Sermons
#5 Supernatural Transformation
Focusing on What Matters
Ephesians 1:17-23
Hebrews 12:1-2 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. 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.
(Psalms 91:1) “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” [2] “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” [3] Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and the noisome pestilence.” [4] “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” [5] “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;” [6] “Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.” [7] “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee.”
"Discovering God's Secret Place" is a phrase that suggests an exciting, mysterious adventure awaits. What is a Secret Place? Is it a hidden location, a forgotten land, a rugged mountain range with stunning views, a beautiful beach with beckoning waters, or a dense forest teeming with wildlife. Whatever it is, the phrase in itself suggests it to be a place of discovery, exploration, and adventure.
This scripture explores a place of intimacy. Those who dwell in the secret place of the Most-High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. David says that the Lord will protect them from harm, and they need not fear the terrors of the night or day. This secret place is where we can be intimate with God, and He will protect us from all harm.
Many followers of Jesus seem to know very little about the secret place of the Most-High or what it is to abide under His shadow, a symbol of His protection and guidance.
This hidden place refers to an intimate and personal fellowship with God. It is a place of refuge where one finds comfort, peace, and rest away from the chaos and turmoil of the world.
There are many people today who claim to have accepted Christ but are unaware of the true significance of abiding under the shadow of God.
The shadow resonates as a symbol of God's constant and unwavering protection and guidance. It implies being entirely covered by God's presence, living under His care and direction.
Developing a close relationship with God is one of the greatest privileges that a person can have. It is a relationship only available to those who genuinely know Jehovah as God and trust Him.
When a believer puts his faith in God, he receives many benefits.
One of the benefits of having a close relationship with God is protection. When a person trusts God, He (God) becomes a shield and a fortress around him.
God protects His children from harm and danger, and He keeps them safe from enemy attacks. This protection gives believers peace of mind and assurance that they are never alone.
Another benefit of having a close relationship with God is comfort. When a person is going through a difficult time, God is always there to comfort him.
His words of comfort and encouragement give believers the strength to keep going, even when things seem impossible.
Furthermore, God's presence brings peace that surpasses all understanding.
Finally, having a close relationship with God means experiencing His care. God cares for His children in every way possible. He provides for their needs, guides them through life, and gives them the wisdom they need to make the right decisions.
When a person trusts in God, he can rest assured that all his needs will be met according to God’s riches in glory.
As a person receives God's protection, comfort, and care, he trusts God all the more. And as he trusts God more, he gets to know Him more as God. This relationship with God is priceless and one that every person should strive to have.
By staying close to Him and following His lead, we can experience His blessings and grace. Therefore, it is essential for believers to seek a deeper understanding of these concepts and to cultivate a personal relationship with God.
Through prayer, meditation, and studying the scriptures, we can discover the beauty and richness of abiding in the secret place of the Most High and living under His shadow.
The question before us is, “Are we looking to connect with God on a deeper level, and are we interested in a transformative experience that can help you unlock the secrets of God's heart, leading to a closer relationship with Him, taking us to a new level of understanding of God's love and His plan for our life?
Remember our topic is staying focused on what matters.
Let me share a story some of you might remember:
The United States Women’s Softball team won the gold medal in Atlanta’s 1996 Olympic games. They lost only one game. In the fifth inning against Australia, Danielle Tyler hit a home run over the center-field fence. She floated around the bases with a rush of adrenaline. When she was greeted by a swarm of well-wishing teammates at home plate she let the excitement distract her focus and she did not touch the base. When all of the yelling subsided, the Australian team quietly appealed to the umpire who dramatically called Tyler out.
Rather than scoring a run, Tyler’s blast over the fence netted her team an out. As it ended up, had the lady slugger stepped on home plate, her team would have won 1-0. Instead, after two extra innings, Australia emerged with a 2-1 win and the U.S. team took their only loss of the Olympics.
That disaster teaches us the importance of focus and not just focusing on anything but focusing on what matters. You see, Danielle Tyler had hit a home run and as she crossed the third base her focus shifted from finishing the home run to celebrating with her teammates. What mattered was that she stepped on the home base, but she lost focus.
Now when this illustration is applied to our lives it becomes much more important. You see, focusing on what matters often means the difference between success or failure, joy or sorrow, contentment or uneasiness, and even in some cases life or death.
For the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about Supernatural Transformation. We’ve looked at scripture and endeavored to discover the heart of Christ and in the process uncover the transformation the Father would work in our lives as we let Him replace our heart with His heart.
