Defined by the God We See: Purity

[Audio available here.]

Last week I began a series of four vision sermons called “Defined by the God We See: Vision, Purity, Community, Mission.” When we use the phrase, “defined by the God we see,” we mean that our church will be sustained and shaped by our vision of God. No matter how big our attendance becomes or how diverse our programs are, we will never be a church that makes an impact for the Kingdom of God if we have a shriveled view of our King.

Please take out your bulletins and look with me at the back where we find our church’s mission statement. Read along as I read this, “We exist to glorify God by reaching up in worship, reaching in to equip the saints, reaching out with the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Our mission as a church is simple: we exist to glorify God. That is God’s heartbeat—to glorify himself—and therefore it is our heartbeat. And we believe that there are three primary ways that happens in our church: reaching up, in, and out. Worship, building up the body in love, and preaching the gospel to all nations, including our own. So I want to use this week and the next two weeks to explore some foundational issues beneath reaching up, in, and out.

As I said last week, these sermons are unspeakably important to me. And as I approach this week’s subject of worship, or reaching up to God, and how it relates to glorifying God, I have one central concern: purity.

Let me ask a question to clarify where I’m heading with this. When you are out in public—say, at the Biltmore—and you see a couple out on a date, what is it that convinces you that the wife loves her husband, and the husband his wife? Do you look at how big of a rock she has on her finger, or how pricy the restaurant is where they just ate, or perhaps what kind of car they drive? No, the most convincing clue that a wife is in love with her husband is the grin on her face and the sparkle in her eye when she looks at him. The most convincing clue that a husband is in love with his wife is when they walk past a scantily clad lady or Victoria’s Secret and his eyes remain fixed on his wife, deeply satisfied and captivated by her beauty.

When we talk about worship, and how our reaching up to God glorifies God, the most crucial issue is not whether or not we use drums. It is not whether we sing old hymns or new songs. It is not whether we sit, stand, dance, or kneel. The most crucial issue for how we will glorify God through worship is purity; it is an issue of our heart.

Now, purity may be one of those words that we use around church and have no clue what it really means. But when you think about the way we use the word, the meaning is clear. When we say that jewelry is pure gold, we mean it is only gold. It is not gold plus pewter or 99% gold and 1% copper. It is unmixed. Only gold. The same thing goes with a pure silk shirt or a bottle of pure water (at least we trust the bottling company). They are comprised of only one thing. They are unmixed.

So when I refer to purity as the central issue in our worship glorifying God, I mean that our hearts must have only one object of desire: God. Not God plus a nicer car; not God plus more respect at work; not God plus well behaved children; not God plus anything else. Only he can be the object of our worship. Let me clarify that when I talk about worship, I am talking about much more than Sunday morning. I am talking about Monday afternoon, Thursday evening, and Saturday brunch. Worship is not something that happens when you sing words from a hymnal. It is what happens when your heart values God above all else; when you realize and love his worth; when you remain continually in awe and adoration of the all-powerful, all-wise, all-loving Creator who is faithful to the people he redeems. That happens or doesn’t happen on the sports field, in the corporate board room, while you browse the internet, and when your dog marks your sofa as his territory. Those are the moments in which we discover whether or not God is our sole object of worship. That is when the purity of our heart is tested.

Most of us know that purity of heart is an issue that we need to deal with. Whether it is anger or lust or despair or greed or anxiety, we all have issues that taint our purity of heart. And this is not a small thing. It’s not simply “my little struggle” that doesn’t matter in the long run. Do you remember last week’s sermon? The strength and future of our church hinges upon our vision of God. And if we are impure so that our vision of God is clouded or distorted, we should have little optimism about the future of our church. We will never rise above our view of God. This makes purity a top priority for us individually and as a church body.

So how do we fight for purity in our lives? What does the Bible say to the dad who lashes out at his wife and kids instead of gently and lovingly leading and disciplining them? What does the Bible say to the wife who disrespects her husband by the way she talks about him to friends and parents? What does the Bible say about the man who is entrenched in sexual fantasy, whether through Internet pornography or over the lady walking down the street?

Obviously these are huge issues that cannot be completely addressed in 10 minutes. But there is a crucial truth that we need to know if we are to fight well for purity. Turn with me to 2 Peter 1:3-4. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

That last phrase captures the opposite of purity—“the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” Corruption comes naturally to us, and we know its effects. We talked about it in Ephesians 5, where Paul commands us, “do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” Getting drunk with wine is bad because it gets you nowhere. That is the essence of corruption. It is deterioration, like the breakdown in communication that makes a marriage fall to pieces. It is corrosion, like when your pipes rust so that your sink won’t drain. Corrupt things don’t work like they’re supposed to.

But where does this corruption come from? From sinful desires. Something in us tells us, “maybe the next drink will satisfy you.” Or, “I know it didn’t help to shut down emotionally with your wife last time, but you’re not going to let her win, are you?” Or, “maybe if you buy one more outfit it will make you happy.” It is the Garden of Eden all over again, with the serpent holding out whatever kind of fruit will entice us to cut ourselves off from God.

These are promises that Satan holds out, and our natural inclination is to bite. Like the billboard that was on Thomas a few months ago, featuring four Hooters girls and accompanied with the words, “Hooters makes you happy.” That’s a promise given to you. “Come to our restaurant and you will find satisfaction.” Or the little messages written on the wrappers of chocolates Rachael and I were eating a while back. Each one has “Promises message” written on the bottom and they say things like “Be mischievous. It feels good.” “Flirting is mandatory.” “Do what feels right.” And the kicker, “Temptation is fun…giving in is even better.”

