Consciously Set the Lord Before Your Eyes
To live a life of stability and sense, we must make a conscious decision to put the Lord always before our eyes and follow His will.
Erlo Stegen emphasizes the necessity of consciously setting the Lord before our eyes, as exemplified by Jesus Christ, who maintained His focus on God even during suffering. He urges believers to make a deliberate choice to prioritize God in every aspect of life, ensuring that He is our guide and source of stability. Stegen warns against relying on our own understanding or worldly influences, advocating for a life led by God's will. He illustrates the importance of this decision with the story of an Indian chief who regretted his choices at the end of his life, highlighting the urgency of choosing the right path now. Ultimately, setting the Lord before us allows us to face challenges with confidence and clarity.
Text
Ps 16:8 - "I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
These words were quoted by Peter about Jesus Christ. In Acts 2:25 Peter tells us expressly that David spoke of Christ, particularly of His resurrection. The Lord Jesus Christ set the Lord always before His eyes, even in His suffering. We must do the same.
He must be our beginning and our end. He must be first in our lives. We must not run ahead or lag behind Him, but follow Him closely, go when He goes and stop when He stops.
We weren't born saints; we haven't set the Lord before our eyes since we were small. We weren't born saved. There is a decision which had to be made at a certain time, consciously and deliberately. You personally have to choose to put the Lord always before your eyes.
Putting God before our eyes and at our right hand will put stability and sense in our lives. If we put Him always before us, then we can see His face and know whether He is pleased with us or not.
He must be before us in all things and not worldly things. We must look at Him in every situation. Then we shall not be moved, come what may, we won't become carnal or fight in the flesh. We can face any situation for He guides us.
The going might be tough, even as Jesus prayed, "if it's possible let this cup pass from Me, yet not My will but Thine be done". And God sent an angel to strengthen Him and He overcame.
We can react in three ways when we're faced with a difficult situation - we can follow our own understanding and wisdom, or do what we see others do in a similar situation. But if we're in tune with God we will do His will in that situation.
The story is told of an Indian chief who heard the Gospel but chose to rather carry on in his Indian traditional way. However when he faced death he said, "the way I chose ends here, I cannot find a way through the darkness". Each of us, if we haven't chosen the right road, will come to a place sooner or later where our road will end.
Woe to you if you should realise at the end of your life that the way you chose was wrong and that your life is wasted. Rather set the Lord before your eyes now and let Him guide you in the way.
Sermon Outline
- Set the Lord Before Your Eyes
- The Decision to Follow Christ
- The Benefits of Following Christ
- He must be our beginning and our end
- He must be first in our lives
- We weren't born saints
- We must choose to put the Lord always before our eyes
- Stability and sense in our lives
- Guidance in difficult situations
Key Quotes
“I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” — Erlo Stegen
“He must be our beginning and our end. He must be first in our lives.” — Erlo Stegen
Application Points
- We must make a conscious decision to put the Lord always before our eyes and follow His will.
- Following God's will brings stability and sense in our lives.
- We must be in tune with God and do His will in every situation.