Spiritual ADD

There is a serious illness that seems to be rearing its ugly head. It's a grim condition. It's one of those disorders that can become very severe. In fact, it's kind of odd because sometimes it goes unrecognized. People don't see it for what it is, and it seems only to be discoverable if you can really get down to identifying the symptoms. A couple of the symptoms are obsession. Obsession with texting, social media, smartphones. Another symptom is deficiency in concentration, lacking the ability to really stay attentive.

Perhaps we have a difficult time recognizing that symptom. I know I've seen it in myself.

Have you ever been praying and suddenly I'm thinking about my printer that needs new ink? A lack of concentration. How about decision-making? It's another symptom. Choosing the easy way rather than what's necessary. Choosing the comfortable instead of other expectations. Choosing the non-threatening because it's much smoother that way. Another symptom is discouragement. Looking back at the past, seeing mistakes, or maybe looking right where we're at at present conditions and not seeing the best. And also looking forward, having anxiety about what the future might bring. Certainly that's one of the symptoms of this condition. There's also the symptom of distraction. Allowing every little thing to take priority over what's most important.

Not using the time that we have the way that we should. And so we get off track.

We get distracted from what's really most important. And of course, there's the symptom of an unhealthy view of who we are.

Unhealthy can go both ways. It can take on the appearance of we justify ourselves in everything we do, and it's okay. Or we can be at the other end of the spectrum that nothing that we do could ever measure up to anything. Of course, there's also the symptom of doubting. Would God really lead me? Would God really direct my life? Or how can I accomplish the things that God really wants for me? Maybe you recognize some of those symptoms. It's an unusual malady. It's a sad malady. In fact, the initials for this malady are just that. S-A-D-D.

It's Spiritual Attention Deficit Syndrome. Spiritual Attention Deficit Syndrome. And perhaps you recognize some of those symptoms because it is a disease. They could put it in the category of a wasting disease. Maybe not physically, but if this disease goes unchecked, we certainly could fall into that symptom of wasting the opportunity and the potential that God has given to each and every one of us.

So what do we do about it? You've probably heard of A-D-D, that physical disorder that usually impacts children, it seems. They have this excessive activity that seems to characterize the things that they do. They always have to be busy, active, doing different things. And there's this inability to concentrate on one task for any length of time. And so there's the symptoms of impulsiveness, a short attention span that go along with A-D-D. But let's consider the spiritual side of that. Spiritual attention deficit disorder. How in the world can I please God when I am so easily distracted? How can I please God when I get disillusioned with things? How can I please God and do what's necessary when I'm preoccupied and my mind go all over the place? What is it going to take me to be more dedicated? What is it going to take to be more disciplined? Now, probably if we're honest with ourselves, we all, to one degree or other, maybe it's a mild case, maybe it's more serious. But it seems like at times we all can suffer from this spiritual attention deficit disorder. Now, God tells us to be careful about it. He tells us very clearly, at the beginning of Hebrews chapter 2, I won't turn there, but He says that we're supposed to give the more earnest heed to the things that we've heard, lest we drift away. The more earnest heed?

Saying we have a deficit when it comes to our attention span. Pay more attention to the things that God would want us to hear. And so how do we do that? Is there any cure for sad? Does God give us a way that we can please Him? Is there a way that we can do the things that God would have us to do? Well, the good news is that there is. In fact, this lack of attentiveness seems to also help us when you think of the cure for spiritual attention deficit. It's focus. We need to focus. When we have a lack of attention, it's because we're not attentive. We're not focused on what God would have us do. So if we want to overcome, there is a way we can. And it's through the acronym FOCUS. So we're going to take a little bit of time this afternoon to take a look at each of the letters of the word FOCUS. Because FOCUS is how we can overcome this disorder. So let's think about the acronym FOCUS. We'll start with the first letter, the letter F. How can I overcome a spiritual deficit disorder when it comes to my attention to spiritual things?

I think when we read through the Word of God, God directs us that here we are. We've started our spiritual journey. We're on the path. But we have a tendency to get sidetracked, don't we? Something else catches our attention. Something distracts us and we go off in the wrong direction. But if we're focused, it means with that commitment we've given to God, we have the obligation to follow through. The F of FOCUS stands for follow through.

We have to follow through on what God has called us to do. Now, if you've ever played sports, you can get an idea of how this concept works. Anyone ever golfed before? Any golfers among us? All right, we've got a few golfers among us. So when you swing back with that golf club, do you stop when you hit the ball? No, you don't. You've got to make sure that club keeps traveling all the way through. Anybody ever thrown a football before? Well, if you throw the football, do you stop right when you release the ball?

