INTRODUCTION:

Remember the TV series, Sanford and Son starring Red Foxx and Demond Wilson. It gave us the memorable lines: "Oh, this is the big one, I'm coming to see you Elizabeth" and "You're so ugly if you pressed your face in some dough... you'd have gorilla cookies."

Sanford and Son was about Fred and Lamont Sanford who owned and ran a Junkyard. But it was really about all the junk and clutter in their lives. I think it's a parable for our lives, too.

You see, we all have a lot of trash and garbage and clutter in our lives. We all have emotional and spiritual baggage and garbage that we just drag along with us wherever we go.

Today Paul talks about "putting away" all that junk. And he challenges us to be "imitators of God" and "beloved children" so that we can be like Christ Jesus, "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Let's look at the passage for today.

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 (NRSV)

[25] So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.

[26] Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

[27] and do not make room for the devil.

[28] Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.

[29] Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.

[30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

[31] Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,

[32] and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

[5:1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,

[2] and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

As we look at this passage, it's significance for stewardship and how we can incorporate it into our own daily lives, I want us to look at how we CLUMP IT and THUMP IT, and then how we can DUMP IT and TRUMP IT.

I. DUMP IT:

A. FIRST OF ALL WE CLUMP IT: We all have spiritual and emotional baggage, clutter and garbage in our lives. Sometimes we don't acknowledge that it's there. We ignore it or overlook it, but it's there. We drag it with us wherever we go. It enters into every conversation we have. It enters into every relationship we have. It comes to church with us, it goes to work with us.

We CLUMP IT. We push it all together in a big pile and CLUMP IT together so we can carry it with us. It's glued to us and lives like a bad case of ugly. And unfortunately it effects every aspect of our lives.

And after awhile, it begins to stink. Kind of like shrimp or chicken. Ever notice, even if wrap it in something or even put it in ziplock bag, that the odor of the chicken parts or shrimp you've thrown away eventually gets out. Throw it in trash can, still gets out. The odor is there and you're stuck with it until you take out the trash.

B. A mother of 8 came home one afternoon from the grocery store and walked into her house and everything looked pretty much the same, though it was a little bit quieter than usual. She looked into the middle of the living room and 5 of her darlings were sitting around in a circle, exceedingly quiet, which is a danger sign for parents. She put down the groceries, walked a little closer and that's when she realized that the children were playing with 5 of the cutest baby skunks you can imagine.

Mom was instantly terrified and she hollered, "Run children, run!" And they did. Each child grabbed a skunk and ran, in 5 different directions. Well, that was the wrong thing to do. Mom was scared so, she screamed louder and more frantically. Well, that scared the children so much, that they each clutched their skunk tighter. And you know what, "Skunks don't like to be squeezed!"

That's exactly what happens in our lives when we CLUMP AND CLUTCH THE GARBAGE AND JUNK IN OUR LIVES. It starts to stink.

II. CLUMP IT:

A. Some folks don't just CLUMP IT. They also THUMP IT. They are very aware of the garbage and junk in their lives. And for some odd reason, they like to share it others. They not only carry it with them everywhere they go, but they take out each individual piece and proudly display it for the world to see. And you know the kind of people I'm talking about.

You ask the rhetorical question: "How you doing?" and 20 minutes later you're still finding out about their childhood and their ailments and their failed relationships and their children.

They've heard that confession is good for the soul so they just dumped all the garbage in their lives right at your feet and began to THUMP EACH PIECE.

They shake it out and show you all the folds and tears and creases. They don't even have a clue how much it stinks. But it does stink doesn't it. You have no clue why they chose you. All you know is that it didn't do any good because when they finished with you, they just scooped all that junk and garbage up and put it back in their bags to share with some one else.

All they've done is THUMP IT. THEY CLUMP IT AND THUMP IT. INSTEAD OF GETTING RID OF THE GARBAGE, WHICH IS WHY CHRIST DIED ON THE CROSS, THEY DRAG IT ALL OUT AND SHARE THE STINK WITH US.

III. THUMP IT:

A. WHAT CHRIST WANTS IS NOT TO CLUMP IT OR THUMP. CHRIST WANTS US TO DUMP IT AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS.

I don't think it was coincidence that Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, which was really the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem. Think of the symbolism. Jesus the Son of God became for us the greatest Garbage Collector of all. He took upon Himself, the full brunt of the garbage of all humankind. He bore the stink and weight of our sin. The perfect, sinless Son of God was marked and scarred with the Sins of this World so that we could be free from the garbage and trash and the stink of our sin.

And all we have to do is REMEMBER: TO TRUST JESUS, LET GO AND DUMP IT.

B. The musicians at the nightclub were complaining about an old piano. The keys would often stick, and the sound was truly hideous. After months of listening to the grumbling and whining, the owner finally decided to do something about it . . . he sent the piano out to be painted.

