Welcome to Battles of
Faith. We're your hosts, Ivor
00:00:14.96\00:00:17.63
and Atonte Myers.
Today's program is entitled
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"The Art of Focus".
We're going to learn
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how to focus and stay in tune
with God. On the last 2 programs
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we learned that stillness and
silence are weapons, and today
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we're going to learn how
focusing is a weapon as well.
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And I'm excited about
this program because the more
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weapons we learn about, the
better our fighting is going
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- to be against
Satan. - That's right.
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We're learning these arts
of warfare. We have previously
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discussed the art of stillness,
and we've talked about the art
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of silence, we've seen
those 2, how they work together,
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and in this program we're
going to be dealing with the art
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of focus. I want to read a verse
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from Proverbs 16:32, and it says
here: "He that is slow to anger"
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"is better than the mighty;
and he that ruleth his spirit"
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"than he that taketh a city.
" Very powerful verse there
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that illustrates the fact
that God sees as a more powerful
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warrior those who are able
to rule themselves than those
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who are able to rule others.
We might say "greater is he"
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"that masters himself,
than he that masters another".
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So often in our conflicts
we are seeking to try to master
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other people, in other
words, "Do what I say! "
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Getting the victory over other
people when the real battle,
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the real warfare is getting
the mastery over ourselves.
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This is a vital part of
the Christian art of war.
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So learning how to focus
helps us in finding that way,
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- to be able to
master self. - That's right.
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Isaiah 26:3 tells us "Thou
will keep him in perfect peace"
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"who's mind is stayed on Thee",
and this is where we're going
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to pull our
principle of focusing.
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I like to call this
"the art of locking on".
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We will use those words
interchangeably, if I say
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to focus on a target, or
focus on something, what you're
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saying is to lock on to
that thing. Isaiah 26:3 tells us
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that Christ promises peace
to those who focus and stay
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locked onto Him. Why
should we be mentally
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locked on to Christ?
Because Christ is our target,
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He is our goal, it is He who the
Christian wants to be ultimately
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like, and He tells us if
we learn how to focus on Him,
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if we learn how to keep our
mind stayed on Him, that will
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give us victory, that will give
us the peace that we're looking
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- for in the Christian
warfare. - And Jesus understood
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and applied this weapon in
His life, He was able to stay
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completely focused upon the
Father, and when Satan tried
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to bring thoughts of temptations
or whatever, He was able
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to overcome them because He
was so focused on the Father,
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and this is something that's
not easily done, this is why
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training daily for this is
so important, because we must
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train our minds to do this,
and we've talked about this
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at home, and in other places,
but there's something that
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Satan sends - thought
bombs, and he sends a thought,
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he's always trying to get
our thoughts to be anywhere
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but on God. So
that's why we have
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to actually slow our
mind down and actually say
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"Hey, I'm thinking about things
that I should not be thinking"
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"about, Lord take my
mind back where it should be",
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and this will be a
ritual every day all throughout
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the day until our mind is more
used to focusing on those things
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that God wants us to focus on.
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That's right. In
Ephesians 6 the Bible
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talks about taking the shield
of faith whereby we may be able
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to quench the fiery
darts of the wicked.
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The word there for "darts"
is the Greek word "belos",
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which means "missiles", and
it's amazing when you consider,
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the Bible here is
saying that Satan has missiles,
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and we like to call
them "thought bombs",
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"thought missiles", thoughts
that he will send to our minds,
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thoughts that he wants to
put within our minds to take
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our minds away from Jesus
Christ, it's been said that sin
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is defined as "missing the
mark". Well, if Christ is our
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mark, if Christ is our target,
then any thought that leaves
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our mind and misses its mark,
misses its target, which is
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to be Christ because Christ
is our goal, becomes a sinful
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thought. Every
thought that we have
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is to be brought into captivity
according to the Bible,
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to the obedience of
Christ, so in this art of focus
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what Christ wants to teach
us is how to keep our thoughts
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focused and stayed upon
Him because in that way every
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thought that we think will
be geared towards the glory
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- of Christ. -
And again, this is not
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an easy thing, and he is
always constantly going to be
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bombarding our minds,
we've mentioned this in other
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programs, I just think
saying it over and over again,
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I want someone out there
to really get it, this is why
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he has the entertainment
world so prevalent in our homes,
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and it looks so enticing
because once we're always
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watching these things, and
seeing these sinful things,
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and our mind is constantly used
to be entertained on this thing
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and the other, the art of focus
doesn't even come into play,
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so Satan just has a field
day sending these thought bombs,
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or missiles, into keep
our minds not focusing on God.
