Parched and exhausted, our hero staggers along in the desert. Suddenly, he spies an oasis—water and palm trees—not too far away. Discovering a final burst of strength, he drags himself towards the vision that represents freedom, only to find it is a mirage.

In a movie, two friends are wandering in the Australian outback, thirsty, disoriented and exhausted. Suddenly one of them spots a four-wheel drive. He gets in and finds to his amazement that a slurpee—frozen cold drink—is sitting in the console waiting for him.

His mate looking on cannot believe his eyes. His deluded friend is sitting on the desert sands miming the whole thing.

The audience laughs.

The Deception Of A Mirage

A real mirage is not like the hallucinations we see in cartoons or movies. It is an actual visual phenomenon.

A mirage can occur in extreme heat, such as is produced in the desert, or as we more commonly experience, on a scorching highway or tarmac.

Layers, or ripples of air of different densities rise up from the ground. Sunlight encounters these ripples and bends, or refracts, upwards. What we see looks like water, but is in fact a reflection of the sky. [1]

The danger of a mirage in a desert is its potential to lead someone in a different direction from where he or she should be going—further away from the source of real water.

The Power of Prophetic Vision

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:10

A true prophetic vision for our life is a picture of God’s plan for our lives. It is our guiding purpose.

We may receive a prophetic vision from God for our lives in many ways, whether through:
· The desires He places in our hearts (Ps 37:4)
· Scripture that has a significant meaning for us personally
· Recognising the gifts and abilities God has invested in us (1 Peter 4:10)
· Prophetic revelation—prophecies, dreams, visions (1 Tim 1:18)
· An inner sense of God’s call or purpose
· A cause that burns in our heart—a problem that we desire to be a part of the solution for
· The witness of Christian leaders and people that are close to us (1 Tim 4:14)

A prophetic vision for our lives can come suddenly, such as Paul’s call in Damascus (Acts 26:16-18) or it can emerge slowly as we walk by faith (Prov 3:5-6)

Counterfeit Prophetic Vision

A counterfeit prophetic vision appears real, but is a false and misleading picture of God’s purpose for our future.

The Bible warns us of false prophets and false prophecies. Most of us would like to believe that we have enough discernment not to be deceived by a false personal prophecy. [2]

However, like a mirage, counterfeit vision can be also created by a very subtle distortion of the true vision the Father has intended for our lives.

I have come to realise that I am indeed vulnerable to these subtle distortions, through personal weaknesses that the enemy knows only too well.

Like the mirage, a counterfeit vision can distract and lead us away from God’s true purpose, causing us to settle for less than God’s best.

For many of us, this is the true danger.

At worst, it can lead us into deception and away from God’s plan altogether.

Some Causes of Counterfeit Vision

A mirage is caused by light that is bent, or refracted. Likewise, ‘refractors’ that exist in or around our lives can distort God’s vision for our personal future.

Some of these refractors are:

1. Our Personal History

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17

God sees us according to our destiny. However, the enemy wants us to live out of our history.
Counterfeit vision can occur when deep down you believe that history will repeat itself—that the failures, rejections, or frustrations of your past will inevitably be a part of your future,

2. Fear

‘What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.’ Job 3:25

Fear can affect our vision as we continually foresee a negative outcome. Fear causes you to hold back. The danger of fear is that what you see, you inevitably head towards.

This can include fear that words spoken over us by others or ourselves hold truth.

3. Low Self-Esteem

‘When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
…”But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”’ Judg 6:12,15

Low self-esteem can warp our vision of God’s intended purpose for our lives. We don’t see ourselves as God sees us—therefore, we don’t rise to fulfil our destiny and fall short of God’s best for our lives.

4. Unbelief

‘Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD. So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the desert.’ Ps 106:24-26

The call of God is always going to be bigger than what we can comfortably achieve on our own. Unbelief will cause you to waver between the true vision of God and what you deem ‘reasonable’ or ‘achievable.’

5. Pride

‘Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.’ Prov 16:18

Pride can distort our God-given vision, causing us to move too quickly and presumptuously.

6. Enticement

‘Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.’ 2 Tim 4:10

Worldly enticement is like a mirage that leads us away from the call of God.

We are presented with a tempting, alternative picture of how we can use our gifts and talents to gain recognition or success in an arena that is not God’s intended purpose for our lives.

