Aphorizo
Horizon. A word that reminds me of the Greek word “aphorizo” which means separated. Paul describes In Romans 1:1 how he was separated for the Gospel of God. It quite literally means to mark off from others by boundaries or to be appointed for some purpose.
Lake Superior and Lake Michigan are my two favorite Great Lakes. The view of the horizon, sky, water is like no other. Do you recall a time when you stood on the shores of one of the Great Lakes and just stood in disbelief with how far you could see the horizon stretch? That deep inhalation of wonder? I remember a hike to the top of Hogback Mountain just outside of Marquette, Michigan. The view at the peak over Lake Superior was literally for miles stretching to the northwest and panning to the southeast. The horizon stretched for tens of miles, literally separating the sky from the water.
God is asking us to be set apart for something greater. He calls His saints into deep relationship with Him and the Body of Christ to encourage and challenge each other into growth and to bring more into His family through His calling. Our mission is clear: to pray, to disciple, to evangelize, to have deep community, and to continue to lead each other to do these things and to teach others to do the same.
Any action we desire to take in prayer, discipleship, evangelism, community must be from a position of asking God for His vision into the unseen. Prayer must happen before we do any of these things because He is the source for how to love and serve each other. This prayer is not a one-time thing. This is constant. Without constant connection and communion with Him we will miss out on His heart for Him and others around us. We get so easily caught up in our feelings, desires, wants, sometimes even totally out of His will when we entertain our flesh. We get so extremely stuck in this temporary seen realm.
Without His vision for His desires to be the reality among us, the Body of Christ will not function the way He wants. This vision into the unseen realm will reveal to us the importance of prayer, discipleship, evangelism, community and how to multiply all those things and only from a position of us submitting into His desires and purposes. Being stuck in the seen realm and trying to do prayer, discipleship, evangelism, community may still happen, but we’ll be completely outside His heart and will seem very shallow, even fake. The seen realm is transient with no connection to our inheritance and future reward. The unseen realm is eternal and is completely connected to a future reward.
Romans 8:18-25 18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 “11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
Paul is clear: we cannot and should not compare our present sufferings with the future glory that is to await us. When we put our hope in the seen realm we actually are experiencing false hope. Hope for all that is in the unseen realm is true hope. In asking Him to help us put away childish things (grow in maturity) we actually experience real hope. Intentionally seeking Him in order to put away our childish ways will result in us fully knowing as Christ sees and knows us. Do we get this? We will know as Christ knows. How much does He know? All things? Yes! I do not know how this will work when we experience glory in the next age. But the reward is clear.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 “16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
As the Horizon sermon series closes out, God’s challenge to me (and hopefully to you) is to search out the Holy Spirit for what has kept us so fascinated with things in the seen realm. To move us from that fascination and to ask Him to move our reality and fascination into the unseen realm. As we pray for each other, disciple one another, go out into the community to make Christ known, do community together ask Him for the insight into the unseen into all things for those around us. The horizon in our lives is Christ and we need Him to separate our thinking and reality from the seen and then move us into the unseen.