Let your spiritual eyes be opened to see!

As we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we want to declare that Jesus is alive! Hallelujah! 

Let's go all the way to Luke 24 now. 

On the third day after Jesus was crucified and buried, very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. 

As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what He told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that He would rise again on the third day." 

It was then that these women remembered what Jesus had said before. 

They then rushed back to tell the disciples of Jesus what had happened. But the disciples didn't believe them. However, Peter ran straight to Jesus' tomb to check it out himself. True enough, Jesus wasn't there anymore. 

That same day, two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along, they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus suddenly came and began walking with them. They didn't realize it was Jesus walking with them. 

Then Jesus asked them, "What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?" Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, "You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days." 

You see, they were talking about what had happened to Jesus, and how the priests and the religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy, and handed Jesus over to be crucified. 

Jesus then said to them, "You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering His glory?" Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 

By the time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey, they begged Jesus, "Stay the night with us, since it is getting late." So He went home with them. As they sat down to eat, He took the bread and blessed it. Then He broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him!

The moment Jesus broke the bread and gave the bread to them, that was when their spiritual eyes were opened. This is a 'picture' of His body broken and His blood shed for you on the cross to set you free. Free from whatever bondage that the world has bound you. Free from whatever bondage that the devil has bound you. 

So beloved of God, never lose focus on what Jesus has done for you on the cross. Keep looking to Him, the Author and the Finisher of your faith. He died, He rose again on the third day, and He is now sitting in the heavenly places together with God the Father. 

The two from Emmaus then told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized Him as He was breaking the bread. And just as they were telling about it, Jesus suddenly stood among all of them! 

Jesus then opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. He said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 'There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.' You are witnesses of all these things." 

Beloved of God, this message is still being preached today, bringing hope to many lives all over the world. Hallelujah! 

In cross-reference, Ephesians 1:17-18 says, '...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints... '

What exactly is the meaning of 'the eyes of your understanding being enlightened'? It can be translated as 'the eyes of your heart being enlightened', or it can be translated as 'your spiritual eyes being enlightened'. 

Let's refer back to the two who were walking to the village of Emmaus. Their spiritual eyes were opened. The eyes of their hearts were opened. They began to see what Jesus wanted them to see. They began to understand what Jesus wanted them to understand. 

So it is the same with us as believers of Christ today. He is opening our spiritual eyes right now. He is enlightening the eyes of our understanding to see what He wants us to see, and to understand the many things that He wants us to understand; the things that the world can never understand. 

Let us pray:

"O Lord God, we thank You for the revelation of who You are in our lives. Let our spiritual eyes be continuously opened to see the many things that You want us to see. We have this assurance inside of us that You are the Lord, the One who is above all principalities and powers in the spiritual realm and in the physical realm. We have this revelation that we are strong in the power of Your might. Therefore, we do not fear, and we will not be affected, whatever happens in this world. Because we know we can always look to You and count on You. Our hope is in You. Our life is in You. All that we need in life is found in You. Amen." 

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Let your eyes of understanding be enlightened!

Words from the Lord:

"Be set free from confusion! Be set free from anxiety! Be set free from discouragement! For many of My people, the enemy has been trying to cause confusion, anxiety and discouragement. The enemy has been trying to contaminate My vision and My plan for each of My people."

"This is your time to receive My power to set you free and to break free! Break free from those strongholds of the enemy! Break free from those deceptions of the enemy! Look to Me! For I am enlightening the spiritual eyes of many of My people! My vision in your life is going to be made clear! My plan for your life is going to be made clear!"

If you have been going through a time of confusion regarding your life, or you have been confused about what you are to do in life, this message is for you. 

1 Corinthians 14:33 (NKJV) says, 'For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace...'

John 16:13 (NKJV) says, '...when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.'

John 14:26 (NKJV) says, 'But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.'

Take heart, because the Lord is setting you free from the spirit of confusion, and uprooting the seed of confusion that the enemy has been planting in your life. Remember, the Holy Spirit in you will know how to guide you into all truth and teach you all things, going forward. 

If you have been going through a time of anxiety, and even for no reason you have been feeling rather anxious about your life or your future, this message is for you too. 

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) says, 'Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.'

Psalm 94:18-19 (NKJV) says, 'If I say, "My foot slips," Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.'

Take heart, because the Lord is setting you free from any form of anxiety right now. Receive the shalom peace of the Lord, and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind. Amen!

If you have been feeling rather discouraged recently, and you just couldn't seem to get out of discouragement no matter how you try, this message is for you as well.

Joshua 1:9 (NLT) says, 'This is my command - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.'

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT) says, 'Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.'

John 16:33 (NKJV) says, 'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.'

Take heart, because the Lord is in the midst of uprooting every seed of discouragement in your life. Be open to Him. He is releasing His divine encouragement upon you right now. Receive by faith. 

