Are You Worthy?
Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, anyone can be worthy to live with God by having a clean heart, clean hands, and clean feet.
Warren Wiersbe emphasizes the importance of living a life worthy of dwelling with God, drawing parallels to seeking residence with the royal family at Buckingham Palace. Through Jesus Christ, we have the privilege to boldly enter God's presence and live with Him. David's description in Psalms 15 reveals the characteristics of a person who can reside with God: one with clean feet, hands, heart, and lips, who speaks truth and does not harm others. This person, who God welcomes to live with Him, will never be moved. The key to becoming this kind of person is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, where our worth is firmly established.
Text
Read Psalm 15:1-5
Imagine what would happen if I walked up to the main gate at Buckingham Palace in London and said to one of the tall, hand-some, well-dressed guards, "Sir, I want to live with the royal family." He would look at me and say, "Begone, before I arrest you."
Who is worthy to live with God? Only through Jesus Christ can we "dwell in God's holy hill." David always was a little bit envious of the priests. When we read the Psalms, we find David saying such things as, "Oh, those priests. They are able to walk in the temple of God. I can't do that. I can't go into the Holy Place." Spiritually he could, but physically he couldn't. Because we are in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can come boldly into the presence of God, not just to visit Him but to live with Him.
David describes the kind of person who is able to live with God. He must have the right kind of feet ("walks uprightly") and hands ("works righteousness"), lips ("speaks the truth") and heart. What we say with our lips always has to come from our heart. Verse 3 also talks about the tongue: "He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend." This is the person God welcomes at His front door and says, "You come and live with Me." That person has clean feet, clean hands and a clean heart that produce clean words and clean motives, one in whose eyes a vile person is despised. His eyes look upon only what is right and good.
Here is a beautiful picture of the kind of person God chooses to live with Him. And the beauty of it is this: Such a person will never get an eviction notice. "He who does these things shall never be moved" (v. 5). How can we be this kind of person? Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God welcomes those with clean feet, clean hands and a clean heart. Remember, your worth is founded in Jesus Christ. It is through faith in Him that you are acceptable in the sight of God. Are your feet, hands and heart clean?
Sermon Outline
- Who is Worthy to Live with God?
- Characteristics of a Person Worthy to Live with God
- The Importance of a Clean Heart
- How to Become This Kind of Person
- Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
- Despises vile people and looks upon what is right and good
- Right kind of lips (speaks the truth)
Key Quotes
“He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend.” — Warren Wiersbe
Application Points
- We must examine our lives to see if our feet, hands, and heart are clean.
- Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the key to becoming the kind of person God welcomes to live with Him.
- A clean heart produces clean words and clean motives, and despises vile people and looks upon what is right and good.