. . . Know How to Pray?

Dr. Michael Youssef: Deception is everywhere. It's in the schools, it's in the workplace, and it's even in the church. And a child of God who is eager to be an apostle at school or at work or in their neighborhood, they can easily be a victim of deception. And so, today's message is to challenge you to pray and how to pray against the spirit of deception.
Guest (Male): Thank you for making time in your listening day for Dr. Michael Youssef and Leading the Way. Satan is increasing his attacks inside the church, not only confusing and turning away members from the truth, but also diverting many pastors and leaders away from God's word. We do want you to keep in mind that Leading the Way is a worldwide, listener-supported, gospel-focused ministry. You can learn how to stand with Dr. Youssef when you visit us at ltw.org or give us a call at 866-626-4356. With the challenge now to seek discernment in life and protection from Satan's attacks, here is Dr. Michael Youssef continuing his series called "You Want Me to Do What?".
Dr. Michael Youssef: Recently, we've had a conversation with a group of young professionals in the Middle East. And one of the things we were talking about, they were saying to us that in the business world, it is impossible to tell when somebody's telling the truth or lying. Lying has become so commonplace that you really don't know when the person is telling the truth. As I listened to this, I asked the question, "Well, how do you deal with this? How do you live with this?" And one lady said, "We pray a lot for discernment and wisdom." Had Joshua and the people of Israel prayed for discernment and wisdom, they would not have been snookered by the Gibeonites. Had they prayed for discernment and wisdom, they would have been alert as to the origin and where those people come from and what their intention is. Turn with me to Joshua chapter 9. And just in case you're sitting back there and saying, "Well, you know, this is just in a distant land, this is just in cultures that do not have the Christian heritage that we have, that doesn't happen here," let me read to you or tell you about a statistics that in the United States of America in a four-year period, church-going folks lost $450 million to scam artists who posed as church members. They joined the church, they become part of the church, they spoke the Christian language, they acted the part, and yet they scammed millions of dollars from Christians and churchgoers. Beloved, it's all around us. Deception is everywhere. It's in the schools, it's in the workplace, and it's even in the church. And a child of God who is eager to be an apostle at school or at work or in their neighborhood, they can easily be victims of deception. You know why? Because of our love for Christ, because of our love for others, because of the grace of God that is given to us, because of our desire to reach people for Christ, we can become victims of deception. And so, today's message is to challenge you to pray and how to pray against the spirit of deception. "You want me to do what? Learn to pray against the spirit of deception." Let me tell you the story in my own words. But before I do that, let's review. The first answer to the question, "You want me to do what?" is what? Stepping up. Number two: Go to the enemy's territory. Number three: Cross over the river of your impossibility. Number four: Yield to God. Number five: Stay with the program. And number six: Learn from your failures. And here today, we find the people of God returning from Gilgal, returning from a revival meeting where the word of God has been preached so powerfully, where they have recommitted themselves to the Lord, where they have rededicated themselves to obedience to the word of God, where they have been celebrating their victory over Ai at last. They were on a spiritual high. Watch out! Always watch out for the times immediately after spiritual victory, especially during those times immediately after a great blessing from the hand of God. Watch out, because these are Satan's opportune times to scam you and to get you to fall. Whenever you think that you've made it, watch out! That is the time when you are most vulnerable to Satan's deception and his schemes and his wild schemes. And so they celebrated victory. They rededicated themselves to the cause of evangelism. They recommitted themselves to speak for Christ in their schools and their neighborhood. They have reaffirmed their call to be an apostle in school and at work and in their neighborhood, wherever they may go. But when you do that, listen to me, when you do that, don't be surprised that the enemy and the opposition and the deception will go after you with vengeance. Don't be surprised. The Bible said that when Jesus began His messianic ministry of preaching the kingdom of God, of healing the sick, of raising the dead, of casting out demons, there were three groups who are normally at enmity with each other. They hated each other, they fought with each other, and yet they got united in opposition toward Jesus. They were the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees. A friend of mine in Australia used to call them "they are sad, you see." Listen to me, when you become serious about exercising your apostleship, when you become serious about claiming your workplace for Christ, when you become serious about claiming your school for Christ, when you become serious about being a missionary in your mission field where God has placed you, that is the time when plots against you are going to thicken, when plots against you will begin to take place. That is the time when Satan will work overtime to get you to fall. That is the time when others will do all they can to get you discouraged. That's the time when all of hell will break loose. Even some believers will discourage you. And that is why you must know how to pray. How to pray against deception and deceivers. Now let me tell you the story. It's really very simple. The Gibeonites lived next door. I mean, they're next-door neighbors. They're right close by. But they got some old