The Gates of Access – Pt. 3

Date: 9/03/06 - PPHC  - Born to Taste the Grapes Series

Jer. 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I. The Gate of Obedience

Obtaining” the grapes of God's blessings is directly related to your obedience to him.

If God has been speaking to you about doing something, just do it. Don't negotiate.

II. The Gate of Knowledge

What you don't know can destroy you!

You cannot lay hold of the grace and blessings of God unless you first having knowledge of what he has provided for you.

III. The Gate of Visualization

 A. You must start visualizing the grapes (blessings/provisions) before you.

• If you cannot see the grapes in your mind, you will not see them in time.

  1. Your mind is a force that affects every thing else in your life.

   a. The renewing of the mind is the secret of transformation. (Rom. 12:2)

    1. Transforming – metamorpho’o - to change into another form

    2. “Renewing the mind” – kainos – denotes the newness / freshness in quality.

 B. The woman with the issue of blood – 12 years.

  1. "If I can but touch the hem of his garment, I know I will be healed."

   a. I believe she visualized it... it happened in her mind before it happened in her body!

 C. Visualize the grapes before you; see yourself tasting the grapes; see the victory!

·          Some of us have never seen ourselves victorious as God see us!

  1. Illustration: My wife, Jeana, used to work at McLeod Hospital. Adjacent to the hospital was the Merita Bread Co. Early in the morning fresh bread was baked in their ovens and put on trucks for distribution to the local supermarkets.  When you smell that fresh bread cooking in the morning, it made your mouth water and your stomach scream. As I smelled it, I would start visualizing the yeast rolls at Quincy's or Ryan's. It was only a short time after that, that I would find myself somehow conveyed across city blocks, seated at Quincy's with a yeast role, caked with honey butter, stuck in my mouth.

Ask the question: "Where does God want me to be?"

·         Visualize where God wants you to be, and then act as if you are already there!

·         We must quit talking like beggars if we're on the road to the palace!!

 D. Jesus visualized himself in victory.

  1. Heb. 12:2 - "... for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross."

  2. He endured present suffering for future joy; his mind was picturing victory!

  3. "When Jesus walked to Calvary, he was not looking at the cross; he was looking at the resurrection!"

 E. Is there a habit or an area of your life that you long to be victorious in; don't concentrate on the habit; concentrate on the victory.

  1. This is called: the law of displacement.

   a. It means that you replace evil by the entrance of good.

Illustration: You don't go into a building and suggest to the darkness, "Would you mind leaving, because if you leave we can have light?" No…we bring in light, and the entrance of light forces the exit of darkness.

Conclusion: some people spend their lives saying, "Oh, I wish I could quit thinking bad thoughts.” You can only move away from a bad thought by deliberately moving toward a good one. You'll never stopped thinking bad thoughts, you'll never stopped thinking doubt, until you start thinking straight and you start seeing yourself victorious. That picture drives out evil.