“CLEAN UP OR ELSE” (Col. 3:5-11)

Introduction:

A. When my children were living at home, on many occasions I would walk into their room and say, “You better clean up this room or else.” They knew what I meant.

B. Environmentalists are telling us that we better start cleaning up our environment or else. There will be severe consequences such as: the deterioration of the ozone, polluted waters, etc.

C. Paul comes along in this text and says it’s time to clean up or else.

I. The call for clean-up (3:5).

A. Paul began with the call to clean up our lives. 1. “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as

dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry” (3:5).

2. Previously, Paul pointed out that we had been raised with Christ.

3. A resurrection lifestyle begins with the eradication of the old life-style.

B. For us, the old way of living was buried in the past. Now we must de-vote ourselves to living out the new life—a life that pleases Jesus.

1. This is not easy.

2. Martin Luther once remarked, “I went down to the river to bury the old man only to discover that he could swim.” The flesh will not give up without a fight.

3. It’s one thing to receive that new life from Christ, it’s another to work out that new life into our daily experience.

C. Developing a resurrection lifestyle begins with a once-for-all putting to death of the old way of living.

1. Paul used an aorist active imperative verb.

2. Unlike a present imperative, which would suggest a continuous ac- tion.

3. An aorist imperative means point action. This is a one-time act. Put to death, he says, your former way of living.

4. You should not have to decide every morning, Am I going to do what is right today? That decision was made once for all when you surrendered your life to Jesus.

5. That is not to say that the Christian will not have any struggles be cause he will. It’s a struggle to break that pattern of the old life and replace it with a new righteous one.

May 17, 2020 ⁕ Issue 20

GARRIOTT ROAD CHURCH OF CHRIST 3601 W Owen K Garriott Rd ⁕ Enid, OK 73703

580-234-2876 church@EnidChurchOfChrist.com ⁕ www.EnidChurchOfChrist.com

“DRAWING NEAR TO GOD”

How is your relationship with God? Are you happy with your spiritual life? Do you feel close to God or distant? Are you ready for something more? Drawing near to God is a two-way street. James says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (Jas. 4:8). You can be as close to God as you want to be. You are where you are by choice. Are you ready to draw closer? Here are four steps to help you:

1. Be sincere in your desire to draw near to God. I hear brethren say all the time, “I don’t feel close to God.” Let me say it again, you are as close to God as you want to be. The Holy Spirit says, “Let us draw near with a sincere heart…” (Heb. 10:22). If you will get serious about your relationship with God and start doing those things necessary to grow closer, I promise you, intimacy with God is not far away.

2. Accept the fact that God has forgiven you. A guilty conscience will destroy any assurance that believers can draw close to God. The Hebrew writer tells us that our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:22b). Translation—the guilt has been taken away. If we don’t learn to accept God’s forgiveness, Satan will have a field day with us. He will make you feel dirty, filthy, un-fit for God’s presence. Don’t let Satan hold over you what God has already forgiven.

3. Stop wavering in your faith. Make a commitment to live for God and stay at it. The Spirit says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering…” (Heb. 10:23).

4. Be an active participant in the life of the church. The Christian faith is not lived and practiced in isolation but in relationships. The Holy Spirit says, “And let us consider how to stimulate one an-other to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25). Notice the words “one another.” Christianity is a one another religion. We are instructed to love one another, pray for one another, confess our faults to one another, etc. You need the church and the church needs you.

I pray that these steps will help you soar to the heights in your relation-ship with God. I love each one of you. May Almighty God bless you in your efforts to draw closer to God.

—Ray

II. The clean-up needed (3:5,9).

A. Next, Paul turns to the sins that we are to eradicate from our lives.

1. Two lists are given, one in Verse 5, the other in Verses 8-9.

2. The first deals with personal sins while the second deals with so-cial sins.

B. Let’s talk about the personal sins first.

1. Immorality 2. Impurity 3. Lust 4. Evil desires 5. Greed

C. Now, let’s talk about the social sins. These sins grow out of our relation-ships with others. G. Campbell Morgan called these the “sins in good standing.”

1. Anger 2. Rage 3. Malice 4. Slander 5. Filthy language 6. Do not lie to one another.

D. The expression “laid aside” in the Greek was used to describe taking off clothes.

1. Imagine a mechanic coming home in the evening, taking off his grimy clothes, stepping in the shower, getting out, and putting on those again. How ridiculous! Yet how many Christians do something similar? Scrubbed clean by the blood of Jesus, some will return to dressing in the old rags of the old life.

III. The reasons for the clean-up (3:6-7)

A. Paul gives two reasons for cleaning up our lives:

B. Verse 6, the wrath of God

1. The wrath of God has both a present and future reality. In the pre sent, God allows evil to run its course that man might witness its awful destructive force (Rom. 1).

