Where Are Your Blind Spots — Mack Tomlinson

I haven't seen him since the 80s when he was a college kid, single, and then a medic, an army medic in Afghanistan, doing very amazing and dangerous things. And my take on him now is that he's like a young Hudson Taylor.

And the work, any of you have been over there, can I see your hand? I thought someone had in the past from here, yeah, but they're now. We all are connected with an umbilical cord. Their greatest need really is couples or people that would go permanently, who are mature, selfless, and serving to be there permanently.

Christ's Message to the Lukewarm Church

The need is more than can ever be touched, and the Lebanese are open to the gospel, and so I hope that the Lord will continue to use churches here to equip that work. Revelation chapter 3, the end of the chapter is our text.

We'll read verses 14 through the end. Revelation 3. The Apostle John, and unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans, write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

I know thy works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth, because you say, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and you know not that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

I counsel you to buy from me gold tried in the fire, that you might be rich, and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness does not appear. Anoint your eyes with eyesalve, that you might see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. So be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, or commune with him, and he with me.

To the one who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches.".

Let's pause for prayer again, and let's ask the Spirit to speak to us in this hour and in these moments. Our Lord, we acknowledge again that no one can hear truly or profit savingly and eternally when we come to this time in Your Word, unless You speak above and beyond the words of a man.

So Lord, we look to You in this moment. Speak, O Lord. Give Your Holy Spirit upon us all, that we might hear the voice of our Great Shepherd, and respond and be changed. We pray through Him. Amen. I don't remember if I ever shared my experience I had one time.

If I did, please forgive me. But recent years, I was driving one night, and I realized I couldn't read the road signs. I said, man, they changed these signs up. They're not as good. Did they make them a letter smaller?

And then, soon after that, I was reading my Bible, and I said, this font is smaller than it used to be. What's going on here? So I went to the bookstore, and they make these a super large print. It wasn't so big that there was one verse on each page, but it was big enough that with good light, I could read it.

And I said, well, this means the problem was not with the road signs or with my Bible, the problem was with me. I realized I had a problem with my sight that I could not change, but that needed to be changed and corrected.

So I went to a friend in West Texas who has done 85 ,000 eye surgeries. I thought, he's had some practice. I can trust him. And he did cataract surgery on both eyes. Suddenly, colors were beautiful. I could read the road signs.

It was like I told him, I'm on a visual honeymoon. Everything was clear. I keep wearing glasses because I have astigmatism that surgery won't correct, but the problem was my blonde spots were gone and had to be fixed.

Recognizing Personal Blind Spots

Now, not all people have cataracts or some kind of vision problem physically, but dear ones, everyone in this room today will have blind spots about ourselves we don't see. And if people ever mention them, we might get defensive.

No, I don't agree with you. I don't think that's right. I don't have that problem. Thus proof that we have blind spots that we don't see. Needs, issues, weaknesses that we're unaware of, except in times when the Spirit of God hones in on us and convicts us of an area.

And in that moment, we either humble ourselves and get honest with the Lord or we excuse it, rationalize, justify, and we move on. And we've, in that moment, quenched the Holy Spirit. We all have blind spots that we don't see.

A friend of mine said to me recently, what if you don't have any? I looked at him and smiled. My question for you this morning is, do you have any? My goal this morning is that you'll go away and be more humble before God and your wife and your husband and even your children and your pastors and your church leaders and one another and say, Lord, I know I have blind spots.

What I see not, show me and deal with them that I might grow in grace with all the more freedom, more than ever. Do you have any? Does your wife or husband think you do? Do your children think you do?

The Seven Churches and Their Exposed Sins

Do your pastors think you do? The context of our text is the seven churches of Asia Minor. Five of them had real need of change. Two were not rebuked or corrected. So let's refresh our memories on these seven churches.

Ephesus, what was their problem? They had left their first love. They had departed from the loving relationship and the Lord Jesus says to them, I have this against you. You have this problem. And He exposes it.

