PREACHED:OL,8-8-04,AM

 

“THE ART OF INTERRIOR DECORATING”

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

   What would you do if you were browsing in a bookstore in the “religious” section and you discovered a book on the art of Interior Decorating?

 

A.      Would your first thought be, “This is out of place; somebody must have carried it over here; I’ll take it to the clerk and let them put it in the right section.”

 

B.       But if you think for a minute, you might draw the conclusion that the book was in exactly the right section.

 

1.       BECAUSE IN A SENSE, CHRISTIANITY IS THE ART OF INTERIOR DECORATING!

 

‚   Biblical emphasis…

 

A.      The Lord condemned Israel for being hypocrites—one image on the outside, another on the inside!

 

1.       Matt 23:25, 26. “You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence… First clean the inside of the cup and plate, that the outside may also be clean.”

 

B.       Paul said, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly…circumcision is a matter of the heart.”  (Rom 2:28, 29)

 

C.       About our spiritual growth even though we age physically, Paul declared, “So we do not lose heart. Though the outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day…”  (II Cor 4:16)

 

D.      Paul told the Colossians the “materials” to be used in interior decorating:

 

1.       Col 3:12-15: Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, love, peace and thankfulness…”

 

ƒ   Why should we be interested in “Interior Decorating?”

 

          A.      Because I want to be the “company dishes!”     

 

1.       Probably most of you ladies either received at your wedding shower or you have accumulated some china or a set of nice china and crystal…that you only get out on special occasions, such as when special company comes...”

 

a.      Paul said, “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is

dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”  (II Tim 2:20, 21)

 

B.       Just as a beautifully decorated home brings honor to its owner and occupant, a beautifully decorated life, brings honor to its owner and occupant:

 

1.       I Cor 6:19, 20. “…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So Glorify God in your body.”

 

„   Important factors about interior decorating:

 

DISCUSSION:

 

Œ   COUNT THE COST

 

A.      Sue and I are big “fans” of HGTV (Home & Garden)

 

1.       Favorites are interior decoration programs such as “Sensible Chic,” “Designing for the Sexes,” “Designed to Sell.”

 

a.       The last one is always a good program for preachers!

 

2.       “Sensible Chic” tries to reproduce at a cost of very few thousand dollars the look of a designer room that costs anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000.

 

B.       There are no shortcuts to the cost of decorating the soul!

 

1.       Luke 14:27, 28. “Whoever does not bear his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all will begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’”

 

                   2.       Rich young ruler in Luke 18

                             Zacchaeus in Luke 19

 

C.       As the song says, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In his presence daily live. All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now. All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessings fall on me.”

 

   TRUST THE MASTER DECORATOR

 

          A.      The design has to be his not ours!

 

1.       Jews – John 5:40. “You refuse to come to me that you may have life…”

 

          B.       Spiritual interior decoration is a joint effort!

 

1.                 Rom 12:1, 2.

Col 3:5, 12. “Put to death therefore… Put on then…And let the peace of Christ rule in your heart…”

                            

a.       Phil 2:12, 13. “As you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure…”

 

C.       Like any master craftsman, the Lord uses tools for the accomplishment of his work in us:

 

1.                 The Bible

2.                 Prayer

3.                 Worship

4.                 Fellowship

5.                 Service

 

“Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me;

All his wonderful passion and purity;

O, My Savior Divine, all my being refine;

Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”

 

Ž   BE PATIENT UNTIL THE JOB’S FINISHED!

 

A.      It’s so easy to become discouraged with hindrances!

 

                   1.       Heb 12:1-4.

 

2.       Paul told the Ephesian church to focus on the eternal purpose of God and to keep on focusing on it, and he makes this statement:

 

a.       Eph 3:11-13. “This was according to the eternal purpose that he realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.”

 

CONCLUSION:

 

   HOW IS YOUR INTERIOR DECORATING COMING ALONG?

 

          A.      It’s not just theory, you know!

 

1.       Is your attitude becoming more Christlike?

                   2.       Is your language sweeter?

                   3.       Is your marriage more godly?

                   4.       Is worship more precious?

                   5.       Is your spiritual appetite growing?

6.       If your prayer life regular and meaningful?

                   7.       Is the beauty of service blossoming?

                   8.       Is the image of Jesus emerging?

 

B.       To be baptized and make no changes in your life is like asking a find interior decorator to let you be one of his projects but…NEVER LETTING HIM START!