Sermon Illustrations on Cleansing

How To Have A Clean Heart In a Dirty World

Luke 22:5

Sermon on Jesus washing the disciples' feet, and Peter objecting.

1. Who needs it?

2. How do you get it?

3. What is the purpose of cleansing?

4. How often do you need it?

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(Various)

Luke 22:20

Articles on "Blood" in 1983 Christianity Todays:

1. Parallels between literal blood and biblical symbolism.

Feb 18, p.12; Mar 4, p.38; Mar 18, p.18

2. The miracle of its physical and spiritual cleansing power. Feb 18, p.12

3. Its symbolic nature in the Lord's Supper. Mar 4, p.40

4. Parallels with transfusion. Mar 18, p.20

5. Meaning of "Drink my blood." Mar 18, p.21

[below not used in sermon of February 5, 1995]

Blood and communion: (from March 18, 1983, p. 21)

A. If Jesus lived today, he might use the image of transfusion.

1) The invitation to drink his blood, he invited us to share

in the rich resources of his ongoing life.

2) The Lord's Supper is a celebration of the new intimacy won

for us by the blood of Christ. We are made near to him;

we participate in him; he feeds us - any phrase only

hints at the mystery.

a) Herbert Spencer expressed the scientific principle:

Whatever amount of power an organism expends in any

form equals the power that was taken into it from

outside.

b) George Macdonald expressed the spiritual principle:

"He requires of us what we cannot effect [do] without

Him."

B. Jesus left only two ordinances for us to follow:

1) Baptism, a one-time act.

2) The Lord's Supper.

Each ordinance manifests a common theme of personal,

intimate union with God.

In one, a representative of God physically brings you in

contact with water as a purifying symbol of new life.

In the other, each person, one by one, pauses to ingest

the bread and wine, the body and blood of Jesus.

Under the old covenant, worshipers brought the sacrifice

- they GAVE.

In the new, believers receive tokens of the finished work

of the risen Christ.

"My body, wich was broken FOR YOU.... My blood, which

was shed FOR YOU..….

Baptism In A Coffin

Luke 15:6

Ralph Wood was visiting a former student, now a minister, who invited him to a special baptism in a prison. It would be a small affair — Wood’s presence would double the congregation.

The man was in prison not for stealing cars or selling dope but for the crime our society is perhaps least prepared to pardon. In a drunken stupor this man had molested his ten-year-old daughter. He had thus committed a triple violation — of the girl’s sexual integrity, her filial trust, her moral innocence. No wonder that child molesters are the most despised of all criminals and that their fellow inmates call them “short eyes.” Convicts understand, as many do not, that no clearly considered human motive -however sinister — could prompt such an act: it must spring from a blindness made all the more terrible for being self-inflicted.

Wood’s suspicions were instant and numerous. Was this a convenient jail-house conversion that might lead to a quicker parole, a sentimental turning to God because there was nowhere else to turn, a desperate search for pastoral acceptance when societal rejection was sure to come?

The Baptist pastor told Wood something that caused him to doubt his doubts, however. He said this criminal did not make his profession of faith amid abject panic. His conversion was not prompted by the dread that, unless he reformed his life, no one — least of all his family — would ever accept him again.

The real turn had come several days earlier when the man’s wife and daughter had visited the prison in order to forgive him. It was only then — when freed from the burden of his sin by God’s humanly mediated grace — that the molester got on his knees and begged for the mercy of both God and his family. Surely, Wood thought, this is the true order of salvation: our repentance is always the consequence of, not the condition of, divine grace.

A guard escorted the prisoner from behind a fence topped with razor wire. His family was not able to attend because their broken-down car had failed yet again. There were just the three of them, with the guard looking curiously on. To the strumming of the chaplain’s guitar, they sang a croaky version of “Amazing Grace.” They did not balk at declaring themselves wretches.

After a pastoral prayer, the barefoot prisoner stepped into a wooden box that had been lined with a plastic sheet and filled with water. It looked like a large coffin, and rightly so. This was no warmed-and-tiled First Baptist bath, with its painted River Jordan winding pleasantly into the distance. This was the place of death: the watery chaos from which God graciously made the world and to which, in rightful wrath, he almost returned it.

Pronouncing the trinitarian formula, the pastor lowered the new Christian down into the liquid grace to be buried with Christ and then raised him up to life eternal. Though the water was cold, the man was not eager to get out. Instead, he stood there weeping for joy. When at last he left the baptismal box, Wood thought he would hurry away to change into something dry. He was mistaken. “I want to wear these clothes as long as I can,” he said. “In fact, I wish I never had to take a shower again.”

“I’m now a free man,” he declared. “I’m not impatient to leave prison because this wire can’t shackle my soul. I know that I deserved to come here, to pay for what I did. But I also learned here that Someone else has paid for all my crimes; my sins against God.”

Before returning to the prison yard, the new Christian made a final affirmation. He said that he had once doubted he could ever go back to his home town, so great were the shame and scandal of what he had done. But now he was determined to return there, to take up his work as a carpenter, and to become a faithful father and husband. More important by far, he declared his hope to join a local church and to live out his new life in Christ as a public witness to the transforming power of God’s grace.

Perhaps this man’s conversion is a sham. He may return to his old habits. But it is wrong to insist — as many voices would insist — that this man’s family should never have forgiven him, that to do so was to sanction his violence, indeed to collude in rape. This mother and daughter brought a dead man back to life. Their act of forgiveness opened him to the one reality by which our common slavery to sin can be broken: the power of salvation in Jesus Christ.

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Wheaton College Revival Offers 'Paradigm' To Pursue

Acts 13:2

Revival on the campus of Wheaton College in the spring of 1995 was a "God-centered and God-honoring, biblical, very orderly" model all believers should pursue in seeking spiritual renewal, as one of the professors there observed it.

Timothy Beougher, assistant professor of evangelism at Wheaton Graduate School and associate director of the Institute of Evangelism at the Billy Graham Center of the Illinois college, voiced his assessment at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri, during a Dec. 5 chapel service.

Beougher, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, also serves as co-pastor of New Hope Community Church, a Southern Baptist congregation he helped plant this spring. He has published numerous materials related to evangelism, including "Accounts of a Campus Revival: Wheaton 1995."

The Wheaton revival, he recounted, was triggered by the testimony of two Howard Payne University students, James Hahn and Brandi Maguire, as they told of the revival which swept the Brownwood, Texas, campus in February and moved into the surrounding community's churches.

The Howard Payne students spoke at the March 19 Sunday evening meeting of the student group, World Christian Fellowship. Instead of ending at the scheduled time of 9 p.m., students were moved by the Holy Spirit and the meeting didn't break up until 6 a.m. the following morning. The all-night session prompted

more services throughout the rest of the week, culminating in a Thursday evening praise service. In the nightly services, students confessed their sin to God and to one another, Beougher said.

Describing revival as a "gift of his grace, nothing we deserve," Beougher preached from Isaiah 6:1-8, referring to the passage as a "paradigm for revival."

