The Living Room
Spring Cleaning • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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21 Days of Prayer and Fasting / Spring Cleaning: The Living Room
Last week we talked about “Opening the Door” of our life to Jesus and welcoming Him in, no matter how messy it might be. Asking Him to help address the mess and clutter in our lives. So we can have space to connect with Him.
Today, we are talking about spending time in the living room of our life and connecting with Jesus. Cleaning out things that hinder making Jesus the center and focus of our lives.
Living rooms are different than family rooms.
Family rooms are designed for families members to gather for entertainment usually around a tv. With the furniture layout facing the tv and not each other. Which discourages direct interaction with passive entertainment. - Easter with my family over.
Living rooms are designed for conversation & socializing: Layouts often feature furniture arranged in conversational circles or facing each other or a focal point like a fireplace instead of a tv to encourage direct interaction and deeper conversation rather than passive entertainment.
Last week we talked about “Opening the Door” of our life to Jesus and welcoming Him in, no matter how messy it might be. Asking Him to help address the mess and clutter in our lives. So we can have space to connect with Him.
Today, we are talking about spending time in the living room of our life and connecting with Jesus. Cleaning out things, that hinder our focus and making Jesus the center of our lives.
Big Idea: Your commitments and your companions determine your character.
Commitments: What you do and what you value.
Companions: Who and what you spend the most time on.
Character: Who you are becoming. Becoming more like Jesus.
Spring Cleaning: The Living Room
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
Throw off: An Olympic sprinter strips off his warm-up gear to eliminate extra weight and wind resistance. In cycling culture, a "weight weenie" is someone who is obsessed with reducing the weight of their bicycle and its components to the absolute minimum.
Your commitments and your companions determine your character.
Your commitments: What things you are doing right now that are hindering your walk with God? Get rid of them, so you can run the race you are called to.
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Have you ever been running and felt like you wanted to quit? Then someone draws alongside you and encourages you to keep going, enabling you to go farther than you could have managed by yourself. When this happens, it shifts the focus from your pain to the person helping you, and you get a second wind.
Kaylee Sue and me at Kelly’s bootcamp.
Similarly, if you keep your attention on him, Jesus will enable you to persevere through your development and reach your destiny.
To experience spiritual victory in our Christian race, our lives must be focused on an intimate relationship with Jesus. Remember —your companions determine your character.
How did Jesus himself reach the finish line? For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning the shame. The joy would come on Sunday, but the shame had to be endured on Friday. The Son of God made it through Friday by keeping his eyes on Sunday.
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
My first wedding and slipping back into homeboy mode.
Your commitments and your companions determine your character.
Parents teach yourselves this first then your children: “You are who you hang with”.
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with" - Jim Rohn
The most definitive study on this subject was published in 2022 in the journal Nature. The study was called “Social Capital”.
This was a massive, groundbreaking study that analyzed the Facebook friendships of 72 million people (accounting for 84% of U.S. adults aged 25–44) to determine how social circles correlate with income and economic mobility.
Interestingly, the study found that the single biggest predictor of whether a person will eventually move up the income ladder is if they have friends who make more than them. If a low-income person has "cross-class" friendships, their own income is significantly more likely to increase over time.
Now apply that to your current companions.
So if we spend more time in the Living Room with Jesus, the more we will become like Him.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Not only who you hang with, but also what you listen to, watch, read, or learn.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Conform: shape one’s behavior; be conformed to a pattern or mold.
Why do so many Christians look more like the world than their Lord? Ever heard of “you are what you eat”? Well “you are what you consume into your mind”.
Social Media Example: A neurological perspective, the "pattern of this world" is literally a series of neural pathways formed by repetitive stimuli.
Think about social media. When you scroll through Instagram or TikTok, you aren't just looking at pictures; you are engaging in a high-speed feedback loop:
The Dopamine Hit: Every like, notification, or outrage-inducing headline triggers the brain's reward system (the ventral striatum). This creates a "pattern" of seeking validation from the "world."
