Keep Looking Up

Well, thank you once again, and also again, happy Sabbath to all of you.

Years ago, I used to enjoy a very short show on PBS, and it was called Jack Horkheimer, Stargazer. Did anyone ever remember seeing that show? It also was called, I think, Star Hustler for a while before it was Star Gazer. It was just a five-minute astronomy show on public television, and it was hosted by a very energetic man, the late Jack Foley Horkheimer, who was the director of the Miami Space Planetarium. The show educated viewers about astronomical events for the coming week, and I don't know much about astronomy, but what little I do know were from his programs. What he would do is he would say, for example, the week of May 12th through 20th, and they would show exactly what the sky is going to look like the next week, and then he would point out some constellations or stars or planets, and it was done in a very educational and entertaining way. He had an opening line. His opening line was always the same. He would say, greetings, greetings, fellow scar gazers. But it was his closing line that I always enjoyed most. He would always close the show by saying, keep looking up in a very energetic way with a smile on his face. He actually had been ill for many years, and before he died, he wrote the epithet on his own tombstone. And here's what he wrote. It says, keep looking up was my life's ambition, and I can do little else in my present position. Isn't that a great sense of humor? I really like that. Well, you know, there's a lot of wisdom in Jack Horkheimer's closing line, especially for those of us who believe that there is indeed a creator God who made the heavens, and that there is a great God in heaven who rules over the affairs of men. Let's go to Psalm 5 and verse 1, and go there for our first scripture today, Psalm 5 and verse 1. Beautiful Psalm written by a psalmist, perhaps King David himself, talking about meditation and prayer. Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I will pray my voice. You shall hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning I will direct it to you, and I will look up. You know, it's far too easy for us to get so wrapped up in this physical life, and the problems and cares that we all face in our own different ways, that we lose sight of what's really important. We stop looking up, and we get too wrapped up in what's going on down here in this world in our own lives, our own problems, our own issues, and we lose sight of what is really important. What really is important in life is not our will or perspective, but God's will, and that's why Jesus taught us to pray, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 10. Jesus Christ himself understood that as human beings, we live in a distorted world. He knew the importance of looking beyond our limited existence, the existence we have today, and learning to view life and our purpose from a heavenly perspective. In essence, you need to use the metaphor looking up instead of just looking at everything that's going on down here, including the problems and challenges that we face in our own individual lives. Romans chapter 12 and verse 2.

If you'll turn there with me, Romans chapter 12 and verse 2. Paul's going to talk about a transformation and a renewal that's really important if we want to understand what reality is, because reality is different than what you and I experience. I'm going to explain that in a few minutes. Paul understood the importance of being transformed so that we no longer just look at everything that's going on down here, including in our own lives, and we start looking up.

And when we do that, our perspective changes, and we begin to understand what true reality is that's different than what we're seeing in our own lives. Romans chapter 12 verse 2. And do not be conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. What Paul is seeing here is if we really want to know the perfect will of God and what goodness is, we need to have our carnal human minds transformed to upward thinking. Stop thinking so much about what goes on here and what goes on between our two ears, and to look upward, and to start thinking how God thinks, and desiring a whole different plane and understanding level of what our existence is all about. Let's see some examples from Jesus Christ and some of the healings he did. Mark chapter 8 and verse 22, we'll see where he is going to heal a blind man here, and he's going to do something that's rather interesting with his spittle, with his spit, as we would say in our culture today. Mark chapter 8 and verse 22. He says, then he came to Bethesda, and they brought out a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. They wanted Jesus Christ to touch him because they knew he had the power to heal.

So he took the blind man by the hand and he let him out of the town. Jesus was not in the carnival atmospheres. He liked people, but he didn't like big crowds, and he didn't like people to make too big of a deal about what he did. So he took the blind man by the hand and he let him out of town. And when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything.

And he looked up and said, I see men like trees walking. Now in this case, this is the man looking up. And he says, it's still blurry. I kind of see men kind of look a little bit like trees.

In verse 25, then he put his hands on his eyes again and made him look up. This is Jesus who made him look up. And he was restored and he saw everyone clearly. Then he sent him away to his house saying, neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town. And of course, what's the man immediately do? He goes and tells everyone that he meets. That's the way we are as human beings.

