I read the following story in an article some time ago. This amply illustrates how we can be influenced by perceptions. What we perceive in our minds influences our behaviour patterns and our general attitude in life.
One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" “It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perception a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! Life is too short and friends are too few.
This is how it is when we tend to look at things our own way! The safest thing is to see the perception of God in our lives. This can be done only if we get the Bible to “Work” in our lives. Revival in the church cannot be experienced if we go on as we are. There is so much that we have to be aware of in the “spirit world” Get God’s perspective of the Church and so much will be different.
Perhaps so many of us have come from either a non-Christian or a “traditional background”, and now belong to a group of “first generation”, “born again” believers, and do not fully comprehend what true revival is. We have only been exposed to a kind of pseudo-Christianity, which is very much mundane, shallow and powerless. We must get the correct perspective of true, radical Christian living! This is one reason why we emphasize prayer. We believe that this will give us the correct perspective to carry on in the ministry. We cannot afford to be where we are and expect the revival fires to “burn” in our hearts.
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the minister decided to visit him. It was a chilly day. That evening, the minister found the man at home all alone sitting by a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his minister's visit, the man welcomed him, and led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The minister made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, he took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent.
The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The minister glanced at his watch and chose this time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more, with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the minister reached the door to leave, his host said, with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday".
We expect you to be on fire for the Lord! The only way to keep it burning is to come together in fellowship and love. Let the Holy Spirit deal with all our selfishness, and ego. Let him cut us down to size and help us to merge with the vision that He has given us. You will see a difference when we begin to understand the concept of “corporate anointing” It is truly wonderful to experience the Lord in this manner.
Please take note of the lessons that we can learn from these stories. If we want to be "burning" we must be in the fire. Isolation will "kill" the fire from within. Remember perceptions are not independent of knowledge. There must be a reference point in our lives. To perceive spiritual matters we must be "quickened" or "made alive" in our spirits. This can be done ONLY by being obedient to the Word of God, the Bible.
One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" “It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perception a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! Life is too short and friends are too few.
This is how it is when we tend to look at things our own way! The safest thing is to see the perception of God in our lives. This can be done only if we get the Bible to “Work” in our lives. Revival in the church cannot be experienced if we go on as we are. There is so much that we have to be aware of in the “spirit world” Get God’s perspective of the Church and so much will be different.
Perhaps so many of us have come from either a non-Christian or a “traditional background”, and now belong to a group of “first generation”, “born again” believers, and do not fully comprehend what true revival is. We have only been exposed to a kind of pseudo-Christianity, which is very much mundane, shallow and powerless. We must get the correct perspective of true, radical Christian living! This is one reason why we emphasize prayer. We believe that this will give us the correct perspective to carry on in the ministry. We cannot afford to be where we are and expect the revival fires to “burn” in our hearts.
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the minister decided to visit him. It was a chilly day. That evening, the minister found the man at home all alone sitting by a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his minister's visit, the man welcomed him, and led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The minister made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, he took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent.
The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The minister glanced at his watch and chose this time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more, with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the minister reached the door to leave, his host said, with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday".
We expect you to be on fire for the Lord! The only way to keep it burning is to come together in fellowship and love. Let the Holy Spirit deal with all our selfishness, and ego. Let him cut us down to size and help us to merge with the vision that He has given us. You will see a difference when we begin to understand the concept of “corporate anointing” It is truly wonderful to experience the Lord in this manner.
Please take note of the lessons that we can learn from these stories. If we want to be "burning" we must be in the fire. Isolation will "kill" the fire from within. Remember perceptions are not independent of knowledge. There must be a reference point in our lives. To perceive spiritual matters we must be "quickened" or "made alive" in our spirits. This can be done ONLY by being obedient to the Word of God, the Bible.
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