Leading The Way

Guest (Female): Are you experiencing life at its best?

Dr. Michael Youssef: For life at its best to be accomplished, there has to be a regular time to take stock and look at these signposts and find out if you are making progress toward your goal or not. If you are moving from stage one to stage two to stage three, or you're stuck somewhere, it will tell you if you're heading in the right direction or the wrong direction. It must be done daily. It must be done regularly.

Guest (Female): Thank you for making time for Leading The Way with long-time pastor, international Bible teacher, and best-selling author, Dr. Michael Youssef. Get to know Dr. Youssef and Leading The Way by subscribing to the monthly magazine, My Journal. Packed full of encouraging, biblical, culturally challenging content, a free subscription to My Journal can be yours by calling 866-626-4356 or sign up at ltw.org.

Have you ever wished that there was a tool available, like an app or a GPS offering turn-by-turn guidance for life? Today on Leading The Way, Dr. Youssef helps you understand that you have something more valuable: the Bible. So let's join Dr. Michael Youssef in 1 John chapter 2 as he begins today's teaching, Life at Its Best.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Probably I'm one of very few people in the world who can live in a city and still gets lost in that city every time. No, I'm not blaming the layout of the city. I'm not blaming the signages or lack thereof. I'm not blaming the traffic. I take full responsibility for my muddles.

The worst experience was when I was supposed to be at a funeral downtown conducting it. I gave myself plenty of time knowing what might happen. After wandering around the city for quite a while, I looked at my watch and it was seven minutes to the service and I'm on the other side of the city. Literally, on the opposite side of the city.

The more I tried to improvise, the more I think that I can take a shortcut, and the more I think that I can do this or do the other thing, it got worse, not better. What saved the day was a high-rise building and I knew my destination is very close to that building. So that building became the place to which I kept my eyes focused.

Every time I got away from that building, I knew I'm away from my destination. Every time I came near that building, I knew that I was getting close. As long as my eyes were on that target, all of my failures and all of my foibles and all of my setbacks were going to be redeemed and they're going to be overcome. Why? Because the target kept me ongoing in the right direction in spite of the setbacks.

And that's exactly what the Apostle John is saying to us in the first 14 verses of 1 John chapter 2. I hope you turn to it. In the first 14 verses of chapter 2, John gives us now landmarks, signposts along life at its best. These landmarks we all are going to encounter. You will, you will, you will, and I will. John gives us those signage to know if we are on the right track spiritually or not.

And John is saying to every one of us, whether you are six years old or 60 years old, he's saying to every one of us that there are signposts along life at its best, along salvation highway. There are signs, and these signposts are supposed to tell us where we are right now, where we've been, where we are, and where we're heading.

And if you are not on the salvation road, it will tell you whether you are or not. Then it tells you how to get on it. Then it tells you if you're heading in the right direction. And if you are heading in the right direction, what do you do in terms of detours? What do you do in the times of setbacks? What do you do when you take the wrong turns?

John gives us these landmarks because every believer in Jesus Christ must stop and take stock of his or her life regardless of your age. You must take time. I do it daily. Take time. Find out where you've been, where you are, and where you're heading. For life at its best to be accomplished, there has to be a regular time to take stock and look at these signposts and find out if you are making progress toward your goal or not.

If you are moving from stage one to stage two to stage three, or you're stuck somewhere, it will tell you if you're heading in the right direction or the wrong direction. It will show you and help you discover whether you are stuck in the back alley somewhere or you're heading in the right direction. It must be done daily. It must be done regularly.

I love what John Newton said. John Newton, many of you know, is the author of that magnificent hymn sung the world over, Amazing Grace. But some people might not know that John Newton was a slave trader. But then when the grace of God overwhelmed John Newton, he turned into being a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Listen to what John Newton said as he would take time regularly to assess where he is in his walk with the Lord. He said, "I am not what I ought to be. Oh, but I am not what I once was. And it is by the grace of God that I am what I am." John the Apostle gives us three signposts to determine if you are heading in the right direction.

Signpost number one, verses three to six, it is obedience to the will of God. Signpost number two, it is abounding in the love of God, verses 7 to 11. Signpost number three, it's abiding in the Word of God, verses 12 to 14. Obeying the will of God. He said we know that we have come to know Him. How? By going to church regularly? How? By joining a church? No. How? By belonging to a denomination? No. How? By being just a nice guy, a nice woman? How? If we obey His command.

If you want to know whether you are on salvation's highway or not, you need to ask yourself the question: am I longing to obey God? Do I desire with all of my being to be in obedience to the will of God in my life? That's the first test. When you love somebody, it is natural. You want to do everything to please that person.

You want to do everything that will bring joy to that person. And it's the same way with loving God. And every time you go on a detour of disobedience, you know what you're saying? You're saying, "Lord, I don't love You." Michael, that's harsh. That's rough. Michael, that's cold, man. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm telling you what he said.

