Friday, July 27, 2007

SEEING THE UNSEEN

One of my favorite topics is Seeing the Unseen, which is being able to ‘see’ the promises of God which we find in the Bible when our experience in this life is that we cannot yet see them in the physical. My favorite illustration is my praying for people for healing for 4 years with no visible results before finally I saw someone healed when I prayed for them. My friends and family thought I was nuts, with many actually telling me so, and telling me that while the Bible says it will happen, it doesn’t actually mean that. But I believed the promise in Mark 16:18 more than my experience: I could see the promise, I could see the unseen, and kept reaching for it until the unseen, the promise, became the reality in my life.

A closely related topic is comparison of Worldly View vs Heavenly View teaching, which has been mentioned nearly every time I talk for the past two years.

I have several modules and they keep growing, and more modules are added as I focus on this topic in sermons and in lectures. The 23rd Psalm is one of my favorite sources of module material for Seeing the Unseen, and Genesis 1:0 is perhaps my favorite module.
Just to summarize:
Psalm 23
v 1 is a statement of fact and then the result of that fact. The fact stated is that the Lord is my shepherd. Comment is that the Lord cares for me not only because he loves me, but it is his job, and there are several requirements inherent in this job, such as feeding me and protecting me, as well as others which we can examine in teaching. The result of this relationship is that I lack nothing. Not now, not ever.
The rest of the psalm gives examples of this provision which causes me to lack nothing: green pastures, still waters, refreshing and restoring, paths of righteousness, no fear, a feast table continually before me, anointing, overrunning cup, and goodness and mercy with me all the days of my life.
Since sometimes in life, these examples are not always seen, we need to learn to see the unseen in order to appropriate them for our lives. For now I will just mention the table which is before me in the presence of my enemies (v 5). This means between me and my enemy. If we can see the table, respond to the invitation of the Lord and enjoy the feast with the King of Kings rather than react to the attack of our enemy, the result of the experience in our life will be radically different. The point is that when we can see and appropriate the promises of God, the result of our experiences will be different than if we do not see the unseen promises which are in the Bible.
We cannot and will not experience the promises of God unless we are aware of them, can see them, and appropriate them. Salvation is one example of this of which I hope we are all aware. Until we knew about it we did not know to ask. Until we asked, we did not receive. When we are aware, and ask (appropriate, not all promises are appropriated in the same way, the Bible tells how to appropriate different ones) we will receive: it’s a promise! That’s why we need to keep informing people about the promise, the opportunity that can be available to them.
Another module which teaches this principle is Genesis 1:0. In this teaching, I ask people to turn to Gen 1:1. In the beginning . . .
Then I ask them to look at Genesis 1:0 and tell me what they see. Nothing. Before the beginning nothing existed. But everything already existed in the mind of God. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has put eternity into the hearts of men, but men cannot see or understand from beginning to end. It is only when God reveals it that they can see it.
From this nothing which is everything existing in the mind of God, God spoke the things that exist into existence. Basically, the teaching is that the Word of God (Jesus - John 1) lives in us (Col 1:27) and is still speaking through us, completing his creation in and through us. Eternity which has been put in our hearts is revealed to us as God desires, and we are his instruments to bring it to pass (Ephesians 2:10).
Well, I don’t have space here for all the examples and support scriptures, but this is powerful, and if you can get it, you will understand that the Creator of heaven and earth lives in you and is still creating, often through your words and actions. We become participants not only in his divine nature (2PE 1:4) but in his continuing creating into existing things which cannot be seen (Heb 11:3).
During the week God provided a demonstration of this teaching. See the story in UNEXPECTED TREASURE blog!