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That's right. 2
Corinthians 10:4,5 read
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like this: "For the weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, "
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"but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strongholds, "
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"casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exulteth"
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"itself against the knowledge of
God and bringing into captivity"
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"every thought to the
obedience of Christ. "
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Every thought is to be focused
in on Christ. You see those heat
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seeking missiles, wherever
the target moves that missile
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is moving, our thoughts are
to be like that in reference
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to Christ. Every thought
should be locked on to Jesus,
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and ultimately that is
our target, that is our mark
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because we want to be like Him.
Any thought that misses that
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target becomes a wandering
thought. So often we say
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"Man, my mind is just
wandering", "when I go down"
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"and pray, my mind wanders,
the thoughts just wander, "
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"I can't seem to focus".
We've talked about being still,
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that is important in order for
us to sense the presence of God,
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we talked about being silent,
that is important so that we can
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hear the voice of God, but
now we have to look at the art
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of focus, which helps us to
be able to hear God's voice,
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to focus on what it is He
is saying, to understand it
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and to have it
actually become a part of us.
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That's right, and sin starts
in the mind, we must think about
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it before we actually do it,
and I think about something like
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pornography, this is a
huge problem in our country
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and around the
world. And many men or women
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would like to have victory
over it, well, it would start in
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applying these weapons
that we've talked about:
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silence, stillness, and
then focusing. If you can get
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those thoughts under control,
that's going to help you not go
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to the computer, not
watch that thing on TV,
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- or buy those magazines.
- That's right, it's like
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they're rebel thoughts,
they don't want to be drawn
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to Christ, and that's why
the Bible gives this picture
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of capturing these
thoughts and bringing them into
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captivity, that's going to
be a warfare, how do you capture
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something that is intangible
and bring it to Christ?
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He says "in the art of focus"
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"you learned as you are sitting
still, as you are learning to"
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"be silent, you will also
learn", He says, "I will teach"
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"you how to focus", and you
know, ultimately we're giving
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these principles but
these principles are ultimately
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learned in the actions
themselves. You have to take
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the time to be still, you've got
to take the time to set it aside
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and say "Okay, I'm
going to learn what it means"
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"to be still".
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You've got to take the
time to understand and to learn
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for yourself, practically
speaking, the art of silence:
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sitting down, especially
in your prayer time, and just
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being silent, listening
for God's voice speaking to you
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through His Spirit, through the
Word of God, through Scripture,
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and listening to that voice,
and then the art of focus,
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it is something that must be
experienced, we can explain it,
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but until you actually get
down and have the experience
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yourself, you will see, so
many people get down and pray
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and they cannot
stay focused on Christ.
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The focusing of the thoughts
is so important because in
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the middle of crises our
minds, our thoughts are going
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- everywhere but to Christ.
- You know, I think God's
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Word plays a huge part in this
because if we're in His Word
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there are so many things in
there things that will keep us,
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if we meditate on
that throughout the day,
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that will help us to
focus on Christ because the Word
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is all about God, and if we're
taking some of those thoughts,
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those themes, and take it
throughout the day then that
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- will help us to focus. -
Okay, now we want to actually
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talk about, and share with the
audience, 2 important principles
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about the art of focus.
The first principle is that
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focus equals
strength of thought.
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Now what does that
mean? Another word for focus,
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you would say "concentrate",
"I want you to concentrate".
00:10:09.36\00:10:13.44
I want to take this
"concentrate" for a minute,
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and we're going to jump
to something that's totally
00:10:15.90\00:10:18.05
different, but you
will get the picture.
00:10:18.08\00:10:20.53
Many of you if you open your
freezers you will see in there
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that you have bought
something called "apple juice"
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"concentrate", what is
apple juice concentrate?
