When the World goes Mad and God Laughs

Dr. Michael Youssef, offering words about people and groups standing against the Christian faith, today on Leading the Way. Why do these different groups that are normally at each other's throats, they hate each other, they literally deplore each other, they, given half the chance, they would kill each other.

And yet they become united in their opposition to the Christian faith and to Christian values and to Christians. Why? I'm going to answer that question. Welcome to a brand new Leading the Way audio with Dr. Michael Youssef. Over the next few episodes, Dr. Youssef brings a passionate series from several powerful Psalms. And as you dig deeper into God's Word, you'll see that God has the answer for every problem you face. Right now, words found in Psalm 2.

Here's Dr. Youssef to begin. The first thing you notice in this Psalm very clearly that is divided into four sections. Remember Psalm is a song and there are four stanzas in this Psalm, Psalm 2, very clearly divided four stanzas. Stanza 1 verses 1 to 3, it talks about man's defiance of God. The second stanza is verses 4 to 6 and it shows us the Father's derision toward that defiance. The third stanza, verses 7 to 9, it shows us the Son's dominion, talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, and finally the fourth stanza, verses 10 to 12 about the Spirit's deliverance. So you get defiance, derision, dominion, and deliverance.

I hope you're impressed, because I was. First of all, you see here very clearly man's defiance of God. And the Psalms ask, why? Why? Why do the nations rage and the people conspire and plot against the Lord?

Why there are hundreds of organizations and lobbying organizations and groups that are organized, that register with the government for the sole purpose of oppressing Christians and Christian morality. Why? Why do so many political leaders in our culture today refer to Christians as out of the mainstream? Why?

Now I for one take that as a compliment, but they don't, they take it as an insult. You see, why do so many governments around the world persecute Christians just for being Christians? Why do countries like Saudi Arabia and others feel that the Bible is a threat and therefore they banned it from their country? Why? Why do these different groups that are normally at each other's throat, they hate each other, they literally deplore each other, they, given half the chance, they would kill each other. And yet they become united in their opposition to the Christian faith and to Christian values and to Christians.

Why? I'm going to answer that question. But before I do that, I'm going to show you how they express it. How they express their rage against Jesus, the anointed one, is by going after his children, by going after his followers. And they call them every name in the book, like bigots and intolerant. They take their evil acts and they try to stick it to us. Now these groups like a beehive of unholy industry, they are swarming in the media to denounce the righteous.

But why? Because they want to believe in false gods. They want to believe in themselves as gods.

They want to believe false religion because they hate the teaching that says that there is only one way to the Father. There is only one plan for salvation. There is only one faith. There is only one doctrine. There is only one heaven. And there is only one savior.

And that's why they don't want that. So in their arrogance, they refuse to believe that our God is the only true God who tells the sun to shine in the morning. That he is the only one true God that tells the moon to light at night. That he is the only one who tells the rain to fall. That he is the only one who tells the earth to produce fruit. That even more importantly, he is the one who sent his one and only son, perfect, sinless, to die on a cross for sinners.

And they don't want that. Romans 1 18 describes it this way. They knew the truth but preferred to believe in the lie. Don't you see that we're living that right now? For they exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship and serve the creature instead of the creator.

Here's something that you need to know. This rage, this outrage against Jesus, the anointed one, and his followers is going to reach its apex. It's going to reach its zenith immediately before the return of Christ. And look at it now. And I'm not making any predictions.

But just think about this. Fifty years ago we said, oh yeah the Christians are persecuted over there. Yeah the Christians are hated in this country and in that country and now it's here. You see, it's a global rage.

It's a global outrage and it's sweeping Europe and North America. You see that's going to be the case as we get closer to the return of Christ. Man's defiance.

Secondly, the Father's derision toward that defiance. So many professing Christians these days are in total denial of the derision of God. There are many denominations who are actually going through their hymn books and they're taking out any reference to the wrath of God.

Any hymn, anything that talks about the wrath of God, they are removing it. They do not want to believe that God's wrath is coming upon the non-believers, that the coming upon evil, that the wrath of God will be fully exercised. They don't want to believe that. They want to believe in a God who's a milquetos God. They want to believe in a God who obeys them. You know, they want to believe and they want to think of a God whose grace means that he is clueless and powerless. And for this reason, they cannot accept verse 4 of Psalm 2. The one enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.

Why? Because our God is far from milquetoshed. Our God is a God of power and might. Our God is a God who exercises his authority, whether they accept it or not. Our God is a God who rules the universe, whether they like it or not. Our God is the God who controls the events of history, whether they believe it or not. Our God is not sitting on his throne in heaven and wondering what am I going to do with these people.

Actually, some evangelical writers are saying that God doesn't know the future and that he is going along with us experiencing life like we are. And I want to say that is not my God. The God I worship is omniscient and omnipresent. The God I worship is the God of power and might.

That's the God I worship. He's not sitting in heaven wringing his hands and drinking my lenta and saying, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?

What am I going to do? No. These people who believe lies over against the truth, no and a million no, but rather the Bible said he laughs. But beloved, listen to me. This is not a pleasant laughter. This is not a joyful laughter.

This is the laughter of the region. They think they can do this? That's what it means. As if God is saying they think they can get rid of my son, they think they can persecute my children and get away with it. If they think that, might as well let them reach for the sky and pluck the sun out. Let them stop the sun from shining. If they think that, they can reinvent me or they can remake me in their own image. Let them control the rain and the floods and the hurricanes.

Let them put the ocean in a bucket. And here's why I love history. I'm not a history major, but I love history. I read history as a hobby. It is the most amazing thing to me.

It repeats itself with precision and it goes over and over. You see it if you read it in the pages of history, but people are not paying attention. They're not paying attention to history and that's why we keep repeating its mistakes. The Roman Empire was probably the most powerful empire in human history and it had 30 emperors and governors in its existence. They all distinguished themselves by their zeal to persecute the early Christians. They really did.

Here's the history. Of all the 30 emperors and governors, all of them died horrible death. Some of them ended up being deranged. Others ended up being physically blind. Others were killed by family members. Others died miserable death in captivity. Others still drowned. Others still died with human flesh eating disease. Others committed suicide.

Every one of them died a horrible death, yet the Christian faith marched on. Man's defiance. God the Father's derision. The son's dominion. Verses 7, 8 and 9. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord.

He said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance. The end of the earth, your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter. You will rule them with what?

Iron scepter. So much for the milk toast Jesus. Our God is a God of power and might. He came his first coming in weakness.

He will come in strength. He came in humility, but he will rule with an iron scepter on his second coming. Today, it is not news to most of you that the name of Jesus is free for all. It's free for all to cuss and curse. Free for all to defame. Free for all to deface. Free for all to abuse. Free for all to be outlawed from public life except as a curse word.

That was never outlawed. But listen, 1000 years before Christ's incarnation, the Father said of him, he is my one and only anointed son. He is the one and only through whom everyone must come to me. He is the one and only way to heaven. He is the only choice for you to have if you ever want to be saved eternally. He is the only one who is going to judge the earth. He's going to judge every single human being on the face of the earth who rejected him as the only way to the Father.

Why? Because from the very beginning of creation, God said the earth is Jesus. It belongs to him.

He owns it. Ah, but you know, if you listen to the pundits, these academics and the Hollywood types and useless business people, you know, and here's how I see these people. These academics, these pundits, these Hollywood types, the celebrities. I see them as a bunch of squatters.

You know, you saw that in the news. Squatters go around and see a house. Nobody's in it. Nobody occupies it until they move in.

And nobody shows up. If the owner doesn't show up, they basically make themselves at home. And before long, they think they own the house. Just because they have not seen the owner with their eyes, they think they own it. Because they have not heard the owner with their ears, they think now they own it. But they're squatters.

Never owned anything. So they become deceived and deceive themselves into thinking they are the owners because the owner does not exist. Or the owner is not interested in his property. That he is not concerned about his property.

So they declare themselves to be the owners. And that goes on until the property owner shows up. And make no mistake about it, the owner of the earth is going to show up.

In person. He's coming back. He's coming back. A thousand years before Jesus' incarnation, God declared, this is my son to whom the earth belongs. He owns the earth. A thousand years before Christ came in Bethlehem of Judea, God declared, my son owns the earth.

And God the Father declared above the Jordan River when Jesus and John the Baptist got into the water and the Holy Spirit showed up and He said, this is my one and only anointed son. He owns it. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. Now, I have a big question to ask you. Do you think Satan knows all of this?

Of course he does. And that is why Satan offered Jesus a shortcut in the wilderness, remember? I'll give you the earth.

