Luke 8:14 And they which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection (KJV).
From time to time there are sayings that are leveled at believers that elude to the idea that the things of the Spirit are fantasy, and not based upon reality. We all have heard them: “He is so heavenly minded that he is no earthly good.” “You have got to face reality.” “He has his heads in the clouds,” or “You’ve got to keep your feet on the ground.” The problem for some believers is the reality that they are so worldly minded, they are worthless to the Kingdom of God. They are so caught up in the world, that the things of the Spirit have no real significance in their life -even though they claim to belong to Christ. Here is where the difficulty lies: while in the world we were trained to think like the world. Our perspective was from a natural point of view; hence, the things of God would appear to us a up-side-down. The truth is that the worldly way of thinking is up-side-down, and that which is truly spiritual is right-side-up! As the Lord reveals Himself to us more and more, and our minds are renewed, our perspective changes.
It helps to realize that the natural ream that we see is only temporal, and that which is spiritual, is eternal. The spiritual realm bookends the natural: the spiritual preceded the natural and always will precede it. Remember, God spoke things into existence; hence, the spiritual preceded the natural. One day this natural realm as we know it will end, and only that which is spiritual will remain for all eternity. So the question is: what is reality? In the natural realm, faith sounds crazy; but, in the spiritual it is the way of life. Consider this: it is, “God , Who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not, as though they were” (Romans 4:17, KJV). Consider the following:
In Genesis thirty-seven, God gave Joseph two dreams that showed him he would rule over his family. He shared these two dreams with his family, and they scoffed at them. Along the way, Joseph would have to face harsh reality. Joseph would be thrown into a pit by his brothers, who would then sell him as a slave to some Ishmaelites. In turn, the Ishmaelites would take him into Egypt where they would sell him to a man named Potiphar, who was the captain of the guard in Egypt. As we pick the story back up in Genesis thirty-nine, we find that the Lord prospered the hands of Joseph and would give him great favor with Potiphar. Things well for a time, then he would be falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife of attempted rape, and cast into prison. Lets see now: cast into a pit, sold as a slave twice, falsely accused, then cast into prison; how does that line up the dreams? At this juncture, many would have given up on God had they been in Joseph’s shoes. Those dreams would be considered pizza dreams the moment they were thrown into the pit and sold as slaves -the world’s reality!
God’s reality: again the Lord would prosper Joseph’s hands and give him favor with the keeper of the prison. In time, there would be two officers of Pharaoh cast into prison: the chief butler and chief baker. These two would have dreams which troubled them. Joseph gave them the interpretations of those dreams, which came to pass. The butler’s dream revealed that he would be restored to Pharaoh in three days. Prior to the chief butler’s leaving the prison, Joseph asked the butler to show him kindness and make mention of him to Pharaoh. The baker’s dream revealed that he would be hanged. When the butler was restored to Pharaoh, he forgot about Joseph until Pharaoh had two dreams that needed interpretation. When Pharaoh could not find anyone to interpret the dream, the chief butler remembered Joseph. Joseph gave the interpretation of the dreams which revealed that there would be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Bypassing several details, Joseph would become the ruler over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. In time, his brothers would come before Joseph and bow at his feet as the result of the famine. Eventual all of Jacob’s household would come to bow before him. The interesting thing is that the Lord had revealed in the dreams how and where the household of Jacob (Israel) would bow before him.
In the first dream found in Genesis 37:7, Joseph told his brothers, “For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf”(KJV). This dream centered on two important things: food (grain), and Joseph being lifted up into a higher position. It showed that as the result of the famine where Israel’s grain failed, the brothers would have to bow before Joseph in order to obtain grain to feed their family. In the second dream found in Genesis 37:9, Joseph says, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” When Jacob hears this, he rebukes him and says to Joseph, “Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” Of course, the sun, moon, and stars are metaphors for Israel and the twelve tribes, but they also point out something else: the where. Egypt also worshiped the sun, moon, and stars; hence, it pointed to Egypt as well. God’s reality calls those things that be not as if they were!
Another reality: John chapter eleven gives us the account of Lazarus who was Mary and Martha’s brother who fell sick. His sisters called for Jesus, Who waited to come until Lazarus would be dead four days. The natural perspective: Lazarus was dead four days and would be stinking by the time Jesus came on the scene. God’s reality: Jesus is the Resurrection, and He called him forth from the grave. Reality: When a person spends his money or gives it away, it is gone. God’s reality says, “He which soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully” (2Corinthians 9:6). Reality: Jesus was taken, scourged and beaten, and hung on the Cross where He died -not looking good at all. God’s reality: Jesus rose from the dead, presented the Perfect Sacrifice to the Father, was seen of 500 disciples, and ascended into heaven. Reality: the world is running rampant with sin and rebellion. God’s reality: people are saved from their sin through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus will call His Bride home, and He will put down all rebellion for all eternity!
Reality: God is on the throne. He is all powerful, all knowing, and all present. He still calls those things that be not as if they were. His promises are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. If He has given you a vision, you can count on it being fulfilled as you stay submitted to Him -even when natural reality say otherwise!
