OPEN MY EYES THAT I MAY SEE! (Slide #2) Introduction: A. The Song Open My Eyes That I May See Has A Profound Message For Our Lives! B. Hymn: Hymn: Open My Eyes That I May See! (by Clara H Scott, 1895) Verse 1: Open my eyes, that I may see Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me; Place in my hands the wonderful key That shall unclasp and set me free. Spirit divine! (Slide #3) Verse 2: Open my ears, that I may hear Voices of truth Thou sendest clear; And while the wave notes fall on my ear, Everything false will disappear. 1
Spirit divine! (Slide #4) Verse 3: Open my mouth, and let me bear, Gladly the warm truth everywhere; Open my heart and let me prepare Love with Thy children thus to share. Spirit divine! I. (Slide #5) Open My Eyes! A. Hymn: Open My Eyes That I May See! Verse 1: Open my eyes, that I may see Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me; Place in my hands the wonderful key That shall unclasp and set me free. Spirit divine! B. ( ) Open My EYES To See Your Existence Through Your Marvelous Handiwork! 1. Ps. 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2
2. Ps. 8:3,4 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? C. ( ) Open My EYES To See Your Marvelous Works! 1. God reminded the children of Israel who had wandered for 40 years in the wilderness: Dt. 11:7 but your eyes have seen every great act of the LORD which He did. 2. Often we do not see His providential care while it is occurring! a. Joseph did not see BUT HE KNEW! b. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not see BUT THEY KNEW! c. Gideon in Ju. 7 -- God had him to reduce his army from 32,000 to 300; He gave Gideon the victory over the Midianites! d. II Ki. 6:8-13 -- Elisha is God s prophet; Syria is attacking Israel. The king of Syria would set up ambushes; Elisha would tell the king of Israel about it; the king of Israel was delivered NUMEROUS times! 1. The king of Syria would have conferences with his generals in his bedroom; Elisha would tell the king of Israel their plans! 2. Don t camp at this place; this is where the Syrians are going to camp! 8 3. Don t be in this place; the Syrians are going through there! 9 4. The Syrian king thought he had a mole among his advisors. 11 5. One of his servants said, There is not a mole; this is the work of Elisha the prophet in Israel. 12 6. When they found out that Elisha was at Dothan, the king of Syria sent a large army and surrounded the city! 13-14 7. Elisha s servant said, What shall we do? 15 8. Elisha s answer: Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 16 9. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 10. God smote the Syrians with blindness; Elisha led the Syrians right into the city of Samaria, the capital of Israel! 18-22 e. Israel did not see and it was hard to have security! When you think all is lost as Israel did when Pharaoh and his army were breathing down their necks, Ex. 14:13 And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. f. In our day we see so much trouble, confusion, and rejection of God; REMMEBER: God Will Take Care Of You! 3
D. ( ) Open My EYES To See Opportunities! 1. Gal. 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. 2. Paul s prayer while in prison: Col. 4:3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 3. Jesus encouragement about opening our eyes! Jn. 4:35 Do you not say, There are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! E. ( ) Open My EYES To See Temptation! 1. Temptation -- Mt. 26:41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 2. Be on guard! F. ( ) Open My EYES To See Myself! 1. This may be one of the hardest things for mankind to do! 2. It is especially hard for people who are narcissistic -- they never see themselves as they are; they see everyone else as having problems! a. Pr. 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. b. Pr. 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. c. Pr. 16:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits. d. Pr. 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. 3. It is especially hard for people with hard hearts! a. Is. 6:10 is often cited in the N.T.! b. Mt. 13:15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them. c. Ac. 28:26,27 saying, Go to this people and say: Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; 27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them. 4
d. Jn. 12:40 e. Rom. 11:8 Just as it is written: God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day. 4. How IS my faith? a. I Cor. 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. b. I Thess. 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 5. How IS my heart? a. I Jn. 2:11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. b. Is Thy Heart Right With God? c. Do I need to repent? 6. Am I ready for the Lord s coming? a. Mt. 25:13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. b. The Lord said to the Laodiceans: Rev. 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. c. Rev. 3:1-3 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. G. May We Have Eyes Like The Gentiles: Ac. 26:17,18 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. 5
II. (Slide #6) Open My Ears! A. Verse 2: Open my ears, that I may hear Voices of truth Thou sendest clear; And while the wave notes fall on my ear, Everything false will disappear. Spirit divine! B. ( ) Listen To Others (Biblical Heroes And Brethren) Tell Of His Blessings! 1. I Chr. 17:20 O LORD, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 2. The Bible is filled with a great cloud of witnesses! Heb. 12:1 C. ( ) Listen Attentively To His Word! 1. Ps. 78:1 A Contemplation of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2. Pr. 23:12 Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge. 3. Mt. 11:15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Also Mt. 13:9,43 D. God Describes Those Who Will Not Hear And Cautions Us! 1. Zech. 7:11 But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. 2. The Jews Of Stephen s day: a. Ac. 7:2 And he said, Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, b. Ac. 7:51 You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 6
3. II Tim. 4:3,4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. E. ( ) Listen For Those Who Are Hurting! You Be God s Support For Them! F. A Word Of Caution: God s Lamentation: Ps. 81:13 Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! III. (Slide #7) Open My Mouth! A. Verse 3: Open my mouth, and let me bear, Gladly the warm truth everywhere; Open my heart and let me prepare Love with Thy children thus to share. Spirit divine! B. ( ) To Speak The Truth! 1. Do that if you are just talking to another person! 2. Do that when you speak about God s Word! a. I Pet. 4:11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. b. Tit. 2:1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: C. ( ) To Tell Others About Jesus! 1. I Want To Be A Soul Winner For Jesus! He does so much for me! 2. Will You Not Tell It Today? If the name of the Savior is precious to you,.o, will you not tell it today? 7
D. ( ) To Speak From A Christian Heart! 1. Tit. 3:2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 2. Eph. 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--christ-- (Slide #7) Conclusion: A. May Our Prayer Be: Ps. 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. B. If We Have Eyes, Ears, And Mouths That Are Open And Used Properly, God Makes An AMAZING Promise To Us -- Ps. 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 8