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A Spiritual Eye-Sight Test

I imagine that many of us here have at some time or the other visited the opticians. We can go simply for a check-up or we can go because we are aware that we are not seeing properly. We might actually have been unaware that we had an eye problem and it needed someone else, a friend or the doctor, to suggest that a visit might be in order.

The test itself involved the optician in shining bright lights into our eyes to see if they responded properly and we also had to read letters off a chart on the wall. With a few adjustments and a new lens we could suddenly see much more clearly! Sometimes we never realised just how much we had been missing before.

This morning I want to encourage you to take a spiritual eye test. The only bright lights will be those that come from the word of God as applied by the Spirit of God. And we will be thinking not only about what we see on the wall chart and how we understand what we see but we will also be considering the types of things we normally look at.

The Bible speaks a lot about vision related questions. It speaks about eyes – (almost 600 times) and it talks about seeing (1000+), looking, gazing and about what we should fix our eyes upon. Now in many of these instances the words are used figuratively – just as we use them today. If you see what I mean? – which really means if you understand! So we are well justified in thinking this morning, not primarily about our physical eyesight, but with the general orientation of the way in which we live our lives.

If you visit the optician and there you're asked to read letters on the eyechart the optician has in mind what most people can see and will try to help you according to these averages. However when we come to thinking about our spiritual vision we can't operate in the same way for the simple reason that spiritually we are no longer normal – as God created us and intended us to be – but we are all abnormal due to sin. So we can't trust comparing ourselves with others as they don't see as they should either!

But we are not left without any standard rather we have an excellent one to go by. This is because man is made in the image of God and so in some measure we should be "like God". Now there are some obvious differences – God is not limited as we are to space and time and so He can see all things whereas what we see is necessarily limited. But we can consider what God says about what it is that He looks at and compare ourselves with that!

And what do we find when we do that?

Hab.1:13 "You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong,"

Sadly, this is far from being the case for us! All too often men and women find great pleasure in looking at other people doing what is wrong – this was certainly true in Habakkuk's day because he wrote a little further on in his book:

Hab.2:15 "Woe to him who makes his neighbours drink–– you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!"

Just think at the stories we find in our newspapers that we are all too ready to feast our eyes upon or the TV programmes that glamorize an unsavoury lifestyle and yet which we love to watch.

Our eyesight is wrong because we are prepared to look with approval and interest upon those things which the LORD Himself will not look with approval. Sometimes we will even look at things we know to be wrong in order to experience the thrill of condemnation. What we look at has a very great influence upon us all and we must be careful with what we watch!

And this is not a problem that is specific to our TV and multi-media age. The Bible spoke to the issue centuries before the cathode ray tube or the micro-chip were invented:

The author of the Book of Proverbs made wise recommendations:

Prov. 4:25 "Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you."

The need is to keep focused and not to turn aside to be distracted by other unhelpful matters.

The Psalmist understands the need of making careful resolutions for himself:

Ps.119:15 "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways."

But resolutions alone are not enough so the Psalmist also prays:

Ps. 119:37 "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways."

Job was aware of how a roving eye might lead him astray and so he took himself seriously in hand. He wanted to avoid wrongdoing and to remain faithful to his wife and so he acted in a very sensible manner:

Job 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?"

We too are confronted with choices. How well are you doing in looking at what is good and avoiding looking on what is evil? Do you want to make a success of your spiritual life? I'm sure most of you do. Listen then to how Isaiah describes the one who is successful in the spiritual domain. Amongst other things, Isaiah says, he will have learnt to "shut his eyes from looking on evil" Is.33:15.

Someone might be tempted to ask whether this matter of our spiritual vision and what we look at in any detailed prolonged way is unimportant. But what would you say of a short-sighted bus-driver who continually was distracted by posters along the side of the road? Would you think it safe to ride with such a man?

The Bible similarly says that there are  consequences. The way you behave determines how the Lord sees you!

Firstly, this is put negatively,

Ps.5:5 "The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers."

Then positively,

Ps.34:15 "The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry."

Jesus Himself spoke very clearly about the importance of having clear vision:

Mt.6:22-23 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

Fill your vision with that which is corrupt, evil and opposed to plan and purpose of God and your whole person will marked not by light and purity but by spiritual darkness and squalor.

Now here we are not to imagine that we must never ever think about the evils of this world otherwise we would never do anything about putting them right! But we are being warned not to find delight and satisfaction in such tawdry things – we are not to consider these things with approval!

In the next chapter of Matthew's Gospel Jesus went further to explain some of the complications that can arise in life if we are happy to live on with impaired vision. He speaks about interpersonal relationships:

Mt.7:3-5 "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye."

