Vantage Point

I was in Canada recently and was afforded the opportunity to visit a beautiful tourist attraction in Banff, a town in Alberta. I took a ride on the Gondola that took us 7,486 feet (2,281 meters) above sea level. When we came out of the gondola and walked through the building to journey up the mountain to the highest point on foot, we were hit by a very cold wind. We ran back in the building to add layers to what we were wearing. The view was breathtaking! The air was fresh, and I was once again in awe of the beauty of creation and the wonder working nature of my Creator! The mountains around us stood so majestically as they towered over everything. They appeared so strong and immovable, and it was though they were defiant against anything that wanted to test their strength. When I looked closely, I saw where there was something that was successful in interrupting the surface of the mountain. It was water. I saw where water had overtime caused erosion and gave the mountains crevices that were not in the original design. The contrast between the mountain and the busy happenings in the valley were noteworthy. As we took the 0.6 mile walk up many stairs to ascend even further, several persons seemed out of breath and had to stop or you would hear them breathing heavily as you passed by. I thought this was for the fluffy and unhealthy, but I saw people of all ages and sizes having similar experiences. The only difference was the frequency with which persons would stop to catch breath. At the top we were able to see a wider range and the binoculars provided still afforded us to see small details thousands of miles below. Some friendly chipmunks greeted us at the top and the place felt full of life.

Upon my return, I was reflecting the day’s occurrences, and I heard the Lord say “Vantage Point”. Dictionary.cambridge.com defines a “vantage point” to be, “a place, especially a high place, that provides a good, clear view of an area.” Dictionary.com defines it as “a position or place that affords a wide or advantageous perspective.” When I was on the mountain I saw a lot more than I would have on the ground level and the binoculars gave me an additional advantage to see from a height but also great details of things below. Things looked, smelt, felt and sounded different from such high altitude. Even my ears were affected.

The Lord then dropped Revelation 4:1 in my spirit which says, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” The voice that he spoke to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos said, come up hither. The Apostle was being called to a vantage point. A place where he would be able to see much more than he was able to at the time. I then got a better understanding of the value of a vantage point.

In researching about war and recalling nuggets from Sun Tsu’s “Art of War”, holding the high ground is considered a powerful strategy that can be utilized by generals.  From a vantage point there can be surveillance, being able to see the positioning and movement of an enemy is potent as this information can feed the strategy to attack the adversary. The high ground allows any form of missile released to travel at greater speed and force. Soldiers also have an advantage as it is more tiring to go up hill than downhill. The height it self also informs them as to how to position themselves to be effective against counter attacks. In the days where cities were fortified, there would be a watchman positioned at the highest point on the wall for information gathering purposes. The information in turn would be related to the leaders and strategies conceived.

The Lord said to me that we need as Christians to come up higher and utilize the vantage point the Holy Spirit gives. He said we have been fighting too much ground warfare, and it is causing much weariness, frustration, anger and even disappointment among His people.

He brought to mind the following 2 scriptures, Hebrews 5:12-14 AMPC –“¹² For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! ¹⁴ But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.”, and 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 AMPC – 3 However, brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual [men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates], as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ [^[a]unable to talk yet!] ² I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough [to be ready for it]; but even yet you are not strong enough [to be ready for it], ³ For you are still [unspiritual, having the nature] of the flesh [under the control of ordinary impulses]. For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men? ⁴ For when one says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos, are you not [proving yourselves] ordinary (unchanged) men? ⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Ministering servants [not heads of parties] through whom you believed, even as the Lord appointed to each his task: ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow and [He] gave the increase. ⁷ So neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but [only] God Who makes it grow and become greater. ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are equal (one in aim, of the same importance and esteem), yet each shall receive his own reward (wages), according to his own labor. ⁹ For we are fellow workmen (joint promoters, laborers together) with and for God; you are God’s ^[b]garden and vineyard and field under cultivation, [you are] God’s building.

In summary, the Lord is highlighting the immature, carnal, nonspiritual behaviors that are evident among believers, even leaders. If there is still a struggle utilizing and understanding with the basic tenets of salvation, such as grace, faith, love, etc, then we are still mere babes. If we are still harboring, envy, jealousy, backbiting, picking sides based on loyalty and not based on truth, being partial, unjust, mean spirited, how are we any better than those outside the Kingdom of God? The Lord is saying, come up higher, become more teachable, stay enrolled in the school of the Spirit, stop trying push self beyond where God has you. We all need the vantage point of the Holy Spirit that we may be able to see more and farther concerning situations in our, lives, homes, ministries, communities and countries. There are people that have made life-changing decision that were only seen from the ground floor. Such decisions are often very costly and can be of generational and eternal impact.

Let us aim to go up to see and understand more. We can get clarity, see further, adjust perspectives and gain deliverance from narrow mindedness.  Psalm 24:3-4 AMP gives the criteria for those who can come higher. It says, “³ Who may ascend onto the ^[a]mountain of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? ⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to what is false, Nor has sworn [oaths] deceitfully.” To go higher we must humble ourselves before God, seek to be searched to ensure hearts are pure, hands are clean, we have not subscribed to what is false and we do not have any oaths made that we have no intentions of fulfilling. Whatever the Lord highlights, we give attention to and seek to sincerely repent and make restitution where possible. When this is done, ascension is easy, and you will no longer see men walking as trees. The Hebrew word for hill/mountain also means promotion. So, when you ascend, you will be elevated to a vantage point and be positioned to be promoted by the Lord.

Mature believers who are at a vantage point no longer think of their church or ministry in isolation. They think and embrace kingdom, utilizing all they have and own to advance the Kingdom of God, not their own agendas and certainly not to build their own names and empires!

The journey to higher heights is not easy. In the natural, many people were out of breath. The same is true to ascend the hill of the Lord, it can be challenging at times, even the mountain was defaced by water, the aim is never to quit. I kept pressing to reach the top and it was worth it! I had the courage to conquer the mountain, so do you!