But In The Future

“but in the future” Isaiah 9:1

I (Brett) was reading Isaiah 9 and felt it had strong relevance to the challenge we see of getting people out of the common way of doing Christianity and into a kingdom walk. The big hurdle has little to do with leave, time commitments, or finances. It has to do with the possible new future for people, and how our enemy is determined to help people avoid it. The two phrases that hit me from Isaiah 9:1 were “In the past…” and “but in the future.”

As I look back over the past [almost] ten years, I see that some of the consultants and clients were at a junction when they chose to do the rēp training and Venture, but they did not know it at the time. For them it turned out to be a decision of whether they would fulfill their destiny, slip into mediocrity, or in some cases, have their future wrecked. This sounds dramatic because it is. Many have been clutched from a life of corporate drudgery and are now ruined for good. Some have been spared from disastrous relationships or partnerships. They have, quite literally, a new future.

“but in the future”

Some I know got to the “future” because of the intervention of friends. Nicole, for example, emailed 23 of her friends and said, “I believe one of you should go through rēp training and go on a Venture, and I will pay for you to go.” Two weeks later she emailed her friends again and said, “I have not heard from any of you yet…” and Sandra soon raised her hand and signed up for the training. Sandra said, “Both of her messages hit me like a stone and I realized I was really being called. I deleted the first one (as the good Jonah that I am) and when the second one came, I knew it was time to go.” Hardly an over-eager recruit. But four months later, Sandra was an empowered marketplace minister. She has spiritual children in South Africa and became a prayer partner with her client (business leaders who now impact 50,000 people in their business household). Now, five years later, Sandra has recently co-founded a nonprofit, Solid Ground International, dedicated to the help, assistance, and healing of individuals exploited by human trafficking. 

One person, in this case Nicole, persisted with her friends. Sandra heard the call, served a couple whose marriage was saved (thereby impacting their kids forever), transformed a business in South Africa (along with many others through her work at Oracle), and now Sandra is creating new futures for hundreds more through Solid Ground International, its partners, and the people it serves. Well done, Nicole, way to go, Sandra… and Yay God!

You too have it in your power to change someone’s future. Whose lives will you impact this year? This is the season to start a new future

I want to challenge you to actively ask God to place on your heart two or three people for whom you can pray, whom you can pursue and urge to begin the kingdom journey on which you yourself have embarked. May God honor you for your efforts, and may he give us no rest until we see our friends and acquaintances thrust on the kingdom road.

Reflections

• Pause for a moment and ask God to remind you of who helped change your future.
• Now ask him whose future you might be a part of changing.
• List two or three practical things you can do to make this happen.

To Us

“For to us…” Isaiah 9:6

To us: the movement of God is generally towards us, not away from us. (That is amazing.) His is postured to pursue, wired to woo. (Knowing all that he does about humankind—I mean everything—this is incredible!) When others are looking for their gods, our God is looking for us. (Can you comprehend it?) What other “religion” has a God who is so predictably good, so deliberately engaging?

“For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given…”
 

To us: the flawless God gave a perfect gift. He reached into the best of the best, “to us a son.” This is not a gift you have to worry about opening. Will the wrapping be better than the content? No. Will the novelty wear off? No again. Will the fine print in the warranty disappoint? Never. Will the giver forget you after the holiday season? “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” 

To us: yes, a son was given to us, and for us. Not to be cooed at, however, but praised. Not to be coddled, but obeyed. Not to entertain, but to govern what is rightfully his. And the government shall be upon his shoulders. This is no wimpy government, but a big one. (Sometimes I am for big government, for scripture says…)

“Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.”
 

That is pretty big government! Who can pull off such a sphere of influence without being corrupted, becoming despotic or being tyrannical?

 “And he will be called

     Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
 

To us: in seed form the Christ child carried these crowning attributes. The mouth that had not yet uttered a word was Counselor, the babe that had not yet taken a step was Father, the carpenter’s boy was Prince of Peace: the human was God.

 “For to us…” 

“Merry Christmas” says too little, shrinking the unfathomable into a hollow box, seasonable words failing to aptly capture the profundity of the simple “to us.” So year after year we pause again and marvel.

“For a child has been born—for us!

    the gift of a son—for us!”

It is God, not a turkey

“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” Exodus 32:4

A thought crossed my mind, “What if this really was a week of thanksgiving?” Imagine if this week a massive shout of praise went up to God? Imagine if all believers in the US worshipped God with something “extra” this week. Imagine if songs of thanksgiving filled every heart this week. “I’m forever grateful…”

My mind also went to the senseless chatter about turkeys and stuffing and corn bread that one sees on TV and hears on the radio…how we make the trivial important and trivialize the important. Imagine—just imagine—if we focused doubly on God and not on millions of little roasted turkeys. Imagine if all the chatter about a stuffed, dead bird was replaced by conversation about an overflowing, alive, all-powerful, wonder-working, awesome God!

It is not a big mental leap to go from golden turkeys to golden calves. I am not suggesting in any way that there is any correlation between a calf and a turkey. But the nation of Israel quickly forgot God, made an idol, and claimed it was this man-made thing that had brought them out of Egypt. Almost unbelievable! But Exodus 32 reminds us how we are prone to direct our affections toward the wrong place. We are just returning from another “Venture season” where teams of businesspeople have gone out and seen God do miraculous things with businesses in Africa. This is a season when everyday businesspeople discover that God uses their engineering, marketing, finance and management skills to build His kingdom. That should be enough to keep us from getting de-focused. Exodus 32, however, follows a miraculous display of God’s splendor, the giving of the Ten Commandments, and an Old Testament businessman being filled with the Spirit.

“I have chosen Bezalel…and have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge of all kinds of crafts…” Exodus 31:3

So these things are not an antidote to spiritual meandering. When God does not show up according to our schedule it is easy to make our own gods in His place. Even when we have witnessed the miraculous and our gifts have been used by God, we can still get sidetracked. Signs and wonders become sins and wanders.

When we enter his gates with thanksgiving, this week, when we enter his courts with praise, we honor God and protect our hearts. When we make lists of things that we are thankful for and read them back to God, then we protect our affections. When we make proclamation about the kindness and goodness and faithfulness of God, then we remember He is our source. When we acknowledge that it was His hand that formed our nation, then we affirm that “in God we trust” and not in politicians or those running Wall Street. When we celebrate family and enjoy good fellowship and remember our God, then heaven takes note and the angels join in our celebration not of a turkey, but of God.

Reflections

• God loves a celebration: what are you celebrating today?

• What steps can you take to protect your heart from creating other gods when the one true God delays coming down the mountain?