How many of you would be honest enough to admit that you have spiritual eye-vision problems?  Do any of these problems hit home?

• Spiritual Lazy Eye: You see a problem but don’t do anything about it.
• Spiritual Color Blindness: You don’t pay as much attention to the plight of some people because of their race.
• Spiritual Dry Eye Syndrome: You lack compassion and don’t “cry” for people who are hurting.

The big idea for week 2 is, When we refocus our vision we will begin to see the world as God does.

The secret to Jesus’ clear vision was His mission.  His mission guided his vision.  His mission was the lens that made him see people the way he saw them.  Jesus’ mission was a people-centered, hope-driven mission.  His lens was compassion.

Read Luke 4:14-21 where Jesus declares his personal mission statement.  His mission statement was five-fold:

1. Preach good news to the poor.
2. Proclaim freedom for the prisoner.
3. Give sight to the blind.
4. Release the oppressed.
5. Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Why is Jesus’ mission so important for us to understand?  Because John 20:21tells us how Jesus instructed that His disciples (that’s us!) are to be an extension of Jesus’ mission in the world.  We have the privilege of being little reflections of Him in this fallen world.  Also, The Village Church is to be an extension of Jesus’ mission in the world.

John Piper says in a sermon on Luke 4:14-21,

It is true that when a person becomes a follow of Jesus, his life changes. But it is also true that the way we win people to the greatness of Christ includes doing the great things he was sent to do. A verbal witness to the value of Jesus Christ without a life of radical commitment to the things he stood for will produce converts who are carbon copies of our fallen culture.

When you see the world, what do you see?

When you see people, what do you see?

Will you seek to see people and the world through the lens of Jesus?