Jesus: Know Him and Live, Part 4

Dr. Michael Youssef with a few uncomfortable words to begin this episode of Leading the Way. And we'll look at that illustration next, on Leading the Way. Our teacher is Dr. Michael Youssef, pastor and author of more than 50 books, including his most recent, My Refuge, My Strength. And a little later, I'll share how you can make sure you get a copy of this encouraging book. Stay with us for that. Right now though, Dr. Michael Youssef continues his powerful series, Jesus. Know him and live with a look at decisions in life.

Here he is to begin. Every one of us, every day, are faced with decisions. Everyone. And the word decision by its own definition is cutting. Because when you make a decision, you are choosing one and then rejecting all the other options. Some of these decisions are important, very vital in our lives.

Some are ordinary. Some of these decisions, life altering or just simple preferences. But throughout our lives, we face and make decisions from dieting to healthcare, career, choice of school, all just to mention a few. But the one overarching decision in life, it has to do with your eternal destination. It has to do with our eternal destiny. Where will you spend eternity?

There are only two places that you can go to, one or the other. One is filled with unspeakable joy and the other one is filled with pain indescribable. These two distinct choices that you make in life will lead you to one or the other destination. I saw in the last message how clearly the Lord Jesus Christ says that the day and the time for decision is here and now. Because when life ends, it's over. It's impossible to change destinations.

In fact, C.S. Lewis once said that when the author walks into the stage, the play is over. And when God shows up at the end of time, it will be over and then you cannot change sides.

And if you are serious about your eternal destination, don't go by what some preacher said, don't go by what a priest said, don't go by what a philosopher said, go by what Jesus said. For he knows the beginning from the end. He coexisted with the Father from the very beginning. He created the world. He came into our world. He told us what the Father is like as we have been seeing in the series of messages. Know Jesus and live.

Know him and live. In fact, throughout the New Testament, you find that Jesus tells us again and again and again about these two destinations, about those two decisions, about two options and two choices. Right there on the cross there were two criminals. One repents of his sins and go to paradise with Jesus and the other one doesn't. Jesus said there are two roads. One will lead to destruction. The one you can go with all of your baggage.

It has a very wide gate. But then there is another one that you can only go with Jesus. Nothing else and no one else that would lead to eternal life. And therefore, Jesus pleads with us to make the wise choice.

Make the wise choice. In Luke chapter 6, Jesus emphasized the importance of making the right decision. And in verse 46, Jesus said there were two builders. Each builder made a different choice. And those two different choices brought about two different consequences.

All of our choices have consequences. By nature, all people everywhere are religious. Did you know that?

Everywhere. Because every one of them worships someone or something. Some worship self. That's a religion.

But there's even more. All of humanity. All of humanity longs and believes that they're going to have a blissful place to go to when they die.

They do. Let me give you some examples. In Buddhism, they conceive of it or perceive of it as nirvana. Islam defines it as a beautiful garden. Mormonism calls it the eternal progression to the godhood. Hinduism sets it as freedom from this endless cycle of reincarnations and union with Brahman. And even in our Western culture, people would say, I'm going to a better place because I've been a good person.

Everyone conceive of something. That's because we're all created in God's own image. But there's only one truth. And currently, in our culture today, we are plunging into the abyss of so-called tolerance. Which means rejecting the absolute truth of God. Today, there are so many false preachers and false teachers who would say, anyone will go to heaven if they practice their religion, whatever their religion is, sincerely. If they're sincere about their religion, they'll make it to heaven. Even 57% of so-called born-again Christians believe that God is going to let everyone in heaven. All of those who have sincerely practiced their religion without submission or without professing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, they say, they will go to heaven. And they call that inclusivity. God is inclusive. But here's the big dilemma.

Jesus said that his gospel is exclusive. Don't shoot the messenger. Not yet. Not yet.

You might end up doing it, but not now. What does that mean? It means that when Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 6, that I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me, he is saying, there is no other way acceptable to the Father. There is no other way you're going to make it to heaven.

That's what he's saying. No amount of sincerity will make a person acceptable to God. There is no amount of effort or diligence will lead to God. The disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ not only believed and taught and preached that same message, but they died for that message. In fact, in the book of Acts, chapter 4, verse 12, they preached that with clarity.

They said, there is no other name under heaven given to men by which you can be saved. But during the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, just like our time today, there were lots of people who were fascinated by Jesus. There were lots of people who followed Jesus. There were lots of people who were mesmerized by Jesus' miracles. There were lots of people who were riveted by his teaching. There were lots of people who were intrigued by his life. And yet, very few have received him as their only Savior, as their only ticket to heaven, as their only Master and Lord of their life.

