Spiritual Perceiving (11) Environment

Some Christians are developing an ecological worldview and taking up responsibility for caring for the earth. This is good, but something important is missing from this understanding.

The group that is most serious about polluting and destroying creation are the spiritual powers of evil. They hate the good world that Cod created and want to destroy it. They have already had a good go.

Therefore it is not surprising that when people pursue the things of the world (1 John 2:15), they also harm the creation. They are being led by the world system and the spiritual powers of evil without knowing it.

The people of the world are now really stirred up to care for their environment. This is good, but the environmental movement will fail because they do not understand what they are up against. They only see the physical, so they are not taking into account influences from the spiritual dimensions. Because they do not have victory over the forces of evil, their efforts are doomed to failure. They will often make thing worse without understanding why.

On the other hand, Christians should be embarrassed that they have been so slow to grasp the importance of caring for the created world. Those who have been rescued by God should have understood how much he loves the earth that he created, and how upset he is done at the harm done by the powers of evil. Unfortunately, Christians have often been the worst at destroying the creation, because they did not understand what was happening in the spiritual realms, and who they were working for.

When the gospel has gone into the world and Christians are full of the Spirit, prophetic people will begin speaking healing to the earth. As the sons of God are revealed, the powers of evil will be exposed and pushed out of the physical realms. The Holy Spirit will begin to restore the creation. God’s people will work with him to liberate creation from bondage into glorious freedom (Rom 8:21). We should be working towards that now.

Spiritual Perceiving (10) Sickness

Luke says something interesting about sickness.

Those troubled by evil spirits were cured (Luke 6:18).

Those “troubled” by evil spirits were “cured”. The word “troubled” in the Greek is “ochleo”. It comes from the noun “ochlos”, which means crowd or multitude. This noun is used in both the previous and subsequent verse to describe the crowd. The implication is that those troubled or vexed by evil spirits were “crowded” or “thronged” by evil spirits.

Luke does not say that those troubled by evil spirits were delivered or set free. He says they were cured. The Greek word is “therapeuo”, from which we get the word therapeutic. This implies that these people were cured of sickness or disease. Luke realised that many of the sick were actually harassed by evil spirits. This aligns with his statement about sickness in Acts 10:38.

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Those who are sick are under the power of the devil.

We have accepted a materialistic view of sickness. We assume it is caused by a virus or a bacteria. Cancer is cell tissues that are out of control due to a genetic defect. We have this distorted view, because we are stuck in the physical realms and have forgotten that they are just a small part of reality.

If we could see into the spiritual realms, we would have a very different view of sicknesses. Viruses are entities that were created by the forces of evil to harm our body. Cancer is a timebomb that evil spirits put into human bodies to destroy and kill them. If we understood this reality we would stop trusting chemical and physical solutions that only half work, and seek after the solution that Jesus demonstrated.

The crowd all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all (Luke 6:17-19).

More here.

Spiritual Perceiving (9)

When Jesus began his ministry, he read of Isaiah 61:1-2.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me…
to proclaim recovery of sight for the blind (Luke 4:18-19).

The Holy Spirit anointed Jesus to restore the sights of the blind. He confirmed this by opening the eyes of those who are physically blind. However,the promise is much broader than this. All humans had been blind since the fall. They could not see into the spiritual realms. This is a serious defect, because it means that we can only see a small part of reality. It makes spiritual warfare difficult, because we cannot see what we are up against.

Jesus came to open the eyes of hearts so that we could see into the spiritual realms by faith. When he began his ministry, the evil spirits began to cry out in his presence. The anointing of the Spirit on him caused them to expose themselves and the people began to see the work of the forces of evil much more clearly.

The anointing of the Spirit on our lives can assist us with spiritual warfare. We need Jesus to open our spiritual blind eyes to see what we are up against.

Spiritual Perceiving (8) Fighting Blind

Before they disobeyed, Adam and Eve could see into the spiritual world, so that when they drew near to God, it seemed like he was walking in the garden with them. They were able to see the devil when he came to tempt them. This wonderful situation did not last long. When Adam and Eve sinned, their sight was changed so that they could no longer see into the spiritual realms. Sin placed an enormous dark barrier between them and God.

