This letter is critical to keeping your life and ministry on track. I’m writing this so you can target your faith for greater productivity!
Recently, I was talking to one of my spiritual children, I knew how important this talk was to them and how critical this conversation was to their faith, life, and ministry. I knew by the Holy Spirit that God had orchestrated this time and it was a defining moment. They looked at me and said affectionately: “Bishop I thank you for pastoring us, but we need you to pastor us right now.” The Holy Spirit began to give me His wisdom on their situations, and as I shared with them the wisdom, by the Holy Spirit, I could sense a release on each of them. There was a change in their countenance which reflected in their conversation; we ended the talk on a positive, faith note and closed in prayer.
As a pastor, it is a part of my assignment, and I understand that God has given me the wisdom to help all who will desire it. I prayed about the ministry in this season, I sensed a direction from The Lord to exhort you to stay focused on what you hear. I believe God is bringing back to our remembrance the power of what you choose to focus on which is the key to increase in these challenging times.
People of God have this ever happened to you? Have you ever been intensively looking for something and discovered that it was right under your noses and you didn’t see it? If it had been a snake, it would have bitten you. From situations like this, the Holy Spirit began to talk to me about the power of our focus.
When you really focus on something, it seems that all other things are blocked out! If you will learn to control your focus even in the most challenging times, it will be a boost to your faith and the results you get will be amazing! Many people have asked me what I thought was the most important factor in having success, in challenging times and not become fearful, I quickly responded:
You must stay spiritually focused otherwise your flesh and logical thinking will get the best of you.
When your focus is compromised you will forfeit the supernatural favor and promises of God. What separates us from the world system is confidence in the commitment we have in The Lord Jesus. As people of God, we have a dependence on spiritual laws that sets us free from being bound by the world’s system.
What the economic world is going through is a reality that cannot be denied, but we don’t have to let the things of this world consume our minds if we do, it will diffuse our faith and lower our expectations of what is possible for your life and ministries. Isaiah 26:3
Harnessing our focus is the theme behind just about every supernatural move of God that takes place in the bible, whether it was with the prophets, the life of Jesus, or the apostles. Whatever you focus on consumes your attention and becomes magnified in your sight. Your entire perception is affected by what you focus on. In this economic time, I talked to pastors about the financial challenges their ministries and life are facing. I could tell those pastors’ focus was on the few members who had left their church and not on the faithful who remained at the church. These pastors and members had lost their focus and could not properly plan nor could they recognize the source of favor that God had planned for their present situation.
If there is one message that the Holy Spirit wants me to get across to you, it is that during these times
You Must Control Your Focus,
and use every situation in your life to cause you to look and see the cross Jesus our Lord died on.
In II Kings 6, Elisha ministered to his staff members. When surrounded by the enemy you must pray that God opens the spiritual eyes of your understanding, with a renewed focus for your life and ministry. You will see your life is now positioned for God to demonstrate through you. His power will not only sustain you but will expand your life and ministry, but your focus will change during these times. Distress should drive you to refocus, adjust, and place your focus squarely on God.
With God’s ability and His unlimited resources, we will continue as usual, and in a greater way; trusting that when we need favor, God will manifest it during these times. Now is the time we must double our intake of the Word of God, to counter the negatives that we are being exposed to each day by non-people of God.
We must spend more time listening and meditating in the Word of God; you must be more intense about doing the Word of God with your actions.
The Word of God is casting a positive vision of life to your family. Remember, people jump off sinking ships, but you don’t have to go down with the ship. Just forsake what you are seeing now and refocus. Let me encourage you that above all during these times, remain faithful to God, and let the Holy Spirit teach you to refocus and look again.
You must choose to increase your vision and your focus by praying, planting seeds, proclaiming the Word of God, and giving Him praises for His mighty act in your life. Now is your time to look again, focus, and believe God for a swift turnaround for your ministry.
In closing, like most churches, we have experienced some challenges with all these things happening around us but through it all, we are making it, and have made some bold decisions to look again. No more church as it was, we made a decision to boost our faith to get better results this time and stay on course with God’s Word. To walk by faith is not taking a risk, but trusting God who is not a man that He shall lie. Hebrews 11:6 / Colossians 3:15-17
Apostle James E. Morrow