Have you ever been distracted? Accused of not paying attention? Look at some of these fine examples...
It seems an epidemic has encompassed our culture. Distracted drivers. Have you ever passed someone shaving, putting on make-up, texting, eating, etc. while driving? Listen to these stats:
• Almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 are texting while driving.
• Teens say that texting is their number one driver distraction.
• 4 out of every 5 accidents (80%) are attributed to distracted drivers. In contrast, drunk drivers account for roughly 1 out of 3 (33%) of all accidents nationally.
• Texting while driving is about 6 times more likely to result in an accident than driving while intoxicated.
I was a distracted driver on my Honda 50 motorcycle when I was about 13 or so. I had an itch in between my shoulder blades.
Being distracted can be dangerous or in this case funny:
VIDEO - "Distracted Ferrari Driver" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPk7GdzKmrQ
The opposite of being distracted is paying attention. Part of paying attention is to have fast forward thinking. Think about what happens if you continue down this road. This applies to every area of our lives. How much wiser we would be to have "Fast Forward" thinking.
When tempted to chase the money of a "better" job even though it would mean being away from your family more or not being able to go to church... Fast Forward
When tempted to flirt with a co-worker... Fast Forward
When tempted to fill your weekend with entertainment and skip worshipping with your family... Fast Forward
When tempted to chase the "American Dream" and put it all on plastic... Fast Forward
When tempted to shelve your spiritual life .... Fast Forward
When tempted to do harm to yourself or someone else. Fast Forward
I want to take you to my texts for today.
Prov. 22:3 & Prov. 27:12 both say, "The prudent see danger and take refuge. The simple keep going and suffer for it."
The NLT puts it this way, "A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
And the Message, "A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered."
The Pope Version says “The prudent fast forwards their thinking and takes action; The dumb just ignores that thought and gets slammed.”
The main thought I want you to capture from this sermon is this: Our direction determines our destination.
You want to head to the Mall of America but you get on I-39 South. You are not getting to the Mall. It doesn't matter how many people you call, it doesn't matter if you have a prayer meeting before you go. You are not getting to the Mall of America by getting on I-39 South. You are going the wrong direction! Direction determines your destination. The proverb says that the prudent see danger, they see they are going the wrong direction and they do something. They take action. They risk embarrassment. They stop and ask for directions, they double check the address in the GPS, they listen to their wife, etc. However, the simple, the dumb, the stupid, the ungodly, keep going. They see danger but they keep going. They believe that if they just keep going they will be okay and get where they want to go. They suffer the consequences.
If our direction puts us on a path that determines our destination, what effects our direction?
Something gets our attention. We say it like this: Something grabbed my attention, captured my attention. I was going this way and something turned my focus.
Where your attention and focus is is going to determine our direction, and ultimately going to determine our destination.
Something ever grabbed your attention?
Was it a car that just wrapped you around its tailpipe? You just had to have it. So what if it had 200,000 miles on it. It would look awesome wrapped around you. So, you might have to push it occasionally, big deal. You had to have it.
That piece of sporting equipment that was going to make all the difference for your game. The driver, the putter, the new racquet, the new bat, the new bike, etc.
The Harley that your neighbor just bought, all chromed out and beautiful
The beautiful people in internet ads that pop up on your screen and tell you what you want to hear. They are looking for you... Riiiiggghhhhtttt!
The house that you really couldn't afford, but if you make sacrifices and both work really hard, you can make it. You might have to work weekends, you might have to travel. You might not be able to spend much time with the family, but you will have the house.
Chat rooms or porn sites that just grab you and draw you in.
Prov. 22:3 - "A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered."
Some synonyms of prudent: alert, careful, sensible, well-advised, wise.
There are many times, opportunities, events, places, things, people that you wish hadn't grabbed your attention. There are phone #'s you wish you hadn't called. People you wish you hadn't met. Business opportunities you wish you hadn't laid down the first dime on. Time Share presentations that you wished you had skipped. It was a mistake. It grabbed your attention. All too often, that is the result with things that grab your attention. Many times those things that grab your attention lead you to the greatest regrets that we have. When something grabs our attention, it takes our focus and it promises something on the short end but for some reason we don't always see where it ultimately leads to. We don't FAST FORWARD. We don't look down the path and see the corpses laying out. In talking about the immoral woman in Prov. 7, the Bible puts it this way:
Prov. 7:21-27 - "So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life. So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words. Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path. For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims. Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death."
Fast forward - See the corpses on your path.