Well, the Bengal fans are hoping the backup quarterbacks do not do that. Right? You have to follow through. You have to continue that motion. In fact, whether it's golfing or whether it's football or whether it's baseball or if it's batting, without following through, you're not going to hit that ball, throw that football, get down the fairway, be in the place that you want to be. Without the vital follow through, you're going to fizzle out. You're going to miss the target. And so, in a way, I think God's given that physical concept to connect us to what He expects spiritually, for what we have to do. Spiritually speaking, if we're going to overcome attention deficit, spiritually speaking, we better follow through. In fact, He gives us a little of that guidance over in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 8, ties in with this concept of follow through. I mean, we've already committed our lives to God. Where do we stand in that commitment? Are we continuing that forward motion? Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 8, gives us a bit of a proverb that should help us in that focus. Let's notice what it says. Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 8. It says, The end of a thing is better than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. So what is that getting at? Well, I think it takes us back to follow through. If you read this in the New Living Translation, it says, finishing is better than starting.

You've got a big project ahead of you. Isn't it nice to be done and accomplish something and have the satisfaction of a job well done? Finishing is better than starting. Anybody can start, but not everybody can finish. So he's telling us here that the initial stages, you pull back your arm, you're ready to throw that football. That's good. The intent is good. I want to hit A.J. Green on a bomb. Or if I'm a Steeler fan, no, I don't want him to. Following through. You see, God's more interested in the result.

You rear back and you stop. What's going to happen?

That ball is not going to hit its intended target. Oh, your backswing might be very impressive. But if you don't follow through, that ball is not going to go down the fairway. You're going in the rough. You don't want to be there. And so what you do after you release the ball absolutely influences the trajectory where that ball is heading. And the same thing is true spiritually. In fact, if you're an avid golfer, you watch the Golf Channel, they'll have these experts on there. And they'll tell you everything about how to pull that club back, how to address the ball, how to keep your head down, and how to follow through all the way. In fact, they tell you, you have to realize that motion long before you even have the action. Or in other words, you've got to picture this in your mind. You've got to picture pulling that club back, hitting the ball, and following all the way through. Realize that swing before it even starts. And so it's like this passage says, you're imagining, you're picturing the end beyond the beginning. So that motion has to stop at the end, when it's completed, not anywhere in between. Because if you stop when you're throwing a baseball or a football, what do you call that? Oh, we used to call it, okay, it's not politically correct, throwing like a girl.

Right? Because you just stop. No, you can't do that. All right, there's a lot of girls out there that don't throw like a girl. Or they throw like a girl, and that's a really good thing, because they follow through on that motion. You've got to have that mental arc that's going to continue all the way. And you have to envision it, imagine it in your mind, before you even do it. And that movement has to be maintained until the end, until it's concluded. Because the end of a thing is better than the beginning. Follow through. I mean, think of history. Think of religious history. Go back in time to ancient Israel. Wow, they were off to a roaring start. They ended up at Mount Sinai, as Moses began to talk to them about God's expectation. What did the people say? Yeah, we're into this. Absolutely. Let's get started. Everything the Lord has said, we will do. Awesome beginning. But you read back in the book of Hebrews, and we're reminded what the end was. You see, they didn't keep that forward momentum. And so God says in Hebrews, I was angry at that generation. They were always going astray in their heart. They weren't finishing and completing that forward motion to follow through. So God didn't look well on that. And so that follow through, yes, it begins with the will and the commitment to do what's right, but we have to carry that action through all the way to the ultimate completion. And so we've got to have that follow through, that focus in order to overcome spiritual attention deficit. And it's tough because we live in a world that doesn't do that. Our world generally, in so many ways, doesn't follow through. Things that don't measure up, yeah, a lot of times that's good enough. It's acceptable. It's okay.

This came to mind the other day when I was reading through a little survey about school, high school and college. They were looking at the numbers and stats of graduating from high school. And graduating from college. And the one statistic kind of surprised me a little bit. Do you know how many high school students drop out every year from American high schools?

How many students do you think in America drop out every year from high school?

1.2 million students, high schoolers, drop out. Now maybe you think, well, we got a lot of people in the United States. That's really not that much. But you figure that out. That's one every 26 seconds drops out. Is that an indication of anything else that's going on? How many of you think drop out of college? In their first year of college, 30% drop out. 30% drop out. And yet, what's interesting, of high school graduates, 70% of high school graduates will start college. They'll start a four-year degree. 70%, that's a huge number. But how many of those do you think actually finish? Get to the end. Complete a degree. Barely half. Barely half finish. And so, I think it's kind of an indication of the kind of society that we live in. We don't finish what we start. We don't finish what we start. And there's some horrible examples of this.

What about abortion?

People don't finish what they begin. And we've lost a whole generation or two because of a lack of a willingness to follow through. So, God makes it pretty clear what He thinks about those who make a commitment and do not follow through on their word. In fact, Christ talked about it. He said a pretty startling statement over in Luke 9, verse 62.

Let's notice what Christ had to say about this idea of following through. If we're to overcome the lack of attention, for overcoming distractions, if we have a deficit in our ability to really concentrate on the spiritual things, Christ says we got to follow through. Let's notice how He puts it here in Luke 9, verse 62. He says, no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Kind of scary statement.