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Apple juice concentrate
is apple juice concentrated,
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pure, undiluted, it's
the pure thing, very strong.
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Christ, when He asks us to
focus, or to concentrate on Him,
00:10:39.27\00:10:43.17
what He's asking us to do
is to weed out of our thought
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patterns those things that
are not fully Him; those things
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that will guide us, or
lead us towards sin, He wants
00:10:54.47\00:10:58.43
us to learn how to concentrate
our thoughts on to Him,
00:10:58.46\00:11:02.72
that every thought that leaves
our mind is a focused thought
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on Christ, this way we begin
to understand that in focusing
00:11:06.28\00:11:11.55
on Him, and in having the
Devil have no power to take our
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thoughts off of the mark,
to give us a wandering thought,
00:11:17.59\00:11:22.94
we begin to experience this
power over self that very few
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- people experience. -
That's right, and Satan is
00:11:27.47\00:11:30.79
so clever, he tries to do
it in so many different ways,
00:11:30.82\00:11:33.87
through young people,
of course, we've said it's
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the entertainment industry,
for us older young people
00:11:36.21\00:11:38.65
it could be stress and worry,
that takes our mind off of
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Jesus and it puts it on to
something else, and that's one
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way for him to break our focus.
00:11:46.08\00:11:48.49
That's right, we need to
have that power to remain
00:11:48.52\00:11:53.13
focused on Christ, and the
way that we receive that power
00:11:53.16\00:11:56.56
is by being still,
and it's by being silent.
00:11:56.59\00:12:00.44
And as we learn these
3 principles: be still,
00:12:00.47\00:12:03.56
be silent, and focus,
what begins to happen is as we
00:12:03.59\00:12:07.62
are out there in the middle of
a crisis, we begin to understand
00:12:07.65\00:12:11.58
and experience what it
means to be still, what it means
00:12:11.61\00:12:15.20
to not react when
something comes your way,
00:12:15.23\00:12:18.75
what it means to be
silent, to hear God's voice:
00:12:18.78\00:12:21.48
"Lord, how should I
react in this crisis? "
00:12:21.51\00:12:24.18
And then to focus enough
to be able to keep, or rein
00:12:24.21\00:12:29.26
those thoughts in and bring
them into captivity to Christ.
00:12:29.29\00:12:34.00
Now, focus comes from
another very interesting word.
00:12:34.03\00:12:38.86
That's right, if you look at
the origin of the word "focus",
00:12:38.89\00:12:44.84
it comes from the Latin
"focali", which interestingly
00:12:44.87\00:12:48.79
enough, it means
"hearth", or "fire place".
00:12:48.82\00:12:54.42
That's a very powerful
thought because the word "focus"
00:12:54.45\00:12:59.29
actually comes from the
word "to burn", or "fire".
00:12:59.32\00:13:04.13
And you wouldn't think
that that word would come
00:13:04.16\00:13:06.92
from a word that
means "fire place".
00:13:06.95\00:13:09.38
No, which brings us to our
second principle, is that not
00:13:09.41\00:13:11.82
only is focus strength of
thought, but focus actually
00:13:11.85\00:13:15.58
produces fire.
Now, let's look at
00:13:15.61\00:13:18.85
an illustration here,
take a magnifying glass.
00:13:18.88\00:13:21.86
When you hold a magnifying glass
up, we used to do this when
00:13:21.89\00:13:24.63
we were younger, we'd
hold a magnifying glass up
00:13:24.66\00:13:27.24
to the sun, we would have a
piece of paper on the ground,
00:13:27.27\00:13:29.66
and what would happen?
That magnifying glass would
00:13:29.69\00:13:32.92
take all the rays of the
sun and concentrate them,
00:13:32.95\00:13:39.83
or focus them
into 1 beam of light.
00:13:39.86\00:13:44.98
And then that beam of light
would hit that piece of paper,
00:13:45.01\00:13:47.87
and what began to
happen? The fire was started.
00:13:47.90\00:13:53.42
Interestingly enough, when we
think about focus, when Christ
00:13:53.45\00:13:57.21
says "I will keep him in
perfect peace who's mind"
00:13:57.24\00:13:59.80
"is stayed on Thee", what He's
telling is as we focus on Him
00:13:59.83\00:14:05.03
something incredible will
begin to happen within us.