The Comparison Circuit: The lateral prefrontal cortex begins to compare your life to the curated "perfection" of others. This activates the amygdala (the fear center), leading to chronic stress and a sense of inadequacy.
Neuroplasticity of Conformity: If you spend 4 hours a day in this digital "pattern," your brain physically rewires itself to be reactive, short-tempered, and addicted to external approval. You are literally being "conformed" at a cellular level.
Your commitments determine your character.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Theology tells us that there are two competing shapes for your soul. The "pattern of this world" is a mold that presses in from the outside, forcing you into a shape of anxiety, pride, and self-preservation.
Transformation, however, is an inward-out process. It is the Holy Spirit working on the "renewing" of the mind to restore the Imago Dei (the Image of God) within you.
That kind of transformation can occur only as the Holy Spirit changes our thinking through consistent study and meditation on Scripture.
Now the miracle of the human brain is neuroplasticity. The brain is not a fixed stone; it is more like a garden.
When Paul tells us to "renew our minds," he is calling us to leverage the brain’s ability to create new pathways. By intentionally shifting our focus away from the "world’s pattern" and toward the things of God, we physically change the structure of our brains.
We move from the reactive, impulsive "limbic system" (the flesh) to the reflective, wise "prefrontal cortex" (the spirit-led mind).
Step 1: Breaking the Digital Pattern—You cannot renew a mind that is constantly being bombarded by the "world’s mold."
The Action: Spring Cleaning: Doing a social media fast.
The Neuroscience: This stops the constant dopamine spikes, allowing your nervous system to return to a baseline of peace (the parasympathetic state).
Step 2: Renewing the Input
Theology calls this "meditating on the Word." Neuroscience calls this "focused attention."
The Action: Spend 15 minutes a day in deep, slow reading of Scripture. Don't just read it; visualize it.
The Neuroscience: Repeated, focused thought thickens the gray matter in the prefrontal cortex and shrinks the amygdala. You are physically building a "mind of Christ" that is less prone to anxiety and more capable of discernment.
Your commitments determine your character.
Commitments: What you do and what you value.
8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Your commitments and your companions determine your character.
My heart Christ’s home: by Robert Boyd Munger
Living Room: This room was intimate and comfortable. I liked it. It had a fireplace, overstuffed chairs, a sofa, and a quiet atmosphere. Jesus said, "This is, indeed, a delightful room. Let us come here often. It is secluded and quiet, and we can fellowship together." Well, as a young Christian I was thrilled. I couldn't think of anything I would rather do than have a few minutes with Christ in close companionship.
He promised, "I will be here early every morning. Meet me here, and we will start the day together.” So morning after morning, I would come downstairs to the living room. He would take a book of the Bible from the case. We would open it and read together. He would unfold to me the wonder of God's saving truths. My heart sang as He shared the love and the grace He had toward me. These were wonderful times.
However, little by little, under the pressure of many responsibilities, this time began to be shortened. Why, I'm not sure. I thought I was too busy to spend regular time with Christ. This was not intentional, you understand. It just happened that way.
Finally, not only was the time shortened, but I began to miss days now and then.
Urgent matters would crowd out the quiet times of conversation with Jesus. I remember one morning rushing downstairs, eager to be on my way. I passed the living room and noticed that the door was open. Looking in, I saw a fire in the fireplace and Jesus was sitting there.
Suddenly, in dismay, I thought to myself, "He is my guest. I invited Him into my heart! He has come as my Savior and Friend, and yet I am neglecting Him."
I stopped, turned and hesitantly went in. With downcast glance, I said, "Master, forgive me. Have You been here all these mornings?” "Yes," He said, "I told you I would be here every morning to meet with you.
Remember, I love you. I have redeemed you at great cost. I value your fellowship. Even if you cannot keep the quiet time for your own sake, do it for mine.”
The truth that Christ desires my companionship, that He wants me to be with Him and waits for me, has done more to transform my quiet time with God than any other single fact. Don't let Christ wait alone in the living room of your heart, but every day find time when, with your Bible and in prayer, you may be together with Him.
