Staying Focused Duringthe Seduction of Distractions

Mid-Week Ministry of InstructionAugust 8, 2018

Rev. Dr. Lee P. Washington - Senior PastorRev. Joseph P. Deck, III – Senior Minister to Men

Introduction• Many things Compete for your attention

• God• Family• Ministry• Job• Social Life• Email• Preparation for Events

Focus!•Follow•One

•Course•Until•Successful

Seductive Distraction Can Lead To Poor Planning• You are lured by bright shiny objects that keep you from the

prize• Philippians 3:14

• Turning from God and God’s instruction opens you up for the influence of the enemy and leads to consequences• David• Adam, Eve• Children of Israel and the golden calf

• Lusts of the flesh – greed, envy, arrogance, entitlement behavior, unhealthy competive nature, can all lead to your destruction

1. Sometimes the best response to provocation is not to fight

2. Not all opportunities are to be taken, some are traps

3. A person can be so determined to destroy another person, that they end up destroying themselves!

Right Focus and a strategic plan usually ends up with the right results!

“Don’t Let The Noise of The World Keep You From Hearing the Voice of The Lord.”

What Distracts You?• Are you distracted in worship

• II Samuel 6:12-23

• Distracted by gossip• Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but

only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen

• Distracted by flawed ambition• Acts 19:13-16

• Distracted by fashions people wear

What Distracts You?

• Distracted by good looking people• Distracted by not being able to receive from certain

preachers• Distracted by the pain of church hurt• Are you distracted by change and transition?

Seduction of Narcissistic Self Focus• “The more you focus on yourself, the more distracted you will

be from the proper path. The more you know Him and commune with Him, the more the Spirit will make you like Him. The more you are like Him, the better you will understand His utter sufficiency for all of life’s difficulties. And that is the only way to know real satisfaction.” John MacArthur

• Matthew 16:13-24• When seduced by the distraction of change….here is the

solution

Cluster Distracted• You cannot manage time – you can only mange your energy to

meet the demands of time…..God stopped the day…find those scriptures What

• What consumes your mind controls your life!• "Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run

faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

• Real Men stay faithful and focused, they don’t have time to look for other women, because they are too busy and focused looking for new ways to love their own

Cluster Focus• Focus on

• God• Spiritual Development (discipleship)• Being whole

• Spirit, Mind, Body• Goals• Love• Reconciliation• Healing

Distraction Causation Through Seduction

• Flesh

• Devil

• Spirits

Trust The Word of God and Adhere to It

I Corinthians 7:35 NKJV35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction

Hebrews 12:1-3 “God can disguise your joy, to keep you from being distracted, for your success

Matthew 14:28-31 “Peter was distracted, what he saw cause a reaction of fear, that reduced his faith, and therefore he failed…..

Do Not Justify Taking Your Focus Off of Christ

• Luke 10:38-42

• Busy work without goals is unfocused distraction

Nuggets of Affirmation • 97% of the people who quit to soon are probably

employed by the 3% who persevered• Goals are dreams with deadlines• The suns rays do not burn your skin until they are

focused….the power is there • If you are tired of starting over, stop giving up• A goal without a plan is just a wish

Distractions• There will always be distractions, if you ALLOW them!

Distractions Continued• You cannot do big things if you are distracted by small things• Matthew 25:20-

Distractions Continued

Distractions Continued•A distraction is not a distraction unless you pay attention to it• 2 Kings 6:16

How to Stay Focused• We must prioritize our time. There must be a time for prayer

daily.• 16. Ephesians 5:15-16 So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise

but wise, making the best use of your time because the times are evil.• 17. Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he

went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

• Focus on the Lord by meditating on Scripture.• 21. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth,

but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

How to Stay Focused, cont’d• We must never let others distract us from the Lord.• 22. Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of

human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

• 23. Ephesians 6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Tools To Stay Focused and Fight Distractions• Exodus 20:8-11

• Sabbath

• Matthew 6:28-34• Priority

• Mark 6:31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.

• Phillipians 4:6-9• Stop being anxious, and here is why…..