Tag Archives: See

Opened Eyes!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training, Transformation

Opened eyes!

“35 As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.

36 Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’

40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, 41 ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ And he said, ‘Lord, I want to regain my sight!’

42 And Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.’

43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.” [Luke 18]

I am focusing [pun intended] on the last portion of the chapter, but I encourage you to read the entire chapter. Please notice the chapter is bracketed [book ended] with two stories on persistence in prayer.

1] The woman who persistently sought what she NEEDED [legal [righteous] justice]
2] The blind man who Jesus asked what he WANTED [vision to fulfill his purpose]

God is interested in both what we need and want! He only wants us to want what He wants for us.

SELAH

Let’s look at the text about the blind man for a moment.

There is much to unpack in our text, but I will point out certain truths we need, must, see!

By the way, Matthew says there were 2 blind men [unidentified] and Mark identifies one man, Bartimeus.

First, Jericho means fragrance [sense of smell]. Bartimeus was sitting in a place where his sense of smell was heightened, but he could not see what he could smell. Smell and taste are closely aligned so I am sure at times he was tortured knowing he could not see what he could smell. The scents may have sent him into depths of adventure.

Second, Jericho comes from a word meaning “moon”. The moon is the light God put in the sky that governs the night [time of darkness, or when seeing is not as easy – meaning vision is not fully experienced].

Third, the Jericho of that day sat 5 miles from the Jordan River and 8 miles from the Dead Sea. Five = grace and eight = new beginnings.

It would appear Bartimeus was positioned [sitting] perfectly for God’s grace to introduce him to his new beginning.

Fourth, as we dig deeper into the root system of Jericho’s meaning we discover it means lunar cycle, or something that occurs repeatedly. The Jewish calendar is lunar, not solar, so their year is 360 days, not 365 like ours.

Twelve 30 day cycles make up their year!

This tells me Bartimeus was on a repetitive cycle [or repeat cycle] where he had plenty of time to think about what he wanted, and what he wanted was to not be on this cycle, or on this vicious visionless cycle.

Bartimeus means son of one who is highly prized [very valuable], but for some reason was unclean, impure. It comes from a word meaning contaminated.

Bartimeus’ lineage was promising and prophetic, but not conducive to health or wealth, and he became a beggar.

Beggar means applicant, one who earnestly asks. Bartimeus was so earnest Luke uses two different Greek words for ‘call [cry] out.’

The first usage is boáō [bo-ah’-o ] which means to raise a cry of joy or pain. It also means to speak or cry out in a strong voice for help.

The second usage is kraugázō [krow-gad’-zo] which means to be vehement to the point of brawling. Because his first attempt was not getting the result he desired he was willing to get physical.

This reminds me of the woman at the beginning of the chapter who refused to be denied. The Greek text indicates the judge finally realized she would physically assault him if he kept refusing her righteous request for protection.

Bartimeus wanted to apply himself. He wanted to be gainfully employed but he was not hirable or workable. His life was not working out according to his prophetic purpose. And he was over it!

Jesus opened Baritmeus’ eyes which enabled him to see the world, for the first time possibly in a long time. His eyes [vision] were closed to all the possibilities that were around him. By opening his eyes Jesus gave him the opportunity to see what was possible.

Bartimeus wanted to see – again!

What did he remember seeing that he could no longer see?

What did he see internally that made him want to see again externally?

I am reminded of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1 – “That the eyes of your inner [redeemed, spiritual] man be opened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling.“

I believe what Bartimeus saw repeatedly was he was very valuable, a highly prized individual, who was trapped in a life that limited what he could see and do.

I believe Bartimeus never gave up hope his vision and his purpose would be restored.

Do you know “what?”

Does what you need, and want, line up with what God wants for you?

Selah

I want you to think about what you want that will require you to see with your spiritual eyes so that when God opens your physical eyes you will be focused only on what He shows you!

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org
912.577.4837

You say you want a revolution? Join our Movement and turn your world upside down so that God can turn the world right side up!

Within! With Out?

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, Hard Work, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Teamwork, Training

Whatever your interior reality is will determine what you release into the reality that is your life! Whatever is closed to you will only be opened to you as you open up to the possibility that its reality is not yours!

Joshua 6

“1 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.'”

