Leading The Way - Week of October 23, Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef

Leading The Way - Week of October 23

October 23, 2023

October 23, 2023

Cultivate an Undivided Heart

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.

Corinth was a dark, entangling pagan culture. But God freed the Corinthian Christians, calling them to salvation through Christ Jesus. As God’s chosen people, the believers in Corinth were to witness to the Truth of the Gospel in their society. But instead of witnessing, they fought over leadership, doubted Paul’s apostleship, and treated the Lord’s Supper as an opportunity to boast. With such behavior, they were poor ambassadors for Christ, distracting others from the Gospel message.

Some of the Corinthian believers were even dining at the temples of false gods—attending the temple festivals. Paul had already addressed the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols, declaring it a matter of conscience (see 8:4-8), but in this chapter, Paul addresses a different scenario. Some Corinthian believers were actually participating in pagan worship. If the Corinthians’ unbelieving neighbors saw them eating and drinking at a table to a pagan god, what could their conclusion be but that their lives were no different than before?

Today our worship and witness can be tarnished in similar ways. We may not be worshiping at a pagan temple, but how many of us worship at the altar of wealth, status, or approval? We need to look to Christ to remember who we are. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He will give us undivided hearts and create in us a desire to boldly witness for Christ in the midst of our own spiritually dark culture.

Prayer: Lord, help me to identify the idols I worship in my life. May I lay them down by the power of Your Holy Spirit so that I can keep my heart set on You—the only one worthy—and bear witness to Your incomparable majesty. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21).

Learn more in Dr. Michael Youssef’s sermon Healthy Living in a Sick World, Part 14: LISTEN NOW | WATCH NOW

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About Leading The Way

Along with partners committed to changing the world, Dr. Michael Youssef is leading the way for people living in spiritual darkness to discover the light of Christ. By passionately proclaiming uncompromising Truth through print, web, television, and radio, this international team of experts is uniquely providing hope that is revolutionizing lives at home — and around the world.

What began as a small local radio ministry in 1988 has grown into an international ministry reaching millions for Christ — including a vast audience in the Muslim world seeking Truth in closed countries. Leading The Way's television and radio programs are broadcast in more than 28 languages to audiences across six continents. Leading The Way also produces DVDs, CDs, books, a monthly devotional magazine, solar-powered Navigators, and daily e-devotionals to spread the light of Christ. In 2009, the ministry launched its own 24/7 satellite TV channel, reaching the Muslim world with Gospel programming in English, Arabic, French, and Indonesian. Leading The Way utilizes field teams to evangelize and disciple viewers in closed countries and help persecuted Christians on the ground.

Dr. Youssef and the Leading The Way staff are committed to sharing the Gospel with the lost and equipping believers to grow into a deeper walk with Christ. Learn how you can partner with this unique ministry today.

About Dr. Michael Youssef

Michael Youssef, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, a worldwide ministry that leads the way for people living in spiritual darkness to discover the light of Christ through the creative use of media and field ministry teams. His weekly television programs and daily radio programs are broadcast more than 13,000 times per week in multiple languages throughout the world. He is also the founding pastor of The Church of The Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Youssef was born in Egypt and lived in Lebanon and Australia before coming to the United States. In 1984, he fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming an American citizen. Dr. Youssef holds degrees from Moore College in Sydney, Australia; Fuller Theological Seminary in California; and a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Emory University. He has authored more than 50 books, including popular titles Saving Christianity?, Hope for This Present Crisis, Life-Changing Prayers, and Never Give Up. He and his wife reside in Atlanta and have four grown children and 11 grandchildren.