3. Get Rid of Distractions

Copyright March 16, 2015 by Chris Mullis
John 2:13-16

Introduction

            Life is hectic.  There are so many demands on our attention.  Work demands our attention.  Telephones ring.  Kids need to be fed and shuttled to and from school and practice.  The church and PTA need volunteers.  We have appointments to make and deadlines to meet.  All these distractions make it difficult to focus on what’s really important.
            God knew our lives would be hectic.  That’s why He gave us a special day to rest and worship—the Sabbath Day.  In the beginning, the Sabbath was on the seventh day—Saturday—for on the seventh day of creation in Genesis, God rested.  But Jesus rose from the grave on a Sunday, which came to be called “The Lord’s Day.”  And it didn’t take long for almost all Christians to choose Sunday as their primary day for worship.
            So we come here to the “Sanctuary,” a place that is safe and holy, a place designated to worship God.  We seek to forget the cares and concerns of the world for a time and focus on Christ.  And as we do, we hope to find some clarity about what’s really important in life so we go back out into the hectic world centered and balanced once more.
            Many things distract us—things that aren’t really important, things that lead us astray, things that might be good, but just are not right for us at this time.  Most of us don’t take time to examine our lives close enough to determine what our priorities are.  So today I want to focus on getting rid of distractions in your life and focusing on the priorities God has set for you.  Let’s go to the Bible and look at a time when Jesus got rid of the distractions in the Temple.

John 2:13-16

¹³ It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.

• Jews all over the world in Jesus day dreamed of going to the Passover celebration in the Jerusalem Temple.  People came from all over the world.  It was not uncommon to have over 2 million people in the holy city for the Passover.  Throngs of people hoping to worship God on this sacred occasion.  Yet when they arrived,  they found a ruthless system designed to exploit them.  Every man 20 years and older had to pay a Temple tax, which was about a day and a half’s wages for the average man (roughly $150 by today’s standards) [i].  The money was used for the upkeep of the Temple and ongoing construction projects.  That’s not so bad.  It did take money to maintain the Temple.  But it got worse, because the tax couldn’t be paid in foreign money. The Roman, Greek, and Egyptian coins most people carried had to be converted to Temple money—the Shekel.  There were money changers stationed all over the Temple for this purpose and each one charged for their services.  What it all boiled down to is it could cost you an additional $100 just to change your money to the right currency!  It angered Jesus that such a heavy burden was laid upon these already poor, working class people.

¹⁵ Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. ¹⁶ Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

• As if the exorbitant fees of the money changers weren’t bad enough, it got even worse.  You see, most people visiting the Temple would need to sacrifice an animal during worship.  If you were poor, you could buy a pair of doves to sacrifice for about $100 if you bought them outside the Temple (or you could bring your own).  But all animals had to be inspected by the Temple authorities to make sure there weren’t any blemishes (and it cost $25 to get the inspection).  And (who would’ve guessed) almost all animals bought or brought from outside the Temple would inevitably fail inspection.  Not to worry though.  You could buy a replacement inside the Temple—at an additional cost.  The same pair of doves that cost $100 outside the Temple cost $1,875 inside the Temple[ii]! (And you thought the markup on movie theater popcorn was bad!)
• And of course all this buying and selling and the inevitable arguments and angry people being ripped off was an unbearable distraction to worship.  And it took place in the Temple in the court of the Gentiles—which was the only place Gentiles were allowed to worship God.  Jewish people had other places to worship, but Gentiles only had this raucous outer courtyard in which to pray.  Jesus was filled with righteous anger and he chased everyone out.

Distractions and Purpose

            Our world is full of distractions and if we’re not careful, our lives can become consumed with things that have little or nothing to do with why God put us here.  Like the noisy, busy money changers and livestock sellers in the Temple, these distractions rob us of our time and money—something of which we already have too little.  Perhaps it’s time to purify our lives just as Jesus cleansed the Temple.  You have to decide:  Do you want to waste your precious resources on things that ultimately aren’t important or do you want to spend your time and money on things that really matter?

In 2002, Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church in California, wrote an amazing book called The Purpose Driven Life that lays out the 5 main purposes for your life.  If you aim for these, you will do things that matter and you will find great fulfillment as you live out God’s purposes for your life: [iii]     

1.     You were made to worship God.  You weren’t put here for your own pleasure.  You were  How much of your time and money do you spend worshipping God? put here to glorify God, to love Him, and to be amazed by Him.