But what we see here is Jesus making a connection. This is a metaphor. This is far more deeper than just the healing of a blind man with his spittle. This is Jesus Christ through a metaphor helping that blind man and us to understand that whether we're spiritually blind or physically blind, the answer, if we want to see clearly, is to look up.

Not to just be immersed in all that we see in the world today and again our own issues and challenges, but to begin thinking in a different level, in a different plane. And that means we have to look up.

You might ask the question, why did Jesus spit? Well, the answer may be understood in the terms of Jewish tradition and the religious leaders in the day. About 200 years later, after this event, Jews put together the oral law, all of the oral statements and quotes and traditions that the Jewish people had. Again, they did this about 200 years after this event, and it included, obviously, a lot of the sayings at the very time that Jesus lived. They finally began to write it down in the Talmud. It's a written compendium of rabbinic Judaism's oral law, about 200 A.D.

And here's what it states in the Ababa Batra 126b. Here's what it says, it quote, there is a tradition that the spittle of the firstborn of a father is healing.

And that was well known among the Jewish people of that day, especially those who were religious. So when Jesus healed the blind man using his own saliva, he was, in effect, saying, I am who I say I am. I am the firstborn of the heavenly Father, and that's why I am able to do this. This act of Jesus was to reinforce his argument that everything that he said about himself was true, including to the Jewish leaders themselves. Now, at first glance, there appears to be a miraculous healing by the Son of God to restore the sight to a blind man. But again, it was the second time that Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes and made him look up. The purpose of this was to emphasize that looking up would restore the man's vision. It says, when he looked up, when he was made to look up the second time, only then could he see things clearly.

Brethren, if we want to be biblically clear, in other words, if we don't want to be spiritually blind and see reality in a blurred and distorted way, we also need to just stop looking at everything that's going on here and focusing and obsessing over stuff in this world. And we need to start following the example of Jesus Christ and looking up. Matthew 6, verse 22, let's see what Jesus said about the eye. And again, he's not giving a biology lesson here. He's not interested in human eye biology. When he makes his statement, we're about to read. He's talking about how we look at the world, how we view the world, and how it affects us. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 22.

He said, the lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, if your heart is good, if your perspective is good, your whole body will be full of light. It influences everything about your life. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? It leads to spiritual blindness.

Verse 24, no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mamom. Eventually, we have to stop walking between the two lines, and eventually one is going to win out. Either our commitment to God or the world. You can't have it both ways. Eventually, we serve one. This is what Jesus Christ is saying. I'm going to read these verses from the translation God's word for today. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light in you is darkness, how dark will it be? No one can serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or else he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. One cannot serve God and wealth. So we can't serve God and be focused on the material things, materialism of this world.

What Jesus is saying is how we see the world filters everything inside of us.

It's why you can give two people the exact same challenging experiences, the exact experiences, and they'll come away with two different perspectives on exactly what happened.

I want you to think of the example of the 12 spies in Numbers chapter 13 and 14. Remember the example of the 12 spies? Those 12 spies saw the exact same thing. They were together in a group. They saw the same land. They saw the same individuals who lived in the land. They all saw the same fruit, the same geography, and they came back. And 10 out of the 12 had one perspective, and two out of the 12 had a totally different perspective. As a matter of fact, in Numbers chapter 14 and verse 24, God said, everyone's going to die except for two people. They're going to die in the desert with the people of Israel. But Caleb, Caleb's going to see the promised land, God says, in Numbers chapter 14 and verse 24, because there is a different spirit in him. You see, Caleb and Joshua, they looked up. They just didn't look at all the problems.

All the obstacles have gone in the promised land. The people are big. You know, we're few in number. They're mighty. We're weak. They're tall. We're small. La da da da da. They had a different spirit. They were looking up. I'm going to ask you, and I don't do this very often, but this is really important, I'm going to ask you to write something down, because I want to put something in succinctly what I just said, but I'm going to ask you to literally write this down, because if you write this down and you meditate on it and you really understand what it says, it will change your life. And I don't say that to be bold or dramatic. It really will. It will change your perspective on things. And here's what I'm going to ask you to write down. I want you to write down this statement.

