The Christian's Self Cleansing (Part 1) - Tim Conway

second Corinthians chapter 7 verse 1 since we have these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God let's read that again since we have these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves let us cleanse ourselves my sermon it's called the Christian self cleansing this is part 1 we're just going to kind of touch the surface today there's going to take a look at this before perhaps in the weeks ahead we might dive in more deeply more thoroughly the Christian self cleansing since we have these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves the Christian self cleansing cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God brethren let's let's just break this verse up into pieces and parts notice first very basic we are given a responsibility you and I have a responsibility there is a primary verse or there's a primary verb rather in this verse we're to cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles that's what Paul says God requires something of his children in this verse this takes avert this takes a responsibility on our part this takes an action on our part this requires you to do something you can see it there this responsibility to cleanse ourselves takes us in two different directions notice that two different directions cleansing ourselves notice the verse let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement notice this of body and then we have a conjunction here there's a second there's a second thing body and spirit some of your Bible say flesh and spirit listen the Apostle is not speaking about flesh in the negative sense he is speaking about flesh in the neutral sense because what he's speaking about here is that part of us which the ESV captures by saying body he's talking about the external he's talking about the members he's talking about the body not flesh in that negative sense because what he's talking about is actually cleansing the exterior cleansing the flesh cleansing the body that's the idea the self cleansing of the flesh or of the body the external your responsibility this has to do with your members and then you were to wash your to cleanse not just the outer but the inner he starts he starts there with the outer he goes to the inside he says the spirit what's the spirit I mean you talk about the spirit over against that which is physical he's talking about the immaterial mount the the immaterial aspect of man spirit aside from that which is physical aside from that which is body he's speaking about that which is the immaterial part of a person God wants us clean that's what this text is all about the self cleansing of the Christian he wants us clean on the inside he wants us clean on the outside the notice the text you you see the responsibility the responsibility goes in two different directions but then I want you to see something what is the objective now where does this take you where does this cleansing end you what's the objective what's the aim what's the outcome notice the text beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit notice this bringing holiness to completion brothers and sisters I don't know where you are at there's a lot of things that come to the spirit of a man I can't see it your wife your husband sitting next to you cannot see it your friends your brother's your sisters sitting next to you they cannot see it there's all manner of things that are on the inside that I can't see and God sees it and it's on that inside he's serious and there's an outcome in all of this if we seek to cleanse on the outside on the inside something happens there's an outcome to all this and it's called bringing leanness to completion or your your translation may say perfecting holiness you know what if you've got an idea about true Christianity that bringing holiness to completion is unattainable you are not being serious with this verse listen I am NOT here to tell you about some kind of perceived perfectionism being taught in Scripture I am being told this in Scripture there is a completion there is a fullness there is a perfection there is something to be attained in the realm of holiness that is attainable and it comes by you cleansing the outside and the inside and you see it and you cannot argue with me because I am not telling you anything different than that verse that you are reading and I am reading and we are studying today you know that's what it says brethren this is serious there's an outcome do you think brethren about a holiness do you really think about it because I'll tell you this if you're gonna attain it there is a responsibility you have a responsibility there is something for you to do in your life in order to attain this brethren does in that's this is there's this idea of holiness is it something that you desire is it something you think about do you desire it is it important to you there is a way to get to holiness we can talk about holiness you know we can we can hear a message about it and we can sit down and we can try to analyze the the idea of holiness we can think about it from this from you know this theological standpoint about you know what is it well you know it's it's it's being separated it's it's being being distinct from the world we can look at it and we can try to analyze from from a simply theoretical standpoint it's to be set apart brethren I'll tell you this you don't get to holiness unless there's some cleaning going on and it's your responsibility to do it God doesn't say you just sit there it's just gonna happen notice this notice the manner in which this is