Certain men from Issachar, were recorded in 1 Chronicles 12:32 as those who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. Those were not just people who knew the scriptures, they had a special God-given ability to understand the direction and priorities of the time Isreal was in.
The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5:16-18
''making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,''
He understood the priorities of his time in relation to the will of God.
The Holy Spirit that was to be on the Messiah was prophesied in Isaiah 11:1-3 as :
''A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;'' Isaiah 11:1-3
And this Messiah (Jesus ) told his disciples in John 16:13, that the Holy Spirit
''when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.''
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. He, just like the men from Issachar, gives us the ability to understand the times and know what Israel (body of Believers inclusive) should do.
Irrespective of the problems with my recording equipment, the Lord's message is the same in this write-up.
Now is the time for denial.
Jesus said:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'' Mark 8:34b
But what does this mean?
Denial, Sacrifice etc are words foreign to us in our modern times but this is the mindset that allowed the Disciples and saints of old to push beyond the limitations and barriers to the Gospel in their time. It is the missional mindset; a mindset that is borne by one whose focus is beyond this world and their own needs.
In the last video, I spoke on 2Timothy 4: 1, 7-8
1 - ''In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
7-8 ''I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.''
How do you long for his appearing except your focus is beyond this world?
I started with 2 points that will help us grow a desire for the appearance of Christ:
Know Him
Love him
The other 2
3. Lived for him
4. finished his assignment, which will still be in the next video as promised. However, this forgotten virtue of Denial is what the Lord is reminding us of.
When Jesus said ''Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'' in Mark 8:34b, it was following on from what occurred when Peter was telling Jesus in verse 33 to stop saying he was going to be rejected and killed. Note what Jesus actually said in response to Peter:
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
He was invariably saying that a life of Denial is a life which puts Jesus (the will of Jesus) and the needs of (spreading) the good news first.
A life of denial is not about self-inflicted poverty or shunning self-care; it is about doing everything you can to further the mission and will of God on this earth (as revealed by Jesus Christ) irrespective of personal cost.
As a young believer, this was the mindset of those around me when I just came to the faith. It produced a kind of Zeal and holiness that is not too common today. We lived with a mindset that our lives and choices were to count for all eternity.
''This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.''1 John 3:16
This is what these times demand.
''Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.'' Mark 10:28
'They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.' John 17:16
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