Don't Believe Your Eyes (08/01/2004)

And he's been that way since he was about 21, 22, 23, whenever I met you.

Because I determine who the greatest preachers are. No, I tell you, in our early adult years,

Charlotte and I were privileged to hear many, many great preachers all over this nation, just because of the circumstances in our lives.

But we heard Lester Roloff, came down to Mahea and put a tent up, had about 900 people in town with only 6 ,000 people there.

And helicopters came in from Dallas and wanted to film it, and all these kind of things.

We heard Bob Gray, you may not have heard some of these people, this was quite a while back.

But Jack Hiles, just some of the greatest preachers.

And then my mentor, Rocky Freeman, who was just an incredible Jewish believer who preached the word.

And through the years, even as a very young man in his early 20s, Brother Myron had the power of God on his life and was anointed for preaching.

And the first time I heard him preach, I wanted to meet him. I went up and shook his hand and introduced myself and told him

I had a young lady that I wanted him to meet soon, the next fall. She was going to be coming to the same school he was.

He said, yeah, I'll meet her. And three years later, they were married. And she's from Mahea.

And so I guess you could say Tony brought us together. But you will not hear a preacher in this nation that can preach a more anointed, blessed message of God than you'll hear this morning.

Brother Myron, would you come? Good morning.

Everybody doing all right? Amen. Well, Brother David, I appreciate all those kind things you say about me.

You know, David and I have a mutual admiration society going on. We're the only two members.

So we always say good stuff about each other. But I appreciate that. And David truly is as close to me as my six brothers in Pennsylvania.

And I love David and Charlotte and their family. And their kids are like my nieces and nephews.

I just, I don't know. I just love David and Charlotte. And they're such a blessing. And it's good to see y 'all. Amen. It's good to see everybody.

I was here for Sunday school this morning. Had the opportunity to try to answer some of Brother Otis's questions.

I don't know. It seemed like he called my name more often than usual. I think David put him up to that. But praise the

Lord. It's good to be here. Turn with me, if you will, in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians chapter 4. And we'll begin reading in verse number 17.

And then we'll read down through chapter 5 and verse number 7. 2

Corinthians chapter 4, beginning with verse 17. And I'll wait till everybody gets there.

And then I'll read. And you can follow along with me silently as I read out loud. It says, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.

For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our new house, which is from heaven.

But if so be that we be clothed, we shall not be found naked for we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Now he that hath wrought us for this self same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of his spirit.

Therefore, we are always confident knowing this that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the

Lord for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Father, thank you so much for your word. We pray indeed that you would open up our dull understanding that we might be able to perceive what your spirit has to say to us today.

Manifest your presence among us that we might be aware of the fact that you are here. And we will praise you for your greatness, for who you are, not just what you can do.

Speak, Lord, as your servants are ready to hear in Jesus name, amen. You know, the

Bible is a very paradoxical book. That is that it seems to be contradictory, unbelievable, and absurd, but it is nonetheless true.

And the Christian life is a very paradoxical life. As a matter of fact, in this paradoxical

Christian life that we live, we must learn to expect expect the exact opposite of what our eyes can see.

We've got to learn to trust what our faith eyes see more than we trust what our physical eyes see.

So I want to talk to you this morning for a few minutes on this subject. I can't believe my eyes.

Because my eyes try to get me to believe them. Your eyes try to get you to believe in what we see.

But the things that we see are not really the real things of life. But it's the things we can't see.

We cannot. I can't believe my eyes when it comes to principles. You know, I guess the first thing that makes me realize this is when

I think about salvation. I can't believe my eyes because salvation doesn't come from running.

Salvation comes from resting. It doesn't even seem to make sense. It's another one of those paradoxical biblical principles.

Salvation comes from resting and not running. You remember hearing the story about the rich young ruler?

