                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                      Distractions In the Holy Place!

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By David Wilkerson
October 30, 1995
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          "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you,
          saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their
          mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their
          heart is far from me" (Matthew 15:7-8)

          I want to talk to you about mental distractions during
          prayer and worship - especially in the house of God.
          Jesus called people hypocrites who came into His
          presence mouthing words of praise, but whose minds and
          hearts were preoccupied. He spoke directly to them,
          saying, "You give Me your mouth and your lips - but
          your mind is somewhere else. Your heart is nowhere near
          Me!"

          What about you? Most likely, you are present in God's
          house for an hour every week. So, your body is in
          church - but where is your mind? Your mouth says, "I
          worship You, Lord" - but is your heart a thousand miles
          away? Where do your thoughts take you during worship
          and praise?

          Does your mind become drawn to personal or family
          problems? Do you become preoccupied with a business
          matter that's been hounding you? How distracted do you
          get during that hour in church as the congregation
          draws near to God's majesty?

          You may answer, "Everything my mind focuses on is God's
          business. I care for my family, and I do my work as
          unto Him. So my thoughts aren't evil. They're focused
          on my calling and my obligations. I just come to church
          with so much on my mind. That can't be so bad."

          Yet, keep in mind that the people Jesus addressed were
          worshipers who had "drawn nigh unto Him" - believers
          who had gathered in God's name to worship corporately.
          Jesus said they honored Him with their words. Maybe
          they even raised their hands and praised loudly.
          Indeed, what He describes sounds like great, forceful
          worship.

          But where was their mind, their heart, as they
          worshiped Him? If they were distracted in thought, then
          their worship was hypocritical - worthless! Their
          bodies may have been in the sanctuary - but their
          hearts could have been anywhere else in creation.

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                    We Have Not Even Begun To Understand
               How Seriously God Takes This Matter of Worship
                  - and How We Are to Draw Nigh Unto Him!

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          It is not a light thing to come into God's house! If
          you attend a church where people are merely playing
          games - where the pastor delivers a short sermonette,
          eager to get it over with - then the devil probably
          doesn't bother with you. But if you go to a church
          where people are set on worship - a place God has
          blessed with the anointing of His Spirit - it is
          absolutely dangerous to come into His presence lightly!
          "Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord
          spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come
          nigh me, and before all the people I will be
          glorified..." (Leviticus 10:3).

          The Lord had said to Moses, "I will not be treated as
          an ordinary person! If you're going to enter into My
          presence, you must come before Me sanctified. All who
          approach My holiness must do so with carefulness and
          thoughtfulness - because of My glory and majesty!"

          The Bible warns against hasty, rash worship: "Be not
          rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty
          to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven,
          and thou upon earth..." (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

          We are not to utter anything in the Lord's presence
          without our heart and soul in it.

          Yet what a babble of praises Christians pour out - so
          little of it connected to our hearts! What a river of
          thoughtless hallelujahs and songs are mouthed by people
          whose thoughts ramble away like wild horses. Beloved,
          that is taking the Lord's name in vain! And - "...the
          Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name
          in vain" (Exodus 20:7).

          In the Old Testament, the least flippancy in worship
          was severely judged. God quickly punished those who
          were careless in approaching His presence:

             * In Leviticus 10, Aaron's two sons, Nadab and
               Abihu, went into God's presence nonchalantly. They
               did their temple duties by rote, with no awe or
               respect for the things of God. In fact, they
               didn't even think the Lord would take notice if
               they rushed into His presence offering strange
               fire. So they hurried in, anxious to get back to
               their fornication outside the tabernacle:

               "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took
               either of them his censer, and put fire therein,
               and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire
               before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And
               there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured
               them, and they died before the Lord" (Leviticus
               10:1-2).

               God slew them on the spot! He was saying, in
               essence, "I'm going to show every church age,
               every future child of Mine, that My people must be
               sanctified when they draw near to Me!"