Beloved of God, whatever vision and plan of the Lord in your life cannot and should not be 'hijacked' or 'contaminated' by the enemy. Therefore, this is an important time to ask the Lord to enlighten your spiritual eyes - to see what He sees and how He sees.

Ephesians 1:17-20 (NKJV) says, '...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places...'

You will not see what the enemy wants you to see regarding your life and situation at the moment. Instead, you will see what God sees and how God sees. God wants you to see His vision and plan for your life is now made clear! God wants you to see His mighty power which He worked in Christ is now setting you free from every lie and deception of the enemy! God wants you to see in Him, you will have what it takes to rise above and triumph, no matter what the enemy throws at you! God wants you to see how rich you are and how rich is your inheritance in Him! God wants you to see His wisdom and revelation is continuously flowing in your life! 

Claim all these promises of God for your life as written in Ephesians 1:17-20, and you will begin to see God turning the tide for you and turning things around for your good. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Click here for the full teaching in TiC YouTube Channel

God is raising a people of 'quick understanding'!

Isaiah 11:3a (KJV): And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord...

The word 'understanding' here in Hebrew is 'ruwach', which can mean 'scent, sense/smell, perception, anticipation'. In other words, being of 'quick understanding' is being 'quick-scented, quick in sensing/smelling, quick in perception, or quick in anticipation'. Interestingly, this word 'ruwach' is the same word found in Genesis 1:2 that says, '...And the Spirit ('ruwach') of God moved upon the face of the waters'. Here, this same word 'ruwach' means 'spirit, breath, or life'.

Let's look at Isaiah chapter 11 now. This chapter speaks about our Savior Jesus, the Messiah who was to come. Isaiah 11:1-2 begins with, 'And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord'. And it's from here that Isaiah 11:3 continues, 'And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord...'

As you can see, all the above attributes, i.e. wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and of course, being of 'quick understanding' in the fear of the Lord are attributes found in Him. And you know what? The Bible says 'as He is, so are you in this world'! (1 John 4:17) Receive the impartation of all these in your life by faith now!

In this end-time, God is also raising a people who are like Jesus, a people who are of 'quick understanding', a people who are spiritually-sensitive (to the things or situation in and around them), and a people who just know how to make a way of escape when they sense danger (or something amiss)! One example is in Luke 4:30. Here, even in the midst of 'danger' surrounding Him (and when some people were trying to kill Him), He just knew how to make a way out - somehow, someway, supernaturally! And He knew His time (to die) was not yet.

I like the definition 'quick-scented' in the first paragraph. The word 'scent' is defined in Oxford Dictionary as 'characteristic smell of something, particular type of smell, smell left behind by a living thing that allows others to track/follow, feeling of the presence of something, or discovering something by sense of smell'. Therefore, I can also say being 'quick-scented' means 'when you sense/smell something, you just know what it is or what is going on'.

Today, the Lord is indeed sensitizing (or 'scent-sitizing') His people to be likewise, a people who are enabled by His Spirit to sense and move with His timing and season (being sensitive to every change or movement in the spiritual realm, and what He is currently doing in the spiritual realm at the moment).

In fact, what is in the spiritual realm is reflected by the physical realm. In the animal kingdom, there are animals which are very sensitive even in the most ‘minute’ of any earth movement. One of the earliest recorded instance of animals being able to sense impending earth movements/earthquakes was recorded in the history of the Greek. During the winter of 373 BC, ‘all the mice, beetles, centipedes, and every other creatures of that kind in the city of Helike left’. After these creatures left, an earthquake occurred, the city went under, an immense wave flooded, and Helike disappeared!

More recently, it has been recorded that before a powerful earthquake hit Chile in 2010, dozens of deep-sea fish surfaced and was discovered by a group of Japanese fishermen. Shortly before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a number of deep-sea fish were found stranded on beaches nearby. In a scientific study of earthquakes, waves, and earth movement by a Japanese specialist in ecological seismology, it has been found out that “deep-sea fish living near the sea bottom are more sensitive to the movement of active faults than those near the surface of the sea.” In the spiritual realm, the same is also true, that the deeper one’s walk with God, the more likely he/she’s going to ‘catch’ or sense what’s currently going on in the spiritual world!

Sensing/smelling has to do with inhaling/breathing in. In Genesis 2:7, the Bible says, 'And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed (out) into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being'. This word 'breathed (out)' is 'naphach' in Hebrew, which can mean 'blow, scatter (as in scattering seeds), kindle, give up'. Genesis 1:26-27 says you are created after His own image and likeness. In other words, you are made after His kind, i.e. His seed (that He scattered). And even when man sinned, He sent His only Son to 'give up' His Spirit at the cross (John 19:30), so that we have His Spirit (breath, life) again. His redemptive work for mankind!