And if we could go back in time and we could ask him after he's walking away from Jesus, after he had run to Jesus with all his might, threw himself on his face at Jesus' feet and said, good master, what must

I do? What good thing shall I do that I might inherit eternal life?

And Jesus answered him and he didn't like the answer he got. And the Bible says he went away sorry.

The only person who ever came into the presence of Jesus and left worse off than when he came was this rich young ruler.

And this was a young man that was no doubt admired by the young men and desired by the young ladies, but he couldn't get it together because he believed his eyes.

If I went to him and said, Mr. Rich young ruler, why do you look so sad with all that money in your pocket?

Why do you look so sad when it seems like from the outside you've got everything going on? Everything is in your favor.

How is it that you can look so sorrowful today? And if he could, if he could realize the reason he would have to tell us that the reason he's so sorrowful is because he believed his eyes.

See, the rich young ruler wanted to trust in some good thing he could do, but there was no good thing he could do that he could trust in to be saved.

And if any of us are going to ever be saved by the grace of God, it is when we stop believing our eyes because it seems like, well, if I want to, if I want to be accepted of God, I've got to do some great thing.

But what we must really do is we must stop running and start resting and just receive

Jesus Christ. But you know, I can't believe my eyes when it comes to salvation.

I can't believe my eyes when it comes to giving. See, the world has a philosophy.

My eyes tell me what I ought to do is I ought to get all I can, can all

I get and then sit on my cane. But that's not what the

Bible teaches. The Bible teaches clearly that the way to get is to give.

Now, that doesn't make sense. I cannot fit that into my mind when my eyes tell me the way to get is to get.

But the word tells me the way to get is to give. The word tells me give and it shall be given unto you.

Press down, shaking together, good measure, running over, show men given to your bosom.

It does not. That is that is so against what I see with my eyes.

But you know what? I'm beginning to learn that I can't believe my eyes. If I went all the way back in time and I could talk to the widow woman.

During the time of the famine, I'd say, how is it that when folk are out here starving to death, how is it that you and your son are still alive?

She said, well, the reason I'm still alive, young man, is because I didn't believe my eyes. It looked like I was going to die.

And for a while, I was starting to believe it. And I was getting ready to take the last little bit of meal

I had and the last little bit of oil I had. I was going to make a cake. I was going to make two cakes, one for my son and one for me.

We were going to eat them and just go lay down and die. But while we were believing our eyes, the man of God came and the man of God said, fix me something to eat.

She said, you don't understand. I've just got enough for me and my son. He said, well, if that's the case, make me a cake before you make one for you and before you make one for your son.

Now, just looking at that seems to be a little bit selfish of the preacher to ask, but that's what he said. And when he told her that, this woman didn't get all bent out of shape.

Well, who do you think you are? She didn't say, well, how dare you ask me to do this for you and take from my son and give?

She didn't say any of that. She said, OK, well, I don't believe my eyes. And she made the man of God a cake. And the

Bible says that God sustained her through the entire famine because she did not believe.

And I got good news for you. God's got sustenance for you. If you don't believe

God, God's got something, God's got a special plan. It's already been done.

It's already a done deal. God's already got it figured out. You know, when we're wringing our hands and when we're chewing our fingernails and when we're pacing the floor,

God's got it figured out. And he says, now, why do they still believe what they see when I've already shown them that they need to believe in me who they can't see?

I can't believe my eyes. When it comes to salvation, I can't believe my eyes when it comes to giving.

I can't believe my eyes when it comes to success. You know, there are many people who talk about success today and they they say, well, the success is the the the progressive realization of a worthwhile goal.

That sounds good, doesn't it? Doesn't that sound sophisticated? Success is the worthy, progressive realization of worthy ideals.

That sounds good. Didn't I sound educated when I said that? But Jesus gave us a formula for success.

Jesus gave us a formula for great greatness. And Jesus said the way to success is through servitude.

