Get Rid of the Garbage (Trash)
Garbage Be Gone
Colossians 3:5-11
5 ¶ Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 ¶ But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Most of us do not like negativity, but nonetheless it is a real issue we have to deal with.
Can you imagine collecting all of your trash in the house and never taking it out to throw away. It may take a few days, but eventually the stench would make it unbearable to remain in your own house.
The Bible helps us identify the types of garbage that need to be taken out of our lives if we are to please God.
I. Undisciplined Desires
from verse 5: sexual immorality, impure thoughts and actions, wrong affections, passions out of control, and greed.
II. Unholy Temperament
from verse 8: fits of anger, going irate, and slander.
It is much better to think before we speak. An old saying is "bite your tongue".
Let us ask the Lord to help us with our attitude and that will help us with out temper.
III. Untamed Speech
from verse 8 and 9: slander, abusive speech, filthy speech (cursing), and lying.
The tongue is the hardest thing to control. Ask Jesus to help you with the words you choose to use. Practice using positive and uplifting words.
IV. Unwarranted Prejudice
from verse 11: different classes of people, different races, different social levels; but all equal in the sight of Christ.
Ac 10:34 ¶ Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Lessons we should learn:
1. There are some words we should not say
2. There are some places we should not go
3. There are some attitudes we should not have
4. The christian life is like a good battery; it requires negatives and positives
5. The negatives need to worked on by each one of us on a personal level. Read verse 5 again.