             * Uzzah was struck dead when he took lightly the ark
               of God, which represented the Lord's presence. He
               thought it was no big deal to reach out his hand
               and steady the ark to keep it from falling. But
               God judged his irreverence on the spot - and Uzzah
               died immediately!

             * The Bethshemites also approached the ark without
               reverence. Bethshema was a Levitical town, where
               the people had a priestly background. They knew
               God's commands respecting the ark. Yet, rather
               than showing an awe and respect for it, they were
               merely curious about it.

               The Canaanites had just returned the ark, because
               so many people in Canaan had died. And now the
               Bethshemites said, "We've heard all about the ark.
               But what's it like inside?" Someone lifted off the
               mercy seat and peered in. People then must have
               lined up for hours to get a peek inside the ark -
               because Scripture says 50,070 of them died! God
               slew them all because they took the ark lightly,
               not honoring the majesty of His presence.

               Afterward, someone said, "Who can approach this
               holy God?" And that is exactly what God wanted - a
               holy fear in the people's hearts, so they wouldn't
               take His presence lightly!

          If you were to walk into St. Peter's Cathedral here in
          New York City, you would hear a holy hush. Yet in many
          evangelical churches on Sunday morning, you hear only
          babbling as you walk in. Beloved, we need to enter
          God's holy place with a reverent heart!

          The Puritans spent all day Saturday preparing for
          Sunday worship services. It was a holy thing for them
          to go into God's house, and they took care to sanctify
          and purge themselves before the Lord. They prayed, "Oh
          God, don't let me walk into Your house loosely!"

          You may answer, "But this is a day of grace. God
          doesn't slay irreverent worshipers in His presence
          today." The truth is, God's judgment is far greater
          today. Careless worshipers are now slain spiritually -
          and it is a slaying unto death!

          You see, the more irreverence for God's presence creeps
          into your heart, the less reverence you practice. And
          that irreverence only increases, until eventually you
          approach God's presence with total thoughtlessness and
          carelessness. It all leads to spiritual death!

          You may think your thoughts are beyond judgment. But
          God looks upon and listens to the heart: "For the word
          of God is...a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
          the heart....all things are naked and opened unto the
          eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:12-13).

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          We Are Commanded to Worship God in Spirit and In Truth!

              -----------------------------------------------

          Would you dare walk into church on Sunday morning
          carrying a straw dummy, set it down in your favorite
          seat, then go home and watch TV? Preposterous, you say?
          A mockery?

          If your heart is not engaged in worship - if your mind
          is not present, your thoughts not captive to the
          obedience of Christ - you might as well put a straw man
          in your seat. At least it's more honest than coming
          into God's house with no mind and heart!

          What kind of blasphemy would it have been for the
          Levites to fill their censers with sulphur instead of
          sweet-smelling incense? Yet, that is exactly what we
          Christians do! We bring into God's presence
          sulphur-filled censers - that is, minds which are
          filled with all kinds of sinful, proud, out-of-control
          thoughts, and we allow them to ramble freely. What
          horrible sin - to attempt to worship with our minds
          captivated by the spirit of this world!

          Christians are now in such a hurry they don't even want
          to get out of their cars. Some churches offer drive-in
          worship, where people can roll down their windows and
          listen to a service through a speaker. Other Christians
          don't even get out of bed to go to church. Pastor
          Smiling Sam brings his soothing message right into
          their bedroom, on TV!

          How will these people stand before the judgment seat of
          Christ and answer His command: "Not forsaking the
          assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some
          is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as
          ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).

          How can such believers say they love Jesus, and yet not
          want to be with God's people?

          On the other hand, literally millions of so-called
          Christians gather for an hour every Sunday morning for
          what is called "worship service." Thousands of choirs
          voice praises to God, with instruments blaring,
          soloists singing, songbooks flipping open, congregants
          praising.

          Yet, much of this so-called worship never gets past the
          rafters! Instead, it falls flat on the ground -
          unheard, unaccepted, a total loss. Why? It's because
          people's minds are on football games, sports,
          television. Wives fret about their Sunday roast. Their
          lips and mouths speak praises - but their hearts are
          far from Jesus!

