Week 5 – The Power of Vision Devotional by Pastor Mark Cowart
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: - Ephesians 1:17 KJV
God’s Word is our only safe guide in life. We are surrounded by false religion, philosophies and self-help theories which all contain some truth, but only the Word of God is the truth. The Bible is the greatest gift that mankind could ever be given, and there is something in the human heart that cries out for this holy book.
We are blessed in America to have ready access to the Holy Bible, the best-selling publication of all time. From it, we can tap into “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” From there, the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth, if we will but follow. That guidance for your particular situation will never disagree with the written Word of God.
In summer 2008, I was led to begin an in-depth study of the true history of our nation’s founding. This set me on a quest for verifiable, historical facts that were left out of the accounts I had been given. For example, there is an inscription on The Liberty Bell, which dates from the Revolutionary War era and is housed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a timeless and glorious message that most Americans do not know the origin of. This is one piece of evidence of the influence of the holy scriptures in the founding of this country.
Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. - Leviticus 25:10
Right here, I think we need to look at the difference between freedom and liberty. As we have free will, we have freedom to do most anything we choose. Liberty, however, puts restrictions on that to protect us. For example, you can drive as fast as you choose on the highway. You are free to speed. Your liberty to do so will likely be curtailed by law enforcement at some point. You are not at liberty to endanger others by your reckless choice.
We sing about our “ …sweet land of liberty…” which actually implies law and order governing freedom. It does not mean unrestrained freedom. Most of us do not feel oppressed by the fact that we have speed limits and other laws to help make driving safer, for instance. This and most of our laws create a civil society.
God built a nation unique in all the history of the world in America, and the devil hates it. A testimony that brought this home to me was from a dear friend who was raised a radical Sunni Muslim. He said he was trained from 7 years of age to kill Americans and Jews as his duty and destiny. To take out America is seen as the crown jewel of radical Islam.
The Judeo-Christian tradition, which has been so targeted in modern times as oppressive and intolerant, represents the connection that God established between Israel and America. Pray that our leaders always honor and bless Israel. God is not finished with either nation yet. The only country that could be deemed greater than the U.S.would be Israel in the golden years under Solomon’s reign. God made even their enemies to be at peace with them. There was unprecedented prosperity.
America is a miracle nation. What is it that caused this nation to be so great?
It began with those Judeo-Christian values found in God’s Word which guided our founding and governance. Then, as detailed in The 5,000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen, America was propelled forward in development, bypassing centuries required by previous cultures in world history, to arrive at the level of strength, power, national security, creativity and prosperity we have attained.
How is this possible? In his book, Mr. Skousen outlines 28 principles that contributed to this meteoric rise. The first one is a recognition of and respect for “the laws of nature and nature’s God,” as stated in the Declaration of Independence.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. - Romans 1:20-21 NKJV
In the founding documents of America, we can see that our founders knew God, they DID glorify Him as God and they were thankful, so that they DID NOT become futile in their thoughts, so that their wise hearts were enlightened. Hence the inspiration and invention that propelled this nation to greatness.
The United States of America is a modern-day manifestation of the heavenly vision, because it has become the most powerful, the most wealthy, the strongest nation in the history of the world. Likewise, as you build your life on the Word of God, you can become a manifestation of God’s goodness and mercy. You can become a beneficiary of the power of vision.
You might wonder how God’s enemy, the devil, has tried to hide this manifestation of the heavenly vision. One prominent tool has been “deconstruction.” By this censorship of our history, the modern education system has hidden the truth of the faith of our founding fathers. They walked out their faith and practiced it publicly, as recorded in their writings. Much of what they were given by God’s spirit for us was prophetic, warning of the very dangers we face today as a nation.
