"Taking Out The Trash" by Pastor Larry Sopchak
Sunday, July 17, 2011
TEXT: 1 Thessalonians 4:7
1 Peter 1:13-16
INTRODUCTION
We need a revival of HOLY LIVING in our time today...
God's people need to return to our HOLY CALLING...
2 Timothy 1:9, tells us that God "has saved us and called us with a HOLY CALLING.."
"Holiness" defined: "Belonging to, derived from, or associated with
divine power; set apart for a spiritual purpose;
to live according to a strict moral and/or spiritual code"
God's not expecting us to be perfect, but He does expect us to keep ourselves pure...holy...
It's time for the Church...the people of God, to "Take Out The Trash"!
[EXPOUND]
WHY DO WE TAKE OUT THE TRASH AT HOME?
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON'T TAKE OUT THE TRASH?
1) The Accumulation of Mess...Clutter...
2) Unwanted Stench...the smell of rottenness...
3) Unwelcomed Guests...rodents....roaches...gnats...maggots...
Uncleanliness can open the door to illness...even death...
[EXPOUND on the Spiritual Parallels of the above]
God expects us to keep a clean house!
NOTE: "What you permit will persist"!
"What you fail to master in your life will eventually master you"
"People decide their habits, and their habits determine their future"
"Watch your thoughts, they become words,
Watch your words, they become actions,
Watch your actions, they become habits,
Watch your habits, they become your character,
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny"
[EXPOUND]
"Sin will take you take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer
than you want to stay, and cost you more than you can pay"
[EXPOUND]
Samson is the epitome of a person who got caught up in the WEB of Sin that the enemy had prepared for him through Delilah...
Here's some wisdom to remember:
"When God wants to bless you, he puts a person in your life...When Satan wants to destroy you, he puts a person in your life"!
[EXPOUND]
Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall"
NOTICE the middle letter of "pride" and "sin"..."I"...
Lucifer, who became Satan said, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds...I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... I will be like the Most High" (Isa. 14:13-14)
Samson, a man gifted and blessed by God cavorted with the enemy, and lost!
Samson, "went to sleep"...
[EXPOUND]
Listen to the Pride of Samson in Judges 16:20...
"So [Samson] awoke from his sleep, and said, 'I will got out as before, at other
times, and shake myself free!' But he did not know that the Lord had departed
from him"
[EXPOUND]
SO, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS WE MUST DO TO KEEP THE TRASH OUT OF OUR LIVES...
I. WATCH OUR THOUGHTS :
Proverbs 23:7, "For as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he"
Philippians 4:8, "...whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy---meditate (focus) on these things"
Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."
[EXPOUND]
NOTE: What we see, hear, and think will come out in our words and in
our actions...
IMPURE ACTIONS BEGIN WITH IMPURE THOUGHTS!
II. WATCH OUR WORDS...WHAT WE SAY :
Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue..."
Luke 6:45, "...For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks"
NOTE: What we talk about is a reflection of our heart!
A Christians' speech should be noticeably different from that of
other people!
What we say not only affects our own purity, but also the purity
of those who hear us!
[EXPOUND]
III. WATCH OUR ACTIONS :
Where we go, what we do...
1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV), "Abstain from all appearance of evil"
(MSG) - "Throw out anything tainted with evil"
[EXPOUND]
IV. WATCH OUR HABITS :
Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way
of death"
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "...do you not know that your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
For you were bought at a price, therefore, glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, which are God's"
[EXPOUND]
WHAT ARE YOUR DAILY HABITS?
WHAT DISCIPLINES DO YOU PRACTICE AND LIVE BY DAILY?
[EXPOUND...Prayer, Worship, Time in The Word...]
V. WATCH OUR RELATIONSHIPS :
1 Corinthians 15:33 (GNT), "Don't be fooled: bad companions ruin good
character"
(NCV) - "Do not be fooled: bad friends will ruin good habits"
(GWT) - "Don't let anyone deceive you: associating with bad people will ruin
decent people"
(WEB) - "Don't be deceived: evil companionships corrupt good morals"
It is said: "A person is known by the company they keep"!
[EXPOUND]
2 Corinthians 6:14 (GWT), "Stop forming inappropriate relationships with
unbelievers! Can right and wrong be partners? Can light have anything in
common with darkness?"
2 Corinthians 6:17 (GWT), "The Lord says, 'get away from unbelievers.
Separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with anything unclean.
Then, I will welcome you' "
(MSG) - "So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good, says God.
Don't link up with those who will pollute you..."
[EXPOUND]
IN OUR REMAINING TIME, I WANT TO LOOK AT SEVERAL PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE as related to "Taking Out The Trash"..
Romans 1:28 (KJV), "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind..."
Reprobate defined: "Shameless; morally unprincipled; to condemn; rejected by
God and without hope of salvation"
Galatians 5:1; 13; 16; 25, "Stand fast therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage...For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another...I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh...If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit"
Galatians 6:3; 7-10, "For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself...do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life"
Hosea 8:7, "They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind..."
Philippians 1:27a, "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ..."
Philippians 2:1-4; 12-15, "Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world"
1 John 1:6; 2:6; 3:7-8a; 10, "If we say that we have fellowship with [God], and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth...He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked...Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil...
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God..."
NOTE: As Believers, we are in a constant fight with our flesh, and with
the enemy who wants to take us out!
Paul encourages us in 1 Timothy 6:12, to "fight the good fight of faith"
And then in Hebrews 12:1, Paul tells us to...
"...lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us..."
[EXPOUND]
In closing, let's look at some scriptures related to "Putting Out The Trash"...
Romans 13:13-14, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off (throw out) the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.."
Ephesians 4:27 (GWT), "Don't give the devil any opportunity to work"
(NIV), "Do not give the devil a foothold"
(GNT) - "Don't give the devil a chance"
(NCV) - "Do not give the devil a way to defeat you"
(Wey) - "Do not leave room for the devil"
James 4:7, "Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you"
1 Peter 4:3-5; 5:8, "For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles (heathen)---when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead...Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith..."
GOD WANTS US TO LIVE HOLY LIVES...so that means we must "Take out the Trash"...REGULARLY!
[EXPOUND]
[VIDEO]
God tells us, from Jeremiah 31:3, "...I have loved you with an everlasting love"
[EXPOUND...and CLOSE: What trash do you need to throw out today?]
