From Depression to Mission

Dr. Michael Yousaf, what a great joy to celebrate with you as we open the Word of God and see those two disciples who have gone from depression to mission. God is so gracious and I know He has done that in your life as He did in my life and He took us from depression to mission. Stay tuned.

Call somebody. This ministry and this Word is going to bless you. Welcome to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Yousaf, author of more than 50 books, including his most recent, Never Give Up.

Call 866-626-4356 to find out about books and other resources by Dr. Yousaf that are available through Leading the Way. Have you ever looked at life and suddenly just been overcome with hopelessness? You know when life's purpose just kind of seems to have jettisoned away? Well, the disciples of Jesus felt that way immediately following the crucifixion. The man they believed was their Messiah and their hope was dead, or so they thought. Today, Dr. Yousaf offers encouragement and hope, taking you to when Jesus revealed truth to disciples who fell into despair and He led them to a sense of calling and passion. You're invited to gain that renewed sense of vision too as Dr. Yousaf begins his message, From Depression to Mission.

It's a special Easter episode of Leading the Way audio. Turn with me to Luke 24, beginning at verse 13. There you'll find two of Jesus's disciples.

As a matter of fact, from knowledge of the name of Cleopas, we know that this is actually Jesus's aunt and her husband, Clopas, and they were going home to Emmaus in utter hopelessness. They had witnessed with their own eyes the crucifixion of Jesus. They saw their hope was dashed on that cross and that is why they said, we had hoped, it's in the past.

They talk about this is finished. We had hoped that He's the Messiah. We had hoped that He's the Redeemer.

We had hoped that He's the Deliverer. They saw their dream was dashed on that cross. They saw their future ended on that cross. So, they waited around for three days and then they went home to Emmaus depressed. I'm going to tell you why they waited for three days. They were going home overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness.

It's over. These two have loved Jesus. These two have walked with Jesus. These two followed Jesus. These two have placed all of their hope on Him as their Deliverer, Messiah and Redeemer. But the crucifixion ended all that.

And in the fog of depression, in the fog of depression, they could not remember the promise of Jesus that He will rise again. During His public ministry, Jesus, God's Son, only begotten Son, in human flesh, told them again and again and again that He will die for the sin of everyone who will repent and believe in Him. That He will die on our behalf and behalf of everyone who will place their sin on Him. But then He said, I'm going to rise on the third day.

But they've forgotten that part. In fact, the reason why He came from heaven is for this very purpose. The reason He was born of a virgin, the reason He was a sinless Son of God, is for this very purpose of dying on that cross in order to take on the sin of everyone who will repent and believe in Him. That's why He came from heaven. And He told them, I will rise again to assure you every believer of their own resurrection with Him in heaven.

You see, Jesus spoke plainly. He used agrarian examples. He used illustrations. He used stories. He used parables.

In order to explain. In fact, He told them, He said, just like Jonah was buried in the belly of the whale for three days, then came out and continued on his mission, so will the Son of Man will be buried and rise again. He told them that unless the seed is buried in the ground, it will not grow back up stronger and greater.

And He referred that's His death and resurrection. But because they allowed themselves to get into this dark tunnel of depression, they forgot the rest of the story. They forgot the rest of God's plan of salvation. They forgot the important part of the promise. And they got sobbed down in their sorrow and their hopelessness. They were engulfed in it. And they got into this kind of depression for which there is no pill.

There is no pill. They got so immersed in the suffering of the cross that they have failed to remember the promise of the resurrection. My friend, I want to tell you, fear, which leads to depression, is more contagious than any disease. And I promise you, the further we depart from Jesus, the further we depart from the Word of God, the further we depart from biblical principles, the more depression we'll experience. It works that way, but there's more. Jesus did not come from heaven just to cure our depression. He came from heaven to redeem us eternally and to assure us of eternal life with Him in heaven. That is why He came from heaven. He came from heaven to permanently forgive our sins, the sin of everyone who repents.

God the Father raised Him from the dead as proof. That's what the Bible said in Acts chapter 17, the day of ignorance God has overlooked, but now He commands everyone everywhere to repent, for He has appointed a day of judgment. Oh yes, there's a day of judgment coming. He's going to judge the world by this man Jesus and as proof, as proof He raised Him from the dead.

Let's look at this very closely. Two disciples lived in Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and back then they walked. Just a couple of hours, probably maybe two and a half hours walk from Emmaus to Jerusalem, and they have walked from the home to Jerusalem in order to witness this kangaroo court that was convened to condemn the only sinless, the only perfect, the only Son of God, Son of Man to death. But three days later, they decided to go home depressed. They decide to go home and they're going to shut the door, they're going to pull down the curtains, they're going to pull up their bedclothes and cover their heads and become thoroughly depressed. I want to tell you three things about what Jesus did with these two disciples in order to deliver them from the misery of depression. Three things that took them from depression to mission. And here's the greatest news of all.

