Keep Yourself Unspotted From the World

Take your Bible, turn with me to the book of James. The book of James. And I want you to think with me just for a moment that James was the half-brother of Jesus. And I want you to think about how it must have been growing up in that household. James did not become a believer until after the resurrection. We know that because of 1 Corinthians chapter 15. It tells us that our Lord appeared to him and that's when he became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. But think about growing up in the household with Jesus.

Jesus was the sinless one. James was not sinless. Jesus embodied perfection. They ate at the same table. They played probably with the same toys. They were engaged in conversation all throughout their childhood. They had many things in common in their own home. But James did not believe in the Lord Jesus until after the resurrection. But I wonder what it must have been like for him to grow up with perfection surrounding him. We don't know of any sibling rivalry that James had with his half-brother Jesus.

The Bible doesn't tell us. In fact, the only thing we know from the childhood of Jesus is what he says to his mother when he talks about it in Luke chapter two concerning the fact that he had to be about his father's business. But outside of that, we don't know anything that took place. But once James became a believer, he became a stalwart, a pillar in the church. He became the pastor of the Jerusalem church. He was the one who chaired the Jerusalem council in Acts chapter 15. And he would one day pick up a pen and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, write the very first book in the New Testament.

James, the half-brother of Jesus. And this is how he begins. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice what he doesn't say.

James, the half-brother of Jesus. James was a very humble man. He was called James the Just. And they used to call him Camel Knees because he was always on his knees in prayer. But James would be used in a mighty way. And James, what he did was he wrote this epistle because he wanted to make sure that people understood what saving faith really embodied. What does a believer really look like? If you have faith, then works will prove your faith. In fact, in chapter one, he talks about it this way. True faith is always tested by trials.

At the end of chapter one through chapter two, he says that faith is always witnessed by works. And then in chapter three through chapter four, he says that true faith is always clarified in your conduct. And then in chapter five, the emphasis is the fact that true faith is always proven by persecution. And that's how he outlines his book. He doesn't outline it that way I do, but that's how it's all categorized. But in chapter one, he says this about true religion. He says in verse number 26 of James one, if anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.

He makes it very clear from the beginning. And then remember, he had the perfect observation of sinlessness growing up. And so he knows about saving faith. He wasn't saved till later in life, but he knows what saving faith looks like. And so he says the very first indicator of saving faith is a bridled tongue.

The opportunity to be able to control your conversation. If you say you have religion, pure religion, undefiled before the father is this, that you are able to understand that you're able to bridle the tongue, control your tongue. Why? Because the mouth is the gateway by which depravity exits. Because as a man believes in his heart, so he speaks. So therefore your words are the clearest indicator of your spiritual condition. James says, let me hear you speak, and I'll tell you where you are spiritually.

In fact, in James chapter three, he goes into a whole thing about how it is that you can tame any kind of wild beast, but you can't tame the tongue. It's a very small organ. But boy, it's unbelievably hard to train. We can train Shamu at SeaWorld. We can train lions in zoos, but you can't train and tame the tongue. So however you speak, that indicates to us your spiritual condition. Unfortunately, most people don't think about that, but the very first evidence of a person's salvation is a bridled tongue.

The second is a burden for the unfortunate. For he says this, pure religion or pure and undefined religion in the sight of our God and father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their distress. In other words, widows and orphans are symbolic of people who have great needs. And so he uses those two categories to describe how a person with true religion is concerned about the unfortunate. So he says there's a bridled tongue, there's a burden for the unfortunate. And then thirdly, he says this, that there is a blameless and unstained life.

So he says, he says, pure and undefined religion in the sight of our God and father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained, unblemished, unspotted by the world. That's probably the most difficult one. We can curb our conversation. We could even show concern for those in need. But to make sure that we're unspotted from the world, that we live an unblemished, spotless life, well, that's a little bit more difficult. Jesus said that we are in the world, but we're not of the world.

But unfortunately, we as Christians are like the proverbial boat on the sea and water just keeps coming into the boat, causing us to sink because so much of the sea, the world is inside the boat. And therefore we find ourselves, instead of being unstained from the world, stained by the world. I think of Abraham's nephew, Lot. Everything began to take a downward turn for Lot, not when he came with his uncle Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees, but when they were in the land of Canaan and there erupted a famine in the land.

