No U-Turn - #231

When you focus completely on God, you won’t see that lure dangling enticingly off to the side, trying to pull you away from your single-hearted devotion to Christ.

Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at  http://www.thepuritycoach.com 

Transcript

It is vital that you are not distracted, confused, and sidetracked by other things that have the potential of drawing you off the right path. When you focus completely on God, you won’t see that lure dangling enticingly off to the side, trying to pull you away from your single-hearted devotion to Christ

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A powerful weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity and godliness. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #231 entitled “No U Turn.”

God says in Deuteronomy 28:14 “do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” Then in Joshua 23:6 God again commands, “Be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left.” 

In Psalm 27:4 King David cries out, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” What about you my friend? Are you daily making it your #1 priority to seek God? To worship Him with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind, and all of your strength? Are you laser focused on Him? Listen (watch this now), a five-minute daily devotional just won’t cut it. 

You must be strong, focused, determined, daily committed to seeking after God always; and then consistently, resolutely, unwaveringly remain devoted to walking in obedience to God and living in reverence for your Creator, your Savior, and your Heavenly Father. You see, when this is that one thing you seek above all else, when this is what you passionately pursue, when God and God alone influences and directs ALL of your thinking, when your heart is totally and faithfully focused on glorifying God, THEN your daily attitude and behavior will be that which truly glorifies Him.

Who is sitting on the throne of your heart? Are you choosing to worship God or King Me? Let me remind you that whom you choose to worship determines what you choose to think about. What you choose to think about determines what you choose to say and do. What you choose to say and do determines the consequences that result.

I have a question for you: What happens when you focus all of your attention on that which is directly in front of you? I submit that just like the blinders on a horse keep it from being distracted – when you focus completely on God you won’t see that tempting lure dangling enticingly off to the side, trying to pull you away from your single-hearted devotion to Christ. 

In Deuteronomy 5:32 we read “Be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” God paints a very clear picture in this verse; our eyes are to be focused upon Him at all times. This is why David declares in Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after.” In Psalm 141:8 the psalmist cries out, “My eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge.” The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, “fix your thoughts on Jesus!” (Hebrews 3:1 NIV’84) 

I cannot emphasize this next point enough. Never lose sight of the fact that what consumes your mind will control your life. This is why you must keep the focus of your heart always on God. You see, the more you are fixated upon yourself, the less likely you will be to walk the right path in life. I once heard it said that when you fix your thoughts on God, God fixes your thoughts! I like that.

I also find great significance in the fact that Proverbs 4:25 commands our eyes to look “straight” ahead - toward God and God alone. When you seek God, when you focus on following Him completely, the only path God will ever lead you down is the straight one. 

God says (Proverbs 4:11), “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.” This is why Proverbs 4:25 tells us that our eyes are to look straight ahead. That’s where God is! That is the direction where God is leading. When you keep your spiritual eyes fixed on God, when your gaze is always looking straight ahead, Proverbs 2:6-15 tells us what will happen (listen closely):  

“For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.” (Proverbs 2:6-15) This is what happens when your singular goal in life is to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of your life.

Do you remember what Proverbs 3:5-6 says? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Oh, my friend, seek Him first in every aspect of your life. Keep your focus always upon Him!

Compare that with what we’re talking about in Proverbs 4:25. Investing time in the word of God every day will provide you with wisdom. It will give you an understanding of what is right, just and fair. It will show you every good and straight path. God won’t do the work for you, but He will help you do the work.

Let me repeat this point. God’s word will always give you discretion and understanding. It will keep you from looking to the left or to the right, it will prevent you from being distracted, confused, and sidetracked - thus leaving the straight path, doing a U-Turn and living for King Me again. On your spiritual journey, no U-Turns allowed. 

Proverbs 15:21 says, “folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.” Oh, my friend, God’s word will give you that understanding, it will show you that straight path. But keep in mind that simply reading God’s word is not enough. God will show you in Scripture the path you are to take; however, you must choose daily (moment-by-moment) to actually walk it. This is the promise of Galatians 5:16. When you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the sinful desires of the flesh.

Now, let’s revisit Proverbs 4:25 and take note that God says we are to “fix” our gaze on that which is directly in front of us. Ok, great! But what does that mean and how do we do that? To “fix” means you are locking something down, setting it as you would set something in cement. Fixing your gaze straight before you means your eyes are not wandering at all. You are consistently looking straight ahead – focusing solely on God – fixing (locking) your gaze upon your Heavenly Father at all times. 

Set your focus on God my friend, and never wander from it, no matter what lure may be trying to get your attention. Don’t look to the left or to the right – that’s not where God is, that’s not the place of peace and blessing.  

Hebrews 12:2 reminds us to daily “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” 

2 Corinthians 4:18 challenges us: “don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, fix our gaze on the things that cannot be seen (in other words, keep your focus on God, on the eternal things that really matter. Why? The verse goes on to say:) For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” In other words, always keep the main thing the main thing. Keep God on the throne of your heart.

Do you get the idea that what you think about (everything that goes on in your mind) matters to God? God’s command in Scripture is clear: fix your eyes on Him. Set a guard around your mind by being very careful about what allow yourself to see. As Proverbs 4:23 puts it, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Everything you see has a direct impact on what you think. And what you think has a direct bearing on what you do. So, you need to be careful about what your eyes see. Remember that 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:17 command us to glorify God in everything we do. Does that apply to what you see? You better believe it! Are you looking straight ahead or allowing your eyes to glance ever so slightly to the left or to the right, searching for that tiny morsel of worldly pleasure? 

Let’s look once again at Psalm 27:4 where David says, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

Notice that David’s singular goal, that perfection which he was persistently pursuing was to “dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of (his) life.” In short, he was determined to make every moment of every day all about God vs. being centered around himself. What about you?