But it's a tough one as well because we may execute that swing just perfectly, but if we don't keep that forward movement, what happens? That ball goes off in a direction we don't want it to go. If we just take our eyes off that ball for a split second, if we're more worried about getting sacked than hitting the receiver, that ball isn't going to go where we want it to go. And too often we end up looking back. We look away. And of course, if you've ever plowed, you ever driven a tractor and tried to plow a field? If you look back, what happens? Boy, it doesn't seem like it would, but it's easy to get off. And now all of a sudden, you've missed a spot of the field. It hasn't gotten turned over. It hasn't gotten plowed up the way it should. And you get off just by looking back. And of course, when you think of that, that spiritually speaking, even after 15, 20, 30 years after baptism, if we look back, all too often, what do we see? Well, if you're like me, I look back and you go, wow, I should be a lot farther along. I should have a whole lot more field plowed up by now. I should have a whole lot more of the attributes of Christ. And while I'm worrying about that, what's happening up front? I'm continuing to go in the wrong direction. And then there's this urge to run away, to get out of that situation. But you know, what's good about it is God's given us the means that we can follow through. He doesn't just say, all right, you've made a commitment to me, now good luck. No, He doesn't do that. He's given us the means to follow through. He's given us His Holy Spirit. So we have that extra component that ancient Israel didn't have. We have His Spirit. And so God's Spirit prompts us. I think it nudges us. It moves us to follow through. So it's the opposite of doubt. It's the opposite of distraction. It's the opposite of that attention deficit. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7. You could just write it down. You know it. It says, God hasn't given us a spirit of fear. He hasn't given us a spirit of distraction. Or disillusionment. He's given us a spirit of what? What does that tell us? He tells us it's not a spirit of fear, but it's a spirit of power and love. And of a sound mind. A mind that can concentrate on spiritual things. A mind that doesn't have to wander. And when we allow God to continue to work with us, when we submit to that spirit, it is the ultimate follow-through.

That submission to God's Spirit helps us to follow through with what God would have us do. And we have an example of that. We have a promise to that very thing. It's over in Philippians chapter 1 verse 2. Let's notice the ultimate follow-through. Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 is where we can begin. Here as Paul begins his letter to God's church in Philippi—it's to us as well, of course—we see how God envisions, just like those experts said about the swing. God envisions the end. How much better the end of something is than just the beginning. And notice the end that God has envisioned for each of us. Philippians chapter 1 verse 6. As you follow along, I'm going to read this in the Amplified Bible. The Amplified Bible says this in Philippians 1.6, I am convinced and sure of this very thing. So in other words, there's no doubt about this. Okay, there's no doubt about what? He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ, right up into the time of His return. You see, we've been called. We've committed our lives to God. God sees that end. He envisions the success that we can have when Christ returned. He envisions us as a part of the family. In fact, He goes on and He envisions, it says, developing that good work and perfecting it, bringing it to full completion in you. So not only starting that swing, but seeing it all the way through, following all the way to completion. That's what God envisions. He doesn't want us to see a fearfulness or an anxiety or a distraction holding us back. He sees a full follow through. And so that's what God wants for us. Now, of course, we have to be the ones to choose that, but that's what He has in mind. And He's given us the tools by His Spirit to have the ultimate follow through. And so can we begin to have that kind of a swing?

I mean, it's really amazing because even if we're in the midst of swinging, by God's Spirit, we can even modify it. We get off a little bit when we're coming down with God's Spirit spiritually thinking. We can modify it. It's not too late to make a course correction at any time. We can make that adjustment even while we're in motion.

As long as we finish that swing, we complete that arc. We have that finished trajectory, bringing it to full completion. Now we've got to maintain that right to the end. And so God says, through His Spirit, we do have a solution to spiritual attention deficit disorder. Because through His Spirit, we can follow through right to the point we're face to face with Jesus Christ in His Kingdom. All right, He gives us other ways that we can overcome as well. If we are dealing with this sad disorder in our life, He also tells us by focusing the letter O. The letter O represents, organize your priorities. Organize your priorities. How organized are we in our lives? Sometimes we have priorities, but do we have them in the right order? Do we have the kind of priorities that are on the forefront of our mind? There's a passage in Proverbs that kind of ties in with this. It's Proverbs 16, verse 2. It's a familiar one. Nothing too shocking or surprising here in Proverbs 16, verse 2. But let's notice how it connects with overcoming this spiritual attention deficit syndrome. Proverbs 16, verse 2. It begins by saying, all the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes. Well, that kind of deals with our perspective. Sometimes we don't see the problems. Everything looks pretty good from where I'm at.

And we kid ourselves in that way. But it says, the Lord weighs the spirits. You see, God sees things as they really are. And sometimes we may be neglectful that we don't see the distractions. We don't see what's taking us away from the direction that God wants us to go. But He says, well, God does. God weighs the spirits. And so if we're going to go the right direction, He says in verse 3, commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established. I think it's a different way of saying, organize your priorities. Commit the things that you do. Commit your actions. Commit your life. Commit those things that are most important to you. And get those things in the right order. What's first and foremost in our lives? What's our biggest commitment? Does it really come in at number one, the way that it should? Well, if we commit those works to God, He says our thoughts will be established.

