Beware of Spiritual Amnesia, Part 2

Dr. Michael Youssef introducing this episode of Leading the Way Audio. If there is a time for decision, it is now. If there is a time for wholehearted commitment to Christ, it is now. If there is a time for rejecting compromise and selfish desires, it is now.

If there is a time to decide between standing together or fighting each other, it is now. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading the Way. Now before we get too far into this episode, we do want to take a moment to honor the memories of those lost on September the 11th, 2001, and those who are still experiencing pain from those losses. It's a day that changed the fabric of our world.

We know that this will always be a tender day in our world's history. Well, few Bible teachers understand biblical culture better than Dr. Michael Youssef. He grew up in the region where many biblical events occurred. Add in his years of Bible school, seminary training and pastoral experience, and you get unique insights that bring color and detail to the words of the Bible. Today on Leading the Way, Dr. Youssef takes us to Judges, where something extraordinary happens. A woman becomes God's voice to the people, delivering God's direction and his rebuke. Before he begins, this quick reminder that if you'd like to get in touch with Leading the Way, the call center number is 866-626-4356.

Or online, we're at ltw.org. Just ask how you can be a part of the Open Door Campaign to expand the reach of the gospel. Here now is Dr. Youssef to begin. Today we're going to meet a courageous prophetess, a counselor by the name of Deborah. But we are also going to meet a doubting, weak leader by the name of Barak, which means lightning in Hebrew. I want you please, if you haven't already turned to Judges chapter 4, beginning the very first verse. In fact, this chapter opens with the cycle of rebellion and judgment and then deliverance. We began a series of messages from the book of Judges entitled Beware of Spiritual Amnesia. And we saw how the generation of the book of Judges began this cycle of rebellion against God, of forcing God out of the center place of their life. And then judgment followed. And after judgment came their cry to God for deliverance and God responded to their cry and giving him a deliverer. After Ahod, the previous deliverer, died, some of God's people, the Naftali's, they became apathetic.

They became careless. They began to compromise with the enemies again, despite of the fact that it hasn't been very long that they've seen what God has done in their midst. They compromised with the Canaanites.

But this was a really bad one. I mean, they allowed them not to just exist in the neighborhood. They allowed them to come in and set camp right inside their territory, right inside their camp. You see, in the Old Testament, Canaan on the Canaanites are a type of Satan, just like the Pharaoh was.

He's a type of Satan. And Satan came and took over the tent of the Naftali's, the people of God. And you know how they did it? One inch at a time.

Or it could be one centimeter at a time. Never came all of a sudden and invaded them. That will mobilize the people. They would have fought them. But that's the insidiousness of sin. This is the insidiousness of Satan in invading the homes of believers.

He takes one inch at a time and then by the time they wake up, it is too late. In fact, these Canaanites grew and they grew and they grew to the point where they were manufacturing nine hundred iron chariots. It's mentioned twice. That's why it's important for which the Israelites had no response. They become so powerful and so strong before whom the Israelites could not stand. And the Canaanites had a tyrant leader by the name of Sisera.

And for twenty years, Sisera and his people, after worming their way in, they grew and they grew and they grew. And then he used his military might to oppress the very people of God. And by the way, chapter five, which is the next chapter, is a song of praise that Deborah wrote in praising God for his deliverance. It happened after the deliverance that has taken place on chapter four. So it's just a song.

But you know, in that song, there are some information that are really very, very important. For example, in chapter five verses six and seven, you know that things were so bad that no one could go out in the highways because either they're going to get robbed or killed or both. I mean, public life in Israel was so governed by fear. People were terrified, couldn't get out of their houses. The whole community was paralyzed. They were helpless. They had no strength to resist the oppression of these Canaanites.

The people were so demoralized that they did not even bother making weapons in order to defend themselves. Chapter five again, verse eight tells us why. Ah, the people of God chose new gods. And we saw in the last message, all they've done, they did not abandon Yahweh altogether. They just added the others to Yahweh. Oh yes, they're Christians. They go to church. They're fine, but they are adding all these other gods. So Yahweh moved from his center place.

He was pushed into the peripheries. Beloved, if there is a time for decision, it is now. If there is a time for wholehearted commitment to Christ, it is now. If there is a time for rejecting compromise and selfish desires, it is now. If there is a time for courage to stand up, it is now. If there is a time for parents to be united together in parenting of their children, it is now.

If there is a time for parents to stand together in unity, it is now. If there is a time for believers to reject mediocrity, it is now. If there is a time for the Church of Jesus Christ to be willing to pay the cost of discipleship, it is now. If there is a time for us to decide between worshiping the creator or worshiping the creation, it is now. If there is a time for us to decide whether we're going to worship Jesus or Darwin, it is now. If there is a time for us to decide between worshiping Father, God or Mother Earth, it is now. If there is a time for us to decide between what is morally right and what is morally wrong, it is now.