I don't see the world as it really is. I don't see the world as it really is.

I see the world as I am. I'm going to repeat that. I don't see the world as it really is.

I see the world as I am. If our thinking is carnal or distorted, that's how we're going to view, and we're going to interpret everything. We're going to interpret events, and people, and situations the way that we are. That can be good. That can be bad.

But that's a truth. It's a biblical. It's a spiritual truth. If our thinking is spiritual, we will view and interpret everything by its potential, not with limited human reasoning.

This is why we have to keep looking up to God for a daily reality check, because here's the truth. Reality is up there. Only God understands true reality. In our world, we see the world as we are.

And if we are critical, and negative, and judgmental, and harsh, we're going to interpret everything along that way. And we don't want that to happen, because that simply is not what God wants in our lives. Let's go to Matthew chapter 14 and verse 14. Matthew chapter 14 and verse 14.

We're going to see an example here where Jesus is looking up. He's thinking on one plane of existence, and all his disciples are living through scarcity. They're living through the human, physical world, because they haven't yet learned to look up like Jesus Christ does.

It says, When Jesus went out and he saw the great multitude, this was after the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, and he just wanted some peace and quiet, but that wasn't meant to be. Great multitude found him. They wanted him to teach and spend time with them. So it says, When Jesus went out, he saw great multitude, and he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. And when it was evening, the disciples came to him, saying, This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. So the disciples say, It's getting late. Send them away, Jesus. Let them go and take care of themselves. Let them buy their own food. And Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.

Wow, the disciples are thinking, How in the world can I possibly give them something to eat? And they said to him, We have here only five loaves and two fish. And he said, Bring them here to me. Then he commanded the multitudes to sit down in the grass, and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke, and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men besides women and children. So what Jesus is doing here is he's demonstrating his faith and his power by making a connection with the Father. Now is he making that connection with the Father? He's looking up, and he's speaking audibly in prayer. He looked up to heaven, and he spoke to God, and that's what made the link. That's what made the connection. In this limited carnal world, a large group of people were very hungry, and there were only a few pieces of food to eat to feed over five thousand people. The disciples saw the world as they were. We've got all these people to feed. We only got a few pieces of fish and bread here. Can't do this. Impossible to do this. They saw the world as they were, limited with scarcity and short-sightedness. On the other hand, Jesus saw the world as he was, looking upward to heaven and making a connection with the Father, and he was able to perform a miracle to break the limitations of this physical world because he kept looking up.

He interpreted events with hope and possibility and faith, and a can-do approach, and that's how he approached everything, not with scarcity and shortage and always a lack of, or always trying to find a problem. That wasn't what he was about. Let's go to Mark 7 and verse 31. See another example Mark 7 and verse 31. This is an interesting scripture because here's ministries occurring in Gentile territory. This breaks some of the stereotypes that people have that Jesus didn't care about Gentiles. This is again departing. This is Mark 7 and verse 31, again departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon.

He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee, and they brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to put his hand on him. Again, they wanted Jesus to touch him so that he could be healed, and he took him aside from the multitude, very similar to what he did with the blind man.

Again, he wasn't in the carnival circus atmospheres. He wanted to do this more privately, so he took him aside, and he put his fingers in his ears, and he spat. There he goes again. He spat and he touched his tongue, then looking up to heaven. This is Jesus Christ. Looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, if wrath that is be opened, and immediately his ears were open, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed. And he spoke plainly. Then he commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.

Again, that's kind of human nature, isn't it? And they were astonished beyond measure, saying he has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. And again, this occurred in gentile territory. So, I think it's very important for us to appreciate that. Again, the Son of God is demonstrating his faith and power by making a connection to the Father. And how did he do this?

It says he looked up to heaven. He spoke to God. And that is what made that connection. Similar to what we saw earlier in the healing of the blind man, this was more than just a physical healing. There's more here than just reading about a physical healing that occurred. Jesus looked up to heaven. He made a spiritual connection to the Father. And because he looked up, because he looked beyond the limitations and scarcity of this world, he was able to perform something miraculous. When you make a spiritual connection with God, you begin to see all events and all circumstances and activities as God does, not just as you are, not just as I am.

