Fix Your Eyes On Jesus

If you feel pulled in a hundred directions, the answer isn’t louder opinions or better distractions. It’s a single, steady focus: “Look unto Jesus.”

We open Hebrews 12:2 and talk about Jesus as the founder and perfecter of our faith — the One who endured the cross and finished His mission so we can run our race with endurance instead of living out of the rearview mirror.

From there we get practical: hope as confident trust in Jesus, not luck or fear-based thinking. We dig into how thoughts shape our identity, why Scripture calls us to take every thought captive, and how sin often begins as a single unchecked idea.

We also correct a modern distraction — fixation on darkness. Yes, prophecy matters, but we’re not waiting for the Antichrist. We’re waiting for Jesus Christ. That perspective changes how we handle temptation, spiritual warfare, and our daily choices.

We talk about our identity as a new creation, God’s promise of a way of escape, and our position as seated with Christ in heavenly places, walking in delegated authority without pride.

If this message helps you refocus, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one area of your life where you need to look back less and look to Jesus more?

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Transcript

Opening Prayer Of Gratitude

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this day. Thank you for the children that you have gathered here together to celebrate you and to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for using me as the vessel, the conduit to spread the seed of your word and to plowed grounds, the hearts of your children. Let it take root and bear fruit in their lives so that they can be blessed and prospered by it and go and help others with the same help they receive from you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.

The Call To Look Unto Jesus

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Well, this morning the Lord has placed one powerful truth before us in bright lights. That's how I've been seeing them lately. Look unto Jesus. Look unto Jesus. That's a message in itself. That's it. Hebrews chapter 12. I love Hebrews. And all women love it because it's the book in the Bible that says that the men are supposed to make the coffee. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2 says, looking to Jesus. Looking unto Jesus, the founder and perfecter. That's what the English Standard Version says. The founder and perfecter of our faith could also be the author and finisher, depending on what translation you're looking at. One translationist says the pioneer and finisher. I love that. Because he's the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He's everything in a bag of chips. Amen. Looking unto Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. The writer of Hebrews begins that 12th chapter with the word therefore. There's a lot of therefore in the book of Hebrews. I've done messages on that. But whenever there's a therefore in the Bible, you want to find out what it's there for. Amen. And the writer of Hebrews, I say Paul, but that's not, we don't know that. So the writer had just spent all of chapter 11 laying out wonderful attributes of a great cloud of witnesses, you might remember. Those heroes of the faith who persevered, like we talked about last week, persevered through every trial because they refused to look back, to live out of the rearview mirror. They only looked ahead, forward ever, backward, never. Chapter 11 of Hebrews gives us a great, a great key of a key of the kingdom, key to faith and perseverance. In the example of Abraham and Sarah, how they could have God sent them from their their country where they lived and their family was, and they were prosperous there. And he just told them to go someplace that they didn't even know where they were going, if you recall. But it tells how they could have turned around and gone back home to the security of family and the familiar, back to what was safe, you see. But they press forward looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Because of their example, and because we have something even greater, we have Jesus Himself as our pioneer, our author, and perfect example. We can run the race that He has for us with endurance. Amen.

Hope That Shapes Thoughts And Choices

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Our hope is not a wish, right, Samuel? We don't rely on horoscopes or luck. Those things are not of God. Even science and mathematics and physics, those things can be of some use. But they're not they're not complete. They can only take you so far. Our hope is a confident trust in the person of Jesus Christ. So our thoughts and attitudes should reflect that relationship. Proverbs 23 23:7 teaches us that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. That's why we're commanded to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, to the obedience of his teachings, of this word, you see. To bring every thought into agreement with Jesus. And do you know you have angelic help, Sandy? That's a great thing. When we're obedient to God, that doesn't mean we're going to do everything, right? But when we're when we're walking in agreement, that's that's easier to swallow, isn't it? We don't like that word obedience, but we're called to obedience to him because he loves us. And and everything he tells us to do is because it's for our own good, you see. But when we walk in agreement with God, and when we are in faith doing God's will according to his instructions and his word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, do you know that angels are ministering to you, strengthening you, helping you? You say, Well, how do you know that? Well, because I I look unto Jesus, I look right into this Bible. This Bible, these 66 books of the Bible, the Catholics have 73, and the Eastern Orthodoxes even have more. If it ain't in this one, in these 66, leave it out. Threw that in for free. Sorry. Not sorry. I look into here. This is this is Jesus without feet and eyeballs. Right here. This Bible. I look, I look to Jesus first, and then I look to the the rest of the New Testament. It tells how we to He showed us, He except He ex He was the example, the pioneer. And then the rest of the Bible explains how to walk out what He did and what He showed us, you see.