to be done the manner in which were to carry out this responsibility notice the verse beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit bringing holiness to complex completion and notice this in the fear of God can I tell you something people don't cleanse themselves that leads to perfection of holiness unless you're gripped by the greatness of God by the fear of God people are many people are too flippant to be holy they have small ideas about the God who created this world and who gave us life and before whom we must stand one day brethren I'll tell you this nobody becomes holy who is not gripped by the immensity and the holiness and the majesty and the awfulness of godom you know what I mean awful the way it's used in old times full of all brethren I'll tell you sometimes when when we're stopped in our tracks at the glory of God sometimes when we're reading in Scripture and we're suddenly overwhelmed by the greatness of God I'll tell you what that's when you're strong by the fear of God by the greatness of God those are people who pursue holiness with determination if you have small views of God you do not pursue holiness because they are connected and that's what Paul is telling us notice this just kind of doing a very basic overview today I want you to see the motive for self cleansing there's a great motive given here for getting the dirt out notice the verse again since we have these promises brethren get that since we have these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God there's a motivation there we ought to be motivated by holiness or we ought to be motivated to holiness by the promises where are these promises that he talks about well there in the previous chapter brethren I'll tell you this this chapter break is inexcusable inspired men did not give us chapter breaks in our Bibles in fact some of the divisions the chapter divisions in Scripture are wretched this is one of them inexcusably placed here rather than I'll tell you what you cannot read chapter 7 verse 1 without connecting it to 6:14 and following you simply cannot do that let's let's back up 2nd Corinthians 6:14 let's tie this together because brethren in the weeks ahead I want us to really be convinced that cleansing ourselves and our responsibility to self cleanse the responsibility of cleansing one's self is important and if we're going to be properly inspired we have to feel the weight of what Paul means when he sent says since we have these promises well what promises what's what's the motivation here 2nd Corinthians 6:14 do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness you have a responsibility not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and defile yourselves brethren unbelievers were called not to remove from them not to associate from them perhaps when you have lost people who might profess to be Christians who claim to be a brother or sister there might be there might be in scripture this idea that there are certain people that we are with to withdraw from that we are to create space between let me tell you this brethren yes we are to evangelize this world yes we are to be light yes we are to be salt but you need to watch the contact that you have with those who are unbelievers you are not to be yoked to them yes we need to touch them we need to reach them we need to impact them but what does scripture say brethren don't be unequally yoked don't be connected with the Lost in a way that you should not be connected with them you have a responsibility to do that you have a responsibility to watch the relationship the kind of relationship that you have with unbelievers there is a god-given relationship to be had with them but this is telling us that there is definitely a relationship that we can have with the loss that we ought not to have and it's our responsibility not to go there for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness don't be unequally yoked don't be partners look you are not a partner if you come to the lost and you call them a flee from the wrath to come you are not in partnership you are on one side they are on one side you come to them as a saved man a saved woman a saved child calling the lost who are not like you to flee from the wrath to come you're in two different places you're not partners you don't hold hands you don't go hold hands with the Catholics to go supposedly evangelize down at the abortion clinics don't do that if you're lost you don't get or if you're saved you don't you don't pick a lost person to go and get married to or that he's even marginal and questionable you don't go there you have a responsibility to keep your life clean we don't want to get in relationships that overpower us if you've got the ability to be light in the world and you can go and you can be untainted and you can share the gospel with people but if you're not mature enough and when you go and you have impact and you have contact with this world you're seeking to you're seeking to touch their lives but they end up doing worse damage to you than good you do to them then maybe you're not ready to go there brethren don't be unequally yoked you have a responsibility there is holiness to be pursued I'm not saying we go hide go hide in our little cloistered community that is not what I'm talking about you know that we have a commission but brethren and all are reaching out to this world you have to watch that you stake and brethren I'll tell you this and you know full well we can justify going out there we can justify going out in this world in ways that we simply are justifying ourselves because what we're