Let's not mince words here. If you truly know Him, you'll love Him. And if you truly love Him, you're going to obey Him. Period. I want you to hear me out on this one. There is no more powerful delusion than self-delusion. It really is. Many of you know what I'm talking about. And we all can delude ourselves. And that is why we all need accountability.

And one of the best ways to delude yourself is to be reliant on your subjective feelings instead of being reliant on the objective truth of the Word of God. But if there are these signposts given to us and we take no notice of them, you're going to find yourself like me in the backstreets somewhere, spiritually speaking.

Many years ago, I had a long conversation with a dear brother in Christ who insisted that because Christ died on the cross and paid for the wages of his sins, therefore life of obedience is not necessary. So I opened the scripture, and there it was, 1 John chapter 2 verse 4. Let me read it to you. "The man who says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him."

Hunger for righteousness, desire to obey Him, longing to please Him, are the only indication whether I am going forward in Christ, or I'm going forward with Christ, or am I standing still. Because the truth is none of us can stand still. We're going to slide back. Why? Why is that? Because these things are not natural. They are not natural things to happen.

We are not born with the desire and the longing to obey God. We are not born with a longing for obedience to the Word of God. It is unnatural. And the natural man, natural woman, the natural boy, the natural girl, do not have longing for righteousness. They do not long to please the Lord. They don't desire to obey Him.

But the ones who have gotten onto salvation highway, they do. Even though they may fall and stumble, even though they may hit a bottom every now and again, even though they may get into a dark patch in life, even though they may temporarily lose their way, if their eyes are focused on the landmark and the signpost, they will get back to the right direction.

Obeying the will of God. Secondly, abounding in the love of God. Look at verses 7 to 11. During the days of John and we saw that in the last message, the Gnostics were running around saying, they're like our New Age people today, they were running around saying, you know, it's really knowledge that saves you and the more knowledge you have, the more saved you become.

And John's answer was: you got it all wrong boys. You are wet on this one. Knowing Christ is not just head knowledge. Having factual knowledge about Christ is not the same as knowing Christ. And the only way to know that we know, and everybody knows that you know Christ is the oldest commandment which is the newest commandment and that is loving Christ and the Christ family.

Loving Christ and Christ family. Walking where Christ walked. Follow His rhythm. Step on His footsteps. Follow the direction of His earthly life. So the question is: what was it, the one thing that dominated the life of the Lord Jesus Christ? What was the one thing? Over and over again he would say it again and again and again. You know what it is?

Pleasing the Father. Pleasing the Father. That was his desire. That was his longing. Constantly is to please the Father. So if you and I are going to follow in his footsteps, we have to have that desire over all desires, over all our goals, over all our life ambitions, over everything is to please the Father.

Today, we have so many called Christian leaders who are asking people to follow them, albeit bit subtle. It's not blunt like I'm saying it. They're the focus, they're the center. Let me make you a promise right here in this church: if I lead you anywhere other than to Jesus Christ and the Word of God, you need to run out of here as fast as you can and go to a church where a person can lead you to Christ and His Word.

Unfortunately, many of the so-called leaders, they lead people into and they turn out to be a hero worship instead of Jesus worship. Hear me out on this one: the mark of spiritual maturity is discerning. Is discerning who is leading you to Christ and who is leading you away from Christ. It's very important.

The greatest leadership quality that we can have, whether we are parents, whether we're Sunday school teachers, whether we're small group leaders, whether we're preachers or the pastors, it doesn't matter, any position of leadership that God has placed you in, the only most visible quality of that leadership is that you love Jesus and you love Jesus's people.

That's it. Everything else is a filler. Everything else will come along the way. Not many years ago, we had this twisted, perverted idea that invaded our culture and then invaded the church with vengeance, that went something like this: in order that you might love God and love others, you must first love yourself. And the more you love yourself, the more you're able to love others.

Have you thought of anything more twisted? Because we ended up with generation who are self-lovers. We really do. Right now, that is the disaster that has invaded our homes and our churches. And so we have people now who are so self-focused and what they don't understand is that the greatest enemy of love is self-love. That the greatest seed of hatred is self-obsession.

And John tells us that light and love go together. A loving person is a person who's walking in the light. Why? Because lack of love distorts our perceptions. Lack of love blinds our vision. And it will not take long before you're going to feel at home in the dark of hatred. I want to tell you this and I say it with tears: that there are too many people who are staying in the darkness of hatred and resisting the light of love.

Too many. I meet them all the time. And they've got used to groping in the dark. They don't even know what light looks like anymore. Verse 10: "Whoever loves his brother lives in the light and there is nothing in him to make him stumble." Let me ask you this: if you're stumbling in the dark, ask yourself the question: is there resentment? Is there a hatred in your heart?

Listen, I know there are people going to hate us. That's not our problem. That's not your problem. My problem is: do I hate anybody? That's the question. And if I do, then I am in darkness and not in light. And it must not last in your life or mine. It must not take time. You must get rid of it today. Say, "Lord Jesus Christ, shine that light that I talked about in the last message so that I begin to walk in the light of love."

