Bulletins - Jubilee Ministries

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Made For More
“Don’t Just Let the Bible Show You Who You Are—Let It Show You What You’re Looking At”
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE
James 1:22–25 ESV
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
Supporting Texts: Psalm 119:105; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:18; Hebrews 11:3; 2 Kings 6:15–17
INTRODUCTION — THE MIRROR AND THE LENS
There are two things glass can do.
Glass can be made into a mirror, and glass can be made into a lens.
A mirror helps you see yourself.
A lens helps you see everything else more clearly.
And I believe that gives us a powerful picture of what the Word of God is supposed to do in the life of a believer.
James says the Word is like a mirror.
You open this Book, and suddenly you don’t just see David, Moses, Peter, Paul, Abraham, and Jesus.
You see yourself.
You see your attitudes.
You see your motives.
You see your pride.
You see your unforgiveness.
You see your unbelief.
You see areas where you’ve grown—and areas where you still need God to work on you.
That’s the mirror.
But I want to preach this morning that we shouldn’t only use the Word of God as a mirror.
We need to start using it as a lens.
Because a mirror determines how I see myself.
But a lens determines how I see everything around me.
And there are Christians who will open their Bible on Sunday morning and allow it to examine their heart—but close it Monday morning and interpret everything happening around them through fear, culture, politics, emotions, social media, circumstances, and human reasoning.
We look into the Word as a mirror, but then we look at the world without the lens!
And if you take off the lens of Scripture, eventually the world will give you another pair of glasses.
[PROCLAIM SLIDE]
THE WORD IS NOT ONLY A MIRROR TO EXAMINE MY LIFE. IT IS A LENS THROUGH WHICH I INTERPRET MY WORLD.
THE WORD AS A MIRROR
James 1:23 says:
“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass.”
The Greek word translated “beholding” is katanoeō—Strong’s G2657.
It means to observe fully, to consider attentively, to perceive clearly.
James isn’t describing somebody glancing into a mirror.
He’s describing somebody examining what they see.
That’s what Scripture does.
Hebrews 4:12 says:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…”
And verse 13 immediately moves into the language of exposure:
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight…”
You may fool everybody else.
You may even fool yourself.
But you’ll never fool the Word.
The Word will show you things about yourself that your feelings will hide from you.
Your feelings may say:
“I’m justified in being angry.”
The mirror says:
“Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” — Ephesians 4:26
Your feelings may say:
“They don’t deserve forgiveness.”
The mirror says:
“Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” — Ephesians 4:32
Your feelings may say:
“Everybody does it.”
The mirror says:
“Be not conformed to this world.” — Romans 12:2
The mirror doesn’t change its reflection because I don’t like what I see.
[PROCLAIM SLIDE]
DON’T CHANGE THE MIRROR BECAUSE YOU DON’T LIKE THE REFLECTION. LET THE MIRROR CHANGE YOU.
But that’s only half the message.
Because after God corrects me, He wants to correct the way I see everything else.
THE WORD AS A LENS
Psalm 119:105 says:
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Notice the progression.
James says the Word helps me see myself.
David says the Word helps me see where I’m going.
The Bible doesn’t just reveal the person.
It illuminates the path.
Psalm 119:130 says:
“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
Light doesn’t necessarily change what is in the room.
Light changes your ability to see what was already there.
And that’s what revelation does.
Sometimes you’re praying:
“God, change this situation!”
And God says:
“Before I change your situation, I need to change how you’re seeing your situation.”
Because you can be standing in the middle of God’s provision and call it lack because you’re looking through the wrong lens.
You can be standing in the middle of God’s preparation and call it punishment.
You can be standing in the middle of a transition and call it abandonment.
You can be standing in front of an opportunity and call it an obstacle.
Your interpretation is determined by your lens.
EVERYBODY IS LOOKING THROUGH SOMETHING
Nobody sees the world completely neutrally.
We interpret life through something.
Past experiences become lenses.
Pain becomes a lens.
Rejection becomes a lens.
Fear becomes a lens.
Culture becomes a lens.
Politics can become a lens.
Social media becomes a lens.
Tradition becomes a lens.
And even religion can become a lens.
That’s why Romans 12:2 says:
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
The Greek word translated “transformed” is metamorphoō—Strong’s G3339—the word from which we get metamorphosis.
But notice where transformation occurs:
“by the renewing of your mind.”
God changes how you live by changing how you think.
Because eventually…
You will live according to the world you believe you’re seeing.
If you see yourself as defeated, you’ll live defeated.
If you see everybody as an enemy, you’ll live defensive.
If you see your circumstances as hopeless, you’ll stop expecting anything.
If you see temptation as harmless, you’ll play with it.
If you see holiness as bondage, you’ll resist it.
If you see God’s commandments as restrictive, you’ll resent them.
But when Scripture becomes your lens, suddenly you begin seeing things differently.
WHEN THE WORD BECOMES YOUR LENS
The world says:
“Follow your heart.”
The lens says:
“The heart is deceitful above all things…” — Jeremiah 17:9
The world says:
“Live your truth.”
The lens says:
“Thy word is truth.” — John 17:17
The world says:
“Do whatever makes you happy.”
