“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Psalm 16:11
This past Sunday – and all of this week – we are taking a look at the fact that authentic worship requires focus. Having said that it is understood that from time to time we may find we have lost focus on God and His kingdom.
What do we do when that happens? We refocus.
There were four specific areas we were encouraged to refocus in.
The first, which we shall look at today, is that we need to focus on God’s presence instead of His power. That has sometimes been expressed by encouraging us to seek His face and not His hand. Go after Him and not just after what He can supply. Are you truly hungry for God and DESIRE to know Him or is your interest only in what God can do for you? Jesus’ life was accompanied by great demonstrations of the power of God but they were never done simply to impress the crowd.
Instead, whatever Jesus did He did to reveal the Father.
His goal was never to impress, just for the sake of impressing, but during His ministry He left some pretty remarkable impressions of the Father’s care and love for each of us.
As dramatic as it may have seemed for the disciples on the boat when He calmed the winds and waves; or for Peter, James and John at the Mount of Transfiguration, these things were not done for any “WOW” factor.
Jesus never lamented to the Father that He lacked power to accomplish His mission.
He knew presence trumped power.
All the power in the world meant nothing if it was void of the presence of the Father in His life. He did cry out on the cross, but as you might recall it was with these words:
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
He cried out to His Father in that moment because He valued the presence of His Father more than anything else. If you find you have lost focus, then as you refocus, remember to focus on God’s presence instead of His power.
Psalm 16:11
This past Sunday – and all of this week – we are taking a look at the fact that authentic worship requires focus. Having said that it is understood that from time to time we may find we have lost focus on God and His kingdom.
What do we do when that happens? We refocus.
There were four specific areas we were encouraged to refocus in.
The first, which we shall look at today, is that we need to focus on God’s presence instead of His power. That has sometimes been expressed by encouraging us to seek His face and not His hand. Go after Him and not just after what He can supply. Are you truly hungry for God and DESIRE to know Him or is your interest only in what God can do for you? Jesus’ life was accompanied by great demonstrations of the power of God but they were never done simply to impress the crowd.
Instead, whatever Jesus did He did to reveal the Father.
His goal was never to impress, just for the sake of impressing, but during His ministry He left some pretty remarkable impressions of the Father’s care and love for each of us.
As dramatic as it may have seemed for the disciples on the boat when He calmed the winds and waves; or for Peter, James and John at the Mount of Transfiguration, these things were not done for any “WOW” factor.
Jesus never lamented to the Father that He lacked power to accomplish His mission.
He knew presence trumped power.
All the power in the world meant nothing if it was void of the presence of the Father in His life. He did cry out on the cross, but as you might recall it was with these words:
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
He cried out to His Father in that moment because He valued the presence of His Father more than anything else. If you find you have lost focus, then as you refocus, remember to focus on God’s presence instead of His power.
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