"Your Attention Please!" by Pastor Carol Vedral

Scripture References: 

Isaiah 43:18; Genesis 13; Matthew 6:33 AMP

God has been speaking to us from Isaiah 43:18 to forget the former things and leave the old things in the past because He’s doing a new thing! The key question is:  Are we perceiving it?

When God says to us to “forget the former things,” He is referring to the way we think, the way we act and the way we do things. 

We’ve been studying in our Thursday night Bible study the life of Abraham and I’m amazed how Abraham did things God’s way.  We studied that God promised to Abraham the land of Canaan and so much more, and Abraham believed God.

We see in Genesis 13 the wealth that Abraham and Lot possessed.  The abundance that they enjoyed carried into their livestock, and servants and land.   The problem arose that due to the amount of livestock Abraham and Lot owned, their herdsmen began to quarrel over grazing space for their flocks and herds.

This is what Abraham did.  Now, think about this.  Abraham said to his nephew Lot, “Let’s have peace.  Pick whatever portion of land you want and it will be yours.  Choose wherever you want to go and it will be for you and your servants and herdsmen.” (Paraphrased, of course.)

Abraham could have chosen his land first but he didn’t.   He knew what God had promised him and even though it was his right to choose first, he gave the choice to Lot.  And so, Lot chose the choicest of lush pastures for his flocks and as it turned out, Lot chose land close to Sodom and Gomorrah.  When judgment fell upon those cities, Lot was living in the city of Sodom.

Abraham on the other hand, trusted God.  He didn’t have to make an arrangement with Lot, he trusted in what God had promised.  He absolutely trusted God without fear or reservation. 

Would we be able to do that?  Could we say to someone else, “take what you want, I’m believing God for what He promised me”?  I hope so. 

Abraham knew what God had said concerning wherever he set his foot.  Whether Abraham set foot to the north or the south, east or west, the land would be his as promised.  Abraham didn’t fear he would lose out on his portion from God.   That’s amazing trust! 

God is speaking to use to change the way we think.  Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.”

God’s righteousness is His way of doing and being right and that’s what He wants us to seek after.  The word “seek” means to search for something that is hidden.  It's an action word that means to continue doing something.

Each one of us has a different personality and way of doing things.  There are many ways to seek and search for the Lord.  We can search Him through worship or prayer, through His Word.  He wants us to give Him our attention because He desires to show us the way. We can keep going on our way, making a mess of things in our lives and blame God for the outcome.  But the reality is God desperately wants to get involved in our lives if we’ll only give Him the attention He deserves.

Here’s an illustration that has helped me to keep my attention on the Lord:

“The story is told about a dog sitting on its master’s porch.  The dog spent the day moaning and groaning and occasionally broke out into a LOUD whine.  All the while the dog’s owner quietly rocked nearby seemingly unconcerned.  A man walking by the house asked why the dog was acting that way.  The owner replied, ‘Because he’s laying on a nail.’  The man then asked, ‘Why doesn’t he just get off it?’  The owner responded, ‘Because it’s not hurting bad enough.’”

How many of us are sitting on a nail, whining and complaining while God is saying, “Give me your attention and I will show you a way off the nail.”

Think about our own circumstances in life.  How many times has God sent an answer to us and we have not recognized it?  God has answered a particular prayer and because He didn’t answer the way we wanted, we missed it.

We have to change!  God wants to give us so much more and we need to keep our eyes on Him. 

Because Christ lives in us, we have his favor and blessing.

God only desires that we start to seek Him and receive those new things He has for us.  He has a new hope and future for us.  He’s prearranged all we need to do and prepared paths for us to walk in.

Doesn’t it make life easier to do the work He’s prepared for us and walk the paths He’s designed for us?

Let God speak to you today.  By faith give Him your attention and seek Him with your heart, without fear.  It’s time to change!

Permission required to re-use contents or images in print or electronic form.  

Other messages are available in our Archive.

www.fathersheartnyc.com/church