          Indeed, many worshipers are diseased with what I call
          "spiritual madness." Madness is a disarray of mind -
          wildly fluctuating thoughts, short interest spans, no
          consistent chain of thought. And, similarly, "spiritual
          madness" is marked by roving, frenzied thoughts, the
          mind making trips around the world - all the while the
          mouth worships and the lips sing praises. That is
          spiritual madness in the sight of God!

          Try sitting for one hour in the Oval Office of the
          President the same way you do in the Lord's presence.
          Stare up at the ceiling, gaze out the window, sigh, let
          your mind wander, slouch in your seat, close your eyes
          and lay your head back. Within minutes the President
          would buzz his secretary and say, "Get this character
          out of my presence! What's he doing here?"

          "Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness it is! and ye
          have snuffed at it [that is, sighed and taken heavy
          breaths], saith the Lord of hosts...thus ye brought an
          offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the
          Lord....offer it now unto thy governor; will he be
          pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord
          of hosts" (Malachi 1:13, 8).

          God is saying, "Try to treat your governor the way you
          treat Me. Act in front of some well-known person the
          same way you act before Me. See if either of them
          accepts your behavior!"

          God does not accept weak, boring, halfhearted worship!
          And the reason many Christians do not worship in church
          with power, excitement and zeal is because they have no
          intimacy with Jesus at home. Those who have learned to
          worship and focus on Jesus privately don't need a
          pastor to pump them up when they come into God's house.
          They bring their own fire - a fire ignited in the
          secret closet of prayer!

          True worshipers can't wait to get to church, to praise
          the Lord among God's people. Nobody has to lure them
          with concerts, entertainment, hype. Yet most churches
          today are run like airline companies offering "frequent
          flyer mileage": Come to church every Sunday and pile up
          free points. Earn double bonus points for midweek
          service. Earn triple bonus points for prayer meeting.
          Beloved, this hype only inhibits true worship!

          All of this has to do with prayer as well. So often
          when we approach God's throne, we quickly become
          distracted in the holy place. We pray wonderful words,
          our lips move - but soon we realize our mind is
          somewhere else. Such distracted praying is unacceptable
          - a waste of time!

          Think about it: When the soul departs the body, all
          that remains is a dead carcass. And so it is with
          prayer and worship: When your mind departs from your
          praying, all that's left is a worthless carcass. Your
          prayers have no life!

          Does God bless and honor those who merely show up in
          His house? Not if we've left our mind somewhere else!
          We don't get "spiritual credit" just for planting our
          body in a pew. Our bodily presence is of no value if we
          show up drowsy, distracted, half asleep. It's as if we
          expect God to hear prayers we don't even hear as we
          pray them! We want Him to accept worship we don't even
          remember offering.

          Why are we so distracted in worship and prayer? Let me
          give you some reasons:

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                 1. We Fail to Bring Every Thought Captive
                        to the Obedience of Christ!

                      -------------------------------

          Our minds have a natural tendency to wander and drift.
          Often we can't sleep because we're unable to shut down
          the barrage of thoughts that invades our minds. It
          happens to students in school; they can't keep their
          minds on the lessons. I call these "unwilling
          distractions."

          As I sat in church during worship recently, I was
          flooded with invading thoughts - thoughts of ministry,
          my next sermon, church finances, the need for more
          space. These are all important things. But my mind was
          totally distracted from worshiping the Lord. I had to
          fight off these things and keep bringing my thoughts
          into captivity!

          When God communed with Abraham and made covenant with
          him, Abraham killed five animals and laid them out as a
          sacrifice. Scripture says that - "...when the fowls
          came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away"
          (Genesis 15:11).

          That is exactly what happens to us during worship!
          Thoughts fly down on us like bothersome birds,
          interfering with our intimacy, trying to devour our
          sacrifice. And, like Abraham, we need to drive them all
          away.