Have you ever noticed that the very thing that God says is yours becomes ‘tightly shut’ when you show up to possess it?

Jericho was closed! Jericho was not going to open up simply because those who were given it showed up to receive it!

Jericho was a city that was the initial city the children of Israel were to conquer in order for them to conquer the land God promised Abram and his Seed.

The physical land of promise was not the entire land that was promised. We learn this from Paul in Romans 4:13. “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”

So, just like Jericho was not the extent of Abraham’s physical seed’s inheritance, neither was Canaan land the extent of what God promised and showed Abraham He was giving to him.

Seeing is believing!

The faith teachers teach that faith believes before you see.

Yet, when God was promising Abram and Joshua what was theirs by a gift He showed them limited natural things to reveal the scope of His promises to them.

Genesis 13

“14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.'”

God then instructed Abram to put feet to his faith. “‘Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.'” [Verse 17]

In my upcoming Book, Who Is The Israel of God, And What Does That Have To Do With Me, I talk about how Abram had an encounter with the Lord on the Cross.

God told Abram to look north, south, east and west for all the land that he could “see” would be given to him and to his Seed forever. He then told Abram to “Arise and walk across the land, or carry the cross he saw on the land of promise.”

That gifted land represented the entire planet. But Abram had to obey God’s command to see it and walk across what he could see in the natural.

God will give a glimpse of what He is giving and commands us to see to the farthest regions of what He calls us to reach and realize.

Seeing is believing!

Joshua saw a walled city tightly secured and impenetrable in the natural!

What has God shown you that looks impossible from your vantage point?

What has God given you that you know there is no way in the natural you can take [receive] what God has promised you?

What do you see when you look at the very place, thing, or people that God says is yours?

Seeing is believing!

I believe this is one reason Jesus would later say, “According to your faith will it be done to [for] you.”

Faith does not deny what is naturally confronting you. Faith sees beyond any impossibility to what God says is true, and then it motivates you to move forward with confidence that every challenge will be overcome.

Faith comes [is revealed and received] by hearing what God says is the truth. Faith is  activated when we move out from where we are to where God says we are supposed to be, and into what we are supposed to be doing.

Jericho was tightly shut! Its walls were so huge they could not be penetrated naturally!

How was Joshua and the children of Israel supposed to take it? First they had to face the obvious which was what they saw in the natural. Second, they had to believe God by believing that God knew how to overcome the challenges posed in the natural. Third, they had to hear what God commanded them to do. Fourth, they had to obey all that God said for them to do. And lastly, they had to begin walking!

That last step is usually the hardest step. I know I listed it last but the first step forward is always the hardest step you will take. Talking yourself into starting begins with changing your self talk!

“I can’t!” “I’m not!” “It won’t!” “It can’t!” These are not the motivating messages that inspire an invasion into the impossible!

Now to the title Within! With Out?

Jesus said, “The kingdom is within you.” He also said, “You must be born again in order to see the kingdom.” He also said, You must be born of the Spirit and water to enter the kingdom.” [Luke 17:21; John 3:3, 5]

You will never enter what you cannot, or will not see!

If you do not win the war within you will never win the war around you!

You will do without until you overcome what is within you that contradicts what God says to you!

If you can not see the possibilities arise within you ,you will never see the impossibilities fall around you!

The kingdom of God within you is given to you to see what God has given to you that does not yet have His kingdom within it!

Getting you to heaven is not God’s goal! Getting heaven in you so you can reveal and release heaven here on earth is God’s goal! That is why Jesus said to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done IN earth as it IS IN heaven.” [Matthew 6:10 KJVB]

Why do you think God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to walk around Jericho one time for six straight days?

Why do you think God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to walk around Jericho seven times on the seventh day?

Remember, God told Moses no work was to be done on the seventh day as it was a day of rest. Yet, on this seventh day they were to work [walk] more than on the first six days of work. To me this proves once and for all and beyond any shadow of a doubt that Sabbath rest has nothing to do with a specific day. Sabbath rest has always been about obeying God. The writer of Hebrews makes this abundantly clear to those who have the ability to see what God had revealed.

Hebrew’s says to labor to enter God’s rest! What does labor and rest have in common? Do you see the conundrum?

