By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church

Josiah was 16 when he realized the need to clean house in the nation of Judah. Its spring-cleaning time. We need to take a look around to see what type of dirt has accumulated over the past winter. What needs to be cleaned out and cut out of our lives? Over the past week some major spring-cleaning has been taking place in our church. It is time to take a look around and to see what needs to be cleaned up.

Scripture Text: 2Chr 34:1 Josiah [was] eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. 2 And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined [neither] to the right hand, nor to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. 4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that [were] on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust [of them], and strowed [it] upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. 5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And [so did he] in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about. 7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

1. The Dust of the World Settles In. One man's trash is another man's treasure. What is dirt anyway? What is good and what is bad? What some people think is fine the other person considers it terrible. We must seek the Lord to determine what is to be kept and what is to be thrown out. If we want to become people who are the people of God. God wants the best for his people.

1Pet 2:9 (KJS) But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. A holy people of God recognize the need to clean out the filth and dirt of the world from their lives. This plague of dirt creeps in as the dust settles in our houses. It gradually comes to be accepted. But the Lord calls his people to recognize the difference and clean out the dirt. Josiah cleaned out the dirt that had accumulated in the lives of the people of his nation. He was a young man, who was seeking God, so he set out to do some cleaning. The dirt of the world settles around the people of God and we begin to accept it as part of our lives. It is time to clean house in the house of God.

2.  The Need to Clean. What do we need to clean? Josiah cleaned out the gods of the world that had been adopted by the people of God. There is only one living true God. He is the everlasting father. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the King of Kings. Is he your King? Will you choose to seek him in your life? Then let's clean out the other gods out of our lives. What are these gods?

1. A Materialism. The worship of material things in this world.
2. Meism. The worship of self. Everything is for I, my, or me. Nothing else matters.
3. Sexism. The worship of sex. It goes all the way to the top of the nation.
4. Pleasurism. The worship of pleasures from shopping trips to sporting events.
5. Intellectualism. The worship of the mind which intellectualizes our unholiness.
6. Creaturism. The worship of the created instead of the Creator. This places the most importance on pleasing of people rather than pleasing God. These are people pleasers in the place of God pleasers.

3.  The Danger of Dirt. Why not just leave well enough alone? Don't stir up the dust. Josiah caused quite a stir by destroying all of these places of worship. Why didn't he just leave them alone? Leaving the dirt allows the bugs to creep in. The bugs bring disease that brings death. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If we allow the dirt to continue to build up in our lives, in our church, in our communities, and in our nation then we are asking for the problems that will come as a result. We have to continue to clean up the filth of sin or we will suffer the result of the deadly diseases that it will bring. Stand up and get a cleaning rag. It is time to clean. Sin will eat away at your life like rust eats away at your car. It will eventually come out and leave a big ugly hole. Don't allow it to wipe you out.

4. The Cleansing Agent. The only power that is able to conquer sin is the blood of the Lamb. His blood was the payment for our sin. Soap and Ajax are available to those who want to apply these agents to the stains. Josiah sought the Lord. He cleaned out the gods that were a plague of sin to his country. Then he turned toward Jerusalem. He went to the place of the temple of the Lord. There he could worship and serve the Lord. We have to turn to God. We can't overcome the power of the world, sin, sinful flesh, or the devil on our own strength. God has already overcome the power of death, hell, and the grave for us. But, we must ask for his cleansing power. But you say you have no sin.

1Joh 1:8 (KJS) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Verse 9 is called the bar of soap for sin. If we confess our sin he is faithful. To confess is to agree with God. Josiah agreed with the Lord. Those idols were not good. They must go. Do you agree with the Lord? Will you go with the Lord in your life? Do those idols have to go? Will you live in the dirt of sin and not suffer the consequences?

Gala 6:7 (KJS) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

But God has made a way of escape for you and for me. Softly and tenderly he calls you to become his holy people. Are you ready to turn your back on the idols of the world and allow the Lord to be the only God in your life?

Will you turn toward Jerusalem today.