If there is a time to decide between standing together or fighting each other, it is now. For if we think that our safety and our peace is going to come from doing nothing and saying nothing then the next generation is going to be the casualty for our indecision. I know sometimes as parents and I know that from my own life and I even see it in my children in the raising up of their children sometimes parents want to be liked by their children so much that they never challenge their thinking. They never guide them to the truth.

Some people don't even discipline their children at all. Remember the words of Miriam Booth, it is wonderful to do the Lord's work but it's far greater to do the will of the Lord. People running around doing all kinds of good stuff which is great but let it not be out of guilt, let it be done in obedience for it is the will of God for us to be found faithful. It is the will of God for us that we be obedient. Remember the words of the prophet Samuel to King Saul. He said God requires obedience above sacrifice.

A lot of people sacrificing but very few people are obeying. So cry to the Lord, cry to the Lord. In Israel when things really got so bad, things got so dreadful, things that got so intolerable they began to cry to the Lord. But God had already a woman there in their midst, a Bible teacher, counselor in Israel by the name of Deborah. Deborah describes herself as a mother in Israel.

Now if you have never appreciated the greatness of this woman you will today. One of the most remarkable women in the whole Bible. But you have to understand that the Bible must be interpreted in historical context. The reason people get into trouble and end up in heresies and even departing from the faith altogether is when they take a passage or a text and run with it and apply it for our day without understanding why it was given to those people at that time and what it meant. And you must understand that in the Old Testament to have a woman lead God's people is God's way of shaming the men. The men were abdicating the leadership responsibilities. The men were wimping out on God.

The men were abandoning their role. So God, in order to humiliate them, he gave them this courageous woman to lead them. Isaiah chapter 3 verse 12, God complains to Israel and he said, as for my people, children are the oppressors and women rule over them. For God to give them a woman judge is his way of saying, you're a bunch of children.

And that's exactly what they were. I'm going to show you an example in a minute. When it came to spiritual matters, Deborah was both judge and prophetess. And you've got to find that it is not unusual for God to end up using women in order to shame the men for the lack of fulfilling their God-given role. In fact, it happens in history. It happens in the Bible.

You see it in examples. And I was thinking the other day of how John and Charles Wesley, their father was a rector of a small Anglican parish, but he really wasn't much of a leader. And so God literally used their mother, Susanna, to have the greatest impact on her famous sons. And at the cross, when all the men fled, the women stood there by the Lord Jesus. But the clearest example of this dismal situation is when God spoke through Deborah to Barak. I want you to look at your Bibles now, particularly those two verses I'm going to tell you about. And they can underline them.

They are very important. This prophetess, the mouthpiece of God, she's speaking. God gave her a message to give to the army general, to the army captain, by the name of Barak, verses 6 and 7 of chapter 4. She said to Barak, she said, the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you.

She didn't say he's suggesting to you or he's requesting of you. She said, commands you. Underline commands you in your Bible. So take with you 10,000 of the men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor.

Why? Verse 7. He said, I will lure Sesserae, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots, obviously those 900 iron chariots and the might that he is displaying, and his troops. I'm going to lure them into the Kishon River and give him to your hands.

The message couldn't be clearer, right? God said, I'm going to do this. All you need to do is go. All you need to do is obey. All you need to do is follow directions.

I guess men are not good at following directions. I know that firsthand. God was speaking to Barak, which is, as I said, means lightning in Hebrew, through Deborah. I want to show you what a remarkable woman Deborah was. She was more than just courageous. She would not step out of the task that God has given her.

That is remarkable. That makes her unique. That lifts her high in all of our eyes. She would not usurp Barak's role, although she could have, because she was popular. She would not lead the army herself.

She could have. She would not undermine the Lord's instructions. She would not go beyond God's call on her life. She was called to speak the word of the Lord, and that is all she was doing, not trying to dominate. She didn't try to rule. She didn't try to control.

She didn't try to undermine. That's what make her a remarkable prophetess. She was contented to be God's mouthpiece. She was contented to be God's instrument. She was contented to be God's messenger. She was contented to communicate to Barak God's divine strategy for victory, and she fulfilled her role perfectly, perfectly. Oh brother, but what does our brother Barak do when God gave him a command? He gave him a divine strategy, and he gave him promises of victory. What does that ninny do?

That's exactly what he is, a ninny. I don't want to go alone into the battlefield. I can't go without my mommy. No wonder Israel was in such deep, deep, deep trouble. If the head of the army is behaving this way, I mean, imagine, beloved, please listen to me, it is by believing the promises of God that we are enabled to obey God. Can I get a witness?

I'm going to repeat it anyway. It is by believing the promises of God that we have the power to obey God. When God said, I will deliver you, Barak should have believed that and went straight to the battlefield. But in God's sovereign plan, he wills it. That when the believer believes his promise, he's going to have the power, she's going to have the power, you're going to have the power to obey. The flaw of Barak's character was that when God commanded him, he tried to make his obedience to the command of God to be partial obedience, conditional obedience. And partial obedience will always rob you of the blessing. Partial obedience will always rob you of your victory. Partial obedience or conditional obedience is really a front to the holy God. That's exactly what it is. That's why you miss out on the blessing when you do it. You say, how do you know this?

