INTRO.- How many of you men do laundry?
ILL.- Many years ago when my daughter Holly and her hubby Chris were home on a weekend from Lincoln Christian College they had to do laundry. After Holly did a load of wash she brought them into the room and dropped them in front of her hubby Chris and said, “There they are, fold ‘em up.”
I said, “Hey, what’s the deal?” Holly said, “That’s the way we do it. I wash ‘em and Chris folds ‘em.” That was many years ago when they were in college and had no children.
Of course, now they’ve been married 12 years and they have two children, ages 6 and 3. Guess what they do now? Chris does all the laundry!
Now, do I do the laundry? Not often. Elaine won’t let me. She doesn’t like the way I do laundry. I pour in some liquid laundry soap, then dump everything in together….towels, shirts, undies, you name it…colors, whites, etc. HEY, IT WORKS! Of course, I use only COLD water!
Consequently, though, I only do laundry when Elaine is not at home. And generally, it’s only my laundry!
ILL.- The Teacher was checking her student’s knowledge of proverbs. “Cleanliness is next to what?” she asked. A small boy replied with real feeling: “Impossible.”
Sometimes cleanliness does seem nearly impossible. Of course, I’m talking about soul cleanliness. Why does it seem impossible at times? Because sin is so strong, so never-ending. It appears that even once we are cleansed from sin it comes right back. Or some sins do. It is so very hard to overcome certain sins: greed, lust, ill will, anger, gossip, etc. Never-ending battle.
ILL.- As a father came home from his work he saw his little daughter who had been playing in the mud. He said to her, “Honey, you’re pretty dirty.”
In her childish way she replied, “Yes, I know daddy, but I’m prettier clean.” And we all are prettier when we are clean!
What’s the cleaning process for the soul? It all depends on the person you are talking to.
PROP. - In this text we see the cleaning process in its basic form. There are four key words.
1- alienation
2- reconciliation
3- continuation
4- glorification
I. ALIENATION
Col. 1:21 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”
ILL.- In a Peanut’s cartoon Lucy addressed Snoopy: “There are times when you really bug me, but there are also times when I feel like giving you a hug.” Snoopy replied, “That’s the way I am, huggable and buggable.”
We all have our huggable days but we may have more buggable days. Did you ever alienate anyone with your buggableness or by bugging them? Who hasn’t?
It may be that you do something that just “bugs” the daylights out of some people, so consequently, they don’t want to have anything to do with you.
ILL.- When I worked for Safeway some forty years ago we had an old bachelor photographer who shopped in our store. He came in fairly often to buy a few things but he wasn’t very well liked. In fact, I don’t even know how he got any clients. HOW SO? Why? What was the problem?
Here is why. Nearly every time he came into Safeway he was chewing on a cigar and the juice was running out of his mouth and down his face. He was not a pretty sight, but I talked to him anyway because we were supposed to treat all our customers nicely. I think, however, some of women checkers didn’t want to have anything to do with him. HE ALIENATED SOME PEOPLE WITH HIS BAD HABIT AND APPARENT, UNCLEANLINESS.
However, I think more people alienate others with their bad behavior. Did you ever know someone that just irritated you to the point where you couldn’t stand to be around them?
ILL.- We had a guy who worked in one retail store who was a real foul mouth. He had a nice appearance. He was clean, neat and could be very polite, but once you got to know him, he was a terrible foul mouth and even worse. He would often talk about the women who came into the store in a very bad or lewd way. It was so bad I can’t repeat it. Well, after a little of that the people who worked in the store got very tired of it and didn’t want to have much to do with him. HE ALIENATED PEOPLE WITH HIS CRUDENESS AND LEWDNESS. He even used the “f” word often, which was totally against company policy.
I’m not sure he was worried about offending God but he sure didn’t use that kind of language when the General Manager of the company came around! He wanted to keep his job, but I guess he didn’t worry about his standing with God!
ILL.- I remember one time going into a small restaurant in Iberia, MO. The local funeral director was sitting there. Some of the guys who were seated there said, “Better stop talking. Here comes the preacher.” The funeral director said, “Yes, it doesn’t make any difference what God thinks, just the preacher.” I think they shut up after that statement.
Brothers and sisters, we ALL alienate God with our actions at times. We all have sinned and do sin. And because God is totally holy and cannot sin, it’s hard for Him to be in our presence. We have alienated Him with our sins and sinful nature. But that’s where everybody starts out before the cleansing blood of Christ is applied.
Col. 1:21 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”
Rom. 3:9-18 “9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
13"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
15"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know."
18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Sound bad? It is bad, but it’s not the end of the story.
II. RECONCILIATION
Col. 1:22 “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”
The next step, hopefully, is reconciliation. We hope and pray that people will get reconciled to God through Christ death on the cross. Christ died to make it possible to come into God’s presence and have fellowship with Him. Christ died to cleanse us and make us pure in God’s eyes and unite us with Him.
ILL.- One New Year’s Eve at London’s Garrick Club, British dramatist Frederick Lonsdale was asked by Seymour Hicks to reconcile with a fellow member. The two had quarreled in the past and never restored their friendship. "You must," Hicks said to Lonsdale. "It is very unkind to be unfriendly at such a time. Go over now and wish him a happy New Year."
So Lonsdale crossed the room and spoke to his enemy. "I wish you a happy New Year," he said, "but only one."
That’s not exactly what we would call full reconciliation. However, there may be some people that want that kind of reconciliation with God. I mean they may not want full or complete reconciliation and only want minimal fellowship with God and His church.
Frankly, some people just don’t want to get too close to God and go to church very much. WHY? I guess they are afraid that God will spoil their fun and plus it will cost them some money as well. Some people just don’t want to get too religious! BUT IS THAT TRUE RECONCILIATION? We all have our own ideas.
True reconciliation means that we believe in Christ and trust in His death on the cross to save us from our sins. We believe, we trust and we surrender by faith and obedience. We do what Christ asks us to do: repent, be baptized, seek His will in life, and try to serve Him as best we can.
And some people don’t want to do these things. Some people don’t want that kind of reconciliation or commitment.
ILL.- For forty-two years every week, David Thomas slipped a love letter under the door of his neighbor, Rachel Jones. Each letter attempted to mend the lover’s quarrel that parted them when both were 32. Rachel Jones burned each letter and refused even to speak to Thomas.
When David finally summoned courage to knock on her door and propose, she accepted. Both were 74 years old when marriage finally came.
Hopefully, it won’t take most people that long to reconcile with God. Most reconciliation will come earlier in life, depending on the atmosphere in which a person lives.
ILL.- Recently, my granddaughter Hope who is not seven years old yet was baptized into Christ. Immediately most people would say she’s awfully young for a decision like that! And that’s true, considering that probably most people are baptized in their teens or older.
We all need to be thankful for children who are raised in the church and make a decision while they are still young. Sure, they may need a lot of teaching as they grow, but I would much rather see children come to Christ and be united with Him when they are young than have them wait and then perhaps they might never decide for Christ. I’ve known that to happen.
Reconciliation to God can only come through Christ. He is the bridge that brings us to God. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to the Father except through Him.
III. CONTINUATION
Col. 1:23 “If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”
Paul speaks of becoming holy in V. 22 and then he says, “If you continue in your faith…” Continuance is vitally important.
II Tim. 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
Heb. 3:14 “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.”
Notice these words: If you continue in your faith. I have kept the faith. If we hold firmly till the end.
ILL.- One time many years ago (maybe 1993) I took Holly and Shane and went to South Bend, IN, to run the Sunburst marathon. She had a friend from college who lived there and we went to visit them as well. The Sunburst marathon was run in June and on a Saturday. Then we had to drive back to southern IL, which was like 400 miles away. I think there 400 or 500 in the marathon. By the time I got to about mile 18 I wasn’t feeling very good. In fact, I was hurting more than normal. Hips or something. I stopped at the mile 18 marker and asked, “Where’s the pickup vehicle?” They laughed at me like they didn’t know what I was talking about.
Normally, you can check with the person at the mile markers and if you need to drop out of the race they will contact someone in a pickup vehicle, which is generally a van.
Since they didn’t act like they knew what I was talking about I continued to run and I think I stopped at the 20-mile marker and asked again. Still, I got no satisfaction. Finally, I stopped at the 22-mile marker and asked again. I really wanted to drop out of that race because of the way I was feeling. Finally, I decided that if I was going to get home I was going to have to finish that race. And I did. And the amazing thing is this: I got third in my age bracket and that’s the only time I ever got a third place in a marathon. BUT IT WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED IF I HAD QUIT THE RACE!
Did you hear what I said? I decided that if I was going to get home I was going to have to finish that race. Hmm, do you suppose that could apply to the Christian life and going home to heaven? IF I’M GOING TO GET HOME I HAVE TO FINISH THIS RACE! Crowns, medals, etc. are not given to those who start the race but to those who finish the race.
IV. GLORIFICATION
Col. 1:22 “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”
Holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Do these words sound impossible? Knowing our human weaknesses and sins, yes they do! Humanly speaking, it is impossible for us to stand without blemish before a holy God. But with God all things are possible. Only in Him is it possible!
ILL.- From rags to riches. These kinds of stories always excite us somewhat. They are feel-good stories and they always offer to the common person a bit of encouragement to make something of ourselves in life. HAVEN’T WE ALL DREAMED AT ONE TIME OF PERHAPS DOING SOMETHING GREAT OR EXTRA-ORDINARY?
Perhaps not becoming rich and famous but perhaps doing something out of the ordinary. That’s what 25 year-old Jennifer Hudson of Chicago did. She was a talented singer who got her start in church like many others.
She tried out for the American Idol show and made it. She even made it to the final 12 in 2004. On April 21, 2004, Hudson became the sixth of the 12 finalists to be voted off the show, finishing the competition in seventh place. But that didn’t stop Jennifer Hudson! She persevered!
In November 2005, Hudson was cast in the prized role of Effie White, the role originally created in a legendary Broadway performance by Jennifer Holliday, for the film adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls. I never saw it but it was hit with many.
On February 25, 2007, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this film. At 25 years old, Hudson became the eighth youngest winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. She also became only the third African-American to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. During her acceptance speech Hudson said through tears of joy, "I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn’t think I was going to win."
At least, she had the good sense to give God the credit for this good thing in her life. Better than most. Of course, we assume and believe that Jennifer Hudson is a Christian.
From rags to riches and it’s not over for Jennifer Hudson. But listen to this:
Ps. 84:10 “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
No matter how much we prosper in this life (including Jennifer Hudson) may we all realize that heaven will be better! Glorification in heaven will be better!
CONCLUSION---------------------------------
This verse says it all.
II Cor. 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
We were once poor sinners but Christ died for our sins. And when we trusted Him we became rich and we’ll get even richer in heaven!
