Garbage - Dump

Last year I did a sermon called “Garbage Dump”. I had trashed the whole sanctuary with paper, plastic, tin cans, etc. I had piles of garbage sacks and other trash on the stage, all of which represented the unforgiveness that we hold against others.

Some people say, “I don’t want to forgive anyone. I don’t feel like it.” You can decide not to forgive if you want to, but realize you are just taking bitterness with you everywhere that you go. The longer you hang on to that resentment, bitterness and unforgiveness the more others don’t want to be around you because you start to stink. Emotionally and spiritually you stink and others can’t stand to be around you. Your relationships begin to fall apart. It is important that you get rid of the garbage.

When someone hurts you, will you become bitter or will you become better? Because pain only leads you one of two places – bitter (focused on the person or the pain) or better (because you are focused on God and the process of removing the garbage).

To get rid of the garbage (pain, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.) you need to discover who dumped the pain on you in the first place, and then you need to define how they hurt you. What specific garbage did they put in your life? You say, “Why is that important?” Because if you don’t identify how much they owe you, you can’t release the debt.

Once you have identified who and what then you have to do the hard part and dispose of the garbage. You must forgive and let the garbage go.

Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

When Christ was on the cross He was given garbage, it didn’t belong to Him, it was our sin, and yet He said “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”

At the cross you lost all of the excuses not to forgive someone. You will never have to forgive someone more than God through Christ has forgiven you. Know that Jesus died so that you wouldn’t have to carry your garbage around.