More Machine Now Then Man
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We live to know Him and make Him known:
We want you to have one on one and daily encounters with God
Spending time with God daily should be our number one goal every day
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
We have to seek
Others cannot seek for you
We make Him known
Someone’s eternity is attached to you
Last week we talked a bit about distractions:
Idolatry is anything that we worship or place our importance on over God
Something that would keep us from full-filling our purpose and calling
I want to talk to about something this morning that could very well be costing you a lot more than you think
8 Their land is also full of idols;
They worship the work of their own hands,
That which their own fingers have made.
Work there in the Hebrew:
Ma-ah-Si:
deed, thing done, act
work, labour
business, pursuit
undertaking, enterprise
achievement
deeds, works (of deliverance and judgment)
work, thing made
29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
The word art: Techne where we get our word for technology
(specially), a trade, or (generally) skill:—art, craft, occupation
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
What of the craziest things that is happening today is that “Those who make them are like them”
The people actually took on the form of the idols
The more Technology starts to look like humans, we as humans start to take on the personalities of technology
AI becomes human like we stop moving and sit around in silence staring at our phones
I don’t know if you’ve seen people around you at restaurants and concerts
Our culture praises a production rather than the Almighty Producer
Paul says in Romans 1:25 (NKJV)
25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
With all the advances in technology are we really better off?
If it’s made make our lives easier why are we all busier than we’ve ever been
Now we serve the idolatry of business!
Maybe we’ve lost the ability to focus
Maybe it’s all just a ploy to keep us distracted
Distractions:
Maybe we’re not learning as much as we think
Maybe we’re not engaged with the world around us
Maybe we’re not even listening
PET PEEVE-talking to someone and they are paying attention to their phone
You might as well be interrupting them talking instead
Even in church we have a hard time paying attention for less than an hour
I think it’s costing us more that we can even imagine
64% of Americans say that social media has mostly negative effects on the way things are going in the US
Probably the thing that is going to ruin interpersonal communication in the future is distractions
Most of the technology being developed today is created to distract you and keep you addicted to the distraction
I’m not just talking about in the moment but we’re literally destroying our attention spans
There is an entire economy on our attention
It’s no secret that our phones track our purchases, views, eyesight and engagement all in order to keep your attention and persuade you choices
I’m not trying be a doomsayer but we’re going to have to get a handle on it
Our phones have now kept us from meaningful conversations with loved ones, critical thinking, and problem solving
It can steal our imagination
And eliminate us to listen to each or even be aware of what’s going on around us
Continuous partial attention is now our default setting
How will we hear if our coworkers, family members, and friends are hurting or need emotional help if we’re constantly distracted from listening
If we’re constantly distracted how can we set aside times to hear the voice of God for our lives and our families?
Josie was reading switched my phone
Media fast in September
Neil Postman wrote a book in 1985 called Amusing ourselves to death:
A book about the impact of tv and entertainment in western civilization
I’m not going to get into the whole Orwelling parts of all this today but
Postman predicted that the two areas of society that would be the most damaged and effected by tv and technology would be Religion and politics
He claimed that celebrities would replace intelligent and wise leaders
That depth and discipleship in religion would give way to superficial and feel good spirituality
Clearly he had no idea what he was talking about
Instead of listening to God and each other they’ve monetized our attention
It’s impossible to listen while being distracted
Imagine Jesus trying to hold beachside chat from about nowadays
Everyone would be holding out their phones and posting on their snapchat to even catch the Spirit behind what is being said
The average iPhone user touches their phone 2617 times a day
Most people average at least 2.5 hours a day on their phone
Millennial average 5 1/2 hours a day
No wonder no one knows whats going on
Slot machines make more money than the film industry and baseball combined
Addictive small deposits of money at a time
You don’t realize what you’re giving away
We too make small deposits of wasted time and money when we allow ourselves to be distracted
As a society we’re losing our capacity to pay attention
our attention spans are declining
12 seconds
8 seconds
gold fish have 9 seconds
We’re losing to Gold Fish
I know it’s not practical in this world to eliminate everything from distracting you
But I think we need to have safeguards on our life so we can hear what God is trying to communicate to his people
That we lead by listening
We listen to God first and listen to the hurting and broke around us
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
Measure means value
Put value on God’s word in you life
Listen to Him
Incline your ears
20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Don’t deceive yourself with false efforts, Put it into practice!
How to get focused:
We have to set parameters on ourselves
We somehow have to stop the bleeding of attention spans
The enemy has been playing the long Game:
If he can keep your flesh constantly engaged there is no room in our lives for the spiritual
If he can hardwire our brains, making it impossible to just sit and wait on God’s voice
He knows when God gives you a Rhema word in your life it changes everything
That’s why the volume of culture is so loud lately
I believe we’re at a turning point in America
A prayer Closet
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Jesus gave very definite instructions concerning prayer:
We are to enter into our private room and shut the door.
We may be out in the field, in the heart of a forest, or on a quiet hillside
Alone with you and God
What do you do first?
Eliminate distractions
Create an atmosphere for focus
Give yourself time for your prayers to turn into desires
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
So many times in prayer my thoughts and words are recited as a hurried regurgitation of things i’ve said before
Change your confessions to desires
The Shut door creates space between you and the world:
If you’re not actively shutting the door to the world, the world will try to shut the door on God
You have put your business, your ambitions, your pleasures, far from you
18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
I have seen so many people get a job or in a relationship
We must seek to shut the door and close out the world
We commune with a God who knows us intimately:
He knows the right path for your life
What plans to make your relationships grow and flourish
He knows what is best for your family and business
He knows our hurts our wants our fears
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
We serve a God that knows us intimately:
He knows what we need
We need his perfect will for our lives is what we should be aiming for
How will we know what it is if we’re not spending time with HIM?
Where is your life at this morning?
Alter Call:
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Sinners Prayer:
"God, I know that I am a sinner.
I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin.
I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior.
I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness.
I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior.
Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen!"