Leading The Way

Guest (Male): Welcome to Leading the Way with long-time pastor and author of more than 50 books, Dr. Michael Youssef.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Hello friends, you are watching it on the news night after night. The rise of Islamization and Islamists taking places of leadership both in the United States and in Europe, Australia, and elsewhere. I sought to write a book to explain to you the unholy alliance between the Left and the Islamization, how they invited the Islamist invasion. Get my new book, An Unholy Alliance. It is going to open your eyes and give you practical ways to make a difference for Christ.

Guest (Male): Join friends who have already pre-ordered his soon-to-be-released book, An Unholy Alliance. Information is available about the current special offer at 866-626-4356 or ltw.org.

Guest (Male): Living under a dictator in Egypt, young Michael Youssef experienced a life seasoned with fear. He left his country and his family behind to answer a call to the ministry. After a time in Australia and in California, he settled in the Atlanta area where the Lord ultimately led him to begin the Church of the Apostles.

This church plant grew by embracing a mission to reach the lost and to equip the saints for ministry. Over the years, God has blessed the Church of the Apostles with amazing growth, using messages by and impact of Dr. Michael Youssef to spread the gospel in the new ministry, Leading the Way. Today, Dr. Youssef offers you freedom from fear as he takes you into God's word. Listen with me as Dr. Michael Youssef begins.

Dr. Michael Youssef: I want you to imagine yourself driving your car on the highway and you just happen to look in the dashboard and you see that red light flashing. Engine trouble. Engine trouble. Have you been there? A few times. The car keeps on going. It never really comes to a complete stop. You do not see smoke coming out of the engine or any sounding of noise. No visible sign whatsoever that the car is in trouble except for that dreaded red light. It just keeps flashing and irritating you.

Now, if you are not mechanical like the rest of us, obviously the first reaction is to go and find the first garage that's nearby and you go out and let them take a look at it. Why? Because at least you know enough to realize that this red light is connected to the engine somehow. There is some connection to that engine. In the same way, when fear begins to raise its ugly head in your life, that fear is connected with a wire right to your faith.

Now, what faith am I talking about? I am not talking about your saving faith. I am talking about your daily faith. The faith by which you walk every single day, decisions you make, relationships you form. This is the daily faith that I am talking about. The reason I want to make sure that I am distinguishing between your saving faith and your daily faith is because a lot of people confuse the two.

I remember one time many years ago I was talking to a dear brother who was going through a very fearful time. I happened to share with him from my personal experience. I said, your fear is directly connected to your faith. Well, he lost it. He raised his voice and he said, there is nothing wrong with my faith. Well, he was right. There was nothing wrong with his saving faith. If he dies that moment he will be in heaven with Jesus. There is no doubt in my mind that he loved the Lord. That taught me a lesson that I always want to make sure that when I am talking about the kind of faith that I am talking about, that I am distinguishing between saving faith and daily faith.

When you as a Christian person, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ active in the church, going to your Bible study and going to small groups, doing all the kind of things that all the Christian people do and your life seems to be just humming along and then all of a sudden lo and behold, there is that flashing light in the dashboard of your life that says fear, fear, fear. In other words, engine trouble, engine trouble. What do you do?

You stop and you check the engine of your faith. That is what you need to do. Now, there are some who are trying to drown their fear with alcohol. There are some who are trying to tranquilize their fear. There are some who are trying all forms of escapism to escape the reality of their fear. The problem is that all of these temporary measures compound the problem. They never solve it.

It would be like me driving along the highway and I see that engine light flashing, engine trouble, and I do what I am inclined to do and that is bang on the dashboard. It is not going to help one bit. Makes me feel a little better but it is not going to help it. The engine still in trouble. Or that I would attempt to pull on the side there and say that dreaded light is just bothering me, it is worrying me, it is troubling me, so I try to reach in and disconnect it. It is not going to make any difference because the trouble still there.

In the same way, hear me right please, this is important. Trying to numb your fear, trying to tranquilize your fear, trying to drink away your fear will only extinguish the warning light but it is not going to solve the problem. Not only that, but it has been proven over and over and over again from secular as well as the Christian circles and studies that alcohol only causes greater anxiety. It only causes greater depression. Never solve a problem, compounds the problem instead of solving it.

The answer to fear is to conquer it, not tranquilize it. The answer to our fear is faith, not freaking out. The answer to our fear is the promises of God in the Word of God, not sedatives. The answer to our fear is the conquering power of Jesus Christ, not temporary escaping it. Remember that fear is neutral. It can master you or you can master it. You can defeat it in Jesus' name or it can defeat you. You can temporary tranquilize it or conquer it.

Remember this because Jesus' primary concern for all his disciples is what? Their faith. Listen to me. I know pastors and Bible teachers who literally compromise the truth out of fear. That is why we have so much burnout in ministry these days. Once you start compromising there is no end. Two things. Number one, you must learn how to pray your fear out and how to pray faith in. You pray fear out and faith in. Secondly, learn to claim the power of the Lord Jesus Christ like you have never experienced it before.

