 Awesome, okay, Psalm 91 verse 14 through 16 it says Because he loves me Says the Lord I will rescue him another translation actually says because he focuses his love on me I will deliver him. I will protect him for he acknowledges me my name He will call on me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble I will deliver him and honor him with long life. I will satisfy him and show him my salvation Let's pray father We just thank you that you're the bright and morning star We thank you that you are the crown of beauty You are the head of the church You are our leader the lawgiver Our refuge our rock our redeemer And we say yes to you this morning God I decrease so that you would greatly increase We pray father that you would speak to our hearts this morning In Jesus name and every heart says Amen. All right. I'm excited. I want to preach a message to you this morning called shift your focus Shift your focus, you know many people today say that the year 2020 is considered perfect vision I don't know if you heard many prophetic words a lot of prophets and Ministers of the gospel have given this word about how this year is the year of 2020 vision And as I was preparing this message and as I was in prayer I really felt the Lord minister to me that maybe he is using This year for us to see clearly That he is in charge and he's the only one who can help us You see what's going on in the world today Lot of negative things going on a lot of a lot of a lot of demonic things going on and Jesus is the only answer He's our only hope and People that don't know him are not going to receive this hope and they're not going to receive the peace of God that surpasses all understanding why because They don't focus their love on him a lot of people want deliverance But they're not focusing their love on Jesus and so I believe that the word this morning and for the church is Focus God wants to shift the way you think the way you process things the way that you function the way you walk The way that you talk and I want to encourage you today that when Jesus is not centered in supreme in your life Everything about life shifts out of orbit and moves out of the way And so this morning as I'm preaching to you I want you just to examine your heart the Holy Spirit is going to highlight some things You know that are just against his holy nature that you've been doing or just if you're in the right place this morning There's breakthrough in freedom here So I believe that God is going to expose some things with the light of Christ and he's going to let you know Hey, you haven't been focusing on me But I want you to turn your fix your eyes on me The Bible says he will give perfect peace to those who keeps their eyes State upon him who whoever keeps their mind state upon him. He will give them perfect peace And I don't know what you're going through this morning Many of you are going through struggles and situations maybe in your family in your marriage in your finances I'm not sure but all I do know is that God wants to give you peace in your heart That surpasses all understanding but it all starts with you shifting your focus somebody say focus Keep your eyes on Jesus. I want to share testimony with you Last June I was in Texas. We did like a rise-up tour It was me and a couple other people my dad came and a Mentor of mine and some family and we went to seven different cities in Texas We were in San Antonio Alice Corpus Christi Dallas and in Houston and I think like two other small cities in Dallas And I remember on a Saturday night. This was Father's Day weekend last year We were at this church very small sanctuary. It was packed with so many people in there I mean, it was so hot. It was just cray and smelly You know a lot of people just it's crazy And I remember getting ready for this service I was scheduled to preach my friend BG was opening up and the Holy Spirit just He manifests himself so strongly. I didn't end up preaching. He just kept going. He was talking about who the Holy Spirit is Talking about the fire of God the power of God the glory of God and all of a sudden as my friend BG was preaching I kid you not Everybody in the sanctuary fell to their knees and started manifesting. How many know Pastor Vlad demons come and I was a good thing That's how you know that the kingdom of God has come upon a place When demons start manifesting and freedom so where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom So long story short all we were there for about three and a half hours I mean truly revival was breaking out in this sanctuary. We're there for I mean hours young people Being free from just demons that have been tormenting them since they were younger I mean so many wounds were being healed and every bondage of the enemy was being broken off of these people's lives And it was just a mighty move of God. I mean we didn't get out of there till late late in the evening I had to preach two services on the next morning for a Father's Day service in Dallas and we're all the way in Corpus Christi So what does that mean? We got drive six hours through the night and I have to preach first thing in the morning So we hit the road my cousin drives there finally get to the church I have to preach two services. My cousin was with me and my friend BG who preached that night was with me They said Matt, we're not gonna be able to go to the service We're so tired from driving through the night, but we'll see you later this evening. So they took off to the hotel I went to preach once I got done preaching the pastor after we a drop me back off at the hotel I get in my room and my cousin and my friend BG say Matt While you were gone preaching you're not gonna believe what happened. I said what happened? They said while you were gone We came to check in our room with the confirmation number that you gave us And the hotel