What's Distracting You?
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Intro
Intro
I want to talk to you this morning about something that can have such a profound impact on our life, but that we can so easily be unaware of
And that is what makes this thing so dangerous at times, because we are not aware of the threat that it poses to us
It affects our health emotionally, spiritually, and physically
affects our relationships
Our relationships with God
affects our productivity
and Even our relationship with ourself
and its something that none of us are immuned to
Before I talk about what it is, I just want do a little exercise with you to illustrate my point:
I want you all to take out your phones, but don’t look at it yet.
Some of you already have them out
Get your phone out, but don’t look at it yet.
Statistics show that the average American looks at their phone once every 12 minutes...80X a day
Can you tell me what the icon is in the bottom right hand corner of your phone?
Think about it for a second
Now check and see if you got it right
How many of you got it right?
Ok, now look at me....all eyes up here!
Every smartphone on the lock screen or home page has a digital clock
You just looked at your phone…what time is it?
How many of you got the exact time?
Ok, now everyone close your eyes (no peaking)
I’ve been up here talking to you for a few minutes now
What is the color of the shirt I’m wearing? And am I wearing a tie or not? Are my sleeves rolled up on my shirt?
Some of you did better than others, but this is what this little exercise shows us, and this is backed by years and years of scientific research. And it is this:
Attention is a limited resource
Our brain can only really focus on so much at one time
Some people can multitask pretty well, others can’t do it at all…but even those people that can multitask can only do a few things at once before you hit your attention capacity
What is controlling your attention?
I’m not just talking about now in this moment…but as you go about your every day life.
Here is why this is such an important question to answer:
Every time you give attention to something, you are taking it away from something else.
Wives, what is it like trying to talk to your husband while hes watching a football game?
Wives, what is it like trying to talk to your husband when he turns on the football game?
Some guys might say that in that moment, the wife is the distraction, not the football. Just know I’m praying for you!
Parents, what is it like trying to explain something to your kids while they are playing video games, or watching a movie?
Parents, what is it like trying to talk to your kids while they are playing video games?
What do we call it when your attention is misplaced?
A Distraction
This is what we are going to be talking about
Trying to study for school, but we keep getting distracted by
Now some times these distractions can be small things
Wives, what is it like trying to talk to your husband when he turns on the football game?
Now the stupid husband will say that in that moment, the wife is the distraction, not the football. Wrong answer!
Parents, what is it like trying to explain something to your kids while they are playing video games, or watching a movie?
At other times distractions are literally killing us!!!
Like when we text while driving.
25% of our car accidents are phone related
You are 4X more likely to get in a wreck when you are on your phone (whether its hands free or not)!
You are more likely to get involved in a crash while using your phone, than you are if you are driving drunk.
Distraction is killing us
When you are drunk, even though your reaction time is impaired…you know that you are impaired and so you are more focused
When you are distracted on your phone you are unaware of the danger, because you think you still have everything under control
“But I’m being careful with it, I’m not being stupid”
So it is so important to realize where our attention is, and the things that we are being distracted with life.
Heres what I want to talk about this morning…I want to talk about 3 relationships that are affected by the constant distractions in this world.
Think of all the things that are vying for our attention these days:
Smart phones and everything that comes with that:
social media
phone calls
texting
games
etc… takes 18 minutes to fully engage attention again
We make ourselves available literally to anyone and anything else 24/7
Netflix and streaming services
Our jobs and its pressures and deadlines
The demands of our family, and spending quality time with them
Spending time in prayer and reading the Bible
Spending time exercising
Heres what I want to zone in on…I want to talk about 3 relationships that are affected by the constant distractions that we face
We live in a time when distractions or the potential for distractions is higher than it has ever been
Think about dist
Relationship to others
Relationship to yourself
Relationship to God
And think about these distractions in terms of texting and driving
We just talked about how when we think we are under control, that is when it is the most dangerous because we are really unaware of the danger
I’ve seen so much danger when we are living a distracted life, and how that affects our relationships…I’ve seen it in my own life
Title of Sermon: What’s Distracting You?
Points
Points
You are 4x or more likely to be involved in a crash if you are using a phone (hands free or not) which is also more likely than if you are drunk.
Drunk drivers know they are impaired, so they respond appropriately.
