Things Unseen

I'm starting a new series.

You can call it either Things Unseen,

or you can call it The Invisible World.

And it'll probably last a few weeks.

So today we start with this whole idea of Things Unseen.

Because we as humans struggle with the unseen,

the whole idea of the unseen.

Because we have a tendency to want everything

to be tangible and physically real

that can be experienced or explained to our senses.

We as humans struggle with the unseen.

We want something tangible that can be experienced

with our senses.

And so we forget that there is an unseen world

where most things happen.

We go with what we see physically,

and it isn't the way to live.

And so over the next few weeks we'll be looking at it.

I mean, if you look at the Old Testament,

Moses was the go-between between God and Israel.

And as long as Moses was pressing, Israel was fine.

But one day Moses goes up Mount Sinai,

and he begins to have conversations

with this invisible God up on Mount Sinai,

and a cloud covers him and he disappears.

And as soon as Moses disappears,

what happens to the rest of Israel?

They begin to make for themselves

a beautiful but lifeless golden calf to worship.

Because there is this tendency in our humanness

to always want something tangible

to worship, to connect with.

And yet, like it or not, God is at present

eternal, invisible, immortal.

Which is why idolatry serves man in a sense,

because idols give some kind of form

to that which man cannot handle

because he likes things that are tangible and real.

I mean, this was Israel.

They watched as God parted the Red Sea.

And the entire, the waters parting on both sides

of people walking on dry ground,

this is the same God who was able to deliver them

from the tyranny of Egypt,

beat the gods of Egypt and the kings of Egypt.

And yet, the moment Moses disappears for 40 days

up the mountain, they go back to customs

that they weren't even familiar with,

creating a beautiful but lifeless golden calf

to worship.

And unless you and I understand that almost everything

that we talk about exists in an invisible, unseen realm,

it won't work out the way it's supposed to work out, hey?

Because we always want to see and touch.

So look at these things.

Most things of God are still invisible.

Most things of God are still invisible.

You take Ephesians 2.2, it says that

we battle against an invisible foe called the devil.

In the Bible, he's sometimes called a prince

of the power of the air.

That's what his name is in Ephesians 2.2, invisible.

Are you saying Ephesians 2.6?

It says that with Christ,

we are seated in heavenly places.

What in the world or where in the world is that?

Again, invisible.

Look at Romans 1.20, Romans 1.20, Romans 1.20.

There's a reason why we need to go down this road

for the next few weeks.

So it's not like out of a vacuum.

Romans 1.20, it says, for since the creation of the world,

God's invisible qualities, his eternal power,

his divine nature have been clearly seen

being understood from what has been made

so that men are without excuse.

The point being, again, we're talking about

an invisible, eternal, immortal God who we can't see.

And if we are not able to connect with our spirits,

with God's spirit, then there's no question

of advancing in Christianity.

You'll have to go back to watching movies,

putting up a cross as a thing that you worship,

having tangible things happen,

and God is saying, but I am spirit.

And if you and I at present have been sitting here

and listening to me teaching this,

struggle with connecting with an invisible God,

hey, there's good news.

This God is able to connect with the deepest part of you,

which is your spirit.

But I have to get over this thing of saying,

no, I need to feel and touch things.

I must open my heart to him and he will connect.

There was a woman, the Samaritan woman,

who meets him at the well, and he says to her,

people will worship God in spirit, dammit.

True, for God is spirit, invisible.

Here's another one, Colossians 1.16, Colossians 1.16.

It talks about how around us are beings

that we cannot see, that exist, whether we like it or not.

I mean, can you see gravity?

You can't, till you jump off a building.

And yet you believe it,

which is why you don't jump off a building.

But you can't see it.

But you can't see it.

Just because you can't see something

doesn't mean it does not exist.

I'm saying to you that there is an unseen realm

where most things of God come from,

and if we don't get used to,

if we don't begin to slay this idea

that everything seen is real

and everything unseen may or may not exist,

we will not make progress with God.

Colossians 1.16, here's what it says.

For by him all things were created,

things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities,

all things were created by Christ and for Christ.

Again, the intent being, hey guys,

you are surrounded by thousands upon thousands

of unseen beings that are both angelic and demonic.

And this is reality.

Thousands upon thousands,

some versions call them bodiless spirits.

Call them what you want, but at the end of the day,

we are surrounded by thousands upon thousandstalks

of beings in the invisible realm that are either angelic,

as in serving God, or demonic, serving the devil,

and they are both real and I've seen them both.

And many of you have too.

Let's look at another one, 2 Corinthians 4.18.

Most things, the scripture really grabbed me,

because at the end of the day, guys,

most things eternal are invisible

and most things temporal are visible.

2 Corinthians 4.18, 2 Corinthians 4.18,

2 Corinthians 4.18.

Here's what it says.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,

but on what is unseen.

For what is seen is temporal or temporary,

what is unseen is eternal.

I'll suggest to you that almost everything unseen,

I'll suggest to you that almost everything eternal is unseen.

Can you see heaven?