clerk looked at us and he said hey, how are you? What are you guys doing here? And they said hey, we're you know from LA from Chicago And we're just here preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and the guy looked at him And he said get away from my desk. I'm not checking you in this happened So they're all confused or thrown off because I mean you're going in the hotel for a room That was paid for so you expect to get your room key and go to the room So they went to you know, they're trying to talk to the guy. He says I said get away from me. I'm not checking you in So my cousin and my friend they try to get a hold of me, of course I didn't answer I was preaching and I had no idea that this was going on while I was gone They try to get a hold of corporate and you know, they're just like outside because the guy's not letting them in the lobby And this is just crazy Pastor Vlad while they're out there my cousin all of a sudden a light bulb went out in his head And he said this is backlash for all God did in Corpus Christi last night The devil's mad. He says so we're not gonna yell at this guy and get in our flash. We're gonna bless him How many know the Bible says blessed those who curse you pray for those who despitefully use you So my cousin takes out a $20 bill Brandon's on the phone with corporate. He says yo, I'm gonna get the guy's cash I'm gonna bless them. So Brandon's like, oh, I won't pardon that it gives them a 20 So my cousin has $40 in his hand goes in the lobby goes up to the hotel clerk. He says look We just want to apologize if we've said anything to offend you So we want to bless you and we're just looking for a place to stay I mean, he doesn't need to do that the room was paid for But he humbled himself And said I'm gonna I'm gonna do what Jesus would do in this moment. He blesses the guy how many know money talks God takes the money He was like, oh your friend your friend didn't give me anything I was like wow My cousin's like the other 20 is from him And he got just embarrassed. So he said you'll call call him in here So they both come in the lobby and what happened was crazy. He says to be honest with you I didn't kick you out of this lobby and I didn't check you in because my friend was bg was african-american He said I didn't do that because of your race or anything like that The the truth is the moment you mentioned the name of Jesus something triggered in me And they were listening to the guy He said and when you said you were here for church and for the gospel for christianity It reminded me of what happened to me or my wife left me for a pastor Crazy So they look at the guy and they were just loving on him sharing the gospel with him This guy gets so wrecked by the love of God. He looks at my cousin my friend He says I will never treat a minister like this a day again in my life In fact, when they come in here, I'm gonna put them in our best week. Can I get you anything? Can I get you some water? Can I get you some cookies? This happened And so my cousin and bg look at him and he says, okay Yes, yes, absolutely But first you have to let us pray for you because you can't go another day with that bitterness in your heart Oh They pray for this guy. He gets totally set free And I saw the man the next day and the countenance of his face completely changed And and it was just it was a beautiful testimony. But what is my point here? See instead of thinking about how hard the test was of being in your flesh They instead focused on what God would have them do in that moment See what happened in my cousin justin's heart in that moment outside of the lobby was the holy spirit Enlarged his understanding. He said I'm going to shift your focus to where you're not going to walk in your flesh But you're going to do what Jesus would do in this moment See that man was going through something and instead of my cousin and bg getting all worked up and yelling back at him It was in that moment that they shifted their focus and they said no, no, no This is what the enemy wants. How many of Grew up in the church and remember those wristbands w w jd. What would Jesus do? I believe today. We need to adopt a purpose statement of what would Jesus want me to do In moments where I want to walk in my flesh if we could be real here here Some of you probably would have cussed out that hotel clerk You would have started yelling and getting in your flesh Let's see the devil try to distract them with that clerk's attitude But I came here to let you know today that distraction is the enemy of focus And I believe that we're constantly tempted to pull away from a consistent focus on Jesus And as a result we find ourselves being tossed to and fro by the concerns of life And I want to exhort you this morning that keeping focus on Jesus means that we're purposely fading out Everything that pulls us away from connecting with him It's a disciplined lifestyle of choosing to see every blessing and struggle through the lens of Christ You might be in here today saying Matt. How can I stay focused? In the midst of a busy life in a world full of busyness Well, like I said in the beginning of this message Isaiah chapter 26 verse 3 says you will keep the mind that is dependent upon you In perfect peace somebody shall peace in this place see when you focus on him He'll give you perfect peace think about that for a second Not a little peace not a portion of peace. The bible says perfect peace peace that surpasses all Understanding and I want to let you know today that you cannot expect god to be the source of your peace If the world is your source of satisfaction Can I say that one more time? I want the peace of god matt. I really need peace in my heart Well, you can't expect him to be the source of your peace if the world truly is the source of your satisfaction I'm telling you today to evaluate what is distracting you from god Ask yourself which aspects of your life are pulling you further away from him It might be pressures and responsibilities such as work school or relationships These are common distractions But I came here to let you know by the spirit of god that our lack of intimacy with him Our lack of focus with him causes a void that we try to fill with the frailest of substitutes But I want to tell you that the more you focus on yourself The more distracted you will be from the proper path But the more you know him and commune with him the more that the spirit will make you like him Anybody in here just want to shift your focus and say god I have been dwelling on negative things I haven't been keeping my gaze on you But today I make the decision to keep my eyes on you To shift my focus And the more that you are like him the better you understand how much you need him for all of your life's difficulties And that's the only way you could know real satisfaction Can I share one more testimony? Another time I was in texas some months later after we did that texas tour in those cities Uh, I remember I was in I was in south texas and I was preaching Three times out there. I went to this church There was two nights two night revival was wednesday night and a thursday night and I remember friday morning We woke up. We got the latest check out and we were just so tired God was moving and we had to go to another conference in uh, alice texas, which was like about an hour drive We were on a very very tight schedule and I remember I had to do something I had to go to the bank. So I look up on my phone Bank of america near me because I know in alice. It's in the middle of nowhere There's no bank of america out there probably miles and miles away. So I said, let me get this done while we're here in town So I looked up on the gps says about six minutes away We're about to pull up to the bank zack. This is crazy and as I'm about to pull up I mean, we don't have a minute to kill As I'm pulling into the bank. We get stopped by a train I said you got to be kidding me My friend bg was with me and he said map. We have no time to kill I said bro This is just wait a few minutes. All right, this train will this train will go by any moment Two minutes goes by train still going. He's looking at me. I'm looking at him just 30 more seconds He looks straight And I'm he's his face just looked like like what the heck's in front of him So I'm like, what are you looking at and the train stopped? And I'm like, oh my gosh And I'm like bro five more seconds five more seconds and he's like matt We got to go. I'm like bro the train. Look it's about it's about to go right now The train starts going backwards I said you got to be kidding me Zach. I've never seen a train go backwards before like this So I'm like this is unbelievable. So to be honest with you I was a little like in my feelings because I needed to get something done. I had a plan I had Everything planned out. Okay, and when it didn't work out Kind of got upset a little bit kind of got frustrated. All right. We're human. We got emotions. All right Some of us are very emotional people And I looked at my friend. I pulled that thing in reverse We turn around we hit the freeway and while we're on the freeway this Porsche just zooms right past us cuts us off And I'm like, what the heck and all of a sudden the state troopers like right behind us And it's getting really close to the car. All right, and I'm like, oh man We're gonna get pulled over and my friend's like no, no, no You saw the Porsche to zoom past us the you're good man that state troopers gonna Going to pull them over. I'm like, no, no bg this car. It's really close to us I think we're gonna get pulled over and I'm really nervous because this car does not belong to us It's belongs to a pastor in san Antonio and it's got illegal tints on it And I'm from Chicago. All right, so So he's looking at me and all of a sudden the red and blue lights come on and I'm like, dude I told you we go on the side of the freeway all of a sudden was a young state trooper a young woman She comes on the passenger side and ruled on the window. She's like, are you aware that the registration on this vehicle has expired? I said, no, I had no idea. I'm trying to be smooth crews at this point I'm just a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He loves you more than you could ever imagine I mean, I'm trying everything to get out of this situation This pastor's never gonna invite me back at his church again. I was like, oh man, this is horrible I look at her and uh, I give her my license. She says I'll be right back. Thank god. She had remorse She just smiled and went back to her car My friend bg looks at me says matt. I think we're supposed to pray with this state trooper And I was like, okay She comes back around again And she gives me my license back. She says look you're good Just make sure whoever you let whoever owns this vehicle know that the registration is expired. They need to renew it ASAP I said, thank you so much. God bless you. You're such a woman of God And he looks at her. He says ma'am Can we pray for you? She said sure my friend starts prophesying over this state trooper and she starts bawling her eyes out On the side of the freeway Are you hearing me? Let me just go over here a little bit so you guys can hear the story I mean this lady was like bawling on the side of the freeway And I'm looking at her. She's looking at me. I said ma'am you pulled us over but today god had other plans to pull you over I like she just ran our registration. God's totally downloading her registration to my friend. I mean it was it was unbelievable But what is my point? We hit the road. I was so wrecked by what just happened God totally touched a state trooper and I'm looking at him. I said dude This is crazy if we were a minute