2.     You weren’t meant to be alone.  You were made to be part of God’s family, where you are loved, accepted, encouraged, and held accountable.  You need good people in your life and they need you.  How much of our resources are devoted to relationships with the family of God, the Church?

3.     You were created to become like Christ.  You are here to learn and improve your character.  This life is an incredible training program to prepare your soul to be the image of God.  Don’t pretend to be perfect.  Be real about your shortcomings and be willing to work on them.  How hard do you train to become more like Christ?

4.     You are here to serve.  Even Jesus said he came into the world to serve and not to be served.  How much more true it is for you!  It might seem counter-intuitive to find happiness by serving others, but you were designed to serve; and in doing so you will find great fulfillment.  How much of your life is devoted to serving other?

5.     You were made for a mission—to tell people what Jesus has done for you.  Jesus commanded us to do this and promised to help.  You don’t have to be a preacher or Sunday school teacher to do it.  You just have to be honest and share your experience.  If Jesus has changed your life, tell people.  If he hasn’t changed your life (or if you don’t think he will), why are you even here? 

Examine Your Life

            I think Rick Warren nailed it with these five purposes.  Maybe you don’t agree, but have you ever really examined your life to see what it’s all about?  What on earth are you here for?  You have a purpose.  What is it?  And are you doing things that move you closer to your goals or distract you from them?

Most people never take the time to consider these things.  They just float along the river of life, going wherever the current leads.  It’s sad to think of all that could be accomplished if people would just wake up from their slumber and start living out their purpose.  If only people would come alive and choose to live for a higher purpose, the world would be forever changed.

            The violence Jesus demonstrated as he cleansed the Temple often disturbs people.  It upsets our image of Jesus as a meek, peaceful holy man.  We like the Jesus who gently welcomed children and carried lambs in his arms.  Who is this Jesus who angrily chased the money changers from the Temple while cracking a whip? 

            When it comes to things that distract us from God and thus do damage to our soul, we need to be more like the Jesus carrying the whip than the Jesus carrying the lamb.  The story conveys the seriousness of distractions.  They need to be dealt with now.  Chase away those things that rob your life of significance.  Turn over the tables of anything that keeps you from God’s purposes.  Drive away the animals that cannot help you fulfill God’s plan.  Reject a fallen world that tells you to get in line with everyone else that’s wasting their life.  Turn instead to the Lord who created you who wants to free you to live a life full of meaning.  For if you don’t you will surely spend your whole life doing things that don’t really matter and will have no lasting value.  You will come to your end full of regrets, wondering how time slipped away so fast, and lamenting that your life didn’t really matter much.

 Challenge

            Thus far in this series, I have given you 2 challenges:  1) Start in the Gospel of Matthew and read one chapter every day and finish Matthew by Easter.  2) Last week, I challenged you to make a list of all the things you typically do and your motives. 

            Today, I give you a new challenge to help you purify your life.  This week, I want you to prayerfully consider your priorities.  What are you trying to accomplish in life?  What’s your purpose?  Write down the 5 most important purposes of your life.  (A form is included at the bottom of the blog to help you.)  And then for each one, write down things you can do that will help you fulfill those purposes.  Then pray and ask God to help you make these top priorities in your life—the things to which you devote the majority of your time, money, and resources.  Then zealously get rid of anythings that distract you so you will have enough time to do more important things.

Invitation

            The most important thing you can do to start is ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.  If you haven't done that already, why don't you do that today?  Pray to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you for your sin and for trying to do things you won way.  Ask Jesus to come be the Lord of your life--to be in charge.  And ask Him to lead you and help you follow Him from this day forward.

I Challenge You!

Step One.  List the 5 Most Important Purposes of Your Life:

 

Purpose 1 _____________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose 2 _____________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose 3 _____________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose 4 _____________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose 5_____________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2.  Now, go back and under each purpose list some things you can do to help you fulfill each purpose.

 

Step 3.  Pray and ask God to help you make these top priorities in your life—the things to which you devote the majority of your time, money, and resources.

