This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.” Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
(Read Mark 8:1-21)
In Mark 8, Jesus fed 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread. Later, He and His disciples boarded a boat to head to the other side of the lake. Once in the boat, the disciples realized that they only had one loaf of bread. This caused an argument about who was supposed to bring the food. Jesus said, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see? Are you not able to understand? Do you have eyes that can’t see? Do you have ears that can’t hear? Remember what I did before, when we did not have enough bread? I divided five loaves of bread for 5000 people. How many baskets of food were left over?” The disciples answered, “12 full baskets.” Jesus continued, “And when I divided seven loaves of bread for 4000 people, how many baskets did you fill with the leftover pieces?” They answered, “Seven full baskets.” Then Jesus said to them, “You remember these things I did, but you still don’t understand?“
We have been discussing spiritual perception and renewing your mind (even your subconscious) for days. Today I will drive home why seeing in the spirit is so vital for us. To do so, we will also look at something the Lord said through Solomon. The Bible says:
(Ecc 3:15 AMPC)
That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by [so that history repeats itself].
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. To walk with God effectively, you must understand that there is an UNSEEN realm that is very real to God.
(Ecc 3:15 AMPC)
That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by [so that history repeats itself].
Solomon teaches us that everything that “is” today (everything you can see around you, everything going on in your life) has ALREADY BEEN. That’s already a lot to wrap your mind around, but if that were not enough, Solomon goes on to tell us that everything that “will be” in our future (things that have not happened yet) has also ALREADY BEEN!
The text says that God is seeking that which has passed by (in eternity, in His realm, in His plans, in His mind), so that history (or HIS-story) can repeat itself. The plans God made for you have already played themselves out in God’s mind, in eternity, and when He looks at your life today, He is looking for the history of eternity to repeat itself, in time, on the earth.
The best way I have found to explain what Solomon was teaching is this: God mapped out your entire life before you were born; He then rewound the tape and pressed play the day you were born. When God looks at you today, He is looking for what He planned. Faith, then, is not about you coming up with a laundry list of things you want and laying them out before God like He is Santa Claus. No, faith is about discovering what God already planned for your life, what He already prepared for you by His unearned grace, and then making decisions that align with God’s plans. This is why Spiritual perception is so critical. If you can’t SEE it, you don’t know what to ask for. If you can’t SEE it, you don’t know how to pray. If you can’t SEE it, you run the risk of pursuing something that is not yours. If you can’t SEE it, you will never BE it, and you will fail to maximize the purpose and potential God placed IN you!
2. You must learn to look at your life from God’s perspective, which is an eternal point of view.
— God made plans for you before you were born. This means: a) you are not a mistake, b) you are here for a reason, c) that reason is God’s plan, and d) you cannot find success outside of those plans.
— Success for the believer cannot be measured in money, houses, cars, or land. Success can only be measured in divine purpose.
— The reason Jesus was successful during His short time on this planet had nothing to do with money, fame or titles. It had everything to do with purpose.
Jesus said:
(John 5:19 TPT)
So Jesus said, “I speak to you eternal truth. The Son is unable to do anything from himself or through his own initiative. I only do the works that I see the Father doing, for the Son does the same works as his Father.
(John 5:30 TPT)
Nothing I do is from my own initiative. As I hear the judgment passed by my Father, I execute those judgments. And my judgments will be perfect, because I seek only to fulfill the desires of my Father who sent me.
(John 6:38 NIV)
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
(John 14:10 TPT)
Don’t you believe that the Father is living in me and that I am living in the Father? Even my words are not my own but come from my Father, for he lives in me and performs his miracles of power through me.
— The reason why Jesus and the disciples often had a disconnect is because He was looking at everything from heaven’s point of view, and they were looking at life from merely a human point of view.
— Jesus knew that the Father had already stored up everything He, they, (and even us) would ever need to complete their divine assignment. He knew the grace to do whatever was required was already on them. All they needed was the faith to tap into God’s grace.
