12-9-18 - PASTOR ANDREW

Good morning. I guess I should say good good cold morning.

On the way here this morning. We recognize that there was a lot of rain that was taking place have been taking place over the past day. But we also recognize that we were running behind schedule. And the reason we were running behind schedule had less to do with the rain. And more to do with some things that happen alarm clock didn't go off and I got a bunch of gadgets and and all of these great things but none of it seemed to work the way it was supposed to work today. And so when I got up this morning I said baby got to we got to hurry up. We got to get up because we're running a little bit late with behind schedule. And she said yes, we're behind schedule. Let's hurry up and make a move. Then I began to think to myself. Wait a minute. I've got Alexa Alexa didn't wake me up. I got Cortana Cortana Cortana didn't wake me up. Hey, Google didn't wake me up all these electronic devices that I have in place to do things failed today. Remember that it was God that wakes me up. Anyway, even if Cortana and in all the other Gadgets in my alarm clock don't work. The truth of the matter is is without God. I don't wake up anyway, and if they come right there was driving as we were driving. We begin to think to myself, you know, what the enemy would love to catch up sitting in traffic going too fast, or cause to get pulled over by the police or calls us to hydroplane to do something like that is so we stayed even though we're running behind schedule. We're not going to give the enemy an opportunity and opportunity to get engaged in our lives and cause us to be distracted from what God has for us today. I thought today I want to talk about traveling like this is part 2 of a series that were in the middle of called travel light. And today we're going to be talking about letting go of the distractions. But before we do that, I want to show you a little a little sex here that I want you to consider this looks like you

Don't forget the question is the question. That's anybody's time right now look like that. What Powell in a bunch of Stuffy and we know is going to fit and we think it all makes sense it so we just continue to press continue to throw things in I love it how the little girl looks at the Fishbowl which we know obviously can't go in the suitcase, but she's considering it. She's considering it and for us that is a metaphor for how a lot about Liza. We pile stuff in we connect stuff in we we get more stuff than we were supposed to have and we think it's all supposed to go. But we forget sometimes that this world is not my home. But along the way and I don't do people in some stuff which is what we talked about last week. But we also piling some stuff in our minds. We bring along pieces of the past that that no longer need to be there when we bring along hurts that have happened a long time ago when they keep getting stuff. What God has called us to travel light? The travel like to get rid of some of that stuff that we have in this particular season because in this particular season every time you turn to they going to be saying you need more of this you need to better this. It's Friday. My daughter is son. I just on yesterday. She sent a text message and it was not words or caption to the text message. But what she said was a picture of a new 2018 Jaguar. Anybody that knows me knows that that hurts my heart to think about it 2018 Jaguar because I'm that guy. I love that that car but what she was saying what I was saying. Everything is a season. This is a season when you can you can upgrade you can do some some additional things in because I know that I'm just Any other thing in case you didn't know that the body style has changed since you got yours in case you didn't know that that they got new features right now. I just want to send that along to you. I wanted some time with the Enemy doesn't get off that way. If he doesn't cause us to become discontent with what he what God has given us because we continue to be flooded with so many other things. So much better so much bigger so much taller so much newer is what we get ourselves caught up in. But I also want to look at it. I want you to consider that the distractions are not just distractions. You see the enemy has it in game. He has an in-game the truth of the matter. Is that the enemy at the onset? Hope that you never find out that there is a Christ. But you never find out and understand that Jesus died for you on the cross that we have been redeemed first. He hopes that you never even know that never even come into a relationship. But then if you come into a relationship the very next thing you hope doesn't happen if she doesn't realize what you're calling is. You see we've all been giving a gift. As a result of our relationship with Christ what the enemy loves to get us up to not pay attention and I bet even if you coming to relationship and you find out that you have a gift in the last thing they did. Eagles that you never use it walk in it he knows that you never really know who you are in Christ and the way he does that is through distractions. GTA V can't do anything to us that God is not authorized. Sometimes we give the enemy more power than he actually has we think that he can do all these things in and contrary to what God is called, but that's just not true as Joe. We have to understand that is so today. I want to talk about traveling light and letting go of distractions. Jesus ran into a situation where there was a distraction and Luke chapter 10 verses thirty-eight through 42 Luke chapter 10 verses thirty-eight through 42. I may be a familiar story, but I wanted to look at it from a a different context a different context to see Jesus was coming back to Bethany and then she was coming through with his entire group and in his pocket all that Mary and Martha decide to host them at the house. That's what they decided to do it. So here in verse 38, it says