Fixing Our Focus

Introduction

Be finding in your bibles Phi. 3.

You know it is so easy in this life to lose sight of what is most important. We are so involved in so many different things, that we have a tendency to lose sight of what really matters. We are pulled in so many different directions, that we have a very hard time staying focused. I would have to say that staying focused is one of the biggest challenges in life, because there is always something, or someone, that is trying to pull your focus their way. We live in a day to where everyone craves attention. There is constantly a new invention coming out that desires everyone’s attention. There is constantly something out there that is drawing our attention that way,

With that being said, we must find a way to remain focused on the things that really matter in life. If we do not, we are living on a very slippery slope. We are, as the Bible calls it, “tossed to and fro” with every passing thought.

READ THE TEXT

I want us to look closely for just a moment at vs. 8-10. Paul makes it painfully clear that a Christian’s focus should be first and foremost on getting on a deeper level with God.

Now I know that we all feel that we are faithful Christian’s, but I also know that we struggle with that in a prideful way that causes us to quit trying or expecting anything more. It is so easy to lose focus on what really matters.

See, we will be convicted by a message, a song, or maybe just a thought, and we will tell ourselves that we need to be closer to God. We will start to make subtle changes that allow for this spiritual transition and everything goes well for a few days, weeks, or possibly even months. Then something happens; an overwhelming temptation, an outburst of anger, simply a bad day, or maybe even something as bad as a death of a loved one. The result is that we slip. Then we slip again. Then we slip again. Then, before you know it, you are back to the same old thing as you did once before that so deeply convicted you in the first place, but now you simply accept that you are there until conviction sets in again.

What happened? You lost focus. A good example is someone on a diet. Do you know that there is a statistic out there that says around 90% of the people who go on diets to lose weight will not stick to the diet and will gain the majority of their lost weight, if not more than the weight they lost, back in the end. I think some people are lifetime dieters. Every single year, their new-year’s resolution is to lose weight. They usually start strong, but somewhere along the way, they lose focus and it was all in vain.

We too struggle with this in our spiritual lives. We are convicted about something in our life that shouldn’t be there, or maybe something that should be there, and we get started. We do good for a while, but then something happens, we lose focus, and then we are back at square one again.

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of fighting the same old sin over and over again. I am tired of not getting any closer to God. I am tired of being spiritually stuck where I am without growth. If we are going to change who we are, what we are, and how we operate, we must get certain things right.

I want to talk to you today on the topic of “Fixing Our Focus”.

Why Is It So Important?

There Will Always Be Spiritual Roadblocks.(Vs. 2; 18-20)

There Is Life After Death (8-10)

Hebrews 9:27 NKJV

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

What Does It Look Like?

Worship God In The Spirit (Vs. 3)

Philippians 3:18–19 NKJV

18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

Rejoice In Christ Jesus (Vs. 3)

You Have No Confidence In The Flesh (Vs. 3)

How Do I Maintain It?

Pursue The Promise (Vs. 14)

You Live Faithfully (Vs. 16)

You Live Out of a Love for Others (Vs. 18-19)

Conclusion