FOCUS Welcome everybody Beautiful wife in the front row Mating, Dating, and Relating Relationships Colossians 3: 1-5

1-5 (NLT) 1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at Gods right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your[a] life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires further along, at the end of 11, Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Philippians 3:7-8 (NLT) Although Paul is talking about rule keeping, religiosity, this verse really hit me in a sense of relationships: 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him PRAY Both verses are about Jesus, what he has done, knowing him, having him central in your life. You could even say having Christ as the FOCUS of your life. The funny thing about focus is if it isnt set right, the end result is usually undesirable. Common definition of Focus The Center of Interest or Activity F Faith A lot to do with trust, faith is complete trust or confidence in someting Put your faith in God not in people. Psalm 146:3: Don't put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life. Mere humans don't have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them. Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in God and know real blessing! Jeremiah 17:5-8 - This is what the LORD says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the LORD. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives. 7 "But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. So many claim to have faith in God, but turn back to putting their faith in that relationship. I know that he or she treats me badly, but what if this is as good as it gets? GOD HAS SO MUCH MORE FOR YOU YOUNG PERSON O- Observations Observe what God is doing, not what is happening on earth. TELL STORY OF RELATIONSHIP WITH V C Commitment Where does your commitment lie, with God or with man? If somebody is going to leave you behind because of your dedication to God and what he is doing, then maybe they arent the right person for you. U Unity Where do you find unity? Is it in that relationship with earthly things, or with GOD. My bible says that when we share unity with Christ in his death, we also share unity in his resurrection!

S Sacrifice What are you sacrificing for? So many people sacrifice themselves for a relationship, oh maybe if I: Spend all this time Spend all this money Spend all this effort Sleep with this person Then they will love me more. GOD LOVES YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING OR ANYONE, AND HE HAS ALREADY MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE! He asks for obedience, that we call him lord. Sometimes this may call for some sacrifice. Hey can I have that part of your life? Hey, did you forgive that person? Hey, didnt I ask you to leave that person behind? Hey, didnt I ask you to give a little more in the offering? Philippians 3:7-8 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him All the things Paul once seemed to care about are INSIGNIFICANT compared to the PRIVILEGE of knowing God. Then read 12-16 I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. 15-16So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred visionyou'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
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