The Isaiah passage teaches "our need for a fresh touch from God," he said. "Isaiah's vision was prompted by a crisis," the death of King Uzziah. This uncertainty, he said, "drove Isaiah to seek God."

"This sense of desperation can be seen in the movement of God's Spirit in the past," Beougher said. "Many students who shared this past spring testified of this great burden for a visitation from God."

He noted that the previous year some 300 students held an all-night prayer meeting beseeching God for revival for their campus.

In order to experience revival, "we need to see God as he really is,"Beougher said. "Isaiah saw the Lord 'high and lifted up.'"

Two important aspects of Isaiah's vision in chapter 6 are the sovereignty of God and the holiness of God, Beougher said.

"It's easy to lose sight of God and his holiness in the midst of our busyness," he said. "Like the proverbial 'frog in the kettle,' our spiritual vigor can slip away gradually, little by little," often without one noticing.

"It was this overwhelming sense of God's holiness that marked those touched by the revival at Wheaton," he said. Noting that he went into the Sunday evening meeting believing he was right with God, Beougher said, "... all of us found ourselves on our knees and on our face before God."

"When we see God as he is, then we come face-to-face with the reality of our sinfulness and need for cleansing," he said.

Quoting the "great historian of revival," J. Edwin Orr, Beougher said, ". when people pray for revival, most don't have a clue what they are praying for. They think they are praying for ecstasy, and yes, joy is a byproduct. But revival does not begin in ecstasy; it begins in agony."

It is characterized by "tears, not laughter," Beougher added. "We are overcome with a sense of our sinfulness, especially our pride."

Although Isaiah, in his role as a prophet, had pronounced woes on other people six times in the previous chapter, in chapter six "now all he can say is 'woe is me!'" Beougher said.

At the Wheaton revival, "we saw this in abundance," he said.

"Students confessed all different aspects of sin. Sins of the spirit as well as sins of the flesh were confessed. Several relationships were restored as bitterness was laid aside to allow God to bring spiritual and emotional healing."

At the end of the week of revival services, "five garbage bags of stuff were collected as students brought things to the chapel that were causing them to stumble in their spiritual lives," Beougher reported. The "stuff" included books, magazines, alcohol and drugs, he said.

"When God moves in our midst, we begin to see sin in a new light -- we see our need for cleansing."

In addition to seeing God for who he and seeing sin for what it is, Isaiah also teaches about "God's gracious provision," Beougher said.

"God does not reveal himself to destroy us, but to redeem us -- to make us clean," he said. God convicts of sin "to take the misery away, not to cause misery."

This truth was illustrated through the Wheaton revival, he said. Rather than an "emotional high" that only lasted for a day, "person after person this past spring testified of a newfound joy in his or her spiritual life."

Beougher told about a student who had made straight A's throughout her college years but also was "cynical and sarcastic." As a result of the revival, she publicly confessed that while she was academically sound, she earned an "F" on her relationships with others and an "F- minus" on her relationship with God. The student committed to making things right with God and her fellow students before graduating in a few weeks.

Encountering the student two weeks later, Beougher found her "face radiated joy; she almost needed a veil!"

In response to his cleansing from God, Isaiah could then respond to God's call to service, Beougher said. "The realization that your sins are forgiven will make you eager to respond in gratitude to the Lord's call, 'Here am I, send me!'"

Isaiah's willingness to serve was in spite of the fact that he didn't know anything about the mission -- the "who, what, when, where why or how. But none of that matters," Beougher said. Isaiah is available, "entrusting his life to the sovereign God."

At the final evening of revival services at Wheaton, Beougher said, more than 200 students committed themselves to full-time Christian service. In the previous year at the college, only nine students had done so.

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May I Wash Your Feet?

John 13:8

"May I Wash Your Feet?"

What would you do if Jesus asked this question?

1. A stunned Assembly. John 13:8,9

2. Daily Dirt. John 13:10

Does the Blood of Jesus Wash?

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of the Holy Spirit in her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry teaching young children.

It not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and the heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This is when the problems began.

You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting.

As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting got completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry, the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain is was causing his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement was this: "My fiancee's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?"

The whole church became very quiet, and then people began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely, then it cannot cleanse us completely.

If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus... end of case!

You are blessed of God, now take those blessings and bless someone else.

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What Good Is Soap?

Luke 4:27

A rabbi and a soap maker went for a walk together. The soap maker said, “What good is religion? Look at all the trouble and misery of the world! Still there, even after years -- thousands of years -- of teaching about goodness and truth and peace. Still there, after all the prayers and sermons and teachings. If religion is good and true, why should this be?”

The rabbi said nothing. They continued walking until he noticed a child playing in the gutter.

Then the rabbi said, “Look at that child. You say that soap makes people clean, but see the dirt on that youngster. Of what good is soap? With all the soap in the world, over all these years, the child is still filthy. I wonder how effective soap is, after all!”

The soap maker protested. “But, Rabbi, soap cannot do any good unless it is used!”

“Exactly!” replied the rabbi.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Mark 11:12

As we approach Easter Sunday, we revisit that final week of Jesus’s ministry, beginning with his entry into Jerusalem on Sunday, which we described last week. We saw that his entry into the city was designed to be a challenge to the authority of the Temple priests.

This week we focus on what he did on Monday — the day he chased the moneychangers out of the Temple.

Many people who traveled over great distances to Jerusalem to make sacrifices at the temple were unable to bring their own animals with them. Consequently they had to buy their sacrificial animals when they reached their destination.

The original idea of selling animals for sacrifice in the Royal Stoa adjacent to the Temple courts was a good one, in that it met the needs of such people — wayfarers in a strange city where they probably didn’t know anyone, had no connections, and only a little money.

The record suggests that even Mary and Joseph, on their visits to the Temple, probably bought doves for sacrifice from the merchants allowed to do business on the premises. Doves were the standard sacrifice for poor people.

Then, as more and more people came from other lands, bringing foreign money, the Temple authorities allowed moneychangers to set up tables to exchange one currency for another — for a fee, of course. Our knowledge of human nature leads us to believe some merchants undoubtedly bribed some priests.

Then, with money as the incentive, the priests allowed the increasing number of merchants to expand out of the Royal Stoa and onto the Gentile court. That, then, was the situation Jesus encountered on this final visit to Jerusalem.

Mark tells the story in Chapter 11, Verses 12-19. Here it is, quoted from my New International Version:

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

This is sometimes taken to be a judgment parable aimed at the nation of Israel. While fig trees didn’t normally produce fruit during the season Jesus came to Jerusalem, they did produce after they were fully leafed out; and this particular tree had apparently leafed out early. The tree withered and died after Jesus pronounced his curse upon it.

Back to Mark’s story:

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers’.”

The key to this story is found in the quote Jesus used from Isaiah — “My house will be called a house of prayer FOR ALL NATIONS.” The Gentile court was where people who were not Jews could gather to pray and worship, and the merchants had taken over that area for their own profit, with the tacit — and probably active — approval of the priesthood.

