"Cleaning House: Making Room for What Lasts"
Notes
Transcript
**Matthew 12:43-45**
**Scripture:** Matthew 12:43-45
**Main Idea:** You can’t just empty your life of bad things and expect it to stay that way. Transformation comes not just by removing sin, but by filling your life with what matters most—Christ’s presence and purpose.
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### **Introduction:**
- *Illustration*: The garage at my house had been known for one thing, clutter! We have lived in the same house for ten years and each year I would remove everything from the garage and reorganize it so I would have a nice clean space only to come back in two weeks latter to a war zone. Why does that happen? Because it’s not enough to just empty it—you need to fill it with purpose.
- Connect this to how people often try to "clean up" their lives without lasting change.
“I don’t like how this makes me feel”
“I don’t like feeling angry all the time”
“I cannot live under these conditions anymore”
So we remove a habit, a person, a demon and start sweeping out the dirt that the evil influence left on the floor of our heart. Then we start rearranging or replacing the furniture of our heart. Then we sit down on in the recliner with the bag of Cheetos while we bing watch our favorite show on Prime. And before we know it the same negative influence is back and they bring friends.
> "Many people try to fix their lives by removing bad habits, cutting off toxic relationships, or trying to get rid of sin—but that's just step one. What happens when the space is left empty?"
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The Danger of an Empty House
The Danger of an Empty House
- **Verse 43**: When the unclean spirit leaves a person, it searches for rest but returns to the empty house it left.
- *Application*: Empty spaces in our lives are dangerous. The enemy is always looking for a way back in.
> "Some of us are living with empty houses—empty hearts. We think we’re doing better because the bad stuff is gone, but if we're not filling it with something greater, it’s only a matter of time before it gets worse."
- *Illustration*: Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who struggled with addiction throughout his life. Hoffman had been sober for 23 years after battling drug and alcohol addiction in his early career. He managed to quit, and during that time, he became one of the most respected actors of his generation, earning an Oscar and multiple accolades.
However, despite his sobriety and career success, Hoffman did not seem to replace his addiction with a solid new purpose or strong community support beyond work. Eventually, in 2013, he relapsed into drug use. His relapse was devastating, and without the deeper support structure or new life purpose, the addiction took over again, ultimately leading to his tragic overdose in 2014. His death highlighted how addiction can reassert itself even after long periods of sobriety when deeper changes or community support are not present to maintain recovery.
This story illustrates the dangers of removing a harmful habit without reinforcing one's life with a new sense of direction or supportive community. Without those, old destructive patterns can resurface, sometimes in a more dangerous form.
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
When you decide to remove the wicked influence of your life the next step is to full your life with God.
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The Power of Filling Your Life with God
The Power of Filling Your Life with God
- **Verse 44**: The spirit finds the house "swept clean and put in order" but empty, so it brings seven more spirits, more wicked than the first.
- *Application*: You can’t just clean up your life. You need to fill it with God’s Word, prayer, community, and purpose.
> "God didn’t call us to be empty Christians. He called us to be filled with His Spirit, His purpose, and His power."
- **Illustration**: Talk about how people who fill their time with serving, worship, and relationships are far less likely to fall into temptation. They are too busy doing good to dwell on the bad.
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
When we are filled with the fulness of God we will act like Jesus. We will serve.
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### **3. Filling Your Life: The Example of Jesus’ Family**
- **Verse 46-50**: Jesus says, "Whoever does the will of my Father is my brother, sister, and mother."
- *Application*: Jesus redefines family as those who are filled with God’s will. Our spiritual lives need to be filled with purpose, aligned with God's mission.
> "You were made for more than just trying to survive life. You were made to be part of God’s family, part of His mission."
- *Illustration*: This year I determined to clean my garage out, but this time instead of creating an empty clean space, I decided to fill it with something I would regularly use. I filled it with purpose, and now it stays relatively clean and useful.
You will find purpose in your life when you become a family member of the House of God by faith in Jesus. Then as a believer you will find purpose in Faithway through serving in ministries or groups, which prevents spiritual emptiness.
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Three Steps to Filling Your Life with What Matters
Three Steps to Filling Your Life with What Matters
1. **Fill Your Mind with God’s Word**: Read Scripture daily. It's not enough to sweep the house clean; fill it with truth.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
That I might not sin against thee.
2. **Fill Your Time with God’s Purpose**: Get involved in serving, in your church, and in your community. You are made to make a difference.
3. **Fill Your Relationships with Godly Influence**: Surround yourself with people who push you closer to God. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
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### **Conclusion:**
- *Challenge*: Some of us spend too much time focusing on removing bad things, and haven’t filled our lives with good things—things of God. It’s time to stop living with empty hearts and start living filled with the Holy Spirit.
> "It’s not about what you remove from your life—it’s about what you put into it. Will you fill it with God’s presence today?"
- **Call to Action**: Invite people to surrender their emptiness to God and ask Him to fill them with His Spirit. Invite those who need Jesus to accept Him today.
- Close with prayer, asking God to fill the hearts of His people.
Father, we want to be filled with your Spirit. We commit our life to His direction. We accept the truth that only you can cleanse us through Jesus’ blood. Now we ask that you would fill our lives with purpose,