Pergamum, the Lord said, you hold fast to my name and you've not denied the faith. But I have this against you. Let me just pause. Can my heart say this morning to the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord, what do you have against me right now?

Can you be honest with Christ and say, I'm not talking about wrath and judgment. I'm talking about the Lord saying to your soul, I am displeased with this area and I want you to see it and change it. You hold fast to my name and you've not denied the faith, but I have this against you.

You have in your midst those who hold the doctrine of Balaam and of the Nicolaitans. I have this against you. You have a problem that you need to see and change. Thyatira, I know your works. In fact, Jesus said that to every church.

I know your works. I know exactly fully your life, your conduct, your motives, your attitudes. I see x-ray vision right to our soul. I know your works. Thyatira, I know your love and faith and service and endurance, but you tolerate that woman Jezebel and her immorality and her idolatry and her influencing those in your midst.

To Sardis, he said, you have a reputation that you're alive, but it's a farce, it's a sham, and it's fake because you are not what you appear to others to be. Laodicea, our text, I know your works. I wish you were all out zealous and hot or cold, completely not playing the game, but you're not.

You're lukewarm. Who loves to drink lukewarm coffee or lukewarm tea? No, nobody does. I'll often interrupt myself in reading and I'll get up and I'll go zap a hot tea or coffee because I don't like to finish it lukewarm.

Nobody likes something that's lukewarm, especially the Lord our God. So Laodicea, you're lukewarm and you say, you have this perspective about yourself. I'm so blessed. I'm so favored. I'm so wonderfully rich.

I'm prospering and things are good. I don't really see any need. When in fact, Christ said to them, you don't even know that you're poor, miserable, blind, and naked. And two of the churches, Philadelphia and Smyrna, were not rebuked, no corrections needed.

But five of the seven, which at their beginning, when they started out as churches, they would have been solid, alive, prayerful, and walking in the light and walking in truth. Now these five churches, a slow, subtle shift had happened and process had set in and they had gone wrong.

Off track, drifting, deceived and desensitized, and their vision of seeing things clearly was clouded. And in all their issues of the five churches, the Lord Jesus is saying, you've got a need that you don't see and it's not going away.

And here's the need. Laodicea could not see their true condition and they had more blind spots than any of the other four needy churches. Christ says, you're lukewarm, you're in a bad condition, you're poor right now spiritually and you have these blind spots.

But you say, I'm good. God's blessing me. I'm fine. No need. Thanks very much. They saw themselves one way and God saw them just the opposite. What an amazing complete contrast. This was Christ paralyzed by His church x-rayed.

Every church He said, I see your works. Here's what's true of you and here's what you're blind to. Now face it and let's correct it. Christ sees through His church and every believer perfectly, intimately, thoroughly, right down to the marrow of our bones, right down to the thoughts and intents of our heart.

Every motive, every hidden thought, every desire, He sees perfectly every moment. That's why we read Psalm 139. The omnipresence and the omniscience of God knowing us perfectly. All things are naked and open before the God who is our Father and knows us, the God with whom we have to do every atom and molecule of our being.

He sees every moment perfectly. And the issue in all cases with these churches were not the specifics. Those were the outward fruit. Those were symptoms but the root cause in all five of these churches, they had become blind in areas they did not see themselves or their need.

Self-Deception and the Danger of Defensiveness

Blind spots. We all have some. Would you be so open this week with the Lord? Would you get so serious about your sanctification? Would you become radically concerned in your soul to say, Lord, this week, show me what I don't see and open my eyes to change it.

The Laodiceans here in our text had two root issues. They were blind in certain areas, self-deception, and their nakedness appeared to all. Now obviously we're not talking about physical nakedness. It's like this.

Their blind spots were apparent and obvious to others who saw them when they couldn't see themselves. It was naked and open. You ever known anyone or have you ever been the person that others saw your problems and weaknesses and sins and your flaws that really needed to be changed?

Everybody saw it in the family or friends who love you enough to speak to you about it. It's apparent to others that you can't see it at all. It's naked to all. That's what the situation was here. So I want us to work through this and think about this this morning.

