In our text today, we are dealing with a young man by the name of Peter. I know you know Peter. Peter was the one who stood up after everyone was slain in his or her own language and preached a sermon and told them what had just happened. You know Peter, he was the one who when Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am? It was Peter who stood up and said, "You are the Son of the Living God." People you know Peter, Peter was the one at the third watch of the night when Jesus said come, the other disciples stood up and said, "It is a ghost!" It was Peter who stood up and said, "Lord, if it’s you, bid me to come on the water." So we find that Peter was a character who did great things. All we ever hear is what Peter did when he denied Jesus.
In our text today, we find that Peter saw a vision. It was an unusual vision. Peter saw a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where he was. Peter went on to say he looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. Peter said he heard a voice telling him to kill and eat.
Peter did not realize that this was the voice of God letting him to know that he was sending him on a mission was to save the lives of believers.
To clearly understand Peter’s basement mentality, I have come today to give you insight as to why it is imperative to have a rooptop vision.
In understanding vision, we must come to understand that Proverbs 29:18 lets us know, "Where there is no vision, the people shall perish..."
In studying, I came to understand that the Greek word for vision is dream. In dreaming, one come to understand that this dream can prosper or perish. The number one problem that I found in the church today is that we allow others to determine the altitude that God wants to take us. If we would only understand, God is the only one who determines our dreams, we can come fully to the place of understanding that no matter what comes or goes, God got my back.
It is sad that the church has become a place of poverty when God has called us to a place of plenty. It is sad and the beginning of worse to think that a preacher or anyone holding the title of a minister to want to talk about prosperity when they don’t have a vision and they’re broke.
Webster let’s me know that a vision is something that is above the imagination. When you have a vision, you must understand, you can’t tell your vision to everybody because everybody is not going to support your vision. That is why the Prophet Habakkuk lets me know in chapter two of Habakkuk that I am to: "Write the vision, make it plain on tablets for he that readeth the vision may run. For at an apppointed time the vision shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, it shall not tarry anymore." I am glad today, that I began letting the visions speak for themselves. That is why God has blessed me with my successes now because I began to let the visions speak for themselves.
I had to learn that everybody ain’t going to support what you want to do. There will be people who will become jealous because they see you are prospering and instead of asking how you did it, they will lie and try to steal from you.
In understanding our message for today, we must come to understand that a basement is the lowest part of the house. It is the place where we store unecessary items. A basement is the place where we visit the least because a basement is normally junky and full of trash that we don’t necessarily need. I have come to understand that many of us have begun to store many things that God has given us in the basement.
We have begun store our joy, peace, and enthusiasm in the basement. We as christians have begun to let the devil rob us of our joy, prosperity, and visions. We have begun to store all of these things in the basement. That’s why we must come to understand that Isaiah 54:17 should not only refer to us when we are going through. This verse should affect us spiritually. "No weapon formed against me shall not prosper" should be your ministry in times of good and in times of bad.
In this basement of our lives, we should understand that it will cause us to miss the blessings of God. We can’t make it as long as we have this mentality. In this mentality, you have many people who won’t support the pastor’s vision, who won’t suppport family issues, who won’t do anything but grumble, mumble, and complain. Why complain after all God has done for you? I got something to be thankful for and I am not just talking about God waking me up this morning, there are somethings God gave me and blessed me with that I didn’t deserve and I got that and life to be thankful for.
Today, let’s see what we can do to get rid of this basement mentality. First of all, you need to be a tither. If you don’t tithe, you have missed the blessings of God already. How can have a rooftop vision, when you are not being obedient to God and his word. I don’t care if you only make $20.00 a week, make sure you give God his $2.00. For many years we have missed the understanding of offering in Malachi 3:9. Your offering doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary. We need to understand that an offering can be your time. your love, or even your money.
The second step to receiving the blessings of God is to: be willing and obedient to God and his word-{Isaiah 1:19} Many people don’t understand this scripture, they want to be partial to God and honey, I want you to understand, partial obedience is disobedience. How can you partially serve God? Revelation 3:16 says, "For God despise a lukewarm christians, either you be hot or cold or I will spew you out of my mouth." You as christians need to understand, God is looking for somebody to stand in the midst of rain and sleet. Many of us want sunshine, an old says, "How can you experience sunshine if you never seen any rain?"
It is time for us to get to the place that God has called us to be. The last step, which is the third step, you as christians must understand, you must have a vision. The reason many of us are not where we want to be in life is because we don’t have a vision. Proverbs 29:18 lets me know, "Where there is no vision, the people shall perish." If you don’t have a vision, you will perish and you will never come the the place that God has called you to be.
In understanding a rooftop. We understand that it is the highest part of a house and it is the highest of anything. The reason the roof is placed upon the house last is because it is used to cover to top of the building or house. Without the roof, we would get rained on and we would be secure from the cold and anything else we’re dealing with that contains a roof.
So, one must understand, since we have a roof, it leads us to know that we are protected. To relate this to the christians sense, we must understand, our mind is at the top of our body. Our brains in other words aren’t at the bottom, but are at the top. Our brains are at the top for a reason and that reason is for us to know that our thinking must me high so that we can better rationalize and analyze life’s situations. In oder to have a rooftop vision, you must understand, you must have the mentality that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...-{Phillipians 4:13} To have a rooftop vision, you will understand that you can be whatever God has called you to be regardless of what others may say.
I have come to understand as a young man that everybody ain’t for me. Excuse me English, I understand English very well, but I know that everybody who laughs in my face ain’t for me. I know there are people right here in my congregation that don’t like me, but run up in my face everybody Sunday like they got everything right. Honey, I want you to know, you can’t go to heaven unless you love me. You don’t have to like me, but you better love me. The bible clearly let’s me know in I John 4:20;21 says: If anyone says, "I love God," yet he hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." Understand people of God, how can you love God and not me. YOU CAN’T DO IT! I don’t care what you say, YOU CAN’T DO IT!
Peter’s basement mentality led him to a rooptop vision and caused him to reach the ultimate blessings of God. NEVER SAY NEVER! In these last days, God is trying to take his people from a state of lack into a state of plenty and we can’t get there until we understand that his desire is for us to have more than enough. I am tired of christians talking about what they don’t have and I am certainly tired of christians who always talk negative. Let’s wake up and understand, God wants to bless us but our mentality has caused us to miss God and his blessings.
In closing, I need to tell you about how I discovered that God was wanting to take me to a place of prosperity. I began to study the word of God. For in studying the word of GOd, we must understand that Joshua led me to understand that he made his way prosperous and he had good successes because he meditated on the word of God both day and night-{Joshua 1:8} In order to be what God has called you to be, you must understand, you got to spend time in the word of God and you have to meditate on God’s word both day and night.
A rooftop vision will give you the understanding that God is better the honey on the honeycomb, he is better that a million dollars. God is sweeter than sweeter!
