Most people listen to music while driving in their car. If you calculate how
many hours you drive per year, you just might be surprised how much time you
spend behind the wheel. One of the greatest opportunities that we have to
grow in the Lord (as Christian believers), is to hear as much preaching as
possible. Our text passage of Scripture tells us to walk as wise and not
unwise, understanding what the will of the Lord is. You're going to have
difficulty making life's decisions without good sound Biblical information
to guide your decisions. We all need to hear the Word of God daily.
I listen to lots of preaching these days. I keep an MP3 3-disk-set of Alexander Scourby reading the King James Bible in my car at all times. I always have one of the 3 disks in my CD player. I also like to listen to religious radio, a local Baptist church radio station in particular, just to see where the churches are headed (i.e., what is being promoted nationwide). I also hear a little bit of radio music (probably less than 5% of my total driving time). Thankfully, I don't drive much like I used to. I was flipping around the car radio a few weeks ago, and heard an old song from 1972. I started to think about what a waste of time music is (religious as well as secular music). People listen to the same songs over and over and over and over, decade after decade, and for what? Yet, they won't listen to great preaching that is freely available on the internet, that the Lord can use to change your life. Is anybody listening?
I did some research today and was surprised to discover that the average person SPENDS 13 YEARS OF THEIR LIFE LISTENING TO MUSIC!!! That's 4 hours a day, or 2 months total per year! ...
Official study reveals that the average person will spend 13 years of their lives listening to music
A national study has found that the average person in the UK will listen to more than 13 years’ worth of music before they die.
Audio-Technica, one of the world’s finest manufacturers of music equipment, commissioned the study into music habits to ascertain what effect technology was having on our daily uses of music and media as part of its “Music Reviewer Of 2012” campaign.Audio-Technica, which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2012, has seen the huge advances in mobile technology significantly change the demographic of customers looking to purchase high quality headphones and microphones.
Audio-Technica senior UK marketing manager Harvey Roberts said, “It’s no secret that we love our music in this country and the growth of mobile and tablet devices has seen the headphones market explode in recent years. We have found that music is much more engrained in our daily lives than it was only ten years ago. Our research has identified a seismic shift in the amount of time people are spending listening and sharing their music and experiences with friends.”
The music company’s research, which questioned more than 1,000 people, identified that the majority of people in the UK actively listen to four-hours of music a day, which equates to more than 60 days per year.*
*The average life expectancy of a female is now 82.3 years according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. When the average life expectancy is multiplied by the amount of musical days per year it almost reaches a staggering 5,000 days per lifetime.SOURCE: Official study reveals that the average person will spend 13 years of their lives listening to music
Now I am not scolding anybody for listening to music, God forbid! The Lord gave us the gift of music, and the gift of hearing, so that we can enjoy music. I love all kinds of stringed musical instruments, and I love anything melodic and pretty. The old Gospel hymns are very melodic, pulling on the heart strings. I like good Country music, that doesn't promote sinful things. I love southern Gospel music, with a pretty pedal steel guitar. I love playing my pedal steel guitar, but I have pain in my body continually from a long-term neck injury (stenosis, radiculopathy and disk displacement), which stifles my ambition. Still, God is so good! I thank the Lord for His bountiful blessings. For obvious reasons, one of my favorite Bible verses is Philippians 3:21, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
My point is that music may inspire you, uplift your spirit, even catapulting your emotions into the stratosphere; but music won't build your soul, it won't edify you, it won't teach you anything, it won't make you a better Christian! One of the reasons why people are so messed up spiritually is because they don't listen to Bible preaching. Music appeals to the flesh, but man's soul needs to be fed too. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” We all need the Word of God. We all need Bible-preaching. preaching helps us to think right! Music may uplift your spirit, and that is important, but most people listen to only music, music, music. And then they have all sorts of relationship, family and personal problems they can't handle. YOU NEED BIBLE PREACHING MY FRIEND!!!
