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What is distracting me from God today?

Will we dare to diagnose our distractions?

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Season 4, episode 90
43 min / Published

Episode 90 - Will we dare to diagnose our distractions? This heavy topic is on our mind today as we ponder the lessons from the Book of Proverbs about priorities, and distractions.

Stephanie introduces us this week to a new fictitious character, who constantly seeks to maintain herself in a state of numbing and escape from the real world. And so, we look at the ever-increasing numbing that comes from seeking pleasure or relief in the wrong places, so predominant in our culture today. We talk about misplaced loves: we are wired for joy and pleasure and delight, but we need to beware of seeking these in the wrong places, even the “innocent” ones. God is the only safe place for us—in everything, including our delight and joy and pleasure.

The author of the Book of Proverbs suffered from an acute case of escapism. King Solomon was addicted to women, and to wine (see Proverbs 31:1-9). He learned the lesson, but too late-- from 1Kings 11 to the entire book of Ecclesiastes, Scripture attests to the failure of the world's wisest man to choose delight in God at the twilight of his royal life. Solomon stopped delighting in God’s glory and started delighting in his own.

Does this mean that our own desire to delight in God, and to escape escapism, is a doomed quest? Not so! Because we have access to the wisdom that is from above the sun--the very wisdom of God through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, in the name of Christ. We have what Solomon never had. 

Disclaimer – pleasure itself is not a bad thing. We are wired for pleasure and joy and delight. But beware where you seek it! Jesus loved pleasure and joy and delight, and role-models how to place these desires rightly: squarely in the lap of our heavenly Father, on our knees.

The questions we are challenged to answer this week: Would we rather garner praise from humans for our own works, or praise from God for our dependence on Him? Would we rather build our own little kingdom, bound in time and space under our own wisdom, and be its ruler for a season -- or be part of the larger, infinite, eternal Kingdom of God with the place of honor of a child?

Jesus opened the way of wisdom on the cross by surrendering to the Father, and invites us into the same. His passion was the climax of a life of resisting the temptation to delight in Self-glory. For example, the wilderness temptations were all attempts at distractions from His mission. And, so was Gethsemane: it was the final battle for resolve, the culmination of a lifetime of battles against sin and temptation.

Jesus did what we could not do: a life of perfect surrender to God (which is perfect freedom) so that He could give us that freedom through the Cross.

Freedom from sin;

Freedom from Self;

Freedom to surrender to the Son.

Why would we want to be our own master, when Christ offers to be the master we could never be for ourselves?

 

What the world needs most right now is our personal intimacy with God. Only then will we be truly equipped to reach the world in His Name. So, Stephanie ends this highly personal episode with several of her own personal tips and experiences of trusting God. They include:

- Early morning routine;

- Prayer;

- Bible study, intake, memorization (raking for leaves and digging for diamonds both);

- Discipline;

- Worship.

Are we PERFECT? NO. But the general direction is a growth in our moment-by-moment dependence on God by His Spirit through Jesus Christ our Lord. That’s the spirit of the Book of Proverbs. Don’t give up. Trust God, not yourself.

 

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Show notes

Use these shownotes to follow and takes notes during the episode! For a fuller experience, download and print the PDF available for free at gospel-spice.com

 

DARE TO DIAGNOSE YOUR DISTRACTIONS.

 

 

 

Self- ________________  leads to Self - __________________ leads to Self - ____________________

 

 

 

 

The temptation of self-strength

 

Solomon

 

 

 

 

 

Self

 

 

 

The freedom of surrender

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freedom FROM _______________

 

Freedom FROM _______________

 

Freedom TO _______________ TO the _____________.

 

 

 

 

Practically speaking…

 

1-     First things first.

 

2-   _____________

 

3-   _____________ immersion

 

4-   _____________

 

5-   _____________

 

 

 

Answer key: deception – numbing – destruction – sin – self – surrender – Son – prayer – Scripture – discipline - worship

Gospel Spice Episode 90 Listening Guide.pdf

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This episode is part of the Wisdom from Proverbs | Bible Series series
Experience fresh insights into the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs!
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