Eliminate The Distractions
Mark
8:13-18
13 And he
left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side. 14 Nowthe disciples had forgotten to takebread, neither
had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15 And he charged them,
saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16 And they
reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. 17 And when
Jesus knew it, he saith unto them,
Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither
understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and
having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
INTRO:
Back when
the telegraph was the fastest method of long distance communication, a young
man applied for a job as a Morse code operator.
Answering
an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed. When he
arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter,
including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the
receptionist’s counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait
until they were summoned to enter the inner office. The young man filled out
his form and sat down with the seven other applicants in the waiting area.
After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the
inner office, and walked right in.
Naturally
the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. They muttered
among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons yet. They assumed
that the young man who went into the office made a mistake and would be
disqualified.
Within a
few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and
said to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but
the job has just been filled.”
The other
applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, “Wait a
minute, I don’t understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a
chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair!”
The
employer said, “I’m sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the
telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse code: ‘If you
understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’
None of
you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are
our ears tuned to His voice??
Now, there
are some things that interest me about this story!
1.)
This young man was not the FIRST one there!
2.)
There were probably men with higher qualifications!
3.)
There may have been men who were better dressed.
4.)
Maybe they were comparing themselves among themselves, and touting their own
qualifications!
5.)
Maybe each one was telling the other why he deserved the job!
6.)
Maybe they were arguing about who was right and who was wrong for the position!
But, while
they sat there this young man waltzed right in and got the job!
But, the
reason this young man got the job was because he was listening for the right
voice!
Somehow he
had eliminated all distractions, all outside influences!
While
others were pre-occupied with other conversations, although worthwhile they may
have been, they missed the main message!
While
others were talking among themselves, the small, unobtrusive voice of the
telegraph machine went unnoticed! Even though the quietest sound, it was the
most important sound in the room, and the one who heard it was the one who
eliminated all outside influences and distractions!
I.)
THE ONES WHO WILL HEAR THE STILL, SMALL VOICE OF JESUS IN
THIS GENERATION ARE THE ONES WHO ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS!
The ones
who block out all outside influences and concentrate on what God is saying amid
the clutter, and hubbub of every day life!
WE
HAVE ALL HAD PEOPLE SAY SOMETHING TO US AND WE WERE DAYDREAMING, OR OTHERWISE
PRE-OCCUPIED.
And, so
when we finally come back to ourselves, we say. “What did you say? I didn’t
HEAR you!”
When, what
we really mean is, I heard, but didn’t understand you!
I heard
you speaking, but what you said didn’t register with me.
I knew you
were talking to me, but my mind was preoccupied with other things, and I didn’t
understand what it was that you wanted me to hear.
- I
was riding in the truck with my father-in-law the other day and said
something to him and he said, “Mike, I didn’t understand what you said,
the doctor has told me I have lost 50% of my hearing. I can HEAR, but I
don’t UNDERSTAND sometimes what has been said.”
And then
he said this, which really stuck with me, “The only way I can really understand
what someone says is if I am looking directly at them when they speak!”
II.)
IN ORDER TO HEAR WHAT GOD IS SAYING, WE MUST REMOVE ALL
DISTRACTIONS AND KEEP OUR EYES ON HIM!
Isaiah
6:1-10
In the
year that king Uzziah died I SAW also the Lord sitting upon a throne,
high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the
seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain
he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another,
and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And
the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was
filled with smoke.
5 Then
said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in
the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the
LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live
coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off
the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath
touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for
us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
King
Uzziah had become a distractioin to Isaiah, and it was only when he died that
Isaiah saw the Lord!
Uzziah - a contracted form of Azari’ah the Lord is my
strength. (1.) One of Amaziah’s sons, whom the people made king of Judah in his
father’s stead (2 Kings 14:21; 2 Chr. 26:1).
His long
reign of about fifty-two years was “the most prosperous except that of
Jehosaphat since the time of Solomon.” He was a vigorous and able ruler, and
“his name spread abroad, even to the entering in of Egypt” (2 Chr.
26:8, 14).
In the earlier part of his reign, under the influence of
Zechariah, he was faithful to Jehovah, and “did that which was right in the
sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 15:3; 2 Chr. 26:4, 5);
but
toward the close of his long life “his heart was lifted up to his destruction,”
and he wantonly invaded the priest’s office (2 Chr. 26:16),
and
entering the sanctuary proceeded to offer incense on the golden altar. Azariah
the high priest saw the tendency of such a daring act on the part of the king,
and with a band of eighty priests he withstood him (2 Chr. 26:17),
saying,
“It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense.” Uzziah was suddenly
struck with leprosy while in the act of offering incense (26:19-21),
and he
was driven from the temple and compelled to reside in “a several house” to the
day of his death (2 Kings 15:5, 27; 2 Chr. 26:3).
