What You See and Hear (2) React or Respond
Notes
Transcript
Jesus is leading you by what you see and hear.
Jesus is leading you by what you see and hear.
When asked, what do you see? Some get gridlocked and cannot shift from soul to spirit.
When fear partners with your imagination what you see and hear is often future tripping.
Future tripping.
Creating imaginational situations that don’t exist.
‘What If’ is future tripping
Future tripping is us listening to or seeing a false story in our life.
Imagination in future tripping creates expectations and expectations create realities that are fear based and not real.
Future tripping is non-trust. When we assume about others it is creating fear and pain.
“God does not live in things that are not real.”
Jesus told John’s disciples to tell John what you see and hear.
Matthew 11:2–6 (NASB95)
2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
John was not getting what he wanted.
He wanted to be set free.
Because he was not being set free from Jesus, he was questioning everything he knew to be true.
John had previously been confident in who Jesus was.
When he baptized Jesus he knew who he was.
When others questioned who Jesus was, John defended him boldly.
When don’t get what we are expecting, we often come up with a story.
This fake story makes us question who Jesus is and what He says about us too.
If we are cloudy and falling out of faith what do we do?
Expectation that are not being fulfilled will make us miserable and block us from seeing and hearing in faith.
We can let go of what we are expecting to happen.
Expectations are in your control.
If you dont have your own experience with Jesus, borrow someone else's.
Jesus shows us exactly what to do in this scripture.
Jesus reminds John what is real what is happening.
Jesus did not tell John that others are getting out of prison.
Example:
When someone loses their job.
What do you see and hear.
I just heard a guy say the last time he lost a job God helped him change careers and it was the best thing that ever happened to him.
How do we keep in faith when we are not seeing what we want to see?
- We go to what we see and hear from Jesus.
What Jesus says about you, What He says will happen, What He says has happened.
Sometimes we are tired of all the hard work and trying to keep in faith.
Jesus then reminds us what being faith and partnered with Him feels like.
Seeing and hearing by your spiritual eyes and ears is seeing and hearing in faith.
John was in prison not getting what he wanted and could no longer remember or see and hear in faith.
Jesus is leading you by what you see and hear in faith.
Darkness trying to lead you by what you see and hear in the natural.
If we are seeing and hearing what Jesus wants us to hear and see, we will experience His peace and joy.
If we are seeing and hearing with our natural sight the story that is not the Truth we will experience disconnection and frustration.
Joy never leaves you, you have to leave joy.
You leave joy by imagining a future that is not real.
Live in the grace of one day and you find the fullness of joy.
When I stay in the grace of the day it is always enough and filling.
Activation:
Open it up for people to share something they see or hear God doing with a testimony.
Let go of an expectation that is not being fulfilled that blocking you from seeing and hearing in faith.
What is your prison?
What is Jesus wanting you see and hear?
Pray over each other that their spiritual eyes and ears would be opened to see and hear what Jesus wants them to.
Part 2
React or Respond
React or Respond
We heard from Pastor Ted about this year God is showing him to respond and not react.
This is important for us all to learn in the season.
Reactions often feel involuntary and are aggressive in nature.
Responses often come from you on purpose in a calm or assertive nature.
When John the baptist saw Jesus coming towards him when he was preaching and baptizing and he said “Behold the Lamp who takes away our sins”.
John was responding.
When John the baptist sent his disciples to ask if Jesus really was who He says he is.
John was reacting.
Jesus gives John the cure to him reacting.
Matthew 11:6 (NASB95)
6 “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
Offense is the source of our reactions.
Offenses lead us to fear, doubt and unbelief.
Example:
This person was saying something about me so now I wont spend time with them or I will say what I want about them.
The root is offense that lead to fear of being rejected again.
Maybe then it lead to doubting that you will ever have friends.
Then that can lead to not believing that God is even real because He does not stop those people from saying bad things about you.
Offenses are the roots to your reactions.
Luke 17:1 (NKJV)
1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!
Luke 17:1 (NASB95)
1 He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!
It looks like it is impossible to stop offenses from coming.
Even though I happen to know many people who put all their efforts in to stopping offenses from happening they will still come.
What then is the cure to being offended?
Let’s read on and see if we get some guidance.
Luke 17:1–4 (NKJV)
1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
According to what Jesus is telling us Not purposely offending others, Rebuking, and Forgiving, are all keys to Responding.
Not Offending and Rebuking already sound impossible to me.
When we are anchored in His Love, Hope and Faith we will respond to offenses.
What is the cure to being offended?
Not purposely offending
Rebuking
Forgiving
Later on Jesus told us if we forgive then He forgives but if we do not forgive He wont forgive. (John 20:23)
That forgiveness is for you and them.
When you release forgiveness from your heart, that is responding from the image of Christ in you.
Danie
Responding and reacting has to do with where your heart is at.
Being open to what their intentions are will help you respond.
Assuming their intentions are bad will have you reacting.
Responding is allowing fruits of Holy Spirit to flow from you to those around you.
Forgiveness is a huge piece for you to be able to respond from you are.
Reacting is likely to cause offence in others.
Victor Frankl.
Was a jew who was captured in world war 2.
He shares in his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ about how he survived his horrific experience in Nazi concentration camps. He found a way to find happiness and meaning even in the middle of the worst possible surroundings.
He did this by using his imagination. He would visualize teaching what he was learning in the camps to students. He would break down the psychology of what was happening in his head. He would have full on conversations with his wife and friends in his head. He even said that they talked back to him in his mind.
He became a professor and author did speak to those students and shared with the entire world what he learning in his darkest days, months and years.
Victor knew there was one thing that could not be taken from him and that was his responding.
He was in control of who he tells the world he is.
Some truth Victor taught the world is:
You feel what you perceive.
Closing:
Responding comes from knowing who God is and who He says you are.
Reaction comes from what everything else other than God is trying to tell you who you are.
If you become fearful it is because there is something about the Character of God (Love) you don’t like or trust.
The most important thing about what you see, is not the vision, it is the visionary giving it to you.
Activation:
Who do you need to forgive today?
Forgive him or her and ask Jesus to let that forgiveness take full affect.
What is one way you know you want to respond?
The next time you feel like reacting try to respond that way.
References
11 The word of the Lord came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
John 9:1–11 (NASB95)
1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” 6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. 8 Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” 9 Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.” 10 So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”
1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”