The Bible says their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked (Gen 3:7). This statement is a huge irony. Their eyes were actually closed to the spiritual realms. When they could see the brilliant glory of the heavenly realms, their observation of the physical world was dimmed, and they did not notice they were naked. Once the light of heavenly glory was turned off, their view of the physical world was greatly intensified, so they realised for the first time that they were naked.

Losing the ability to see into the spiritual realms was a serious problem, because they could no longer see what God and the angels were doing. Worse still, they could not see what the spiritual forces of evil were doing. This put humans at a terrible disadvantage in spiritual warfare.

Evil spirits could attack people and work in their lives without being seen. No one would see these attacks coming, or the good angels supporting them. They would not be aware that they had been attacked until the change began to show in their life. If a spiritual attack came at a traumatic time, they might blame the changes in their circumstances for the change in their life, and not be aware of the source of the attack. Fighting an enemy that you cannot see is really difficult, so spiritual blindness gave the powers of evil a huge advantage.

Spiritual Perceiving (7)

The Holy Spirit is lives and moves in the spiritual realms, but he can take a physical appearance. When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit descended on him. Luke tells us that he came down in a physical form.

The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove (Luke 3:22).

The Holy Spirit is a spirit, so he would not normally seen. In the situation, he deliberately took a physical form. I presume that he did this to authenticate Jesus ministry.

Luke says that the Holy Spirit looked like a dove. A Holy Spirit in physical form is a bit of a contradiction for human eyes and human minds. The best that could be done to describe his appearance was to say that it was like a dove.

Luke does not say who saw this physical appearance of the Holy Spirit. It can be assumed that Jesus perceived it. John’s gospel tells us that John the Baptist saw it too. John the Baptist said,

I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him (John 1:32).

It is not clear if the other people who were present saw what John saw. John may have seen more, because the Spirit had been upon him since his birth (Luke 1:41).

Spiritual Perceiving (6) Testing

Some Christians are getting intense revelation of the spiritual realms. However, powerful revelations are not a sign of spiritual maturity. Often really intense spiritual encounters are experienced by quite new Christians. Amazing spiritual experiences can be false. We should not assess the maturity of ourselves or other Christians by the intensity of their seeing.

The means by which a revelation is received does not determine its truth. We should be careful about assuming that a revelation is received by an intense spiritual experience is true. We should not trust what a leader says just because they received in an open-eyed vision or other heavenly encounter. All humans are capable of being deceived. The enemy masquerades as an angel of light.

The rules of testing apply to all revelations, no matter how they are received. Some visions will be fake, just as some spiritual internal impressions are false. Intensity of revelation does not make spiritual discernment and testing redundant. It actually makes them more important.

Spiritual Perceiving (5) Faith or Sight

We are called to live by faith, rather than relying on what we can see.

We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7)

So Christians should aim to see in the spirit by faith, rather than needing to see the spiritual realms with our physical eyes.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words (1 Cor 2:10-13).

In most situations, seeing in the Spirit by faith should be sufficient. It requires faith, but that it is good because God wants us to grow in faith.

We are to walk by faith and not by sight, so in principle seeing and hearing in the Spirit should be enough. However, God is not stingy, so he gives us more when we need it, or just when he wants to bless us. There are several reasons why a person might get more intense perception revelation of the spiritual realms.

1. A common reason is corrective. Our world has become so secular and materialistic that we are almost ignorant of the spiritual realms, and most Christians lack the ability to discern them. God is allowing some Christians to see the spiritual realms physically, so they can communicate clearly what is happening to make his people hungry and open their minds to what they are missing. This seems to be the case with Brad Healy. He sees amazing details. It took quite a while, but he eventually came to understand that his purpose was to help other Christians see and understand the spiritual realms. He seems to be committed to helping Christians see in the Spirit more clearly.

   Our understanding of the spiritual realms is so limited that we need descriptions by people who seen their working clearly to open our minds. Christians should be taught about the operation of the spiritual realms as soon as they come to faith. Most have not had this teaching. We need this understanding to become normal again. People who have seen vividly can help with this restoration.

2. When we have a big costly decision to make, God can give a more intense revelation, so that we can be certain of what he has asked us to do. Joseph is an example. God sent an angel to him in a dream. Through the dream, he knew exactly what God wanted him to do, even though he was not skilled in hearing and obeying the Spirit. He could not have this skill, because the Spirit has not yet been poured out.