Jesus and his disciples were on their way. He came to a village with a woman named Martha open her home to him. She had a sister named Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said listening to what he said, but Martha was distracted by all the preparations that have to be made to come to him and ask Lord. Don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself. Tell her to help me again. Martha's been distracted. Martha Martha the Lord answered you are worried and upset about many things but few things I needed or indeed. Only one thing is needed and Mary has chosen what is better and will not be taken and it will not be taken away from her. We all need people in our lives that are good at getting stuff done. I must a type a kind of personality and I can really get into a plan and it and what's supposed to happen when in the dates and and marching through a bunch of tasks? The first lady is not a type A. She's not a type A and when I realized that when God puts us together, he puts us together so that she can help me. Remember, you know what sometimes it's not just about the time and getting stuff done when it supposed to get done. Sometimes we can be distracted by the work of what God has called us to do instead of bringing out heart into submission. Did you know that is possible to get tired of doing work in Ministry? It's possible to get tired of that. The enemy doesn't like for us to know that but it is possible. And I was talking to Elder Wyatt about a week or so ago, and he and I were in the middle of some big effort that we working on. He said, you know, thank God. I have a relationship with Jesus. because if I did not be tired of doing all of the stuff that I'm doing I be tired of working through all of the things that we're working through in pushing forward and all that kind of stuff, but when I stopped and I think about how good God is Then I realized that you know what it's a small price to pay and that I'm working unto him and I done to myself and not for people. That's what you got to understand. You. See the devil doesn't need to destroy you if you can distract you. I need to destroy you if you can distract you. The most powerful thing we can do is get in line with the call that God has given us and our life. That's the most powerful thing we can do because it's only at that point that the full weight of who got is rest in a Because we know that he is going to make sure that because his word does not come to him void and because we are walking in that path his whole power is there the devil doesn't need to destroy you if he can make you distracted. That's what he was doing this morning with first lady and I as we were on our way here the phone didn't the alarm clock didn't go off all these things didn't happen. The dog didn't go away with supposed to go. We had all of these things to happen this morning.

Didn't destroy I see you didn't see anything to show up at our door, but then it would have been nice for him if we had sped along and maybe somehow lost control of the car. Maybe somehow found ourselves getting pulled over by the police. Again, he does not need to destroy us if he can distract us if he can distract us. Here's the question I have for you about Temptations. Why do we hope to resist future Temptations when we can eliminate them today? You ever thought about that when you're in the grocery store and you walked past the cookie Island, you know, you don't need sweets and sugar. And you say to yourself? You know what? I'm just going to pick him up and I can manage myself later. I can just have one or two or three and if I do that then that then maybe everything will work out right until you get there and in the mood just called forward in the pack of cookies go. And you realize then that you know what that was the Temptation that was set there. I could have eliminated it, but I didn't. What how many of us are like that how many of us operate like that? We say, you know what? I know. I'm not supposed to go there. I know I'm not supposed to do those things. But if I get there I can handle it I can I can make it work. I'm stronger than that. God is calling us to eliminate some of those distractions eliminate some of those distractions. I remember when I first got saved in Jacksonville, and I remember when when I come down and I had given my life to Christ and I was in the middle of this time where I was thinking God is the best thing ever. I had just come from this dismal what I said. I got so much stuff that I got to ask you to forgive me for God. I got so many things that aren't lined up with your wheel got but I know that you are God. And when I gave my life to Christ, I thought to myself this is it everything is going to be great until I got a phone call from one of my boys. I said I we still going out. Are we still are we still going to go to the place that we we normally go or we still going to do what we normally do. I know you got saved. I know you say all this great stuff happened, but we still have plans and those plans still need to happen. And at that time I wasn't strong enough because I was a babe in Christ. And I said well, yeah, of course we going I can handle it. I'm going to go in there and and nothing's going to affect me. The music is not going to sound like a used to sound. I'm not going to move to where I used to move out of the dancing. I'm not going to move like I used to move any of that kind of stuff. It's not going to take me back to a place because I've had this movement is this opportunity is taking place with God. No, alcohol, we get to the place and and as we get there, the music is playing I'm thinking of myself man. Is this ain't bad. Yeah, come on in the door with him and we we get in and we start looking around and all of a sudden I see this person. I know and that person I know and things start feeling familiar ever been that things are familiar with that way. He said this is familiar for ice is good for us. And so because