This is what God wants. Let's go now and take a look at a scripture from the Apostle Paul in which he's going to talk about growing up from mere carnal thinking, the spiritual thinking. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 8. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 8. Paul's going to talk about the importance of not just looking at physical things and being locked into all the problems and cares and difficulties going on in this world, which will distort our thinking and is not reality, to begin to grow up and look at things from a spiritual perspective.

And he's going to be very candid here. 1 Corinthians chapter 13, beginning in verse 8. He says, Love never fails. Whether there are prophecies, they will fail, and indeed they have, like a Jonas prophecy to Nineveh. 2 Corinthians chapter 13. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. Whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

And then he gives a metaphor here. It's very powerful. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we, he includes himself, this includes each and every one of us in this room, we see in a mirror dimly. But then, when Jesus Christ returns face to face, now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am also known, just like God knows me today, can read my heart and thoroughly understands every part of me. There will come a time when I will not know God only in part, but I will know everything about God. So what he's saying there. Verse 13, and now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

So Paul's saying here that since we're naturally human and carnal, we see things today dimly. We see things in part because everything going on in this world is clouded. Everything going on in this world is our own distorted reality. It's not truthful reality. That's something that only God can know and understand. And the reason that we want to draw closer to God is so that we can understand ourselves and understand things going on from his will, from his perspective, and not just be clouded with our own emotions or own distortions about what's going on in this world in this earth below. You know, early in our calling, in essence, we were spiritual children. And when I look back early in my calling, the first few years after I came into the church, I focused on spiritual toys. I focused on human impulses. But Paul is encouraging us to put away those childish things and to become mature spiritual grown-ups. And Paul is saying the mature spiritual grown-up focuses on love because it's love that allows us to make that connection with God. It's a love that allows us to transform and transcend all the other stuff that goes on in this world today, including the things that we struggle with as individuals. So how can we begin to see things as God sees them, not merely as we are? How can we begin to see reality more clearly and not only in part, like Paul said? Obviously, in time, God wants us to begin to look up. And he wants us to begin to see things as he sees them because that's the only way we can understand true reality. So let's talk about, for the rest of the sermon here, there are actually three things that I want to mention that can help us to begin to see things as God sees them. So here are the three things. Number one, receive and use the gift of the Holy Spirit. Receive and use the gift of the Holy Spirit. Any gift is useless if we don't open it and use it. You know, I'm going to give my wife some type of Mother's Day gift tomorrow. She doesn't know what it is yet. I don't even know what it is yet. It'd probably be cash. But if I give her a gift and she doesn't open it up, it's useless. If she doesn't open that envelope up and see that lovely card and see that check written in there, whoo, she says, if she didn't open that card, it's useless. It would have no meaning to her. And we can receive God's Holy Spirit, and that's wonderful. And most of us in this room have, the majority of us, and that's wonderful. But it's one thing to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It's another thing to use the gift of the Holy Spirit. John 14 and verse 23, if you'll turn there with me. John 14, 23. I've said before this is my favorite Scripture.

It still is and probably always will be.

This is what gives us the ability to even look up and have that relationship with the Father. John 14, 23. Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him. Again, very beautiful Scripture. But here's the key to having the Holy Spirit. This gift and powerful force from God will not ever force you to do anything against your will. It's not that kind of a spirit. Now Satan, on the other hand, has spirits that possess individuals and control their behavior.

But the Holy Spirit is the exact opposite. It's a loving resource. It is a spiritual mentor provided by God. And yes, we can't ignore it. We can dismiss it. But if we do that, we do that at our own harm and our own peril. We'll spend more time, obviously, talking about this essential gift as we draw closer to Pentecost. Paul himself warns us in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 30, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You see, we can receive it. It can be there. But if we ignore it, if we're not using it, we literally can grieve it. It's not able to do its job in mentoring and changing us. He reinforced this. Paul, once again, in verse Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 16, he says, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. And that word quench is from a Greek word, literally, to put out a fire. He says, don't put out that fire in you. And how do we quench the Holy Spirit if we're not using it?