The lens says:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” — John 14:15
The world says:
“Get revenge.”
The lens says:
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” — Romans 12:19
The world says:
“You’re finished.”
The lens says:
“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it…” — Philippians 1:6
The world says:
“There’s no way.”
The lens says:
“With God all things are possible.” — Matthew 19:26
The world says:
“Look at what’s happening.”
Faith says:
“We walk by faith, not by sight.” — 2 Corinthians 5:7
Church, I have to decide which lens gets the final word.
THE PROBLEM MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT
Here’s where I would slow down.
Sometimes the problem isn’t the picture.
The problem is the lens.
If you’ve ever worn glasses, you understand this.
Take somebody’s prescription glasses and put them on your face.
Nothing in the room moved.
Nothing changed position.
But everything looks wrong.
The room didn’t change. The lens changed.
And some of us are asking God to rearrange the whole room when God is trying to change our prescription!
We’re saying:
“God, change them.”
“God, move this.”
“God, remove that.”
“God, fix everything around me.”
And sometimes God says:
“Let Me fix what you’re looking through.”
Because wounded people can look through the lens of rejection.
Fearful people can look through the lens of catastrophe.
Bitter people can look through the lens of offense.
Proud people can look through the lens of self-righteousness.
But Spirit-filled, Word-grounded believers ought to increasingly see through the lens of God’s revelation.
ELISHA’S SERVANT HAD A VISION PROBLEM
2 Kings 6:15–17
The king of Syria sends an army to capture Elisha.
Elisha’s servant gets up early, walks outside, and sees horses, chariots, and soldiers surrounding the city.
He runs back to Elisha:
“Alas, my master! how shall we do?”
Here’s what is fascinating.
Everything the servant saw was real.
The enemy really was there.
The army really had surrounded them.
The danger wasn’t imaginary.
But his conclusion was wrong because he couldn’t see everything.
Elisha says:
“Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”
Then Elisha prays:
“LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.”
Wait a minute.
His eyes were already open!
He could see the Syrian army.
He could see the horses.
He could see the chariots.
He could see the danger.
But Elisha was saying:
“Lord, let him see what his natural vision cannot show him.”
And Scripture says:
“And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
Church, hear me:
The enemy didn’t disappear when his eyes were opened.
Something greater was revealed.
That’s what the Word does!
The Word doesn’t tell you cancer isn’t real.
The Word doesn’t tell you grief isn’t real.
The Word doesn’t tell you bills aren’t real.
The Word doesn’t tell you enemies aren’t real.
The Word doesn’t tell you trouble isn’t real.
The Word shows you that what you can see isn’t all there is!
[PROCLAIM SLIDE]
FAITH DOESN’T DENY WHAT IS VISIBLE. FAITH REFUSES TO BELIEVE THE VISIBLE IS ALL THERE IS.
THE WORD LETS ME SEE THE INVISIBLE
2 Corinthians 4:17–18 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…”
That’s almost contradictory.
How do you look at something that cannot be seen?
You need a different kind of lens.
Hebrews 11:1:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is not pretending.
Faith is seeing through revelation what cannot yet be seen through observation.
And where does biblical faith come from?
Romans 10:17:
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
There’s the lens!
The Word teaches my eyes how to see.
DAVID SAW GOLIATH THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS
Everybody in Israel saw the same giant.
Saul saw Goliath.
David saw Goliath.
The soldiers saw Goliath.
They all saw the same man.
But they didn’t interpret him the same way.
The soldiers said:
“Have ye seen this man that is come up?”
— 1 Samuel 17:25
David says:
“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
Same giant.
Different lens.
Israel measured Goliath against themselves.
David measured Goliath against God.
That’s why one group saw an impossible giant…
and one young man saw an opportunity for God to demonstrate His glory.
[PROCLAIM SLIDE]
WHAT YOU MAGNIFY DEPENDS UPON THE LENS YOU’RE LOOKING THROUGH.
If you constantly magnify your problem, God will appear small.
But when the Word magnifies your God, your problem starts finding its proper size.
JESUS LOOKED AT DEATH DIFFERENTLY
When Jesus arrived at Jairus’s house, everybody was mourning.
Mark 5:39:
“Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.”
They laughed at Him.
Why?
Because according to what they could see, she was dead.
Jesus wasn’t denying death.
He was revealing that death didn’t have the final word.
They saw a corpse.
Jesus saw a girl about to get up.
They saw finality.
Jesus saw interruption.
They saw an ending.
Jesus saw what was about to happen next.
And when you start looking through the lens of God’s Word, you begin understanding:
What looks final to man isn’t necessarily final to God.
STOP LETTING THE WORLD INTERPRET THE WORD
Here’s where this message becomes very practical.
Too many believers are doing something backward.
We are allowing the world to interpret the Bible instead of allowing the Bible to interpret the world.
We hear something in culture and ask:
“How can I make Scripture agree with this?”
No.
The question is:
“How does Scripture tell me to understand this?”
When culture changes, the lens doesn’t change.
Isaiah 40:8:
“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
Culture moves.
Opinions move.
Morality moves.
Philosophies move.
Governments move.
Generations move.
The Word stands.
So I don’t bring Scripture underneath culture for judgment.
I bring culture underneath Scripture for judgment.
I don’t ask the world whether God’s Word is relevant.
