What do you see?
Sermon and summary by Chrisme Visagie
I while ago we took our kids to the river and enjoyed a lovely picnic on a little island. The island was full of pebbles and our youngest, who is 5 years old, loves looking for heart-shaped pebbles. She was excitedly showing us the one pebble after the other. “Look at this one, mommy!”. “Look at this one, daddy!” Most of them you could at least see some resemblance to a heart, but then she showed us one that was definitely not heart shaped. It was shaped somewhat like a diamond and no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t see the ‘heart’ that she was seeing. She obviously noticed our confused looks and added: “look, you just add this part and this part, then it is a heart!”. How precious to be able to see through the eyes of a child! But this really got me thinking about how we see the world. Through which glasses do we look at the world? If you have a pair of glasses on that are tinted green everything will look green, but if someone else where glasses that are tinted red, those same objects that you perceive as green will look red to you!
This can also be called your worldview. Your worldview is a particular philosophy of life or concept of the world. Is is influenced by our parents, by which school you attended, by your friends and your community and by your experiences. It is the little snow globe we live in. And the scary part is, whether or not you know what your worldview is or not, it will influence every decision you make.
Every worldview is shaped by 4 very basic questions and by answering these, you can get a very good idea of what someone’s worldview is. The 4 questions are:
- What is good?
- Where does good and evil come from?
- Who deserves good?
- How can you do good or be good?
As Christians we should be having a Christian worldview. We should be able to answer the above questions – and any other questions life throws our way, from a sound knowledge of scripture and guidance by the Holy Spirit. A Christian worldview cannot be just a philosophy or a theory – it should be what determines how you live your life. A Christian worldview cannot be limited to certain areas of your life, it is an all-consuming way of life. A Christian worldview is thinking with the mind of Christ and seeing with the eye of Christ.
Jer 1:11-13
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”
And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying,
“What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”
I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried with open eyes and I’ve tried with closed eyes – I don’t see any almond branches or boiling pots. So what is wrong with our vision? How do we teach our eyes to see? How do we even know what we are supposed to see?
1 Cor 13:12
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
The mirror that Paul writes about here is not the modern mirror we know. In ancient times, they used a bronze plate which they hammered flat and used that as a mirror. You can imagine how unclear the reflection in that would be! That is the what Paul refers to when he tells the Corinthians we see dimly now.
Listen to what God tells the Israelities in Isaiah 42:19-20. I just love how the Message translation writes it.
Pay attention! Are you deaf?
Open your eyes! Are you blind?
You’re my servant, and you’re not looking!
You’re my messenger, and you’re not listening!
The very people I depended upon, servants of God, blind as a bat—willfully blind!
You’ve seen a lot, but looked at nothing.
You’ve heard everything, but listened to nothing.
I really would not like those words to be spoken of me! So lets to a few vision tests.
I want you to have a look at each picture and really ask yourself “What do I see”. Also check with yourself what your reaction to the picture is and what emotions it stirs up in you.
Now, let’s have a look at how Jesus might have looked at him.
Mark 8:2
“I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way;
for some of them have
come from afar.”
What do you see? What do you feel? How would you respond if I told you that she has a very contagious disease for which their is no cure? What would you do if she knocked on your door today?
This lady suffers from leprosy. Thankfully it is a treatable disease today, but it Jesus’ time there was no cure. What was Jesus’ reaction to the sick?
Mark 1:40-41
Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
How would you describe these people to someone that is not with you? Do you judge them for how they look? Do you know their thoughts? Their hurst and fears?
1 Sam 16:7
For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Do you know how many times I wished I could go fishing and catch a fish with a golden coin in it’s mouth? Unfortunately, no-one has ever taught me how to fish! But seriously now, what do you see when month-end draws near and your grocery cupboard and bank-account is empty? When you have bills to pay and no money to pay them with?
What do you see in the basket? What did the disciples see? What did Jesus see?
Mat 14:18-21 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
The disciples saw five loaves and two fishes (and a multitude to feed). Jesus saw an opportunity for a miracle.
This is a nicer one! Or is it? Here is a question to other parents: What is your reaction when people tell you: “your children are such little angels?” ? I’ll tell you what I see… I see the time he draw on our expensive bedroom carpets with a permanent marker. I see the time when he cut her hair with a huge pair of scissors. I see all the times she draw on herself, or the walls, or the heater, or in his school books. I see last week when they left their shoes outside in the rain and I see yesterday when they refused to tidy up their bedroom. The Holy Spirit reprimanded me about this recently. We are not supposed to look at their faults and their sinful nature, but to see the God-given potential in each of our little angels. We should be focusing on the good, not the bad and we should joyfully and enthusiastically accept any compliments on their behalf. What does Jesus see?
Luke 18:16-17
But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
We are the ones that should be learning from the little children how to receive the kingdom of God!
This picture is so powerful! We should start looking at our children’s potential. We should start seeing what God created them to be and not see where they are now. And we should start teaching our children to see the same way.
So many children today struggle with low self-esteem and worthlesness and it is because they do not know their God-given destiny and purpose. And it is our responsibility as parents (and teachers and friends of parents and Christian leaders and sport coaches) to guide them in that.
The last picture is a bit more personal. What do you see when you look in the mirror?
This woman is wearing a beautiful white dress, but that is not what she sees in the mirror. She sees her past, a black, bloodstained dress, a face conflicted with pain and anxiousness.
What does God see when he looks at you?
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people
Can you see yourself as God sees you? He says you are chosen, royal, holy, special. He says you are washed white, forgiven, cleansed. If you cannot see what God sees, you are actually calling Him a lier.
So how do we do it? How do we teach our eyes to see like Jesus sees? In Revelation John writes to the church of Laodecia and says the need eye salve.
Rev 3:17-18 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
The Laodecians were not physically poor, they were not naked and the were not blind. But spiritually they needed gold, white garments and eye salve. We can find the items on this “prescription” in scripture.
The first item on the prescription is the Holy Spirit. Without his help we will never be able to ‘see’ properly.
Rom 8:26
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.
1 Cor 2:9-10
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
The second item is to make a covenant with your eyes. You can choose what you look at. You can choose which movies you watch, which magazines you buy, which books you read, what your eyes focus on when you walk around in town. You can choose what you brows for on the internet. You can make a covenant with your eyes.
Ps 101:3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes
Ps 119:37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.
Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?
The third and last item on the list is prayer. You may (and should) ask God to help you with this!
Ps 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
Eph 1:18 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
And one last scripture to sum it all up:
2 Cor 4:18 We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
I pray the prayer of Eph 1:8 over you today. May God give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, may the eyes of your understanding be enlightened and may you know the hope of his calling. If we can see what He has called us for, if we have a vision in front of us, we can already see a lot.