What has our attention has influence, and that which influences us, influences our direction in life and the directions that we take in life have predetermined destinations. We must take careful note where we place our attention. This is the negative side of the message this morning. We have this thing called our focus or our attention. The Bible talks a lot about what our eyes are turned to or what your heart is set on. There are things that grab or capture our attention but there are also things that we pay attention to. That we give attention to. Note the difference. Some things just take my attention. Other things, I am focused and give my attention.
What is it though that we should pay attention to? What are some things that you regret not paying more attention to?
Spiritual Life - Pursue other things, lose focus
Health - Too hard to make time. Takes too much effort
Marriage - Stop being intentional and just become reactionary
Our Kids - We might even develop a kid centered marriage. NOT healthy. The greatest gift you can give your children is to absolutely LOVE your spouse.
What I've noticed is that oftentimes those things that grab or capture my attention lead to dangerous things, unwise things. But those things that I pay attention to or give my attention to, oftentimes put me on the best course for life as a Christian, when I pay attention. You see, what you pay attention to directs your paths and those paths are going to lead to destinations.
For me, I have to watch those things that grab my attention, those things that capture my affection, I have to be careful. Because many times, it's in those things that the enemy of my soul has something covered and masked that on the front side looks like a good thing, but if I FAST FORWARD, I can see where it heads and be wise.
The point is: Right now, the things that you are paying attention to are dramatically affecting the course and direction of your life. So, attention affects the direction which ultimately affects the destination of your life.
There are many Scriptures that would back this thesis up. We are going to briefly look at 5. From Deuteronomy to Hebrews. Let's start in the book of Dt. chapter 7. Let me set the scene.
1) Deuteronomy 7
Moses by God's inspiration had just given the Law, which is how to live. Had just established the nation of Israel with their instructions for being a nation. And he is about to deliver them into the Promised Land. The Promised Land finally, the land flowing with milk and honey. The land promised all the way back to Abraham. They are finally going in. The problem is, there are other people there and there are other nation's around and those nations have their own way of doing things. And so God is concerned that He had just given them the Law, the instructions for them to live by that they not take on their ways. So He says this through Moses:
Deut. 7:12 - "If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers."
PAY ATTENTION! FOCUS! IF -- THEN
It goes on and makes statements that they will be blessed if they pay attention and do what God says to do but it goes on and warns them of what will take place when they don't pay attention. Bad things will come. You know what the nation of Israel did? The exact same thing we do at times. There were seasons where they did exactly what the Law required. They obeyed the Law. And when they did there was peace between them and God and they lived at peace with the world. God kept them, they were free from disease and harm, but they would get comfortable, they would get lazy and they would drift. They would notice the way that the other nations worshipped. "Well, how come we don't get to worship like that?" They would notice the way the other nations had a king. Everybody else has a king, why don't we have a king?" God says, "I want to be your King. Let me rule you." "But everybody else has a king and we kind of don't have anyone's face to put on our coins. Who is going to be our king?" So God says, "I will give you a king." So they began to change focus, to lose focus. To the point where they (some of us can identify with this)they jumped on this merry-go-round. Where there would be intense focus on God and then they would kind of get lazy, drift, bottom out with judgment and pain and suffering and they would come back to God and repent and say "I'm so sorry" and there would be a peace. There was even a point and time in Israel's history, where they were exiled for 70 years. An entire generation had to die. Everything they had built up was obliterated, taken away.
God warned them in the beginning. "If you just pay attention to the Laws. If you just focus. Don't let anything else capture or grab your attention. "
2) Psalm 119:35-37
You fast forward. David, 2nd king in their history. David, who wrote much of the content of the Psalms, including the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. Verses 35-37, notice his prayer. This would be a great prayer for us.
Psalm 119:35-37 - "Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word."
Turn my eyes from worthless things! How much pain could have been avoided had we lived by that verse. If we had turned our eyes, our attention, our affection from worthless things to God, how different we would have lived.
That which has my attention determines my direction, my direction determines my destination, where I am headed. Do you see? The reason this is so important is that people arrive, they are going places. They arrive in their life at some destination and they are dumbfounded. "Well, I don't know what happened. How come this happened to me? I'm a good person." How come I became an alcoholic, how did I get here. How in the world did I cheat on my spouse? How did I get to this point of spiritual apathy?
Well, you have been perfectly designed and suited and directed to arrive at the destination that you are at. That is tough to hear in that moment, but it's true. There is a direction. That's where you're headed. Wherever you are at FAST FORWARD your thinking. What is on this path? What could be around the corner? What is the best thing that could happen on this path? What is the worst thing that could happen? What is the best thing that could happen if I change paths? What is the worst thing? Fast forward!