If we're ignoring it, if we are just going on with life and so concerned about what's going on down here that we're not looking up, we're not making that connection with God on a daily basis. That's not a good thing. So again, number one was receive and use the gift of the Holy Spirit. It's a gift. We have to open it. We have to use it. We have to appreciate it. Number two, like the example of Jesus Christ himself, look upward and speak to God. How many examples did we already see today of Jesus Christ looking upward before he would heal or before he would perform a miracle? And again, looking upward is that metaphor for having that connection, that link with God, having that relationship with God. It's important that we make a spiritual connection with the Father each and every day in some way. Bible study is important. Jesus constantly quoted scriptures because he personally studied the scripture. He even went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day where, according to their tradition, they would read the scriptures out loud so that he could hear the scriptures. We also see numerous times where he prayed. He also took time to meditate alone, and he occasionally fasted. All of these are scriptural tools that we can use daily, in some cases like fasting, maybe weekly or monthly, or whatever works for our lifestyle and whatever situation we're going on presently in life, to seek God's will rather than our own.

Let's take a look now in John chapter 11 at the review, the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, to see yet another example, a powerful example, from Jesus Christ. And point number two, following the example of Christ himself, looking upward, speaking to God, making that link is so important. To give you a little bit of background, you may remember the story. The Sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was very sick. Please come quickly. And Jesus didn't come quickly.

He got stalled, and he did a few things. And by the time, his delay occurred, by the time he got there, Lazarus had died. So now we're going to pick up the story here in John chapter 11 and verse 20. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him. So she ran out to see him. He's not yet at the place where the tomb is, where the home and where the tomb of Lazarus is. She heard that he was coming. She ran out ahead to meet him. But Mary was sitting in the house, so she kept back. Verse 21, then Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. And Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. And at first she struggles with this statement. She's thinking on a human level, right? She's thinking with scarcity. She's thinking and focusing only on what's going on now in her world. She sees the world as she is. And in the world that she lives in, people don't come back alive after they died. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus says, I am, one of the great I am statements, again referring to his presence in the Old Testament, speaking to Moses, I am the resurrection in the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. Verse 26, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? He says to her. Are you willing to think on a different level? Are you willing to think in a different plane of existence and not just the scarcity that exists right now, the world as you see it? Are you willing to look at the world as it really can be? Verse 27, and she said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world, and when she said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, the teacher has come and is calling for you, and as soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met him. Verse 31, then the Jews who were with her in the house and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, she is going to the tomb to weep there. Then when Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Jesus was an emotional human being. It tore him up to see how grieving these sisters were and the Jews who loved him, and they were torn up, and they had no hope. They didn't believe that it was possible for this man who had been dead for four days and stank, rotting in a tomb, how it was humanly possible that he could live again. Verse 34, and he said, Where have you laid him? And they said to him, Lord, come and see. And Jesus wept.

I've been told this is the shortest scripture in the Bible. Think about the emotions that Jesus experienced. He was suffering because they were suffering. He was mourning because they were mourning. And of course, Lazarus was his friend as well. He was also saddened at their lack of faith, because again, he's looking up. He's living in a different level of existence and trying to teach them to do so. And they all see the world as they are. A world of scarcity, a world of permanent death, a world where there is no hope to live again. Verse 36, then the Jew said, See how he loved him. And some of them said, Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept this man from dying? Then Jesus again groaning in himself. You know, he heard that statement. Oh, such a lack of faith. Came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone laid against it. And Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him, who was dead, said to him, Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days. And Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God, then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes. Why? Because he's making that connection.

He's thinking in a different plane of existence. He doesn't see the world as they see it. Jesus Christ sees the world as he is. He lifted up his eyes and said, Audibly, Father, I thank you that you heard me, and I know that you always hear me, but because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they may believe that you sent me. Now when he said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth! And he who had died came out bound, hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was wrapped in a cloth. And Jesus said to them, Loose him and let him go.

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in him.

So what do we see here? We see another personal example from Jesus Christ. Everyone around him are seeing the world as they are. Scarcity, limited, hopeless, frustration.