Nope.

Can you see Christ?

Nope.

Can you see the riches of God?

Nope.

Can you see healing that is yours

by the stripes of Christ's word?

Nope.

Can you see what's gonna happen at the end of the world?

Nope.

Can you see some of the ones you love

that believed in Christ and have left the earth?

Nope.

Can you see what God has prepared for you in eternity?

Nope.

Can you even imagine what the brilliance of God

would look like when you actually see him face to face?

Nope.

Almost everything eternal is invisible.

And what you see is temporal.

Which is why we shouldn't sell Christ to people saying,

hey, if you receive Christ into your life,

this will happen to you, that'll happen to you.

We're trying to sell an eternal, invisible God

by telling people you'll get a few baubles

and a few gems here and a few, sorry,

you need an umbrella if you sit this close.

Sorry, I'm addicted.

Oh, okay.

Can you interrupt me?

No.

Okay.

You interrupted me with a temporal thought

while I was talking about,

you should have pretended it was eternal and invisible.

Okay, I'll stay far away.

I'll shut them, why don't you exchange places with them?

Okay, here goes.

Guys, at the end of the day,

almost everything eternal is unseen.

And so when you present Christ to people,

don't sell him with cheap jewelry, cheap baubles,

saying, hey, you receive Christ, life will become better,

here on earth for about 60 or 70 years.

Sure, God is good and he blesses,

but that isn't how we present

an eternal, invisible, immortal God.

The apostles never did that, eh?

They would say to people, hey,

I realize that your afflictions are temporary,

but remember, there's a weight of glory that awaits you.

That's how they presented him.

And at the end of the day,

most eternal things are invisible,

which means then that if you want to even begin

to understand God, begin to ask God

what he said we should ask in Ephesians 1, 18.

Oh God, would you enlighten the eyes of my heart

that I might see who you really are?

It's a prayer that we need to pray.

Because with these eyes,

it's impossible to understand an invisible God.

Here's another scripture, Hebrews 11, 3.

Hebrews 11, 3.

Hebrews 11, 3.

Here's what it says.

It says, what is seen was made out of what.

Sorry, so that what is seen was not made

out of what was visible.

As in, things that are seen were made out of that

which is not visible.

When God created things,

he didn't use visible material to create things.

He didn't create you out of visible material.

He spoke things into being, man.

Let there be light, spoken words,

nothing visible to create.

This is the power of God we are talking about.

Hebrews 1, verse 3.

Hebrews 1:3

It says that Jesus Christ is the visible image

of the invisible God and is the brilliance

of the invisible God.

And he sustains things that he has created

by the power of his words.

Everything that exists, including you, exists

because God took that which was not

and spoke you into existence literally.

I mean, there are two women pregnant here.

Sure, egg and sperm caused the physical body to happen,

but the person inside their womb was spoken into existence

and was created out of nothing but created with love.

As we go down this road, you'll realize

that if you and I don't begin to ask God

to give us an idea of how to fathom

the layers that lie behind that which is seen,

we'll never get to the real situation.

It's like if this is what you see,

then beneath this are layers that have to be either shaped

or removed before what you see can be changed.

That's what we basically will get to at the end of the day.

Ephesians 1, 18.

Paul says, God, this is my prayer for these people.

My prayer is that you would enlighten their eyes

so that they begin to see the depth, the width,

the height, the breadth of your love,

that they begin to see the ridiculous power that you have,

that they begin to see that Christ is risen

and that he sits above every power that can be made.

Oh God, would you open their eyes,

would you open up their hearts

so that they can begin to grasp that which is invisible?

Go ahead, Tom.

So when you say invisible, it's in the present, right?

In the present, yeah.

A day will come where we will know everything.

A day will come when we see him face to face.

A day will come when everything eternal will be before us.

But till then,

we can't live our lives looking at things as they are.

Matthew 13, verse 33.

Matthew 13:33

Here's another thing we talk about that is invisible,

and yet Matthew 13, verse 33 says

Matthew 13:33

that the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven

is like leaven, not visible to most.

It's like a woman who takes some yeast or leaven

and puts it in the door, and it's hidden.

It's not visible till it becomes fully leaven.

So even the kingdom of God has it.

The rule of God in your life, in my life, upon the earth,

the rule of God is invisible,

which is why people don't really believe that God exists

because they can't see his rule.

But when they begin to see the rule in your life,

when you begin to get healed of your diseases

because you see what God can do,

when you begin to live a certain way with your wife

and your marriage begins to look like it should,

now people begin to recognize that,

oh, shut, there is an invisible God working

in this person's life which makes it visible.

Let's take another scripture.

Hebrews 11, one.

Now, I'll stop with that, but the point is this, guys.

When you look at the number of things

that are required for Christianity,

almost all of it exists in the invisible or in the unseen.

Hebrews 11, one says that faith is the evidence

of things that are not seen.

It's impossible to exert faith with any degree of certainty

if I do not see that which is in the invisible,

if I do not see what God is doing,

if I do not see what God intends,

if I do not see what God has already said,

then I'm not going to believe it.

