Featured Article
What are You Seeing?
By Keith A. Paul
By Keith A. Paul
Additional important information can be found about the Visual Spectrum on one of our other pages:
Seeing Beyond the Visual Spectrum
We live in a world of visual stimuli. We operate and live in this visual environment unless our eyesight has been taken from us. Much of what we see is focused in the natural realm and has a great influence on our lives. That stimuli may inspire us as we look on the beauty of God's creation or manipulate us as we succumb to media's persuasive impact on us. God expects us to look beyond the earth realm and gaze into His realm. This article is about doing that and connecting with God through the visual realm.
God speaks to us in many ways but the primary mode of communication from God has been through His inspired Word. We must remember that the inspiration of God's Word came before it was written. In other words those who wrote down the scriptures had already received the inspiration and revelation which enabled them to record it. God breathed into the writers revelation for the Word and so we must receive inspired revelation to truly receive the fullness of the Word. This inspiration and revelation is what sets the Holy Scriptures apart as being sacred and places them above the volumes of human literary writings. For additional information on how God communicates with us, I encourage you to visit one of our other website links Ways God Speaks
The inspired Word of God serves as a catalyst that is intended to connect us with the reality of God and His Kingdom. All who come to Him must believe that He is and it is that kind of faith that takes us beyond the natural realm into the realm of God.
Let me share with you about spiritual eyesight or seeing with the eyes of your spirit. The following is a great scriptural example for us. In this passage Jesus responded to Nathanael with great promise and His response to Nathanael is a key to your relationship with God today. . Study this passage:
John 1:48 Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'
John 1:49 Nathanael answered him, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!'
John 1:50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these.'
John 1:51 And he said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'
Notice that Jesus saw Nathanael previous to the physical introduction. Jesus also knew him. Be certain then that Jesus also sees you and also knows you. Spiritual eyesight enables Jesus to do that. The same spiritual sight enables us to know and see the Lord. Again let me repeat that, the living, vibrant and inspired Word of God will serve you in your pursuit of knowing God. Revelation in the Word and through the Word by the Holy Spirit belongs to you. The Holy Spirit within the Believer empowers the eyes of your spirit to see beyond the natural realm where there is no distance or time restraints.
Notice as well, that Jesus also defined some of the possibilities of this kind of spiritual eyesight. Greater things than these are to be revealed to you as well. Here He refers to an open heaven and the ministry of Angels. This apparently was the normal mode of operation for Jesus. In John 5:19, Jesus made mention of the fact that He could only do what He saw the Father doing. However, the same promise or declaration to Nathanael also belongs to every Believer. Jesus has established an open heaven over the life of the Believer and created us to be a creature of both the earth realm and the heavenly realm. God intends us to look into the open heaven and see the activities of His Kingdom and some of what He is doing. This is your inheritance in Christ.
How does this occur? God has given every born again Believer the ability to see with the inner eyes of the spirit. Jesus said the following:
Mat 13:11 And he answered them, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given
Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.'
Where are your spiritual eyes within you? Your spiritual eyes operate within the faculty where images are formed. We commonly call this the imagination. This word ' imagination' means 'image producing'. Every person has this faculty. This faculty has been strongly condemned by some religious doctrines because of its potential to become corrupted and used immorally. It is often one of the strategic battle grounds within the Believer because of its operational importance. It can operate within the natural human experience, be yielded to the power of darkness or yielded to the Kingdom of our Majestic King. This faculty has the potential for either good or bad. It can create or be subject to very evil imaging processes or very Godly imaging processes. If the born again Believer yields this faculty to the Holy Spirit, then God can use that faculty to bring visual revelation to the Believer. If you as a Believer have surrendered that faculty to the Holy Spirit, then you can follow Him into the visual realm. Let me say that this act of surrender is a daily and moment by moment necessity. We should often ( by regular practice) enter this visual realm by surrendering this faculty to the Lord. The Lord can initiate revelation, visions and other prophetic experiences through this inner faculty, or we as a Believer can activate this God given faculty, as we enter into communion with the Lord and in doing so receive encounters with God.
There are many cases in The Word where the Lord initiates the encounter and others where the Believer initiates the encounters. Elisha operated in this area and imparted it to his servant on at least one occasion:
2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. You will notice later in this same passage that Elisha imparts spiritual blindness over the troop of soldiers who had come to either kill him or take him captive. The context of this scripture confirms this spiritual blindness. You will notice that there was no panic that came over the soldiers which would certainly have happened, if they had been struck with physical blindness. He then later commands their eyes to be opened after they had been lead into the fortress. The following conciliatory gestures of the King toward these soldiers resulted in a peaceful resolve between the two nations. Elisha knew the importance of spiritual vision and operated in this as part of his prophetic calling.
Another prime example of the operation of spiritual vision is found in John's encounter with the Lord as he received the end time revelation on the island of Patmos. In Revelation 1:12 John hears the voice and turns to see who was speaking to him and he saw the Lord standing amidst the golden lamp stand. Being in the Spirit on the Lord's day is what John describes of himself in the opening verses of the Book of Revelation. We need to walk and live in the Spirit and then to access this wonderful dimension of the Spirit. The door that Jesus spoke of in Revelation 3:20 is a two way door. He can enter us and we can enter into Him.
