IT'

IT'S TIME TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH

By Rev. Harold Mauldin

Jonah 3: 1-10 (Key verses: Jonah 3: 5-7)

5) So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 6) For word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne and he laid his robe from him and covered him with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7) And he caused it to be published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles saying, let neither man nor beast herd not flock taste any thing let them not feed nor drink water.

Trash: Anything worthless. Foolish talking or nonsense. Useless.

It's time to take out the trash. There are some things in our lives that need to be gotten rid of. As we go through life, some times we gather things that may have value to us. Some things can be bought and sold later for a profit. Some things we have just have sentimental value to them. It may not be worth a whole lot to other people but they mean a lot to us. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

We often hold on to things too long. The longer we hold on to it, the harder it is to let go. Often when people pass away the family that remains is left behind to sift through the trash because the member that kept it thought that one day it would be worth something. The Bible says in Matthew 16: 26, For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? There is a time when we need to get rid of the trash.

Jonah hated Nineveh. He thought the whole place was full of trashy people. God gave a message for the people of the city. He wanted Jonah to deliver it. God has a message. No matter who it is you think you are talking to, just remember the message is never trash, it is always treasure. And God can transform trash into treasure at any time. Jonah may have thought Nineveh was trash but the fish that ate him thought that about him. The Bible says that God spoke to that fish that swallowed Jonah and it vomited Jonah out on dry land. I wonder what God said to the fish. I think that he may have said, "You ate a preacher and he is not obeying me." That would have been enough to make anybody sick. It is time to get rid of the trash once and for all.

When the fish spit him out, he went to Nineveh. He went and preached a simple message. He said in 40 days this place is going to the trash can. Here is what the people did in response to the message:

1) The people believed God.
2) They proclaimed a fast.
3) They put on sackcloth.

Here is what the king did when he heard the message:

1) He arose from his throne.
2) Took his robe off.
3) covered himself in sackcloth.
4) Sat in ashes.
5) Made a proclamation throughout all the land.
6) No animal ate or drank water.
7) Every man and beast was to be covered in sackcloth.
8) They were to cry out to God mightily.
9) Turn from their evil and stop being violent.

The king knew that if everyone would take out the trash, then God might change his mind and not make Nineveh a trash can. The king was right. God heard their cries and spared Nineveh...for now. It's time to take out the trash.

II Corinthians 6: 17-18 Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. And I will be a father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

1) Get rid of the trash.
2) Don't touch the junk.
3) God don't want trash in treasure.
4) God wants his kids to take out the trash.

Why? Because in II Corinthians 4: 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Take out the trash!

The devil wants to destroy you. That is not news. Everyone knows that. He is angry with the righteous. He hates the things of God. Satan is a trash man. He once lived in heaven. He was beautiful. His glory was a reflection of God's glory. He fell from heaven as lightning when pride was found in him. He was put in the trash can.

Isaiah 14: 12-17

Lucifer fell to the ground from heaven. Here is what he said he would do.

1) I will ascend.
2) I will be exalted.
3) I will sit on the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north.
4) I will ascent above the height of the clouds.
5) I will be like the most high.

The devil is a trash talker. God never talks trash. The reason why the devil hates the church is because everything that Satan said he would become is exactly what the church has become.

1) I will ascend... St. John 12: 32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
2) I will exalt.... I Peter 5:6 Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time.
3) I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north.... Psalms 48:1-2 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion on the sides of the north the city of the great king.
4) I will ascend above the height of the clouds.... I Thessalonians 4: 16-18 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
5)I will be like the most high..... I John 3:2 Beloved, now we are the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Satan will be brought down to the trash can. One day the world will look on him and see him for what he really is...a trash talker. We are exactly what satan wants to be. We are the most beautiful thing in the sight of God. One day we will be the bride of Christ. It is time to take out the trash.

Philippians 4:8 Get the trash out of your mind. Think on these things:

1) True
2) Honest
3) Just
4) Pure
5) Lovely
6) Good report
If there be any virtue, if there be any praise. Think on these things. It's time to take out the trash.

Luke 11: 24-26 Make sure that you take the trash out and burn it. If not, you may find it back in your home. There are some people who keep letting the same trash back into their hearts. We get free from it for a while but after a while, it comes right back. Make up your mind tonight that there will be no more trash in your house. It is time to take out the trash.

Nineveh was spared during the time of Jonah. However, it was destroyed approximately 150 years later by the prophesy of Nahum. Nineveh repented and God did spare them but over time, they let trash back in again. Don't let things get into your life that can destroy you. It's time to take out the trash.