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Focus

Jerry Witham
May 5, 2008
Series: The Church

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But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, o Israel, do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by my name; you are Mine - whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made. Isaiah 43.1, 7b

Any organization or business must have a focus. In the secular world, businesses have statements to keep them focused. For example, Starbuck's mission statement is to: Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow. This is the focus of Howard Schultz, down to everyone who works at Starbucks, so they know why they are doing what they are doing, to keep them focused.

God's Focus
God gives Israel His focus by sharing His goal in creating and governing the world. In Isaiah 43 we find the Israelites weary due to their captivity at the hand of the Babylonians. The Lord has given the Israelites over to the Babylonians as an act of discipline toward them. In no way are the Babylonians and their gods superior to Israel and God, but God allows them to be in bondage and enslaved, so that He can show Himself as the great Rescuer and Deliverer. In the midst of their captivity God speaks through the prophet Isaiah and His words have become comforting to the Israelites to give them hope. In the midst of His words to Israel He unfolds His focus in creating and governing the world.

His love in us, so that we can love Him
God created all people in His image (Genesis 1.26; 2.7). Soon after that, fear became present due to sin that had been introduced into the human race by the first Adam (Genesis 3). But God, through the second Adam, Jesus, conquered fear by means of Jesus' death and resurrection. For those buried into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus they are redeemed by the blood of Jesus to be a Child of God (I have called you by name; you are Mine! Isaiah 43.1). God has redeemed us, expressing and sharing His love to us, so we can have an intimate relationship with Him. As a result, transformation has occurred in the life of the redeemed. Then the love that is shared amongst the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is now in those that are known by God (1 Corinthians 8:3). John 17.26 says, I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. So, the redeemed, who have been loved by God first (1 John 4.9), can now love God with the love that has been placed in them. So, we first see that God has created us with the purpose of displaying and expressing to us His love that He has for Himself (shared amongst the Trinity), so that we can be transformed and have an intimate relationship with Him.

God loves all people
In Isaiah 43 God tells Israel that they are precious in His sight and that He loves them (v. 4). Not only does He express His love for Israel verbally, but also with action. He shared with them His love that has been shown to them through the salvation of the Israelites at the Red Sea, to the crossing of the Jordan River with the Ark of the Covenant, to protecting His children in danger, specifically Shadrach, Mehach and Abednego in the fiery furnace (vv. 2-3). He also shows that His love is not just for Israel, but for the nations and He will gather them together from the uttermost parts of the earth (Isaiah 43.6). So we see that God loves Israel and the nations and He shows it in word and deed.

God's Big Why
After sharing about His love He wants to share with us that we can love Him and also love others through being transformed into the image of Jesus, He shares the big why to it all. God says, whom I have created for My glory (Isaiah 43.7). God created us for His glory. That is His goal in creating and governing the world. Paul says in Colossians 1.16, all things have been created through Christ and for Christ. God is passionate about His glory and making much of Himself. He has shown it in His discipline toward the Israelites saying, I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images (Isaiah 42.8). He will show His glory through His wrath and discipline by giving them over to captivity and slavery, so that He can show His glory through His mercy, love, forgiveness and grace in delivering them and setting them free. In Psalm 79.9 Asaph writes in a prayer for help, Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name's sake. So we see God's focus shared with Israel, that the love of the Triune God would be expressed and displayed to all people, to transform them to live for Him and this all for His Glory!

Aligning our lives with His focus
Then God calls Israel to be His witnesses (Isaiah 43.9-13). He calls them to bring their life in alignment with His goal and aim to which He created the world. He has called them to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42.6). The church (God's people, not an institution) is to live out the purposes and desires of God. So, based on what we see here we have a great focus for God's people here at The Ridge:

The Ridge Church lives to glorify God - loving Jesus, loving people and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus.

Glorify God
Jonathan Edwards said, The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. When we speak of God's glory we speak of God's weight, value and worth - His beauty and excellence of His manifold perfections - we speak of His magnificence, purity, goodness, and all that He is. So we do not live to increase or add to His glory. We exist to display His glory, that we would declare His praise and give Him the worth, the weight and the value He deserves. Some choose not to align themselves with God's aim and goal, as the people at the Tower of Babel did. They said, Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name (Genesis 11.4). The Lord responded to their arrogance by scattering them and stopping the building project. It is not about us. You and I were created in God's image (Genesis 1.26) to image forth God's glory. Now how does one do this?

Love Jesus
This is what we want at the end of the day, a greater love for Jesus and in others as well. Are you in love with Jesus? One's affections are stirred for Jesus when they are overwhelmed by the love of God, then they are led to trust and repent, living their life for Jesus now. Then because of faith that has been birthed within we are enabled to love Jesus. We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4.9). If anyone loves God, he is known by Him (1 Corinthians 8.3). This love is not some duty bound, forced love that we are to have. God's love for us is not a dutiful, divine response to a covenant, instead it is a free, joy-filled, sovereign expression of divine mercy, free and gracious love. God longs for this type of love from His Bride, His church. That we would respond to His love with free and joy-filled love. We are commanded to love Him this way. God says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6.5). This love that God commands is not done to earn benefits. It is a command to delight in God, to admire Him above all else, to be devoted to Him and to be content with His commitment to work on behalf of His people. So take diligent heed to yourselves to love (cling) the Lord your God (Joshua 23.11).

What about us?
Sometimes the church can do some good things and be right, but lose their focus. The Church in Ephesus did and Jesus called them out in saying, I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love (Revelation 2.2-4). Could the Lord say that about us today? The Lord continues saying, Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent (to change one's thinking) and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place- unless you repent (Revelation 2.5).

Motivation is everything! We can work real hard in serving the community, speak truth, and do it all in God's name, but if we have not been motivated by love for Jesus then it is in vain. Whether a work is done in love or not is what makes it spiritual or unspiritual (pleasing or unpleasing). It begins with a love for Jesus, this is our greatest desire for you, to love Jesus! So to glorify God, by loving Jesus and then next as God has modeled to us to love all people.

Love people
This is our target. God says, You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19.18). He also says, He executes justicefor the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving Him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt (Deuteronomy 10.18-19). Jesus also says, But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5.44-45). This love for people deals with our inward attitude of genuine love for them and also outward deeds and expressions of love. With the Triune love that has filled us, we are to love Jesus and then are to love all people and in loving people we have truly loved Jesus. It comes full circle! To see this read Matthew 25.34-40. So I want to encourage us to stay focused by loving all people with the right motive, instead of just making a bunch of noise (1 Corinthians 13.1-3). So we are to glorify God, by loving Jesus, loving people and then next as God so desires to see lives transformed to live for Him, so others can display His glory.

Seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus
It is amazing how every layer of this statement is connected. For someone to glorify God they must go from living for their own glory to living for the glory of God; from loving the world, to loving Jesus; from loving self, being condemning, and prejudice to loving all people. What must happen for this to this to occur? There must be transformation! One must be changed, completely altered! How does such transformation happen? Through Jesus by means of the Holy Spirit. Paul says, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3.5-6). Transformation is needed in us all and in people that are not here yet. We must be those who hold up life change as a focus to our ministry.

Equipped
God says through Isaiah to the Israelites, You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; your ears are open, but none hears (Isaiah 42.20). We must observe and hear the focus of God for our life, our family and our church body. We must not be blind or have blurred vision, we must be focused - to live to glorify God, love Jesus, love people and see lives transformed to live for Jesus. This should be our focus, if it is not we must repent and give our life to God's purposes and desires.