LOOKING UP TO JESUS – Pastor Folami Fawehinmi

Song:
1. My faith looks up to thee,
thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day
be wholly thine!

2. May thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart,
my zeal inspire!
As thou hast died for me,
O may my love to thee
pure, warm, and changeless be,
a living fire!

3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread,
be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day,
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from thee aside.

4. When ends life’s transient dream,
when death’s cold, sullen stream
shall o’er me roll;
blest Savior, then in love,
fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above,
a ransomed soul!

Text – Isaiah 45::22 – many translations.

Faith looks up not down.

Looking up to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith – Hebrews 12:1-3

For in him do all things consist. Colossians 1:12- 19

Looking up to the brazen serpent..Numbers 21:8,9

It takes grace to look up especially in the midst of several discouraging happenings around us – deaths, suicides, extreme lack, sorcery, witchcraft, manipulation, economic woes…..which all represent the storms of life

Peter looked around bc the storm was raging and began to sink. Matthew 14:25-31

But the Bible enjoins us not to look at the things which are seen…the troubles around, but the things which are not seen…..2 Corinthians 4:17

We need extraordinary grace not to look at the things which are seen….

That is why God positioned our eyes in the front so that we can look ahead and not look back or look around…..

For we walk by faith not by sight -2 Corinthians 5:7

Galatians 2:20 – see some translations (MSG, NLT, AMPLIFIED, GOODNEWS).

Only those who are dead to the flesh can really live full lives of faith…

Colossians 3:3 – we are hid in Christ in God. We can only see Jesus where we are hid. Only Jesus.

In Him we live, move and have our being….not outside him. Acts 17:28

Let us pray that we will receive the grace to walk by faith ALONE – our prescribed habitat. Fish cannot live outside water…..it will die!