Leading The Way

Guest (Female): Here's Dr. Michael Youssef introducing today's Leading The Way.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Listen, we can have the best organized church. We can have the best administered church, but if the spirit of God is not guiding each member to use his or her gift, we are nothing but mechanical robots.

Guest (Female): Think back to your last birthday, or maybe even Christmas. You probably received a really thoughtful gift from someone who's special in your life, right? But what if instead of opening that gift and thanking them and using it, you just put it to the side? You didn't open it. Can you imagine? The gift giver probably would have their feelings hurt, right?

Guest (Female): Thank you. Thank you for joining International Bible Teacher Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading The Way, because today he's talking about spiritual gifts. God calls Christians to open them and use them and enjoy them. But many Christians just ignore spiritual gifts, just set them aside. Here now is Dr. Michael Youssef to continue his challenging, practical series called I Belong. Let's listen together to Leading The Way.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Some of you might have seen this commercial on television, and it's run by one of the mainline denominations. And it is designed, the commercial is designed to invite all people of all kinds to come to their churches. So far, so good. Church must always be welcoming of everybody.

But then the commercial concludes by saying something to the effect, that God is diversity and diversity is God. What's this all about? What is happening here? For the past 20 years or so, there has been a phenomenon that is sweeping through the older denominations in America.

Namely, that the Gospel of diversity of belief. Now you must understand now, I'm not saying diversity of people, but diversity of belief has eclipsed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That the Gospel of inclusiveness of all belief systems has superseded the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What is happening today right across the board is there are many people in the professing church are confusing and twisting biblical concepts that are wonderful concepts to preach another Gospel.

Biblical concepts such as love and tolerance and diversity are twisted and tortured to mean something very different from what the Bible intends to mean by them. The Bible has a word for that. It is called idolatry.

That's what the Bible calls it from cover to cover. And you and I need to be aware of it. Listen to me. The greatest challenge that believers in the 21st century are facing, not atheism, not agnosticism, not out and out unbelief, for we know exactly where those folks stand.

And our job is to love them and care for them and show them the Christ in our lives. But the real challenge for the 21st-century believer is the false belief system that has crept into the churches.

False belief systems that have impacted many a pulpit today. False belief systems that have invaded many a former Christian institutions today. A false belief system that promoted by many a preacher today.

False belief system that is so appealing to our emotions, that are so appealing to our feelings, that it is spreading like wildfire even among those who love the Lord and know the Lord, but are not discerning.

Take the word diversity, for example. When the Bible speaks about diversity in the church, the Bible means diversity of gifts.

We all have diversity of gifts. This is of vital importance, not only that you know and discover, but also to use your gift and its diversity.

But what false belief system says? Listen to me. Here's what false belief system says: false belief system twists the meaning that was intended in the Bible and says diversity means that it doesn't matter what you believe.

Diversity means, according to the false belief system, that it doesn't matter in whom you believe. Diversity to them means that it doesn't matter how you live. Diversity to them says that it doesn't matter what kind of a god you worship. All is welcome.

Sure. Sure, all is welcome to come to the church, to hear the Gospel message, so that they can be convicted of their sin, repent, and receive the forgiveness from the hand of God, and become born-again men and women of God, boys and girls.

But what the false belief system says, no, you can come and you stay in your unbelief. You can come and become a member of the church in whatever belief that you bring with you. You say, "How come?"

Oh, they say Paul said, "See? It's right here in the Bible. Diversity is a good thing." Well, does the really the Bible say that? Is that what the Bible really said? No, in a million no's. Absolutely not. False belief system takes a biblical concept and turns it into idolatry.

So I want you now to turn with me to see what the Bible really teaches about diversity. First Corinthians, chapter 12, but look at verse 12. Here's what the Apostle Paul is saying: the body is a unit. Though it is made up of many parts, and though all of its parts are many, they form one body, so it is with Christ.

What does the Bible teaching here? Is the unity. The unity of the body of Christ. And that one of the most important facts of that unity is the diversity of gifts. Not diversity of belief systems, not diversity of thinking what you want, not diversity of gods, not diversity of religions, not diversity of convictions. No.

In fact, if the church has diversity of belief, please listen to me. If the church has diversity of belief, that church cannot be called the Church of Jesus Christ. Why? Because diversity of belief will divide the church, not unite it. Diversity of belief will destroy the church, not build it up. Diversity of belief brings discord rather than harmony. Diversity of belief will lead to self-serving, not self-giving.

And that is why in the last message I focused on Peter's imagery of the spiritual building. And Jesus Christ himself is the living stones, and all the members are living stones in that building.

And if the building that is built without Jesus being the cornerstone, without Jesus being the living stone, that building will collapse sooner or later. And here Paul said that the church is like one single body of an individual. With Christ is the mind of that body.

He's the brain, he's the mind, he's the will, where the seat of the will is. That's where Christ is as far as the body is concerned. Though there may be 100 different parts in your body, your mind controls all of them. Your mind organizes and orchestrates this marvelous complex instrument that we call a body.

