"Focus on Jesus"

Scripture: "Come, He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. …" -Matthew 14:29 - 31, NIV

As I am writing on this morning, I am reminded of a cliché my Mama use to say while I was growing up. When it seems like I was not paying attention to something, she would say, "Your attention span is as long as nothing". With this being said, the question I posed in my mind was "how long is a person's attention span supposed to be?" On average, researchers stated that for a two-year old child, his/her attention span should fall around five minutes. In the case of most healthy teens and adults, their attention span falls around twenty minutes. Within the Kingdom of God, we ought to have a very long attention span! We ought to be focused on the Kingdom of God! This attention span or focus ought to be spent on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! When we focus on Him, He will direct us! He will show us the way! How can we make such a set of proclamations? Let's examine the text.

Our main scripture for today falls in the Gospel account according to Matthew, also known as Levi. Within his twenty-eight chapter account, Matthew was the only of the four Gospel writers to speak of what we know as "the church". He also emphasizes obedience to and preservation of biblical law. Within this particular chapter, Matthew records the beheading of John the Baptist, the miracle of when Jesus fed the 5,000, and when Jesus walked on water. Within the episode of when Jesus walked on the water is where we derive today's topic and trend of thought.

To set the scene, Jesus told the disciples that He would meet them on the other side. As the disciples loaded up the boat and headed towards the other side, Jesus went to the mountaintop by Himself to pray and recuperate from His ministry duties on that day. As Jesus was on watch from the mountaintop, He recognizes the boat from a distance, who is being rocked by the winds and waves, and just like a loving Savior, began to walk on the water to check on them. As the disciples saw Him, they just knew it was a ghost; however, Jesus told them that it was Him. Then, Peter requested of Jesus that if it was Him, to ask Him and come out on the water. Jesus granted Peter's request when He told him to "come". Within the various seasons of our lives, Jesus will say to you "Come". He may be telling you to come into your blessings! He may be telling you to come into your financial breakthrough! He may be telling you to come into your mental breakthrough! He may be telling you to come into your marital breakthrough! He may be telling you to come into your spiritual breakthrough! Through focus on Jesus, you can receive the directive "Come"!

After receiving the directive "Come", Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, coming towards Jesus! When your focus is on Jesus, you can do anything! When your focus is on Jesus, you can have the car you desire! When your focus is on Jesus, manifestation of your prayers can occur! When your focus is on Jesus, your children can act right! When your focus is on Jesus, those things that mean you no good will drop off! When your focus is on Jesus, businesses can be birthed! When your focus is on Jesus, you will have a relationship like no other!

The text continues where Peter took his eyes off of Jesus. It tells us that "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink". When our focus is off Jesus, then the winds of our lives can blow and knock us off track! Many of us have experienced the wind of marital problems, thus we have lost focus! Many of us have experienced the wind of financial problems, thus we have lost focus! Many of us have experienced the wind of emotional problems, thus we have lost focus! No matter who you are, if you cut the grass down short enough, we have lost focus of Jesus because of winds that have blown in our lives!

The text closes out by saying, "Lord, save me! Immediately, Jesus reached out His hand and caught him." What blesses me here is the fact though Peter took his eyes off of Jesus because of the wind blowing, Jesus was right there to grab him. Not only did He grab Peter, He grabbed Peter immediately! Brothers and sisters, as I close on today, remember that though we may lose focus, Jesus is right there to grab you before you fall and He's there to grab you immediately! He's right there to provide help, He's there to be your battle axe, He's there to be the lover of your soul, and He's there to be your everything! My prayer for each of you on today is that you keep focus on Jesus, but just in case a wind may blow to knock you down, Jesus is right there to pick you up!