Got Freedom? Part 4

Welcome to Leading the Way, featuring the solid Bible teaching of Dr. Michael Yousef.

With your prayers and your financial support, Leading the Way is able to reach into North Africa, Australia, and all over the Arabic-speaking world through the Kingdom Set. Here's a testimony that we recently received, and I believe it will encourage you just as it's encouraged the Leading the Way team. Ishmael from Jordan writes, As a Muslim, I started comparing religions, and specifically, Islam and Christianity. I discovered that the stories in the Qur'an are mostly taken from the Bible, and Islam didn't offer anything new to humanity. That led me to believe in Christ as my Lord and Savior, so I went to some churches and talked with a few priests with the hope that I get baptized, but to no avail.

When I found your page, I decided to contact you asking for help. Well, our field team was in contact with him to see where he stands on the issue of faith. Though his knowledge was limited and incomplete about many Christian topics, he was ready to learn. He was provided a link to the Bible and some materials to start the journey of growing in Christ through discipleship courses. The team promised to continue to pray for him to be rooted in his faith. Do keep in mind, Leading the Way is listener supported, made possible in this community and in communities across six continents through your prayers and generosity. Learn more at ltw.org. Currently, Dr. Yousef is digging into a letter that Paul wrote to a church that was struggling with similar issues that we have today. It's the battle of feelings, and how discontent often undermines joy in the Lord.

So if your situation allows, turn to Galatians chapter 3 in your Bible or your app so that you can get the context of his teaching and follow along. Here now is Dr. Michael Yousef to begin. I want you to close your eyes just for a minute. Just close your eyes. I want you to imagine yourself that you are living on an island all by yourself, and all you're doing is just sitting under a shade of a coconut tree. I mean, you know nothing about the outside world.

I know it's impossible, but just try. Now you can open your eyes. And all of a sudden, one day, a trunk washes ashore. So you pry the trunk open, and there you find a collection of Christian magazines and best-selling Christian books. And so you grab all of these and you start reading. And as you read, you begin to piece together a picture of what the Christian world looks like only from the magazines and the books you're reading. Nothing else. You don't know anything about anything else just from reading these magazines and these magazines. You paint a picture in your mind. There is no doubt that you're going to begin to think that these people, these Christians, have lots of unmet needs, lots of unfulfilled needs. Now I'm not talking about real needs, and I'm not talking about crushing needs.

I know all about these. As an islander, all you need is basically finding food to eat and some fresh water to drink. But these Christians on the other side, I mean, they have water coming through a pipe in the wall.

They have a variety of foods. They're surrounded with so many things that on an island is considered to be absolute luxuries. At that point, if that was me, the more I learn about life of these Christians, the more I like sitting under the shade of a coconut tree. Why would anyone be so obsessed with the so-called unmet needs when they're so overwhelmingly blessed? More importantly, who? Who is whispering in their ear and telling them that our lives are boring and meaningless and unfulfilling? Who is that whispering in their ears?

I can answer that question with certainty. It is the same old, low, billied, poisoned, fanged, venom-tongued tempter who's been bewitching us ever since creation. It is that same deceiver who came and whispered in Eve's ear about her unmet and unfulfilled needs, and she fell for it, and he sold her a bill of goods. Eve was surrounded by luscious fruits. She was surrounded with beautiful fragrance of flowers, warm sunshine, and bubbling spring, pure water, and yet the tempter succeeded in making her feel.

Oh, that's the word. Feel. He made her feel that she was missing out on something. Oh, girl, good things are passing you by. God really doesn't want you to be happy, does he?

And that miserable lowlife managed to charm her, mesmerize and hypnotize her, and convinced her that God did not really love her because she has unmet needs. Satan's strategy worked, right? Why would he change his strategy? Why would he change it? It worked, and we're often say if it works, why change it?

Why reinvent the wheel? And that's exactly what he's been doing ever since. That is why in all of human history Satan never changes strategy. He has never changed his method.

They may kind of do it different context, but he's never changed his strategy. To this day, his plan has been and always will be to make us feel dissatisfied with where we are in our marriages, in our relationships, in our places of worship, to be discontented in the midst of so many blessings. You don't believe me? Well, let me ask you this.

Why is it that we spend billions with a B, not millions, but billions of dollars on self-help books and self-help magazines? Why? Paul here in Galatians chapter 3, he literally shines the light and exposes Satan's strategy. In fact, he's more than that. He's mad.

He is spitting fire. He is saying to them, and indeed he's saying to many in our generation, you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? I'm sure some of you are saying, well, Michael, I may not know the Bible as well as others, but that word he uses here, foolishness, Jesus somewhere on the Sermon on the Mount and maybe Matthew 5, 22, something like that where he said something about you call somebody foolish, you serve the hell of fire and all that stuff. Is that a contradiction? No, it's not a contradiction at all. Listen carefully.

