Distractions

Are you distracted? Cares of life interfering with your walk with God? How do you overcome the enemy and walk victorious in your authority as a believer?

Listen to this episode with Tammy Toney-Butler, Healing Evangelist, and glean from her field as the Holy Spirit inspires, directs, instructs, and sets free.

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Transcript

Welcome to today's episode of the Reflective Spaces Ministry Podcast. I'm Tammy Toney-Butler, Healing Evangelist. Distractions. Let's talk about distractions.

Distractions come to kill, to steal, and to destroy. That's the enemy's strategy.

But we don't have to partake in that. We don't have to partner up with that. As believers, we can refuse to be distracted.

Holy Spirit, come have your way in this time that we have together. May they hear you and not me, see you and not me. May any blinders be removed, any veils lifted off so that they can see clearly the race before them and the steps that they need to take in order to get to the finish line of faith as they walk in their kingdom purpose as it is revealed to them

through your wisdom an understanding knowledge that they have access to as believers. Help them, Holy Spirit, to ask the right question, to seek you, to long for you, to search for you,

and to hunger and thirst for righteousness. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. I remember when I had our sailboat and I was new to boating. Um, we had never even boated at all and then we got this huge 26 ft sailboat, David and I. And I can remember taking it out and a dear friend, and I was going along much too fast for the waters that were crowded. um a and where we were going. I didn't know the terrain. I didn't know the territory. I didn't know how to navigate the waters, where the pilings were, the obstructions, the hindrances. I didn't know. And I was going about in my own flesh, my own strength. And I was going so quickly and I was talking and I was distracted. And I was carrying on a conversation with David and and and and Kathy, my my friend at the time there that was on the boat with us. And I remember

that, you know, it was a beautiful sunny day. It was bright. And so I was distracted by the beauty of the day, so many things. But I was at the helm. I was leading the ship. I was at the helm. And I had people's lives entrusted to me. David and Kathy's. And of course, we had had the boat, but I had people's lives. And I was going along

and I know now to this day it was God. But something said turn move turn the boat. And I did it flawlessly. I quickly turn the boat and there was a huge concrete sign piling there. And I would have killed us all. I know it. It would have I was going too quickly. It would have destroyed the boat, all of us. And I praise God that he saved me. And I know he saved me that day. I know it was the Holy Spirit that told me to turn. And I wasn't walking, you know, with Jesus like I was. I'm walking now. You know, I I had to grow in faith. And I tell you this to tell you that there are many distractions that come your way.

And there's a little voice inside of you saying, "Turn.

Repent. Turn away from that. Walk this way. Don't go that way. It's not going to end well. But are we heeding that voice?

Are we heing it? Are we so distracted by the world, the world events, the cares of life

that we aren't turning when we need to turn. We aren't pivoting when we need to pivot.

God is a good father and he doesn't want any of us to perish. Not one of us. He knows the hairs on our head and even if the 99 are safe, he goes after the one. But when we are going after the ones or you are the one, are you seeing it? Are you recognizing that divine encounter, that divine moment,

that heavenly

interaction, that heavenly encounter, that heavenly interruption, that moment in time that says enough. Don't go down that road. Pivot. turn.

God's trying to save you.

But are you listening? Are you listening? Are you listening? Are you listening? The devil comes to kill, steal, destroy, and distract. We as believers must refuse in this hour to be distracted.

We have to walk towards our kingdom purpose. Fight the good fight of faith.

Get in the word.

Strengthen our faith muscle. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Get rid of doubt and unbelief that hinder us from walking in the fullness and the power and authority that we have as Christians because we're seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. But do we know it? Do we walk in it? Or does the devil have us distracted with the cares of life, with worry, with fear, all these things that are not of God, that are not our portion. Let's look at scripture. I'm going to read out of Philippians, Life Application Study Bible, New International Version. I'm going to read Philippians 3.

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safe guard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is who we for it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh. Though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law, a Pharisee as for zeal, persecuting the church, as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. And so somehow to attain to the re resurrection from the dead, pressing on toward the goal. Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do know, forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For as I' as I have often told you before, and now say again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their God is their stomach and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. Their mind is on earthly things. See that they're being distracted by earthly things. It goes on to say, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Every day we are being renewed, made a new creature in Christ Jesus with his mind, with his heart. We are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. We have authority over the distractions over earthly things. We have to crucify our flesh. Refuse the negative thought pattern. Refuse to be distracted in this hour from our kingdom purpose. When we look at the commentary, it talks about training for the Christian life. As a great amount of training is needed for athletic activities, so we must train diligently for the Christian life. Such training takes time, dedication, energy, continued practice, and vision. We must all commit ourselves to the Christian life. But we must first know the rules as prescribed in God's word. 2 Timothy 2:5. Our goal as believers, we train ourselves to run the race of life so that we keep our eyes on Christ on the goal and don't get sidetracked or slowed down. In other words, don't get distracted. When we do this, we will win a reward in Christ's kingdom. Living the Christian life demands all of our energy. We can forget the past and strain for the goal because we know Christ promises eternity with him at the end of at the rac's end. You can't have one foot in the past and step into all God has for you today. And you certainly can't step into tomorrow or the promises or step into who he's called you to be. If you have one foot in the past dragging you backwards, you can't do it. As we must repeat exercises to tone our bodies, so we must steadily repeat spiritual exercises to be spiritually fit. We have to work our faith, you know, like a muscle. When we do this, we live by we will be better Christians living in accordance with God's will. Such a life will attract others to Christ and pay dividends in this present life and the next. The spiritual exercise will help you grow in faith and character. The Christian life is a fight against evil forces from without and temptation from within. If we stay true to God through it all, he promises an end, a rest, and a crown. We have to fight the good fight of faith. We need to persevere, keep moving towards the mark. Remember, we have to to to to strive towards this perfection, this perfection, this this right relationship with Christ. We have to continue to strive to be made whole to made be made into the likeness of Christ so that we mirror Christ to a dark world. We cannot get so caught up in the cares of this life that we are distracted especially when God is trying to warn you and say pivot. It's time to pivot. Turn away from that path that you've been walking on that's not of me and walk towards all I have for you. walk towards the path that I've chosen for your life where we walk in tandem together and you show me and my power to a world that is in need of a savior. Remember, you are the temple of the Lord. You carry Jesus in you and you carry him from place to place. We are the body. He's the head. We submit. We surrender to his lordship, his leadership. And we refuse to be distracted by a negative voice, a negative thought pattern, by the cares of this world because we know that he who the son sets free is free indeed. We are one with Christ, seated in heavenly places. We have access to all that heaven has to offer. We have to call it forth and bring heaven down to earth.

Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, strengthen them, oh God. Guide them into all truth. Erase the negative thought patterns and bring forth such clarity this day. Such purpose, strength,

and a peace that surpasses all understanding as they walk with you this day. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus. That's this episode of the Reflective Spaces Ministry podcast. Remember to like and subscribe on our YouTube channels. Check out Reflective Hour also on our YouTube. Share these episodes glean from our fields as we glean from yours as we are unified as a body of believers. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus.