Yesterday I met with a group of men whose purpose was to shape the future of the Jesus Alliance. It was a Spirit filled day and ideas were coming fast and furious. We started early and wrapped up at 8 p.m. last night. Today we repeat the process and it all will begin anew at 7 a.m.
All of those in attendance are very successful, smart men who have done extremely well in life. They sacrificed their time for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to serve the Lord. They came from as far away as Seattle, Colorado Springs, Baton Rouge, Jacksonville, Jerusalem, and one of our team members Skyped in from New York where (much to his wife’s chagrin) he interrupted his family vacation.
All of us have enormously busy lives and are currently serving the Lord in one capacity or another, but to a person we want to serve in such a manner that we will have maximum impact and in so doing receive the biggest return on the investment of our most precious asset, our time.
The plans we have formulated will reach BILLIONS of people for the Lord. We are convinced that we can literally change the world for the better. The excitement generated by the plans that we’ve developed in this meeting is way too exhilarating to put into mere words.
It reminds me of the biblical account of the sons of Issachar, the men who the Bible described as men who understood the times, with knowledge of what should be done.
Matthew Henry wrote about the Sons of Issachar and stated that “Happy are those who wisely perceive it to be their duty and interest, to submit to the Savior Jesus Christ, whose earnest endeavors to do good are directed by the wisdom that God gives. He then emphasized that “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask it of God, who gives to all men liberally and it shall be given him.”
Importantly he states that we are to be directed by the wisdom of God and not our own, and if we don’t have it, we are to ask God to give His wisdom to us and He will willingly do so.
Our meeting was preceded by prayer and ended in prayer at Honey Lake Church. We prayed that God’s wisdom and not our own would lead the way in this awesome undertaking, Interestingly we did not pray that our wisdom be enhanced, rather that the wisdom of God be made manifest in all that we do.
We were blessed by God in this regard.
The sons of Issachar were accomplished in many things and no doubt were wildly successful in their chosen professions. It would have been easy for them to apply their own wisdom to the task at hand, but they knew that was a sure path to failure. They recognized that they were mere mortals whose collective experience and wisdom could not accomplish a project of the magnitude of the task at hand; however when empowered by the wisdom of God they could understand the signs of the evil times in which they lived, and know what to do about it, and how do it in an efficient manner; (all of which they accomplished).
Oh that we all will come to recognize this unyielding tenant and implement it in our lives on a daily basis . . . Selah . . .
Eph. 5:15
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
January 5, 2016 – Click here to listen