You see when hatred and resentment slips into our lives so subtly, that's why the Bible calls it the roots of bitterness, because it's not a fruit on a tree that you can see, it's hidden, it's deep. And that's why you need to come to Christ and ask Him to show you. Because when that hatred slips into your life and slips into my life, instead of loving one another, we hate one another.

And say, "I want to get back at him. I want to get back at her." Now wait a minute. That's not what Christ Jesus died for. What is the problem here? The problem is that the longer you stay in the darkness of hatred and resentment, the longer you get used to that darkness. You figure your way. You know, I'm an early riser.

And I get up, I don't turn the lights on, but I can assure you if my house is total darkness, I know exactly where to go. I have figured it all out because I got used to it. And beloved, let me tell you something: we can easily get used to sitting in the darkness of resentment. We don't realize what a dreadful place to be. Ask the Lord today: get me out.

Because the longer you stay, the worse it's going to get. Just like losing my bearings and going around and around and around. For life at its best, for it to be moving forward, there has to be obedience to the will of God. There has to be an abounding in the love of God. And thirdly, there has to be an abiding in the Word of God. Look at verses 12 to 14.

Now these are very significant verses. Many interpreters through the years thought that John is basically addressing the different age groups in the church. But further examination of the use of particularly John's use of these Greek words, it will reveal to you very quickly that he's not talking about age groups.

And so when he is referring to fathers, he is referring to those who are mature in Christ. Those believers who have been walking with the Lord for a long time. When he's referring to young men, he is referring to those who are young in the faith and still enthusiastic and strong and infectious about their spiritual life. When he's referring to dear children, he's referring to the entire congregation, entire body of Christ.

And so the mature Christian is under obligation. The mature Christian who is rich in faith, who is ripe in grace, they are under obligation to disciple those young in the faith. It is imperative for the mature believers, both men and women, to disciple young believers. After all, listen to me: God has blessed you.

God has been maturing you. God has been walking with you. God has sent others to walk with you when you were a young Christian. Now it is your role to walk with somebody who's young in the faith. You see, age is not the issue here. It's maturity. And John wants to say to those who are young in the faith, those who are very enthusiastic about their faith, who are excited, there's nothing more exciting than to be around a new believer.

They just see that incredible faith and in their enthusiasm and in their spiritual vigor, they are overcoming Satan. They're overcoming sin. And they're walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. They are more than conquerors, he said, if you abide in His Word. Look at verse 14. "I write to you, young believers" or "young men", young believers, "because you are strong and the Word of God lives in you and you have overcome the evil one."

And so let me conclude by asking you this: are you on salvation's highway? Have you begun this life at its best? And if you haven't, you can start today. But if you are and have been on salvation's highway, please listen to me carefully: you got to ask yourself that question, if you're taking notes, write it down.

Ask yourself: am I stuck on a side street somewhere going in circles in my spiritual life? Am I on a detour and staying in that detour? Am I in the back alley of this world's pleasures and this world's materialism and this world's attraction? Am I stuck in the back alley somewhere? And it's all the good old days when I used to walk with Jesus.

Listen to me: He does not want you to be there. He does not want you to be there. He longs for you. He longs for you to renew your first love. Today, you can focus your eyes on the landmark and begin heading back in the right direction. Jesus is waiting.

Guest (Female): Thank you for being a part of this Leading The Way audio episode with Dr. Michael Youssef. Want to hear more engaging content? Well, subscribe to the podcast or download the Leading The Way app. Details are at ltw.org.

Each Monday, Leading The Way team members gather together to pray and to update one another on ministry strategies and impact. The team members also have the privilege of praying for people who have reached out to the Leading The Way team from all around the world. I want to share just a few recent requests. This way you can gain a deeper understanding about what's happening around the world and you can participate with Dr. Youssef in prayer.

Omar in Egypt shared how the only ministry that responded to his faith questions was Leading The Way. He shared his desire to be discipled and to be baptized, to be part of a local church. Well, Leading The Way has stood beside him offering guidance, and we still do. Ali from Algeria recently accepted Christ. He shared that the joy he is feeling is something never experienced before.

Leading The Way connected him with a discipleship group to facilitate growth in the faith, and he asked for prayers that he can gain strength in living for Jesus. Please know that when you support Leading The Way, with your prayers and with your generosity, you make it possible for brothers and sisters like these to hear the gospel, to grow in Christ, and to further impact their communities with the gospel.

Will you stand with Dr. Youssef in generous support of Leading The Way's worldwide ministry? Give us a call. We're at 866-626-4356. Be a part of the Open Door campaign. That number again: 866-626-4356 or online at ltw.org, ltw.org. You can also get in touch with the ministry through the postal service. You can write to us at Leading The Way, Post Office Box 20100, Atlanta, Georgia 30325.

Well, that's about it for today. Do make it a point to listen again next time to Leading The Way when Dr. Michael Youssef shares another secret to experiencing life at its best. This program is brought to you by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Connect further with audio and video content at ltw.org or through your favorite social media platform, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and more.