Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after
Pentecost
(Proper 22)
Text: Philippians
3:8-9a CEV Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. |
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Distractions
I wonder how
many times a day we are side-tracked, distracted, do a bit of day dreaming,
stare into space? Probably more
times than we realise but mostly it’s only a minor thing and doesn’t make too
much of a difference unless you are distracted while driving a car or when your
husband or wife is talking to you – then distraction can be a serious thing.
I like this little story about old Grandma Schultz – I’m sure you’ve heard it
before but it does highlight the power of distraction in our lives.
It goes like this.
“Grandma Schultz sets out to hang the washing on the line.
She goes to the laundry to fetch the pegs, notices a mouse, and runs
inside to find a trap. She sees a
grimy spot on the kitchen floor, rummages through the cupboard for a cleaning
rag, and comes across an old letter from cousin Hilda who lives in the
Now I wonder if Grandma Schultz will see the unhung washing in the laundry?
No one can say Grandma Schultz was a lazy person or that her intentions were all
wrong. It’s just that she was so
easily distracted! There always
seemed to be something more urgent that took her focus away from what she really
wanted to do.
Distraction is one the sneakiest and most effective tools that Satan and the
world around us use to keep the Christian’s focus away from Jesus and work he
has called us to do in his Kingdom. Paul often uses the image of an athlete
running a race pressing on toward the ultimate goal of winning the prize –
getting to the finishing line and winning the victor’s crown.
To do this requires focus, determination, commitment and no distractions.
If you watch athletes as they prepare for a race whether it’s running or
swimming, many wear headphones.
This is helping them to block out all distractions – the cheering crowds,
possible heckling, focusing their mind and energy completely on the task that is
front of them – getting to the finish line in the best time they have ever
performed. Focus is ever so
important. Athletes who don’t
perform as well as they expected will often admit that something went wrong
during their race – they lost that all important focus.
The apostle
Paul had his own battle with distraction.
In one of his letters, Paul is distracted by his own weakness.
He knows what good things he ought to do be doing but he does the very
opposite. He says, “I don't understand
why I act the way I do. … Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong”
Romans 7:15, 19). Sin has a
real grip on him. He feels a
prisoner of sin. It controls
everything he does. It distracts
him no end and makes him feel miserable as he focusses on to his own weakness.
He is distressed at how easily sin distracts him.
Then there is
the time he is distracted by what he calls
“a thorn in the flesh”.
This physical ailment really bothers him and prays and prays that God
would take it away. For a while
this problem takes all his energy and time as he focuses his prayers on a cure.
I think we can all relate to this. Something
that goes wrong in our bodies can be terribly distracting.
It absorbs our mind and energy and leaves little room for anything else.
There’s nothing more distracting than pain.
In each of
these cases, when Paul is distracted by the depth of his own sin, or the pain in
his own body, his focus was turned back to Jesus.
In that moment these distractions are no longer a force that pulled him
away from Jesus, but drew him closer to Jesus. No
one can help him when he is distracted by sin and pain – only Jesus.
His sombre description of himself,
“What a miserable man I am!” turns into a victory cry,
“Thank you Jesus for winning the victory
for me!”
Maybe this has
been your experience as it has been mine.
You are facing a frightening moment – maybe that moment just before going
into surgery. It’s only when
you turn your focus away from your fear and toward Jesus and his promises, and
say, “Jesus, I am placing everything in your hands.
I know you love me and my family and you will do what is best.
I am in your hands”, that this terrifying distraction fades away.
Knowing Jesus and that we belong to him is the most precious thing that
we have.
In our reading
today from Philippians Paul is giving a personal testimony, if you like.
He had every reason to feel pretty good about himself when he was a
Pharisee. He was pious and strictly
followed the law. He was proud of
his achievements and had no need to change anything in his life.
He said, “I did everything the Law
demands in order to please God. (Philippians 3:6)” He had no need of a
Saviour.
His conversion
on the road to Damascus changed all that.
He says, “Christ has shown me that
what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing
is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage.
