Seeing The World Through God's Eyes Series

SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH GOD’S EYES

Job 34:20-22 (Key Verse – 21)

“For His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all his steps.”

Introduction: Seeing God’s Holiness, being aware of His presence, acknowledging our sinfulness and dependence on God, understanding Christ’s call to the church will all contribute to both revival and a fresh downpour of the Holy Spirit’s empowerment and blessing for our church. The last ingredient of revival that I believe is necessary is for us to see the world through God’s eyes. When God looks at the world…

I. His pure and holy eyes see a world of wickedness.

A. Psalm 53:2-3 “God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.”

B. Illustration: "My hardest job," said the warden of a great penitentiary "is to convince youthful delinquents that they have done something wrong." – copied

C. Man does not like to see himself as a sinner and believers all too often do not like to see their unsaved friends, neighbors, relatives or even themselves as sinners by nature and by choice.

D. Part of the problem is that we do not see sin for what it is.

E. We will never have revival or understand the mission of the church until we see what sin is. It is not just a moral failure or human weakness. Sin is the antithesis of everything that God is. Sin is repugnant to a holy God.

F. Illustration: A girl is punished by her mother and made to stay in a closet, where she spits on all her mother’s clothes until she runs out of spit. Still she waits for more spit to come up so she can continue. Sin is waiting for more spit; it’s not just an act, but an attitude. – copied

G. Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

H. 1 John 5:19 “…the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”

II. His penetrating eyes see a world lost and groping in darkness

A. Matthew 9:35-37 “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (14:13-15)

B. This is man’s true condition and abiding need—he is lost as a sheep is lost without his shepherd. He wanders about without purpose or direction.

C. Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

D. Just like sheep wandering don’t look lost, man wanders around not knowing he’s lost.

E. Ephesians 2:12 “...at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

F. Someone has said “The lostness of humanity would not be a problem if it were not for the fact that one day they will face God’s judgment.”

III. His compassionate eyes see a harvest needed to be reaped.

A. John 4:35 “Do you not say, ’There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”

B. Matthew 9:37-38 “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”

C. There are two harvests that we are to keep in mind when we look upon the field:

1. The Gospel Harvest: Psalm 126:6 “He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

2. The harvest of judgment: Matthew 13:30 “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn”

William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army once wrote the following concerning seeing the world through the eyes of God: “On one of my recent journeys, as I gazed from the coach window, I was led into a train of thought concerning the condition of the multitudes around me. They were living carelessly in the most open and shameless rebellion against God, without a thought for their eternal welfare. As I looked out of the window, I seemed to see them all . . . millions of people all around me given up to their drink and their pleasure, their dancing and their music, their business and their anxieties, their politics and their troubles. Ignorant - willfully ignorant in many cases - and in other instances knowing all about the truth and not caring at all. But all of them, the whole mass of them, sweeping on and up in their blasphemies and devilries to the Throne of God.