PURITY: LOOKING BEYOND THE SURFACE OF OUR LIVES
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Matthew 5:8 (NIV)
Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous—possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!
Matthew 5:8 (AMP)
INTRODUCTION: Purity is important when it comes to the water we drink. Purity is important when it comes to the toys we let our children play with. Purity is important when it comes to the food we eat.
Where purity is becoming less important is in the area of morality and lifestyle. Present day society Considers cohabitation normal. Children out of wedlock no longer hold the stigma they used to. Infidelity is on the rise. It seems as those we insist on purity in every area of our lives ACCEPT when it comes to us personally!
Yet, when Jesus spoke these words, “Blessed are the pure in heart, …” that was exactly the kind of purity He was speaking about. A pure individual, one fit for the kingdom of heaven!
Addiction, adultery, and affluence have exacted a price on the family, the church, the community, and ultimately upon our freedoms as a society. History has shown time and again that a nation, any nation, large or small, that does not embrace purity will embrace destruction!
God declared it to the Babylonians: …, You are weighed in the balances and are found wanting;
Daniel 5:27 (AMP)
God declares to the world: … And if anyone’s [name] was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:15 (AMP)
And to us Jesus writes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Our only hope of seeing God is by being pure!
I. WHAT PURITY IS
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27 (NIV)
A. “to look after orphans and widows in their distress”
1. I would like to suggest something a little different here than what our standard thinking is concerning what James writes here regarding widows and orphans.
2. First, is the obvious – we are to give special consideration to both widows and orphans.
a) Pure religion – ie:worship is how we treat the most desperate
3. What we over look here is the redemptive connection in this phrase
a) What were we before God worked in our lives
b) First off we were orphans – part of the salvation experience was our adoption into the family of God
Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, through Christ.
Galatians 4:7 (AMP)
c) Second we were “widows”.
d) Boaz wed the widow Ruth for a redemption
e) We have a wedding yet to take place the illustrates the culmination of our redemption in Christ.
and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Ephesians 5:27 (NIV)
4. Simply put we are to have a response towards others that mirrors the response God had towards us.
B. “to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
1. The word keep means to reserve by guarding
2. It is used several times in Scripture
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you,
1 Peter 1:4 (NIV)
11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one.
12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
John 17:11-12 (NIV)
"If you love me, you will obey what I command.
John 14:15 (NIV)
3. Purity is guarding ourselves in the world until Jesus comes
II. HOW WE MAINTAIN OUR PURITY
We maintain our purity by incorporating an attitude of purity in our lives. An attitude of purity is an internal attitude, not an external action
A. The religious leaders of the time were concerned with outward appearance.
Matthew 12:2 (NIV)
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
Matthew 12:14 (NIV)
14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
1. Between these two verses Jesus speaks about the ministry of the priests on the Sabbath
2. between these two verses Jesus heals a man with a withered hand
3. Between these verses Jesus makes the point that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath and that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around (Mark 2:27)
IF THE LEVEL OF OUR CHRISTIANITY ONLY RISES TO THE LEVEL OF DOING THE VISIBLE THINGS AS A BELIEVER, WE WILL ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS DO WHAT LOOKS GOOD, CRITICIZE OTHERS WHO DON’T, AND SILENCE THOSE WHO SHOW US OUR SHALLOWNESS
WHAT IS IN THE INSIDE WILL MAKE IT TO THE OUTSIDE!
B. Maintaining our purity means making our insides like our outsides should be!
1. Good Manners -- Matthew 25:45 "He will reply, ’I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
a) Where in the world do we think people are going to learn to act like believers unless we live like believers.
b) We need to make an inward commitment now to act like Jesus. If we do not make it in our hearts, we will not live it in our lives!
c) Then go ahead and be courageous, show people what it is like to be a courteous person
2. Sincerety -- Colossians 3:22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
a) Paul instructs the believers who were slaves to do things seen and unseen with sincerity of heart
b) Sincerity is an attitude that is expressed in as an action.
c) Sincerity is seen in our speech and in the way we do things
d) Shoddy workmanship and snide remarks are the actions of the insincere
3. Single-minded Commitment To God -- Luke 9:62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
a) Guess what, God wants you to be here when His house is open
(1) Its about time we adjusted other areas of our lives in order to make time for God then adjust our time for God in order to make room for other areas of our lives.
(2) Revival needs to break out, because we are could hearted towards God.
(3) Do you know why we double book activities with church activities, or why we schedule activities on days we should be spending with God – BECAUSE THE ACTIVITIES ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN GOD OR GOD IS NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO REMEMBER!
Do not whine about your spiritual walk if you do not put time into your spiritual walk.
NOBODY LIKES TO PRACTICE THE PIANO AT FIRST – BUT ONCE THEY GET THE BUG, YOU CANNOT TEAR THEM AWAY FROM THE PIANO!
b) God wants us to talk about salvation
(1) Living our witness is not witnessing.
(2) Nobody gets saved by watching. People get saved by HEARING
c) Simply put – God wants us to be the church he envisioned when Jesus died for us!
A worshipping, loving, giving, testifying, praying body of believers
We talk about a gas crisis and a food crisis, but there is a far greater crisis for the believer today – it a purity crisis!
If we measured our commitment to Christ on a yardstick we would not need 30 inches of it!
The church calls for prayer – too busy
The church calls for helpers – too committed
The church calls for tithes – too indebted
The church calls for worship – too overbooked
The church calls for you.
We don’t see God BECAUSE we are looking for him in the wrong places!
WE SEE GOD WHEN SOMEONE COMES TO KNOW CHRIST
WE SEE GOD WHEN WE GET INTERESTED IN OUR BIBLES
WE SEE GOD WHEN WE GET OBEDIENT IN OUR GIVING
WE SEE GOD WHEN WE FEEL THE APPRECIATION OF OTHERS BECAUSE WE HAVE HELPED
WE SEE GOD WHEN WE GET SERIOUS ABOUT WORSHIP AND SPENDING TIME WITH HIM
WE SEE GOD WHEN WE GET THE INSIDE OF OUR LIFE RIGHT
BRETHREN REMEMBER – WHEN GOD GETS AROUND TO IT – HE WILL BE LOOKING AT OUR HEARTS – AND HEARTS UNCOMMITTED TO GOD WILL NEVER SEE HIM AS IS SHOULD BE SEEN!