And I can't believe my eyes when I see it. So what I have to do in my mind, sometimes

I have to go back in time and I have to visit with Miss Ruth and I have to visit with Miss Naomi and I have to say,

Miss Ruth, how is it that you're doing so good married to Mr. Boaz? How is it that you came to be as a as a

Boabite? How is it that you came to be married to this stately Israeli man? How is it that God has taken care of you through all these years?

She said, well, for the first part of my life, I believe my eyes. But then I met this woman named

Naomi and there was something different about her. And I married one of her sons and and her son died.

And my brother -in -law died and my father -in -law died. And I made up my mind there was something so different about this woman that I'm going to follow her and I'm going to be her servant for the rest of my life.

And I began to follow her. And she told me, she said, no, you might want to go back. You might not want to go with me.

I'm old. I don't even have an inheritance in Israel anymore. And Ruth said, no, you know what,

Naomi, I'm not going to believe my eyes. I'm going to go where you go. Your God's going to be my God.

Your people are going to be my people. And I'm not going to believe my eyes. And she went over there and she served

Naomi. And then she served. She was cleaning the fields of Boaz and God made him notice her.

All because she didn't believe her eyes. Let me ask you a question.

This morning, what principle are you missing?

Because you believe in your eyes. What principle are you walking past and not receiving the blessing?

Because your eyes are saying one thing and the word says something else. And because our eyes are so convincing.

We're believing it. And we're heading off in that direction that our eyes are telling us to go. Let me encourage you.

Let me challenge you. Don't believe your eyes this morning. Don't believe your eyes when it comes to principles.

But let me say this. Don't believe your eyes when it comes to problems either. Do you understand when it comes to problems, our burdens are our blessings?

See, and most people go through life cursing their burdens. And the burden is the blessing that God gave you to make you what he wants you to be.

I can't believe my eyes when it comes to my problems because my burdens are my blessings.

Now, I'm telling you what I know for a fact. I'm not telling you what somebody told me. I'm not telling you just what my grandmama told me, my mama told my daddy.

I'm telling you what I have found to be true as I've lived in this life for some 43 little bit of years.

I have found that the worst things that ever happened to me are the best things that ever happened to me.

I have found that the worst things that ever happened to us in our lives are the best things that ever happened to us in our lives.

You know, I think about the fact that I had polio as an infant. You know, I got this brace on my leg and I walked with the braces

I didn't want. I've never run around the block. People talk about running around the block. I've never run around the block. Not one time in my whole life.

I've got six brothers and we're very competitive. I should say they're very competitive.

I don't have to be competitive because I'm the best. But I've got six brothers and I've watched my brothers do things my whole life that I've never been able to do.

I mean, just simple stuff. But you know what? This brace on my leg, that polio that I had caused me to walk a little bit different, which

I don't usually notice, but other people notice it. You know, I really don't notice it, but other folks say, well, what? Man, it's a big deal, but you know what?

This thing that causes me to have a brace on my leg is one of the best things that ever.

And I can tell you about challenges I had in our family growing up. And those are some of the best things that ever happened to me in my life.

And you've got some challenges this morning and I've got good news for you. Let me ask you a question.

How many of y 'all ever heard of Helen Keller? How many of y 'all know she had a few problems? I mean, being blind is one thing, being deaf is another.

But when you're blind and deaf, that creates a unique set of circumstances. But Helen Keller, even though she was blind and deaf, she learned and Shirley taught her how to read and how to communicate with sign language.

And taught this woman, and she grew up to be just an incredible individual.

A quote of Helen Keller, which is one of my favorite quotes. Helen Keller said, security does not exist in all of nature, neither do the sons of men as a whole experience it.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. I guess you have to be blind to be able to see that way.

But let me ask you a question this morning. Who would Helen Keller be if she had not been blind and deaf?

She would have been just another girl. Don't go through life being weighed down by your burdens.

Don't go through life fighting against your challenges. Don't go through life mad at God because you've got difficulties.

I've got good news for you that your burdens are your blessing. Think about Nehemiah.