Angelic Help In Trials And Temptation

SPEAKER_00 7:29

Mark chapter 1. That's where I got stuck. Mark, I just if you saw my mark, I can't even, it's so marked up, Mark is. And I'll talk about that maybe next week if the Lord allows. Mark chapter 1, verses 11 through 13. Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses. That's two or three witnesses in the Bible. You see, everything will be established, right? And a voice came from heaven. You remember this was when John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. And he came up, and the heavens burst open, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove and remained on him. Right? And then he heard the voice, we heard the voice of the Father. He did. And a voice came from heaven. You are my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. Now that'll that'll get a thousand miles out of you right there. Then, but look what happened. So the Holy Spirit remains on him. The Father speaks to him and tells him how pleased he is, and he loves him as his child, you know what I mean? And then the Spirit, it says, immediately drove him into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan, and he was with the wild animals. Now, man, he started off. It was an outstanding moment, and then it went into a big trial, a trial of his faith. And he was with the wild animals in the desert, no food, no nothing. But that's not the end of the scripture. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. That means they were tending to him, they were helping him, they were strengthening and encouraging him. And again, so we'll fast forward to the end of his earthly ministry. On the night of his betrayal and his arrest, he was in agony in the garden of Gethsemane, praying to the Father. He swept great as drops of blood. He was in such stress because of the cup that he knew he must drink of to complete his mission. For us, not just to shed his holy blood and to lay down his life on the cross, but that meant he would be temporarily separated from the Father, something he had never known. And he dreaded that thought. And in Luke chapter 22, verse 43, it says, And there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him. And now I know that the same rights and privileges he experienced here on earth are mine. They are yours. When we belong to Christ, we have the same rights and privileges as Jesus himself. Because we are in him, we are one with him. In Hebrews chapter 1, verse 14, it says, Are not all angels? Now see, some people say there's two kinds of angels. There's God's angels, and then there's the devil's angels. Well, they don't have the right to be called angels anymore. They were cast out of heaven. They're demons now. We're talking about God's holy angels. Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Look at that. That's us. Praise God. Thank you, Lord.

unknown 11:40

Thank you, Lord.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

That's the NIV, the NLT. I like, I don't usually use, but it says, therefore, angels are only servants, spirits sent to care for people who inherit salvation. Just another translation of the same thing. Now we don't tell the angels what to do. We speak to our Father. We speak the word of God, the promises of God. We say what He says about us and about situations. And when we speak the word of God, they react to God's word. That doesn't mean they have to go get an answer from him every time we ask something. When we speak God's word, we're using our delegated authority and they act on it. Hallelujah. Oh my goodness. So that's it. We look unto Jesus, the 66 books of the Bible. With the help of the Holy Spirit. Not when. Nobody knows the time or hour, but he'll tell us when to do something. He showed us the who, what, where, and how. How's that? Amen. Then we look to the promises of provision, the promises of equipping provided for us in him. And we believe and rejoice and we trust and we keep our focus on him, the author, the perfecter, the pioneer, the finisher of our faith. And when we keep our eyes on Jesus, we reflect his light to a dark world, you see.