Escaping Counterfeit Prophetic Vision

Recently I have recognised at least two of the factors I have mentioned above affecting my vision. If you can identify with any of these, the following action points may help: [3]

1. Refresh your desire for pure vision, to see as God sees.
2. Recognise the things that are distorting your vision.
3. Repent of seeing less than God’s best for your life
4. Renounce the counterfeit vision—acknowledge and verbally dismiss it
5. Reveal any issues that have been hidden; find a safe person to share with
6. Restore—do whatever you need to do to get healed up in areas that I’ve mentioned above
7. Refocus on God’s vision for your life.

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Notes:

[1] For more information on the fascinating science of mirages, see the following:

http://www.light-science.com/desertmirage.html

[2] Related posts that you may find helpful are:

How Can You Tell A Personal Prophecy Or Dream Interpretation Is From God?

How Do You Weigh Up What The Prophets Are Saying?

[3] Related posts that you may find helpful are:

The Gift Of Prophetic Vision: See What Heaven Sees

How Your Perspective Can Impact Your Destiny

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Do you have any experiences to share or questions and ideas related to this topic? I would love to hear from you—leave a comment in the box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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© Helen Calder 2011 Enliven Blog http://propheticpeople.com/

Now on team with David McCracken Ministries

The Least Likely List

Do you have someone in your world right now whose heart seems hardened towards God?

Someone, who—if you were to make a list of those who would be least likely to become a Christian—would be first on that list?

Who else is on your list?

The imaginary list we have just made represents the PERCEPTION that we have about people close to us who do not yet know Jesus as their Saviour.

I believe that our Heavenly Father wants us to review our perception, shake it up and exchange it if need be—until we see people around our lives the way HE sees them.

The question is: will we?

Why the way we see People Around us is Important

The way we view people in our lives who don’t know God is vital:

• If we believe someone is hardened towards God and unlikely to become a Christian, that belief will affect our thoughts, prayers and actions towards that person.
• If we believe God is at work in a person’s life, we will be expectant and pray, speak and act accordingly.

Most often, we look at the evidence of our 6 senses—what we have seen and heard, as well as our history with people—and make a judgement about the state of their heart towards God and their potential for salvation.

But the Bible reveals a different viewpoint: the Father’s perspective.

The Father’s ‘Most Wanted List’

If Jesus’ disciples had a ‘Least Likely List’ of those God would welcome into His Kingdom, the Romans—despised, brutal invaders—would have been at the top of the list, followed closely by Gentiles and Samaritans.

But Jesus continually surprised them.

Time and time again, Jesus showed His disciples that those on their ‘Least Likely List’ were actually on the Father’s ‘Most Wanted List,’ along with everyone else.

A Roman commander came to him asking for healing for his daughter. Jesus healed his daughter with a word and praised him saying, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” (Matt 8:10)

A Gentile woman came asking for deliverance for her daughter and the disciples wanted to send her away. Jesus tested her faith and then exclaimed, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” (Matt 15:28)

As Jesus ministered, He sought out the unloved, the unwanted, the despised. Tax collectors, prostitutes, criminals—all were welcome in God’s Kingdom.

One time, Jesus went out of His way to speak with a Samaritan woman with a bad reputation. An entire Samaritan city came to faith in Him after hearing the story of how she encountered Jesus.

Realising Jesus had been speaking with a Samaritan woman, the disciples were mystified. Jesus said to them, ‘Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.’ (John 4:35)

I believe Jesus is speaking the same to us today:

‘Open your eyes and look at people—see them the way I see them. They are ready to come to Me.’

Heaven’s Perspective

Here are 4 insights that I believe are vital to having God’s perspective about people in our world who don’t know Him yet.

1. God is Already at Work In their Lives

Paul said in Acts 17: 26-27

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

If there are people in your world, to whom you are connected in some way and who does not yet know Jesus, be assured that God is already at work in their lives.

The fact that God has arranged for them to be connected to you is just one evidence that He is already at work in their lives, positioning them to seek Him.

2. They are Created for Relationship with God

‘He [God] has set eternity in the hearts of men,’ states the writer of Ecclesiastes.

Peel away the layers and within every person is a need for God—a place of hunger that will only be fulfilled by a relationship with the Father through Jesus.

Created by God and for God, each person’s need for Him is written into his or her DNA.

In spite of what may be presenting, that inner need, the voice of the spirit within them, is continually letting them know of their need for God—even if they are currently trying to fill that need with other things.

