Leading The Way

Guest (Male): Up next, words directed toward today's questions from the pages of Revelation. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading the Way.

Dr. Michael Youssef: God has a word for the persecuted church. God has a word for the persecuted believer. God's word to the persecuted believer today is this: Don't be afraid. You have it tough now. You have it difficult now, but the day of your glorification is coming.

Guest (Male): Hello and welcome to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. You can learn more about Dr. Youssef and the global impact of the multiple ministry teams at ltw.org.

You know, the pages of Revelation have a lot more than words about lampstands and bowls of wrath and horses bringing judgment. They also contain loving, passionate words from Jesus. And today, Dr. Youssef takes you to the words of Jesus revealing practical encouragement for 2026. It's all part of his exciting series called An End-Times Warning for the Modern-Day Church. So let's listen as Dr. Michael Youssef begins.

Dr. Michael Youssef: A question had been asked why out of the 100 or so churches that were there by the year 96 AD, when the Book of Revelation was written, why only Jesus speaks to those seven churches. And through the years, there are all kinds of answers and all kinds of people have opinions about it. There are some who have said Jesus only speaking to those seven churches, and only the seven churches, and the message has no relevance to us. But the problem is this is negate the double blessing that comes from reading and heeding the Book of Revelation.

Then some people actually believe, and these great theologians, people that you and I would love and respect, and they said that the history of the church is divided into seven sections. And the way it's divided now, according to them, we are in the time of the seventh church, which is the church of Laodicea, which was lukewarm and Jesus about to spit it out of his mouth. Now the truth is, the word of God is rich enough and filled with many layers of meanings. And therefore, I believe that these seven letters could be called the bifocal. A bifocal show you distance, but also close up.

And these seven churches representative of all the churches of Jesus Christ throughout the ages and through the history. Most of us probably been in churches like one of those described here. Now, these seven churches or these seven messages to the seven churches were written in the first century, but they are also written to the 21st century. Amen? In every age and in every part of the world, the church of Jesus Christ needs a message of conviction, and it needs a message of admonition, and it needs a message of exhortation, and yes, it needs a message of invitation that they might come back to the Lord.

Now, there are many Christians and Christian pastors skip the seven churches. They really do. And they like to get to the what I call the fireworks, where the stars are falling and the moon turning into blood and so forth. Well, we're going to get to the fireworks, trust me. But if you jump these messages and go to the fireworks, you miss out on how ordering our lives today in the light of the life to come. And as you read Jesus's seven letters, you cannot help but see that they are representative of the churches today. Let's look at those very quickly, all seven of them.

The first message is to the church of Ephesus, chapter 2 verses 1 to 7. Ephesus was a great ancient city. Really was among the important cities of the world. Ephesus was the center of wealth and commerce. Ephesus had a population well over 200,000 people and that was big city by those days' standards. Ephesus boasted of having the temple of Diana of Artemis. In fact, Diana's temple was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world.

The Apostle Paul founded the church in Ephesus. As a matter of fact, he spent more time in Ephesus than any other of the churches he founded. He was there for a solid three years teaching. And John, the apostle John, who lived much longer, over 30 years past Paul, he become the pastor of the church in Ephesus, and that's where he lived. The Ephesian church was the home ministry not only to Paul, but also Apollos and Timothy and Aquila and Priscilla.

And Jesus begins his message to the Ephesian Christians by a word of commendation. What I love about the Lord is he finds something positive to say, and he says it first. But when he doesn't, he does not just make them feel good. You'll see in some of the other messages he had nothing good to say. So he starts by saying, "I know your deeds." Beloved listen, if I give you the description of those Christians, they were hard-working Christians. They've rejected false doctrine. They believed in accurate biblical interpretation.

They were biblically sound. They believed the right doctrine. And they've rejected the work of a heretic by the name of Nicholas, which Jesus hated that heresy that impacted the other churches and other churches embraced it, but not the church in Ephesus. They rejected it. These people rejected that false heresy. The early Christian father Irenaeus tells us what Nicholas and Nicolaitans is all about.

