vision | The Spirit and the Word
The Place of Clarity
Many people ask how they can get direction and insight from God. The fact is that God always wants to speak to us; we just need to be in the position of hearing Him. As we continue in Mark’s Gospel, we’ll see how Jesus heard from the Father.
As I read the Gospels, I find that Jesus loved the mountains. He went there often to seek solitude and to pray. I don’t think that the disciples ever realized the importance of this part of the Lord’s ministry until after the resurrection.
There were many times where the best thing for Him to do was to dismiss the crowds and to send away His disciples in order to be alone with the Father. This was one of those times. He had just ministered to thousands of people. That can be very draining no matter who you are.
When the Lord took on flesh and blood, He chose to live as one of us. Because of this, Jesus was bound by the same physical limitations that we are. He learned that you can’t just keep giving out to others. You must also take something in that can recharge your own spiritual batteries.
It was in these mountains of prayer that Jesus was able to renew His Spirit. He would seek the Father’s face and by the Spirit, hear the plan for the road ahead. In that way, He could fulfill the work He was called to do without burning Himself out doing it.
How do I know that the Lord would hear from God in this way? Scripture makes it clear.
I think that we miss the importance of this verse sometimes. This was a direct communication between the Lord and the Father.
It had gotten dark. The disciples were a couple of miles away, in a storm, and it was night time. Yet the Bible clearly says that Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars. If it were daylight, He might have seen a tiny dot out on the lake.
This was obviously something shown to Him in the Spirit. That’s what happens in the place of solitude and prayer in the spirit.
What most people don’t understand about this is that being alone in the presence of God is the mountain of clarity in the spirit. As a matter of fact, if you read through Scripture, the defining characteristic of mountaintop experiences is clarity of vision.
Jesus had to climb to get there. It involved work. It’s the same for us. It’s not easy setting aside a regular time to seek the Father. But the rewards are a clear view of the Lord’s plan for our lives.
That needs to be a lesson for us. If Jesus needed this time with the Father, how much more should we be seeking the presence of the Lord in our daily lives? Take the time necessary today to renew and refresh yourself in the presence of the Lord. You’ll be glad you did.
Question: What’s the last thing God showed you when you spent time in His presence?
Posted by Revzacc on March 9, 2018 in Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk
Tags: alone with God, clarity, direction, hearing God's voice, insight, mountaintop experience, prayer, solitude, spiritual clarity, vision
When you think about the ministry of Jesus, what’s the picture you get in your mind? Do you think that He simply wandered around Israel with no objectives, preaching as He walked along? As we continue to study the Gospel of Mark, we’ll start to see the logistics involved in the Lord’s ministry.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.
Jesus’ work in Israel is starting to grow. Larger crowds are coming to hear Him speak. At the same time, the number of disciples is increasing. At this point, the Lord probably has about 20 people in His group all traveling with Him.
We sometimes get the idea that life was somehow easier in the ancient world. In actuality, they had some of the same challenges that we have in our modern society.
It’s always easier when one or two people are traveling together. Food and lodging aren’t too tough to find along the way.
But now Jesus is moving around with a group of twenty. Think about it. That’s not something that could just be done without any prior preparation.
After all, there were no restaurant chains along the highway. There were no big name hotels with 800 numbers to book in advance. They had no arenas that could schedule a huge event with advanced ticket sales.
Jesus needed some of His disciples to do the advance work in the cities He was heading to. They needed to let the towns know that the lord was on His way there. Then they had to report back as to where they would sleep, get food, and what would be the best place to preach when they arrive.
Later on in His ministry, as the team grew to over a hundred, Christ had 72 workers who did this job. (Luke 10:1) Jesus never had the attitude of, “We’ll just figure it out when we get there.” It’s sad that many churches and ministries have no vision other than to hold meetings, and then just see what happens.
The Lord never took that approach. He even instructed the disciples as to how they were to accomplish their objectives.
These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.”
Contrary to what some teach, this is not Jesus laying the groundwork for a poverty mentality among His ministers. This was the vetting process for the towns Jesus was about to pass through on His intended course of travel.
By taking nothing with them, they were testing whether or not a town was ready for the full ministry of the Messiah. If they were not willing to supply the needs of two lone travelers representing Christ, then they weren’t worthy of the tremendous blessing that would be given to their town when Jesus arrived.
That’s why it’s important to pray, seek God’s direction, and make plans for how your ministry will progress. It doesn’t just happen by accident. You have to put some legs on the dreams and visions God has placed in your heart.
Question: What’s the next step you have to do to prepare for what God has in your future?
Posted by Revzacc on February 26, 2018 in Leadership, Ministry, Prayer, Spiritual Walk
Tags: Christ, dreams, Jesus, ministry, objectives, preparation, seeking God, vision
Vision Brings the Puzzle Together
This is my last post in a series about having God’s vision for your life. There’s a verse that people often quote when talking about vision.
