A Throw Away World

2/4/24 a.m. Throw Away World

When I was younger, there was a place in Tulsa, at 15th and Utica called H.L. Moss. It was one company but a long line of little store fronts that repaired different items. There was the Coffee Pot repair shop. The Lawn Mower repair shop. The Electric Razor repair shop. The Hair Clipper repair shop. Kitchen Appliance repair shop. Shoe repair shop. They would fix it or sell you the parts to fix it. It was a really neat place but do you know what happened to it? It closed down and they bull dozed the building. All of those little store fronts gone. Why? Well there’s probably several reasons but the main reason is because we have become a THROW AWAY SOCIETY. You don’t fix a Coffee Pot anymore. You throw it away and buy another. You don’t fix Hair Clippers or Kitchen Appliances or SHOES. You throw them away and buy another!!!

It started out small with something like a cheap Electric Razor but now we’re up to TV’s And LAWN MOWERS. When was the last time you took a TV to a Repair Shop? WE’VE BECOME A THROW AWAY SOCIETY!!!

And here’s where I’m going with this. I’m afraid THAT MENTALITY, just a THROW AWAY MENTALITY, has RUBBED OFF into every part of our lives. It’s a THROW AWAY WORLD. I’m going to use several different Verses this morning but I want to start in 2 Peter. So let’s turn in our Bibles to 2 Peter, Chapter 1 and we’ll read Verses 1-4.

“Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

In these Verses we see several things that are of GREAT VALUE.

Verse 1 tells us that Our FAITH is of GREAT VALUE. It is PRECIOUS.

Verse 2 tells us that GRACE and PEACE are of GREAT VALUE.

Verse 3 tells us that God has given us “ALL THINGS that PERTAIN unto LIFE and GODLINESS.” All the things we need to LIVE A LIFE that is pleasing to Him. These are of GREAT VALUE. Not like a BARGAIN you find on the SHELVES at Wal-Mart. A CHEAP can of PEAS. No, it’s talking about something of GREAT WORTH.

And then Verse 4 tells us about the EXCEEDING GREAT and PRECIOUS PROMISES of GOD. I haven’t counted them up for myself but I looked it up and there 8810 promises in the Word of God. Now that right there is a GREAT VALUE.

You add all of these things together and you’re talking about really everything and a lot more that a person could ever want. But yet, so many people ... THROW IT ALL AWAY. So this morning I want to talk about ALL of the THINGS of GREAT VALUE that people are THROWING AWAY TODAY. But before I do let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.

Brother ____, would you lead us?

I. First of all, I think INTEGRITY has been thrown away today. It’s of GREAT VALUE and one reason is because it’s become SO RARE.

ILLUS: I’ll never forget back in 1994 or 1995, I was working for Wal-Mart corporation. I worked for Bud’s Discount. It was a spin-off of Wal-Mart. Our store was located at German Corner. The building is Atwoods now. But we had our regular customers that would come in on a regular basis. I even got to be friends with some of them. But I’ll never forget one old fellow who would come in all the time. We all had seen him and most of us new him. But one day he was in “shopping” and he slipped and let one of our ASSOCIATES see him SHOPLIFTING. He was CAUGHT and taken back to the office until the police came and then he was paraded through the store in handcuffs. He was banned from ever coming back.

That memory has stuck with me for 30 years. I don’t remember for sure but I think he was stealing some fishing items. For a few silly little items that fellow THROUGH AWAY his INTEGRITY.

Can I tell you something folks. INTEGRITY MATTERS to GOD. But yet people THROW it away everyday. Let’s look at Genesis 25 and we’ll read Verses 29-34.