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If I was to say the words good
vision, what would come to mind? Good
vision. I’m sure, if we thought
about that very long, some of us would get the idea in our minds that it was
something to do with our eyesight, being able to see. Well, here in Proverbs Chapter 29 verse 18, notice
it says,
“(Proverbs 29:18) Where there is no vision, the
people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
Where there
is vision, the people perish. Now,
obviously, this not talking about physical vision, eyesight. It’s talking about something else. This word here, translated vision
in the King James translation, comes
from a Hebrew word. It is a Hebrew
word that is very related to another word in the Hebrew. That other word means to
gaze at, to mentally perceive or to contemplate, specifically
to have a vision of. So the
actual word that is translated here means having
sight mentally. It can mean a dream, a revelation, or an
oracle. It has to do with sight
and it has to do with seeing, but it’s not physical eyesight.
We’re talking here in terms of spiritual vision.
We gain proper vision spiritually through God’s word.
Notice the contrast that is set up in this verse.
Again, Proverbs 29 verse 18.
“(Proverbs 29:18) Where there is no vision, the
people perish: but” — in contrast — “but he that keepeth the
law, happy is he.”
And so we find that if we are going to have
vision; that is, that spiritual vision, we need to be looking toward God’s
word. It is God’s instructions
that provide the spiritual vision that we all need.
If you
go back to I Samuel Chapter 9, we find, in this context, that Saul —
of course, soon to become the first king of Israel — is out and about,
and he’s looking for some animals. And
as they are traveling along, his servant tells him that they should go to a
certain city because there was a man of God in that particular town.
And if you look in I Samuel Chapter 9 verse 9, it says,
“(1 Sam 9:9) (Beforetime in Israel, when a man
went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go [see] the seer” —
referring to the man of God, and more specifically in this verse, notice it says —
“for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)”
Well, what did a prophet do? A prophet delivered the message of God’s word.
He proclaimed God’s word. Notice,
interestingly, he was once called a seer.
Because you see, it was from that revealing of God’s word and the
reception of God’s word, that people obtained spiritual vision.
Well, we need spiritual vision today as well.
And it comes from God’s word, both the proclaiming of God’s word, the
hearing of God’s word, the perceiving and the perception of God’s word.
In other words, God wants us to understand, and that’s what it’s all
about. Spiritual
vision is understanding God’s word and having a perception of the truth of
God’s word, so that we can see His will for us, so that we can see what God
expects of us, so that we can see what God commands of us, and so therefore, we
can live accordingly, according to the scriptures, in a way that is pleasing to
God, so that we can abide under His grace and His mercy and look forward to
seeing that home in heaven and eternal reward some day.
If you
go to Isaiah Chapter 6 — this is a passage that I used in a sermon;
it’s been quite some time back — we see here in verse 1,
“(Isaiah 6:1) In the year that king Uzziah died
I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train
filled the temple.”
And so we see here that Isaiah sees the Lord.
And this is the passage in which, in verse 8,
“(Isaiah 6:8) Also I heard the voice of the
Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I;
send me.”
And if you remember right, that was what we
focused on in a lesson before, Here am I;
send me. Isaiah’s willingness
to stand up to what was right and to proclaim the truth, even amidst difficult
circumstances. But now let’s
notice verses 9 and 10.
“(Isaiah 6:9) And he said, Go, and tell this
people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive
not.“(10) Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and
shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”
You see, spiritual vision involves understanding
and perceiving. But here, there is
mention of those who would see with their eyes and not understand, they would
hear with their ears and not perceive. So
yes, there are some times in which a person can have their eyes opened, but yet
still be blind. Notice here —
again, in this passage — the idea that these people would see and not
understand; hear, not perceive.
Let’s
think about that in the context of this particular passage, and notice how
reference is made to it in John
Chapter 12. If you turn over
to John Chapter 12, we’re going to find, in our lesson this morning, that
reference is made to some passages in Isaiah — and that particular
passage we just looked at — on several occasions.