3) Proverbs 3:23-27
Solomon, David's son, he became king. He gave us this passage, Proverbs 4:23-27. This is especially important for men, who struggle with lust. Ok, for all men. Or women, who struggle with shopping.
Proverbs 4:23-27 - (MSG) "Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust."
Fix, focus your eyes on what is before you. Like the horses with blinders on. It's saying, "set your eyes. Know exactly what you want in life. Know exactly what you're for." Sometimes people may say things like "I don't really know what God's will for my life is." What that usually means is that they are at a crossroads, whether it is a career choice, or educational choice, and they don't know. Here is what I would say to them: "Do what you do know." Morally, what do you know? What does the Bible tell you? There is a way to live. Set your eyes there. God, He is your Shepherd. You do know that. So, set your eyes there. "God, You are my Shepherd, so I am not going to look for anything or anyone else to lead me, You are MY Shepherd." Set your eyes there. There are hundreds of things that you CAN do even when you don't know, ultimately where to go! Set your eyes, Solomon said, fix your gaze straight ahead. Do not swerve to the right or the left. Keep your foot from evil! Such wisdom, right?
What has your attention will affect your direction, will affect ultimately your destination in life.
4) Matthew 6:22
Jesus, is not silent on this subject at all.
Matt. 6:22 - "Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light."
Explain Lamp metaphor. They didn't have flashlights or halogen headlights. You would set it out in the direction that you were going. You would not hold it up in this direction and look in another direction, only in the direction you were heading. That lamp was light for your steps, it was your direction.
The eye is the lamp of the body. It's about direction, what has your attention. What are you focusing on?
5) Hebrews 2:1
After the young church is established. It needs correction, instruction on how to live, on how to do church, how to do life.
Heb. 2:1 - Notice the words. "We must PAY MORE CAREFUL ATTENTION to what we have heard so we do not drift away."
This is what happens. 10 years, 20 years, 50 years ago you had some religious experience. I am happy for you. But, note the verse please. It's not enough. Today, right now, it is May 30, 2010. PAY MORE CAREFUL ATTENTION. Focus on what you've heard so that you do not drift away. If you wake up in the morning and you are not paddling upstream, you are being swept away. The current of our culture fights against us every day. You don't have to make a decision to go in the other direction, just go on auto-pilot, stop focusing, just stop striving and you will be taken away. That is what the writer of Hebrews is saying. He is grabbing us by the collar and saying "Pay attention, pay attention. Be careful, there is an adversary, an enemy out there who comes about like a roaring lion. He is always trying to put something before you to grab your attention to take your focus. The writer is saying, "PAY Attention. Don't go on auto-pilot! Focus!"
How do so many marriages end up ruined? This verse right here. They stop paying attention. They stop focusing. They stop doing the right things. They just drift. Any of us can do this in our relationships. There are times when I lose focus at home and get fixed on thinking about Freedom Fest or having my fun - softball, golf, or watching TV and Michelle has to finally bring my attention to it. She calls it "Todd's World". My focus isn't where it needs to be. I need to be reminded of that myself, how about you?
As a youth pastor I saw this happen many times when a student would start working occasionally on Wednesday nights. Their focus shifted. Once on-fire, other priorities soon took precedence.
I have seen people at church before that were faithful, but they bought a new toy, a camper, a boat, snowmobile, cabin, etc. and they HAVE to make time to enjoy the toy and church becomes expendable. "It was for the kids". Something came into your life and your focus shifted. None of those things are bad. In fact I love friends that have a cabin up north or a boat. :) The question is "where is your focus, your attention?"
The writer of Hebrews is grabbing us by our chin and saying, "Hey, watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out! PAY ATTENTION!" There are hobbies, people, opportunities, things that at face value don't look that bad. Looks pretty good! But be careful of your commitments. You could say yes to something that ends up taking from you. One of the things that author Mark Batterson stresses that helps me is this: "Whenever you say yes to something, you are saying no to something else". By saying yes to too many "good" things, you could be saying no to the "BEST" thing. There are business opportunities that you don't need. It doesn't matter how much money is in it. There are things where you would say, "This would be great!" Really? Watch it. Be careful. Fast forward. Is it going to cause you to lose your focus.
This is EASY to see in others. Parents, we notice who has the attention of our kids, cause we understand the principle. Wherever their attention is, that is where their focus is and that is going to determine their direction, which will ultimately lead to their destination. We understand that the decisions they are making now, the person they are becoming now will lead them down a path they may not want to end up. We get it, we see it in others. But it's hard to see in the mirror. We need to remember that we have a heavenly Father who sees us making decisions every day that show where our focus is. That focus will determine our direction which will determine our destination.