Don’t Stare At Darkness Stay Focused

SPEAKER_00 13:28

But when we look away toward we turn toward sin. Or when we stare at the storms of life that come against us, or at the problems, when we stare into the darkness, we lose that radiance, you see. Too many believers today are focused on, for instance, the Antichrist and the false prophet. And listen, I taught on those things recently, and I said the next week I was going to teach more. And I didn't. And you know why? The Lord said, told me this, what I'm telling you right now. Too many people are focused on the Antichrist and the false prophet, and all scripture is given by God, and it's all it's all for our benefit, right? And it and the Bible does talk about the Antichrist and the false prophet. Those are real things. There's nothing wrong with studying and trying to understand those things. It's all useful. But remember this: we're not waiting for the Antichrist. We're waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. That's our motivation. That's our hope, our confident expectation of good from God. The return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because we are born again. Because we're born again. Jesus explained John 3 3, that was a prerequisite, right? Unless a man be born again, you can't see the kingdom of God. So that that has to, you have to have an encounter with Jesus. You have to invite him in. You have to accept that grace by faith. But now that we are born again, Romans, no, not Romans, 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that we are a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come. We no longer have a sin nature. That corrupted seed that came all the way from the fallen garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Corrupted sin nature of Adam. That was evicted when we were born again, and the Spirit of God came in. Now we're children of God, created righteous and holy. Now we still can sin, certainly can, but it's unnatural for us to sin now. It's not who we are. Nothing inside of us is compelling us to sin anymore. That's that's the good news. The Bible tells us that sin, all sin begins with a thought, and that what says in the book of James. And when that thought conceives, it gives birth to sin. That's why our part is to reject that thought immediately, right? The moment it comes. Now we don't always do that. But the reason that we like to, when we once we know the truth and we know the difference between the lie and the truth, when that lie comes, we want to catch it and get it into submission to Jesus. Otherwise, it's like falling down the stairs. If you catch yourself on that first, when you stumble, you're all right. But once you start rolling, it's a little different story.

unknown 17:21

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Or down a hill like a snowball. You know what I mean. But remember, we're a new creation. We have the very mind of Christ. We have the ability now because we have the truth, we have the Holy Spirit, we have the help of God's holy angels. And we have a responsibility to take those thoughts captive and to reject those negative thoughts. Don't let them don't let them take root, especially any bitter roots of unforgiveness and anger, you see. Because they can defile many, it says, not just you. You can become like a contagion. We're children of God, created righteous and holy. Joseph in chapter thirty-nine of Genesis here. He's a great example. When may recall when Potiphar's wife tried to tempt him with immorality daily, you know. Anyway, when she when she really made a run at it to get him to do something that no one should do, he ran. He ran away. But he wasn't running from the devil, he was running from the sin, from the temptation. He was running to please God. The devil isn't our focus, Jesus is our focus. Now, as children of God, we don't run from sin to earn acceptance from God. We run from sin because we are a new creation, created righteous and holy. Sin goes against our new nature. And we know the author of that sin is the devil. So we turn away from the sin and we focus on Jesus, his truth, his love, his strength, his faith. The kingdom of God is contained in the spirit of God within us. Hallelujah. We have no part in the kingdom of darkness because we belong to Jesus. And we are seated with him right now in heavenly places, and we are equipped to resist that darkness here on earth. Glory to God.

God’s Escape Route From Temptation

SPEAKER_00 20:19

1 Corinthians 10 verse 13. It says, No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. In other words, the same struggles, like Peter said, that you're enduring, your brothers and sisters in Christ are experiencing all over the world. I don't know why it makes us feel a little better to know that other people are going through the same stuff we are. It's almost sounds sadistic, but it just there's something in it. Hey, we're in this together. You know what I mean? No temptation is overtaking you. That's not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. Nothing is going to come your way that he's not going to provide an escape route, you see. When the temptation, with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. That's wonderful. And sometimes you just have to do like Joseph did, just get up and run away. Whatever it takes, this is not of my father. Where's my escape route, Lord? Do I just hang up the phone? Do I close that laptop, shut off that device, stop looking at the Joneses? Do I stop listening to that negative report? Do I stop talking over the fence to that neighbor? I'm thinking of that. Remember that show Home Improvement? The guy was always over the fence, Mr. Wilson. Yeah. And and I don't think he was a negative guy, but you know, if if there's somebody that all they have is always the negative report, that's probably not your friend. I know a lot of young people, young Christians, they get unequally yoked. The Bible says don't do that. You know why? If you're unequally yoked, because see, you have Jesus, you have the strength of Jesus. And you you yoke yourself, picture two oxen. You're not an ox, you're way better, but picture two oxen. One that's sick and got one foot in the grave, and one that's a young bull that's full of strength and power. Who's gonna do all the pulling? Yeah. Same thing. These young girls and these young men, they find a non-Christian steeped in sin. They might go to church for them once or twice because they're after them, but they're not, they have no commitment. They get unequally yoked. We call it missionary dating. I'm gonna fix this person. Wrong. You're gonna ruin your life. Never mind. I don't know why I got off on that. But God will provide a way of escape. There's that no temptation is gonna come against us that that He's not gonna, you know, Jesus said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you. If he's right there, he's not just gonna let that happen and where you don't have an escape route. And that's that's a great promise right there. And he also equips us to do as he did. He never sent anyone out to preach or to minister without first preparing them and equipping them with delegated authority. You realize that? He told his disciples to cast out demons in the same way he did. And he said, and he's given us that same authority over all the works of the devil. Isn't that something? But you have to believe it, you have to exercise that authority if you want to see the manifestation of the good things that can come from it. Sometimes the enemy has to be moved out of the way, but our real focus, again, never shifts from Jesus. Our focus remains on the author and finisher of our faith. It's the faith of Christ that is in us, working in and through us, faith in his name that heals and sets the captives free. That's what Peter said in the beginning of Acts on the first day of the church. Well, right around the first day. But be sure you're not one of those. Let's throw this in for free, too, that you're not one of those that are waiting for some future day when Jesus finally will begin to rule. See, that's a misconception. Yes, he will return. He's returning soon, and he will set up his kingdom and we'll rule and reign with him for a thousand years from Jerusalem. But he's already ruling and reigning. At the right hand of his father, our father in heaven.