It's very important. The word that the Lord Jesus Christ uses in Matthew 5, 22, the word foolish means somebody who has a mental deficiency and therefore we must never call somebody with that word, the two Greek words, two separate words. We must never call them people with mental deficiency. It's very different from the word the apostle Paul uses here, antios, which means unwise. It means that they were lacking in discernment. It means they were intellectually lazy. It means that they were careless with the truth. It means that they were not testing the spirits to know which is the truth and which is not.

He did not call them stupid, which is the other word that used in Matthew. He's not saying to them they are incapable of understanding the truth. In fact, they understood the truth. They received the truth. They lived in the truth.

They walked in the truth, but then they got lazy. He's telling them that they're not living up to their intellectual potential. He is telling them that they need to live up to their God-given enlightened mind. And imagine the apostle Paul in our time.

What would he say when he sees people who walked in the spirit, but then they wondered, but trying to find someplace where they're going to meet unmet needs? When Paul said, oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? Now, Paul is choosing his words very, very carefully.

He's selecting his words with absolute care. For when we depart from the walk of faith into the wilderness of preoccupation with unmet needs, when we allow ourselves to be seduced by false gospels, when we opt for entertainment instead of God's truth, we are surrendering to witchcraft and the schemes of the devil. Only discerning believers are able to stand against the onslaught of so many of these false gospels that are permeating our culture today. These false gospels vary from one to the other, but they have one thing in common. The word of God is not enough. Jesus is not enough.

That's what they have in common among all of them. I don't care what kind of a gospel you hear. If it says Jesus is not enough, the word of God is not enough, it's a false gospel. You know the great thing about the apostle Paul, he never rebukes anyone without giving supportive evidence of the reason for his rebuke. And that's what he does here in the second half of verse 1 all the way to verse 14. He gives his supporting evidence of why he's rebuked them this way. Here he builds his case against the foolishness, against the lack of discernment.

He builds up his case allowing themselves to be deliberately deceived. He is saying to them, do you understand that it is the same Holy Spirit that opened your spiritual eyes and brought you salvation. He is the same Holy Spirit. He's going to sustain you through the storms of life and he's going to take you all the way home safely to heaven.

Do you understand? In fact, Paul insisted here that both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, salvation always has been, salvation always will be as a gift of God's grace received by faith and sealed and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Now some people who think that the Holy Spirit is a goal that you try to attain, that's a false gospel. The Holy Spirit is not a goal you need to strive for. The Holy Spirit is the source of your Christian life.

He is the one who came into your life and opened your eyes and brought you salvation. Without him, faith would have been impossible. Others think that the presence of the Holy Spirit in their life is the byproduct of their faithfulness. That's a false gospel too because the Holy Spirit is the one who empowers me, who empowers you to be faithful. Without the Holy Spirit, faithfulness would have been impossible. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, obedience to God would have been impossible. You see, when you try to please God by works of the flesh or religious rituals or self-help or self-improvement, God will never be, far, far from being pleased.

It's the opposite will happen. In fact, Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation was not saved by works. He was not saved through circumcision which the Judaizers were preaching as a necessary for salvation.

He is saying to them that did not happen. He was saved by faith. In fact, circumcision took place 14 years after he was declared saved by the Lord. Abraham could not possibly have been saved by the keeping of the law.

Very simple reason for that. The law was given 500 years after Abraham. He was saved by grace and not works. He was righteous because he took God at his word. And from Abraham on, every faithful believer has been saved because they took God at his word.

They believed God. Here's the one thing that you must understand about legalism that I've been talking about. Legalism is basically another word for trying to bribe God. Imagine trying to bribe the one who has everything. Try to get a guy who's worth billions and says well I'll give you $10 if you let me.

You bribing somebody who doesn't need it? How? By attempting to keep the rituals and the religious activities, by attempting to keep the facade. And you look at heaven and you say well God, I'm good to you.

I really am. I went to church. I put a buck in the offering plate. Well God, you've got to understand, I take communion. As a matter of fact, God, I gave up chocolate during Lent.

Whoa, isn't that something? I helped somebody. I developed a positive mental attitude God. Now God, I've been good to you, now you be good to me. Beloved God looks at the heart. God cannot be bribed. God knows if you truly love him or not. God knows if you desire with all your heart to obey him or not. God knows if you trust him or not.

God knows if you're worshiping him in spirit and truth or not. It is only when you understand what life of faith is all about, a lot of people confused about that. But it's only when you understand what life of faith is all about, will you experience victory in life. I won't repeat that. Only when you understand what the life of faith is all about, will you experience victory in life.

Can I get a witness? You see, trusting God completely and totally is the answer to everything. It is the answer to your fear. It's the answer to your anxiety. It's the answer to your discontentment. It's the answer to your midlife crisis. It's the answer to your dissatisfaction. It is the answer to your unfulfilled needs.

