"He Knoweth The Way That I Take."
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I. Introduction.
I. Introduction.
The voice of wisdom issues us a challenge today.
Are you ready? Here it is:
“Lay hold of the Bible, until the Bible lays hold of you.”
“Lay hold of the Bible, until the Bible lays hold of you.”
Let’s rise to that challenge this morning!
Beginning with Prov 29:18.
Here is what it says:
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV 1900)
Where there is no vision, the people perish...
If you were to weave a basket, you might first choose your base material.
Whatever is at hand, be it reed, straw or seagrass.
That first rough reed, that first green blade of grass or wet straw would need to be braided and folded into others.
The process repeated over and over, until you have a container that can hold and transport a precious thing.
I would like you to consider the following scriptures your base material today.
Moving quickly from one to the next, weave them together in your spirit, as a basket to hold precious truth.
Isaiah 59:10 (KJV 1900)
We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes:
We stumble at noonday as in the night;
We are in desolate places as dead men.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
John 9:32 (KJV 1900)
Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The next one warms me, because you can tell, we are now turning a corner:
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book,
And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not;
I will lead them in paths that they have not known:
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked things straight.
These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
The blind receive their 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. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
Here is what Job said, and in his words we find our text and title
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;
And backward, but I cannot perceive him:
On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him:
He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
But he knoweth the way that I take:
When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Please open your spirit today, without reserve, as I preach to you from this title:
"He Knoweth The Way That I Take."
"He Knoweth The Way That I Take."
A simple basket will do just fine, woven closely.
Into it, you may rest precious truth.
What truth you ask?
Only this:
There are two worlds, that of the natural and that of the spirit.
While they are seperate, they mirror one another. There is relationship.
So too, you and I have two natures: The natural and the spiritual.
We have perception in these seperate realms.
In the natural, we have five senses, the eyes being the first and commonly the most relied upon .
Then we have spiritual perception. Not something that can be seen and scientifically quantified, but more real than even pain or joy or hunger.
When you know you have heard the voice of God, you just know!
But now sometimes, things can get knocked out of sync.
At times our natural eyes work too well and our spiritual perception grows dim.
So it is that we need Jesus to open our eyes!
For Jesus, it takes no time at all!
But our ability to process can span a period of time.
It takes us a while, for me at least to “Get it!”
To hear what the Spirit is saying!
For example:
Have you ever read a passage of Scripture and felt as though you understood only the very top layer of what God was saying?
“The icing is great, but I know there’s more cake underneath!”
Then with study and prayer, the Lord allows that truth to open like a rose, and all the sudden you see multiple layers of beauty and power.
Sight and restoration of sight can be a progressive thing.
Consider the Apostle Peter.
Consider the Apostle Peter.
Of all the disciples, I think I almost like Peter the best.
Sure I like him! Still all of us wonder: Why did Jesus choose this one to play such a pivotal role in the early church?
A tradesman, a blue collar guy.
Hot head bruiser, willing to fight at the drop of a hat and drop it himself!
Stubborn yet hard working!
I figure him hard headed enough, to end up in the drunk tank Friday night, but committed enough to be at work before first light on Monday.
His hands are often swollen and red from his labor, yet Peter asks for nothing free of charge.
Most would know him as “one who does not suffer fools gladly.”
He may not be refined and nuanced, but He is a man. Peter is gentle and kind to those he loves.
I have often thought had he lived in our time, he might have been an electrician or carpenter, and you might pass him on the freeway, leaving the jobsite on a well worn Harley Softail, with a scowl and paper wrapped forty in hand.
A normal guy.
But you know, Jesus loves normal people! With all our faults and failings, He loves us!
He calls us to be more, to come higher!
And One day, Jesus selected Peter of all others, to recieve the revelation of who He was.
And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
Without any doubt, Bishop JT Pugh described it best:
(Recall that night in the cool mountain fastness of Ceaserea Phillipi. The Jump pit and so on!
It culminated with Peter declaring: I say that thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!
Hear what Mathew recorded as Jesus response:
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
What has happened here?
I’ll tell you:
Jesus has opened blind eyes.
The eyes of the spirit. Spiritual perception.
