When our spirit became alive unto God, our past was nailed to the cross. Our life of sin through living independently of Him was dealt with on the cross and we have a present-future relationship with God through the gift of repentance.
All our external circumstances are allowed by God to create that inner place of being redeveloped as we learn how to partake of His nature.
If we can align our hearts with who God is for us, we can learn lessons, we can grow quickly and we can redeem time.
A walk with God is a series of steps that arise out of who and what God wants to be for us in this next phase of our life. We have to learn how to be in step with God in a new way. There are some things we must stop doing so that we can do the things that God is asking of us in this next season. Some relationships might change, they may become adjusted.
The first step is that we have to develop a present-future mindset. We read in Philippians a present-future mindset.
Phil 3:13 but this one thing I do(emphatic-only one, forgetting(continuous, not to remember, pay no attention to) those things which are behind(a looking backward), and reaching forth unto those things(continuous, to stretch oneself forward upon) which are before( a place, spiritual condition, in front of, in the presence of), I press(occurring now, press hard after, to pursue with eagerness and diligence in order to obtain) toward (motion, direction, aim-purpose-end)the mark(goal, end ,what we see the father do) for the prize (reward, perfection)of the high(upward, the place above) calling (invitation)of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore (accordingly, thereupon, now), as many as be(number, how many) perfect( seeking that level of maturity-this is what it means in this context, fully completed growth, having reached its end-spiritual development, as he is so are we walking in all the light we have)
We need to know who we are in the present and who or what we will become in the future. And the difference between the two, the present and the future, is not a discrepancy-it is who God is becoming in us.
We are in the present right now aspiring to be something or someone more than we are, but to reach that necessary place, there must be a change in the way we think about ourselves. We have to think about ourselves the way that God does.
When we accept this upgrade in our thinking and start to become present-future, what we are doing is we are saying, it is our intention to cooperate with the development God is seeking to bring into our life.
When God speaks to us it is called prophesy, He speaks our future to us so that we can see ourselves the way that He does.
The gap between who we are now and who we are to become is not meant to be discouraging. The gap between who we are now and who God has declared we are going to be, is about our development.
We cannot look at ourselves in terms of I am not that. Because this is not the way that God thinks. We never focus on what we lack, we concentrate on what God intends to develop. If we see the difference as a discrepancy (a distinct difference between two things), then we become that discrepancy.
But if we see the difference as our point of transformation then we can become encouraged. If we see the difference as the focus of God in us, to enable us to realize our future, then we know that all our circumstances are going to be about becoming that person.
Every situation that we go into has something for us to be developed through. As we learn who God wants to become in us, our journey becomes exciting.
So now instead of having questions about ourselves, our questions are, I wonder what God has provided in this situation. I wonder what is in this thing for me from God. Now we are looking with a totally different kind of eyesight. We are looking with a different level of perception.
Transformation occurs when we perceive and think as God does about our life. We should love the way that he thinks about us. We love the way that he sets things up for us to succeed. Our present-future mindset is focused on developing the nature of God in every situation that we face. So therefore we can count it all joy in every situation because we know what God is developing in us.
Being present- future is about pressing into God for our future in the present. Owning the future starts now, not when something happens. We have to own our future right now, right this very moment. It begins now with us aligning our thinking to the Lord’s intentionality towards us.
God is getting a hold of us in a new way and we must get a new hold of him. Whatever is God’s goal for us is also his provision for us.
Our dilemma is not in what we lack but it is in how big our response will be to God’s intention and provision.
We are learning not to pray out of need, but out of our identity and our inheritance.
Whatever we lack God intends to provide as part of our present journey into Him. My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus-Phil 4:19.
We see who we are without him through the revelation of the glory of who he is becoming in us.
The Holy Spirit is here to convince us about his goodness towards us. When we live in his goodness, sin is pretty difficult to do. We can live in such a place of God’s goodness, kindness, joy and presence that sin becomes something that we want permanently removed from us.
The Holy Spirit’s conviction is always concerned with our identity. He comes to convince us of who we are in Jesus. Every time the Holy Spirit shows up we are going to get an advancement in terms of how we see ourselves. He wants us to get that we are beautiful, that we are incredible, that we are amazing. He wants us to get it, until it becomes a part of our spirit, it becomes the way we see ourselves and strengthens us.