It's not his, but he said I'll give it to you. Avoid the cross. Shortcuts. Satan always offering you, oh be very careful when you fall for his shortcuts. They have bitterness on the other side of it. You know what Jesus said to Satan at that moment? Now that's a use of interpretation, not even translation, interpretation. Satan buzz off. The earth is mine, but I have to obey the Father.

And you know what? Had Jesus taken that offer, and he would have taken the earth, none of us could not have been redeemed. But he went to the cross so that he may redeem every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is why he had to obey the Father and not take a shortcut. For he said in Psalm 2, one thousand years, I keep repeating that, before Christ, one thousand years earlier, he said ask me and I will give you donations for your inheritance. Please, think with me. I want every believer in Jesus, every disciple of Jesus, every follower of Jesus. From this moment on, we need to be spending every waking hour to ask the question, how can we claim the nations for our Christ? Now here's a personal opinion.

Listen to me. Know my heart on this. I personally believe with all my heart that the Lord grieves in heaven when he sees his redeemed children have vision for everything in life. From retirement plans to vacation plans to life plans, and they plan nothing in their obedience to the Great Commission. I believe the Lord is grieving when his redeemed think more about their recreation than the rebirth of sinners. I believe that with every ounce of my being that his redeemed think more about those few years that we have here on earth where there will be fifty or a hundred than where they will be spending their forever, their eternity. Ask me and I'll make the nations your inheritance. Beloved, unless we wake up in time to this calling in mission, we're going to get to the point where it could be too late.

And I'm not really sure if we haven't crossed that already. Man's defiance of God, the Father's derision over that defiance, the Son's dominion, fourthly and finally the Spirit's deliverance. Some years ago, I did a series on the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God. I called it Know Your Best Friend. The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood person of the Trinity.

Why Know Your Best Friend? Listen to me. Because the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit of God, he is the one who called and called and called and called us until we responded. He is the third member of the Trinity who is calling sinners today, even now. Come, come to the Father through the Son.

He is calling through relatives, through friends, through every one of us. He is saying to everyone who would listen, turn to the Son while you can. Come to the Son so that the Father may accept you. Come to the Son.

Come to the Father through the Son that he may accept you. Look at verse 12 with me please. I'm getting close to the end. Don't miss this.

Don't miss this. The construction of this sentence could read this. Kiss the Son, lest the Father, because it says he, but it's referring to the Father. Kiss the Son, lest the Father be angry. Bow to the Son or face the Father's wrath and judgment. And notice here the Holy Spirit has a three-fold appeal.

Three-fold. He appeals to our mind, he appeals to our will, and he appeals to our emotions. He appeals to our mind. Be wise. Be wise. Be wise.

Don't be foolish. Secondly, he appeals to the will. Serve or obey the Lord out of reverence.

And finally, he appeals to the heart. Kiss the Son. Give up your pride, lest your pride will trip you. Give up your indifference before it's too late.

Give up your independence before you regret it. Kiss the Son. After all, he kissed you first when he hung on that cross. Why?

Because now, today, this moment, he is speaking in grace, but the day is coming when we will speak in judgment and in wrath. Don't be deceived by those who said everybody's going to make it in the end. Don't be deceived. And don't judge things the way you appear to your physical eye. But rather, develop a God-sized vision while there is time. Be an ambassador of the King, which he called you to be. Grasp his vision and his purpose for your life and embrace it and obey it. And you will be blessed.

Kiss the Son. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading the Way. Hear this and all of Dr. Youssef's messages online and through the Leading the Way mobile app and, of course, on the radio.

Get the details at ltw.org. Now, this message was the very first part in Dr. Michael Youssef's series, God Has the Answer for Every Problem You Face. So I hope you'll make every effort to join him for each encouraging and challenging episode. And by the way, in addition to being a local pastor and an international Bible teacher, Dr. Youssef also is a prolific author, penning more than 50 books.

I know you'll appreciate his sound biblical content, as well as his wise guidance as a man dedicated to God's Word and a passion to lead people to a closer walk with Christ. That's why we want to point you to the Leading the Way website. It's ltw.org. You'll be able to view many books written by Dr. Youssef and you can order them right there.

Everything from his most recent book, Never Give Up, to those written several years ago guiding you in a discipleship or leading your home, church, or business in a more Christlike way and more. So look through the entire library of books available to order from Leading the Way when you visit ltw.org. ltw.org. Or call and speak to a ministry representative at 866-626-4356.

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