God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to walk around Jericho a total of 13 times before the miracle would happen. Why thirteen? Well six is the number of fallen man and seven is the number of God’s perfection. So we could say God one upped fallen man!

Thirteen is also a number that represents rebellion! For instance:

  • Nimrod was the 13th in Ham’s lineage. Nimrod tried to replace God!
  • The valley of Hinnom or its variation occurs 13 times in Scripture! Hinnom is the place rebellious Jews burned their children to the false god Molech!
  • In the first century Gehenna, the Greek equivalent of Hinnom, represented the place of future punishment for rebelliousness!
  • In Romans chapter 1 Paul lists 23 characteristics of sinful people. Hater’s of God is number 13!
  • The dragon of Revelation is mentioned 13 times!

You should get the picture [pun intended]! So God commanded the war against rebellion to begin with extreme obedience. Everything to be overcome must be overtaken by the opposite spirit the spiritual war involves!

Joshua:

  • Don’t look at those walls!
  • Don’t look at those gates!
  • Don’t look at those warriors!
  • Don’t look at that king!

Joshua:

  • See the city that I have given to you!

If you pass this test then every test after that will not seem so terrible!

See, I believe that each time Joshua and the children of Israel walked around that city they saw something they did not see the previous times they walked it.

I believe each time they walked around that city they began to see what God was saying they were receiving.

I believe as they saw less of what was in their way they began to believe that what was beyond what they were seeing was within their reach!

What is within your reach that you still don’t see because what you are focusing on is keeping you from seeing what God has given you?

Seeing is believing!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

A Hisstorymaker

 

 

Come And See

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training

“5 Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land; They passed through the river on foot; There let us rejoice in Him!” Psalms 66

The psalmist chose two specific historical events in ancient Israel to invite every reader of the Bible to “come and see”.

Have you ever wondered why he chose those two out of the multitude of events available to him?

Here is what I believe –

1. “He turned the sea into dry land” speaks of deliverance from Egyptian bondage.

Egypt is a type of the world, sin, and being in bondage to a tyrant [Pharoah / devil]. To escape, God dried up the Red Sea so the children of Israel could walk on dry ground to begin their 11 day journey to the Promised Land [the place God wanted to deliver them into].

Unfortunately they turned that 11 day trek into a 40 year journey!

2. “They passed through the river on foot” speaks of the people having to take a risk to enter the place God delivered them out of Egypt to enter.

The river Jordan was at flood stage so the risk was great. If it had been at a time or place where there was not much water the risk would have been much lower. God did not dry up the river like He did the Red Sea.

God never delivers a person just to get them out of something or some place. He always wants to deliver people into something or some place. That place is the place of freedom and blessing. It is the place He created you to be.

It is the place where His purpose for your life can be fully lived!

In order to get into the place God wants to deliver you into [the place of your divine purpose] you will have to step into the water [that which is inconvenient and risky] to enter into it. It is at that place [“there”] that the greatest rejoicing takes place. “There let us rejoice in Him!”

It is interesting to me that the psalmist said to rejoice at the place you enter your purpose, not at the place of pain you were delivered out of.

When the children of Israel stepped into the flood waters the water rolled all the way back to a town called Adam.

Adam is the man who lost sight of who he was [made in the likeness and image of God], why he was [to work and protect the Garden God placed him in charge of, and to export the blessings of the Garden to the rest of the world]. When he lost focus he sucked the serpent into his world and became lost, or separated from the God who made him.

Adam did not get lost until he lost focus! When he lost focus he lost his identity and his purpose.

Are you lost? Have you lost focus? Have you forgotten who God says you are? Have you failed to enter into the work God called you to do? Have you been living irresponsibly by either never entering your place of purpose, or by being irresponsible in your area of responsibility?

Rolling the water back to Adam speaks of the removal of all that Adam passed on to you so that you go into your place of purpose free, clear and clean as you fully appreciate and appropriate all that you are in the last Adam, who is Jesus Christ.

What is standing in your way keeping you from stepping into God’s purpose for you?

What are you afraid to step into?

What is God not removing from you for you because it will be removed when you take the step of faith required to see it removed?

Is your identity in the first Adam, who failed miserably?

Is your identity in the last Adam, Jesus Christ, who is a faithful Son over the household of God?

“Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.”

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

A Hisstorymaker