It is the answer to your unmet needs. It is the answer for facing all the evil and wickedness that we're seeing in our society today. I'm not making this stuff up.

It's in the book. Listen to what John said in 1 John 5, 4. For everyone born of God overcomes the world. I'm going to stop right here.

I'm sure some will say, wait a minute, wait a minute. There's got to be more to it than that because I'm defeated. I'm not overcoming the world. I'm living a life of defeat. How come everyone born of God, you mean everyone who's put their faith in Jesus Christ as savior and Lord that everyone is for everyone born of God overcomes the world.

Now listen to the rest of the text. This is the victory that has overcome the world. Our faith. Our faith. Hebrews 11, 6 tells us without faith it is impossible to please God.

Try all you can. Without faith it is impossible to please God. And it goes on to say by faith kingdoms were subdued. righteousness were wrought. Promises were fulfilled.

Mouths of lions were shut. Hungry were fed. The sick was healed. The weak was made strong.

Armies of the enemies as we saw in the last message were confounded, confused and defeated. See that's what faith does. Faith has nothing to do with feelings. Can you say that with me? Faith. Your feelings can change and they do change all the time.

I know mine do. I mean your feelings will change with the weather. Your feeling will change with the stock market. Your feeling can change with a lousy phone call that you get that ruin your day or an email that just devastate you or a letter. Sometimes our feelings change with hormones and with body chemistry. But beloved listen to me. Never, never, never let your mood dictate the level of your faith. Son Augustine once said and I quote, if you believe what you like in the gospels and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel that you believe but yourself. But isn't that what all these best selling books are telling us? Believe in yourself and when it doesn't work, you get back in the humdrum. Where would that end?

Where would that end? In my case when I am on my face before God, I find myself saying with Habakkuk and by the way, let me give you a use of translation of what Habakkuk said. God, it stinks right now. God, it doesn't make sense right now.

God, I don't understand this right now. But I fully trust your word. I fully trust in your promises.

I fully trust you and I take you at your word. Faith has nothing to do with our circumstances. Faith is seeing that God already did it. Faith comes from absolute unwavering and unbending trust in the infallible word of God. When everybody else is distrusting it, my faith is anchored deep in the word of God. Faith is not God helps us or help themselves. Faith is not God does his part and I've got to do my part. That's bewitched gospel. Faith is not believing God can but God will. Faith even goes stronger than that.

It is seeing that God already did it before seeing it. Listen to me. If he said it, then he did it. Can you say that with me? If he said it, then he did it. He can't see it. Yes.

You've not experienced it. Yes, but he did it. Here in Galatians three and in Romans nine twice. The apostle Paul said that the true descendants of Abraham, not the ones who ethnically descendant of Abraham, the true descendants of Abraham, read Galatians three, are those who follow in the faith of Abraham. No wonder Jesus made them hopping mad. I mean he really made them mad when he said to them, Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced. They said, wait a minute, you're not even 50 years old yet. What do you mean Abraham saw your day?

See it in the flesh. They did not know they were talking to the creator of the universe. Abraham saw the day of Christ. For when God said to Abraham, Abraham, my boy, I want you to leave home and the comfort of home and the surroundings of home and all of your loved ones and I want you to go to a place. I'm not going to tell you where, but when you get there, I'm going to tell you. He said, yes, sir.

Remember this. He didn't have a preacher. He didn't have a Bible study, didn't have a small group together, didn't have counseling, didn't have anything. Just God said it and he took him at his word. When God said to him, take your son of promise Isaac and offer him to me. Abraham said, yes, sir.

I know what I would have done. I said, wait a minute, God, but you told me he's the one through whom I'm going to be blessed. He's the one by whom I'm going to fill the earth.

God, you see this like the sand, like the stars. What are you doing, God? Abraham figured it out that God probably going to form the first resurrection in history and he obeyed.

Why? If God said it, he what? That's what Abraham believed because Abraham believed God so much that he knew God is going to raise Isaac from the dead and that is why I say to you, beloved, listen to me, all the self-help and the self-worth and the self-gritting of your teeth and the self-pulling yourself by your bootstraps and the self-this and the self-this and the self-that cannot create righteousness.

No, in fact, it insults God for faith honors God. But just in case some lazy person says, all right then, tomorrow morning I'm not going to get out of bed. I'm just going to have faith God to provide for me.

Just not so fast. That is not faith. That's slothfulness. Faith and faithfulness on the job go together. They go hand in hand and that's why Paul told the Colossians, he said when you do your job, even when the boss is not watching, remember God is watching because he's the one who's going to reward you and when you are faithful, God will reward you for your faithfulness. Passionate encouragement to persevere in faithfulness from Dr. Michael Youssef. Thank you for listening to Leading the Way. Listen to more content from Dr. Youssef online at ltw.org with the Leading the Way app by subscribing to the podcast and more.

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