We’ve learned that Jesus has a heart of forgiveness, a heart filled with compassion, and a heart that listens. Today, I’m going to talk about how His heart was focused.
One of the incredible abilities of Jesus was to stay on target. His life never got off track. You never find Him missing the home base.
Jesus didn’t have any money, or computers. There weren’t any cars or jets. He didn’t carry a day-timer, or a palm pilot yet Jesus did what many of us fail to do. He kept His life on course!
How many of us look at our life and wish we had more direction, more stability, more focus?
How many of us have ever gone through a period where we feel like everything is off kilter and that nothing seems to be getting done?
Maybe you’ve had an experience where there have been so many things screaming for your attention that you’ve literally froze, not knowing what to do?
William H. Hinson tells us why animal trainers carry a stool when they go into a cage of lions. They have their whips and their pistols are at their sides. But invariably they carry a stool. Hinson says it is the most important tool of the trainer. He holds the stool by the seat and thrusts the legs toward the
face of the wild animal.
Those who know maintain that the animal tries to focus on all four legs at once. In the attempt to focus on all four, a kind of paralysis overwhelms the animal, and it becomes disabled because its attention is fragmented.
This is exactly what happens when our focus is fragmented. Our life is in disarray, and we are disabled.
When Jesus looked across the horizon of His future, He could see many targets. There were many forks in the road of His life that He could have pursued.
He could have been a guerrilla freedom fighter. He could have been a national hero. He could have been content to be a teacher or a physician. But every step Jesus took in His life reflected His resolve to be the Savior.
Luke 9:51-56 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56 and they went to another village.
And in Luke 19:10 we read “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
In Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
From the day Jesus picked up His traveling robe and set down the tools of a carpenter Jesus was relentlessly focused on one task, the task that mattered, the cross of Calvary. He was so focused that His final words were, “It is finished” John 19:30
Listen, Jesus said those words in spite of the hungry that were still without food, the sick that still needed healing, the ignorant who still needed instruction, and the unloved who still needed love.
Jesus could say those words because He had completed His designated task. His purpose was fulfilled. The job was done.
But what about us? One glance at the average person and we’ll discover that there are many
unfulfilled dreams, unfulfilled plans, unfulfilled intentions. Is it any wonder, our lives tend to be scattered.
We get excited about one trend only until the next comes along. We easily fall prey to the latest craze or quick fix. We find ourselves starting one project and then going to another.
We make promises to ourselves about what we’re going to do to get back on track and then those promises are quickly forgotten in the midst of the crunch of our daily agenda.
So how do we get on track? How do we hit the targets of life? How do we experience life with the fulfillment of purpose?
By staying focused on what matters. But then the question immediately surfaces, “How do I know what matters?”
The answer lies in a very simple, yet profound, statement. You know what matters when your focus is not on your life but HIS life!!
The only one who can bring order and clarity to our life is Jesus Christ! You see, switching our focus from our life to the life of Christ is no easy task. It involves more than mere mental assent; it requires complete surrender.
If our focus is divided between God and ourselves or is upon our life only, we will never fulfill what we were meant to do and we will always feel like there is something left undone.
It’s no coincidence that Paul wrote in Ephesians, 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The question is, are we more concerned about what we accomplish in our life than what God wants to accomplish in our life?
And this brings us to three steps we can take that switch the focus from our life to His life giving us the ability to know what matters.
Realize that God has a plan, and YOU are in it!
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
2 Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
Let’s focus on two words in these two passages. “Called” and “purpose”. The first step in focusing on the life of Christ is to realize that God has a PLAN and YOU and I are in it.
The catch is God’s plan for your life will only unfold completely when you want to be part of it.
You see at the heart of God’s plan for you and me is His plan for the whole world. God’s plan is to save people.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Even more, it is God’s desire to have an intimate relationship with people. That is the heart of God’s plan. That is why there is so much focus in the Bible on the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, which makes it possible for this plan to unfold in the lives of everyone. If THEY CHOOSE.
This is where our part of God’s plan comes into play. For those who don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God has given us the freedom to make the choice of life or death. Life with Christ, or death without Him, plain or simple.
You see, God’s plan was beginning to unfold in our life from the moment we were conceived, but it reaches a halt when we are confronted with the reality of sin in our life and our need for God.
Then it’s up to us to make the choice to follow Him or ourselves. Hear me, God’s plan for our life will never be completed until we choose to follow Him. No one can make the decision but you.
