5 Things That Cause Us to Drift Spiritually Chris Russell Pastor, Veritas Church 2014 11 Nov

Several years ago a friend of mine took his wife
and kids to the ocean for a week of R&R. While
they were there, they purchased a small,
inflatable boat for recreational use on the beach.
One day the wife jumped in the boat and
launched out into the water to just lie back and
soak in some sunshine. After what seemed like a
short span of time, she opened her eyes and
realized that she was several hundred yards
away from the shore. In a panic, she screamed
for help.
Only one person on the shore seemed to hear her
call, and that was her husband. When he
realized her predicament, he immediately
attempted to swim out to rescue her. That did
not turn out well, because he was soon in need
of being rescued as well!
Fortunately the lifeguard was doing his job well
that day, and he was successful in rescuing the
husband and the wife. By the time he was able
to get to the wife in the raft, they were nearly a
half mile from the shore.
As I have thought about that experience over the
years, it has often made me think about how
Christians often drift away from the Lord
spiritually. It really doesn’t take much time at all
to drift so far from the shore spiritually that one
can scarcely even see the land anymore.
As a pastor for the past couple decades, I have
noted several key things that tend to cause
Christians to drift away from God. Here are five
of them:
1) An Out-of-Control Schedule.
Ephesians 5:16
Redeeming the time, because the days are
evil.
One of Satan’s greatest weapons against our
generation seems to be his ability to make good
people busier than ever before. We so often
sacrifice the best things in life by spending time
doing things that are just “pretty good.”
If you desire to walk closely with God, you will
absolutely, necessarily have to begin by taking a
close look at your calendar. It is likely that you
are currently doing too much. And it is also
likely that your overly hectic schedule is
affecting your relationship with God. So take out
your pruning shears and begin to cut out any
activities you can that will allow you to focus
more time on your relationship with your
Creator.
2) Misplaced Affections
1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or the things in the
world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him.
Be careful not to set your heart on things that
really don’t matter. I cannot tell you how many
times I have seen good people lured away from
church life because they have fallen in love with
things or activities that have no eternal merit.
For example, children’s sports can certainly be a
thrilling activity for your kids to pursue. But if
those sports begin to adversely affect the
spiritual involvement and development of your
family, then pull the plug immediately.
3) Discouragement
During the past couple decades that I have
served as a pastor, I have often watched Satan
using his weapon of discouragement to drag
people away from spiritual activities. I have seen
it many more times than I can number.
When the trials of life cause a person to become
discouraged, he often begins focusing on those
problems and takes his eyes off of Christ. It
reminds me of when Peter walked on the water.
He did great until he took his eyes off of Jesus
and began looking at the waves beneath him and
the clouds above him.
It is important for you to know that when life’s
clouds grow dark and your trials become fierce,
that is the time to run TO Jesus and not FROM
Him.
4) Abundance
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all sorts
of evil, and some by longing for it have
wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves with many griefs.
We Americans are so fat with our own prosperity
that we often make wealth our god and not the
true King of heaven. This has also been a
recurring theme throughout the entire Bible.
People struggle, God blesses them, they become
prosperous, and then they depart from God.
Ironic, isn’t it?
The chances are great that you probably do not
feel like you are prosperous. But the reality is
that nearly all Americans are extremely blessed
and have more abundance than the vast majority
of the population of the planet. If you are an
American, you are most likely already a “One-
Percenter” (wealthier than 99% of the world’s
population).
People of abundance often choose recreation
over worship. Why go to church if you could be
out golfing, boating, camping, or going to movies
or sporting events?
Satan wants us to be prosperous, because our
prosperity and abundance often lure us away
from our Creator.
5) Parasitic Sins
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us,
Many people begin to drift away from God,
because they have sins in their lives that cause
them to feel guilt when they show up at church.
And they feel reluctant to pray or read their Bible
when they know they have these issues in their
lives.
Recently, I stumbled upon the most revolting
video I’ve ever seen (through my Facebook news
feed). The video showed an eye surgeon
removing a parasite from a human eye. I won’t
go into detail. That brief description alone is
enough to send chills down the spines of many.
All I can say is that the video was even worse
than what you’re thinking right now!
When I watched that video, it dawned on me that
many people have sins in their lives that are
damaging them just like parasites in one’s body.
And those sins will almost certainly affect your
spiritual vision.
The solution here is not to run/drift from God.
The key is to confess your sin to God who will
restore you and make you whole again ( 1 John
1:9)!
How have you done in your journey with God
over the past year or the past few months? Have
you drifted? Now is the time to return. Call out
to God before you are so far from the shore than
you lose all sense of spiritual direction.