You’re Being Formed: By Screens or by Scripture?

READ Part 5: Scripture Shapes Reality, Not the Other Way Around
Podcast: The Charlie Mitchell Teachings Podcast
Series: READ – Rediscovering the Power of Scripture
Episode: 4 of 5

Scripture References:

• Romans 12:1-2
• 2 Timothy 3:16-17
• 1 Samuel 3
• Psalm 1
• John 1
• Mark 4

Episode Summary:

This week, we move deeper into our READ series with a challenging question: What is shaping your reality, God’s Word or everything else?

In this episode, Pastor Charlie dives into the power of Scripture not just to inform, but to form. To reshape your inner world. To create resistance to the default settings of culture, trauma, or algorithm-fed identity.

If Romans 12 says we’re either being conformed to the world or transformed by the renewing of our minds, then reading the Word isn’t just for inspiration, it’s for reformation.

This message unpacks:

• Why reading Scripture daily is how we stay woke to reality
• How God’s Word forms you at the subconscious level
• The difference between biblical reading and social media scrolling
• The danger of information without formation
• Why formation requires repetition, meditation, and submission
• What it means to "become the good soil" from Mark 4

Key Quote:

“Most of us aren’t formed by the Bible. We’re informed by it, but formed by the timeline.”

Action Steps:

• Identify your current sources of formation (screens, habits, music, etc.)
• Commit to 15 uninterrupted minutes with Scripture every morning this week
• Ask: What is God trying to form in me through this Word today?

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

• Romans 12:1-2 - Bible Gateway
• Mark 4: The Parable of the Sower
• Join the mailing list at BeMaroon.com for more teaching and tools

Support the Work:
If this episode blessed you, share it with a friend and leave a rating. You can also support the work of Maroon House and Charlie Mitchell Teachings by becoming a monthly partner here.

