Can You See What I See?
Pastor Carolyn J. Blue
Ephesians 1: 13-23
We are in a time when every believer needs to function and have the ability to see and to have spiritual perception.
In the Bible, seeing in the spirit is the ability to perceive the spiritual realm and see beyond what is physically present.
We are living in changing times and experiencing greater challenges. But there is good news. We can stand strong and brave because, as Spirit-filled believers, we have God-given eyes to see through the night what others cannot!
The apostle Paul says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18 NIV).
Likewise, James tells us, “If any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass” (James 1:23 KJV).
In other words, we cannot give up but must continue to be people of action who fix our eyes on the unseen, believing in and having assurance of its existence.
The measure of adversity we face today is great, but there is also an incredible opportunity available to us as believers. Today we do not have to blindly call things forth and wish with all of our might that these things will happen; rather, we can see through the tough stuff and the climate of the day to actual solutions—some of which have not yet been discovered, thought of, or tried—and see the incredible plans and opportunities of God.
You and I have an advantage! Our advantage is our spiritual eyesight, which—by reason of use and, of course, the precious Holy Spirit—we can learn to see through our circumstances into ways we may have never seen before.
Spiritual eyesight gives an advantage to Christians to see in the heavenly realm what unbelievers cannot see. We look at the world with our natural eyes, but with our spiritual eyes, we look at the Kingdom of God!
Can you see what I see?
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit moved upon the prophets of God, giving them the ability to see in the spirit. Elisha knew by faith what was outside and assured his despairing servant that, though he saw with his physical eyes the enemy surrounding them, they were not outnumbered. Then Elisha prayed that his servant’s eyes would be open to see what he knew to be true, the mountains full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding them (see 2 Kings 6:15).
Sure enough, the servant’s spiritual eyes opened to the realm of the Spirit, and he was able to see the scope of their salvation. Not only that, but as the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, He struck the enemy with blindness. That’s powerful!
Can you see what I see?
Under the New Testament Covenant, the Holy Spirit is in all of God’s people and available, by His power, to help us see what we otherwise cannot see and what the unsaved cannot see. The apostle Paul explained it to the Corinthians this way:
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.—2 Corinthians 4:3–4
We do not live as the spiritually blind do. We want the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ to shine on us ever brighter, illuminating greater knowledge and greater understanding of His marvelous plans and purposes. God’s desire is to fill our hungry hearts so that we may do exceedingly and abundantly above what we can think or ask. It is true that we walk by faith and not by sight (see 2 Cor. 5:7); faith actually opens our spiritual eyes.
What is faith? The writer of Hebrews gave this famous definition of faith:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Hebrews 11:1–3
Can you see what I see?
When John the Baptist saw Jesus for the first time, he had eyes to see Jesus for who He really was, the Son of Man. A casual observer—like one of us, had we been there that day—may have seen Jesus as an unremarkable, plain, dusty, and modest-looking thirty-something-year-old man. Perhaps some there did not notice Him at all.
Can you see what I see?
The Bible tells us in the Book of Isaiah that nothing in His appearance would have necessarily attracted someone to Him. Jesus was born into a humble carpenter’s family in the small farming town of Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth, a town scorned by the elitists of the day as a place of nothing good.
Then one day He showed up where John was, at the Jordon River in northern Israel, an obscure and desolate location in the wilderness.
And immediately, John saw Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. How did John do that? He had eyes to see what the world could not. The Father had opened them when He designated John as the one who would prepare the way for His Son. John would point Jesus out to the world.
God actually allowed the onlookers to see things as He saw them, through Jesus’ baptism and anointing into ministry. They saw more than just dipping a man into muddy river. “This is My Son,” He said, “The Holy One of Israel.” The heavens opened and they saw the very Spirit of God descend and alight upon Jesus as a dove. (See Matthew 3:17.)
16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened[g] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
Can you see what I see?
In that moment, God revealed the perfection of the distinct Persons of the Trinity in a great and profound demonstration of Himself as the loving Father, Jesus as the Son and the Savior of the World, and the precious Holy Spirit in His gentleness and power. Wow—what a powerful glimpse!
Can you see what I see?
Did you know that you have eyes in the spirit?
God wants to open the eyes of your spirit to see what is happening in the supernatural realm.
What is seeing in the spirit?
How do I begin to see heaven?
How do I see the angels?
How do I experience throne room encounters?
Here are 4 keys to see in the spirit:
Key #1: Be aware that you have eyes in the spiritual realm.
Do you want to learn more about seeing in the spiritual realm? (Ephesians 16)
First things first. Are you aware that you have eyes in the spirit? Paul prayed that the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation would open the eyes of your heart:
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,” Ephesians 1:17-19 NIV
17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom[f] and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.[g]
19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power NLT
These are the spiritual eyes that God wants to open so you will begin to see what is happening in the supernatural.
Key #2: Ask God to see in the spirit.
“…You do not have because you do not ask God.” James 4:2 NIV
Once you know that you have spiritual eyes, you have to learn to come to the Father and intentionally ask Him to see. I goal is to do this every time I’m about minister or when I’m praying for people. Like Habakkuk the prophet writes: “… I will look to see what He will say to me.” (Habakkuk 2:1 NIV)
We should stop, close our eyes and ask, “Lord, is there something you want to show me when I minister to this person? Is there something you want to show me for Teaching Tuesday tonight?” As I listen, He will move on the eyes of my imagination as He begins to show me things, give me a scripture or He begins to speak to me. I realize the more I ask what’s on His heart, the more it renews my mind to actually receive revelation from God.
It’s from a place of intimacy that I start to see consistently.
When God’s presence shows up, He begins to heighten your senses and your senses begin to reveal Jesus to you.
Key #3: If you want to see, consecrate your eyes.
The devil is working overtime to put images, sights and sounds in our minds that shouldn’t be there. We are slowly being desensitized to evil in movies, billboards, magazines, TV shows and movies. There are many times I have off movies to protect my eyes me ears.
If you want to see, you have to consecrate your eyes, your ears and your heart.
Don’t have any tolerance for anything that’s going to steal your gaze from Jesus.
The enemy knows what you behold, you become like. His biggest fear is that you will see God as He is and know who you are. I want to see a generation begin to step into a greater dimension of the supernatural and it’s going to take a burning generation who are willing to protect their eyes and ears so they may be consecrated before the Lord.
Key #4: God wants to open your eyes to see Him.
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” Isaiah 6:1 NIV
The first thing the prophet Isaiah saw was the Lord. I’m convinced if our heart’s goal is to gaze upon the One who sits on the throne, we would see more of Heaven invading Earth. We would see more signs, wonders and miracles pointing us to back to the Father to behold Him once again.
“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 NIV
Repeat after me…
Lord, empower me by the Holy Spirit to have eyes to see. I pray to have an increase in my ability to see for my life, for my family, for my destiny in Christ, for others around me, for my city and regional impact, and for Kingdom building. I pray to see with greater clarity so that I may be a wise master builder according to God’s blueprints. I pray that God will allow me to see in the spirit, protect my eyes from evil and gaze upon the Lamb of God upon the throne. In Jesus Name Amen
I hope this lesson blesses you and encourages you that the eyes of your heart were created to see the supernatural realm. Receive this blessing to activate your spiritual sense of sight
Can you see what I see?