Two questions:
1)What has captured or grabbed your attention?
What is it? Perhaps it's unavoidable. Something big has happened in your life and it's got your attention. It's unavoidable, but still it's there. Take it very seriously. Watch it. For some, is there some hobby, or some thing that it is no longer just this little thing that you do, but even today, during this service, your mind has drifted to that hobby. I have had that happen before with sports, especially golf and I gave it up for a time until I could take it up in its proper place again. It's not a bad thing, but it's taking your attention so that when you are with people you are not fully present with them. It has your attention, your focus. It's hard to PAY ATTENTION to the right thing when something else, good or bad has GRABBED YOUR ATTENTION. Maybe it's something you need to change. Maybe there is something that you have given your attention to. Maybe there is someONE that has captured your attention. Perhaps you find yourself veering in their direction at work though you don't have any work in their direction. They have got your attention.
" The prudent see danger and take refuge. The simple keep going and suffer for it."
I have known men through the years that it is sports, playing in leagues almost every night of the week, multiple sports, one sport, watching sports. Not bad things, good things. I love sports! But does it have your attention, your focus? Does it have a priority in your time that it should not have? Does the Packer schedule in the Fall and Winter affect your church attendance?
So, again, first question, what has GRABBED YOUR ATTENTION?
2) What are the things that you need to PAY more ATTENTION to?
What things do you need to give more focus, you need to GIVE more attention to. For some, there needs to be more focus placed on your spiritual life. There was a time when you were disciplined and adamant about Scripture reading, about prayer, about reading inspiring things. Filling your heart and mind with godly things. And your focus and attention has gone astray.
What about you? If you could come up here and tell us all. What is it that you have to PAY attention to or you drift?
For some of you, your marriage. You think it's good. You would tell someone right now that it's good. You are on thin ice. You have been on auto-pilot for the last few years. Your kids are going to leave the house, the house will be empty, you are going to look at each other and say, "who are you? Why are you here? I don't even like you anymore." Happens every day. It happens every day even in Christian homes.
For some it's health. Your desire is to retire with your kids and grandkids around you, yet the path of health that you are on, you will never get there. The path you are on is unhealthy. You better pay attention to that. Make better choices.
Parents, are you paying attention to your children's spiritual life? No, I didn't ask if you are paying for them to be in a Christian School. I didn't ask if you are taking them to a church with a great children's ministry. Are YOU PAYING ATTENTION to THEIR spiritual lives? Do they know that WHEN, not if, when they blow it big time, they can come to you and receive grace and love. I don't know how many times I have seen it as a youth pastor for 11 years. Somebody shows up with their teen to church because their child needs some positive people, some good role models in their life. Great, bring them, we will do our best, but it may be too late. Start them younger. Don't drop them off, bring them with you. Let them see you worship God, see that YOU LOVE GOD! You paid attention to other things. You made sure that they were involved. They were in 4 or 5 sporting leagues but you didn't care about their spiritual life until now because you see some signs. And now its urgent and you are panicky.
Learn to FAST FORWARD in your thinking! Think about it this way:
If you begin to eat healthy and exercise, it may take some time but you will lose weight and become more healthy. Daily decisions - FAST FORWARD in your thinking. Peanut M&M's, Culvers, Cold Stone, Famous Dave's burgers, brats cannot be the staples of your diet if you are into FAST FORWARD thinking. They will not lead you where you want to go. Watching an exercise video will not help, you have to get up and do it. It takes intentionality. Keep paddling!
If you begin to treat your spouse the way God wants you to. If you love and respect them unconditionally, are their biggest cheerleader, their biggest fan, paddle upstream together, have date nights and romantic weekends then you will build a great marriage. Don't give up, just keep paddling!
If you begin spending some time with God every day, through prayer and reading His Word, it may take some time but you will grow spiritually. It WILL happen! It's back to Deut. 7:12 - "If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you" Keep paddling!
Check out this short clip
Video Clip - "Future Self" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i34XRMIm9N0
Our culture even gets the value of Fast Forward thinking. I want you to fast forward in your thinking this morning to 5 years, 10 years, 20 years into the future. Your future self wants to talk to you. He/She is telling you to make wise decisions, to pay attention to your relationship with God, to fix your focus on your marriage, to give your attention to your kids. Learn the lessons from God's Word this morning.
Prov. 22:3 & Prov. 27:12 - "A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