And instead of Abraham being the father he needs to be to pray about what to do, decided to go to Egypt. And two things negatively took place in Egypt. One was the Egyptian handmaid, Hagar. The second was Lot was able to view the world in a way he had never viewed it before.

He saw the glorious glitz of Egypt. He saw all that was happening there. And so when you come to Genesis chapter 13, and Lot and Abraham are going to part ways, Abraham gives Lot the opportunity to choose. And so Lot begins to look. He's already seen Egypt with the lust of his eyes and the lust of his flesh. And so he looks towards Sodom and that's where he chooses to go. And having looked toward Sodom in Genesis chapter 13, verse number 10, in verse number 12 of chapter 13, he begins to lean toward Sodom.

Sodom. He began to move his tents closer to Sodom. And the closer he got to Sodom, the more he realized how great and grandiose Sodom was. So having looked at Sodom, having leaned towards Sodom, when you come to Genesis chapter 14, he begins to live in Sodom. And when you come to chapter 19, verse number one, he is now leading in Sodom.

So what Abraham did as a father, as an uncle, taking his nephew to Egypt had a negative effect upon his life. Because when he saw the beauty of Sodom, that's the direction he began to go because he'd already got a glimpse of it in Egypt. So having looked at Sodom, leaned towards Sodom, he then lived in Sodom and then he began to lead in Sodom. So the effect of Abraham in his leadership had an effect upon Lot and his leadership. Because when it came time to flee Sodom, he literally had to be dragged out of Sodom.

The angels had to drag he and his family out because they would leave reluctantly. And they were told not to look back, but the Bible tells us in Luke's gospel, remember Lot's wife. We don't even know her name. It's just Lot's wife. But remember Lot's wife because she was so ingrained in Sodom, she could not help but look back. And the angel said, don't look back. But she could not keep herself from looking back. She was turned into a pillar of salt. Ironic because Lot was not salt in Sodom. He became a part of all that was taking place in Sodom.

Not that he was a homosexual, but we would never know that Lot was a believer had it not be for the pen of Peter, where he calls him righteous Lot. Hard to believe he was a righteous man, especially when you read about his children and his wife. But he was, according to Peter's account. And so we believe that and understand that. But notice that 2 Peter 2, verses seven and eight tell us that Peter's soul, I mean, Lot's soul was tormented day and night while living in Sodom.

You see, it's so hard to keep ourself unstained from the world. Because we live in the world. We're just not to be a part of the world. We find ourselves caring about the things of the world. And that's unfortunate. Because remember in the parable of the sower and the soil, the thorny soil is choked out. The word is choked out because of the deceitfulness of riches and because of the cares of this world. But you see, as soon as you start caring about the things of the world, the downward spiral begins.

That's how it began for Lot. Going down to Egypt, he began to care about the things that he didn't have. And now he wanted them. And the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the Bible is very clear, love not the world. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. John makes it very clear. John was just a black and white apostle. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. And so you need to be careful about what you as a parent, especially us as fathers, let our children do.

And where we lead our children, there's a huge responsibility upon parenting and the leadership that we have in our families. And the Lord puts the responsibility upon the Father. And Abraham necessarily did not lead Lot the right way. Lot did not lead his family the right way. And so we begin to realize that there is a huge responsibility placed on us as fathers to make sure that we don't allow our children to begin to care for the things of the world. Because if you begin to care for the things of the world, you will be companioned alongside the world.

And James makes it very clear. He who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. And that's why the Bible says that bad company corrupts good morals.

Be careful about who you become companion with. Oh, by the way, who your friends are is who you are. Now, I know you don't like to think that way, but that really is the truth. Who your friends are is who you are because that's why you're their friend, because you like something about them that's gonna drive you in that direction. Amen. And when you have cares and concerns for the world, you will be companioned along with the world. And to be companion with the world leads to contamination by the world.