Nehemiah, how is it that you built the wall around Jerusalem in 52 days?

How is it that this seemingly impossible path took you almost no time and y 'all are done and cleaning up the mess already?

How is it that you've got this overwhelmingly difficult path in 52 days?

Well, Nehemiah would have to say, well, I just didn't believe my eyes.

And you'll notice over and over and over and over and over again in the book of Nehemiah that when every time

Nehemiah ran into a challenge, he said, so I prayed to the God of heaven. Because he knew

God could see something that he couldn't see. And he worked on that wall from God's perspective instead of his own perspective.

See, I can't believe my eyes when it comes to my problems because my burdens are my blessings, but also because my challenges are my chances.

People say, I don't want any challenges. I just want some chances. You don't understand. Your challenges are your chances. I read in a book one time, it said, those who don't take chances don't make advances.

But most of us spend all our lives doing things that we've always done so we can feel like we've always felt and not lose those things we've always had.

My challenges are my chances. If I went back in time and I saw this guy,

I said, hey, Joseph, how do you feel being down here in the prison?

Hey, Joseph, go even farther a few years, farther a few years. And I say, Joseph, how did you get up here in the palace?

He said, aren't you that same guy that used to be back there in your father's house and you were your father's favorite son?

I mean, out of all your, you and your 11 brothers, you're the only one that had a coat of many colors.

How did you get from there to here? He said, well, I had some challenges to overcome.

And the first challenge I had to overcome was I couldn't believe my eyes. He said, because God gave me a dream of what my life would be.

And God showed me that I was going to be prominent one day. God gave me a vision for my future.

God gave me a sense of destiny. And when God gave me that sense of destiny, I never stopped believing in it.

But my brothers didn't like me when I told them my dream. And so what they did, they got mad at me and they didn't like me because I had a coat and they didn't have a coat.

And they didn't like me because I was my father's favorite son. So what they did, they threw me in the pit and they thought about killing me.

But you know, I wasn't worried about him killing me when I was down in that pit because I didn't believe my eyes anyway. That's how

I got up here. Well, then what happened, Mr. Joseph? Well, I'll tell you what happened. After that, they came back, took me out of the pit and my own brother sold me into slavery.

Weren't you mad at him, Joseph? Well, I wouldn't have been mad except for one thing. I didn't believe my eyes.

If I'd have believed my eyes, I'd have been angry. But I didn't believe my eyes. So I know why my brothers intended it for evil.

God intended it for good. He said, then

I was in Potiphar's house and his wife lied on me. And I had to go to jail and I was a convict.

You mean you went from being a convict to the prime minister? How do you go from being a convict to the prime minister?

All you have to do is not believe your eyes. If I ask

David, now, David, how is it when you were a teenager, you could fight a big old giant nine feet tall with a 16 pound spearhead?

Do you know if you get hit in the chest with a 16 pound spearhead, it will make your whole body explode?

Can you? A bowling ball, y 'all, a heavy bowling ball. That's how much

Goliath's spearhead weighed. Now, that don't even include the shaft. David wasn't scared.

Who are you uncircumcised, you know? He said, I learned how not to believe my eyes back in the wilderness when that lion came trying to steal one of my daddy's sheep.

I said, you might be a lion, but you don't get my daddy's sheep. I don't believe my eyes. And I grabbed him by the beard.

And the Bible says he rent him and slew him. When you believe your eyes, you don't grab lions by the beard.

Let me tell you, that don't happen. And David conquered

Goliath and the song was sung. Saul has slain his thousands, but David has tens of thousands because Saul believed his eyes and David did not.

I can't believe my eyes. I can't afford to believe my eyes when it comes to my problems because my destiny is on the other side of my difficulty.

And we want the destiny without the difficulty. We can't have it. And I guess the person we'd have to go back in time and talk to would be

Mr. Noah. Because we, you know, it's amazing how we read the

Bible. We don't even think about what we're reading. But do you realize that God told

Noah to build an ark? Big old boat out in the woods.

