Submitted by admin on Tue, 07/09/2010 - 8:05am
MP3 File:
Lies We Tell Ourselves—The Eyes Have It
For four weeks we've talked about how important it is to catch the lies we tell ourselves—the crazy, mixed up ideas that run counter to God's truth. We have to overcome the bad thinking and the junk inside our heads.
One country western song says, "I have a thinking problem"—and a lot of people could say that.
That's why we need to get a handle on what is true and what is not. That's why we need God's power to break the grip on the lies of the enemy that hold us back and prevent us from being the person God wants us to be. That's why we need God's truth to move us from defeat to spiritual victory.
Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free... I am the...truth... [and] If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed." Mistaken beliefs, doubts, destructive thoughts are symptoms of a spiritual problem. We need Jesus to deal with spiritual problems.
Today I want to discuss another important way that the truth sets us free. It has to do with what we see—our spiritual vision...or in some cases, our lack of vision.
Lies are not just things that are false—they are also truths that go untold. When we don't have the whole truth, we are dealing with deception.
That's why in a courtroom they tell a witness to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."
Let's take a look at a man who was a servant to an OT prophet named Elisha. This servant could not see spiritual reality and truth the way Elisha could—until God opened his eyes.
The story begins in the country of Aram (KJV: Syria), which was at war with Israel. Whenever the king of Aram came up with a scheme for a surprise attack against Israel, Elisha, the prophet, warned the king of Israel to be on guard in those places. The king of Aram's plans were thwarted so often he became convinced someone was leaking information to Israel. "Who among us is on their side?" he demanded to know. And that's when he learned that Elisha was alerting Israel about his plans. So let's pick up the story in 2 Kings 6:13...
13 "Go, find out where [Elisha] is," the king ordered, "so I can send men and capture him." The report came back: "He is in Dothan." 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked.
16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. (2 Kings 6:13-18, NIV)
Here's the lesson: If we want to see supernatural reality, if we want the truth about what is real, we must let God "open our eyes."
When you meet with God, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, when God touches your heart and stretches your faith, your eyes will be opened! You'll be able to see things you cannot see in the natural realms. When God opens your eyes, you'll be able to see things that are invisible to the natural eyes.
But it's only as we open our hearts to God that he can open our spiritual eyes. God is looking for those who are willing—ready to experience his power, ready to surrender to him.
To see with the eyes of faith, we have to put ourselves at God's disposal... we must be available to him.
That's when he will meet with us. He will fill us with the Holy Spirit. When that happens, God becomes bigger and stronger within us—and our problems become smaller and weaker. When we magnify God in our lives, our troubles will shrink in size.
Our problems cannot compare to God's promises! Our problems cannot compare to God's power. It's not that God becomes bigger—it's that we see him better.
A telescope doesn't really make something bigger, but it makes it appear bigger. The image is larger so we see it better. A telescope doesn't change the size of the object; it simply enlarges the way we view it. It looks closer. In the same way, when God opens our eyes, we are changed, not him! He's still the same, just as he always was. He isn't more powerful. He isn't any closer. He isn't suddenly more caring. The difference is that now we can see him as he really is instead of the way our misconceptions and lack of faith made us see him before. When God opens our eyes, he shuts down the lies. We see him as he really is—closer, available, and more powerful than our troubles.
[He] ...is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (Eph 3:20, NIV) ...far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. (Eph 3:20, LB)
God can do more! In fact, God wants to do more in us—but he doesn't hijack our will to do it. He can do more than we can ask or imagine, but he usually doesn't because he confines himself to our level of faith.
In Jesus' home town, the people's lack of faith put a lid on what he could do. He wanted to do more, but he wouldn't go against their own self-imposed limitations. It was their mindset that restricted God's work. It was the lies in their heads that weakened their faith and stopped Jesus from doing what he wanted to do. ...he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. (Matt 13:58, NIV)
Another time, as Jesus did a miracle, he said, "According to your faith will it be done to you" (Matt 9:29, NIV). The same thing happened in his home town, except what happened there "according to their faith" was few miracles—because there was little faith.
"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see." (Heb 11:1, NLT)
God can do more if only our eyes were opened to see what he could do. God wants us to respond to him, to stretch our faith, to see him better, to trust him more, to believe his power makes the difference.
Faith is the "substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not seen" (Heb 11:1). This tells me that there are invisible realities that we cannot see with natural eyes. Some things are real but can only be "seen" through other means—like faith.
This shouldn't be hard to understand, because there are many things you can't see with your eyes or things you don't notice, even though they are quite real:
You don't see the sun shining brightly behind a cloudy sky...but just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. God is at work behind the scenes, working things out for good even in the midst of pain and trouble (Rom 8:28). Just because you can't see God behind the clouds doesn't mean he's not there.
You can't see an unborn baby...but you know it's there. And if you have a sonogram, you can get a pretty good idea of what that unborn baby is doing. Some things are conceived by faith and can't be seen until faith gives birth to the reality. But even before they come into existence, the eyes of faith—like a sonogram—can see them.
You can't see electricity flowing through a wire...the wire may look benign, but there is a power in it waiting to be released. Just because something appears insignificant or useless doesn't mean God's power can't flow through it. Just because someone seems weak or useless doesn't mean that God's power can't be released in that person!
You can't see white blood cells unless you use a microscope, rushing to fight infection at a cut in the skin... God is in the minute details of your life. There are no limits on our limitless God, and he can fit into the tight spots of life.
We can't always see the answer to our problems. And sometimes problems come at us like a wild cougar chasing a small cub. (4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yq3-1aqc6w)...
We don't always see what's going on behind the scenes! We try every solution to deal with our problem or get away from the trouble, but things just go from bad to worse. And then, when finally it seems like we solved the problem, we discover it wasn't us at all! It was God, behind the scenes, helping us through.
Just like a mama bear watching her cub, God watches over us! And when we're trapped with no visible means of escape, having done everything, and we take our stand against the dangers that threaten us, God is there!
"...put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then... (Eph 6:13-14, NIV)
The king of Aram (Syria), frustrated because Elisha was continually thwarting his military efforts, was determined to capture Elisha. So he did several things:
1. He sent up "horses and chariots and a strong force"—not just any army, but a strong army, a great army. Original word literally meant: "heavy." The king wanted a "heavy" army to outnumber Elisha and completely overwhelm him.
Sometimes we can be weighed down with trouble, despair, hopelessness. Sometimes we can feel the weight of a heavy burden and care that we feel about to collapse. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28, NIV)
2. He sent them during the night, secretly, under the cover of darkness. He wanted a sneak attack, to catch Elisha off guard, by surprise, when he least expected it. They used the darkness to cover their schemes.
The devil schemes against us! (Eph 6:11) He wants to keep us off-balance, guessing, in the dark and unprepared. He knows we are most vulnerable when we let down our guard, when we cannot see what he is up to. He knows that it's in the dark times of life that we can most easily be caught. Spiritual nightmares and dark experiences of the soul can disorient us, throw us off balance, and open the way for the enemy to come rushing in.
3. He had them surround the city and cut off all means of escape. Have you ever noticed how problems often come in multiple numbers? It's not just one problem—it's many! When troubles come at us from every side, one after another, we are surrounded too.
That was the plan against Elisha—a strong force, many troops, horses, and chariots coming secretly at night to surround him.
So how would Elisha respond? When his servant got up early the next morning, he immediately saw the danger they were in. He knew they had a big problem! He saw the threat right away and went running to Elisha, "Oh my lord, what shall we do?"
The servant's response was fear, confusion, doubt: What are we going to do? How do we get out of this mess? Which way can we go?
It was a normal response based on what he saw, based on the facts available to him, based on the visible evidence. This was not false information. It wasn't lies. It just wasn't the whole truth.
Elisha didn't deny the dangerous situation they were in. He recognized how serious the trouble was, but he had faith that there was more to the story than appeared on the surface.