That's why James says pure religion, undefiled before our Father in heaven is this, keep oneself unstained from the world. But if you care for the things of the world, you will become companioned along with the world. And to become companioned along with the world leads you to be contaminated by the things of the world. If you are contaminated by the things of the world, you then will be conformed to the ways of the world. That's why Romans 12 says, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Once you become stained, spotted by the things of the world, the world can very easy begin to shape you and mold you into their way of thinking. You must be so incredibly careful because it's dangerous around every turn. And so to understand this, it's to understand the fact that you can't afford to care for the things of the world or you'll be companioned with the things of the world. And then you'll become contaminated by the things of the world, then conformed to the ways of the world. If you become conformed to the ways of the world, you then will be controlled by the ways of the world.

It's that downward spiral that you gotta be careful of. Remember Demas in 2 Timothy 4 verse number 10, Paul says, Demas has forsaken me. He has departed because he loved the world. Demas forsook the faith, faith. Demas apostatized the faith simply because he was controlled by the world. And he was a companion of Paul's. He served alongside of Paul, but Paul at the end of his ministry says, you know what? This man turned his back on the faith. He turned away from the Lord, why? Because he loved the world.

That's a comparison to earlier in verse eight where Paul says that he eagerly awaits the crown of righteousness and not only me, but to all those who love his appearing. Contrasted to Demas who didn't love his appearing, but love the things of the world. That's how the downward spiral moves. Those who care about the things of the world can easily become companion with the things of the world. Those companion with it become contaminated by it. Those contaminated by it become conformed to it. Those conformed to it are then controlled by it.

And then Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11, 32, if that's the case, you will be condemned along with the world. Because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 11, verse number, or 1 Corinthians 11, verse number 32, that man is to examine himself before he eats and drinks the cup.

Why? So that he is not condemned along with the world. And the only way he's reversed that is to be converted from the ways of the world. That's it. To be converted, to be turned around, to do an about face, to repent of your sins, and to truly follow the living God. We live in a world that is not like or unlike any other time in history. There's always a temptation that comes our way. Well, as parents, as fathers, you have a huge responsibility to lead your children in the ways of righteousness.

Remember Proverbs 22, verse number six, train up a child in the way it should go, that when he is old, he will not depart from it. What is the way? And commentators give you all kinds of definitions about what the way is. Well, you have to take it in context of the book of Proverbs and the way in Proverbs is always the way of righteousness. So you train up a child in the way of righteousness. That's what our responsibility is. We model that, we teach that, we live that to make sure our children understand that the way of righteousness is contrasted with the way of wickedness.

And that's the contrast in the book of Proverbs. The book of righteousness with the, with the, yeah, the way of righteousness against the way of wickedness, the way of wisdom versus the way of foolishness. And so you need to train them in that capacity so they understand how to live their lives. And so I wanna take you to the scriptures and show you a group of men who are able to live an unstained life. Because the problem comes when we become stained by the things of the world. But there are a group of men, we could look at Paul.

He was a great man of God. We can look at Joseph, great man of God, Daniel, Job. I mean, the characters are innumerable all throughout the scriptures. But there was a group of men that goes way beyond just a few here or there. We're not talking about a hundred. We're not even talking about hundreds. We're not even talking about thousands. We're talking about 144,000. So if you got your Bible, turn with me to Revelation chapter 14.

Revelation chapter 14. And as you're turning there, remember the words of Solomon in Proverbs chapter 30, verse number 12. There is a generation who is pure in their own eyes and yet have not been cleansed from their own filthiness. There is a generation that's pure in their own eyes. In other words, they think they're clean. They think they're pure in their own eyes, but have yet to be cleansed from their righteousness. And it was the apostle Paul who said these words. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers will ever inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you, but you were washed. You were cleansed. You were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God. Cleansing transforms your life. Cleansing turns you around. Cleansing moves you in the ways of God. But there are 144,000 individuals. They're men, by the way, not women.

144,000 men who maintain a pure and a holy life. So it's possible to do so at a time in history that is going to be the absolute worst in all of history. Because in Revelation chapter nine, the bottomless pit is opened and all the demons that have been held captive since the days of Noah's flood are unleashed upon the planet. Revelation 12, Satan is cast down to earth. And some of you will say, well, I thought he was cast down to earth way back in the book of Genesis. No, he was cast down morally, but he wasn't cast down geographically.

