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.
“And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”
We look at Esau and we say, “What a FOOL to throw away his BIRTHRIGHT for a BOWL of SOUP. How STUPID could you be?” But yet people throw away their BIRTHRIGHT, their INTEGRITY everyday for a WHOLE LOT LESS.
Every person is born with a FRESH CLEAN SLATE. No MISTAKES. No DISHONESTY. No LIES. No FRAUD.
Everyone starts with INTEGRITY but so many throw it all away. LUST, DESIRES, THRILLS, and a NEED for PLEASURE. INTEGRITY is GONE. It’s been THROWN AWAY.
A. Why are their LOCKS on our DOORS even here at church? When I was a kid going here we didn’t keep the doors locked. Anybody who needed to come in and pray, the doors were always open. But now people have THROWN AWAY their INTEGRITY.
B. Why do I have the Church Van at my house out in the BOONDOCKS? Because people have STOLEN the Catalytic Convertor off of it along with our Church Trailer. No INTEGRITY.
C. Why do we have Pay-at-the -Pump? Because all of the gas stations had to go to PREPAY. When I was a kid you pulled up to the pumps, you put your gasoline in, and then you went inside and PAID. That all went out the door when people THREW AWAY their INTEGRITY.
WE LIVE IN A THROW AWAY WORLD.
II. What else gets thrown away today? Well let me tell you. MARRIAGE!!! Marriage gets thrown away.
I hear it all of the time. “I don’t need a piece of paper for me to commit myself to another person.” I get that but the problem is people aren’t COMMITTING themselves to one another. People aren’t becoming one flesh.
People are moving in together because it’s a MUTUAL BENEFIT to them. They both get what they need, without the COMMITMENT. I’ve heard it said we’re gonna try it out before we put a ring on it. This world may APPROVE. They might call it NORMAL but God calls FORNICATION. And FORNICATION IS SIN. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
“Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
ILLUS: I was watching something the other day and it literally made me feel sick. They were talking to young, single adults and asking each one what their BODY COUNT was. I didn’t get it at first. Body count, what’s that supposed to mean? Well I figured out real quick it’s how many people they had been with. The GUYS and!!! the GIRLS were BRAGGING about how high of a NUMBER they had.
The SANCTITY of MARRIAGE is GONE. It’s a THROW AWAY WORLD and people are throwing away the WHOLE IDEA of MARRIAGE TODAY.
And families are being torn apart. Why? People are throwing away their MARRIAGE VOWS. Mark 10:1-9,
“And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.
2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Sure, Moses allowed divorce but God NEVER INTENDED for people to get DIVORCED. Jesus tells us that right here.
Now listen, I know there are a lot of people here who have been divorced. What’s done is done. We have a LOVING FATHER who FORGIVES and HE FORGETS.
All you can do is go on with your life. And I know that marriages BREAK UP for different reasons. But let me tell you something. If a MARRIAGE ENDS in DIVORCE at least one of the parties involved was NOT in God’s will. Because God’s will is AGAINST DIVORCE.
Now I’m not saying you should stay in ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS. Stay just to get BEAT UP!!! NO!!!
I’m NOT SAYING you should stay married to someone who IGNORES their MARRIAGE VOWS. God allows for DIVORCE in certain situations. Matthew Chapter 5 tells us that. But listen, MARRIAGE should never be thrown away just because people can’t get along. You need to learn to GET ALONG. You need to become ONE FLESH.
ILLUS: Oklahoma made it into the top 10 of the 50 states. WOO HOO Right? Per Capita we’re number 10 for the number of divorces. Aren’t we proud. Here we are the BUCKLE of the BIBLE BELT and we’re number 10. So which state is NUMBER ONE? Our neighbor, Arkansas. That’s really sad.
We live in a THROW AWAY WORLD, but let me tell you, our MARRIAGE VOWS are TOO IMPORTANT to JUST THROW AWAY!!!
III. What else is being THROWN AWAY today?
Our Children are. That’s right. No, I’m not talking about throwing our children into a TRASH CAN, unless it’s behind an ABORTION CLINIC. No doubt those dumpsters are FULL.
I’m not trying to be CRASS, just HONEST.
Here’s a little side note here. Just because the Supreme Court basically threw out Roe v Wade, abortion didn’t stop. Abortion is still alive and well today. If you want to KILL your baby here in Oklahoma, just drive an hour up the road to Kansas. There’s plenty of states around the nation that allow it. The PURE EVIL MURDER of the PRE-BORN continues.
But more than ABORTION, we’re throwing away our CHILDREN’S MINDS and SOULS to those in this world who will destroy them. There’s so much EVIL being taught today.
A. You have people teaching CRITICAL RACE THEORY. That ALL WHITE PEOPLE are RACISTS. I don’t hate anyone and I don’t think I’m better than anyone else. But listen, I’m NO WORSE than others just because of the COLOR of my SKIN. Jesus came to save ALL and I believe He is COLOR BLIND when it comes to SALVATION. We should be the same.
B. We’re throwing our CHILDREN AWAY to the PRO HOMOSEXUAL GROUPS. The SIN of HOMOSEXUALITY is becoming more and more accepted today. Homosexuality is a CHOICE.
C. Then we’re throwing away our CHILDREN to the TRANSGENDER PEOPLE who say they are CONFUSED about who they are. They say God MESSED Up when He created them. Actually I think they just want to change clothes in the same locker room that our daughters use. Listen, this world is THROWING AWAY all DECENCY and COMMON SENSE.