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[i] William Barclay – The Daily Study Bible Series, the Gospel of John Colume 1 revised edition; page 109

[ii] William Barclay – The Daily Study Bible Series, the Gospel of John Colume 1 revised edition; page 109

[iii] Based on Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life

2. Get Rid of Selfish Motives

Copyright March 10, 2015 by Chris Mullis

Mark 8:31-38

Introduction

            The Season of Lent, which is the 40 day period leading up to Easter, is a great time to take stock of your life.  We derive this 40-day period from the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting as he prepared to begin his public ministry.  Fasting is depriving your physical body of food to help induce a more spiritual experience.  Some people give up food or other things during Lent to help them focus more on their relationship with God.  But the whole point is to get rid of anything in your life that distracts you from what’s most important—a pure relationship with Christ.

stock of your life.
            Last Sunday, we started a message series to help you purify your life and draw closer to Christ.  Just as we cleaned up our church building last week, we seek to clean up our lives so we can better focus on the Lord.  Last week, I encouraged you to spend more time reading the Bible.  I challenged you to start in the Gospel of Matthew and read one chapter every day—and so read the entire Book of Matthew by Easter.  Today, I want to challenge you to get rid of selfish motives.  Let’s read together what Jesus had to say about selfish motives.

Mark 8:31-38

³¹ Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.

• Jesus begins by explaining God’s master plan to save humanity from sin and its consequences.  Sin leads to pain and death and eternal separation from God.  When I was a kid, my church explained all this in simple terms that I could easily understand.  They said, “Everyone sins and falls short of God’s glorious standards.  And the consequences of sin are death.  When you die, you will either spend eternity in Heaven or Hell.  Because we all sin, we all deserve Hell—which is an eternal punishment you can’t even imagine.  But because God loves us so much, he sent Jesus to save us.  And if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and follow him, we will spend eternity in Heaven—where there will be no more sin or suffering or sickness or tears or death.  This salvation is made possible because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.  And here in this passage before it ever happens, Jesus explains the Master’s plan.

³² As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.

• Peter did not want Jesus to die.  In general, we don’t want anyone to die—especially people we love.  But let’s not pass over this too quickly or we will miss something important about Peter’s motive.  Why doesn’t Peter want Jesus to die?
• First of all, it didn’t make sense to Peter.  His vision was too small.  People tend to have very limited perspective.  We think in terms of what’s going on in our lives, right now.  Not many of us have a greater vision to think about what will be happening ten years from now or even one year from now.  And we rarely think very much about what’s going on in other people’s lives or what will be going on in their lives in the years ahead.  We are pretty focused on ourselves in the here and now.  But God thinks in broader terms.  He sees the here and now, but also one year from now, ten years from now, and ten thousand years from now.  Consider this:  as Jesus explained his plan to his disciples in this passage 2,000 years ago, he was thinking how you would be sitting here in this church right now contemplating it.  He saw how his actions would directly affect you, your children, grandchildren and your descendants another 1,000 years from today.  But Peter’s vision was small.  And Peter didn’t want Jesus to die because Peter loved Jesus.  He didn’t want harm to come to him.  
• Peter didn’t want to lose Jesus.  This is one type of love (from the Greek word for love: phileo—which we studied a few weeks ago).  It is a somewhat selfish kind of love.  It is more about our desires than the actual wants and needs of the one we “love.”  This is a common form of love we see throughout the world.  You see, Peter did not want to be apart from Jesus.  Maybe he even felt he couldn’t bear to be without Jesus if he died.  This kind of love is motivated more by what Peter wants than what Jesus wants or even what is best for Jesus or the world.  But the highest form of love is another Greek word often used in the Bible: Agape.  Agape is the love that abandons its own selfish desires and works for the good of others, with no conditions and without any expectation of receiving something in return.  This is the love that motivated Jesus to die on the cross for our sin.

³³ Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

• It might seem strange that Jesus would rebuke Peter so sternly—even calling him Satan.  Yet, Peter’s motives were selfish.  There was a type of love in him, but it was mixed with impurity too.  In fact, what Peter was doing was not much different from what Satan once did when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness.  When Jesus went into the wilderness fasting for 40 days in Matthew chapter 4, Satan tempted him to eat something.  “Tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” (Matthew 4:3)  And Satan offered to give Jesus “All the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (verses 8-9), if only Jesus would bow down and worship Satan.  Peter wasn’t asking Jesus to bow down and worship him, but he was asking Jesus to bend away from God’s perfect salvation plan in favor of Peter’s lesser, worldly desires.  In Peter’s eyes, Jesus was on the verge of a gaining the popular support of the people; couple that with Jesus’ amazing power and Peter thought they could set up an earthly Kingdom of unequaled justice and righteousness.  But this was not God’s plan.  So Jesus said to Peter almost the same thing he said to Satan in the wilderness.  “Get away from me, Satan!”  And then Jesus explains the pure motives that must guide our thoughts and actions if we are his followers.