There's a big difference. But in Revelation 12, he's cast down geographically. So he comes down to earth, unleashes his fury along with the Antichrist who was possessed by Satan. And so you have a time in history that is the absolute worst ever because all of hell has come to earth. And you have, of course, all the horrific judgments upon the earth. And when you come to Revelation chapter 14, these words are spoken. Then I looked and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000.

Now, why is that important? Well, when you come to Revelation chapter 14, and this is not a study in the book of Revelation, but we've already done that. But when you come to Revelation chapter 14, you're at the end, okay? Revelation 12 and Revelation 13 give you the history of the world in chapter 12. And chapter 13, the rise of the Antichrist and how he rises to power. When you have before that, you have the chronology of what happens all throughout the book of Revelation. But you have standing on Mount Zion, the Lamb.

Now, every Jew in history was anticipating this. You can read about it in Isaiah chapter 11, Joel chapter two, where they, the, excuse me, nation of Israel would stand on Mount Zion with their king. That's why at the triumphal entry, okay? As you understand the triumphal entry, when Christ would enter through the Eastern gate and knowing the typography of the land of Israel, when the nation of Israel began to take off their robes and the way their palm branches, they were anticipating the fulfillment of Isaiah 11 in Joel chapter two.

They were anticipating the fact that this was the king. And so therefore they're gonna rejoice because the Bible says that the Jewish nation will rejoice on Mount Zion.

So this is what they're thinking is going to happen. But when you cut to Revelation chapter 14, the Lamb is on Mount Zion. He stands there with 144,000. Who are they? Well, you gotta go back to Revelation chapter seven. Revelation chapter seven says these words. In verse number two, when I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads.

And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. 12,000 men from every tribe, 144,000. Now, at the end of chapter six, verse number 17, as he outlines the seal judgments, if you understand anything about the book of Revelation, you know there are seven seals. And when you come to the seventh seal, the breaking of the seventh seal unfolds and the seven blowing of the trumpets and the seven bowls of judgment. So the seal spanned the tribulational period.

And so at the end of the sixth seal, these words are spoken, for the great day of their wrath has come and who is able to stand? Who can stand amidst all these judgments? Well, kind of Revelation chapter 14, and you have standing on Mount Zion, the lamb and 144,000. So the answer is given, there's 144,000 who can stand. So in your outline, you'll realize that we're gonna look at three things, two rather briefly.

One, their calling, second, their chorus and third, their character. First of all, their calling, they are a special people.

Second, their chorus, they are a singing people. And thirdly, their character, they are a sanctified people.

First of all, their calling. Their calling because they are possessed by God. They're a special people because they're possessed by God and they are protected by God. It says, then I looked and behold, the lamb was standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000 having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. Later on it says, 144,000, verse number three, who have been purchased from the earth.

They've been purchased, they've been bought by the lamb. Therefore they're possessed by the lamb. And because they're possessed by the lamb, they're protected by the lamb because he seals them. Antichrist, he seals his followers, right? Christ is gonna seal his followers by putting his name in the name of his father on their foreheads. And so when you come to Revelation 14, then say there were 141,000 standing or 143,900 standing. By any standard, that would be a success. But in God's standard, that would be a failure.

There's 144,000 standing. The ones that were sealed in chapter seven, chapter 14, there's still 144,000. They cannot die because God protects them. They are the Jewish evangelist. God will use the angel that flies around the mid heaven, use the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11, use the 144,000 Jewish evangelist that spread the gospel throughout the tribulational period. And so here they are standing. They're possessed by God. They are protected by God because they've been purchased by God. They are very special people.

Oh, by the way, if you've been purchased by God and possessed by him, you're protected by him. You then are a very special person because God chose you. Didn't choose you because of who you are. He chose you because of who he is. He's a very special person. Next to their chorus, there are singing people. It says, I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters, like the sound of loud thunder. Key word in the book of Revelation is the word loud. It's used 84 times in the book of Revelation.

Why? God likes loud. He likes things really, really loud. That's why it's the key word in the book of Revelation. It says, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on the harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. The noise was loud. And the nature of their singing was a new song. That's a song of redemption. The new song is a song of a soul made new.