Seated With Christ And Shared Authority

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Psalm 110, verses 1 and 2. I love to find places where all three persons of the Godhead get together. They're always in unity, they're one, but and they're three, but I like it when they're all on display. And I'll show you what I mean. David wrote in Psalm 110, verse 22, the Lord says to my Lord, see, this is before Jesus ever even came to earth. So this was definitely by the Spirit of God that David was speaking. The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies. All three persons of the Godhead working right there. And I'll show you what I mean by that. So David is speaking, he says, the Lord says to my Lord. So the he's speaking of the Lord as Father God says to my Lord, that's our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Right? So there's those two. And then he said, He said, Before I say that, so it just means that he's sitting there right with him. It shows that he's seated right next to the Father, like I mentioned before. See, so he those two are in heaven. Amen. So he he just says to Jesus, sitting on the throne next to him, to rule and reign over your enemies, rule in the midst of your enemies. And he shares that authority with his believing people, the church. That's the point. Because the scepter that he's using to rule in the midst of his enemies says, and there's a scepter sent forth from Zion. Zion is the assembly of God's people, as we are here today, and I believe the scepter of God is the Holy Spirit working in our midst. The assembly of God's people through our prayers, through our praise and proclamation and preaching and testimony. You see that? Lord, forgive me if I don't think I made the case. Help them to see that. And Ephesians chapter 2, verse 6 tells us we've been raised up with him. We have been raised up with him, Jesus, and seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now, this is a spiritual truth that you can't understand with your natural mind. And then 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 14 says, but thanks be to God who in Christ who always leads us, not one day will lead us, always leading us, is leading us in triumphal procession. And through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. Remember, a triumph, because he's leading us in triumphal procession. A triumph isn't the winning of a battle, it's the celebration of the victory already won. It's an old Roman term. When a general would go off to war and he would conquer, he would come back, and the Senate would vote and they would vote him a triumph. It's a per a special celebration and parade. And he that general would ride on a chariot with two white horses pulling it, and behind him, they would have all the captives that they took from as prisoners, the kings and generals of the armies they defeated. They would be behind them in the procession, put them on display, and all the people would be watching. It's the celebration of the victory that's already won. We're not fighting for the victory, we're protecting the victory that Jesus has already won. And listen to this, since I described the triumph from the old Roman example that Paul used. We're on the chariot with Jesus in his triumphal procession. We're not bystanders in the crowd. We're seated with him in heavenly places, and we're riding in the procession with him, having won the victory over his enemies, the devil and his demons. And as we walk in Jesus' light, the world gets to see him and come to know his love and power and salvation. And remember, his help begins with you. He wants you to know that he loves you more than what you can do for him. Of course, he wants you to mature past the stage of just being thirsty and in need. He wants to fill you up to overflowing and then let you help others with that same help that he's helped you with. That same freedom and deliverance and peace and healing and provision. He sees what you really need and he restores your soul. He meets your needs. Everything we need is found in Jesus Christ. Whether we're seeking eternal life, forgiveness, healing, deliverance, or anything else that's good and of God, we don't look for the provision. We look to the provider. We keep our focus on Jesus. We look unto Jesus, the author, the pioneer, and finisher, perfecter of our faith. We're empowered, since we belong to Him, to we're not only empowered, we're equipped. The Bible says He'll equip us to do all everything we need for the ministry. Now, you're all ministers. The work of the five-fold ministry, the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher that Jesus gave as a gift to the church when he ascended is to prepare all the members of the church for the work of the ministry. Even Peter and the great apostles of of the beginning days of the church, those even walked with Jesus when they were amongst their other, when they went to the other church fellowships, they were just considered themselves one of the elders there. You see, they didn't, they weren't big on titles and stuff like that. You don't want to get into an argument about who's the greatest in front of Jesus. He caught them doing it. But he knew and he didn't like it much. And one of their mamas put him up to it, too. Some other stuff, James and John mama. Nevertheless, we don't want to talk about nobody's mama. They might be waiting for me when I get to heaven. God bless them all.