00:14:05.06\00:14:09.55
We will catch that fire
that so many people, you know,
00:14:09.58\00:14:14.57
"I'm kind of lukewarm,
don't know what's happening"
00:14:14.60\00:14:17.29
"with me", Christ says "If you
learn to focus on Me, I promise"
00:14:17.32\00:14:20.82
"you that you will begin to burn
with holy fire, you will begin"
00:14:20.85\00:14:25.40
"to burn with the
flame of God's love. "
00:14:25.43\00:14:28.01
Now that is exciting,
I don't know about you,
00:14:28.04\00:14:30.58
but I'm over here getting
excited, and I've heard it
00:14:30.61\00:14:33.00
before, but it's very
exciting because it's true.
00:14:33.03\00:14:37.08
As Christians we don't
want to be lukewarm Christians,
00:14:37.11\00:14:39.63
we want to be on fire, and
these things the Lord is showing
00:14:39.66\00:14:42.76
us so what we can apply them,
and that will be the result,
00:14:42.79\00:14:47.08
you'll be on
fire, focus on Jesus.
00:14:47.11\00:14:49.43
Now let me jump in here and
we're going to look at something
00:14:49.46\00:14:53.12
that, again, understand that
we have an adversary who wants
00:14:53.15\00:14:56.89
to take our minds away
from Christ, there's a story
00:14:56.92\00:14:59.87
in the Old Testament
where focus played a vital part
00:14:59.90\00:15:04.04
in the saying of lives,
and that's the story where
00:15:04.07\00:15:08.09
the children of Israel were
going through the wilderness
00:15:08.12\00:15:11.69
and they began to murmur against
God, and as they murmured they
00:15:11.72\00:15:15.72
pushed away the presence of God,
and in pushing away the presence
00:15:15.75\00:15:19.01
of God the Bible says that
these serpents began to rise up
00:15:19.04\00:15:22.82
out of the ground, and
began to bite the people.
00:15:22.85\00:15:25.56
God instructs Moses to make
a brazen serpent, to put this
00:15:25.59\00:15:29.71
serpent on a pole, and lift
it up. The people were commanded
00:15:29.74\00:15:34.39
to look and live, we might
say "to focus upon the serpent",
00:15:34.42\00:15:40.00
and in focusing upon
that serpent, they were able
00:15:40.03\00:15:43.72
to survive the deadly
bites of these serpents.
00:15:43.75\00:15:47.51
Now, the question is, we
know that many, many people
00:15:47.54\00:15:51.27
died because they
refused to look at the serpent.
00:15:51.30\00:15:54.76
The question is: why in the
world would they refuse to look
00:15:54.79\00:15:58.09
at the serpent? As
I thought about that
00:15:58.12\00:16:01.23
I thought: "that doesn't make
any sense, who wouldn't want"
00:16:01.26\00:16:03.63
"to live? " But
the problem comes in
00:16:03.66\00:16:06.42
when you consider that Moses was
commanded to lift this serpent
00:16:06.45\00:16:10.51
up, where were the other snakes?
00:16:10.54\00:16:13.64
They were on the ground.
Now, if I'm to walk through
00:16:13.67\00:16:16.45
a room full of snakes, where
do you think I'm going to be
00:16:16.48\00:16:18.96
- looking? - Down at the ground.
00:16:18.99\00:16:21.46
I'm going to be looking down,
I don't think that there will
00:16:21.49\00:16:24.20
be anything that will
make me want to look up,
00:16:24.23\00:16:26.89
I'd be looking down at the
serpents, down at the problems,
00:16:26.92\00:16:29.39
down at the crisis, down at
the situation, but God actually
00:16:29.42\00:16:31.84
told these people: "I want
you to look up at the serpent"
00:16:31.87\00:16:34.66
"on the pole", that would
have to be an act of utter trust
00:16:34.69\00:16:38.84
and faith. But
again, what the Devil wants
00:16:38.87\00:16:42.19
to do in our day is to
keep us focused on the serpents
00:16:42.22\00:16:47.50
on the ground.