2. The future reality of His wrath is the Biblical doctrine of hell (Rev. 20:11-15).

C. A second reason is—those sins were part of your old life. God rescued you from the power of that old life (Rom. 6:4-6).

Conclusion:

A. All of this seems pretty elementary, does it not? Yet this is where the battle is. You struggle with these sins every day of your life.

MEMBERS IN LONG TERM NURSING FACILITIES: Jo Ann Harmon, Greenbrier, Room 22 Abbie Morrison, Greenbrier, Room 70 Carla Lack, Golden Oaks Nursing Home, #122 Jeanne Pitts, Kenwood Manor, Room 2 Sue Mathis, The Commons, Room 106 Virgie Lee, The Commons, Room 305 Glenda Sweetwood, The Commons, Room 306 Georgie Gritz, The Commons, Apt 1008

MAKING DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS

WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT:

Kindly join us for the wedding of

Rachel Stephens

and

Anthony Kiles

Saturday, June 6, 2020, 4 pm

Western Yell County

Church of Christ

320 E Broadway

Havana, AR 72842

Rception and shower to follow.

CARE & SHARE

Dwayne & Margaret McLerran

Billie Lunday

POWERFUL PRAYER WARRIORS, Please pray specifically for these

three students this week:

VALORIE EVERINGHAM Granddaughter of Sandra Everingham

EMMA WOLKE Granddaughter of Roger & Beth Gaddie

CALLEN BLYTHE Grandson of Marshall & Joy McCoy

OUR RECORDS

Week of May 10, 2020

Bible Class...….…...………....….n/a

AM Worship…...….....…...…......n/a

PM Worship…….…...….….……n/a

Contribution.…….…....……$4,485

Wed PM...………………..............n/a

PRAYER LIST

Mikaela Goben…She got her stitches and splints removed this week

and is recovering well from her surgery.

Don Sullivan…...He will have a procedure done on Monday, June 1st.

Please also continue to pray for:

Clint & Donna Petty Billie Lunday Kathy Grant & Family

Shirley Lorenz Linda Swart Kay Scott

Debra Simon Chris Strate Dwayne & Margaret McLerran

PASSAGE OF THE WEEK

Acts 17:11 “Now these were more noble-minded than

those in Thessalonica, for they received the

word with great eagerness, examining the

Scriptures daily to see whether these things

were so.”

RESOURCES FOR SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT:

The “In Search of Lord’s Way” program can be watched on Sun-day mornings via WGN America (Dish Channel 239, DirecTV Channel 307) at 6:00 am, DirecTV Channel 34 at 7:30 am, CW (Suddenlink Channel 7) at 7:30 am.

The “Gospel of Christ” program can be watched on Sunday morn-ings via DirecTV Channel 52 at 8:00 am.

The Gospel Broadcasting Network (GBN) is available via Roku or mobile app, or online at gbntv.org; GBN has several options for video Bible studies and devotionals.

The TRUTH.FM mobile app or website provides access to various podcasts and church radio stations, including a 24-hour a capella singing station.

PTP365 is currently offering temporary free access in response to COVID-19; go to https://free365.polishingthepulpit.com

Wylie church of Christ, where Steve Minor preaches, has a live stream of their Sunday morning services at 10:30 am; it can be accessed at wyliechurchofchrist.org

West Huntsville church of Christ, where Glenn Colley preaches, has a live stream of their Sunday morning services at 9:oo am; it can be accessed at westhuntsville.org

Other resources include Focus Press and Apologetics Press.

MISSIONS WE SUPPORT:

Elio & Serafina Vergara, Panama

In SEARCH of the Lord’s Way

Lariat Creek Christian Camp

Garriott Road Prison Ministry

MAY Elder of the Month:

Rick Goben

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE: enidchurchofchrist.com

5TH ANNUAL VIRTUAL LADIES RETREAT

Ladies, if you are a member at GRCC, we are registered as a congregation. The lessons are available to stream online for the entire month of May. If you would like to participate, please contact Lacy Crowell. Retreat notebooks can be emailed to you, or hard copies are available on the credenza.

TODAY, Marsha Hager!

SATURDAY, Rachel Wieden!

Congratulations to our 2020 high school & college graduates!!

ALEXIS GOBEN has earned her high school diploma from Oklaho-ma Bible Academy. This fall, she plans to begin the Robotics & Electronic Automation program at Autry Technology Center.

JOSH BARBER has earned an Associate in Science Degree in Computer Science from Northern Oklahoma College.

AMANDA BOYLE has earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Wildlife Ecology & Management from Oklahoma State University.

JESSICA REHMEL has earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from Oklahoma Christian University.

https://free365.polishingthepulpit.com