Friday, January 13, 2012

Focusing on What Really Matters



“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’… The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”… He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice
that your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:1, 9, 17-20


What do you do when you have lost your focus on the “main thing”?
Call me simple, but you simply refocus.
The scripture above is an example of Jesus gently refocusing
the 72 disciples from the minor things to the major thing.
They had gone out in obedience to the Lord and found – as they explained –
“…even the demons submit to us in your name.”
Were they ‘drunk’ with power?
I don’t think so.
Nonetheless Jesus took this opportunity to refocus His disciples on what really mattered: It wasn’t that they had operated in a level of power (through Jesus’ name) that they could not have imagined but rather that their names were written in heaven.
He reminded them to set their affections on things above and not on
things on the earth as we are told to do in Colossians 3.
History records hundreds of very powerful men and women. None of their power guaranteed them a place in heaven. That is accomplished only by believing in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. God has given us His power and it is to be used to advance the Kingdom of God. When power itself becomes the focus of any ministry (or any life for that matter) it is time to step back and refocus.
Don’t become ‘power hungry’. Instead become ‘presence hungry’!

No comments: