From Valley to Victory, Part 18

Welcome to Leading the Way, featuring the sound Bible teaching of pastor and international evangelist Dr. Michael Youssef. Paul's letter to the Romans has always been the premier biblical source for understanding the theology of man and sin and salvation. Each page exposes the depth of God's love, his mercy, and his grace. And it's from those same pages that Dr. Youssef is taking you in his current series, From Valley to Victory. Up next, open with us to chapter 14.

That's where you'll look at Christian liberty, something that's become misunderstood, even taken advantage of in today's church. Now, if you'd like to deepen your faith, or maybe you know someone who'd like to strengthen the foundation of their faith, won't you consider connecting further with Leading the Way through our app? This is a platform where all of Dr. Youssef's content can be watched and listened to, to deepen your understanding of God and his word.

Search in your device's app store, or follow the links at ltw.org. Right now though, let's listen as Dr. Michael Youssef begins today's Leading the Way. In days gone by, when I used to do weddings, I used to invest a great deal of time in the premarital counseling because I figured it is of vital importance to invest this time and to make sure that the couple understand what they're doing. And if there's one thing I sought to do is to bring the couple to reality. The most important issues that I would emphasize over and over and over again is that each of them are bringing into the marriage some old baggage from their childhood all the way up to that point. But in all relationships, we bring our old baggage with us.

It doesn't matter whether it be in marriage or family or church, whatever we are. Oh, but I know some of us travel light and like to carry on baggage, some like to bring suitcases. Now I used to tell the couple that I wish that there is a button that you press and all of the past baggage can be erased. I wish, but that was wishful thinking, but reminded them again, that is not possible. Scientists tell us that what children learn growing up is like a metal needle engraving on a steel plate. It stays there forever.

It can never be erased. Now, some of these engravings are wonderful. They are positive. That's the godly moms and dads that I know in this church and what they're doing, they are engraving wonderful things about loving God and loving the Word of God and memorizing the Scripture.

And I'm just so thankful for that. But some of these engravings, particularly in older generation, is negative and not positive. And therefore, it takes an absolute commitment and surrender to the Holy Spirit of God to slowly but surely blunt these negative and destructive programmings. It takes an absolute commitment and faith in the power of God to let go of these negative build-ups. It takes a total surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to learn how to major on the majors and minor on the minors. It takes a dogged determination to allow the transforming power of God to help us to love the other person and overlook the baggage. Can I get an amen?

Now hear me right on this one. Because this principle does not only apply to marriage, it applies to all relationships. All relationships within the family, church, whatever they may be. And that is why the best place to start, and that's what I love to do and I do with young parents, the best place to start is the beginning. In bringing up godly children, in bringing up spiritually healthy children, the future spouses will thank you for it.

But how do you do this? Well, by parents choosing, listen to me carefully, by parents choosing not to nitpick on their children. And all the children said amen. When we as parents choose to fight on every hill, we lose the battle. But we as parents prioritize the issues in life. Choose the hills in which we are ready to fight.

When we as parents choose to overlook the minor issues instead of focusing on them and then leave out the major issues or muddle the major and the minor and they grow up not knowing which is which. This is my beloved, the one thing that I'm standing here to testify to you that I have tried, and the emphasis here is on tried, did y'all get that? Tried to do.

Now I'm not always successful, but I tried. If the Apostle Paul is saying one thing in Romans 14, it is this. He is pleading with believers to major on the majors and minor on the minors. Focus on what's important to God.

Focus on the heart, not the out-of-the-appearance. Stop wasting your energy on that which is not necessary for salvation. Stop your pity arguments over things that are not scriptural. Things that have nothing to do with holy and righteous living. Things that has nothing to do with spiritual development and growth in the spiritual life. Things that have nothing to do with the heart and loving God with all of your heart. Here's my understanding of what Paul is saying here in Romans 14. Just as in my experience in sharing with the premarital counseling for those who come into marriage with baggage, the same thing happens in a church.

The same thing. Most of us, when we come to Christ, we come to church and we bring our pre-Christian life, our pre-Christian baggage into the church. In the church, these issues are less intense as they are in a marriage because thank God we don't live together. But just to be sure that no one will misunderstand me, I am not talking about the people who are bringing the blatant sin into the church. That's not what I'm talking about. I am not talking about people who want the church to accept the blatant sin and immorality and call it just difference of opinion. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about things that are not necessary for salvation, not necessary for righteous and holy living.

I'm talking about clothes and food and drink. I'm talking about matters of Christian liberty. That's what Paul is saying and that's what I'm amplifying. At boyhood, I used to hear the preacher all the time say, there shall not smoke, there shall not drink, there shall not play cards, there shall not go to the cinema. What if Jesus returns and you are in the cinema?

To this day, I'm still afraid that Jesus is going to come back and I won't see the end of the movie. So much so that I honestly began to argue with one of my friends who is gracious and wonderful and loving but I was arguing with him and he was such a patient person and I said, the Bible said this. It's in the Bible.

And he was just loving me. He would say, Michael, it's not in the Bible. Michael, it's not in the Bible. And thankfully he put me straight because I honestly thought they were in the scripture somewhere. Now I know these are not burning issues today.

I know that. I know they're not burning issues but I'm giving them as an example, a personal example so you understand what is important and what is not. It is important for us and it's a plea of the apostle Paul is that we be able to distinguish what is contrary to the scripture and what is not. We live in a time when there are so many evangelical pastors who have placed blatant sin in the same category as Christian liberty like food and drink. They do. Today, we have churches that have accepted Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and remain in their religious religions.

It's called the insider movement. We have churches that have acquiesced to the pressure of society and accepted homosexual marriage to be equal to that of heterosexual marriage which the Bible is very clear about even if it's the law of the land. That's because abortion is the law of the land that we have to do it.

Are you with me? Now these churches twist the words of the scripture found in other places and here in 14 and they say that these immoral issues just a matter of preference, that these immoral sins just a matter of life choices, lifestyle. These unbiblical choices are issues of Christian liberty and that's why I'm trying so hard to make sure you don't misunderstand me when I'm talking and expounding on the Word of God. Now we can distinguish between what is absolutely biblical injunction and what is not and that is why now more than ever, it's the biggest burden of my heart for recently and for the years to come, it's the biggest burden of that we need to be discerners not drifters and that is why now more than ever, we need to learn to be biblically accurate and that biblical teaching is non-negotiable. Let me summarize Romans 14 under three headings so that we can kind of get our arms around this. First of all, in verses 1 to 4, Paul is saying don't sweat the small stuff but immediately but, and but is very important here, in verses 5 to 12, he is saying be patient in helping the weaker Christian. Finally, verses 13 to 23, he says keep your focus on the big picture. Keep your focus on the big picture. Don't sweat the small stuff, verses 1 to 4. I know management gurus can come to your company or institution or organization and charge you big bucks just to tell you this. Keep your eye on the main goal of your, look, you're getting it for free today, okay?

No big bucks here. And this is not me, 2000 years ago, that's what the apostle Paul said, it's the word of God that says that. But Paul immediately after saying this, he said but, I'm going to explain, that's very important. See in the early church, particularly in the city of Rome, Colin says well but Rome particularly, the Jews who converted to Christ, the Gentiles who converted to Christ, they came and they joined the church and they brought with them their pre-Christian life. You see, Jews wanted to keep on eating kosher meat.

And Paul said that's fine. Gentiles were buying cheap meat because the meat that was offered to idol was very cheap. Meanwhile, there were believers from among the Jews and the Gentiles who understood very quickly that they are free in Christ regarding food and drink and these things that are not necessary for salvation. Those whom the Paul calls strong Christians, so they began to see people who were sweating the small stuff to be inferior.

They are the weak Christians. Not only that, but the strong were flaunting their liberty in Christ. They are flaunting it. They are showing it to everybody. Let me repeat. There will be no misunderstanding. This is not flaunting immorality that the churches are flaunting today and calling it liberty or minor issues.

No. These strong Christians in Rome were flaunting things that are totally unnecessary for salvation. It is totally unnecessary for righteous living and holy living. But nonetheless, the apostle Paul sees how the small stuff can fester and become a big stuff and then can destroy the church. That's what his concern here is all about. And that is why I'm only telling you what Paul is saying. He's saying it is not good to sweat the small stuff, but if the small stuff bothers the conscience of the weaker believer, don't do it. For Christ's sake, don't do it.

It's not a big deal. When it comes to a walk with God, the strong must be seen as not offending the weak. The mature believer must be sure that he or she is not riding roughshod over the immature. The liberated believer needs to be patient with the weak ones.

Let me explain this. In days gone by, legalistic churches taught that smoking will affect your salvation. Now, even the pagans are saying smoking is not good for you.

It has nothing to do with Christians. Now, if a believer smokes and he is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is not going to affect his salvation of going to heaven. It may get him to heaven much sooner.

Hello. In the same way about drinking alcohol, it's not going to affect a believer's salvation. It may give you a cirrhosis of the liver if it's an axis drinking and get you to heaven sooner too.

Alcohol might begin a process of addiction and create stronghold in a believer and that leads to drunkenness which is a sin but will not affect salvation. I know some people are going to take an issue with me. I know that. I know that. But that's okay.

I've been preparing for it all week. The list can go on and on and on. Vegetarians look down upon those who eat red meat and vice versa. Seen it both ways. Charismatics look down upon reformed people and vice versa.

Seen it both ways. Some view style of worship to be absolutely of uttermost importance and this causes people to kind of look down on each other over that issue. Beloved, if it is not necessary for salvation, if it is not vital for your Christian walk and righteous living, you need to be flexible. Our salvation is not dependent on these things. Listen, listen, listen.

Why? Simply because when you come to Jesus Christ in faith and repentance and you receive his death upon the cross to be your death. When you come in repentance and faith and belief, you have been transformed from death to life. And the Bible said therefore now there is no condemnation upon those who are in where? Christ Jesus.

Don't sweat the small stuff butt. Secondly, be patient with those who are weak in the faith. What Paul is saying here, he is saying the two people may disagree over matters that are not really important for salvation.

It's not going to affect their salvation. And yet, they both are right before God. Let me give you an example from history because both men went to be with the Lord now a long time ago. In the city of London, there were two prominent evangelical preachers. Both pastored very significant flourishing Bible believing churches. Dr. Joseph Parker and Charles Spurgeon. Dr. Parker thought that Spurgeon was not spiritual because he smoked a cigar. And Spurgeon thought Dr. Parker is not spiritual because he went to theater. And you know what the media did? I mean the media of course love this.

That stuff got out in the media, it was in the newspapers, front page because the media love to see Christians squabbling especially over some silly things. Here's my testimony now. If the Lord convicts me of not doing something, even if every single preacher and every single believer is doing it, I don't do it.

Why? Because the lordship of Jesus Christ is paramount to me. I don't have to do what others do.

If the Lord convicts me of not doing it. Years ago I heard this axiom. In the essentials, unity. In the non-essentials, liberty. And in all things, charity.

I have emphasized this majoring on the major. Just about for all the years I've been pastoring you. Beloved, I literally dedicated my life on the promise of Jesus.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And I stacked everything in life on that promise and I'm here to say to you that God keeps his promise. When he says all these things be added to you, I didn't realize how incredible, overwhelming these things can be.

What a blessing of God. Don't sweat the small stuff butt. Be patient in helping those who are weak in the faith. Thirdly, keep your focus on the big picture.

Keep your focus on the big picture. Look at verses 16 and 17 of Romans 14. Don't allow what you consider to be good to be spoken of as evil.

Why? Because the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking but about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Can I get an amen? I have never found a person with a critical spirit to be a joyful or peaceful person.

I have not seen it. A busybody who's constantly concerning themselves with what others are wearing and eating and doing is never joyful. A person who makes a big deal regarding traditional matters is never a contented person. There are even who even get carried away, that they think more righteous than our Lord. You and I have the responsibility to ensure that our freedom is not causing others to stumble.

Whatever form of freedom it may be for you, it may be different for you and different for me. If it is going to cause a weaker Christian to stumble, we are under obligation to forego it. You say, I don't want these legalistic, self-righteous people to get away with it. Well, do it for Jesus' sake, okay? Verse 21, Paul calls this beautiful behavior on the part of the strong Christian. Why?

Why? Because it's free from arrogance. It is free from selfishness. It is full of selflessness because it means that my eyes are on the gospel and the kingdom of Jesus and not on my freedom.

It is beautiful because it will not cause the weak Christian to fall into sin. Dr. Michael Youssef, with a challenge to not sweat the small stuff, but be patient with other believers. Focus your heart and your mind on the big picture.

Thank you for listening to Leading the Way. Dr. Michael Youssef. As I often said about the life of David, a man whose heart after God's own heart, but most people only remember the highest of the high that is slaying the giant and the lowest of the low, and that is his adultery with Bathsheba. But there's a lot more to the man. There are so many lessons that we can learn from his life.

Get this book. It will bless you. In his book, A Heart for God, Dr. Michael Youssef offers you powerful reminders of God's faithfulness to bring glory and victory out of brokenness and failure. A Heart for God is available right now when you give a gift of any amount to the ongoing ministry of Leading the Way. The website where you can learn more about the content and order your copy is ltw.org. Get your copy of A Heart for God as a thank you from Dr. Youssef and Leading the Way when you give a gift of any amount to the ministry outreaches of Leading the Way.

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Well, that's all for now. Thank you for being with us. And we do want to invite you to join Dr. Michael Youssef right here next time for more Leading the Way. Learn about the passion of Dr. Youssef's heart as he obediently follows God through the Open Door Campaign to spread the message of God's grace and mercy in the coming years when you visit ltw.org. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.