How Do We Become Blind to the Face of Jesus? Eric Gilmour and Nathan Morris
Nathan Morris, with Shake the Nations, and Eric Gilmour, with Sonship International, share how people can become blind to Jesus’ face! Some may think that a believer can’t be blind to Jesus’ face, but with all the distractions in the world, it is actually very easy for that to happen.
Nathan asked Eric that specific question, how do we become blind to the face of Jesus? This is important for us to examine ourselves and ask, ‘Am I blind to the face of Jesus?’ God can open our eyes to see when we ask Him. The Lord spoke to the Church in Ephesus saying that they were blind.
“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Revelation 3:17
We understand by this that we can be blind to Jesus, which is being deceived. Deception is what we think we are doing is right when in the eyes of the Lord we are completely wrong. In his book, The Fear of the Lord, John Bevere writes, “The longer someone is deceived, the thicker the veil of deception gets, the harder it is to convince them they are deceived.” Being deceived is a very dangerous place to be in because that makes us blind to hearing from the Lord and seeing what He wants us to see! Anyone can be deceived as Jesus spoke of in the book of Matthew, and He says to be careful because even the elect can be deceived!
Eric answers the question and helps point out how if we have become blind to Jesus, we can rediscover our first love again! He shares from his own life experiences, “I fail to see Him when I add to Him. The more additions the more is subtracted. So, if I stay set, fixed upon Him and Him alone then I am in simplicity and in rest. The more I start to add to Him, the more I am unable to see Him.”
He says it is like Paul’s cry, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Eric continues, “He [Paul] was fearful about one thing, that they would add to the simplicity of Jesus, and this is the sole legitimate fear of the apostle. Don’t add to Jesus.” Paul voiced his concern in his letter to the Corinthians, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
Eric continues sharing that even good additions to Jesus can steal our attention away from Jesus. Maybe you have been wandering aimlessly and are burnt out, asking yourself, ‘What is wrong with me?’ Maybe you have become blind to Jesus and left your first love?
There may be things in our life that don’t need to be there that are distracting us from God and stealing our attention. If the enemy can’t take you out because you love the Lord, he will try to put so much on you that you get to the point where you crash from the burden of all those things that you are not meant to carry! Jesus said, His burden is light not heavy. You can be free when you make that decision to focus on Jesus and Him alone! It is Jesus that leads us through the storms in life.
Paul expressed what we all should be focusing on,
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:10-14
We should have an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ which will keep our focus on Jesus. When we start thinking earthly goals instead of heavenly goals that is when our gaze moves away from Jesus. We can get more concerned about how other people see us versus how Jesus sees us. We can shape our life in a way that allows us to keep our focus on Jesus and one way is to have an abiding relationship with Him! If you need a plan on how you can start that or go deeper in your abiding relationship you can get your free plan at iAbide HERE. We want to help you start your abiding journey today by gazing on the face of Jesus Christ!
We want to hear from you! How have distractions caused you to be blind to Jesus? What are some ways that have helped you to keep your gaze on Jesus? Write to us at [email protected] or in the VFNKB Community HERE. Greg shared in this segment.
See more, related content and articles for this article.
“Greatest sin to give Jesus’ attention to inferior things,” Eric Gilmour
Nathan Morris, with Shake the Nations, and Eric Gilmour, with Sonship International, share what is the greatest sin for us to do. There are many distractions in the world that want to steal our time and attention. What is truly important for us to focus on? It is Jesus!
Nathan and Eric continue the conversation and you can see the full conversation HERE. “The greatest sin in the world is to give the attention He [Jesus] deserves to things far inferior to Him,” says Eric. You can be serving the Lord, working for Him but you can lose sight of Him in the middle of His work! But Jesus said,
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” Matthew 7:22-23
We are not known by what we do but who we are to God and who He is to us! We must not lose sight of Who it is we are doing the work for.
Nathan shares that he wants to tell people who love God and are busy for Him and are doing great things for him that, “Sometimes we can get lost in that as well, where we lose sight of Jesus for doing things for Him, rather than unto Him.”