3. Nothing They have Done Affects God’s Response to Them

As Jesus demonstrated, the worst of sinners are candidates for the grace of God.

Choices they have made seem to have led them further away from Him. The degree of possibility of their salvation—at least in our eyes—seems to be reduced.

Sometimes we have a personal history with people that gives us reason to believe they are unlikely to respond to God. We may even have been hurt by them.

But none of these things affects God’s heart towards them or His ability to reach and transform them.  They are on His ‘Most Wanted List.’

4. Their Degree of Hardness of Heart does not Impact God’s Ability to Reach Them.

The Holy Spirit can break through the hardest of hearts. That is why you are His today. And what He has done for you, He can do for others.

It can happen in an instant. A criminal came to faith in Jesus in his dying moments on a cross. All it took was a one-sentence declaration of faith. (Luke 23:40-43)

Don’t be deterred by a person’s seeming attitude towards God. They might be a heartbeat away from faith.

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So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.
(2 Cor 5:16)

We tend to see people through the lens of our culture, our priorities, our opinions, and our personal history with them. It’s time to take off these glasses and see people the way that Jesus does.

When we do, faith will rise up in us. We will pray, speak and act accordingly, giving the Holy Spirit freedom to move through us. And miracles of salvation will result.

‘Open your eyes and look at people—see them the way I see them. They are ready to come to Me.’

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Prayer

Who was on the top of your ‘least likely list? Let’s pray for him or her now:

Father, right now I bring _____ before Your throne.

Thank You that you are already at work in ____’s life, drawing him/her to You by Your Spirit.

Thank You that ____ is on Your ‘Most Wanted List’; that you sent Jesus to die for ____ that he/she would not perish, but have eternal life with You.

Send Your Spirit to reveal Jesus to him/her, to assure _________ of the truth of the message of salvation.

Lord, I ask that You would send Your angels to continue setting up Divine appointments. Connect _____ with your people who will speak words of life to him/her. Speak to _____ through circumstances and at every opportunity, day and night.

Help me in my relationship with _____ to take opportunities to share Your love, to speak Your word and to have timely insights to share. Anoint me by with Your Spirit to be Your representative to _______ . I choose to stir up my faith with regard to ________’s salvation.

In Jesus’ Name

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If you you have any responses or experiences to share on this topic, I would love to hear from you.  Leave a comment below. If the comments section is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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Related Posts:

Divine Positioning: How To Be In The Right Place At The Right Time

Key To Prophetic Evangelism: What Is The Father Doing?

The Greatest Evangelist In The World Today

E-book: Pray For The Lost: Impact The Eternal Destiny Of Those You Love Through Prayer

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© Helen Calder 2010   Enliven Publishing http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/

Now on team with David McCracken Ministries

The Orphan Mindset

In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:5

A story is frequently told of a baby eagle that fell out of its nest and became separated from its family.

A mother chicken took pity on the apparently orphaned eagle and raised the baby as her own.

As it grew, the young eagle pecked and shuffled along the ground along with its chicken siblings, having never learned that life could be any different.

One day it looked up at an eagle soaring high in the sky and marvelled…

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As sons and daughters of a living God we should bear the family likeness and carry out the family business.

But we will never fulfil our potential or live a supernatural Christian life while we are living with an orphan mindset.

Until we do, we will live like the eagle in the story, believing that we are subject to limitations that do not exist.

We need to fully comprehend the Family that we belong to.

Recently I wrote a post entitled, ‘No Longer An Orphan: How I Discovered The Father’s Love.’

I have come to realise that it is possible to experience significant healing in this area, and yet still be restricted by orphan (Fatherless) thinking.

I can pay mental assent to the truth of my acceptance as a child of my Heavenly Father, and yet my feelings and responses sometimes reveal a deep-set belief that God has left me to live life alone and apart from Him.

Like other ‘strongholds’ in our minds [1], this way of thinking needs to be recognised and expelled from our lives and replaced with the truth of God’s Word.

So how do we recognise and deal with an orphan mindset?

In previous posts I have discussed the orphan spirit as it relates to our relationship with God as Father.Here are two further areas that I have been challenged over recently:

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Signs of an Orphan Mindset

1. We have an orphan mindset when contemplating what God has called us to do continually makes us feel inadequate or afraid.

