An encouragement to lean into faith when facing the impossible from Dr. Michael Yousaf. What is that gift of faith?
Listen carefully. It is the Holy Spirit's given ability to see something that God wants to be done for his glory before it happens. It is the ability to sustain unwavering confidence in the promises of God in the face of impossibility. Faith.
You use it daily. Think about it. Every time you sit on a chair or turn on a light, it's faith. Or when you go to start your car or when you step on the brakes, again, it's faith.
And especially when it comes to cars, well, the outcome can sometimes be disappointing. But when you lean on biblical faith, disappointment never comes. Hello and welcome to Leading the Way, celebrating almost 40 years of passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world. Today, Dr. Yousaf reveals how you can fully experience a living faith while navigating the challenges of life. This is from his series called, Who Me?
Gifted? Listen, as Dr. Michael Yousaf begins today's episode. Back in 1973, on Route 43 in Necton, New Jersey, there was a church, small church, that was facing an apparent impossibility. They had just built a small new sanctuary on a piece of land that was recently acquired by the small congregation.
But half of that land was a mountain, literally a wooded hill. So when they finished the sanctuary, the city refused to give them what they call certificate of occupancy because they said, you don't have adequate parking. And that really was a dilemma for them because they already been financially stretched to the limit.
They literally have no money. And to make things worse, that 40 foot mountain, wooded mountain, was sort of abruptly rises in the back of the church, very close to the building. And the cost of removing that mountain is really prohibitive to say the least for that very small congregation. So on a Sunday morning, the pastor of the church stood up and he reminded the congregation of the promise of Jesus in Matthew 17 and 20. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, and obviously they had a little mountain, move from here to there and it will move, nothing shall be impossible for you. And then the pastor went on to announce that on Wednesday night, he's going to be in the sanctuary praying.
And only those who have the gift of faith, those who really believe that God is going to move that mountain, not that he can, but he will. I wanted to show up on Wednesday and pray with me. They said, those of you are doubting, don't show up. That takes a lot of courage for a pastor of a small church. And sure enough, few people showed up and that was enough. So they prayed and they prayed and perceived the Lord and held onto that promise of God.
That was on a Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, Pastor Crawford's phone rang. It was the local telephone company. And the telephone company explained to the pastor rather kind of hesitantly that they are in the process of constructing a very high rise building on the other side of town. But in order to get the construction going, they needed to fill a swamp. Somehow they heard that they have a mountain behind that church. And they've done their homework, they've done their research, and they've discovered that that mountain had exact right proportion of sand and clay and rocks as they need for the refilling of their swamp. So within weeks, the telephone company came and hold about 40,000 square yards of fill. But that's not all. They paved the ground for the parking space. But that was not all.
They gave the church $5,400. This is a mountain moving faith. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Give God glory. The Apostle Paul lists faith as a gift of the Holy Spirit. And I'm sure there's some of you sitting here saying, gift of the Holy Spirit, faith is a gift, and how in the world we are supposed to be saved by faith alone.
That is right. Are we not supposed to walk by faith? That's another right. And you're right in asking the question.
It's an important question. The Bible said in Ephesians 2, 8, for by grace, you are saved through faith, not works, lest any one of you boast. The scripture talks about faith in three different ways. The Bible talks about saving faith.
I just read to you from Ephesians. No one can go to heaven without saving faith in Jesus Christ. But then the Bible also talks about walking faith, that is living faith, that is living faith. But then the Bible also talks about walking faith, that is living faith, that is living day by day in absolute trust and confidence in the living God. That is walking faith or living faith. But then the Bible also talks about a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the gift of faith. So you've got to understand it in those three ways. So what is that gift of faith? Listen carefully. It is the Holy Spirit's given ability to see something that God wants to be done for His glory before it happens.
Not after it before. It is the ability to sustain unwavering confidence in the promises of God in the face of impossibility. It is the ability to discern the will of God and stand firm on that will of God regardless of insurmountable obstacles. It is that ability to believe God for something that is honoring and glorifying to Him when everybody else has given up.
It is that ability to hold onto the promise of God when everybody else moved on. You see, this is not blind faith. It is confident faith. It is not irrational faith. It is an absolute God-trusting faith. It is not wishful thinking, but God-honoring faith. It is not wanting selfishness, but it is a self-emptying faith.
Act 6a said, Steve, full of faith, did great miracles in science. I can't think of anything more tragic than people who have been endowed by the Holy Spirit with the gift of faith and they're sitting on their hands without exercising without exercising that gift. Just think of the enormous loss for the kingdom of God. But even what's more tragic is that so many Christians, after they come to Christ through faith and by faith, they live their life by sight. They cease to live and walk by faith, while the Scripture makes it clear that everyone who names the name of Christ must walk by faith.
