Download - Jan 28-Feb 3-07 Focus On Jesus
Focus On Jesus
Matthew 10:29 MSG "What's the price of a pet canary? Some loose
change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. 30 He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail--even numbering the hairs
on your head!
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31 So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth
more than a million canaries. 32 “Stand up for me against
world opinion and I'll stand up for you before my Father in
heaven.
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33 If you turn tail and run, do you think I'll cover for you? 34 “Don't think I've come to make life cozy.
I've come to cut-- 35 make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and
mother-in-law--cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and
free you for God.
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36 Well-meaning family members can be your worst
enemies. 37 If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you
don't deserve me.
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38 “If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. 39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if
you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and
me.
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40 “We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts
me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent
me.
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41 Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God's messenger.
Accepting someone's help is as good as giving someone help. This
is a large work I've called you into, but don't be overwhelmed by
it. It's best to start small.
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42 Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for
instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won't
lose out on a thing."
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Oh how God cares about us. He knows us inside and out, even how many, or how few for some of us, hairs are on our heads. He really cares, but don’t think for a second he sent His Son to make life easy
for us!
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No, He came to find out the depth of our love for God. When he sees us
standing up for Him against the world, He will stand up for us
before God in Heaven. If our love is so shallow that we hold our earthly families and ourselves
closer than we hold Him, we are lost.
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When we forget about ourselves, focus on Jesus and
share even something as simple as a cup of water we show that we are His true apprentice, a disciple, a
learning doer.
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Matthew 14:15 MSG Toward evening the disciples approached him. "We're out in the country and it's getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper." 16 But Jesus
said, "There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper."
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17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish," they said. 18 Jesus said, "Bring
them here." 19 Then he had the people sit on the grass.
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He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation.
20 They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of
leftovers.
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21 About five thousand were fed. 22 As soon as the meal
was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat
and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the
people.
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23 With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he
could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into
the night.
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24 Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. 25 At
about four o'clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water.
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26 They were scared out of their wits. "A ghost!" they said, crying out in terror. 27 But Jesus was quick to comfort
them. "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid."
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28 Peter, suddenly bold, said, "Master, if it's really you, call
me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come ahead." Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the
water to Jesus.
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30 But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and
started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!" 31 Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached
down and grabbed his hand.
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Then he said, "Faint-heart, what got into you?" 32 The two of them climbed into the
boat, and the wind died down.
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Peter’s focus shifted from Jesus to all that was around him, waves waiting to swallow him up. He was no longer looking in faith to
Jesus. He could not maintain safety above the raging sea since
his focal point had changed.
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We must not let our life’s focus fall from Jesus. When we look away
from Him at the raging world around us how could we ever
survive? Forgetting about dangerous world we live in and
our personal desires Jesus will lift us above the danger just as He did
Peter.
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Let’s take a look at a time lots of disciples took their focus off Jesus and turned away. Jesus was teaching that he was the bread of life. Unless you eat
of his flesh and drink his blood there is no life in you.
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John 6:47 MSG "I'm telling you the most solemn and sober
truth now: Whoever believes in me has real life, eternal life. 48 I am the Bread of Life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna bread in the desert and died.
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50 But now here is Bread that truly comes down out of
heaven. Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. 51 I
am the Bread--living Bread!--who came down out of heaven.
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Anyone who eats this Bread will live--and forever! The Bread that I present to the world so
that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood
self."
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52 At this, the Jews started fighting among themselves: "How can this
man serve up his flesh for a meal?" 53 But Jesus didn't give an inch. "Only insofar as you eat and
drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do
you have life within you.
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54 The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and
ready for the Final Day. 55 My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter
into me and I into you.
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57 In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me. 58 This is the
Bread from heaven. Your ancestors ate bread and later died. Whoever eats this Bread will live
always."
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59 He said these things while teaching in the meeting place
in Capernaum. 60 Many among his disciples heard this
and said, "This is tough teaching, too tough to
swallow."
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61 Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, "Does this throw you completely? 62 What would happen if you saw the Son of Man ascending to
where he came from?
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63 The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don't make anything happen.
Every word I've spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is
life-making.
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64 But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this." (Jesus knew from
the start that some weren't going to risk themselves with him. He knew also who would
betray him.)
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65 He went on to say, "This is why I told you earlier that no one is
capable of coming to me on his own. You get to me only as a gift from the Father." 66 After this a lot of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated
with him.
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67 Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: "Do you also want to
leave?" 68 Peter replied, "Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life.
69 We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are
the Holy One of God."
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This was too much for many to accept. He must be a madman
demanding people to eat his flesh and drink his blood.
Peter confesses here that only Jesus has the words of eternal
life.
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There is no one else who can be turned to that can promise real,
eternal life. There is no salvation, except through Jesus the Son of God. Jesus must be our focus in
all we do. He has to be the center of our lives. Solomon in his
wisdom searches for the purpose of our lives.
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Ecclesiastes 12:13 CEV Everything you were taught can be put into a
few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about. 14
God will judge everything we do, even what is done in secret,
whether good or bad.
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Solomon’s wisdom of course could never compare to the wisdom of Jesus, God’s Son. In the March
5th reading He will tell us what the most important command is, plus as an added bonus He gives us the second greatest commandment.
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Matthew 22:34 MSG When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an
assault. 35 One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show
him up:
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36 “Teacher, which command in God's Law is the most important?"
37 Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' 38
This is the most important, the first on any list.
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39 But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' 40
These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and
the Prophets hangs from them."
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Are we taking our eyes off Jesus. He demands our lives to revolve around Him. Our God is a jealous God! When we put Him above all else He
promises us life eternal.