Video
Summary
How do we keep our spiritual focus in this world of noise and distraction? What practical steps can we take to keep our eyes on heavenly things and not get lost in the cares and concerns of this present life? Satan has devised a world system designed to play on our sin natures, to distract and turn us away from God, but the Bible gives us instructions on how to effectively fight this spiritual war. Believers are God’s soldiers, involved in a spiritual life and death struggle that is even more dangerous than a physical battle. We ought to make full use of the ways God has given us to reorient our hearts – such as prayer and meditating on God’s Word – to do our very best to live a life that pleases our Savior and earns a “Well done!” from Him when our fight is won.
Content
Initial question:
Practical things people do to deal with distractions in this world, as we do live in this world. How do we stay focused on our time with the Lord in this world of so much noise? Is there any way we can focus our attention on the spiritual in a more quick and effective way?
As Christians, we ought not separate ourselves completely from the world
9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
There is enmity between the world and us as believers
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
Metaphor: We are servants or ambassadors of Christ. Their are behavioral expectations that go along with this role.
- If a human king sent us to the court of an enemy, he would not expect us to betray him, but to be a witness in the court of this enemy. How much more so God.
Classes of distractions:
- Everyday distractions. Work, family, etc.
- Then there are wider things: the shot and shell of life. Political change. Economic philosophy. And so on.
There are lots of types of distractions.
So how to manage all these distractions?
- Something has to be relevant for our spiritual pursuits for it to be a worthy thing to spend time on.
- How do you draw lines between any action you take, and your spiritual growth? We should think in such terms.
- It can get a bit complicated. Watching a movie may help you relax, and relaxing may help you regain energy to pursue spiritual matters. But the underlying calculus is actually still there.
So when we think of distractions, what makes one thing a distraction, and another thing not? It is their relevance to the spiritual.
Q: What about distractions that are more internal (like over-focusing on our problems, or worry, fear, etc)? Is this the same thing as external distractions since Satan’s word system is designed to play on our sin natures, or is there separate tactics we should use to combat these types of distractions?
Definitely, Satan’s World System does try to prey upon our sin natures.
Also, oftentimes the triggers for internal struggles comes from external factors or external stimuli.
This actually means that some degree of internal struggles can be helped by trying to avoid external triggers. Maybe not 100%, but definitely some degree.
So we shouldn’t focus on the world, but on the eternal and the spiritual
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Doesn’t matter what shape the world takes or what our circumstances might be, but only what we are fighting for and our attitude about that fight.
Cf. military analogy. Soldiers cannot hesitate; they have to know their objective. So when we face worry and anxiety, we need to think in terms of removing obstacles that get in the way of our objective. We must be resolved to chase after our mission.
- Not that this is easy in the slightest. But the point is that the attitude we need to have as Christians is similar to the attitude soldiers have in carrying out their missions on the battlefield.
- Resources are available to us on the battlefield, and so are the opportunities for us to achieve victory
The battlefield for us is our minds; the spiritual battlefield is where we put our thoughts and our focus. So it’s not a physical fight per se.
How we fight this fight is based on what ideas we have, and our mindset/attitude towards them. This is true even in other matters in the world, but even more so for us, dealing with eternal, spiritual matters.
Focusing on the spiritual: practical considerations
Basically, what are some practical steps we can take to sharpen our focus on the spiritual, and continually keep our eyes fixed where we ought?
Praying continually; meditating on the Word continually
Praying continually:
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Meditating on the Word continually:
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
Thinking in terms of the military mindset = being good Christian soldiers
For a full analysis of the metaphor, see BB6A Peripateology, §The Military Analogy
Pleasing him who enlisted us:
3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.
Fighting the good fight:
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
The armor of God:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Building up spiritual momentum, habits, and routine
Link to a past study where we discussed spiritual momentum:
There is nothing inherently spiritual about habits, and we need to be careful not to get legalistic. It is the concept that is important, not any specific routine.
Eternal reward motivation
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
Ichthys talks about this as a subpart of Peter #16:
https://ichthys.com/Pet18.htm#6.%20Legitimacy%20of%20Rewards