Not only were the non-Jews deprived of their worship area, but the moneychangers and the animal sellers were undoubtedly charging excessive prices for their services and their wares to make up what they paid out to the priests for the privilege of carrying on business there. Anyway, where else were pilgrims going to turn to buy what they needed?

Thus the phrase Jesus used, “a den of robbers”, had a double meaning. Not only were poor people taken advantage of financially, but the Temple was robbed of its sanctity by all the merchandising activity taking place in the courts.

Mark finishes his story:

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. When evening came, they (Jesus and the disciples) went out of the city.

If the priests were concerned about the stir that surrounded Jesus’s entry into the city on Sunday, his activity in the temple on Monday morning frightened some, and enraged others. Jesus was suddenly a very real threat to their whole way of life. Yet they were afraid to arrest him in the daytime while he was teaching in the Temple courts.

Any attempt they made to stop him, they surmised, would cause an uprising among the people. That, in turn, would bring Roman soldiers in to settle the issue Roman style. And Jesus didn’t remain in the city at night — he went back to Bethany to stay with friends.

The priests wanted him stopped, but they had a real problem on their hands concerning how to go about it. By the end of the day Monday they were seriously searching for some way to kill him and end what they saw as a rising rebellion against the way they did business as usual.

In our churches today we often see much the same sort of conduct exhibited by the Temple priests of Jesus’s day. In too many churches people who dress differently, or who have a different skin color, or who otherwise exhibit individuality too far removed from what is accepted as “the norm” are frozen out of fellowship by the simple fact of everyone — from the pastor on down — ignoring their presence.

In churches where most of the congregation is well-to-do, a shabbily-dressed individual is not likely to be welcomed as warmly as some newcomer in a Brooks Brothers suit. Conformity to the status quo rules the day and the church.

This would be anathema to Jesus, who spent his life comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.

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[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]

Daily Renewal

On the bathingtub of a Chinese king was engraven this motto: "Renew thyself completely each day; do it again and again, and forever again."

Beyond the initial experiences of regeneration and entire sanctification, in order to remain pure, one must daily, through the Spirit, slough off those worldly things which could become sin if they were allowed to attach themselves to the life and heart of the sanctified.

-- adapted from Sunday At Home

Illegal Bathing

Did you know -- In 1842 the first bathtub was denounced as a "luxurious and democratic vanity". Boston made it unlawful to bathe, except on doctor's prescription. In 1843 Philadelphia made bathing illegal between November 1 and March 15.

How tragic most Christians have adopted a similar schedule of spiritual cleansing. We would rather put up with the stench of our unconfessed sins than come clean before God!

The Dirty Heart of Snow

Scientists have discovered that every snowflake has a tiny piece of dust at its core. Yes, every snowflake has a "dirty heart." In the spiritual realm, when the blood of Christ is applied to the heart of an unbeliever, it cleanses him from all sin. Not a speck of defilement remains, for God removes every stain and washes him even whiter than snow.

Grubby Kids Okay

Young children who wash too often at an early age are more likely to develop serious allergies, including asthma, than those who do not, according to researchers at the Institute of Child Health at Bristol University in Britain. Those youngsters who take less care of their hygiene when their immune systems are developing have more vigorous immune systems. Source: The Sunday Times of London . This may be true in the physical realm, but it certainly is not true in the spiritual realm. Those people who are not cleansed spiritually develop no resistance to the germs of sin and evil.

Nothing But the Blood

1. What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Chorus

Oh! Precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

2. For my pardon this I see–

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

For my cleansing this my plea–

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

3. Nothing can for sin atone–

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

Naught of good that I have done–

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

4. This is all my hope and peace–

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

This is all my righteousness–

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

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Cleanse Me

1. Search me, O God, and know my heart today;

Try me, O Saviour, know my thoughts I pray.

See if there be some wicked way in me;

Cleanse me from ev'ry sin and set me free.

2. I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;

Fulfill Thy Word and make me pure within.

Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame;

Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

3. Lord, take my life and make it wholly Thine;

Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine.

Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;

I now surrender, Lord — in me abide.

4. O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee;

Send a revival — start the work in me.

Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need;

For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

[Tune “Maori”]

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'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus

1. `Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take Him at His word,

Just to rest upon His promise,

Just to know “Thus saith the Lord.”

Chorus

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

O for grace to trust Him more!

2. Oh how sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to trust His cleansing blood,

Just in simple faith to plunge me

`Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

3. Yes, `tis sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just from sin and self to cease,

Just from Jesus simply taking

Life and rest and joy and peace.

4. I’m so glad I learned to trust Him,

Precious Jesus, Saviour, Friend;

And I know that He is with me,

Will be with me to the end.

[Tune “Trust in Jesus”]

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(untitled)

I am in Christ Christ is in me, My body His temple, Sin's captive set

free; My heart His altar, Divine love the flame, Cleansing for service

In His matchless Name; My life and His life Co-mingled shall be, With

God's very Spirit Enthroned in me.

- Frances Rhoads La Chance

(untitled)

W.W. Clay tells that when he was a boy, his father had a farm that

had no well. Their source of water was a spring in a valley. Only a

cup or two of water could be obtained easily, so his Father got a 16"

tile and planted it over the spring. This tile was always full, and

it was easy to get water then by the pail, if needed. How these boys

liked to drink from the surface of the spring as it overflowed from

the tile!

But one day a crab or crawfish took up residence in the spring. The

boys would get thirsty but as they bent over to drink, sometimes the

crab would go burrowing and thus disturb the waters. It would take

several minutes for the spring waters to clear for drinking. One day

father got tired of it all. He took the boys to the spring and they

dug down until they found the crab. Father killed the crab and from

that time forward there was no stirring when they drank.

Carnality is like that old crab. It is untameable, unpredictable

and always destructive to peace and happiness. To have victory we

must let the Father destroy it! - Choice Illustrations, W.W. Clay

p. 18.

COMPLETENESS OF CLEANSING

It is said that when the discarded letters of the king or queen of

England are destroyed it is done with great care. It would be

difficult to measure the disaster or embarrassment that some of these

letters might cause if they fell into the wrong hands. So these

letters are first cancelled out by machine until every word is

illegible. Then they are cut into tiny pieces. And last, these

pieces are burned secretly by a trusted fireman. God's process is

simple compared with that, and yet as perfect. Not one sin will be

left that is unforgiven, and not one trace of sin in the character,

when the Blood "cleanseth us from all sin." ("Choice Illustrations"

W.W. Clay pg. 21)

There Is A Fountain

Luke 23:42

1. There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood

Lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains,

Lose all their guilty stains;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood

Lose all their guilty stains.

2. The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away.

Wash all my sins away,

Wash all my sins away;

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away.

3. Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood

Shall never lose its power

Till all the ransomed church of God

Be saved, to sin no more.

Be saved, to sin no more,

Be saved, to sin no more;

Till all the ransomed church of God

Be saved, to sin no more.

4. E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream

Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die.

And shall be till I die,

And shall be till I die;

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die.

