God is calling us to live a life focused on Christ. Focus is difficult with all the distractions we face. Children struggle to focus. Adults struggle as well. This tendency toward ADD and ADHD impacts Christians too. Many churches have lost focus but are not short on activity. They add activities in order to hopefully hit the mark when they have forgotten what the mark is.

Paul reminds us of the target in Philippians 3.

He wanted to be a Faithful Man.

He wanted to be a Focused Man.

He wanted to be a Finished Man.

He reminds us to forget our failures and successes and to lean toward the finish line. Stay faithful, focused and finish well.

The reminder to be thankful is an “all the time” message. We frequently forget to be thankful. We receive blessings from God and then move on to the next set of blessings. If we are not careful we fall into the “trap of entitlement”.

The great preacher, Charles Spurgeon said this about being thankful.

There are more who receive benefits than ever give praise for them.

The number of those who pray are greater than the number of those who praise.

More obey ritual than praise the Lord.

There are more that believe than there are who praise.

In the case of the ten lepers who Jesus healed, only one returned to give thanks. The others went away to show themselves to the priest. Jesus asked the one leper, “Where are the other nine?” Their great blessing distracted them from returning to thank the Lord and receive an even greater blessing.

Hopefully “10%” is not the percentage of thankfulness.

Storms come to all of us and occasionally the weatherman gets it wrong. Calm seas are forecast and suddenly the wind gets up. You find yourself in a small boat in a big storm. We don’t always see the storm coming.

Jesus put His disciples in a boat and He went up on a mountain to pray. I think He prayed for them. As the wind rose and the boat tossed, I think they wished that He was in the boat with them. In the middle of the storm, Jesus showed up.

We get distracted by trouble but Jesus walks on our troubles. He comes to us in the middle of our trouble.

Jesus comes in the middle of our fears.

Jesus may invite you to leave what little security you know.

Faith calls for me to focus on Jesus.

If you get distracted, call on Jesus.

Jesus will walk with you in the storm.

John Ortberg wrote a good book about putting yourself in a position to be used by God. If You’re Going to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get out of the Boat. I recommend it and used it for a reference in this sermon.

We’ve heard people say “I don’t get mad. I get even.” Often that statement is meant as a joke between friends or family who have teased or tricked us.

Sometimes it is not a joke. We mean it. Someone may have lied to us or lied about us. We kick into our “get even” mode.

Jesus spoke much about forgiveness from the model prayer to the cross. He taught His disciples to forgive. This text deals with a question asked by Simon Peter. “How many times shall I forgive my brother?”

I cannot Forget the Consequences of Unforgiveness.

I cannot Forget the Casualties of Unforgiveness.

I cannot Forget the Cross that leads to Forgiveness.

There are three words that can change a life. “I forgive you!” I know because they changed mine.

We know of King David as the great King of Israel. We sing from the Psalms that he wrote. We remember his many mighty deeds. The Bible refers to him as “a man after God’s own heart.”

But we also know David as a man who failed greatly. This podcast looks at the pathway and the penalty of David’s failure. How did it happen and what was the cost of his distraction?

The Bible does not gloss over the transgressions of those heroes recorded there.

David was Distracted by a Woman.

David grew Detached from his own children.

David was Despondent over the loss of Absalom.

David’s ultimate Desire was to come back to God.

This podcast is not Fathers Day sermon. It could be, but it was actually preached in October. It is not just for men. It is for all of us who let their heart be led away because of distractions.

We don’t know this man’s name but time and tradition has given him a name. He is referred to as “the rich young ruler” and his many possessions stood in the way of his following Christ.

Three rich people in the Bible show up in the parables of Jesus.

There is the rich young ruler distracted by his possessions.

There is a rich farmer who surveyed his accomplishments and said “I will build bigger barns.”

There was a rich man who died and lifted up his eyes from the place of torment. The poor man, who previously had begged for crumbs from the rich man’s table, was in a place of comfort.

Some have suggested that the three men were actually the same man in three stages of life. All three men would have lived an abundant life by the world’s standards but not by God’s standards.

Don’t be distracted by your stuff. You can’t take it with you!

In many ways Samson doesn’t measure up as a man of God. He judged Israel for 20 years and did many heroic acts. But Samson was easily distracted, and in that way he is a warning of our need to stay focused.

He started well but he was easily drawn away by women. He lacked patience and dedication. The story of Samson also is a good lesson of God’s grace. At the end of his life, God heard Samson’s prayer, and destruction fell on the Philistines.

The story of Samson serves as a call for faithful living. Avoid distractions. Don’t sell out for sex. Be faithful.

The Dedication of Samson.

The Distractions of Samson.

The Destruction of Samson.

The Death of Samson.

Allow me to introduce you to one soldier in Joshua’s army. His name was Achan and as far as we know he had always been a good soldier. But at Jericho, he stole some valuable pieces and buried them under the floor of His tent. This was strictly forbidden. No one knew.

At the next battle, involving a much smaller city than Jericho, Israel was defeated. At Jericho, there were no Israelite casualties. At Ai, there were 36 soldiers killed. The fault fell on Achan and all the people suffered because of one man’s distraction and disobedience.

No one else knew, but God knew.

Distraction can come to any of us and cause suffering.

We are easily distracted.

Every distraction follows a pattern.

Distractions have a price.

There is a way to refocus.

God calls us to stay focused.

The story of Lot, and his settling down in Sodom, is one that Jesus used to warn of a world that was coming, and judgement that was certain.

Lot was a nephew of Abraham and was held in high regard. He chose a path that led to a compromised life. It led to prosperity and easy living but ultimately the sins of Sodom “vexed his soul” and cost him his family. It could have been avoided.

This podcast calls for us to remember this downward path.

Lot’s Decision (Genesis: 13:7-13)

Lot’s Descent (Genesis 18)

Lot’s Deliverance (Genesis 19)

Lot’s wife is remembered as her many distractions caused her to look back. She turned into a pillar of salt.

Remember Lot’s wife!

It happens to nearly everyone. Your eyes change and you can’t see the board. You can’t read the sign. You can see the forest but you can’t see the trees. You need glasses.

A visit to the optometrist can usually correct your vision, but what if the world you live in is fuzzy and filled with distractions? All around are distractions that seek to pull you off path.

To stay on the path of freedom and growth we must keep our eyes on Christ.

Two things we need to understand.

We need an alignment with the Lord.

We must avoid the allurement of this world.

Stay out of the ditch. Avoid the side streets of life. John Bunyan referred to it as by-path meadow.

Stay focused on Christ and don’t give the enemy opportunity to work.