This morning we continue our series entitled, “Refined Focus”, by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Focusing on Dying To Self”. We have been walking our way through the following passage for over a month. Let’s get back to it today.
The Apostle Paul said, “The love of Christ controls us, because we know that one person died for everyone. So all have died. He died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for him. From this time on we don’t think of anyone as the world thinks of people. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we don’t think that way now. When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new!” (2 Cor 5:14-17 ERV).
A few days ago we started looking at Paul’s closing statement in this passage – the last two lines. Flowing in this vein, I shared a message with you yesterday entitled, “The opposite of faith is natural sight”. I took us back to verse 7 of this chapter, where the Apostle Paul famously said, “We walk by faith and not by sight”. The Easy To Read Version of 2 Cor 5:7 reads, “We live by what we believe will happen, not by what we can see.”
Today’s message will flow in the same vein as yesterday’s. Let’s get to it.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. You use your human body and its senses to relate to this natural world. However, God’s realm is not natural to this realm. In this realm God’s realm is considered supernatural. Our natural body cannot contact God’s realm, but our spirit can. God gave us His Spirit so He could relate to us Spirit-to-spirit. Our spirit is able to contact God’s realm and our natural body is able to contact this realm. This gives Born-Again believers the ability to operate in both realms.
2. When you understand the fact that you have a body that is natural to this world and a Born-Again Spirit that is natural to God’s realm (making it naturally supernatural), you know you have the ability to operate in both realms and you actually get to choose which one you connect with and relate to on a daily basis.
3. When something can be validated with our natural senses, we say, “That makes sense”. However, God is a Spirit. He does not have a body. God does not have senses that are natural to this world. When God communicates with you He does so Spirit-to-spirit. What God says to you can be validated in His realm — by the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, through prophetic utterances, through dreams, visions and etc. — but it cannot be validated with your natural senses. That’s why what God says to you may not make sense. God is not sensual, He is Spiritual and when you are Born-Again, He expects you to live Spiritual as well.
4. A Born-Again believer has the Holy Spirit living inside of them, so they are able to relate to and communicate with God. This person also has a natural body, so they are able to relate to and communicate with this world. When Paul said, “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7), what He was saying was, “We choose Spirit over flesh. We choose to live our lives based on the input we receive from God’s realm (through our spirit), over the input we receive from this world (through our body).”
a) Once you are Born-Again, “It’s a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new!” (2 Cor 5:17).
b) Once you are Born-Again, the supernatural (God’s realm) is natural to you.
c) Once you are Born-Again, you have the ability to operate on two plains, natural and supernatural, and to receive inputs from both. You then get to choose, on a daily basis, which one you will live your life based on.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a season of refined focus for me. I bring my life into focus in 2016 by dying to my humanity and allowing Your divinity to flow through me. Before I was Born-Again I lived my life based on the input I received from this world. I was completely human. I was limited to human ability, power and sight. But now I am Born-Again. You gave me Your Spirit and He lives IN me. I can now hear what You are saying and see into Your realm. I have a body that relates to this world through its senses and a spirit that relates to Your world through revelation. I get to choose which one I will live my life based on. Your Word teaches me to choose spirit over flesh, supernatural over natural, faith over sight. I declare that I do. I live by faith. This means I live my life based on what I receive and perceive in the spirit, and not based solely on the input I receive in this world. What You say to me may not make sense, because You are not sensual. You are a Spiritual and You communicate with me Spirit-to-spirit. I live by every Word that proceeds from out of Your mouth! I live my life led of Your Spirit every day. I live by faith and not by natural sight. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
