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An Israelite Indeed
.
By Francis
Frangipane
"You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel" - (John
1:49)
Consider the conversation Jesus had with Nathanael.
He said, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
deceit!" (John 1:47).
What
kind of man was this young disciple, that Jesus should praise him?
There
was no guile, no deceit in this young man's heart.
Oh, how
we should desire this purity for ourselves!
Nathanael
had "eyes . . . within." (Revelation 4:8).
He kept
himself free from self-deception.
When
you cleave to the truth inwardly, you will perceive the truth outwardly.
Nathanael looked at Jesus and declared, "You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel" (verse 49).
Jesus said to Nathanael, "You will see greater things than these. . . I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (verss 50-51).
Because of Nathanael's honest heart, Jesus knew open vision was
inevitable.
Open
vision is the consequence of a pure heart.
To
those who fight against sin, who hate falsehood, who diligently pursue walking
in holiness, your struggle is a preparation for seeing God.
You
shall see the heavens opened.
Because
of our dullness of heart, we have come to expect spiritual blindness as an
unfortunate condition of this world.
The
truth is, in the Old Testament one of God's judgments against sin was that the
heavens became "bronze" (Deuteronomy 28:23).
Most
Christians similarly see the heavens closed.
Few see
with open vision either into the heavenly realms or into their own
hearts.
The
heavens are always "bronze" to a hardened heart.
But the Lord promised, "You will see the heavens opened
and the angels of God!"
God
wants us to have true spiritual vision.
One sign that the Holy Spirit is involved in a church is that, "young
men . . . see visions, and your old men . . . dream dreams" (Acts
2:17).
There
is continuity between God's kingdom in Heaven and His kingdom on earth.
Oh, there are those who say the supernatural was strictly
limited to the first century, that today we "walk by faith, not by
sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Yes, we
often do take steps of faith, where we walk without prior knowledge of what
each step involves.
But we
do perceive Him who is with us!
Ours is
not a blind trust; it is a proven, seeing trust!
Walking
by faith and having spiritual vision is not an either/or situation.
Just moments before Paul stated he walked by faith, he wrote, “We
look . . . at the things which are not seen . . . things which are . . .
eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Paul
had revelation perception of the spirit realm.
He saw
the eternal spiritual body that was prepared and waiting for him in the heavens!
(2 Corinthians 5:1, 4)
He knew
how "a man . . . was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible
words" (2 Corinthians 12:3-4).
We
could continue concerning Paul's spiritual perception, but the fact is, he
authored one-third of the New Testament out of his open vision of Christ.
How did
he see the things he saw?
Just after he declared "with unveiled face [we behold] .
. . the glory of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18), he
wrote, "But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame"
(2 Corinthians 4:2).
Later he continued, “Having these promises, beloved, let us
cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness
in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Out of
a purified heart, out of his perfected holiness, came open vision of the glory
of God.
Remember,
we are not seeking experiences; we are seeking a pure heart.
We are
not running after visions; we want holiness.
Even as
the supernatural realm was an expected phenomenon in the primitive church, so
also was purity the expected condition in their hearts.
Therefore,
do not be as the foolish ones who seek visions.
You
must seek sanctification, and when you are ready, if God wills, He shall speak
to you in supernatural ways (Acts 2:17-18).
Do not
seek to conjure up an "experience" with Jesus; seek to have a clean
heart, allowing Christ to examine and purge you daily.
And as
He washes you with His Word and chastens you with His holiness, He will draw
you into His presence.
He will show you the heavens open.
Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God, available at www.arrowbookstore.com
Francis Frangipane is the author of numerous bestselling books, including
"The Three Battlegrounds" and "Holiness, Truth and the Presence
of God." He is also the founding director of In Christ's Image Training
(ICIT), an online ministry school with students in over 120 nation
https://francisfrangipanemessages.blogspot.com/2018/06/an-israelite-indeed.html
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