So, people of God, what do you breathe in today? He breathed (out) His 'ruwach' into your nostrils, so that you can now breathe in His 'ruwach'! You should therefore ‘smell’ Him all the time, because you have His 'ruwach' inside you. And what is this 'ruwach'? The sweet-smelling fragrance of Jesus! The Spirit of life that conquers death! The Spirit who always leads you in triumph in Christ, and through you, diffuses the fragrance of the knowledge of His glory wherever you go (see 2 Corinthians 2:14). Hallelujah! Amen!

Receive God's wisdom!

2 Chronicles 1:10 (NKJV): “Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge (i.e. rule) this great people of Yours?”

The word ‘wisdom’ here is ‘chokmah’ (pronounced ‘khok-maw’) in Hebrew, which means ‘the ability to live life skillfully, or the ability to handle a matter skillfully’.

Therefore, ‘God’s wisdom given to you’ then means ‘His ability for you to live your life skillfully or His ability for you to handle a matter skillfully’.

One touch of His wisdom is all you need to confound the earthly wise, or even to ‘propel’ you in a particular area of your life! Recently, I heard these words loud and clear during prayer, “I am going to impart My divine wisdom to those who needed it!” And when He imparts and gives, someone is going to receive it, and that person has to be you! People of God, this is your time to receive, in whatever area you may need it at the moment. Ask, and it shall be given to you (Matthew 7:7).

When God has called you (or asked you) to do something, His wisdom will also come together with it. What you need to do is receive it by faith. And when He opens a ‘door’ for you, or leads you into a new phase/season in your life, He’ll also surely give you the wisdom to walk in it and through it! Yes, surely. What He has 'ordered', He will also surely 'back it up'! Make no mistake about it! So, take heart if you’ve been feeling a bit lost recently, or not knowing what to do anymore at the moment. Well, that’s what happened to Solomon too when he was anointed as king (i.e. as he entered a new phase in his life). Solomon knew that by himself, he was inadequate, not knowing exactly what to do, and that’s when he said, “… I do not know how to go out or come in.” (1 Kings 3:7).

When God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (1 Kings 3:5), Solomon then answered, “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge (i.e. rule) Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9)

The word ‘understanding’ here means ‘knowing the deeper meaning of something, instead of just the façade’, and the word ‘discern’ here means ‘the ability to separate/distinguish what is the right thing to do and what is not’. God then said to him, “Behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart…” And not just that, God also said, “And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.” You know what it means? When you receive His wisdom in your life, every other good thing in life will also follow suit!

No wonder Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding.” The word ‘principal’ here in Hebrew is ‘re-shiyth’, which means ‘firstfruits, beginning, or chief’. So, wisdom should be the ‘firstfruits, beginning, or chief’ in all your ‘gettings’! And this wisdom will surely lead you to the promises in Proverbs 4:18, that says, ‘your path is as the shining sun, that shines brighter and brighter until the full light’.

Jesus is the Source of all wisdom! Colossians 2:3 says in Him is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Proverbs 3:19 says, ‘The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens’. And as you fix your eyes on Him and look to Him, the Bible says you’ll be transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18), and this includes you being ‘transformed’ to be wiser and wiser! Notice that 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, ‘Beholding Him as in a mirror…’ This ‘mirror’ speaks of ‘the Word of God’. Proverbs 4:20-22 confirms it by saying, ‘My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.’ In short, the more you behold Him, the wiser you’ll become! The Bible says you’ll be changed into the same image (i.e. to be more and more like Him), and yes, that includes in wisdom! Praise God!

The opposite, however, is also true, that losing sight of Him leads to losing sight of His wisdom in life! When Solomon looked away from God in his later years (i.e. when he was influenced by the foreign wives who worshiped other gods), he became literally less and less wiser! (see 1 Kings 11:1-13) Solomon needed to understand that all the wisdom he had was from God, not his own. Otherwise, he would not have asked of it in the first place! (2 Chronicles 1:10) Solomon’s downfall began when his focus was shifted away from God and His Word. Remember Peter ‘sank’ too when his eyes also looked away from Jesus? (Matthew 14:28-30)

People of God, no matter what happens around you at the moment, this is not the time to waver! Continue to keep your eyes fixed on Him (the Word) and keep your feet firm on the Rock (the Word) always. Continue to also receive the feeding from Him through the preaching of the Word, and continue to meditate on what He has spoken to you in the Word. And that’s how He can make a way for you, and that’s also how He can teach you in the way of His wisdom and lead you in His right paths (Proverbs 4:11-12). Let’s take Him at His Word! He is not a 'dead-end' God. His Word cannot fail, and His Word will not fail you either. Better days are ahead of you, and I pray this for you in Jesus’ name. Believing, you shall receive. Amen!