I'm not going to believe it.

So look at the things we've listed.

God's attributes, where you're seated within,

invisible evil powers, eternal things,

creation and how things are constructed by God,

the kingdom of God or the rule of God in your life,

faith, none of this really works well

if I don't begin to ask God to open my eyes

so I can see things in the unseen realm.

One of the best ways to look at it is, sorry, go ahead, Josh.

So say when you see with eyes of faith

and you see in the unseen,

is it like seeing with imagination or?

We talk about that, we talk about that.

But here's two examples, there's two ways of doing this.

Either you can test things out,

test, you can test gravity out by jumping.

So that's one way of testing things unseen.

Step into it and see if it works.

I'm not kidding now, I'm being real.

You cannot see gravity unless you throw up,

if you're smart, you'll throw an apple up.

If you're not smart, you'll jump off a building.

Either way, you will figure out that gravity exists

even though it's invisible.

So that's one way to do it.

And it's the same with God.

Things that are invisible in God

can only be tested if you test them out.

God says it, let's try it out.

It is invisible, I've got no evidence for it,

no proof for it, but it is written in the word,

I'm gonna test it out.

You jump off a building and you get to see it,

you don't see things pretty clear.

Yeah.

So that's one way of doing it.

So I'd say there's a smarter way

is to throw up an apple and you figure it out.

And so the second way of doing it is,

I mean, we don't know what these babies

in the womb look like.

How do we know what is happening?

We take a scan and we see,

actually nobody understands the scan,

it's just the parents that get excited

and then you have to get excited too.

And then you stick it on the fridge

and you put it on Facebook.

Yeah.

But the point is, you take a scan

and you know what is inside.

That's the other way of doing it.

You begin to look at other people's lives

and you see what are they showing

based on what they have.

Try it.

These are the two ways to figure out the unseen.

The third way is to begin to ask God,

oh God, open my eyes, please open my eyes

so that I'm ready to fathom you.

The second one is, just as one scans a baby in a womb

and now knows what is,

you begin to look at other people's lives

and you see what they have already tested.

You see that they've walked this

and this is what you see now.

And therefore I'm gonna try the same.

These are the two ways to do it.

Either test it out yourself,

as in throw an apple up and see if it comes down,

or look at somebody else's life

who's been throwing apples all their lives

and all the apples have come down.

And so you know, aha, this works.

Try one or the other.

Because everything with God is actually based in

and operating out of the invisible world.

So much so that he realized that you and I

were so not able to comprehend it

that he sensed out Jesus Christ,

who came from the invisible into the visible,

who came from being spirit to taking on flesh.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God

and the word became flesh.

Why did he do that?

He did that so that he could make us understand

who he was like.

The devil knows us too.

When we talk about eyes to see,

we are talking about not these eyes,

it's the way we think.

Because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4.3

that the devil has blinded the minds of men

so that they may not see the light of Christ.

He's not talking about physical blindness.

He's talking about the blinding of the mind.

We see with our minds, not with our eyes.

Satan knows this.

The God of this world has blinded the minds

of those who don't believe.

It's a mind that is blinded.

When we ask God that he enlighten our eyes,

what are we saying?

Oh God, there's a certain way I think

because I live in a real, tangible physical world

which is very subjective and getting more subjective

where everything has to be experienced

before it is pronounced as real.

In this milieu that I live in,

now oh God, would you cause me to have a mind

that begins to see how you really work

because you are located and you operate

from a realm that is unseen and invisible

because all these things we have mentioned

come from that realm and it's impossible to walk this earth

as a follower of Christ if you don't begin to think like this.

How do you think invisible evil powers

control and govern man through ideas and images, man?

Through ideas and images.

Famous guy called Jonathan Edwards said this.

Invisible powers constantly govern our minds

with ideas and images.

Therefore, guard the pathways of your mind,

guard the pathways of your heart.

For out of it spring the issues of life, Proverbs 4.28.

Guard your heart for out of your heart spring

the issues of life as in the affections that you have,

the feelings that you have, the thoughts that you have

really come from how one sees here.

And Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6.33.

He said, if the light inside you, Jacob, is dark,

how great is that darkness?

If the light inside you is dark,

how great is that darkness?

Who's that guy and how did he say invisible power?

Jonathan Edwards.

Edwards?

Yeah.

Invisible powers constantly govern our minds

with ideas and images.

Any questions before we go on?

Hey, when people in the Bible wrote the,

when people in the ancient times wrote the Bible,

they knew the concept they were in.

But we read the Bible from a very postmodern,

rational way of thinking.

And so we failed to see that there is a realm

behind what is visible.

You have no idea what's happening inside a tree.

I was watching a documentary where they take a statistic

of a tree and they take a picture of it

when they take a stethoscope and put it on a tree.

And you can hear sounds that are so loud.

It's like a blooming engine in there, man.

Because there are things that are pulsating,

drawing water from 20 feet below through roots

that begins to pulsate up the stem.

