1

Where are you looking. @ 2Ki 6:17 Then he prayed, "LORD, please help him to see." And the LORD let the servant see that the hill was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha. This morning I want to ask the question, where are we looking. You see beloved, I do think that sometimes we lose sight of the truth, we lose sight of the cross and we lose sight of Jesus. But before you get too worried, this is not going to be a negative sermon! Sure we are going to look at some negative things but we are going to learn from them, learn so we can get the positive. I believe that at the end of any sermon there is one question that must be answered - Was Christ lifted up? Bro and sis, Christ is the only one worth lifting up! @ So this morning I want to look at where we are looking. We are going to look at some Bible characters and see what we can learn from them. I am in particular interested in one of the 5 senses: Vision. Vision both physically and spiritually. We have spoken before about spiritual eyes, so I guess you can say this is a follow up sermon. @ They say that the eyes are the window to the soul. Well, I know that some have more beautiful windows than others This week my windows are a little bloodshot from lack of sleep, and I know some Hollywood actresses with stunning windows. But if our windows are dirty, not only do we see out with a hazy, obscured vision, but people can also not see the beautiful furniture inside. Just like our physical eyes can be diseased, so our spiritual eyes can be blinded as well So lets dive right in and go to the beginning.
Gen 3:6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too.

Eve stared at the fruit. Now immediately the lesson in this is evident where did Satan attack us first? Our senses, and most importantly, our vision. It looked beautiful and tasty You see, Satan is not a fool. He knows where our weaknesses lie and he attacks. Now unless you were born blind, your sight is truly your most important senses. People can still function fairly normally if they couldnt smell, but being blind stops you in your tracks. Now here is an important point who made the fruit beautiful and tasty? Satan? Nope. God did. But Satan uses a Divine attribute to cause us to sin. Think about it can Satan use a God-given blessing to trip us up? @
Gen 13:10 This happened before the LORD had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot looked around, he saw there was plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. All the way to Zoar the valley was as green as the garden of the LORD or the land of Egypt. @ So Lot looks around and sees the water rich land of the Jordan Valley. He looked and his eyes went like dollar signs, like in the cartoons. He saw it and he wanted it. He looked and he saw his whole future flash before him. How did that work out for him? Not so good... His house and all his possessions got torched, he ended up in a cave with his

2
two daughters, who made him drunk and seduced him in order to father children... His grandchildren were the Moabites and Ammonites thorns in the flesh of Israel! Nope, not so good... Jos 7:21 While we were in Jericho, I saw a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred pieces of silver, and a gold bar that weighed the same as fifty pieces of gold. I wanted them for myself, so I took them. I dug a hole under my tent and hid the silver, the gold, and the robe." Joshua had some people run to Achan's tent, where they found the silver, the gold, and the robe. If Achan was blind, would he have had such a problem? I dunno, but truth be told, the Bible tells us clearly that he SAW the cool stuff and he wanted it. His eyes sent a message to the brain telling him that if he had this cool stuff, he would be cool, ladies would swoon over him, men would want to be him, and his life would be perfect. He saw the Babylonian Armani suit, he saw the flat screen TV, he saw the Porsche, and he saw himself in the Porsche! You see, Satan knew Achan was aching' for worldly riches, so he showed him and once Achan saw, he was hooked. @ Satan knows how powerful the sense of sight is. Was David not tempted by seeing Bathsheba bath in front of him? BTW, why is she bathing on top of the roof right under the palace wall? Im concerned about her honorable intentions Anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and she got David by his sense of sight. But lets look at our supreme example @ Mat 4:8 Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. Satan takes Jesus, in His most weakened state, and he shows him all the kingdoms. I think there was a bit of time travel involved here, and a very big 3d DVD show across the sky, but the point is, Satan tries to tempt Jesus with the first PowerPoint show in history. He shows Him, he appeals to His sense of sight.

So beloved, I think the point is well made that sight is a highly effective way for Satan to get to us. We are bombarded on a daily basis with junk. TV, Movies, Magazines, Billboards, Internet, cell phones, you name it, our senses are bombarded with unGodly information daily. Up and until now we have been talking about physical sight, but even more important than physical sight is our spiritual vision. I believe that the one affects the other - I find it hard to believe that a mind filled with junk can have space left over for the things of God. So how do we fight back? This morning, I want to look at 4 points Gods gives in his word that I believe will assists us in seeing the wood for the trees. Point no 1 Looking back arrests/slows down progress.
Gen 19:26 On the way, Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a block of salt. Did Lots wife make any progress after she looked back? Slide needed here

3
I have used this illustration here before, but none of you will remember Illus: Roger Bannister - 4min? mile In 1922, the record for the mile was 4min 10.4secsIt seemed physically impossible to run a mile in under minute. But slowly but surely the time was coming down. But the closest man could get was about 4min 2 secs. Until May 6 1964. A young doctor by the name of Roger Banister ran a mile in under a 4 minutes for the first time. 3min 59.4secs. The crowd went wild Banister was an international hero. But not for long. 46days later an Australian named John Landy not only broke the 4min barrier, but smashed it by 1.4secs! Ofcourse these two greats now had to race. The scene was set. It was the Empire games at Vancouver, British Columbia. A massive crowd had gathered to watch the greatest race of all time. There was hardly a breeze At the Starting gun a new Zealander called WILLIAM BAILIE took the lead, but soon Landy was in the lead. By the third lap he had opened up a 15yard lead over Banister. In Banisters own words, he thought he would never make up that lead again. Slowly but surely Banister fought back and at the last bend before the last straight, he was just behind the shoulder of John Landy. Because of the curve of the track and the roar of the crowd, landy was unaware of banisters progress. But something was bothering him. He lost focus on the goal ahead. At the most critical moment, and in banisters own words, by an incredible stroke of luck, landy turned his head to see who was behind him at the exact moment banister flung himself at landy. The resultant break in stride cost landy the race banister won by 5 yards. Both athletes broke the 4min barrier, but no-one remembers landy. Can we move forward if we are continually looking back? Yes I know about the good old days. but today is the good old days you'll tell your grandkids about! Think about that! How depressing is that! We cannot make progress if we are always dwelling on the past. We cant move forward if we cannot forgive that person. Lots wife became a condiment because she couldnt let go of the past! Looking back slows us down, and slowing down by definition means well come to a stop. Never look back.