clothes, worn-out, torn, mended clothes, and they pretended to have come a long way. They had some dried-up, moldy food. They had patched and parched wine skin. And they even wearing worn-out sandals. And they said, "Oh, your servants came from a long, long distance." Why did they have to go to all this trouble to do this? Why did they have to go to the trouble of cooking up this scheme, this diabolical scheme? Why? Why not just say, "Hey, we make a covenant with us, we come here to serve you, just do..." Good question. I want to tell you why. Very simply, these Gibeonites, they knew the Bible. They knew the Bible! They knew that in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 20, verses 10 to 15, it says that when you go in there, wipe out the Canaanites, but make covenant with those who are far away. They knew the Bible! Listen, my beloved friend, the people who are most deceptive are those who can quote the Bible as well as you can. The people who use passages out of the Bible to silence you, to intimidate you, to cool off your passion, they are the most dangerous ones. Oh, they will say to you, "Oh, where is the love of Christ? Don't you love Christ? He's supposed to love everybody everywhere, whatever they do, whatever they think. Aren't you supposed to love every..." Doesn't the Bible say, "Judge not"? How many of you heard that? All right. "Why are you judging other people by not accepting the fact and by demanding that Jesus is the only way? Why are you judging people who prefer immoral lifestyle? Why are you judging people who have different sexual preferences? Why?" They quote the Bible wrongly. They take it out of context in order to deceive, in order to intimidate. And the Bible said that when Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman, she began to use the Bible. She was using theological arguments. If you're looking for a method of sharing Christ with others, you cannot get better than John chapter 4, where Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman. It's amazing, amazing. Just read it with that in mind because she was trying to derail him, trying to divert his attention, tried to give him some red herring as most people try to do. But he would not fall for it. She said, "But the Samaritans don't have any dealing with the Jews." He let that pass. She said, "Well, the traditions said..." He ignored that. She said, "The... we have two different belief systems." He let that pass. And Jesus would not fall for this red herring, for this diversion. And he kept on boring in and boring in and boring in on her need, her desperate need for repentance and faith. And he was saying, as it were, in my own words, not his words, "What about you? Are you saved? Do you have peace with God? Is your life fulfilled?" He kept boring in until she surrendered. Had Joshua and the leadership of Israel sought the mind of God, the counsel of God, the wisdom of God, he would have given them discernment. God would have shown them that these people are wolves in sheep's clothing. Beloved, always be wary of those who use spiritual language to seduce you, those who use spiritual language to lead you away from the truth. A story told that I always love to tell because it's so powerful, it's a real story about a British art critic by the name of Duveen. And one day, he took his daughter to the beaches in England. And she would not go to the icy cold water, even in July. It's cold, if you're a Brit, you will understand what I'm talking about. And he would try to persuade her to go with him. She wouldn't. He tried and finally he took some of the equipment that he had for the picnic. And he took a tea kettle and he built a fire and boiled the water. And with a great flare, he went up there and said, "See, honey," and he started pouring the boiling water into the ocean. And the girl gleefully ran into the ocean thinking that the ocean is now warmed up. Listen to me, this may be a harmless maneuver by a father, but listen to me, that's how we are often deceived by others. They mixed just a little bit of truth with an ocean full of deception, and we wade in, thinking, unsuspecting, that we've been tricked and been lured away from our mission of being ambassadors for Jesus Christ. Beloved, listen. Joshua had his suspicions. You read the text. I mean, obviously, there was a check in his spirit, as we would say now. There was something and he kept questioning them. There was something there, but he didn't ask the Lord for discernment. He even went against his own better judgment. Listen, James said in 4:2, he said, "You have not because you ask not. And then when you ask, you ask wrongly." But he did not say that until he said in 1:5, "If you lack wisdom, you ask God for it." And you know what he said? "He may give it to you." Did you get that? No? What did he say? "He will give it to you!" If you ask God for wisdom, he will give it to you. That's one prayer you can be absolutely sure about, that God will give it to you in abundance. When you ask, he will give it to you. Beloved, let me tell you something. In case you think Michael is got it all, I haven't. I can write a book about the times that I have failed to ask discernment from the mind of God and I made a botch of things. The greatest danger for a child of God is summarized in the following words: "I can handle it." Let me tell you something, take that word out of your vocabulary. Out of your vocabulary. I remember some pompous guy some years ago was asking me, he said, "Oh, Brother Youssef, what are your strength?" I said, "I have none." "Okay, what are your weaknesses?" I said, "Every area of my life." And I've been doing that ever since. Beloved, listen to me. "I can handle it" is the beginning of a downfall of a believer. Listen to me. "I can handle this drink. I can handle this wrong relationship. I can handle this shady business deal. I can handle this close friendship with the unbeliever and the ungodly." Wrong! Here's what F. B. Meyer said. Listen to what F. B. Meyer said: "Christians are tempted more by the wiles of Satan than by his open assault." "Christians are tempted more