In John Chapter 12 verse 37,
“(John 12:37) But though he” — talking
about Jesus — “had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed
not on him:
“(38) That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be
fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath
the arm of the Lord been revealed?
“(39) Therefore they could not believe, because that
Esaias said again,
“(40) He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their
heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their
heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”
Notice that.
“(40) He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their
heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their
heart, and be converted....”
Now, when we see the word heart in the scriptures, we need to understand how it is used.
The word heart in the
scriptures refers to the nonphysical elements of mankind.
Not our physical bodies, but the inner man, the thoughts of man, the
intents of the heart. Our minds is
what it’s referring to, our intellect, our process of thinking, our logic, our
conscience, all the inner qualities of mankind, and all the inner aspects, the
nonphysical aspects, are what is involved with the heart.
And with the heart, we
understand. But we see that in
order to receive the truth and to understand that truth, we need to see it, we
need to hear it, but we must have an open heart.
Because there were folks who lived in the very presence of Jesus, they
saw Jesus with their own eyes, they heard Jesus, his teachings, with their own
ears... but they didn’t understand. Notice
in verse 37 again,
"(John 12:37) But though he had done so many
miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.”
You see, sometimes we have ideas in our heart already,
we have preconceived ideas. And I
think that’s the case here with Jesus. Many
of the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus, because they had preconceived ideas, and
so they didn’t open their hearts up to the things they saw and the things they
heard, because it didn’t match what they already thought.
You see, there were a lot of Jewish leaders who had the idea that Jesus
was going to come and he was going to set up an earthly kingdom, that he would
come in a triumphal and authoritative manner, that he would take control, that
he would assume the leadership position in a physical manner, that he would call
the Jews together and that Israel would be restored as a nation and that Jesus
would rule in power and the Jews would be exalted under his leadership.
Yes, there was a kingdom that was to be established, but that’s not the
manner in which it was to come; that’s not the manner in which it came.
Jesus came, taking on the form of a servant.
He subjected himself. He
submitted himself. Always remaining
faithful and obedient to God, but not in the manner that the people expected,
not according to their preconceived ideas.
And so when Jesus came along, yes, to establish a kingdom, not a physical
kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom.... When
he came with authority, not in a physical manner did he influence that, or
exhibit that, but in a spiritual manner, bringing the truth of God’s word....
But it didn’t match what folks had thought, their preconceived ideas,
and so they didn’t believe him. Even
though they saw Jesus with their eyes, even though they heard him with their
ears, they still didn’t believe. You
see, their hearts didn’t obtain understanding.
We need to be careful today that we do not fall into
that same situation. Many people
today have preconceived ideas about God, about Christ, about religion, about the
truth, about what God wants, about what God commands.
And if we go to the scriptures and show that that is not the case, Here’s actually what God expects; here’s what God requires, they
may see it with their eyes, hear it with their ears, but not take it within
their hearts. In Matthew Chapter 15
verse 12, it says,
“(Matthew 15:12) Then came his disciples, and said
unto him” — that is, said unto Jesus — “Knowest thou that the
Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?”
Now, this was in reference to what Jesus had said
earlier in this chapter. For
instance, in verse 3.
“(Matthew 15:3) But he answered and said unto them” —
those Jewish leaders — “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of
God by your tradition?”
So he just told them that they were transgressing
God’s commandments, and then notice, in verse 7, he refers to them as,
“(Matthew 15:7) Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias” —
now here, another reference to the writings of Isaiah — “prophesy of
you, saying,
“(8) This people draweth nigh unto me with their
mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
“(9) But in vain they do worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men.”
And the Jewish leaders did not like those words of
Christ. They were offended by them.
And his disciples pointed that out to him, but notice what Jesus said in
verse 13.
“(Matthew 15:13) But he answered and said, Every
plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
“(14) Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the
blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”
Again, where there is no vision, people perish.
Jesus here makes reference to those who are blind.