Number one, pray your fear out and faith in. In fact, I read recently about the sea captain who was an avowed atheist. I mean he is outspoken atheist, said he did not believe in God at all. One day there was a severe storm and he got washed overboard. Well, one of his men heard him praying to God. Sure enough, they rescued him. When they got him on board and he got refreshed, finally one of the men said to him, I thought you don't believe in God. He said, well, if there isn't a God there ought to be one in times like this.

The truth is this, please listen. God loves to hear the cries of his people, especially for salvation. God loves to hear the cries of his children who are asking for faith and strength in faith and more faith so they can walk in trusting in him 100 percent of the time. In fact, realizing your own inadequacy and your total dependence on God is your first step in overcoming fear. It is your first step in building those faith muscles. Your prayer for faith that conquers fear is a prayer that God not only long to hear but loves to answer.

Ah, but you know what I noticed through the years? Most of us have enough grace to cry to God in times of trouble but we don't have grace enough to believe that he is going to answer us. That is the problem. That is the problem of the modern church, modern believers. The disciples were not the only ones who really wondered why God slept while they are perishing. They weren't the first ones.

Look at the Old Testament, read how many of the old saints have cried to God in the same way. Listen to what Isaiah 51:9 says just as a sample. "Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord. Awake, as in the days gone by, as in the generations of old." When the disciples panicked in the middle of the storm and woke Jesus up, I am convinced in my mind they must have wondered why Jesus is not afraid. His calm must have perplexed them. In fact, in some of the accounts they thought he was insensitive. Don't you care if we perish? Don't you care what happens to us? Master, don't you care about our bleak future? Don't you care about being washed overboard?

Pray your fear out and pray faith in. Acknowledge in prayer what is frightening you. Acknowledge in prayer what is causing you anxiety. Acknowledge in prayer what is distressing you. Acknowledge in prayer what is worrying you. I know in the Western church and in American church particularly, we get up on Sunday morning and we all put on our spiritual masks and man, we all look good.

Listen, God wants to hear your heartache. Why? Because he sees through that spiritual mask that you put on anyway. He just wants you to acknowledge what you go through. He wants you to call on him. When your heart is poured out to God as you pray your fear out, sometimes you may hear his precious voice with a gentle rebuke for you just as he did with the disciples. Why are you so afraid? You of little faith. Haven't you seen enough of my power in your life? Haven't you experienced my past protections? Haven't you experienced my past healings? Haven't you experienced my past saving power? Haven't you felt secure with me in my hands before? Haven't you felt my compassion in the past? Why are you so afraid? Haven't I demonstrated to you that I have your best interest at heart?

Did we not sing together in the temple those great words of Psalm 46? "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters foam and roar and the mountains quake with their surging." Verse seven. "The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress." Why did he choose Jacob? Why did he say the God of Jacob? I want to tell you why. Because Jacob teaches us how to pray our fears out and faith in.

Genesis chapter 32. I won't go through the whole story. You know when he runs away and he goes into his uncle Laban and becomes a mighty army. He said, with the my staff I crossed the Jordan, now I become two armies. He comes back with his children and his wives and his concubines and all the servants and the cattle and everything else and is heading back. But all that time he has been terrified of his brother Esau. The fear of Esau was obviously irritating him that whole time. Always been afraid of Esau. What am I going to do? I dread the day that I am going to face Esau. What is going to happen?

So he comes in just before he met Esau. Genesis 32 verse 11. He cries his fear out. "Save me I pray from the hand of my brother Esau for I am afraid he will come and attack me and also the mothers and their children." What is he doing? He is praying his fear where? Out. Verse 12. "But Lord, you have said." Mark that one down. Mark that one down. He is holding onto the promises of God. He prayed his fear out, now he is praying faith in. Verse 12. "But Lord, you have said, I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea which cannot be counted." What is Jacob doing? He is praying his fear out and he is praying faith in.

Like Job of old. You know we talk about somebody who went from rags to riches. This is one man who went from riches to rags. He sat on a pile of dirt, his body stricken with boils. He is crying to God. And yet he prayed with confidence. Although Satan is accusing me, although Satan is causing him all sorts of havoc, although Satan is causing him all sorts of fears and anxiety and terror, although Satan is harassing him and oppressing him, but he knew that God has the last word. And he knew that God would bring him to the other side with double blessings. Pray your fear out. Pray faith in. Pray your fear out. Pray the promises of God in.

Secondly, pray God's power in your life. Our biggest problem in the West generally is that we really truly, and you go examine your own heart, I am not condemning anybody, I know I am talking of my personal experience, we really have minimized the power of God in our lives. We really have. Just think about this with me. I mean there is no problem we have that science cannot solve, right? There is no problem we have that we don't throw money at it and it is going to go away, right?