When Noah was 480 years old and had never seen a raindrop, Noah pulled out the wood and built a boat.

And the words, how am I going to get the boat to the water? He said, oh, don't worry about that. What are you going to do,

Lord? He said, I'm going to make it rain. He said, okay, what's rain, Lord? Well, rain is when water falls out of the sky.

Water falls out of the sky. Can you imagine living 480 years, never seen a raindrop and believing that water is going to fall out of the sky enough to work on a project faithfully while people are mocking you and making fun of you for 120 years?

How could he do it? Not only how could he do it, how could he get his sons to do it and to commit their lives to building a boat in the woods?

When people are saying, do you see that crazy fool? He got his kids out there working on that boat. They probably called it a building.

They probably didn't even call it a boat. Because he says it's going to rain. But Noah realized because he didn't believe his eyes that his destiny was on the other side of his difficulty.

The last thing I want to say is this. I can't believe my eyes when it comes to prayer. Because the less

I feel like praying, the more I need to pray. The less

I feel like praying, the more I need to pray. See, the reason we don't pray is because we think we got it covered.

And the reason we think we got it covered is because we believe our eyes. But we don't have it covered.

Only God has it covered. And we need to pray because we need

God. And we need to realize every day how much we need him. Sometimes we get the feeling pretty self -sufficient, don't we?

Won't y 'all sit there and try to act like it's just me? It ain't just me. You ain't fooling me.

That's not what I mean. Self -sufficient? What does that mean? Oh, no, you might fool somebody with that. But it ain't me. The Bible says the wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God.

I can't believe my eyes when it comes to prayer.

Because the less I feel like praying, the more I need to pray.

I can't believe my eyes when it comes to prayer. Because prayer is the partner of faith and worry is the partner of fear.

You know what? Whenever I get to the place where I'm paralyzed by fear, whenever I get to the place

I'm immobilized, I'm hypnotized by that thing that just captures all of my attention because it threatens to take my life.

It makes me realize I can't believe my eyes. Do you realize that when Peter didn't believe his eyes, he walked on the water?

He walked on top of the circumstances that threatened to destroy his life when he did not believe his eyes.

But you know what it says right after that? When he saw the wind.

Now, how you going? I've seen a lot of things, but I've never seen the wind. It didn't say when he saw the water.

When he saw the wind, he began to sink. And he prayed,

Lord, save me. And the last thing I want to say is this. I can't believe my eyes when it comes to prayer because I need to pray more to get into the presence of God than I need to pray to get presence from God.

See, most of us think that the purpose of prayer is to get our will done in heaven. But the purpose of prayer is to get

God's will done on earth. People say, oh, prayer changes things and it changes

God. Well, prayer don't change God. Prayer changes us. Prayer does not line

God up with what I want. Prayer lines me up with what God wants. And I need to pray more to get into the presence of God instead of praying to get presence from God.

Because we think when we pray, we think the joy comes from God giving us what we want.

But the joy doesn't come from God giving us what we want. The joy comes from being in the presence of God.

Psalm 1611 says, Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy.

At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. So what's the matter with you,

Christian? Why do you look so happy? Don't you know there's terrorism in the world?

I can't believe my eyes. Didn't you see the news about how bad the economy is?

I can't believe my eyes. Don't you know what's going on in the world? Why are you walking around with that smile on your face?

I can't believe. If I could encourage you, when the

Bible says we walk by faith, not by sight, that must mean that faith sees something different, diametrical to what sight sees.

Let's learn to respond to what faith sees and not to what sight sees.

Our Father, we do thank you for this time together. We thank you for your word and the power and the truth of it.

I pray, Lord, that you would continuously minister your word to our hearts as we go our separate ways, or as we go and have lunch and come back in a little while.

Help us, Lord, not to believe our eyes. In Jesus' name.