Sunday, December 1, 2013
am
PURER IN HEART (20)
Maintaining a Pure Heart – 3
Zealous for good works
a.
The ultimate goal of
having a pure heart is to be living the type of life that is pleasing to
God. The pure heart is about
motives, but it is not complete until there is application.
We have discussed some application in previous lessons –
simplifying your life (getting rid of
the clutter), using your words for good, taking care of sins by
repenting and taking steps to overcome them,
learning to love and developing the qualities that are part of
purity – self-control, integrity, honesty, patience, humility,
contentment, kindness, etc.
Today we want to discuss the zeal with which we are to do our
good works.
b.
The idea of zeal is one
who is earnestly committed to a side or a cause. (L&N 25.77, BDAG).
It is descriptive of one who is enthusiastic and fervent in his
efforts. In this case, it is
a zeal to serve God.
c.
BE zealous for good
works – Titus 2:14. Christ
redeemed Himself for us so that we might be zealous in our conduct
toward Him.
d.
Consider Romans 12:11,
“not lagging in diligence.”
e.
Ephesians 2:10,
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
f.
Throughout our study of
the pure heart we have appealed to Matthew 5:8 which says, “Blessed are
the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Prior to that (and if you examine the beatitudes you will find
some order there) in vs. 6 Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
The idea of hungering and thirsting is a craving to be righteous.
Usually where there is a craving,
there is intense effort to satisfy it. Do
we CRAVE being righteous?
Another thought: A craving to be righteous will prompt us to deal with
our sinful conduct with just as much fervor.
In 2 Corinthians 7:11 where Paul describes true repentance he
says that it includes “what zeal.”
g.
Good works” that will promote
purity of heart.
i.
In Matthew 12:43-45,
Jesus gave the illustration of an empty house.
A demon is cast out and wanders finding no rest.
So he returns to his former abode (actually the heart of a man)
and finds it empty, swept and in order.
So he returns with seven other spirits more wicked than himself
and the latter end was worse than before.
The point is that when we have been cleansed of our impurities by
God we need to fill that cleaned up space with godly conduct.
ii.
In our last lesson as we
examined choosing who you associate with, we briefly mentioned the need
to be busy doing good things.
The more time you spend doing good and productive things, the
less time you will have left for the less productive activities.
iii.
Study God’s word – more
on this next week as we talk about meditating on His word. Psa.
119:9-11, “How can a young man
cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole
heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”
iv.
Prayer – 1 Thess. 5:17,
Eph. 6:18, Col 4:2, Rom. 12:12, etc.
“Seven days without prayer makes one weak!”
v.
Supporting the Local
church –1 Cor. 14:12, “Even so you, since you are zealous for
spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you
seek to excel.”
How important is the church to you?
How you honestly answer that will determine how much effort you
will put toward it. We need
to “invest” in it. Think
about investments – the more you invest in something, the greater
interest you will have in it.
Concerning the church – how much do we contribute – our money,
time, efforts? Do we pray
for her. Do we participate?
vi.
Gal. 6:10 – do good as
you have opportunity.
a.
When one first becomes a
Christian he is usually “on fire”.
But what happens after the newness wears off? Quite often, one
will settle into a routine where keeping the fire burning becomes a
challenge. We sometimes hear
of people getting into a rut or their day to day activities becoming
monotony. Sometimes our worship
can become monotonous if we are not careful (same thing week in and week
out). But it doesn’t have to be
that way!
b.
This was actually a
concern addressed in scripture.
i.
Rev. 2:4-5– Ephesus had
left their first love. What
this is usually attributed to is they were not as fervent as before.
Even worse, the church at Sardis in Revelation 3:1 was described as dead
in God’s eyes.
ii.
Because the Lord is
delaying His return, there are many who live as if they have all the
time in the world. They have
become desensitized to the reality that our time may be very limited.
(cf. 2 Pet. 3:4) That
is the SAME attitude that we as brethren have to guard against lest we
think we can delay our need to obey.
iii.
Hebrews 6:12, “that
you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and
patience inherit the promises.”
c.
Work at it – it is a
matter of the heart – “stir up” – 2 Tim. 1:6, “stir up the gift of God
that is in you.”
i.
Stir up your faith (pure minds) - 2 Pet. 1:13, 3:1 - reminders.
Remember that faith is trusting God (not just believing IN Him).
Do those things that will increase your faith in Him.
Recall your past – that which you have been delivered out of! Recall
that which He has done for you – by sending Jesus to die, giving us His
word, etc.
ii.
Stir up your initiative – 1 Cor. 15:58 – always abounding in the work of the Lord.
Become involved in the work of the church, do something, etc.
Don’t wait on others to start something.
iii.
Stir up your hope – think about your goals. 2 Pet. 3:11-13.
We will address this more in a couple of weeks as we speak about
the rewards of a pure heart. Heb.
12:1-2 – looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith – is
your eye on heaven?
iv.
Stir up one another – Heb. 10:24 – stir up one another (provoke one another) to love and good
works. Seek to bring out the best in your brethren so that they can
encourage you. Don’t spend
your time tearing them down.
We need each other! 2 Cor.
9:2, your zeal has stirred up the majority.
1 Pet. 1:22,
“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth
through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another
fervently with a pure heart,”
d.
Work at keeping your
activities from becoming routine (without compromising the truth) –
i.
Keep growing!
2 Peter 3:18
ii.
Attend Gospel meetings
and other opportunities to study that will build you up.
iii.
Try to learn new songs.
iv.
Engage in more in-depth
studies, etc. (More on this
next week)
v.
Be active with brethren.
CREATE opportunities to associate with one another.
Don’t depend on others to initiate something.
BUT when you are invited to do something with your brethren –
accept it if possible.
vi.
Keep your ears, eyes and
heart open to new methods to teach, learn and do good works.
NOTE: Again I say this with caution lest we neglect God’s pattern.
e.
BUT realize that such
things are superficial. IF that
is what you have to do to motivate yourself, it IS a band-aid.
Overcoming spiritual boredom involves a proper mindset – OR shall
we say, “a pure heart”?
Boredom is more about YOU than about what is being done!
You have to work at serving God.
Isn’t that what Paul said in Phil. 2:12, “Therefore, my
beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling;”
As we seek to purify our hearts and maintain purity, may we
strive to be zealous for good works.
And as with much of what we have discussed, this is a 2 way
street. If your heart is
pure, you will be zealous for good works and if you are zealous for good
works it will help you purify your heart.
So we come back to our first lesson in this part of our study –
make up your mind! And the
DO IT!