earlier We would have never got pulled over if we were a minute later We would have never got pulled over and the holy ghost spoke to me and said you remember that train that stopped in front of you That was me because delay does not mean denied Sometimes you got to be thankful for the stall. God will stall some things because he has in mind Something to do only all the the entire time I didn't know he had planned to touch a state trooper's heart on the side of the freeway But how many know that god's plan is greater than the plan that you have for yourself My plan might have not been that great needed to go to the bank and get something done praise god But god had other plans to minister to his daughter on the side of the freeway And that girl got touched by the spirit of almighty god and what am I saying today? Why should we focus on him? Praise god. I'm to my first point Because number one it positions us to fulfill god's purposes See focusing on what the holy spirit is doing puts our eyes somebody say eyes It puts our eyes on the father's intended outcome for a situation See if you're in here, I want to tell you that we perceive Where the spirit's anointing is as christians and what god is doing so that we can follow him See even when a situation is at its worst We can step back into our spirits and say god I sense that you you desire to do something in this moment I sense that you want to move uh in a way that maybe I don't understand But i'm going to focus on you because if I focus on you you're going to manifest yourself in ways i've never seen before Number two i'm going to go to these points quickly. All right number two It protects us when you focus on god It protects us from error and deception See when our attention is focused on what the enemy is doing our perspective tends to become distorted And focusing only on the negative is what magnifies the problem and that can also lead to deception I want to go through these points again quickly number three It encourages when you focus on god, it encourages intimacy with the holy spirit See we're all called to an intimate relationship with god And focusing on the holy spirit his anointing and where he is moving and what he's doing Encourages our intimate time with him. I want to tell you today that god is calling you to greater intimacy He wants to call you out of your comfort zone into a place where you're saying god You're my only lover. I want to keep my gaze upon you god I want to focus on you you were so good. I thank you. I thank you god for who you are Things happen when you start to focus on it Fourth point here when you focus on god It frees you from fear I mean, oh second Timothy chapter 1 verse 7 famous scripture for the spirit of god gave us not the spirit of fear But of power And of love And of a sound mind see friend the truth is that no matter what is taking place in your life The holy spirit is more powerful than any demonic power and we have the authority in jesus name See church, I want to tell you that when we allow the holy spirit to give us focus That's when we experience god's power his intention his faithfulness his love and his greatness Can I go back to psalm chapter 91 verse 14 through 16? It says because he has focused his love on me. I will deliver him I will protect him because he knows my name when he calls out to me. I will answer him I will be with him in distress. I will deliver him and I will honor him What are you seeking today? What is it that you need in your heart breakthrough? Maybe maybe a financial miracle? Maybe a healing I don't know what it is But the word of god says when you focus your love on him He will deliver you He will protect you because you know his name and when you call out to him He will answer you and be with you in your distress See our own flaws can distract us from keeping our eyes on jesus friend If we think too much about what is wrong with us, we will forget about what god can do through us If we look too much at what we lack, we will forget to be thankful for what we have See the bible says to look away from all that would distract us from focusing on jesus See, I want to tell you today that if your faith begins to waver quickly get your eyes on jesus Who is the source of your faith and the reason for your belief if the devil is trying to get your focus on something else You say devil you're a liar. I'm gonna keep my gaze on the father He says he would deliver me if I focus his love on me I thank you god for the power of your word. This word is alive and active I still believe in the gospel of jesus christ I still believe this word is sharper than any two-edged sword. I still believe that this word has power to change your circumstances 66 different books and they're written by different men who lived at different times Yet it still points to the man jesus christ Still don't believe it matt is written by a bunch of drunk men people say these things. Well, then why is it banned in at least 52 countries? Why is this book the most hated book yet at the same time the most sold book? Why is it that when people mention the name of jesus people start Manifesting and get all mad That should show you the great power that's in his name They don't get that mad when it comes to ala or buddha or muhammad or any other false It's jeet. There's power in the name of jesus. I want to tell you today to fix your eyes on him Shift your focus remember how he endured the cross Despising and ignoring the shame of it for the joy of winning you to himself I want to tell you today that people complain about stress But they would rather complain than change. I don't want to invite god in my life enough to come from me I want to invite him in my life enough to cause some change And if we could be honest some of us only let god in enough to comfort us and not enough to cause some change God wants you