Seeing Clearly: The Power of Perspective

Reading of the Word

Matthew 6:22–23 NASB 2020

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Prayer of Illumination

Heavenly Father, As we open Your Word, we ask for Your light to shine upon it. Illuminate our hearts and minds so that we may clearly see Your truth. Remove any distractions or darkness that may hinder us from understanding and applying Your message to our lives. Holy Spirit, guide us as we seek to align our thoughts and actions with Your will. May Your Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, leading us closer to You. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, we pray. Amen.

Introduction

During the Great Depression, a man walked into a shop and saw a shiny new toy. He asked the owner how much it cost, and the owner responded, ‘Too much for me to afford.’ The man replied, ‘Well, with my perspective, it’s just an expensive piece of plastic! I’d rather invest in something that brings light into my family’s life.’ Our text today shows us how our perspective shapes our value of things. Are we seeing things clearly through the perspective of Jesus or are impediments distorting our vision, causing darkness to blur and overwhelm us?

Today’s text comes from just a few verses within Jesus’ larger Sermon on the Mount, where He specifically addresses the issue of wealth and the choice we must make about which master we will serve. Our perspective plays a critical role in shaping this decision.

So, today, we will explore three different perspectives:

1) The perspective of clear vision, where the eye serves as the instrument that illuminates our path,

2) The perspective of bad vision, where impediments that darken and blur our vision, leading to poor judgment,

3) The perspective of blindness, where darkness distorts our perception, trapping us in deception and overwhelming darkness.

My prayer is that we choose the right path, humbly trust God to lead us, and allow Christ’s light to guide us, so that we may keep our eyes fixed on the ultimate prize found in Him.

Illuminating Insight: Seeing Clearly With God’s Light

Matthew 6:22

Ancient people did not think of light entering the eye from the outside, but rather of light coming out of one’s eye like a lamp.

There are several ways we can approach and interpret this verse.

a. The eye is the window to the soul. (modern perspective),

b. The eyes bring illumination to what is being viewed, and, in the light, the child of God will see everything for what it is, good for good and evil for evil. An eye that is clear and full of light can then discern well and our soul will be lead in the ways of righteousness so that we do not stumble and lose our way.

What does a lamp provide? A beautiful light that dispels the darkness, filling the space with clarity and warmth, allowing us to have an unobstructed view of Jesus.

Psalm 119:105 NASB 2020

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

As we refocus on God, what are some things we can do to refocus on him and walk the path illuminated for us?

We can read His Word.

Think about a pair of binoculars: when they're not adjusted right, the view is blurry and distorted. But with a slight turn of the knobs, the clarity is restored. Our spiritual journey is much like this adjustment. Bad spiritual eyesight makes our challenges look bigger than they are. Yet, when we align our focus on God’s promises in the Scriptures, everything comes into stunning clarity. We find strength, hope, and direction in Him.

This verse tells us that God’s Word is the lamp and instrument that gives us light, providing us with clear sight and an unobstructed view of Jesus.

This verse shows us that if we do not allow our lives to be shaped by God’s Word, we risk straying onto a path of destruction.

It’s impossible to refocus on God unless we are soaking our lives in the Bible. It is absolutely impossible to be a sanctified, sold-out Christian without our lives being soaked in the Scriptures.

John 17:17 NASB 2020

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

We come to know God through His Word. If you’re not reading the Bible daily, today is the day to start. Come see me—I’ll help you get started and stay on track, even if it means reading together over video chat. I care about you and know that God has the best for you, but we can only discover His plans when we seek Him in His Word.

Let me take this a step further. We find in God’s Word that we need to be at church.

"I left church, not God. I don't need church, I study the Bible for myself." This is proof that you don't actually study the Bible.

We find wholeness in our faith when we gather as a family united in Christ. In community, we experience His love, share in His grace, and grow stronger together, reflecting God’s design for His Church and finding the support we need to walk faithfully with Him. Together, we are reminded we are never alone, bound by His love and Spirit.

b. We Can Spend Time in Prayer.

Prayers of praise and thanksgiving.

Prayer seeking a new anointing each day.

Prayers seeking God’s guidance and direction.

Prayers bringing our needs and the needs of others to His throne.

Prayers that ask God to strengthen our testimony and vision in reaching others.

Prayers to have those opportunities today to reach one for Christ.

This year is about the one. One Gospel. One Savior. One Soul.

c. We live out our faith in daily life.

By blessings others.

We are blessed to be a blessing.

We live to glorify God!

As we refocus on God this year, may every action and decision be anchored in Him and His will, because our purpose is to glorify God! Anything that doesn’t align with this could be deceiving us and pulling us toward worldly distractions. We’ll dive deeper into this in just a few moments.

d. What an example Jesus uses here of the eye. It is a metaphor, but it gives us perfect understanding that Jesus has opened the gate to the path, provided the light to walk the path, and gives us the vision to solely focus on him. in Christ, our vision is 20/20!

