Focus

Part three of “Divine Potential "

Do you ever feel like God’s will is hidden in the midst of lots of clutter and busyness?

Sometimes, the Lord wants us to look intently to find His purpose for our lives. He wants to reveal to you  . . .  Divine Potential.

Each of us has been given – by the Lord – a spiritual potential to fulfill God’s purposes and be in God’s will.

Hebrews 12:1-3

“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. (v. 2) 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. (v. 3) Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We enjoying asking the Lord, “Open the eyes of my heart.” And the Lord does so. But sometimes, we lose focus. When God open our eyes, things become clear. It’s amazing how – when God opens our eyes – our perspective changes. We learn that God always sees things differently than we do.

Three Principles we must learn about focus.

1) Focus on Your Race  . . .   where you’re going and who you’re going with.

Hebrews 12:1  “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.

A teacher was lecturing one day when he pulled out a large poster board.  Then, he pulled out a marker and placed a black circle on the poster board.  Then, he asked the students to tell him what they saw. One student said, “I see a black dot.” Another student said, “I see a black mark as well.” Another student said, “The only thing I see is a black mark.”  But then another student said, “Professor, I see a large white poster board ready to be used.”

That’s it.

Too many times, we tend to focus on the little minute negative things in life, when God wants us to focus on the Big Picture – the potential of a great project.

Sometimes, we allow a small black mark in our lives to hold us back from reaching our Divine Potential for the kingdom of God.

All of us have “black marks.” None of us are perfect.

In the Old Testament book of Numbers, we read that 12 spies were sent on ahead to bring back a report of the promised land. Ten of the 12 came back with a negative report. They were looking at the little black dot. But two of the (Joshua and Caleb), were looking at the Big Picture. They were able to see the Promise Land through God’s lenses and everything came into FOCUS.

The writer of Hebrews says, “We’re on a journey. We must focus on the race.” Then he begins to bring a little description to our race.

First of all, there is a great cloud of witnesses. To me, this means that we have others who are cheering us on. Our spiritual journey was designed for us to take alone. We need each other.  We need brothers and sisters in the Lord. We need to be connected to the Body of Christ.

At our Wednesday night Discipleship class, I was sharing about Church Membership. The number one priority is our lives should be our personal relationship with the Lord. Vitally important.  That’s the number one thing we stress here at Fortress Church. We don’t stress church membership as much, but it is important. Being connected with the Body of Christ is vital part of you reaching your spiritual potential.

( You will never reach your potential doing it on your own. )

Also, Scripture says to throw off everything that hinders you. The KJV of the Bile says it this way: “lay aside every weight   . . . “

Some athletes sometimes train with ankle weights. They use them during practice.  So, right before a game, when the athlete takes them if, it’s like he can run faster and jump higher. The weights you carry today serve to prepare you for battle tomorrow.

Lay aside every weight . . .

Then Scripture says  . . . and the sin that so easily entangles. Sometimes, we underestimate the damage that sin does to our spiritual life. You will never begin to fulfill your spiritual potential until you throw off the sin that hinders you.

Then, Scripture says, to run WITH PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us. WITH PERSEVERANCE. Don’t give up. In a typical race, when we see that someone else is ahead of us, we tend to give up. But what I love about this spiritual race that we are running is that there are many runners. There’s not a competition as to who gets to the finish line first, you will be a WINNER if you PERSEVERE and simply get to the finish line.

2) Focus on Jesus

. . . what He’s done and where He is

Hebrews 12:2  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.

Let us FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS

It’s not easy to keep our focus on Jesus.

There are times when you sit down to spend time in the Word, and praying. You begin to pray and then, your mind wanders with distractions. “I’ve gotta pay this bill today.” “I need to call my mom.” I need to send an email to my friend.”  Or else you are praying and the phone rings.

The other day, I was listening to one our Cleansing Stream teachings on my IPOD as I was at the gym. I was on the Elyptical Machine FOCUSING on the    teaching of the Word, and I looked up at one of the TV’s and there were some NBA playoff highlights going on and I was distracted. So, I closed my eyes and tried to refocus.

Everywhere we go, there are distractions. People, places, things will easily distract you from your FOCUS of reaching your Divine Potential.

Sometimes, we can be distracted here at church. Some of you have your cell phones on right now . . . Teenagers are being tempted to text message during church.  Sometimes, even a bay’s cry distracts us and throws our focus off. Sometimes is talking and our focus is thrown off. You’ve gotta keep your FOCUS on the Lord. 

If we would only learn to focus on the Lord, and keep distractions at a minimum, we would see the difference in our walk with the Lord.

( You will never reach your potential in life without the Lord )

Once again, Hebrews 12:2 says “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.

I love the way the Scripture says that the Lord is the author of our faith and the perfecter of our faith. This means that He initiates faith, and that He perfects it. He is working in you and I today to make our faith better.

Then, Scripture says that FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM, CHRIST ENDURED THE CROSS.  When I face a struggle, I think about the struggles that Christ endured.  And I realize that Christ overcame the cross and I can overcome mine.

Then, the last part of verse 2 says that Christ SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD.  The “right” hand is often referred to as the hand of greater power.  When a King would sit on His throne, whoever sat on his right would represent the place of power. Jesus is seated at the RIGHT hand of the Father. This is a place of power!

Think about that . . . Jesus, my Lord, is seated at the place of power. So, when I focus on Jesus, I am focusing in the place of power.

Question: Are you going through a difficult time right now?  Remember this  . . .   Jesus Christ is still on the throne.  Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that Jesus is seated at the right handoff the throne of God.  No matter what is happening in your life today, Jesus Christ is still on the throne.
Is your job stressing you out? Remember this . .  Jesus Christ is still on the throne!

Has a relationship broken your heart? Jesus Christ is still on the throne!

Are your finances causing you major worry? Jesus Christ is still on the throne!

The words to a classic worship song say, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will strangely dim; in the light of glory and grace.”

3) Focus on the Finish Line

. . .  Don’t grow weary and don’t lose heart.

Hebrews 12:3  . . .    Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

It’s so easy to lose heart.

We can become distracted and look away from the goal of becoming like Christ. If you saw the movie Chariots of Fire, then maybe you remember the great runner Abraham. He had won so many races. His coach held up such discipline. But he finally lost one of the races because he looked to the side. Just as he was about to finish the race he looked to see where the competitor was. His coach said to him, that look cost you the race. He was not single minded on the finish and the prize that lay ahead.

I love to FOCUS on the Finish Line. I know that one of these days, I will cross the finish line.  My days on earth are over and the Lord calls me home, and I will say, “It was worth it all!”

But it’s not easy keeping our FOCUS on the Finish Line.

One of the Spiritual Disciplines that is extremely great at helping us keep focus is the Spiritual Discipline of FASTING. In October, we  - as a church – will be jointly walking through a 21 Day Daniel Fast. Why? Because we are serious about getting our spiritual lives in order.

Fasting helps us focus more on the spiritual and less on the physical. Fasting is a concerted effort to FOCUS on our spiritual lives.

What is it that makes you lose focus on your relationship with the Lord?

The devil wants you to lose focus on the Lord.

The enemy wants you to focus on your past and not your future.

Prayer:
Lord, Jesus. I thank You for embracing me with your love.

Thank You for giving me life.  I acknowledge that You are still on the throne.

You are seated at the place of power.

And You are now on the throne of my heart.

Today. I ask You to help me keep focus.

I have distractions in my life.  And I need to overcome them.

Today, I am determined to fix my eyes on You.

I need spiritual discipline.  I need spiritual focus.

I need Your Holy Spirit.  I need You!  Amen!