And the only ones who could learn the song were the 144,000 except for those who were already in glory. The elders, 24 elders, which we believe is a church or the four living creatures around the throne. The loud voice of heaven could be the Lord. It could be angels, a heavenly host. We don't know. But the fact of the matter is there's a song that is sung and the only ones that learn it are the 144,000 because it's a song of a soul made new. It's redemption song. In Revelation chapter 15, okay, it's called the song of the lamb.

In Exodus chapter 15, it's called the song of Moses. In the Psalms, it's called the new song. Here, it's the song of the lamb. And notice their character.

And this is what I want to focus on tonight, even though we've only got 16 minutes left. Four things about their character that keeps you unstained from the world. One is they were undefiled. Look what it says. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women and they have kept themselves chaste. During a time in history when it's the worst to remain pure, it's the hardest to stay clean, there's 144,000 Jewish men who have not been defiled by women. I'm not sure you could find 144,000 pastors who had not been defiled by women.

Not sure you can. Maybe. But I doubt it. 144,000 Jewish evangelists during the most difficult time of temptation upon the planet because Satan is here geographically and demons are unleashed on the planet unlike any other time. And immorality is running rampant all throughout the tribulational period. These men remained undefiled because they kept themselves pure, chaste. They were undefiled with the women. You know, it's so important to realize that this is crucial for any father to remain pure and holy before his wife and children.

It's crucial. Why? Because the compromise in that area is gonna lead to many compromises in your family. In the perfect example, that's King David, right? He lost his family, basically, because of his immorality with Bathsheba, his fornication. Was he forgiven? Yes, he was forgiven. But the consequences still remained for David, right? Forgiveness never negates consequences. We think it does, but it doesn't, right? For David, the sword never left his house. That was the consequence of a sin. When he was a great king, he was a horrible father.

And we need men who will remain pure and holy and chaste. Apostle Timothy, remember, maintain your purity. Flee youthful lust, 2 Timothy 2.22. He told the Corinthian church, flee immorality. He told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6, flee the love of money. Flee anything that will detract you from living a clean life. Run away from it. Don't dabble in it, run. Remain unstained by being undefiled by the things of the world. So important. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.12, set yourself an example of purity to the church.

That Robert Murray McShane, who said in his memoirs and to his church, he said, my people's greatest need is my personal holiness. And he's right. Your family's greatest need is the father's personal holiness. It's not more money, bigger house, more vacation time. That's not your family's greatest need. Your family's greatest need is your personal holiness. And these men, these 144,000 men, they remained undefiled. And number two, not only were they undefiled, they were undeterred.

Look what it says. These are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes. I just love that. It doesn't say they follow Christ wherever he goes. No, they follow the lamb wherever he goes. Why is this so important? Because the lamb was slain. The lamb was crucified. And Christ said, if any man commit to me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. You follow me because you're a cross bearer. You follow me because you live a life of self-denial, self-sacrifice. That's why you follow me.

And so you need to understand that following Christ means you follow him even to your death. And they're willing to do that. I'm not sure these 144,000 men knew they weren't going to die. They just knew they were sealed by God. They were possessed by God. And they were used by God in a great and mighty way to preach the gospel. I'm not sure they knew they weren't gonna die. But they were men who were undeterred. They had unquestionable loyalty and unparalleled fidelity. These men could not be deterred.

They were undaunted by the things around them. If the lamb says, go through the desert, they go through the desert. Lamb says, go through the seas or over the seas, they go over the seas. If the lamb says, go here, they go there, do this, they do that, they follow the lamb wherever he goes because their preoccupation was the lamb. Who do you follow? Who leads you? I hope you're following the Christ because if you're not, you will live a stained life, not an unstained life. You need to follow the Christ.

And so here he was, or here they were, undefiled, undeterred, and then thoroughly unequaled, unequaled. Look what it says. It says, these have been purchased from among men and fruits to God, first from among men as first fruits to God and to the lamb, excuse me.

In other words, the first fruits is the best, right? So when you give to the Lord, you give him the first fruits of your increased, you give off the top, you give the best of what you have, you don't wait and give the last fruits, you give the first fruits.

Christ was the first fruits of all those who will be resurrected. He was the firstborn of the dead, okay? He was the preeminent one, the Protodocus. Therefore, we understand that to be the first fruits of those who were purchased by God, that means they were unequal.

