Eyes to See

Justin Miller

 On November 15, 2002 as I was driving home from work the Lord talked to me about a number of things.  He had told me before, but reiterated again: “2003 is the year you will see”.  I had to catch myself because I had written that off several times already.  It seemed so cliché, like a game show or something that I didn’t want to tell anyone.  Isn’t that just like the Lord--to make such a bold statement so matter of fact?  I must say my faith in that word was bolstered when Bob and Shelli Oaks said the same thing during one of our services.  Thank God His Spirit agrees with Himself.

 So what then?  What will we see?  And what needs to be done to achieve the Lord’s end?  Well, Ephesians 5:17 tells us “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is”.  How do we then come to understand the will of the Lord?  Let’s continue that passage of scripture to the 19th verse.  “And be ye not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” 

 This portion of scripture tells of the importance of praying in tongues and staying full of the Holy Ghost. It’s how we find God’s direct orders for us in these last days.  This is the beginning of the Spirit of seeing and knowing.  Here’s some of what I believe we are to be looking for this year in prayer: Miracles and Peace on earth-namely in Jerusalem, Israel.

 We know by now 1 Corinthians 10:32 and the importance of rightly dividing the Word, but also the importance of rightly dividing our world.  We know also the three dimensions of man:  That man is a spirit; he has a soul, and lives in a body.  We’ll start with the spirit of man.  Basic doctrine reveals that when man gave up his lease of the earth to satan he (his spirit) could no longer commune with God.  The solution was that man needed to be spiritually born again to enter back into fellowship with the Father.  Jesus was that propitiation and He made the bridge for us to cross back over.  We now, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, not only give voice to but know the Lord’s Spirit on the earth as a result.  The Bible says we are now the Fathers ambassadors to the world who He works through to bring about His plan of redemption for the entire world.  We represent the Spirit in the world.

 Israel through the first covenant of God with man, revealed the mind of God.  Through the prophets God revealed what He was thinking.  We contain only a portion of that knowledge in our old testament.  Through Jewish oral traditions and other books written by Jewish men and women of God, Israel contains a wealth of knowledge the church is lacking in this area.  Israel can be representative of the mind of God.

 The nations are of course the body, the flesh.  That which the Bible declares is crying out for redemption, the part of the body that we must keep under.  Not that it’s a control issue socially speaking.  The flesh is born with a  sin nature and truly does not know what is good for it and when left to its own devices, will kill itself.  That’s the issue.

 World peace has always been an important issue.  I personally hold it near and dear to my heart.  Though 1 Thessalonians 5:3 tells us when the world cries out “peace”, there will be none; the Word of God makes it clear that we the church are to strive for it.  Not spiritually or mentally speaking.  That peace exists for us by our communion with the Father.  But it’s in our communion with the Father that we strive to pray out His plan.  Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow peace (socially-NOT personally) WITH ALL MEN, and holiness (communion with the Father), without which no man shall see the Lord”.  Jesus also said in Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers (again in a social context): for they shall be called the children of God”.  How do we work toward the call of peace when we may not be able to go rally or travel to Jerusalem?  Well, the Bible never said to do anything naturally.  Jesus in speaking of these days said “Watch and pray”.  Again, I take you back to the Spirit of seeing and knowing (Ephesians 5:19).  This is how we understand the will of the Lord and where we fit into His picture.  We need to see more of His picture and less of ours to live in these times. 

 You are a spirit that has a mind and dwells in a body.  Our spirits are born again and by the Word of God our minds are renewed.  This tells us that the spirit and the mind can dial into one another when they’re in tune.  But the Word says this isn’t so with our body.  Paul wrote how he kept under his body.  James wrote that the tongue (representative of the body and sin nature) is a fire, a world of iniquity among its members (plural).  James said no man can tame the tongue (James 3:2-8).  I remember a teaching Pastor Bob did last year on this subject.  He taught how the Spirit can tame it, and stressed the importance of having our minds renewed and in tune with our spirits so the tongue will follow the right lead.    Well now, I believe this reveals the mystery of world peace and the importance of our prayers for Israel.  You see healing starts in the spirit, reveals itself in the mind, and manifests itself in the body.  We the church representing the spirit of God in the world have got to align ourselves and support, bolster, and strengthen the nation of Israel, representing the mind of God.  When this unity is achieved the flesh of the world, the nations, will come into line and begin to declare the Glory of God.  The Bible says this has to happen.  The mind of man is the battleground much like Israel is today.  Praying in tongues and staying in the Word of God is what wins the battle for the mind.  When we are diligent to do this James 3:18 is a reality: “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace”.  This creates an environment globally where God’s Spirit can move at will and then boy-oh-boy, the miracles we will see!

 On miracles I want to stress what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:31, “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way”.  A MORE EXCELLENT WAY!  He then wrote 1 Corinthians 13.  Yes, we have to pray and earnestly desire the Power of God to move with pure motive, but there’s an even better way.  Love.  It’s the only commandment we have.  It’s what moved Jesus with compassion to lay hands on and teach the multitudes.  In the atmosphere of love, anything and everything’s possible.  It can and will happen.  I believe the Spirit is always willing, but our heart attitude isn’t always conducive for Him to move.  Let’s make it easy for God to work through us.  Miracles are easy.  God does them, not us.  But, there’s always a God-side and a man-side.  We have got to walk in love.

 This year let’s focus our prayer on the will of God for these last days.  In doing so, we will ultimately not fulfill the lusts of the flesh but move toward bringing heaven and earth to oneness.