He was
buried in a separate grave “in the field of the burial which belonged to the
kings” (2 Kings 15:7; 2 Chr. 26:23).
Isaiah
learned that position was not what he should be seeking!
Uzziah
gave him a position, and when he got his position, he lost sight of God!
I want you
to notice Isaiah’s 3-fold vision:
1.) When the man who had taken care
of him died, Isaiah turned again to the Lord, and it was then that he received
his vision!
In the
year that king Uzziah died I SAW also the Lord sitting upon a throne,
high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isaiah
said, when my distractions were eliminated, then I saw the Lord!
When I
stopped looking to the arm of the flesh, I saw the Lord!
When I got
my focus off of the things that man could do for me and to me, I saw the Lord!
2.) After Isaiah saw the Lord, he saw
himself!
5 Then
said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in
the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the
LORD of hosts.
Isaiah
realized how far he had drifted away from God when he finally saw God again! He
realized how unclean he was after he got a vision of God! And, immediately he
began to repent!
3.) And, finally, after he saw God
and himself, he got a vision of the world that he was sent to witness to.
Also I
heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
Then said I, Here am I; send me.
I am
saying to this church tonight, God has a job for someone to do!
There is a
work to be done, and the position is open, who will fill it?
Who will
go and do the work of God in this generation?
III.)
THE JOB POSITION IS OPEN, AND THE ADVERTISEMENT HAS GONE
FORTH!
Matthew
28:19
19 Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mark
16:15-16
15 And he
said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned.
Matthew
9:37-38
37 Then
saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of
the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
8 But ye
shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The job?
Reach the
lost at any cost!
The Pay?
Matthew
16:26-27
26 For
what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man
shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward
every man according to his works.
The
benefits?
Romans 14:17
17 For the
kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in
the Holy Ghost.
And a life
insurance policy that is out of this world!
And, the
applicants have come from near and far, and are sitting in the interview room,
waiting for their turn!
But, I
would say to you today, that it is not the most qualified, not the most
well-dressed, not the first on the scene, or not the ones with the most ability
that will get the job, but the ones that will get the nod from the Lord of the
Harvest are those who will hear his still, small, voice and understand what the
purpose of the church is in this day!
Those
whose attention is not diverted by the other sounds that clamor all around,
those who don’t think that they have already arrived and deserve the job
because of their superior qualifications, but those who are listening and
understanding the voice of God!
We can
argue all day long amongst ourselves, and use scripture to back up why we are
right, and everyone else is wrong, but while we are crossing theological
swords, people are dying and going to hell!
IV.)
THE ONES WHOM GOD WILL WORK THROUGH IN THIS GENERATION ARE
THE ONES WHO HAVE ELIMINATED THE DISTRACTIONS IN THEIR LIVES.
Not the
most educated,
Not the
best dressed,
Not the
ones with the most impressive pedigree or heritage,
But, those
who have eliminated distractions!
Psalm 24:3-6
3 Who
shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul
unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive the blessing from
the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is the generation of them that seek him,
that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
It’s interesting to note that one of the meanings of both of the
words used here, CLEAN and PURE, is CLEAR!
Not
muddled or double-minded, but a clear, unhindered direction.
Matthew 6:22
22 The
light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body
shall be full of light.
One of the
definitions for SINGLE in this passage is SIMPLE, or CLEAR!
I truly
believe that what God is looking for in this generation is not talent, ability,
pedigree, heritage, etc.
I BELIEVE
THAT GOD IS SIMPLY LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS!
PEOPLE WHO
WILL KEEP THEIR PURPOSE CLEAR, THEIR LIVES UNCLUTTERED, AND FREE FROM THE
THINGS OF THE WORLD THAT WILL DIVERT OUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE STILL, SMALL
VOICE OF GOD!
People
that will not only hear, but understand what God is saying.
CONCLUSION
How do I
hear and understand the voice of God?
It’s not
enough to hear the voice of God; I must understand what God is saying.
SAMUEL
HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD, BUT RAN TO ELI TO ASK HIM WHAT HE WANTED!
It’s one
thing to hear the voice, but another to know from where it is coming and what
it is saying.
John 10:27
The way
that I can hear the voice of God is only through prayer, fasting, spending time
in the Word and eliminating distractions.
We
are going to work on ELIMINATING DISTRACTIONS.
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