And when you hear it, it's like the blooming thing is alive.

And we don't see it.

If you could hear it, you wouldn't cut a tree down.

But thank God we don't hear it.

The point being that there's so much behind it,

behind there, and the quicker you learn it,

the smarter you get in how to handle life here on earth.

Both are good and bad.

Both are good and bad.

Any questions, Brutal?

Any disagreements?

Okay.

So invest in things unseen.

Invest in things unseen.

Invest in things unseen.

If you look at 2 Corinthians 4.18, it says,

so don't spend all your time looking at what you can see.

Instead, look at what you can't see.

And God has given you his spirit

to know these spiritual things.

That's in 1 Corinthians 2.13.

2 Corinthians 4.18 says this, let me read it again.

Don't spend all your time looking at what you can see.

Instead, look at what you can't see.

And then in 1 Corinthians 2.13, it says,

God has given us his spirit

so that we may know spiritual things.

God has given us his spirit

so that we may know spiritual things.

I love that verse when I've used it all my life.

Who knows you best?

Not your wife, not your dad, not your mom.

Who knows you best?

Your spirit knows you best.

Who knows God best?

God's spirit knows God best.

And God now allows his spirit to dwell in you

so that you may know spiritual things in the invisible

that he alone can do.

So if people have not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit,

then I want to discern.

Yeah, 1 Corinthians 2.14 puts it very plainly.

Spiritual things are meant for spiritual people.

And therefore, a non-spiritual person

cannot understand spiritual things.

So how do you become a spiritual person?

Not by buying lululemon pants and doing yoga.

You become a spiritual person

by receiving the spirit of God.

I mean, if those pants fit, wear them.

I'm not saying no, I've got no problems with that.

I'm just saying there is this idea that if you

are able to wrap your legs around each other,

you become spiritual.

No.

It's much more than that.

A spiritual person is a person who has a spirit

and a spirit that is spiritual.

And that's the spirit of God.

A spiritual person is a person who has received

the spirit of God.

And one cannot receive the spirit of God

except through receiving Christ as son.

Period.

Very simple.

And God very clearly says,

I can only explain spiritual things to you

if you're a spiritual person.

An unspiritual person cannot receive things

that are spiritual.

How can you, man?

It exists in the realm of the invisible,

the eternal, and the immortal.

Meaning it's not even the kind of physical life

that we have, it's a life that's beyond that.

That everybody here can enter into.

So invest in things unseen.

Pray Ephesians 1.18.

Go to Ephesians 1.18 so that you actually see

what it says in Ephesians 1.18.

It says,

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened

in order that you may know the hope to which

God has called you.

I pray that the eyes of your heart be enlightened.

As in, oh God, would you open my heart?

Would you open my mind to begin to see things

the way they really are?

Pray this prayer, mate.

It's in the Bible.

Paul prayed it for the church.

I've been praying it for you for the last two weeks.

And oh God, would you open our eyes so that we

understand the things and don't go with what we just see physically.

John chapter 3, verse 8.

John 3:8

John 3, verse 8.

John 3:8

These are Jesus' words.

We rarely hear this read.

John chapter 3, verse 8.

John 3:8

Jesus is talking to a very educated man

and he tells him this.

John chapter 3, verse 8.

John 3:8

The wind blows wherever it pleases.

You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from

or where it goes.

So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

Beautifully.

Again, the Spirit of God is invisible.

You can't see Him.

You can see His effect.

After the wind has blown, you know that the trees shook,

but you cannot see Him.

And yet He is more real than you

because He was there before you were

and He was involved in your creation.

Who knows you better?

He was there right at the beginning, man.

When you were being shaped in your mother's womb,

He was there.

Hi.

Walk right in.

He was there before you were formed.

I mean, when you think of the children that exist now

in the wombs here,

just imagine He was there before they were formed,

which means there are some here who will get pregnant

and God has already formed them by His Spirit.

It's not as if it happens at the moment of conception.

It happens before, man.

I knew you before you were even formed.

And not to be able to connect with the invisible realm

of the Spirit of God leaves you, what?

Having to listen to me?

That's the poor substitution.

Any questions?

Any questions?

Any questions?

Here's another one in Romans 14, 17.

All these scriptures I'm throwing out is just to convince you

how real this unseen realm is

and how important it is if you say that you believe in Jesus Christ,

it is to connect with this.

Romans 14, 17 puts it this way.

The kingdom of God, as in the rule of God,

is not about eating or drinking,

but it is about righteousness,

joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.

Again, it takes you back to this idea of the Spirit of God who is invisible.

So at the end of the day, it is God's invisible rule,

God's invisible rule by the invisible Spirit

in the invisible inner man.

Hey, just think of this.

This, this bedding you see is only external.

There is a real bedding.

The inner bedding, the inner man bed.

This is just the inner man bed.

This is the inner man bed.

This is the inner man bed.

This is just external.

Now what do we do?

We go by what we see only, external.

Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 5.

He said, we no longer judge people merely by flesh,

but we know them by the Spirit.

