Leading The Way

Dr. Michael Youssef: There is no greater joy in life. There is no greater honor in life. There is no greater purpose in life than to be called the friend of God. So the question is this: what qualified Abraham to be called friend of God? What qualifies us to be called friends of God?

Guest (Male): Welcome to Leading the Way with international Bible teacher and cultural expert Dr. Michael Youssef. He has passionately proclaimed uncompromising truth for more than 35 years and he continues to do so with even more passion. Is there someone that you can just share all of your pains with and all of your joys? Might be a friend from childhood or maybe it's that trusted confidant in the next cubicle at work.

Okay, now the real question is this: do you have that kind of relationship with God? Today on Leading the Way, you'll be introduced to the man God refers to as His friend, Abraham. So listen with me as Dr. Michael Youssef begins a message that will help you face the real-life challenges and joys of 2026. He's calling it The Willingness of Faith.

Dr. Michael Youssef: I have been internalizing the question that I want to challenge you with. I want to challenge each one of you to think about that, not just today but in the coming days. How loyal a person am I? Am I a loyal spouse? Am I a loyal employer? Am I a loyal employee? Am I a loyal parent to my children? Am I loyal to my parents? Am I a loyal business partner? Am I a loyal church member? Am I a loyal friend to my friends? Am I loyal to Jesus?

You get the point. These are just some of the areas in which loyalty can manifest itself because loyalty is an issue of the heart. It's an attitude of the heart. I want you to hear me out on this one because it does not mean a loyal person may never fail at some point. It does not mean that that loyal person may not mess up sometimes. It does not mean that that loyal person doesn't drop the ball sometimes. It doesn't mean that this loyal person may forget sometimes. These are all temporary and circumstantial.

I'm talking about the attitude of the heart of loyalty. That is why loyalty is a long-term, not in short bursts. Loyalty is proven by its longevity and not a flash in the pan. Loyalty is proven in time and by time. Let me illustrate. Virtually every couple that will take their vows, their marriage vows, they have every intention of fulfilling these vows. They really do. I've done enough weddings to know they really, really do.

But here's the problem: most couples do not give much attention or thought to what I call the ending of the phrases in the vows. These are "the poorer," "the worse," and "the sickness." They don't think about those last parts. You know why? Because they are so filled with dreams and hopes and expectations. They focus only on the first part of these phrases: "the richer," "the better," and "the health." That's where their focus is. I was wondering about this and I said, maybe that's the Lord's way of making us that way so we can even get married.

But what happens when reality sets in and we begin to experience those endings of the phrases of the vows? There are some people who literally freak out. Why? Because the last part of these phrases are the real test of loyalty in marriage. They're the real test. When God enters a covenant with a believer who comes to Him and puts their faith and trust and receives Jesus as the only savior of their soul and the Lord of their life, when that happens, a covenant takes place between us and God.

When God enters into that covenant with us, He would say to us by name, "Bob, Joe, Sue, Jenny, I take you to be part of my bride. In foolishness and in wisdom, I take you when you are loyal to me and when you occasionally deny me before men. When you seek me with all of your heart and when you set your affections on other things. I take you when you walk with me and in the times when you try to run away from my will."

In the last message, we saw Abraham's setbacks. We saw his detours, we saw his failures, we saw his lies, and we saw his fears. But say what you want about Abraham, when Abraham grew in his knowledge of Jehovah, when Abraham grew in his understanding of who God is, when Abraham grew in his fellowship with God, when Abraham grew in his trust in God, when Abraham grew in his faith in God, he became so committed to God. He became so loyal to God that God chose to call him my very special friend.

Psychology Today polled 40,000 Americans a few years ago and they asked what are the three things that you are looking for in a friend. Number three was warmth and affection. Number two was loyalty. Number one was keeping confidences. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Scripture often tells us, as in Psalm 25:14, that the secrets of the Lord are with those who fear Him. God is not going to trust His secrets with people who are not loyal to Him.

He's not going to entrust them with His heart when they are not loyal to Him. In other words, God entrusts His loyal children with the very secrets of His heart. Listen to me. God loves all His children all the time under all circumstances, but He gives His secrets only to those who have demonstrated loyalty to the living God. Listen to what Amos said in 3:7: "Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets."

You see, in the Old Testament, true prophets were become known as loyal to Jehovah and because of their loyalty to Jehovah, Amos can say that God entrusts them with His secrets. In the New Testament, all the believers in Jesus Christ are called priests. They are called prophets. We are called priests and prophets in the New Testament. Therefore, the question that you and I must face is this: how loyal are we?

Perhaps this principle has never been better illustrated than when God was about to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. Before He was about to send the sulfur and burn that twin cities, what did God do? He confided in Abraham, His friend, before He acted. He said to him, "Abraham, the cup of iniquity of Sodom and Gomorrah is filled to the brim. I have been waiting patiently for them to repent, but they refuse. The time has come for judgment." Can't you hear God saying that to us today?

