This is Why You Absolutely Need to See Things This Way

Corrie ten Boom used the analogy that it would look like a mess if you viewed a loom from underneath, but it would look like a beautiful piece of art if you looked at it from above.

Consider that the Earth is God’s loom, and He views it from above. He understands the ‘loom process’ that He has set in place, and to Him, it is beautiful. But because we view our world from underneath, it too often looks and feels like a mess.

In this vein, the Bible; especially, the book of Revelation, helps us see our world from the same perspective as God sees it. And that changes everything! When you see life from the vantage point of Heaven, it looks different. And, suddenly, we are reminded that God is the author and the finisher, the alpha and the omega. He is the first and the last! And, NOTHING is a surprise to Him. Jesus has a plan to defeat spiritual darkness and win the battle for eternity. We just need to change our perspective and see things from a different vantage point.

The word throne is used 45 times throughout the book of Revelation. And, it makes clear that the ultimate throne belongs to Jesus, and everything proceeds from His throne. According to the whole counsel of Scripture, Satan has wanted this throne from the very beginning. When he was first an angel named Lucifer, he had instruments and stones placed within his body and led beautiful worship.

Ezekiel 28 -- alongside Leviticus’ details of High Priests’ breastplates -- leads us to interpret that Lucifer’s stones, when activated by God’s light, cast beautiful rainbows throughout heaven. But Lucifer was selfish and unhappy. He wanted the angels to worship him and not God. As a result, he organized a revolt with one-third of the other angels in Heaven to take God’s throne. They lost being cast down from Heaven by God. Landing like with the force of lightning strike on the other side of God’s wrath, Lucifer dusted off his ego and became the chief of all fallen angels, the devil, whom we now refer to as Satan.

From the creation of Mankind, the devil has been harassing humanity. (Just read Genesis 1-3!) Our enemy has been trying to steal, kill, and destroy everything we have. But God had a plan, and He sent Jesus to save us all through His blood, and on a hill called Calvary, He took back the keys to death, hell, and the grave! He reestablished His kingship on earth. The gates of Hell will not prevail because God created the church, and His Kingdom made manifest through that Church will win!

The enemy is trying to create a space on this earth that allows him to envision victory, but in reality, we serve a King that has already won! If you want peace, read the back of the book because it will change your perspective. You get the view from above!

You may have been looking at your life from underneath the loom -- the messy side -- but the Holy Spirit wants you to look at it from above. You can win the situation you are in, you can, and you will survive what is transpiring, things will get better, and you have a reason to keep fighting. Let the Holy Spirit refresh and restore you! Remember, all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Change your perspective to the vantage point of Heaven!

I invite you to view this message, “Upon Further Review”, in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/sE13MwguUI8

Here are a few things to evaluate in your life:

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving the anointing in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus and start seeing your life from a kingdom down mentality and a new vantage point, a fresh perspective? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Are you ready to take your next steps towards discipleship? Many non-Christians are as close to heaven as they will ever get, but through BEGIN, you can be equipped and empowered to change their lives! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Do you want to be a part of bringing Heaven down to Earth? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

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How To Know Something Is Worth Fighting For

Last week, in the message, Is It Time To Flee?, we discussed how the Bible gives precise instructions on when we are to FIGHT and when we are to FLEE.

But you, O man of God, FLEE these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. FIGHT the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called, and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. - 1 Timothy 6:11-12 (NKJV)

Sometimes there is a need to get involved in a fight on behalf of our faith, but we can not enter that battle haphazardly or casually -- we must move forward with intentionality. And a significant part of choosing to fight spiritual battles with intentionality is choosing to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10 NKJV)

No one can put on the armor of God for you; it’s something you must do yourself.

Memorize the armor elements and pray through their placement in your life daily, the helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, loins girded with Truth, the sword of the Spirit, and feet Shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. God has called and commissioned you to fight the GOOD FIGHT of faith, and you must be equipped for battle, “Fight the GOOD FIGHT of faith…” (1 Timothy 6:12 NKJV)

There are two kinds of spiritual fights that exist, one is the good fight, and one is the bad fight. Let’s examine examples of the differences between the two.

BAD FIGHT vs. GOOD FIGHT

PERSONAL RECOGNITION vs. GOD’S GLORY

PERSONAL OPINION vs. GOD’S TRUTH

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE vs. GOD’S PLAN

PERSONAL PREFERENCE vs. GOD’S PRESENCE

PROVE A POINT vs. BLESS OTHERS

TEAR DOWN vs. BUILD-UP

HURT OTHERS vs. HELPS OTHERS

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY vs. SOUND DOCTRINE

We best sum this up by saying that a GOOD FIGHT happens when we fight for others, not against them.

• Hell’s PLOT: We fight each other.

• God’s PLAN: We fight for each other.

It is not God’s plan for us to be fighting each other; we are to be fighting for each other! Why? Because we do not wrestle against FLESH and BLOOD, we wrestle against powers and principalities! Yes, you may be dealing with a personality, but that personality is hosting spiritual darkness. Never lose sight of that truth. It will help you to keep the fight from becoming personal.

When the enemy uses people to come against us, hard conversations become unavoidable. But, unfortunately, those conversations can often feel like a fight. So, how do you have the necessary discussions and maintain a good fight, not a bad fight?

When HARD CONVERSATIONS must take place, follow this strategy:

1. CONVERSE PRIVATELY FIRST

Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. - Matthew 18:15 (NKJV)

2. SPEAK TRUTH IN LOVE

...no longer be children… carried about with every wind of doctrine...but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in Christ-

-Ephesians 4:14-15 (NKJV)

3. FILL YOUR SPEECH WITH GRACE

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. -Colossians 4:6 (NKJV)

4. OFFER BLESSING, NOT CURSING

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…” If your enemy is...thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” -Romans 12:12, 20 (NKJV)

At the best you can do, there will still be moments when you recognize a SPIRITUAL fight is becoming increasingly PERSONAL. I borrow Paul’s recommendations for suggesting your next step, “Now I urge you, brethren, NOTE those who cause divisions and offenses...and AVOID them. (Romans 16:17 NKJV)

The takeaway of that verse is that sometimes, when dealing with challenging personalities, we have to take good notes (if you’ve ever been through a legal battle, you know what I’m talking about!), and on occasions, altogether avoid them.

Another way of saying it is that sometimes we have to understand that there will be personality conflicts with people. However, we can still love and bless them while simultaneously setting healthy boundaries, so that offense and bitterness do not take root within our hearts.

It’s essential to align our battle strategies with God’s instructions because the result will be something we can celebrate, “I want you to be wise in what is GOOD… And the God of peace will CRUSH Satan under your feet shortly.” (Romans 16:17-18 NKJV)

Give God praise! This approach is how you will win! It’s amazing what happens when you stop trying to fight your way -- the bad fight -- and fight God’s way -- the good fight!

“Fight the GOOD FIGHT of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called…” (1 Timothy 6:12). In this letter, Paul is telling Timothy to fight the GOOD FIGHT. Years later, Paul writes another letter stating, “I have fought the GOOD FIGHT, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV)

• I HAVE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT. I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH!

Don’t you want that proclamation to be your testimony?

Your kids are worth fighting for... your family is worth fighting for... your calling is worth fighting for… God’s church and God’s truth -- sound doctrine is worth fighting for... Don’t stop fighting! Fight the GOOD FIGHT, it won’t come cheap, and you may have to sacrifice your pride, personal recognition, and even personal preference at times. But, I challenge you to realize that there is no more remarkable testimony than to say, “I have kept the faith, I have fought the GOOD FIGHT, God CRUSHED the enemy under my feet!

You can view the message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/smWkQi0Gu9o

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You Can’t Miss This One Thing That Will Bring Wholeness to Your Life...

Do you look like what you’ve been through?

Does your marriage, business, or bank account look like what it's been through?

Does your walk with God look like what it’s been through?

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well (whole).” Luke 17:12-19 (NKJV)

Leprosy is a disease that causes horrible skin sores. One of the symptoms of the disease is reduced sensation of touch, leaving a feeling of numbness and a "pins and needles" sensation over the affected body part. Due to these sensations, it was typical for someone suffering from this horrible illness to rub and scratch at the sores until parts of their body fell off. A leper could lose his nose, ears, or fingers and toes, yet not even fully realize the loss until another body part was gone. The result of this wretched cycle left most lepers disfigured. (References drawn from medicalnewstoday.com).