I use God’s Word to determine whether the world’s ideas are true.
DON’T JUST READ YOUR BIBLE—WEAR IT
I want you to remember that.
Don’t just read your Bible. Wear it.
Not physically.
I’m talking about putting Scripture over your vision.
When you look at your marriage—look through the Word.
When you look at your children—look through the Word.
When you look at money—look through the Word.
When you look at sexuality—look through the Word.
When you look at success—look through the Word.
When you look at suffering—look through the Word.
When you look at death—look through the Word.
When you look at the future—look through the Word.
When you look at yourself—look through the Word.
When you look at your enemy—look through the Word.
When you look at this world—look through the Word.
Because the goal isn’t merely to know what the Bible says.
The goal is to become so saturated with Scripture that the Bible determines how you see.
JESUS CORRECTED THEIR VISION WITH SCRIPTURE
Luke 24 gives us an incredible picture.
Two disciples are walking toward Emmaus after the crucifixion.
They are devastated.
Jesus Himself begins walking beside them, but they don’t recognize Him.
They tell Jesus:
“But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel…” — Luke 24:21
Listen to their language:
“We trusted…”
Past tense.
“We thought He was the One.”
“We thought this was going somewhere.”
“We thought God was working.”
“But then the cross happened.”
They were looking at the crucifixion without understanding Scripture.
So what does Jesus do?
Luke 24:27:
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Jesus changed their interpretation by changing their lens.
They thought the cross proved Jesus wasn’t the Messiah.
Scripture showed them the cross proved He was!
Think about that.
Same cross.
Same event.
Same circumstances.
But once Scripture became the lens, the meaning completely changed.
Somebody needs that this morning.
Maybe you’re saying:
“I don’t understand why God allowed this.”
“I don’t understand this season.”
“I don’t understand this loss.”
“I don’t understand why this door closed.”
And I’m not going to pretend Scripture gives us the specific reason for every painful event.
But Scripture gives us something better:
A lens through which pain doesn’t get to have the final word.
THE MIRROR WITHOUT THE LENS IS INCOMPLETE
Now bring the whole sermon together.
We need both.
I need the mirror because sometimes the problem is me.
And…
I need the lens because sometimes the problem is how I’m seeing.
The mirror says:
“Examine yourself.”
The lens says:
“Now examine everything else through truth.”
The mirror produces repentance.
The lens produces discernment.
The mirror corrects my character.
The lens corrects my perspective.
The mirror asks:
“What does God’s Word say about me?”
The lens asks:
“What does God’s Word say about this?”
And mature believers need both.
APPLICATION — CHECK YOUR PRESCRIPTION
So here’s my question this morning:
WHAT LENS HAVE YOU BEEN WEARING?
Have you been looking through fear?
Through offense?
Through disappointment?
Through political ideology?
Through culture?
Through childhood wounds?
Through what happened in your last relationship?
Through what somebody said about you?
Through what social media told you?
Through what you feel?
Or through what God has said?
Because Proverbs 14:12 says:
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Sometimes wrong looks right through the wrong lens.
That’s why I need the Word.
Not occasionally.
Not just on Sunday.
Daily.
Because every day the world is trying to put something in front of my eyes.
And every day I need the Holy Ghost and the Word of God to correct my vision.
PROPHETIC INSIGHT — LORD, OPEN OUR EYES
I believe one of the greatest needs in the church right now isn’t simply more information.
We need clearer vision.
Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17–18:
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened…”
The eyes of your understanding.
There’s something deeper than natural sight.
There is spiritual perception.
Discernment.
Revelation.
Understanding.
And my prayer for Jubilee is:
“Lord, open our eyes.”
Let us see our families through Your Word.
Let us see our future through Your Word.
Let us see this generation through Your Word.
Let us see our struggles through Your Word.
Let us see our calling through Your Word.
Let us see ourselves through Your Word.
And above everything else—
Let us see JESUS through Your Word.
Because Jesus said in John 5:39:
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
The ultimate purpose of the lens isn’t merely to make you smarter.
It’s to bring Jesus into focus.
CHANGE MY VISION
Maybe your prayer this morning doesn’t need to be:
“Lord, change what I’m looking at.”
Maybe your prayer needs to be:
“Lord, change what I’m looking through.”
Give me Your perspective.
Renew my mind.
Correct my assumptions.
Expose my biases.
Heal the wounds that have distorted my vision.
Strip away every lens that contradicts Your Word.
Let me see myself through Your mirror.
Let me see my world through Your lens.
And let me see Jesus more clearly than I’ve ever seen Him before.
Because when the Word becomes both mirror and lens—
I see who I am.
I see what needs to change.
I see what is true.
I see where I’m going.
I see what really matters.
And ultimately…
I see Him.
CLOSING
THE WORD IS MY MIRROR. IT SHOWS ME WHO I AM.THE WORD IS MY LENS. IT SHOWS ME HOW TO SEE.I WILL NOT ALLOW THE WORLD TO INTERPRET THE WORD. I WILL ALLOW THE WORD TO INTERPRET THE WORLD.
And when everything around me looks confusing…
When culture is shifting…
When circumstances don’t make sense…
When what I see contradicts what God has promised…
I’m going back to the lens.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Church, don’t just open the Bible to see yourself—open the Bible until it changes the way you see everything.
- - James 1:22–25ESV

