RSS

Tag Archives: spiritual eyes

The Eyes of Our Mind

03 Mar
The Eyes of Our Mind

As we continue through the book of Ephesians, we’re looking at the blessings of a mature walk with God. In my last post, I talked about the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Now, Paul will show us more of these blessings.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints…

Ephesians 1:18 NIV

In this verse, Paul talks about something we should view as very important. The NIV translation is poor at this point. In the original Greek, the apostle says that he wants the eyes of our mind to be lit up. The mind being the faculty of our understanding.

We need to understand this. The eyes of our mind is an important concept in Scripture. It’s something that Jesus emphasized throughout His ministry. As a matter of fact, if you think about eyes that are lit up, the book of Revelation describes Christ as having eyes that blazed like fire (Revelation 1:14).

We have to realize that in the pages of Scripture there are two sets of eyes. There are the natural, physical set of eyes that we see the world with. But then, there’s another set of eyes that are always talked about. They’re our inner eyes.

That’s what Paul’s talking about when he says, the eyes of our minds. They’re the same eyes that Jesus talked about when He rebuked the crowds who were listening to His teaching.

“For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”

Matthew 13:15 NIV

Jesus is frustrated with these people because they’ve closed their inner eyes. Because of this condition, they couldn’t understand who He was or what He was offering them.

As believers, we can’t afford to close the eyes of our mind to the things God is showing us. It’s the key to all of our fulfillment in Christ. In another passage, the Lord put it in very clear terms – if you know which eyes He’s talking about.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Matthew 6:22-23 NIV

We need to walk before God with these eyes wide open. I have to be seeking Him and His ways no matter where His Holy Spirit leads me. That’s what faith is all about.

I agree to follow the Lord’s will for my life before I know what it is. I trust that the Holy Spirit has the best path worked out for me.

In the above verse from Ephesians, the word for hope literally means expectation. If I keep my eyes open – seeking God’s ways, I will know what to expect concerning my calling. I may not see the finish line, but I’ll know the next step that I need to take.

On top of that, since I know that it’s God who’s leading me, I also know that I have an inheritance with all the saints. I know that my reward is secure. My future is something to look forward to. I don’t have to worry about what’s happening all around me.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

1 John 1:5-6 NIV

This is the level at which Christ wants all of His followers to attain to. We should all seek to live by the truth with our eyes wide open. This requires intimate prayer times in the Holy Spirit. That’s the road to a victorious life in Christ.

Question: What’s the condition of your “inner eyes”?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 3, 2023 in Faith, Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Shining for Christ

06 May

In my last post, I talked about the light of the Gospel.  It shines through us if we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.  But we also saw that it’s possible for the devil to blind the spiritual eyes of unbelievers if they stubbornly refuse to hear the message.

We must always remember that the message is the most important part.  Methods may change, but the Gospel remains the same.

For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:5-6

The message is Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  That’s where the power resides.  That’s where we find salvation, healing, provision, protection, and fulfillment.  There’s no other light that can pierce the darkness of this world.

Our light needs to radiate all around us.  Only in that way will people see their need for the Lord and come to the foot of the cross.  The light of the Gospel is all that matters.

But we always have to remember, it’s not our light but His. Peter talked about having the Word in you and allowing it to grow and produce fruit in your life. In speaking about this fruitfulness, he says the following…

But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
2 Peter 1:9

Peter calls unfruitful Christians blind and nearsighted. He says that you’ve forgotten about your past being cleansed by the blood of Christ.

That’s because this person is blind to what God is doing. They’re also nearsighted; they can only see what’s right in front of them. They major on the temporary things of this world.

We need 20/20 vision in the spirit.

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:12

It’s interesting to see the contrast here between deeds of darkness vs. armor of light. That’s because the armor is all about action.

Truth, righteousness, the Gospel, faith – all of these things must be visible. It’s up to us to make the light accessible to the world.

We’re the ones looking into the light. We should be walking in it, letting it change us.

…so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…
Philippians 2:15-16

How do we shine like stars? As we hold out the Word. The Word is the light. We hold it out. Not everybody wants it, but some people are touched and changed by it. We need to live in such a way that the light is seen.

Question: How have people seen the light of Christ in your life lately?

© 2020 Nick Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 6, 2020 in Ministry, Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Shining Like Stars

18 Jul

GalaxyI’m posting about how we show the light of Christ to the world around us. The enemy would try to blind their spiritual eyes to the truth. But he can’t stop the power of God.

That’s because the light takes many forms. The prophet Malachi foresaw this day.

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
Malachi 4:2

He saw righteousness rising like the sun. Have you ever seen sunbeams breaking through the clouds? In the ancient Hebrew culture, they called them the “wings” of the sun. So Malachi saw healing beaming out from righteousness.

That’s a part of the light that we shine. That’s why we pray for the sick, especially for an unsaved person. When God brings healing, that’s the light of Christ breaking through to them.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6

But we always have to remember, it’s not our light but His. Peter talked about having the Word in you and allowing it to grow and produce fruit in your life. In speaking about this fruitfulness…

But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
2 Peter 1:9

Peter calls unfruitful Christians blind and nearsighted. He says that you’ve forgotten about your past being cleansed by the blood of Christ.