25% of accident are phone related
“Our brain is wired for the smartphone”
Hiking/spending time in nature increased creativity by 50%
By Paul Atchley
Attention shapes your reality
Parents, what is it like trying to talk to your kids while they are playing video games?
Points
Points
RELATIONSHIP TO OTHERS (specifically our family relationships)
Turn with me to
In ....oops hold on a second (act distracted)
Hey Pastor Pavel whats up? Yeah I got a sec....I’m just in the middle of a sermon. Ok now problem. Yup I can do that! Ok, thanks bye!
Sorry about that…anyways …ooops
Wow I got 110 likes on my most recent Instagram picture.
In john 15 john is talking about love and sacrifice
Stop!!! Does this look familiar?
What would you think if I preached a sermon to you like this? How would you feel? I guarantee you would never come back to church here.
Why? What was I just communicating to you through my interaction with distraction?
Right now, you are not relevant…or in this moment, this is more important than you!
You wouldn’t like it if I communicated the Word of God to you in this way, yet that is how we can communicate with our spouse, or family, or friends on a fairly consistent basis
It’s like talking with that person who is always looking around
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
This is the ultimate sacrifice right here! What are some things that you think of, when you think of “laying down your life?”
Jesus on the cross
Maybe we think of soldiers, who lay down their lives fighting for freedom for their family, friends, and country
Some of us think of a scenario where if we had a loved one standing in the road with a car fast approaching, we would run and push them out of the way, and take the hit so they could live
And for those romantics out there you think of prince charming who storms the castles, fights the dragon against all odds to rescue the damsel in distress, even if it means sacrificing his own life for true love’s kiss!
And I’m sure everyone in this room would say that you would be willing to die for at least 1 person in your life, if not many!
Here’s the thing: We say we’d lay down our life for our loved ones, but we can’t even lay down our phones for our loved ones.
Or lay down our hobbies
lay down our rights
Some might think this is a terrible comparison
Heres my point:
The many small sacrifices in our lives add up, which eventually makes them just as important as the big ones!
Do you know how many marriages suffer because it wasn’t given the attention it needed?
Do know how many families suffer because they weren’t given the attention they needed?
You may be willing to die for someone but:
Husbands, are you willing to shut off the football game and just talk with your wife because she want’s to connect with you?
Wives, are you willing to put the smart phone down and actually talk with your husband?
Parents are you willing to raise and interact with your children versus always plopping them down in from of a screen so you can do your own thing?
Parents are you willing to stay where you are at on the corporate ladder, or even take a step down for a season, so you can be present at home with your family?
One thing we have to realize is that a distraction is not always a “bad” thing. A distraction can be a “good” thing thats keeping you from a better thing.
A rose in a cornfield is considered a weed, and is treated like a weed
eg a job is a good thing…but you never hear of the man or woman that says “I wish I had worked more”…its always “I wish I would have spent more time with my family”
Your job became a distraction from what really should have been more of the focus of our attention…your family
As I was preparing this lesson I thought of the song “Cats In The Cradle” by Harry Chay-pin.
I want to read to you the verses to this song, because it really goes with what we are talking about this morning. It says this:
[Verse 1]
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you, Dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"
[Verse 2]
My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's okay"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"
[Verse 3]
Well, he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while"
He shook his head and then said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please"
[Verse 4]
I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and the kid's got the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
The dangerous thing about the distractions we face in our relationships, is that far too often, we don’t see the danger in them until we are already reaping the consequences.
Now I don’t want you to walk away from this discouraged, especially if you find yourself in a season where you are reaping the consequences of distractions you let into your life.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
God is able to heal
We say we’d lay down our life for our loved ones, but do you know what is just as important in today’s world…laying down your phone for one of your loved ones.
God is able to restore
The answer is not to look back on everything you did wrong, but to lift your head and start doing the right things now.
God will give you the grace going forward
But we have to be mindful of the distractions we let into our lives and how it can affect our relationship with others
RELATIONSHIP TO SELF
I’m not going to spend too much time here
I just have one specific area that is on my heart:
22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Listen to this incredible truth in
3 There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
And it might be a little confusing where I’m going with this, but just bear with me
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
Although this was specifically applicable to captive Israelites, it is also a general truth for us. That God heals the broken hearted.
