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"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
(Proverbs 9:10)
This is my favorite verse in the Book of Proverbs. When we traveled to Israel for the first time in 2008, this is the verse I chose to have engraved on a ring in Jerusalem. God is the Source of all wisdom and understanding. The longer I walk with the Lord and serve Him in a leadership position, the more I see how much I need God. I can do absolutely nothing of eternal value without Him! John 15:5 states, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." Without God, there is no wisdom or understanding. With God, all things are possible! Jesus teaches us in Matthew 19:26, "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," is still in the Bible!
The thing that spoke the most to me while listening to Jim Cymbala was him saying multiple times, "Lord, I need You." God is attracted to meekness, weakness, and humility. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:2). Here you have Pastor Jim Cymbala, a man who is almost 80 years old, has served at Brooklyn Tabernacle for over 50 years, and he is readily admitting how much he needs God. There were many truths he shared with us at dinner, but his humility and dependence on the Lord were the most impressive to me.
I spent that Monday in New York in my hotel room praying and working. By the time dinner came, I was hungry in more ways than one. My stomach was empty, and my heart and soul were thirsty for a word from God. I sat at the table with Pastor Cymbala. He asked us where we were from in Texas, and when I told him we were from Austin, his eyes lit up, and he said verbatim, "That city is wacked up!" We all laughed, but he was just telling us what he thought. I think he has less of a filter the older he gets! Yes, my city where I live and serve has some very strange and bizarre things within it. But this is my city. I love Austin, TX, and I especially love sharing Jesus with the lost and shepherding the people in our church.
Pastor Jim shared for about an hour after dinner some words of advice and counsel, and we deeply appreciated his wisdom. He used no notes as he shared his heart with us pastors. Interestingly, 18 years ago, he quit using notes when he preaches. His approach reminds me of a book in the library at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, where I received my masters and doctorate degrees. The title of the book is, How to Preach Expository Sermons Without Notes. I never read that book!
I will close today's devotion with some quotes from Pastor Jim as jotted down by one of our pastors from Texas who took some very good notes. I hope these quotes both encourage and convict you, as they did me.
- 42% of pastors would quit tomorrow if they had a good secular job with benefits.
- You don't want to waste your life trying to get people together to sit and be entertained for an hour.
- The worst thing you can do is follow church growth trends and formulas. Methods don't work. God works.
- The great questions of prayer are answered only by praying. (E.M. Bounds)
- If you want to have prayer in your churches, you must be open and link it to the Holy Spirit. We try to make people pray because they ought to, but "ought to" has nothing to do with it.
Tomorrow I will share more helpful and convicting words from Pastor Jim.
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