Jesus said,

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth… I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:16,18)

An important aspect of ‘comprehending the Family that we belong to’ is being aware of the relationship of the Holy Spirit to us.

The reality is that we will never be or do what Father has called us to, without the Presence and enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

So why do we often feel alone?

Here are two questions to consider:

• How would my life be different if I brought the reality of the Holy Spirit’s presence into the picture of my life?
• How could I live if I took into account, not my own inability, but His ability, for every moment, every challenge, both present and future?

2. We have an orphan mindset when we believe that it is impossible to follow in Jesus’ steps.

Like the young eagle gazing at the eagle soaring in the sky, I look at the life of Jesus presented in the Gospels and wonder.

Can I really aspire to be like Him?

I know I am called to be a disciple—follower—of Jesus, my life a reflection of His.

Somehow, it is much easier to relate to the unlikely heroes of Scripture—those flawed and sinful people that God used to change history—than to Jesus.

And yet, Jesus’ life is the picture of what my life can look like.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:29:

‘For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.’

Or as Eugene H. Peterson puts it in ‘The Message,’
“We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in [Jesus]”(Rom 8:29)

As children of God, we are created in His image and share His family likeness—His DNA. The same Holy Spirit that anointed Jesus also lives in us.

We are called to be Jesus disciples—but orphan thinking will cause us to be His followers in name only.

To be a disciple of Jesus requires us to actually live with and to learn from Him in the same way that His disciples did in the Gospels.

This comes not only from Bible study, but also by living life with Him as a present and continual experience.

An orphan mindset and belief system will act as a veil that will keep us from encountering Jesus and having a face-to-face relationship with him.

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Prayer to be Released from the Orphan Mindset

Perhaps you can identify with some of the struggles I have shared above. You might like to join me in this prayer:

Father, I am sorry for the times that I do not recognise and embrace the truth of my relationship to You—that I am your fully loved and fully accepted child.

I repent of the times I feel and act as though I am an orphan alone, when Jesus has paid the highest price of His life that I might be a member of your family.

I renounce [refuse to have any longer] the orphan mindset, with all of its lies, rejection and unbelief, especially… [include anything specific God has shown you]

I ask that by Your Spirit you will continue to expose and deal with any residue of orphan thinking in my life.

Thank You for the gift of new life and for receiving me into Your Family. I choose to believe the truth of who I am in relationship to You and who You are in relationship to me… [include any relevant scripture references here]

In Jesus’ Name.

[1] A stronghold is a belief system that is contrary to what the Bible teaches. For more information see 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

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Related posts:

No Longer An Orphan: How I Discovered The Father’s Love

4 Symptoms of the Orphan Spirit in Church Life

How Your Perspective Can Impact Your Destiny

1 Father, 2 Sons, 3 Positions: Which Describes You?

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© Helen Calder   2010  Enliven Publishing

Now on team with David McCracken Ministries

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Do you have any thoughts or experiences to share on the topic of an orphan mindset? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the box below. If the comments area is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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Recently, I calculated that there are 168 hours in a week.

Then I wondered—how many of those hours does the average Christian spend in church activities?

• Maybe 2- 3 for a weekend service
• Another 3 for a small group activity

If you and I are extra busy, we may spend 8 hours of our week in church meetings.

That leaves 160 hours of our lives in every week.

160 hours of sleep time and wake time… between 50 and 60 hours of sleep and at least 100 waking hours.

SHOULDN’T ALL OF THAT TIME BE GOD’S? And, ‘What would it look like if we lived our daily life with Jesus?’

This is a question I ask regularly, and one that I grapple with in my book, ‘How To Be A Supernatural Christian In Your Everyday World.’

Compartmentalised Christianity

I learned early on in my life that Christianity was best kept in compartments, or boxes. Before long, I had my ‘Church-On-Sunday’ compartment, my ‘Christian Friends’ compartment, my ‘School Christian Fellowship’ compartment, my private ‘Devotional Life’ compartment—and so on.

Compartments are safe. They offend few and are acceptable to the world in general.

But compartmentalised Christianity is powerless. It doesn’t transform lives, challenge ungodly mindsets or reach desperate and lonely people with the good news about Jesus.

It’s time to explode the box.

The Undivided Christian Life

Something happened to me when I was around 13 years old that changed my perspective on life and faith.