³⁴ Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. ³⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. ³⁶ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? ³⁷ Is anything worth more than your soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

• Jesus taught being his follower means getting rid of our selfish motives and letting Agape love motivate everything we do.  Just as Jesus was willing to lay down his own life for the sake of others, we should do what’s best for others—even if they don’t deserve it or plan to do anything for us.  What a difference it makes when you finally decide to get rid of your selfish motives and let Love guide all your actions! 

What Motivates You?
            Why do you come to church?  Why do you go to work? Why do you support your wife and kids?  Why do you do the things you do?  There are many different motives for the things we do.  And sometimes our motives are not too pure.  I suppose we would be here all day if we tried to list them all.  So I’ll just list the first four that come to mind.

The first is pseudo-love.  We already talked about how Peter “loved” Jesus and didn’t want to lose him.  I call this “pseudo-love” because it is “like” love, but it is not Agape Love (the selfless, unconditional love God wants us to practice).  It is the love of a mother who “smothers” her children—who loves them so much, she can’t give them the space they need to grow into individuals, but must hover over them at all times.  The truth is, helicopter parents practice a selfish kind of love.  Really, they are using their kids to satisfy a deep longing in their own lives.  And this is not true love.  It is not the motive God wants us to have.  And if this is the kind of love that motivates you—whether you be a helicopter parent, a jealous boyfriend (or girlfriend or just friend), or anyone who is motivated by your own intense desires for the companionship of someone else, you need to get rid of your false motive.

Another false motive is greed.  Are you motivated by your intense longing for more wealth, possessions, or power?  Do you always want to have the latest gadget, the biggest house, the fanciest car?  Do you always feel like no matter how good the stuff you already have is you always need something a little better?  These are all forms of greed, which is a powerful motivation in our society.  But God doesn’t want us to be motivated by greed.  Perhaps you need to get rid of this false motive.

Pride.  Are you overly concerned about preserving your own dignity?  Do you have an excessively high opinion of your importance?  Or conversely, are you always concerned with what others think about you?  These are all forms of pride, arrogance, vanity…  The Bible does not speak highly of pride.  Rather, Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”  Jesus listed pride as one of the vile things that comes from an evil heart—alongside adultery, greed, and wickedness (Mark 7:22).  If Pride, vanity, self-importance, or arrogance motivates your actions, it’s time to get rid of your false motives.

Control.  Do you always need to be in control?  Does everything have to be done a certain way—your way?  Do you have to be intimately involved in every decision your kids or your spouse makes?  Is it almost impossible for you to delegate responsibilities to someone else because you’re afraid they won’t do it the way you would?  Do you find it incredibly annoying to work with others as a team because you’d rather just do it your own way?  If you find it unnerving to let go of control, then it’s probably time to get rid of your false motive of control.  Let me let you in on little secret.  You are not in control anyway.  And all your annoying efforts to keep things “under control” are not pleasing to God.  It’s time to stop trying to run the world around you and learn to trust God (and other people too).

One more—pleasure.  We live in a world that says, “If it makes you happy, do it.”  “Follow your own heart.”  “Have it your way.”  It sounds harmless, but if the desire for pleasure motivates you, you need to get rid of this false motive.  God calls us to be motivated by love.  And quite often real love motivates us to do things that are not pleasurable—sometimes things that are very hard.  That’s why when we get married, we promise to love our spouse “In good times and bad times, for richer for poorer, in sickness and health, until death …” I’m so Glad Jesus wasn’t motivated by the hedonistic pursuit of pleasure.  For it was not pleasurable to hang on the cross for our sins.  And yet, because he loved us, this is exactly what he did.  What about you?  Perhaps it’s time to get rid of your false motives. 

Challenge

            Last week, I challenged you to read your Bible more—to start in the Gospel of Matthew and read one chapter a day.  I hope you have accepted my challenge and have been reading.  If not, it’s not too late to start today.

This week, I want to give you a new challenge to add to the one from last week.  This week, I want you to make a list of what motivates you to do the things you do.  Sit down with a pen and a piece of paper.  Prayerfully list out all the things you typically do each day.  Be specific.  Get up and take a shower, take the kids to school, go to work, talk to a friend on the phone, go to the grocery store, cook dinner, etc.  Now think deeply about why you do these various things.  What is your motive for each one?  Why do you do it?  Right down your motives for each thing.  Ask yourself:  are my motives pure?  Would Jesus be happy about my motive for doing this?  How much is this motivated by pure love (Agape)?  What motives do I need to get rid of?  How might I let my actions be guided more by love?  I challenge you to make a list this week and pray that God would help you be motivated more by love.