Very simple. Verse nine. I want you to look at verse nine, chapter four, verse nine. Listen again to this remarkable woman. She said very well, I'll go with you.

But because of the way you're going about this, let me give you a use of translation. Because you're wimped on God, the honor is going to go to a woman. The honor will not be yours for the Lord will hand sessera over to a woman. You see the remarkable thing about Deborah is she knew that she's God's rebuke on the people of God.

She knew that. Now you and I need to understand that our God is sovereign. And he's going to accomplish his purpose and his will with you or without you. Ephesians 1 11 said he accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will. With you, you get the blessing. Without you, you miss out on the blessing.

It's really your choice. He's going to accomplish his purpose. And when God says something to you, when he wants you to do something for him, when he commands, when he speaks to you, you have a choice. You can fully obey, you can disobey, or you can put conditions on obedience.

He can do that. Partial obedience is really not obedience at all. But whatever you do, whatever you do, whatever you choose to do, remember this. You cannot hinder the work of God. If you say, well, you know, I can't do this, and I'm not able to do this, or somebody else can do this. And God says, okay, he's going to go around you and go to somebody else, and they get the blessing.

They'll get the victory. We have churches that are full of spectators who are willing to obey if it is convenient, if it works out in their schedule, if it works out in their budget, if it works out in their social calendar. Churches are filled with audiences who are oblivious to the danger of the next generation because of the disobedience and the partial obedience of this generation.

Can I get a witness? Churches are filled with people who are more willing to follow their own personal agendas, not God's. And that is why the next generation will pay the price. Fifty-seven percent of the youth of families involved in the churches, these are not pagan kids, they're not atheist parents, they're not agnostic parents. The kids involved in churches, fifty-seven percent of them were unable to state that there is objective standard of truth.

Why? Parents are too busy trying to do their thing, too busy trying to make a living, and yet there are so many Deborahs out there for whom I thank God, who are crying out and saying, please fully obey the Lord, please stop sitting on your blessed assurance and saying nothing and doing nothing, stop your partial obedience, stop your having one foot in the world and one foot with God. I honestly, deeply, as I spend time studying this remarkable woman, I honestly feel pain in my chest for her and for all the other Deborahs out there who are longing for leaders to lead, but to no avail. For even when Barack finally went to the battlefield and she went with him, finally when they got there, Deborah had to fire the first shot.

After all, they got all the way there. Look at verse fourteen, I'm not making this stuff up, it really reminded me of something happened twenty years ago. I was speaking to a lovely godly woman who was having a difficulty in her marriage and we're talking about her husband's spiritual leadership and finally she looked at me with exasperation and she said, Michael, I just can't follow a parked car. Look at verse fourteen, here they get to the battlefield, she already said go, he said now go, she said fine I'll go with you and then they get to the battlefield, verse fourteen. When Deborah said to Barack, go, in the use of translation, what are you waiting for? This is the day the Lord has given Sisera to your hands. You can feel the sense of exasperation. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?

What else do you want? And sure enough, a tough broad who's Gentile, really half Jew, half Gentile, she related to Moses' in-laws who were Midianites by the name of Jael, she takes Sisera, she takes him out once and for all and thus delivering God's people from the menace of this horrible man and she gets the credit for the victory, not Barack. Just as Deborah said, when Sisera went to sleep in her tent, she drove a tent peg in his temple and delivered God's people once and for all from this dreadful man. Here's another woman, just as Deborah said, she's going to get the credit, she's going to get the blessing and the captain whose job it is to go out and take on the enemy misses out on the blessing because he could not decide, he could not decide and he left the decision to others. My beloved friends, I want to challenge you today, whether you are a decisive person or indecisive person, it makes no difference. Whether you are leading now or you're not, I want to challenge you to lead in obedience. Young people, let me tell you what I used to tell my kids growing up, when somebody's got a lead, might as well be you.

Why would you let an unbeliever lead you? You lead them, you'll be the leader in the school, be the leader in your work, but you'll be the leader, lead for Christ. Lead in your home, lead in society, God is looking for leaders. Will you be one?

Will you be one? Dr. Michael Youssef, on this episode of Leading the Way with a challenge to lead, let me quickly encourage you to subscribe to Leading the Way's podcast. This is a great way to dig deeper into God's word, to connect further with Dr. Youssef. Whether you're locked in traffic or listening to content while at home or at the gym, his messages will encourage your walk with Christ.

Search for Michael Youssef or Leading the Way wherever you listen to your podcast or visit us at ltw.org. 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 on the way today by speaking to a ministry representative, 866-626-4356 or ltw.org. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.