We need to ask God to give us eyes to see the kingdom.
That was the subject of my message at a church last Sunday. Just before the pastor introduced me, a member of the congregation got up to give a brief testimony. He finished it by saying this: we need to ask God to give us eyes to see the kingdom.
At that moment, if I didn’t realize it before, I knew I was on the right track.
Paul uses two words in relation to vision. One is the ordinary word for natural sight. The other is the word from which we get the word “scope,” as well as telescope, microscope and so on. Natural sight enables us to see things in the physical world around us. But the second kind of sight, spiritual sight, enables us to see the things in the invisible and eternal realm of the kingdom.
This spiritual sight is a gift of the Holy Spirit given to every believer at conversion. Without it, we cannot even begin to understand the Bible, as Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 3.
But, as with other gifts from God, we have to exercise it to develop it. God has given you the gift of a physical body, but if you want to become an athlete, you have to develop the gift God has given you.
How do we develop this spiritual sight? Fortunately, the answer is quite simple. It comes as we deepen our relationship with the Lord. How many times did Jesus retreat into a solitary place to find time with his Father? If he felt the need to do it, how much more should we!
An old joke states, “Seven prayerless days makes one weak.” It may be corny, but it’s true.
And what is also fortunate is that we don’t have to pray hours a day to develop spiritual vision. Even shooting up those arrow prayers will deepen your connection with the Lord.
I firmly believe we can hear from God. The Holy Spirit shows us the meaning of Scripture and applies the principles of the Bible to our daily situations. Sometimes he gives us knowledge that could only come supernaturally. Sometimes he gives us a measure of supernatural faith to pray for people or situations.
As we develop our spiritual sight, we begin to catch a glimpse of the magnificent world of the kingdom. It’s what C.S. Lewis taught us with his stories of Narnia. Even as the children in the stories went through an old clothes closet and emerged into another world, so we must go through the window of the Spirit to access the world of the kingdom.
Amazing things happen in that world. People do things they would never have done and could not have done without God. The eyes of the kingdom propelled countless missionaries across the world, caused people to take unbelievable risks of faith, and strengthen believers to this day to stand firm in the face of opposition.
At the end of my talk, I noticed a painting sitting on an easel at the corner of the church auditorium. You’ll see it at the top of this post. The painting illustrated my message perfectly. Mine was a message preached by another brother in exactly the same words before I began, and confirmed by a painting I didn’t even know was there after I had finished.
Welcome to the world of the kingdom.
Painting credit: Hannah Hochstetler, Family Worship Center, Goshen, Indiana
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AWAKENING MINISTRIES // FOUNDATION of FAITH Project
Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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