What I want you to understand here is that David was experiencing a paradigm shift – a complete change of perspective. Instead of wanting God to be with him, he wanted to be with God. Instead of wanting God to meet his needs, he wanted to serve God. Instead of wanting God to talk with him, he wanted to talk with God. Instead of wanting to enjoy the beauty of the world around him, he wanted to be immersed in the perfect beauty that is God. 

Can you see the difference? One perspective is built around King Me, the other around God. One perspective will allow you to enjoy a close walk with your Heavenly Father; the other will find you desperately lost, confused, and repetitively missing the mark. God is not here for you, my friend; you are here for God.

Imagine for a moment that you flew to Boston to participate in a Bible conference. When you arrive at Logan Airport and pick up your bag, you immediately head to the car rental counter where you get the keys, find your car, and leave the airport. Now imagine that for some unknown and unforeseen reason, your GPS isn’t working. So, you reach into the glove compartment and pull out a road map. Are you tracking with me? Upon opening the map, you discover that instead of a map of Boston, you are looking at a map of Detroit.

Now I have a question for you: How effective is that map of Detroit going to be in helping you reach the convention center in Boston where the conference is being held? Obviously, it is useless. It’s a great map, one of the best you’ve ever seen. It is well done, roads and routes are clearly marked out, the colors are vibrant, the legend is understandable; it’s a great tool to help you get to your destination – if you were in Detroit. 

It truly is a wonderful map. You love that map! So, even though you’re frustrated, you try to change your attitude, attempting to navigate your way around the city of Boston using that wonderful, detailed map of Detroit. However, that doesn’t change the fact that by using a map of Detroit you will not arrive at your intended destination in Boston. You are guaranteed to end up lost, frustrated and discouraged.

OK. Now, with that illustration firmly planted in your mind I am going to read to you three verses from Scripture. I want you to listen closely to them and then answer this question: According to those verses, what is your primary objective every single day of your life?

(1 Corinthians 10:31) “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (Colossians 3:17) “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Colossians 3:23) “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

OK, now here is the question again: According to those verses, what does God say your primary objective should be every single day of your life? The answer? To glorify God. It’s all about God.

Now watch this: To get to the right destination, you need the right map. When you try to navigate life with the goal of glorifying God while using the map of King Me you will be lost, frustrated and discouraged - guaranteed. Glorifying God is nowhere to be seen on the King Me map.

When you try to interpret the world around you and the experiences, tests, trials, and temptations you face from the perspective of how it relates to King Me – you will be confused, and perplexed, questioning the hand of God in your life, thinking God doesn’t care. Oh, my friend, please let this truth speak deep into your chest: this journey is not about you! When you try to make it about you, you will always end up in the wrong part of town.

Instead of wanting God to be with you, you must want to be with God. Instead of wanting God to meet your needs, you must want to serve Him. Instead of wanting God to talk with you, you must want to talk with God. Instead of wanting to enjoy the beauty of the world around you, you must want to be immersed in all of the beauty that is God.

You need a paradigm shift – a change in perspective – you need to change maps. You must (Philippians 3:13) “forget what lies behind (in other words, reject the things that King Me wants) and strain forward to what lies ahead (choosing to embrace the things that God wants).” (Romans 8:13) “If you live according to the flesh (in other words, if you try to navigate life with King Me at the helm) you will die (you will fail to reach the goal), but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body (if you change maps and allow God to be Lord and leader of your life), you will live.” 

Jesus said, in John 12:25-26, “Whoever loves his life loses it (whoever follows the map of King Me will get lost), and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life (whoever tosses the map of King Me away and chooses to follow God wholeheartedly, unreservedly, and unconditionally will arrive at your destination safely). If anyone serves me, he must follow me (he must use the right map); and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:25-26)

Do you “long to dwell in (God’s) tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of (His) wings”? (Psalm 61:4) Yes? Then choose daily to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), and choose moment-by-moment to willingly “deny (yourself) and take up (your) cross daily and follow (Christ).” (Luke 9:23). 

When you do, you will be able to say along with David (Psalm 26:8) “O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.” (Psalm 65:4) “What joy for ... those who live in your holy courts. What festivities await us inside your holy Temple.” 

Let me wrap up this week’s podcast with three more passages of Scripture. If you can, close your eyes as you listen and let these words speak over your heart.

(Psalm 84:1, 2, and 4) “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!” 

(Psalm 63:2-5) “I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.” 

And Psalm 84:10 - “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.” 

OK, I’m going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode. In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com     

One of those resources I would like to highlight for you here is the recently updated, 2nd edition of my book entitled “Extreme Mind Makeover: How to transform sinful thoughts and habits into patterns of life pleasing to God.” This newly released 2nd edition is rich with hundreds of Scripture references, scores of practical illustrations, and each chapter now ends with a study guide full of questions and discussion points.

“Extreme Mind Makeover” takes you on a journey through the Bible to examine what God has to say about how your thoughts, words, and actions influence and impact your heart.

If you’ve followed this Point of Purity Podcast for any length of time, then you’ve heard me emphasize the fact that what you think becomes what you do. When you train your mind to think godly thoughts, the things you say and do day in and day out will be godly. On the flip side, when you allow your mind to think sinful, fleshly, ungodly, King Me centered thoughts, the result (your daily attitudes and actions) will be ungodly. So, how do I change the way I think? How do I change the things I do? How do I successfully and effectively guard my heart? This book, “Extreme Mind Makeover” takes you into God’s Word to help you answer those questions.

So, head on over to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Extreme Mind Makeover: How to transform sinful thoughts and habits into patterns of life pleasing to God.” or just look up my name, Steve Etner, and purchase your copy of any of my books today.

And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes! So, until next time this is Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry – reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.