Leading The Way

Guest (Female): The greatest lie started with Adam and Eve in the garden. Listen as Dr. Michael Youssef begins today's Leading The Way audio.

Dr. Michael Youssef: That moment, a profound and comprehensive change took place. Profound change affected their minds, affected their hearts, their bodies, affected their soul. What is it? They ceased to believe that God is the final authority, but they were.

Guest (Male): Isn't that what people want today? Is not what everybody wants? And that, my beloved friends, is Satan's big lie preached today.

Guest (Male): Thank you for making time in your day to hear Dr. Michael Youssef passionately proclaim uncompromising truth on Leading The Way. Today travel to the Garden of Eden by way of God's word. A real place with real people experiencing real temptation. People just like us falling for the greatest lie. Join me in listening to Dr. Michael Youssef as he begins this episode of Leading The Way.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Who is the true authority on cancer? The cancer sufferer or the cancer specialist? The patient knows cancer exponentially. The sensation, the frightening dread and anxiety, the dilapidating effect of the disease.

The cancer specialist, on the other hand, knows the cancer clinically. He or she has studied the pathology of cancer, its diagnosis, its treatment, its prognosis. He or she has examined the cancer cell under a microscope and they can identify it. They can identify its type and they surgically have removed the cancer from human bodies.

So in reality, the answer is both. Both know cancer. They both, the patient and the specialist, know cancer well. But they know that dreaded disease very differently from each other. The patient's knowledge and the specialist's knowledge are different types of knowledge. The patient and the specialist have very different experiences with the disease. The patient knows it as a sufferer of the disease, but the specialist knows it as an authority on the subject.

My beloved, I could not help but think that when Eve was tempted by Satan in the Garden of Eden, when Satan lied to her, big, bold lie, and the lie was that she can become an authority on the disease. That she can become an expert on the disease, a deadly disease, overnight. That she can be so knowledgeable of the disease just like the great specialist on the disease.

And she fell for it. And when she fell for the big lie, she became a sufferer of the disease instead of an expert. She became a patient instead of a specialist. He sold her the big lie by telling her that she can become an authority on good and evil. That she can become an expert overnight, that she can be a talking head on CNN and all of the networks.

That she could become a spiritual equivalent to the great specialist on the disease. That she could become an overnight sensation, that she could sell 20 million copies of her book on the subject. And when Eve took the bait, far from becoming an expert, she became a sufferer of the disease. She caught the disease to the destruction of her soul.

But that's exactly what happens with us. I don't want you to miss this. Don't miss this. Now, for Eve, there were several things she could have done. First, and I think probably the most important thing she could have said, two words to Satan: Buzz off. It's very simple, isn't it? God said it, I believe it, that settles it.

But then there was something else that happened here that led her to buying into the big lie. When Satan brought doubt to her mind about what God said, she misquoted God. Did you get that? Be very careful of misquoting the scripture to support whatever you're doing or trying to do. Be very careful of misquoting the word of God.

I want you to see for yourself how she misquoted the scripture. So, Genesis Chapter 2, here's what God said to Adam. I'm going to explain to you why God held Adam accountable, too, in a minute. But here's what God said to Adam in Genesis Chapter 2, verses 16 and 17. He said, "Feel free to eat from any tree in the garden, except for this one." You notice the emphasis where? All of the trees in the garden.

Okay, now flip the page to 3:3, Genesis 3:3, and I'll show you exactly how Eve misquoted God to Satan. Here's what she said. God said, "You must not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden and you must not touch it or you will die." Where's her emphasis? The tree. Where was God's emphasis? All of the trees in the garden.

You see, she added something that God did not say. She twisted, she changed the emphasis. And that moment, Satan knew he's got her. He knew that she's in her mind and her heart, she's questioning God. She's questioning what God says. God said every tree in the garden is yours to enjoy, but she became fixated on that one tree.

Satan must have literally been watching her for a long time. He probably was watching her walking around the tree, looking at that tree from every angle. He saw her curiosity about that tree. He observed her longing and wondering what it would be like to taste this tree, to eat from the fruit of that tree.

He tempts us in the same way. He watches and sees areas of our weaknesses. He's watching and seeing the inclination of our hearts. He's watching to see where we are vulnerable. You don't believe me? This is how he tempts husbands and wives to abandon a marriage. Vows and their families and their kids. That's how he works it.

You see, he knows our weaknesses, he knows our personalities, he knows our longing, the longing of our hearts. He knows our curiosities, he knows our imagination, and he reads them. And once he drags you away from fellowship with God, he is ready to move for the kill. You deserve a better spouse than the one you've got. Oh, surely, this one would be much better than the current spouse.

You are better off with this one. Surely, you know God wants you to be happy. The dreaded happiness. And you haven't been happy for a long time. Poor thing. He comes as sympathetic. He is not sympathetic at all. And on and on and on until he destroys a marriage.