really doing is being less light less salt and we're becoming more contaminated rather than we have responsibilities to stay clean what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness or what Fellowship has light with darkness brethren again hypothetical questions here what Fellowship has light with darkness we're not given the answer we know what the answer is it doesn't have any what Accord has Christ with Belial well I might be another name for the wicked or another name for the devil or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever none you get the idea here yoked partnership fellowship Accord portion what's in common nothing in common brethren when we go out to reach this world we do it as people that don't have anything in common with them other than the fact that we used to be like them we know where they came from we know we know the lostness that they're enveloped with we may know that brethren what agreement has the temple of God with idols none for we're the temple of the Living God as God said I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people therefore go out from their midst be separate from them says the Lord and touch no one clean thing then I will welcome you and it will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the Lord Almighty since we have these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit brethren if these promises are the promises that are supposed to be inspiring motivating the driving force behind our self cleansing to the end that we might bring holiness to completion completion or holiness to perfection brethren perhaps we need to just pause really try to feel the truth of what Paul's saying here brethren you know if you think about it this this is this is incredible you don't see this on the surface but let me tell you something about this that you may not see just as you read this brethren verse 16 for we are the Temple of the Living God as God said I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people let me ask you something you know where that comes from okay how about I tell you brethren that if you look at the original languages perhaps even the Greek Old Testament you know what you find Paul is quoting here from Leviticus chapter 26 in verse 16 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 he is quoting from Leviticus chapter 26 and from Ezekiel chapter 27 you say okay your verse 17 this is roughly cited from Isaiah 52 11 therefore go out from their midst and be separate from them says the Lord and touch no unclean thing then I will welcome you and it will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the Lord Almighty Isaiah 52 11 Ezekiel 20 34 I mean brethren this this is a conglomeration of Paul reaching out and pulling in multiple text from the Old Testament Leviticus Isaiah Ezekiel the law and the prophets notice verse 18 I will be a father to you you shall be sons and daughters to me says the Lord Almighty brethren what's amazing about that text is it comes from the very well-known second samuel chapter 7 verse 14 where God is speaking to David and talking about the promises that he's making the Covenant the Davidic covenant that he's making with the royal household of David brethren you know what's amazing Paul gathers in all those texts and he says to some rough characters in the Corinthian church who by the way are Gentiles they're not Jews and he says you want to know the motive for you to be holy you Corinthian Gentile Christians you want to know what the motive is what Paul what since we have these promises rather than I'll tell you what sometimes we just flippantly kick that verse out but the promises of God are yes in Christ it's in the same letter by the way that he says that but right here he proves it he looks to Gentiles and he says you brethren we really have to understand as Gentiles we are not second-class citizens in the kingdom of God we are full partakers of the most precious promises ever given to the people of God brethren things like this ought to cause us as Gentiles to never ignore the old testament but to go back and read it and embrace it and say that's mine those promises are mine breathily excite us brethren what are these promises like that's the next thing what's the nature the nature of the promises now let's just let us think about these verses sixteen seventeen eighteen what do they like brethren I'll tell you what they're like brethren they describe the very essence of true Christianity what do I mean brethren you get to the end of this New Testament you get back there at the end of Revelation and you know what you find behold the dwelling place of God is with men this is this is true Christianity brethren we don't we don't want to forget what true Christianity is like sometimes we get this idea brethren this this is no picture here of God's people simply dragging themselves back and forth to lifeless church meetings brethren do you ever get the feeling that somehow that the Christianity that's the whole idea of the church we look at it as though man we're we're may we're trying to make something happen we're trying to make something happen that's not happening it's it becomes more about what we do it becomes more about how we act how we get hurt we put forth but brethren the thing is this this picture isn't about us just simply trying to work something up all the time I was I was behind a church van on Friday Ruby and I were going out for our for our anniversary and it's a stoplight over here in the east side just block or two away we got behind a church van and with some kind of missionary east side