it's good for you. It's okay, but it's all the distraction distraction and as we got in there and we started spitting, excetera. He said what he looks, you know, we normally in a certain way. So why not just continue on with that? It's okay tomorrow when you get up you can go back to all that stuff. Bet you you know that you said that you found it, you know, and I understand the pastor Callahan gave you this and he told you all that great stuff accessory, but tonight it's just worried about tonight. In other words. The enemy was set me up for distraction. As soon as I decided to give my life to Christ and for many of us, that's the same thing. He does what he calls us to a different level. And as soon as we go to that different level, thank you start coming up for Melia. This person has my best interest at heart. This thing won't hurt me that way in the story by saying this. I wound up almost going to jail that night. In the middle of that whole thing. I wanted up losing one or two friends in that particular night and I left myself wondering was what happened next Sunday.

If I had this encounter with God and God is coming to my life, but but I'm still able to do all of these things then what's the encounter real? Meaning of us. That's how God how how we see ourselves God you called us to something you've asked us to do something, but it's not manifesting the way that we expect it to manifest. The mountain is a little harder than we thought it would be because we got God on our side. And so we began to doubt the distractions begin to cause us to doubt whether or not the guy part of God the King of Kings weather not what he said is true. Even though we read the scripture that his word will not return to him void, even though we know that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. We began to doubt the distractions. It is holiday season. We're going to get a lot of talk about a bunch of stuff that we collect and we understand that right about this time of year. The kids come with a list of things that they want. We understand that there a lots of other pressures on us the holiday parties all that kind of stuff. Otherwise, I told you last week Elder why I came up with a great idea. Why don't we take a fast or or not a fast? Why don't we take a cleanse in the middle of December? And no sooner than he said that it was instantly not going to happen. Cuz all of a sudden you start thinking we got to me to parties we're going to people cooking too much good stuff. That's a red velvet waiting on me. That's what basically happens those distractions and I wonder sometimes if we understand that but but again God is not interested in us resisting future Temptation. He when we can eliminate them today if we can just hear his voice and understand what he is saying we can eliminate those things food is not in the house to eat late at night when I woke up for some unknown reason cuz it was calling me. Often the most difficult choices aren't between good and bad but between good and best. Think about that. It's easy for us to understand that I'm not going to break the law. It's easy for us to understand that that there's a real problem with these things. And so that's an easy choice. And sometimes the enemy gets of puffed-up enough. We stay well, at least I'm not doing that. At least I'm not out there drinking. So that must be that must be the difference. I'm I'm doing all that God has called me to do at least at least I'm showing up on Sundays. That must be all he's called me to do but often times the real choice is between good and best. We can do a good thing and not be living. The best life. God has called us to this we can be doing that and what I want you to understand is that oftentimes when that happens to us is the enemy cream the distraction in the good thing. Instead of continuing to allow us to see what God is truly called us to he called us to the best thing. That's what he's called us to say. I want to talk about it. You need to understand about choosing what is best. How do you do that? We understand you're supposed to do it. But how do you doing we had the first thing you do you domestic distractions? Domenic's the distractions notice that was always be distractions. If you close your eyes right now for more than one minute, you will think of something else you could be doing. Something else that you got to go to and do after you leave here something on your mind that you are still trying to figure out even though you're physically here, but it's going over and over in your mind. I got to get this done when I get done. I got to I got to make this thing happen. But but the truth of the matter is that we've got to learn to diminish the distractions. And the only person that knows what it's a distraction for us is a that's the difference. You see that some things you can do would be okay with that I can't do. There's some things that I may be able to do that you can't do because they were distraction to you because only you know, where you come from only you knew know what that thing is that God has called you out of and it's different for all of us because our God is a personal God. So we got to learn to diminish the distractions. I love the way Paul says here in 1st Corinthians 7 and 35 liquor what he says. He said I am saying this for your benefit not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord. Not a little bit not every now and then not when it's popular to do it. Not any particular time, but I want to I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, but then he goes on to say with this few distractions as that was his Direction and that's a hard erection because there's a difference between showing up and surfing it's a difference. Sometimes they show up is the active service but the truth of the matter is it that God has called us to a best life. He's called that to a best calling. We know that he wants nothing but the best for us so why would he call us to something