con artist use them as well as magicians as well as politicians, moms use them to get their children to eat as well as department stores to get people to shop and spend, they are called distractions. The things that catch our eye or catch our attention
Distraction are an Interruption in Attraction
Those things that we set out each day to do to accomplish, those things that come from our attention and our intention. Those things we want to make happen and all of a sudden distractions happen, all of a sudden our attention gets deflected and we head off in the wrong direction. The emails, phone calls, texts, people who walk into our workplace to distract us, the pop ups on our computers costs us in distraction. Think about the distractions that enter your day, the time you spend on them, the time you spend trying to get back on focus and back on track.
Studies show people loose relationships because of cell phones, Facebook messages, because of linkedIn. Because they get so distracted that even in precious moments in times they will reach down an look at there phone, they are texting or on their Facebook. It is not something we desire to do, we don’t say to ourselves “I’m going to take this day and waste it!” We dont get on our computers and say, Okay I’m looking for pop-ups.
I could be preaching and you can be looking at me and can be an intense moments and all of a sudden a baby starts crying and everyone’s head will go right over there, and it will take me a few moments to get you back over here.
Think about all the distractions that play into Christmas, the things we feel we have to do before we get to do what we want to do. Making sure we find the right gift or the right trees, or planning our engagements to be with the right people. Making sure everything sure everything looks right on the outside, and then we talk about our struggle to keep Christ in Christmas.
Today we will be talking about distractions. Distractions during Christmas. Christmas should be a time of attraction not distraction. It should be a time when we use this great opportunity that God has given us to make a difference in the world. Not spending your money and celebrating for all the wrong reasons.
How can we overcome distractions? because they have been there from the very beginning.
We are going to look at the distractions and we are going to look at how to overcome them.
Luke 2
2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
What was happening here? Caesar Augustus had issued a decree and his decree was that everyone had to go back to their original birth place and they had to register. Why did they have to register? Because you can’t tax people unless you know who they are.
This is the nature of the distractions that we face in life. Obligations that we have to live under, the obligations that we have to meet. Think about how thoseobligations get in the way for you as you look to celebrate Christmas. The obligations to get the right gift, earning enough money, putting in enough overtime in to pay for those gifts. The first Christmas coincided with taxation.
Can you imagine if that were to happen today? April 15th also happened on December 25th. That while you were running around doing all this stuff you also had to do your taxes at the same time? Talk about a distraction. That is what was going on in their lives.
In the midst of having a baby, in the midst of trying to follow God’s will and plan all of a sudden laid upon them was this chore to go back to Bethlehem to register for taxation.
Sometimes distractions can be opportunities for us to carry out Gods intentions. In fact the census that took place some would argue that it took place a little bit earlier than it was suppose to. It took place not just by just Caesar Augustus decree it happened by God’s decree. It happened to fulfill the prophecy of Micah, that a child, a savior would be born in Bethlehem. Even in the distractions of our lives, God is there directing us if we are willing to pay attention, to listen.
Christmas helps make our intentions our distractions. What does that mean? Christmas is a distraction to this world. It doesn’t fit in, when you think about Christmas, it’s about people running around meeting their obligations, about people making the best of all their ambitions, their desire for their acquisitions to make money do different things to profit. It’s about interruptions for people who normally would go to work and just go home and go to the bars or parties and do their own thing, and all of a sudden in a world that could care less about God, God has brought Christmas into our lives.
Christmas can be where our intentions become the distractions to this world. Christmas can be our opportunity if we make Christmas the major distraction of our lives. If we don’t make Christmas about getting gifts, if we focus on just simply devotion to God and celebration and proclamation. If we make that what Christmas is about we can use the opportunity of Christmas to allow what is a distraction to the world to become the intention of our lives.
We should be using the distractions of the world to become the intentions of God. The distractions of the world to move people to the main attraction of life in Christ.
God broke into a world that was distracted from him and he called the world back to him, back to what should of been their main attraction by a simple distraction.
God’s intent is, that our attractions become the interruptions of this world, that our attraction to God get lived out with intention so that we become the distraction so that He becomes the distraction and the real intention of life.
How do we do it?
Worship
If you want to know how to keep your intention so it doesn’t become a distraction, worship, singing, praising, if praises is on you lips then you know where your focus is, you know what your affection is, you know what your attraction is.
Witness
This is a great opportunity to share the gospel of Christ, to say to people you work with, ‘What do you believe about Christmas?” Your not telling them what you believe, your just asking them. Then you can help them and fill in the blanks, then you can share the good news, and it happens with welcome
Welcome
When the shepherds left, they went out and proclaimed what they have seen and what they have heard. In order to welcome people, in order to make God their divine distraction, to change their affection in their attractions in life.
We should be looking for every opportunity to be taking distraction and using them to lead people back to what is God’s divine intention.
Notes taken by: Lorelllawrence@comcast.net The notes is for you to have for review in the series, also to reflect on during the week.
God Bless,
Sermon by: Pastor Frederick Williams