The Word tells us that the leaders of this world cannot understand the wisdom of God. This means that people who are without Jesus cannot perceive things as you do. They can read the same passages of Scripture and get nothing from it whereas you see into the heart of our Father. You can look at the events in a friend's life and see the hand of God moving, shaping, reaching out in love. Your friend only sees circumstances and tragic events because life can be cruel. You perceive the hand of God all around you yet your friends see nothing but the routine of life. The difference is you have the Spirit of God interpreting things for you, allowing you to see what remains hidden to everyone else:
“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him” —
but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)You are not normal according to the standards of this world, but you are normal according to the glory of God. We make the mistake sometimes of allowing ourselves to be defined by the standards of this world, denying who we are and who God is. We allow the world to darken our spiritual vision and understanding, our discernment, when God is revealing his glory all around us. God has revealed his secrets to us by his Spirit.
Read Paul's explanation of this incredible thing that we do not give much thought to:
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1Corinthians 2:11-12)
You are not like your friends. You do not see or understand like your friends. You are a new creation, with new vision, new understanding, with the ability to discern all spiritual truths and actions of God. The Spirit, whom Jesus sent to us, makes it possible for us to understand the mind of God.
Don't ever make the mistake of rating a preacher by the elegance of his words or the humour of his stories. He is not a public speaker or an entertainer. If he is teaching by the Spirit from the Word of God then he is presenting to you the great mysteries of God. And if you are listening by the Spirit you will understand those mysteries. The problem comes when we devalue this, dismiss the preacher as a man and only half listen, hoping to be entertained by his stories. This is no ordinary man and it is no ordinary message he is preaching. Paul wrote:
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. (1 Corinthians 2:13)
Spiritual maturity allows us to live every day with eyes that perceive and discern the work of our Father. We listen everyday to the voice of Jesus through the Spirit. He gives us instructions, words to speak, things to write, actions to take, and we understand. We can look at a person and discern what troubles their heart and are given words to speak to that trouble. We are servants who have been given the ability to know the mind of Jesus:
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:
“For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:14-16)
So stop acting like you are normal according to the standards of this world. It is time to grow up spiritually and step into the vibrant relationship we have with God, through Jesus Christ. Stop listening to people who try to keep you chained to these standards that no longer apply to you. Listen to the voice of Jesus. Listen to what is being taught. Read and understand the Word of God. Look around you and discern what God is doing because he is calling you to join him in that thing. You my friend are filled by the Spirit, possessed by God and now possess the mind of Christ to discern all spiritual matters. Now, live this day in the wisdom of our Father knowing what a privilege you have been given to see with the eyes of Jesus.
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