Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..."

— Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)

I do not know where we are on God's prophetic timeline. I am not trying to set dates, predict days, or calculate years. The Lord never called me to be a date setter. He called me to be a preacher of the Gospel.

What I do know is this: we are living in a time when Christians around the world are suffering tremendous persecution. More believers are being imprisoned, beaten, driven from their homes, and killed for the name of Christ than at any other time in history.

While many believers in America are arguing politics, our brothers and sisters in Christ are hiding in underground churches, worshiping in secret, and risking their lives simply for owning a Bible.

The church ought to stop and think about that for a moment.

The Great Danger of Distraction

One of Satan's greatest weapons is not persecution. It is distraction.

The devil knows he cannot stop the Gospel. He knows he cannot defeat Christ. He knows he cannot destroy the Church.

But he can distract believers.

Today Christians are consumed with political arguments, government policies, elections, wars, rumors of wars, economic fears, and endless debates. Many spend more time watching news broadcasts than reading their Bibles.

Some know every political talking point but cannot quote the promises of God.

Some can tell you everything that happened in Washington this week but cannot tell you what God has been speaking to their heart through His Word.

The enemy loves that.

As long as our eyes are fixed on the world, they are not fixed on Christ.

Peter's Lesson on the Water

One of the greatest illustrations is found in Matthew 14.

Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water toward Jesus.

As long as Peter kept his eyes on the Lord, he did something impossible.

But the Scripture says:

"But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me."
— Matthew 14:30 (KJV)

Notice what caused Peter to sink.

It was not the wind.

It was not the waves.

It was not the storm.

It was taking his eyes off Jesus.

That lesson still applies today.

The storms around us are real.

Wars are real.

Persecution is real.

Economic troubles are real.

But if we spend all our time staring at the storm, we will begin to sink under the weight of fear and discouragement.

The answer is the same as it was for Peter:

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

A Church Deceived

Not only are Christians facing persecution from the world, many are facing deception from the pulpit.

Paul warned Timothy:

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine..."
— 2 Timothy 4:3 (KJV)

We live in such a time.

Many churches have replaced repentance with self-improvement.

They have replaced holiness with entertainment.

They have replaced conviction with comfort.

They have replaced the Gospel of Christ with political ideology.

The church's mission has never been to save a political party.

The church's mission is to point sinners to Jesus Christ.

No political system has ever saved a soul.

No government program has ever washed away sin.

No earthly kingdom has ever redeemed a lost man.

Only Jesus saves.

Seeing People Through the Eyes of Christ

One of the greatest tragedies of our day is that many people no longer see individuals as souls.

They see them as political categories.

They see races.

They see nationalities.

They see parties.

They see labels.

Jesus saw souls.

When He looked upon Jerusalem, He wept.

When He looked upon sinners, He had compassion.

When He looked upon the multitudes, the Bible says:

"He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."
— Matthew 9:36 (KJV)

The church must learn to see people as Christ sees them.

Whether they live in America, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, or anywhere else in the world, every person is an eternal soul for whom Christ died.

We may disagree with governments.

We may disagree with ideologies.

We may disagree with religions.

But we must never lose sight of the fact that people need Jesus.

The Gospel is still the answer.

Preparing for Tribulation

If greater trials lie ahead—and many of us believe they do—our preparation will not come from politics.

Our strength will not come from governments.

Our hope will not come from earthly leaders.

Our preparation will come from a deeper walk with Christ.

The saints who endure persecution do not survive because they have better political systems.

They endure because they know Jesus.

The early church endured because they knew Jesus.

The martyrs endured because they knew Jesus.

The persecuted church today endures because they know Jesus.

And if our day comes, we will endure the same way.

Looking Unto Jesus

The writer of Hebrews gives us the answer:

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."
— Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)

Not looking unto politicians.

Not looking unto governments.

Not looking unto the economy.

Not looking unto military power.

Not looking unto worldly leaders.

Looking unto Jesus.

The world is changing.

Nations are shaking.

Wars continue.

Deception is increasing.

Persecution is spreading.

But Jesus Christ remains the same.

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."
— Hebrews 13:8 (KJV)

Child of God, do not allow the noise of this world to drown out the voice of the Shepherd.

Lift your eyes above the headlines.

Lift your eyes above the arguments.

Lift your eyes above the fears.

Lift your eyes above the storms.

And look unto Jesus.

The One who saved us.

The One who keeps us.

The One who walks with us through every trial.

The One who will never leave us nor forsake us.

And the One who is coming again.

Until then, may we be found faithful, sharing the message of salvation, loving people through the eyes of Christ, and keeping our eyes fixed upon the Lord.