To receive the impossible we need to believe in the invisible!
The Invisible World – Much of our world today believes in an invisible realm. One we cannot see or touch in a material sense.
Apart from the fact that the majority of the world’s population believes in one form of deity or another we know this to be true with the heightened interest in all things ‘spiritual’:
Spiritism ; psychics ; mystics ; mediums ; the paranormal.
Many people believe in an invisible environment that not only exists but AFFECTS the visible and tangible.
An immaterial world, that relates to the material world.
We do not always understand how this happens yet as Christians we believe we have encountered a spiritual reality that we have never seen with our physical eyes.
My primary reason for considering this theme today is to pave the way for what I will share with you over two Sundays, starting in two weeks time. I want to unwrap the dreams that God has given me for our future, and I am convinced that to embrace the possibilities of what I will share will require a glimpse into the invisible future. Into a world of DREAMS and VISION.
Comprehending the invisible reality around us is one of the most challenging characteristics of the Christian life.
To receive the impossible we need to believe in the invisible!
• Our Faith is in an invisible God
1 Tim 1:17 - Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen
Hebrews 11:27 - By faith he (Moses) left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible
It seems so much easier to grasp and understand what you can see, hear, feel, smell or taste. We call this empirical evidence i.e. evidence from our human senses. Yet God is not always encountered or experienced in those ways.
So how do we relate to an invisible God?
• Through Creation – Romans 1:20 - For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
• Through Jesus – Colossians 1:15,16 - He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him
(The Message: 1:15) We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen
• Through Prayer – Matthew 6:6 - But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
We are constantly asked to believe in what we cannot see – and we do! – Because we have discovered a greater depth of sight –that is not based on empirical evidence but spiritual evidence.
• Our Battle is against an invisible enemy
Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
(NLT) For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
If there is a struggle in this unseen, invisible realm it must not only be real but significant.
Jesus illustrated the connection between the earth and the ‘heavenlies’.
Matthew 16:17-19 - Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
( The Message: 16:19) And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.
• Our Hope is in an invisible future
Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
(The Message: 11:1) The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.
(NLT) What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
The Hebrew writer then spends the rest of this chapter with countless illustrations of Old Testament men and women who spent their lives believing in a dream, hoping for a better future, trusting that God keeps his promises.
This confidence of a future perspective has become so real to me these last 6 months or so.
Luis Palau: “I have been a dreamer since my youth, and many of my dreams appeared to me to be illogical so I did not share them with anybody. But today, it amazes me to see how faithful God has been in making many of them come true”.
It is essential for a life of HOPE to have a positive view of the future, and exciting and inspiring view of the future.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So 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.
Kim Woo-Choong, founder of the Daewoo group in South Korea: “The world belongs to dreamers”.
Cesar Castellanos, Pastor of the 200,000 member Church, International Charismatic Mission in Bogotá, Colombia: “Daring to dream implies glimpsing into the future. We may not immediately see everything we want, but the main force driving a dreamer is that in developing his faith and cherishing hope he can see things that are not, as if they are”.
There are always those people who will say that dreams are no more than unrealistic and unachievable fantasies. The Bible has something to say to such folk:
Ephesians 3:20 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
(The Message: 3:20,21) God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
As we prepare to dream together. Please do not see this is merely wistful thinking.
It is as we allow God to inspire our imagination with his possibilities that faith and hope are born and fresh direction and impetus flows.
To receive the impossible we need to believe in the invisible!
Our invisible God always works in the visible!
