JSM | Identity .5 | Purity (7/7/24)
JSM | Identity .5 | Purity
Heb. (נּט רּקהץ מּןביםךשד דּטנרם'דלט)
Gk. (Βψ Ρεω. Νιξηολασ Σψβροωσκψ)
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Invocation:
The Lord’s prayer.
Opening Word & Reading for Worship:
"(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (Jhn 1:1-5 KJV)
[1 John 1]"(1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
In other words, the Apostle John is saying, we have witnessed the prophecy and seen with our own eyes the fulfillment of said prophecy and touched physically with our hands, the manifested Messiah Jesus of Nazareth AKA the Word of life (Gen 1 & Jn 1).
(2) (For the life was manifested, and we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) (3) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (4) And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
Is your joy full? Let it be known as we worship that you are joyful!
Worship God in spirit and in truth. Let Him have all of you that you may have all of Jesus and be cleansed of all unrighteousness.
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Communion Reading:
Continuing to read 1 John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him [Jesus the Christ], and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (6) If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: (7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1Jo 1:1-10 KJV)
Repeat :7 Worship God in spirit and in truth. Let Him have all of you that you may have all of Jesus and be cleansed of all unrighteousness. Repeat :9
Communion Ushers: [Pass out the elements] Refreshment in the Atonement.
(7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. [His body broken for me]
(9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [His blood bled for me]
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The Kingdom of God has come to the least likely people. Beatitudes, blessings and what it means. The standard ideal character traits of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Intro:
Kingdom Identity | Humility, Mourning, Meekness, Hungry & Thirsty for Righteousness, Merciful.
The Teaching of Jesus. Personally, I am but only a vessel, Jesus is the teacher and I simply attempt to facilitate His teaching to us here as the Pastor and Preacher. According to Merrill C. Tenney’s survey of the NT
“In Mark’s description of the activity of the Lord Jesus Christ there are fourteen references to the fact that he was engaged in teaching the multitude or his disciples. Luke and Matthew also speak frequently of his teaching work. Instruction was his delight; and his effectiveness is well attested by the way in which his disciples remembered his words and repeated them to others.” ~Merrill C. Tenney
In his (MCT)(NT Survey) shares 5 methods of Jesus’ teaching of which I use in today’s introduction to beatitude 6/8: Purity. Purity of heart.
Jesus had various methods of teaching, five to be more matter of fact.
“the method He is best known for is the parable. A parable is an extended metaphor, the description of some common action or object as an illustration of spiritual truth.’ (footnote MCT pg. 220-221)."
Like his parable of The Sower. It helps us understand the law of the harvest: We reap what we sow. Not karma of eastern Indian philosophy in Hinduism & Buddhism like ‘what goes around comes around’ but sowing and reaping. Although they do sound similar, they are not the same. As followers of Jesus, we are NOT attempting to become like
“a buddha [that is] believed to have completely purified his karma”(by definition Oxford Dictionary).
We are purified by the blood of the Lamb! Hallelujah!
“Occasionally Jesus employed argument in his teaching; but when he did so, he usually argued on the basis of Scripture rather than from abstract premises or assumptions. Another of the Master’s favorite [methods to teach] was that of question and answer. His questions were never trivial, but they were generally related to the deepest human problems. [Fourthly,] on some occasions Jesus used object lessons. He took a little child to illustrate humility [in] (Mt. 18:1—6), and from the action of the widow who was contributing to the treasury he drew a lesson in giving [in] (Lk 21:1—4).
To recap His 5 methods: The Parable, Argument, Q& A, Object Lessons and now Jesus’ [fifth] method of teaching was that of the epigram (say epigram. Sounds like telegram)—a terse [(abrupt or short)], pungent [(forceful or sharp)] statement that would stick in the mind of His hearer like a barbed arrow. In this category [of teaching methods] belong the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:3—12), or the statement “He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Mt 10:39). Many of these epigrams contain paradoxes that make them all the more striking.” ~MCT (NT Survey Pg. 221-222)
Commentary from another author, Robert Stein in his survey in the life of Christ his book titled Jesus the Messiah Stein said, “The content of Jesus’ teaching centered on the coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus taught that in his ministry the kingdom of God had arrived. Along with the coming of the kingdom also came a new intimacy with God and a new empowering that would enable his followers to live the ethic of the kingdom.” ~Robert Stein (Jesus the Messiah; a survey of the life of Christ pg.125)
Hence identity with Jesus is identity with the image of God and affiliation with thy Kingdom come, thy will be done prioritization as reflected in the Lord’s prayer.
As most of you know, we’ve been probing & examining the Beatitudes. The Blessings such as: Humility, Mourning, Meekness, Hungering & Thirsting for righteousness and last week the Merciful.
Main Text:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” Mt. 5:8 (NIV)
1. Purity and Impurity.
A quick survey in the Bible on the topic of purity & impurity will lead to subjects on
"the paganism of antiquity, impurity’s incompatibility with holiness, certain creatures, objects and physical conditions that are deemed impure and sources of defilement, ritualistic purification processes, Purity as an aspect of holiness and impurity as an aspect of sin with which it is often equated. Furthermore, in survey you will discover the importance of Israel’s task and destiny to be a holy people (Ex 19:6; Lev 19:2; Num 15:40) that must rigorously exclude from its midst every form of impurity. Or God will turn away and doom Israel to exile and destruction (Lev 15:31; Ezek 39:24), [henceforth no longer able to ‘see God’ as Jesus refers to in this beatitude of those who are pure in heart (Mt 5:8). [Further investigation on Purity & Impurity, renders subjects of Idolatry with cultish practices [that] are deemed impure and render Israel unclean [such as (Ps 106: 38 ["(38) And shed innocent blood, [even] the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood." (Psa 106:38 KJV)]; Is 30:22, Ezek 24:13; 36:25; 37:23). [More survey reveals the subject we examined last week] ‘The Day of Atonement’ [which] removed pollution of the sanctuary caused by the sins and impurities of Israel during the past year." ~Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible (IDCB)
As you can easily imagine this survey list is extensive and it wouldn’t be a quick survey in its details whatsoever.
