With eyes to see

A General review of the last 3 weeks of teachings

Understanding spiritual gates

Some gates are meant to keep you out or prevent you from having access to something

Other kinds of gates are meant to safeguard what you already have, or preserve you from dangers coming in from the outside.

You have both kinds of gates at work in scripture, both in the old testament and the new testament

Genesis 22:17 “blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.”

This promise was given by The Lord to Abraham hundreds of years before, as the nation of Israel would come out of bondage to conquer the different cities in Canaan.

This is symbolic of the kind of gates that would want to keep Gods people out from conquering new territory that was already promised to them

Again we see this in the New testament when Jesus said that the gates of hell, hades which is the realm of the dead, would try to keep the church out, but those gates wouldn’t prevail

Matthew 16:18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

These gates alluded too here are the gates of resistance and opposition that you, as an individual believer, as a family, & as church body will encounter once you are progressing in Christ.

The other gates in scripture are the kinds that hedge you in, they protect you from danger on the outside.

These kinds of gates described in the Bible safeguard your property and where you live.

2 Chronicles 23:19 “And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.”

2 Chronicles 32:6 “Then he (Hezekiah) set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and gave them encouragement, saying,”

When you start understanding gates, which fall under the study and application of spiritual principles, you start becoming more discerning and more productive spiritually.

The next teaching we did to open up the new year was entitled “a prophetic restoration”

We read about The children of Israel in the book of Ezra building the 2nd temple and how opposition by their enemies around them, discouragement, & a lack of faith stalled the building project of the 2nd temple.

We know that all of us here are the temple of God, and His Spirit dwells in us and walks amongst us.

2 Corinthians 6:16“And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.””

The 2nd temple building project is a shadow and type of us now, and it represents how we are building our lives in The Spirit

The prophets during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah played a critical role directing the children of Israel by encouraging them to keep building the temple.

We understand that the gift of prophecy and prophetic individuals within a local congregation or even in your inner circle are of the utmost importance, they help build strong foundations, warn of danger and sometimes provide direction in seasons of uncertainty.

We all should know Gods will for our lives, and be in alignment with His program at any given season

Prophets and the gift of prophecy are given to the church to

Encourage

Build up

Correct

Warn of sin & judgment

Discern future events, whether through the pattern of scripture or through The Holy Spirit’s revelation.

Haggai 1:1–4 “In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ” Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?””

After this exhortation we see the nation of Israel getting right back to building the temple

For me and you, sometimes we need someone to encourage us to keep building, to keep going, to keep pressing on, & to keep believing.

That’s what the gift of prophecy does for the body of Christ if used properly.

Our message today I believe ties into everything we’ve been looking at with these last 2 teachings we’ve reviewed here today.

How are you seeing?

From what lenses do you see your life through, from what lenses do you see The Lord from?

Our ability to see, has to do with the spiritual condition of our hearts.

In the Gospels there are usually 3 words that have to do with the word “seeing”

to Behold

to take heed or beware

& to regard something

We obviously know the ordinary meaning of seeing is to look at something physically Just the way you’re looking at me now on this stage.

But the most significant uses of the word “seeing” in the bible are used figuratively. This kind of sight goes beyond our natural eyes.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:12 “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both.”

This means that with the eyes The Lord has given us, He wants you & me to discern how he is operating, how he’s dealing with you, and how He’s leading you.

The Bible says that we walk by faith and not by sight. We want to train our spiritual eyes to see things from Gods perspective.

Its impossible to perceive God with your natural eyes, and it’s impossible to please God without faith.

We see jesus in the parable of the sower describe why people couldn’t see who He really was and why He was really sent. He also mentions hearing but we want to focus on the part of seeing.

Matthew 13:13–15 “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’”

Once again our ability to “see”is directly connected with the condition of our hearts.

Jesus talked about the eye, as it pertain’s to us seeing He said

Luke 11:34–36 “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.””

The lamp Jesus is talking about is your spirit man, your lamp is directly connected to how you’re seeing

Proverbs 20:27 “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.”

an important Example

You know why the five foolish virgins in Matthew 25 didn’t have oil in their lamps because they failed to keep watch. they failed to see The Lord in His majesty & how close He was.

That oil they were missing in their lamps was connected to how they saw things. Since they couldn’t see, they had no oil for the midnight hour.

Our sight has to be focused on Gods work on the earth through the church, but also in our lives.

Just like the background picture of these slides, with a man that is blindfolded, we too as Christians can be blindfolded & have blind spots.

Blind spots will eventually affect our ability to see because there is an underlying condition of the heart.

The Lord is trying to get to that place in us where we can’t see. That area where we can still have a blind spot.

Remember judgement starts in the house of God and before He deals with the world He is going to search us.

1 Peter 4:17 “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”