Weapons of Mass Distraction 7.14.19

“Weapons of Mass Distraction”

7/14/19

Matt 13:3-9 NKJV “Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The disciples privately asked Jesus to explain this parable, so He tells them that:

*The seed represents the Word of God, the gospel.

*The ground represents the hearts of men.

The first seed, says Jesus, is stolen out by the devil snatching it from their heart.

The second seed is burned out by fiery persecution Satan uses to make them stumble.

And the third seed is choked out by the devil using distractions—and THIS is the one I want to focus on today.

Jesus said: “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” (Vs. 22 NKJV)

By two skillfully employed distractions, Satan causes this person to be unfruitful.

So I want to focus today on this third seed—how Satan uses carefully placed distractions to sabotage Christians from producing spiritual fruit...

I’m calling this message, “Weapons of Mass Distraction.”

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First, Satan is exposed as:

I. A Master Distracter

He uses the the CARES of this life and DECEPTION about money to “choke and strangle” the word, causing Christians to be unfruitful.

Now, if I’m distracting someone, it means I’m trying to turn their attention away from something I don’t want them focused on.

And Satan does this very thing....he constantly looks for ways to distract people away from focusing on Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God.

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Starting with when you’re lost, Satan uses a huge bag of distractions to keep you from even hearing the gospel.

Entertainment, partying, drugs, alcohol, career pursuits, relationships, false religions....whatever it takes for the DEVIL TO SAY:

“Look over here, look over there—just don’t look toward Jesus Christ!

*This is what happened to the first seed that was stolen out of someone’s heart.

They heard the gospel, and were seriously considering what they’d just heard, and Satan sent distractions into their mind.

*You really need to pay those bills.

*Or, that great vacation you’re about to go on is the bomb!

*Or, what about the Buddhism your friend just told you about. Shouldn’t you check into that first!

*Or, you really don’t have time for religion in your life. You’ve got the kids to raise, bills to pay, a career to pursue. Deal with it later!

And Satan, the Master Distracter, stole the Word from their heart.

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Now, the implication in the parable is, while this first person never gets saved, the next two people do get saved.

The one on stony ground “joyfully hears and receives the Word.”

And the one on thorny soil “hears and receives it.”

And since they ARE saved, their unfruitfulness is an issue to Jesus—they should have been fruitful.

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The Bible is clear about the importance of resisting distractions and focusing on Jesus:

Hebrews 12:2 AMP “looking away from all that will distract us and focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith.”

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ILLUS: The bronze serpent

“So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!” (Numbers 21:9 NIV)

This illustrates why it’s so important that we place our primary focus in life on Jesus Christ—and why the devil constantly attempts to distract us away from focusing on Him!

We are literally transformed into His image and healed in our souls when we put Him first!

2 Cor. 3:18 ESV “And we all...beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

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So let’s briefly look at the two top weapons of Mass Distraction.

First...

II. The Cares of the world

The Greek word for “cares” is a word meaning "to divide.”

The devil uses worries and cares about things pertaining to this life to divide our attention, to distract us away from placing our focus on Jesus.

*The greatest example of all would probably be when the two sisters, Martha and Mary, had Jesus over for lunch one day.

The Bible says that Mary sat at Jesus’s feet to listen to His word with all her focus on Him.

But Martha was in the kitchen with her temperature rising that Mary isn’t in there with her.

She suddenly bursts into the living room and belts out to Jesus,

“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (Lk 10:40 ERV)

And Jesus replies, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried (divided, distracted) and upset about too many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her” (Vs. 41-42 ERV).

Notice how Jesus said that Mary’s focus on Him had earned her treasures that would “never be taken away from her!”

And that her focus was the one thing “most important.”

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I noticed early on that the minute I decided to place Jesus first in my life, Satan went to work casting distracting thoughts into my mind and distracting circumstances into my path.

The devil will use bad things to do it, and he will use good things to distract us away from the best thing!

He knows better than many Christians that the KEY to spiritual growth is to do what Mary did—sit at His feet and listen to His Word.

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The key to winning the distraction battle is the FIRST THINGS RULE.

We set our watches to tell the right time, we set our ovens to the right temperature for cooking, we set our Dish TV and radio antennae’s in the best direction for reception...

In the same way, we must FIRST THING every day set our focus in the best direction for spiritual reception!____________

Satan’s second weapon of MASS DISTRACTION is:

III. Deception about money

Jesus calls it, “The deceitfulness of riches.”

Mark’s gospel adds, “riches...and the desire for other things.”

So...MONEY and THINGS are used by Satan as a weapon of mass distraction!

The word “DECEIT” Jesus uses is from a word meaning “a delusion that CHEATS a person.”

What Satan promises riches will do for you is a delusion that CHEATS you in the end.

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The Bible isn’t saying there’s anything wrong with having money, as long as the money doesn’t have you!

“For the love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:10 LB).

Not money, but the love of it, the craving for it, the lustful pursuit of it is when it becomes a distracting idol!

Satan’s lie is that if we make wealth and things our top pursuit in life, we will be happy when we get them.

But it’s a cheat!

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Only one thing will make you deeply happy and fulfilled—knowing Jesus Christ and walking with Him daily!

“Come to me and I will give you rest—all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy load...let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:28-29 LB).

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Have distractions pulled you away from making Jesus first in your life? LET’S PRAY