Well, just humor me for a minute. And suppose my right foot can talk to me and says, "Michael, I'm going to go this way." And then my left foot says, "No, I'd like to go this way." My mind says, "No, no, no, don't do that. This is not good. Something's going to happen that you're not going to like."

Or imagine that I go and I put my fork in the food and then guide it all the way to my ear. And the mind said, "No, no, no, that's not where it goes." Or if my hands get up in the morning and say, "You know, I am tired of being bare. I am jealous of these feet of yours who are wearing these shoes. Now this morning I want to put shoes on. My hands."

And you say, "Oh Michael, this is ludicrous." And you know, if you say it's ludicrous, you got my point. The mind unites all of the different parts of the body. Why? So it may operate in harmony. Just as we saw in the last message, that without the foundation, the cornerstone, the building collapses.

And so here in this illustration of the body, that without the mind, the body would go berserk. It would tear itself up. Without the mind, the spirit and the will, the body would cease to be a healthy body. And that is why Paul said that in the church, that's one body, is one mind.

And the mind must control the body. There's no choice. The mind has to be in charge of the body. That the mind has to be at the helm of the body. That the mind has to orchestrate this marvelous complex instrument that we call the body. God created the human body to be this marvelous, complex, and yet it's unified in perfect harmony and in perfect interconnectedness.

Verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul is saying, just as the body cannot be called the body when the head is severed, the body ceases to be the body. It becomes a corpse. Oh, it might still have the structure, but it doesn't have life. And that is why the Bible tells us in First John chapter 5, verse 12, "He who has the son has life."

And Jesus said in John 14:19, "Because I live, you also live." And so far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far from diversity being the diversity of belief in the church, true diversity is the diversity of gifts. You have different gifts than the one I have, and vice versa.

So, in the church life, when Christ, as we saw in the very first message, is the bridegroom of the bride. When Christ is the cornerstone of the spiritual building. When Christ is the mind of the body, the church not only be blessed, but will be a blessing to the world.

But here's the problem. The problem arises when not all members of the body are using their gifts. That's the problem. That's the problem. And the problem in the Corinthian church that Paul was addressing was not an intellectual problem, it was a spiritual problem.

He did not need to argue with them intellectually and try to convince them intellectually. No, no, no. He said, "Your problem is because you do not recognize the sovereignty of God in your lives. You have failed to recognize the sovereign gifts that the sovereign God has given you." That's what their problem.

And here's what the Bible teaches. Listen to me. That every born-again believer, everyone who surrendered their life to Jesus Christ as the savior of their soul and the Lord of their life, whether you are 16 or 60, when you come to Jesus Christ and become born-again, the sovereign God hands you a birthday present.

Every one of you, a birthday present. You say, "I didn't get one." No, you have one. You just don't know you got it. I'm going to help you today. So what is the problem in the church in Corinth? The problem in the church of Corinth was people running around saying, "Oh, you know, I don't like my gift."

"I would rather have somebody else's gift. My gift is not important as his gift or her gift. My gift is ineffective. My gift is not needed in the body." And Paul is saying, "You don't know what you're talking about. You are saying something far more serious than you can ever comprehend. You are saying in the sense, you are shaking your fist at God.

You are putting your finger in God's eye and saying, 'God, you don't know what you're doing.' Listen to me. A Christian who does not have a ministry is a contradiction. A Christian who does not have a ministry is disobedient. A Christian who does not exercise his or her spiritual gift is basically saying, 'God, you don't have the right to use me the way you intended to use me.'"

You know, I want to testify to you because, you know, some of you have seen me up here and say, what does he know? What does he understand? I got news for you. There was a period in my life when I refused to submit to the will of God in my life. I'm not proud of it, but I'm sharing it with you in order to encourage you.

I refused to obey God's will in my life. I denied God's gift in my life, and I did not want to use God's gift in my life. And I was not only questioning God and God's authority over me, but I can tell you, I became miserable among men. Until I said, "Yes, Lord." Then I began to experience fulfillment and joy in ministry.

And Paul is saying, as members of the one body and Christ being the mind, who's orchestrating all the members, He is the one, and He alone is the one to decide who is a hand and who is a toe, and who's a mouth, and who's an ear, and who's a nose, and who's a whatever. Each one is controlled by the mind and by the will of God.

He gives it to you, He uses it. And to say anything less, you're insulting the heavenly God. Now, let me plead with you. Do not despise your gift. Do not ignore your gift. Do not deny your gift. Do not sit back and wish that you had somebody else's gift. No. God has given you a gift, and that is specifically for you.

Only you can do it. Only you can perform it. Nobody else can do it but you. And therefore, for you to say, "My gift is not important, my gift is not needed, my gift doesn't matter." You are insulting the sovereign God who has given you that gift.

And if somebody says, "Well, because I don't have a visible gift, therefore my gift is not important," I want to ask you a question. Have you ever seen your liver? Have you ever seen your heart? Have you ever seen your lungs? And I want to submit to you today that without these, you can't live.

