Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
I have a girlfriend who is a pastor. She is very effective in her work... has built new churches, has pastored a congregation of thousands, has led presbytery committees that have made a significant difference in the world, etc. I started thinking about why she is so successful - and I have come to believe that it is because she has laser sharp focus on God's mission. She is focused on the mission of God and not any number of other things that could distract her. She doesn't worry about being liked (my big flaw) - or about pressures placed on her by others that have nothing to do with God's vision - or about the worrisome details of how impossible things are going to get accomplished. Instead she has a God given vision and she stays 100% focused on it. She has faith that God has both given her a vision and will give her the power to do his work - so she doesn't waste time worrying over it. In all the years I have known her, I have never seen her worried. When things don't go as planned, she doesn't see that as a problem, but as a opportunity to obtain the vision in a new way - a way previously unplanned. She stays focused on the goal no matter what. And equips her congregation to be focused on the goal.
This is purity in heart - focused on one goal - God's goal. What vision has God given you? How focused are you on that vision? What things distract you? Be pure of heart!
I got an important question from a friend after I posted this morning: "How do I know the vision I'm focused on is the one God has given me!? sometimes I get really focused on a goal but I'm not sure it came from God!"
ReplyDeleteMy response: LOL! This is what I preached on last Sunday and what I have been writing about lately in this book I am working on about the Book of James! James tells us to ask for wisdom and God will give it to us. So we really are supposed to know that we have God's vision. And then James goes on to say but if we doubt God has then given us wisdom, we are a mess. So you are dead on that we can't really be effective unless we are secure that we are following God's vision.
So I have been studying about how the early Christians got their vision (i.e. their wisdom, knew the will of God, etc). And here is the short version, which has become several chapters in the book I am working on...
It seems there are three main ways (although the Holy Spirit can work anyway it wants):
1) through prayer, fasting, and meditation (real effort put forth to talk/listen to God)
2) through studying the scripture and therefore knowing the character of God and getting a vision based on being the agents of God
3) by being in fellowship with each other and God speaking through the community coming around a person and praying for them. If you don't have friends that you are comfortable asking - then seriously put some effort into finding them.
Of course, all of this happens because the Holy Spirit lives within the person getting the vision.