by the deceitfulness of sin than by his declared war." Listen to me, the main reason why our troops are having dickens of a time in wars is because they are trained to be a fighters of armies. They are trained to fight wars with other soldiers, and they are the best of the best at that. But the reason they're having this hard time is because of the deception of the enemy. He could dress like a civilian or could dress like an army person, and they come in and blow themselves up. Deception. It is the same in my spiritual walk and your spiritual walk. Beloved, I know when someone falls, the last thing I want to say is anything but "for the grace of God, there go I." But beloved, we also live in times when we must not only pray for discernment but put our guards up for discernment. That we must specifically pray, that we must keep on the alert against the subtle deception of sin and Satan. Only prayer will give you the discernment against the flattery and the flattering words. Only prayer will guard you against the scheming of the ungodly. Only prayer will protect you against the danger of the blind alleys of life. And that is why Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father in heaven," and then he concludes by saying, "deliver us from the evil one, deliver us from the evil one." When you embark on witnessing for Christ, when you embark on living for Christ, when you embark on being an ambassador for Christ, whether it be at work or at your school or your neighborhood, whatever it may be, if you do it without leaning on God's power and wisdom in prayer, you are opening yourself up to all sorts of failure. To enter into a business deal or a business partnership or into a marriage or a start a new ministry without leaning and consulting your heavenly Father, you are opening yourself up to all sorts of deceptions by the enemy. But I cannot conclude this message without giving you the biblical teaching on how to deal with the aftermath of deception. When Joshua discovered this horrible failure, many people wanted to kill the Gibeonites. They said, "Listen," and it sounds logical, "they deceived us. They snookered us. And they deserved not to live." But the leadership acted with integrity. Listen to me. They kept their word. Though they were humiliated, yet they did not want to bring disgrace upon the name of God and their testimony be tarnished by walking back on the covenant. To be sure, Joshua rebuked them, he punished them for their deception, but he kept his word. They knew that their testimony in the long run is far more important than revenge. And that is why Paul gives us an injunction in 1 Corinthians. He said when an unbelieving couple, one of them becomes a believer, the believing spouse must stay with the unbelieving spouse at all possible. That's why, listen to me, after failure and sin, repentance must take place. Repentance must take place. God is waiting for you to turn to him with open arms, because often accepting the consequences of another person's deception is the price that you have to pay. But God will even strengthen you in those times. I know that in some situations and I've seen it, the consequences can be so painful. I know that. But God will strengthen you when you turn to him. There may be someone here today that would say to me, "Michael, I have fallen into sin as a result of somebody else's deception or even deceiving myself. Someone here today may say, 'I'm suffering greatly as a result of past failure.'" Hear me right. It does not honor God, on the one hand, to stay in your failure or, on the other hand, become bitter toward the person who deceived you. It does not honor God, on the one hand, to live in regret and, on the other hand, cool your passion for Christ. When you ask God for forgiveness, let me tell you, he will give it to you. He will give it to you. But then you have to persevere and he will strengthen you then. Because I know my God. I know my God can bring joy out of sorrow. That I know my God can bring hope out of despair. I've experienced my God to bring light out of darkness. I know my God can bring gladness out of mourning.
Guest (Male): Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading the Way. In the challenging and confusing times in which we live, our prayer is that you'll seek and find biblical discernment in and for everything you face. We totally understand that not everyone who listens to Dr. Youssef or this station knows Jesus in a personal way. And in fact, we often get questions about what it means to follow Christ. So if you would like to speak with or message with someone confidentially, you can fill out a short contact form at ltw.org/jesus. We'll get you connected with a Leading the Way pastor or counselor. That's ltw.org/jesus. Before your feet hit the floor, your mind is flooded. Unfinished responsibilities, unresolved personal battles. In moments like these, praising God may be the last thing you want to do, but it's exactly where you need to begin. In his foundational book, "Empowered by Praise," Dr. Youssef reveals how you can look to Jesus in the midst of life's trial. He reveals practical, biblical ways to live a life of praise each day, including four ways to invite God to set up camp in your life, five ways praise renews you, a profound exploration of 11 names of God and what they reveal about His nature, plus a bonus chapter-by-chapter reflection guide in the back of the book. Experience the deep abiding joy of glorifying God with all you are. Request your copy of "Empowered by Praise" for your gift of any amount to Leading the Way. Get your book on the way today when you call us: 866-626-4356. That's 866-626-4356. You can also go to ltw.org. Dr. Youssef is offering to send you a copy of "Empowered by Praise" when you give a gift to Leading the Way for any amount. That's ltw.org. We also have a mailing address if you'd rather get in touch with us through the postal service. We're at Leading the Way, Post Office Box 20100, Atlanta, Georgia 30325. Once again, Post Office Box 20100, Atlanta, Georgia 30325. 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.