Irenaeus, the early Christian father, said that Nicholas taught that sexual sins would not affect your salvation, that sexual immorality does not affect your spiritual life. There were others in other churches who fell line, hook, and sinker for that heresy, but not the church of Ephesus. They rejected it. And so you say, "What a wonderful church. What else Jesus expect from them? How can you get any better than this?" Well, and yet there was one rebuke. Listen very carefully, please. This is a relevant message for us.

We are people who believe the scripture, accurate interpretation, we have rejected falsehood, we stand tall for the truth. Every one of us probably would say amen to that. But the problem with the church in Ephesus is that they loved their accurate biblical interpretations more than they loved Jesus. They have fallen in love with their good works and they came out of love for Jesus. Now, you know Christians like that. Outwardly they go through all the motions. Outwardly they do all the right things, but they have a heart problem.

They have a heart problem. And I'm not talking about the problem that you need a cardiologist for, but it's a heart problem. They do the right things, not out of love for Jesus, but because they are trained to do the right things. Let me tell you what the Great Physician's concern about this heart condition. He's saying if you do the right thing and believe the right thing out of duty, not out of love for Jesus, sooner or later you're going through the motions.

Bible study, the home groups, the church, and singing. You go through the motions. If your love for Jesus is cold, sooner or later your affection are going to be placed on somebody else or on something else. And there are five possibilities will take place if you walk the Christian life and you're not passionately in love with Jesus. First is a compromise. You will begin to put one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom of God. Then there is complacency. Oh, Jesus forgave my sins, I'm eternally saved, I can sin, I can live whichever way I want to live.

Then there is coldness. God did not answer my prayer the way I wanted it answered, and you develop this cold love toward the Lord. There's complaining, and you think that God is not fair. How come after all you've done for him that you are really going through this valley? Or then you begin to crave the world, which is the fifth possibility. You crave success more than you crave Jesus. You crave wealth more than you crave Jesus. You crave power or luxury or whatever it is that your Achilles' heel more than you love Jesus, more than you crave for Jesus.

And so the Great Physician's prescription to the Ephesians: He said, "retrace your steps, get back a little bit, find out where you lost your first love. What is the thing that tricked you? What is the thing that tripped you? Find out what went wrong and where, where you have fallen out of love with Jesus. What is the thing that got you to come out of love for Jesus? What made your white-hot love for Jesus become amber? Who replaced Jesus as the object of your affection?"

And he said, "Not only confess it, but turn away from it." Now, beloved, listen to me very carefully, please. If you do not act soon, and if you do not act decisively, Jesus said he will remove the lampstand. He's not talking about salvation, but he will remove the lampstand. He will snuff out the light of your witness. The light will no longer shine even if you are going through the motions. Whatever passion you've got left for sharing Christ with others will die down.

Let me plead with you. Let me plead with you. If you have lost your first love—and I know what I'm talking about, a few decades ago, I lost my first love. I went through the motions until God's grace got me to repent. I plead with you, repent now. Repent today. Don't force God's hand to remove your lampstand. Don't force God's hand to extinguish your light. Don't force God's hand to dissolve your effectiveness for him.

Love Jesus more than anything in life. Love Jesus more than loving the applause of men. Love Jesus more than loving your opinion and your ideas and what you like and what you don't like. Love Jesus even more than loving the ministry. I have known people in ministry they're more in love with ministry than they are in love with Jesus. I also know what that's like. For when you do that, Jesus will grant you to eat from the tree of life. He will reward you and he will reward your faithful love for him in ways you will not be able to comprehend.

