Jesus's Second Instruction for Overcoming the Daily Evil: Choose the Right Focus

Jesus's Second Instruction for Overcoming the Daily Evil

2. Choose the Right Focus

(Matthew 6:22–23 DKJV) “The lamp of the body is the eye; therefore if your eye is healthy (single-focused), your whole body will be fully illuminated. (23) But if your eye is diseased (bad), your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is completely dark, how great is that darkness!”

(Matthew 5:8 EMTV) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Keep Your Eyes Healthy

The Bible is written intelligently. Jesus made the statement about the eye’s focus directly after talking about where you have your heart anchored. He implies that the eye follows the heart. Moreover, we just read where he said a “pure heart” sees God. Again confirming that, when it comes to God, what the eye sees is directly connected to the heart’s quality and focus.

This is very significant because—as Jesus says—the eye is the source of light for the whole body. For example, if your eye is focused on the book or screen in front of you, your hand knows exactly how to go about picking it up; but, if your eye is closed or focused elsewhere, picking it up becomes much more challenging—and at times, impossible.

Jesus said, “If your eye is healthy (single-focused), your whole body will be fully illuminated.” This implies that if your natural eye is healthy and focusses on the objects for which each part of your body needs information, then the whole body can do what it has to do, unhindered. To put this in Jesus’s words, “Your whole body will be fully illuminated.”

(Luke 11:33–36 NLT) “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. (34) Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is bad, your body is filled with darkness. (35) Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. (36) If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”

Receive Divine Revelation for Every Area of Life

However, Jesus is not merely giving us an anatomy lesson. His real message is about our spiritual eyes—our insight. Our inner eye will focus where our heart is. Even in the natural realm, our eyes want to look at what we treasure in our hearts. For example, most of us will have photos of our loved ones, posters of our sports stars, or images of our dreams—or we watch television programs and movies that reflect where our heart is.

We seem to find a way to keep our eyes on what our heart is locked into. The big point Jesus is making here is that if we position our life so that we can keep our heart anchored in heaven, our eye will be “healthy” because it will be “single-focused” there as well. As a result, we will be in the position to receive all the revelation we need for every area of our lives. This is a huge supernatural key for enjoying all the privileges of God’s kingdom, walking in his blessing, and successfully navigating the treacheries of this life.

(1 Corinthians 2:9–10 NKJV) But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (10) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

“Seeing” in advance what God wants to give us is an important prerequisite to receiving it. This is an important aspect of how faith works in our spirit. In Scripture, we see that God used this principle to help people receive what he wants to give them, right from the first book of the Bible:

(Genesis 13:14–17 NKJV) And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; (15) for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. (16) And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. (17) Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

This in itself is an amazing revelation for us. God told Abram, “All … you see I give to you.” In other words, if you can see it, God will give it to you. Then, even though he couldn’t give Abram a photo of his dream, God gave him a readily available picture—an overview from the mountaintop—of his pledged possession and dust for detail of his promised descendants. Later God also told him that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:5). Abram had an overview: dust, and sand to look at during the day, and stars to focus on at night. This way, he constantly had before his eyes a picture of God’s promise.

God then told Abram, “Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width.” Simply seeing what God wants to give us is a vital first step, but we then need to focus our inner attention on it until the picture is so vivid we can walk through it in the spirit. This ensures we have all the detail clear, with no gaps. Additionally, it ties us to an emotional connection with, and a vivid experience of, where God is taking us.

God gave Joshua a similar instruction when he finally led Abraham’s descendants in to possess the land he promised to Abraham that day—several hundred years later.

(Joshua 1:2–3 litv) “My servant Moses is dead. And now rise up, cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. (3) Every place on which the sole of your foot shall tread, I have given it to you, as I spoke to Moses.”

My house, and the room where I am currently sitting writing, was once a vacant lot without any vision of a house. Next it was merely a drawing—a paper plan. I studied that plan until I could see myself in every part of this house. I would picture myself sitting in this exact spot, writing books. Then I would see myself walking through the house to where I now have the music studio. In my mind, Rosanna and I would be in there making albums. In truth, I pictured, experienced, and virtually lived in every room of this house in the spirit years before it became a physical reality. However, materializing it was a long and arduous process.

First, we had to believe God for the finances. This required a grueling spiritual battle before we overcame the daily evil on that count. Finally, we had the money in cash. Next, despite having all the finances, we had to endure challenges with reluctant builders—a series of whom either wanted to or did pull out of the project for no good reason. But I didn’t stop believing. Daily, I envisioned the house finished and me in it, doing the ministry I have described. Finally, our faith overcame the daily evil, and the house was completed.

Since moving here and settling in, I have written more than 20 books; Rosanna has written five, and we have recorded several albums and numerous backing tracks. We took hold of the vision God gave us by revelation in the spirit, and now we have it—materialized in the natural.

There is no doubt that Jesus approach, as he outlined in Matthew 6, works:

First, put your treasure in heaven. This will ensure that your heart is anchored there too. As a consequence, this will mean that your eye is focused on heaven. This is the key; because if your eye is fully focused there—without worldly or frivolous distractions—it means that you will be able to receive from God light for everything you need. This strongly implies that you can then receive the revelation from heaven that you need for every area of your life. Once you see it by revelation, you can receive it in materialisation.

However, this doesn’t prevent us needing to go through the fight of faith and to overcome enemies and obstacles. The revelation shows us what is ours—from possessions to character and victory. Once you know what it is, it’s time to war against every lying, accusing, destructive enemy spirit that would try to prevent us from having what God has provided for us.

Today, I again encourage you to make whatever adjustments you need to make to have your treasure deposited into heaven’s account. Jesus said this will lead to all the revelation you will need to navigate these shaky times and make it home safely to heaven.

(Luke 11:35 NEB) “Make certain, then, that the light in you is not darkness.”