Peter began to gain a revelation that night that would only grow and grow until it changed his life forever!
Progressive Healing Of Perception.
Progressive Healing Of Perception.
Pause...
You know it’s funny, we often consume different scenes from Scripture individually and overlook the whole.
When you read a passage of Scripture, If you do not read the chapter preceeding and following the passage of interest, It’s easy to miss the full picture.
So, let’s back up a bit to verse 22 of Mark 8, reading down to verse 26.
Mark includes this as immediately preceeding Peter’s revelation
I was in my work truck Friday, half asleep but slowly reading through my Word when I saw this.
And it really is a miracle!
And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
Why is it that Jesus led the blind man from the commotion of that fishing village?
Perhaps the bustle and the noise of the market crowd was bewildering to the blind man.
Maybe touch meant more than sound to him. Either way, Jesus wanted to help him!!!!
He took hold of the man and led him out.
Jesus leads the man to a quieter area where he could hear and understand better, the Jesus whom He cannot see.
Don’t you just love how Jesus ministers to us in a way that we can understand? and relate to?
In this healing, Jesus touched the man’s eyes twice.
Not once, but twice.
At the first touch the man received sight, but his vision was confused, vague and unfocused.
This is what He said:
“I see men as trees, walking.”
This man gained sight, no doubt about it!
But at the first, his sight was unclear.
All detail and focus was beyond him until Jesus touched his eyes a second time.
He saw people looking like trees walking around. Fuzzy, indefined, vague shadows and movement.
Was it better than before? You bet! Was it the full healing that Jesus intended? Not yet.
But when Jesus touched him a second time, he saw things clearly!
A progressive, two stage miracle.
His two-stage miracle is not just about the gift of sight. It is ultimately about the gift of perception.
I believe it is no accident that Mark records this miracle!
I believe it was a miracle perfomed by our Lord who was moved with compassion for the needs of others.
But I also see this very unique, progressive healing as a physical illustration of the opening of Peter’s eyes to the revelation of who Jesus was!
How exciting, for Peter!
To gain spiritual perception and sight!
“I say that thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!”
Hey, nobody else was saying that!
And yet, as we read on, we see that Peter still doesn’t quite get it!
From this point on, Jesus begins to speak about the cross and the sacrifice that he must accomplish.
And every time he says something about it, Peter is simply unwilling or unable to grasp what He is saying!
“Surely not Jesus!”
“Not you! Not our great leader!”
“You say you will suffer many things, be rejected, killed and then after three days, you will rise again?”
“I don’t see that happening Jesus!”
Directly after, at the mount of Transfiguration, Peter again confuses things!
As we read the Gospels, the closer you get to the cross, the more you realize that Peter is just not getting it!
He’s a good man! He wants to understand, but his vision has yet been fully restored!
When Jesus wraps a towel around himself, to serve and to teach ministry and leadership, Peter is freaked out by it!
“No Lord! You mustn’t wash my feet, that is a servant’s work!”
The tension builds in the Garden of Gethsemane, until his emotions are tighter than a drum!
Something has got to give!
You know, I honor Peter for his willingness to defend Jesus from the tourchlit mob. I really do.
But again, he just didn’t get it!
Then, as Jesus is beaten and bruised, sentenced to die, Peter simply cannot process and the experience trips all of his circuits!
Overload!
Yes, Peter had proclaimed Jesus as Messiah, but his perception was only dim.
“I see men as trees walking.”
“I have an improved yet vague understanding of what’s really going on.”
The Bible speaks of two who wept bitterly in those fateful hours.
One would go on to hang himself, the other would go on to recieve his full sight, a progressive miracle!
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Oh friend, the pre Holy Ghost Peter was a confused fella!
But after that the Holy Ghost came upon him, Peter turned into a lion!!!!!
Just listen to the man:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.”
“Then Peter said unto them repent...” ( you know where that one goes!)
“Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!!!!
OH how he preached!!! He did’t mince words! “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the deaad; whereof we all are witnesses.”
When they Sanhedrin grilled him, threatened and abused him, Peter did not hold back!
“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.!Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name udnerheaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Brothers and sisters, sometimes we see men as trees walking!