In fact, if you read this in various translations, it's kind of interesting the way they approach this little passage here that really draws us to how we organize our priorities.

God's word translation says, entrust your efforts to the Lord and your plans will succeed.

You don't want to get off spiritually? Do we really put it in God's hands? If we do, He says, we're going to be successful. It kind of sounds a little bit like Philippians 1. When we trust God, we will be successful. Good news says this, ask the Lord to bless your plans.

Well, I have plans. I have priorities. Have I really asked God to bless them?

God's word says you will be successful in carrying them out if you ask God to bless the plans. You know, it's always kind of funny when you read through, not funny, haha, but funny, odd, you read through the Old Testament, you read through the experience of age in Israel. And you see, when they get off, it's like they didn't petition the Lord their God.

They didn't ask God what they should do. They didn't put it in God's hands. And we read through that and we go, what is wrong with those ancient Israelites? How crazy were they? How could they not? They saw God working in all these things over and over again. How could they just go off and attack those people? Well, no wonder they got wiped out. They didn't petition God.

And then something happens in my life and I go, why didn't I pray about that? Why didn't I ask God? Why didn't I put that in His hands?

Yeah, it was a priority, but it wasn't at the top. I didn't organize it in the right way. In fact, the International Bible says this, depend on the Lord in whatever you do.

I kind of took it for granted, but I really didn't depend on Him. It says if you do that, then your plans are going to succeed.

And it seems it's so easy sometimes to lose sight of what is really most important. We're all running around. We're all busy. We've got the hustle and bustle of life, our jobs, our families, children activities. We're busy running to the next meeting, to the next appointment. We've got to get the groceries. We've got to fix the car. We've got the problems with just trying to make ends meet. We're all occupied with all of those various activities. But sometimes we get preoccupied, and we get preoccupied with the details of life.

And we're so involved in the details, we miss the big picture. We don't have the priorities, the biggest priorities in the right order. Now, of course, we can't ignore all the details, but that wouldn't be good either. But do we really see the big picture? Do we really put first things first? I mean, I'd like to think, yeah, of course I put first things first. But I took a test the other day, and then I had to ask myself, well, maybe I really don't put first things first, because it kind of caught me a little bit. Maybe I can give you the test. See if you've got a better vision than I do. Question number one. Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

Mount Everest. It just hadn't been discovered yet.

Okay, here's a tougher one. See if you can jog your memory. Think way back. It might be even before some of you were born, but you maybe studied history. See if you know the answer. What was the president's name in 1975?

Barack Obama.

Barack Obama. That was his name in 1975, and it's still his name today, right? So you have to be careful. What's the big picture? Okay, here's an easy one for all you engineers, mathematicians out there. Okay, if a farmer has five haystacks in one field, four haystacks in another field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field? One. Right? If he combines them all, okay, he had nine, but he put them all together, now there's one. Do we get the big picture? Oh, sometimes. Okay, here's a bonus question. A bonus question. Ready? Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the name of the third child? April May Johnny. Right? April, yeah, because Johnny's mother had three children, April, May, and okay, she wasn't very good at keeping patterns, but yeah, okay. Do you see the big picture? Do you really see it? Yeah, that's kind of a silly thing, but if we think about it spiritually for a minute, have we really determined what our vision is? What is most important to us? Do we have a list of priorities so that we know the end is in mind? And the end, of course, is the kingdom of God. We want to be a part of God's divine family forever. Do we organize our priorities with that goal in mind? Of course, we've got to follow through, and now I've got to organize those priorities so that it's not just, oh, just a list of beliefs that I have, and if I believe that I observe the Sabbath, or I believe that I must be kind, or I believe I must not eat pork, then somehow that'll get me there. I don't think so. I don't think if we don't have a definite goal, how will we get where we want to go? So do we have them written down? That's always the challenge. We have priorities, but are they written down? I challenge you to do that. What do you want to accomplish this year? Well, I got kind of an idea, but do I have something written down I can look at? Because if I've got it in my mind, what's the likelihood that it's going to come about? I think it's a whole lot better if we've sorted through that. What am I going to accomplish this month?

Are there certain things I want to accomplish spiritually speaking this month? Or how about this week? What do I want to get done on a spiritual level this week? And then, of course, as we get closer, what am I going to do tomorrow?

Somebody's going to be crying in this room tomorrow if they're football fans.

Okay, not that. But spiritually speaking, do we ever write that down? Do we ever have that goal in mind so that I can reach what God's got in mind for me? Because that's what it's all about. Can I organize my priorities? Really have it clear. Because we know what does God want for us. Well, He wants an abundant life, a super abundant life. That's what His plan is for us. His desire is to give us the Kingdom. But we've got to have our priorities in line so that that's what we're choosing. And so if I have those organized, it's going to reflect my dedication to His purpose. It's going to help me to overcome that spiritual attention deficit disorder.

