The Divine Vantage Point

Proverbs 3:5-7

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; and in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. Do not be wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord and shun evil"
(N kings James)

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"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.In all your ways know,recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil."
(amplified)
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"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!"
(message)

What is this telling us? That God has the vantage point!



Vantage Point
- Noun –noun
a position or place that affords a wide or advantageous perspective; viewpoint
–noun
God doesn't just have infinite wisdom , HE IS infinite wisdom. He can see the entire picture. He has eternal perspective. His perspective is from heaven down to the earth! For example, a cross country person has to know the path of their race before they start the race. They need a map/ walk the course. You cannot see the entire course within view, however a map gives a snapshot of the entire course. Therefor the map would be the vantage point. Here is another example. If a person is high up in a tower overlooking a city they can see everything that is taking place. On the other hand, a car is grounded from a flat viewpoint and cannot see a car a distance away around the corner. However the person in the tower can because they have a vantage point. In fact movies are often made for you to have the vantage point. There may be a scene where there is a little child playing outside aimlessly, and the camera shows you a snake slithering near by. You know what's about to happen , because you have the vantage point (some people even yell at the screen). The child may be having fun and doesn't want to go inside, but you have the vantage point that danger is approaching (snake)... it's not that you don't want the child to have fun outside, BUT you don't want him to get hurt. I give all these examples to help you understand that here on this earth you CANNOT see the full picture, but God has the vantage point! He knows EXACTLY what you need and when you need it. He knows EXACTLY where you need to be and when, and he knows ALL dangers that are around the corner. Never deceive yourself into thinking you know and understand something, but always acknowledge the one with the vantage point (God). He has the full map. He knows which way to go! Don't be like a child that gets upset with his parents when they yell for the child to turn around and come home because they know he is heading towards snakes.

1. Fear the Lord (reverence Him in all that you do) It's the beginning of wisdom (first step)
2. Pray to God for answers concerning your life course
3. Read the Guidelines that the Lord has set for you (Bible)
4. Remember God's timing is perfect (He can see outside of time, so He knows the right time)
5. Never get upset when you don't see things happening in the time that you expect... remember God has the vantage point. Instead thank Him for ordering your steps, because if things would have happened in your time they would have fell apart (because it clearly was the wrong time.)
6. Always consult God/Word before making choices, instead of trusting your own judgment. Remember that you are a steward! Your life does not belong to you, but belongs to God. Ask yourself how am I stewarding my life so far?

Stewardship
–noun

1.

a person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.

Important principle to remember: God is outside of time... you are in time. He has the vantage point... He knows what you need and when you need it. Don't complain to God about what you feel you need right now when He can see the full picture... it's a losing battle. You only have tunnel vision UNLESS you start thinking from Christ perspective. Set your mind on higher things, by not leaning on your own understanding but in all your way acknowledging God. He has the map for your life.... run the course He has set before you!

The Joy of The Lord

As more testimony submissions come in for the book, there is a common thread in some of them that jumps out at me. That is the switch from a person living out of their own strength and determination, to being strengthened by the joy of the Lord! During this blog I want to focus on the HUGE difference between happiness and joy.

Let me first start off by giving you a easy way to decipher the two. Happiness is based on circumstances. Something good happened and it made you happy, but if the circumstances aren't right then happiness fades (and it fades quick)! Joy on the other hand has absolutely NOTHING to do with circumstances. It is given by the Lord and it is an attitude of heart... so whether a person has joy or not is not dependent on circumstances, the only thing it is dependent upon is if they abide in the Lord or not. The reason why joy is so empowering, is because you come to the end of yourself (your striving) when you begin to walk by the Spirit (you become one with the Lord... your body becomes His dwelling place).