What was he saying?

That I can't look at it and come to my conclusions

based on what I may see today for two hours.

That there is someone who is much richer, much deeper,

much more meaningful before God and man.

That if I don't see beyond this, I'll never get to it.

That's what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4.

So Jacob, don't be quick to come to conclusions about others.

Don't judge them quickly.

Wait, because everything will be revealed one day.

And that's why this is, this makes so much sense.

What are we talking about when we talk about the Kingdom of God?

It is God's rule.

God's invisible rule by the invisible Spirit

in the invisible inner man.

How can we ignore this realm?

Any questions, friends?

Or any thoughts you want to add?

The crazy thing is when you seek the invisible rule of God,

natural things are added to you.

The world is chasing after natural physical things

because we need it.

We need clothes, we need shelter, we need food, we need riches,

we need this.

We are running after that which is natural

while all the time God is saying,

hey, chase after this and all the natural things you want.

We'll be adding to you anyways so that your pursuit is accurate.

Run after my invisible rule by the invisible Spirit

in your invisible inner man.

And all the things you need for your visible external persona

will be provided for.

Which goes from healing to provision to protection to security

to food to shelter.

But it is so hard to chase after something that is invisible,

which is why we need our eyes open

so that we may begin to see how things work.

Ginger.

Yeah.

It occurred to me that God is created in the physical,

and I think we can get close about this too because if you think of science,

if you look at a drop of an ocean, you see nothing but the ocean.

You look at a drop of water under a microscope, it's phenomenal.

And everything that we see physically,

there's an invisibility to it too, so he's showing us.

Yeah, absolutely.

John 12.23 is another full exclamation mark on the point.

I mean, every seed is screaming, every fruit is screaming out saying,

I've got about 200 trees in me, 200 trees in me.

But you don't hear it.

And then the fruit drops and the seeds come on and suddenly you have a forest.

And Jesus put it this way,

unless something dies, it will not come back to life.

What happens when something dies? It gets buried, disappears.

But even the invisible is the potent light that then produces a forest.

It's the way of life, guys.

If science can explain it, we believe it.

If science can't explain it, we don't consider it.

And that is the problem.

And science ain't ever going to capture God.

Because science needs evidence.

And we are the only evidence God will provide.

He provided evidence 2000 years ago in the person of a flesh and blood son called Jesus Christ.

And since then, the only evidence he provides is us.

And what we do on his behalf, in his name, to show people that God really exists.

And if that ain't enough, God says, as we read in Romans 1.19,

that I'll show you through nature anyways.

That man has left with no excuse to say, I don't believe there is a God.

When he looks at the rainbow, when he looks at an ocean, when he looks at mountains,

to think that it all came out of one blooming spell, you have to have faith for that man.

I'm going to read it to you.

Slay the idol of the sin. Slay.

Slay the idol. Slay the idol of the sin.

Slay the idol of the sin.

Slay it. Kill it.

Because that's how we live.

And yet, let me remind you of what we said in the beginning.

Faith, spirit, kingdom, God's attributes, the demonic world, the angelic world,

things that are created all belong in a realm called the unseen.

And if we live only by the seen, it'll be hard to walk here on Earth, eh?

Slay the idol of the sin.

Slay. This is going to really, I think it'll be okay with you, but with some people it may not sit well in this next sentence.

Slay the idol of reason that hobbles the spiritual.

I'm not saying that all reason should be abandoned. That would be foolish.

But slay the idol of reason that hobbles the spiritual.

If I'm not able to slay the idol of reason, a rationale that this doesn't fit,

well then here's news, guys.

Most of these things we are speaking about exists in the invisible.

So if I do not slay the idol of reason when I'm confronted with the invisible, eternal, immortal God,

it'll be hard to make progress.

He gave us reason.

There's nobody as logical as God.

There is nobody, I mean in Isaiah 43 he says, come reason with me.

He invites you to reason with him.

But my God, if you think he's confined or confounded by two kilos of grey matter for some brilliant people like me,

one kilo for you, that's not how it works.

That's true, it's not like it works.

Yeah.

Slay the idol of focusing on what can be seen, touched, loathe, laudle.

Slay the idol of that which can only be seen and touched.

I mean, I find it sometimes very difficult to like Thomas in the Bible.

Apostle Thomas.

I find it very hard to like him because he says,

I won't believe that he is risen from the dead unless I take my fingers and poke it into the holes of his hands where the nails were.

Come on, man.

And then when he turns up and Thomas is not there, he again says,

I won't believe it until I see it.

And Jesus had to say this after he goes up to Thomas and says,

hey, you want to check it out?

Put your finger in here.

And Thomas does it.

Then he says, you are blessed because you see and believe,

but blessed are those that do not see and yet believe.

And stop focusing.

Slay the idol of focusing on that which can be seen, touched, loathe or laudle.

Because that's how we live.

Because the world we live in becomes so visible and so sensory

that it's difficult to connect with an invisible God and the invisible systems that he has functioning on earth.