“We see the perfect picture in Ephesus,” says Eric. “They toiled, which means they labored even in the midst of pain they continue on. They had great doctrine, they could tell who was false and who wasn’t…they stayed away from sin. Scripture said they had no tolerance for evil. So, you have all three of these things and we would all deem those things to be a successful Christian life. Jesus said, ‘I have something against you. You’ve left loving Me and because you’ve left loving me, if you don’t turn around and come back to loving Me, I will take away from you what you think you have.’ It is very important. Jesus doesn’t play with this. If He doesn’t get the heart, He doesn’t get what He wanted.” With Jesus He wants 100%! Living a life that is partially right, is not loving Jesus. We must live fully committed to loving Him! “If there is no love unto God, first and foremost, then everything we do is worthless.”
G. Campbell Morgan said, “No amount of activity in the Kingdom in the King’s service will make up for the neglect of the King. Any service that is not issued out of first love is not recognized by God.”
It’s wonderful that God is not religious but wants relationship with us! It is about intimate love with Him. He is not a distant God; He wants to be close to us. We should be encouraged and if you have left your first love with Jesus you can turn back today! We want to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected] or in the VFNKB Community HERE. Greg shared in this segment.
See more, related content and articles for this article.
It is Not What we can do Through Jesus, but What He Can do Through us, as we Abide!
Are you worn out? Have you been trying to do things yourself instead of trusting Jesus? Greg shares how important it is for us to abide with the Lord. We cannot walk through this life in our own strength. It will wear us out! When we abide with Him, which is spending time in His Word every day, hearing from Him, it will give us strength to walk through life. “It is not what we can do through Jesus, but what He can do through us, as we abide with Him!” Jesus said,
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Our works and our strength will not get us to heaven! A true follower of Jesus Christ desires to spend time with God by reading His Word, memorizing scripture, listening to Him and what He is saying and then doing it. This is abiding! Many people want to do this but don’t know how! You can get your free plan at iAbide HERE. We want to help you start your abiding journey today! There is nothing like spending time with Jesus.
As Eric Gilmour, with Sonship International, shared on a previous program, “If there is no love unto God, first and foremost, then everything we do is worthless.” He spoke about the Church of Ephesus and how they were doing all the right things and were a powerful church, but they left their first love!
“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Revelation 2:2-5
Love is not optional in a relationship with Jesus! God so loved us that He allowed His Son to die for our sins. What is the great commandment? Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Love, love, love!
What is love? “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
We cannot hate someone and love God at the same time! We must love people! How do we love God with all our heart? It is being led by the Spirit of God. It is listening to what God is saying and being careful to not quench the Spirit.
How do we love God with all our soul? Our soul is what we think, what we want, and what we feel. What are you thinking about? What are you feeling? Many people follow their feelings! God wants us to have that emotional connection to Him with our soul. We should keep our thoughts on Him, our desire should be for Him, and our emotions should be invested in Him. It is our will submitted to His will!
How do we love God with all our mind? Our minds are like movies where we play memories, and events that happened in our life. Movies can be edited! Parts of your movie can be edited and replaced with new things that are of God! We can play a movie in our mind that honors God and helps our thoughts line up with God’s Word. God already knows what we are thinking, it is not a surprise to Him. He can renew our minds where we have the mind of Christ! We must also be careful who and what we listen to!
How do we love God with all our strength? By honoring God with our tithes and offerings. Giving a tithe and offering represents your physical labor, using your strength by getting paid for it. This is honoring God with our strength! It is exercising our physical body in response to God. He pays attention to everything! It all matters!
Do you feel like you have turned away from God and left your first love? You can turn back today! Read our stories at Meet My Father when we made that decision to turn away from sin and fell in love with God! We want to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected] or in the VFNKB Community HERE. Greg shared in this segment. Check out our YouTube Channel HERE to see more from this conversation!
See more, related content and articles for this article.