5. When this poor lisping, stammering tongue

Lies silent in the grave.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I’ll sing thy power to save,

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I’ll sing thy power to save.

[Tune “Cleansing Fountain”]

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Take the Handle Off the Broad Street Pump

Mark 11:25

In 1848 London was stricken with a devastating cholera epidemic. No one knew the cause of the disease. Panic was widespread.

Dr. John Snow, studying the deaths of 89 people in one week in a certain district of the city, discovered that all but two of these drank from the Broad Street well. When asked his advice in an emergency meeting of concerned leaders, Snow suggested, "Take the handle off the Broad Street pump." It was done and the epidemic in that quarter of the city ceased.

But removing the pump handle didn't solve the fundamental problem. Sewage was seeping into the well, poisoning it. The well must be protected from contamination to secure a safe water supply for the future.

The Bible pictures the heart as a spring or well. Proverbs 4:23 exhorts us, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (RSV). Sewage in the heart poisons the whole life.

We must be continually on our guard against the subtle spiritual sewage that would trickle in and pollute. A hurt, an offense, can fill us with bitterness. A hint of gossip can finish a friendship. A repeated sin can plunge us into the depression of guilt. A frantic busyness or the laziness of leisure can dull the heart with apathy toward God.

We have all met people whose spiritual lives have been sidetracked and crippled by failing to guard their hearts diligently. It could easily happen to us.

How then are we to guard our hearts? Several principles are essential. First, we must confess sin just as soon as the Holy Spirit convicts us. We cannot afford to allow it to filter into our hearts. We can receive God's cleansing immediately (1 John 1:9).

Second, we must refuse to harbor a grudge. Jesus teaches that immediate forgiveness and reconciliation are mandatory for His disciples (Matthew 5:23-24; Mark 11:25). To delay is to invite bitterness within.

Third, we must be quick to humble ourselves. Humility never hurts relationships; pride always does. Pride barricades the heart against God's voice.

Fourth, we must turn away wrong thoughts at the door. Martin Luther once said, "You cannot stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from making a nest in your hair." We may not be able to prevent evil thoughts, but we are under no obligation to nurture them. We must test our thoughts by God's Word. If we let seeds of unbelief, lust, or sin linger to germinate, we reap their grim harvest of an enfeebled faith.

Finally, we must fellowship with God's people in order to keep our well sweet. There is a cleansing, renewing effect from the encouragement and lifting faith of other Christians (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Is Christ in your heart? Are you forcing Him to live among filth? If we allow Him, He will cleanse our hearts. As we love Him, we will guard our hearts with all diligence from anything that will prevent them from being places fit for the King.

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It's Not As Messy As It Seems

1 Peter 1:2

I used to think it strange that the Bible keeps talking about the cleansing power of the blood (1 Peter 1:2). It seemed to me that blood was messy stuff. I needed to wash my white lab coats if they became stained with blood.

Today, I love the analogy; it is so true of the body. The blood is constantly cleansing every cell, and washing away all the debris that accumulates all the time. I like the phrase in Hebrews 9:14 KJV: "How much more shall the blood of Christ purge your conscience from dead works?"

--Dr. Paul Brand in GOD'S FOREVER FEAST (Discovery House, 1998)

Channels Only

1. How I praise Thee, precious Saviour,

That Thy love laid hold of me;

Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me

That I might Thy channel be.

Chorus

Channels only, blessed Master –

But with all Thy wondrous pow'r

Flowing through us, Thou canst use us

Evr'y day and evr'y hour.

2. Emptied that Thou shouldest fill me,

A clean vessel in Thy hand,

With no pow'r but as Thou givest

Graciously with each command.

3. Witnessing Thy pow'r to save me,

Setting free from self and sin,

Thou who boughtest to possess me,

In Thy fullness, Lord, come in.

4. Jesus, fill now with Thy Spirit

Hearts that full surrender know,

That the streams of living water

From our inner man may flow.

*

The Master's Presence

Revelation 3:20

There was once a minister in England who was troubled with a violent and ungovernable temper. Many times he had prayed for victory over it. In tears he had struggled to conquer this foe. But again and again he had been beaten and now was almost in despair. He came into his study one day after a violent outburst of anger and broken heartedly buried his head in his arms on the desk. Soon his tears lulled him into a deep sleep. He dreamed that he was in this same study. As he looked out through one of the windows, he saw a glorious man coming toward the house who evidently was to be his guest. He was very aware that his study was in much disorder, and certainly unfit to receive such a guest, who he knew was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He swept and dusted the room, but, strangely, the more he worked the worse it became. Then the stranger knocked on the front door.

"Oh, what shall I do?" the minister said to himself. "I cannot invite Him into a room in such disorder as this." As he kept making attempts to clean his dirty study he kept thinking, "I cannot open the door while this room is so unfit to receive Him." But try as he would, all his efforts were in vain. Then when the knock came for the third and what he thought might be the last time, he with a sense of shame and confusion opened the door, saying to his guest, "Master, I can do no more. Come in if Thou wilt enter such a dirty room."

The Master walked in and suddenly a strange transformation occurred. The dust settled, the disorder disappeared, and all was bright, clean, and joyful. The Master's presence alone had done all that his own utmost efforts had failed to accomplish.

A sinful, mortal man, try as he may, cannot cleanse his own heart so that Jesus can come in. Only Jesus is able to do that. He says, "Come." He wants us to open our hearts' door (Revelation 3:20), and He will do the cleansing.

________

Source: These Times, Copyright (c) June 1953, Pacific Press,

http://www.pacificpress.com/signs

I Know A Fount

I know a fount where

sins are washed away,

I know a place where

night is turned to day —

Burdens are lifted,

blind eyes made to see;

There’s a wonder-working pow’r

in the blood of Calvary.

Whiter Than Snow

1. Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;

I want You forever to live in my soul;

Break down ev’ry idol, cast out ev’ry foe –

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Chorus:

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow –

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

2. Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat;

I wait, blessed Lord, at Your crucified feet;

By faith, for my cleansing I see Your blood flow –

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

3. Lord Jesus, before You I patiently wait;

Come now and within me a new heart create;

To those who have sought You, You never said “No” –

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Getting Burned

Jeremiah 1:13

Sermon based on vacation experience. Jeremiah 1:13-16

GETTING BURNED

==============

I. Burned by fire.

A. My experience in Sequoia National Park.

B. Fire hurts and can leave lasting scars.

C. Fire teaches important lessons about life and eternity.

II. Burned by people.

A. The pain of fire is a metaphor for bad relationships.

B. On fire ourselves - smoldering anger in our lives.

C. Healing from burns of others.

III. Burned by God.

A. Fire as a cleansing agent.

1) Western fires, burns away garbage and debris.

2) Unproductive "Christians" face fire. Hebrews 6:7-9

B. Fire can do more than cleanse - it can condemn. Rev 20:10, 21:8

Like A Pumpkin

A woman was asked by a co-worker, "What is it like to be a Christian?" The co-worker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

*

Create In Me A Clean Heart

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Thy presence, O Lord,

and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation,

and renew a right spirit within me.

