From the desk of Steve Shultz:
This is a fascinating read on the "Eye of the Lord." His eye does many things and means so much. You'll be enlightened in this latest teaching and prophetic word by Reeni Mederos.
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Reeni Mederos:
The Eye of the Lord
I hear the Lord saying, "My eyes are open to you and the eye of the Lord is looking intently for those who will step out in extravagant faith to see with My eyes, to see from My point of view, to see beyond the current circumstances and to see with the eye of the Lord into the future of what I have for you. Yes, today I am calling you to a higher place of embrace with Me. To fill you, to love you, to encourage you, to uphold you. My eyes are like fountains and springs of living waters for you to drink from. Gaze into My heart, look into My eyes and receive the refreshing of the Lord I have prepared for you this day," says the Lord.
When the Scripture speaks of the "eye of the Lord" or "the eyes of the Lord," it can often mean that God has His attention on something or that He is wanting us to give attention to something that is on His heart and to view it from His perspective for a certain time and a certain season. Just as the natural eye knows how to auto-focus on the thing that it is viewing, it also has the power to zoom into details that reveals deeper information and revelation to the mind and its perceptive powers. In that auto-focus moment, God draws us to Himself and our attention is turned from whatever we are doing at that time. It is the power of revelation released from the heart of God as He causes our inner lenses to refocus on Him for worship, to save us from danger, to re-adjust our footsteps or to just love on us and encourage our hearts with a different or fresh perspective, especially in a time of turmoil and uncertainty.
Mirrors of the Soul
The eyes are the literal mirrors of a person's soul and reveals much about a person's deep inner man. Matthew 6:22 says, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." In that deep place of the heart, the eye of the body that is full of light, can also reveal secrets into the unseen realm depending upon a person's intimate connection or transparency with God. Our eyes are portals of Heaven that we many times overlook within ourselves and within others. When we look at a person straight into their eyes, what do we see? Is our vision blocked by our own misperception or do we really see what God wants us to see?
The Lord is saying, "I have created you in My image and in My likeness. My eyes are your eyes if you will allow Me to deliver you from those things that would hinder your eyesight. You have not lost your way because I know exactly where you are. You can never hide from Me and I know how to reach you in the split of a second. Look at My reflection and My light will fill your soul with new life and hope. The clouds of discouragement will disappear and you will know My favor and mercy once again," says the Lord.
The Face of an Angel
In the case of Steven in the New Testament, he was a man who was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5). He was so full of grace and power that he performed great wonders and signs among the people during his day (Acts 6:8). In the synagogue of the Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians and them of Cilicia and of Asia, they disputed with Stephen because of their own stubborn misperception and blindness of spiritual sight (Acts 6:9) Stephen preached with boldness and they were not able to resist the wisdom and spirit by which he spoke (Acts 6:10). Even to the point of death, he had no fear to speak God's truth because his "eye" saw something beyond this natural world.
All that sat in the council, looking steadfastly and intently at him, saw his face and countenance "as it had been the face of an angel" (Acts 6:15). Seeing that Stephen was "full of the Holy Spirit… he gazed intently into Heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God," saying, 'Behold, I see the Heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God'" (Acts 7:55-56). Stephen's eyes and spiritual perception were literally in another world. So much so, that he did not see or feel the pain of rejection and physical pain of the stones that would eventually kill him. His immediate reality was that he saw the Heavens open at that moment and He saw Jesus!
A Lifestyle of Gazing
When Stephen "gazed" (NAS) or "looked up steadfastly" (KJV) into Heaven, the Greek definition and meaning of this was not only that he fixed his "eyes" but also purposed his "mind" into Heaven. The eyes of his mind and the eyes of his heart went into auto-focus by the power of the Holy Spirit, as in the sense of stretching his eye sight towards the face of God that gave him the supernatural power to endure the kind of death he was about to experience. This reveals that Stephen had a "lifestyle of gazing" into the eyes and heart of God and is the reason why he was so filled with the glory of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave himself over to locking his eyesight on the Lord Jesus Christ, and it caused everything else to either become dim or disappear in his perception of reality. He was so overtaken by the Holy Spirit that the unseen realm at that moment was more real to him than the seen realm of the excruciating pain of being stoned to death.
In these last days we are going to need this kind of supernatural strength and power to be able to endure the days ahead of us with a lifestyle of gazing. The Lord is saying, "Lock your eyes on Me and I will lead your faith and your focus to walk in the way you should go and to war in the way you should war. The times will become unbearable for those who don't have their vision locked upon Me," says the Lord, "but it shall not be unbearable for you if you stay steadfast and look steadfastly into Heaven where I am. This is the time to be filled. This is the time to be focused. This is the time I will preserve you from every danger and every harm. You will escape the traps of the enemy if you continue to fix your gaze upon Me and fix it now."
God's Providential Care
"God's eye" or "God's eyes" is many times symbolic of God's providential care. He is always guiding us with His eye and gives us counsel while constantly being watchful over us wherever we go. He is very aware of our daily activities, our circumstances, what we set our minds to do, and all He asks us to do is to include Him in our plans and commit our plans to Him so that He can cause them to succeed and bring us breakthrough and deliverance in our time of need. Proverbs 16:3 says to, "Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed."
The word "thoughts" in the Greek speaks of your intentions, inventions, calculations of the mind and your imaginations. The power of your imagination includes the ability to see with insight and foresight. "Insight" is the ability to apprehend the true nature of a thing, especially through intuitive understanding or penetrating mental vision or discernment; the faculty of seeing into inner character or underlying truth. "Foresight" is the ability and power of prevision or knowledge gained by or as by looking forward; a view of the future. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]--blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he."
If our vision is blocked or distorted, we lack not only the ability to see and perceive with the intelligence, but we also miss out on seeing God in the ecstatic state of worship. Our very spirits were meant to live in a place of ecstasy with God forever in that heavenly place. And because of the fall of man, we have to regain that access through appropriating the Blood of Jesus to our lives by renewing our minds in alignment with the mind of Christ. When our minds are aligned, we see what God sees. We see clearly. We see through God's eyes and we see His providential care and our hope is restored for the future.
Disqualified by Blindness
In the Old Testament an eye defect disqualified a person for priestly service (Leviticus 21:18-21). There was also the practice of an exceptionally cruel punishment to gouge out the eyes of an enemy (Judges 16:21; 2 Kings 25:7). This kind of punishment was interpreted and perceived as bringing disgrace and reproach to a people (1 Samuel 11:2). Today, in the new millennium, the tricks and schemes of the enemy are still the same. It just comes in different packaging. The enemy continues to try to bring disgrace and discredit the people of God through spiritual blindness – blindness that is caused by the lack of looking and gazing into the face of God as a regular exercise of intimate worship or the lack of gazing into the Scriptures to find food for the soul and nourishment for the spiritual eyes.
Psalm 19:8 says, "The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." Here we see there is ecstasy of the heart and pure brilliance of the eyes that gives full light to the body, soul and spirit of a person that keeps the statutes of the Lord before his eyes on a continual basis. But because of life's distractions, sin and self-righteous pride, this was one of the stumbling blocks of the Pharisees that prevented them from seeing that Jesus was really who He said He was, God. Because they couldn't see, they couldn't believe. If they couldn't see, they had no vision and they missed out on entering into the Kingdom of God. We can be disqualified by the blindness of our hearts if we continually push away the grace and the kindness of the Lord.
The Eye of the Lord is Moving
So now the Lord is reminding us in 2 Chronicles 16:9 which says, "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." God is on the move, running and eagerly searching with the laser beam of His eyes, looking for those who are filled with His light to see that He is ready to strongly support those whose eye lenses of the heart and mind are turned completely towards Him. He is inviting us into the journey of His heart – into the journey of the unseen realm. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). No one has seen God at any time (John 1:18), yet Jesus tells us in the beatitudes that the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).
When the Bible says to "see" God, it means to look at, behold and to allow one's self to be seen; to appear. It is in the sense that God is revealing Himself to us and at the same time we are willingly revealing ourselves to God. This is where we find ourselves in a place of openness and receptivity, and then at that point in time, God will impart vision and impregnate us with new life and new vision. This is how we get to know Him, to see with the eyes, to see with the mind, to perceive and to become acquainted with Him by daily experiencing Him and to take heed and believe in our hearts what He is saying to us.
If God is wanting us to look and gaze intently at Him, isn't it because He is looking and gazing intently at us? The eyes of God reveal intimacy and longing and a strong desire to be with us now and forevermore. God is longing for those who are longing for Him. If you are experiencing an indescribable longing in your heart toward God, that means He is drawing you. It's not depression and you're not crazy. God is really drawing you to Him. He promises the pure in heart will see Him and the hungry of heart will be filled with the treasures of His love. If He is drawing you, it is because there is more to see, more to perceive, more to experience, more to learn and more to be transformed by. This is an invitation, not only to open our eyes but to journey into the depths of God's heart with new penetrating vision, where He writes the words of His heart upon your heart. There is a new perspective and a new anticipation that is arising and being imparted in this season of new birth, and He is ready and waiting to meet you where you are, right here, right now!
Prayer of Restoration of Vision
God, thank You for saving my life and thank You for restoring my soul. God, open my eyes to see You like never before. Help me to see and perceive through Your eyes. Restore my vision that may have become dull or blinded through discouragement, circumstances, sin, hardship or even neglect. Forgive me for not responding to Your voice when You are calling me. Help me to draw near to You. Draw me, God, and I will run to You. Open the eyes of my heart, God, that I may see You face to face. I will not be afraid to approach You because Your perfect love casts out all fear and I will come boldly to Your throne to worship You in Spirit and in truth and to love You sincerely with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. I do believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. I thank You for hearing my prayer and my heart's cry to be closer to You. I give You honor and glory and praise this day, in Jesus name I pray, Amen!
Love in Christ to all God's People! Be blessed! Be encouraged! He loves you!
Reeni Mederos
Founder of Warriors International, Inc.
Email: info@warriorsinternational.com
Reeni Mederos is an anointed and seasoned apostolic prophet ordained through Christian International who flows with a deep, fiery, prophetic psalmist anointing that releases a passionate love for Christ in her spontaneous worship over cities, regions and nations, piercing individual lives, as her mission is "dedicated to raising up a new breed of warriors for the new millennium." Founder of Warriors International, Inc. and Warriors International University Online School of Prophets, Reeni has been activating the Body of Christ into God's supernatural power and anointing for over 20 years with her online schools and on-location prophetic activation encounters, helping others to discover and fulfill their God-given destiny. Reeni travels both nationally and internationally and currently lives in the Atlanta area where her ministry is based. Reeni has been married for 25 years with her husband, Rob Mederos, and has three children who work as a family team unit fulfilling God's call to the nations.
