There is something far more dangerous than getting off track.
It is thinking you are still on it.
There is something far more dangerous than missing the mark.
It is thinking you've hit it.
There's something far more dangerous than being distracted -
not seeing it, not realising.
Grace and peace to you all, wonderful children of God.
You are welcome once again to another Interactive Prayer Service
here at the God’s Heart TV Studio.
People of God, let us begin this message with a moment of prayer.
Join me in prayer right now.
Oh Holy Spirit, let Your light shine in our hearts and minds
that we may understand Your Word,
that we may abide in Your Word,
that we may apply the truth of Your Word in our daily lives.
In Jesus’ mighty name we pray.
And the children of God said, “Amen!”
I want to start this message with a very serious statement.
We're going to jump straight into the Word!
Think about this statement, people of God.
Right now, there is a spiritual battle being waged for your attention.
As Christians, we should not be ignorant of the devil's influences (2 Corinthians 2:11).
We should not claim ignorance of the devil's devices.
There is a spiritual battle ongoing for your attention.
Because you are what you give your attention to.
Now, when I say there's a spiritual battle going on,
some of you are looking at me and saying, ‘What do you mean, Brother Chris?
What do you mean there's a battle taking place?’
Well, the heart is always busy.
The question is, what are we busy with?
Think about this.
Think about how easy it is for you to give your time
to things that have no eternal significance.
This is an opportunity to reflect on your life.
Think about how easy it is to waste our time
on things that have no lasting value and significance.
It's far easier to find worldly distraction than godly direction.
It's far easier to be entertained than to be edified.
If you're wondering whether or not there's a spiritual battle taking place, just check yourself.
Think about how easy it is -
if you pick up your phone and want to check something for a few minutes,
if care is not taken, it can become hours.
It's a spiritual battle.
Check your own life as a Christian.
If you don't create time for your devotion, you will surely find time for distraction.
To read the Word of God, or let me say - to study the Word of God...
Because God's Word is not meant to merely be read.
It is meant to be studied - with full attention, with all of our hearts.
When you want to pick up your Bible and read, many things try to discourage you,
try to sidetrack you - try to take your time, your mind, your attention away.
Even to join this Interactive Prayer Service - if you don’t mean it, you will miss it.
If you are not determined, you will get distracted.
There's a spiritual battle going on for your attention,
and the prize is your affection.
Because where attention goes, affection tends to follow.
People of God, I want you to think about what I'm saying right now.
This is a serious message.
The reality of this spiritual warfare is not a reason to be fearful.
It's a reason to be watchful. Watch and pray. Why?
Because as a child of God,
the devil holds no sway over your life unless he finds a way into your heart.
For him to deceive us into sin, he will first distract us.
Because distraction dulls our conscience from danger.
Distraction makes you insensitive to intrusion.
And when your guards are lowered, the intruder can become an insider.
Let me give you an example.
As Christians, we know that God has sent His Holy Spirit
to open our eyes to see how wrong our sins are,
to convict us when we sin but also to warn us before we sin.
Many believers today - their conscience only strikes with conviction after they have sinned,
instead of their conscience striking with warning before they sin.
Because we are too easily distracted and not consistently connected.
When you knowingly give your heart to distraction,
then you willingly start the path towards destruction.
This is the message I want to talk about today, people of God:
“The Trap Of Distraction.”
Be careful of the trap of distraction.
Turn with me to a Scripture in the New Testament in 1 John 2.
Look, we're in a world where there is no shortage of distractions.
We're living in a world where there is no shortage of temptations.
We are in the world - but how do we live in this world without this world living in us?
The answers are in the Word of God - 1 John 2:15-17. It says this,
“Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -
is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away...”
Don't get too comfortable in a danger zone which is not your home.
“...the world is passing away, and the lust of it...”
There are many today who are busy building mansions in a market -
a place that is passing away, fading away.
No matter how long you live there, you will one day leave there.
Whether this world is laughing with you or laughing at you,
one thing is clear - we do not belong here.
Don't get too comfortable in a danger zone.
Let me finish that Scripture - 1 John 2:17.
“And the world is passing away, and the lust of it;
but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
Thank You, Jesus.
Remember what I said.
The prize of that spiritual war is not simply your attention - it is your affection.
The devil wants to take your love from God and transfer it to the things of this world -
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.
The devil uses what attracts us to distract us.
The lust of the flesh - what you see.
The lust of the eyes - ‘I see this, I want it. I see this, I must have it.
I look at this - I want to taste it.’
He wants to shift your focus from what is unseen to what is seen.
This is a trap - the trap of distraction.
Now, children of God, let me describe a scenario to try and illustrate what I mean
by the danger of this distraction.
Just imagine there is a ship sailing in a vast ocean and it's heading clearly in one direction.
This is the path.
This is the course.
This is the way it is going.
But suddenly there is a gentle breeze that subtly shifts the direction of that ship.
Instead of going straight, it’s shifted off course.
And if care is not taken, the captain may not even know he has gone off track.
I don't know if you understand this illustration, children of God.
There is something far more dangerous than getting off track.
It is thinking you are still on it.
There is something far more dangerous than missing the mark.
It is thinking you've hit it.
There's something far more dangerous than being distracted -
not seeing it, not realising.
If you don't know that you're going astray,
you will not know the part to play to get back on the right way.
The trap of distraction.