*

Turtles vs. A Lamb!

A few rears ago, Time magazine reported that India had plans to release “carnivorous soft-shell turtles” into the Ganges, to clean up pollution created by the dumping of human carcasses into their sacred river. [10/27/87 p.46]

Commentary:

Sin pollutes and leaves the refuge of dead human life, it pollutes everything it touches. We don’t have any carnivorous turtles to release into the sacred rivers of life because we don’t need any, not that they would do any good anyway. God has an environmental protection policy that works just fine: He is able to cleanse all that is in the world with the precious blood of the Lamb.

Getting Rid of the Dirty Clothes

”Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” Rom 6:6

So you are saved. You’ve attended church for weeks, months, or years. You’ve confessed that you are a sinner. Now you’re saved by grace. The only problem is that you seem to continually fall into the same sins you used to do before you became a Christian. Now what?

Let me draw a word picture. You’ve been outside working hard cleaning out the garage and yard. You’re dirty, smelly, sweaty — you’re a mess. So you head to the house. At the door you take off as many of your dirty clothes as possible — especially the shoes! You head to the bathroom where you remove what is left and take a hot steamy shower. A-a-a-h! That feels good. You use a really nice shower gel with a wonderful fresh scent. You scrub real hard getting off all the dirt and grime. You wash your hair and use a real special conditioner. Finally you get out and dry off. At last you’re clean! You pick up your dirty clothes and put them back on. You go to the door and put on the garments you left out there — including the shoes — and head for Church. Arriving just in time for the evening service, you can’t help but wonder why people keep looking at you in a weird way. Then you see that they begin to move to other seats in the building. Some even leave the service gagging! Why? You took a shower. You’re clean. What’s the problem?

I guess you figured it out by now — it’s the dirty clothes. No matter how clean you are, dirty clothes will spoil the effect. They return you to a dirty condition. So it is with our spiritual makeup. We have been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus. Our hearts are made right. But many of us put on the old filthy rags we took off when we accepted Jesus. Is it any wonder that people look at us as though we are filthy? Is it any wonder we find ourselves doing the same evil things over and over?

“What can I do?” you ask. Paul has the answer in the context of today’s verse. You must be baptized. (For sake of commonality we will accept the Greek definition of “baptize” — to be immersed. That’s what it meant to Paul so we will accept that.) What happens in baptism? The old man is stripped away like the removal of an old filthy garment. We can get rid of the old man — the old nature of sin — and we can replace it with a new man — the nature of Christ. If you are suffering from the old sins, I ask you “Have you been baptized since you accepted Jesus?” If your answer is “no,” head to the nearest Church and ask to be baptized. If your answer is “yes,” have you taken up the old garments again? If the answer is again “yes,” strip them off, give them to Jesus, ask Him to destroy them, and ask Him to clothe you in new garments of righteousness.

Oh, one more thing. When you are tempted to play with the things that made you dirty to start with, turn immediately and run in the opposite direction — IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!

Let It Go!!!

• If you are holding on to something that doesn’t belong to you and it was never intended for your life, then you need to … LET IT GO!!!

• If you are holding on to past hurts and pains … LET IT GO!!!

• If someone can’t treat you right, love you back and see your worth … LET IT GO!!!

• If someone has angered you … LET IT GO!!!

• If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge … LET IT GO!!!

• If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction … LET IT GO!!!

• If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents … LET IT GO!!!

• If you have a bad attitude … LET IT GO!!!

• If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better … LET IT GO !!!

• If you’re stuck in the past, and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him … LET IT GO!!!

• If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship … LET IT GO!!!

• If you keep trying to help someone who won’t even try to help themselves … LET IT GO!!!

• If you’re feeling depressed and stressed … LET IT GO!!!

• If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself, and God is saying “take your hands off of it”, then you need to … LET IT GO!!!

Let the past be the past… Forget the former things… GOD is doing a new thing! … LET IT GO IN 2000!!!

Are You Washed In the Blood?

1. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Chorus:

Are you washed in the blood,

In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Are your garments spotless? are they white as snow?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

2. Are you walking daily by the Saviour’s side?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

3. When the Bridegroom comes will your robes be white?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

4. Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin—

O be washed in the blood of the Lamb;

There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean—

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

*

Dirty Floors?

• There’s alot of dirt in the world. And alot of people who tracked it onto the floor of my heart.

• Some feet left behind the sands of rejection; Some feet stomped in and left muddy tracks of fear; Some feet smeared the floor with shame,

• They all left dusty confusion and dirty lies.

• I tried alot of different ways to get the filthy floor clean. And I had to keep people outside, lest they realize what a dreadful person I was

• For getting so much dirt on the floor of my heart. Then when I had given up on ever getting it clean, When I thought I was going to have to keep the door locked forever; I met a man.

• HE said HE could clean up every kind of dirt. But I had to let HIM in.

• HE had to do the work. I had to show HIM the dirt and the mess that I showed NO ONE. That scared me. But there was a gentleness and compassion in HIS eyes That I had never seen before.

• And I wanted to believe what HE said, even though I could not understand. How could HE possibly do what I had tried so hard to do, And so miserably failed.

• So, ashamed of the mess, Afraid to get my hopes up again, trying to guard against one more disappointment, One more rejection,

• I reluctantly let HIM in, into the depths of my heart.

• HE came in as though HE knew exactly where to go. HE scanned the decorations on the walls.

• HE glanced at the polished furniture. HE noted the scrubbed woodwork. And HE gazed intently at all the dirt on the floor of my heart.

• But, HE didn’t turn away in disgust. HE didn’t laugh. HE didn’t scold me. HE looked, and HIS eyes turned sad. HE saw all the tracks that the world had left. HE saw the kicks and the stomps and the scars From the people that never bothered to wipe their feet at anyone’s door. HE saw the places I had tried so hard to clean, there on the floor of my heart.

• HE had in HIS hand a broom. A sturdy broom, made for serious cleaning. HE called the broom “TRUTH” HE worked patiently and painstakingly, taking HIS time. When HE was finished, the floor was smooth, But it was a very dull and barren floor. It looked like all the feet and accumulated dirt Had scuffed the surface beyond repair; And no matter how clean it was, The floor of my heart would always be a very ugly floor.

• HE laid the broom aside and knelt down, HE ran HIS hand over the surface, feeling the dirt Still ground into the scars. Tears began to fall from HIS eyes, As HE grieved for what the world had done. HE sat for a long time weeping; Feeling the scornful scuffs and stomping demands, Listening for gentle footsteps that never came. And as HE wept tears of love and compassion, The tears formed a little pool beside HIM, And began to seep down into the scuff marks

• Silently dissolving the ground-in dirt. And in the center of the pool, there began to show a little color.

• JESUS saw the color and began to smile. And as HE smiled, HIS face gave off light. And in the light, the color began to shimmer.

• JESUS threw back HIS head and shouted with delight, Because the floor of my heart, swept clean by the sturdy broom of TRUTH, Washed with HIS tears,

• It was not hopelessly marred at all.

