Where's Your Focus

Where is Your Focus?

So tonight I want to talk about focus and having a 20/20 vision. 20/20 vision is the benchmark for seeing. It’s what you want. We try to achieve it though glasses contacts and surgery. One of the main things that affects your vision is focus. Are you focused on what you are looking at. In our spiritual life our focus affects everything. What are you focused on? Are you focused on your problems, difficulties, obstacles, illness, anxiety or are you focused on the Savior?

How many of you have seen at least one of the star wars movies? Yoda is one of my favorite characters and when he is teaching luke skywalker one thing that he continually tells him is to focus. He’s trying to get him to forget his feelings because they can betray you and focus on what he is trying to accomplish. Yoda wants luke to have 20/20 vision on the task at hand.

How many of you can quote yoda? Come on try it....Fear leads to anger....anger leads to hate…hate leads to the darkside....

All that to say where is your focus....Lets look at a couple instances in the bible where focus was off or on the wrong thing...

The first person I want to look at is Naaman. Now Naaman was a commander of the army for the king of Aram or Syria…This guy was legit....a warrior…battle hardened… Let’s check out what happens to him and his focus.

2 Kings 5:1–14 CSB

Naaman, commander of the army for the king of Aram, was a man important to his master and highly regarded because through him, the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was a valiant warrior, but he had a skin disease. Aram had gone on raids and brought back from the land of Israel a young girl who served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his skin disease.” So Naaman went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said. Therefore, the king of Aram said, “Go, and I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel.” So he went and took with him 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, and it read: When this letter comes to you, note that I have sent you my servant Naaman for you to cure him of his skin disease. When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life that this man expects me to cure a man of his skin disease? Recognize that he is only picking a fight with me.” When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Have him come to me, and he will know there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go wash seven times in the Jordan and your skin will be restored and you will be clean.” But Naaman got angry and left, saying, “I was telling myself: He will surely come out, stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the skin disease. Aren’t Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and left in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more should you do it when he only tells you, ‘Wash and be clean’?” So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the command of the man of God. Then his skin was restored and became like the skin of a small boy, and he was clean.

So the first thing I want us to look at is who believes and who doesn’t. The King of Aram believes Naaman can be healed and the young Israeli servant does. Naaman and the King of Israel don’t believe. How crazy is that. The king of Israel who knows who God is doesn’t believe Naaman can be healed.

Naaman was expecting some big deal....some huge miracle…some pomp and circumstance right. Hey hey here I am let’s get this healing started. When Elisha told him what to do it seemed so simple and so mundane Naaman got mad. His focus was on his status and he expected God to provide a miracle based on His earthly status.

Once he changed his focus and did as Elisha said He was healed and pledged to serve the Lord. Amazing what happens when we focus on the right things....

Let me say this for everybody in here including myself....Because honestly I’m guilty of having my focus on the wrong thing too....God will move the exact way He wants to and when He wants to and how He wants to. He knows what we need more than we do and a lot of times He moves to shift our focus back to Him.

Let’s look at an example of proper focus. The prophet Elisha wasn’t always a prophet. He was a farmer first. He had a simple life and he was responsible with what the Lord blessed him with. See in our culture we expect things have to be a certain way. Being called into ministry from God well that has to happen at an event or a camp or a DNOW. It can’t happen at work or at school or the simple or mundane right. It can and does when you have the right focus.

1 Kings 19:19–21 CSB

Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran to follow Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” he replied, “for what have I done to you?” So he turned back from following him, took the team of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s wooden yoke and plow, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him.

He was plowing his field. He was putting in work. Getting things done. He wasn’t sitting back waiting on accolades or some special thing to happen. He was sweaty, dirty, smelly, and working. He was focused on what He had to do. But notice how his focus shifts when God calls. He left no question by slaughtering the oxen that now that God had called him he was going after Him with laser focus. Nothing will distract me....nothing will get in my way....nothing left behind undone. Reckless abandon and laser focus.

Now let’s look at one more instance of focus....Peter walking on the water. Sometimes when I read some of the things that Peter did it reminds me of me. Not all the great stuff he wrote when he matured and had laser focus…but the more bull in a china shop stuff that he did in the Gospels. Brash, temperamental, impatient....yeah that’s me sometimes.

Ok picture this your sitting there in Israel with Jesus…and you just watched Him feed 5000 men. The number is way more than 5000 because there were also women and children present. What a miracle. What a faith building moment right. Your on cloud 9....man it can’t get any better than this.

Then Jesus tells you to saddle up get in the boat and go i’ll catch up....Let’s see what The Bible records about this:

Matthew 14:22–33 CSB

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone. Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear. Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

The first thing they thought was it was a ghost. Then Jesus identifies Himself. Now if it we me I’d still be like uh....we way out here in the water how you get here? But Peter…This guy.. He’s like hey tell me to come out there with you.

Now pay attention here....Peter started walking on the water....he was making it....he was going towards Jesus walking on the water. But Peter’s focus shifted. Instead of being focused on Jesus he started paying attention to the wind....he got scared.

We get like that. We start listening to the whispers…we get scared of what people will say. What will people think about me if I’m bold about my faith. What will my friends or my family say. Our focus shifts. Our eyes stopped looking at Jesus and start looking around and then we start to sink.

But here is the best part....When peter cried out Lord save me…Jesus didn’t sit there and lecture him…He didn’t leave him sinking in the water so he could teach him a lesson…he didn’t turn His back on Him....The bible says IMMEDIATELY, JESUS REACHED OUT HIS HAND.

No second passed. IMMEDIATELY. Then Why did you doubt me. We all have doubts sometimes we are human. But if you can keep your focus on Jesus those doubts begin to disappear. Those worries just go away. And they are replaced by peace that passes all understanding. The struggles become easier to handle. The trials a little less heavy. I’m not telling you life will be perfect but when your focus is on your savior everything else falls to just a little background noise.

Real quick I want you to listen to this in the Gospel of John about doubt....

John 20:24–29 CSB

But Thomas (called “Twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.” Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Jesus is telling you tonight.....Don’t be faithless…BELIEVE.

INVITATION:

There are those of you in here tonight whose focus has shifted....It started off great and you got sidetracked. You got scared by the winds of change, doubt, fear, whispers, or some other circumstance. Some of you need to reclaim your focus....Rededicate yourselves to Jesus.

There are those of you who are expecting angels to sing and God to shine lights on your head before you follow what you already know He wants you to do. Some of you are being called into His service. But your focus is on some grand gesture instead of getting behind your plow of reading God’s word and showing up and serving in the church.

And there are some here who are still holding out on accepting Christ. Your vision is blurred by so many factors in our culture. You are blinded by your own intelligence or expectation and just can’t seem to make everything come together. Let me say emphatically that it takes FAITH to make this transaction. Watch your vision become laser focused as you exercise faith and follow Jesus.