          Yet there are also "voluntary distractions." This is
          when a person allows his thoughts to drift in and out.
          Sometimes he is focused on worship - but most of the
          time he allows other thoughts to intrude. He praises
          only in spurts because his mind drifts in and out of
          the service. Eventually this person will lose all focus
          - and he'll end up out of it completely!

          Every time I shut myself in to pray, within ten minutes
          my thoughts begin to run off in all directions. I hear
          my mouth worshiping the Lord, but my mind is completely
          on something else. I try fighting off the flood of
          thoughts, but even more come pouring in. And so it is
          with me in God's house. I can be praising the Lord,
          full of love for Jesus - and suddenly my mind begins
          chasing after some other matter.

          That is the flesh wanting our attention! It constantly
          wars against our spirit. Our wandering thoughts aren't
          always of the devil. Sometimes they simply crowd in on
          us - thoughts of business, family, problems,
          difficulties. But they must always be brought into
          captivity - because we are at war!

          The flesh will always try to interfere with our
          worship. It intrudes, crying, "Look at you - you're too
          tired! Your eyes are closing. Don't give the Lord such
          a weak offering. Go to bed now. You can pray later when
          you're more alert."

          But if we allow the flesh to have its way, we'll never
          pray! We are commanded to resist the flesh, to stand up
          against it. And so we have to keep bringing Jesus back
          into focus. We are to keep our mind centered on Him.
          And soon God's fire will fall on our holy sacrifice!

                      -------------------------------

                    2. There Are Satanic Distractions!

                      -------------------------------

          "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing
          before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his
          right hand to resist him" (Zechariah 3:1).

          Satan will resist every true worshiper who draws near
          to God! James instructs: "...Resist the devil, and he
          will flee from you. Draw nigh to God..." (James 4:7-8).

          James presupposes that when you draw near to God, you
          are going to be attacked by the enemy. So he warns,
          "First, fight Satan - put up all your resistance -
          because when you worship with all your mind and soul,
          he's always going to oppose and distract you!"

          Satan's chief work is to hinder prayer and corrupt pure
          worship - especially in those who are serious about
          following Jesus. Whenever the Holy Spirit moves in
          Times Square Church - when all minds are focused on the
          Lord, and He is receiving pure, unadulterated worship -
          Satan uses everything in his power to try to disrupt
          it!

          A few weeks ago, a demon-possessed man sat down in the
          front row. And right at the peak of worship - just when
          the glory of the Lord was manifesting in great power
          and authority - this man went into a demonic frenzy.
          Six of our workers had to remove him - and he actually
          bit several of them as they carried him out.

          (We didn't know at the time whether this man had AIDS.
          We feared for our workers, because medical experts
          recently proved that a person had contracted AIDS
          through a human bite. We prayed as the demoniac was
          tested - and thank God, the tests were negative.)

          Half an hour later, the demoniac didn't even remember
          what he had done. Satan had tried to distract us from
          what God was doing, to take our minds off the Lord. But
          it did not work!

          A few months ago, a man got up in the middle of our
          service, went outside, picked up a garbage can and
          smashed it into a car windshield. Then he calmly walked
          back into church and sat down. The police had to come
          into our meeting and take the man out!

          These distractions happen all the time. Demon-possessed
          street people walk in, take a seat and fall asleep. But
          just as our worship begins and the Lord begins to
          receive our praises, the devil wakes these people up.
          They begin cursing, making a scene - trying to disrupt!

          Satan will do anything to disrupt pure, dedicated
          worship - because he fears it! He'll shoot subtle darts
          into your mind, injecting all kinds of unfinished
          business. He'll replay every problem, every worry,
          every failure of the past week. And he'll play on your
          emotions, replaying images in your mind like a
          motion-picture machine. He'll whisper:

          "How can you worship, you hypocrite? You sinned
          yesterday! You're a phony. You can't raise your hands
          and praise the Lord, because you're unworthy. Others
          around you live in victory. But you're the only one
          who's failing God!"

          Satan wants you to be a despairing, defeated believer -
          so wrapped up in your problems, so distracted by the
          cares of life, you cannot worship God with all your
          heart and mind. But beloved, you must hear this Word
          again: God looks at your heart!

