Perception Is Everything

This is the Truth Network. Perception is everything. So it's a statement implying that the way we perceive a thing is so strong. Well, perception may not be everything, but impressions create an expanded version of the way something seems, you know, to the eye, to the way that I see it. That can even make it very real, true, more real or true than it is. And in the same way a wrong impression, even with no basis in fact, grows, can take on a life and a spirit of its own.

And you know how, you know where that's going, you know, try finding the end of that rope. It's really the way human nature is. It's the same with the human perception of God. We perceive Him on a level that we can handle, we can relate to, we can mentally comprehend. For example, the Bible speaks numerous times of divine visitations, which we talk about quite a bit on this program. Instances when the Lord or an angel or angels, plural, appear to a human being, to men and women on the earth. And really those at the center of these experiences usually, you know, they just can't fully grasp it in a natural sense.

I can relate, bet you can too. For example, Matthew 28, beginning probably around verse 4, Mary Magdalene and Mary are at the tomb after Jesus has been crucified and buried. And an angel, the word says an angel of the Lord, comes from heaven and rolls back the stone from the door and then sits atop the stone.

Let me say that again. They've come to the tomb to mourn Jesus' death and this angel, this being from heaven, appears, moves this giant stone all by himself. One angel moves the giant stone and then sits on the top of the stone. And the recorded word here is that the countenance of this being was like lightning. So this is an angel of the Lord.

His countenance is like lightning and his clothing as white as snow, so brilliant white. And the guards who were also there shook for fear of him and they actually collapsed. You might say they collapsed under the influence of what they were seeing. And the word's description here is they became like dead men.

I mean they were out. Under the influence of what they had seen, the appearance of this angel of the Lord descended from heaven. And then, another example while we're at it, Ezekiel 40, verses 2 and 3. Ezekiel is in exile and writes that the hand of the Lord was upon me, me being Ezekiel, the hand of the Lord was upon me and transported me to a mountain in Jerusalem, a high mountain in Jerusalem. And verse 2, in the visions of God he took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. He took me there and behold there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. This is a man whose appearance is like the appearance of bronze.

He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand and he stood in the gateway. So Ezekiel's perception here, this man who is like bronze, you know, glowing, majestic, certainly not human. And this man who is appearing is in the gateway, in the doorway, at the entrance so to speak.

So this is an amazing thing to see. It's an amazing experience and Ezekiel says that it was because the hand of the Lord was upon him and was transporting him in visions as God was revealing to him certain things. So again, we'll just say again, those at the center of experiences like this, they don't fully grasp all of the elements of what it is they're seeing. The guards fell like dead men.

Ezekiel was aghast as well. This is because the human experience demands explanation for what it sees. Let me say that again. This is important to our topic. Perception is everything. The human experience demands explanation for what it sees, for what it experiences. It demands an explanation for the perception. So here in in Matthew and Ezekiel, for example, how do you, in other words, how would you explain the Lord appearing to you like that? Like an angel who could move a giant stone or the case of the angel of the Lord who are the manned, the man who looked like bronze.

How would you explain that kind of appearance? So for the women and for Ezekiel, this was a natural human experience to struggle with what they were seeing and not fully grasp all that they were seeing. Grasping the message was all they could do. They couldn't explain everything that they were seeing. So when man in his humanity, this is the principle, interprets the divine, both the explanation and the perception are likely something that are inferior to the reality of the God who is appearing to them.

He is Almighty God. Their grasp, the human grasp, is going to be inferior to the greatness of the reality. So similarly, people judge others and judge situations around them according to what they can grasp, the way that they think, the way that they believe, what they personally would do under the same circumstances that they're witnessing or observing, or what they think they know about the facts in the situation that they are becoming privy to. Even taking liberties to change or add to the facts as they really are because you see it's their perception. It's their perception.

The perception that you have of something that you're seeing very likely will tie in sooner rather than later to what you believe to be true, what you think about those involved, what you would do under the same circumstances. So just to be clear here, in a natural setting, people judge based on their own heart. And they judge spiritual matters, even God, the same way, on their level, within their experience, limited by their mindset and lifestyle, filtered by the sole part of their being, their mind. They interpret by their intellect, despite being factually limited about the heart of the matter or the heart issues involved. A pastor friend has said to me more than once, to judge another man's heart is above my pay grade. To judge the issue of another man's heart, what is in his heart or his motivation in a thing, is beyond me. It's what my pastor friend is saying when he says it's above my pay grade.

I believe it is above everyone's pay grade. It's not possible. You can't do it. You can't judge the heart of another person and describe a scribe motive.

You just can't do it. We're talking about perception here. You know if you can't perceive accurately the visitation of Almighty God in a way that the angel of the Lord appeared to the women at the tomb, in the way the man of bronze appeared to Ezekiel, if you're no match for that, listen, don't even begin to think that your perception of what it is you're attempting to judge is right. It is probably 180 degrees off.

Off. So we need to warn ourselves and we need to get a grip in this way because since mankind is like this, take this another step, the Lord really says, listen, men are brutal. So here's the wisdom that you need.

Here's the wisdom to live your life. He's speaking to you and to me because there are many around me and around you who will attempt to judge your heart and my heart. Since mankind is like this, the Lord says, listen, abstain from every form of evil, even the appearance of evil, abstain from it because God is going to operate based on what's in your heart and a relationship with Him is totally a heart matter on the outside, on the inside, but for those around you, it is the outside that is perceived, the human condition, trust in and takes its cue from appearances rather than the true heart of the issues involved. And you know, another verse comes to mind right here. Matthew said, so things that defile us begin in the heart and then are spoken. The thing that comes out of a man's heart is what defiles him. It's not the outward that is the beginning of the problem with God. God is looking at the heart and God's enemy Satan is waiting, just waiting to snare you with the words of your mouth, the things that have incubated in the heart. Men, cannot say this enough, look at the outward and they make up their minds and when they have made up their mind, minds plural, the decision is made, the judgment has been rendered and now you're looking at man judging man.

So far askew, so far off. God said this and it's so wise because He knows the heart of those that will judge you and He knows the vulnerability of your own heart. Abstain from every form of evil, abstain even from the appearance of evil, even the appearance. What wisdom that is.

Perception is everything and while it may not be everything, it would be so wise to walk before the Lord with this understanding to abstain from every form of evil, even the appearance of evil. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support this podcast, please share it with others. Post about it on social media or leave a rating and review. Don't forget to check out the show notes or visit acleartrumpet.org where you can subscribe to Shirley's email list. Download the ministry app and purchase your very own copy of Shirley's 365-day devotional, Running with Horses. Thanks again and we'll see you next time.