All right, let's go on to the letter C in focus. Because if we focus, we can overcome that deficiency. But what do I do? Whatever it is I do that are spiritual things, don't I have to be consistent with it? I think that C stands for consistency. How consistent am I? I know I have a goal. I need to read my Bible. I need to study and pray. I know those things. It's kind of like exercising. I know physically exercise is really good. I don't think there's anyone here that doesn't say, yeah, physical exercise is good. Oh, yeah, I got to do it, though. It's not going to help if I exercise tomorrow and then do it again next month. It's not going to get me where I want to be. I'm not going to stay in shape. I'm not going to be healthy, as healthy as I need to be, as I should be, as I want to be. Well, what about the consistency that we have in our life when it comes to just reading the Bible and praying in the way that we should? Christ was pretty specific about it and maybe dealing with that idea of this deficit that we may face when it comes to the thing that we all need to be doing.

He said something interesting in Luke 9.23. Luke 9.23 addresses this idea of consistency. Let's notice the way that Christ put it in Luke 9.23.

In Luke 9.23, here's what Christ said. He said, if a man will come after me, if someone's going to be my disciple, if someone's going to be baptized, be committed to my way of life. If a man come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Oh, wait a second. Is that what he said?

No, he talked about consistency, didn't he? How often are we supposed to take it up?

He says daily. Take up his cross daily. We've got to be on the path to the kingdom every day. We've got to continue to walk that direction. We've got to continue that forward motion to the kingdom of God. Because if we flip it around and think, well, what if I don't? What if I don't follow Christ daily? What if I don't organize my priorities? What if I'm not consistent in following what I claim to believe? What's going to happen? Well, he says we're not going to be at the destination. We won't be there. If we don't follow Christ daily, how can we be at the ultimate destination? You see, Christ says, it's not going to happen. And so oftentimes what we do, well, maybe I should say I do. All right, I'm going to read five chapters of the Bible every day. I'm going to get through the Bible. It'll be easy. Within a year, I've read it through again.

That's a nice goal. That's wonderful. I'm going to pray for an hour every single day.

Anybody think that's a bad idea? Well, probably none of us. Wow, if I could do that, that'd be awesome. How many of us have started a program like that? And then, okay, I started thinking about something else, and boy, I got a lot to do. And I don't know, maybe I'll read that tomorrow. And now I've got to read 10 chapters to keep up with what I... Now I'm 15 chapters behind, and well, before I notice, I forget it. Maybe I should start over again. You ever felt like that? Ever done that? I have. Well, if I set that goal, all right, I'm not saying it's a bad goal. That's great. But what if I miss it? Do I just give up? Okay, maybe that was a little unrealistic.

But can I read a couple of verses? Can I get started on those five chapters?

I think so. Can I get going on the first few minutes of a prayer? Can I begin? Would that be better than none at all? Would that be better than just saying, oh, forget it, I just can't do it? You see, that comes down to consistency. Yeah, I'm a whole lot better reading one chapter than none at all. And I think God kind of points us in that direction, that consistency, a daily, a daily. All right, I don't have to set unrealistic goals that I just can't even possibly achieve, but I can set realistic goals. And I can focus on that so that I can be consistent, and I can get started. And you know what's interesting with that?

There's going to be days I don't feel like reading. I don't want to.

I know none of you have ever felt that way. I must be the only one. I don't really want to. Is that such a bad thing? That's a human thing. Yeah, it's not the best attitude to have.

But what I found, the next time you're in that frame of mind, I know I should. I set that goal. I'm lacking this consistency, you know. I don't feel like reading. What should you do? What should you do? Can that be the key that sets that light bulb off in your head to actually open your Bible? All right, I'm going to read a verse.

I'm going to read where I left off, even though I don't want to.

You know what seems to happen when you do that? I read another verse.

And then there's something that, oh, I hadn't really noticed that much before. And I read it a little more. And then I'm on Google looking up something else because I have attention deficit. Now I'm looking up other things over here and finding out more. You know, I think so oftentimes that happens. That if we could use that initial, oh, I don't feel like it, to be the motivation to actually do it, because it came to mind, now I have to do it. It came to mind, I need to pray, oh, I'll wait till after breakfast. I'll wait till after lunch. I'll get it when I get home tonight. That should be our motivation. Do it now! Do it now. Don't wait. Don't put it off. Be consistent. Because when we begin to do that, kind of like Christ said, it's a daily thing. It's a consistent thing. We give God those verses today. And okay, I don't feel like it tomorrow, but I do it. That's another day. And I make it another day. And those days begin to add up. And if you keep adding up day after day after day, what does that turn into? It turns into a life. It turns into a whole life. It turns into a dedicated, consistent spiritual life because it's a day-by-day discipline. Then we're daily disciples. We're followers every single day because now we've focused on that consistency. And so consistency helps us to overcome that deficit. All right, let's go on to you. Our word is focused so we can overcome this spiritual attention deficit disorder. U stands for using God's resources. Using God's resources. The amazing part is He's given them to us. And if we undertake the challenge, we understand our calling. We've got to use the resources that God's given us. There's a great example in Romans 12, verse 4, because sometimes we may think, what do I have? What do I have to offer? We start to think, well, I'm only a young person. I'm only an old person. I'm only an employee. But yet, Romans reminds us we've been given gifts. We've been given resources. Romans 12, verse 4. Notice the direction that the apostle Paul gave the Romans. He says, for as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. So we being many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us. Let us use them.