I have heard some professed believers claim that Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) changed their life and led them back to God. One man claimed that a CCM song he heard stopped him from committing suicide. Of course, the popular “K-LOVE” radio station (aired nationwide in the U.S.) wouldn't stop talking about it, trying to promote their religious business! The CEO of K-LOVE pays himself over $500,000 a year. I have a problem with that, because I think they're exploiting Christianity for money. I don't doubt that CCM has influenced some people for good, but you cannot be changed for God without the Words of God. A lot of people mistake spirituality for theology. You need to be grounded in the Christian faith, taught the Word of God. You won't get that from music, let alone from the utterly shallow CCM today! I triple-dog dare you to show me a clear presentation of the Gospel on any major CCM artist's official website. All they care about is fame and fortune!
We
all need lots of Bible preaching!!! Here
are
thousands of awesome MP3 Bible studies and sermons by Pastor Jack Hyles
that will God will use to change your life if you'll let Him. This is some
of the best preaching you'll ever hear.
Here's a bunch more awesome preaching to bless your life permanently,
not like music that only uplifts you for the moment. I listen to dozens of
sermons each week. I often am reminded of Bible truths that I have heard in
sermons, truths that help and strengthen me, truths that encourage me to
live right for God, truths which help me to counsel others wisely, truths
which won't fade away as time passes (like music does). Preaching doesn't
come and go in trends or fads like music and clothing does.
Notice our text verse again from Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” There's no better way to “keep one's heart,” than to hear lots of Bible preaching. That requires character instead of feeding the fleshly lusts that want to eat, drink and be merry because someday I will die. Music may be more enjoyable to the flesh than listening to a preacher harp and holler from the Word of God, but music won't change your life. And anybody who says otherwise is a fool. Titus 1:3, “But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour.” You cannot show me one Scripture that says God works through music, but as I have just shown you, Titus 1:3 says that God's Words are manifest through preaching!!!
The Word of God is a lighthouse during the storms of life, to lead us to safety. Psalms 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Notice that a lamp is not intended to light your entire path from beginning to end; but rather, a lamp illuminates the path in front of your next step. Psalms 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” God orders our STEPS, not our flight plans, not our 26-mile marathon, not our journey. By the inch it's a cinch, by the yard it's hard! Baby steps! We must learn to just take baby steps!
2nd Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” The Bible doesn't tell us to “sing the word,” but “PREACH THE WORD!” I am tired of hearing lame religious people claim to have a musical ministry. Where are their converts? How many souls do they win to Christ? Do they even preach the Gospel? The answer is “No,” they don't. I've heard most of them say that they preach the Gospel through their singing, which is nonsense. No one gets saved. Giving your heart and life to Jesus is not the Gospel. That's about the extent of nearly all CCM gatherings today... turning your life over to Jesus! May I remind you that Judas Iscariot turned his life over to Jesus, becoming one of His very apostles, yet Judas had a devil (John 6:70) and went to Hell in his sins and unbelief.
A group of religious people in Matthew 7:21-23 dedicated their lives to follow and serve Jesus Christ, but they all went to Hell. You see, you don't get saved by doing anything, you get saved by trusting what Christ did to pay for your sins on the cross. Eternal life is a free gift, forgiveness of sins is a free gift, received solely by faith in the Gospel, that is, the Good News that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and bodily resurrected three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). If that is your only hope for Heaven, you are saved. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. God will not save anyone who is trying to be saved, He will only save those who are trusting to be saved.
I wrote this article to encourage you, the reader, and to help saturate your life with good Bible-preaching. I love listening to the preaching of Pastor Danny Castle. Also, another favorite preacher that I love to follow is Pastor Max D. Younce. I love the preaching of Pastor Charles Lawson. I try to keep up with the preaching of Pastor Jeff Owens. I stop by from time-to-time at the website for the Florida Bible College, because I really like listening to Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold. These are but a handful of dozens of preachers that I listen to on a regular basis. I like the hard Bible preaching of Pastor Steven L. Anderson. Bible preaching helps us to think straight! Every preacher is different and unique, which is how God made them. Praise God for Bible preachers!