Live Ready For Jesus’ Return

SPEAKER_00 34:53

We don't look for the provision, though. We look for the provider. Too many are focused on the problem instead of the promise. It shouldn't be so. So today, I'm just finishing up here, Joey. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. Let us keep our faces turned toward light, the real light, the source of all light. Because he says we're the light of the world. You see? But so do you you know you see what I mean by that then? As long as we're we're looking unto Jesus, we're reflecting that glorious light, that radiance. But when we look away, we're like it's like the dark side of the moon, you see. There's nothing reflecting off of this face when Jesus is over here. Amen. That's why we want to always look unto Jesus. Let's reject every thought that would pull us toward the darkness. Let us walk in the authority that He's already given us, the delegated authority. I say that, I stress that because we we're connected to the vine. We're just the branches of the tree. Amen. He he's the vine, he's the tree. We're just the branches. So don't ever get to thinking it's our authority. Like the devil did. He thought he would just, God had made him so beautiful and wise. He just thought, hey, I'm so wonderful, I don't even need him anymore. Silly thing. I don't ever want to be caught like that. Lord help us to always keep our focus on you, realizing you're the source of all the light and love and liberty and salvation. And let us live ready for his return. We're supposed to always be ready. We're supposed to work, roll up our sleeves and work to be kingdom builders and to work on that relationship with him and let him work on our character and and let him love us like he's gonna be waiting a long time in coming. But we're also supposed to be ready because he's coming back for a bride, a radiant bride, a holy bride. We want to be like the five wise virgins. There was there were ten virgins, five were wise and five were unwise. Five of them didn't keep their lamps full with oil, and then they tried to get some from those who did when he came. And they said, We we we can't go buy some. We won't have time. Well, they didn't have time, and he called them foolish because they weren't ready for his return. Jesus said that. You you figure that out on your own. I mean, I think it's wise to keep our eyes on Jesus to build on that relationship. This is not a dress rehearsal. Yesterday really did end last night, and this is the day the Lord has made. And there's only one day with God, it's called today. What are we gonna do with it? Because he's coming back for his church. Will you say this with me? Let's make a declaration. Today I choose to follow Jesus. I choose to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. I am seated with him in heavenly places. I stand in his victory, and I carry the fragrance of his love and power and salvation. I walk in his delegated authority. I reflect his light to a dark world. I'm not waiting for the Antichrist. I'm waiting for Jesus Christ. Come, Lord Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Closing Prayer And Salvation Invitation

SPEAKER_00 39:47

Every head bows. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this time together. With you, with your children. We thank you that we've come together in this place to meet with each other and with you, Lord, and to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus. Thank you for imparting these gifts to us today, these truths about you and your wisdom and your love and your salvation. Thank you, Lord, that we're reminded to keep our focus on you, not be distracted by the cares and concerns and the trials and tribulations of this life. Not that we ignore them, they do come. But we have you, we have your promises, we have your provision, your love, and you'll never leave us or forsake us. If you're watching this message or you're hearing and listening to it anywhere else, at any other time, any other place in the world, we love you. God loves you. And if you've never made Jesus the Lord of your life, I just ask you if you if you've heard this message and you feel like you're being drawn to the Lord, and you want him to be your Lord and Savior, but you've never had an encounter with him, you never had anyone tell you how much he loves you, and you want him to be your Lord and Savior to the exclusion of all others. Say this prayer. Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son. I believe He came and died on the cross for my sins, that He was buried, and on the third day He was raised from the dead. I repent of my sins. I want to live for you, Jesus. I ask you to be my Lord and Savior. Amen. If that was your prayer and you said Amen and you meant it, I look forward to seeing you in heaven. I hope to hear from you. God bless you.