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MESSAGE: REFUSE TO BE DISTRACTED AND CLAIM YOUR VICTORY

Luke 9:59-62

59 And he said to another, Come after me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and give the last honours to my father.

60 But he said to him, Let the dead take care of their dead; it is for you to go and give news of the kingdom of God.

61 And another man said, I will come with you, Lord, but first let me say a last good-day to those who are at my house.

62 But Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is good enough for the kingdom of God.

In your walk with God, its important that you dont allow yourself to get distracted from the work He has planned for you. In the above scripture we see Jesus asking the two disciples to follow Him but each one of the gives an excuse, but with Jesus when it comes to the kingdom of God He wants commitment and dedication so He told them that if get distracted from His work, you arent fit for the kingdom.

Distractions can come from people around you, you giving excuses, unfavorable circumstances, or your mind (worry).

HOW TO LIVE A LIFE WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS

Dont get too comfortable Exodus 5:18-23

18 Go now, get back to your work; no dry stems will be given to you, but you are to make the full number of bricks.

19 Then the responsible men of the children of Israel saw that they were purposing evil when they said, The number of bricks which you have to make every day will be no less than before.

20 And they came face to face with Moses and Aaron, who were in their way when they came out from Pharaoh:

21 And they said to them, May the Lord take note of you and be your judge; for you have given Pharaoh and his servants a bad opinion of us, putting a sword in their hands for our destruction.

22 And Moses went back to the Lord and said, Lord, why have you done evil to this people? why have you sent me?

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23 For from the time when I came to Pharaoh to put your words before him, he has done evil to this people, and you have given them no help.

The more Moses appeared before Pharaoh to deliver the children of Israel the more hardships they faced, they were angry with Moses because they had to gather their own stems to make the bricks. T

The Israelites were so accustomed/used to their slavery that they didnt want their lives disrupted despite the fact that freedom was at hand, the failed to appreciate the freedom that was soon approaching because of the recent hardships, they didnt understand that if you have move forward and claim your victory it comes with the price.

The same can happen to us, as it is said the darkest night is just before dawn.

Dont let yourself remain accustomed to any situation, or any form of bondage, refuse to remain in one position , dont get comfortable with where you are, because if you do you will you will start relaxing and stop working which means you will remain stagnant and the will get his opportunity to oppress you.

Know what youre worth [P20 story] Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands immediately started going up. Crumple- Who still wants it?" Still hands were up in the air. And he dropped it on the ground, spit on it and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.- Surprisingly, hands still didn't go down. "My friends, I think we've all learned a valuable lesson here. No matter what I did to this money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was worth twenty whole dollars no matter what I did to it." "Often in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, spit upon and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless

Often in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, spit upon and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless hence becoming vulnerable to distraction and ending up being confused with who we are.

I want to tell you that, no matter what has happened, you will never lose value in Gods eyes because the worth of our lives does not come in who we are but by whose we are.

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[Crow story] Too often, we try to "improve our worth" by adorning ourselves in "pretty" things. Fine clothes, cosmetics, jewelry, friends, money, power, fame among others, top the list. But there is really only one way to improve our appearance. Putting our faith in the Lord and walking wholeheartedly with Him. Despite what the world around us thinks, only He can improve our fallen condition and our search for happiness.

Let go of the past

Phil 3:13

Brothers, it is clear to me that I have not come to that knowledge; but one thing I do, letting go those things which are past, and stretching out to the things which are before,

Paul had learnt to forget the past, his old life and looked forward to his new life in Christ. We must learn to forget the past and look ahead, its time to shake off thoughts of the past and look at the pictures God is showing you through His word,, He has declared you more that a conqueror

(Rom 8:37)

The past will always distract you because it will bring discouragement, self-blame so dont allow yourself to be defined by your past, dont let circumstances dictate you.

Learn well

Prov 18:15

The heart of the man of good sense gets knowledge; the ear of the wise is searching for knowledge.

This learning process involves regular tests from our Lord as He leads us from one level of faith to the next. Like in school, us student we dont tests so at some point we cram the night before an important exam. Then, after completing the test I would quickly forget most of what I had crammed. Doubtless had I been required to retake the test a week later, I'd almost certainly have failed it.

But in the testing of faith, we cannot cram knowledge or understanding and still hope to pass. If we try this approach to learning we will simply find ourselves retaking the test, over and over again. If we are truly His disciples we will study, pray and delve deeply into the challenging material at hand, to learn and absorb the

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lesson well, so that we are educated, transformed, and well equipped to move forward in the Lord.

Dont learn anything you see, dont listen to anything because not everything it good for you, some information will destroy you and shift your focus from claiming your victory.

Be an active Christian Mat 9:37-38

37 Then he said to his disciples, There is much grain but not enough men to get it in.

38 Make prayer, then, to the Lord of the grain-fields that he may send out workers to get in his grain.

You are the answer to the prayer for more laborers for the harvest, you are Gods answer to Jesus prayer.

You must look ahead to the work thats set before you and say Lord I give myself entirely to be used by you. I want to be relevant in your house, Take active role in the expansion of the kingdom of God. IF you are busy with Gods work its not easy to get distracted.

CONCLUSION

Ask God to do his will and finish the work for which you brought me to do in this earth. Help you recognize every source of distraction so that you may stay focused in is work