If you want to acknowledge the Lord in this important area of your life then my suggestion for you is this: Whenever you turn to the Lord, then do it with the eyes of your spirit wide open. ( see 2 Corinthians 3:16 -18) That means to be in faith, to be receptive and willing to allow the Holy Spirit to take charge of this strategic inner faculty. Spend enough time with Him so that you get past the parade of earthly thoughts and images that course through your mind. Take captive your thoughts and surrender them to the Lord. You have this authority in Jesus' Name. This inner faculty really includes your eyes, ears, emotions and mind. Let Him lead your thoughts in accordance with His Word and then commune with Him. Thoughts and images within your mind will be directed by Him. He may use simple earthly situations to confirm that you are seeing and hearing what He is showing you but spend time with Him until your confidence is built up in Him. You may receive information that seems very practical with your daily concerns or situations. You will at times receive information of much greater importance. For example, you may receive information that will help you fix the sewing machine or information that will help you precisely pray for a nation. God is interested in every detail of your daily life and is vitally interested in showing you His plans, so you can fulfil them to the maximum. Jesus often spoke in parables which revealed His practical insight into common ordinary things that related to most people. He also spoke of things that were far beyond the concerns of daily life. He desires to share this kind of revelation with you through your visual and auditory levels of revelation. I have not addressed the auditory realm but the same information I have shared here applies to that area as well. I have heard the Lord speak audibly to me on at least three occasions. His voice was as real as any other sound that I would hear with my physical ears. Most of His communication with me however, is within thought packets that come into my mind. That communication may be contained by or in a written scripture or an inspired thought from God. Words of wisdom, a word of knowledge or some other gift of the Holy Spirit often relate to people and their needs by way of application. They may not be a direct quote from the written Word of God.
Here is a focal point for your pursuit of revelation. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this scene to you.
Rev 5:12 saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!'
Rev 5:13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'
May you be blessed, impacted, empowered and carried forward by the Holy Spirit as you yield your inner faculties to the Holy Spirit. Revelation and knowledge is coming to you and will take you into encounters that you have not experienced before with the Lord. The Lord Jesus is ready to saturate you with His compassion, mercy, love, power and the totally of His Presence. The measure you receive is directly related to the measure of your surrender to Him. Ask Him to take you into the fullness of all He has for you. This is your inheritance in Him. Amen, even so come Lord Jesus and do all that you need to do.
We live in a world of visual stimuli. We operate and live in this visual environment unless our eyesight has been taken from us. Much of what we see is focused in the natural realm and has a great influence on our lives. That stimuli may inspire us as we look on the beauty of God's creation or manipulate us as we succumb to media's persuasive impact on us. God expects us to look beyond the earth realm and gaze into His realm. This article is about doing that and connecting with God through the visual realm.
God speaks to us in many ways but the primary mode of communication from God has been through His inspired Word. We must remember that the inspiration of God's Word came before it was written. In other words those who wrote down the scriptures had already received the inspiration and revelation which enabled them to record it. God breathed into the writers revelation for the Word and so we must receive inspired revelation to truly receive the fullness of the Word. This inspiration and revelation is what sets the Holy Scriptures apart as being sacred and places them above the volumes of human literary writings. For additional information on how God communicates with us, I encourage you to visit one of our other website links Ways God Speaks
The inspired Word of God serves as a catalyst that is intended to connect us with the reality of God and His Kingdom. All who come to Him must believe that He is and it is that kind of faith that takes us beyond the natural realm into the realm of God.
Let me share with you about spiritual eyesight or seeing with the eyes of your spirit. The following is a great scriptural example for us. In this passage Jesus responded to Nathanael with great promise and His response to Nathanael is a key to your relationship with God today. . Study this passage:
John 1:48 Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'
John 1:49 Nathanael answered him, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!'
John 1:50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these.'
John 1:51 And he said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'
Notice that Jesus saw Nathanael previous to the physical introduction. Jesus also knew him. Be certain then that Jesus also sees you and also knows you. Spiritual eyesight enables Jesus to do that. The same spiritual sight enables us to know and see the Lord. Again let me repeat that, the living, vibrant and inspired Word of God will serve you in your pursuit of knowing God. Revelation in the Word and through the Word by the Holy Spirit belongs to you. The Holy Spirit within the Believer empowers the eyes of your spirit to see beyond the natural realm where there is no distance or time restraints.
Notice as well, that Jesus also defined some of the possibilities of this kind of spiritual eyesight. Greater things than these are to be revealed to you as well. Here He refers to an open heaven and the ministry of Angels. This apparently was the normal mode of operation for Jesus. In John 5:19, Jesus made mention of the fact that He could only do what He saw the Father doing. However, the same promise or declaration to Nathanael also belongs to every Believer. Jesus has established an open heaven over the life of the Believer and created us to be a creature of both the earth realm and the heavenly realm. God intends us to look into the open heaven and see the activities of His Kingdom and some of what He is doing. This is your inheritance in Christ.