If we were to add up all the hours spent reading or hearing the Bible in your life... how many hours would it total? If we were to add up all the hours that you or I spent listening to preaching sermons, how many hours would it total? I'm listening to at least 1-2 dozen sermons per week now. I put sermons on in the background at home, while I'm working on other things. I like multitasking. Sometimes I find myself listening between two sermons at the same time. I glean truths from both sermons (I just have to make sure the volume levels are set the same.) It just happens while I'm working, and sometimes a sermon will automatically play on YouTube. I find that intermeddling with divine wisdom (as Proverbs 18:1 teaches) is much more beneficial, rewarding and satisfying eternally, than just listening to some dead music that never won a soul to Jesus Christ. I'm sick of millionaire industry singers telling me how much they love Jesus, while only concerned about fame and more money. None of the mainstream religious artists have the simple Gospel on their website.
The reason why people's lives are so messed up
these days is because their souls are completely devoid of THE TRUTH! People
have their spiritual priorities all wrong!!! Most people don't keep their
soul's health very well. Instead they are enamored with rap music, hip hop
music and more worldly music. Men of all ages are infatuated with video
games of all kinds. Everyone is preoccupied with cellphones, texting, taking
and sending photos, surfing the web, blogging, et cetera. If people would
just get into the habit of listening to men of God preaching the truth of
God's Word, then people would be much better off for it. I like soft,
pretty, heart-warming Christian music, but that cannot burn my heart like
the Words of God can.
And last, but not least, Oh how we need prayer in our marriages, homes and churches today!!! The time is soon coming in America, when Christians will be arrested for praying in public, as a violation of some liberal's rights. NEVER STOP PRAYING! Don't let the Devil's thugs scare you. NEVER STOP PREACHING ALL THE WORDS OF GOD! NEVER STOP BELIEVING AND PREACHING THE WHOLE BIBLE! Know what you believe, and why you believe it. If you cannot explain and show the U.S. courts why you believe something, then it is NOT a conviction. How can something be a conviction, if you don't even know the basis for why you hold to that conviction??? Know why you believe what you believe. Never say it's just a hunch, or a feeling, or something that you prefer. Those are not convictions!
If there is one thing that we all need every day as born-again Christians, it is to abide in the Words of God. That is our spiritual food and nourishment. The world's television, music and radio shows are all distractions that hinder us from spending time in the Holy Bible. No wonder why so many people's lives are messed up today, when the average person spends 13 years of their life listening to music. How much time total do you think the average person spends reading the Holy Bible during their lifetime? Perhaps, maybe 5 minutes a year! Or, 5 hours in a lifetime? How much time did you spend over the last year listening to the Bible.
Lately, I've been listening to the King James Bible each night while sleeping. In particular, the book of Proverbs is great to play, because the sayings are short and to the point. Listen To Alexander Scourby Read The King James Bible Online | Listen To Book Of Proverbs. Each time I wake up, I hear a Bible verse from Proverbs that sticks in my mind. We all need to hear the Word of God regularly. I'm not going to say that it is a sin to listen to more music than you hear the Bible, but it is wrong to think about music more than you do the Bible. The Scriptures should always be on our mind. As believers we're supposed to meditate in God's Word day and night (Psalms 1:2). An idle mind is the Devil's workshop. Effectively, your mind is empty while listening to empty music. I didn't write this article to scold anyone; but rather, to encourage others to spend more time listening to the Word of God.
Satan wants to destroy your life, but he cannot do that unless you let him. Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Psalms 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Please don't let the money-hungry world substitute all types of religious garbage in your life, putting it in place of the inspired Words of God in the King James Bible. NOTHING CAN REPLACE THE WORD OF GOD! END
“There's not a single person in this house this morning, who's unsaved, but what wouldn't be saved if you realized that the Creator of the universe loves you!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, a precious quote from the awesome sermon titled, "How To Love God More.”
