Previous AM Messages

November 03, 2024 AM
Paul Gotthardt
(#8 in series)

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All In: Fractured Intimacy 

Psalm 119:15

__ intimacy leads to __ saints.

“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” (Psalm 119:15; ESV)

Big Truth:

Focused intimacy comes by retraining our mind to __ differently, pursue God, and fully __ His Word.

The writer of Psalm 119 didn’t start with a meditative mind and fixed eyes. There are many other steps prior to verse 15. He speaks of…

• The blessings of walking in the law of the Lord (v.1)
• The blessings of observing His testimonies and seeking God with all your heart (v.2)
• Doing no unrighteousness, but walking in His ways (v.3)
• God ordaining His precepts and His people keeping them diligently (v.4)
• Wanting his ways to be established so that he can keep God’s statues (v.5)
• Not being ashamed when he looks upon all His commandments (v.6)
• Giving God thanks with an upright heart when he learns God’s righteous judgments (v.7)
• Keeping God’s statues (v.8)
• Keeping our way pure by keeping it according to God’s Word (v.9)
• Seeking God with all his heart and not wandering from His commandments (v.10)
• Treasuring God’s Word in our heart so that we don’t sin against God (v.11)
• Asking God to teach him His statues (v.12)
• Telling others about the ordinances of God (v.13)
• Rejoicing in the way of God’s testimonies (v.14)
• Meditating on God’s precepts and fixing his eyes on God’s ways (v.15)

You __ like what you __.

We can lose focus on God and become distracted for many reasons:

• Sin (2 Samuel 11:2-4)
• Busyness (Luke 10:38-42)
• Earthly thinking (Colossians 3:2)
• Fleshly thinking (Romans 8:5)
• Wrong thinking (Philippians 4:8)
• Anxious thoughts (Matthew 6:34)
• Uncaptured thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5)
• Unrenewed minds (Romans 12:2)
• Failing to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)

Our “distraction” may be God’s redirection:

• Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-5)
• Balaam and the donkey (Numbers 22:21-39)
• Bartimaeus and Jesus (Mark 10:46-52)
• Joseph’s dream and journey (Genesis 37-50)
• Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-9)
• Paul and the Macedonian call (Acts 16:6-10)

The only way to know the difference between distraction and God’s redirection is to live life in __ of God and in __ with His Word.

Reflection/Response: What are some practical ways to address our need for greater focus, less distraction, and the problem of fractured intimacy?

• Turn off/turn down competing voices (TV, internet, magazines, social media, books, music, sports, texts, calls, etc.)
• Spend time each day in the Word.
• Write your prayers and devotional thoughts in a journal.
• Read the Bible for depth—not distance.
• Exercise the quiet disciplines (stillness, simplicity, solitude, and Sabbath).
• Memorize Scripture.
• Control your calendar by saying “no” to certain things.
• Walk in obedience to what God has clearly directed.
• Ask and act upon focus questions: What’s going well? What’s not going well? What needs to be repeated? What needs to be restructured? What needs to be removed?
• Remember two big goals: (1) The goal in life is to know God; (2) The daily goal is to spend time with God.
• Have a place to write down and capture ideas.
• Build pockets of silence into your schedule.
• Turn off/reduce notifications on phones, watches, computers, tablets.