SWEPT CLEAN AND GARNISHED
By Pastor Jim May
For most of us this will be the last time we will come together in the House of God to worship and hear His Word before the New Year begins. I thought that this might just be the best time to stop and reflect upon the past year to examine where we are in our relationship with the Lord.
Of course there are some obvious questions to ask of your self. Is your relationship with Jesus Christ stronger today than it was at this time last year? If it is, then think of what God has done to bring you to a “higher” place in Him. If your relationship with Jesus is not as strong as it was last year at this time, then I must say that it is imperative that you stop right now to think and determine the reasons that your relationship with God has suffered and what it must take for you to take back that which the devil has stolen from you.
Satan often works in some very subtle ways to cause us to slip a little. In these last days, the slopes that lead away from the throne of God seem very slippery indeed. It only takes a moment of time to slip into apathy, to slip into frustration, to slip into a comfort zone where we can’t grow, or to slip into a form of godliness, going through the motions of serving God, but it’s only a surface relationship and the power of God that once lived within us is now gone.
The process of living for the Lord and then slipping away reminds me of the old story that asks, “How do you boil a live frog?”
Of course the answer is that you put the frog in the water while the water is cold and slowly heat it. The frog will stay in the water while it heats up slowly, never realizing that if he stays just a little too long, it will mean his demise. Soon he’s boiling in the pot. He could have hopped out at anytime but the effect was so slow that he just didn’t notice what was happening.
How many Christians do I know who have lost their relationship with Jesus and they still haven’t noticed? Satan gets us caught up in activity, in business, in day-to-day living, until one day we are caught in the trap of sin and there’s no way out. Thank God for His mercy and grace. If it were not for God’s mercy none of us would be here. If it were not for his grace, we would all be boiling in the pits of sin. It’s by his Spirit and through His Word that God shakes us and awakens us to the reality of our heart’s condition before Him.
The fact is though, that we all have ups and downs in our walk with the Lord. Most, if not all of us, have failed God in many ways during the past year. If we dwell on those times, it will definitely drag us into the pits of despair. So let’s not dwell there.
Paul understood what it was like to fail God. How many times he had failed God since his conversion on the road to Damascus we do not know, but since Paul was just a man with the call of God upon his life, I’m certain that he failed God just as we do today. But listen to what he had to say about his failures.
Philippians 3:13-14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
There’s the key to having a better relationship with the Lord in the coming New Year. 2006 has not been touched by human hands. The things that happened last year are forever gone now. Nothing we can do will change the fact that they were done; all we can do is to change the results of what was done.
One statement that I’ve often heard is; “All is well that ends well!” How true that is. But in order for all things to end well, we have to make the choice to change the course of our lives and obey the Word of the Lord. Nothing that is contrary to the Word of God can possibly end well, no matter how it may appear so at first. The end of rebellion and disobedience is sin, and the wages; payback for sin, is always death. How can that be well?
If we dwell on what is past, how can we change the future? Think about the past, learn from the past, and then go and change the future. That’s what it’s all about.
Last year was a hard year for mankind as well as for many of us. One year ago, a great tsunami wave hit the Pacific islands destroying many thousands of lives, and wiping entire cities off the face of the earth. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and others ripped through the Gulf South and southeaster U.S. obliterating entire regions and taking the lives of hundreds of people. Worldwide and nationally, we have seen catastrophes that would rank with the greatest natural disasters in history.
On more personal levels, all of us have seen troubles, trials and tests. Some of them were devastating and the effects that they have had on us may take years to heal at best. Some of our loved ones who were with us this time last year are now at home with the Lord. Some of the people who attended this church last year are no longer attending. Some of you have seen some job changes. Families that were once strong are now shattered by the divorce courts. Every new day brings its share of calamities and bad news. We can’t go back and do it again. We just have to be prepared as best we can for what lies ahead.
I have learned that the only thing certain is that nothing is certain when it comes to life on planet earth. Change is inevitable and it’s not always for the best no matter how much you believe in the power of positive confession.
Writer Robert Burns once wrote a play called “To a Mouse”. In that play he is credited with the statement that says, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” None of us have seen a perfect life this year, and I dare say that not one of us will see a perfect life next year either. The fact is that life is imperfect. There are no perfect people. There are no perfect churches. There are no perfect spouses. There are no perfect children. And there are no perfect plans. We all have to contend with “Murphy’s Law”. In fact, as I look around the congregation every week, I am convinced that some of you are really close kin to Murphy.
So you aren’t where you wanted to be, you aren’t where you thought you would be, you aren’t who you thought you would be, and life has been hard. What will you do about it?
One businessman I know makes some very pointed statements concerning how we face adversity.
“It isn’t what happens to you that matters, it’s how you handle it!”
“You can get bitter, or you can get better!”
“It’s not your aptitude but your attitude that will determine your altitude.”
If the Lord should tarry, and we are still here next year, how do we begin again with the coming year to see to it that we are walking closer to the Lord than we are right now?