Transcript

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Good morning, Epiphany Church. It is so good to be with you this morning. I'm excited to be going through our read series this morning. Um, if you would turn in your Bible to Joshua chapter one, that's where we're going to spend the beginning of our time together. But I'm excited because, man, this is, this is black history represent from a man, Frederick Douglass. Have you know, he's, he, he, he lived here in Baltimore, uh, generations ago and it was here in this city that he was taught how to read. And it's crazy because, His slave owner's wife began to give him the basics of how to read, how to put words together and understand what was on the page. And as she began to teach him to read, uh, her husband, the slave owner, he found out. And he got very angry and it was his expression of anger, uh, and telling his wife, say, listen, if you, if you teach this boy how to read, he'll become unmanageable. He'll desire things that he shouldn't desire. He'll want things that he doesn't know about is, is, is in other words, they wanted to keep him ignorant. Ignorance is bliss. He don't know about freedom. freedom. He don't know about liberation. He don't know about the world. Let's just keep him docile and controllable. And I think there's a spiritual insight in that as well. I think the spiritual insight is, is that we do have an enemy that is intent on preventing you from reading. Because he knows that if he can get you to not read, to give your attention to other things, that you'll miss out on the goodness of God, that you'll miss out on the truths of scripture. You'll miss out on the opportunities to grow in your relationship and understanding of God and Christ. You'll miss out on your opportunity to be strengthened in your faith. And so as I encourage you, man, continue to read, continue to persevere in the Bible reading plan. You might be with us. You might not be. Wherever you are, join in the Bible reading plan. We're in Leviticus right now. It's a lot of blood. It's a lot of purity. It's a lot of stuff. There's a lot of scabs and mucus and all that kind of stuff and robes and tents and all, but it's all good. Jump in with us because the word does something to us, but there's something unique about our age that we find ourselves in. The amount of data we produce every day is mind boggling. The amount of content that comes out every single day will blow your mind. There are 2. 5 quintillion That's right. That's a word. 2. 5 quintillion bytes of data created every single day. And at our current pace, uh, it's only accelerating. Now, that stat that I just gave you was from 2018. It did not account for what happened in 2020 when the entire world went on the internet because we were all locked down. And so I can only imagine how much content, how many documents, how many pages, how many things are being created and produced every single day over the last two years. And so, like I said, This is from 2018. So 2016 and 17, over the last two years alone, 90 percent of the data in the world was generated. Let that sink in. In two years alone, over 90 percent of the data in the world was generated. And so You got to understand when we go on social media, when we go, uh, on the internet and we read or you go to the library and you see all the books and when, when you, when you walk around and see all the advertisements, so much content is been created. Here's what they said about what is created every single minute of every day. They say Snapchat users share 527, 760 pic photos every single minute. They say, uh, uh, every single minute, uh, users watch. 4, 146, 600, 000 YouTube videos. That would include you right now. Um, every minute 456, 000 tweets are sent on Twitter. Every minute Instagram users post 46, 740, 000 tweets. Now listen, this is, this is, this is, this is two years ago. This don't account for 2020. This don't account for all the content that's been produced in the last couple of years and the last 12 months. It's probably exponential that right now. And so we create so much. We send 16 million text messages. There are 990, 000 Tinder swipes every minute, 156 million emails are sent every single minute. Every. Single. Minute. This creates a crisis for us. There is a tension here. I'm inviting you to read the scriptures, but at the very same time, we live in the over information age. Not just the information age. Age, the over information age, the misinformation age. This is the impasse that we must cross. The time necessary to learn all that you need to learn to live a flourishing, thriving life now exceeds your life expectancy. Everything that you need to know to live a flourishing life in this complex age, You would spend every single day of your life trying to figure out what those tools and tricks and resources are. So what that means is you must make a tough decision. You've got to make a real decision on what merits your time and your attention. And you must have the mental and emotional strength to let go of the vast majority of information that comes your way. So every day you're bombarded with thousands of pieces of information, thousands of pieces of content, thousands of messages are coming in your direction and you have to make the decision. What am I going to spend my time on? What am I going to focus on? Where am I going to give my energy? Let me make it a little bit more plain. What shows am I going to watch? What music am I going to listen to? Which videos am I going to watch? Which subjects do I need to study? Which books do I need to read? Which articles do I need to read? What jobs do I need to pursue? Which relationships am I going to embrace? Which ones am I going to forfeit? You've got to be willing to give up something Otherwise you will never get to the substantive things that will actually help your life to flourish And not just your life, your, your physical life, not just your home life, but your spiritual life to flourish. And so for us, we, I, I want to encourage you to be intentional about what it is that you consume. Many of us are unintentional. But we need to be intentional about what it is that we consume. Too often we allow whatever to just come in and we just be shaped and molded by it. And I'm saying, man, let's take control of those, those inputs into our life. Let's take control and be intentional about what those things