Missionary Church well when I think missionary I think I think the Great Commission I think go and yet you know what was interesting it's said on the back church it's a missionary church it's not about where we go it's about what we do and I looked at that and I thought I I don't I don't want that I don't want that to be the mindset because because what we're finding here is look at the promises I will make my dwelling among them I will make my dwelling among them more than what Paul is saying is it's not about where we go it's or really what we do it's about who dwells among us brethren is the reality that I mean brethren we're talking about a holiness but how do we come to the place where we're really gonna pursue this in the fear of God and I tell you brethren it's not gonna be just simply if we've got some dead religion among us do you know about the Christianity where God dwells among us where we're his dwelling place that's that's the idea here aren't you tired of Christianity always us trying to do something and make everything happen this is I don't like that Lord God spare us from that spare us from just coming together well how can we work up something brethren you know what the world's like the men are doing everything and they don't they don't what they don't feel anything they don't see anything they don't experience anything and yet what's he's saying there's a promise of God and to the true people of God God is going to dwell in their midst where is God is he dwelling in our midst do you feel it do you recognize it brethren you got to be gripped by this reality these are the promises this is the promise brethren that is given to us that motivates men and women to pursue holiness then that's that's the idea that's the nature of these promises here look I brethren I know that Paul is quoting these verses because in fact he does want us to do something he wants us to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and soul but that isn't where it starts you see it's not us trying to do something first it starts by the fact that God is dwelling among us brethren is God welcome to dwell among us he starts with God here these promises are about God in our midst notice notice what it says I will make my dwelling among them and walk he'll walk among us brethren walking his movement walking his activity this is the idea of God being in our midst but not sitting there idle not sitting there quiet not sitting there motionless not sitting there without movement he is moving brethren when I hear that people in our church are under conviction when I hear that God does not leave you to stay where you are idle not moving when I hear that God is doing the supernatural when I hear that people are under coming under conviction when I hear that God is moving upon people to not be selfish but to love when God moves upon people not to do certain things of impurity that they used to sometimes justify or give themselves to or be sloppy in their lives but they come under conviction there's purity or they feel fear of God where they feel a sense of his presence brethren that's the kind of thing that we see here that's the kind of Christianity that he's putting forth God is walking God is moving God is acting the God who acts is the God who makes his dwelling place among men that's the picture here it's not stagnant and I'll tell you what no this he's a welcoming God look at the end of verse 17 then I will welcome you then I will well this is a welcoming God brethren I'm thinking about this I thought God is it God is welcoming when my brothers and sisters wake up in the morning God is there to welcome them when they come and they come into the place where we gather together to worship God is here the triune God father and son Holy Spirit and all their majesty and all their welcoming yes he's moving yes this is the God who acts this is the God who is personal this is a God who is you know it's so cheap isn't it today personal relationship with Jesus Christ but I'll tell you you don't want any other type of Christianity but a Christianity where God is personally involved in a relationship with you who wants the dead thing who wants the distant thing don't you want God to come and visit you don't you want personal expressions of love don't you want personal interaction don't you want God to convict you and convince you when things are not right don't you want God pressing his holiness upon you I want that brethren these are the promises this is what it is we're the temple of the Living God the God who's alive this isn't dead religion in all these promises we're the temple of the Living God Christianity is a living thing brethren why because the God who is the god of Christianity is living and he's moving and he's personal and he's welcoming I just brethren this last week I heard al Mohler he was on his briefing he was talking about Iceland in Iceland a recent poll the molar said this so I'm thinking he checked his facts obviously polls are representative and sometimes polls are tainted by bias by agenda I recognize that here's here's what molar said reason poll in the country of Iceland it was found those polled 25 years old and younger 0.0% 25 year old ice lenders and under believe that God created the world I'm thinking how do you get a place where 0.0% brethren I'll tell you what happens you get a whole society who hasn't felt the reality of the true God and their darkness and their callousness and they have not seen behind the veil to the realities people in their darkness they do this or there's some projection of their own mind like our brother