What's More Real?

There are some things that all Christians believe and no one could ever talk us out of them. For instance, we all believe that there is a place called heaven that we will live for eternity in the presence of God. In this place called heaven, we all believe that there will be no more pain or suffering, there will be streets of gold, and there will be no sadness.

Anyone who is a Christian believes this to be true. But why is it that we believe this? We have not seen this place, nor have we ever stepped on one of those streets of gold. We have never seen a place where no sadness exists, yet we believe that it really does exist. Why do we have this belief?

The answer is really quite simple. It’s because we have been told about it! Romans 10:17 tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Someone spoke the Word to us or maybe we read it for ourselves, but the Word came, faith was mixed with it, and now we believe it to the point that nobody could ever steal that belief from us.

I would like you to get real serious with yourself for a few moments and ask yourself some tough questions. We all walk through the doors of our church each week with a belief that there is this wonderful place (wonderful beyond words) that exists someplace that we cannot see or travel to and that we will spend eternity in this place. We have this belief because the Word came and faith rose up, and we grabbed hold of the truth of that Word. Yet, sitting in the same church, very possibly from the same person that gave us that truth, we hear that we are “more than conquerors,” that we are the “head and not the tail,” that “all things are possible,” that we are “blessed going in and blessed coming out,” but we have a hard time believing these things with the same reality as we believe about heaven.

Are you struggling right now with a health issue? Are you struggling with a financial issue? Are you struggling with an addiction? If so, you need to stop and ask yourself why you will, without hesitation, accept one truth from the Word of God while not accepting another. There is a reason!

The reason is this. The reality of the natural is more real to us than the reality of the spiritual!

Do you know why over 90% of Christians never lead another to the Lord? It’s because the natural aspect of “I don’t know what to say” or “I am going to be asked a question that will make me look stupid” is far more a reality than the Word of God that says to “go” and “I will never leave you.”

Let’s go back for a moment to my question about heaven. The main difference between that question, where we have no hesitation in believing, and my example of witnessing has one key difference -- your involvement!

You have no control over a heaven or no heaven. Once your “die” in this natural life, it is totally out of your hands. It is up to God, and we all know that God can do anything.

When it comes to you or me witnessing, prospering, walking in freedom or health, all of a sudden it is God working through us which requires part of us to be involved. When we are involved in the equation, failure, lack of knowledge, and lack of finances all become part of the equation, and we no longer operate in the same “without hesitation” belief like we have about heaven.

As Christians, the reality of the spiritual should be far more real to us than the reality of the natural because the Word of God says in Luke 21:33, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”

I would like to bring to your attention to the story that is found in Luke 24:13-33. I encourage you to grab your Bible and read this story about the two men walking on the road to Emmaus. This story demonstrates the significance in the reality of the natural compared to the reality of the spiritual in our lives.

First, I want you to see is the power of the natural in our lives. These two men walking were classified by Jesus as sad, yet prophesy was being fulfilled all around them. In fact, more prophesy was fulfilled within about the time frame of a week than in the prior 4,000 years of man.

Jesus made a very significant statement in verse 27 when He said, “and beginning at Moses. . .He expounded to them. . .the things concerning Himself.”

From Moses and the prophets, Jesus told about what the scriptures said about the time period these two men where living in. Prior to this one event (death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus), the entire Bible pointed to this time. Everything before pointed to this one event and everything since points back to it. This one event was the single greatest event ever prophesied and ever known to man. Then on top of all of this you have the evidence of the miracle because the body is missing, a visitation by an angel, and people are still getting sad because of the power of the natural.

The natural was so powerful they could not rejoice in the fulfillment of all the prophesy that was taking place around them. In fact, they were more content with a dead body with an understanding of the natural than to have a resurrected body and walk by faith.

As Christians we need to check our reality factor. What is more real to us? If the natural events that we face are more real then the Word of God our lives are out of adjustment.