There's so many of these gifts are commands for us to walk in, but then there are some who have been given an extra measure of that gift. And we are commanded to walk by faith. Colossians 2, 6 tells us that the Christian life is a life of faith, and you cannot live it without faith. Here's what Paul said, as you received Christ by faith, that is saving faith. He said, then you must also walk or live by faith. You don't come in the door through Christ and receive Christ by faith and then they live the rest of your life by sight, live the rest of your life just like everybody else. No, because Hebrews 11, 6 said, without faith it is impossible to please God. So I'm sure somebody was saying, how do I know if I'm really living by faith or just trusting in my own strength?
How do I know that? Well, that's a great question. I'm going to answer it, but I'm going to answer it first in the negative, then I'm going to answer with the positive, all right?
Here's the negative. How do you know if you're a person who is not walking by faith, let me tell you a little bit of signs that you can look for. The person who's not walking and living by faith is the person who is focusing on the problems of life. That person is forever focusing on the disappointments of life. They forever talking about the difficulties of life.
They forever dwelling on the adversities and the troubles of life. That's a narrow focus because when faith is an operation, you're going to live above the challenges. When faith is an operation, faith gives hope in the midst of hopelessness. Faith sees potential even in the midst of the problem. Faith looks up to the one who is more powerful than our troubles. Faith expects God to bring good out of evil. Faith anticipates the power of God to be manifested in the face of the impossibilities. That is the life of faith that honors God. That is the walk of faith that glorifies God. That is the faith that should be practiced by every child of the living God. But above and beyond that, the scripture is clear, the Holy Spirit endows some people with a specific gift of faith for God's glory. I want to now come to the positive.
Here's the positive side. Those with the gift of faith are those who when all of the odds are stacked against them, they live as if they have no problems. They move forward regardless of the roadblocks. They operate seeing the will of God has already been accomplished. They go around rejoicing about what will happen while everybody else is singing the blues. They specialize in the impossible. They sail through the raging waters of the sea.
They cross the impassable rivers and they climb the uncrossable mountains. Those who have the gift of faith is like our Lord Jesus Christ. In John chapter 11, you remember when he came into that cemetery in order to raise Lazarus from the dead, he started praying, Lord, I sure hope you're going to raise Lazarus. Lord, I really hope, no, that's not how he prayed, right? He said, thank you, Father, that you already raised Lazarus from the dead while everybody else having their hands on their noses because they're worried about the stench.
Jesus already thanked the Father for raising Lazarus from the dead. Those who have the gift of faith are like Noah when he was building a boat in the middle of the desert and he kept on looking up in the face of criticism and in the face of ridicule. He did not doubt the will of God because it was revealed to him. Those who have the gift of faith are like Nehemiah. When Nehemiah went back from Persia to build the wall, his enemies were trying to trick him. His people doubted him.
In fact, his friend even tried to persuade him, but he went on building the wall. Those who have the gift of faith are like Moses. You know, when Moses was trying to be persuaded by Pharaoh to compromise and to do partial obedience and just do a little bit of obedience and he said, you take some to get out of there, leave some here and go out in the desert and worship your God. And Moses said to him, no sir, no way.
He said, in fact, that's just a rough translation, but he said, he said, he said, not a hoof is going to stay in the land of slavery, not a hoof. Those who have the gift of faith are like Joseph. Joseph's dream was thrown into the pit.
It was tempted by an immoral woman. It was shattered in the prison of dungeon of Egypt, but the dream never died because he knew it was God's dream. Those who have the gift of faith are like our Lord Jesus Christ. He saw the resurrection even though he was hanging on a cross. Those who have the gift of faith are like the apostle Paul where he saw all of his accomplishments and all of his wealth, all of the things that he had before Christ like dung and that's a literal translation in comparison to the glory of God. It is impossible to pick up a book on faith without reading about this man of faith, George Mueller.
Some of you heard me talk about George Mueller before. This man is truly a challenge to me in a good way. Most of you know the stories of how God provided, how God used that great man of faith, how he trusted God to provide even though in the last minute by faith he operated an orphanage in Bristol, England and he started with two shillings in his pocket, two shillings, but by faith 10,000 kids came through the orphanage in a course of 60 years. In one stage there were 2,000 kids all at the same time and yet none of them, none of them ever went without a meal.
They got close at times, they got close but none of them went without a meal. What is the thing or the things that are keeping us in this 21st century from living and walking by faith? What keeps us from walking by faith is our trust in our statement of net worth. It's our savings accounts. It's our trust funds.
It's our investment portfolio and listen I am not, I don't want to give you any false guilt. There's nothing wrong with these but if you want to live and walk by faith, try to take a step of faith every now and again. Test God every now and again.
You say what do you mean by that? Put something of great value at risk for Jesus' kingdom every now and again. Sacrifice something of value for his kingdom and trust the Lord Jesus. Trust him to do something in response to your faith. Faith is like a muscle.
It grows with exercise and it atrophies when you don't use it and you don't exercise it. Do something big like you have never done before and see how God is honored and can be honored by your faith. Well there's several things I want to tell you about faith especially those who have been given the gift of faith whether you know it or not. See those to whom the gift of faith is given must always, always limit the exercise of that gift to what God wants to accomplish not what you want to accomplish and let me stop and tell you right here experientially I can tell you that. Faith enemy number one. Pride. Pride. When God gives you the gift of faith and then you exercise it and say hey great I can do that and then you just keep doing it for everybody and everything.