It becomes very difficult, eh?

Last year, this time, Sheldon and I were in New York.

And man, walking up and down Times Square, I could have done it the entire night because it was like daylight.

So visual, so bright, so sensory.

And in that kind of a world that we live in, to connect with the invisible becomes very difficult.

May I suggest to you that one of the reasons we find it so hard to pray for more than five or ten minutes seriously

is because we do not know how to connect to an invisible God

who doesn't make noise or doesn't flash screens before your eyes.

White noise, if it's absent, becomes a problem connecting with God

because we don't know how to pray because ten minutes of silence is like deafening.

Kind of get back to this idea of connecting with that which is invisible, eternal and immortal.

He who is invisible, eternal and immortal.

When you do that, God will be going to show what really happens behind the scenes.

Jesus put it this way in Galatians 6.14, for me.

Paul is speaking and Paul says,

Hey, at the cross, in Jesus, I became dead to the world.

As in, at the cross, I lost my interest.

I became indifferent.

I became dead to the visible world and its power to seduce me or destroy me.

On one hand, God gives us everything for us to enjoy.

First, Timothy 6.14 says,

God has given us things to enjoy.

So it's not like God isn't a God who loves giving stuff so that we enjoy it.

So he gives us things to enjoy.

But having received the things that I have enjoyed because he's given it,

I must also learn how not to derive my value,

how not to find my significance in these things of the world presence.

Because the more I'm captivated by that which I see,

the less likely it is that I will be able to connect with an unseen God.

You know, monastic orders in the Middle Ages were formed

so that these monks could go into a monastery and disappear for a while,

drawn away from that which was visually and audibly appealing

so that they could spend time with God.

But that turned into a beast in itself

where they began to dissociate themselves from human experience.

But the idea was, can I withdraw from the noise of the world

so that I can spend some time with God? And that became an order.

It was never supposed to be an order, it was supposed to be a time apart.

You can do that sitting in the noisiest place in the world

if you learn how to connect with the unseen.

You can sit in the middle of a storm

and find the eye of the storm where things are silent.

Hey, the Bible says, deep calls to deep, a spirit calls to spirit.

Just imagine that, hey? Just imagine that.

Where something in you begins to click with this invisible God who is spirit,

your spirit connecting with him. Deep calling out to deep, connecting.

It doesn't matter where you are.

And you become aware. You become aware of the pitfalls,

you become aware of the benefits, you become aware of where to go,

what to go, how to go, you become aware of his whisper,

you become aware of his rainbow, you become aware of his loud noise,

you become aware of his quiet voice.

But you have to train yourself for this.

So it's kind of like more intuitive than knowing, deeper knowing?

No. I understand what you're saying, but the reason I'm saying no

is because there is a tendency among people in general

to begin to take what is very simple in God

and make it something that is intuitive and deep.

And we don't want to go there.

So I know that's not what you're trying to say.

I really know that's not what you're trying to say.

But I want to not even use the words that we need to go deeper

or we need to get more intuitive.

We just have to do one simple thing.

Begin to understand that there is a world that is invisible and unseen

where both things of God exist.

And open my eyes of God that I might now partake of it.

It is as simple as that.

Most things in God are very, very simple.

Whenever someone suggests to you, and this is not what doctors are suggesting,

whenever someone suggests to you that there is a deeper knowledge

that you need to get into before you can get where you need to get,

you know it ain't God because God is simple.

It is just a question of saying no to this and yes to something.

Hey, in Christianity, in the Bible, in the things of God,

it is always a question of making a choice of saying yes or no.

Christ has presented to you,

and Christ will say, I stand at the door and knock.

And your response is, no thank you.

All your responses, I open the door.

And based on that simple choice and your simple response,

either life is turned upside down and you step into eternity before you die

or you wait for eternity unsure of what's going to happen,

hoping on a wing of a prayer that something will work out.

And it usually doesn't.

Any questions, Ted?

I'll end in silence.

You know, we wouldn't have to think about the prophetic.

We wouldn't have to think about what the devil is up to, what God is up to.

We wouldn't make such a big deal about it,

make it sound like this is the realm of very mature people and stuff like that.

Only a few select can enter into it.

All that would go away if people learned that there is an unseen realm,

that God exists and that we need to now begin to learn to relate to connect

because he's a person.

He's spirit, but he's a person.

Then you will be able to look at Betty and say,

this may be who she is on the outside, but this is what, who she is on the inside.

You begin to relate better.

You begin to have better discernment.

You're able to tell people what God is thinking of them.

You're able to tell people the things that are happening in their lives.

You're able to solve situations because you see behind the layer.

Why do doctors put you on a scan?

Because when they look at you on the outside, you look healthy.

But they put you on a scan because a scan reveals things that are inside.

What are we talking about?

We're talking about God enabling us by his spirit to see things

that cannot be seen with the visible eyes so that you know the reason why things are happening

and so that you have keys to fix things.

What a privilege it is if you can begin to do this for others.

First for yourself and then for others.

