Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.  See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Luke 11:34-35

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus explains this powerful analogy for the eye. 
It functions like a lamp.  Easy to understand, we all know how lamps work. 
If the lamp is on and shining brightly we know where to go so that we won’t bump into things and get hurt.
If the lamp is dark, it does no good to be holding the thing, it is a useless tool.
The other thing about lamps is that you need them when it’s dark. 
Guess what, there’s a lot of dark out there today. 
Jesus invites us to think about our eyes in the same way.
  If our eyes are bad, they are useless…in fact, at another time, Jesus says that if your eye is causing you to sin it would be better not to have that eye at all.  
  But, if our eyes are good, they are very good indeed, filling our whole body with light.  Our eyes are ensuring that our lives are on the right track, and heading towards the right goal.

From these words from Jesus, our eyes seem like an important thing to get right.
An important thing to have God get a hold of.

“Your eye is the lamp of your body.”  -Jesus

For God to get a hold of our eyes, there are 3 things we need to do:
1) Learn where God stands
2) Recognize where we’re standing
3) Choose to stand with God 

1) Learn where God stands

Let your eyes look directly ahead,
  And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. 
Watch the path of your feet,
  And all your ways will be established.
Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
  Turn your foot from evil.
                                           Proverbs 4:25-27 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 
                                          Hebrews 12:1-2

These 2 passages of Scripture give us some helpful principles for where God stands.
In Proverbs we have strong direction, from the wise Solomon, on what not to do and what to do with our eyes.
Do not allow your eyes to turn you away.  
  There are a lot of things that lure our eyes, the Bible calls it the lust of our eyes, and tells us to throw it off.

Imagine you are a 100 metre sprinter, getting ready for the Olympic Finals.  
You are all too aware that there are TV cameras zoomed in on the beads of sweat pouring down your face, and sure you know that those cameras represent the millions of people watching your every move, not to mention the 10’s of thousands who are in attendance screaming, cheering, booing, and calling your name. 
It’s all there, all very alluring and attractive, but you don’t turn, not even for a moment.
Because you know that there is something far more important you are here to do. 
Your gaze is fixed. 
The picture of focus and concentration. 
The cameras catch your gaze and follow it to its fixation point.  
The finish line. 

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus” -Hebrews 12

2) Learn where we stand

Guess what?
You ARE a runner, not a sprinter, but a runner nonetheless.  You are, even now, running toward a goal in your life.  What is it?  What is your goal?  What are your eyes fixed on?

Hebrews 12:2 explains that we are to fix our eyes on what?  
Jesus. 
Jesus Christ is our ‘directly ahead’, He is our ’straight in front of you’, our finish line. 
Can we honestly say that our eyes are so fixed on Jesus Christ that the cameras, screams, cheers, boos, and calls, haven’t turned us to the right or left?
Where are we standing?  What has the attention of our eyes?  What are we time and time again drawn away from Christ towards? 
This is an important question, and honesty is pivotal.

3) Choose to Stand with God

Let’s choose right now to ‘throw off’ everything that hinders us and entangles us. 
Confess our hindrances, name those things that attract and distract our eyes.
Let’s admit that we are not running the race we want to be running, and in humility ask the Lord to run alongside.

I invite you to take a moment in silent prayer.

–
Take a look at these videos if you have time:
What not to do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7hbzpZilJE
What to do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXj0BMYA-cU
  -This was a while back, but imagine the focus needed after all those false starts.