Are you ready to play Trivial Pursuit? Good. Everybody loves a game. Few questions. One: Who taught Martin Luther his theology and encouraged him to translate the Bible? Number two: Who visited D. L. Moody in the shoe store where he worked and led him to the Lord? And D. L. Moody rocked two continents for Christ.

Three: What's the name of Charles Spurgeon's wife who stood by him and in the incredible suffering of depression that that great man of God had through the years, and the many physical illnesses that he faced, without her strength, Spurgeon would not be in the history books today? What's her name?

Who financed William Carey's first missionary journey to India, which ignited the whole modern missionary movement today, 200 years ago? Who helped Charles Wesley to be the composer of hymns that he was? Who refreshed the Apostle Paul in the dungeon when he was writing his last epistle?

Who discipled George Mueller and snatched him as a young man out of dreadful, sinful lifestyle? I'm going to stop. That's enough. Now, if you got 50% of those questions, please raise your hand. Okay, 25%. 25%. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you? Before you say, "My gift of encouragement is not important," before you say, "My gift of prayer is not important," before you say, "My gift of giving is not important," before you say, "My gift of service is not important."

Think of these people whom God used to change the church history, and the lives that have touched, and the lives that have changed would have been written differently without these people, of whom you know maybe one or two. I want you to look again. Chapter 12, First Corinthians, verse 18 and 19.

Verse 18 says, "But in fact, God has arranged the parts of the body." Who did? God. "Every one of them, just as He wanted them to be." Not what you want, not what I want, as He wanted. Verse 19: "And if there were all parts, or that is, suppose all arms, or all legs, or all ears, where would the body be?"

Listen, we can have the best organized church. We can have the best administered church. We can have the best old machine of a church, but if the spirit of God is not guiding each member to use his or her gift in the church and outside of the church, we are nothing but mechanical robots.

Listen, my friend, you can sit back and sulk and sour and say, "Well, I don't have this gift," or "I don't have a big gift," "I don't have a special gift." Or you can be obedient and say, "I want to exercise my gift, whatever it may be. The sovereign God gave me a gift, at least one." Many of us have received more than one.

I have a lot more to say, but I want to tell you this as I conclude. Back in 1985, I read that the US has 768 ships that comprise what they call the Mothball Navy. The Mothball Navy. Now, these vessels are anchored in harbors all around the country.

They receive regular maintenance. The externals of these ships are constantly repainted, periodically. And the hulls are continuously bombarded by electric impulses in order to retard the process of rust and corrosion. And the great humidifiers are going all the time, constantly running in order to keep the moisture content at a very acceptable level.

Of course, at the present time, they just sit. They can be ready at a short notice. Meanwhile, they just sit in the harbor. And I remember saying to myself, even back then, I thought, how many of God's people can truly be described as mothball Christians?

They're held together by the ministry and the support of others. When they don't attend church, somebody will call on them and then they start going to church again. If they're discouraged and want to give up, a Christian friend who encourages them and lifts them up, but they themselves do very little. They are snugly harbored in the church.

They receive spiritual help from others, but they use very little of what God has given them. Get out of your mothball condition and become an active vessel for Jesus Christ. Can you imagine when the day comes and every single member is operative in the body?

I literally can't imagine it, but I can see it with the eyes of faith. I have faith in God, and I believe that God, the Holy Spirit, is speaking to every one of you.

Guest (Female): Dr. Michael Youssef, wrapping up this episode of Leading The Way Audio. Do you have questions about spiritual gifts, or questions related to your spiritual life? If you do, think about talking to a Leading The Way pastor or counselor. We've made it really easy. Just start by filling out a short contact form.

That's at ltw.org/jesus. And no matter your question or questions, they're going to be so happy to spend some time with you. That's ltw.org/jesus.

Guest (Female): 37 years ago, when Dr. Michael Youssef founded Leading The Way, he had a bold vision to harness the most advanced technology of the time to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. And now, once again, Leading The Way is leveraging cutting-edge technology with our Gospel innovation, My Faith Assistant. This powerful digital tool allows seekers and believers alike to ask spiritual questions and receive clear, biblically sound answers.

Try it out at myfaithassistant.com or on the mobile app, with questions such as, "How do I share my faith with a hostile family member?" Or, "Is it unloving to say Jesus is the only way?" Carefully designed to provide responses rooted solely in the Bible and the trusted teaching of Dr. Michael Youssef. It is also a milestone in Leading The Way's Open Door Campaign. My Faith Assistant, anytime, anywhere. Share it with someone you love who's searching for answers today.

Guest (Female): Learn more about Leading The Way's growing ministry outreach at ltw.org. You might also consider signing up at ltw.org for Dr. Youssef's free monthly magazine called My Journal. Dr. Youssef shares from his heart about world, cultural, and biblical issues. You can also be the first to know about special offers in the Leading The Way Resource Store, and so much more. Be sure to go to ltw.org.

Guest (Female): This program is brought to you by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.