So it doesn't say, I'm only. Or if I only had a gift, it says you've been given a gift. You have been given a gift and my gift might be different than your gift. Yeah, it says they're all differing. But it's a vision for the church. It's a vision for us as the body of Christ. It's what the vision statement in the other room says in the conference room, that each of us has a part to supply. So he goes on and says, well, if it's prophecy, if it's speaking in an inspired way, encouraging people, inspiring them, well, then prophesy in proportion to your faith. If it's ministry, if it's serving, he says, well, then use it in serving. If it's teaching, use it to help and teach. If it's exhortation, well, then exhort. If you give, give liberally. If you lead, do it with diligence. If it's mercy, show that cheerfulness. And so we see all of these different ways that none of us, none of us can say, well, I'm not a part of that because God's telling us our calling included receiving the resources. Are we using the resources that God's given us? Maybe I can illustrate this in a little bit different way, but I need some help to do it. So I've got a couple helpers that are going to come up and give me a hand with us. So if Thomas would come up and Jaden would come up and Gabe. Where's Gabe? Come on up here. They're going to help me out. This is kind of scary. So you're going to help me illustrate this principle. Okay. We've got Jaden. All right, here comes Thomas. And Gabe is on his way up. Let's see. I'll give this to Jaden.

All right, maybe you want to stand right here. Okay. Let's see. What do I want to give you?

I'm going to give you this.

Okay, this is going to be for Thomas.

Okay, and let's see. What do I have for Gabe?

Here it is.

All right. They all have different items. What do you got, Gabe?

What is that thing? It's a drill, right? Help them out. It's a drill. All right. It's kind of heavy, isn't it? Not bad. Okay. See, real men know how to handle a drill. Jaden has a stapler. It's a curve. That's right. And what do you have, Thomas? Okay. They all look pretty good. Well, the drill is a little beat up, but they look pretty good, don't they? Do they work?

They don't work. Well, maybe I could give some paper to Jaden. She could help me out. My bulletin came apart. Can you staple that for me?

Okay. There it went. Nice. All right. That worked pretty good. That worked pretty—oh.

Now I tore it. Here. Can we staple it again?

Uh-oh. What's this? What do you think's wrong with it?

You think so? See.

It is. Uh-oh. It's empty. Now it's not going to work, is it?

You're pretty smart. All right. And what about Thomas? What's missing?

What's that?

Okay. What if we take these batteries for Thomas?

I can see if it'll— All right. Now try it. Is it working? Oh, good. It is. All right. So it needed the batteries to—was there anything wrong with the flashlight? No, it worked, but it wasn't going to work unless— Yeah, unless it had the battery. Unless it had the battery. What about the stapler? We're out. What do you need? You need some staples? Should we put those in there? Okay. So if we put these staples in the stapler—now what if I give you my—I better not give you my sermon notes.

Hey, look at that! It works! All right, what about that drill, though?

Okay. Well, let me—let's see. We can give you—how about we'll give you a bit, right? Like, can we put that in there? So we got to put that in there because it's missing that part. Let's see if we can get that in there. All right, let's see if I'm going the right way. Okay. Okay, we got that. So now we've made it a Phillips screwdriver, which is really nice. Now does it work? Oh, no. Okay. Got to have a battery. All right, here's the battery.

No, it's starting to get heavy. Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

Oh, you know what? That's the wrong battery.

It's the wrong battery—sorry. Okay. All right, let's try this one.

We have the battery. All right, let's see if that one fits. That one's a little bit different. Let it go on there. All right, now hit it.

Uh-oh. Now what's wrong with it? It still has a screw. Oh, we have that. Okay, I could give you that one. I've got another one of those. Okay, so we'll put this one in here. Okay, so we've got the bit. We have the battery. Now hit it.

This one right here. It's a little trigger.

It doesn't work. What do you think's wrong? It's not even on! It's not even on! Oh, no, I didn't check the battery. The battery's probably dead.

Oh, now he knows what I did. All right.

That's right. Oh, what do you have to do to the battery to make that one work?

We could put the—you have to charge it up, right? I didn't charge the battery. The battery was worn out. So it's not going to work, is it? So what do we—what does that tell us, though, about these different things? What do we have to do to make this thing work? What do I have to do to this battery? I gotta change it. I gotta make sure I charge it up, and when I charge it up, then it'll work. What about the stapler?

