STAY FOCUSED – YOU’RE IN SCHOOL

 The older I get, the worse distractions effect me, and if you’re over 50 you probably know what I mean. Ever walk into a room and forget why? Have a conversation with someone while going to do something and totally forget what that something to do was? This may be OK but loosing focus on the big picture is another story. Our flesh, and the enemy of our soul, work overtime to keep us distracted from accomplishing all the Lord has for us. 

James 1: 6     But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7          For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8          A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Luke 9:62      And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God

Heb 12:1        Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2          Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3          For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Life is so filled with distractions. It is so easy to get distracted and, especially as we age, loose sight of what we are trying to accomplish. It’s been my observation in life that young people often struggle to know the will of God; they have a tendency to get desperate to know what the Lord wants them to do. In that desperation they can loose sight of the “still Small Voice” and listen to distracted “leadings” that put them way off course. There are extreme examples, stories of young Christians, especially in the early days of the Pentecostal movement in the US, doing what some zealous “prophet” instructed them to do. Following such an unconfirmed, proud fleshy “leading,” they went to remote places like Asia or Africa and, and stubbornly quoting Luke 9:32, died. Their wavering was to not wait on the Lord, to not wait to hear the Still Small Voice of the Spirit of God to their own hearts and to have confirmation from numerous counselors. From the fruit of what happened we can surmise that they stepped out in pride or presumption, not the faith that comes from hearing from God. Sounds like James 1:6 coming to pass doesn’t it?

All believers have a specific calling to some type of ministry. The old chorus says, “If you would be great in God’s Kingdom then learn to be the servant of all.” We see the flesh and the enemy of our soul team up to distract us from clear leadings of Spirit of God. We take the easy, or more fun, choice of activity or action instead of following the direction the Lord spoke to us. Many believers have a “knowing” of the general direction the Lord has for their lives yet get distracted and waste time with things the opposite. The most obvious calling is when a couple have children. Their “calling” is to parent those children. This requires structuring their lives and activities so as do what is best for those children. The parents are entrusted, empowered and equipped by God to provide the environment where those children are afforded every opportunity to get to know, love and serve the Lord.

Some are called to leadership positions. It’s easy to get distracted from such a calling by prideful attitudes. Jesus is the example of a Servant Leader and attempting to lead without that focus is a dangerous distraction. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke repeat this important text:

Mark 10:42    So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

43        But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

44        and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.

If you’ve ever been in a church where the leadership does not serve with this attitude than you know how destructive that can be. If a pastor has lost focus to the point he (or she) is too proud to clean the toilet there’s a problem.

Many believers have had specific callings to various roles in the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11        And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For some, the process of preparation in The School of the Spirit, is short, they start to function at early ages and are faithful all their lives. The body of Christ is so blessed by many young, very talented and anointed musicians and others who serve in whatever capacity they can. For most it is lengthy and filled with life lessons.

2 Timothy 2:6 And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.

The analogy in this verse is that of the farmer as one who gives out of what he has worked hard to grow. He’s tested the fruit by digesting it, allowing it to become a part of who he is. Trying to impart Biblical truth requires that digestion. But you can’t eat the fruit without the labors of growing it. Some crops, like spinach or green beans, come up fast and yield nutritious food quickly. Fruit trees, on the other hand, may take several years until you get good fruit, and those trees require nutrients, water and the right combinations of weather over time. During this waiting period we are going through the School of the Spirit. While in school for what seems like a long time to our flesh, it is easy to get distracted, to loose focus on getting that degree that says you are ready to do whatever you’ve been in this school for. I went to a specialized, pre-engineering High School. We were at freshman orientation to look to the right and to the left. One of those boys will not be there at graduation. Miraculously I graduated. I left for college where the distractions of moving away from home, an abundance of drugs, alcohol, and a school that was 2/3 young ladies, where too much for almost half of the boys who had to leave school the 1 year.

Despite academics always being secondary and the additional distractions of political activism and then after I got saved, evangelism, miraculously I graduated.

The focus on teaching and imparting what I believe, what I went to college for, now 40+ years after graduating college, still burns in my heart. My professors, although godless men, could see what God had put in me and told me I was born to teach. No, I haven’t yet graduated from the School of the Spirit, that’s a life long course of study, but it’s why I write these blogs.

Has the Lord Jesus spoken direction into your life? To you have a general understanding of His wonderful plan for your life? STAY FOCUSED and avoid distractions.