Of course, not physically. He’s
talking about being blind spiritually. Because
they rejected the truth. Because
they failed to submit themselves to him. See,
in order to understand the truth, we need to want the truth. We need to be in search of the truth. And we must be receptive to the truth. If we are not receptive to the truth, we are probably not
going to gain the proper perception of it.
And that’s what happened here. These
individuals didn’t want the truth. It wasn’t what they wanted to hear. It didn’t fit their ideas, and so they rejected Jesus and
they rejected his teachings. And
Jesus tells them, refers to them here, as blind.
But that was their choice.
You see, the truth of the word is not forced upon
anybody. Jesus didn’t come and
force it upon the people. He
presented it for those who wanted to hear it and learn it and obey it.
But those who didn’t want it — Jesus didn’t force it on them,
but he allowed them to reject it. You
see, we’re given that choice. We
can either follow the truth... or we can reject it.
But Jesus warned here that those who reject it are blind.
And unfortunately, they lead others, and that causes them to be blind as
well. And so we have blind leading
the blind, and Jesus says here that they will all fall into the ditch.
But you know, we have the responsibility to be
proclaiming the truth, to be spreading the truth.
And that’s what we need to do, because there are a lot of people who
need spiritual vision, and they won’t get it from anywhere else other than the
truth of God’s word. So we need
to be proclaiming the truth, because there are those who want to see it, there
are those who want to hear it, there are those who want to understand it, and we
all need to. But unfortunately,
there are some who want the truth but they haven’t found it, and instead, they
have found something besides the truth, been taught something a little
different. And because of that,
they have been blinded by false doctrine.
If you go to Acts Chapter 28, we find also here
another passage in reference to the passage in Isaiah and the choice that people
have. And in Acts Chapter 28
verse 23, here we find Paul is in captivity in Rome, but he is given some
freedoms and he is allowed to have visits with people and for folks to come and
see him.
“(Acts 28:23) And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him
into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God,
persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the
prophets, from morning till evening.
“(24) And some believed”--
See, they had their choice, and they chose to believe
the things that Paul was teaching
“(24) And some believed the things which were spoken, and
some believed not.”
So some rejected the teachings of Paul
"(25) And when they agreed not among themselves,
they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by
Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
“(26) Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye
shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
“(27) For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and
their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they
should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
Notice what Paul used here.
He used the law of Moses and the prophets. At that point, the New Testament scriptures had not been
completed yet, but Paul still was able to use the scriptures, the Old Testament
scriptures, to prove that the things that had happened regarding Jesus were in
fulfillment of those scriptures and that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God.
Paul was presenting the truth, the truth that He is good
vision. Some chose to believe
it, and so they could see and they understood.
But unfortunately, there are many — or there are some, as listed
here — that believed not. Why?
Because their hearts had waxed gross.
(I’m going to talk about that in a moment.)
Their ears were dull of hearing; they didn’t want to hear.
And their eyes, they’d closed to the truth, and therefore, they simply
didn’t see. They didn’t have
the vision that is necessary.
If you go back to Matthew Chapter 13, here we find,
beginning in verse 10 and the verses to follow, Jesus is asked why he is
teaching in parables to the people, and that all had to do with the process of
revealing the truth, that the apostles would receive that understanding of it
first. They would then be given the
commission, under the providence of God, when the timing was right and, of
course, after the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross, that they, the apostles,
were then given that commission to spread that word.
But notice, in part of Jesus’ answer here as to why he was speaking in
parables, notice in verse 13,
“(Matthew 13:13) Therefore speak I to them in
parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do
they understand.
“(14) And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias” —
again, reference to the same passage — “which saith, By hearing ye
shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not
perceive:
“(15) For this people's heart is waxed gross, and
their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any
time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
“(16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and
your ears, for they hear.”
We need to all ask ourselves the question, What
about our eyes? Do they see? And what about our
ears? Do they hear? But notice, again, in quoting this passage from Isaiah, the people’s
heart is waxed gross. That
particular word, or that phrase, comes from one word in the Greek language,
which means to thicken or to fatten,
and then was used in the sense of rendering
callus. Their hearts were
callused to the truth, and therefore, the truth did not penetrate their hearts.