In one of my previous posts I made the point that vision gives you movement and direction. Because of this truth, there’s a result that many are not pleased with. The fact is that vision limits your options.
Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”
It’s the limitations of the vision that kept Nehemiah out of trouble. We need to learn this same lesson.
If I’m headed north, I shouldn’t be going south on the highway. This is what trips us up the most in our walk with God. Many Christians are spiritually paralyzed because of it.
We have a way of looking at all the parts of our life separately. We think that our job, our family, our schooling, etc. have no relation to each other. We see all the parts as individuals; but they’re not. Everything we do affects the whole.
Think of your life like a 200 piece puzzle with 300 pieces in the box. Some of the pieces look like they go together, while others look totally different. The picture on the box cover is God’s vision for you.
That’s why we need His understanding to put it all together. In order to take this mess and make the picture out of it you need to see the completed picture. Then it becomes obvious which pieces don’t belong.
How does knowing God’s plan bring me to the destination? Here’s an example. God’s vision for my life is that I become debt free. Will buying this new Smart TV on credit get me there?
That’s what I meant when I said that vision will limit your options. It’s like that for every area of your life. Knowing God’s vision for your life helps you make good decisions.
We should be a people who seek God. Then, as He speaks, we can walk in His plan for our lives. That’s how the world will see something different in us.
Question: How have God’s limits on your life turned out to be a blessing?
Tags: destiny, God's vision, God's vision for your life, limits, puzzle, spiritual vision, vision
Your Heart Determines Your Vision
I’m posting about walking in God’s vision for your life. Specifically, I’m looking at insights from Nehemiah. As Israel was returning from captivity, he heard a report that Jerusalem was badly in need of restoration.
As a response, Nehemiah spent time in the Lord’s presence seeking His plan. We saw in my previous posts that this is where spiritual vision is born.
The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
This is the question that needs to be answered. What is it that you want? Do you even know what you want – really?
So often we find ourselves asking God for things that we’re incapable of handling correctly. There are churches seeking God to save hundreds of people. The problem is, that if 30 people were saved, they’re not ready to handle discipling, teaching and counseling them all.
Nehemiah knew that he had to seek God to find out what it was that he really wanted. He had the favor of the king. That was the equivalent of a blank check from a billionaire. That was a big responsibility.
We need to realize that our vision is what we truly want. That’s why seeking the Lord for it is so important.
Many people quote this verse and apply it incorrectly. First of all, the word delight means to be pliable, soft, yielding to God. If your ministry to the Lord is delight-driven, then you’re open to following wherever He leads.
If that’s what’s on the inside of you, then God will give you heart desires. Please understand this. He will NOT give you what your heart desires. He will put desires into your heart that line up with His plan for you.
That’s what will propel you forward in your walk with Christ. As you spend time with Him, you will begin to delight in His ways. Then, over time, you will start to desire what He desires. You’ll be seeing the world through the Lord’s eyes.
That’s what it takes to walk in God’s vision for your life. It’s an impartation of His heart into yours.
Question: How have your desires changed by spending time with the Holy Spirit?
Posted by Revzacc on January 6, 2016 in Ministry, Prayer, Revival, Spiritual Walk
Tags: asking God, delight, delight yourself in the Lord, desires of your heart, God's plan, God's vision, heart, heart determines vision, spiritual vision, vision
Having Vision Means Change is Ahead
I’m posting about entering this New Year with vision. It comes from spending time in the Lord’s presence. Then, having heard from the Holy Spirit, you begin to see what could be – what should be – what must be.
Vision is the destination. It’s where God is bringing you. But it comes with responsibility.
As soon as you see your destination, this vision requires movement and direction.
We are probably all familiar with this verse of Scripture. Many times in the past I’ve posted about the need to write down what God speaks to you. This brings clarity of purpose.
When you have spiritual vision, you can move forward more quickly. Those two words I mentioned – movement and direction – speak of CHANGE. That’s what usually scares us.
In Ezekiel’s day there was a proverb among the people.
“Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by and every vision comes to nothing’?
Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.’ Say to them, ‘The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.’”
The problem is; if you don’t move forward with God’s plan, then nothing happens. God doesn’t do anything without a channel. By seeing where God wants to bring you, it should motivate you.
It should be our desire to move forward in the Lord’s grace. So we spend quality time hearing His voice to the church. Then, we set our course to accomplish what we’ve already seen. That’s how Jesus operated.
It should be our goal for 2016, to do whatever it takes to bring about God’s plan for our lives.
Question: What do you know that the Lord wants to do through you this year?