Painted? Painted? What good would that do? Yet as Christians we often settle for a paint job when we need a tune-up. Rather than emptying the trash, rather than dumping it, we just buy a new trash bag. The only way we can get a spiritual tune-up is through confession. Or by dumping all the garbage in our lives at the foot of the cross. REMEMBER: TO TRUST JESUS, LET GO AND DUMP IT.

IV. TRUMP IT:

A. Once we've dump it, once we take that burden of sin, that Christ has really already removed, if we'll just let go, and dump it at the cross, then we can begin living what He called the "Abundant Life."

And then, when the negative, sinful aspects of life begin to build up or try to enter in, we can TRUMP IT WITH THE GRACE OF GOD, THROUGH CHRIST.

When we're free of all garbage that separates us from God, then we can put God in the proper place in our lives, a place that God Always occupied but we haven't always acknowledged. When we're free from all the garbage, then we can truly give God First Place and live the "Abundant Life." And the "Abundant Life" is one filled with unexpected blessings.

B. Let me give you a couple of examples. In 1959, James Carter was a convict in a Mississippi prison. While working on the prison's road crew, Carter taught his fellow convicts a mournful song called "Po' Lazarus." A visitor happened to record the men singing. The recording ended up in an archive file.

Forty years later, the producers of the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou came across the recording and used "Po' Lazarus" as the opening song on their soundtrack. The soundtrack was a surprise hit, selling millions of copies. Imagine James Carter's surprise when, 41 years after his stint in prison, two men from a record company showed up at his door with a $20,000 royalty check for a song he didn't even remember. Since then, this obscure song from the prison road crew has earned Carter thousands of more dollars. (2)

C. Then there's the pastor in Indiana who received a call from a man in their church whose one-and-only car had gone into the shop. The repair was completed but the bill was much greater than he could pay. He asked if the Church would the church be willing to help find the funds, either a grant or a loan. It would put him back into his car and back to work.

It was crucial to have an answer by Friday. The pastor checked every fund available and it was clear that the pastor could only round up half the funds. As he headed out of the office, a couple met him at the door. "Could we talk to you for a few minutes?" they asked. The pastor was already late for an appointment, so he said, "To tell you the truth, I can't really talk right now."

They said: "That's okay. We'll just walk with you outside. We only need a minute."

They explained that years ago this couple had received a gift from the church to help them through a tough time in their lives. "God's been doing wonderful things for us," they said, "so now we can offer back what you offered to us." They handed the pastor a check. It was exactly the second half of the money he needed for the car bill.

God provides, accomplishing wonderful things precisely when they need to be done. REMEMBER: TO TRUST JESUS, LET GO AND DUMP IT.

Jesus said it this way: "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap." (Luke 6:38)."

If we don't DUMP IT, if we don't Deposit the garbage and sin in our lives at the trash heap of the cross, then we will never experience the RETURN on that DEPOSIT. The RETURN, of course is the freedom from sin, the forgiveness we've received, the presence of the Holy Spirit and the Abundant Life. REMEMBER: NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN. If we don't divest ourselves of the garbage in our lives we won't know the joy Christ offers. If we don't DUMP IT, WE CAN'T TRUMP IT.

CONCLUSION:

This morning I want to give you an opportunity to DUMP IT. You've each received a small paper sack. I want you to use this as a Garbage Bag this morning. I want you to take a moment to look at your life. Now take all the old wounds, old thoughts and memories. Take all those things and attitudes that still keep you separated from God.

Put them in trash bag. Then wad that puppy up. Don't fold up neatly, wad it up. It's trash. It's fit only for the trash heap. It's garbage suitable only for the garbage dump. Then this morning I want you to bring it to the cross.

This is Commitment Sunday for our Stewardship campaign, and I want you to bring your pledge card at the same time. I want you to go down the side aisle and go by the cross and drop your garbage there. Then I'd like you to place commitment on the seat of the chair in front of the altar. Remember, that chair is Jesus' chair. It reminds us that Jesus is present with us in all we do.

So here's the plan, toss that sack of sin, that sack of trash on the garbage heap that was Golgotha. Don't leave it in your heart or in you mind. Leave at the foot of the cross where it belongs. Then, having been set free, experience the blessings of God's love and grace. Then make your fragrant offering to Christ as you accept His offering for you.

TRUST JESUS, LET GO AND DUMP IT. REMEMBER: NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN

1. The Autoillustrator, (Greeley, CO, 1993) 970.330.1925 (Autoill@AOL.com)

2. 2. By the Bathroom Readers' Institute. Uncle John's Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader (Ashland, OR: Bathroom Readers' Press, 2002), pp. 356-357

3. I don't remember where I found it.

4.

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The Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1953)

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Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 2002) SermonPrep Version.

Preaching the Miracles, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 1998) SermonPrep Version.

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