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?“
Yesterday, I added Ecclesiastes 3:15 to this. Today, I am going to add Ephesians 1:17,18 and
(Ephesians 1:17,18 ERV)
17 I always pray to the great and glorious Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that he will give you the Spirit, who will let you know truths about God and help you understand them, so that you will know him better.
18 I pray that God will open your minds to see his truth. Then you will know the hope that he has chosen us to have. You will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people are rich and glorious.
I want to focus on the line, “I pray that God will open your minds to see his truth.”
The New Living Translation reads, “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand…”
The Holman Christian Standard Bible reads, “I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know…”
The J. B. Phillips Translation reads, “That you may receive that inner illumination of the spirit which will make you realise…”
The Message Bible reads, “I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do.”
(James 1:5-8 NKJV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 _he is_ a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
So what does this mean to you today? I will attempt to put this all together now.
1. Jesus was frustrated with His disciples because they were double-minded.
What does it mean to be double-minded? I will attempt to explain.
James teaches us that if anyone lacks wisdom (wisdom being how to apply the knowledge you have and within the context of the Kingdom of God, Godly wisdom is how to do things in alignment with God’s ways), they should ask God for it. James tells us that God will freely and generously give wisdom to those who request it. But when they ask, they must ask in faith, without a doubt, and without wavering.
The person who asks, but is wavering, is double-minded. James says that this person is unstable and will not receive anything from God. Why? Becuase they keep changing their minds. In one moment, you see them acting one way, in faith, but then, in the next moment, they are acting another way. This is exactly what happened with Jesus and His disciples, which is why Jesus was so frustrated. In one moment, they were handing out bread, and the bread was multiplying in their hands. So they were cognizant of the fact that God is capable of multiplying food and that God is the source of their ministry. He provided for them everywhere they went, and they did NOT LACK A THING! However, a few minutes later, they were complaining about not having enough food. Why? Because they were double-minded, and it drove Jesus nuts!
We all have a conscious mind with which we think conscious thoughts and a subconscious mind that remembers just about everything, and it is programmed by our experiences (we are products of our environments), education, and whatever we receive from credible authority figures in our lives. The double-minded man is a person who believes one thing with his conscious mind and something else at a subconscious level. This person is fundamentally conflicted, and based on what James said, they will not receive anything from the Lord, especially not when it comes to wisdom (God’s way of getting things done).
You will not access the wisdom of God (how God works; His ways) while you believe one thing consciously and something else at a subconscious level. Why? Because you are double-minded.
I am teaching you miracle after miracle, and you are saying, “Amen,” like the disciples did when they fed the 5,000 and the 4,000. However, if deep down inside, you don’t believe in the supernatural power of God and how this power can manifest in YOUR LIFE, then you can say “Amen” all you want with your conscious mind, but it will mean nothing to you because subconsciously, you really don’t believe in a God of miracles. You don’t believe that it is for today, or you don’t believe that it will happen for you!
God wants you to meditate on His Word day and night. Why? So that His supernatural power will become SO REAL to you that you will believe it deep down, on a subconscious level. Once you get to that point, then when you pray with your conscious mind, your prayers will be effective because you are not internally conflicted at a subconscious level.
God wants you to see yourself the way He sees you. He wants you to believe what He believes about you. And He wants you to believe it deep down, on a subconscious level, so when He speaks to you by His Spirit, and you respond with your conscious mind, you are not fighting against subconscious beliefs that will cause fear, doubt, and unbelief.
2. God gave us His Spirit so we can know who He called us to be and what He called us to do!
— The Father never intended for you to attempt to maximize your purpose and potential on the earth by living off of human effort, strength, or intellect. He gave you His Spirit so that you can perceive and receive the things He has already planned for you to have and to do.
— God never intended for you to attempt to “do life” without spiritual clarity or divine focus. He provided you His Spirit so you could SEE what to do and how to do it.
— God is able to provide inner “light.” This light is designed to empower you to live life with clarity, focus, and spiritual perception.
— Before you were Born-Again, chances are you perceived God to be a distant and disconnected Lord who governed the universe from heaven. But now that you are Born-Again, the Lord wants you to see Him as a loving, caring, and sharing heavenly Father who loves you enough to take up residence inside of you. He gave you His Spirit so that you could live your life connected to Him, receiving insight from Him on a daily basis.
— The Holy Spirit is your direct connection to God and the spirit realm. Through the Holy Spirit, the Father is able to reveal things to you, Spirit-to-spirit.
— Once your inner mind is open to see God’s truth, once your inner-eyes are flooded with God’s light, and once your perception is illuminated with divine revelation, not only do you live your life with clarity, but you also have peace. You won’t have all the answers because there is a certain level of mystery to walking with God. But you are okay with that. You trust that God knows what He is doing, and for the most part, you will live your life informed by the Holy Spirit.
This all sounds good. But what I am teaching you today about the double-mind takes this teaching to another level. Faith is not about convincing God. Faith is what happens when God convinces YOU. Faith is not about persuading God. Faith is what happens when you are fully persuaded by God to believe what He belives about you.
We are learning today that God does want you to be persuaded, but not just in your conscious mind. He wants your deep subconscious to be so convinced of His love, power, and grace that you are not moved by anything that comes your way. You are able to believe God with your conscious and subconscious.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I declare that the eyes of my understanding are flooded with light. You open my mind to SEE Your truth.
You provide me with the inner illumination of the Spirit on a daily basis.
I then meditate and medicate on what You reveal. I think about Your written Word all day long. And I also think about all the things You reveal to be my Your Spirit.
The more I meditate and medicate on Word; the more my conscious and subconscious minds are renewed. I declare that I am changed, deep down on the inside, and I am changed forever.
My heart is SET on the things above. My inner man is programmed to believe You. I believe there is nothing You cannot do, and I am never moved by anything that comes my way.
I enter every day with boundless optimism because You have boundless power, and Your commitment to me is unwavering. This realization gives me peace.
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!
