Let Us Fix Our Eyes on Jesus (Hebrew12:1-2) Today I'd like to share a message under the title of "Let Us Fix Our Eyes on Jesus. "What we look at determines whether we become positive or negative. Negative thoughts and minds lead us to negative circumstances. For the mouth speaks what is stored up in the heart. As a result, you will attract to all the negative things. On the other hand, positive thoughts and minds lead us to positive circumstances. Therefore our hearts and minds will be changed according to what we think. 1. If we look at the ground Many people first look at the ground in their life. If Christians first look at the ground and their circumstances and all the storms they become irritated, depressed, frustrated and despaired. A curtain is dropped over the window of heaven and when they look to God there will be much resistance in their hearts so that it will lead to depression. We tend to only focus on the ground so then what is the ground? It is the land of emptiness. As the teacher in the Bible says, "Meaningless! Meaningless! “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless," everything in the ground is not eternal. Yesterday I talked with a businessman and he said to me that even though he has earned a great deal of money, he would not take any of it with him at his death. The more money he has earned, the more worries he would have. Even he could not eat more than any other person and he has not been happy at all! Everything in this world is at the place where human beings took themselves away from God, where the land is cursed and full of thorns and thistles, the dwelling place of labor and suffering. We are living in this land. Genesis 3:17-18 says, "To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you." God cursed the land! It has become the land of emptiness and chaos, the land of brutal competition for survival, the land conquered by sins and evil, and the land where the meaning of life is lost. Since it is conquered by the devil, wherever he goes, he always put greed and pride into people's hearts so that a terrible jealousy and hatred exist because of their greed and pride. 2 Timothy 3:2-3 says, "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good." This is the same as people's hearts. The most shocking thing is that those who receive help soon forget all about it. Worse still, they will repay with evil for the grace they received. There is a proverb that people carve grace on the water, but grudges on the rock. We should never forget the grace but give thanks for it. Then we are entitled to receive the full blessings of God. This land is the land of chaos and anxiety, the land of feeling guilt, emptiness and meaninglessness, and the land with the fear of death. Job 3:26 says, "I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil." "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."(Ja. 4:14) This is also the land filled with despair where people are struggling with stress resulting from problems. There is no place that is free from stress in our lives. Housewives and their husbands suffer from stress and their children become stressful from their hard studying. We also receive stress from not only our job and school problems but also from such trivial problems as a parking quarrel in the back alley or the explosive rise of prices of commodities and rent. This is the land which is full of despair where people suffer from stressful problems. 2. Look at the sky Second, to those who look at the ground and then heaven, heaven has no effect. After they look at the ground, their hearts begin to be filled with stress and darkness so that even heaven cannot give them any revelations. When we are feeling dispirited, stressed, discouraged, and debilitated due to life in the land, we look at God in heaven only to find God from the past who is nowhere to be seen here and now. We desperately need the God who is with us here and now, but those who look with worries, anxiety, impatience and irritation cannot find God anywhere. They only think about the God without miracles. A God who does not give them any solutions to their problems. Where is God and his miracles? They are frustrated because they can not answer this question. They only regard God as made by human intelligence. To those who are under the control of science and reason, God does not exist at all. He comes out of the human mind, they think. Some intellectuals said that our hearts and minds are God. Even though the title is changeable among Catholic, Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism, our hearts are God to them. If one listens to this, he/she cannot have a true faith. God gradually becomes a God, it is academic and has nothing to do with our practical lives. The most serious problem now is that people only believe in a God who is far away from our daily lives and belongs to the past and is only an academic and religious God. They don't know the God who participates in our joys and sorrows and pain with us. Carl Hilty, a Swiss lawyer and philosopher, explained the cause of anxiety and fear of modern man, "The characteristic of their dread of suffering is that they don't believe in God. If they do not fear God, they will be afraid of all the circumstances." According to his explanation, the hearts of those who don't fear God will be filled with the fear of the world naturally. Theologian Bengel said, "Those who only fear God are not afraid of anything else. However, those who do not fear God become afraid of everything except God." St. Augustine said, "Above all, fear God! Then you will not be afraid of people." If God is for me, who can be against me? The authority of living and dying belongs to God. Then why should we be afraid after committing everything to God?" Nowadays so many people don't know anything about God. They are withered at the earthly life and live with anxiety and fear against everything of the world. There is no God who can give solutions to their problems, but only an academic and religious God who is made by human intelligence. We cannot expect any miracles from him. 3. Look at the sky and then the ground Therefore thirdly, we should first look at the sky and then the ground. In the morning we should first spread the Bible to meet God before we read the newspaper and then go to work. If we read the Word of God before commuting to the workplace, we can believe in God who carries our heavy burden in our workplace. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." We must first look at Jesus and then the ground. When we see Jesus, our sins become powerless and we can see Jesus who forgives our sins. As we look upon Jesus, our whole iniquities in this filthy world will be nothing to worry about. The Lord already forgave all of them and fills us with the Holy Spirit. As we focus on Jesus, our disease will lose its power. We can believe in him because by his stripes we are healed. As we look at Jesus, we will not fear our curse, despair and frustration because he carried them all. As we look upon Jesus, we will not fear when we die since we already know that there is eternal life. Without looking at Jesus we will be overwhelmed by sin. Without Jesus we will be crushed by our filthy circumstances and become a slave to iniquities. Without looking at Jesus but only at such disease as cancer and arthritis, we will despair. Without focusing on Jesus but on the loss of job or business or pain of life, we will be frustrated. Imagine that you died without Jesus. You will be dead in the midst of inexpressible discouragement and despair. Therefore we should first look at the sky and Jesus and then the ground. How can we look at the sky? Through worship services, the Word of God and prayer we look at the sky. When you worship God at church on Sunday on the first day of the new week, you can live with faith that God will be with you until the next Sunday. During the week God accompanies you because today you look at him and receive His grace and Word. Now you worship and meet the God who is here and now through listening to the Word of God. He is not confined to two thousand years ago nor to Israel only. He is your God right now. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." The Jesus who forgave our sins still forgives them. He who cast out the devil and healed the sick and got rid of curses yesterday is now doing the same thing! He now provides food to those who are poor as he did yesterday. The Bible says that the Lord is the same yesterday and today and forever. Jeremiah 10:10 says, "But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King." Please repeat after me, "But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King." He is the God that answers our prayers. Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" What a powerful promise! Who will give a stone to his child instead of bread? What kind of parents will give a snake to their children? God speaks to us figuratively at this, "You are evil! Even though you are full of greed and covetousness and pride, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to his children!" He always gives good things. Please repeat after me, "Father God already gave his only begotten Son to us so that he always gives us good gifts along with his Son. God is a good God." He is your God. Your Father in heaven is a good Father. You should endure with long patience while being aware of and believing in this good Father God who hugs and takes good care of you all the time. We are above worries and fear because God has the power to control our life and circumstances. If he is incompetent, his care will be to no avail. He should be this kind of God when we call him, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence."(Ps. 91:2-3) Only then can we stay and rest in the shadow of God. If he is powerless and good for nothing and a dead idol, he is totally of no use. Revelation 1:8 says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Psalm 123:2 says, "As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy." Look to the Lord our God. He gives us his grace and answers our prayers. It is so good to look upon God instead of the world. Steven K. Scott flunked out of his nine jobs for his first six years after college. One after another each job was successively gone. He was so frustrated that he wanted to commit suicide. Then he met Dr. Gary Smalley who recommended, "Don't be discouraged. Why don't you read one chapter of Proverbs every day before you start a new day? I don't say that you should read many pages! Only just one chapter of Proverbs each day. Then your life will be changed!" According to his advice, Scott read a chapter of Proverbs every day and tried to build his career by the Word of God. Then God's wonderful grace and blessings began to pour down upon him so that he could succeed as a marketing businessman to establish a dozen companies from scratch. In addition, he has written various best-selling books including, "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived", and been a popular speaker on the subjects of personal and professional achievement. He said, "If you read the Bible every morning, you will become brilliant within two years and be a rich man in five years." "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."(Mt. 6:33) It is the first step toward seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness that we read, listen to and meditate on the Word of God. When we stop looking on the ground but start to look at the sky through the Word of God and prayer, we will find the gate of heaven widely open. Through this gate, the blessings of Abraham will be poured down upon us when we look at the throne of God worshipping him. Psalm 68:19 says, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." He not only bore our burdens yesterday but bears our burdens today. Every day he carries our heavy burdens. Your worries will not accomplish anything. Therefore commit everything to the Lord and rest under his yoke. If you confess, "I believe in you no matter what happens to us, life or death, prosperity or disaster, and success or failure." The Lord will take charge of you. Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." This is what I am saying. Not just one or two persons but everyone can come to the Lord. He will make you rest. Thus we must not carry all the heavy burdens but commit them to the Lord and live a peaceful life. In any circumstances or difficulties, look at the sky and Jesus. Then we can experience mighty miracles of God who controls our life and circumstances with his love and blessings. We are made to be controlled by God. As God made Adam and Eve he ordered them, "Rule over the land and every living creature." Your hearts have the power of ruling. It does not mean to control by force. Not by force but by your mind. With your thinking, dreams, faith and words, you can control your circumstances in your heart. As you bring something out of what is stored up in your heart, when you depend on, think of, look at and believe in the Lord singing praises and thanks toward him, peace of mind will control your body and circumstances. If you keep saying, "I cannot live. Everything will fail. I cannot do it" along with all the worries in your heart, it will preside over you and all the impossible and worrisome things will approach your surroundings. On the contrary, if you fill your heart with righteousness, peace, joy, faith, hope and love, they will come out of you and begin to control you. God commanded mankind to conquer and rule over the land and everything in it. He never said that he would do it on behalf of us. "You should conquer and rule over the land. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." The Lord did not say, "It will be done by your faith", but "It will be done according to your faith." It will be done according to your faith. If you dream, believe and confess with your mouth, it will control your destiny and circumstances. Thus don't forget that your circumstances will be controlled by what is stored up in your heart. If you are full of dreams and faith then confess it, they will come out of you. Therefore we can overcome any difficulties through our hearts. The Word of God always appears through our hearts, not apart from them. When you meditate on the Word of God and accept it and dream about it and believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth, God will work through his Word. 4. After all these, let us look at the ground Therefore fourthly, we should try to look at the ground after we first look at the sky. First look at the sky because it is the Word of God. You must read the Bible and then look at your circumstances. When the Israelites cried out as they only looked at the army of Egypt and the Red Sea, Moses focused on the sky. Afterwards he looked at the ground. God was waiting there and he was much mightier than the army of Egypt and the Red Sea. So he said to the terrified Israelites, "You need only to be still. The LORD will fight for you. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again." God showed himself and worked for them. Moses looked at the sky and then the ground while the Israelites looked the other way; they could not see their God there. It is the land of God where you are living now. Nothing on the earth is beyond his control. Matthew 28:18-20 says, "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." The Lord who has all authority in heaven and on earth is with you right now. He is your background. You are living in the shadow of this wonderful Lord. Dream this in your Imagination and then you will live with confidence. God makes you to overcome your surroundings and live a happy life. He is our God who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases, who redeems our life from the pit and crowns us with love and compassion, who satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.(Ps. 103:3-5) He said, "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."(3 Jn. 2) Thus we should imagine, dream and believe in this God. 1 Corinthians 10;13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." When trials approach you, it comes to discipline your faith. If you endure it patiently, God will provide a way out to overcome it. You must have an absolute hope instead of despair. Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Without hope there is only despair like death. This despair leads to death. On the contrary, hope makes people to have a dream. With hope we can dream that tomorrow will be much better than today, next month than this month, and next year than this year. If you have a dream, you can confess, "I do believe. I believe that my dream will come true." Then it will be done according to your faith. The Bible says that the God of hope makes you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. When you come under the cross you receive the hope of forgiveness, holiness, healing, blessings, and heaven. You should not miss this hope in your heart. Only under the cross, you can hold on to hope and move forward with faith. In spite of any despair and trials, we should not let go of our hope in God looking at the sky. Then God will give us dream and faith and confidence to overcome any circumstances and conditions and to lead a happy life. The gospel of hope is the blessed news our Lord Jesus has given us through his cross. We live between the sky and the ground. We cannot only look at the sky nor the ground. We can lead a successful life when we look to the sky and then the ground in a proper order. When we look upon the sky praising God with thanks and pray and then look at the ground, all the problems look as if they were nothing. The more you look at the ground, the greater your problems seem to be. Our God seems to be invisible. However, if we first look at God and then the ground, all the problems dwindle like dust. We can boldly say, "No problem. In the name of Jesus, go away!" Let us first look at the sky and then the ground to live a victorious life. Always keep your Bible beside you because the Bible is the sky God has given us. When your heart is full of the Word of God through reading, listening to and meditating on the Bible and you look at the circumstances through the Word, you can overcome and conquer them. I wish in the name of the Lord that the sky will fill your thinking, dream, faith and words. Our almighty Father God, we want to thank you for loving us and saving us and opening our eyes to look at the sky. Even though only the world seems to exist, we know that there is a protecting sky between the visible world and us. The one who is with us is greater, more powerful than the one who is in the world. Father God, let us focus on God and never be discouraged or frustrated or hopeless. Help us to be in the bosom of God of hope. In Jesus' name Amen.