was talking about in Sunday school we have these preachers who take us away from the realities of Scripture the realities of the true Christ the true God brethren there's no awareness of this God who welcomes this God who can be felt this God who compels men go to this book we find a God who interacts with people we find a God who comes down we find a God who drops people on their face we find a God before whom men tremble why are people so flippant today no idea no idea about the true God this personal God this God that's holy this God who is fearfully holy this God who is fearfully jealous of the purity the holiness of his people who calls his people yes you're to be a light out there but he calls you to come away from the tainting influences the dirtiness and to withdraw and to not have fellowship to not touch the unclean thing and then we got this we've got this idea in the world you know people people have this idea that they they somehow have to take all the supernatural out of Christianity they have to take the the mythology out of it Britain the truth is we need more I mean if you if you've got God promising to welcome to walk to dwell among we're talking about God Almighty what do you mean dwell upon among how can he be somewhere he's not already how can he not dwell everywhere why say it that way I'll tell you why because when God says he's going to dwell somewhere that means that's where his manifest presence is going to be we got a lot of religion and it can't feel the presence of God it doesn't know the presence of God it has not been allowed the privilege of God to look behind the veil all brethren may God give that to us you got a lot of people running around one and you D mythologize all the supernatural of Scripture brethren I'll tell you what we need more we need more manifestation we need more of it brethren we need the kind of manifestation of God that sends us shaking trembling convicted impressed and in all over his majesty brethren we've got to flippant views of God and God promises it to dwell among us and if he promises to dwell among us that is a promise of manifestation that a promise of God dwelling in our midst in a way that is unique and special he isn't just saved Wells everywhere though that would be a truth we could support but the reason that God says he dwells in very specific places is because he is determined to make himself known in certain places to manifest himself in certain places in ways that he doesn't promise to manifest himself in other places brethren these are the promises that promise that promise brethren should drive us to self cleansing in the fear of God brethren brethren do you know this God not dead religion not Sunday religion do you know this reality have you felt the touch of God upon your very soul brethren have you felt a sense of God's disgust and disdain over impurity brethren God loathes the unclean I want you to see the condition of these promises notice verse 17 therefore go out from their midst be separate from them says the Lord and touch no unclean thing our ESV here reads then all your other translations and but you know what no matter what your translation is that and or that then is progressive its consequential brethren I know a lot of people don't like to talk this way but our Bibles talk this way if we're honest with Scripture it speaks this way what do you mean what way Christian you who profess to be Christian you who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ you have a responsibility to go out from their midst who's them those who pollute those who are unrighteous those who are Gentiles in the flesh from their influence whether it's on the radio whether it's on the TV whether it's on the internet you have a responsibility go out from their midst and separate from them says the Lord and touch no unclean thing then or and either way it's conditional I will welcome you and I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the Lord Almighty brethren the truth is many don't want to admit that the Bible speaks this may you know what happens many want to use the doctrine of justification by faith to negate such statements in Scripture a lot of people who say I believe in Lord I trusted him my sins are forgiven so my holiness yeah probably the Bible says it's a good idea but whether I really pursue it or not whether I cleanse myself or not my sins are forgiven uh-uh that's not how scripture talks don't be deceived brethren if you don't adorn your doctrine you got problems brethren why would scriptures say it like this why would it say then I will welcome you then I will be a father to you then you shall be sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty well I tell you why it says it that way it says it that way because it's true if you don't let truths like this grip you you just write them off you take justification by faith alone that God justifies the ungodly and you just write off these calls of holiness it's just you know take it or leave it preferable desirable perhaps but brethren I'll tell you what happens if you don't take this serious then when an apostle comes along and says since we have these promises brethren beloved let us cleanse ourselves you see we don't take it seriously brethren I'll tell you you know this the author of Hebrews says you better strive for holiness because if you don't you don't get it and without it you will not see the Lord holiness not optional brethren who shall ascend the hill of the Lord is he we brethren that should grip us I want to go there I want to go on the mountain who shall ascend the hill of the Lord