定睛在耶稣身上

In our last lesson, we learned that our tongue could be very destructive if we do not learn to control it.  Thank God, He can give us the power to tame our tongues!  This lesson will talk about another part of our body that is equally as important as our tongue.

眼睛

马太福音 6:22-23

“22 眼睛是全身的光，所以你的眼睛若单一，全身就光明。

23 但你的眼睛若昏花，全身就黑暗。所以，你里面的光若是黑暗，那黑暗是何等的大！”

惊人的眼睛事实

• 你的眼睛是你拥有的最复杂的器官，除了你的大脑。
• 您的眼睛由超过 200 万个工作部件组成。
• The average person blinks 12 times per minute – about 10,000 blinks in an average day.
• 您的眼睛每小时可以处理 36,000 位信息。
• 只有 1/6 的眼球暴露在外面的世界里。
• The external muscles that move the eyes are the strongest in the human body for the job that they need to do.
• The eye is the only part of the human body that can function at 100% ability any time, day or night, without rest.
• 你的眼睛贡献了你全部知识的 85%。
• 从出生起，您的眼睛始终大小相同，但您的鼻子和耳朵永远不会停止生长。
• 眼睛非常复杂，工作起来很像照相机。
• The human eye is remarkable.  It accommodates to changing lighting conditions and focuses light rays originating from various distances from the eye.  When all the components of the eye function properly, light is converted to impulses and conveyed to the brain, where an image is perceived.

In Mathew 6:22-23, Jesus describes the duty of fixing our affections on heavenly things.  Everything is clear and plain when healthy eyes are directed steadily toward an object in single focus.  But if it flies to different objects and looks at multiple things instead of a singular entity, it does not see clearly.  The eye regulates the motion of the body.  To have an object distinctly in view is necessary to correct and regulate action.  Think about this, if a man is crossing a stream on a log and looks across the stream at some object steadily, he will be in little danger because he clearly sees where he is going.  But, if he looks down on the running waters or to the right of himself, he will become dizzy and unstable on the log.  This is because he is not focused on where he is going.  In Mathew 6: 22-23, Jesus is saying, for us to have the proper conduct or be a good Christian, we must have our eyes fixed on Him. “Thy whole body shall be full of light” means our conduct will be regular and steady conduct of a Christian.  The word “light,” in Mathew 6:22-23, signifies “the mind,” or principles of the deeper soul of our soul and mind.  In short, Jesus told those He spoke to, if you keep your mind focused on the right direction, you will be full of light, or full of God’s light for your life.  But if you turn your eye toward the evil things of this world, it will affect your body, mind, and soul, and you will become dark.  We need to keep our eyes on Jesus.

We have discussed Mathew 6:22-23 and the importance of fixing our eyes on Jesus.  Now let us look at a story in the Bible found in Matthew 14:25-33.  The story deals with the raging storms on the Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee, by all standards, is small in size.  It is 13 miles long, 8 1/2 miles at its widest point, and has a maximum depth of 150 feet.  As told in the Bible, one might ask, “How can a body of water this small get so rough and bring so much fear to the disciples?” The answer is the shallow depth, combined with the wind currents in that area, make quite a storm.  When the winds blow hard over the sea, the water rocks back and forth, causing rough waves.  It acts in the same principle as holding a shallow pan of water in your hands and tipping it from side to side.  Thus, the constant high wind over the sea rocks the water back and forth.

马太福音 14:25-33

“25 夜里四更，耶稣在海面上行走，往他们那里去。

26 门徒看见他在海面上行走，就惊慌起来，说，是一个灵；他们因害怕而喊叫。

27 耶稣立刻对他们说，你们放心；是我；不要害怕。

28 彼得回答他说，主啊，如果是你，请叫我从水面上到你那里去。

29 他说，来吧。彼得下了船，就在水面上走，要到耶稣那里去。

30 但他看见风很大，就害怕；他开始下沉，就喊着说，主啊，救我。

31耶稣立刻伸手拉住他，对他说，你这小信的人哪，你为什么怀疑？

32 他们上了船，风就停了。

33 那时，船上的人都来拜他，说，你真是神的儿子。”

It is to our loss as Christians that we often forget the simplest teachings of the Scriptures.  Peter could walk on water by faith until he took his eyes off Jesus, looking at the storm’s tempest instead.  What a truth!   So often, take our eyes off Jesus because of trouble around us.  Maybe we need to deal with rude people, unfair situations, or we didn’t do well on a test at school.  If we keep our eyes on Christ, we will be able to go through the trial with the right attitude, the right mindset, and positive thinking.  But when we take our eyes off Christ, it leads to trouble.

Are you familiar with the sport of horse racing?  Here in America people race, horses for sport.  Do you know it is customary before the race to put blinders on the horse?  The purpose of this is so the horses will not see each other.  Horses with blinders will not look to the right or the left.  So, when the horses race around the track, all the horses see is what is in front, not each other.  As a young person, you will find yourself in frustrating, discouraging, and maybe even upsetting situations.  We need to remember to keep our eyes focused on Christ in those times.  It is pretty easy to lose sight of our Christian beliefs when overshadowed by adversity and grief.  Life can be overwhelming at times.  There can be troubles and problems; we all go through this.  The account of Peter walking on water to Jesus is a lesson that we should never lose sight of.  When we focus our thoughts upon the divine Truths of God’s Word, we can withstand all the attacks Satan puts in front of us.  The devil is trying to get us to look to the right or the left.  The devil’s goal is to distract us, so we take our eyes off Christ.

（歌曲）

将你的眼睛转向耶稣

哦灵魂，你是否疲倦和烦恼
你看到的黑暗中没有光
有光可以看看救世主
和生活更丰富和自由

将你的眼睛转向耶稣
看着他美妙的脸庞
地球上的事物会变得奇怪地暗淡
在祂荣耀和恩典的光照下

This song challenges us to turn our eyes upon Jesus.  I want to share a couple of thoughts with you that keep young people from keeping their eyes on Christ.

1.  我们倾向于将目光集中在自己身上。  It is easy to spend much of our time analyzing our feelings.  We ask ourselves questions like, “Am I happy?”, “Am I fulfilled?”, “Am I doing well or poorly?”.  Remember when Peter stepped out of the boat, while he kept his eyes on Christ, he could walk on water toward Jesus, but as soon as Peter looked at the waves or the trouble, he started to sink.  We need to look outward toward the things of God and not inward toward ourselves all the time

2.  我们倾向于向右或向左看。  Meaning we tend to look at other people and start asking, “I wonder what they are doing about Christ?”.  As an example, Maybe Peter looks around and says, “I wonder what Emily is doing with God?  “or “I wonder what Sharon is doing with God?”, or “What about Jerimiah?  I wonder what he is doing?” God wants us to keep our focus on Him.  We need to be concerned about what God is doing in our lives and not so worried about what others are or are not doing.

约翰福音 21：19-22

“19 他说这话，表征他该用怎样的死来荣耀神。说了这话，就对他的说，跟从我。

20 彼得转过身来，看见耶稣所爱的门徒跟在后面。晚餐时也靠在他胸前说，主啊，出卖你的是谁？

21 彼得看见他就对耶稣说，主啊，这人怎么办呢？

22 耶稣对他说，如果我愿意他等我来，那与你有什么关系？你跟我来。”

Notice here, in John 2:19-22, the conversation with Peter and Jesus.  Jesus asked Peter to follow Him, but Peter looked at another and asked Jesus, “what shall this man do?” Jesus told Peter, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?” Jesus told Peter; what concern is it of yours what this man does for me?  I am asking 你 to follow me, Peter.  Peter’s job was to focus on following Christ.  As young people, we are often concerned about what everyone else is doing.  But Jesus wants us to focus on Him.

3.  我们倾向于将目光投向未来或担心未来。  也许我们担心毕业后会发生什么。当我们担心未来时，我们会忘记现在什么是重要的。

马修 6:34

“34 所以不要为明天考虑：因为明天要为自己的事情考虑。到今天为止，它的邪恶就足够了。”

In essence, Jesus says, “do not worry about tomorrow because it will take care of itself.” We need to focus on what God wants us to be looking at today and do what we know is right today.  Today if we are doing what is right, meaning:  we are honest, we are not stealing, not cheating, not lying to our parents or others, we are doing our homework, we are doing our best in school, and we are working hard, focused on what we are doing today, tomorrow will work itself out.

What are you looking at?  Your friends?  Things of the world?  Jesus is challenging us to keep focused on Him through every decision and challenge we face in life.  Trouble will come when we do not keep our eyes focused on Christ.  So, turn your eyes upon Jesus, and look full in His wonderful face; the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.  So, I challenge you to keep your eyes upon God, and He will continue to strengthen and help you as you go forward through life.

诗篇 121:2

“我要向山举目，我的帮助从何而来。

2 我的帮助来自创造天地的耶和华。”

把你的眼睛放在耶稣身上，他是你的帮助，他会在每一个美好的时刻、每一个困难的时刻和所有的时间与你同在。

RHT