Relationship to Others
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
When I read this I get a picture of a dad or mom comforting their wounded child
scraped knee
you don’t push them away, or say deal with it now because you were stupid
you disinfect it
And that’s how God deals with us
you bandage it
you hold them while they cry and just see them through the pain
This is the picture I get of God and how He deals with us
Here’s what this has to do with distractions when it comes to our relationship with ourselves
God is so willing to work healing and comfort into the areas of our lives where we hurt, or where we’ve been broken
That’s the incredible God that we serve!
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
But in order for healing to happen we have to let God work
And that can be hard because the healing process is one of those things that brings a certian amount of pain, or discomfort before we actually see the healing.
You’ve heard the broken leg analogy 100X
Think of how you deal with your crying child when they scrape up their knee.
But let me show you how we can respond to the hurt:
You get out the hP to disinfect, you put the bandage on, and you just hold them, and comfort them, and reassure them through the pain to bring them to a place of healing
And that’s how God deals with us
But then there is another approach I’ve seen used in parenting with a crying child that I call the “Baby Rattle Approach”
Baby gets hurt or disturbed by something and instead of comforting them through the pain, we try to distract them from it
We say we’d lay down our life for our loved ones, but do you know what is just as important in today’s world…laying down your phone for one of your loved ones.
The baby rattle approach may work fine in that scenario, but it doesn’t work for you soul!
Some of us instead of letting God heal us and comfort us through the pain, let anything and everything distract us from our pain
We overwork
We overclean
we are always on the phone
we always have the tv on or music playing
we are always on the phone
Because we can’t be alone in the silence for too long, because then we become all to aware of our pain again!
We can’t be honest with ourself and our pain, so we live in the distraction zone!
Are your distractions keeping you from healing?
God is so willing to bring healing and comfort
Getting yourself to the point where you know that God loves, forgives, and accepts you, is one of the foundations to receive inner healing.
As a Christian if you are ever going to get out of the distraction zone and into the healing zone you have to be convinced of these 3 things: that God loves you, forgives you, and accepts you!
The answer is not to distract ourselves from the pain, but to let God walk with us through it
Relationship to God
I would like you to turn with me to
I’m not going to get too much into the context of this Scripture, I just want to draw out one of the truths in it
God had just used Elijah in an incredible way....right before we get to this passage, God had literally sent down fire from heaven to consume 400 prophets of Baal (a pagan God)
After this working, the queen Jezebel hears of it and threatens to kill Elijah and so he kind of goes into pouting and complaining mode. And God does something that is a little unsual
11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
Maybe he or she is the one for the future you, not the present you
The NRSV says “a sound of sheer silence”
A rose in a cornfield is considered a weed
Here’s the truth God was getting across:
He speaks in the quiet
There is always a huge emphasis on God’s spectacular and miraculous ways, but in this moment God is showing Elijah that He moves also in the quiet ways…He is revealing Himself to Elijah in the quietness.
And you can see Jesus model this idea of being quiet before God in the NT as well:
15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
So there is something about silence, and quieting our hearts before God that gives room for Him to speak
Unfortunately, there is always so much noise around us, and so much going on
Do we make time for ourselves to get away to a quiet place and just be with God?
Now it may be extremely difficult for some of us depending on where we are at in life…for example a mom with young kids knows there’s hardly such a thing as personal time.
You just do your best in those seasons and Gods grace will be with you!
Buts its not just important for connecting with or hearing from God.... says this:
3 You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
There is a peace that comes with just being mindful of God in your life
Not being so distracted that we forget we have a God that is in control of every situation in our lives
The devil doesn’t have to destroy you to make you an ineffective Christian, or to steal your peace in life…most of the time he just has to distract you.
Closing
Closing
So let me ask you this again:
What’s controlling your attention?
Can I have the piano player come?
In closing I want to just take the next few minutes, and lets just set all distractions aside in this moment
the fact that we are hungry
that there are things at home that need to get done right now
Or that we are ready to go home and take that afternoon nap
Whatever it is, lets just quiet our hearts before God, and ask him where we have let distractions become a norm in any of our relationships with others, self, or Him
We’ll just have music play softly, no singing
If you need to bow your head or close your eyes to cut down on distractions, go ahead and do that
And we are going to give our full attention to God in this moment.