Keep The Spotlight on God

This morning we continue our series entitled, “Refined Focus”, with an emphasis on “Focusing on God’s Finished Work”.  We have been looking at the call and life of Jeremiah.  Yesterday we looked at verses 5-10.  I want to go back to this passage again this morning.

The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I knew you.  Before you were born, I chose you for a special work.  I chose you to be a prophet to the nations.”  Jeremiah responded, “But, Lord God, I don’t know how to speak. I am only a boy.”  The Lord then responded to him, “Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.  You must go everywhere I send you and say everything I tell you to say.  Don’t be afraid of anyone.  I am with you, and I will protect you.”  Jeremiah said then says, “Then the Lord reached out with his hand and touched my mouth.”  At this point the Lord said, “Jeremiah, I am putting my words in your mouth.  Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms.  You will pull up and tear down.  You will destroy and overthrow.  You will build up and plant.”

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things.

1.  When you understand the grace of God you release the pressure to perform.  God was committing Himself to tell Jeremiah where to go, to provide what to say when he go there, and to protect him every step of the way.  The Lord then put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth and told Jeremiah how powerful of an impact the words would have.  These words — words that originated in heaven and were to be released in the earth — had the power to build up and tear down governments.  Why?  Because the Lord Himself was watching over His words to make them good (see Jer 1:12).  It is clear that God was putting all the emphasis on Himself.  All Jeremiah needed to do was cooperate with the God who was sending him.  Guess what?  That’s all you have to do today.

2.  Grace takes the emphasis off of you, your performance and your ability.  Your performance could never be flawless enough.  Your ability could never be strong enough.  But God’s grace is always enough.

3.  God can use anyone because the power comes from God and not man.  Paul said, “We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure.  This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us” (2 Cor 4:7).  We are the containers, but God is the content.  We may house the glory, but we cannot take any credit for the glory God allows us to transport around.  God put His “super” inside of our “natural”.

4.  When you understand grace you enter into God’s rest.  You know the assignment came from God, the giftings you will need come from God, the favor it will take to get it done will come from God, and the empowering presence to do what you can’t do on your own will also come from God.  Even when you are facing extraordinary challenges, you can have peace, because you know it’s not about you!

5.  Today you might be faced with praying for someone who is sick, providing counsel to someone who needs guidance, or simply providing advice and/or leadership in a key meeting at work.  No matter what the situation is, grace keeps the emphasis on God.  If you need insight, tap into the God who knows all things.  If you need healing, tap into the God who has all power.  No matter what you are up against today, take the focus and pressure off of you.  Embrace the grace of God.  If you do, God will flow through you and you will experience grace-based success.

Closing Confession:  Father, this is a season of refined focus for me.  I bring my life into focus in 2016.  I choose to focus on You, Your power, Your strength, Your ability, and the plans You made for me before the world began.  There was a time in my life when my life was all about me.  But those days are over.  I am dead to self.  I live for You.  My Life is all about You.  You open doors for me no man can close.  You close doors for me no man can open.  You raise up people to use their power, their ability, their strength, and their money, to help me in ways I cannot help myself.  I keep the spotlight of my life squarely on You.  When people read my life’s story, You will be the star on every page!  I declare this by faith.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

This is Today’s Word!  Apply it and Prosper.