They were the best of the best, not because of who they were, but because of who the lamb was or is, see? They're unequaled, they're the best. And they're the best because they're purchased by God. Listen, if you're purchased by God, possessed by God, you are the best, the best of what God has. And he wants to use you in a mighty way. And they were used to preach the gospel, to spread the gospel all throughout the world during that seven-year tribulational period. And God used them mightily. They were undefiled, they were undeterred, they were unequaled, they were uncompromising.

It says, and no lie was found in their mouth. No lie, no overstatement, no misstatement, no lie. They were truth-tellers, they spoke the truth. In other words, they didn't compromise with their mouth. They lived an uncompromising kind of life. They only spoke the truth. And in a world filled with lies of false teachers and false prophets and false Christ and the Antichrist and all of his lies, and Satan, of course, is the father of lies, where is somebody who tells the truth, who speaks the truth, who upholds the truth, who doesn't lie, but tells it like it is?

144,000 men did, and they never compromised. They were uncompromising. I love what the psalmist says in Psalm 101. He says these words, I will sing of loving kindness and justice to you, O Lord, I will sing praises. I will give heed to the blameless way. When will you come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away. It should not fasten its grip on me. A perverse heart shall depart from me. I will know no evil.

Whoever secretly sentences his neighbor, him I will destroy. No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure. My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a blameless way is one who will minister to me. He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me. Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land so as to cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do iniquity.

That should be the Psalm on your front door. So no one comes into your house who practices deceit, who slanders their brother, who puts worthless things before your eyes, put it on the front door of your house because you wanna live Psalm 101. You wanna live an unstained life, a non-compromising kind of life, a life that's pure and holy before the Lord. These men, that's how they lived. And lastly, they lived an unblemished life. It says, they are blameless. Not sinless, but blameless. Nothing to hold to their account, nothing.

They were above reproach. They were blameless men. By the way, that's our position in Christ. In Ephesians 1 verse number four, we are blameless before the Lord. That's our position in Christ. It's also the prayer of the believer. Philippians chapter one talks about how we are to pray that we live a blameless life. It's also the practice of the believer. Philippians chapter two, I love this one. Philippians chapter two, verse number 15, says these words, do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation whom you appear as.

Lights in the world. You know, the worst thing you can do to destroy a blameless life is to mumble and grumble, complain. It destroys a blameless life. These men were blameless. They could have mumbled and grumbled and complained, living during that time, having to endure all the things he endured, but they were blameless. In fact, it's supposed to be the absolute pursuit of the believer. Second Peter chapter three.

Second Peter chapter three, verse number 14. Peter says, therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless, because the Lord's coming again. And of course, Psalm 119 says this, Psalm 119, verse number one.

How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe his testimonies, who seek him with all their heart. The blameless man is the blessed man. Proverbs 11, verse number 20 says, the blameless in their walk are God's delight. We are to live lives unspotted and unstained by the world. To do so, our lives must maintain integrity. We must be undefiled. We must be uncompromising. We must be undeterred and unequaled. Why? Because we live an unblemished life.

And you do it for the sake of the Lord. You do it because God's called you to his kingdom. Your body's no longer your own, it's his. He purchased you. Our bodies are the temple of the living God. We are to live in the light of his coming again. May God give us the grace to do so, let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for today. Thank you for the opportunity you give us to live for you and honor you. Our prayer is that we would live the kind of lives that honor you every day. We realize, Lord, that you take us from this day forward.

We can't change yesterday or last week or last month or last year or the last 10 years. But we can change tomorrow by making the decision today to live a pure and holy life for your glory. And my prayer for every man in the room, that they live a pure life, an unstained life, an uncompromising life for the sake of your kingdom. May I lead their families in a way that honors you and glorifies your name. I pray, Father, that you would just go before us as a church, as a church, we would live blameless lives, seeking to honor and glorify you every day.

We are grateful, Lord, that you purchased us with your blood. We're grateful, Lord, that we are owned by you. We are your possession, guaranteed your protection and provision because that's who you are. You are a great God. May we serve you with a pure and undefiled heart. In Jesus' name, amen.