Week 4 – The Power of Vision Devotional by Pastor Mark Cowart
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,’ If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed’.…
- John 8:31 KJV
Are you His disciple indeed? Are you continuing in His Word? Are you walking in faith and obedience?
Sometimes things in life, when they are handed to us or too easily won, we don’t appreciate them enough. That’s really the story of America right now. We have so much blessing in this nation, but most of us didn’t have to fight for it. We honor those who have in the past and are doing so even today, serving the public in the military and law enforcement.
The majority of us, though, have paid nothing close to the price our founding fathers were willing to bear to see liberty wrought in this new country. At the close of the Declaration of Independence, they succinctly stated their position: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Similarly, a family inheritance can be hard-won by the parents. But, if solid principles are not instilled in future generations, the assets passed to them can be taken for granted and easily lost. Thus, their parents’ success becomes their failure. The worldly definition of success, primarily measured in finances and material goods, can bring destruction to people. We cannot let that guide us in setting goals within our God-given ministries.
Barna Research, the gold standard for data on church operations today, polled nearly 400,000 churches regarding their measures of success. Five categories emerged from the responses: attendance, budget, building square footage, number of staff and number of programs offered.
Those things can be good, but they do not measure effectiveness in making disciples. Barna also found that over a 20-year period there was a surge in mega-churches, those with over 2,000 attendance. At the same time, there was a decrease in professing Christians. What’s wrong with this picture? Apparently, we are getting people in church, but we are not making disciples. Conversions appear to be happening without follow-through. Faulty teachings are attracting people for the wrong reasons.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness….. - Matthew 6:33a NKJV
When shepherds are not doing this, the sheep will follow their lead. For example, pastors who are performing same- sex unions and calling them marriages before God or publicly blessing abortion as a public service, not standing for kingdom principles, are not sowing the true Word. We are reaping what has been sown.
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. - Proverbs 14:34 NKJV
Many church leaders have adopted the westernized version of success, because they have preached a faulty gospel. The success that results from the power of vision is kingdom disciples walking in truth, implementing the heavenly vision. And what is the heavenly vision? Here’s a clue.
Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ - Mark 12:29-30 NKJV
How are we going to do that? How do we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? How do we love our neighbors as ourselves?
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. - Romans 5:5 NIV
When you are born again, the very love of God is put into your heart. But, just because you have it in your heart doesn’t mean you are drawing from it. Like a neglected inheritance, we have been given an interest in the “unsearchable riches of Christ”. Yet we can function as paupers when it comes to the love deposit within us by His Spirit which is meant to overflow out of us. Hence, the need to “make disciples” , to model and teach how this all works.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…. - Hosea 4:6 NKJV
Not just the devil’s crowd, but His people, God’s people.There are Christians who are wealthy beyond measure who are living like spiritual paupers. That’s actually the theme of the book of Ephesians, one of the prison epistles mentioned earlier. While Paul was being tried and tested, being knocked around by the enemy, the Lord probably laughed at Satan. “You think you’re stopping the Kingdom?” No, because the whole book of Ephesians is revealing and unveiling the untold wealth that we have in Christ. Yet, the church at Ephesus was living in spiritual poverty.
You have the love of God in your heart from which to draw. The reason many people’s faith doesn’t work is because faith works by love. You’re going to need the love of God to love your neighbor, and you get that by loving the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. - John 14:15 NASB
Faith is obeying the Word. It’s obedience that crushes the enemy.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. - James 2:26 NKJV
Those “works” make up the heavenly vision you get to walk in through faith. Again, it begins with obedience to the Great Commandment, loving God first with all your heart. When you are doing that, you are convinced that He loves you and that your existence depends solely on Him. Also, you love yourself, because you know He loves and forgives you. And then you can truly love your neighbor!
As every drop of the life blood in your body passes through your heart, you want to submit everything in your life to God’s approval. As you commit your ways to the Lord faithfully, you will develop a taste for the good things of God.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! - Psalm 34:8 NKJV
The commandments that He has given us are for our protection. A lot of us think, at some point in our lives, that God is trying to keep us from having a good time, that His directives are burdensome, and following Him we will never have fun again. This is a lie the devil promotes in his war to keep people from their eternal destiny.
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
- Psalm 16:11 NKJV
No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. - Psalm 84:11b NKJV
To love the Lord with all your soul includes your mind, will and emotions. What does this mean for you and me?
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. - Colossians 3:2 KJV
We have to follow the Lord’s leading above our own reasoning, our own feelings, our own preferences. In many cases, this is what we might call “counter-intuitive,” but we have to remember His thoughts and ways are higher than (superior to) ours, and then follow anyway.
We have to follow the Lord’s leading above our own reasoning, our own feelings, our own preferences. In many cases, this is what we might call “counter-intuitive” , but we have to remember His thoughts and ways are higher than (superior to) ours, and then follow anyway.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
What did God tell Joshua when he was commissioned to lead Israel across the Jordan and take the rest of the promised land?
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8 NKJV
Stop being robbed by worries dominating your thinking. Take your thoughts off the negative through meditation in the Word. This releases life and power into your spirit man. Meditation on the Word of God is like digesting food. You
chew on it for a while, and then you absorb the benefits from it as it stays in your system. As we’ve studied earlier, that logos word becomes rhema, divine revelation to you, through devoting your thoughts to God’s Word to you, and thus your faith becomes stronger.
Father, thank you for your Word. In the name of Jesus, help me get to new levels in my meditation of your Word that feeds my faith and starves the doubts. Amen.
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