This morning we continue our series entitled, “Refined Focus”, with a mini-series within it entitled “Focusing on the Word”. We are walking our way through the first half of the first psalm. Let’s get back to it. The Bible says:
(Psalm 1:1-3 KJV) “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
(Psalm 1:1-3 ERV) “Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night. So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream—a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful.”
This is our third day of focusing in on the line: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly”, or “Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice.” Yesterday we focused on who NOT to listen to. Today we will flip the token. If you should not listen to ungodly counsel, who should you listen to? This is what we will deal with in this message.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Jesus was anointed to make a difference in people’s lives, but many missed out on the blessing because they failed to receive Him and what He said. The Bible says, “He came to the world that was his own. And his own people did not accept him. But some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God.” (John 1:11,12).
a. Those who rejected Jesus failed to receive from the anointing on His life.
b. In order to benefit from Jesus, you must accept Him and His teachings. You must give His words “weight”; meaning you give His teaching first place, even when it is in conflict with your current thinking.
2. Like Jesus, God anoints people in the earth to BE a blessing to others. When Jesus was sending out the disciples He said, “Whoever accepts you also accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. Whoever accepts a prophet because he is a prophet will get the prophet’s reward.” (Mat 10:40,41).
a. While Jesus is not walking the earth today, we are. God anoints people today to be JUST LIKE JESUS in this world (1 John 4:17).
b. When you receive a person anointed to speak into your life and you give their words the same weight/value you would have given Jesus’ words, you are then in position to receive from the anointing on their lives.
c. While you should not listen to everyone, there are some people who are assigned by God to speak into your life. Your role is to open your heart to receive from them. This is what I call, “Giving someone LICENSE to speak into your life.”
3. You should establish who your ‘credible authority figures’ are. Once you do, give them “license” to speak into your life. While you don’t listen to everyone, if you want to grow and succeed in Christ, you have to be in position to listen to someone.
a. When you give someone the license to speak into your life open your heart to receive, and you seek to apply what they say, expecting to experience similar results.
b. Select Godly mentors. Mentoring relationships are powerful. Mentors enable us to do much more than we can alone. Select your mentors wisely and grant them license to speak into your life.
c. Follow the mentors in scripture. In addition to the Godly mentors you can and should have in the earth, you can also be mentored by the heroes of the faith in scripture. Follow their example. Learn from their lives. Imitate their faith and patience and you too will be able to obtain the promises of God (Heb 6:12).
Closing Confession: Father, this is a season of refined focus for me. I bring my life into focus in 2016. This means I will not listen to everyone. Everyone has an opinion, but I refuse to allow every person’s opinion to influence me. There are people anointed to speak into my life. I give those people “license” to do so. I receive the prophet because You have anointed them to be a prophet. Therefore, I receive the prophet’s reward. You speak to me directly and You also speak to me through the men and women assigned to provide me Godly leadership and mentorship. My heart and mind are open to receive from those You have assigned to me. As I do, 2016 will be best year of my life! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