Focus on our problems
00:16:47.53\00:16:49.82
focused on what the world
is doing, anything to keep us
00:16:49.85\00:16:53.14
from focusing on Jesus Christ.
Why? Because Christ had an "I":
00:16:53.17\00:16:57.33
"If I be lifted up from the
earth", just like that serpent
00:16:57.36\00:17:00.75
on the pole, "I will draw",
that heat seeking missile,
00:17:00.78\00:17:05.35
"I will draw all men to Me",
"I will draw their thoughts"
00:17:05.38\00:17:09.42
"to Me, I will become that
target, that goal of theirs, "
00:17:09.45\00:17:13.84
"and I will lock them
on, and they will follow Me"
00:17:13.87\00:17:17.72
"whithersoever I go", and
this again, is why the Devil
00:17:17.75\00:17:21.26
will use everything:
the entertainment industry,
00:17:21.29\00:17:23.40
the music, anything he
can, busyness, anything he can,
00:17:23.43\00:17:26.89
our problems, to cause us
to look down instead of to look
00:17:26.92\00:17:30.61
- up and to focus on
Christ. - I also look at it as
00:17:30.64\00:17:34.68
chasing rabbits. I look
at it like Satan sends us
00:17:34.71\00:17:37.81
out, you know, rabbits are
these quick little, hoping,
00:17:37.84\00:17:40.49
little cute things, but
they're hard to catch, so he has
00:17:40.52\00:17:43.26
us constantly chasing rabbits,
different things in our life,
00:17:43.29\00:17:46.22
anything just so we do
not spend the time, or have
00:17:46.25\00:17:50.67
the time to focus. So
again, these weapons are
00:17:50.70\00:17:54.59
lifestyle changes, if you don't
make the time and spend the time
00:17:54.62\00:18:00.67
it'll be very, I would
say, impossible to fight Satan,
00:18:00.70\00:18:04.26
because you need the power
from God, you have to receive it
00:18:04.29\00:18:06.10
from Him, you must spend
time with Him, and in His Word,
00:18:06.13\00:18:09.20
- and in prayer to do this.
- Yeah, you know, going back
00:18:09.23\00:18:11.85
to this magnifying glass concept
that we just shared about
00:18:11.88\00:18:16.35
focusing all the thoughts
into 1 beam of light, there's
00:18:16.38\00:18:21.33
a powerful verse that actually
illustrates this, and it's
00:18:21.36\00:18:24.30
found in Matthew 6:22, and
listen to what it says here,
00:18:24.33\00:18:33.40
Jesus speaking, He says: "The
light of the body is the eye: "
00:18:33.43\00:18:43.98
"if therefore thine eye be
single, the whole body shall"
00:18:44.01\00:18:48.34
"be full of light. But if thine
eye be evil, the whole body"
00:18:48.37\00:18:53.55
"shall be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is"
00:18:53.58\00:18:56.67
"in thee be darkness,
how great is that darkness! "
00:18:56.70\00:18:59.65
"The light of the body
is the eye", what do we use
00:18:59.68\00:19:02.40
the eye for? We use
the eye to focus, to see,
00:19:02.43\00:19:05.93
and what Jesus is saying
here, He's not talking about our
00:19:05.96\00:19:09.00
physical eye, He's talking
about the eye of our mind,
00:19:09.03\00:19:12.36
when we say "I see
what you're talking about",
00:19:12.39\00:19:14.79
the eye is symbolic
of the mind, so He says
00:19:14.82\00:19:17.40
"the light of a body is
the mind, if the mind then, "
00:19:17.43\00:19:20.50
or the light in that mind,
"is focused, if the thoughts"
00:19:20.53\00:19:23.59
"of the mind are focused on
Christ, into a single ray, "
00:19:23.62\00:19:29.18
"then the whole body
will be full of light. "
00:19:29.21\00:19:32.89
So what does it mean when
we have wandering thoughts,
00:19:32.92\00:19:36.59
what it means is that the
body is full of darkness because
00:19:36.62\00:19:39.33
we've got maybe 1 thought on
Christ, but the other thought
00:19:39.36\00:19:42.05
is pulling us somewhere else.