But what about those who have given their lives to Christ, who have said yes to a relationship with God? 2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
If God’s goal is the salvation of the world, then our goal should be the same. The details will differ from person to person, but the big picture is identical for all of us. We’re Christ’s ambassadors, we represent Him to the world around us, and God speaks through our lives to those around us!
If you are not sure about your future as a Christian, one thing is certain: God wants YOU to tell others about His love and desire to be reconciled with them.
But exactly how are you contributing? What is your specific assignment? The answer is found in
the next step.
Ephesians 1:18-19 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
The truth of the matter is that God equips us for our part in HIS plan. But the key is His plan can only be carried out by His strength, His power, His wisdom. That is why it is not a matter of what WE do, but what HE does through US!
“So how is that supposed to help me know what to do?” It’s simple, before God can do anything through you, you have to be willing to submit ALL your plans, ALL your hopes, ALL your life to HIM.
Then, once you’ve done that pay attention to the desires you have. God’s desires will begin surfacing in your life and it is at the intersection of those desires and God’s plan that you find your assignment.
Whatever the desire is that surfaces, each of us has been made in a unique way and as His desires surface in your life you’ll begin to see how HE has EQUIPPED you for what HE PLANS!
Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Listen, we are a custom design; we are tailor-made. God prescribed our birth. Regardless of the circumstances that surrounded our arrival, we are not an accident. God planned us before we were born.
Now this is where you start to get focus in your life. Ask yourself, “What are the desires that seem to override everything else?” Evaluate them. Determine, if I was to act on these desires would it contribute to God’s plan or take away from it?
As you weed out your desires you are starting to focus on the things that God wants to do through you and find your part in HIS plan.
Remember, not only can you not do anything but you also can’t do everything. That is why so many times in the Word of God the church is referred to as a body. FOCUS on God’s DESIRES in your life and His EQUIPPING for what needs to be done!
The third step is probably the most important one. It is here that our focus either becomes razor sharp or rock blunt. It is here that what has begun is carried on to completion or is halted in its tracks.
It’s another very simple step yet, I’m sure too many, it will seem illogical, GET OUT OF THE WAY!!
I’m sure some of you were thinking, “Okay, I need to realize that God has a Plan and I’m in it, I need to recognize that God has EQUIPPED me for His plan, and now the Pastor is going to say that I need to REALLY start DOING what I’m supposed to do!”
NO!!! Let’s turn to a passage that is maybe a little bit familiar to some of you, Luke 9:23-24 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
Highlight a couple of words with me. DENY HIMSELF and TAKE UP HIS CROSS. Folks, Christ made it clear that following Him involves putting our “self”, that is the part of us that always places self-preservation first, that always cries out me, me, me, on the cross.
Deny it, leave it, say good-bye to it. “Getting out of the way” involves getting our “self” out of the way. Instead of saying, “What can I do for God” say, “What does Jesus want to do through me?” Instead of saying, “How can I live for God,” start saying “How does Christ want to live His life through me?”
You see the focus now shifts from our “self” to Christ. It shifts from wanting to save our life to wanting to have His life. It shifts from what WE do to what HE does.
Please don’t misunderstand me, this is not about saying good bye to your personality, or your uniqueness as an individual person. It is about saying as Paul said in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
It is not about what we do for Jesus that is important, it is about who we are IN Him that is important! Because out of WHO WE ARE Christ is able to flow into what HE wants to do in our lives!!
You see when we understand the principle of getting out of the way it shifts the focus off what we are doing and onto what Christ is doing.
We start to realize that it is Christ who is working through our life, and we can start asking ourselves am I getting in the way or am I letting Christ do what He wants to do through me?
Every decision, every thought, every action take captive and say is this Jesus or is this me? As we do this, we’ll find that it becomes easier to recognize the things God is doing and wants to do through us. GET OUT OF THE WAY!
If there’s anything we can know, Jesus Christ had a life that was extremely focused. There was a lot to distract Him from His purpose, but the truth is it didn’t. He stayed focused, He kept focused on what mattered.
God wants to supernaturally transform our life into a life that is focused. Focused on what He wants to do through us. And it CAN happen!
All we have to do is realize that God has a PLAN and we are part of it; recognize that God EQUIPS for what HE PLANS; and say “YES” to God and “NO” to ourselves, in effect, “GET OUT OF THE WAY”.
Then we will discover the things that matter and not worry so much about the things that don’t.
Lets get focused on what matters.
Amen!