Untitled Sermon (3)
Notes
Transcript
Loyalty to God produces Personal Purity
Loyalty to God produces Personal Purity
Sub-topic: Personal purity is a function of where your heart is [what is your heart beating for, what is your heart panthing for?]
11:55 - 12:25 (20 minutes budget)
Text:
Mat 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.”
Supporting texts
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
Mat 15:19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
Intro 1 and General Definitions
Anchor:
When I started praying and contemplating this message, the first questions the Lord asked me was: “Do you really, WANT to see God?” Immediately I began to see that personal purity is a function of loyalty and affection for God.
You need a medication, but may not want it. Some want drugs, they don’t need
They are addicted to the drug - thier wants become needs. How addicted are you to God?
For where a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be
To be spiritually minded is to overcome the flesh, but to be carnally minded is to be overcome by the flesh
personal purity is a function of what our invisible heart beats for / loyalty to God produces personal purity.
Is God inconvenient - to what level is He incovenient to us? His demands, His statutes, His will, His laws?
Does “God consciouness” present internal conflicts within us? Like it did for Paul and many who tried to be His disciples but got offended and left Him?
Intro 1
Purity itself has three dimensions
Dimension 1: Freedom from unclean things [unclean practices and involvements]
Mat 15:19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
Dimension 2: decietfulness of riches [ the rich young ruler who could not sell what he had to follow Jesus] Mat 19:16-22
Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Dimension 3: pride of life [God resistst the proud, but gives grace to the humble]
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
it wasnt just the Pharisees, even Jesus’ own chosen disciples
Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
“But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
They said to Him, “We are able.”
So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Intro 2
What do these things mean?
to answer, we will be considering two sub questions that will help us decipher and understand what these “heart, loyalty and purity” scriptures mean:
What is the heart? [in this question, we will attempt to locate the invicible heart of man] Before we do justice to this topic in its entirety, we need to first locate the heart of man - because the “heart of this matter” is a “matter of the heart”.
Do you really want to see God? What is our heart panthing for? [We will then apply the stetoscope of the word to check its condition]
Heb 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Do we want to see God?
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
But Lord, are we not distracted by the hustle and bustles?
Distracted or Thorny Heart
Luke 10:42 (NKJV)
But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
One thing - indicates focus, proiroty, loyalty and dedication
1 Corinthians 7:32–40 (NKJV)
But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit [loyalty to God produces personal purity]. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction [loyalty to God produces personal purity]. Like Martha, many of the things that distract us are “seemingly good things”.
Matthew 13:15 (NKJV)
For the hearts of this people have grown dull. [What happened to thier hearts? - it grew dull] why - because they shut the gates of thier heart and opened it to something else - you cannot serve two masters.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’
What made them close the gates of thier hearts?
Mat 13:22 “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”
The dedicated or loyal heart
David, a man after God’s heart:
Ps 27:4 “One thing [One thing - indicates focus, proiroty, loyalty and dedication] I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.”
Module 2
Now lets get to the heart of the matter: What is this invisible heart?
The heart: is what provides breath/oxygen and nourishment to support animation.
Every animate system have two hearts
1 Sam 25:37, “So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.”
Prov 4:23 [NJKV] “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
- there is one heart that keeps you physically animate, there is another heart that determines the direction of your animation Prov 4:23 [NLT]
The engine of a conventional car, train or ship - does one simple thing - combustion [the fueling process]- which then produces movement - which is then channeled to the wheels.
Storage or hybrid engines [needs to be refueled]
Full storage systems like [Tesla] need to be refueled
the physical heart produces animation - just like Nabal’s heart.
When a man, who has emotions and thoughts sit at the stiring wheel, or a computer program [like in the case of Tesla] takes charge - the course of direction for that animate entity is determined.
Man has 2 hearts
Physical heart
The controling heart.
2Sam 25:37 [NLT: stroke, NIV: failure]
Let’s go to the factory where man was made to understand this better
Soul - Gen 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
God made the flesh, Put the spirit in him and gave him capacity to self-drive with a program on it. Have you thought of it for a minute, Telsa cars must identify other cars [litterally see them and hear them], and make logical decisions about direction and speed.
