As Jesus left the house, he was followed by two blind men crying out, "Mercy, Son of David! Mercy on us!"
When Jesus got home, the blind men went in with him. Jesus said to them.
"Do you really believe I can do this?"
They said, "Why yes, Master!"
He touched their eyes and said,
"Become what you believe." It happened, they saw.
So many churchs are killing men! Not killing them physically but spiritually and emotionally. If a man dies spiritually and emotionally you might as well put a fork in him as he is good as dead. Men who are spiritually and emotionally dead are walking zombie's. God created man to be a go getter, a man who solves problems, creates things, and LEADS OTHER MEN. Creating things, solving problems, and leading others comes from a drive of how they see themselves. Men see themselves as what can or will be, this is called a man's VISION. A man without a vision for his future will or has already become just another person. God put something within a man, something that drives them to have a purpose bigger than themselves. Most men today try to fulfill that with their job or career.
In today's economy men are losing their jobs in record numbers. I recently met a man that lost his job. He was a builder, not in the construction industry but in the financial industry. He built banks with passion and vigor. He lead men to do great things by empowering them. He believed strongly in his company and what they were doing. His 'vision' drove him to get up in the morning. It give him, what he called, a purpose. The day after he lost his job he called me.
"What am I supposed to do today?" he asked me.
"What do you mean Mark?" (not his real name)
"For the past 7 years I got up everyday and knew what I was supposed to do and how to do it, today I don't know what to do."
Mark was lost, he was dying. He was dying because he had lost his 'vision' for himself. He had nothing to build, no one to lead, no challenges ahead of him. Mark was losing his 'vision' of who he thought he was.
The bible says, "Without a vision, the people perish." Men are the ones perishing spiritually today. Every man has the deep desire to live a life of significance. Men desire to be a part of something greater than themselves. The church isn't helping men, they are actually killing them by a slow death. How is the church killing men you ask? Because men are not willing to surrender to God because they don't know what he (God) is doing in the world, and they have no idea what part they are to play in it.
Jesus had a 'vision' his 'vision' was the Kingdom of God. It was a huge. It required total and unconditional sacrifice. It required men to do things that were not normal or 'comfortable'. He told his followers that it would cost them. When Jesus said it would cost them he wasn't talking about money he was talking about a man's future, his passions, his wants and desires. Jesus said we are going on a mission, a mission that requires total sacrifice. He imparted his vision into twelve men. Those twelve men changed the world. Those twelve men whom Jesus devoted his every waking moment too helped changed the world. Those men lived to fulfill a 'vision'.
The church today needs to call men to service. A service that imparts into them what Jesus imparted into his disciples. We need to tell men, "Jesus needs you, he not only needs you he wants to lead you to do things bigger than what you could ever dream or envision for yourself." The church needs to build within a man an understanding that God needs him. God not only needs him but wants him to fulfill a purpose that is grander than anything he can imagine.
The church needs to awaken men. Men don't need a kick in the head, church leaders do! Men might be mighty warriors at work but at church they sit in the back and think about how their fantasy football team will do today. The church needs to understand these men that sit in the chairs or pews and daze off and seem passive are the same men that at work will work endlessly to complete a project at all costs. Men are mighty warriors like Gideon.
When God called Gideon "A Mighty Warrior" he was anything but! Gideon was scared, timid, back offish, and aloof. God gave him a 'vision' to defeat cities and armies. Gideon could never dream of doing this before God intervened. Once God got a hold of him he caught the 'vision' God had for him and he was able to complete the work God had for him to do. He lead men into battle where their lives were at stake. Gideon became a leader, he took the 'bull by the horns' and completed the good works set out for him to do. Why did Gideon do this? Gideon did it because God gave him a 'vision' for his life that was much bigger than he could ever imagine. God proved to him that he was needed, God showed him he was valuable, God demonstrated that Gideon was powerful when others thought nothing of him. What is the church doing to raise up our Gideons today? It should be more about the Gideons and less about the people on the stage. More than anything it should be about the redemptive power of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Men will, "become what they believe", when the church by the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT is able to impart to them the right 'vision'!
Brandon
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