The type of looking that must be avoided is that which in one way of another is a looking that lacks understanding. Let me illustrate what I mean with some verses from Scripture:

Ps.73:4"For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

It is so easy to take into account only a small portion of the facts and so focus upon them that we draw the wrong conclusions. The Psalmist thought that the wicked lived lives of so much ease that it was a life-style to be envied and embraced if possible. Later he was enabled to appreciate that appearances were deceptive and that indeed the true position of the arrogant wicked was desperate.

We've already read Habakkuk speaking of the way some draw great pleasure in contemplating the degradation of others – in our media saturated society this is a real temptation to us in the 21^st century.

In the NT Peter warns of the voices that clamour for a sensual lifestyle- sometimes even in the name of religion and freedom!

2Pet.2:14 "They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin."

They're always looking for opportunities to sin themselves and to encourage to follow them in their behaviour.

And John of course warns us of the dangers of earnestly pursuing what presents itself appealing to our eyes:

1Jn.2:16 "For all that is in the world––the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions––is not from the Father but is from the world."

What is it that always seems to attract your attention? What is it that you like to look at the most? Where do you always seem to be focusing your gaze? Where do I?

It is so easy to be duped! There are sights out there that dazzle us if we are not careful. Pornography may well be a trouble for some of the men here. Some of you ladies may be too concerned about how you look or about how your houses look. For some of this we may be overly concerned about how others see us and we may well be tempted to fix too much of our attention upon what is ultimately unimportant. How we need a sense of proportion in it all! How we need to see clearly!

There are times when we can look but fail to see that is to understand – take for example Elisha's servant about whom we read in:

2 Kings 6:17 "Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."

This young man was involved with Elisha in the latter's ministry. As Elisha served God and was faithfully carrying out the tasks entrusted to him it brought both him and his servant into a dangerous situation surrounded by an enemy army bent on doing them harm. The young man initially only "saw" the hostile forces ranged against them – he lacked the added perception that faith had brought to Elisha. Elisha knew that God was with him and prayed that the young man might be brought to "see" more clearly.

If we, in our turn, are to see clearly then we need a touch from God every bit as much as did Elisha's servant and every bit as much as did the blind people that Jesus healed and of whom we read in the Gospels.

We read of Jesus healing several blind people and in a variety of different ways. Some He healed instantly but for at least one other the healing came only in stages. Sometimes Jesus used means and sometimes He healed without apparent means. The common denominator is that Jesus restored sight to the blind! From this we should learn not merely that Jesus had the power to effectuate physical healing but that He can also give spiritual eyesight to the spiritually blind too!

Each of us must have our spiritual sight restored – the method employed is secondary what is essential is that that sight does indeed come. Without it we will remain forever spiritually blind and outside of God's saving purposes:

Jn.3:3 "Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”"

Jesus also spoke comfortingly to His true disciples:

Mt.13:16 "But blessed are your eyes, for they see."

And Paul prayed encouragingly for the Christians in Ephesus – he described them in the following terms:

Eph.1:18 as "having the eyes of your hearts enlightened."

Paul writing to the church in Philippi told them that they should keep their eyes on those who set a good example in this whole matter of Christian living. There is no shortage of good examples to imitate when it comes to "good-looking":

1.       looking for Jesus (Mark 1:37; Mark 15:40)

2.       looking for the kingdom of God (Mark 15:43; Hebrews 11:10)

3.       looking for reward (Hebrews 11:26-27)

4.       there is a spiritual gazing (Acts 7:55) – though it is possible to wrongly indulged such gazing to the detriment of duty (Acts 1:11)

5.       Indeed good wholesome spiritual desire may be expressed in terms of looking:

Psalm 27:4 "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple."

6.       there is a spiritual looking that involves faith and trust:

Hebrews 12:2-3 "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

And there is tremendous encouragement held out to the Christian:

Ps 11:7 "For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face."

Well now let's stop and ask ourselves just how did we get on with our spiritual eye test this morning. Has God enlightened the eyes of your heart? Have you been born again and can you say with the blind man of old "one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." (Jn.9:25)?

Are you striving now to live your life in the way God wants you to as a Christian? Are you turning your gaze away from the rotten corrupting things of this world to find your joy and satisfaction in that which is good and upright, pure and clean?

This is the way that you should be going as a Christian. But perhaps you have been slipping somewhat – while others might not realise it you know that the trinkets and baubles of this world are dazzling you more than you'd care to admit.

Well if that is the case don't press on regardless trying to maintain that all is well when it isn't. The Laodicean Christians tried a bit of make-believe in their Christian lives – they tried to make out that everything was fine but Jesus knew otherwise – in His estimation they were "wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." (Rev.3:18). But this declaration was not Jesus' last word to them rather He went on to counsel them to apply to Him for, among other things eye salve with which to anoint their eyes!

In other words He wanted to heal their failing sight!

If you've messed up in the past it's not the end – the Lord comes and urges you to go to Him for all you need!

Then let us press on - how we need to fix our eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ by faith!

Amen.