mediocre? Why would he call us cause us just to avoid the family member that we don't necessarily agree with instead of causing us to be used as a tool to change the heart of that purse. Why would he just decide that I got to make sure that I clock in early enough and get out just laid enough when the truth of the matter is this we're supposed to infect that hold environment. Right. Now there's some people that we have on our list and we're thinking about who's going to show up for Christmas who's going to be there doing that weekend. Who's going to who am I going to spend New Year's with but at the same time you're thinking about that. They're thinking they won't be there. I'll make sure this year they don't show up because we remember what happened last year. And if your family is anything like mine, if you bring them all together, there's going to be one. You know, maybe 2 or 3 depending on what's your family? Like there's going to be one two or three somebody's going to come in and ask where is the eggnog and ask you what's going on there? No matter how many times you tell them they still going to come to way they come. Somebody's going to show up and say do you remember that problem that pain that we have before? I think we should go ahead and talk about it again now. Somebody's going to come in and look around and say I thought you've been doing better by now. Yeah. Yeah. Those are. Those people exist and a lot of times those people are in. Our families are closest to us. But we have to understand what Paul is saying here is that he wants us to live the best life to serve the Lord the best distractions. We got to minimize day. And so we got to go into all day sync it to ourself. Enemy. I see you. I see the distractions. I know what that called means. Because I know what that called means I get to manage it. I get to eliminate it. I can choose my words before they come out. Hey, man, I can choose my words before they come out. I understand that I don't have a filter but the very fact that I said that means that I'm able to filter. That's what it needs even if they do. Play some people I called it then call me back. There's some people I want to have contact with that. Haven't come back and had contact with me. Goddess and are you living? Are you serving the lord the best? When it comes to relationship, that's what we really get into that issue because this is the time. When when when when when back in the day we said was cuffing season. Okay. No by me know what that means or we would say that this is a time when went when people would come together and you always want to be with family. Hard to watch TV and not see a couple together in the kid in the dog and everything is perfect in their lies. Hard to not see the commercial and come by Jerry's and realize that that he's giving it to somebody else in all this great stuff is taking place. That's not my story right now right now. I'm struggling in my relationship right now. I'm having an issue with the people that are closest to me. Got to say we can't get distracted. We could not get distracted by that. I said all the time when we take care of God's business. Did he take care of a and that's what the distractions are there to do to cause and draw attention away from what God has called us to do and on to those things that don't even matter. It don't even matter. I love the way it says in Proverbs 5 and it says it this way stay away from her. Don't Go Near the door of her house This is Solomon talking. This may be somebody's word right here. Stay away from her didn't say come there and ask and see then say sit on the porch and see what's going to happen. Did say come inside Solomon this is not saying all that what he's saying is Don't Go Near the door of the house. In other words that distraction that thing let's try to eliminate it before we even get there. I didn't do it when I went to that club. I said I'll get there and then I'll manage whatever the distractions of this is a good test to see if all this stuff that God has said about me is true. If I can get there and walk out and everything's great then good. Didn't realize the fight I was in. Didn't realize that the enemy has set everything up including the person that called me. Didn't realize that that was the night he was going to ride dirty. Didn't realize that. But the truth of the matter is that because I didn't eliminate the distraction. I decided to walk through it and see and test and see if it was that. There's only one thing that God truly ask us to test him about I give him. He didn't say Hey, listen everything I say to you. I want you to go out there and see if you can test it and see if it's true. What do you say it? Is it hear me? Okay, hear me and act on it in other words to eliminate some of the distractions. Pizza second thing that helps us choose what is best we got to focus on what's important? focus on what's important You ever heard the term majoring in the minors? majoring in two things that are on the fringes majoring in the things that that that divided us instead of the things that bring us together. Instead of saying you know what I realized that this person is not going to say everything that I need them to say. Sometimes it's good to just know we here together. Understand she don't cook that meal that I would love to have it this time of the year. but way to get recognize that that that that sometimes that spent a lot of time away from each other. God put us together. We can't focus on the things that are not important. We got to focus on the things that are important. That's what we got to do. We got to focus on what is important. Proverbs 4:25 and 26 says it this way look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you look straight ahead not to the left or the right but fix your eyes on what lies before you I wonder if any of us are going to go to much sightseeing. We like to look to the left and the right. We like to just see what it's like on the other side instead of focusing on what we need to focus on instead of looking straight ahead. We want to make sure that we actually go back and we look and see. goddess fanfiction

