Eyes on the Prize

Intro

-Dedicated recap:

-Context of what happened to Israel following their victory over Jericho.

-Were told to destroy EVERYTHING in the city of Jericho

-One guy didn’t follow the rule and kept a few things

-Next battle they were overwhelmed and got smacked

-God told Joshua they would never see victory again until they burned all the stolen items and removed the man who took them.

Joshua 7:13

13 Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the LORD. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.

Prayer

“Clear eyes. Full Hearts. CAN’T Lose!”

-FNL Intro

-Want to be Coach Taylor when I grow up.

Clear eyes.

-I loves eyes. Eyes are often the first thing I notice about a person when I meet them. I love how unique, powerful, and sensitive eyes are.

-I graduated college with a degree in interpersonal communication studies. I love observing and studying how people communicate, especially watching and observing the nonverbal cues we all give, sometimes without knowing it.

-The pandemic has been difficult for some to do this because you tell so much by the way someone’s moth looks when they say something. Are they saying it straight faced, with a smile, or a frown?

-However, for me, I have always focused in on the eyes. Are your eyes frigidity with anxiety, wide open with surprise, pressed tight with anger or fear, glossy and beautiful with sorrow. (Side note: eyes are never more beautiful than right before and right after a really good cry.)

-The bible also talks about the power of our eyes

Matthew 6:22–23 NIV

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

-What you focus your eyes on matters.

-In our story with Joshua, we see that despite a tremendous victory they shouldn’t have won lead to them being overwhelmed and beaten in the next battle because one warrior took his eyes off the prize.

-We can’t walk through life expecting to see victory if we are walking in the dark.

-You ever tried to clean your room with the lights off? No? Yea, because that’s pointless and dumb.

-Why do we think we can clean up and fix our live’s in the dark then?

-The only way to win in life is to stay connected to God and to keep our eyes clear of any distraction away from who He has called us to be.

-Once we get our eyes clear and focused on God’s truth for us, we have to been using that to fill our heart with His promises.

Full hearts.

-Today is a day dedicated to the memory of one of my personal hero’s and the symbol of what was the second major victory for people of color being given basic human rights in this country.

-My favorite quote from Rev. Dr. MLK serves as a mantra for me when I face trials in my life. He once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

-To me, this quote challenges the “woe is me” mentality I get into sometimes. It also reminds me that I don’t have a reason to lose my faith or my focus on God just because things are hard.

-Another place we see this example is in the book of Matthew when Jesus beckons Peter to walk on water:

Matthew 14:25–31 NIV

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

-I’m not hating on Peter at all. The man got out of the boat and took a couple steps ON WATER. But, I think it’s a great example for what happens in our life when life stats to get insane.

-The storm of life hits and all of a sudden the confidence we once had in God’s plan and the dedication we once had to His hope, is gone.

-What you need to know though is God’s plan and hope never changed. The fullness of your heart did.

-You can’t expect to win at life when you allow the circumstance of your life to take your eyes off the prize.

-We have to live life with FULL HEARTS. But not hearts full of anything, hearts full of God’s promises to us.

Psalm 37:3–5 NIV

3 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:

-Another paraphrase of this says:

3 Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on his faithfulness. 4 Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and he will provide for you what you desire the most. 5 Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!

-Living a life with a heart full of God’s promises puts your feet on solid ground when you’re actually standing on water.

CAN’T LOSE!

-You wanna know my favorite thing about leaders like Joshua, Coach Eric Taylor, Rev. Dr. MLK, and Peter? They all lost, a lot, but they won more than they lost.

-A winner doesn’t let a loss define them, they let losing direct them.

-Losing is one of the biggest blessings we now have as Christians.

-You see, because of Jesus, when we lose at life, we still have a hope.

-We have an opportunity to taste the bitterness of defeat and get back up with a clean slate knowing what will happen if we slip up again without having to walk around letting that defeat define us.

-Joshua tore his clothes and cried out to God when his nation lost. Then he went to God, got his nation back in line and smacked the life out of the nation they just lost too. He stood with clear eyes in every battle after that point and never lost again.

-MLK was not a perfect man. He made mistakes. He experienced being imprisoned for simply being a human. He was spit on and degraded at every turn. However, he stayed connected to God with a heart full of His promises and lead the way to equality for millions and millions of people for generations to come.

-Peter started to drown, later he denied Jesus 3 times. However, he always came back to God knowing he had done wrong but seeking to do better the next time.

-The mindset and life of a winner doesn’t look like an undefeated person. It looks like a person who battles back from defeat and uses moments of loss to grow and make others better.

Close

-Salvation call.