That’s because this person is blind to what God is doing. They’re also nearsighted; they can only see what’s right in front of them. They major on the temporary things of this world.

We need 20/20 vision in the spirit.

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:12

It’s interesting to see the contrast here between deeds of darkness vs. armor of light. That’s because the armor is all about action.

Truth, righteousness, the Gospel, faith – all of these things must be visible. It’s up to us to make the light accessible to the world.

We’re the ones looking into the light. We should be walking in it, letting it change us.

…so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…
Philippians 2:15-16

How do we shine like stars? As we hold out the Word. The Word is the light. We hold it out. Not everybody wants it; but some people are touched and changed by it. We need to live in such a way that the light is seen.

Question: How have people seen the light of Christ in your life lately?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 18, 2016 in Healing, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Unseeing the Seen

04 Feb

MountainI’m starting to understand the prophet Isaiah a little better lately. I’ve always wondered what it must have been like to have a calling like his. To hear from God and yet know that most of the nation of Israel would ignore your message. That was a tough calling to walk in.

Of all the Israelites living at that time, Isaiah was probably the most committed to the ways of the Lord. Yet when he had a face to face encounter with God, his reaction was immediate.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Isaiah 6:5

The fact is that the prophet had received a view of the very throne room of God. He saw the Seraphim declaring the holiness of the Lord. He saw the glory, might, and perfection of the one true God.

The whole experience was overwhelming to his senses. That’s what made him cry out from the depths of his being.

“Woe to me! I am ruined!”

In that moment he saw the perfection of the Kingdom of God in stark contrast to the level at which he and the children of Israel were living at that time. When he said, “I am ruined,” I don’t think that he meant he was going to be judged and killed by God.

It’s more than that. He knew that from that point on, he could never go back to what his life was like even one day before. He could never unsee what he has just witnessed. The vision of the exalted Lord would overshadow everything he did from that day forward.

That’s why we need to see God’s vision for our lives. It changes everything and propels us forward.

It’s why I can’t stop praying for and speaking about revival. In my spirit, the Lord has shown me the victorious church. I’ve seen God’s people hearing a clear Word from God and walking in it. Through the eyes of faith I see a mighty manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power. It’s on the way.

Sure, I get frustrated when I see how far I am from where I need to be. I wonder how Christ will ever bring His church to this level.

But I can’t stop now. I can’t unsee what I’ve seen in the spirit. Though I’ve sometimes thought about what it would be like if I was just a normal person sitting in a pew each week. Smiling, clapping, and singing on Sunday; then chasing the world for the rest of the week.

I know in my heart that could never happen. I’ve seen the glory of God manifest in His church. I can’t stop moving forward until that day arrives.

We need vision. It only comes from time in the presence of the Holy Spirit. That where we see the unseen. Then, once you’ve seen it – God’s will for your life – you’ll never be the same.

Question: What’s the vision God’s placed in your heart?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 4, 2015 in Faith, Power of God, Prayer, Revival

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There’s no Excuse for Lack of Vision #Vision

14 Mar

BlurThe following is adapted from my book, Breaking Free from the Pack – Developing a Spirit of Excellence.

And he uttered his oracle: “The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:”
Numbers 24:3-4

Even though he was a spiritist and an idolater, Balaam understood something about vision.  Vision is the ability to see and perceive the way ahead through the eyes of your inner man.

We need spiritual eyes that see clearly.  In verse 4, when Balaam says that he hears the words of God, a Hebrew word is used which means to hear intelligently, to give attention to.

In your walk with the Lord, you can only go as far as you can see.  We get into trouble when we’re not seeing what God is showing.  We need to stop assuming that we know it all.  The attention and focus must be upon what God is saying to us.

For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll.  And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say to him, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.”  Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
Isaiah 29:11-14

I’ve found that many people have excuses as to why they don’t know God’s vision for their life and ministry.  To some it’s a mystical thing, words sealed on a spiritual scroll that they can’t open.

They say, “I’m waiting for God to reveal it to me.”  All the while, they’ll sit back and do nothing until the sky opens up and they see angels ascending and descending.

Others think so little of themselves that they believe God can’t possibly give them vision.  They believe that they could never read the spiritual climate they’re in.  They feel that they’re not worthy, not strong enough spiritually, or not mature enough in the Lord.

God is simply looking for a person who’s willing to listen to Him.  He wants to open up His heart.  He wants to show us His vision for our life and ministry so that we can use it to chart the course we will follow.  The Lord doesn’t care if you’re just starting out or if you’ve walked with Him forty years already.

Human nature would rather talk about serving God than actually doing it.  If I’m content to worship God with my lips, then I will not go to God personally to hear His voice. Instead, I want the pastor to hear from God and tell me what I need to do.

Some prefer rules taught by men rather than the discipline that it takes to seek God for themselves.  I can never enter into the fullness of God’s blessing with that attitude.  It’s up to me to spend time in His presence and receive spiritual vision.

Question: What’s the God-given vision for your life at this point?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 14, 2014 in Ministry, Spirit of Excellence

 

Tags: , , , , , ,