The second message is to the believers in Smyrna. That's chapter 2 verses 8 to 11. Jesus gives them only encouragement, no condemnation, not one single negative word. Smyrna was the home of the shrine of Caesar. Smyrna's population stood before the statue of Caesar and they bowed to Caesar. The population worshipped Caesar. But the believers in Smyrna refused to bow to Caesar. The Christians in Smyrna said only Jesus we worship. Only Jesus is Lord. The Christians in Smyrna said only Jesus is to be obeyed above Caesar.

And the Christians in Smyrna said no Lord but Jesus because they were in love with Jesus. The word Smyrna is a Greek word which actually means myrrh. Myrrh, you remember when the wise men came to the baby Jesus and they gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. There's a reason for that. In ancient times, Smyrna was the myrrh capital of the world. They sold it all over the globe. Myrrh is a fragrance that comes from breaking and crushing a thorn tree or a thorn bush.

For the fragrance of the myrrh to be released, it has to be broken. It has to be crushed. And when the wise men gave Jesus myrrh, it is because he was going to be crushed for our sin. And that is the only way the fragrance of God's forgiveness is released. Jesus's message to the church that has been crushed by persecution, that has been crushed for his sake, he said, "I know your afflictions. I know your poverty. God knows your suffering for him. God knows your sacrifices that you are making for him, and none of them is forgotten.

None of them are overlooked. And God is the one who will reward you for your joyful endurance of that suffering. Jesus said to them, "Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life." Beloved, God has a word for the persecuted church. God has a word for the persecuted believers. And let me tell you, God's word to the persecuted believer today is this: Don't be afraid. You have it tough now. You have it difficult now, but the day of your glorification is coming.

The third letter is to the church of Pergamum, chapter 2 verses 12 to 17. The population of Pergamum was awash with strange religious practices. I mean they were worshipping serpents in Pergamum. They were worshipping all kinds of strange idols. And Jesus said to them, "I know where you live where Satan has his throne." What is Jesus talking about? Pergamum had the great altar dedicated to Zeus. And Zeus is the chief deity of the Greek Pantheon.

And Jesus referring to that altar of Zeus when he was talking about Satan's throne. And so Jesus gives them a word of commendation. He said, "You remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith altogether in me." Oh, but Jesus immediately goes in with a word of condemnation because they had one big, humongous sin that is creeping among them. You have people there in your church who hold to the teaching of Balaam. Balaam was a fortune teller.

And so before the people of God got into the Promised Land, a pagan king brought him in and he said, "Now Balaam, I want you to curse these people and here is a bucket full of cash." I mean he looked at that cash and he couldn't wait to go and curse God's people. There's a problem. While he got Satan on his side, the Israelites had Yahweh on their side. Don't ever underestimate Yahweh. Things might look dark, but it's not going to be dark forever.

And so every time he tries to open his mouth to curse Israel, he blesses them. And the pagan king was frustrated. So he piles more cash and more cash. And Balaam sees the cash, so let me try again. He would try again, and every time open his mouth to curse the people of God, he blesses them. And finally he came up with a devilish idea. He couldn't curse the people of God, but he can get the people of God to curse themselves. Because that's his devilish attack. If he cannot get you straight ahead, he will work on your flesh to get you to cause yourself a curse.

Balaam was so blind, he couldn't see it. So much so that his donkey saw the angel, but he didn't, and the donkey rebuked him. Be careful when a donkey speaks to you. And so he goes to this pagan king, he said, "You know, I can get these people cursed themselves. Bring me out all your loose women. Just bring them out. And as soon as these Israelites men see your loose women, they're going to fall." And they did. And Satan says mission accomplished.

He succeeded, just like he is succeeding today when trying to get so many of God's people hooked on pornography, on infidelity to their marriage vows, homosexuality, and sexual perversions of all kinds. And then there are some preachers somewhere say, "Well you know just well you have needs. This just the way you are, I mean you can't help it. Well, these are the way things are today. It's okay. Don't be narrow-minded, surely don't be a prude." That's the situation in their church.