It's the most fabulous news you've ever heard in your life. That same resurrected Jesus can do that for you today. How did He do this? First of all, He challenged the false reasoning for depression.

That's false reasoning. Secondly, Jesus corrected the partial information which led them to depression. And thirdly, Jesus exchanged their depression with a mission.

Let's look at these very quickly. The resurrected Jesus challenged the reason for depression. There's always a reason for depression.

I'm talking about the emotional depression. There's always a reason. Sometimes the reason is real, other times it's imaginary. I've been both, in both sides of that. I'm going to explain more. I wonder how many of us who have got so discouraged at times and got so depressed only to discover later that the reasoning was just imaginary. It's not true.

It's a faulty reasoning. I know I have. I'm talking about this emotional depression that comes from discouragement. I'm not talking about chemical depression or clinical depression.

No, no, no. I'm talking about this emotional depression. Look at verse 13 again. These two waited in Jerusalem till the third day. He said, why the third day?

I'm going to tell you why. Because some of the Jewish traditions, not everybody followed it, because it's really a myth. It's a mythological story that circulated, obviously invented by some rabbi somewhere sometime that says that the soul of the deceased hovers around the dead body for three days, then it departs. No biblical evidence to that. No scriptural evidence for that.

It was just pure speculation. But nonetheless, the reason that if they hang around for three more days, they may see the resurrection. And they heard that the tomb is empty, but they didn't see Jesus. And they were waiting to see what happened, and they didn't see it.

And so when the third day arrived, they decided to go home and get depressed. Let me ask you this. Please answer the question to yourself. How many times when you, at the cusp of a difficult issue, I mean you're dealing with some real, very difficult issue in your life, whatever it may be. I mean you're grappling with it. You're grasping for straws, and when nothing happened, you allow hopelessness to sit in. Been there. I wonder how many times you placed your hope all of your hope on someone only to disappoint you. How many times have you placed all of your hope on that big business deal that you thought this is the one that really going to make you walk for the rest of your life comfortably. And that falls apart, and you got depressed.

I wonder how many times have you placed your hope on a dream that never eventuated and acted but shattered, and you got depressed. And these dear people, probably like Thomas, they were not there with the disciples when Jesus arrived and revealed himself to them and came in their midst while they had all the doors unlocked and terrified and fear that they too going to die, and Jesus comes in the midst. You know what he said? Peace. See these disciples did not realize that the very cross that was the mallet that shattered their dreams was the very instrument of their redemption. They didn't realize that the pouring of Jesus blood on that cross, and make no mistake about it, it was violent.

It was vile. That is the only road for the power of the resurrection. They did not realize that the very rugged cross is God's instrument for bringing eternal life to everyone who would believe and place a whole trust in him.

That's the very tomb that buried Jesus for three days is the permanent burial ground for sin and guilt and pain and suffering and death for everyone who receives him as savior. So the resurrected Jesus, first of all, he challenges the false reasoning. Secondly, the resurrected Jesus corrects a partial information. If you study history, the history of social movement, you find that the most dangerous leaders are those with partial information.

Why? Because partial information leads to wrong conclusions. Verse 25, Jesus said to them, how foolish you are, how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have said about prophesied about me. Did not the Messiah, did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?

Now, beloved, please listen to me. The most dangerous preachers are the ones who preach half-truths and don't give you the whole truth of the scripture. You see, when they stand up and they say to you that Jesus or Christianity and the Bible is a smorgasbord, you're supposed to pick up what you like and you reject what you don't like. False. Or that Christ is so loving he's not going to judge anybody. False.

Can you say that with me? Or that Christ is not the only way to God. False. Or that Jesus is our Savior but is not everybody's Savior. Or that all religions will lead to the same place. Or that all religions are true and of equal value.

Or that God only is looking for good intentions and sincerity. False. Big false. Or that God does not care about how we behave morally. False. List goes on and on and on.

No wonder people are depressed in our culture today. Today you can have encounter with a resurrected Jesus and he will give you the whole truth. Not partial truth.

Not half information. He said when you believe in me and you believe that I am the truth, that very truth that you believe is going to set you free. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free when you come to realization. That Jesus, the only one who can save you eternally. That Jesus is the only one who can assure you of eternal life in heaven with him here and now. That Jesus is the only one who loved you enough to die on that cross for you in order to carry the curse and the wrath of God that is supposed to be ours on his holy shoulders.

When you do that, you will go from depression to mission. These two from Emmaus, to them Jesus was saying you need to believe the whole truth about Jesus. You need to believe the Bible as God's own word. The Old Testament said he's coming, then New Testament said he's here.

Same story. The reason we call it the Holy Bible is because it's the only book that reveals what God is like and what he wants from us. Jesus was saying to these two that had you read the Bible, that's the Old Testament at that time for them, for yourself.

