Looking Into The Eyes of Jesus Part 2
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Its really rather amazing how we can communicate to one another without any
words.
Our posture, our facial expression, our eyes, all speak volumes.
Our eyes, the length of time we maintain eye contact,
The direction we are looking,
The frequency we glance away.
The amount of blinking,
The dilatation or constriction of the pupil,
The movement,
All tell us about the mood,
or the attitude of an individual.
Would you believe just a glance at a person’s eye can speak to you?
Power Point Presentation “Single Eye”
What do the eyes of Jesus communicate to us?
That’s the question we’re seeking an answer to.
When you look into the eyes of Jesus what do you see?
We’ve all heard that the eyes are the windows to the soul.
When you look into the eyes of Christ not only will you
see into his soul, who he is, what he is all about,
but you will also see into your own.
When you look into the eyes of Jesus you are going to see
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
This is what we learned last time:
When you look into the eyes of Jesus they communicate patience.
“Patience is the ability to wait without seeking change that benefits you,
and expecting that the best outcome with occur eventually.”
(Burke, 196)
When you look into the eyes of Jesus they communicate kindness
“Kindness is concerned with building others up.” (Burke, p. 197)
When you look into the eyes of Jesus they communicate trust.
Trust is the knowing expectation that you’ll do good.
When you look in the eyes of Jesus the communicate care.
You know that Jesus is concerned about your well being,
You matter.
When you look into the eyes of Jesus they communicate humility.
Not the “I’m your doormat kind of humility,
but the kind that in friendship reaches down to lift you up.”
The kind of humility that is not too important to concern itself
with you.
Today well contemplate verse 5
1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1. When you look into the eyes of Jesus they communicate that He is aware of your
feelings.
The scripture reads—“not rude.”
Rude eyes, have you ever seen them?
Demanding eyes, brutish eyes, dishonoring eyes.
This is rather subjective, but there is no demand in Jesus eyes,
Expectant request, certainly, but not those “I told you to do this”
eyes of a parent scolding a child for undone chores. (Burke, p. 65)
“Emily Post,
and for you who have no idea who Emily Post was she was
the Miss Manners of the 1950’s,
an expert in Etiquette, how to behave as a person with class.
Mrs. Post said: ‘Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.
If you have that awareness,
you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.’” (Burke, p. 65)
Unless you want to be willingly offensive.
If you are aware of the feelings of others its easy not to be rude.
Jesus’ eyes communicate that kind of awareness.
2. When you look into the eyes of Jesus they communicate respect.
The scripture reads “Not self seeking.”
There is no ego trip,
No ulterior motive to use the relationship for His own advantage.
There is no arrogance,
The kind of attitude that demands its rights,
That looks down on you.
Do you know who I am?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBw5aAW_icY The Brilliant Joko Ad
How often have you read in the eyes of another that they think they own you?
That you purpose is to serve them?
Those disdainful eyes.
We used to sing a song:
I Surrender All.
It’s a song sung by a real disciple:
All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give—
Now if anyone has a right to your service, it’s Jesus.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Yet in the eyes of Christ you see a genuine concern for your welfare.
You see that you matter,
That you are important.
There in His eyes is a desire to build you up,
“helping you to achieve what God intends for you.
(Burke, Study Guide)
All glory, majesty and honor are rightfully Christ’s,
Yet He focuses on your accomplishments,
He is interested in your achievements.
(Burke, Study Guide)
3. When you look into the eyes of Jesus you see contentment.
One thing I treasure in a good friend is that it takes a lot to get them angry with
you. (Burke, p. 87)
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote during the 1800’s, he said:
“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be
stupid with them.” (Burke. P. 879)
The scripture reads “Not easily angered.”
As many times as I have messed up,
When I haven’t measured up to the task,
Or when I missed my opportunity,
Jesus has never gotten exasperated with me.
(Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)
There are students that I have worked with that you just want to wring your
hands as a prelude to wringing their necks,
because they keep making the same dumb mistake over and
over again.
I’ve gotten angry with people who squandered opportunities.
Who with just a little effort,
could have really latched on to something great.
I’ve counseled people who just refuse to take my direction,
And I’ve been put out with them.
But contentment “has a slow fuse” (Burke, p.89)
There’s a faith that the eyes of Jesus communicates that says,
I know you’ll get it right next time.
4. When you look into the eyes of Jesus you see forgiveness. Logisomai
Forgiveness “keeps no record of wrongs.”
The Greek for forgiveness has a business connotation to it.
It speaks of one’s accounts specifically ones Debts.
You rack up a bill that you can’t pay,
And your creditor, the one you owe,
Cancels the debt.
The debt is forgiven.
Forgiveness doesn’t forget, but it does cancel the debt.
Remember the prayer example Jesus gave us?
Matthew 6:12 (NIV)
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
“The first element of forgiveness is mercy,
which simply means not giving someone what they do deserve.
The second element of forgiveness is grace,
which simply means giving someone what they don’t deserve.”
(Burke, p.99)
Mercy is withholding the negative,
Grace is giving the positive . (Burke, Study Guide)
The eyes of Christ communicate mercy and grace.
There is forgiveness in those eyes when we seek it.
Don’t you just long to look into eyes that are not rude, not conceited, not easily
angered and that are quick to forgive?
When you look into Jesus eyes the communicate exactly that--
You see reflected there an awareness of your feelings,
An attitude of respect,
There is a contentment that makes you feel safe,
And there is mercy and grace.
That kind of look has the power to liberate you and transform you.
Think with me a moment.
Jesus told us some really amazing things, one of them is this:
John 14:8-9 (NIV)
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
If we’ve looked into the eyes of Jesus we have looked into the eyes of our Creator.
Then the Apostle Paul tells us that as we abide in Christ
as we follow the path He has laid out for us
we are being changed into His image.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
“And we … are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory…”
Recall that glory can refer to a physical manifestation of the presence of God.
As we continually subject ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus we become more like
Him.
Since Jesus is like the Father, the more we become like Jesus the
more a manifestation of God we are others.
Which brings me to a simple question:
Do you have your Father’s eyes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwiF3HE4cQ8&feature=related
When people look into your eyes do they see Christ?
Transformation is an inside out process that involves partnership.
The technical term for it is sanctification.
Sanctification is the grace that empowers you to change.
If you saw the big picture,
If you saw how short the timetable,
If you could get a glimpse of the blessing,
And what is really at stake.
I think it would motivate you to invest more time into your end of the
partnership.
God supplies the plan, the program, and the grace you need to accomplish
His desire for you to be like Jesus.
To wear the family name well.
The disciple of Jesus must be willing to put in the time through the practice
of the spiritual disciplines or there will be no transformation.
The spiritual disciplines are the tried and true practices of the disciple of Jesus.
To practice the disciplines is to invite encounter with God.
To practice the disciplines is to mature in your faith.
To practice the disciplines is to become righteous.
Reading and studying the Bible,
Prayer in all its many forms
Fellowship with those who build you up in the faith
Service giving yourself away to others
Worship celebrating this life we have in Christ
Obedience without question or pause.
Contemplation looking deep inside
You have to put in the time.
Like any discipline it is difficult at first,
We have to discard some activities that we are
familiar and comfortable with and add these
new and different ones.
Believe me holy habits are hard to firmly establish.
But the pay off is a harvest of righteousness.
The pay off is having your father’s eyes.
It all starts with a realization that there are some things in your eyes that you don’t
want people to see.
If the eyes are the windows to the soul,
There’s some soul work you want to do.
Once you realize the need,
Once you realize your dis—ease.
Go to God and ask for His help