Now, here's something many Christians in the 21st century have in common with the church, with the Christians in Pergamum. They were approval junkies. Many churches today, the approval junkies. They crave the approval of their pagan neighbors more than the approval of Jesus. Today, the cry of many a church in the evangelical arena is that in order to bring sinners inside the church, we have to accept and approve of their sin.

Now beloved, let me shoot straight with you. We are under obligation to love non-believers. We have no choice, we have no option but to love the non-believer, to minister to them, to be of help in every way. And I do that personally as some of you know. We are under obligation to love sinners. We are under obligation in every way to be Christ to these people. But never, never, never, never at the expense of biblical truth.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading the Way audio. Jesus wrote pointed letters to not one, but seven churches. So I do hope you'll make it a point to listen to Dr. Youssef next time so you can hear more. And if you're not able to listen, do remember that you can always catch up online or subscribe to the Leading the Way podcast. Leading the Way is available on iHeart, Spotify, Apple, Google, OnePlace, wherever you get your favorite content, Leading the Way is there. Also consider getting the app too. All of the details for that are at ltw.org.

Now, this year has been and continues to be challenging in so many ways. People have shared how increased cost of living has limited families and businesses, and the unknown impact of world events have caused many increased stresses. But God continues to be faithful to Leading the Way. Through your prayers, generosity, and God's leading, Dr. Youssef has taken steps in expanding several areas of ministry, particularly Awake rallies and overseas events. All opportunities for the gospel to be heard by many more.

In fact, later this month, Dr. Youssef is joining Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Chris Tomlin for an event in Houston, Texas. It's called Awake Houston. Please pray with us that many will be encouraged toward spiritual awakening through this time of worship and Bible teaching. Now, we're encouraged to share that through your obedient faithfulness, Jesus is being made known in cities like Houston, and earlier this month in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan. And if you've been a part of supporting Leading the Way, we say thank you. And if you haven't yet made that step, then allow me to encourage you to be a part of what God is doing at home and around the world.

Dr. Michael Youssef: The righteousness of Jesus Christ that he imputes upon us when we come to him confessing that we are sinners and deserve hell and ask for forgiveness, and he gives us his forgiveness, protects our spiritual vitality.

Guest (Male): I love Dr. Michael Youssef. I've gotten to know him over the last several months and there's, he speaks the gospel boldly, he speaks it authentically. Every time I really want to be encouraged, I listen to his messages on radio, Wave 88, and then on television, and then his books, and how authentic he is with the message of the cross. And so I just want to pray for Dr. Youssef that God will use him greatly to impact more souls and more lives and we'll have more people like him in a time like this.

I'm excited about the call from Dr. Youssef to standing in agreement for revival in our own personal hearts and an awakening and revival in our nation. If you heard the voice of God, I want you to get out of your seat and walk down these aisles and come down here so I can pray with you and help you. I appreciate Michael's courage and conviction to invite Americans, especially the youth of this country to come forward to get to know Jesus and then to trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest.

Leading the Way continues to embark on a bold vision to passionately proclaim the uncompromising truth of Christ in three strategic areas where the need is greatest and the doors are open. I made a vow to God that as long as he gives me a breath that I will proclaim him and his truth of his gospel until my dying day. Will you go through it with me? Be a part of Leading the Way's global mission to passionately proclaim uncompromising truth. Let's walk through these open doors together and take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Learn more at ltw.org.

Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef is listener-supported. There are several ways that you can stand with Dr. Youssef and support Leading the Way's gospel impact around the world. Consider a generous one-time gift, or become a frontline mission partner. Those are the friends who give monthly. Or you can join the community of cornerstone partners, those who give in and through their estate. Learn more at ltw.org or you could always get connected with a Leading the Way team member. Just call us, 866-626-4356.

And we love hearing from you through the postal services as well. Let me invite you to write us a note or a card, send in your prayer request, or send a gift to the ministry. We're at Leading the Way, Post Office Box 20100, Atlanta, Georgia, 30325. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Connect further with audio and video content at ltw.org.