We gotta have the staples. Without the staples, okay, we know it would work, but without it, it's not right. What about the flashlight?

He's very proud. It is working. Why is that working, Thomas? Because it's got batteries and a flashlight that actually works. I found one in our house. Imagine that, right? Have you ever had a flashlight that you put good batteries in it and then it still didn't work?

I've had that, too. Yeah, because it's broken. So what do you got to have for all of those things to work right? Do they all have to work together? Each part, you've got to have the staples with the stapler. You gotta have the battery and the bit. You gotta have the batteries and the flashlight. Everything works, and when you have it all together and it's all working, what do you think? It'll work. It'll be great, right? All right, thank you guys for helping me. We'll see if we made the point. Oh, we get the clap.

Okay, hopefully that did make the point. Because the church, in a way, are like those things.

Individually, there was nothing wrong with the drill without the battery. There's nothing wrong with the battery, but until you put them together, it's not going to function correctly. Yeah, the stapler was working, but without the staples in it, it's not going to function the way it should. So when you look at each of those items, every part, even the smallest little staple, has to do its job. Otherwise, it doesn't work. So none of the objects work like they should, unless all the pieces come together. And the body, the church, is like that. Every part, every one of us is necessary. And so as we consider that with this idea of using God's resources, He's given us gifts. He's given us ways to serve. And whether we're the drill bit, or the battery, or the drill, or the staples, or the stapler, yeah, we're all different. But without all of these parts working together, the church isn't going to function correctly. We'll lose focus.

We'll be distracted. So hopefully we could consider this, and maybe more importantly, think about it and write it down. Write it down. What are the gifts that God has given me?

Have you written that down? Because He says right here in Romans 12, He's given us gifts. He's given them to... In fact, if you read this little section here in Romans 12, maybe we go back to it for a second. Romans 12.4. Follow along. I'll read it in the message translation. It's a little different, but it's kind of interesting the way it's put here. It says in verse 4, We are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. That's pretty interesting. Each part gets its meaning from the whole.

So we can't be a standalone Christian, because that body's not going to function right. It goes on and says, Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of the body. We're real meaning, real focus, comes from us all working together and fulfilling the jobs that we each have to do. And so he goes on, Since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts of the body, let's go ahead and be what we were made to be.

So that's what we're supposed to do. So what God-given gifts do I have? Can we write that down? You know, what job? What role? What function? What purpose does God have for me in the church? How can I best serve the church? What does God want me to contribute? What gift has He given me? Or what gifts has He given me that I should be utilizing, that I should be fulfilling the function of those resources that He's given to me? How can I use those gifts? How can I use them best every single day? See, it's kind of a challenge. We could actually write those things down. It's not an egotistical kind of thing to say, well, God has given me this gift. Well, to whom much is given, much is expected. Much is required. God has blessed us with so many gifts. What are they? If we've never really sat down and identified those, how could we fulfill the function that God has for us? How can we be a vital part of the body if I don't really even know how I fit? And boy, it's pretty specific sometimes, isn't it? Wouldn't it help to try to put the batteries in the stapler? Right? We've got to have the staples to go in the stapler. Am I a staple or am I a battery? Or am I the stapler? You know, how does it all work together? What is that function that God has in mind for me? Well, God wants us to use the resources that He's given us. So let's write those things down so that we can better keep that direction and that focus. All right, one more. One more letter. The letter S in our focus to overcome spiritual deficit disorder. Let's think about it for just a minute. S, I wrote down, it stands for shine.

For shine. Now, what in the world would that have to do with anything? Well, there's a passage that I connected with this. It's Philippians chapter 2, beginning in verse 13. Philippians chapter 2 verse 13. To shine. I know Christ said we're supposed to be like a city on a hill that's just shining in the sunlight. Maybe Paul had that in mind as he wrote this section of Scripture. But he says something maybe in a little bit different way. And when it comes to this idea of spiritual attention deficit, we're supposed to shine if we're going to overcome that disorder. Well, how do we do that? Philippians 2 13. It says, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. All right, so that's a good thing. And in one way, it takes the pressure off of me. You know, God's going to work in me. He's going to help me. He's going to motivate me, move me, but I've got to respond to that. I've got to make those choices and move in his direction.

But how do I do it? Well, then he tells us how we're supposed to do the will of God. Verse 14, do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I've not run in vain or labored in vain. So you read through that and go, wow, that's cool. I want to shine. I want to be a bright light. I mean, is it that simple?

I'll just be a shining light. Well, you read different things about this, different commentaries. Well, it's all in how you present yourself, how you act or how you dress might be a way that you can shine forth in this darkened world. Was that really what he's getting at when he says we should shine as lights? Well, in one way, it looks like this section is talking more about what we're, what we shouldn't do rather than what we should do because he said, don't, don't complain.

