I was sharing with Brother Joice today at the noon hour about a man by the name of Abraham Maslow, a Psycologist, who designed a triangle. It had five levels and they all had to do with security. When I first looked at the triangle in class, I noticed something was missing, so I did a little work on it. The thing that was missing was the very foundation which is Christ.

In the church we know that there is no other foundation. Paul said to the Corinthian Church, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). When things get rough, we always revert to the very last things that we have to have–you know, food for our bodies, shelter, these basic securities. Of course, he found those as a foundation and built upon that, but what happens when these are gone? Those things are not guaranteed to the man that is without Christ. He has no security, no guarantee that he will have a roof over his head tomorrow. Go out on the street and ask the homeless if he will have a meal tomorrow. He doesn’t know. He has no idea. And so there is really nothing certain in this life unless one rests upon that foundation which is Christ. When one rests upon that foundation, all the other things in this life will be supplied. What did the Lord tell the multitudes? He said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). That is our security–Christ Jesus. Praise God.

It seems like the last few months I have reverted to Philippians, chapter 3, verses 5-15 more than once, and as I was praying this afternoon, things seemed to come together, and I want to share from it with you tonight. Of everything that Paul wrote, his one pursuit in life was expressed here in this passage. And in all of that, we might say that the high point of Paul’s comments are simply this, "I press toward the mark."

I would like to preach tonight on DISTRACTIONS. I have noticed that all of us have at some time or another been distracted. I get distracted often. When I get ready, I think I am going to take this time to sit down and read the Scriptures. I do not have a particular time; however, some time during the day I read the Scriptures and pray. And there are various other things that we try to do throughout the day.

Now some things are determined for me whether I want to or not. I know that tomorrow afternoon I will have to be punched in on the clock at 3:30 p.m. And in the morning at 8:00 a.m., I have class. The professor has determined for us that we are going to have a test. And some of those things, regardless whether you like it or not, are determined.

Then there are other things through the day that we kind of mentally plan. You ladies, probably at least, have some vague idea of a few things that you have to get done tomorrow. We plan things, but by and large, at some point in time, we get distracted away from things that we want to do.

Now particularly, if it is things that are spiritual, you can be certain that the devil is going to endeavor to distract us. Paul was very specific in his writings here that he had a goal in mind. I wonder if he might vaguely have had some idea that the things he talked about early in this third chapter had become distractions, had really distracted from that which is necessary. Perhaps, at one point God had even begun to deal with him.

I remember at the age of 10 when the Lord began to deal with me about the thing that was really essential. We, as children, have been blessed to have been raised in church. What I am saying is, at some point in time for us that have been raised in church, raised with parents that were Christians, we were aware at least that God did exist, that there was a God. However, it really wasn’t until some point in time that God began to deal with us specifically about the things that were needful, and the things that we personally had to do. But like so often happens in the case of young people as they are growing up, they get distracted concerning the things of God. I know through my teenage years, even after God had first dealt with me about what I really needed to do with my life, there were so many things that came along and distracted me, and it was years before I was really able to get to a place where I could come before God and say, "Lord, I give you my life, and it is now my purpose to serve you."

But the distractions did not stop when I made that final decision to live for the Lord and give my life to Him. Even today, I am aware that there is a devil that still attempts to distract me from doing the things that I ought to do. I’ll tell you what, if I think in my head I’ve got some time and I am going to go to my study and get down and pray, immediately something will pop into my mind to try to draw me away. If I decide I am going to sit down and spend a few moments reading the Word of God, something will come along to distract me and try to draw me aside. It takes an effort and a purpose on the part of every individual, regardless of who you are, if you are going to do anything in the realm of spiritual things, you are going to have to have your mind made up. The Bible declares in prophecy that Jesus Himself had "set his face as a flint" (Isaiah 50:7). He had a purpose to follow through with the will of God, and he never, at any point, allowed Himself to be distracted from that purpose.

Now there are some points that a person might argue. Here He was passing through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem and a man cried out to stop Him. Now that did not deter Him from His purpose, but rather it became just simply one of those things within the realm of what He’d set out to do. That day He ministered to blind Bartimaeus, but it was within the scope of His purpose. When we serve God, we are never out of the will of God when we find it within our power to minister to somebody. But I am talking about being distracted from that realm in which we live, living for God.

I think probably one of the most tragic of distractions in a person’s life was in the case of a young man named Demas. I have no doubt that Demas knew the Lord, a time that this young man came to a saving knowledge of Christ, and the Lord had led him into the ministry. Paul makes mention of Demas in different places as he’s penning words to the different churches. Demas is alluded to as a fellow laborer, a young man that had taken part in the ministry, but sadly as we come to Paul’s second letter as he is penning those final words before he gave his life, "Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me for Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present world" (2 Timothy 4:9,10). Sometime in the life of this young man, things began to draw his attention away. The Bible doesn’t say, but we can speculate that something got into his mind and he became distracted, was drawn aside and maybe missed reading a portion of the Bible.