There was a comedian back in the early '80s, Erma Bombeck. Do you remember that name? And she was fond of saying, be careful, be careful because the grass is always greener on the other side of the septic tank. You see, when Satan moved for the kill, he appealed to Eve's pride. Hear me right, he does that with us too.

If you eat from the forbidden tree, you're going to become an expert on the subject of good and evil. You're going to be an expert overnight. And who doesn't want to be an expert, right? We've got so many of them right now. God deliver us from experts. I mean, you're going to have your own television show. You will be worshipped by millions. You'll be adored by many churchgoing people.

And the lie continues today unabated across the television screens and radio, and yes, even church pulpits. I would say give the devil his due. When he did tempt Eve, he did tell her half-truth. He always does. You see, in disobeying God, Eve became knowledgeable of sin, but not as an expert like he promised, but as a sufferer of sin.

Not as a specialist on the disease, but as a sufferer of the disease. She became a victim of the disease in the most horrible way. Far from becoming an authority on the disease, she was hit by it. She caught it. And today Satan has been misleading millions upon millions of people in church pews in exactly the same way.

He's offering the big, shiny lie again and again and again. One form of lie says all religions will get you to heaven. A special denominational ritual may get you to heaven. Belonging to a certain church may get you to heaven. Doing some good, and I'm not against doing good, but it will not get you to heaven without Jesus.

Or this one, Jesus is my savior but he's not everybody's savior. Well, what you're saying is that I have a savior who's a liar. That's what they're saying. They never think. When Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," and they say, no, he's my savior, but he's saying my savior is a liar. That's what they're saying.

The truth is, none of that stuff will get you to heaven and that is why it is the big lie. Satan always, as I said, appeals to our pride. Do you know why? Because he knows that our pride will keep us from God's only plan of salvation, from God's only way, from God's only redeemer, from God's only savior.

And of course, the next scene in the garden, we see Eve offering the fruit to Adam. Misery loves company. And the moment Adam ate it, they both knew exponentially the difference between good and evil. Do you know why? When she ate it, nothing happened until Adam ate it. And that is why the Bible from beginning to end holds Adam accountable.

God is the one who spoke to him. If his wife came and said, look, I've tasted this, he should have said, let's go to God and ask for his forgiveness. But he didn't. He ceased to be the spiritual head of his home. He ceased to be the leader of his home. And that is why the Bible said by one man sin came into the world, by Adam.

And that is why sin is transmitted through Adam. And by one man, the Lord Jesus Christ, there is forgiveness of sins. Hear me right on this one. Because choosing the evil of do-it-yourself religion will always make you lose the good. And when I use the word evil, everybody thinks we're talking about the serial killer and the terrorists.

But listen to me, the Bible uses the word evil for everything and anything that is contrary to the word of God, that is in disobedience to the command of God. And as a result of this evil of disobedience on the part of Adam and Eve, all of humanity came to know sin exponentially. It is in our genes, it's in our DNA.

And the fact is that we must accept the fact that none of us are authority on sin. None, no one is an authority on sin. We all are sufferers of sin disease. We all know sin exponentially because we've experienced it. But then a skeptic might come, as someone said to me, now I don't believe in this magic fruit of a magic tree that causes magic harm and magical knowledge.

He said, that's for the primitive people, it's for kids. I'm a sophisticated guy. I said, I hate to burst your balloon, but the Bible does not say anything about magical fruit or magical trees or magical knowledge. People don't read the book. There is nothing in the book to remotely suggest that the issue is the fruit.

That's not the issue. It is the eating of the fruit that caused Adam and Eve to become aware of the difference between good and evil. By eating they lost their innocence. It is the act of eating of disobedience in itself that opened their eyes to realize the difference between good and evil.

The moment they chose to disobey God's command, they moved into do-it-yourself religion. There's a lot of people preaching today. That moment, a profound and comprehensive change took place. Profound change affected their minds, affected their hearts, their bodies, affected their soul. What is it? They ceased to believe that God is the final authority, but they were.

Isn't that what people want today? Is not what everybody wants? I mean, they want to be in control. They want to have final authority, not God. And that is the message that is preached from many a pulpit across the land. And they preach this stuff, that you're the captain of your ship, that you're the master of your domain, you're the savior of your soul, you're the Lord of your life.

And that, my beloved friends, is Satan's big lie preached today. And sometime in our lives, we have fallen for this temptation. We really have. If God really wise and perfect, if God really wants the best for you, if God really loves you, if God's commandments are really good, if he's even real, if his commandments are not only meant to just ruin your enjoyment of life, if God really even understands you, if Jesus is the only way to the Father or heaven, is there a real heaven and real hell?

And such questions are really tempting. Young men, young women, listen to me. These questions are very tempting. They're enticing. Such questions can lead us away from the truth. You'll be tempted. It's what you do with the temptation that matters. Some of the best-selling books worldwide preach this pure poison.

One of the best-selling authors today describes Jesus as a savior, not the savior. That Jesus embodied the highest level of enlightenment. That many preachers are preaching that stuff in pulpits. They tell us that Jesus did not come to save the world from sin. They said, no, no, no. He came to point the way to the God consciousness.

