Making Your Impossibles Possible Part 3

1 Corinthians 7:35 ESV

I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

We live in a day with so many distractions that captivate us. They consume precious and valuable time that cannot be retrieved. They mold and shape our thoughts and emotions with mis-information used to divide us, deceive us, distract us and derail us. We have “devices” that actually become “vices” robbing us of functional living. Not to mention they feed other temptations to us. They open doors to which the devil can be creative in his captivity of our hearts and minds. All the while they convince us that we cannot live without them; that they can make us better or at least satisfy us; or that they actually contribute to our relational connections. When in fact, the truth is just the opposite.

I had Facebook connections with relatives that I do not get to see very often. But did I, or they, feel any closer with mimes and photos than if I had gotten in a car and went to see them or picked up the phone, dialed their number and said, “How is it going?” The answer is no. Social media was a non-sacrificial, impersonal, virtually relational way to have family connections.

How many people were drawn closer to Christ because I posted, “Like and share this with ten people or you do not love Jesus?”

If I were to total the time spent on social media, it would equal a lot of time I could have spent talking to someone and building relationship; imparting discipleship; deepening my prayer life; reading and studying the Scriptures; or spending active participatory time with my family.

I am in no way seeking to condemn anyone for having social media. I am seeking to provoke you to re-access your devotion to the Lord, your family and those God is calling you to disciple. I am calling you to identify and remove distractions that are not enriching your families and life in Christ Jesus. I am calling you to re-access the time you have left in this life in light of the world we now live in and the darkness that ensues.

Christians, let us not be found with our heads down as darkness overtakes us and our families. Let not the glow of your face be from your phone or computer screen but from the glory of the Lord present in your soul. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, his face did not glow because he had spend 80 days looking at his cell phone. His face carried the radiance of of the glory of God because he had spent 80 days in the presence of Almighty God. Was he any less human than you and I? Absolutely not. But remember what 1 Corinthians 10:13 declares:

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Maybe your vice is not social media. Maybe your vice is one of a list of things that seem innocent but is slowly devouring you, consuming you or taking you captive. Maybe it is something that steals time from your family, keeps you from prayer, worship, or something you turn to for comfort, pleasure, or familiarity. Vices come in many forms, not just devices and temptations, but by even our very thought patterns, emotional securities, insecurities, attitudes and conduct.

No temptation you face is a surprise to the Lord. As a father, if I can teach my children to recognize the snares of temptation, maybe they will learn to avoid the entrapment of sin and it’s deadly consequences. But it is not enough to recognize temptation or to acknowledge Christ, you have to make a choice and then take actions necessary to ensure you remain far from the trap. You have to take hold of Christ.

This world and your flesh would impose upon you the lie that you cannot help but sin. They will persuade you to accept the lie that you cannot be free from vices large or small. In fact, there are doctrines in the Body of Christ that present this same deception. But Christ made a “way of escape” that you might endure the fiery darts of temptation.

In Matthew 14:30-31 we see an example of this escape.

Matthew 14:30–31 ESV

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

It did not end there, in verse 32 it says, “the wind ceased”. When Peter took hold of the hand of Christ and Jesus pulled him back into the boat with Him, the fear, the struggle, the doubt, the voices of the wind, the vices of life ceased and the response of Peter and the others we see in verse 33.

Matthew 14:33 ESV

And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Who is this Christ in your life? Is He the “Son” (bar בַּר; only begotten in likeness and image) of the one and only true God, Adonai? Do you worship Him with your living or can you not because of the distractions and vices?

Hebrews 6:20 says that Christ was our forerunner of the faith. A forerunner is one who runs ahead on the path ensuring obstacles are cleared and demonstrating to the others the path and the race can be run by them as well. An example is the one who runs with the torch to open the Olympic races.

You will make priority that which you desire. You will prioritize that which is most important to you. What often stands in the way of our priorities of importance are vices. Those vices appeal to our cravings for mindless entertainment, unlimited pleasures, needing to know or be known. They lure our attention span into a vacuum where once sucked in, we find ourselves hours away from anything fruitful to the Lord and what He seeks to enrich our lives with.

Don’t get me wrong, our church social media pages reach people all over the world. And they are useful in distributing information. But I want you to know that I purposed to delete my personal Facebook page for years. However, each time that I recognized the time I wasted on it, I equally convinced myself of it’s intrinsic value. But the equity just did not add up. Finally, recently I struggled and wrestled for a week to delete it. I came to grips with the reality that it had me in it’s grips and there is so much more I could be doing that will leave a lasting legacy more than a software company memorializing me with an algorithm. Once I posted that I was leaving, I was committed.

Once I deleted it, Facebook asked me multiple times if I was sure I wanted to do this. It gave me other options. And finally, they sent two emails telling me that I still had time to restore my site. Believe me, it crossed my mind to just deactivate it for a season. The problem with that is, it would be too easy to re-activate it. The same with vices, sins and sinful living. I had to resolve that environment was no longer a part of my daily atmosphere.

It is possible for you too to be free from whatever vices you have. It may seem impossible, but it is not. And when you are free from the vices of the flesh and this world, you posture yourself for God to do amazing things in you, with you, for you and through you. But you will have to make some hard choices and finally click “Delete”. The flesh will try multiple times to present options to restore the vice to your life, but you have to delete the alternatives as well. You have to fully grab hold of the Christ and His purpose for your life. Hear the words of the Christ:

John 8:34–36 ESV

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Come as Abraham and Isaac, come in obedience as Christ did at the cross and lay your vices on the altar and purpose your undistracted devotion to the Lord of your salvation.