People in the world do not have the benefit of the joy of the Lord. Instead they have moments of happiness and often seek things for continuous happiness (they're looking for joy). There moods can change from one moment to the next based on circumstances easily, because they have no stability, no joy to draw from. Sometimes Christians fall in this category too as a result of being ignorant concerning what God has already given. If a Christian is carnal minded then they reap the same things as people in the world. To the degree that you struggle with something, is probably a direct connect to the degree that you know the Word for that particular situation.(when I say know, I don't mean read it... I mean trust and believe to the point that it has taken root). The Bible teaches us not to live according to the principles of this world, but often times Christians have anxiety just like people of the world, they get stressed, they unravel because of daily circumstances, because they lack joy. It is not that there is a lack of joy... God has provided an overflowing source of joy. It's because they're ruled by their emotions (carnal) versus being ruled by the Spirit (Word). When a person trains their mind (through renewal) to be ruled by the Spirit then they reap the fruit of it and joy is most definitely an undeniable fruit of the Spirit. When a person is ruled by their flesh/emotions, then they reap the fruits of that... which is always going to be unstable.

The Lord keeps bringing to remembrance a dream that I had over a year ago. I'm not going to go into the full extent of the dream, but I will share some. In the dream I was sitting in church and 2 people were bickering back and forth over something that was irrelevant and I was kinda observing. I thought to myself, this is ridiculous! Then a seed came down from out of no where directly in front of my face and audibly I heard "This seed is the joy of the Lord" and I ate it. Immediately after I ate it I was in another scene and there were two different choices presented. One being the joy of the Lord and then the scene changed to being at a grocery store and the entire vitamin section was no longer the vitamin section, but it was anti-depressants. People were taking anti-depressants like they were vitamins. I was shocked... very shocked! It was as if it were normal... everyone else went about it like it was normal.This is just a snapshot of the dream that I am giving you, but I am thoroughly convinced that this is the direction things are going in.

I originally thought I was going to do a full study on joy in this blog... but now I want to admonish every believer that isn't experiencing the joy of the Lord, to first see are they living by the principles of the world (which is driven emotionally by circumstances). If a person that is lacking the joy of the Lord cannot admit this, then they are stuck, because they have fierce pride that they probably can't see. Second is to address the fact that they have been living carnally and begin renewing their mind to the Word. It is absolutely TRUE that you reap what you sow. If you sow to the Spirit you absolutely will reap the fruit of the Spirit. If your not reaping the fruit of the spirit then that means your sowing to the wrong place. The fruit of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. Notice it said FRUIT, not fruits with an s! It is a one package deal... you can't say oh I have the gentleness part but I'm still trying to get the patience. If you think that you're deceived. When you sow into the Spirit you reap the fruit of the spirit and they all come together. There is a difference between being "patient" with a little child and the supernatural empowerment of patience that comes from the Holy Spirit that causes you to be patient even when it comes to the most vicious people, or to have an overwhelming love for people that have rejected you, and a joy that can't be shaken by the most detrimental circumstances.

You have been given a seed, and the Lord wants you to eat the seed of joy so that it can take root in your life. It is YOUR CHOICE whether or not you eat the seed of joy. BUT I GUARANTEE you that the Lord has already provided you with an overflowing source of joy. Your own mind can be what is alienating you from it. I pray that the manifold wisdom of God will be opened to you, through renewing your mind!

The Heart and Mouth Can't Be Seperated!

Above all, guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

... Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit of it.

Words kill, words give life. They're either poison or fruit-you choose! (The Message Translation) Proverbs 18:21

I wanted to preface this with a few scriptures to ponder. So before you continue reading, just go back and read the scriptures slowly and really think about them (no really... go ahead and read over those scriptures again).

You see the heart(mind), mouth connect is a powerful thing. It is so powerful that you can't seperate the two of them... they are made to operate together. Our minds are wired for God, and when we are in alignment with Him and speak His word we see manifestation (that's called living faith). That's why when we become born again, the first thing we're suppose to do is renew our minds by filling it with the Word so that we can speak in faith. If our minds are not renewed we will not live a victorious life... Yes we will have salvation through the blood of Jesus but we will live defeated because our minds are still ignorant , causing it to be separated from God. As I mentioned before the connection between the heart and the mind is very powerful and if you don't know it, YOU BETTER BELIEVE the enemy knows it. The entire goal of the enemy is to target you heart (mind). Do you know why? Because the enemy has absolutely no power over you unless you open your mouth and speak in alignment with him. The enemy doesn't have power over you and can't force you to say anything, because you are covered by God. The only thing the enemy can do is try to manipulate you into speaking death over your own life. How does the enemy do this? By influencing your mind! If the enemy can influence your mind(heart) then your mouth will automatically speak in alignment with his will and it will manifest. It's a good thing when your mind is aligned with God and you speak and it manifest (because that's faith). However, when your mind has been influenced by the enemy and you speak, death will be manifested.

Have you ever met people that say "this always happens to me"... well guess what... it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It will always happen to them, because they are eating the fruit of their own lips. Or you meet people that say "they are about to have a mental breakdown" when things get tough... and guess what... they fall apart. Cause they spoke it out of there own mouth. Those are just a few examples, BUT there are many more... and unfortunately more intense, and extreme things that people speak over their life. However, once a person is speaking something it has already filtrated their mind. That is why it is sooooo important to know the Word and guard your heart. As soon as an influence tries to come (the enemy could use media, a person, ect) you have to recognize it and not receive it. If you don't reject it right then, it will infiltrate your mind.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations(arguments) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 10:4-9

Apply the scripture above when things come against your mind that don't line up with the Word.

You see we are all created in the image of God. God is triune (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit). We are triune (spirit, soul, body). God the Father holds the idea/originator (the creator), the Holy Spirit is the helper (the one who serves), Jesus is the manifestation (the living word). We are created in His image and our soul(mind) is the place of influence, spirit (regenerated by God if born again), and body. The Spirit is there to serve the soul, however if it is not aligned with God then you will not live out the liberties/promises in the Bible. That's why renewing your mind is so important, BUT when your mind is in alignment then you are able to see fruit in your life. You will be able to live out the promises in the Bible. So many times we think were waiting for God, but God is waiting for us to renew our mind, so that the Spirit of God can bring life to the promises that belong to believers! If you find an area in the Bible that you don't seem to be having victory in and you feel like you are striving (not seeing things come to pass)... DON'T get mad at God and think your abandoned and that the Comforter/Helper (Holy Spirit) is not helping you in your situation, but rather find how your mind is not renewed in that area and work on it. If your soul is out of alignment then the Spirit of God is not going to serve carnality. You can't manipulate the Holy Spirit, like you may manipulate people. The laws of God are already established!

I know I mentioned this in the previous post but I feel the need to reiterate the challenge to completely take complaining out of your vocabulary! Yes completely... as you first start out, you will be more conscious of the fact that you do complain. That is good... take note of when you slip up (keep a notebook) speak life over that situation and push forward. Continue doing this until complaining is no longer part of your vocabulary.

NEVER speak destructive things over your life. If you constantly feel like speaking death, then you already know you haven't been guarding your mind and you are being influenced to think a certain way. At that point you need to deal with the root of what has caused you to get where you are, instead of going to your "place" (that place could be a tantrum, could be depression, could be eating, could be wasting your day watching tv, on the phone, facebook, or whatever it is) face the problem and speak the word over it, renew your mind and push forward. The same way the negative things become self-fulfilling prophecies, those words of life will manifest!

If you really want to know where your mind is, go at least a month without media (that's tv, facebook, computer networks, ect... and don't talk on the phone all day to fill in that time). Decide that you are going to spend time renewing your mind in the Word. If you find yourself bored a lot in the beginning... you already know that your mind has already been heavily influenced, because you need stimulation and outside activities just to "have something to do"... that means your own level of creativity that God has given you is probably sleep and needs to be awakened. During this month spend time evaluating the areas in your life where you have aloud influences that didn't come from the Word to effect you (even down to the way you dress if necessary). Spend time in the Word and address any areas that are contradictory. Especially spend a lot of time in the book of Proverbs, John, Ephesians and James. Spend time in prayer and ask the Lord to teach you and give you revelation on guarding your heart and having a renewed mind. Journal everything that the Lord speaks to you. You will find that as you continue to do this that hearing from the Lord is more valuable than any show that you have ever watched and you will become bored with tv, ect. Hearing from the creator of Heaven and Earth never gets old. It will be something you will want to do longer than a month.

There is so much more that can be said, but this blog is getting really long. I will stop here! I do want to say thank you again for those of you that have sent in testimonies and some have done complimentary youtube videos with them. It has been a tremendous blessing!!!

LOVE YOU MUCH!!!