Remembering Rahab, Part 3

We are still remembering Rah. Point number five is this week, and that is this. A pure life reveals my priority to glorify God. A pure life reveals my priority to glorify God. If I want to honor God, I will live a pure life. 1 Corinthians 6, verse number 18. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own, for you have been bought with a price.

Therefore, glorify God in your body. Every other sin that you commit is different than sexual sin. Sexual sin is the only sin that affects the inside of the body. Every other sin affects the outside of the body, but sexual sin directly affects the inside of an individual. That's why it's so debilitating. That's why it's so devastating. Because it tears you up from the inside out. King David realized that when he sent with Bathsheba, how on the inside he was wasting away. Until he confessed his sin, until he repented of his immorality, and got things right with God.

And God cleansed his soul. But so many times we forget that we have been bought with a price, that we no longer own our body, but God owns our body, and God wants us to glorify Him in our body. That is, He wants us to put Him on display through our Lives and a pure life reveals my commitment to do that. And then, number six, a pure life reflects my anticipation of Christ's return. A pure life reflects my anticipation of Christ's return. 1 John chapter 3. You know the verse. Verse 2. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be.

We know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him just as he is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies him. Himself as he is pure. Everybody who has this hope in him, everybody who is fixed on the return of Jesus Christ. Purifies him just as he him is pure. There's something about the anticipation of the return of Christ that is a purification of my life. That's why over in Titus chapter 2 Paul says this for the grace of God has appeared Bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking For the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus.

The grace of God. Teaches me to deny ungodliness. It teaches me to deny worldly lusts. And it teaches me to live a righteous life, a sober life. and a life that anticipates the return of Jesus Christ. That's important. And so a pure life reflects My anticipation of Christ's re. I love the words of Job when he said, I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully upon a woman. He made a covenant with his eyes that he would only do the things that are pleasing to God. And last, the Bible says that a pure life is reward by my God.

A pure life will be rewarded by my God. Remember Joseph way back in Genesis 39? How can I do this evil thing and sin again my God? And Joseph was a man who prospered greatly because he made the ch. To obey God and experience pain rather than to disobey God and experience temporary pleasure. And when you read Genesis 39, you read over and over again how God caused Joseph to prosper. He prospered. Why? Because he made the right choices. God rewarded him. And God will ultimately reward you in the next life when he tells you, Well done, now, good and faithful servant.

And we need to understand that ultimately there's going to be a reward, and that reward comes from God, and a pure life is always rewarded by God. In this life and in the life to come, we need to be men and women committed to purity. And I trust that that's you and me tonight, that we would live that life before God. If you want a name that lasts forever, if you want to have a name that makes a significant impact. It's conceived in spirituality. It's characterized by integrity. It's committed to purity.

And number four, it's consumed. It's consumed with authenticity. It is absolutely consum with authenticity. It 's a life of transparency. It 's a life of total honesty. It's a life that makes a difference. Remember what Jesus said in John 17: when he prayed with his disciples? I have manifested thy n. To these men, and now they have kept thy word. What our Lord did was manifest to his men. The name of God, the character of God. Remember, we talk about the name of an individual, it refers to his character.

And the Lord Jesus, when he prayed in front of his men. That evening before his crucifixion, he prayed and thanked God that he was able to manifest the name of God to his men. And because he did, they were able to keep his word. That's a life consumed with authenticity. Could you think about this? Could you go home tonight, sit down with your wife, and say, Lord, I am so glad that I'm able to manifest your name to my wife? Or, Lord, sit your children down and say, Lord, I'm so glad I can manifest your name to my child.

Can you pray that prayer in front of your children? Can you pray that prayer in front of your wife? If you can't do that, your life's not consumed with authenticity. You need to be able to live the life of God before your family, before your friends. Why? Because they can only see Christ in you if you do so. Timothy 4, verse number 12. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, Timothy, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an exam of those who believe. Paul told Timothy, he was a young man, about 34, 35 years of age, if you want credibility, if you want believability, You must live a life of authenticity.

You must show yourself an example, number one, in your speech, in your conversation. Number two in your conduct.

Number three in your concerns and compassion. Number four in your commitment. And number five in your cleanliness. If you want to be a man who makes an impact and would be in your church as a pastor, then you need to set yourself up as an example in your conversation. In other words, your conversation must be above reproach. Your conversation must be pure. Why? Because the Bible says, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

I know more about your spiritual condition by what you say than anything else. Because your mouth will speak out of what is filled in the heart. The Lord said, By your word you shall be judged, and by your words you shall be condemned. Now, how can he say that? Because your words reveal the character of your inner being, they reveal what's on your heart. And so, therefore, we need to make sure, you know, the average person speaks 18,000 words a day. That's a lot of words. I think we talk too much.

And you know, we're held accountable for every idle word. And we've got to make sure that the words that we say are words that bring glory to God. That's why Ephesians 4:2 is such a remarkable verse because we're not to let any unwholesome communication proceed out of our mouth. But only that which is used to edify another individual. That's why Paul said in Colossians 4 that our speech needs to be seasoned with salt. And Paul tells Timothy, listen, if you to live an authentic life, it begins with your conversation because that reveals what's on the inner part of your life.

It begins your conversation and then it moves to your life. Make sure your life's an example as well. And also, Timothy, you got to make sure that your love is a. An example. Your concern for others. You can't just love in word and tongue. You to love indeed and truth. You got to be able to live that sacrificial kind of life. Excuse me, that demonstrates you're willing to give yourself away on behalf of another person. And Timothy, you've got to live a life of commitment, you're faithful. Unswerving, unwavering in your commitment to God and in your purity, Timothy.

You got to live a holy life. Folks, that's a life consumed with authenticity. You realize that you need to show yourself an example in those five areas. And it would be good for you to write those areas down and look at that verse and go through each day and say, you know, I wonder how my life was an example today in speech.

How my life was an example today in conduct? Or how about in my love for my brother? My brother. Or how about my faith? Or how about my purity? Would people be able to look at my life at the end of the day and say, I was able to see Jesus in that man because he was true to the Word of God?

See, that's where we need to be. That's what needs to be uppermost in our mind and in our thinking. That's why Paul would say in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, we came not only to share the gospel with you, but our lives as well. To show you that the gospel makes an effect on our lives, we want you to be able to see right through us, to know what's happening in our lives. That's so important. If you want a name that makes an impact, it's conceived in spirituality. It's characterized by integrity. It's committed to purity.

It's consumed with authenticity. And then, number five, it's conditioned by simplicity. It's conditioned. By simplicity, the simple life is defined this way. It's a life that does not focus on self. It's a life that does not focus on sin. It's a life that does not focus on society. It's a life that does focus on our Savior above. That's the simple life. John the Baptist was a man of great simplicity in the message he delivered, in the manner by which he dressed. You see, we are suck in to today's culture.

And we need to realize that our lives need to be different. The life conditioned by simplicity is defined very simply in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 13. Talking about these men and women of faith. All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers. Strangers and exiles on the earth, for those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

And indeed, if they are, or if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out. they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he has prepared a city for them. Who does God prepare a city for? He prepares a city for those people who have an understanding that their citizenship is in heaven. Philippians 3. 20, Paul says, For our citizenship is in heaven. Peter said in 1 Peter 2 that we are aliens and strangers in this land.

And the simple life is conditioned by this one main factor that we realize that this is not our home. And so we don't get too comfortable down here. How do you know you're getting too comfortable down here? You know you're getting too comfortable down here when the things that happen down here bother you too much. That's how you know. When the things that happen around you begin to bother you too much, you know you're settling down too much in here. I love what Vance Admir many, many years ago. It's so convicting.

Listen to these words. He says, the trend today is toward popular Christianity. And this is written way, way, way, way many years ago. The trend today is toward a popular Christianity. We are. In now no longer the disinherited. We have settled in Sodom. We have joined the affluent society. Rich and increased with goods and needing nothing. We are no longer homesick for heaven. Who wants to go to heaven now? The average Sunday morning congregation is in no mood to sing in the sweet by-and-by the saints of sub.

Are not likely to work up much steam singing a tent or a cottage, why should I care? They're building a palace for me over there. The New Testament does not lend itself to the new concept of big shot country club Christianity. Today we are not only in the world, but we're of the world. We have joined its societies, entered into its culture. There is nothing about us to suggest that we are pilgrims and strangers in an unfriendly world. We have merged into the world around us, and our axe is being dulled, not sharpened, by the grindstone of the age.