Dr. last year telling me my vision was better than the year before.

I knew my vision wasn’t perfect, which is why I needed glasses to help me see clearly. Similarly, when we measure ourselves against God’s standard, we realize how far we fall short and that we need spiritual glasses to see clearly. God provides the light to see and the focus we need to discern what is good and to walk the path of goodness throughout our lives—leading us to the end, where Jesus is waiting for us.

Identifying Impediments: Bad Vision

Matthew 6:23a

As we discussed, many of us don’t have perfect vision and face obstacles that hinder our ability to see clearly.  If the eyes are diseased (bad, evil), they may even be cross-eyed or cock-eyed. We see double and confuse our vision. The eye may be clouded over, hindering us in seeing God’s full beauty and grace at work around us. We keep one eye on the hoarded treasures of earth and roll the other proudly up to heaven.

Many of us have experienced the frustration of wearing glasses that are too dirty or scratched. When we look through them, the world appears blurry and distorted. This is akin to the spiritual impediments that cloud our vision in life. Just like we need to regularly clean our glasses to see clearly, we must also examine our hearts and remove the sins and distractions that hinder our spiritual sight.

Not just the eye experiences darkness, but the whole body (soul) does.

a. Darkness is the absence of light, where vision is lost and confusion reigns.

b. In the spiritual sense, darkness represents sin and separation from God, while light symbolizes truth, righteousness, and God’s presence. The two cannot coexist; where one is, the other cannot be.

We know the lamp is right there, but how often do we ignore it? We convince ourselves we can navigate the room on our own and leave the lamp turned off.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. How many times have we chosen to stay in the darkness, avoiding God’s light because it challenges us or exposes what we’d rather keep hidden?

But God’s light isn’t there to shame us—it’s there to guide us, to illuminate our lives, and to show us the right path. Will you turn on the lamp and let His light lead you?

c. We must be able to identify spiritual impediments for what it is: living in separation from God.

In light of this, I think we need to ask ourselves: What distractions are keeping me from seeing clearly and staying on God’s path? Commit to removing those distractions and refocusing on Him, allowing His light to lead you safely through the storm.

Intense Darkness: Deceptive Light

Matthew 6:23b

Darkness blinds us from seeing what is truly good. What we think that might be good for us could be furthering the blindness and leading our soul further away from God.

Sermon Illustration: The Danger of Spiritual Darkness

Imagine walking into a pitch-black room. No matter how hard you try to see, the darkness blinds you, and every step is dangerous. Now imagine choosing to stay in that darkness, ignoring the light switch right within reach.

Jesus warns us that an unhealthy eye—one focused on sin or worldly distractions—fills our entire being with spiritual darkness. This darkness is darker than any darkness we can experience on earth, it blinds us to God’s truth, distorts our judgment, and leads us away from His path.

How great is that darkness when we turn away from God’s light! Don’t let a bad focus pull you deeper into spiritual blindness. Refocus on Him, and His light will dispel the shadows.

Remember, Satan doesn’t appear as the world often imagines him. Instead, he comes as an angel of light, the most beautiful of angels, subtly leading us astray. As the best deceiver in the universe, he uses worldly distractions to shift our focus away from Jesus.

We need the light of God’s presence, through the Holy Spirit, to expose sin for what it truly is. Only then can we fix our eyes on Jesus, empowering us to have vision that is clear so that we can overcome temptation and stay on the path He has set before us.

To Sum It Up: True spiritual clarity comes from centering our focus on Christ, allowing His light to transform our lives and guide our steps according to His will.

Conclusion

I love the old hymns, especially for their powerful words that minister to my heart. One of my favorites, "Be Thou My Vision," was written by Dallán Forgaill, an Irish poet from 530 AD, and later set to music by Audrey Assad. As I read these words, let them be our prayer as we refocus on Jesus in 2025.

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art Thou my best thought, by day or by night Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise Thou mine inheritance, now and always Thou and Thou only first in my heart High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art

High King of heaven, my victory won May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun Heart of my own heart, whatever befall Still be my vision, O ruler of all

This hymn reminds me—and may it remind you as well—that true clarity comes only when God is our focus.

I challenge you this year to turn on the lamp, let His light guide us, and lead us through every challenge and temptation, so that we can live fully for His glory.

Prayer Following Message

Heavenly Father, Thank You for speaking to us through Your Word today. We are grateful for the clarity and guidance You’ve provided. Help us to take what we’ve heard and apply it to our lives, walking faithfully in the path You’ve set before us. Strengthen our hearts and minds as we seek to honor You in every decision and action. May Your light continue to guide us, and may we reflect Your love and truth to those around us. We trust You to lead us, and we offer ourselves to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Benediction

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May His light shine upon you, guiding your every step, and may His peace fill your heart. As you go forth, may you walk in His truth, reflecting His love to all you encounter. Trust in His direction, and may His Spirit empower you to live for His glory. Go in peace, to