I mean that's how we think. We got so bamboozled by secular thinking, by secular culture that even the children of the living God are thinking the same way. I mean there is no problem that legislation and politicians cannot get us out of it. I got news for you. People still get sick. People still suffer. People still worry in times of trouble. People still die. Hurricanes and storms and tornadoes still happen and neither science, nor money, nor legislation, nor politicians are able to solve them.

As a matter of fact, have you noticed how every time science seem to solve one problem, 10 problems pop up? I mean really, I mean just think about this. Every time is go, we got a breakthrough, 10 new ones come up. As if God says okay, good boys and girls, keep trying.

The only power that is worthy of its name for the children of the living God, for the child of God is the power of Jesus. That is why what we going through right now, in all honesty I can tell you that it can be a blessing to us. It really can. It can be a great blessing because it is going to take us out of dependence on all these things and to dependence on God and see the power of God manifested like we have never seen it in modern time. Because what we going through right now is revealing the inadequacy of science and I love science. I am not an anti-intellectual, you know that. But it is revealing the inadequacy of money or science or ingenuity or politics and politicians and policies.

Listen to me. Man may have the power to destroy the world, but they have no power to perfect the world. Only Jesus has that power. And until we bow our knees before God, all of our solutions are only temporary fixes. Man may have power to destroy a life but has no power to create it. Only God has that power. And part of the reason Jesus was manifested as the Messiah, the anointed of God who existed with the Father before the worlds, he came to redeem us, he came to die for us, and also he came to demonstrate his power over all these things. He has power to redeem man from sin. He is the only one who has that power. He has power to reverse the curses of sin. He is the only one who has that power. He has the power to heal diseases. He is the only one who has that power. He has the power to raise the dead and he is the only one who has that power. He has the power to still the storms in our lives and he is the only one who has that power. He has the power over Satan and all of his demons and he is the only one who has that power.

And if we truly believe, I am not saying we believe and then be a statement of faith, I am talking about really, really believe it deep in our hearts, it is part of our DNA. If we really believe in the power of God, I promise you this place would be packed out on Wednesday nights calling for the power of God. The problem is that we're not really sure if we just say we believe in the power of Jesus and we want him somehow to use that power to help us get out of a fix or we really believe it, that we can walk in it and through it moment by moment, day by day. And if we are, are we ready to risk anything to demonstrate and claim that power?

You see, God always waits until we run out of all human solutions before he manifests his power for his children. Because when our strength replaces his, when our ingenuity replaces his, when our power replaces his, when our own peace manufactured peace replaces his peace, when our own will replaces his perfect will, when our own self-sufficiency replaces his all-sufficiency, we find ourselves paddling our canoes in the middle of the storm. You know, here is what I have seen through all the years in ministry. I have seen some people who might not have any cause for fear and yet they're fearful. And yet I have seen people who have every reason to fear but they're not afraid. You know what the difference is? You know what the difference is? A complete trust in the Lord Jesus. And just as saving faith is a gift from God that he gives us so that we may believe in him and receive him as Savior and Lord, so is our daily faith as a gift from God. Have you asked for it? Well, you can start today. Pray your fears out and pray faith in. Pray the power of God. That power that is sustaining the universe. Every atom in the universe is sustained by the power of God. Every galaxy and every star in their orbits, they're sustained by the power of God. And that's the very power that Jesus is offering his children. So brother, let me appeal to you, sister, let me appeal to you. Don't tranquilize your fears. Don't tranquilize your fears, don't try to drown your fears in alcohol, don't try to escape from your fears. Defeat by the power of God in Jesus' name.

Guest (Male): Dr. Michael Youssef with his powerful series called Freedom From Fear. All of the messages in this series are available on the listen page at ltw.org for free. The entire library of Dr. Youssef's teaching is available on the Leading the Way app. Learn more at ltw.org.

Now, if you have listened to Leading the Way for any length of time, you know that in addition to teaching on this radio broadcast and globally, Dr. Youssef is also the author of more than 50 books. He is so passionate about teaching the word of God and he pours that same passion into his writing. Some books guide you deeper into the Bible, others unveil some of the happenings in our culture that Christians should be cognizant of and really ready to stand for or against, but regardless, each book is packed with messages of truth and light.

Recently Dr. Youssef penned a very provocative book. In fact, several publishers weren't really eager to even consider publishing it. The new book is called An Unholy Alliance. This is a challenging read and it is one that equips you to strengthen your faith in this time of unparalleled deception. Get information right now about how you can order your copy of An Unholy Alliance. Give us a call. We are at 866-626-4356. That is 866-626-4356. And online we are at ltw.org. Now, when you get resources or when you support Leading the Way, you are expanding the reach of the gospel worldwide. ltw.org. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world.