I've lost count of the number of times in the past year that someone has asked me how old I am. That question doesn't bother me, because I'm not concerned about the outside of my body. I don't care how white my hair gets or how loose my skin gets. I do what I can for my body; I jog three miles a day. But I look a lot older on the outside than I do on the inside.

How Old Are You?
Still, after hundreds of people asked how old I was, and I ignored them, the Lord spoke up. "Jesse," He said, "have you ever thought that maybe I'm trying to tell you something?"

"No, Lord. To be honest, it never occurred to me that you were trying to get my attention."

"Look at Genesis, chapter 47."

I turned to Genesis 47, beginning in the first verse:
"And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage."

When Joseph brought his father, Jacob, to Pharaoh, it wasn't just a casual meeting of two men. The prince of God and the prince of the world met together. Notice that Jacob blessed Pharaoh and empowered him to prosper. Only a prince of God can do that.

Then, in verse eight, Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was! Does that sound familiar?

Jacob gave an answer without God in it. Remember, Jacob was 130 years old. His daddy, Isaac, lived 180 years. His grandfather, Abraham, lived 175 years. But Jacob looked older at 130 than his grandpa did at 175. Why? His lifestyle. Even though he was the prince of God, he never truly became what God wanted him to be until he came face to face with his own fear and his own sin - ripping off his brother, Esau. The word, Jacob, in another translation means "rascal." He was a dealer.

Let's look again at how he answered Pharaoh about his age. "And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage" (Gen. 47:9). He called his days few and evil. That is an answer without God.

Length Without Depth Is One Dimensional
The Lord took these passages and began teaching me some things about life. Everything He taught me stemmed from the question, "How old are you?" Another way to phrase that question would be, "How long have you lived?"

If that's all you want to know about someone, that's very one-dimensional. You're only interested in the length of their days. The Lord taught me that there are four dimensions to life: length, breadth, depth and height.

Jesus lived 33 years and changed heaven and earth forever. And He's still changing it. That got me to thinking about my life and my ministry. What do I want people to write or say about me? That I lived long? Sure, but that's only one dimension.

Do I want to preach all my life and have people say, "He was funny?" That's one dimension of my ministry, but truthfully, I'm not funny. Follow me around on vacation, and you would see that for yourself. It takes an anointing from God to make me funny.

I've learned that length of life is not solely measured in years. The question is not, "How long have you lived?" It's more meaningful to know, "How much have you lived?" "How much have you heard?" "How much have you loved?" "How much have you inspired?" "How much have you felt?"

When people get around you, do they see your soul? Do they see who you really are?

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that he "... imparted unto you, not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls ..." (1 Thess. 2:8 KJV). I believe he was telling them, "I didn't come only to give you the Gospel, but I give you my own soul. I give you my mind, will and my emotions. I give you everything I have in me. Instead of being critical, could you just understand how much I've lived and loved? How much I've felt and aspired?"

Like Paul, I don't want to live a one-dimensional life. I want depth, breadth and height to my life.

Life Isn't Measured Just In Years
Life isn't solely measured in years. It should be measured by experiences. They add the depth, height and breadth that make the fabric of a life meaningful. A lot of people like to hear stories about my life. Sometimes they ask, "Jesse, are these stories true?" Well, they're not lies.

You know, Jesus never asked anyone to believe him, either. He never said, "Look, I'm really the Son of God. Please believe me! Come on!" No. He said, "... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).

Jesus lived 33 years. He had 30 years of preparation, and three years of implementation. The same will be true in your life. You'll always experience more time in preparation than you will in implementation.

Narrow Thinking Blocks Breadth
I do look older than most men my age, but most of them didn't sin like I sinned. I spent a lot of preparation time being the chief of sinners. That kind of life will age you. By the time I was 24 years old, I'd lived most people's lives at age 60 or 70. I've worked since I was 11 years old, and I lived in sin longer than I can remember. Thank God, the Lord has washed that sin away, but it did age me.

I want more character lines in my life than past sin. I want my life to have breadth. I want a wide life filled with flavor. You get breadth in your life as it is honed. Breadth of life means you never narrow it into one single interest.

Revelation Brings Revolution
You will never have breadth in your life with narrow thinking. God wants to see you get beyond your narrow self and your narrow vision of life. Let me assure you that any revelation in your life should bring a revolution. If it doesn't, it wasn't a revelation from God. A revolution takes over. It dictates and says, "This is what we're going to do. We're starting over." Your revelation must be a revolution to the people God has sent you to minister to. In a revolution, everything changes from the top to the bottom. How many revelations never cause revolutions?

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky during the reign of slavery. That one simple man stood up and said, "Slavery is not right. How can I get the North and South together without a war?" Of course, a war happened, and his life was cut short by an assassin.

Many Americans believe Abraham Lincoln was the greatest president who ever lived. He didn't have great length, but he had depth. When I stood at the Lincoln Memorial, I wanted to genuflect. Why? Because Lincoln understood life. He understood that man is not dictated by the color of skin, but by God, the Creator.

Depth Produces Purpose
It's best not to take life in a lump, but to study it in detail. I don't just study nature, I study people. I look for depth in them - an underlying purpose which produces a principle of faith. Depth produces a mission. It produces a purpose. Its final outcome is power.

That's how I know that Jesus had depth. He said, Not as I will, but as thou wilt (Matt. 26:39). Jesus had little length, but He had depth and breadth and height. Jesus took a cursing man named Peter and made him a leader. That's change. What made him walk on water? It was depth. Depth will cause you to redeem your past and illuminate your future. Why? Because you aren't one-dimensional. There are four dimensions to your life.

Breadth Of Life Won't Be Offended
When I preach at churches, I don't try to please people. My goal isn't to draw the biggest crowds. I don't try to pull people in until they're standing in the rafters. I preach for two reasons - First, to please God; Second, to please me.

If you don't like my sermon, tell me the truth. If you think I'm a Bozo, it won't hurt my feelings. You can tell me the truth. "Jesse, I think you're an idiot."

I'll be honest with you. You can't offend me. I didn't say that you couldn't hurt my feelings. I didn't say that I might not get as mad as a hornet. But I'll never let it develop to the point of offense, because the minute I did, I would be in major trouble. I would have just opened the door to Satan and invited him into my life.

Height Comes With Promotion
Don't rush through your life trying to run from the past. He who goes softly, goes safely. He who goes safely, goes far. That's height. Height is gained when you know that promotion comes from God and not from man. Become a veteran of the gospel. A veteran doesn't attain that title by mere years alone but by battles and campaigns in which he was found faithful.

If you live your life in length, breadth, depth and height, there will be a guaranteed outcome. Dawn will break. Hope will inspire. Peace will flow. And the sunshine of His presence will light your path. In other words, four-dimensional living is Jesus.

Why am I saved? Jesus.

I'm known all over the world as a Jesus-man. Where did that term come from? I hope it came from my life and my example of who He is. There's nothing finer and nothing greater than living with Jesus.

When I look through the great examples in the Bible, I guess you could say that I'm a spiritual Ruth. I'm a gleaner. I will glean all I can from the Jesus in you. If you like opera music, I'll listen and enjoy it. If your style is country, I'll enjoy it. If you want to rock, I'll enjoy it. All I'm doing is increasing my breadth and my height. I'll be adding depth. Having done all that, my length will be increased.

The closer I get to you, the younger I will look.

When you let Jesus live in you to the length, heighth, depth and breadth of His love, you'll be a four-dimensional person. Do you know what I'll see when I get close to you?

Jesus.