First, there is Bible time, and Bible history. Things happened in the Bible that were unique, and that we don’t expect to see happen in normal time and history, where we live, you know, today.

Things like God doing extraordinary acts of deliverance, help, and support, or extraordinary empowerments for witness or service. Like Moses leading the people out of Egypt, or Joshua leading them to subdue the land of promise, or David leading an entire nation to build a glorious temple for the Lord. That was then, many Christians seem to think; this is now.

But when we think this way we may be cutting ourselves off from one of the most powerful resources for visionary leadership, and that is the promise of the past.

David understood the power of the past to enlist people in the ongoing story of God’s covenant. We can learn from him how to make the most of our long and vast heritage as the people of God.

God’s work in the past

In Psalm 68 David is trying to rally the people of Israel to take up the challenge of building a glorious temple for the Lord. He knows that, unless the whole nation gets involved, he will not be able to fulfill the vision and plan God gave Him for honoring the Lord and blessing His people.

So in pointing the people forward to the work they needed to do, he first pointed them backwards in time to the work God had already accomplished through His people. The first part of Psalm 68 addresses God’s work in and through His people under the leadership of Moses and Joshua. God Who rides the clouds and rules the rains came to be with His people in the Wilderness, where He sustained them and made them and the land ready for their ultimate conquest (vv. 4-9).

David includes in this recounting a warning against those who fail to trust the Lord and follow His will when he writes, “He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;/But the rebellious dwell in a dry land” (v. 6). Those who rebelled against God’s plans for His people died in the Wilderness, while those who obeyed and served achieved prosperity and freedom.

Next, David briefly recalls the conquest of the land of promise, when all the kings of Canaan were scattered and the people occupied their lands together with the Lord (vv. 11-16). Look, David is saying, remember what God has done in the past. Nothing is impossible for Him. No vision is too grand, no project too daunting. He has revealed His will and called us to obey, and we have every reason to expect that He will accomplish what He has appointed for us.

The past as promise

David insisted there was a straight line from Moses to Joshua to him and his generation. The God Who worked for their forebears would work for them according to His revealed purposes and will. That’s as true today as it was in David’s day.

Visionary leaders understand that God has done remarkable, nearly incredible things in the past, and they reach back and recall those mighty works of God in order to encourage His people in the present. They recognize that the straight line of the covenant continues from Scripture through Church history right down to our day.

Throughout the period of Christian history what God has accomplished in, for, and through His people is nothing short of amazing. Millions have been converted to Christ. Revivals have broken out with powerful effects. Nations have been transformed. Empires have submitted to the rule of King Jesus. In every field of endeavor Christians have made innovations and contributions which continue to redound to the wellbeing of people everywhere. This record and archive presents a rich resource for moving the people of God to action in our day.

Our secular opponents would like for us to believe there is a difference between Bible times and our times. They want us to think, if we must think about God at all, that He has confined His working to the stories of the Bible, and He has no power or right to intervene or interfere in our present. We may believe in Him if we choose, but we must not suppose that He can be invoked for any mighty works in our times.

But visionary leaders like David know otherwise, and they will marshal as many as possible of the resources of our Christian past to inform, inspire, instruct, and engage the citizens of God’s Kingdom today.

Next steps

Does the Christian past feature in your discipleship? In the teaching and preaching of your church? Ask a pastor of church leader what you might expect to gain from a better understanding of Church history, and how you might begin to acquire that understanding.

Additional Resources

Download this week’s study, Visionary Leadership.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

Need vision for a revived church? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, Preparing Your Church for Revival, from our online store.

And men, download our free brief paper, “Men of the Church: A Solemn Warning,” by clicking here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.