Few of them. And that is why Jesus plainly said, look at Luke 6, 46, Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? What does it mean? It means that obeying Jesus is non-negotiable for a true Christian. Listen, a lot of people call themselves Christians these days, and I'm not going to get into that. He is saying that obeying Jesus is non-negotiable if you want to really call yourself a true Christian. Obedience to Jesus Christ is part and parcel of being a Christian. Listen, you can admire Jesus all you want. You can be mesmerized by Jesus all you want.

You can claim to follow Jesus all you want. But unless you are willing to obey Jesus, it's all talk. Listen to what happened at the very first church, in the book of Acts, the very first Christian church. Jesus commissioned the disciples, ascends them to heaven. They went about preaching. Listen to what they said in the book of Acts, chapter 6, as they were preaching the gospel for the first time. Chapter 6, verse 7. It says, a great many of the priests, you're talking about the Jewish priests now, a great many of the Jewish priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Did you get that? They were obedient to the faith. Not just claim to know Jesus, no, no, they were obedient to the faith. They just believed in Jesus, or they believed that he was the Messiah, believed that he was the promised one, and they moved on with their life.

No, they obeyed Jesus. Beloved, this is the core of Christianity. Anything else other than this is false Christianity. Obedience to Jesus. If I'm going to receive him as Savior, I must receive him as Lord as well. And Lord or Master means I've got to obey him. I can't live my life the way I want to live it, in whichever way, and then claim to be a Christian. In fact, the apostle Peter, in 1 Peter, remember, he denied him three times. In 1 Peter 1, 2, he said the goal of salvation is what? Obeying Jesus. Jesus himself repeatedly said, if you love me, you obey me. Why?

Why? Because not everyone who goes to church is going to heaven. Not everyone who goes through the religious motions will make it to heaven. Not everyone who called themselves Christian will make it to heaven. And that is why, my beloved friends, listen carefully, Jesus goes on to give us the most unforgettable illustration to make his point.

Listen to it very carefully. There are wise builders and there are foolish builders. Wise builders are the ones who obey Christ. The foolish builders are the ones who follow their own instincts, follow their own desires, follow their own ideas, a how. They both hear God's word. Some hear it and obey, others hear it and disobey.

Some trust in the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone to get them to heaven, others trust in their own righteousness. I'm good. I've lived a good life. God has no option but to accept me. No.

No. Both builders are confident that their building will stand. Their life is going to make it. But one has confidence in the Lord and the other has confidence in themselves, in their work, in their effort. Both built the same kind of house. They both were good citizens. Maybe have gone even to the same church.

They both appeared to be religious. But the difference, it's astounding, the difference was of immense proportion. Listen to me. I know that all of you who are associated with the building industry, whether you're an architect or you're a builder, you're somehow in the building trade, you would know a whole lot more than I do. But you know the importance of building a solid foundation and building on a rock. You know that's important, not building on sand. One of the most profound experiences in my life that illustrate this to me was the building of that parking deck in the back there. I doubt that any of you, when you parked your car this morning, you shut the door and you wondered, is that parking deck safe?

Why? Well, you trusted that the builders, when they built it, they built it well. I remember when they were digging for these huge, humongous columns. I don't know how big they were, but big columns. And they would dig and sometimes you look at the hole and it's only 8 feet and you walk over there and there's a hole that's about 25 feet. What made the difference? Why didn't they dig them all same level and decide that we're going to dig for 10 feet or 12 feet or whatever and stop?

No. In each case, they had to keep on digging until they found rock. As soon as they hit the rock, once they saw the rock, they stopped digging. Sometimes it's 25 feet, sometimes it's 8 or 10 feet.

It made no difference for them. And beloved, listen to me. There are so many people who are running around trying to fill their lives with all kinds of things and all kinds of people. And they keep running and they keep running and they keep running, but until they hit the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ, they'll never know what satisfaction is.

I promise you. As it always happens, there are some people hit the rock at early age and they've found their faith in Jesus. There are some people in the middle of their life, other people toward the end of their life. That's part of the sovereignty of God.

That's not something for me to explain. It made no difference. They keep on digging until they find the rock and once they find the rock, they built their life. As Jesus is saying, in the spiritual realm, the wise builder, he made sure that the foundation was not laid until this rock, Jesus. But the foolish builder, he was careless.

He really didn't think much about it. Any old piece of land will do. Any old lot will do.

Marsh, sand, rocks, it doesn't matter. But Jesus said, no. There are two builders. Two builders. They built two houses. Each of that referred to their life.

And from the outside, the difference is not very obvious. Both heard the preaching of the message and they both heard the gospel. One acted in faith and by faith and obeyed Jesus. And the other kept on living his or her life their own way, as they always did.

One built using divine specifications and the other using his own or her own specification. That is why it is of vital importance to build your life and your salvation on the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ. No one else will do.

