Good Morning Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Spiritual blindness is a terrible disease in the Body of Christ today. What is “spiritual blindness?” When we think we already know enough of God’s Word, of God, that we don’t spend regular time in His Word, regular time in prayer, when we don’t truly make Jesus the “Lord” of our lives, and we lean to our own understanding, our own wisdom. This is a spiritually blind brother or sister in Christ.
Jeremiah 5:21
Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
What does God call a spiritually blind and deaf brother or sister in Christ? A foolish person without understanding. Understanding of what? The Word of God. Notice in Jeremiah 5:21 where the prophet speaks of having eyes and cannot see and ears and cannot hear. This is not the physical eyes and ears. It is the spiritual eyes and ears.
Ezekiel 12:2
Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
Again, in Ezekiel 12:2, God speaks of a spiritually blind and deaf Believer. You might ask, “Larry, how do you know they are Believers?” Notice God says they “have” spiritual eyes and ears but see and hear not. You cannot “have” anything spiritual without having accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Redeemer. What does God call the spiritually blind and deaf brother or sister in Ezekiel 12:2? A rebellious person. Who else do we know of that was “rebellious?” Yes, Satan.
Zephaniah 1:17
And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Notice in Zephaniah 1:17 what God allows to happen to Believers that choose to be spiritually blind and deaf: distress. I know it says “And I will bring distress upon men…” As I’ve mentioned in previous emails, there are two states in the Hebrew language: causative and permissive. In the case of Zephaniah 1:17, God has to “permit” distress to fall upon Believers who choose not to obey God’s Word. However, it is written as if God “causes” distress to fall upon His Children. If you go read Deuteronomy 28, the chapter of blessing and cursing, you will see God doesn’t cause the curses to fall upon a Believer. The Believer invites the curses by their unbelieving and their words. Whatever a Believer invites through their belief and words is what God must allow to happen because we have been given free will. In Zephaniah 1:17, God must allow distress, which is part of the curse, to fall upon Believers because of their unbelief. The Believers of this verse walk in a habitual sin leading to the distress in their lives. To sum it up: God causes the blessings to fall upon those that believe and decree God’s Word, and God has to permit the curses to come upon those that don’t believe and decree God’s Word.
Matthew 13:14-15
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
In Matthew 13:14-15, Jesus is speaking of the Jewish people in general, and the religious, the Pharisees and Sadducee’s, in particular. Notice Jesus said, “this people’s heart.” He is speaking of their spiritual heart. Jesus goes on to speak of their spiritual ears and eyes. Most revealing is when Jesus says, “…lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” Jesus is telling us, 2000 years later, if we will humble ourselves (I Peter 5:7 is definition of Biblical humility) and make Him the Lord of our lives, He will heal us. Heal us of what? Sickness, disease, infirmity, financial struggles, relationship struggles, habitual sin, etc. But this “healing” can only take place when we trust and believe the Word of God. You can’t trust something you don’t study because you don’t know what you are trusting. This is spiritual ignorance which puts you in a position of making bad choices. God, then, must “allow” or “permit” the effects of the bad choice because you’ve broken the law of His Word. We see this in Hosea 4:6:
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
God is plainly saying His people, Believers, are destroyed by the curse for a lack of knowledge – knowledge of and belief in the Word of God.
So, what is the purpose of what I’ve written this morning? To encourage you as a Sister or Brother in Christ to make the Word of God number one in your life. Not number two, three, four, or even further down your list of priorities. Number one. If you do so, the following will happen:
Psalm 37:3-5
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.
You will begin to fully trust in the Lord God and His Word. When this happens, you will begin to do good in everything you do. You will be “Word minded and led.” This will ensure you dwell in the land of God’s promises, believing and receiving them. Through your belief and decree of God’s promises over your life, you will be fed the fulfillment of God’s Word in your life, the promises fulfilled. Not only this, but you will have the desires of your heart. Yes, the desires. God doesn’t want to just meet your need; He wants to bless you with the desires of your heart. He further says if you will commit your way to the Lord and trust in Him, His Word, God will bring your way to pass – your desires. The more time you spend in God’s Word, the more His way becomes your way.
In closing, God summed it very succinctly in Deuteronomy 30:19:
Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
You see, WE CHOOSE. God doesn’t choose for us. He encourages us to choose the right answer and gives us the right answer. Unless you know the Word of God, you will not know what is set before you. If you’re begging God in prayer for something His Word says He has already given you, then you are not going to receive it. And, because you don’t know the Word of God, you unnecessarily end up suffering when it WAS NEVER God’s intention that you suffer. He has given you/us a way out through His Word, Jesus Christ. Christ suffered for you so that you DON’T have to suffer (Psalm 107:20). So, why don’t we do what God instructs in Deuteronomy 30:19 – choose life, the Word of God, so that your seed and you may live as God meant for you to live on earth – “because as Christ is so are we in this world (I John 4:17).”
Remember, a moment of favor with God is worth years of labor. Favor can only come through the knowledge of His Word.
Blessings to all,
Larry