Let me take a quick timeout to remind us why we’re talking about Satan’s promises. Our well-being and future as a church is directly tied to our vision of God, which is tainted and diminished when we believe Satan’s promises. So how do we fight for purity—that is, fight to have a heart that values God alone? Peter would ask the question this way—“how do we escape the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires?” Look with me at the answer in verse 4. It is through God’s “precious and very great promises.”

Think back to the love birds we saw at the Biltmore. What if you walked up to the husband after noticing that he wasn’t fazed by the Victoria’s Secret display, and said, “How do you practice such self-control in the face of such seductive pictures?” Do you think he would say, “well, I have trained my mind over the years to empty itself of all base and unworthy thoughts and to remain clear and clean”? No way! He would simply say, “I’m sorry; I was enjoying my wife so much I didn’t notice those pictures.” That is, he is escaping the alluring promise of that image that says, “look at me and be happy” by finding his satisfaction in his wife.

This is how Peter says we escape the corruption that is in the world. This is how we fight for purity. This is how we glorify God as we reach up in worship. We believe the promises of God over the promises of Satan. I encourage you to get a pen or pencil out, because I’m going to mention a few specific Bible promises that address specific struggles in our lives.

These are your weapons for fighting for purity, Whitton Avenue—promises from God’s word. When you are tempted to despair because you don’t know what to do after high school or college or who to marry or how to educate your children or how to handle your employee, pull out the sword of Proverbs 3:5-6, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Trust God’s promise to guide you.

Or when you are tempted to despair because of tight finances, pull out the sword of Matthew 6:31, which says, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Trust God’s promise to provide for you.

Or when you are tempted to buy one more of something you don’t need, pull out the sword of Hebrews 13:5-6, which says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” Trust God’s promise to satisfy your longings.

Or when you are tempted to lust, whether after a physical body or a romantic scenario, pull out the sword of Psalm 16:11 which says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Trust God’s promise to be your source of true pleasure.

My prayer for Whitton Avenue Bible Church is that we will be so vigilant in trusting God over Satan and the world that an atmosphere of purity is created in our church; that people coming to us for the first time would sense something in the air; that they would be surprised that our interactions with one another are not characterized by rivalry or one-upmanship or lust or grudges or greed, but rather the brokenness and mercy that comes from knowing that while we were still sinners Christ died for our sins, so that we might enjoy God forever. And I pray that as we fight for this purity by claiming the promises of God that he would be our one object of worship and desire, and in that be glorified at WABC.

[Pray and step down to communion table.]

As we approach the communion table, I want to share a story of how these elements that represent Christ’s body and blood have helped me in the fight for purity. Each church celebrates the Lord’s Supper in a different way, and at one church as we passed the elements we would say, “The body of Christ for you” as we passed the bread and “The blood of Christ for you” as we passed the cup. I think it is a powerful way to connect with the fact that Jesus died for me. His body was bruised and his blood spilt for me.

At our church in Minneapolis, I had the privilege of being a communion server, and I had the habit of, in my mind, saying to the person I handed the tray of bread, “The body of Christ for you,” and likewise with the cup, “The blood of Christ for you.”

Well, it was all fine until I went to pass the tray to a guy whose personality rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t even know the guy, but for some reason I didn’t like him. I’m sure none of you have had that experience. Nevertheless, as I handed him the tray of bread, in my mind I said, “The body of Christ for you.” And it was amazing. All those feelings of dislike and condescension were leveled by the simple realization: Jesus died for this man! Regardless of personality clash, he and I were brothers united with the blood of Christ. We have the deepest bond possible: we were both helpless and dead in our sins, and Jesus Christ ransomed us from our futile ways and gave us an eternal inheritance with him.

A few months later as I was serving communion again, I saw a new couple sitting at the end of one of the pews I was serving. The wife was unusually attractive, and I thought, “Great, here I am trying to experience communion and now I’m distracted by this supermodel.” But as I came to their pew and handed them the tray, in my mind I said, “The body of Christ for you.” And later, “the blood of Christ for you.” And all of the sudden, the most important thing about this person was not physical appearance but the fact that Jesus Christ died for her sins and rose again to give her life.

This is what the promises do as well: they turn our attention from the external to the internal; from the physical to the spiritual; from the temporal to the eternal; from the glitz of the world to the glory of God. And that is what I pray happens this morning as we take the bread and the cup: that our focus would turn to the crucified and risen Christ to soberly meditate on his death for us and joyfully anticipate his return and eternal rule in the New Heavens and New Earth.

As we pass the trays I encourage you to do more than hand it to the next person. Remind them of what this is all about. Pass the bread to them with the words, “The body of Christ for you.” Pass the cup to them with the words, “The blood of Christ for you.” Now, if you are here this morning and you are not a Christian—that is, you have not confessed to God that you are a sinner and believed that Jesus died for your sins and rose again to give you life—please pass the tray along and do not take the bread or the cup. But as you hear the words, “the body of Christ for you, the blood of Christ for you,” hear them as a sweet offer of forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and everlasting community with your Creator and his redeemed. And if your heart wants those things, and if you will come to Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Treasure, then take the elements with the confession, Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God, that you died for my sins, and that you rose from the dead. I want you to be the master of my life. Please take me and change me into the person you want me to be.”

For those who already trust Christ as your Savior, hear the words, “The body of Christ for you, the blood of Christ for you,” as the deep affirmation of God’s covenant love for you. He poured out his wrath on Jesus so that you can enjoy him forever. Be sober and rejoice at these deep truths.