Introduction

Welcome back to our third week of this fantastic series, “Focus.” I hope you have enjoyed the content just as much as I have throughout the last few weeks. So far, we have sought to lay the foundation for our focus. In week 1, we talked about focusing on the good things in life. There are certain things that the world cannot give us, things that can only come from the Holy Spirit. Paul calls us to be constantly thinking about these things, rather than worldly, temporary things. Last week, we looked at a story from Matthew’s gospel where Peter and the other disciples are caught in a storm. They experience numerous different emotions and reactions, ultimately leading Peter to step out in faith and walk on water to Jesus. We saw firsthand what happens when someone loses their focus on Christ and instead chooses to look at the distractions around them.

Now that the foundation for our focus is laid, I want us to take this concept of focus a step further today.

Now that the foundation for our focus is laid, I want us to take this concept of focus a step further today.

Main Teaching

So before I break down a few different key elements involved in focusing on your future, what does the Bible say about our futures?

If you have a Bible with you, turn with me to Jeremiah 29:11. This is a very well-known verse. Many of you have probably heard it quoted, or have seen it on t-shirts and hats. These words are from the prophet Jeremiah in the middle of a letter he wrote to the exiled people living in Babylon at the time, and here’s what he says in verse 11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

I could preach a lot from this one verse, but for today, I want us to focus on one key element in it: God promises He wants to GIVE US a future. I wonder how many of us have tried to create a future all on our own. We are so often tempted to dream it up and bring it to be all by ourselves. Jeremiah is writing to a group of exiles who do not have much hope. These words promise them God has a plan. Today, I need you to understand that God has a wonderful plan for our lives. Sometimes, it’s hard to believe, it often does not make sense to keep trusting His plan, but believe me when I say: God’s plans are much better than ours are.

The Bible even tells us this in Isaiah 55:8-9, when the prophet says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Once we are able to live into this truth, we will begin to move out of God’s way ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium