The Vision Is Now

There is a fine line that separates the sons of God from the manifestation of who they are. The line is a mindset. The mindset is unbelief.

Ephesians 1:3-5

3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

The vision started with the Father. It was and is His will and desire to begat children through the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. Regardless of great and deep theological teachings, unless the Fathers’ concept of children is perceived by His Sons, many will forfeit their inheritance. Somehow the Body of Christ has come up with a different perception of Father and Son when it relates to us as opposed to it relating to Jesus. For some reason we refuse to believe that we are just as much a Son of God as was Christ. We refuse to accept simple truths that we preach everyday; namely, we are in the world but we are not of this world, or that we are new creatures and all things are of God. The concept of Christ being heavenly is readily accepted, but the idea that as He is so are we right now, or that we are actually seated with Him in heavenly places is not theological it is theoretical.

It was the Father’s vision to have Sons by His Spirit and of His nature, who walked according to His character, sinless, holy and without blame. Is this an impossible dream the Father has, or is it the infallible predestinated plan of an omniscient God? Will He or did He accomplish His will? The answer is yes, He did.

The vision is now. There are some reading this book who have become the sons of God in every sense of its meaning. There are others in different pockets around the globe who are sons of God indeed. You have believed the report about yourself. Your face is set like a flint to do the will of God. You are not intimidated, nor wanton for the things of this world. Even as the vision was fulfilled in the apostles and members of the early church, so is it being worked out in us. We are the latter day Sons of the Most High. We are the reformation of the Church.

I w

as listening intently to the Lord as He said, “The reason for so much unbelief among you is the lack of challenges to the faith. My people have become worn out and weary fighting battles to maintain their own spirituality that they should never have to fight. They make decisions to defy my laws and walk outside the boundaries of the faith and then proceed to fight against the emotions and lust they gendered by wrong thinking in an effort to get back to where they ought to be. They oppose themselves and then blame it on the devil.” They spend time trying to overcome offenses and unforgiveness. They lust after the things of this world. They envy and covet the prosperity of evildoers. And then they seek to purge themselves of the lust and wantonness. It is a vicious cycle of wasted spiritual energy. These are not valid challenges to the faith.

The concept of sonship is the dynamic unrelenting desire to declare the Father to a dying world. The true sons of God are not hiding behind church walls, or in comfort zones that never allow them to seek out the lost, the dying and those who are oppressed by the devil. The sons of God are always moving, expanding their coasts, carrying this gospel to the uttermost parts of this world. They are an offense to Satan and they constantly spoil his goods. They exemplify the love and character of Jesus Christ in that they are willing to give their lives for the cause of righteousness.

What is the source of the hesitation of the sons of God to sweep the globe with this gospel of the Kingdom of God? The answer is passion. The passion for souls is not there as it was with Christ or the early church. Why? Why is the passion to win souls for the Kingdom a missing factor in the sons of God?

The passion for preaching, teaching and prophesying is very much alive. Nevertheless, in many cases the motivation for such is perverted. There is much preaching from the pulpits but very little in the streets, the town squares or door to door for the saints of God. There is very little visitation to the regions controlled by the darkness of this world. The lack of trust and commitment to the vision of the Father has made the Body of Christ more and more afraid of putting itself in harms way. Even the politics of our generation and the unwillingness to be associated with controversial issues are detouring factors for the sons of God.

Those who have believed must act now on that belief. We must be on the offense not timid and hiding from the warfare we were called to. We must take this war to the devil. We must exert the power of the Father into the lives of those who are lost and out of the way. We must stop this imaginary defending of ourselves against Satan. We have been given power over all the power of the enemy in our own lives. There is nothing to defend. He is powerless in an attempt to overcome us, for greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

Prayer is our platform for ministry. But we can even abuse that platform by making it a comfort zone. To pray for lost souls but to never go after them is another manifestation of the spirit of procrastination in the Body of Christ. We pray and wait for God to bring them into our comfortable churches, when in reality we pass by hundreds of souls each week on our way to prayer.

Neighborhood evangelism should not be motivated by our intent to speak to as many people as possible so that they will eventually become members of our churches. Churches are competing with one another for members instead of with the devil for souls. Our goal should be to bring them into the Body of Christ.

The vision is now.

Acts 26:15-20

15. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

16. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

17. Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

19. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

20. But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Just as Paul was not disobedient to the vision given him, we must not be disobedient to the one given us. We are all charged with the same purpose. Our measures or territorial spheres of influence may be different, but our responsibility to minister and give witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ is the same. We can expand our coasts and broaden our horizons if we obey the call of purpose in our lives.