Distracted! Who Are You Listening To?

Distracted!

Are You Listening?

We live in a time with more distractions then ever

• And we love it that way… keep me entertained/ quietness = boredom in many people’s minds

• Let there be a few moments of silence and out comes our little distraction boxes (phones)

• Google/Alexa/Siri, Entertain me. (Girl prays thanks for the food to Alexa)

• (distractions) Have you spoken to someone lately, and you are wondering the whole time, “Are you Listening”?

• The answer is probably yes, they are listening but to what voices and how many?

• Attention Deficit Disorder, could much of it be of our own making?

Do you listen? Good, (we all are) but who is the speaker?

There is a saying, "Knowledge Speaks, but Wisdom Listens"

but if we want to be wise and listen, then who we listen to is vital!

Shouldn’t that voice be the voice of all knowledge?

• The same voice who spoke all that we know into existence.

• Spoke throughout the Old Testament and spoke the very laws in place that our legal system is based on.

• Then personally sent His Son to speak and demonstrate in the flesh, His compassion and love for us.

• Followed by the Holy Spirit to be that indwelling voice that guides us.

God has had a lot to say over the thousands of years of man's existence.

• He is still speaking to us today, but we have to take care in who has our ear.

• As demonstrated very early in human existence, listening to the wrong voice can be disastrous.

After all, when humans lived in perfect, Eve let one lying voice distract her from the truth of the one who created it all for them.

• Adam let a distracted person distract him from the very one he walked in the garden with.

• The one voice he could trust. (casting doubt on that truth)

Today we have false voices screaming for our attention from every possible direction and device.

How do we cut through the thousands of distractions and focus on the one true voice of wisdom?

John 10:27 (NIV)

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

#1 What Voice? (Can you hear Him now?)

Today we live in a world with thousands of voices screaming for our attention. Everyone of them trying to communicate a message.

• If Adam and Eve listened to the wrong voice when there was only two, what chance do we have?

• What voice do I pull out of the crowd?

(Voice for the candy bar illustration)

Years ago in a Children's church of over 100 kids, I wanted to illustrate this. I chose several kids that I knew had a close friend there. They were then blindfolded and their friend given a candy bar that would be theirs if the could get to their friend through the crowd by simply following their voice. When I said go everyone was to talk. Yet even with all of the distracting voices, every child was able to follow the voice of their friend to the prize!

You can always make out the voice of the one you have the closest relationship with!

• I’m often asked, how do I hear God’s voice

• Spend time with him. It truly is that simple!

• Fail to do so, and one or more of the voices of distraction will get your attention.

(Key Statement) Wrong affections drown out the voice of God

(God is speaking) Trust me, the crowd usually misses it…

John 10:24-26 (NIV)

The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.

The road that leads to Heaven is narrow because there is only one voice out of the thousands that is giving correct directions on how to navigate the road of life.

(I’m going with the one who built it.)

• I pick on Kim (my wife) because she likes to argue with the GPS, “Why is it sending us this way?”

• She is constantly trying to peek ahead to make sure it is doing its job right.

• GPS may not be perfect but many times it has insight that we do not.

• Have you ever wandered off on your own, only to find out the reason it chose that route the hard way?

We can laugh at those stories because they only lead to us being lost short term

But if we argue with The Voice, we could be Eternally lost at the wrong destination!