Scripture
These are the numbers of armed warriors who joined David at Hebron. They were all eager to see David become king instead of Saul, just as the Lord had promised…From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take. 1 Chronicles 12:23,32
Observation
The word used for “understood” is the Hebrew word binah, which means “to have insight or to act with prudence.” It comes from a verb that means to separate something mentally and distinguish its parts. The word goes beyond basic understanding to skillful analysis and timely application. They looked at Saul’s leadership and David’s and discerned there was no time to sit back and play it safe. Their endorsement of David as the King was an analysis that led to action. Notice scripture says they were “eager to see David become king”. The Church is being called, as Issachar with David, to discern our current situation, take action in leading others to Christ, and eagerly expect the arrival of the Son of David, King Jesus. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;” (Philippians 3:20).
Application
I want to get back to “normal” as much as the next guy, but the Holy Spirit is warning me saying, “don’t go back, go forward with fresh understanding.” Today’s reading reminded me of a message I preached at the end of January called “Life In The Last Chapter” (https://youtu.be/SMTcROBBn2s). It was the last message in our “Issachar Anointing” series. Pastor Wayne was spot on with that series as a way to kick off 2020 by discerning the signs of the times. I don’t think any of us had any idea how this year was going to play out, but there were some in my life who, like Issachar, was pointing to what I was missing. Lanu Tilton, my friend, and the amazing Program Director for New Hope Oahu had been stirred by the Holy Spirit to call God’s Church back to the New Testament reality of Christ’s imminent return. I told her I was preaching on this and wanted to put together a quick video of some of the prophecies that pointed us to the reality that we truly are living in the last days. As we were approaching the weekend Lanu, a true watch-woman on the wall, sent me a clip about something that had just appeared on the news called the Coronavirus. We included it in the video montage (https://youtu.be/bDmHxz933SA) and I called this moment #wakeupcall2020. I had no idea how much of a wake-up call this would be. Looking at where our world is now and where we were at the end of January my hope and prayer are that we have, as The Church, truly been awakened. My fear, if I’m being honest, is that as everything slowly begins to open up we will slowly begin to fall back asleep. It’s kind of like when I hit the snooze button on the alarm in the morning. If I don’t move my body immediately into the upright position and put my feet on the floor I can begin to drift back into sleep. This always results in disaster as I end up missing the important appointments I had set the alarm for in the first place and the rest of my day is spent in a panicked frenzy to catch up with the lost time. This Pandemic has awakened us to how truly temporary everything is that we often hold so dear. Though God’s heart is not in the Pandemic His hand is using it pull off the warm covers of self-deception and the lull of creature comforts that beckons me back to a sleepy faith. I want to be ready for His Return. I don’t want to hit the snooze button and be caught off guard. I want those that I know to be ready because they’ve been given a chance to know Christ. It’s time to jump out of bed, grab a cup of strong coffee and step out into the light of day. Paul says it best in 1 Thessalonians 5: 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night... 4But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:2,4-6
Prayer
Lord, I pray that I could be as the sons of Issachar and herald your return as the soon and coming King. We have all been on a forced fast these past 40 days and I refuse to go back to business as usual in feeding my flesh. You have given us the signs to look for and yet I don’t see a lot of people looking. We are looking for a return back to what once was rather than what will be coming next. You meant what You said when You exhorted us to “always be on the watch”. Have we stopped watching? Have we stopped waiting? Have we stopped praying? If we would just open our eyes and look at the signs of the times we would see they match up perfectly with what You described as living in the last chapter. I’m heading Your call Lord. I’m wide awake. Help me stay that way!
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