Well, first we need to sweep the house clean of all the dust, footprints, dead leaves and trash that has somehow entered into our hearts. With every evil wind that blows against us, if we are not very careful, some dirt and filth always enters in and settles in the crevices and corners of the heart.
I have been in some very fine homes around the country. Most of them were sealed against the wind and the rain. They had curtains over the windows, weather stripping and seals around the windows and doors. Many of them were even soundproofed to keep out exterior noises. But no matter how well they were built or how much they were sealed, there was always a little bit of dust that was settled onto the furniture. Though they were swept clean daily and cleansed thoroughly on a regular basis, the dirt was still there.
That’s how it is with you and me. Though we stay in a constant state of repentance and strive for a perfect walk with the Lord, there is always something that will get by and settle in. Some things, no matter how hard we try to rid ourselves of them, just hang on in spite of all our efforts to break free.
The only way to be truly clean is not by taking the broom of our tongue and the dustpan of our will power, using our own works of righteousness, but by trusting in, and allowing the Blood of Jesus to do the cleansing in us.
John 8:36, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
So the first step is to be cleansed from all sin by the Blood of Jesus. That includes the sins of omission – where we simply fail to that which we know is good.
James 4:17, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
It also includes the sins of commission – where the rebellion and disobedience arises within us and we fail God intentionally, even if it’s only for a moment.
Being swept clean by the power of the Blood of Jesus is a wonderful feeling. Your load will be lighter and your way will be brighter and life will seem better in so many ways.
But being cleansed is only half the solution. There has to be a positive influence in your life, a power if you will, that will create a barrier that will prevent the entry of the filth of the world once again.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to see a particle of dust in the sunlight on a clean table? It’s much more noticeable than it would be on a dirty table that hasn’t been cleansed. That’s because the filth contrasts so much with its clean surroundings. It can’t blend in.
That’s the way the sin must manifest itself in your life. If your heart is truly right before God, then anything that becomes sin in your heart will glare out as the Holy Spirit shows it to you and reminds you of it.
But there is a way to keep that filth out in the first place. Let me explain it to you like this.
In the world of computers and in areas where very critical research is in progress there is such a thing as a Clean Room. How is a Clean Room created, and how is it kept clean?
The first thing is that the room must be completely, hermetically sealed and insulated from any possible means of outside entry other than the entry way that is designed and built to cleanse whatever or whoever enters through it. There is a washing and decontaminating process that must occur before entering to ensure that no outside influences can enter.
That’s what the power of the Blood of Jesus will do for you. His blood washes away all sin. His blood seals you into the Kingdom of God as His own child. Nothing has the power to overcome that blood, and thank God, it will never lose its power.
After the Blood has cleansed you, it doesn’t stop there. There is an on-going and continual washing process that comes. How does that happen?
Ephesians 5:26-27, "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
After you have been cleansed by the blood of Christ and you allow the Word of God to have its continual effect in cleansing your heart and life, then there is one final step that must be taken to ensure your perfection before God will continue.
Let’s look at the Clean Room example once again because there is one more very important thing about a Clean Room that I haven’t told you. In order to ensure completely that no outside contaminants can enter through any crevice or crack that may occur, there is an air compressor that creates a positive inside pressure. Wherever there may be a danger of leakage, that positive pressure is there to blow out and push contaminants away.
That’s what the presence and power of the Holy Ghost does for you. The more of the presence of God that you have in your heart, and the more power of the Holy Ghost that is in you, means more pressure from the inside to keep the contamination of sin from entering in. That’s why we spend time in prayer, in studying the Word, and we seek for the baptism in the Holy Ghost. I want all the positive pressure I can get to keep me strong in the Lord.
If it was not for the presence of the Holy Spirit in your heart, and if you did not create that positive influence inside your “Clean Room” heart, then your clean heart can actually become a vacuum.
When you take something out, without putting something in its place of equal or greater power, then you create an empty space where nothing is. That is a vacuum. Let me show what God says will happen to someone whose heart is a vacuum.
Luke 11:24-26, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
If you want this coming year to be a better year for your relationship with the Lord, and you want to have more of the power of God in your life, then begin now to create that positive power within your cleansed heart. Keep pumping in the Word of God. Stay on your face before God in prayer. Do as the Apostle Paul said and keep, “pressing for the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.” That will build the positive pressure to keep sin away.
When the Holy Ghost fills your heart with his power and you are cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb and you are being continually washed and sanctified daily by applying the Word of God, then you won’t have to worry about the devil coming back into your heart. There’s no room for him there. Your heart will be filled with Jesus and a “No Vacancy” sign will be hanging at your heart’s door.
What will you answer when these questions arise next year? Why not answer them by saying that your relationship with Jesus is stronger than ever before. You should be growing stronger on a daily basis.
There is an old song that says, “Every Day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Every day with Jesus; I love Him more and more.” Is that your testimony? It can be! James tells us how it can happen.
James 4:8, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
If we will only obey the Word of God, we won’t have to hang our heads in shame and confess that our walk with Jesus isn’t where it needs to be anymore.