No one else will do. Now the word rock or Petra here, it doesn't mean just a stone or even a boulder. It means an expansive rock. Expansive rock. It is solid. It is stable.

It is unmovable. The sand on the other hand is loose, is unstable, easily shifted. False preachers and teachers are forever selling you cheap lots of land on the sand. And they have no spiritual or moral substance or stability. They sell you shifting sands of openness, tolerance, speculations, standards that you just make up as you go. Now, there are so many people who are professional listeners. They go from this one to this one to this one just listening. And then they kind of hear the stuff and it is all good and bad and they mix it all together. It doesn't matter.

One is good as the other. Buffet Christianity. Smorgasbord Christianity. But these professional listeners don't allow anything to penetrate deep into their hearts. In fact, back hundreds of years before Christ, during the day of the prophet Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 33-31, God said to Ezekiel, you know all these professional listeners who are coming there and listening to you? Their heart is so far away from me. What about you? Only you know. Have you been a professional listener who have yet to commit your life to Jesus Christ the rock and obey him as your Lord and receive him as your Savior? Please be forewarned.

Be forewarned. A life that is built on the rock Jesus is a life that seeks to empty itself of pride and self-righteousness. A life that is built upon the sand is composed of human opinions and human ideas and popular thoughts and society's approval. For those foolish people, the world may be applauding them. Ah, he's open minded. She's open minded. Isn't that great? They're not one of those people who say Jesus is the only way.

Isn't that great? They're not one of those people who preach sin and repentance of sin and forgiveness of sins. They just let me live the way I live and don't challenge me at all. You see the foolish builder likes the easy way out. The superficial way out. Like self-satisfying instead of God satisfying.

They're like self-pleasing instead of God pleasing. For make no mistake about it. The rain and the wind Jesus said came. And the rain and the wind is coming.

The storm is brewing on the horizon. The day of judgment is on its way. And so the question is, will your life stand? Will your life stand on that great day? Because if you build your life on obedience to Christ, you will stand. But if it's built on anything else, it will collapse. Jesus said its destruction was great.

Another translation said its destruction was complete. On that day your denominational affiliation will not help you. Your family connections will not help you. Your admiring of Jesus or following him from afar will not help you. Only your life of obedience built upon the rock the Lord Jesus Christ will make you stand. You're listening to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, pastor and international Bible teacher. Hear more compelling content from Dr. Youssef when you subscribe to Leading the Way's podcast or download the Leading the Way app.

Learn more about these and more ways to connect at ltw.org. Well, there's no doubt that we are living in troubled days. We've seen and we even anticipate hurricanes and fires, shootings, political unrest and more.

And the fact is, we've invited fear into our homes, our workplaces, our lives. There's only one way to tackle this, and that's by finding strength and comfort from the Savior. Now, to give you a pointed reminder of where your strength comes from, let me recommend Dr. Youssef's brand new book, My Refuge, My Strength. In this life-changing devotional book from Dr. Youssef, you'll get a daily reminder of where your strength comes from, even in the bleakest of days. You'll be challenged to draw strength from the Almighty, and when you want to flee and hide from the dangers of the day, you'll see how God is your refuge.

You'll find comfort in Him. Learn about Dr. Youssef's special offer to get your copy of My Refuge, My Strength. As we speed toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, you'll also want to get copies to give as gifts to your friends and your family. It's a hard copy.

It's beautiful. Learn more by calling 866-626-4356. A ministry representative will be so happy to help you with your order.

866-626-4356. Now, you can also do that all online, and you can learn more about the content at ltw.org. And as we close today's Leading the Way, we want to share some testimonies that our team recently received. We feel like you will be encouraged to hear how God is working. Kathy writes to us from Texas saying, I want to refresh my journey and be a faithful disciple.

I have cancer now, and I'm on treatments. I want to grow in grace and my heart from God. Can you help me know where to start and pray for me? Stacey writes to us from Rhode Island saying, I need help now. I'm growing weak and don't believe in much these days.

The world is in such complete turmoil, and some days it's just so hard to see the light. I'm not from a religious family, so I'm unfamiliar with leaning into faith for strength. Jeremy writes from Ontario, Just recently, I decided to let Jesus Christ into my life. Pamela writes from Texas saying, I have been through lots of problems and would like to get closer to God.

Praise the Lord. Through your prayers and faithful support, Leading the Way is hearing many stories of lives changed by the gospel. Learn ways that you can stand with Dr. Youssef and ministry happening around the world when you call 866-626-4356 or at ltw.org.

Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef is listener supported. There are several ways you can stand with Dr. Youssef and support Leading the Way's gospel impact around the world. One, consider a generous one-time gift. Two, become a frontline mission partner, those who give monthly. Or three, join the community of cornerstone partners who give in and through their estate. Learn more at ltw.org. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.