3. People called to a task that is really critical for God’s plan may get very clear perception and direction. Mary spoke with an angel face-to-face. A young woman caring for a baby conceived by the Holy Spirit would need tremendous faith. Receiving such a vivid and real communication would have built her faith. Mary was wise and fed her spirit by treasuring her experience in her heart.
   
   Abraham saw three angels. This dramatic encounter would have contributed to his faith and enabled him to trust God’s promise and move to a new land where he did not belong.

4. Many prophets were given an open vision at the beginning of their ministry as part of their calling. Elisha saw Elijah go up to heaven (2 Kings 2). Jeremiah saw a vision of an almond tree (Jer 1). Isaiah received a vision of angels (Is 6).

5. When prophets receive vision for way in the future, God sometimes give clear physical vision. The prophet is often called to prophesy about things so far in the future that they cannot even imagine the situation. God has to use powerful physical revelation to break that barrier. The Revelation of John is an example. John probably thought that he understood some of what he saw. But he could not even imagine the world in which some of it will be fulfilled. God gave the vision to him in a way that his mind could see and record, without needing the background understanding.

6. God will sometimes send intense revelation to sustain people who are being persecuted for their faith. We do not know when it occurred, but Paul had an experience where he went in the third heaven (also known as paradise). He saw things he could not speak about. This event would have sustained him through his frustration and loneliness during this may years of persecution in Roman jails.

   Stephen was given an open vision of Jesus seated at the right hand of God when he needed the faith to face martyrdom (Acts 7:55-57).

7. When people are afraid, God sometimes gives a powerful and clear vision of the spiritual reams to increase their confidence. Elisha’s servant is an example, he was afraid of the enemy army, so God gave him and open vision of the spiritual forces arrayed against it (2 Kings 6:15-17).

8. When people have been hurt by traumatic experiences, they can find it hard to accept that God loves. Sometimes a powerful vision of Jesus, where they can see his love is needed to open their hearts.

9. Spiritual visions are a quick way of understanding the cause of the problems carried by people who come to us for ministry, especially if we do not know them. God can expose the root of the problem in a spiritual revelation.

10. Children sometime see into the spiritual realms very clearly, because they have not yet learnt to ignore them. John the Baptist had a physical experience of Jesus when has still in the womb. Children growing up in Christian families should learn about the spiritual realms from their parents, as they are growing up. I suspect that many would get insight quickly. I presume that many children experience things that parents think are quaint, such as invisible friends, which are really experiences of the spiritual realms. Parents should help their children to get a broader understanding of the spiritual realms in which they live, rather than just laughing.

Seeing by faith is probably better than seeing by sight. However pretending to see by faith, when you are really walking in darkness is foolish. We need a lot more of both seeing by sigh and seeing by faith. We will need a lot more seeing by sight before God’s people are proficient at seeing the spiritual realms in the spirit by faith.

Spiritual Perceiving (4) How

God wants us to understand the links between events in the spiritual realms and events on earth, so he will reveal the spiritual realms in the way this is appropriate for us at the time. We should not demand particular types of revelation, but rather we should seek a better understanding of the spiritual realms, and leave him to decide how we will receive it.

On the other hand, we should be open to all types of seeing that he offers to us, and not set boundaries on what he can do. It would be sad, if we missed out on a revelation, because we had decided that a particular type of seeing was not for us, or not for this time.

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach us all that he sees the Father doing. We must allow the Holy Spirit to speak and reveal in whatever way he chooses. Those who hungry to understand God’s purpose will be ready to accept whatever revelation the Holy Spirit gives.

We cannot decide how we will see. God determines how he will show us the things the he wants us to perceive. If he decides to speak with an still small voice, we cannot demand an open vision. We don’t have the right to demand and particular type of revelation.

We can decide whether we will see or not. God wants us to see and understand the spiritual realms.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor 5:18).

Since he has commanded us to be aware of the spiritual realms, every follower of Jesus must be able to see in some way. If we are not seeing, it could be because we have chosen not to see, or are ignoring what he is showing us. Therefore, if we are not seeing, we should make the decision to seek to see more clearly.

If we ask him to show us what we need to know about events in the spiritual realms, he will do so. However, we cannot determine how we will see. He can show us however he chooses, and because he is God, he will show us in the way that is right for us.