"I just wanted you to know, Abraham, what I'm about to do before I do it because I entrust you. You have become my loyal friend and I'm going to give you my secret." Beloved, I want to tell you something. Listen to me. There is no greater joy in life, there is no greater privilege in life, there is no greater honor in life, there is no greater purpose in life, there is no greater fulfillment in life, there is no greater contentment in life, there is no greater excitement in life than to be called the friend of God.

When Abraham heard this, God confiding in him His secret, out of compassion he began to intercede with his friend Jehovah God and says, "God, my nephew, my compromising nephew, my sinning nephew, my nephew who is putting one foot in the world and one foot with you, my nephew Lot is about to be burned with that city, he and his family." He begins to intercede on behalf of his compromising nephew. God said, "Abraham, because of you and because of our friendship, I will save your nephew and his family." And God did.

So the question is this: what qualified Abraham to be called friend of God? What qualifies us to be called friends of God? His absolute loyalty to the Lord. His total obedience. We saw the time of partial obedience in his early walk in the last message. But now it is total obedience. Now it's complete surrender. Now it is utter trust in Jehovah. Now it's unqualified self-giving.

And so now I want you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11, verse 17. By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promise was offering up his only begotten son. It was he, Abraham, to whom it was said, "In Isaac your descendants shall be called." Abraham reasoned that God is able to raise men even from the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Father, please allow our spiritual eyes to be opened today so that we would see these wonderful truths. Then allow our spiritual ears to be opened that we may hear these wonderful truths. And above all, Father, let our hearts be opened so that we may obey them and live for Your glory in Jesus' name. Now I want you to think with me. When God made the promise to Abraham, He said, "Abraham, Sarah will have a son." They both thought, "We're too old for this."

But they said, "Well, if God can do it..." But then God didn't do it. Do you know for how long? Twenty-five years. I mean, they're getting old and they look at the clock and say, "Hey, we're not getting any younger." For 25 years of waiting for God to fulfill His promise to them that they will have a son through Sarah. For 25 years, during which there were some occasional mishaps.

After 25 years of coming to the point of seeing the supernatural hand of God intervening in a 90-year-old body of a woman with a dead womb inside of her and gives birth to a healthy son simply because God said so. Then comes the ultimate test. After they got Isaac and Abraham loved that boy. When the Bible said he loved his son, he really, he became the total object of his affection. He became everything to him. That's really what it means.

Then God says, "Hey, Abraham. Abraham, you know, I gave you Isaac supernaturally." "Yes, Lord, thank You." "I gave you Isaac after 25 years of waiting from the time I promised to the time you had him." "Yes, Lord, blessed be the name of the Lord." "Now, Abraham, are you willing to give me Isaac back? Huh? Are you willing to give me Isaac back?" I don't want you to miss this drama. This is incredible. Sometimes we see junk on television and the movies and they call that drama. No, this is drama.

If you want to follow it, you can go to Genesis 22 at verse 2. Now God's speaking to Abraham. Talk about drama. "Abraham, take your son." He must be thinking about Ishmael. "No, I don't want you to misunderstand me, Abraham. Not Ishmael. Take your son, your only son." And then in case he thinks it's Ishmael again, "Isaac," by name. But that's not all. "Whom you love," who is the object of your total affection. "And go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering upon a mountain where I'll show you."

I mean, this has to be devastating. "Lord, do You know what You're asking? Do You know what You're asking of me?" But I want you to look at verse three now. Abraham didn't say that. He didn't ask. Verse three said, "And Abraham rose early in the morning." Oh, give me a break. What are you talking? Are you kidding me? You mean he obeyed the Lord right away? I would have at least asked the Lord to give me six months to pray about it.

And I'll tell you, it's no secret that I would have taken those six months to basically not seek the mind of God, but try to change the mind of God. Here's what most of us I think would react, if I read human nature well. "Lord, You know that this is my son of promise, Your promise. Lord, You know this is my son of Your supernatural intervention in Sarah's life and in my life. He is Your miracle, Lord. Lord, You know this is my son who came out of Sarah's dead womb, Lord. Lord, You know this is my son who has become the total object of my affection and my love."

"Surely You must know all of that, Lord, for You Yourself have said, 'whom you love.' Well, Lord, let's just forget about my heart that is broken into pieces right now. Let's just forget about that for a moment. Lord, let's just talk about what You said, Lord. You said through Isaac the Messiah will come. You said through Isaac salvation will come to the world, that through Isaac my spiritual descendants will be."