We've got all these thoughts
00:19:42.08\00:19:44.76
pulling us in all
these different directions,
00:19:44.79\00:19:47.13
and the Christian warrior who
is in this holy war must learn
00:19:47.16\00:19:51.44
how to focus his thoughts
and to keep them ultimately
00:19:51.47\00:19:55.45
- on Jesus Christ.
- When you think about
00:19:55.48\00:19:58.30
the martial arts and the
way they train to go up to each
00:19:58.33\00:20:03.30
level, it compares to this
spiritual warfare that we're
00:20:03.33\00:20:07.90
talking about, it takes, on
a daily basis, you must train
00:20:07.93\00:20:12.38
for this. Because we
were born in a sinful
00:20:12.41\00:20:14.84
state, we all know that,
we were all born with sin,
00:20:14.87\00:20:19.41
we don't have a bend towards
God, we don't have a bend
00:20:19.44\00:20:22.25
towards being focused on
Him, so we must train our minds.
00:20:22.28\00:20:26.19
And that is what
God is calling us to do.
00:20:26.22\00:20:28.50
That's right. You
think about the parable
00:20:28.53\00:20:30.57
of the 10 virgins, very powerful
parable, these 10 virgins
00:20:30.60\00:20:35.05
all had 10 lamps, and a
lamp in those times was not
00:20:35.08\00:20:41.43
the kind of lamp we have today
with a light bulb, it was fire,
00:20:41.46\00:20:45.99
you needed oil. As
you read that parable
00:20:46.02\00:20:49.49
in Matthew 25 I believe it
is, where it describes the 10
00:20:49.52\00:20:54.02
virgins, it ultimately says that
5 foolish virgins, their lamps
00:20:54.05\00:20:58.58
went out. In
other words, they had
00:20:58.61\00:21:01.38
no more oil, and
what was oil used for?
00:21:01.41\00:21:03.76
Oil was the fuel to keep that
fire burning. These 10 virgins
00:21:03.79\00:21:08.98
had no fuel. I took the liberty
to look up this word "fuel" and
00:21:09.01\00:21:13.91
to see the origin of this word,
and guess what, the word "fuel"
00:21:13.94\00:21:18.42
also comes from the
Latin, "focali," which means
00:21:18.45\00:21:24.05
"fire place", or
"hearth", "a burning".
00:21:24.08\00:21:27.36
So then these 5 foolish
virgins had lost their focus,
00:21:27.39\00:21:36.06
they had lost their focus on
Christ, they had begun to focus
00:21:36.09\00:21:39.30
on other things,
they had no oil, no focus.
00:21:39.33\00:21:42.60
And because they lost
this focus they're described
00:21:42.63\00:21:46.39
as foolish virgins, their
thoughts were not all placed
00:21:46.42\00:21:49.79
upon Christ, but had
strayed, or taken off the mark,
00:21:49.82\00:21:55.89
and thus they were
considered as foolish virgins.
00:21:55.92\00:21:58.51
And it wasn't that they
went back to the world and left
00:21:58.54\00:22:01.10
Christ all together, that
isn't it, it's their mind.
00:22:01.13\00:22:03.75
They're still going through
all the outwardly forms of what
00:22:03.78\00:22:07.23
we know today as Christianity,
but in their mind, their mind
00:22:07.26\00:22:11.81
wasn't stayed on God, on Jesus.
00:22:11.84\00:22:14.55
That's right. Now, as
we take this principle
00:22:14.58\00:22:16.97
that Christ says "if the eye
is single, then the whole body"
00:22:17.00\00:22:19.42
"shall be full of light",
or full of fire, if the eye is
00:22:19.45\00:22:23.28
single, if the mind, if the
thoughts are placed upon Christ,
00:22:23.31\00:22:26.96
then the whole body
shall be full of fire.
00:22:26.99\00:22:29.22
When we understand this
and we begin to take that
00:22:29.25\00:22:31.76
principle and apply
it, as we focus upon Christ
00:22:31.79\00:22:36.06
something is going
to happen within us.
