In God's Final Call, Dr. Yusef draws on years of ministry experience and passionate study of God's words to bring to life the context of Revelation, revealing the striking similarities between what the early church faced and what Christians today are experiencing. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I may allow the evil to prosper for a little while, but only so that the judgment will be greater. What Satan means for evil, I'm going to turn it for the good. Whatever Satan tries to destroy you, I will turn it around to bless you.
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Hello. Welcome to Leading the Way, featuring Dr. Michael Yusef, author of more than 50 books. Well, biblical teaching on prophecy and the gift of prophecy is often misunderstood. Many people think back to scenes of Elijah calling down fire from heaven or the modern day street preacher screaming about Jesus while people scurry away. But according to the Bible, everyone should practice prophecy because all it is is proclaiming truth. So up next, Dr. Michael Yusef helps us better understand the gift of prophecy and make it part of your life. Prophecy has to do with telling the future. In fact, the Greek word for prophecy is composed of two words, forth telling, not for telling and the difference is enormous. Forth telling is very different from for telling.
It's very important so you understand what prophecy is all about and the gift of prophecy that many of you have and do not realize it. Forth telling is merely announcing what God said. Forth telling is merely announcing what you've been told to say. Forth telling is merely repeating what you have heard and what you have read and this is very different from predicting events in the future. Now to be sure, any preacher who's worth his salt, any teacher who's worth the name must forth tell the word of God. They must forth tell thus says the Lord. And so what does it mean to be able to say thus says the Lord in this time in which we live? Listen carefully because all that we need to know is given to us in the scripture, in the word of God and therefore it is the authoritative word of God. It is God's self-revelation. It is God's instruction book.
It is complete. It is closed and it is not open for additions or subtractions and no one can speak today with the same authority as those men and women who were given that authority by the Holy Spirit to write the book of God. Anyone who claims to prophesy anything that is not in the book or inconsistent with the book or contrary to the book, they are not speaking for God.
It has to be out of the book of God. Today's prophets, preachers and teachers have only one source. It's the book of God. Before the book of God was closed, God called prophets and apostles inspired uniquely by the Holy Spirit to write down those words. And those prophets and apostles did a whole lot more than just foretell the future. They warned, they instructed, they exhorted, they promised, they rebuked, they condemned the practice of dead religion, they stressed righteousness, they warned of the coming judgment, they extended God's gracious invitation for people to repent and they promised the blessing of God on those who obey him. And that is why the apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians in 220 and he said that the church of Jesus Christ has only one foundation. It's built on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles.
Any church that has some other foundation is not the church of Jesus Christ. So question number one, how do we exercise the gift of prophecy today? Listen carefully. By bringing the word of God into a given situation, by applying the word of God into the current context, by magnifying and explaining the word of God in every area of life.
Did you get that? Every area of life. Because I know that some people said well we're not going to get involved in this, we're not going to get involved in that. But the word of God has something to say about every area of life. From national politics to local crisis to education to journalism to family life to even sports and science. The word of God has something to say.
Hear me right on this one. Perhaps there is never a more desperate need to apply the word of God to family life today as it is today. Because of the incredible bombardments that kids are receiving from the media and the schools and the teachers from every direction, they are bombarded by this relentless forces of anti-Christian forces. And parents need to exercise the gift. I think every parent ought to exercise the gift of prophecy. And when you exercise the gift of prophecy, it is not kid do this because I said so. But do it because God said so. We must be able to say to our children because God said it therefore is truth. We must lovingly explain to them that if they choose to go against what God said, they should be prepared for the severe consequences.
Question number two. What is the result of exercising the gift of prophecy? To put it in the words of John Stott, when that gift is exercised then the disturbed is going to be comforted and the comfortable are going to get disturbed. Listen, the gift of prophecy is so high on Paul's priority list that he lists it both in the Ephesians passage and in the 1 Corinthians 12 passage. In fact, Paul calls the gift of prophecy the superior gift.
Isn't that amazing? Of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he calls that the superior gift. When the Corinthians were despising the gift of prophecy and flocking into the flamboyant gift of tongues, Paul spends the entire chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians in order to provide them with the understanding that the gift of tongues is the least of all gifts, but the gift of prophecy is superior. Certainly the gift of tongues is inferior to the gift of prophecy. Please, please, please, if you have never done this, go home and sit down in a quiet place and read 1 Corinthians 14. If you want to start with 13, everybody knows 13 because they read it at weddings.
That's fine because he builds up to 14 and there he gives you a clear understanding of the spiritual gift of prophecy. I have a number of non-Christian friends and I love them dearly, but the one thing I am noticing that they ask in questions these days. I mean, we live in times of upheaval, global catastrophes and many people are looking for answers and they're really asking the question, why there are so many earthquakes and natural disasters in rapid succession in our world today? Why is there so much turmoil throughout the world today? Why are we facing a possible economic meltdown today?