Had you believed the Bible, that's the Old Testament for them, for yourself. Had you not allowed all sorts of false concepts and false teachings and false ideas to affect you, he would have known what? That the grave could not hold him. That the tomb could not keep him.

That he had to conquer death by rising again. Amen. Amen.

Praise God. He alone, he alone rose from the dead as proof that he's alone, the Savior of the world. Come to the only one who claimed to be the way. When he says the way, I mean the only way. The truth and the life. When no one comes to the Father but through him. Open your heart to the full truth of the resurrected Jesus. For only he can take you from depression to depression. He challenged their false reasoning. He corrected their partial information. But thirdly, in verses 30 and 31, he led them not only out of depression but burned their hearts with a mission for life.

I'm going to show you. Look at verse 30 and 31. When he was at the table with them, he took bread and he gave thanks and broke it and began to give it to them. Their eyes were open.

It is my prayer that so many spiritual eyes be open today. Their eyes were open and recognized him. And then he left. When you invite the resurrected Jesus as your only Savior and Lord, he does not come and take sides. He takes over. When he came to this house, he was a host. He was not the guest. He's breaking the bread.

That's the job of the host in the home. When he comes into your life, he takes over. He transforms you. He brings his joy into your joyless circumstances. He will bring his victory to your defeated life. He will bring power to your powerless life.

He will come to deliver you from whatever it is that's holding you back. Look with me please the rest of the passage. Once these two recognized the resurrected Jesus, they moved from fear to courage. They moved from pain to joy. They moved from hopelessness to hope. They moved from defeat to victory.

They moved from depression to mission. For they got up, even those nighttime. That's a very dangerous road back then.

But that didn't matter. They got up and immediately walked back those seven mile track to Jerusalem. Why? They are now on a mission. They must deliver the good news.

They must tell the others the good news. They have seen the risen Lord. They have seen the risen Lord. They've talked to the risen Lord. He walked with them and he talked with them and he ministered to them. You see, when you open your life to the resurrected Jesus, he will transform your life from depression to mission. It's not just my story.

It's millions of people around the world would testify the same way. Verse 27, I left it. I want to come back to it because of its significance. I want to conclude with it. Verse 27, and beginning with Moses and all of the prophets, he explained to them what was said about him in all of the scriptures. That is the Old Testament predicting his coming with meticulous details. Jesus, listen to me, is not just a founder of a religion like people say, no, no, no, no, no.

He's the creator God. And that is why all of the founders of these religions, they are dead and in their tombs and people go and visit those tombs, but Jesus is the only one who rose from the dead never to die again. He's the only one for whom generations have waited.

Thousands of years, they're waiting. That's why Jesus said, Abraham saw my day and rejoiced 2,000 years before Christ. And he was trying to show them in this verse 27 that he is the one who's been predicted, prophesied, and he began to open the scripture. Most likely he would have said to them in Genesis chapter 3, all the way back in the Garden of Eden, God the Father talked about God the Son coming, and he said he is the seed of the woman who will crush the serpent's head.

And that's Satan. And he did so praise God on the cross. That he is the suffering servants in the Book of Isaiah. That he is the branch of righteousness in the Book of Jeremiah. That he is the plant that's giving shade and shedding fragrance in the Book of Ezekiel. That he is the one who is the stone that is not cut with hands that smashed the nations in the Book of Daniel. That he is the growing lily in the Book of Hosea. That he is the hope of all of his people in the Book of Joel. That he is the plowman who overcame the reaper in the Book of Amos.

That he is the deliverer from Mount Zion in the Book of Abediah. And this is just a partial list. Do you want me to go? I can go on.

No doubt he gave them a complete list. If you accept the invitation of the resurrected Jesus today, if you accept his invitation, he will not only take you from depression to mission for life, but he will continue with you in that mission until you go home and be with him in heaven. Will you accept the invitation from the resurrected Jesus? You're listening to Dr. Michael Youssef, local pastor and teacher on Leading the Way. Maybe you'd like to speak with someone about what you heard today. You can begin that conversation with one of our compassionate, caring pastors when you visit ltw.org slash Jesus.

You can also learn about the impact that Dr. Youssef is having all around the world when you visit ltw.org, ltw.org, or call. Speak to a ministry representative. That number is 866-626-4356. That's 866-626-4356. And write to us at Leading the Way, Post Office Box 201100, Atlanta, Georgia, 30325.

That's Post Office Box 201100, Atlanta, Georgia, 30325. You know, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day after he was buried is the clearest demonstration that he is the God of power and might. Without his resurrection, there can be no power for living here and now or eternal life with him in heaven. Will you come and experience the power of his resurrection?

Find out more today. Visit us online, ltw.org slash Jesus, ltw.org slash Jesus. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Make plans to listen again next time right here when Dr. Michael Youssef once again passionately proclaims uncompromising truth. Learn more at ltw.org.