But you know what? I'm going to show you from the word of God, that was never even occurred to Abraham to ask. Didn't even cross his mind. I'm going to show it to you from the word of God. I don't make this stuff up, believe me. That's not what he was thinking. Beloved, listen to me. That's what loyalty to Christ kicks in. Those are the times when loyalty kicks in. This is when you know the God to be a loyal God and He is to be trusted completely.

Do you know what Abraham was thinking? Well, according to verse 19 of Hebrews 11, here's what he was thinking. Let me give it to you in Michael's translation. "Wow, Lord! I'm going to be an eyewitness to a resurrection! Wow, I'm going to see God perform a much bigger miracle than a 90-year-old woman giving birth to a son! I'm going to see Yahweh do something that has never been done before since the creation! I am going to experience Jehovah in a completely new and exciting way!"

That's exactly what he was thinking. How do I know that? Verse five of Genesis 22. Abraham, Isaac, we don't know how many servants they took along with them, loaded the donkeys with all the stuff they're going to need for the offering, and they go into the foot of the mountain in which they will climb up to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. And listen to what Abraham said to the servants. Listen carefully.

He said to them, "Stay with the donkeys while I and the lad go over there to worship." You see, that was going to be a worship time for Abraham. That's what we say, we worship God with our offerings. "And we're going to worship, and then," what's the next word? "and we," can you say we? We will come back to you. Wait a minute. He could have said, "You wait here, I'll go up," knowing that he's going to offer a son and then said, "I'll come back." No, no, no. We. The boy and I are coming back.

You see, the thought of sacrificing his son must have ripped his heart to a million pieces, but Abraham's total trust in his friend Jehovah empowered him to overcome, empowered him to expect a miracle, empowered him to anticipate God to do something far greater than he ever thought possible. His own loyalty to Jehovah was going to be met by far, far, far greater loyalty on Jehovah's part to His servant and His friend Abraham.

Please listen to me. When you and I know God as our friend, as Abraham did, we will know that God will never, never, never go back on His word. We will know God never reneges on His promises. We will know that God will never, never take that son away permanently. He knew that God would not and indeed could not lie.

And if we saw in Noah the duration of faith, we see in Abraham the depth of faith. And Isaac would not die, could not die. Abraham thought if he died, he would be raised again supernaturally, and he was going up there not to offer Isaac, but he was going there to witness a supernatural resurrection. He did all this not because God wanted Isaac, but to set up a type of what would happen 2,000 years later from that time of Abraham.

Two thousand years later when God sends His one and only begotten son to die on a cross and then to rise again, so that whosoever would come to Him and believe in Him will be resurrected. Jesus said, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him, let her deny himself and follow me." Jesus said to His disciples, "You are my friends when you do whatever I command you." Again, Jesus said, "Henceforth, I call you not servants; I have called you my friends."

Did you know that God really wants to be your friend? I got news for you. I don't think I'll be able to even comprehend this for the remaining years of my life until I get to heaven, and even then, I don't know that I fully comprehend that. God wants to be my friend. He wants to be your friend. He really does. And He wants you to be His friend. It's mind-boggling. It's incomprehensible. It blows your mind, as the kids would say. But it's true.

And so I conclude with the same question with which I began. How loyal are you? How loyal am I? God is loyal, you know that. And He's looking for loyal friends in order that He might express His loyalty in far greater way than you ever even thought possible. You say, "But how can I manifest my loyalty to Christ?" Listen carefully, please. By seeking His cause, not yours. By telling His truth, not yours. By acknowledging His gifts, not to take credit for them. By waiting for His timing, not yours. And by dreaming of His glory, and not yours.

Guest (Male): Encouragement about loyalty from Dr. Michael Youssef on this episode of Leading the Way audio. Would it help to speak with someone about what it means to be a friend of God? Well, you can start that conversation with one of Leading the Way's pastors or counselors today. Just go to ltw.org/jesus. Fill out a brief contact form: ltw.org/jesus.

Well, the Leading the Way team always enjoys hearing from listeners, and recently, an encouraging story of how God used the ministry to change and to save a life was delivered to the team by mail. So let me summarize a portion of the correspondence. They say, a man wrote to Leading the Way sharing how he was surrounded by hopelessness in his life. The devil was leading him down a dark road, which he felt would ultimately end in self-destruction.

After listening to Dr. Youssef's messages, he tells us how he now sees life completely differently, through a biblical lens, and he now actively shares his life change with others through in-home Bible studies. Friends, we often hear stories just like this from the six continents where people listen to or watch Dr. Youssef. And when you partner with Leading the Way, you become part of these life and eternity altering experiences.

Learn ways that you can stand with Dr. Youssef in impacting lives worldwide when you call 866-626-4356 and online: ltw.org. ltw.org. Well, my time is gone for this episode, but do make sure that you listen again for more life-transforming teaching from Dr. Michael Youssef and Leading the Way. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Connect further with audio and video content at ltw.org.