Why? Why is there a rise and increase in terrorism and terroristic activities? People are asking questions and you and I who have the word of God have a word to say to them without having to set up a date.
We have a word to say to them. In fact, as you exercise prophecy with your friends, with your neighbors, with co-workers, you find that part of the answer is in Matthew 24 8. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole chapter he talks about the time of his return. The whole chapter 24, he talks about the signs of the end of times.
But in verse 8 particularly, he says, here's what I'm quoting, all these and he's talking about all the natural disasters and all the things that are going to be taking place. He said all these are the beginning of birth pains. Everybody knows that labor pains do not occur at conception or even throughout the pregnancy. They happen just before the birth. Labor pains do not begin until shortly before delivery time. When a woman is in labor and about to deliver a baby, at first those labor pains, they come in long intervals, maybe every hour, 40 minutes and then 30 minutes and then 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes and by that time if you're not in the hospital, man, you're in trouble.
And as these labor pains intensify, we know that the baby is about to be delivered. In exercising prophetic gifts of today, this day after the canon is closed, the Bible is closed, when exercising prophecy with your neighbors, your friends and your co-workers with people who are asking questions and trying to make sense of world events and you see the turmoil and the terrorist activities are on increase. All of these have happened in the past possibly, most of them anyway but now they are happening in shorter intervals.
Now they are happening in rapid succession. Now they are happening within shorter period of time and so the Lord Jesus is saying, when you see these things, be ready and so you can show your friends and you can show your neighbors and you can tell them what the Lord said here, that just prior to the end times, these things are going to happen in an increased succession, that Christ's return is imminent, that the judgment is around the corner and therefore come to him, believe in him, respond to his invitation, his loving invitation and come while you get a chance, come while there is time. I know most Christians are afraid of the book of Revelation but really if I summarize the book for you this way, it's basically what Jesus said in Matthew 24, 8. You're going to find there that the seal judgment unfolds over a longer period of time, years. Then the trumpet judgment comes in much shorter intervals, possibly months.
Then the ball judgment is a period of perhaps days or hours and the whole point that Jesus makes in trying to make us aware of the nearness of his return in Matthew 24, he is saying, when you see the first labor pain and that first labor pain is going to be deception in the church and my goodness, if there's ever a time in which the deception is rampant in the so-called the church of Jesus Christ, it is today. And he's saying when you see this widespread deception in the church, be sure you don't get deceived. Listen to me, the gift of prophecy is not reserved just for the big names in the church. A lot of people think that if somebody called themselves a prophet, they must have the gift of prophecy.
Most of them don't. You see, the gift of the Holy Spirit, I'm going to explain to you in a minute, I'm going to show you, is given in the body of Christ, to the body of Christ. The gift of prophecy is not something that is reserved for the Martin Luther's and the John Calvin's and the John Wesley's of this world alone. No, the gift of prophecy is given to so many people in the body whether they know it or not.
It is given to so many people in the church whether they comprehend it or not, whether they acknowledge it or not. The gift of prophecy is not exclusive to preachers and teachers. Now, though some preachers and teachers have the gift of prophecy, but let me tell you something, today we have modern day preachers and teachers and more entertainers and motivational speakers than sign.
Question number three. How is that gift of prophecy manifested? Listen carefully. The gift of prophecy is manifested when a believer is able to give an insight into the Word of God. When a believer can accurately apply the Word of God to a given situation. When a person can give a word from the Word to someone in need. When a person is able to make the Word of God relevant to a certain situation. In fact, there are varieties of expressions of the gift of prophecy. Varieties of it. In fact, I think teaching and preaching may be one of the least of those expressions.
It's one of them, but that's about all it is. One, teaching children is an expression of the gift of prophecy. Witnessing to somebody is an expression of that gift of prophecy. In fact, this is a gift that the Apostle Paul encourages believers to seek. Now, if you have your Bible, I want you to look with me. First Corinthians 14 one. He just finished the love chapter of chapter 13 that most people know. And immediately in verse one he says, follow the way of love and eagerly desire or discover spiritual gifts.
Look at the next word. Especially the gift of prophecy. Remember the gifts are given to us.
We didn't have a choice, but he's saying go after this one. Seek it. Especially the gift of prophecy. Even if you don't have the Holy Spirit's gift of prophecy, by virtue of knowing the Word of God, you are able to bring at least in your own life and the life of your family an application of that word, which is an expression of the gift of prophecy. Some of you have heard me tell this before, but it's so poignant in my life. The man who discipled me in my late teens after I became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the man whom God used to disciple me was illiterate. He could not read. He cried to God and he said, God, I just love to read your word. And you know, he opened the scripture and he reads it and comprehends it.