No, no, no, no. That's not how it's used because I have seen people with great gift of faith and now on the heap of Christian history and you know why? Because pride got in and they began to exercise the gift based on their feelings and based on needs and based on that and based on the other thing. Not based on what God says. Not based on how God led.
Guard against pride. Those who possess the gift of faith must always, always, always, always ask is this your will? Is this your desire?
Is this something you want me to exercise your gift that you have given me for? Don't be led by needs only by what God wants. John chapter 11 which I just quoted to you about Lazarus rising from the dead. I'm convinced if the Lord Jesus Christ only said come out all the dead people in the cemetery would have walked out. He has power over death. Amen? But he says Lazarus come out. Only the gift to be used as God directs.
One thing I want to tell you is that you tarry before the Lord and in his presence before you exercise your gift and seeking his will and seeking his mind and as you pray always remember to think big things because your trust is in a big God. Amen? Mueller always sought the mind of God before he embarked on any project. Before he'd done anything. He always went to the Lord.
Is this what you want accomplished? That way Mueller was resting on the promises of God in the word of God. That way he can boldly come before the throne room of God. That way he said he would pray and he would plead and he said sometimes he even giving God reasons why he should answer that prayer. That way when answers to prayer are delayed he was never discouraged.
Why? Because he already heard from God and therefore he was going to wait however it takes. That way also when setbacks came he's not dissuaded. When hopelessness came that never discouraged him. When obstacles were seen the obstacles never deterred him. Once he said I never give up. Tens of thousands of times my prayers were answered. I never give up.
Isn't that amazing? Mueller was such a stickler for details that he kept complete record of his prayer requests and petitions. It came up to three thousand pages, one million words and fifty thousand specific requests and prayers and petitions. I told you this man is a challenge for me in a good way. One day it was a transatlantic ship and there was very thick fog off of new found land and the captain of that ship had been on the bridge for twenty-two hours straight gazing at the fog trying to figure out which way to go. He gets a tap on the shoulder. He turns around and there was George Mueller. At that time he was in his seventies and he said to the captain, he said Captain I came to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.
This was Wednesday. And the captain said to him, he said Mr. Mueller that's an impossibility. It is absolutely impossible. Mueller's response was let me read it to you. He said if your boat cannot take me there, God will provide some way.
I've never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years. And the captain said ah Mr. Mueller I wish I could help you but I can't. There's nothing I can do. And Mueller said to him, he said let's go below and pray. And the captain kind of scratched his head and he said Mr. Mueller can't you see how dense the fog is?
He said no. My eye is not on the fog but on the God who controls the fog in every circumstance in my life. Finally the captain acquiesced and they went below to pray. A very simple prayer later on the captain describes it to the biographer. It's the most childish prayer he's ever heard. A childish prayer.
I'll read it to you. It's very simple really. Very short. Oh Lord if thou wilt remove this fog in five minutes.
Thou dost know the engagement made for me in Quebec on Saturday. Amen. That was a prayer. That was it.
That was the extent of it. Well when he said amen, the captain I guess feeling under obligation, he started praying. At that point Mueller put his hand on it and said stop. Don't pray.
It would take some courage to do that. He said don't pray. He said first you don't believe that God will do it. Second God has already done it. So there's no need for you to pray. He said open the door captain and you'll find that the fog had gone. And so it was.
And Mueller kept his Saturday engagement in Quebec. Beloved when you exercise your gift of faith, when you walk by faith, you're not only doing great things for God, but you are going to inspire multiple others of all generations to do the same. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for this episode of Leading the Way. And if living faith sounds and feels foreign and out of reach, let me encourage you to have a conversation with a Leading the Way pastor or counselor.
They would love to spend time with you. Begin your life changing conversation at ltw.org slash jesus. Now before we say goodbye, let's take a moment or two to talk about Dr. Youssef's newest book, God's Final Call. Dr. Youssef, what does it mean to heed God's final call in our own lives? I think some people think that God is just like Santa Claus and he's going to be patient and loving all the way through and they will never judge anybody.
Everybody's going to make it in the end, but that is absolutely a lie from the pit of hell. God does have a limited patience. And that is why the apostle Paul said don't test the patience of God or don't take it for granted. But God is issuing a final call for every one of his believers because I personally believe that his return is around the corner and therefore we need to be ready.
And it's not putting on white robes, head for the mountains, but be ready in our hearts and our minds and with our eyes and with our lives and with our resources and how we live and be prepared for the coming of Christ. And I think this is God's final call. Right now, Dr. Youssef is making this powerful book, God's Final Call, available when you give a gift of any amount to the ongoing worldwide ministry of leading the way. Learn more about this special offer and about the content of Dr. Youssef's book at ltw.org. Once again, that's ltw.org. And in addition to the website, you can also ask a ministry representative at Leading the Way's call center to provide all of the details. Give them a call, 866-626-4356. That's 866-626-4356. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.