During the Constitutional Convention, a necessity for the new nation to move forward after the Revolutionary War, deliberations appeared to be stalled. Benjamin Franklin proposed the following: “I therefore beg leave to move — that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business….” – Franklin’s Proposal for Prayer, June 28, 1787 (National Park Service)
The Constitution is the governing document of the United States of America, and it’s foundation is the Word and Spirit of God, which the founders searched and sought to enshrine these holy principles as the basis for our laws. Remember, laws facilitate liberty and must be just and right. God knows what He’s doing when He builds a nation from the ground up.
Jesus warned us about the importance of a sound foundation as He taught. Remember how the one built on sand could not stand up to the challenging conditions that developed, and so it fell. This was compared to the one built on the rock which withstood whatever came at it.
But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. - Matthew 7:26 NKJV
We, at Church for All Nations, have had some experience with a faulty foundation in our old building on the west side of Colorado Springs. Because it was not built to take the expansion of the soil in that area, the walls began to crack, and the structure was eventually condemned by the City inspectors! When constructing our present facility, we made sure to verify, in the process, that this costly mistake would not be repeated.
Of course, the Lord was talking about more important stuff than buildings in this parable. He is talking about our lives and our eternal destiny. People who create their own god and their own “way” to heaven are on shaky ground, in dangerous territory. But, the ones who build their beliefs upon the Word of God – take it as their final authority – have a solid foundation. So, not only will you withstand the storms of this life, you will make it into eternity and so shall you ever be with the Lord.
One of the reasons that America has come through the many challenges and difficulties of nearly 250 years as a nation is the strong foundation our founders built it upon. Even a long and bloody civil war did not destroy this country.
“I always consider the settlement of America with Reverence and Wonder—as the Opening of a grand scene and Design in Providence, for the Illumination of the Ignorant and the Emancipation of the slavish Part of Mankind all over the Earth.” – Diary of John Adams, February 1765
In The 5,000 Year Leap, #28 in the list of factors contributing to the unprecedented rise of the U.S. as a nation is this: Our founders operated with a sense of manifest destiny. What does that mean? God’s hand was upon them and their circumstances, and they knew it. They also knew this could not work without His continual presence and intervention. Think about it. Our little 13 colonies took on the great British Empire. When you look at that in the natural, it was utter foolishness. They shouldn’t have even thought about it.
The book referenced above states the U.S. has a manifest destiny to be an example and blessing to the entire human race. “A singular and most important feature of the settlers of America was their overpowering sense of mission, a conviction they were taking part in the unfolding of a manifest destiny of divine design which would shower its blessings on mankind.”
There is one founder quoted in The 5000-Year Leap as saying, “If we do not succeed in our destiny as what God raised this nation up for, it would be like betraying the entire human race.” That’s why God kept this nation, and that’s why we are still standing.So long as we remain “one nation under God,” we will stand, and no weapon formed against us will succeed. Our founders actually warned of corruption within, of moral decay being what could take this country down.
So, what has that got to do with you? Whatever hindrances in your family lineage, you can break that off by discovering the power of vision. The tools you need to discover the heavenly vision for your life are in my book, The Power of Vision. I remember, when I go back to when I first began to turn my attention toward God, I just wanted to be a blessing. I wanted to know that my life would make a difference. I knew there had to be more to life than just getting up, going to work, coming home, fixing supper, going to bed, doing the same next day, and taking a vacation now and then.
Don’t get me wrong. I was and am thankful to get to do all those things. I know I am blessed to be born in this prosperous country, blessed beyond all peoples of the earth. And, because we are so blessed, we have a greater responsibility to follow God’s leading to BE a blessing to others.
For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. - Luke 12:48 NKJV
God created you with a purpose. You are not here to simply occupy time and space. He wrote a book about you, and in that book is a grand design, the plan for your life. As you discover and fulfill that vision, it will reverberate throughout eternity.
Father, I ask, in the name of Jesus, that you would continue to equip and encourage me to discover specifically the purposes for which you created me. Lead me into the fullness of your divine plan, that your manifest destiny for my life will come to pass. Amen.
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