SEEING YOURSELF THROUGH HEAVENS EYES
When VICTOR SERIBRIAKOFF was 15 his teacher told him he would never finish school and that he should drop out and learn a trade. Victor took the advice and for the next 17 years he was an itinerant doing a variety of odd jobs. He had been told he was a ‘dunce’ and for 17 years he acted like one. When he was 32 an amazing transformation took place. An evaluation revealed that he was a genius with an IQ of 161. Guess what ? That’s right, he started acting like a genius. Since that time, he has written books, secured a number of patents and become a successful businessman. Perhaps the most significant event for the former drop out was his election as chairman of the International Mensa Society. The Mensa society has only one membership qualification - an IQ of 140.
What made the difference in Victors life? Did he all of a sudden get smart at the age of 32? No. What changed was the way he saw himself.
Have you been like Victor. Believing the words spoken to you by others or the lies of the devil. So many Christians do and as a result live beneath the privileges that God has designed for us.
If that is you, you need to make a ‘PARADIGM SHIFT’ …. A ‘WHAT’ you say !
A paradigm is effectively a mental filter that affects the way we understand things.
A filter ….. as in photography or lighting creates an ARTIFICIAL effect. An image or effect that is more or less than reality and therefore possesses the capacity for deception - a distorted image. It is said that ‘a camera never lies’ this is actually no longer true with computer technology.
THE FACTS AS GOD SEES THEM …….. Ephesians 2:1-10
We are a NEW people - Ephesians 2:4 ; 1 Peter 2:9,10 ; 2 Corinthians 5:16,17
We have a NEW position - Ephesians 2:6,7
We have a NEW potential - Ephesians 2:10
We need to begin to see ourselves through Heavens eyes !
But How ? How do we begin to see ourselves through Heavens eyes ?
Colossians 3:1-4 ……. Note firstly Paul’s introduction …. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ” - There is no ability to see ourselves through heavens eyes unless we are first saved!
1.Renew Your Perspective
“….set your hearts on things above…” - also - 2 Corinthians 4:4 ; Isaiah 40:31
If all that you live for is contained on earth your life will be held by the gravitational pull of those things.
V1 “…set your hearts…” - synonyms = affections, desires, goals, ambitions
v2 “…set your minds…” - synonyms = thinking, attitudes, understanding, perception
The law of gravity hold all of us on earth (except the occasional Astronaut !). Rising above the negative content of human life requires a spiritual transformation and a spiritual perspective.
Whatever dominates your life will dictate the way you think ….. “things above…..earthly things”
To begin to achieve an understanding of how God thinks of you will require setting your heart and mind on Him.
Jesus had a perfect understanding of how the Father viewed him because he shared a personal relationship with the Father.
2.Release Your Past
“….For you died…” - also - Galatians 2:20 ; 2 Corinthians 5:17
The most common reason for a wrong perspective of our spiritual selves comes from an inaccurate understanding of what truly happened when (indeed IF) we were ‘BORN AGAIN’
We died ! He made us alive ! We became a NEW person ! Christ now lives in us !
God dealt with your past but some still haven’t dealt with it themselves. Are you holding on to a dead and decaying life that God freed you from ? or perceptions of yourself that date back before you became God’s child ? ……. LET GO !
When the children of Israel were lead out of captivity in Egypt God’s command to Pharaoh was “Let my people go!” (don’t forget Pharaoh is a type of Satan). God’s will was that they be free - it would involve sacrifice.
Acts 7:36 & 39 “….they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt” ….this thought is remarkable after all that they were freed from they did not understand how much better of they were. They could not let go of the past and it haunted them.
LET GO !
3.Remember Your Purpose
“…you will also appear with him in glory ….”
Your life is ETERNAL and as such is destined for greater things - Ephesians 2:6,7 ; Ephesians 1:3,4.
God does not make mistakes or have second thoughts. You are who HE says you are even if at the moment you don’t realize it. After all you are not the first person to struggle to see yourself through heavens eyes ….
Moses - Gideon - Jeremiah - Mary - Mary Magdalene - Peter …….
But you do not have to be trapped by the deception and lie, transformation is possible !
“Do not conform any loner to the pattern of this world, but be transformed BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND” - Romans 12:2
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus …..” - Philippians 2:5
(‘Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus’ A.V)
Your whole outlook on life, your spiritual confidence , your ministry, your future can be transformed when you learn to see yourself through heavens eyes !!!