Fray ill, limited. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, had made a connection with the Father, looking up. That connection was made to looking up to the heavens through communicating through prayer with his Father. And, brethren, to seek God's will and achieve God's will requires us to learn how to see things as God does. How to see things as God is, not simply as we are, the distorted reality that we're all living in in our present lives.

Last point. Point number three. We must get into the habit of challenging our self-talk and instead listening to God's talk. Self-talk and sitting here talking about ourselves and listening to ourselves and carrying on conversations with ourselves as part of this world here.

That's self-limiting. It usually turns very negative, very harmful. James chapter four and verse four. James chapter four and verse four.

Again, this is point number three. We must get in the habit of challenging our self-talk and instead listening to God talk. And that doesn't happen unless we're looking up and making that connection on a daily basis. James chapter four verse ten. Adulterous and adulterouses.

This is most likely talking about a term that would apply to us if we're compromising with this world. If we have one foot in the world and we're trying to serve God and mammon at the same time, then we are unfaithful to our relationship with God. Adulterous and adulterouses. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think the Scripture says in vain, the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? But he gives more grace. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud, gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you, draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. I'm going to read verse 5 from the New Century Version. I think it makes it a little more clear. Do you think the Scripture means nothing that says the Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for himself alone?

In other words, God's Holy Spirit sometimes, in our case, this is jealous. We're spending so much time thinking about things down here. God's Spirit has said, hello, remember me?

I'm a gift that you were given. I'd like to help you to grow. I'd like to lead your life.

I'd like a transformation to take place, and I can do that because I'm a power that God has given you.

Remember me? And that can only take place if we start looking up and stop being focused on all the stuff, the scarcity, the frailty, the hopelessness that exists in this physical world and the struggles that we all have in our own individual lives. God gave us the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, and he wants us to give that gift and power time and attention. It's like being a parent. You have little children. Your little children want your attention. They deserve your attention. They're entitled to your attention. You brought them into the world. God gave us a gift of the Holy Spirit, and we need to give that Spirit attention and not resist, not grieve it, not push it aside, not ignore it, but to use that powerful mentoring tool to make those changes in our hearts and minds that we need to make. We need to make an effort to draw near to God, and that's important for us in order to hear him to make that connection, to look up. It's the only way we're going to begin to experience reality rather than only seeing the world as we presently are. This is one, I think, one of the hardest things a person can ever do, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. We're wired to think, I thought it, therefore it must be true. And the truth is that 80 percent of what enters our heads is a lie, is false, and is a lie, and that's been proven over and over again by studies. So how do we bridge that gap? We get into the habit of questioning the things that come into our minds. The measuring stick is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we have a thought or an attitude, if it doesn't reflect love, peace, joy, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control, then it is distorted, invalid, and it's going to harm you or other people.

So the way that we learn to look up is that we begin to use the fruit of the Spirit as the measuring stick for our thoughts and attitudes. And if our thoughts and attitudes don't comply with the measuring stick, then our thoughts and attitudes are warped and will bring us down and will hurt those people whom we love. That's the difference. In conclusion today, I've talked a lot about reality and beginning to look up and seeing more of what genuine reality is. That's God's will, and that's how God views things and sees the world. I want to encourage all of us to use that power of the Holy Spirit to create a positive vision for our lives because our imaginations are very powerful.

We are visually oriented people. We communicate with ourselves all the time, all through the day. We have a constant dialogue and conversation going on. Begin to challenge that dialogue.

Begin to challenge that conversation. If it's valid, it doesn't mind being challenged.

And there's an old saying, if you can prove a doctrine once, you can prove it over and over again. A real doctrine can be challenged over and over again, and it's always still true.

It doesn't mind being challenged. And the same with our thoughts. If we have a thought or an attitude, it doesn't mind being challenged. If it does, if it shows resistance, it's admitting that it's frail and it's wrong right off the bat. So we should be able to do that. Brethren, we have a tremendous opportunity between now and the day of Pentecost to think about that incredible power, and the gift of God's Holy Spirit that He gave us, because it literally can change us.

It can change every aspect of our lives. It can change us physically. It can change us emotionally.

It can change us spiritually. And that's the kind of transformation that God looks forward to and hopes that we will all take advantage of in our lives. Have a wonderful Sabbath day.