You see, JESUS saw that the floor of my heart had been laid by HIS very own FATHER. And when HIS FATHER lays a foundation, HE uses pure gold.

I pray that you too will let JESUS into the depths of your heart, Let HIM sweep it clean with the broom of TRUTH. Let HIM wash the deepest of sins and hurt away with HIS tears of love. And you will discover that HIS FATHER has laid in you A foundation the world cannot destroy. For GOD HIMSELF has created you, A thing of great worth.

The Trash-filled Life

John 11:35

The other morning when I was backing out of my driveway, I saw the garbage pick-up truck coming down the street. One of the guys on the back waved at me as they passed by. It was then that I started to think about how incredibly important the work these men do is to each of us.

Can you imagine the smell that would permeate the atmosphere if all of our trash piled up around our doors with no one to take it away, as well as the insects, rodents, and disease-causing bacteria that would go along with it?

We’ve all seen news reports about the horrible effects in large cities like New York or Los Angeles, when sanitation workers go on strike. It literally causes the entire metropolis to slow down.

When it comes to listing the people whose work is absolutely essential to the well-being of society, trash-collectors have to be near the top.

There is a weird phenomenon that occurs at our house weekly — perhaps this sounds familiar to you, too! Somehow, each week we bring home five or six bags of groceries in the front door, eat all week long, and then take six or seven bags of trash out the back door. I have never understood how that happens, but it does.

The kind of debris hauled by that garbage truck is a natural by-product of living. In and of itself, it is neither good nor bad. As long as it is being properly cared for, it just IS.

I mention this because the principles we use in taking care of the trash in our homes can be used in taking care of some of the painful emotions, which are also the natural by-products of living in a stressful world. If you conduct a normal household, you are going to have trash and litter to haul to the curb. It’s a fact of life. In that same way, if you live a normal life, you are going to have some “emotional trash” which has to be dealt with, too. The “emotional rubbish” of which I speak are those “dark” emotions like hurt feelings, anger, guilt, jealousy, grief, lack of self-esteem, worry, as well as a few others.

If you have any kind of relationship with others, you are from time to time going to have to deal with some unpleasant emotions – the ones I call “emotional trash.” They are normal. Even Jesus had them.

For example, you will recall the shortest verse in the Bible records, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). If you care about another person, you always risk losing that person. There is nothing beautiful or valuable about grief. Still yet, grief is not an evil feeling. It is just the natural by-product of living — something we all experience at one time or another. It is part of the “trash” that we accumulate.

Another example from the Bible was when Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. Of course, Jesus was terribly disappointed and hurt. Then there was the instance where the moneychangers in the temple caused Him to be indignantly outraged and to throw them out!

To live in this world, you must have involvements with other people. When you do, you will have some painful feelings. Jesus did; so will you. In and of themselves, these feelings are neither good nor bad. Negative feelings are like the coffee grounds of human relationships. Like the stuff in the waste cans, the sin is not in the normal, everyday accumulation of these emotions; the sin is in not properly taking care of the “refuse.”

I often hear people say, “I know I shouldn’t be feeling this way.” The point I want to make is that we cannot help how we feel. Feelings are morally neutral. They are not good or bad. If your feelings are hurt, or if you are angry, or if you are jealous – that is what you are. Don’t bother to scold yourself for it, or beat yourself up. Just admit it. Then, take out the trash! Find an appropriate way of dealing with it, once and for all.

It’s amazing to me how many people, for any number of reasons, never let go of their “trash” – and the debris just keeps piling up.

There is an old story about a man walking down the road carrying a heavy sack. Soon another man comes by driving a horse and wagon. This fellow, who is guiding his wagon, offers the man with the sack a ride in the back of his buckboard. After riding a few minutes the driver of the wagon looks back to see the fellow standing in the wagon still holding the heavy sack over his shoulder. The astounded driver said to him, “The wagon is going to carry your sack anyway. Why not put down your load, sit down, and let the horse and wagon do the work?”

That may seem so simple that it sounds silly, but isn’t that exactly what many of us do? It is a normal thing to generate at least part of a sack-full of “trash” every day of our lives. God stands ready to be our “trash collector” – He will forgive us, if we ask Him to, and thereby carry off the rubbish in our lives – our guilt, our hurt feelings, our anger. He will haul off the garbage that naturally builds up if are willing to let it go.

Why not take out the trash today? God is waiting to collect it.

White As Snow

White as snow, white as snow,

though my sins were as scarlet;

Lord I know, Lord I know,

that I’m clean and forgiven.

Through the power of Your blood,

through the wonder of Your love,

Through faith in You

I know that I can be white as snow.

Two Sinners Saved Together

Luke 18:10

A well-known preacher was about to go to bed one night when there came a knock on the front door. When he opened the door he found a little girl standing there, drenched with rain. As he stood looking into her thin, haggard little face, she asked anxiously, “Are you the preacher?” “Yes, I am,” he replied. “Well, won't you come down and get my mother in?”

The preacher looked down at her and said, “My dear, it is hardly proper for me to come and get your mother in. If she is drunk, you should get a policeman. He is dressed for this stormy weather.”

“Oh, sir,” she replied. “You don't understand! My mother isn't drunk. She's at home dying, and she's afraid to die. She wants to go to Heaven, but doesn't know how. I told her I would find a preacher to get her in. Come quick, sir! She's dying!”

So the preacher agreed to go. The little girl led him through the night into a slum district, to an old house, up a rickety stairway, down a dark hall, and finally into a room where the dying woman lay.

“I've got the preacher for you, Mother. He's here. You just tell him what you want, and do what he tells you, and he'll get you in!”

The poor woman raised her feeble voice and asked, “Can you do anything for a sinner like me? My life has been lived in sin, and now that I'm dying I know that I'm going to Hell. But I don't want to go there; I want to go to Heaven. What can I do?”

By his own admission, the great preacher stood there looking into that woman's face and thought, “What can I tell her? I have been preaching salvation by reformation, but this poor soul has gone too far to reform. I have been preaching salvation by character, but she hasn't any. I've been proclaiming salvation by 'ethical culture' - but she wouldn't know what the words mean - and besides, she hasn't time for that.”

Then it came to him, “Why not tell her what your mother used to tell you as a boy? She's dying, and it can't hurt her even if it doesn't do her any good.”

So, bending down toward her the preacher began - ”My dear woman, God is very gracious and kind, and His Book, the Bible, says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

“Oh,” exclaimed the dying woman, “does it say that in the Bible? My! That ought to get me in. But sir! My sins, my sin!”

It was amazing the way the verses came back to him. “My dear woman,” he continued, “the Bible says that 'the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin..’ “

“All sin, did you say?” she asked earnestly. “Does it really say, all sin? That ought to get me in!”

“Yes,” he replied, kneeling down beside her. It says all sin. The Bible also says, 'This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

“Well,” she said, “if the chief got in, I can come. Pray for me, sir!”

With that the preacher prayed with that poor woman, and she got in. And in the process, he confessed, “While she was getting in, I myself got in. We two sinners, a dying woman and a preacher, were saved together in that little room that night.”

