One of the things we must realize as Christians is that the wisdom of the world is normally the polar opposite of the truth of God’s kingdom. So many Christians still think in ways that are so far removed from God’s kingdom and His way of doing things. In the next few blog posts, I want to examine some of the worldly wisdom and show you that whatever the world says, think the opposite.
Let’s start with a phrase you have probably heard since you were a child: don’t count your chickens before they are hatched. The Cambridge dictionary of phrases defines the phrase like this:
you should not make plans that depend on something good happening before you know that it has actually happened
It’s typical of worldly wisdom to say things like this. The world thinks it is kind to say things like “don’t get your hopes up”, “don’t dream too big”, “don’t fly too close to the sun”, “don’t get ideas above your station”. According to Romans 12.2, Paul says that the key to life transformation is renewing your mind – changing how you think and play in and dream. Changing your perspective changes your life! However, Paul is equally insistent that before the process of mind transformation can take place, you have to not be conformed to the world.
The context of that verse is your mind, so the implication is this: do not be conformed to thinking like the world thinks, imagining like the world, dreaming like the world. The world wants everyone to think the same, and their standard is pretty small. They don’t dream big, they don’t take risks, and they don’t count their chickens before they are hatched. No – they wait until they see something before they call it. It’s the level that Thomas was at when he insisted that he see the resurrected Christ before he believed he was alive. Thomas was too nervous to count his chickens before they hatched, and Jesus told him that he
On the other hand, Abraham counted his children before they were born. He went out in the middle of the night and spent years counting his chickens long before they hatched. And now he is the father of many nations, the father of the faith, and the father, through several generations, of Jesus Christ Himself. That is the power of counting your chickens before they hatch.
Some of you reading this have big dreams. Stop being conformed to the world, stop being pushed into small dreams, stop being squeezed into the world’s mould. Start counting your chickens before they are hatched, count millions of chickens, meditate on your dreams, see your future. Lift your eyes and your thinking to a higher level.
If you want help on how to do this, we have an entire online conference on dreaming big and counting stars. The link is here: https://tree.church/gatesofthecity. Enjoy!
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