Eyes of the Flesh and Eyes of the Heart – Lord, Open the Eyes of Our Hearts

The opening section of the sermon presents the theme of seven important T's in Vietnamese society. The pastor explains four T's that people commonly desire: tình (love), tài (talent), trí (intellect), and tiền (money), because they bring success, reputation, and material abundance. However, the pastor points out that two other T's—tâm (spirituality) and thiên (God/Heaven)—receive little attention. Modern society, whether in Hong Kong or Vietnam, prioritizes the first four T's as most important, while spirituality and God are considered unnecessary or are only thought about in moments of leisure.

The second section develops the reason why the eyes of the heart are blinded. The pastor explains two main reasons: first, humans live in a material world and naturally focus on material things, things visible through the five senses. The spiritual and God cannot be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or felt. Second, the attraction of material things is extremely powerful; money and wealth have particular seductive power. The pastor quotes Scripture that Jesus said it is very difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, because they focus on visible material life rather than invisible spirituality. However, Scripture also records wealthy individuals who deeply loved God and prioritized spiritual life over material life.

The third section presents extremely important differences between materialist atheism and biblical theology. Atheists believe there is only one world—the visible material world; but Scripture teaches there are two worlds: the temporary material world and the eternal spiritual world. Regarding priorities, although Vietnamese people believe in two worlds, society prioritizes material life first. In contrast, Scripture teaches that we should focus more on spirituality. Jesus teaches that life is not about having abundant possessions, and if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul, what benefit is it? Things pertaining to matter are only temporary; but spirituality, the human soul, God, and heaven—things unseen—are infinite and eternal.

The fourth section develops the doctrine of three deaths. Atheists believe death is the end, with only physical death. But Scripture teaches there are three deaths: death of the body, death of the spirit (soul), and eternal death. Spiritual death is when a person, though still breathing and living, their spirit remains under Satan's domain. Spiritual death is when someone completely disregards God, despises or disregards the value of spirituality, viewing spiritual things as superstition and meaninglessness. The pastor emphasizes that although physical death is fearful, spiritual death is even more fearful because it leads to eternal death.

The final section applies the message to practical life through the concept of the eyes of the flesh and the eyes of the heart. Those who believe in only one material world see everything through the eyes of the flesh. Those who believe Scripture's teaching see all things through two eyes: the eyes of the flesh and the eyes of the heart (spiritual eyes). Physical eyes can see beauty, talent, wealth, and business opportunities, but cannot see things pertaining to spirituality. Only when the spiritual eyes are enlightened can one understand the value of salvation. The pastor illustrates this with Paul's experience on the road to Damascus: Jesus blinded Paul's physical eyes, but at that very moment his spiritual eyes were opened to see that Jesus is the Savior. Only the Holy Spirit can open a person's spiritual eyes. The pastor concludes that believers who grow closer to God are those whose spiritual eyes are increasingly opened by the Holy Spirit, causing them to treasure salvation more and serve God in truth.