In His law the islands will put their hope. -Isaiah 42:4b

01-08-12, Speaker: Pastor Cesar Crisostomo

Colossians3:1-3; Habakkuk 3:16-19

Understand that there are new and extraordinary things (better days) God wants to do in our life now and in the days to come. Gaining and having God's perspective in any area of our lives is not only essential to having better days to come, but it will also change us. Without having a godly perspective on situations of life, we will surely struggle (have bad days) without a sense of victory. God's perspective is truth and light (Isaiah 55:8). It is not affected by darkness or clouded by the circumstances that surround us. That is why starting each day with God's perspective is very important. As human beings we have a tendency to see things from an earthly perspective, while God sees things from a heavenly perspective. We see the beginning, while He sees the beginning and the end. He sees the completed puzzle, while we see a stack of puzzle pieces lying all over the place. We need to see and view things from heaven's position, through God's perspective (Matthew 6:10). 

Gaining God's Perspective

1.  Gaining God's perspective begins with continually spending time in His presence. (Matthew 11:25-30)

• When you set aside a time and a place to be with Him and see from His perspective, then extraordinary things happen.

2.  Gaining God's perspective also starts when you focus on giving to others instead of getting for yourself. (Matthew 5:38-48)

• Perhaps you have been focusing on yourself too much. Maybe you need to focus on the things God is showing you (your spouse, children, ministry, God).

3.  Gaining God's perspective comes from understanding the purpose and goal God has for you.

• Stay focus on your goal. (Luke 9:62)
• Instead of focusing on the negatives (your bad days), refocus your attention on where you were originally going. (Mark 4:35-41)
• What did I miss or forgotten what Jesus said to me before the challenges, before the stretch of bad days? What is Jesus saying to me today that will help me to have better days to come?
• When times are dark and difficult, it is important to keep looking at what God had revealed previously.

4.  God's perspective acts as a filter on all the stuff that demands for our attention (people, possessions, performance). Therefore, be aware and prepared to say no to the things that will get you out of focus and from gaining Godly perspective. 

• Say no to propositions that will distract you from God's goal.

Discussion Questions:

1.  What does this lesson reveal to me about God?

2.  What does this lesson reveal to me about myself?

3.  How will I be different today because of what I have learned? What changes do I need to make?

4.  What is my prayer for today?