1. Purify Your Life

Copyright March 2, 2015 by Chris Mullis

2 Kings 22:1, 3-6, 8-11

Introduction

            I’m glad we are taking some time to clean up and make repairs to the church today.  Even with normal cleaning and attention, the church building still gathers dirt and dust and things wear out and need to be repaired or replaced.  It’s good from time to time to pay special attention to the needs of our facility.
            The same is true in our personal lives.  Even if we are faithful to attend church and Sunday school regularly, do a daily devotion and pray, and help those in need, we can still pick up bad habits or drift off course in our spiritual lives.  It’s good to take some time to “detox” our lives of habits and attitudes that keep us from being all God wants us to be.  The season of Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter) is a great time to detox.  So just as we clean up and repair our church, I challenge you to spend some time over the next few weeks cleaning up and repairing your spiritual life. 
            Today, we begin a new sermon series called “Purify” to help us purify our personal lives.  This Sunday series will run parallel to our Wednesday night video study by Craig Groeschel called “Soul Detox.”  I invite you to participate in both and feel they will help you draw closer to God as we lead up to Easter.
            I want to begin this message with a look at another “Church Detox” that took place in the Temple of Jerusalem around 624 BC.

2 Kings 22:1, 3-6, 8-11

¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years…

• Josiah would turn out to be godly ruler in Jerusalem, whose goodness shined brighter because it followed so much darkness. The kings that preceded him were very wicked and led the people astray.  Josiah was a godly king and when he was about 26-years-old, he embarked on an impressive campaign of reform to bring his people back to God.

³ In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, the court secretary, to the Temple of the Lord. He told him, ⁴ “Go to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money the gatekeepers have collected from the people at the Lord’s Temple. ⁵ Entrust this money to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of the Lord’s Temple. Then they can use it to pay workers to repair the Temple. ⁶ They will need to hire carpenters, builders, and masons. Also have them buy the timber and the finished stone needed to repair the Temple…

• So we see here, they are having a “Church Detox” kind of like we are today at Pleasant Grove, only the Temple was a lot bigger than our facility and it had been a very long time since they’d cleaned up and made repairs.  But Josiah was determined to renovate the Lord’s House.  As they were cleaning and making repairs, that made a priceless discovery.

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s Temple!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it.

• This Book of the Law mentioned here was probably the first 5 books of the Bible (or a portion of those books that contained the Biblical laws. Apparently, this vital book had been lost.  We don’t know how.  Perhaps someone hid it on purpose.  Maybe it was just accidentally lost in a stack with other books.  Or maybe—as in the case of many Christian homes today—this Scripture was simply neglected until it was forgotten and lost.

⁹ Shaphan went to the king and reported, “Your officials have turned over the money collected at the Temple of the Lord to the workers and supervisors at the Temple.” ¹⁰ Shaphan also told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” So Shaphan read it to the king.

¹¹ When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair.

• That Josiah tore his clothes in despair tells us two things.  First of all, Josiah had no idea that he and his people had strayed so far from God until he heard the Bible read to him.  When the Word of God was read, King Josiah could clearly see the many ways he and his people were guilty of sin.
• Secondly, that Josiah tore his clothes tells us he was truly sorry for their sins.  Psalm 51:17 tells us that God “…will not reject a broken and repentant heart.”  King Josiah could have made excuses.  He could have reasoned that the Book of the Law was outdated and no longer applicable.  He could have blew it off and told Shaphan to just put the book away and forget about it.  Instead, Josiah was deeply convicted and repented.  King Josiah set about changing the way his people lived.  He gathered all the people—young and old—and read the entire Book of the Law to them so they would no longer be ignorant of God’s requirements.  And Josiah spent the rest of his life reforming his community and ridding it of false religion.

The Bible is Our Anchor 

            I was swimming in the ocean one time just sort of relaxing.  I wasn’t watching the beach to make sure I was staying close to my family.  I was admiring the sea gulls and pelicans that were flying overhead.  I was riding over the rolling waves as they slowly came ashore—rising and falling with each swell.  After about 15 minutes I turned to look back at the shore to see what my family was doing.  The people on the shore were completely unrecognizable.  It was as if my family had packed it up and left me there alone.  But what really happened was I had unknowingly drifted down the shoreline gently pushed by the tide until I was far away from my family.  They hadn’t moved.  I had.