Some people think faith means you have to deny the problem. They say that faith means turning a blind eye to the situation. They think by denying something, you can make it disappear so it doesn't exist.
I remember one of our kids at the Fourth of July fireworks when he was very small. He'd never experienced anything like it before in his young life. As far as he knew, we were out for a nice summer evening's outing, when suddenly the night erupted with loud booms, enormous explosions in the night sky, and shock waves that came across the field and hit us in the chest. It was more than he could handle. He started to cry, and he pulled the blanket we were sitting on over his head. He thought he'd be safer if he couldn't see the fireworks.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a new or unusual circumstance, something we've never experienced before. There may be huge problems or troubles that explode in your life. But hiding under a blanket won't make them go away. Denying they exist won't solve your problem.
You see, Elisha didn't fabricate some kind of artificial faith to deny the problem or cover it up. He wasn't going to ignore their predicament. Instead, he used real faith to get a handle on the bigger picture on the whole truth.
On the surface it may LOOK like there is cause for alarm, but appearances are not always accurate. Looks can be deceiving. With only part of the facts and without the whole truth, your troubles may seem overwhelming. That's why we need to see God's reality—his power compared to our puny problems.
Elisha said to his trembling servant, "Don't be afraid." Fear will undermine our faith. Fear will blind us to what God can do. If you want to grow your faith, you have to confront your fears. Faith can dissolve your fears.
Elisha told his servant there was good reason to have faith. Even though the reason was invisible, it was still very real. A thing doesn't have to be visible to be real. You might not see the physical evidence, but "faith is the evidence of things not seen" (KJV).
Elisha had three reasons to believe they would be okay, three reasons to have faith.
(1) Because, though the Arameans had a strong force, God is a stronger force. There are more with us than they have with them... We have the advantage! We have the upper hand!
Your problems can be huge. Daunting. Impossible. But your God is bigger and stronger.
(2) Because God can open eyes so you can see things with your heart that you cannot see with your eyes. So Elisha prayed, "Lord, open his eyes." Elisha prayed that his servant's eyes would be opened.
When God opened the servant's eyes to see spiritual, supernatural realities, finally he could see things that were invisible to him before. Finally he could see God's supernatural resources, the larger and more powerful army of God there to defend him, the fiery horses and chariots of God surrounding Elisha for his protection.
God can open your eyes to see him, to see how the impossible can become possible. Impossible is nothing.
(3) Because God can close the eyes. Elisha didn't stop with a prayer for open eyes! He went on with another prayer that the eyes of his enemies would be closed: "Strike them with blindness." They sneaked up in the night, but God put them in darkness. They confused Elisha's servant, but God confused them with blindness.
At first Elisha's servant couldn't see the big picture and he became confused and afraid and asked, "What shall we do?" In the end, however, it was the Aramean army who couldn't see and didn't know where to go or what to do. They were the ones who became confused and afraid. They didn't know what to do!
Like the military aide who reported to the general: "Sir, we are surrounded!" And the general replied, "Excellent! Now we've got ‘em where we want ‘em! We can attack in the enemy in any direction."
The same dramatic turnaround can happen for you! God can "confuse" the problems that came to confuse you. He can "blind" your troubles—he can shut down and immobilize your problems.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isa 54:17)... The one who tries to deceive the righteous will fall into his own pit (Prov 28:10)...
There is good reason to have faith! The truth may not be readily visible, but it is real nonetheless. But we need to see the truth with the eyes of faith instead of with our natural eyes.
The enemy wants you to believe the lies: You're outnumbered. Your troubles and problems are insurmountable. It's impossible to get out of this predicament. You're surrounded. There's no way of escape.
God wants you to see the truth: You have more than you realize! God wants to do more than you can ask or imagine! God can blind your enemy and overwhelm him and deliver him into your hands.
So what's it going to take for you to see the truth? It's a simple prayer: "Lord, open his eyes." It's an encounter with God's supernatural presence. It's being baptized with his power. It's opening your heart and your spirit to the Holy Spirit.