GOD’S EYES
Don Ervick
Midland SDA Church
June 2, 2012
It has been quite some time since I was up here last when I presented my sermon “
God Is In Control”. Well, I think we all know that God is always in control but this is not going to be “God is in Control No. 2”. Part of my talk is about how things can go wrong when we take control and go it alone without Him.
During some of my recent Bible study and reading articles by different authors, the thought hit me, why as Christians do we sometimes look at ourselves and others in the ways that we do, versus how God looks at us through His eyes. When He looks at us what does He see? I am sure for the most part He sees something quite different than what we see in ourselves and others. What do we see and what does God see? This is the thought that stuck in my head and what I would like to talk about this morning. I am going to take a few little side trips in order to explore how God wants us, as humans, to look at people with a caring and loving heart and try to see them through His eyes.
I would like to begin, first by relating my early experience in witnessing, and mainly how not to witness. I am sure we have all seen how when most people are first baptized they come out of the baptistery on fire for the Lord. Well, I was no different. After all, I knew everything, the true Sabbath day, the state of the dead, the clean and the unclean, the 2300 day prophecy, the sanctuary all about the beasts in Daniel and Revelation. I knew it all, I had the truth and I was excited and wanted to share these new found truths with family, friends and co-workers. In my excitement, I now know that I got off to a wrong start. I proceeded to show my fellow workers, family and friends where they were wrong and I was right. They worshiped on the wrong day, their family members that passed away weren’t really in heaven right now, they were eating the wrong things, etc., etc. Yes, like many others I was on fire for the Lord but I was more like an uncontrollable wild forest fire going about doing more harm than good. I was excited over the new truths I had learned and I wanted to share them with everyone whether they were ready to hear it or not. In their eyes I think they saw some sort of religious fanatic. However, in God’s eyes, he saw me as somebody with the right motive but following the wrong agenda. I can imagine He thought, “Son, you’re doing it all wrong. You left me behind”. I was trying to do the job of the Holy Spirit, that of convicting. The error I made was not in recognizing the individual’s needs. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 and verses 20 through 23 gives this counsel, “And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the law, that I might win those who are under the Law, to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.” So in other words Paul is telling us to try to determine what are the individual’s concerns, what are their problems and what do they feel that they need. In other words we are to meet them where they are at.
Jesus said that we were to be “fishers of men”, that is we are supposed to catch them and He will clean them. I think I was trying to clean them before they were caught. So, what was wrong with my method of witnessing and following the great commission, “go forth teach, and baptize”. I left out teaching about Jesus, His love and Grace and began trying to get people to accept certain Bible teachings before they were ready to hear them. I ran ahead of the Holy Spirit and It took some time for this to sink in. Our God is a God of order and He is in control and things happen in His own time not according to our time schedule.
I was on fire for the Biblical foundational truths which is understandable but I should have been excited about sharing my new found friend and savior, Jesus. I should have been sharing Him, His love and how He changed my life and what a blessing it was to really know and love Him. However, I did know the truth but when I tried to share it they weren’t ready for it, they needed to get acquainted with Jesus first and learn what His death on the cross meant for each one of us.
Let’s take a look at this word, “truth”. I think there is more than one kind of truth that God would like to see us live by and to share with others.
I remember reading an article in the Adventist Review some years ago written by Clifford Goldstein. His articles sometimes get very deep and heady and difficult to understand but I did understand this article. Goldstein’s article was about the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37. I will try to paraphrase it here, There was a traveler who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and while travelling some thieves robbed him, took his clothes, wounded him and left leaving him there half dead. A short while after a priest came by, he looked at the man, then passed by on the other side of the road. Then also a Levite came by the man laying there, looked at him and crossed over the other side of the road and left the traveler laying there. But then a Samaritan traveling on the same road saw the injured man and had compassion on him. He stopped, bound up the man’s wounds then lifted him up on to the animal he was riding, took him to the nearest inn and took care of him. The next day he had to leave but he paid the innkeeper and said,
“Take care of him and if it costs more money I will repay you when I pass through here again.” We know that the priest and the Levite knew the truth, forward and backward as given in the scrolls, but in this instance who had the kind of truth that Jesus wants us to live by, the priest and the Levite or the Samaritan? I think we find the answer in Matthew 25:35-40. Quoting from verse 37 onward, “Then the righteous will answer Him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison and come to you?” The King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine even the least of them, you did it to Me.”
The Samaritan didn’t stop to think if it was right or wrong to help the stranger, he had compassion and love for a hurting person and did the right thing, he took care of an immediate need. So in God’s eyes he was following the truth as given in Matthew 22:37 thru 40, “You shall love the Lord your god with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets.”
There is a saying that goes something like this: “Bread cast on the water comes back to you. The good deed you do today may benefit you or someone you love at the least expected time. If you never see the deed again at least you will have made the world a better place, and, after all, isn’t that what life is all about?”