That's really the context and the exposition really of the text. But let's use the majority of our remaining time to think hard about this, to face where we are, and to apply it to our own heart. Don't think about, man, he really needs this sermon this week.

She, this is going to help her. No. Let's think about this. Proverbs describes many kinds of people, the wise and the foolish, those who plan evil and those who do good, the liars and the truthful ones, the deceitful and the honest, the diligent and the lazy, the violent and the peaceful, the proud and the humble, the greedy and the generous, the beautiful vain woman and the virtuous godly woman, the unfaithful and the faithful.

You get it. It's a description of how they are. Listen, beloved. We are what we are. We're nothing else. We're not what others think we are. We're not what we have convinced ourselves we are. Don't think more highly of yourselves than you ought to.

You are what you are. Bare bones, flaws, blind spots, pride, are nothing else. And we can't fool anybody. Proverbs 26 says, a person who is wise in their own eyes is a fool. The self-deceived, blind person, like the alcoholic who just has social drinking and others see they've got a problem and they would get very defensive if it's pointed out.

The abusive person, verbally, in private, they treat their family and others in some abusive way. And outside, on the outside, they look like the glowing good family man. The control freak, the perfectionist, the legalist, the excuse maker, the workaholic, the cold business like non-relational dad and husband.

The proud mother who has to have perfect children because she wants others to admire them that way. The image keeper who appears one way outwardly and that's not what they truly are. And they have to keep up the image.

Peter's Blind Spots and the Need for Correction

Peter did not see himself accurately several times. Lord, if everybody denies you, I won't. I'm even willing to die for you. Around the fire, the girl pulls his file. No, I don't know him. No, I told you I don't know him.

And the third time, with curses, denies the Lord. Blind spot. Later, after Pentecost, he's eaten with Gentiles. The Jews see it. Peter caves. His fear of man brings a snare. He compromises the gospel.

And Paul nails him to the wall. Blind spot. The greatest among us have them. And Proverbs 26 talks about the sluggard. And seven people, seven wise people can point out a need and the sluggard has an answer for all of them.

Deny, deflect, dodge, resist, justify himself. Blind, having blind spots is self-deception. Charles Lauder said one time, deception is when you're sure you're right when you're wrong. You're sure you're right and you're actually wrong.

And you know what one of the biggest enemies to our soul is in this area? Defensiveness. Defensiveness. Husbands, are you defensive when your wife points something out? I'm not that way, dear. I don't ever do that.

Honey, you've been doing it consistently three or four years. No, I haven't. You're defensive. God pulled your file in that moment, exposed you as a defensive person, and she sees it, but you're too proud to see it.

Ladies, you don't get off the hook. Are you defensive if your husband shares something? And we don't know. You know, sometimes we're like a bull in a china closet. We don't always do it gracefully. And it can come in anger.

But I'm just talking about if we share with each other glaring needs that we see, is defensiveness our mode and our response? Defensiveness is like putting on a blindfold. It keeps us from seeing and examining ourselves in the moment.

Do you see needs in others more than you see needs in yourself? Can you see clearly the speck in their eye, but you can't see the log in your own? Are you approachable when someone who genuinely loves you points out a problem or a need, or where you're wrong?

Are you approachable? It's astounding how many true Christians aren't approachable. They're not approachable. When someone comes and shares, the guard goes up, the defensiveness cracks in, and it's going.

And you can't hear because you're going to protect yourself, your image, your pride, your reputation. Are you approachable, humble, open, teachable, and desiring improvement? Or is our first impulse a wrong response?

We get offended and become in the moment our own defense attorney. When in the truth, the Spirit of God is lovingly being a prosecuting attorney, and we ought to take share with Him and be His assistants to say, that's right, Lord, I'm guilty.

Guilty as charged. I have blindness in this area. Can any brother or sister in the body bring you or I concern or point out a need, and we can receive it thankfully? If not, we have blind spots. And a defensive spirit and attitude rooted in pride closes our hearts, and we're not going to let anyone touch that, even our wife or our husband point out any blind spots.