— Jesus was upset with His team because they were looking at the fact that they only had one loaf of bread as a problem. They were looking at the situation from strictly a human point of view, despite all the superhuman experiences they already had. Jesus expected the superhuman experiences they had to change their belief system to the point where they would be programmed (deep down inside, in their subconscious minds) to believe in a God who could do anything.
— When you live by faith and not by sight, you know there is an UNSEEN realm that is superior to the seen realm. Therefore, you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the UNSEEN to you.
— By faith and empowered by the Holy Spirit, you are able to peer into God’s realm (eternity) from our realm (time) and then make decisions based on what you saw.
— By faith and empowered by the Holy Spirit, you are able to peer live on earth, informed by heaven, so that we can experience heaven on earth.
— To experience heaven on earth, you must learn to look at life from heaven’s point of view.
— Jesus was not moved by the situation with one loaf of bread because he was not looking at it from strictly a human point of you, and He was upset with His disciples because they were!
My question for you is: Will you live like Jesus in the text (seeing in the Spirit), or will you live like the disciples (who were living their lives as mere men)?
3. To experience God’s best, you must learn to look at every situation from heaven’s (an eternal) point of view.
This series on the miracles of Jesus is designed to remind you that our God can do anything. If you can get to the point where your mind is renewed (not just your conscious mind, but your subconscious mind as well), then your internal “DEFAULT SETTING” will position you to deal with whatever comes your way with this mindset:
— I am never moved by the size of a challenge because I know the size of my God.
— I believe in a God who can do all things, and He lives in me.
— I am empowered by God to face and overcome anything that comes my way.
— God is ON me, IN me, WITH me, and FOR me.
— I am never hopeless because I am never helpless.
— God will never leave me, nor forsake me, so I have nothing to fear.
— If God is for me, He is more than the entire world against me.
This is the type of mindset I pray you develop through this series. And if your subconscious mind can get programmed to think this way, then you will be much better positioned to face the challenges of life and come out on top. Your inner man will never get overwhelmed by a challenge because it will be SET to look at the challenge from God’s point of view.
When you look at a situation from God’s point of view, you know:
— Your success has already been planned.
— Everything you need has already been stored up for you.
— God’s will for you in the situation has already been mapped out.
— You already have the grace for it!
So you will never “freak out” like the disciples did in the text. You will be like Jesus was:
— Always at peace.
— Always resting in God’s finished work.
— Having perfect knowledge of every situation.
— Not concerned about the outcome.
— Believing that everything will work out for your good.
I will close with a reminder that we are called and commanded to walk and live by faith, not by sight. The opposite of faith is not doubt. It is natural sight.
— Mere humans live their lives by what they can see with their natural eyes, validating their decisions with sense-realm evidence (what they can see, touch, taste, hear, and smell).
— Born-Again believers are supposed to live by what they can SEE in the Spirit, even when it is contrary to what they see in this world, validating their decisions with evidence from the Spirit-realm (what they can hear and see in their Spirit).
— As a Born-Again believer, the Father expects you to live your life from the inside out, discerning what to do and how to do it, where to go, and what to do when you get there. Living this way, you get to live your life based on spiritual vision (insight) and not human sight.
Don’t be like the disciples in the text, who were “freaking out” because they were looking at their situation from strictly a human point of view. Be like Jesus, who was peering into the unseen realm where He could see that everything they needed had already been provided!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
You help me develop the ability to SEE in the Spirit.
You made plans for me before the world began, and by Your Spirit, You help me to open my spiritual eyes so I can see what You planned!
My desire is to FIND, FOLLOW, and ultimately FINISH Your plans for my life before I die!
I am born from above. Your Spirit lives IN me. I am no longer limited to operating as a mere man. I am a God-man.
I am able to peer into heaven from the earth, so Your will can be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.
I am able to peer into eternity, from time, and then come back to live out what I saw.
My success is connected to my ability to SEE in the Spirit. I declare that I SEE with clarity and focus. The more I die to ME, the more You bless me to SEE!
Living this way, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