I met a couple called Bob and Joan Leach. Bob and Joan were grandparents of a school friend. They had encountered the miraculous healing power of Jesus through the ministry of Kathryn Kuhlman and they were saved, on fire and spent their lives telling the story of what Jesus had done for them.

The most remarkable thing about Bob and Joan was that they lived an undivided Christian life.

They simply lived their daily life with Jesus.

Jesus was as present in their home as any one of us who was with them. If there was a need or a problem, it was a natural thing to pause in the moment and address Him in prayer.

Bob and Joan had remarkable spiritual gifts of healing and words of knowledge that they were as comfortable using in their home, street or supermarket as they were in church meetings.

Their example inspired me.

Jesus Lived An Undivided Life

Jesus lived the perfect example of an undivided life. He lived out of His relationship with the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, every moment of every day.

The Gospels tell us stories of His life and ministry set against the backdrop of homes, roadsides, celebrations and in public places. When people encountered Him, their lives were changed.

I have an old journal with yellowed pages in which I wrote a summary from A.W. Tozer’s wonderful book, ‘The Pursuit of God.’ [1] In it, he wrote:

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is our perfect example, and He knew no divided life…God accepted the offering of His total life, and made no distinction between act and act. “I do always the things that please him,” was His brief summary of His own life as it related to the Father.

How To Live An Undivided Christian Life

‘So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.’ (Rom 12:1, MSG)

It’s time to break down the divide between the sacred and the secular, between the church and the world, between our spiritual life and the ‘rest of our life.’

How can we do this? How do we explode the box and put a stop to compartmentalised Christian living?

I’m still on the journey, but here are some keys that I have discovered along the way:

1. Stop rating some aspects of your life as ‘more spiritual’ than others.

Tozer reminds us that the divide between sacred and secular, holy and unholy was instituted in the OLD TESTAMENT. Its purpose was to teach Israel of the holiness of God.

However Jesus demonstrated a different way of living, and when He died on the cross, the veil that separated humanity from the holy of holies was torn in two. [1]

The Apostle Paul said, do EVERYTHING, even eating and drinking … to the glory of GOD. (1 Cor 10:31)

2. Include God in your daily conversations.

The Hunk and I are probably like many married couples in that we find it hard to make a set time to sit down and pray together.

But we have started to develop an intentional lifestyle of including God in our everyday life. For example, if we are talking about something that is causing concern, we pause to pray about it—while we’re in the moment.

We want to break down the divide and let God loose in our everyday lives, and amazing things are happening as we do.

Maybe you don’t have a partner you can do this with, but you can do it yourself, or you might have a close friend you are journeying with who can encourage you in this.

3. Reflect on the truth that you are pleasing to the Father

Deal with the hook that keeps you trapped in compartmentalised living: the need to be accepted by people. You don’t have to perform to please people when your confidence is based in your heavenly Father’s complete acceptance.

Here are some more keys on living an undivided Christian life that I will be reflecting upon in the coming weeks as I continue discussions on ‘Paradigm Shifts That Will Rock Your World’:

4. Look for God at work in the lives of people around you every day—and partner with Him in what He is doing.

5. Take your spiritual gifts wherever you go—they are given to you, not just for ministry, but also for mission—to make a difference in your everyday world.

6. Realise that you don’t have to have a special gift to be a supernatural Christian.

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Do you have any more ideas or thoughts on this topic? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

 

[1] A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God.

For the chapter referenced in this discussion, see:

http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/tozer/5f00.0888/5f00.0888.10.htm

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Related Posts:

 

Give Yourself (And Your Gifts) Permission To Shine

Pentecost: How God Exploded My Box

How Your Perspective Can Impact Your Destiny

No Longer An Orphan: How I Discovered The Father’s Love

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© Helen Calder  2010   Enliven Publishing

 

Now on team with David McCracken Ministries

My Father Owns The Store

Many years ago I had a vision that has impacted my life more than any other prophetic experience I have received from the Lord.

It came during a prayer time, when I asked God to teach me about faith. As I uttered the prayer, a picture suddenly came to mind.

“I saw a small boy, standing on tiptoe, his face pressed against a shop-front window. It was a candy store and the entire window was filled with all kinds of cakes and goodies that any child would find desirable. Somehow I knew that in his back pocket he had one small coin and oh, how I felt the limitation of that one little coin!

Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Same boy, same amount of money in his pocket, but his Father owns the store.”

