The battle for a person’s attention these days is fierce. We live in the age of wildly interactive video games and 24/7 contact with an unprecedented number of apps to text or video chat someone. Then there are app notifications. Some of you will receive notifications reading this Bible message that you will want to look at, respond to, and stop reading this message. Some of us would have a very hard time being willing to turn our notifications off for the time we are at church for fear we would miss something…or we are simply just addicted to the reality called “OUR PHONE.” Let’s face it, we have a hard time with giving 100% of our attention to most things, let alone 100% of our attention to God at church or in personal Bible study. It is truly a battle for too many disciples of Jesus.
In my almost 30 years of preaching, I have learned different ways to obtain a person’s attention. I have found that illustrations from my personal life, illustrations from current events, and illustrations from my own observations have been helpful. I have learned that a surprising true statement or a change in volume can help people refresh their focus on the Bible message. I have learned that a well-balanced, Bible centered sermon hits the target as well; however, I do not always hit the target. I wish did! If you were a fly on the seats of my car on my way home from church, you might occasionally hear me say to my wife something like, “Well, that didn’t go all that well this morning! Ugh. Many were sleeping, others were distracted, and I even saw one cleaning out their purse, one cutting their fingernails, and another balancing their checkbook.” #truestories.
Sometimes I am just not able to gain a person’s attention. They are too distracted, and their mind is everywhere but where they are. So, I continue to grow and study to learn how to be a better communicator. Afterall, we can all become better at what we do!
There is one person who never struggles with understanding how to get someone’s attention. That person Is Jesus. It is essential to live life knowing that my loving God knows how to get my attention. The truth is, Jesus is not so uninteresting that He loses our attention. It is actually that we chose to give our attention away to another. Let’s look at how able the Lord is at getting the attention of a type “A,” aggressive, and bold man like Saul. Saul is literally stopped by God (9:3-5)! The LIGHT overtook Saul!
4 Realities of the Light
THE LIGHT IS UNAVOIDABLE.
“a great light round about him” (9:3)
There seems to be no escape from the light for Saul. Why couldn’t he step to the right or left or behind a tree? The light overtook Saul immediately. Although we may try, there is no escaping God’s loving ways.
THE LIGHT IS POWERFUL.
“fell to the earth” (9:4)
The light is powerful.
THE LIGHT EXPOSES US.
“I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (9:5)
The light causes great exposure. The great and mighty Saul, with all his papers for Damascus, is stopped in his persecution tracks by a “great light round about him!”
THE LIGHT BRINGS HUMILITY.
“he trembling and astonished: (9:6)
The light brings much needed humility.
Think about it for a moment. God got Jonah’s attention with a great fish. God got Lot’s attention with two angels and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – and knowing his wife turned into a pillar of salt. God got the disciples’ attention when he fed 5,000 people with a little boy’s lunch and later rose Lazarus from the dead. God got Thomas’ attention when He suddenly appeared in a sealed room and asked Thomas to touch His side and feel the nail prints in His hands.
We may attempt to run from God. We may attempt to try our way. We may even believe ourselves to be successful for a time, but the Lord knows how to get our attention in His perfect way.
Are you waiting for God to shine His light of exposure and confrontation before you are willing to give Him your attention?
Saul is then subdued by God (9:6-8)! Bold and powerful Saul has been instantaneously changed! Let’s list out the changes below:
a. Power & Cruelty turns to Fear & Trembling (9:6)
b. Certainty turns to Speechlessness (9:7)
c. Boldness turns to Blindness (9:8)
d. Self-Sufficiency turns to Dependency (9:8)
We can often be very distracted as we walk our own journey of life. Hear these stunning stats from the AVG Technologies Digital Diaries Research:
65 percent of parents, ages 25-34, believe they check their phone too much. (56% of kids agree.)
31 percent of parents say they don’t set a good example with mobile device usage. (22% of kids agree.)
45 percent of parents get distracted while having a conversation with their kids. (39% of kids agree.)
47 percent of kids say they would confiscate a parent’s mobile device if they could.
47 percent of parents believe their children spend more time on their mobile device than with them.
(Source: AVG Technologies Digital Diaries Research, June 2015.)
The Lord got your attention the day you got saved; however, if your attention is no longer on the Lord --- please know the Lord hasn’t lost your attention -- you have given it away to another!
Do not wait for a powerful confrontation from the Lord to give your attention to the one who is truth, holiness, love, wisdom, and peace. Choose to give your attention to Jesus Christ today.