You ever heard that time I let you know that the wandering eyes your eyes are wondering Idle Hands. That's all true. Because we look for something to do. We look for something that's bad. And that's what's on the other side. The Instagram page looks better than mine. They always look like they having a good time. And here's the thing you got to understand you have hardly ever seen. Somebody's post on Facebook today me and my my spouse weed. We having trouble today don't usually see that on Facebook. Don't usually see that today. I'm having trouble trouble with self-talk the way I'm talking to myself. And what's going on. Are you you don't often see that? When it comes time for us to the deal with something that is heavy. This is what we typically say pray for me. Pray for me and we leave it there because we expect people to pray understanding that there's a need and we know what the need is. Let's go to restaurant to get a good meal. This is a special type of shrimp sauteed over this with with a Mac with a nice Ensemble of this that the other than this particular desert and I've got this wine to go along with we get into details when it comes to the good stuff. We get in the real good details Shoes by filling the play we get it straight ahead and fix your eyes and what lies before but I like how you say is it in 2060 says Mark out the straight path for your feet and stay on the safe path stay on the safe path in other words as a path. Austin time there's a path you can take but that may not be the safe path. I was struggling thinking what a my boy is going to think if all of a sudden I I can't even ride in the car. I can't even go to the place. My friends are there the safe path? That wasn't the safe path. It was a path, but it wasn't the safe one. And I wonder how many times the enemy is distracted Us by saying you can handle it. You can handle it this risk involved, but you can handle it. Don't worry about it. It's not going to be a problem Mark out a straight path for your feet. We said that we think about this thing before it happens. We don't just fall into stuff. We don't just allow ourselves to be distracted because we are just going with any and everything that's hard to do. I'm not saying it's not hard to do, but I'm saying that the more we spend time in the Lord. The more we abide in his words the more we know what real looks like we could identify counterfeit. And that's what we have to understand. It's like when you you hold up a hundred a hundred dollar bill or $1 bill in the United States today. Meaning of us haven't paid a whole lot of attention to every single thing that's on it, but I guarantee if I put you in the dark and I hand you a piece of Monopoly money. I just like the real thing it don't feel like the real thing. It don't sound like the real thing. It don't have that smell we like the real thing, but I only know that because I've been in contact with the real thing enough to know. And I wonder if some of us are in contact enough aren't spending enough time with the Lord on a daily basis to know Lord. This is your word. This is your voice. This other thing I'm here in this is not a view. That's not that's not how you think. That's not your nature because I know your nature. That's what he said Mark out a straight path for your feet and stay on the safe path. We need a safe pair. But in 2070 says don't get sidetracked that is don't get sidetracked. Keep your feet from following evil. In other words one leads to the other. When we get sidetracked when you start going off and doing some of the things we start trying to be somebody that we're not. That's when we find ourselves getting sidetracked and it's so easy to do and it's familiar in some cases. Guy says I've created in you a new creature old things are passed away. And because those old things are passed away. We can't keep going back to what's familiar for the old creature. That's what I didn't know then. I thought to myself. Well that Christian music don't have the same bumpers the as it as the music that I'm used to hear. My friends are not moving to this music the way that got moved to the music at the club. I don't want my people to feel funny about me. I don't want to lose some folks. What does God say about pruning? What did he say about that? I got two little two little plants up on top of my refrigerator have been there since the beginning of time first lady keeps thinking they're going to die one day but I say they shall not die. They will live and not die a man in the reason they will live and not die is because when I come up and I see them and I see a branch that's at least that's turning yellow in and starting to do that at one that's worth even spinning around cuz it's completely dry. I understand that I can leave it on there and it'll hold on for a while. But the right thing to do is to prevent the right thing to do is to remove it and every time I do that, it seems like the other branches say I'm back. I'm ready. I'm here. I have a relationship with these flowers these these plants they bend over. They tell me I'm thirsty. You tell me it's too hot in here. It's too humid in here. I know it and when I see it I respond. But it's only because I've been watching them for so long only because I've had that kind of interaction. God is saying that I understand that I called you to grow big in the do some things that you're supposed to do, but there's some things that are withering. And you feel like they make you bigger cuz it creates more mass but truthfully what I need, so I need you to prove. I need you to move them away so that the rest of you so that you can focus on the things that matter. So that you can not get sidetracked and keep your feet from following evil, which leads us the last Point. Ultimately what you got to do.

You got to listen to his voice. And only way you know his voice is when you practice listening. That's the only way you know, it is when you practice listening. Mothers have an innate sense of the sound of the children's voice. They know no matter how many people around no matter what's going on with no I children's voice. But the truth of the matter is that we also know when they are distracted. We have a dog at the house and then I'll come a long way even saying that we have a dog cuz I'm not really a I was never really a pet person like that. But we have a dog. His name is Dillinger. And Dillinger is an interesting dog. Everybody says that about the dog, right?

Dillinger is a dog that that that will only be about 2 feet from Kim at any given time. It doesn't matter where she goes. It doesn't matter what she's doing. He's going to be in fact, we have to tell them Dillinger. Please have a seat do something right? That's what we do and we think to ourselves, you know, what is that? I used to think. It's a dog, please don't understand a word I'm saying. Did I realize scientifically a dog can learn a certain number words actually can but here's what's interested. One of the favorite game. I like to play with him. And I know this might not be a good game play your favorite games. I like to play with him is I like to go into another room where he happens to have gotten separated from Kim. And I said, can you help? And as soon as he says help he takes off he's trying to get to wherever she is. He's trying to find out where she is accepted. Now we've done that with other people in the house. We have done that with with other kids in the house, and I've tried it with the other kids, but it don't work with him. Blr helping them just like will find some help. You know find some help don't you know, don't be bothering me with this. But as soon as Kim yells out or worse, he signed yells out the dog is he can't control himself. He must go another way to use learn The Voice. He's learned their voice. From all the other people that have talked in from everything else that's going on. I know that voice and not only does he know the voice but he knows whether or not it is a fake help or if you put emotion into it didn't realize that this is urgent in the fact that he is able to do that and I wanted to with us when it comes to listening to God how we are. God says I'm telling you to move a different way. And you said oh that's just the haters. They don't want to see me. They don't want to see me succeed. Got it in. Right. Now. I want you two to wait on my timer. And within but not I can't be right. I finish the degrees so I must be ready. God it's time for me to walk. Piezo she's treating me a certain way and things don't seem to be perfect and they don't line up to what I see on everybody else's Instagram. So it must be time for me to walk. God is saying it that me or is that you? Speak speak out. The truth of the matter is is when we learn to listen to the voice of God the other things become less and less important. Look at it when Isaiah says in 30 and 21 and this is really good because you said and your ear she'll hear a word behind you. Saying this is the way. This is the way walk in it when you turn to the right when you turn to the left. In other words, we have the ability to turn. Left or right is our choice. Listening to the voice of God is what he is calling us to do. That's what the distraction do. They take us to the left and it take us to the right but God is saying stay on the path the safe path. And ultimately we have to not let the noise of this world distract us from the voice of God not let the noise of this world distract us from the voice. I like that the way that said because when it talks about Noah's Noah's it's just a bunch of things noise doesn't have to be conveying anything. It just needs to be sound. I'll take it now recently 2 to go into sleep 2 hours to White Noise. Which is kind of an interesting thing. It's just literally a sound that goes nowhere. And I didn't really think that that made a whole lot of sense in the beginning because I thought I'm wasting a bunch of time. I want to listen to a podcast. I'm one of those people that goes to sleep with the Bible playing, you know, listening to a scripture and letting it go and I know that's great now just white noise.