It never starts with great thing. It is always some little thing, just a small, minute distraction that seems to draw us away from our purpose. Then if we allow those things to take place, little by little they will draw us away and become a larger thing. The wise man said, "The little foxes, that spoil the vine" (Song of Solomon 2:15). Not the big ones, but the little ones that are small enough that they can weave in and out close to the vine and create problems. Just little things, but Demas was drawn away, and we finally have those last parting words and we never hear of Demas again. "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." Drawn away from the things of God–just little things.

I imagine that there were times when Peter, James, John, and Andrew were out in their ship, and it seemed they had a large fishing boat. But in the midst of this storm, it seemed little. It probably felt like a thimble. In the midst of the storm, they were distracted from what Jesus had instructed them to do. Matter-of-fact, they came to Him and awoke Him, and said, "Master, we perish." They had forgotten that Jesus said we are going "unto the other side of the lake." How is it that they could perish when Jesus had given them specific instructions. He intends for us to walk this life by faith. Paul said, "We walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:2). And it is the will of God for US to make it to the other side. How is it that we could lose sight and be distracted from our purpose by the storms of life, and come to a place and say, "Master, I am going to perish, when it is not His will that we should perish, but that all should come to repentance." But we get distracted by those things that the devil brings upon us, and begins to whisper in our ears, "You are not going to make it. You’re just not going to make it." And we begin to wring our hands and say, "O God, I believe I am going down this time; I’m not going to make it." But the Psalmist said in Psalm 94:18, "When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up." Oh, "...He is faithful that promised" (Hebrew 10:23). I’ve been reminded that Paul wrote in Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ." He has promised and, oh, if we can just maintain our hold upon Him, trusting in Him, regardless of how great the storm that comes against us, He will bring us to the other side. Because "He is faithful that promised."

John tells us in Revelation 19:11 that He hath a name "Faithful and True." If we can just keep our focus, our attention upon Him! Peter stepped out of the boat, when Jesus said, "Come." They were in the midst of a storm and Jesus said, "Come." As long as he had his sights upon Him, he continued to walk above the waves. But when he got distracted, he began to sink and had to cry out, "Lord, save me." Jesus said, "O, where is your faith?" There was not a storm that could come against Peter as long as his mind was focused upon Christ.

In that final hour, as Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin and Peter being where he could see Jesus, allowed himself to be distracted when that little woman came and said, "Aw, you’re one of them." But he said, "No, I’m not. I don’t know Him." The third time he denied him, the Bible said that Jesus looked at him. Oh, how that look must have pierced his soul. The Bible said he went out and wept bitterly. He got his attention off of Christ. He was distracted and failed the Lord. Oh, that is how we fail the Lord, when we become distracted. But you cannot fail God when you have your eyes upon Him.

Moses got distracted by the turmoil and the chaos that was going on. Crying out, "O we are going to die of thirst." We are starving in this wilderness. The murmuring went on and on and Moses got distracted, and spoke unadvisedly. The Psalmist said it went "ill against Moses for their sakes (Psalm 106:32). Being distracted, Moses lost the opportunity for that thing that he longed for the most.

Many a person today has lost out with God or failed to fulfill His perfect will because they got distracted. Paul said, "I press toward the mark..." My focus, my attention, is upon Him, and that is what I am striving for. This is a day when we have got to keep our focus, our attention on Christ. and as long as our focus is upon Him, He will keep us in this hour in which we live.

He has been so gracious to us taking care of our needs, and if we will continue to look to Him, He will bring us in. There will come a day when we will find out it was worth it.

I sometimes think about an incident that happened several years ago. I was in the National Guard ready to do a two mile march. We had an hour to do it in, and didn’t have to run, but I chose to. As I started out running, the Lord pointed out to me. (When I was out of breath and ready to quit) People of faith may also start running, but quit and lose out if they don’t persevere and finish. I kept on running and remember as I finally came in sight of the finish line, I thought, I’m almost there. But I had to keep on and only after I crossed that line did I think, "I made it." But I had to keep my attention on the finish line, or I could have lost out. Now there is a finish line for every one of us, some sooner than others. But for everyone of us, there is a finish line and we too must stay focused. Some get tripped up and lose out, but eventually those who persevere will make it. They make it because they had a focus, refusing to be distracted. We, too, will make it if we keep focused with our eyes upon Him. Walking by faith, we each can gain the prize.   The end

 Speaker Rev. Micah Perry    

DEAN’S LIST FALL 2009