Get Vertical... one man's perspective.

When our men's leadership first came up with the theme for this years men's retreat, it sat there on the idea table for quite a while with everyone very excited about its potential but unable to pinpoint what it means. "Get Vertical" has great strength in its simplicity and deep meaning in its directive, but to practically describe its application and pass on the "gist" of the phrase, reduces the wisest of Christians to speechless (or at best stammering) responses. I would like to share with you all the thoughts that have gone through my mind about this theme... maybe it will help get your mind thinking on the amazing potential stored within these two words.

The phrase gets me very excited because it captures the proper action of a man of God. In our world today, we hear, "Get Busy" or "Get Going" which indicates that the power to "do" is in our hands. The world believes that if you want to achieve, you need to be "the master of your own destiny". We have all heard the famous Bible verse: God only helps those who help themselves. (1 Pharisees 4:20). But the world is wrong. Jesus says that we should set first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) and those things that we worry about will take care of themselves. Paul calls us to set our minds on the things above (Col 3:2) and not on the things of the earth. David refused to kill Saul even though it was in his power to do so because he knew that those things are in God's hands. Solomon built God's house before he built anything else that pertains to his life. But where am I? What do I do? Too often I find myself "Getting Busy" with the things of this world at the expense of my time with God. Our theme this year highlights the importance of setting our eyes to God... setting our hearts on God... and setting our hope on God. This hope in God alone, and not our strategy, wisdom, or strength is to "get vertical".
Another aspect of "Get Vertical" is our position before the Lord. We, as Christians, live a life with a target between our eyes. As children of God, we have a standing that no earthly king can rival, we have authority that no government can match, and we have the power of the God who spoke into existence the universe as we know it. The enemy knows our potential and does all he can to train us to live a life of fear. I know for myself that I am constantly bombarded with mental thoughts such as, "God is not pleased with you today." or "Why would God use you?" which train me to live a mediocre Christian life. But if I can grasp the fact that I am a co-heir with Christ of the heavenly kingdom and that my Father is the Final Say-So... then I can live in boldness with the power of God flowing through me to affect the world I live in for His kingdom. In this vein I see "Get Vertical" to mean that we are to get up from our prostrated life, stand up in the power of the spirit, and to boldly enter into the throne room of grace to commune with God.
In my last thought, "Get Vertical" signifies how change in our hearts and our lives is to come. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up in all His glory and at that moment, he realized that he was a vile sinner from a vile people. After this acknowledgment, the Lord sent out an angel to cleanse him from his sin. We, like Isaiah, must see the Lord for who He is and see ourselves for who we are before the Lord can uproot our flesh from our being. Getting vertical in this sense is waiting in eager anticipation with your eyes to the Lord and our hearts eagerly expectant on His showing up to cleanse our lives. I fully expect the Lord to show up in a powerful way at this retreat and to kick off the revival that the Lord is meaning to bring.

If you have not, please sign up at the tables for the retreat and join us for a powerful time of worship, fellowship, learning, and waiting on God!!!