This is how our lives are.  God is always the same.  His principles and standards are always the same.  He never walks away from us.  And yet, left to our own devices, we drift away from God so easily.  We don’t even know we are drifting, but when we take our focus off Christ, we begin to drift.  The current of the world around us carries us on—gently moving us until we are way off course. 

The Bible is the anchor that holds us to Christ.  It shows us how we are to live.  When we drift away, the Bible teaches us how we need to change.  If you want to purify your life, if you want to get rid of the unhealthy toxins of wrong attitudes, ideas, and that seep in over time, open your Bible and read.  If you want to know what God expects of you, it’s in His Word.  Yet most of us set our Bibles aside and forget about them.  Like King Josiah and his people in the story, the Bible becomes lost to us.

According to a recent poll by LifeWay Research, only 19% of protestant church goers read their Bible every day.[i]  A Barna study shows that only 37% read the Bible at least once a week![ii]  Meanwhile a Nielson survey says that every day the average American watches 5 hours of TV, spends over 3 hours on the internet, and listens to 2 hours of radio.[iii] 

Clearly, the primary influence on our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors is not the Bible.  It is no wonder that we as a nation—and even as Christian church goers—are drifting from solid, biblical faith.  What affect would it have on you if you reversed these statistics?  What if you turned off your TV and instead spent 5 hours a day reading your Bible?  What if you shut down your computer and spent 3 hours a day reading your Bible?  What if you turned off the radio and devoted 2 hours a day reading your Bible?  Can you imagine how our thoughts and attitudes would change for the better if we devoted that much time to God’s Word instead of all these worldly things?  Maybe we would live lives far more pleasing to God.  Maybe, there would be a great revival in our nation.

I know what you’re thinking, though.  “That’s crazy!  I’m not going to read my Bible for 2, 3, or 5 hours per day!”  Ok. Fine.  But how about 30 minutes a day?  If you read 30 minutes a day, you could read your entire Bible 3 times in one year.  Still too much?  How about 10 minutes a day?  If you read 10 minutes a day, you could read your entire Bible in one year.  Still too much?  How about 3 minutes a day?  If you read 3 minutes a day (about 1 chapter) you could read the entire New Testament in one year.

Josiah started with a renovation of the physical Temple.  That was good.  But the Lord guided Josiah to a much greater purpose.  When he found the Book of the Law and read it, he was deeply convicted as he realized just how far he and his people had drifted from God.  Josiah repented and changed the way he lived.  He began renovation of his soul.  And as the leader, he determined to lead his people back to God.

I pray the same would true for us.  Today we will change lightbulbs, tidy up our sanctuary, replace ceiling tiles, spruce up the landscaping, deep clean our kitchen…  But I pray this will only be the beginning.  I pray that each of us will move on to a deeper, more significant restoration.  I pray we will rediscover the Word of God, the Holy Bible.  I pray we will devote ourselves to read it, to study it, to discuss it with our church family, to understand and apply it.  I pray that instead of dismissing it as outdated and irrelevant material, we will accept the Bible as the true foundation of everything we believe as Christians.  I pray we will listen to what the Scriptures say and conform our lives to God’s will instead of vainly trying to conform God’s plans to our will.

Conclusion and Challenge 

            There are 28 days left until Easter.  I would like to challenge you to read your Bible every day for the next 28 days.  I challenge you to start in the Gospel of Matthew and read 1 chapter every day.  You could read in the morning, on your lunch break, before you go to bed (or whenever works for you).  Just read one chapter a day; it will take less than 5 minutes and you will read the entire Gospel of Matthew by Easter Sunday.

            Now, I’m guessing there might be around 25-30 people in this congregation that are already reading your Bible every day.  I want to challenge you too.  Keep reading your Bible, but as you do, I want you to reflect deeply on your life and pray about one way you need to change.  Maybe you have a bad habit you need to break.  Maybe you have a sin of which you need to repent.  Maybe you have an attitude you need to change.  Ask God to show you what He wants you to purify in your life and then ask Him to help you change through the power of the Holy Spirit.

[i] http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2012/september/80-of-churchgoers-dont-read-bible-daily-lifeway-survey.html?paging=off

[ii] http://www.americanbible.org/features/state-of-the-bible-research-2014

[iii] http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/average-american-watches-5-hours-tv-day-article-1.1711954 and http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/new-gadgets-beckon-but-americans-still-tune-in-old-school-radio-1200913564/ and http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4718-weekly-online-social-media-time.html