Point no 2 Looking at difficulties depresses.

Mat 14:30 But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted.

In 1835 a man visited a doctor in Florence, Italy. He was filled with anxiety and exhausted from lack of sleep. He couldn't eat, and he avoided his friends. The doctor examined him and found that he was in prime physical condition. Concluding that his patient needed to have a good time, the physician told him about a circus in town and its star performer, a clown named Grimaldi. Night after night he had the people rolling in the aisles. "You must go and see him," the doctor advised. "Grimaldi is the world's funniest clown. He'll make you laugh and cure your sadness." "No," replied the despairing man, "he can't help me. you see, I am Grimaldi!"
Peter took his eyes off Jesus. Instead of looking up Peter looked down. Instead of seeing his salvation Peter saw his destruction. Peter dwelt on the difficulties of life. The storm around him became too much. The daily struggle with finances, marriage problems, career issues, these things became too much for Peter. Peter allowed the

4
cares of the world to depress him. Bro and sis, we all have issues in our lives - some more than others, but if we allow these things to overwhelm us, if we are looking down instead of up, Satan will win. Point no 3 Looking Christ-ward saves Num 21:9 Moses obeyed the LORD. And all of those who looked at the bronze snake lived, even though they had been bitten by the poisonous snakes. Now I must admit that this story of the snake on the pole has always bothered me a bit Lord, I thought you were against idol worship! You said dont make for yourself a graven image of anything on earth!

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted u: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."John 3:14. p
The serpent was to be lifted up, crucified, by whom? By the people who were bitten. And so looking upward at the crucified CHRIST, who was put up there by the sinners who needed Him most, looking upward saves. And how? By faith! By looking up and believing. Where were the serpents? Down below, at your feet. And where was the brass serpent? Up! By looking up you lose sight of the dangers around your feet. By looking up you cannot be on guard anymore for the snakes around your feet. By looking up, you have to surrender your earthly defences for a heavenly one. For me that is the real point about the brass serpent. We need to look up in order to see Jesus he does not wallow around our feet, He is majestic, glorious, heavenly. The point is that if we were to look up and see that the hills are covered in fiery horses and flaming chariots. Look up and see. Joh 3:14 And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. Point no 4 Looking heavenward glorifies Act 7:55 But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked toward heaven, where he saw our glorious God and Jesus standing at his right side.

There is an old legend of a swan and a crane. A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired: "Where do you come from?" "I come from heaven!" replied the swan. "And where is heaven?" asked the crane.

5 "Heaven!" said the swan, "Heaven! have you never heard of heaven?" And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane. Finally the crane asked: "Are there any snails there?" "Snails!" repeated the swan; "no! Of course there are not." "Then," said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, "you can have your heaven. I want snails!" This fable has a deep truth underlying it. How many a young person to whom God has granted the advantages of a Christian home, has turned his back upon it and searched for snails! How many a man will sacrifice his wife, his family, his all, for the snails of sin! How many a girl has deliberately turned from the love of parents and home to learn too late that heaven has been

Joy is the byproduct of obedience

Do I need to say more about this verse? There is Steven, having just delivered his swansong sermon - his last sermon words before the rocks started raining down on him. And does he look around him at who throwing the stones? Does he look down to see what size rocks are landing at his feet? Nope, he looks upward and his spiritual eyes sees Jesus. In our scripture reading this morning Elisha has a similar experience - he askes God to open his servants eyes so that he may see his salvation.

In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain's motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was "Ne Plus Ultra," which means "No More Beyond." The word being torn away by the lion is "ne" or "no," making it read "Plus Ultra." Columbus had proven that there was indeed "more beyond." Beloved, heaven is our goal why, to see Jesus! Not because its a wiser choice than hell Its to see Jesus! Its to ask Jesus why. Its to sit at the feet of the Master and listen to His lecture on molecular thermo dynamics. Its to see him hug the soldier that drove the nail into His wrists. Its to see the Creator bend down and scoop a butterfly off an orchid and explain to us how He made them. Its to see Jesus hold out His hands to me so I can see the scars that bought me. Beloved, the prize is eternal life with Jesus. Sure, there will be

6 cool things like golden streets that never needs sweeping (or polishing) and timetravel and flying and teleportation and stuff, but the prize is Jesus. The prize is meeting Jesus. Lets not ever take our eyes off the prize.
Beloved, Jesus us standing at each and every one of our hearts doors he knocks, like a gentleman, never pushy, and he is knocking at your door today. Let him in. If you are unsure how to, grab someone by the collar when I say amen and ask them to help you. Do not leave here today without making a new commitment to meet Jesus. Beloved, time is not on our side, the events of the last days are happening with alarming frequency. Jesus us desperately knocking on your door, for He wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. Stay behind and pray of you need to, but do not ignore the knocking of the Holy Spirit on your heart today. @ 2Ki 6:17 Then he prayed, "LORD, please help him to see." And the LORD let the servant see that the hill was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha.

Amen.