are that we are going to consume. Cause let's face it, you going to consume something as much as we try to say, man, I don't do social media. I don't do this or that. I don't, I don't go on these websites or that website. That's fine. But it's on the radio. It's on TV. It's on the news. It's everywhere. It's on the newspaper. It's every, there's content that is coming your way that is wants to tell you something, wants to show you something, wants to reveal something to you. And so I'm saying we need to pick and choose what it is that we consume. We need to curate what it is that we consume. We just aren't unintentional, but we're very intentional. Here, what God said to Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter one, verse three, I want to, I want to catch you right quick. He says it like this. He said to me, son of man, Eat what you find here, eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll. Son of man, he said to me, feed your stomach and fill your belly with the scroll I'm giving you. So I ate it and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. What is he, what is he doing? God came to the prophet Ezekiel and he said, listen, I know there's all these things out there that you could be looking at. You're looking at your nation. You're looking at your family. You're looking at your situation and you're going, I need to know, I need to figure out, I need to think about, I need to worry about, I need to fret over. I need to consider. I need, there's a lot of things you need to consider. But God came to Ezekiel and he said, listen, open your mouth. And eat this scroll. The scroll is the, is the books of the law. It was the scriptures. It was God's revealed will. It was the word of God. It was the Bible. And so for him, he's like, listen, I want you to eat this thing. Open your mouth and feed on this. Eat it, fill your stomach and fill your belly that I'm giving you. So I ate it and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. I need you to know that a lot of us, we got candy. We got sugar all over the house, tucked away in little secret compartments, this, that, and the third. But for these folks, for these ancient Israelites, Listen, candy and stuff was a rare occasion. To get some honey, to taste honey was a once, twice a year type of situation, and for him to go, man, eating this word, it became the sweetest thing that I could imagine, became the best thing that I could taste, and he says, so I'm going to eat this, and not all those other things. So what are we going to focus on today? I think we need to focus on how it is that we consume this word. How do we go about consuming this thing? I've been pushing you just to read it. I want you to read it. I want you to get it in you. I want you to get comfortable with it. I want you to get acclimated to it. That's why we've recommended this Bible reading plan. That's why in our cruise, we ask you, man, how has the Lord been speaking to you and engaging with you as you've engaged with the text of the Bible? We want that to just become a regular pattern of life. But at now, as we just get past just reading it, I want us to read it a certain kind of way. Here's what it says in Joshua chapter one, verse eight, it says it like this. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth. You are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Listen to that. He told him something very specific. This book of instruction, it shouldn't depart from your mouth. It shouldn't depart from your mouth. You are to do something with it. He said, meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. Why? When you meditate on it, you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Now, that's not a carte blanche. If I read the Bible, I'll get a million dollars. If I read the Bible, my business will be successful. If I read the Bible, my kids will be safe and never get hurt. That ain't what it's saying. But what it is saying is that as you flourish, your soul will flourish. God will be with you. You will be able to handle the trials and tribulations of life that God will go before you. for you. Why? Because you were walking with God through his word. So he's giving you a promise that when you read it, you will prosper and flourish no matter what you go through. But let's slow down for a second. How did he say to read it? Meditate. So this week we're going to talk about read to meditate, read to meditate. You are to meditate on it day and night. Meditate on it. A lot of times in our culture, we have this conversation about meditation. You hear about it maybe with, um, there's a lot of talk about mindfulness and, um, open mindedness and yoga and, you know, meditate and, you know, kind of opening up your mind. And a lot of those times when we, when we hear about meditation in the culture and in conversation is from an Eastern philosophical point of view. And in, in, in other words, it's coming from this idea that when you meditate, you are emptying your mind of all the things that are in it to, to, to kind of clear out the clutter to kind of, you know, the, the, get to a state of nirvana and the, and the, get a release from all the things that might be in your mind. But the biblical notion of meditation is different. The biblical notion of meditation is not to empty. But to feel here's what we see when we talk about meditation from the scriptures to meditate is to chew To meditate is to chew Check this out in the, in the, in Joshua chapter one, uh, verse eight, it says you are to meditate on, on it day and night so that you may carefully observe every, everything written in it. What does he mean when he says that? He means Haga, Haga. That means to murmur in pleasure or anger. Uh, it means to ponder, to imagine, to meditate, to mourn, to mutter or to roar. It's an interesting word picture because it encapsulates a lot, a range of emotion and experiences. It means to mutter under one's breath, to growl. And when you look at the Hebrew picture of it, it's a word picture of a lion that is chewing on its prey. It's interesting that this word comes up 24 times in 26 verses in the Hebrew, 24 times in 26 verses in the Hebrew. And what you're, what you're getting every time is this, this, this noise, you're getting this murmur, you're getting this, this, this, this thing that is happening that is very kind of intimate and close, but you know what's going