How does this occur? God has given every born again Believer the ability to see with the inner eyes of the spirit. Jesus said the following:
Mat 13:11 And he answered them, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given
Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.'
Where are your spiritual eyes within you? Your spiritual eyes operate within the faculty where images are formed. We commonly call this the imagination. This word ' imagination' means 'image producing'. Every person has this faculty. This faculty has been strongly condemned by some religious doctrines because of its potential to become corrupted and used immorally. It is often one of the strategic battle grounds within the Believer because of its operational importance. It can operate within the natural human experience, be yielded to the power of darkness or yielded to the Kingdom of our Majestic King. This faculty has the potential for either good or bad. It can create or be subject to very evil imaging processes or very Godly imaging processes. If the born again Believer yields this faculty to the Holy Spirit, then God can use that faculty to bring visual revelation to the Believer. If you as a Believer have surrendered that faculty to the Holy Spirit, then you can follow Him into the visual realm. Let me say that this act of surrender is a daily and moment by moment necessity. We should often ( by regular practice) enter this visual realm by surrendering this faculty to the Lord. The Lord can initiate revelation, visions and other prophetic experiences through this inner faculty, or we as a Believer can activate this God given faculty, as we enter into communion with the Lord and in doing so receive encounters with God.
There are many cases in The Word where the Lord initiates the encounter and others where the Believer initiates the encounters. Elisha operated in this area and imparted it to his servant on at least one occasion:
2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. You will notice later in this same passage that Elisha imparts spiritual blindness over the troop of soldiers who had come to either kill him or take him captive. The context of this scripture confirms this spiritual blindness. You will notice that there was no panic that came over the soldiers which would certainly have happened, if they had been struck with physical blindness. He then later commands their eyes to be opened after they had been lead into the fortress. The following conciliatory gestures of the King toward these soldiers resulted in a peaceful resolve between the two nations. Elisha knew the importance of spiritual vision and operated in this as part of his prophetic calling.
Another prime example of the operation of spiritual vision is found in John's encounter with the Lord as he received the end time revelation on the island of Patmos. In Revelation 1:12 John hears the voice and turns to see who was speaking to him and he saw the Lord standing amidst the golden lamp stand. Being in the Spirit on the Lord's day is what John describes of himself in the opening verses of the Book of Revelation. We need to walk and live in the Spirit and then to access this wonderful dimension of the Spirit. The door that Jesus spoke of in Revelation 3:20 is a two way door. He can enter us and we can enter into Him.
If you want to acknowledge the Lord in this important area of your life then my suggestion for you is this: Whenever you turn to the Lord, then do it with the eyes of your spirit wide open. ( see 2 Corinthians 3:16 -18) That means to be in faith, to be receptive and willing to allow the Holy Spirit to take charge of this strategic inner faculty. Spend enough time with Him so that you get past the parade of earthly thoughts and images that course through your mind. Take captive your thoughts and surrender them to the Lord. You have this authority in Jesus' Name. This inner faculty really includes your eyes, ears, emotions and mind. Let Him lead your thoughts in accordance with His Word and then commune with Him. Thoughts and images within your mind will be directed by Him. He may use simple earthly situations to confirm that you are seeing and hearing what He is showing you but spend time with Him until your confidence is built up in Him. You may receive information that seems very practical with your daily concerns or situations. You will at times receive information of much greater importance. For example, you may receive information that will help you fix the sewing machine or information that will help you precisely pray for a nation. God is interested in every detail of your daily life and is vitally interested in showing you His plans, so you can fulfil them to the maximum. Jesus often spoke in parables which revealed His practical insight into common ordinary things that related to most people. He also spoke of things that were far beyond the concerns of daily life. He desires to share this kind of revelation with you through your visual and auditory levels of revelation. I have not addressed the auditory realm but the same information I have shared here applies to that area as well. I have heard the Lord speak audibly to me on at least three occasions. His voice was as real as any other sound that I would hear with my physical ears. Most of His communication with me however, is within thought packets that come into my mind. That communication may be contained by or in a written scripture or an inspired thought from God. Words of wisdom, a word of knowledge or some other gift of the Holy Spirit often relate to people and their needs by way of application. They may not be a direct quote from the written Word of God.
Here is a focal point for your pursuit of revelation. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this scene to you.
Rev 5:12 saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!'
Rev 5:13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'
May you be blessed, impacted, empowered and carried forward by the Holy Spirit as you yield your inner faculties to the Holy Spirit. Revelation and knowledge is coming to you and will take you into encounters that you have not experienced before with the Lord. The Lord Jesus is ready to saturate you with His compassion, mercy, love, power and the totally of His Presence. The measure you receive is directly related to the measure of your surrender to Him. Ask Him to take you into the fullness of all He has for you. This is your inheritance in Him. Amen, even so come Lord Jesus and do all that you need to do.
Blessings..Keith and LaQueta Paul
