Sermon Central
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Clean Hands And Pure Hearts Series
Contributed by Mark Opperman on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: What kind of people will be allowed to enter heaven? Those whose hearts are right with God! Those who have been changed on the inside by their encounters with the living God! Those whose lives reflect the character of Jesus!
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
God’s will is to love. Love fulfills every requirement God ever gave to mankind. But in ourselves we are not capable of love. 1 John 4:19 reminds that we are able to love because He first loved us. Paul describes that transaction in Romans 5. Romans 5:5 “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
-So heart change is not about adopting the most accurate religious creed or belief system. As important as correct theology is, heart change is not about passing the test of doctrinal correctness. That alone will not make us right with God. Heart change is about learning to love and be loved. Love changes hearts! Love will change the world! Love motivates us to pray, to give, to serve. Where there is love, there will be grace and forgiveness. Where there is love, there is no room for smug self-assurance or arrogance. Where there is love there is a heart that is being changed into the image of God’s Son, Jesus Christ!
-Do you want God’s will to be done in your life? Position yourself to receive the love and grace of God inside of you. Only those who do the will of the Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven. Are you doing His will or your own? Love compels us to obey. Love also empowers us to obey the Lord.
-So how do we do that? How do we receive God’s love so that our hearts will be changed? How can we become the kind of person who does what the Lord wants?
4. When we surrender ourselves to God, He changes our hearts
As we surrender ourselves to God, we will get to know Him and begin to do His will, thus gaining entrance to the kingdom of heaven.
-Let me be clear that works do not save us. Faith in Jesus saves us. But let me be equally clear that faith is more than good intentions. Faith is more than words. Faith is the follow through. Faith is staying connected to the heart of God because we love and trust Him. And as we do this He continually changes us. He gives us clean hands and pure hearts.
Song: Give Us Clean Hands / Video Song: Lord, I Need You / Prayer
