Great men of the Lord. They are hard to find. The Bible talks of the great men of the Lord – of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, David, John the Baptist, Paul, to name a few. These men knew the Scriptures and were led by the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord spoke to them and guided them. The level of their communion with God and their submission to His leading was and is a rare thing.
I find it hard to give such praise to human beings but on special occasions. One such man so led by the Spirit, given to prayer and study, to generosity, and to radical Christ following poured himself out to me this last month in Costa Rica. What an honor and privilege it was to meet such a man, much less to sit up into the wee hours of the night conversing attentively (granted it was mostly listening) with him gleaning as much wisdom and knowledge as my brain could handle (not entirely that much).
What impressed me the most about him was his submission to the Holy Spirit. On several occasions he would say that he had “asked permission” to come spend time with us. If he received permission from the Lord he would come and spend numerous hours with us, encouraging, discipling, and receiving our questions, always with undying energy, joy, and humbleness.
Another thing which impressed me was his commitment to the Scriptures – to right doctrine. I have hardly met a more knowledgeable man of God so versed in the Word and given to its instruction. He stretched the limits of my understanding and in a healthy way made me think twice about many of the things I had always assumed to be “this way” or “that way”.
Thirdly, the stories of how God has used him over his years of ministry blew my mind. The healings God had worked through him, the demons bound and rebuked, the freedom gained through his fervent prayers, the generosity, the salvation found, the kids rescued, the lives changed, it was a thing to marvel at. What God can do in one’s life when given completely over to Him, when every aspect is submitted, when comfortable, normal living is abandoned, when risks are taken, when people-pleasing is disregarded, when image is impounded…the possibilities! When we take to heart that God is indeed living inside us, and the power and authority therein…oh the possibilities! The seemingly impossible made possible! May the words of Jesus be taken seriously in our lives: “greater things than these will you do.” (John 14:12). I don’t think we believe that – I know I don’t entirely. God help my unbelief! May we live as the first church in Acts! Do we truly believe what the Bible says is for us? Or do we only believe the portions of it that tickle our ears, that allow us to remain comfortable, that conform to our box? What is that box? I pray the Lord would break you out of it as He has been doing for me in His grace. Praise God for his forbearance and longsuffering with us without which He would have given us over to our sin and unbelief a long time ago. The untapped potential waiting to be released if we would only surrender everything! Everything to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of King David, the God of the Apostles, the Church in Acts, the leaders of the Reformation, the Revivals in America, and the faithful today.
The One who will return at an unknown hour…what will He find us doing? I pray it is not sitting in a church each Sunday, day dreaming, fiddling, and wishing the pastor would hurry up and finish so we can go home and sit in front of our functional savior. God have mercy on us.
Thank you, David. You have impacted me in more ways than you know.
