2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
A Cleansing Because of Immanuel
I. Introduction
-Ill. IGA door lock
1. In Nashville, I locked my car door whenever I was out and about.
2. There were some scary ppl.
3. In Greensburg @ IGA a teen in passenger seat power locked the doors to the car she was in!
4. Am I that scary?
-Emmanuel= God with us
-What's so big about that?
-What does that mean in our day to day lives?
-Let's see what Paul says...
II. Scripture
III. Unequally Yoked
-"Unequally yoked" is more than just marriage advice.
1. True for marriage though.
2. vv. 14-16a deal with a question the church today must ask itself.
3. Are we yoked with the world?
-Could you pick out a Christian in a line up?
-v. 16b "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them"
1. NIV- "I will live with them" boo!!
2. KJV/ NASB- "I will live in them"
3. Greek word- epsilon, knew
4. Immanuel is more than "with" us like somewhere in the room.
5. Closer to "in" or "within" us.
-If God is going to be with us, he demands that we be holy.
-Ill. Cleansing and necessity of temple utensils to be pure in order to be used for holy purposes.
-Is that an emphasis in the church today?
IV. Christian vs. Sinner
-There should be a dramatic difference.
-The Bible describes it as polar opposites...
1. Life vs. death.
2. Light vs. darkness
3. Good vs. evil
-That's why he deals w/ being unequally yoked!
-"I'm just a sinner saved by grace."
1. No, I'm a new creation.
2. If you've been saved by grace you are not a sinner.
-We believe you can do some good things to appease the bad things.
-That's not how it works.
1. That's work's righteousness.
2. Good things you do, do not cancel out bad things you do.
V. God's Priority
-Do you know that God wants you to have a pure heart, more than doing "great" things for Him?
1. A pure heart more than becoming Billy Graham
2. ....coming to church all the time.
3. ....giving a tithe of your income.
4. ...witnessing to your neighbor.
5. ...being a "big shot" leader in the church.
6. ...anything else!
-Matthew 15:11 "It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."
-And where does the mouth stuff come from?
1. Matthew 15:18-19 "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. [19] For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."
2. The heart drives your actions.
3. It's an issue of getting the cart before the horse.
-It's the reason so many ppl feel they have to make a sacrifice for God to be "okay."
1. Sacrifice to come to church and be miserable.
2. Sacrifice to be nice to a co-worker.
3. Sacrifice to do good to a neighbor, etc.
-1 Samuel 15:22 "And Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."
VI. The Dirty Heart Problem
-When we refuse to obey God and receive a cleansing, we create a host of problems in the church.
-Dirty Heart problems:
1. Sinners have the spiritual gift of discernment (seeing phonies) more than some in the church.
2. "Full of hot air"
3. Hypocrisy...
-Ill. "______ is a member of your church!?"
1. They see hypocrisy!
2. Rigorous membership b/c you are billboards for the kingdom of God!
3. "If Nazarenes really lived what they believe, it would be the best church."
4. If Christians...."
5. "We can't help our imperfections." No, you just need a heart cleansing!
-Ill. "Nazarene Church is so strict!"
1. Yes! Exactly! That's the point!
2. There are enough sinners masquerading as Christians causing destruction for the kingdom of God!
-My goal is not to get you to put on a better act, but to have a heart cleansing!
VII. Real Cleansing!
-I've heard there use to be testimonies of miraculous conversions!
1. Drug addicts were delivered!
2. Ppl living together separated and then got married.
3. Murderers repented.
4. Sexual perverts believed and were transformed.
5. Ill. Song- "they baptized Jesse Taylor in Cedar Creek...." Dad met him at Grenada MS @ Johnny Scallion barber shop.
-Why isn't that happening anymore?
1. I admit, the longer I'm in ministry the harder it is to believe!
2. Is the problem God? ...or is it the church?
-Church growth today isn't radical transformations, it's transitions from one church to another.
-Maybe the problem is b/c we don't really believe a cleansing could take place.
-We don't believe b/c it has never really happened in our lives!
-If God cannot take care of the "little sins" in my life, how could he take care of the "big stuff" in the world?
-James 4:2 "You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask."
-We do not ask for these things anymore...
1. I'm not talking about drug addicts, murderers, prostitutes, etc.
2. I'm talking about a cleansing in our own lives.
-Otherwise we have the problem Jesus dealt with in Luke 11:39 "And the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.'"
-What kind of things does this cleansing take care of?
1. Pride, hatred leading to anger, unforgiving heart, and self-centeredness
2. 1 John says all unrighteousness
3. James says it cleanses a double-mindedness.
-2 Corinthians 7:1 "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."
1. Bringing holiness to completion.
2. Not our own spiritual walk.
VIII. Conclusion
-The church today needs a cleansing.
-Ill. Preachers falling.
1. Lay people leaping back into the world (partly backsliding, but partly they never were saved).
2. Children growing up and leaving the church.
3. We got problems in the church today!
-There is only one solution to the problem of the church!
1. We need a cleansing!
2. We need a transformational work of God in our midst.
-I came across a verse I've read a million times, but it's huge.
-Mark 11:24 "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
-Do you believe that?
-Not in the guy down the street, but in our own hearts!
-Ill. If you cannot swim you cannot be a lifeguard!
1. If you are not cleansed you cannot help someone be cleansed!
2. A dirty church cannot call the community to holiness.
-1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."
Response