Therefore, even though they saw the truth, even though they heard the
truth, they truly didn’t see or hear in a spiritual manner in which they would
understand. Even though they could
see physically, they were still blinded spiritually.
And when there is no vision, the people perish.
If you’d turn to Hebrews Chapter 3.
We need to make sure that we don’t harden our hearts, but that we have
the willingness to hear the truth, that we are truly seeking the truth so that
we can have proper vision. In
Hebrews Chapter 3 verse 8, there is a warning that is given.
“(Hebrews 3:8) Harden not your hearts, as in the
provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
“(9) When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw
my works forty years.
“(10) Wherefore I was grieved with that generation,
and said, They do alway[s] err in their heart[s]; and they have not known my
ways.”
Because their heart was not open to God, they didn’t
know God’s ways; therefore, they didn’t follow them. And in so doing, notice there is reference here to
provocation. That is the act of
provoking. And because they
didn’t know God’s way, therefore they didn’t follow God’s ways, the
results were that they provoked God. That
is a trembling thought... to think that we could do something to provoke our God
in heaven. But isn’t it a
wonderful thought, on the other side of that, that we can do things to please
our God in heaven. And it depends
on whether or not we have spiritual vision.
With that in mind, let’s go back to Ephesians Chapter 1.
This is the passage from which our scripture reading came this morning.
Here Paul says, in verse 15,
“(Ephesians 1:15) Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
"(16) Cease not to give thanks for you, making
mention of you in my prayers.”
So as often was the case, Paul prayed for those to whom
he was writing, and he included that in his letters to let those individuals
know that he was praying for them. That
was the case with the Ephesians here. Notice
verse 17.
“(Eph 1:17) 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:
“(18) The eyes” — notice that: the eyes —
“[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,
“(19) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power
to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
“(20) Which he wrought in Christ....”
Notice, Paul says, included in his prayer, that the
eyes of their understanding would be enlightened.
What was Paul praying for? He
was praying that they would have spiritual vision; that they wouldn’t be
blinded, but that they would see. As
a matter of fact, that word enlightened
is an interesting word in the Greek language.
It is the word from which we get our English word photo.
We have a process in plants: photosynthesis. It is the process by which the plants take the light and then
have a process that goes on for their survival and their production.
Light. That is the word that
means to give light, to shine, to
enlighten, to illuminate. And
so Paul here wanted their eyes — their understanding — to shine.
Have you ever been studying a passage — perhaps
it’s a passage you’ve read over many, many times — and as you’re
reading through it one time, something just clicks?
And you say, Of course!
Now I — what? — see.
Now, I see.
Okay, I get it. Now I see. You
see, there’s that spiritual vision. In
a comic strip or a cartoon, sometimes, if a character has a bright idea, how is
that depicted in a cartoon or comic strip?
The light bulb above the head.
The light. You see, all that
derives from this Greek word, to
enlighten, to illuminate, to see. Paul
wanted these Ephesians to see the truth. Notice the words that have been listed here:
wisdom, knowledge, understanding, that
ye may know. Paul wanted them
to have spiritual vision. As a
matter of fact, in Ephesians Chapter 3, Paul, here, is talking about the
privilege that he has had, as an apostle of Christ, to take the message of the
truth of the gospel to the Gentiles, to reveal the mystery of Christ, the
message that the Gentiles also, as we see in verse 6.
“(Ephesians 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body,
and partakers of [the] promise in Christ by the gospel.”
Notice then what Paul says in verse 7.
“(Ephesians 3:7) Whereof I was made a minister,
according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working
of his power.
“(8) Unto me, who am less than the least of all
saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ.”
And what Paul is saying here is that God had bestowed
upon him a wonderful favor, that he was given the privilege of preaching to the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Now notice, in verse 9, And to
make all men — do what? — see....
