I mean, if you're going to jump out of a 10-story building, you probably won't make it. That's fear. That's healthy fear. So, the gift of fear was given to us for self-preservation. The gift of fear was given to us by God for survival. The gift of fear is given to us so that we might live in harmony in our homes, so that we might live in harmony in our society. That is a gift of God. But when Satan succeeded in hoodwinking and deceiving Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, fear that was a gift of God got inverted. That gift of God became twisted. That gift of God became perverted.

And so, instead of fearing God, we fear people. Instead of fearing God, we fear the future. Instead of healthy fear of the law, we basically fear getting caught. Instead of children having healthy fear and respect and honor for their parents, they disobey their parents and lie about it. The consequence of that perversion of that original gift of God is not only anxiety, is not only frustration, is not only insecurity, but even more than that. And fear comes in all kinds of forms. There is fear of failure which basically paralyzes us. There is fear of success which gives us all sorts of insecurities. There can be fear of rejection which keeps us in a foxhole.

There is all kinds of fear of people, fear of old age, fear of loss of health or loss of fortune or loss of the future or loss of a loved one or even the biggie one, you know, the fear of death. There are all sorts of fear. And all of these fears are orchestrated and manipulated by a general under the command of Satan known as the spirit of fear. He's constantly manipulating us to fear the wrong things. And that is why the Apostle Paul calls that spirit out. In 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7, he calls him by name, the spirit of fear. He named that spirit. But listen to me, the spirit of fear is not from God.

But fear has greater impact than just worry and anxiety and living a life of frustration. It really does. Did you know, for example, that some scientific research have shown without a shadow of doubt that 90% of the chronic illness in the United States of America have their origin in fear? In fact, fear affects and undermines your stamina. Fear weakens your immune system. Fear actually hampers the process of healing. And when God created us, He gave us the gift of fear. But when Satan entered into the garden and deceived Adam and Eve, that gift of fear became dislodged from its natural place.

Sin replaced the fear of God with the fear of man. You say, "How come?" Well, the Bible said that Adam and Eve, before they sinned, actually fellowshipped with God. They were in an intimate basis with God. They rejoiced when they heard the voice of God because they were able to have sweet fellowship with God. It's so hard to even imagine what that was like. In fact, we don't know how long that was, probably years. They enjoyed such intimacy and fellowship with the mighty God, the Creator of the universe. Honoring God, revering Him, delighting themselves in Him, respecting Him. But after sin came in, what happened? They became terrified of God.

God did not change. He's the same God. But they got terrified of Him. What is the cause of that? Sin. In the same way, when we fellowship with God, we are communing with God. When we are exercising intimacy with God, when we hear and obey the voice of God and the word of God, when we revere and respect and love and adore God, fear takes its proper place. It's the gift of honoring God, of revering Him, of being delighted in His presence. But when we disobey God, when we disobey His word, when we stay away from God, when we are too busy for God, when we do all of that, what happens? We become prey to Satan and his command general named the spirit of fear.

And when we sin, we live in anger and frustration and terror instead of reverence. Even those who don't know Christ, they are terrified of God. But that terror is not reverence. It's not honor. It's not adoring. It's terror because sin does that. And that's what I mean by the gift of God got inverted and got twisted and perverted because their conscience and sin cause them to be terrified of God. Why else do you think Adam and Eve hid after they sinned? The one that they've been fellowshipping with and enjoying His presence and delighting themselves in Him and all of a sudden they were hiding from Him. Why? Sin came in and inverted that wonderful gift and perverted it. And their healthy fear gave way to terror.

Today, there are so many people who are hiding from God and they're living in fear. Listen to me, but God's desire is to fellowship with us. God's deepest longing is for fellowship with us. That we would have healthy fear, healthy respect of Him. God's continuous invitation for men and women and boys and girls, "Come to Me and fellowship with Me. Come to Me and experience the joy of being in fellowship with Me." God's will for His children is not to live in fear. God's will for His children is not to live in anxiety. That only happens when we get away from Him, when we don't fellowship with Him, when we get away from His word.

Now, here's something I hope you'll never forget. I know that from firsthand experience. I know because it's the word of God. It is when you are surrendered to Christ, you will not surrender to your fear. When you are hand-in-hand with Jesus, fear cannot take hold of your hand. When you have peace of Jesus, fear cannot steal your peace. When you have confidence in Jesus, fear cannot shake that confidence. When you allow the promises of God to fill your mind and your heart and your spirit, there is no room in the inn for fear. And that is why the Bible is filled with promises. "Fear not, fear not, fear not."

Why? You think the God who created us knows us and knows our problems and our susceptibility to fear? The reason the Bible is filled with promises "fear not" because God knew that when sin did its total job in the Garden of Eden, every one of us, every one of us, have become susceptible to fear and have become vulnerable to the exchanging the fear of God to the fear of people and circumstance and future. Hear me out, this is very important. Sin switched the question that you and I must always ask when we are facing a major decision. What would God say? What does God think? How can God view this? To, "Ah, what would people say? How would people react to this?" See, that's what sin does. It reverses the question.

And at that point, what you will experience is irrational fear. Irrational fear can take hold of anybody. Irrational fear comes from all sorts of areas. And that is why we must practice the fear of the Lord in our lives. We must teach our children to fear the Lord because when they fear the Lord, they're not going to fear man. That's the only way you're going to experience freedom from fear in your life. That's the only way you're going to have victory over fear in your life. That's the only way that things will be falling apart all over Wall Street and all over Main Street and you can say, "I have my confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ because He's the one who gives you freedom from fear." Again, not terror, but respect and honor and reverence.

Let me ask you this. This is a question between you and God. It's between you and yourself. What kind of fear are you experiencing right now? What kind of fear that is gripping your heart? Whatever it may be, you can defeat it. You can have victory over it. You can be free from fear today. Well, after this brief introduction, now I can get to my text. Don't panic. That's supposed to scare you. See whether you still have fear or not. During the time of the Prophet Isaiah, they were going through a tough time. Much tougher than what we facing. They were having a time of economic upheaval. They were going through a time of insecurity.

They were having loss of family relationships and familiar surroundings, the loss of loved ones. And they were going through confusion and fear. If you ever read the history of that time, you'll understand the upheaval that God's people were going through at that moment. And through the Prophet Isaiah, God was speaking to His children. And it's a promise that is to you today, even though it was written 2,700 years ago. And here's what God said in chapter 43 verses 1 and 2 in the book of Isaiah. He says, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, it will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not burn. The flames will not set you ablaze." Amen belongs here.

Now, here's what God is saying to every faithful believer. When you get into deep waters, God is saying, and we all go through the deep waters of life at some point, don't panic. Why? Because God is going to see to it that you will not drown. When you're going through the fiery furnace and we all go through some fiery furnaces in life, just press the panic button and He will make sure that not a single hair on your head will be singed. Don't miss this point, beloved friends. Don't miss the point. God never, never, never said that you'll never go through deep waters. He did not say that. He never said that you'll never pass through the fire. He did not say that.

In fact, He said it is when you go through the deep waters. It is when you walk through those fiery furnace. It's when that happen, you will experience His presence with you in a way that you could never experience in 10 lifetimes when things are all going well. It is only when you are in deep waters, it is only when you walk through the fiery furnace, will you experience the power of the deliverance of the hand of God. But there's something else I want you to notice. He did not say when you are in the middle of the rough waters of life, I'm going to build a bridge for you. He did not say when you are really in the rough waters of life, I'm going to send you a boat. He didn't say that, you notice?

Do you know why? God is saying when you're there, I'm going to show up. Not a boat, but Me. What more do you want? I'll make sure you don't drown. When you're in the midst of a fiery furnace, I am not going to send you a fire truck. I'm going to show up. And what more can you get? Because He Himself is going to show up for every one of His faithful children. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Why did God say don't fear, don't fear, don't fear? Here, if you look at the first verse of that passage I read to you, the short two verses, He begins by saying, "For I have redeemed you." In fact, He started with the reason then He goes down and says what's happening.

He starts with the reason why you should not fear. I have redeemed you. Now, He's talking to Israel about redeeming them from the slavery of Egypt. But to every one of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ, when God redeemed us, when Jesus Christ died on that cross, God gave everything that was in heaven for you to redeem you, to save you eternally. And the God who redeemed you and save you eternally, will He not take care of all your needs? Come on now. Because I've redeemed you. I can promise you one thing for sure that when fear sits in in your life, either because you are not sure of your salvation or you have undermined your salvation, it's not a big deal.

You don't understand the enormity of the cost that God paid for your salvation. You don't understand the enormity of your importance to God and why He redeemed you. Fear will sit in when your salvation becomes marginalized in your life. Fear will sit in when your total dependence on God starts to wobble. When Jesus redeemed you, He redeemed you from all of sin, including the sin of fear. Is fear a sin? Yes. Because whenever it shows its ugly head, it's an indication that the believer has forgotten to trust in the promises of God.

Here are some of God's promises. In Genesis chapter 15 verse 1, God said, "Fear not," why? "Because I am your shield and your great reward." In Genesis 26:24, He said, "Fear not," why? "Because I am with you and I will bless you." In Exodus 14:13, God says, "Do not fear," why? "Because you will see the deliverance of the Lord." In Deuteronomy 20:3 and 4, God said, "Do not fear," why? "For the Lord goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." In 1 Chronicles chapter 28 verse 20, God said, "Do not fear," why? "Because I am with you." In Isaiah 41 and verse 10, God said, "Do not fear," why? "Because I will strengthen you. I'll help you. I'll uphold you with My righteous right hand." And I haven't finished Old Testament yet. I haven't got to the New Testament. Fill your mind, your heart, and your spirit with the promises of God and I promise you, you will have victory over fear. People all around you be terrified and you have confidence in the living God.

Guest (Male): No matter what you're facing today, God will meet you so that you can experience freedom from fear. This is Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. And we certainly hope that today's message has stirred some faith questions. If so, a Leading The Way pastor or a counselor would love to speak with you. And you can start that confidential conversation by going to ltw.org/Jesus.

Pre-order your copy of Dr. Michael Youssef's eye-opening new book, An Unholy Alliance, today for your gift of any amount. You'll discover why two ideologies radically opposed to one another are working together to undermine faith and freedom. How this alliance is advancing on college campuses, in the media, and in public institutions across America. What history, scripture, and documented evidence reveal about where this alliance leads and what you can do about it. How Christians can respond not with fear or outrage, but with courage, compassion, and gospel truth.

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