I can handle it. How about your children? When you relate wrongly to them? My children have done it at times. Dad, well, I got a choice on them. Our children can be the voice of Christ to us if we're listening, if we'll receive.

Becoming Correctable and Teachable

Are we correctable? Are we open to others pointing out to us things that can help us? Or does our heart say like the lay out of sea in church, no, I'm good. I don't really have any need. I don't agree with you about this.

I'm fine. You walk with the Lord your way, and I'll walk with the Lord my way, and we justify, and we have quenched and resisted the Holy Spirit. I'm talking about me and you and our personal blind spots.

Romans 2 says, Paul said, you can see the need in others and point it out, but can you see the need about yourself? You who say don't commit adultery, do you? You who say don't do this, do you do it? We can have 20 -20 vision about others, and we can have spiritual cataracts the whole time.

Others see us better and more clearly than we often do ourselves. How do you see yourself? Just pause and answer this question before God in your heart. Am I a needy person? Do I have areas I know I don't see that I need to see that I might be changed and grow?

Do others see things about me that I'm oblivious to? We are only what we are. You know what the only remedy is? Verse 18 of our text. The Lord said, I counsel you to anoint your eyes with salve that you might see.

The Holy Spirit's Work of Illumination and Repentance

That's the ministry, the welcoming ministry of the Holy Spirit to expose and us yield. Anoint your eyes, the eyes of your heart. Paul talked about the eyes of our hearts being enlightened that we might see.

Brethren, this is on each one of us to say, I have blind spots. And God's going to expose them through the preaching, through my elders, through my wife and children, through the body. I'm going to see blind spots.

And in that moment, I've got to anoint my eyes to see that my sight might be healed, that I could see clearly, to get these blind spots healed. You have them. We have them. And we don't see them. We must face it.

The salve to anoint ourselves with is honesty, humility, openness, a repentant heart, a humble heart, and the cry out to God, Lord, anoint my eyes to see. Open my eyes that I might see things I need to see right now.

Show me what I see not. What I know not, teach me. What I'm not hearing, unplug my ears that I might hear your voice. You and I cannot make deeper progress with Christ. We're at a standstill, a roadblock.

You can't go on with God if there's blind spots He exposes to you in your marriage, in your parenting, in your walk, at school, anything. You cannot go on with God with blind spots that you're justifying and rationalizing and you think, I'm okay, and Christ says, no, you're not.

Let's have some surgery. Are you willing this week to let the Lord Jesus Christ do eye surgery on your heart? He's had a lot more practice at it than my friend who did my eye surgery. Unless our eyes are open to blind spots and we yield to the Holy Spirit for heart surgery.

Psalm 119 says this, who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from hidden faults. Psalm 139, search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me, examine me, try me and know my faults. And Lord, see whatever wrong way is in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

Prayer for Open Eyes and Repentant Hearts

I want us to pray right now. Bow with me in prayer. And I want you to be honest with the Lord. Shut everybody else out and you respond to Him. I want you to pray back to Him in these moments what God has spoken to you in these moments.

Talk to Him about what He's convicted you about. Pray about what He's spoken to you about. Who among us would today cry out to God, Lord, I'm blind, show me. Lord, I see these areas that haven't been on my mind.

Deal with them. Lord, I want to humble myself totally before You. Deal with me, deliver me, help me. Who here would cry out to God today for that? Let's be before Him in these moments and let's respond to Him.

Lord Jesus, it is as much true this morning as it was when John wrote the revelation that You see us and know us. You know our works, our blind spots. Father, we ask You to have mercy on us. Show us what needs to be changed and give us the grace of repentance and humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God that the salve of the Holy Spirit would anoint our eyes and heal us that we might see clearly.

O Lord, deal with us in this hour, in this day, in this week. Would to God, O Lord, that every one of us would be set free and any blind spots healed that we might go on with You more than ever. Have mercy upon us.

Father, hear our prayer. In the name of Your Son we pray. Amen. Are we dismissed? The Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you. In Christ's name, Amen.