Suddenly, even though no detail of the picture had changed, I had a complete paradigm shift. It was no longer how much money he had in his pocket that would determine what the boy could receive, but how much his Father was willing to share with him.

All he needed to do was ask.”

You see, put a Father in the picture, and the perspective changes.

When we stand in the Presence of God as His sons and daughters, we see life differently. As a result, we will speak, think and act differently.

What is YOUR Promised Land?

Twelve Israelite leaders go in to spy out Canaan—their Promised Land—on a reconnaissance mission. They see the same things, experience the same things and hear the same things.

Upon their return, ten of the spies describe what they have seen like this: “The land is fruitful, but:

• The enemy are GIANTS,
• WE are as small as grasshoppers compared to them
• And we CAN’T attack them because they’re BIGGER and stronger than we are.”

However, two of the men—Joshua and Caleb—come back with a different report. They say:

• “The enemy has no protection and—GOD IS ON OUR SIDE and He is going in front of us.
• We will have the enemy for lunch!
• We CAN take possession of this land.”

Twelve men go to spy out the Promised Land. They see exactly the same things. They experience the same things. They hear exactly the same things. And yet they come to two different conclusions. Why is that?

They had a different perspective on what they saw.

‘…those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:14-15

Joshua and Caleb saw themselves as sons of a living God—a God who is faithful to fulfil His word—and it changed THE WAY they saw everything.

They viewed earth’s circumstances from heaven’s viewpoint and took God at His word.

The hearts of the other 10 leaders, however, still harboured a perspective from their years of slavery in Egypt. ‘We have to look out for ourselves—we do not trust God to protect us.’

What is Perspective?

Another expression for ‘perspective is ‘point of view.’ It is the way we see something.

The word ‘perspective’ comes from two Latin words, meaning ‘see’ and ‘through.’
When we talk about seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, we are talking about looking at life from their perspective, their viewpoint.

Our viewpoint will always come from our standpoint. Today I climbed a hill. From the top, I could see more, and further, than I could from the valley below.

We will always SEE from the position we STAND.

God wants us to see from heaven’s viewpoint—the perspective revealed in His Word.

If our standing is that of sons and daughters of a loving and powerful God, we will view life differently—we will have a Kingdom perspective.

Perspective Affects Attitude & Destiny

The perspective of the 10 spies affected the attitude of all Israel. It says the WHOLE NATION started to grumble. Perspective determines attitude.

We often hear about the importance of our attitude. As Zig Ziglar has said,‘Your attitude will determine your altitude!’

Our perspective—the way we VIEW LIFE—is what determines our attitude. Our attitude, in turn, affects the way that we think, believe, speak, pray and live our lives.

In other words, our perspective has a direct impact upon our destiny, as well as our daily life.

The nation of Israel chose to take the viewpoint of the 10 spies and as a result of their unbelief they spent 40 more years in the wilderness.

Paradigm Shifts that will Rock your World

Seeing from heaven’s viewpoint enabled the youth David to stand in front of Goliath with a sling and a stone; it enabled Paul and Silas to sing praises to God in a dungeon. And it enabled Caleb and Joshua to take cities and nations for God—the promised land of Canaan—in their old age.

Deep down, each of us know that we have a God-given purpose and destiny to fulfil while here on earth. Each of has our own ‘Promised Land.’

It is vital that we examine our perspective, to see whether we are seeing from heaven’s viewpoint. Are we standing in the Presence of God as His sons and daughters, as heirs of the Kingdom?

I believe that in this next season, the Holy Spirit is highlighting this area. We must have a Kingdom perspective if we are going to impact the earth for God’s Kingdom.

Over the next few weeks I am going to be examining some paradigm shifts that I believe the Holy Spirit is bringing to the attention of the church at this time.

• It is going to take a different kind of Christian living to reach this generation with the good news of Jesus.
• It is going to take courage to allow the Holy Spirit to test and shake our perspective, the traditional way that we have seen things.

I’m willing to go on the journey. Will you join me?

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Related Posts:

 

No Longer An Orphan: How I Discovered The Father’s Love

Breaking Free From An Orphan Mindset

The Gift of Prophetic Vision: See What Heaven Sees

Counterfeit Prophetic Vision: Don’t Settle For Less Than God’s Best

© Helen Calder 2010 Enliven Publishing

Now on team with David McCracken Ministries