What a bunch of hogwash. I mean, what does that mean? Do you know what that really means? Here's what the God consciousness means. That your eyes will be open and you'll be like God. That's really what they're saying. And that is the same message as Satan's message to Eve in the garden. And that is the biggest of the biggest of all lies.

Millions of copies, tens of millions of copies are sold and this author's on television, on radio, and even in some Christian pulpits, some church pulpits. And he's quoted by many thousands of preachers and he's sought after by world leaders. Listen to me. Books like *The Third Jesus*, *A Return to Love*, *A Course in Miracles*, *The Power of Now*, *The New Earth*, *The Secret*, they all proclaim the big lie that human beings can become like God and enjoy limitless health and wealth and love and sex and eternal youth.

Many are deceived by these people. And many of those people who are deceived, they are your neighborhoods, they are your friends, they're your coworkers, they're your classmates. And they buy these books believing that they're hearing the new truth when in reality what they're hearing is the old lie. It is the oldest lie ever told.

What is it? That you can get it all your way. Listen, I know I'm going to get it all. I'm going to reign and rule with him in glory across the entire universe. But only because of Jesus. And when you think about it, for them, this life is all there is. That's the best they're going to get.

For us who know Jesus, this is the worst it's going to be. And that is why I'm challenging you to take these truths seriously, to communicate these truths regularly, to be proactive. Not sit back and let people say untruth and let them get away with it. Beloved, the next generation will be lost forever unless this generation, you and me, the young people, the middle-aged, every one of us, take this truth seriously. This is our last chance.

You see, when God created Adam and Eve, he gave them the freedom to choose. Choose either God's only way or the greatest lie. One way would have brought them life everlasting in the most pristine environment with intimacy with God. The other brought them death and destruction and a disaster. They disobeyed with all of its misery.

In that moment, the genetic code became permanently tainted by naked self-will. And all the subsequent humanity became infected by this genetic code. And today's millions and millions and millions of people following in the footsteps of Adam and Eve while in reality for 2,000 years the cross has been standing there as God's invitation for everyone who would listen.

That there is only one way out of self-will, there's only one way out of the foolishness of life, there's only one way for healing from this insidious disease. There's only one way for deliverance out of that selfishness. There is only one way of escaping eternal death and destruction. Stop believing the greatest lie and come to him, the only one, the only truth. And his name is...

Crowd: Jesus!

Dr. Michael Youssef: The reason Satan through his cohorts in the media, in government, in the courts, the reason in the schools and the school administrators, the reason Satan through his cohorts are working hard, trying so desperately to outlaw the mention of the name of Jesus in public.

You see, there's a reason for that. It's because the author of the greatest lie himself, Satan, he knows and he fears and he trembles at the name of Jesus. And so he doesn't want to hear that name in the public square. He wants to eliminate it from public life. He wants it to get it out of school so a whole generation will grow not know the name of Jesus.

He wants it out of people's ears and out of sights. And so today let us name that name so loud that the very gates of hell will shake. What is that name?

Crowd: Jesus!

Dr. Michael Youssef: What is that name?

Crowd: Jesus!

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Leading The Way audio with Dr. Michael Youssef. As we bring today's episode to a close, I want to take just a moment to speak with Dr. Youssef about his newest book, *An Unholy Alliance*. So Dr. Youssef, would you take just a moment and explain why Christians should be concerned about the unholy alliance that's playing out in our culture and our world and what is the end goal?

Dr. Michael Youssef: The problem is that we never learn from history. So when people say to me, what is this rise of Islamization in all over England and France and in Europe and in the United States, Australia, what does that mean? Well, it means that this history is repeating itself.

When Islam rose in the 600s, invaded Christian lands. Remember that Egypt, North Africa, Syria, Lebanon, all these lands were Christian lands for 600 years. And when Islamization came, they gave them no choice but to convert or pay a fine. And so those who couldn't had to convert.

And so it is happening again. Well, it happened again, actually, in the 1400s. They came all the way to Vienna with the same message. And now this is the third time in history where they're saying this is going to be our final stage of conquering Europe and Islamizing it. Now, we don't fear. We trust in the God of power and might.

We know that our home is in heaven, but we also are to be responsible citizens to warn and to encourage and to bring those people to come to Christ instead of cowering in fear. That we would say to them, Jesus loves you. Repent and turn, as we are seeing thousands upon thousands of people, some of them were militant, coming to Christ. And that's the message that we the believers have. Instead of fear, faith, conquering even the territories that are forbidden to us.

Guest (Male): Don't miss this month's special offer for *An Unholy Alliance*. And right now, Dr. Youssef is offering to send a copy as his way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount to the ongoing ministry of Leading The Way. You can pre-order online at ltw.org or you can call and speak directly with a ministry representative to place your order. Give us a call, 866-626-4356. This program is brought to you by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Connect further with audio and video content at ltw.org.