Sometimes we have a partial view of what’s really going on!
So when you feel the hand of the master, leading you away from the hustle and the bustle of the crowd, into a private moment of relationship and revelation, follow Him!
Try to be flexible!
Try to be open and ready to recieve the miracle God wants to give you!
He wants to give you full sight!
He wants you to really get it!!!!
He wants all of us to transition to a mystified and disappointed Peter, to that bold minister of truth!!!!
He wants you and me full of faith and on fire!
He wants to open your eyes!
Some of you are mere moments hours and days from breakthough and victory!
Just as sure as Bartimeus cried out so long ago, we too must cry with desperation: “Oh Son of David, have mercy on me!”
I want to see what is happening in the spirit realm!!!
I want to know and understand and I want to walk in authority!!!!
II. Application
II. Application
My friends, there are two worlds! The natural and the spiritual!
They are seperate, yet they mirror each other!
And our Lord would have us see clearly in both!
When you experience a breakthrough in your life and in your church, there is another aspect to that victory that is not visible with the natural eye!
Every new believer that repents,
Every baptism of water and spirit, represents a spiritual advancement, a change, a light in darkness!
“Big deal” you might think. “Only one person prayed through.”
But friend, do you know what that does to the kingdom of darkness?
When just one soul is ripped from darkness into light? From death to life?
It is far bigger than we can imagine! Entire tectonic plates are shifting in the spirit!
Your victory displaces darkness!
It brings light to despair!
It pushes the enemy back!
When we worship and praise our Lord into victory,
When we overcome our natural eyes and look beyond the veil...
We too become lions!!!!!
OH friend, that is why we must pray!!!!
We must pray to a breakthrough in our lives and community!!!!
People are going to hell!
Somebody has got to show them joy and peace and life!
Someone has to be willing to fight for their eternal souls!
Somebody here today sees men as trees walking..
And so I preach to you today: pray through to the next level!!!!!
I know there are uncertainties!
Questions and needs!
But He knows the way that I take!!!!! And when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as Gold!!!!”
Some of you are moments, minutes and days from great breakthrough!
He is going to open your eyes!!!!!
Some years ago, God gave me a special gift for the space of several days.
I had to attend a corporate conference in Arkansas.
Several connecting flights out of SFO until I flew into the walmart airport.
More people go there than Little Rock!
That week, it was as though God gave me a gift of faith.
When I percieved people, it was different than ever before.
Somehow, God allowed me to see the spiritual condition of each person I interacted with.
Here is faith of a sort, Here is no faith at all. Here is hunger, here is hurt, Here is potential.
At one point, I looked around the plane I was on, and it was almost as though I could hear the deepest needs of the people crying out!
We stayed at a conference center, meetings during the day and events at night.
Well you know, those events will include alcahol.
So Wednesday night of that week, I asked the concierge for a driver.
“Please take me to the United Pentecostal Church.”
I could feel need in the life of the lady driving, we made small talk until we arrived at the church.
I saw a sad longing in here eyes when we arrived at the local church. “I know it, she said, I went to school here.”
“Why don’t you come back?” “I know you would be welcome!”
Friend, there is another world, an entire universe of things that we do not see!!!!
But if we can just get closer to Jesus, He will reveal them to us and open our understanding!!
Maybe right now, all you can see is men as trees walking!
But God has more for you!
He has scheduled a revival for you life!
A revival for this place and time!
One last Gentile harvest!
And you are part of that!
You have a role to play!!!!
Don’t let the enemy wear you down!
Don’t let him intimidate you!!!
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Dear God, open our eyes to the possibilities!
Open our Eyes to the calling!
The work that remains!
Intercessors, I need you praying right now!!!!
Jesus, open our eyes to the needs and the spiritual condition of men!
Oh God, give these families victory!
Give this church victory!
We have got to move forward!
We must grow!
We must impact our cities for Jesus!
What are you not seeing friend? What remains for you to see?
Ask God to open your eyes to see!
Dear God, I am hungry for revival!!!!!!!
Thy way is in the sea,
And thy path in the great waters,
And thy footsteps are not known.