All I want is Christ and to know that I
belong to him” (Philippians 3:7-9 CEV).
Whatever Paul had considered as important
prior to his conversion is no longer important.
Once Paul thought his heritage as a Jew, the festivals and ceremonies of
the Jewish religion, and obedience to the law were the most important things.
But in comparison with Christ all this pales into insignificance, or to
use Paul’s word, “what I once
thought was valuable is worthless,
as mere garbage.”
It's very easy
to sideline Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
We are distracted. Our focus
is taken away from Jesus and living as those who belong to him. We put at the
top of our lives the things that we, that sinful selfish part of us, consider to
be more important at that particular moment of our lives.
Whatever is
distracting us, keeping us away from Jesus, Paul is challenging us to have a
rethink; reconsider what it is that is keeping us away from focusing on Christ.
In some cases, we will need to call on Jesus to help us by turning to him
in prayer and getting into his Word.
We will need to ask for his help us refocus on what is real and what is
truly garbage that is cluttering our lives.
Paul assures
us that it is worth the effort. He
says that whatever he had considered so very important, now he considers as
completely worthless because the things that clutter and distract us in this
life fade into total insignificance compared to everything that we receive
through Christ. We might think these things are important, but compared to
Christ they are nothing.
The question
that we now have to ask ourselves is this: what distractions do you have in your
life? I’ve had quite a few
distractions in my own life so don’t think I’m pointing my finger only at you.
This word from God applies to all of us.
The evil one takes delight when we are distracted.
When we try to fill our lives with so much that we don’t have any room
left for Jesus, the work he has for us to do, for being his chosen people in the
world, then it’s time to declutter.
We could spend a long time working through
those things that get a short-shrift because we are so distracted -
getting to know Jesus personally through the pages of the Bible;
spending time in prayer and talking with Jesus;
meeting with my fellow Christians to worship our ever-loving, always forgiving,
all-powerful God;
showing to others the same kind of love and forgiveness that Jesus has shown to
us;
making time to give a helping hand to someone we know needs one;
stopping a minute to give a word of encouragement;
and the list goes on.
Each of you know best of all what the
distractions in your life are that sideline Jesus and the love he wants to shine
through you into the lives of others.
For most us I would say the pace of life, even for retirees, that
distracts us and keeps us away from Jesus.
We complain that there is just too much to do and too many places to go
and people to see – these are our real distractions that turn our focus away
from Jesus and life in his Kingdom.
Sorting through the distractions and
getting our priorities right can be hard work and involve some tough decisions.
It might mean letting go of some things that we have considered important
for so long. Paul’s words ring in
our ears today, “Nothing is as wonderful
as knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. I
have given up everything else and count it all as garbage”.
There is absolutely nothing in the world that is more important, more
valuable, more lasting, gives more joy, security, strength and blessing than
knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord.
Paul said, “I have given up everything
else and count it all as garbage. … All I want is to know Christ and to know
that I belong to him”.
I saw a movie recently about a promising
gymnast whose leg was severely injured in a car accident.
This should have meant an end to her dream of competing in gymnastic
events at the top level. For a
while she had her doubts about her ability to come back, her down times, but in
the end she put the past behind her, the distraction of her injuries, and with
hope and resolve she looked toward the prize of winning her event.
The hope and strength our risen Lord gives
us, enables us to look up when we are downhearted and disappointed in our own
level of commitment to our Saviour.
He gives us the courage to work through our distractions and inspires us to love
him more and care for others more. Jesus came for all the times we are
distracted away from him and his love, when we get our priorities all wrong.
I’m sure you know people who are so
distracted by the world that they are in danger of losing their way completely.
Pray for them and remind them that the distractions of this world are
only temporary. They amount to
nothing with no long-term blessing.
Gently remind them that there is nothing more important than knowing Jesus
Christ and belonging to him. He is
the only way that leads to the Father who loves us and saves us from death.
Paul said it
all when he said, “Nothing is as
wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and
count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him”.
© Pastor Vince Gerhardy
8th October 2017
E-mail:
sermonsonthenet@outlook.com