to enjoy a life with simplicity with sanity with clear direction But that only comes by spending time with him and reading his word talking to him and reading his love letter And listening for his response See if you're in here today and you're too busy to get along with him each day Then you need to set some boundaries in your life Say no to whatever is keeping you from starting your day with god Nothing can compare to the ability of being with him until i'm with him I cannot say that i know him come on somebody if i have not spent time with him Then i should not be spending time with you see that time with him in the secret place is so vital It's a necessity if you're gonna be used by god in your life It's time to focus it's time to cultivate the garden of your heart See when you're focused on jesus you will not focus on anything else I'm almost through many of us struggle with so many things and many of us are being weighed down by the trials of life But friend if you would just focus on god you would understand that these things are just so little Compared to him What do you think god tells us to be still if we're not still our mind is gonna be filled with so much noise From the trials around us But i came here to encourage somebody that the fire inside you burns brighter than the fire around you You need to get into this word this word is the background noise in your life And i don't care how noisy it gets with situations. You got to get into the word of god Focus on him somebody say focus You got to run and be alone with the lord and be still before him allow him to calm your fears and your worries He is who he says he is he is our shelter come on somebody. He is our provider He is our healer He is our strength and when you're so focused on god in the midst of trials and in the midst of a pandemic like This that's what shows a heart that trusts in the lord and i got some good news for you today Nothing in hell can scare a heart that trusts in the lord I want to tell you that the bible says trust in him with all of your heart Lean not on your own understanding that means don't focus on that don't focus in the natural But keep your eyes on jesus the pioneer and perfecter of your faith. It's time to shift your focus this morning There's many times in our lives where we just sit and we worry so many things go on But instead why aren't we praying? I believe that this is one of the main reasons pastor vlad why people struggle with depression They struggle with suicidal thoughts is because we dwell on the negative and we let these thoughts simmer into our soul Instead of seeking our god see from the great medicine for your problem is worship and prayer If i got 10 minutes to pray i'm gonna worship for nine why because when i begin to lift up the name of jesus So you can't tell god who he is and god not tell you who you are come on somebody when you lift up the name of jesus And you begin to worship and pray that's when you're and you're inviting the mountain mover The shifter to come into your situation and say i am a lord of your life i'm through and i'm gonna close with this the devil Get your eyes off of jesus he gets your focus off of jesus and he wants to limit your praying why Because when you focus on god Your prayers will limit him Can i say that one more time see the devil wants to limit your praying because he knows your praying will limit him It's time to shift your focus today. He's a filthy liar. He's defeated in heaven He's defeated in hell and he's defeated on the earth. We need to pray without ceasing. Why because the devil is praying without ceasing I'm not talking about pr a y i'm talking about pr e y he's praying without ceasing That's why the bible tells us to pray without ceasing and i came here to let you know stop talking to god About your problems start talking to your problems about your god That's when you shift your focus say god i'm no longer gonna worry about what's going on in my life i'm gonna start worrying about my prayer life because when i pray things will shift and god I know that you're good and i know that you're faithful and i know that you love me and you and you want to Rescue me and deliver me but it all that takes place when i shift my focus and my eyes are set upon you Look to the hills From which come with your help Let's look up this morning church And if you're here And you say matt this message was for me i need to shift my focus matt i've been dwelling on negative things And that's what's been magnifying the problems in my life. I haven't been in the word of god I have not been at peace i've been just weary and and and burdened and and filled with anxiety But the bible says come to me all those who are weary and burdened and i will give you rest He says his own words jesus in his word cast all your anxiety onto me because i care for you If you're in this place and you want to make jesus lord of your life and you want him to shift your focus I want you to lift your both hands above your head right now come on I see all those hands all over the place. That's amazing come on if you're on live stream And you want to make jesus lord of your life right now I want you just lift up your hands wherever you are in a sign of surrender If you want to shift your focus you want god to come in and change some things come on lift up those hands And as i begin to sing in just a moment I want to pray with you here and on live stream if you're watching right now God's got his eye on you and he's got plans to prosper you not to harm you Come on say this with me church for the benefit of those coming to christ today and shifting their focus say heavenly father I believe That jesus is my only hope I believe In the power of your word That you truly give peace To those who focus on you So right now I say yes to your will Have your way in my heart I surrender In jesus name