And if you learn to live like this, you're talking about a life that on one hand becomes an adventure,

on the other hand begins to connect with the one who created you,

and then you become a benefit to people around you.

Because you're not going by what you see.

You're going by what he shows you because you're bringing the connector.

John 6, 63. Jesus says,

The words I speak to you are spirit and life.

The words I speak to you are spirit and life.

Again, he said, hey, when I speak,

I'm not going to be able to see the things that are inside.

I'm not going to be able to see the things that are outside.

Again, he said, hey, when I speak,

what's he saying?

He said, listen, if you would listen to my words,

they are spirit and they are life.

They both exist in a realm that may not congeal something immediately before you.

This is no magic trick, but it gives life and it is spirit.

It is invisible, but remember, I created the world with words.

I created the world with words.

I spoke things into existence.

This is the power that God has.

I mean, here is a question you need to ask yourself.

Is he omnipotent?

As in, is God all powerful?

The answer, if you don't know, is yes.

Is God omniscient?

As in, is he all knowing?

The answer is yes.

If he is all powerful and all knowing, can you trust his words?

Yes.

And his words are spirit and life they create.

So, to finish off.

And just keep this in mind, guys.

I don't know which is the most important point, but this is certainly one of the most important points.

Entering.

Understanding.

Dwelling.

Shaping.

Subduing.

And exiting the invisible is so dependent.

Is so dependent on the faith you have and the words you speak.

Entering, understanding, dwelling, shaping, subduing, and exiting the invisible is so dependent on the faith you have in what?

The faith you have in his word or his voice.

Faith you have in his word or his voice and the words that you speak.

If you want to enter the invisible realm that God lives in, if you want to understand it, if you want to dwell in it, if you want to shape it,

if you want to subdue things that are evil in the unseen realm, or if you want to exit it, it all depends on the faith you have in the words that God speaks or the voice that he speaks or on his voice and the words that you speak.

A.W. Tozer, a very famous Christian guy, said, wherever faith is present, we touch and handle things unseen.

Hebrews 11 verse 1, faith is the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith does not give us evidence that is seen, but because we trust in what he says, we begin to see what God is saying he will do for us even though it is not evident.

We are completely confident of it.

And when we don't live like those guys, we begin to become like that blind man in Mark chapter 8 verse 24 whose eyes are half open and he says, I see men walking like trees.

Mark 8:24

You don't see clearly.

Any questions? I'll conclude with a story that might wrap it up. Any questions?

Any questions?

Any questions?

These are two simple stories.

Everyone. Faith is always anchored in the invisible.

Faith is always anchored in the invisible.

Doubt and unbelief are always nailed to the visible.

Doubt and unbelief are caused by and are nailed to the visible. Faith is always anchored in the invisible.

And the only way we can enter into understand, dwell in, shape, subdue or exit, that invisible realm of God, that invisible realm of the rule of God, that invisible realm of the benefits that God has for us, that invisible realm of God's attributes, that invisible realm of the angelic and the demonic.

It's impossible to deal with the demonic unless you see what the devil is doing. Paul put it this way. Hey, smarten up to the devices of the devil.

These guys knew what was about to happen.

To be able to hear his voice. Here are some quick incidents. First time, I think I shared it with either the leaders or the young adults. I'm not sure which.

The first time I had a decent sermon it was when I was at a church called Richmond Ben Carson Church. And there was a man called Alan Jones who was dealing with people who had sicknesses and people who had been demonized.

There was such a long line that he called me suddenly and finished leading worship. I sat down. He called me and said, deal with this woman. And this was a woman who had just tried jumping off Alex Fraser. And someone had saved her.

And so I don't know how to deal with these things, but I had begun to learn how to relate to that realm which is unseen, both in terms of how to connect with God and see what the devil and the demons and spirits, false spirits are up to.

And I go up to her and all I have is the name of Jesus Christ and I command the name of Jesus Christ and whatever is causing her to begin to even attempt to take her life, be undone and leave her.

And as I do, she falls to the ground and she starts writing like a snake. She's just writing like a snake on the carpet. And I don't know what to do.

So once again I say, in the name of Jesus Christ, I command this foul or unclean spirit to come out. And suddenly she stops and she goes back to normal.

And she goes back to normal and I think to myself, wow, I've never seen such power at work because that was my first experience with the power of God at that level.

And so as I'm walking away, I'm still thinking, Father, what next? What else do you want to do?

And God says in not an audible voice, but you know it inside your heart, God says, she just stopped not because she's free, but because she wanted you to walk away.

And I go back to her and I say, you demons have not left. You will not stay there like I command you to leave now.

And once again she started the writing and then there was a lady called, Myra?

Oh, Eunice.

Eunice. There was a lady called Eunice. She came, stood with me and that demon left.

And I thought to myself, so this is how the invisible ran away. I had heard about it. I'd heard stories.

But that was the first time. I'm telling you first time stories of how this works. That was in 1993.

Why am I telling you this? Because there's a realm that exists that can set people free.

But if you do not connect with that realm, if you go by what is seen, it doesn't work.