what what does the psalmist say buddy who claims to believe in the Lord you know what he does he goes to cleansing he goes to purity who shall ascend the hill of the Lord who shall stand in his holy place he who has clean hands rather than being a holy church the only way we're gonna arrive at that is by being individuals who are holy and you will not bring holiness completion unless there is self cleansing proper self cleansing is going to be done when we are gripped by the fear of God and brethren when we are inspired by the reality of the promises that have been made to the people of God got to be gripped by these things brethren who shall ascend the hill of the Lord clean hands pure heart who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not wit swear deceitfully rather than cleanliness clearly what we recognize from Scripture is that our relationship with God is based on holiness not just forgiveness we don't want to exclude forgiveness we don't want to exclude the reality of justification by faith not at all but brethren all of us need to grasp this we have promises beloved because of these promises we need to cleanse ourselves certainly certainly certainly unholy sinners can be justified in coming to God by way of Jesus Christ undoubtedly broken empty wretched destitute bankrupt sinners who have nothing to offer God but a life of ungodly unholy wretched living sin swallows them up wretchedness from the top of their head to the sole of their feet certainly God calls to come to him by way of his son Jesus Christ unquestionably but brethren you need to remember this without holiness no one will see the Lord why because God is not in the business of ever calling sinner to himself to be justified by faith in his son whom he leaves unholy he's gonna make them holy God doesn't leave his work half done he's chosen us brethren we have this truth in Scripture you know it well many of you Ephesians chapter one verse three he has chosen us in him in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless and brethren I'll tell you what happens a lot of people get hung up on imputed righteousness that is a doctrine I do not dispute and I find precious to my soul but brethren is God saying that he has chosen you to be holy and blameless because of your imputed perfection or is he actually saying that your gonna be zealous of good works holy and blameless practically brethren you have to remember Judgment Day is not based on imputed righteousness it's based on what you've done in this body even what Saints are adorned with in glory scripture doesn't say the imputed righteousness of Christ it says they are adorned they're adorned with the garment and you know what that garment is it's the works of the saints brethren purity righteousness holiness practically let's think about it mm-hmm you give me ten more minutes let's just think about this filthiness that's it did you see what the text said since we have these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement I think the NA s the ESV says defilement I think your King James Version and new King James Version says filthiness filth rather ever since I was first Saved I can remember hearing John MacArthur earliest days he talked about the nature of the Christian what's our nature are we the new man are we the old man are we a mixture is our nature as a Christian to be part new part old are we the wretched man who can't do the good we want to do is our heart deceitfully wicked sick desperately wicked what what's what's the reality here what hangs on flesh sin the seeks to reign in our mortal body a lot of debate about all this I have my ideas you know we need to study scripture we need to we need to use right terminology there's no question about it the brethren I'll tell you this Paul believes that we have enough of the old whatever you biblically think you need to call it we have enough of the old still in us that it needs to be cleansed out of us but I'll tell you this he believes we have enough of the new eNOS that we can actually get that old out and scripture says that if you don't have the ability to get it out you're not gonna see the Lord know full well what God does he saves us but in this life that salvation isn't complete but it's progressive it's moving somewhere there's a process of sanctification there's a process of Christlikeness and there is a real movement and brethren it isn't going to happen by osmosis and it isn't gonna happen when you sit still it's gonna happen when you put forth effort Paul is not afraid to say that Christians need to get to work on their own salvation do you see it you need to cleanse you you need to cleanse you on the inside you need to cleanse you on the outside that's the responsibility you know Paul speaks as though he really does believe that my holiness is dependent upon my effort and if you believe anything different from that you're denying what he says here and it's not safe brethren we have a responsibility I hope you can all see that anyone who expects to be made clean without any effort of his own is never gonna get clean never you have a responsibility if anyone ever becomes holy it will only be so in consequence of strenuous effort on your part to resist the evil and adhere to to grasp hold of a good we've got to endeavour we've got to fight strive the author of Hebrews says strive brethren strive well I'll tell you this as well I think I think one of the most concise I'm blown away by just the way Paul captures the Christian life in the last verse of Colossians 1 why don't you turn there Colossians 1 I want you to see this verse because