on. What do I mean? Let me try to make it plain. You ever cook some food? You ever, yeah, you ever cook some food for your family or you ever sitting around, maybe it's Thanksgiving, you go back to Thanksgiving, there's a lot of talk and chatter, talk and chatter, talk, noise, music, all this TV and laughing and all this kind of stuff. Then the food goes out to the table. Everybody, we say our prayers, whatever we're going to do, and then we start to eat and then there's this kind of hum in the room. That hum, you know that hum I'm talking about where you just hear lip smacking and ums and um, uh, um, uh and the, and the, and the just engagement and everything is kind of quiet, but there is a hum in the room. That hum is haga. That hum is, is, is, that's the noise that's taking place as you're taking in the food and engaging with it and, and processing it. That, that, that gnawing, that chewing, that salivating, that consuming, and what are you doing when you're eating that food and having that moment? It's a mental thing because you're taking the food and putting it in your mouth so you know you're consuming food. But it's a psychological thing, because what's happening? Memories are getting triggered by the smell of the sweet potato pie. Memories are getting triggered as you think about that ham and the honey and the garlic and this and that. There's something psychological happening. You're feeling comforted and warmed on the inside. You're feeling close to family or distant from family because of maybe some past trauma. And then there's something spiritual that's happening. There is a bond that takes place at the table. All of this is happening at the gnawing, at the hum of the consuming of the food. That's what meditation on the word is. When you're meditating on the word, you're chewing on it, and it is a comprehensive bodily experience of not just a mental engagement with the words on the text, but it's me getting triggered to memories and my imagination is running and my emotions are getting triggered. Cued and, and, and, and things are beginning to, I hear my grandma singing and I, and I see that, that, that, that Sunday school class and I, and I begin to remember the pain that I had in those prayers. And I pray all of this is happening. When you're chewing to meditate is not only just to chew, but what else is going on here? When you meditate on the word of God, you're, it means that you're absorbing the nutrients of the word of God into your life. You're absorbing those nutrients. Look at Psalm, uh, uh, 1 verses 1 through 3. He says it like this. How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway of sinners, or sit in the company of mockers. Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he does what? Haga. He meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted besides flowing streams that bear its fruits in season, and its leaf does not wither, whatever he does prospers. Psalm 119, 15 says it like this, I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. In other words, when I meditate on your word, I am like a tree that's planted by the river, and the flow of that stream, the nutrients of that stream are constantly being infused into my life, into my body, so that I flourish. So meditation isn't just this thing that, you know, I'm, I'm disappearing and going off somewhere or it's just me studying the text. But no, it's me absorbing the thing, absorbing the word, taking it, taking it in and seeing it for all that it's worth. Too often we just skim past things and we push on because we're trying to consume more and more and more not knowing that if you ate a nutrient rich meal. That you won't have to eat as much to get the same health benefits. That's what it is to meditate on the word of God. It means that I absorb all the nutrients of the Holy Spirit. I absorb all the nutrients of this history. I absorb all the love and the faithfulness and righteousness of Christ into my life. And it begins to build me up. from the inside out. What else does it mean to meditate? To meditate is to live the scriptures. A lot of times I get asked, man, it's so hard for me to do what it is you're asking me to do, Pastor Charlie. And then nine times out of 10, I'm not asking you to do nothing. I'm trying to ask you to do what God tells you to do. But to meditate means it helps me to live this thing out because I've taken so much time to sit with it. Psalm 119, 97 to 99 says like this, how I love your instruction. It is my meditation all day long. Your command makes me wiser than my enemies for it is always with me. I have more insight than all my teachers because your decrees are my meditation. I don't know if you caught that right there. It is my meditation all day long. Your command makes me wiser. Yes, sir, they is doing something in me that helps me to live differently than those around me It's helping me to see things that I didn't see before. It's helping me to become aware of things that I wasn't aware of before. It's exposing me to things so that I live differently. Second Timothy 3, 16 and 17. Had to memorize this in our little Bible study growing up called Brotherhood. Every, every Monday night I had to go to Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in the back in the fellowship hall and all the brothers had to stand around the table and recite all scriptures given by inspiration of God and it's profitable for doctrine, for a proof, for correction, instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished for all good works. We had to memorize that thing and recite it every doggone week. But catch what he said. This is the benefit of meditation. It helps you to live different. Come back to me. All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable. What does that mean? That means it's useful. That means it's beneficial. That means it's practical. It's like a tool. It's profitable for what? For teaching. So teaching you the way of Jesus, the lifestyle of Jesus, the practices of Jesus for rebuking for correction. Oh, that's not the way of Jesus. Don't do it like that no more for training and righteousness. Try this. Don't try that. You've done that. Well, now let's move on to this next step. So that's training in righteousness. Why? Why is it so profitable? So that the man or woman of God may be complete. Equipped for every good work. You ain't learning this word just so you know