3) Blind. They're wretched and blind. That word ‘blind’ is a Greek word, ‘tufloss’, meaning: to be opaque. It means literally, to surround you with smoke. If you ever looked at anyone in a car who's been vaping, you know the whole car gets filled with that vape smoke, and everything around them gets covered with smoke? He says it's like that. He's saying: your blind; you're enveloped with smoke. It also means: to be puffed-up with pride; or conceited; or rendered foolish - and it's a demonic activity.
2 Corinthians 4:4 – “Satan has blinded the minds of those who don't believe.”
When we're not growing, our faith isn't growing, we're not leaning into God; then what happens is, we become very self-centred, self-oriented; and of course, that brings the next thing: we become short-sighted - can't see afar off. If you can't see afar off (I've got short-sightedness), everything afar off is blurry, so it creates a bit of problem going forward. In fact, I can't drive, unless I've got my glasses on to correct the vision.
It says there ‘can't see afar off’, which means that you're focussed on what's near to you, so you don't see further down - where it's all going, and what it all counts for. It refers to a life that's living in the moment, rather than living with eternity in mind. Short-sighted, you're not seeing ahead.
One day, you will stand before the Lord; one day, you will give account for your life - your decisions, your choices, your values, what you've done. You're not thinking ahead! You just are just not seeing it. It's like it's out of your view, all the time; therefore, you're not living with that in mind. Then he says: you've got a bad memory, you've forgotten what God has done, and why He's done it. When it says ‘to forget God’, what it really means is, not keeping His commandments.
Deuteronomy 8:11 – “Beware you don't forget the Lord by not keeping His commandments”
1 John 2:4-5 – “The one who says, ‘I know Him’ and doesn't keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God matures in him, and this is how we know we're in Him”.
Clearly, the consequences of failing to grow is, we just forget what God saved us from, we forget why we're saved, and then we forget to do the things He wants us to do. We start to just live for ourselves, and that's the condition of so many in the church, it's quite heartbreaking really. Quite a bad thing, isn't it - blind, half blind, short-sighted, bad memory, unfruitful, barren, spiritually unemployed... These are bad things, aren't they? This is all the consequence of not being committed to personal growth.
Look at the people you have the difficulties with; all these things are in them. You will start to notice it. They won't do things. They're not engaged. They're not growing. They're not sharing anything fresh from God, or from the word. They're not thinking about eternity. They're not even thinking past next week. They're thinking about this: my marriage, my children, my money, whatever. Their whole life is preoccupied with what's in front of them; and what's in front of us, can change. Having a long-term vision enables us to walk through the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, because we are looking for something that's eternal.
Hebrews 6:19 – “This hope that we have ahead anchors your soul… (stops you being tossed around in the storms)”.
Then he talks about the qualities… add some things; so be very diligent and add these things into your life. What does he want us to add? How do we add it?
Here are seven qualities, and it’s interesting that he used the number seven. Previously he talked about seven things for people who are walking away from God, but now he talks about seven things we need to add in, so let's have a look what the seven things are.
1) He says: “add to your faith virtue” - so what is virtue? It means literally: valour, courage, excellence, purity, doing what's honourable. Virtue means do the right thing; do what you know God wants you to do. Virtue - add to your faith ‘doing the right thing’. It means spiritual courage in a hostile world; being able to stand up for what's right, in the face of reactions.