“The concepts of ritual purity and impurity underwent a radical transformation in the NT parallel to those found in the Prophets and Wisdom Literature. [The Wisdom Literature did not repudiate [(renounce or deny)] the notion of ritual purity and impurity as did Jesus[, who said “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man” (Mk 7:15, 23). Jesus also said “From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,…all these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mk 7:21, 23; cf Js 4:8). Paul [in] Rom 14:14—21) declared “that there is nothing unclean itself’”. Yet, as a tactic, he advised to refrain from eating food (presumably impure) in the presence of a potential Jewish converts. It may offend and prove “a stumbling block” to [their] conversion to faith in Jesus [the Messiah].
Contrary to the complexities of OT leper treatment, “Jesus miraculously cleansed lepers by a touch of their hand or by a mere word, then ordered the cleansed leper to “…go your way and show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them” (Mt 8:2—4; Mk 1:40—45; Lk 5:12—15; 17:11-14). Jesus is described by (John [in]15:3), as cleansing his disciples (of moral evil) by his word or by washing their feet [in] (John 13:10). Paul wrote [in](Heb 10:22) “…our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water”.
In one significant respect, the NT departed from the OT concept of impurity when it attributed sickness, leprosy and insanity to “unclean spirits” that take possession of a [person’s] body (Mt 10:8; 12:43; Mk 1:23—26; 3:11).” ~IDCB (Pg. "Purity" G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House LTD.)
This survey should help illustrate the importance of purity of heart and why we ought to strive to protect and guard our hearts from the various temptations we have like that of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life can cause. We must allow God to step in and teach us to lead our hearts instead of following our hearts. Our hearts must be trained to become HOTTER hearts for God. hearts that Honor, Obey and Thank God. Hearts that are thirsty, teachable and repentant for God.
2. To see God, we must become pure in heart.
Other than Jesus who are some great examples of purity in heart? Who saw God? There are many but I only give you some of Job and Isaiah today. (See R & D these: Job 19:26, Jn 8:56, Rev 22:4, Moses on mount Sinai, Elisha)
Job says ‘My Redeemer lives’.
"(23) Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! (24) That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! (25) For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth: (26) And [though] after my skin [worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God: (27) Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; [though] my reins be consumed within me. (28) But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? (29) Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath [bringeth] the punishments of the sword, that ye may know [there is] a judgment." (Job 19:23-29 KJV)
Job was later rewarded for his purity of heart and faith in the Lord in 42:10
“…the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends [as directed by God in their folly] and also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before [some translate this verse as added all that had been to Job unto the double.]…42:16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and their sons to the fourth generation. 17 So Job died, being old and full of days. (MEV)
Now I can’t show you scripture that indicates that Job saw God’s face, but we do see the reward of his integrity and commitment to faith in the Redeemer. He saw an outpouring of further sustenance, prosperity and great posterity on earth. In faith, I believe that Job has since seen God’s face and is now with the Lord in heaven.
3. Pure Hearts get further Refinement.
"(1) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. (2) Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. (3) And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. (4) And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (6) Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, [which] he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: (7) And he laid [it] upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." (Isa 6:1-7 KJV)
The Pure hearted get called to serve and then if they withstand the greater presence of the perfected then they become further refined for service and employment for God’s Kingdom purposes. Not only do the pure in heart get to see God, they get to inherit the Kingdom of God. How do I know this? It’s made clear in the study of these beatitudes. Jesus said, oh how happy are the humble for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God. These Beatitudes are an all-inclusive package of identity, in my opinion. In other words, if you are truly a follower of Jesus the character traits herein will inhabit your purposes as a child of God. And oh, how happy you will be! Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness complete!
After Isaiah had his
“iniquity taken away and sin purged” Is 6:7
we witness that he was commissioned to share a message with Israel.
One of the major messages of Isaiah’s book is that God’s glory, majesty and holiness (i.e. purity, perfection, completeness and separation from evil) demand that those who serve God must be holy. Like Isaiah, people who see themselves in light of God’s holiness should be willing to confess their own impurity and allow him to cleanse their minds and spirits so he can use them for any purpose he desires (vv. Is 6:5-8; cf. Rev 1:13-17.) ~MEV Note Donald C. Stamps (Fire Bible pg. 902 6:1)
4. Next week: Blessed are the peacemakers Beatitude 7/8 Mt 5:9
Conclusion:
If you’re experiencing the Kingdom identity and His presence, then standby and get ready to be humbled furthermore. The Lord is up to something bigger than our mind can comprehend. Purification is an ongoing process that is uncomfortable and hot if you will. It will take getting comfortable with being in uncomfortable situations and circumstances.
Exhortation:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” Mt. 5:8 (NIV)
Altar Call to Action:
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Prayer & song.
Anchor Holds.
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