Tags: change, change ahead, direction, hearing from God, Holy Spirit, Lord's presence, movement, moving forward, new year, purpose, vision, where God is bringing you
God’s Reward for Faithfulness
In my last post I talked about leadership. Specifically how we as leaders should be faithful to the calling we’ve received. This assumes that I know both the what and the where of my calling.
In the same way, if I’m a member of a local church, and I know both what I’m called to do and that I’m where God called me to do it, then I can stand secure in my calling. I don’t run just because the work gets hard. I don’t get offended, even if nobody acknowledges me.
It doesn’t matter if someone looks at me cross-eyed. I’ll stay at the post God’s called me to. This is because I’m not serving men, but the God who calls and equips me for His service.
But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
This is a big “if.” We all like to think that we’re unconditionally free from accusation. We quote that there is now no condemnation in Christ. But these verses are all contingent upon us fulfilling our call according to the plan of God. It’s not about me fulfilling my plan because I got some people to buy into it.
On the other hand, if you’re truly called, people will begin to see that calling. They’ll stand with you and surround you. But it will not be a private vision. It will be a corporate vision for the people God has given you to as a gift.
It’s easy to say that you love the people the Lord has brought you to. The real question is; are you faithfully carrying out your call? Remember that it’s the hireling who runs away when the pressure is on.
It doesn’t matter how spiritual you make it sound. God’s solution is never for you to run away. The only true sign of unconditional love is faithfulness to the plan God has set out for you. Apart from that, all your claims of “loving the flock” are merely empty words.
God rewards faithfulness. If all you’re after is to become a big name, then God will not support you. If you’re out to prove you can start a great ministry with lots of followers – go right ahead, but heaven has no obligation to back you up.
Too many ministers take churches as “stepping stones” as they “climb the ladder” to a more prestigious pastorate. We don’t do things as the world does. The church is not just a spiritual model of corporate America.
God’s people are a supernatural kingdom under the direct authority of a sovereign Lord. It’s not up to us to choose where and for how long we will work. It’s the King of kings who decides our destiny and, to tell you the truth, I have more faith in His ability to promote me than in my own.
What I need to do in the tough situations is to stand my ground and let the Lord work His will through me. Faithfulness will bring God’s reward.
Question: How has God promoted you in the past?
Posted by Revzacc on October 12, 2015 in Leadership, Ministry, Spirit of Excellence, The Church
Tags: calling, Christ, church leadership, destiny, destiny in Christ, faithfulness, God's reward for faithfulness, Jesus, leadership, plan of God, vision
The Truth about Mountaintops – Clarity
In my last post I talked about how to climb to a spiritual mountaintop. You don’t just magically wake up there one day. You have to be intentional about doing the daily things that you know to do.
Today I want to expose another myth many people have about these spiritual peaks. They usually equate a mountaintop experience as an emotional high – a very happy time. As I said last time, you need to understand the physical to grasp the spiritual.
I’ve climbed many mountains, but I haven’t always been happy when I got to the top. I remember one time in particular when I fell and got a bad sprain on the trail. The only way back to the nearest road required me to continue up and over two mountains.
When I made it to the summit I was tired, hurting and very frustrated. In spite of this, what I found on the top was still the same as always. There’s something that happens that causes you to stop and take it in.
The defining characteristic of a mountaintop is this – clarity. Usually you get an unobstructed 360 degree view that goes on for miles. This is what being on the mountaintop is all about.
It’s the same for the spiritual. As we go through our daily routines, as boring and monotonous as they are sometimes, suddenly the view opens up. We hear from the Holy Spirit. We get a vision of where God is taking us to.
However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
The revelation talked about here is not for those who simply live for themselves with no thought to the spirit walk. God reveals His plan to those who through their daily walk with Christ climb this mountain of revelation. They’re the ones who see God’s plan for their lives.
There is one catch, however. When I stand on a mountaintop I can see the next few mountains that the trail will cross. What I can’t see is the trail itself. In spite of the great view, I don’t know the exact route I’ll take to get there. All I know is that if I stay on the trail, I’ll get to my destiny.
Another plus of mountaintop clarity is that you can see where you came from. There are times when we think that God is taking us the wrong way. But looking back from the peak I can see that there was a lake that I had to go around – that’s why it took so long. It’s always good to realize why God took you the way He did. It inspires faith for the future.
God’s will is for all believers to live at this level of spiritual insight. This clarity in the spirit is a wonderful thing. Once you’ve experienced it, you don’t want to lose it. So remember, mountaintops are not about being happy, but having a clear vision of where the Lord’s bringing you to.
Question: How clear is your vision of your destiny in Christ?
Posted by Revzacc on February 27, 2015 in Faith, Prayer, Revival
Tags: clarity, destiny, emotional, faith, happy, Holy Spirit, mountaintop, revelation, spiritual, spiritual insight, spiritual mountaintop, vision