“(Ephesians 3:9) And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created
all things by Jesus Christ.”
Paul was helping others to see, and that word see
is translated from the exact same Greek word translated enlightened
back there in Ephesians Chapter 1. Paul
was helping others to see, to have spiritual vision, so that they would not
perish. As a matter of fact, if you
go back to Acts Chapter 26, here we find Paul before King Agrippa.
He is explaining the things that had happened to him, including when he
was traveling on the road and Jesus appeared to him.
And he tells us some things Jesus told him in verse 15.
That would be Saul, later known as Paul.
“(Acts 26:15) And I said, Who art thou, Lord?
And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
“(16) But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have
appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both
of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will
appear unto thee;
“(17) Delivering thee from the people, and from the
Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,”
And here was his purpose.
“(18) To open their eyes....”
To help them to gain spiritual knowledge, so that
they could know the truth of the scriptures and, notice, so that they could be
turned,
“(18) ...from darkness to light, and from the power of
Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
He told Paul, Paul,
you’re going to go to the Gentiles, and you’re going to open their eyes and
you’re going to help to turn them from darkness to light so that they can
receive forgiveness and have an inheritance.
Question for you: don’t
we all need forgiveness? Absolutely!
Romans 3:23, all have sinned and come short.
Don’t we all want an inheritance from God?
Oh, Absolutely! A home in
heaven for all eternity, with God himself and all the redeemed, where nothing
that defiles enters in, where there’s no pain and no sorrow and no heartache
and — it’s just something that it’s hard for us to imagine.
Yes, we want an inheritance. To
obtain that inheritance, we must have forgiveness.
In order to have that forgiveness, we must open our eyes, we must have
spiritual vision. So I ask the
question this morning, how well do you see?
What type of vision do you have? Have
you opened your heart to the truth, searching diligently for the truth, wanting
to see it and hear it so that you can understand it and then obey it?
That’s what God wants, He wants us to see.
He wants us to have that spiritual vision, and Jesus died upon the cross
of Calvary so that we could have it.
And speaking of Jesus — you know, we have a hard
time seeing in the dark. Notice,
Paul was turning them from darkness to light.
In John Chapter 8 verse 12, Jesus said, “...I am the
light....” You see, we need the Light to see, and so God sent Jesus so
that we could see the truth, receive the truth, obey the truth.
In Psalm 119 verse 105,
“(Psalm 119:105) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
God has provided us the Light so that we can see.
Now it’s up to us to open our hearts to the truth and gain that
spiritual vision. What about you?
How well can you see?
God has told us the steps that we are to take in order
to receive His forgiveness, to have His grace and His mercy.
That we are to believe in Jesus as the Son of God (John 3:16).
That we are to have the willingness to confess that belief and to confess
our faith (Romans 10:9-10). That
we need to repent. That is the
process of turning from the darkness to the light, as we saw there in Acts 26:18.
Jesus said, in Luke 13:3, Except
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
God doesn’t want us to perish; He wants us to be saved.
Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).
We have to follow His instructions, and we must be baptized for the
remission (forgiveness) of sins. In Acts 23:38, Repent
and be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins.
When we do that, we have our sins washed away; we are baptized into
Christ, as we’re taught in Galatians 6:23 through 29.
And as a child of God, then, we have an inheritance that awaits us, and
that’s a home in heaven. But it
starts with good vision.
Won’t you obey the gospel this morning?
If you haven’t already, there’s no reason to leave here this morning
blinded; but to leave here saying, I can
see, knowing that if you remain faithful, you can one day see that home in
heaven that will be given to you. But
we need to make sure that we stay faithful.
We can choose poorly and turn away from God and follow after the ways of
sin, and if we allow sin back into our lives, then we need to correct that by
confessing our faults and praying to God and asking for His forgiveness (I John 1:7-9).
Again the question, how well can you see?
You have an opportunity now to respond to God’s invitation and have
spiritual vision so that you will not perish.
That opportunity is now, as we stand and sing.
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