Focused
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Announcements:
Monday - Council meeting
Wednesday - Children / Youth services
Saturday - Worship practice and church game night
Intro to Focused:
Over the summer last year, I taught my older girls how to start a fire with a magnifying glass. We had been moving things into and out of the new house, and somehow a magnifying glass ended up in my hands and I said hey kids - watch this.
The way that works is to take the glass - and hold it at the perfect angle to catch and focus the light energy from the sun into the smallest possible little circle. When you do that, the with all of that energy focused into one area it gets really hot and if you have the right combustible materials, fire.
Magnifying glasses are readily available, they are sold at Walmart, probably Walgreens and dollar general too. Combustible material is readily available, the lint in your pocket is a good start. The sun is literally always in the sky shining somewhere. The ingredient that brings all of that together to make something happen - is focus.
Focus is defined as an action - to pay particular attention to a specific thing.
As a thing - focus is the state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition.
The specific thing that we focus on is the thing we put the most energy into, the most thought, the most care, the most of our resources. The most of our time.
Through that - the things that we focus on are also the things most improved. The things that have the most growth.
People who are good at growing plants, the reason they are good at growing plants is really that they are paying attention to them, they are focused on them. They see the leaf that curled over there that means there is too much moisture. They see the yellowing of the stem that means there’s too much salt in the dirt. I’m just making this stuff up - please consult an actual plant person. When you don’t focus on that house plant, it dies. Because you didn’t water it last month. Or the month before. Or all of 2022. It was a hearty plant. You killed it - because you didn’t think about it.
As believers - Jesus calls our focus to be on him and his glory.
Recap disciplined - controlled burn. Jan 8th I preached on the idea of being a disciplined believer - and I compared it to the concept of setting fires in our lives - specific things that we would do on purpose, for a purpose. Things that we actually have to do - not things that just happen to us or in us. Stuff we do.
Recap prepared - ready to answer for the hope that is within you. Last week my message was to be prepared. That we should have a relationship with Jesus worth talking about, and exist in a state of being ready to talk about him. We took a look at Philip - and the way that he responded to the lord when called to minister to the Ethiopian man.
And now - Focused.
Where.
Where we put our focus, or who we focus on is really more important that how we focus or why. You can get this part right, and still be right, without knowing a four step process to doing it better. Our focus as believers should be on God and his glory, and on righteousness.
We spend a lot of our lives either totally focused on the wrong thing or looking at the right things with blurred vision. We’ve got to focus. As we go throughout the next year, our focus will determine the things that grow in our lives and the things we cut away. It will really determine the life that we live. I understand that we cannot be singularly focused. But we can - more and more - determine that our first focus, the most important thing, is Jesus.
Why. Why do we do that? Why does it matter that I focus more on Jesus than on homelessness? Why does it matter that I am focused more on lifting him up that I am on being a good employee? Why does it matter that I would focus on his name than my own as long as he gets the credit in interview we do later....
1. Because our Lord tells us to.
The parents in the room can tell you, sometimes the only reason you need is “because I said so”
In Matthew 22:37
He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Jesus gives us the greatest commandment.
God gave us the ten commandments through moses, what was the first one? Have no other Gods - God wants your focus.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
God calls for our focus - so that we are looking at him.
When we talk about the way that we go about our day - God wants our focus.
The way that we work, God wants to be that focus.
2. The second reason… is because it is wonderful.
Paul writes to the church in Phillipians 3 saying
But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.
My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,
assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.
He says to us today - that knowing Jesus, REALLY knowing Jesus, is more valuable than anything else he has - or has done - or has known. He considers the rest D - u - n - g. Dung so that he can know Christ.
3. Because that is where we grow.
Jesus told us in John 15 - He is the vine, we are the branches. Without him, we are nothing. We can do nothing, we produce nothing.
Think about how that works out. Without Jesus, this is a concert venue at best. Without Jesus - Everyone here is still going to hell. WIth him as our focus, we thrive, we flourish, we produce good fruit.
We are the best version of ourselves when our eyes are planted firmly on Jesus.
How.
1. Eliminate noise.
Noise is a funny thing. We manipulate literal noise to increase or decrease our focus on things in life. Cleaning the kitchen is more fun with noise on, because now your not cleaning the kitchen.. you’re singing and dancing the silverware into the drawer.
Noise can keep us awake, or it can help us sleep.
I can tell I am getting older, because I turn the radio down so I can see better.
Hearing doesn’t have anything to do with seeing, but when there is noise it is very difficult to focus.
And we need to focus.
So we eliminate noise.
Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Noise in this context is just stuff.
Paul calls out youthful passions.
2. Set aside actual time.
We pack our days and our nights with one thing after another.
Did you know - unsaved people somehow fill their 24 hour days up too??
And they don’t have Jesus!
Our days start to look a lot like theirs when we pack them full.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
3. Point everything else.
Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people,
Results:
Our focus determines so many things in our lives. Focusing on Jesus is going to do the same. It may change or determine where you work, where you live, the size of your family. The nature of your relationships. Focusing on Jesus is going to determine who you hang out with. It is going to determine who you break bread with.
Warning.
I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary.
But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.
Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Promise.
You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you.
Conclusion:
A laser is really just very focused energy. A magnifying glass can start a fire. A believer focused on God is a magnificent thing.
We focus on Jesus because he says to. Because we flourish there.
We focus by eliminating distractions and setting aside time and energy. We point everything else to that same focus.
And when we do all of that - God is glorified and we can do anything.
Benediction:
For this reason I kneel before the Father
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love,
and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.