There were times when I questioned my worth and effectiveness as a witness for Christ, and looking at myself through my eyes using my value system I didn’t like what I saw. Maybe there are some others who have experienced this same feeling. But take heart, for in Philippians 1:6 Paul writes, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus”. Well, I thought, all is not lost for in God’s eyes I was not just a dumb lump of clay but a unique piece of art, made by His hands to be just what He wanted me to be but He is not finished yet. He is still working on me. So, for the time being, I rely on His love and grace while continuing to look to Jesus and praying that the finished product will better reflect our loving Savior.
One day while reading my daily devotional I came across a story about a woman who loved to do quilting. While quilting on a project, she paused to examine her handiwork. Studying her stitches, she saw nothing but a tangled mass of threads destined for the seam ripper’s blade.
With a heavy sigh, as she set the quilt down and reached across the table to get the seam ripper she glanced at an open book. It was a how-to manual on machine quilting and it was opened to the page on how your stitches should not look. The photo she saw was full of loops, tangles and uneven stitches. She noticed the contrast immediately. Although her stitching was meticulous, when she looked at it she saw only a disheveled mess, such as on that page of don’ts.
After looking at the photo she viewed her work in a much different light. She put down the seam ripper and continued quilting satisfied that her project would turn out just right. The quilt with those same stitches she nearly tore out won first place in a contest she entered.
Sometimes even as Christians, we look at ourselves and others and see only tangled messes. This, however, is not what God sees. When God looks at His creatures, .He sees Jesus’ perfection. God looks at us all with love and acceptance, He sees potential far beyond what we could ever imagine. So when we look at ourselves and others, don’t be too hasty, take time and imagine you are looking through God’s eyes. You may see something altogether different than what you first saw. If we take time and try to look through God’s eyes we just may uncover the way God looks at us and others. We will not only deepen our relationship with Him, but just maybe our eyes will be opened to the image of God reflected in our fellow human beings. And if each one of us lets that image shine through freely in our daily lives, think what a welcoming, godly community our church would be, clearly showing the world what God is truly like.
Speaking of how God sees things reminds me of a character I used to read about in the funnies when I was a youngster, Superman. He fought crime and criminals and always won. He was faster than a speeding bullet, could leap over tall buildings in a single bound, stronger than a speeding locomotive and had x-ray vision. He could see through buildings and even used his x-ray vision to see through a person’s clothing to see if they had a weapon or not. But however good Superman’s x-ray vision was, he could not see the person’s heart. God has x-ray vision that is much better and in the first part of Jeremiah 17:10 He says, ”I the Lord, search the heart.” He can not only see a person’s heart but he can see what is inside. He looks through our thin outside shell and sees what our thoughts and motives are. Like the saying goes, “You can run but you can’t hide” God sees all and knows all, we can’t hide a thing from our all-knowing, loving God
.
Again, talking about how God sees, there is a story about a woman who went to the doctor for some x-rays. She declared that she had no money and could not pay. So the doctor agreed to take the x-rays without charge. But when he turned on the x-ray machine he saw five twenty-dollar gold pieces sewn into her blouse. God sees like that. He looks deep into our hearts and sees the sin that is there. However great we may think our sin is, God’s grace is greater and when we come to Him He not only forgives us but He Justifies us, making us as we had never sinned.
Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
The following is an excerpt from The Steps to Christ – “Here is where thousands fail; they do not believe that Jesus pardons them personally individually. They do not take God at His word. It is the privilege of all who comply with the conditions to know for themselves that pardon is freely extended for every sin. Put away the suspicion that God’s promises are not meant for you. They are for every repentant transgressor. Strength and grace have been provided through Christ to be brought by ministering angels to every believing soul. None are so sinful that they cannot find strength, purity and righteousness in Jesus, who died for them.”
Satan tries to make us believe that we are on probation, and we must prove to the Lord that we are reformed, before we can claim His blessing. In John 14:1-3 when Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also”. By saying this, He didn’t mean that He only put a down payment in our behalf on our mansion and we have to work to pay for the rest. Absolutely not! We must believe that at the cross He gave his life for each one of us and paid the complete, supreme price for our salvation. There is nothing we have to do to earn it and as humans there is nothing we can do to add to His sacrifice on the cross. Salvation is a gift from God for those who trust in His word and have the faith to believe that His sacrifice is sufficient to pay for our sins. Believe and faith, These words are emphasized in the well known verses, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. Also, Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Again in Steps to Christ we read “Even though you have been belittled, crushed, or stomped upon, Jesus bought you with an extreme price. You belong to Him no matter what experiences come our way. Remember no matter what abuse you have endured, you are still of the same value to Christ.” And in Matthew 10:29-31, we read “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows”.
This tells me that in God’s eyes He greatly values each one of us and he paid the same extreme price for us all. He does not value the meek and mild person who sits in the last pew, who comes and quietly, worships and then leaves, going for the most part unnoticed by many, any less than he does the flamboyant, well dressed person who commands attention.