          Are you repentant, full of godly sorrow? Have you run
          to Jesus for cleansing? Have you called on the Holy
          Spirit for help? If so, then resist the devil's lies!
          Lift your hands and worship your Savior. Don't be
          distracted!

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                 3. Finally, I Want to Talk About Those Who
               Have Gone Beyond Distraction In the Holy Place
              - to a Condition of Total Neglect Of the Lord!

                      -------------------------------

          "Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her
          attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without
          number" (Jeremiah 2:32).

          Oh, how this passage frightens me! I quote this verse
          whenever I miss my daily time of prayer because of
          busyness. It always drives me back to the secret place,
          crying, "Oh Lord, I don't want to forget You!"

          This verse is even more frightening when we consider
          the context of the passage. God is saying to His
          people, "I planted you as a noble vine, a wholly right
          seed. You started right, and you had My touch. You once
          were holiness unto Me, and I blessed you. But now you
          have forsaken Me! You don't worship Me anymore. You
          have foraken the fountain of Living Water!"

          "...thy backslidings shall reprove thee...it is an evil
          thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy
          God, and that my fear is not in thee...thou are turned
          into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto
          me...How canst thou say, I am not polluted...for (you)
          have turned (your) back unto me... In vain have I
          smitten your children; they received no correction...my
          people have forgotten me days without number" (Jeremiah
          2:19-32).

          God's people were no longer going to His house to
          worship Him. They had become lazy about the things of
          God, having forgotten all His blessings and judgments
          on them. They neglected Him for days on end, pursuing
          their own pleasures. And, worst of all, they said,
          "...I am innocent...I have not sinned" (verse 35).

          Many people who think they are saved are going to miss
          heaven, because their distraction has turned to
          neglect: "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great
          salvation..." (Hebrews 2:3).

          Neglect here in Greek means "carelessness." This verse
          speaks of those who allow the Word of God to drift from
          them!

          If you don't worship God with all your mind and heart,
          little by little neglect will creep in - and you'll
          begin to worship merely out of habit. Yet, how will you
          escape the Lord's judgment? How will you escape His
          disfavor, His wrath?

          Test yourself by God's Word:

            1. Do you come boldly and regularly into the holiest
               by the blood of Jesus? (Hebrews 10:19).

            2. Do you consistently draw nearer to God in full
               assurance of faith? (verse 22).

            3. Do you hold fast to Him, without wavering? (verse
               23).

            4. Do you assemble together with other believers? Or
               have you forsaken assembling with the saints?
               (verse 25).

          You say you are saved, that you love Jesus. So I must
          ask you: Do you worship Him daily, with all your heart
          - in Spirit and in truth, with no distractions? Do you
          dig into the Word of God as if your life depends on it?
          Or do you go for days without opening your Bible,
          without praying to Him in your secret closet?

          God wants us to know that His house is a house of
          worship. And we are going to be judged by how we value
          worship and how we approach His presence. We are not
          merely to sit and drink in; we are to bring a
          sacrifice! We are to set aside all flesh and cry,
          "Lord, I'm here to burn as a living sacrifice for You.
          I give You my hands, my voice, my thoughts -
          everything, Jesus. Consume me as a sacrifice of praise
          to You!"

          That's the kind of praise God inhabits. So when you
          come into God's house this week, raise your hands and
          say, "Oh Jesus, I'm not where I should be - but I love
          You! Cleanse me, sanctify me. Give me clean hands and a
          pure heart. And don't let the devil touch my mind! Put
          a wall of fire around my thoughts. And let me bring the
          offering of a focused, full-minded praise unto You!"

          God won't allow you to sit in your seat anymore and let
          your mind wander. He loves you - and He knows the power
          that pure worship releases in your spirit. It makes you
          stronger than any lion, bigger than any giant. It pulls
          down every wall and every stronghold - because it makes
          you a pure-hearted, single-minded worshiper of Him!
          Hallelujah!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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