So God gave us this capacity to sense and think in this realm - this capacity is in the man dimension called the soul or consciuosness.
The spirit has the characteristic of disociating/or coming out of this consciousness (e.g in sleep, fainting spells, trans or anaesthesia) and returning to it - when we dissociate we are no longer essentially or logically directionally animate. You are animate, but there is no logical control or direction.
seat of mind and heart
Consciousness or senses Gen 2:7 he began to have thoughts, emotions and feelings - he could converse with God and tell God how He feels.
thoughts.
Emotions, feelings or [attitudes]
When a man is animate/conscious or the soul is active, there are two parts of the heart:
thoughts [substansive, rational]
emotions and feelings. [non-substansive, non-rational, [different from irrationa]]
This combination of thoughts, emotions and feelings and attitude is what is called heart, or heart and mind, or soul.
Rev 2:23 “I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.”
Deut 6:4-5 ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Jer 31:33 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Mat 22:37 “Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”
When the bible says out of the heart flows adultary, fonication, murder etc it is talking about these thoughts, emotions, feelings and attitudes as the things that determines the direction of our animation.
Tesla cars and AI in general have consciousness and thoughts, but not emotion, feelings or attitude. [if they do, or when they do, we will be in trouble]
Now, this is the problem God has with man - this big part of man’s heart, where the program has been corrupted.
Merriam-Webstar
: a mental position with regard to a fact or state
a helpful attitude
b
: a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state
a negative attitude
an optimistic attitude
You are aware of your thoughts, and you are aware of your emotions and feelings.
Spirit
Your Wishes and will:
Rom 7:15-20 “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
Mat 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.””
Bringing the three together
How do you influence, motivate and animate a man?
When a man has made up his mind (that is decided, he now has a will or a strong wish) but you do not agree, what do you do?
You try to use logic (mind) or emotions (heart) to desuade him
if that does not work you use pain or pleasure to break his will.
James 1:14
Part 2 B:
The doors of the spiritual heart: input, process and output
Etheral
The Eyes (sense of sight)
The Ears (sense of hearing)
Material (chemical or tactile (i.e. touch or feel))
The nose (sense of smell)
The skin (sense of touch)
The mouth (sense of taste) both chemical and tactile (the texture of ice-cream is different from that of eba, and thier tastes are different).
You see, hear, smell, taste, feel with your mind [or soul, or spiritual heart]
Infact, a man’s wife can cook the sweetest soup in the world but because I am angry it will taste bitter - the state of the mind. Someone can be an angel around you but your attitude and disposition will make you not notice - you are not physically blind, but you just see with your heart and mind or soul . so the program that is running in your heart or soul is the critical thing - always - has always been the most critical thing with man. Torrorism, murder, everything has to do with how the mind sees through these five gates and how it thinks about them.
To the pure in heart, all things are pure, to the impure, all things are impure.
Titus 1:15 “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.”
Punch line and closing
Purity
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
This scripture does not say the world is evil, no, there is evil in the world, there is a virus in a good world and it can infect you.
Now the issue of purity, has to do with the combined intelligent management of your heart- by yorself and by God. The reason this message went this rout is so that we are more aware of our heart and to work with God in taking care of it.
The only way to stay clean is to have the loyalty antivirus - it comes with an automatic protocol that that checks what is going in and out of your heart and also opens you up to God for check-up.
Where do you get this loyalty program - in the presence of the Lord, sitting down to enquire of Him, letting Him write and rewrite the program of your heart, making sure your emotions and feelings towards Him are not contested for by the sneaky viruses in the world.
making it a priority to dwell richly under His light, which illumitates the darkness in our hearts Ps 139:23-24 Job 31:6, Ps 26:2 and loving it!
Read NKJV first then AMP and NLT
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; test my heart and my mind.
The more time you spend in His presense, the more confortable you are with Him and more conscious you are of purity, because you become a child of light. Do not entertain darkness in your heart that makes you hide from His presence (lIke Adam and Eve). When you sin, you do not run away from God, you run back towards him (like the prodigal son). For He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleans us.
He wants to bring us to a place of perfect love that casts out fear.
He wants our loyalty - the loyalty of children of light that produces personal purity.
Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].
Increase the time you spend enjoying His presence.