In 1991, I remember waking up one morning and I know some of you have heard this story, but it's more for those that will listen to these states later on.

I wake up in the morning and I'm covered with scabs and rashes.

And someone tells me it's a mix of measles and chickenpox.

And I'm thinking to myself, okay, I've never been through it before, so what happens next?

I was too simple to believe what I was seeing. I'd just become a Christian.

I didn't know better. I thought God tells the truth and that he always does what he says.

He still does. But I didn't know any better then.

So I'm going standing in front of the mirror and looking at all these marks on my body and my face.

And I'm thinking to myself, okay, you said you can heal, so why don't you take this all away?

And I prayed the best I could. This was about a year and a half after becoming a Christian.

And I remember going to the church and instead of keeping me away from the church because I could have been contagious,

the pastor let me lead worship. So I'm standing in front leading worship with my eyes closed.

And every now and then I open my eyes because I expect the scabs to be lying around me

because I thought, hey, God said he would heal and I'm worshipping him anyway, so these things must be around the ground.

And so I would open it and see the ground had nothing on it, so I'd keep worshipping.

And then people told me not to shave because if you shave when you have these stuff,

you leave pop marks on your face like you have craters on your face.

And so I thought to myself, but if you're going to heal me, it shouldn't matter. So I'd shave every day.

And then I decided the weekend was over, I'd rather go to work.

So I went to work and my boss, who was a Muslim, turned to me and said, you can't come and work because you could be contagious.

But I said, it was so simple, naive and dumb. I said, but God's healing me.

I'm sure nothing will happen to any of you. It's not contagious.

He said, your God may be doing that, but you want to come back to work.

You better get a certificate from the doctor saying you're healed.

So I decided I'll go to the doctor. And so I go to a hospital called the American Mission Hospital.

And Blessy's mom was a nurse there. So I called her and she says, hey, Jacob, can I give you a word of advice?

You look really bad. And so the doctor won't even see you.

He'll see you after two weeks because this thing has to die now. And so he ain't going to see you.

But again, in my being naive, I kept saying, but God's healing, so there shouldn't be a problem.

Can you just go and ask him? She said, not a good idea. I said, I'll wait here until you ask him.

So finally Blessy's mom goes in, asks the doctor. He was a Hindu doctor.

And he said, OK, I'll see him. And so I go in. And this is now six days into this stuff, or five or six days.

And because I can't go back to work, I'm sitting at home.

So I go there and he checks me out. And then he pulls out a letter pad and he writes a letter to my employer.

And he says, symptoms of chicken pox, it's called measles or something.

And he writes symptoms. Non-contagious, can't go back to work immediately.

I take that letter, go back to my employer, give it to him. The next day everything disappears.

You know, the only mark left on my face, just so you would be convinced, is this little thing here.

And that is the only spot I didn't shave because if not in there, I would have shaved quite already.

But the point is, there is an unseen realm where God does things.

There is an unseen realm from which the benefits of God come.

There is an unseen realm where he has declared his attributes.

There is an unseen realm where there are evil, demonic spirits.

There is an unseen realm where there is the Spirit of God.

I'm just giving you stories from 25 or 30 years ago, just to, why pick stories from 25 or 30 years ago?

Because they're simple stories that anybody can start.

We don't need faith for this. We just need simple, stupid trust.

As in, not stupid, as in simple, what's the right word?

Foolish trust. Foolish trust.

Desperate. No, no, no, that's not creative.

Oh, shut.

I didn't realize what the time was.

Guys, you have to begin to understand for the next few weeks, this is what we'll be doing.

I said this to the leaders some nights ago, that there is a spirit of prayer that is going to come upon this church.

And come upon this church really strong.

And what do I mean by a spirit of prayer?

People in this church will begin to pray and they'll see results.

But after the spirit of prayer begins to slow down, we have to begin to have one hand on this realm of the unseen,

where all the systems of God and all the things of God and the Spirit of God are one hand on it.

Touching heaven, changing earth.

Touching heaven, changing earth.

One is visible, one is invisible.

This is how I live my life.

This is how we should live our lives.

Yeah, that's it.

Father, heavy topic but not really.

It's heavy because we can't see it.

That's why it sounds heavy, but it ain't.

So I just thank you for what you've started us off on and helped us to explore this further.

I thank you that even though you're invisible right now, we can't see you.

You are so present, so present, so present.

I thank you that even though we can't see you, you, you, God, actually live by your spirit inside us if we have received Jesus Christ as Lord.

Right now, you, oh God, dwell within me.

Dwell within us.

God in us.

Emmanuel, God with us.

Christ in us.

I thank you that there is nothing tomorrow that will happen to me that is already not ready in you, in the invisible.

Everything I need for tomorrow is already prepared.

I thank you that there is healing for sick bodies, provision for those that do not have.

We will explore this further, but we gotta stop now.

Because we have this thing called this watch, Father.

It's very invisible, and it keeps ticking.

So we stop now in Jesus' name. Amen.