Living A Life of Insight-1

¹⁷ asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. Ephesians 1:17 NLT

^15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! Message

What is Insight?

 “‘the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of someone or something.”
This capacity can be natural or supernatural.

For instance, our education, or experience or both, can give us this capacity. And so you find people with insight in varying degree deepness of insight.

My focus here is spiritual insight or supernatural insight; insight that is uncommon, insight that comes as a result of seeing with the eyes of faith.
This was Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:17

16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

This prayer shows us that:
1. We do not always live this type of life, and
2. It is possible to live this life.

3. This type of living gives us an advantage over others who do not.

For instance, there is no doubt that Paul lived this type of life and that was why he was so successful in ministry and used mightily to write 13 best-sellers of all time.
He gave us a treasury of who we are in Christ, what we have in Christ and where we are at in Christ.
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:26-27
Notice that who we are in Christ is not a common knowledge, it was mysterious at one time, but it is now made known to us.  The privilege first came to the Jews when Jesus came to them, but their eyes were blind and they could not comprehend Him.
Most of them rejected Him and crucified Him.

The Eternal Word

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His [c]own, and His [d]own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the [e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
John 1:1-3,12

To the few who recognized Him, we can say they had an insight that others did not have.

John the Baptist was one them. He was one of the few who knew that Jesus was the Son of God.

The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

Later, when Jesus began to choose His disciples, one of those chosen was Philip who went to inform his brother that He had seen the Messiah that Moses spoke about. Nathaniel was sceptical.

Philip and Nathanael

43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see

Later, Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was.
Matthew 16
New King James Version

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 

Matthew 16
It is obvious that although they had been with Him for some years, some of them were still unsure who He was.

Peter however had a moment of deep spiritual insight when he said,”
, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus commended him and acknowledged the source of his insight.

Still on that occasion
Jesus told them of what would befall Him in Jerusalem by dramatizing His crucifixion and Peter was horified, saying it would never happen to Him.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

I want you to notice that a moment ago, Peter received a revelation knowledge about the true identity of Jesus; His Divinity. But just after then, Satan was talking through him, and Jesus was not deceived. He confronted satan head on.
“Get thee behind me, Satan….”

This is a lesson for us all. Life is spiritual.
We can have moments of insight from above, but we must not be complacent because we are in a continuous spiritual warfare. The enemy can butt in in a split second when we are unaware or not on our guard.

Peter naturally thought he was protecting Jesus from danger-crucifixion- but that thought was from the pit of hell and the words were the words of Satan uttered through the mouth of Peter.

This is why we must not only be prayerful but also saturated with the Word of God and be in constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit as to avoid being instruments of the devil.

 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1Peter5:8
We are also enjoined: “Give no place to the devil.” Eph4:27

The seven sons of Sceva were not submitted to God but wanted to cast out demons in “the name that Paul preaches.”
They met their waterloo.

 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 

Now we can see that the evil spirits spoke with one voice and that voice was the voice of the man from whom they wanted to cast out the devil.
“Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
Acts 19:15
So people can be demonized- influenced by the devil or demon possessed.
Without spiritual insight we will not know what is happening.
In Acts 8 God wrought miracles, signs and wonders in Samaria and Peter and John were sent to enable the new believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Hands were laid on them and they received the Holy Spirit.  Then Son the Sorcerer, who had also been converted, coveted the power and offered money to Peter to give him that power too.
Peter, immediately discerned that Satan was at work in the life of this man, even though he was now a believer and he rebuked him straight away.

The Sorcerer’s Sin

¹⁴ Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, ¹⁵ who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! ²¹ You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. ²² Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

Acts 8:14-22