Lord have mercy upon us. I can’t imagine how hard it is for our YOUNG PEOPLE growing up in this world. God help us to be a LIGHT to our CHILDREN in this DARK WORLD that we live in. It’s time we take a STAND. It’s time that they hear the TRUTH from us. Yes, GOD IS LOVE but He’s also a RIGHTEOUS GOD. He cannot look upon SIN.
IV. Our INTEGRITY is IMPORTANT. The HOLY UNION of MARRIAGE is IMPORTANT. Our CHILDREN are of the UTMOST IMPORTANCE. All of these things are being THROWN AWAY today in this THROW AWAY SOCIETY. But there’s something that is MORE IMPORTANT than anything else in this world. And that’s our SALVATION. And people by the MILLIONS are throwing it away everyday. Hebrews 2:1-3,
“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;”
61 MILLION PEOPLE died in the world last year. That’s 61 with 6 zeroes. That’s a lot of SOULS going off into eternity.
And every single one of those souls either ACCEPTED or REJECTED Salvation.
They were ALL INVITED. John 3:16 tells us that.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
They were ALL DRAWN by the Holy Spirit of God.
John 12:32 tells us that. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
And each one of these souls make a decision. In Mark 10, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus and he wants to know what he must do to have eternal life. And Jesus tells him to sell everything that he had, give the money to the poor and TAKE UP HIS CROSS and FOLLOW HIM. And the RICH YOUNG RULER made the DECISION to throw away SALVATION. His POSSESSIONS were more important than his SOUL. That’s SO SAD. That man LIVED. He may have MARRIED. Had KIDS. He probably lived in a NICE HOME. But TIME CLICKED AWAY and there came a time when that man DIED. And EVERYTHING HE OWNED now belonged to someone else. And he faces ETERNITY in HELL.
That’s why Jesus told us in Matthew 6, to LAY UP for ourselves TREASURES in Heaven and not here on this Earth. Here on this Earth MOTHS eat through your clothes. RUST CORRODES things away and THIEVES BREAK IN and STEAL what you own. None of that will happen in Heaven.
And in closing, there’s only one thing more sad than people never accepting Jesus. Throwing away their CHANCE of ETERNAL LIFE. What could be MORE SAD than that?
It’s those who know Jesus and then they TURN AWAY FROM HIM. The CARES of this WORLD and the LURES of SATAN DRAW THEM AWAY. THEY THROW AWAY THEIR SALVATION.
In 1 Timothy 4:1 Paul tells Timothy,
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
Then Paul spoke to the Church at Corinth in 2 Cor. 11:3
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
In Hebrews 3:12 Paul says,
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
Listen, I know there are those who don’t believe that ONCE you’re TRULY SAVED you can LOSE your SALVATION. Some of you all here believe that. We’ve talked about it. I’m not here to POKE YOU in the EYE. But listen, I believe God gives you and I a FREE WILL to ACCEPT His GIFT of SALVATION. And after we ACCEPT that gift He doesn’t take away our FREE WILL. Every single day we DECIDE to SERVE JESUS or we DECIDE to DO OUR OWN THING.
We DECIDE to ACCEPT SALVATION or we DECIDE to THROW IT AWAY. We’re living in a THROW AWAY WORLD!!! But YOUR SALVATION is of more value than anything else you’ll ever have.
When the DEVIL COMES ALONG with ALL KINDS of FANCY TOYS and GIMMICKS to LURE YOU AWAY, don’t throw away your SALVATION.
When you are SO TIRED of the FIGHT. When you just want to QUIT. DON’T!!! Don’t QUIT!!! Keep moving forward. Don’t throw in the TOWEL. Don’t throw away SALVATION.
When the GRASS looks SO GREEN on the other side of the FENCE. When it seems that THOSE PEOPLE never have TROUBLE. Don’t throw away your SALVATION.
Listen YOUNG PEOPLE.
When THEIR LIFE LOOKS SO GOOD and YOUR’S ISN’T.
When it looks like they’re having ALL of the FUN. Don’t give in.
Don’t THTROW AWAY everything that your MAMA and DADDY have taught you. Don’t THROW AWAY what you know is RIGHT. Don’t THROW AWAY your SELF RESPECT to make SOMEONE ELSE HAPPY!!! HANG ON to your SALVATION!!!
ILLUS: My Old Granny had a huge impact on my life. She LOVED ME and I KNEW SHE LOVED ME and I LOVED HER. And one of her favorite song was “Hold Fast to the Right” It was an old bluegrass song first recorded in 1928. Through the years Dolly Pardon and the Isaac’s have recorded it.
“Hold fast to the right, hold fast to the right
Wherever your footsteps may roam
And forsake not the way of a salvation my boy
That you learn’d from your mother at home”
This SIMPLE SONG is a PLEA from a mama BEGGING her son to NOT FORSAKE the SALVATION that is of the UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
And OH HOW I beg you young people today to HOLD FAST to your SALVATION. HOLD FAST to what you’ve been taught.
I beg MY CHILDREN and GRANDCHILDREN to HOLD FAST to the RIGHT. Hebrews 10:22 and 23 tells us,
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”
ILLUS: I read a story the other day. Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His mother, in the house and looking out the window, saw the two as they got closer and closer together.
In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug of war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much to passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.
After weeks and weeks in the hospital the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. On his arms, were deep scratches from where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved. The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pants legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But, look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms too. I have them because my Mom wouldn’t let go.” Just like a mother who loves her child, so God loves each of you. The scars on the hands and feet of Jesus remind us that God, in His great love for us, could not let us go.
We live in a throw away world. People throw away their integrity. They throw away their Marriages. Even their Children. But listen, don’t throw away the most important thing in your whole life. Your salvation. LET’S PRAY.