00:22:36.09\00:22:40.92
John the Baptist said
of his own self, he said
00:22:40.95\00:22:43.94
"I indeed baptize you with water
unto repentance, but He that"
00:22:43.97\00:22:47.61
"cometh after me is mightier
than I, who's shoes I'm not"
00:22:47.64\00:22:50.86
"worthy to bear, He will baptize
you with fire and the Holy"
00:22:50.89\00:22:54.60
"Ghost. " As we
focus upon Christ
00:22:54.63\00:22:57.49
lifted up on the cross,
something begins to happen
00:22:57.52\00:23:00.61
within us, we begin to smoke,
and then that smoke will turn
00:23:00.64\00:23:06.65
into fire, because the hotter
we get the more that we will
00:23:06.68\00:23:11.16
have that love to serve
God and to fight this good
00:23:11.19\00:23:14.63
fight of faith. But
we can also take that
00:23:14.66\00:23:17.18
to the Word of God.
So often people will read
00:23:17.21\00:23:21.48
this Bible and they don't
spend time to focus on the Word.
00:23:21.51\00:23:27.80
To focus on what it is
that God is trying to say to us.
00:23:27.83\00:23:32.16
Use your imagination
with me, you take your Bible,
00:23:32.19\00:23:34.94
you take a verse, and you
begin to focus on that verse.
00:23:34.97\00:23:37.77
You know what will happen
if you focus on that verse long
00:23:37.80\00:23:40.07
enough? The page
will begin to smoke.
00:23:40.10\00:23:42.26
Why? Because you begin to
go deeper than the average
00:23:42.29\00:23:47.29
"what a nice
verse", and you move on.
00:23:47.32\00:23:49.76
No, you are now learning the
art of being still with the Word
00:23:49.79\00:23:52.53
of God, being silent with
the Word of God, listening,
00:23:52.56\00:23:55.73
focusing on that verse, on
that Word, and as you focus
00:23:55.76\00:23:58.92
on that verse and the Spirit
of God begins to speak to you.
00:23:58.95\00:24:02.59
I have experienced it where it
seems as though the very verse
00:24:02.62\00:24:06.46
began to smoke, and then it
was just like it was on fire.
00:24:06.49\00:24:09.90
Like Jeremiah, we can say
"His word was like a fire"
00:24:09.93\00:24:14.10
"in my bones", and this is what
focus brings, it brings the fire
00:24:14.13\00:24:18.72
of God into us. Focus,
fuel, it brings His fire
00:24:18.75\00:24:22.51
into our minds, into our
hearts, and then the worst thing
00:24:22.54\00:24:26.57
for the Devil to face is
an on-fire warrior for God.
00:24:26.60\00:24:31.02
That's right, because now
you're starting to fight back,
00:24:31.05\00:24:33.83
and he's going to begin to
tremble. So no more surface
00:24:33.86\00:24:37.43
- reading.
Correct? - That's right.
00:24:37.46\00:24:40.16
You know, there's so much
in the Word, we could take
00:24:40.19\00:24:43.31
a text a day, and even a
week, there's so much here,
00:24:43.34\00:24:47.08
and just meditate on it, and
just exhaust it, and you can't
00:24:47.11\00:24:50.34
because you can't exhaust God,
but just go as far as you can
00:24:50.37\00:24:53.64
go with the Lord with that
verse, and He will show you
00:24:53.67\00:24:55.94
so many things. I mean,
this is true entertainment,
00:24:55.97\00:24:59.63
this is what God wants our
minds to be entertained with.
00:24:59.66\00:25:03.29
That's right. You
know, when we understand
00:25:03.32\00:25:06.11
and we begin to experience
this art of focus, our thoughts
00:25:06.14\00:25:09.89
become...and this is
what the Christian needs,
00:25:09.92\00:25:12.82
he needs for his thoughts, her
thoughts, to become so strong
00:25:12.85\00:25:16.61
that as the Devil comes and
tries to move those thoughts
00:25:16.64\00:25:21.07
off of their
target they're immovable.