As you're listening to this sermon right now, I want you to look at your own life.
To avoid this entanglement in this web of distraction woven by the devil,
we must identify his tactics.
Look at your life. Examine yourself.
Recognise what are the sources of distraction in your own life.
Take a moment and think about that right now.
No one knows you better than you know yourself.
What is it that is a source of distraction in your Christian journey?
I know there are so many areas your heart may be highlighting at this point.
But I just want to give everyone a very practical word of advice.
People of God - before checking your phone, check your heart.
I said this is a very practical word of advice.
Before checking your phone, check your heart.
Because if you pick up your phone without a purpose,
rather than you using it, it may end up using you.
For many of us connected at this moment,
the source of our distraction is right now in our pockets.
Many people fall into the trap of distraction because
they pick up their phone without a clear purpose.
And before you know it, something that you look at for a few minutes
can turn into a few hours.
When it comes to meaningful activities, you must mean it.
When it comes to meaningless or mindless activities,
you will find the time for it and you will waste the time on it.
This is the case of many people today.
We are falling into the trap of distraction
and we're trading our attention for the sake of temporal enjoyment.
In today's generation, in this world that we’re living in today,
where there's so much connectivity, 24/7 streams of information available -
many of us, the source of our distraction is in our pockets.
Look, many of us, when you wake up in the morning,
you greet your phone before you greet God.
Even when you are going to go to the toilet, you first take your phone.
You are using your phone in the toilet.
Can I give you an advice?
When you go to the toilet, you are sitting down - before checking your phone, check your heart.
Is your heart right with God?
Is there an issue you need to settle?
Is there someone you need to reconcile with?
Is your focus in the right place?
Don't just bring out your phone.
Before you check the news, check your heart.
Before you examine your social media feed, examine your heart -
to avoid the trap of distraction.
When you wake up in the morning,
we should greet God first before anyone or anything else.
Get down on your knees and say, “Thank You, Jesus, for a new day”
before you open your phone and check for messages or what someone has sent to you.
Greet God before your phone.
This is just a practical word of advice in the light of this message.
People of God, let me be clear. I'm not here to demonise your phone.
I'm not saying you can't watch things on your phone.
Let's be real, people of God.
When it comes to recreation, you are relaxed and want to look at something -
don't simply look for something entertaining; look for something edifying.
Because the devil does not recognise your relaxation.
Satan is ready 24/7 to strike.
He's looking for an opportunity to deceive and enter your heart.
Your time off is his time on.
Some of us deceive ourselves. We say, ‘Okay, I will just look for a little bit.
In ten minutes, I will finish. By 8pm, I will stop.’ You put a time.
You don't employ self-control to manage distraction.
You employ self-control to avoid distraction.
‘I will just look at this for five more minutes.’
If care is not taken, it will become hours.
‘I will stop doing this by 8pm.’
Look, if you set a time for doing what is right, you set yourself up for doing what is wrong.
Because you are always only one decision away from distraction.
Can I also say something very direct, people of God? Please, be careful.
Isolation often amplifies temptation because lust feeds on loneliness.
When you are alone, the voice of temptation often becomes louder.
But when you think no one is watching you,
remember the One who never sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121).
There is no secret that can be kept from God's Spirit.
There is nothing hidden from His sight.
The concept of secret sin, hidden sin exists only in your mind
as a mechanism of justification.
Because what happens in the dark will eventually come to the light.
If you don't deal with it, it will one day deal with you.
This is not a message of condemnation. No!
As I said to you, the reality of this spiritual battle is not a reason to be afraid.
It's a reason to be alert, to watch and pray.
Because you are always one decision away from distraction.
Watch and pray.
This is the way out.
You hear this message and say, ‘But there's so many things capable of distracting me.
There's so many issues that life brings. There's so many things that are
present in this world, in this generation around me
that can easily take my focus and time away from God,
away from what I’m meant to be doing. What’s the way out?’
Let me encourage you today.
Yes, we are weak.
Yes, we're living in a world with a lot of distraction.
Therefore, you must consciously surround yourself with things that remind you of God
and intentionally invest daily time with Him.
The best defence against distraction is godly habits.
Because when you take the Word of God into your heart,
the light of His Word shines in your heart,
and opens your eyes to see where you have gone astray,
where you have missed the mark, enabling you to get back on track.
Yes, we can be distracted.
Yes, we will be distracted.
But how quick are we to realise and get back on track?
To get back on track, we need to dedicate ourselves to the Word of God.
There's no other secret shortcut to get back on track with God.
As you read His Word, study His Word with devotion, you see yourself clearly.
You see life clearly.
You can identify - ‘Oh, this was the tactic the devil used to distract me.
Oh, this was the weapon the devil used to shift my focus.’
You realise it. You recognise it. You repent from it. You get back on track with God.
That's the way out.
Yes, there will be distractions.
But please, people of God, take this message seriously.
We can't claim ignorance of the devil's influence.
There is a spiritual battle being waged for your attention.
And if you don't engage your heart with God, the world will engage it.
As I bring this message to a conclusion,
I want to read a profound word of wisdom from the Proverbs - Proverbs 4:20-27.
Ponder on these words.
The answer to distraction lies within the truth of God's Word.
“My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;
for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.”
May God bless His Word in the midst of our hearts
as we stay alert to avoid the trap of distraction
whilst navigating this wicked world.
In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. Amen!