I think we all can remember an evangelistic meeting where we looked at a certain attendee whose appearance and actions were not quite savory and in our eyes we saw what we thought was a hopless case. But in God’s eyes He saw a valuable soul, like a diamond in the rough and with some TLC and a little polishing here and there he would become a shining jewel fit for His kingdom. In God’s eyes everyone has potential, every soul is valuable to Him.
Love, believe, faith and grace to me are some of the more powerful words in the Bible. In
1 John chapter 4 and verses 7 and 8 tell us that God is love and we should love one another. Also, there is the command, “If you love me you will keep my commandments”.
When God looks at us through His eyes what do you think He wants to see? In John 13:34 and 35 Jesus gives us the eleventh commandment which is also a description of what He wants His people to look like to the world when He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus even tells us to “love our enemies”, now how difficult is that?
How important is it for us to believe? If we just look at John 3:16 again, we can see that the word “believe” is in the center of the verse and plays an important part in Jesus’ promise. In Hebrews 11:6 the word believe is mentioned again along with faith. It says that, we must believe in His word and believe Him when He tells us who He is and believe that He will do what He says He will do. So for us to believe in God’s promises is a must in our spiritual walk. Also in the beginning of Hebrews 11:6 is the word “faith”, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him”, sounds important to me. I am not placing these words in the order of their importance, but faith is next. Faith is a gift and each one of us has been given a certain degree of faith. However, faith is like a muscle it must be used and exercised, in other words, use it or lose it. My faith gets strengthened every time I look back on my life and remember some of the trials that I went through and I can see how God was with me and led me through those trials, large and small. Another way my faith is strengthened is when I hear you give your testimonies during communion or at other times when the opportunity arises. Hearing how you have trusted God and how He has blessed your lives reinforces my faith. I remember that Virginia.Farnham was one who never passed up the opportunity to praise God and thank Him for the blessings He had given her.
The last but by no means the least is God’s grace. His grace is awesome and amazing. Without God’s grace, each one of us would be bound for extermination in the lake of fire.
As God gives us His love and grace with forgiveness for our weaknesses and mistakes, He expects us to pass on loving grace to those who are not as fortunate as we are.
I once read a story about a man named, LaGuardia, who was the mayor of New York during the 1940’s. He was a flamboyant and unpredictable mayor and one day he went to one of the city courts and told the judge to take the day off because he would preside over that court. One case after another he meted out fair judgement until during his session, a store owner brought in an old woman who he claimed had stolen a loaf of bread from his store and he wanted her punished. LaGuardia looked with compassion on the old woman, bent over and looking very tired and worried and he asked her, “Mam, did you steal a loaf of bread from this man’s store?” The old lady answered, “Yes”. “You know that stealing is against the law why did you do it”, asked the mayor. “Well you see your honor, I don’t have any money and I have hungry children at home and I just had to get them something to eat.” LaGuardia said, “Well you have broken the law and therefore you must be punished.” “The penalty is 10-days in jail or a fine of $10.00”. As he was saying this he reached in his wallet and pulled out a ten-dollar bill, gave it to the clerk, and said “You are free, your fine is paid in full”. Then in turning to the people in the courtroom he said, “I fine each of you for allowing such conditions to exist so as to make it necessary for this woman to steal a loaf of bread in an attempt to provide food for her children.” I think through God’s eyes this was an example of God’s grace being passed on.
So, love, believe, faith and grace are very powerful but I can not leave out, prayer. If we look to Jesus as our example we know He prayed from the cradle to the grave. He spent forty days in prayer at the beginning of His ministry. He prayed while dying on the cross. If Jesus, who was perfect, needed to pray, if Jesus who had all power in heaven and earth, needed to pray, how much more do we weak sinners need to pray.
Prayer, is our connection with God. 1 Peter 5:7 states we are to “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Just because He knows everything does not mean that we can’t talk to God about whatever it is that has bogged down our worship, or our life lately. You can tell Him you’re tired, bothered, worried about the day. Tell Him you’re feeling guilty over yesterday. Tell Him everything. “Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend” (Steps to Christ, p. 93). It really is that simple. You’ll leave your prayer closet revived, energized and ready to conquer the world, or at least the day for God
Finally, The Bible tells us much about Jesus and the things that went on when He was on this earth and we might think, “I wish I could have been with Him then”. However, we know that one day that wish will be granted and someday we’ll hear Him say, “Come” and we’ll rise on resurrection power and then we will be able to meet Him face to face. We’ll be with Him and we’ll be like Him. To be like Him means that we accept everyone where they are at, love them regardless and happily want to serve them.
I would like to end with a quote from an unknown author that says, “Treat everyone with
politeness even those who are rude to you – not because they are nice but because you are.” I think this would be pleasing in God’s eyes.
Opening Hymn: No. 12 – Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7
Closing Hymn: No. 290 – Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus