Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture

Introduction

Today, I want to encourage and speak to you on the subject “Focus.”

Have you ever been walking somewhere while you were focused at looking at your phone, at someone, or at something else and ended up tripping over something because you were not focused on where you were going?

Have you ever been walking somewhere while you were focused at looking at your phone, at someone, or at something else and ended up tripping over something because you were not focused on where you were going?

Where you are walking is your purpose.

Your phone, that someone or something else is the distraction.

And tripping over something is the result of you allowing the distractions to take your eyes off your purpose.

Inside this race called life, where we are running to is Jesus, what we spend most of our time thinking about or looking at is our distractions, and the truth is that many of us find ourselves tripping over a lot of things in life because we allow the distractions of life to take our eyes off the One who gave us life.

The truth is that many of us find ourselves tripping over a lot of things in life because we allow the distractions of life to take our eyes off the One who gave us life.

We trip over not getting our way.

We trip over people who talk to us the wrong way.

We trip over friends that betray us.

We trip over daddy not showing up to your basketball game.

We trip over momma working too much and feeling neglected.

We trip over feeling unloved and unwanted.

We trip over feeling overwhelmed with school, church, activities and life.

We trip over feeling insecure about the way we look on the outside.

We trip over feeling lonely and unhappy.

We trip over feeling like an outcasts because nobody wants to be your friend.

We trip because we have allowed the distractions of this life to take our focus off the One who gave us life.

And so instead of tripping over not getting your way, Jesus says “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

Instead of tripping over feeling unloved and unwanted, Jesus says “I love you and I want you to be my daughter and my son.”

Instead of tripping over feeling overwhelmed with school and life, Jesus says “Cast all your cares on me.”

Instead of tripping over how ugly you THINK you are, Jesus says “you are fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Instead of tripping over not having any friends, Jesus says “I’ll be your friend.”

We trip because we have allowed the distractions of this life to take our focus off the One who gave us life.

Let Go

And so today we are going to try to see how we can place our focus on Jesus.

In our passage, the author describes life as a race.

And he says while we are running this race called life, we are to run the race that is marked out for us.

In other words, all of us is running a race, but the question is are you running the race that is marked out for you?

Everybody is living a life, but the question is are you living the life that God intended for you to live?

And if you are not living the life that God intended for you to live, then you’re not really living, you’re just wasting time.

How many of you like wasting time?

Well if you don’t want to waste time running a race that is not marked out for you, if you don;t want to live a life that is not marked out for you there is a couple things you need to do.

1) Run With a Particular Focus

First, when you run this particular race called life, you need to run with a particular focus.

The passage says that when we run this race called life we ought to run with our eyes on Jesus.

In other words, the point is to not just run, but the point is to run with a particular focus.

Every day you wake up, you continue to run the race called life.

The reason why it sometimes become difficult to run this Christian race is because we are trying to focus on Jesus and everything too.

Let me tell you a story

There was a master archer who was teaching his student the art of archery (bow and arrow).

So he took them to a forest and he got a wooden bird and placed it as the target and asked them to aim at the eye of the bird.

The first student was asked to describe what he saw.

He said enthusiastically, "I see the trees, the branches, the leaves, the sky, the bird and its eye.." The master archer told this student to wait.

Then he asked the second student the same question and he replied, "I only see the eye of the bird."

The master archer said, "Very good, then shoot."

The arrow went straight and hit the eye of the bird.

The truth is it’s hard for many of us to hit our targets.

It’s hard for many of us to walk in our purpose.

It’s hard for many of us to become more like Jesus because we are trying to focus on Jesus and every thing else.

You run to school.

You run to school.

You run to do extra-curricular activities.

You run to do homework.

You run to girl scouts.

You run to basketball practice.

You run to hang out with your friends.

You run.

You run.

You run.

But in all of your running, the question is are you running with your eyes fixed on Jesus.

And if not, you have to ask yourself what are you running for?

Because unless you begin to focus your eyes on Jesus, running this race we call life becomes pointless.

Can you imagine running a race with no finish line, playing basketball with no hoops, playing football with no in-zone, playing baseball with no home plate, or playing soccer with no goal?

That’s exactly what life looks like without Jesus in our lives.

It’s the finish line that gives purpose to the race.

Without the finish line, the race becomes meaningless.

Jesus is our finish line, which means he is the one that gives purpose to this race we call life.

Without Jesus life becomes meaningless.

2) Run With a Fixed Focus

Not only should we run with a particular focus, but we should run with a fixed focus.

The author says we should fix our eyes on Jesus.

And when you fix your eyes on something, that means you direct your eyes, all of your attention, and all of your mind steadily or unwaveringly toward whatever that something is.

In the case of life, it’s Jesus.

It means that you are not focused on anything else anything else but Jesus.

In the original language, when the writer of Hebrews says we should look at Jesus, he is literally saying we should “fix our eyes on” Jesus.

And when you fix your eyes on something, that means you direct your eyes, all of your attention, and all of your mind steadily or unwaveringly toward Jesus.

In other words, you are not focused on anything else but Jesus.

The reason why it sometimes difficult to run this Christian race is because we are trying to focus on Jesus and everything else too.

Let me tell you a story...

There was a master archer who was teaching his student the art of archery (bow and arrow).

So he took them to a forest and he got a wooden bird and placed it as the target and asked them to aim at the eye of the bird.

The first student was asked to describe what he saw.

He said enthusiastically, "I see the trees, the branches, the leaves, the sky, the bird and its eye.." The master archer told this student to wait.

Then he asked the second student the same question and he replied, "I only see the eye of the bird."

The master archer said, "Very good, then shoot."

The arrow went straight and hit the eye of the bird.

The truth is it’s hard for many of us to hit our targets.

It’s hard for many of us to walk in our purpose.

It’s hard for many of us to become more like Jesus because we are trying to focus on Jesus and every thing else.

I’m trying to focus on Jesus and how to be the best basketball player.

I’m trying to focus on Jesus and how to be the best student.

I’m trying to focus on Jesus and getting the most likes on social media.

And there is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best player on the team.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best student in the class.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be liked.

But when the focus of being the best player on the team becomes centered around you and not Christ you will find it difficult to stay in the race that God has marked out for you.