Tag Archives: word

What Do the Eyes of Faith See? (C&R)

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These are perspectives found in Hebrews 11 that strengthen God’s people to suffer and overcome resulting in the obedience of faith to the glory of God in Jesus Christ.

The Eyes of Faith see these things:

  1. Vs. 3–“The word of the unseen God is what orders the world that is seen around us.”
  2. Vs. 6–“God exists, and He rewards those who diligently seek Him.”
  3. Vs. 10–“We seek to live in a city that has an actual foundation designed and built by God.”
  4. Vs. 11–“Our God who promised is trustworthy.”
  5. Vs. 13–“While we wait for God’s distant promises, we are now strangers and exiles in the earth.”
  6. Vs. 14-16–“We do not seek our own country, but a Heavenly one.”
  7. Vs. 19–“God is able to raise the dead so as to keep His promises.”
  8. Vs. 24-25–“I’d rather be God’s people and suffer than be royal and enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure.”
  9. Vs. 26–“The reproach of God’s anointed one is worth more than any treasure of the world, because of its reward.
  10. vs. 27–“Because I see what is unseen, I endure not fearing the wrath of the king others see.”

A way to use this tool: each of these calls and responses can be done with the family gathered at the table after dinner, read from a list posted nearby, and discussed at length. Each is a deep well of what faith is about. They are meant to generate questions, and discussion, and to give words to confess together with believers in Jesus Christ what we believe about the gospel. Chiastically they unfold by theme: the Unseen-ness of faith, the Reward of of faith, the Citizenship of faith, the Promises of faith, and the Eternal Hope of faith.

May God strengthen your faith in He who is unseen, that through Christ you may enter into greater reward, as Spirit in-dwelt citizens of an unshakeable kingdom, trusting in God’s promises both now and forever. Amen.

1. Wilderness Manual–The Cloud (9)

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Floridian winters are almost always snowless. Still, it is a joy to go outside and not have the heat and damp meet you. The crispness is contrasted brightly with the warm vaporous heat that one can see escaping your lips with every breath. This is one of my favorite things about Winter, I can see the proof of life coming out of my mouth right in front of me.

Principle: When Israel left Egypt, they weren’t following a man, they were following the cloud. God’s messenger would be a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day.

In the Wilderness, a believer will not have any earthly thing to navigate by, or by which to make decisions. God’s ways are far above ours, and the things He teaches us in this stage cannot be learned by earthly means, this blog included. He will provide guidance by the evidence of His Presence, and by His Mouth. As we will see in future discussions about the wilderness, The Mouth of God is going to be your livelihood in the wilderness. Look at Numbers 9:18. In English it’s often translated at the “Command” of the Lord, but the Hebrew word there is “Peh” which simply translated is “mouth.”

“At the mouth of the Lord the sons of Israel would set out, and at the mouth of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped.”

Application: Whatever God says, do. When God doesn’t say, wait. This is your path through the wilderness. He will be your path and provision. He will move you at the right time.

Some may ask, “How do I hear God’s voice?” or “How do I know God is saying something?” Surrender control, seek God’s word, pray. If you don’t have any sort of leading in your spirit, ask God for one. No matter how silly or unnecessary or uncomfortable it seems, do it. Your food, your direction, and purpose will be from God’s mouth. A dependent relationship of trust is what He is growing with you.

1. Us: The World and the Word

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Hebrews 11:3~ “By faith we understand that the ages of time were created by the proclamation of God, so that, from what was not visible, things that are seen came to be.” (Translation mine)

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Faith accounts for the unseen reality which is the basis for the seen reality. Faith does not just think there is something to the Unseen, it simply understands that the Unseen is real. We have already discussed this, and now let us look at the nature of faith.

Principle: It sees the Visible in terms of the Invisible. How are we supposed to make sense of the world of time in which we live purely by observation of the visible world? Even if those who claimed to have done so actually could, they would negate so many concepts that are unseen yet obviously real: such as meaning, love, happiness, even words. There is an invisible dimension behind everything, and faith sees it.

The Bible teaches us how to see the Seen world in terms of the Unseen.

Faith recognizes the designer in the design, the creator in the creation, and his word behind the thing. It is easy to think of Words giving us access to understanding things: a bridge between us and the world around us. This is not untrue, but words can also give access to the Person behind the Words behind the thing referred to with the word that is formed in your mind and heart. As words give access to the Seen reality, so words also give us access to the Unseen reality. Just as Paul wrote in Romans 10:13 “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the proclamation of Christ.”

This is also why faith can be trained by learning the Words of God, which we have in the Bible. The Gospel of Christ is the power of God bringing us to Salvation, because the very Gospel of Christ is woven into the fabric of the way God made the world. Paul wrote also to the Romans 1:20 that, “since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Faith gives a person the ability to see the world through God’s eyes.

Application:

  1. Read the Scriptures, listen to them on audio, and let the word of God, the SAME word that created the whole world, be your access to seeing the Unseen realm, and also the world around you.
  2. Learn to see the world from the Word of God’s point of view. It’s like how Neo saw the Matrix. God’s Word in the Bible is the same Word for understanding all of the Seen world. By this I do not mean the “Bible Code” or DaVinci anything. I simply mean that a person’s words are a result of who they are, and God has revealed who He is in the words that He used to create the visible world.
Matrix as it is
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