“Don’t Just Let the Bible Show You Who You Are—Let It Show You What You’re Looking At”

INTRODUCTION — THE MIRROR AND THE LENS

THE WORD AS A MIRROR

THE WORD AS A LENS

EVERYBODY IS LOOKING THROUGH SOMETHING

WHEN THE WORD BECOMES YOUR LENS

THE PROBLEM MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT

ELISHA’S SERVANT HAD A VISION PROBLEM

2 Kings 6:15–17

THE WORD LETS ME SEE THE INVISIBLE

DAVID SAW GOLIATH THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS

JESUS LOOKED AT DEATH DIFFERENTLY

STOP LETTING THE WORLD INTERPRET THE WORD

DON’T JUST READ YOUR BIBLE—WEAR IT

JESUS CORRECTED THEIR VISION WITH SCRIPTURE

THE MIRROR WITHOUT THE LENS IS INCOMPLETE

APPLICATION — CHECK YOUR PRESCRIPTION

WHAT LENS HAVE YOU BEEN WEARING?

PROPHETIC INSIGHT — LORD, OPEN OUR EYES

CHANGE MY VISION

CLOSING

THE WORD IS MY MIRROR. IT SHOWS ME WHO I AM.THE WORD IS MY LENS. IT SHOWS ME HOW TO SEE.I WILL NOT ALLOW THE WORLD TO INTERPRET THE WORD. I WILL ALLOW THE WORD TO INTERPRET THE WORLD.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

James 1:22–25ESV

THE WORD IS MY MIRROR. IT SHOWS ME WHO I AM.THE WORD IS MY LENS. IT SHOWS ME HOW TO SEE.I WILL NOT ALLOW THE WORLD TO INTERPRET THE WORD. I WILL ALLOW THE WORD TO INTERPRET THE WORLD.