00:25:21.10\00:25:24.21
"These are they that follow
the Lamb whithersoever He goes",
00:25:24.24\00:25:27.05
they follow Him in thought, they
follow Him in heart, and nothing
00:25:27.08\00:25:31.66
can draw them away, nothing
can separate that thought,
00:25:31.69\00:25:35.18
and I know that that will be one
of the most precious experiences
00:25:35.21\00:25:39.26
for Christians to have,
is to have the power, through
00:25:39.29\00:25:41.96
the grace of God, not by
our own might, we don't just say
00:25:41.99\00:25:44.87
"I'm going to focus in,
I'm able to do this by myself",
00:25:44.90\00:25:47.45
it is only through the
power, and grace, and might
00:25:47.48\00:25:50.04
of Jesus Christ that we
can actually have a thought
00:25:50.07\00:25:54.17
locked onto its target and
no matter what the Devil does,
00:25:54.20\00:25:58.09
- be unable to
move it. - That's right.
00:25:58.12\00:26:00.56
And to you parents out there,
to you husbands, and wives,
00:26:00.59\00:26:04.47
this is how we learn how to
do the things that are difficult
00:26:04.50\00:26:07.73
to us; mothers, this is
how we learn how to become good
00:26:07.76\00:26:10.61
mothers, and parent our children
correctly, and be good wives,
00:26:10.64\00:26:14.50
and husbands. God,
if we're focused on Him,
00:26:14.53\00:26:17.48
He will teach us how to do these
things, things aren't difficult
00:26:17.51\00:26:20.85
anymore because we're so
focused on our Trainer is
00:26:20.88\00:26:23.79
teaching us every step of
the way, and He has an answer
00:26:23.82\00:26:26.30
to all of our problems, so then
life is not such a big challenge
00:26:26.33\00:26:29.77
anymore, being able to overcome
those things that we haven't
00:26:29.80\00:26:32.23
been able to overcome the
past is now accessible to us,
00:26:32.26\00:26:35.28
and we start to win the
war with Jesus on our side.
00:26:35.31\00:26:38.86
Yeah, the problem is
that so many people say
00:26:38.89\00:26:41.34
"I'm loosing the
battle, I don't know why"
00:26:41.37\00:26:43.74
and part of the reason is a
lack of focus, not concentrating
00:26:43.77\00:26:49.18
on Christ. We
might think about Him,
00:26:49.21\00:26:51.56
and we might
think about Him often...
00:26:51.59\00:26:53.35
- ...And we claim Him
- And we may claim Him
00:26:53.38\00:26:55.59
with our words, but when it
gets down to really focusing,
00:26:55.62\00:26:59.68
and ultimately we're to be
focusing on Christ throughout
00:26:59.71\00:27:01.90
the day, but how do
we begin the process?
00:27:01.93\00:27:04.42
I believe the process
starts even in the prayer time,
00:27:04.45\00:27:08.25
in the prayer time is
where all these things start,
00:27:08.28\00:27:10.91
and they spill out
into the daily activities.
00:27:10.94\00:27:14.08
We've got to learn how
to be still in prayer time,
00:27:14.11\00:27:16.64
we've got to learn how
to be silent in prayer time,
00:27:16.67\00:27:18.95
and then we've got
to learn how to focus.
00:27:18.98\00:27:21.31
When the mind wanders, you
go down to pray and you start
00:27:21.34\00:27:24.26
thinking about the bills, bring
that thought back to Christ
00:27:24.29\00:27:27.13
and as you do this, now
you're walking about in the day
00:27:27.16\00:27:29.70
and the Devil brings a
temptation, you're able to bring
00:27:29.73\00:27:32.51
that thought back to
Christ. Why? Because you've been
00:27:32.54\00:27:35.43
practicing it in your
prayer time, practicing the art
00:27:35.46\00:27:37.80
- of warfare. - You
know, you're not going
00:27:37.83\00:27:40.59
to want to miss the next
program because as you can see
00:27:40.62\00:27:43.33
we're kind of
building a sentence here:
00:27:43.36\00:27:45.84
Be still, be silent, focus.
There's more to these arts,
00:27:45.87\00:27:48.41
and you're not going to want
to miss the next one, so make
00:27:48.44\00:27:51.49
- sure that you tune in.
- That's right, we will be
00:27:51.52\00:27:54.83
continuing our study
on how to master yourself.
00:27:54.86\00:27:59.77
That's right. Well,
we're all out of time
00:27:59.80\00:28:02.46
until next time, God bless.
00:28:02.49\00:28:04.89