Leave that one out. Leave out the arguing, the disputing. Leave that out. Do a few things without complain. Well, I know it doesn't say that, does it? Do all things. Don't complain at all. Don't argue and fight about things at all. That's a pretty tough thing because we live in this negative world. We live in a world where I think everybody complains. It doesn't seem that way sometimes. People get into disagreements and arguments and petty fights about nothing, it seems, and people have a tendency to be very pessimistic.

I mean, just the other day, I was standing in line at the store. Okay, the line got kind of long. I was trying to maintain my focus. Right behind me, just a random stranger, just out of nowhere, says, wow, what has taken them so long? This is ridiculous. Well, I can't help turn to look at him and, you know, what's the first thing that came to my mind? Yeah, you are right! Okay, I didn't say that. But you want to agree with them because, yeah, they've got a point.

Why don't they open another line? This is ridiculous! But it just kind of hit me. Okay, yeah, she's right, but is that the kind of perspective I'm supposed to have? Is that really shining as a light? You know, it's easy to jump in and complain. It's easy to jump in and complain. Find fault. Oh, yeah, I don't know. The person's an idiot behind the cash register. They don't know what they're doing. Yeah, you could jump on board to that so easily. And it's easy to complain. But just not doing that, does that set a better example? Does that help us to keep our focus?

Does that help us not to get off track? I think it does. Now, it doesn't mean that, well, I just put a happy sticker over everything that ever happens. That doesn't mean that. You know, happy, happy, happy all the time. No, that's not it, because there's a difference between happiness and joy, right? Happiness is dependent on circumstances, and sometimes circumstances are awful. And yeah, there probably are incompetent people doing these things. Well, does that mean I can't have a different perspective on it?

I don't have to be fake. I don't have to be phony. But what good does it do to jump in there and say, yeah, you're right. I don't know what in the world is going on here and get the rest of the crowd all hyped up about how terrible the situation is? I don't have to jump into agreement, and I don't have to be fakie happy all the time, either.

But I think I do have to step back and say, all right, what's my overall attitude? What's my overall approach? Do I come to Walmart expecting that there's only going to be one cashier and 40 people in line when I go up there? Yeah, I do.

All right, I don't really know what's going to happen. So what's the point of just complaining? Am I going to be in an attitude of complaining and murmuring about things? Or is my attitude going to be one of, all right, this is all right, I can handle this. I can have a positive approach to this. Can I bring light to a situation rather than just help with the darkness? Perpetuate that darkness, because it is so easy to complain and whine about things, because yeah, it's normal.

It's what we all do. But I don't have to let those frustrations vent. I don't have to do that. If I want to be a shining light, if I want to overcome that distraction, if I don't want to be taken in by heading down the wrong path, then I've got to look past it. And I've got to have that attitude, that perspective, of having a positive outlook.

And it doesn't come by just thinking positive, does it? I've tried that. I found sometimes it doesn't. Yeah, okay, maybe it helps a little bit. Okay, what's better than that? Than just thinking positively. I've got to go back to where I was before. Have I asked for a positive attitude? Have I petitioned God and asked Him to help me submit to your spirit?

Help me not to have that kind of perspective? Okay, yeah, I've got to think positive. I've got to think positive. That's a good thought. But how about if I ask God and put it in His hands? God, you help me today, because I'm weak. I fall short. I need your guidance. Help me to submit to you and your spirit so that I can be that kind of a light. And when we renew that spirit every day and we ask God to help us to submit to His spirit, would that help us to have an overall perspective of joy? An overall positive perspective on things?

I think, yeah, I think if it is, then we can really start to shine. Because if I don't jump in and agree with this person behind me, I'm going to be different. I'm going to be different without even trying to be that different. And we really can shine. And so I think God has given us the tools, all of the tools that that we need. Because I think the way life is, we all at times suffer from that spiritual attention deficit syndrome. But the good news is God's given us a cure. In fact, He kind of summarizes it over in the Proverbs. There's one little short proverb that kind of wraps it all up.

Proverbs 23 verse 26. Proverbs 23 verse 26, some very wise advice given here that helps us to overcome this attention deficit that we have when it comes to our spiritual journey. New King James says, My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways.

We've got to be all in, don't we? We have to be all in. The message version says it a little bit differently. I like it for today's purposes. It says, Dear child, as O God is speaking, Dear child, I want your full attention. God wants our full attention. And then it concludes, Please do what I show you. Please do what I show you. Well, God is showing us. He's showing us a way to overcome the deficits of this life. And we can be committed to overcome that terrible disorder. When we follow through, when we commit to follow through, when we organize our priorities, when we really commit ourselves to being consistent in our life, when we use the resources that God gives us, I think it draws us to that opportunity to really fulfill the potential. When we write those things down, organizing our priorities, committing ourselves to consistency, when we know what God's given us and how we fulfill that part in the body, then we can really shine the way God wants us to shine in this darkened world. And so what a blessing it is. We can overcome the distractions. We can dedicate ourselves to really focus. And, of course, when we do, then we've really given God our full attention.