________

God Has Dealt With Sin

Psalms 130:4

There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. — Psalm 130:4.

The sins of all believers are fully forgiven (Col. 2:13); are for-gotten by God (Heb. 10:17); are cast into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19); are cast behind Jehovah’s back (Isaiah 38:17); are blotted out by Jehovah (Isa. 43:25). There are about fifty different forms of expressions used to express the complete and absolute dealing with our sins by God Himself. “It is written,” should silence an accusing conscience, confirm weak faith, and set the soul on solid ground.

As far as the west is removed from the east,

He banished my sins, both the greatest and least.

Like clouds they had gathered, obscuring the sun;

He blotted them out, there remaineth not one.

My sins were as scarlet, and crimson the stains;

He made them like snow, and no vestige remains.

My guilt and my need His great love have revealed;

Once wounded for me, by His stripes I am healed.

And this is the reason I’m pardoned today,

Because with His blood He has washed them away.

The Enduring Word

1 Peter 1:22

Peter Writes to Pilgrims — 1 Peter 1:22-25 — The Enduring Word « Leader information shown in this fashion » « My translation of 1 Peter is to convey the flavour of the Greek rather than for English fluency and literacy. »

A. Review

1. Outline, thus far:

a. 1:1–2 — Peter’s greeting

b. 1:3-5 – Praise and thanksgiving to God for salvation

c. 1:6-9 – The Testing of Faith

d. 1:10-12 – the Prophecy of Salvation

e. 1:13–16 – A Transformed Mind

i. v 13: girding the mind for action and battle

ii. v 14: not being squeezed into the mould of our desires

iii. vv 15-16: having a holy manner of conduct

2. Last week, 1:17-21 — the ransom price paid for us …

a. changes conduct, v 17: Now, since you call upon Him as Father who judges equitably according to each person’s work, then conduct in reverent fear your going to and fro in this place of exile

i. … are our … « new relationship with our heavenly Father who created the universe »

ii. … and His … « judging us according to our work, the things that we do (and say, Matthew 12:36) »

b. … is the price of new life, verses 18-19: 18 knowing that not by perishable things – by silver or by gold – did you have the ransom paid which freed you from that empty way of life – wandering to and fro – inherited from your ancestors; 19 but no, it was by the price of the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without one blemish, without a single spot

i. Money is limited as a ransom or redemption price for … « it can only deliver from physical captivity or debt »

ii. The blood of Christ can give … « because it is His life (ie., spiritual) deliverance from spiritual bondage and debt

»

c. … has a purpose, verses 20–21: 20 Christ, who on your account, known then before the foundation of this world order, shown now openly at the end of the ages, 21 for you, who through Him are faithful to God who raised him from out of the dead and gave glory to him, in order that your faith and hope would be in God.

i. that our salvation should be « … by faith in God alone and not by works; that it be by God’s grace »

B. Really cleansed! verse 22: Having cleansed your souls by attentively listening to the truth resulting in brotherly love, without hypocrisy, from the heart(a) you shall love one another intently(b). {(a) some MSS, ‘a pure heart’; (b) earnestly; literally, stretched out or strained}

1. What was the character of cleansing or purification in the Old Testament, as for example, Leviticus 14:7-8 ‘He shall then sprinkle seven times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the live bird go free over the open field. The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair, and bathe in water and be clean. Now afterward, he may enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven days.’ (NAS)? « – it was with water (here, water of purification) and was physical (dealing with the body) »

2. What differentiates the cleansing here? « – it affects the whole person (‘your souls’ can be translated ‘yourselves’ and its use in the Bible often means ‘the really inner being of a person’; so it is spiritual rather than physical »

3. Does just hearing the message of salvation save? … what is needed, Romans 10:17 ‘So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.’ (NAS) and 16:26 ‘but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith.’ (NAS)? « – ‘attentively listening’ means ‘to hearken’ where hearing is accompanied by obedience, that being of faith »

4. What is the evidence of such cleansing, of such true, saving faith, John 13:35 ‘By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.’ (NAS)? « – the love that we have for other believers »

5. What three things characterize the love in this verse?

a. It is not … « hypocritical »

b. It is from … « the heart »

c. It is … « intense »

6. How can we test if our love is like this, 1 John 3:17 ‘But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?’ (NAS)? « – it not just feelings but demonstrated in practical acts »

C. The Eternal Seed, verse 23: having been regenerated, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and abiding Word of God.

1. The word, ‘regenerated’ was used in verse 3, where we saw that it can mean either (or both!) of, ‘caused to be born A_______’ or ‘caused to be born from A_______’.

a. From Jesus’ words in John 3:5 ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’ (NAS) we discovered

i. Regeneration is necessary « – to enter God’s kingdom (His family, His church, His people, His heaven) »

ii. Regeneration is by … « the Holy Spirit of God; it is He who is the Divine Agent bringing it to pass (just as He was the Divine Agent in Christ’s birth by a virgin) »

b. Seed is that which produces life; in animals, it produces the young that are born; in plants, it produces the new plant. What marks the difference between these seeds…

i. … that referred to in this verse? « – the one gives rise to life that is temporal only, but the other to eternal life »

ii. … and the two in John 3:6 ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’ (NAS)? « – the one gives physical life, the other, spiritual life »

2. That tells salvation’s ‘by Whom” « (the Agent) » ; what is the ‘by What’ or ‘How’ « (The means, as indicated by ‘through’) » ?

a. the Word … « of God or the Word of the Lord. These two phrases, though distinguishable, are essentially the same: ‘what God says, they are the revelation given by God’ »

b. Hence we call the Bible the Word of God; other names…

i. … Romans 1:2, 2 Timothy 3:15? « – the Holy Scriptures »

ii. … Luke 24:44 « – law, prophets, psalms »

c. In many passages, it is nearly impossible to distinguish the Son of God from the Word of God? … why?

i. John 1:1 ‘in the beginning was the Word … ‘ « – His Name

» ii. John 14:9 ‘… He who has seen Me has seen the Father… (NAS) « – He reveals God (John 1:14, 18) »

D. Eternal Word, verses 24–25: 24 For, as it is written, ‘All flesh is as grass and all its glory as the blossom of grass; the grass is dried up and the blossom falls off; 25 But what the Lord says, His word, endures forever.’(a) And this word is the what was preached as gospel(b) unto you. {(a) from Isaiah 40:6-8; (b) literally, evangelized}

1. What is the character of God’s word, 'what God says in'

a. Psalm 105:8 ‘He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations’ (NAS)? « – a command which God does not forget »

b. Psalm 119:89 ‘Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven.’ (NAS)? « – eternal, spiritual, heavenly »

c. Psalm 119:160 ‘The sum of Thy word is truth, And every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting.’ (NAS)? « – quintessential truth »

d. Hebrews 6:18 ‘in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us.’ (NAS)? « – a solemn statement or promise (an oath) which is inviolable »

2. What does ‘gospel of Christ’ mean?

a. Romans 1:16 ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.’ (NAS)? « – the message of salvation »

b. Galatians 1:6–7 ‘I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is [really] not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ.’ (NAS)? « – the message of God’s grace »

c. 1 Corinthians 1:17… 23a ‘For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void … but we preach Christ crucified…’ (NAS)? « – its subject is Jesus Christ and His work at Calvary (see also Romans 16:25) »

d. What can we know about the gospel then? « – because it is by God’s word which endures, it is about the Word, the eternal Son of God, we can trust it both now and for our eternal future – that is what makes it good news! »

What A Young Man Should Expect In Coming To Church

1 John 1:8

(Isaiah was between about 15 and 25 at this point)

1. He should expect a vision of God (vv 1-4)

A. God's Position (v 1)

i. Enthroned

ii. High and lifeted up

iii. Filling the temple (church)

B. God's Hosts

i. Wondrous seraphim (v 2)

ii. Powerful seraphim (v 4)

C. God's Person (v 3)

i. Holy

ii. Glorious

2. He should expect to see his sin (v 5)

A. Undone - ravaged as a wasted city

B. Unclean lips - he and his people

C. His eyes had behld God

3. He should expect to find a way of cleansing for his sin, vv 6-7

A. live coal from the altar; symbolizes Christ's blood on the cross

B. takes sin away; N. T. revelation, 1 John 1:8-10

4. He should expect to see a vision of service, v 8

A. God has a job: He asks who will do it -- He knows who is to do it, but awaits Isaiah's response

B. Isaiah responds offering himserlf

Yes, All!

1 John 1:7

The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. — 1 John 1:7.

“Sister,” said a dying girl, “please get the Bible and read for me that passage about the blood which cleanseth from sin. I fear some of my sins are too great to be forgiven. Look whether it says ‘all sin’ or only ‘sin,’ for I do not remember.” “Yes,” replied the sister, “these are the exact words, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ “ “Oh, how sweet!” said the girl whose fire of life was almost out. “Now there is pardon for all my sins.”

The blood has always precious been,

‘Tis precious now to me;

Through it alone my soul has rest,

From doubt and fear set free.

Calvary Does

1 John 1:7

The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. — 1 John 1:7

A clergyman, talking about death-bed conversion said to a Christian woman, “Do you think that death-bed repentance does away with a whole life of sin?” “No,” she answered quietly, “but Calvary does.”

Could ceaseless prayers ascend,

Could tears forever flow;

The soul were still unblest, unsaved,

And peace would never know.

But faith’s one look at Christ

Expiring on the tree–

One heart-believing glance at Him

Can set the sinner free,

More Than An Image Is Needed

Revelation 5:12

Illustration:

Evidently Peruvian authorities have begun dressing up walls along their nation’s filthiest streets with pictures of Jesus Christ; the purpose seems to be to shame those illegally dumping trash along the streets.

Apparently, just the image of our Lord is believed to have such importance among the general Peruvian population.

Commentary:

Oh that the mere image of the Lord would clean up the streets of our minds and hearts. But it takes the precious blood of the Lamb to cleanse the heart and mind of a sinner.

Oh that it had not been necessary for the Son of God to give His life an atonement for man’s sins . but it was.

The Father tried everything; but we rejected His miracles, rejected His word, killed His prophets, and turned our backs on Him . it was oh so necessary to send His Son.

You see, an image could never pay the ransom . the Jews tried that in the temple for centuries . only the priceless and spotless Lamb of God in person was worthy [Revelation 5:12].

Jose's Feet

John 13:3

It was turning out to be a bad night at the Marin County shelter for the homeless in San Rafael, California. With rain pouring down and a temperature in the 40s, our gym-sized armory was nearing its capacity of 125. All the cots and sleeping mats had been assigned, but people were still coming, and in no time there were complaints about the shortage. Soon some of the blacks and Latinos started accusing my fellow workers and me of racial favoritism. We were white. I was working at the shelter as a full-time counselor. Actually my duties were more like those of a handyman, but the money I earned was helping me pay my way through seminary.

When the arguments started, I knew we were in trouble. The armory echoed with shouts and profanity. Some of the street people were trying to take sleeping mats away from others. When Bobbie, a black woman who worked late, found we hadn’t saved her a mat as usual, she began to object loudly and accuse me of prejudice. In the midst of all this, a Latino man named Jose, who had received one of the last sleeping mats, made his bed in the middle of the armory. He threw down his mat, fell on it, removed his tattered boots and collapsed in a drunken stupor.

The stench of Jose’s feet filled the air. The street people, ordinarily not picky about odors, now began to raise a great protest. I had been passing out towels when a group of men -- blacks and whites -- came to me insisting I had to do something about Jose.

The obvious solution was to persuade him to take a shower, but when two other workers and I tried to wake him, it was no use. He was breathing, but nothing would rouse him. We discussed carrying him to the shower, but he weighed more than 200 pounds, deadweight, and we could hardly move him. When someone suggested we drag him back out to the sidewalk, a howl of protest swept through the other Latinos.

“God, how am I supposed to handle this situation?” I prayed in desperation. “I don’t know what to do!” Only a few nights earlier one of my fellow workers had been attacked and choked during one of the frequent melees at the armory. Then a thought occurred to me: If I can’t get Jose into the shower, maybe I can bring the shower to him. We didn’t have a washbasin, but in the kitchen I found a large bowl and a container of lemon-scented dishwashing liquid.

Armed with a washcloth, towel and the bowl full of warm soapy water, I headed back toward Jose. From all over the armory, stares of anger and suspicion followed me. Back at Jose’s mat, I knelt, rolled up his pants legs, and began to remove his filthy socks, which were soggy on the bottom but dried to cardboard stiffness on top. I finally managed to tug them off, leaving the weave of the fabric imprinted on his skin. The stench would have been overwhelming if it had not been for the scent of the lemon bubbles in the bowl. It took some persuasion, but one of the men who helped with the mats finally agreed to throw the socks away and take Jose’s boots outside to air.

Then I went to work with the lemon soap and washcloth. For several minutes I carefully cleaned Jose’s calves and ankles, feet and toes. In no time the water was black. I took the towel and dried the area, then, still on my knees, turned to pick up the bowl. As I did, I saw a forest of legs and knees surrounding me. Have they come to throw us both out: I wondered.

Slowly, warily, I stood up. My eyes came to rest on the face of one of the black men who had been protesting the loudest. And he was grinning! I had never seen him smile before! I looked from face to face. I was stunned. They were smiling -- men and women of all races. And Bobbie, with tears in her eyes, stepped forward, took my soapy hands in hers and kissed them.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced at that moment. No sermon, no seminary class. It was as if Jesus’ words had come to life in me: “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:27). It had not been intentional; I was simply doing my job. But by carrying out this unpleasant task, I had won over an entire auditorium of street people, and gained their respect. A quiet hush fell on the National Guard armory in San Rafael that night. The shouting and the threats were gone. Someone who had both a mat and a cot gave his mat to Bobbie. And after some looking around, we even came up with a fresh pair of socks for Jose.