I feel like it's so it's just so perfectly captures the Christian life brethren please please please throw your hyper-calvinism out the window of course we need God til you notice what Colossians 1:29 says now you might notice verse 28 what is the context it's the maturity of Christ it's you and I being bought brought to the maturity of Christ it's Paul being brought to the maturity of Christ what Paul is saying here is this for this I toil for what for the maturity of God's people for this I toil struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me that is an amazing verse because what you see is the effort of two you see the combined effort of us and him you see that what's Paul struggling for to present everyone mature in Christ and that's it we're striving to be holy like Christ is holy but if I do not toil and struggle his energy is not going to powerfully work within me brethren Paul Paul hits on the same reality in Romans chapter 8 when he talks about by the spirit you put to death you put to death the deeds of the body you put to death by the power of the Spirit you toil you struggle with all his energy that he works in you that's that's the reality powerfully works within you brethren you don't work the powers not dispatched excuse me you know what we like to have happen we like to sit and pray Lord make me holy and you know what we want to feel we want to like feel this power pulsate through our veins you know what in my lost days I did drugs those of you that did drugs in your lost days you know that when you did those drugs there was a time when you felt it you felt the power of it you felt the influence of it a lot of times we want the Christian life to be like that we want to go and like we took you know the head of this or whatever drug you did or however you did it and so it's the Christian life we want to feel it you know only want to feel it pulsate through our veins ah how do I feel now I got power now I'm gonna go out and live she that's not how it happens we're called to walk by faith not by sight that's a form of sight when you feel it you know what you know we live the Christian life in our own weakness we come up against enemies that look really terrifying really threatening that looked like we can't handle the devil seriously I'm supposed to do battle with him I mean I couldn't my kids were small I could hardly handle the will of a child I'm gonna go out and fight the devil we are called against enemies that are that are too much but what are we to do with our eyes on the Lord we go forth to cleanse ourselves of the bad do you know what's happening the passions of the flesh which wage war against our souls and they seek to dam our souls sin seeking to reign and to rule in our mortal bodies the devil right there to tempt us the world with all of its stuff from which we need to come out that is constantly enticing us like vanity fair' and we're called to confront this how not typically because you sat there and like you got your charger in the wall and you got all charged up now you feel like you can do this and go out it's typically like you feel like you can't do this if you feel like the enemy is too big but with your eyes set upon the Lord you go to do battle it's just like that picture pilgrims progress Christian defeated apollyon how'd he do that you got a grip on that sword promises of God made in the Word of God rather than we can fight angels and we can fight this world we can fight sin we can be victorious and we will make victorious because brethren when we put forth the toil trusting the Lord God Almighty he will powerfully work within us brethren you will only do this thing by strenuous effort and striving and cutting off of hands and gouging out eyes and you will shed tears and it will be difficult and it will be the most difficult thing that you've ever done in your life to pursue holiness and to become like Christ but brethren it is a battle that every true child of God will win and you've got promises but he dwells with us and he will welcome you and that welcoming brethren I'll tell you this you walk this lifelong and if you come to recognize that when unholiness creeps into your life God's welcoming I'm not saying you lose your salvation none of that but I'm saying our acceptance with God and God's being pleased with us and God's welcoming us you know as well as I know that when you let dirt in your life it impacts your fellowship with him and his welcoming and your assurance George oi brethren where we add in this fight self-cleansing huge part of the Christian life and so this is an introduction brethren what I hope is going to be a god bless series to help us fight my god help us father we pray Lord I pray that this would be a useful season and the lives of your people and for the sake of the holiness of your people lord I pray that you would work within us through the preaching of your word a hunkering and thirsting for righteousness as a collective church that would reach a degree reach a level that we have never yet as a collective body ever reached Lord do good show us your favor show us your manifest dwelling in our midst welcome us Lord show us the fullness of that show us the fullness of what it is to be welcomed by God while we still walk in this world and in this life Lord come breakthrough and real tangible experience all manner we pray in Christ's name Amen

Channel: I'll Be Honest

Views: 17,680

Rating: 4.9285712 out of 5

Keywords: 2 Corinthians 7:1, holy, cleanse, spirit

Id: aMxqsHxp_Sk

Length: 62min 35sec (3755 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 11 2016