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We are living in a time when more of the people of God are caught up
and bound up by the spirit of the age than ever before. But it doesn’t
have to be that way…
 There is a wondrous liberty and freedom that has been purchased for us by the vicarious sacrifice of our Glorious Lord Jesus. It is because He desires us to enjoy and reap the benefits of spiritual freedom that He endured what He did for us (Gal. 5:1). Yet, even though that is truth, many aren’t living a life of freedom or liberty. What is causing the spiritual disconnect? How do we get to where He wants us to be from where we find ourselves now?
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
THE LIBERTY OF GOD IN OUR INNER MAN
The liberty that the Holy Spirit is talking about through the apostle Paul is a liberty in our inner man. The Holy Spirit is God – and He is living inside of us. When we fellowship with this Divine Person, we experience liberty. Many believers, though they are part of the temple of the Holy Spirit, go through most, if not all, of their life never having fellowshipped with this Glorious Person.
Beloved, we can have an intimate fellowship with this wonderful Person. We begin to fellowship with the Holy Spirit simply by giving Him our attention; asking Him what He is thinking, what He is feeling, and asking for revelation as we study the Word of God. If your mind wanders, ask the Holy Spirit for help. He will help you maintain your focus and inspire your imagination.
Because of the woundedness of this generation, many find themselves in bondage to sin. Many believers are used to depression, dark thoughts and not being able to “feel” the joy of the Lord. When the Spirit of the Lord is operating in our inner man, and He does this as we fellowship with Him, the deepest regions of our being are liberated from the areas of darkness, unbelief, doubt and feelings of rejection. And isn’t that what we all need?
The liberty of the Spirit is characterized by His fruit in our lives.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Let me encourage you to start spending time with this Glorious Person who dwells inside of you. He is a real Person. Treat Him like one. Schedule regular times specifically to spend time with Him, just like you would any other trusted friend. Talk to Him, listen to Him, and enjoy Him.
As you make a place for Him, He will respond to your movement towards Him by releasing His fruit in your inner man resulting in you moving into new levels of freedom and liberty.
TRANSFORMED BY BEHOLDING HIS GLORY
One of the most effective ways that I have discovered for my heart to be transformed into a place of liberty and freedom is by beholding the glory of the Lord. The way we actually experience this liberty in our inner man is by beholding the glory of the Lord.
God has no depression. God has no rejection. God has joy in His Spirit. God is pure. God is holy. When we carve time out of our busy schedules to spend quality time with Him, our spirit is supernaturally transformed as we gaze upon Him with the eyes of our heart. Our spirit is opened to whatever our mind is set upon.
My wife, Kaye, teases me saying that my right elbow and my mouth are connected. It seems that whenever my right elbow bends my mouth automatically opens.
Our mind and heart are like that. Whatever we focus our thoughts on, we open our heart up to. Let me say that again. Whatever we focus our thoughts on, we open our heart up to. Beloved, that is one of the most powerful truths that you will ever hear. What you do with that simple yet profound truth will to a large extend determine the depth of your walk with the Lord. It matters what we focus on minds on, what we focus our attention on, what we allow our eyes to look upon. We have to keep the gaze of our hearts focused on the Lord and His beauty.
The Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostle Paul, tells us that our spiritual transformation is dependent on what we behold, what we focus our attention on. We must focus on the Lord, and the things of God if we want to experience His Kingdom realities in our lives (Matt. 6:33). If you desire to see the Kingdom of God established in your heart and life, you have to change what you see, what you think, and what you set your attention on.
Have you ever found yourself trying to pray, or worship, or spend a time with the Lord in His Word, but it seemed that you might just refused to cooperate and you find your thoughts straying a thousand miles away? You are not the only one. That is a common dilemma with everyone, everywhere.
When we find ourselves in that type of situation, our first reaction is shame or discouragement. We start thinking that something is wrong with us and that we will never be a person who can have a devotional life or a meaningful relationship with the Lord. Sound familiar?
The reason people feel that way is because of a misunderstanding concerning how we are to behold the Lord. We mistakenly believe that unless we have an anointed, energetic, exciting encounter with the Lord, where the goose bumps abound, we weep, we cry, we laugh, we conclude that our time with the Lord isn’t meaningful or significant.
But look again at 2 Corinthians 3: 18. Paul said that the beholding that we do is a very particular form of beholding. As in a mirror. What does that mean? How do we behold God as in a mirror?
What the Holy Spirit is telling us is that the nature of our beholding is not perfect like the reflection of a modern-day mirror. The mirror of the ancient world was a highly polished sheet of metal that gave a vague or dim reflection. It would be like looking at your self in a cookie sheet. You can sorta see, but not clearly. That’s the idea. Paul says that even this kind of beholding, this dim, not exactly clear beholding is all that is required to be transformed by the Spirit of the Lord.
Beloved, though we gaze at but a dim reflection of the glory of the Lord, it is sufficient to transform us. That is great news! God isn’t requiring that we have third heaven revelations like Paul experienced in order to have a meaningful God encounter that results in significant spiritual transformation. All He requires is that like my elbow and my mouth, I bend my elbow and my mouth opens.
You decide to focus your attention on the glory of the Lord, through prayer, worship, praise, meditation on the Word, etc, and automatically, like my elbow and my mouth, your heart opens up and the Holy Spirit Who lives in you is at work in you bringing about spiritual transformation. And it isn’t based on how “good” it appears to be going. How effective it appears to have been. God isn’t looking for anointed times, He’s looking for a dim beholding. Get it? You should be shouting about now.
Beloved, beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, with a dim beholding is something that I can do, that you can do, that any believer can do. I can do unanointed prayer! This is doable! It really is that simple. When we behold the glory of the Lord, as in a mirror, we set our mind upon Him. We give Him our attention. We focus on Him. And as we focus our attention on Him, our heart opens up to Him.
As the eyes of our heart gaze on Him, we will be transformed from glory to glory – little by little, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, and decade by decade. Just as daylight grows steadily from dawn until noon, our inner man is not transformed in an instant; but gradually as we continue to behold God in His glory. But it is transformed.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84:5-7)
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
Don’t let the Christian “celebrities” have the great testimonies. You don’t have to resign yourself to listening to others tell how God moved for them. You don’t have to read the books that others write about how God came through for them. Why not you? Why not now?
Make time for Him. Set your face like flint. Decide you will one who beholds the glory of the Lord. Decide you will be transformed. Don’t be deceived into thinking that it isn’t working (Gal. 6:7) . Press in, push on, don’t be denied, never quit. There is liberty to be had, there is freedom for those who will not be deceived and quit.
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