You show him the newspaper, the headlines, big letters, he can make a tale of it. That's a supernatural gift of God. God really gave him the desire of his heart. And this man really impacted me in a wonderful way. He taught me so many insights from the Word of God. And I've been privileged to sit at the feet of some of the great theologians, some of the godly theologians, some of the great Bible scholars through the years. And I'm grateful to every one of them. But somehow the insights that this illiterate man taught me stayed with me and impacted me, not just my own walk with the Lord, but my own ministry.
So what was he doing as he would spend time with me? He was using an expression of the gift of prophecy according to the measure of faith that God gave him. That's what Paul said here in 1 Corinthians 12. He is using the gift of prophecy with that measure.
And I'll give you just an example of something that really impacted me. I remember him saying to me one time, he said, if you ever want to stumble and fall in your Christian walk, keep your eyes on church leaders. He said sooner or later, they will disappoint you, they will fail you and they will let you down. He said, you keep your eye on Jesus and you will never stumble because he will never let you down.
What is this man doing in the life of another young man? He did not know what I was going to do for the rest of my life, but he poured himself into me. He has spoken forth the truth in proportion of faith that God gave him. And that is why prophesying is the accurate interpretation and application of the word of God. That's what it is. And it's not the scary thing. I don't have the gift of prophecy because you think that you have to sit there and tell what's going to happen.
No. One way to know if a person is exercising that gift of prophecy is whether it's edifying to the body. If it's edifying to others, 1 Corinthians 14 verse 3, the one who prophesies speaks to man for edification and exhortation and consolation. I already told you in this chapter he contrasts the gift of prophecy with the gift of tongues. And he ended up by saying that the gift of prophecy, like all the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, is given that others may be encouraged.
He said, well, the gift of tongues or prayer language or ecstatic utterance or whatever the word you use, it's for individual use. But the gift of prophecy is forgiven for the blessing of others. Beloved, prophecy accomplishes something spiritual for other believers. Prophecy accomplishes something worthwhile. Prophecy uplifts a believer and sometimes even non-believers. Prophecy sounds the alarm and gives a warning.
Hear me right on this one. The gifts are not given to any of us for selfish reasons or for selfish purposes, for our selfish use. The gifts are given for the benefits of others. And that is why discovering and using your spiritual gift, listen to me, is the most selfless thing that you can do in your Christian walk. 1 Corinthians 12, 7, to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit. Why? For the common good. And that is why discovering and using your spiritual gift is a selfless act.
I want to tell you this as I conclude. One of the finest collections of rare and valuable violins belonged to a retired farmer in a small prairie town in Saskatchewan. Among the 25 violins, there are some that are made by very well-known people, the famous people like Stradivare. But they're there, all of them, in his house. Rare, valuable violins. He collected them as a hobby. And they're seldom used.
Seldom, if any, used. Now I want you to just try to imagine what these 25 beautiful, rare, valuable violins would sound like. Just try to imagine what it would be like for 25 gifted people, musicians, to use these wonderful instruments. Think of the beautiful melody. Think of the soul-rupturing music.
Think of the uplifting symphonies. And I'm sure you say, oh, what a pity. What a pity that they just kind of in a museum collecting dust.
And I happen to agree with you. Now think of the churches that have collections of gifted people who are sitting in the pews. Never use the gift of the Holy Spirit. Many a church is a museum of collections of gifted Christians.
They are there for display, not for use. Dr. Michael Youssef, with a challenge to discover and practice your unique spiritual gifts. Would you like to speak with someone about what you've heard today?
I want to encourage you to do that. Leading the Way has pastors and counselors ready to talk with you. Start that conversation by going to ltw.org slash Jesus. As we bring this episode of Leading the Way to a close, let's speak now with Dr. Youssef about his new book, God's Final Call. So, Dr. Youssef, first, I think what inspired you to write the book God's Final Call? Because as I look around the Church of Jesus Christ around the world, and I am privileged to be able to see this, to be able to visit churches, to know what's going on, I am seeing that every one of the churches, seven churches in the book of Revelation, they are somewhere in the world today. And therefore, anyone, anywhere in the world, would read this book, will learn and will understand how Jesus feels about where they are and what the Church, where they are, is all about, and how they can turn and renew the love for Jesus if they have lost their first love.
They have to be hot for Jesus instead of being lukewarm. And so, everyone, anywhere in the world, would read this book, is going to take an application to his or her life, to his or her church. Get your copy of this life-changing book when you call us, 866-626-4356. Or learn more about the content and order online at ltw.org. Hey, thank you for listening to Leading the Way. Learn about the ministry initiatives reaching six continents with the gospel in 28 different languages at ltw.org. It's there that you can also join Dr. Youssef standing with him as he passionately proclaims uncompromising truth around the world on Leading the Way. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Connect further with audio and video content at ltw.org or through your favorite social media platform including YouTube, Facebook, X, Instagram, and more.