more information. You learning this word so that you can accomplish the things God has set out for you to accomplish. To be the best mother or father you can be. To be the best son or daughter you can be. To be the best student that you can be. To be the best employee that you can be. To be the best disciple of Jesus Christ that you can be. To be the best creative or artist that you can be. To be the best! God has work set out for you that he wants you to accomplish and his word is profitable for helping you to accomplish that end. And too often we think, man, the word don't got nothing to do with my life and it has everything to do with the things that you are doing in your everyday ordinary life. So how do we meditate? How do we do this? What I would say is if you're a beginner at meditation on the scriptures, it's not a magical mystical thing. It's very simple. The easiest way to decide what to meditate on is to choose a word or a phrase or a passage of scripture that stands out to you, that impresses you, that when you encounter scripture daily. So you might be reading in the scriptures and something just jumps out at you. Let's do it together real quick. Let's go back to Psalm, Psalm one. And uh, we already referenced this, so it's something quick and easy, but let's go back and look at it real quick. He said it like this. How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway of sinners or sit in the company of mockers? So let's sit here. All right. So how do you meditate? Let's think about this for a second. How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway of sinners or sit in the company of mockers? Listen, there's a lot of pieces here. And we can go through each and every piece. So let's, let's go. Let's rewrite it in our own words. How would you say, think about it. Take a look at someone. How would you say it? I thought about it. Similar to this. It's a good life when you don't take advice from evil doers and don't embrace their lifestyle, uh, of sinners or kick back with mean people. It's, it's a good life. Think about it, man. You know, life is pretty simple when you're not talking bad about people. And you don't do all the things that people that are going the wrong direction are doing. Man, my conscience is clear. I feel better. I know I'm on the right path. Like man, like it is a happy life. So why do I always go the wrong way? Because sometimes I think it might be better. What are we doing? We're chewing on it and getting the nutrients out of it. Each and every passage of scripture is like a diamond that has multiple faces on it. You look at it from a different light, and you see something new every time. After you've kind of re read it, chewed on it some, take time to pray through it. Jesus, I want to live a happy life, and so much of my life is anxious and confusing and worrisome. Lord, will you show me where I'm, I'm embraced. I'm walking in the path of sinners. Lord, will you reveal to me like that? I'm, I'm being petty and mocking people. What are we doing? We're praying through the scriptures that he's given to us. And the last thing I'll tell you is this, how do you meditate on the scriptures? You choose a passage, you go through it in your own words. You pray through that text. And then you take your time. The enemy of meditation is hurry. The enemy of meditation is hurry. It can happen because this happened to me already with our Bible reading plan. I just need to get through this. I'm not interested. I just want to accomplish the goal. I'm not interested in like actually reading stuff. I just need to finish. And what happens is we miss. We miss what God might be trying to say to us specifically. I know a lot of times people go, man, I need a word, Pastor Charlie, Pastor Charlie, I need a word, Pastor, I need a word. I'm, I go to from sermon to sermon to pastor to pastor, cause I need a word. Not knowing that God is willing to speak with you. If you would just take the time to sit with him. So don't rush, take your time, savor the scriptures. It is better to read a small amount of scripture and meditate on it than to read an extensive amount of scripture and forget all about what you just read. That's the blessing of the scriptures is it'll talk back to you if you take the time to. But the, back to our original presupposition, remember how much content is coming out right now. Remember how much is being produced at every minute of every day? There's this pull to superficiality. There's a pull to shallowness. And I'm saying, I'm pleading with you, take your time. And some of you are going, but Pastor Charles, I don't have time. That means cut something else out and put meditation and Bible reading into its place. Here's a quote from a brother from, uh, Over a hundred years ago. Here's what he says. Our age has been sadly deficient in what may be termed spiritual greatness. We're deficient in what's been termed spiritual greatness. At the root of this is the modern disease of shallowness. We are all too impatient to meditate on the faith we profess, my God. It is not by skimming over religious books or the careless hastening through religious duties, which makes for a strong Christian faith. Rather, it is the unhurried meditation on the gospel truths and the exposing of our minds to these truths that yields fruit of sanctified character. You ever been with somebody that eats too fast? You ever eaten something too fast? I, I, I, I, I was in a hurry and I had to eat all this and you ate too fast. What happened? You get sick. You get nauseous. Some things are meant to be slowed down and considered. There's nuances, there's levels, there's, there's, there's flavors that, that you can savor if you don't hurry. And so what did I say? To meditate is to chew on the word of God and we want to be those that chew on the word of God. Because man, uh, what did he say in Joshua chapter one? Meditate on a day and night so that you may be careful to observe everything that is written in it. We want to do that. But also, if we're honest, also, if we're honest, we want for the, for then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Meditating on the Word of God will give you the nutrients you need to live in this complex, ever changing age. It will anchor you. It will govern you. It will help you to see what others don't see, and it will help you to thrive. Let's meditate this week on the word of God.