Often when you see leprosy mentioned in Scripture, it is a type and a shadow of sin:

• The same way LEPROSY works in the physical, SIN works in the spiritual.

When sin begins to function in our souls, it has a way of numbing us to its consequences, and we stop feeling the actual repercussions. Sin can cause us to lose things in our lives without us realizing it. Leprosy tends to disfigure people, and so does sin. Sin will mar your life, relationships, and things that you value the most.

Are there parts of your life that are disfigured? If so, there is a possibility that you have allowed sin to run undiagnosed in your life, and any disfigurement you see could be a direct result.

Another important observation, leprosy is contagious, but sometimes it lays dormant within a body for many years before manifesting symptoms of the disease. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the disfiguring disease breaks out across one's body. This pattern is the same in sin. You can hang out in sinful environments for years before sin reveals EXTERNALLY what it has been doing INTERNALLY. The result is that the disfigurement may appear seemingly overnight, but it was on a path to manifestation many years before the damage was visible.

In the Scriptures above, we see that Jesus is the answer for leprosy. The lepers seek Him out for restoration and healing! JESUS gave these ten men clear commands to follow, and as they began to walk out His commands, they were healed. Through Jesus, the lepers were cleansed entirely of their disfiguring disease! But, only one out of ten came back to Jesus after receiving the cleansing.

One leper returned, worshiping and praising the name of Jesus. He gave Him all the praise and all the glory! His heart was full of gratitude for what Jesus had done for him, and that Word of God had a cleansing effect in his life. That which was once an issue was no longer an issue. The struggle was concluded!

Jesus looked at this one who had returned and said, “Arise...your faith has made you WHOLE!”

That’s an important statement from Jesus. Because during the first encounter with all ten lepers present, Jesus’ command facilitated a way for them to be CLEANSED. This time, engaging with the only leper that had returned to worship Him for His goodness and grace, Jesus states specifically that the man will be made WHOLE!

For a leper, there is a difference between being cleansed and being made whole. A leper that had been cleansed would no longer have an issue with leprosy, but anything he lost due to leprosy remained gone. However, if a leper were to be made whole, he would receive a restoration of everything he lost. For example, if leprosy cost him his nose, he would get his nose back. The same goes for any other physical extremity that he may have forfeited to the disease.

1. A CLEANSED leper would be set free from any struggle with his disease BUT remain disfigured. He would look like what he had been through.
   

2. A leper made WHOLE would be set free from his struggle AND no longer disfigured. He would NOT look like what he had been through!
   

Walk out the commands of God’s word and be CLEANSED but return to God daily with the revelation of worship if you want to be made WHOLE! You need your peace and joy restored. So return to the feet of Jesus and worship Him!

The revelation of worship can change your life. You can be made whole! You don’t have to look like what you’ve been through! Yet, evidently, very few people are willing to walk out the truth of the revelation of worship because -- of ten lepers who were cleansed -- only one was made whole. The reason...only one was willing to return and worship Jesus fully!

Will you BE THE ONE...The one in your family, church, small group, business relationships? Be the one who returns and lays at the feet of Jesus in worship with a heart of overflowing gratitude!

If you worship Him, you will experience God’s restoration ability! He will put you back together! He uses foolish things to confound the wise and weak things to confound the mighty! All you have to do is worship Him.

• It is great to walk out the Word of God and be cleansed as you go, but -- if you want to go to the next level with Jesus -- you first must fall on your face and worship Him.

Maybe, right now, you sense an unction to do just that; fall on your face and worship Jesus. Do it! Be the one! Choose to worship God without restraint or inhibition and watch as the things that were lost to the leprosy of sin are restored in ways that coincidence can not take the credit.

From a heart of repentance, thankfulness, and gratitude, speak this proclamation over your life:

The work of His grace and blood in my life are more than enough to overflow my heart with praise!

I do not look like what I’ve been through!

I’ve been made WHOLE through my worship.

JESUS CHRIST has completely restored me!

I invite you to view a message on this subject in its entirety, “You Don’t Look Like What You’ve Been Through”. Within it, I share some personal stories of God's restoration power that I believe can be a great encouragement to you.

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