I cannot possibly help me but he is that I realize afterwhile that white noise kinda moves away. And after that white noise Musa way I can hear so clearly. And that's what I get a chance to focus on the Lord because I realize that if the dog Make some noise or if I hear birds outside anything like that, I'm distracted. I'm drawn to those things. And I wonder how many of us we could just stay in the path that God has set for us. Which if we could just stay listening to his voice how many of those other things we just fall away? How many of those things that we tell ourselves over and over again because somebody else told us that? Would fall away how many of us realize that those things that we think are important are not important. And so when we choose what's better, we have to do these three things. We got to First the minister distractions. They're there, but we got to diminution. We are focus on what's important because not everything that calls for your time is important. I did everything and every person that calls on your energy is important. God has got a priority. And sometimes that won't look good to the world. Sometimes that won't make sense to the world. Sometimes that won't won't meet the needs of the world. But if we focus if we prioritize And focus on what is important and we're sure to stay on the right path. And that's all God is asking us to do but ultimately we have to listen to the voice of God. That's what I want you to do right now is as we bow our heads to begin the prayers. I want you to consider that seeing that most distract you and it's not far away. As soon as you close your eyes one of the first or second or third things that come to your mind will be one of those things. That may be a distraction. And I want you to ask yourself as it comes to your mind. Is this important? Is it moving me closer to God? Does it sound like his voice? Is it something that I could diminish or eliminate? Let's pray Father in heaven. God we thank you Lord. That you called us to travel like God. Which means that got all the stuff that we see around us got everything we come across is not designed for us to pick up and carry. Father you have said that your yoke is light. You have said Lord that that if we would just trust you God with our burdens with our cares God. That you could carry them in a way that we could never imagine.

So father for every person that is here now God that thing that is showing up in their mind and that thing that they keep being rehearsed over and over again God. By the way, move it now. If it's healing that you need to do God in order for us to move on the past God heal us now. If is pruning that you need to do right now Lord in order for us to hear from you father do it right now. Father we pray right now though that as we walk through this life God. You have set a path for us guy. u.s. Cellular direction for us to go God and even though I physical fleshgod likes to get distracted looking to the left or the right guy that likes to the challenge ourselves to see whether or not we can make it. Keep us on a safe path. Father we thank you Lord. That is Mary and Martha were there in the house God? One of them was distracted. With the very things God the very trappings of spending time with the master. Father bring us back to what's important. Let us begin to focus and hear from you Lord. Father we pray right now Lord that that that for some of us God. We we may be challenge with even where you have us in this season. It's not a joyous time for us God because the world says it should be and we don't see it that way. But father remind us that you never left us nor forsake Ennis. And because of that guy we can trust you. We can identify those distractions that need to be eliminated. We can focus on the things that are only important to you God. But most importantly God help us to hear your voice. No, Father Day. Is anyone among us today Lord who doesn't have a relationship and can't say that. I'm hearing your voice. Father we pray right now that you would speak to them. Did they lift their hand now and say I need a relationship first God? Second. I need prayer God. I need to join and connect according to your will so that I can hear better. It's asked you just slip your hand up now and say I need a relationship a relationship with Jesus because that's where it all starts in that relationship. We also know Lord that is you coming to relationship with us. God you give us gifts and talents God. An enemy seeks to distract us from walking in those gifts that you giving us guide to calling that you put in a life. The enemy seeks to distract us God from knowing that you even gave us those kiss. Father speak to us right now, though. But lastly God, we know Lord that that they are gifts and talents to the given to us Lord and those gifts and talents have a plan. Their purpose in US Lord, that's what gives us purpose of your plan. God the Father we pray now. That you would help us to align Lord. Help us to align with your will and you awake. and father that thing that we thought of just a few moments ago about to begin to move in that situation even now Before we leave this place God before we can think about it again remove the distractions God because father we know that those distractions have a purpose God but that purpose is not of you that purpose is not of you so far the all of these things. We ask in the name of your son Jesus. We pray. Amen. Amen. Let us begin to prepare for an offering a man. Let's begin to prepare for offering Hey, man.