Cleaning God’s Cup
So many people today go to work, they come home, they cook, clean, work on homework with the kids, and if they have a little bit of time left over for themselves.
They will sit down in front of the television, which offers very little that is of any worth anymore.
They fill their minds with things that grieve the spirit and give them anxieties and troubles just before having to hurry to bed for a few hours of sleep.
People today are simply washed out. Like the sometimes beautiful chalk renditions that can be found placed by various artists on sidewalks in the big cities of this country, they only last until the rains come.
People today allow too many trivial things to be put on their plates. The ole devil is preoccupying us so that we will not recognize the sign of the times. Because if we did we would have a fear of the Lord which the Bible says
Prov 9:10
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
There have been many people, many ministers that have fallen into the temptation and trap, trying to predict when Jesus will return.
THE Bible says in
Gen 1:14
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs , and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Luke 12:54-56
54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
If I asked you what time is it, do you know?
Joel 2:28-31
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Acts 2:20-21
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
KJV
Rev 6:12
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
KJV
We are already experiencing Blood moons. I will not fall into the trap of trying to predict Jesus return.
What Christians really need to be focused on while we are looking for his return,
is living a life now, that is Christ centered, living a life now that is Holy, just as Jesus is Holy. The Bible says in
1 John 1:5-10
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The Bible also says in
1 John 2:1-6
2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
1 John 2:10-12
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
1 John 2:15-17
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
1 John 2:23-28
23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
Heb 8:10
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
KJV
28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Friends, when we get to feeling all washed out, what we need to do, is to stop wading in a muddy creek, trying to cleanse ourselves with dirty water.
That is what this world has to offer, is says come on in the water is warm. Have ever had someone tell you that? Only to find out after you jump in, that the water is freezing cold.
When you swim in a dirty creek, when you come out, the stains will be all over your body.
What we should be doing is praying for God to
Ps 51:7-13
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Hyssop was an aromatic plant with medicinal and cleaning abilities. So we say Lord wash me.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
If you profess Jesus and you start going down to wrong road, he may indeed break your bones.
Rev 3:19
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
I pray now and you should God
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
We need to all be praying this.
I have prayed and still pray
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
So many people are drowning in the muddy waters of this life not knowing that there is one who will wash them. We need to be washed from the inside out. Jesus said
John 4:14
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Heb 10:22
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
My son says to me many times, Dad you have got too many verses in your sermons.
I say that I will preach the word of God and not of man. That is how this Church will grow, it is how this Church of God will be cleansed. The Bibles says in
Eph 5:25-26
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
This Church and all of God’s Churches need the cleansing of his word.
A Church that talks too much about football and sports of all kinds is not pouring out the water of life.
Sometimes people on the outside can seem alright but inside their minds are preoccupied with wrong things. God said to
Jer 4:14
14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
We have got to get rid of those thoughts. How do we do it?
Do not pour dirty water into God’s clean cup.
Do not watch television shows that are dirty, filled with filth, leave those playboy and those playgirl magazines alone.
Hide your eyes from the signs that advertise alcohol, don’t look at them, stay away from strip clubs and all those things which seek to fill the cup of the Lord with dirt.
And when you do so sweetness will come over you and one day you will say
Ps 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