Now he's right. Our axe is being dulled by the grindstone of the age. We have fit so comfortably into this society that we look just like everybody else. And all of a sudden, people see us. And we are just like everybody else they work with. Everybody else on the team, everybody else in the neighborhood, everybody else in the pew. People don't see us as aliens. They don't see us as strangers. They see us as citizens of this world. You know, in the book of Revelation, there's a phrase, those who dwell upon the earth.

It's used ten times in the book of Revel. It's a word to describe those who have made their home on earth, and it always refers to the unbeliever in the book of Revelation: those who dwell on the earth, those who have made their home here on earth. You know, we need to be so comfortable with the things of heaven. That we don't even worry about the things on earth. We need to seek first the kingdom of God, His righteousness.

And all these other things will be added unto you. The problem is, we don't seek first his kingdom. We seek first our kingdom.

We seek first our interest. That's why the simple life doesn't focus on self. Or my sin. It focuses on my Savior. Because that's who I want to be with, because that's who I want to be like. And the name that makes an impact is conditioned by simplicity. It's a simple life. It's a life that recognizes your citizenship is in heaven. It's a life that recognizes that this is not your home. Number six. The name that's remembered from generation to generation, the character that lasts forever is clothed with humility.

Clothed with humility. First Peter chapter five, verse five. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders, and all of you. Clothe yourself. With humility toward one another. For God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Clothe yourself with humility. It's a word that means to tie in a knot. In other words, put on a slave's apron. You can imagine what Peter's referring to when his mind is taken back to John 13 on that evening when they were all jockeying for position and arguing about who was going to be greatest in the kingdom.

And the Lord would quietly get up from where they were sitting and put a slave's apron around. Him and begin to sit and wash the disciples' feet. Our Lord was clothed with humility. He is meek and lowly in heart. That's who He is. And we as the people of God need to clothe ourselves with humility. The Bible says in Micah 6:8, He has told you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you?

But to do justice, to love mercy. And to walk humbly with your God. Psalm 34:18 says, The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are contrite in spirit. Isaiah 57, verse number 15 says, For thus says the high and exalted one, who lives forever, whose name is holy, I dwell in a high and holy place, and also with the cont and lowly of spirit, in order to revive the spirit of the lowly. and to revive the heart of the contrite. That's our God. And we need to be clothed with humility. Because that's who God dwells with.

That's who God wants to be around. And we need to recognize that. It was Arthur Pink who said, the more I am occupied with Christ, the less I should be occupied with myself. Humility is not the product of direct cultivation, rather, it is a by. In other words, if I want to become humble, I can't focus on humility, I must focus on Christ. As a result, it focused it on Christ and his character, his nature, who recognized that equality with God was not something to be grasped, but took on himself the form of a servant.

and humbled himself and became obedient even unto death. We clothe ourselves with humility. You know, the Bible says we're to let another man praise us and not our own lips.

We need to honor Christ above ourselves. And I think Arthur Pink had it right when he says, you know, true humility comes because I am occupied with Christ. And the reason we can't experience humility in our lives is because we are so preoccupied with me, my needs, my wants. My desires, my aspirations, my job, my church, my life, my kids, my dog, my cat, my this, my that. It's all me. It's no wonder that our lives become so consumed with ourselves. And we need to clothe ourselves with humility. So here's the point: the name that lasts forever.

And that makes an impact in society is a name that's conceived in spirituality. Characterized by integrity, comm to purity, cons with authenticity. conditioned by simplicity, cl with hum. And that name, number seven, is commemorated. in your family and for all eternity that name number 0. 7 is commemorated in your family and for all Eternity. The Bible says that the righteous will be remembered forever.

The Bible tells us very simply these words in Proverbs chapter 10. 20, excuse me, verse number 7. A righteous man who walks in his integrity, how blessed are his sons. After him, the righteous man who walks in his integrity, how blessed are his sons after him. The Bible says in 1 Kings 2, verse 1: As David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, I am going the way of all the earth.

Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies. According to what is written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn. So that the Lord may carry out his promise which he spoke concerning me, saying, if your sons are careful. Their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne.

Of Israel. If your sons walk in truth, if your sons follow me with all their hearts. Your name will last forever. You see, we forget. That everything we say and everything we do is going to impact somebody else some way, somehow. And we need to understand how we can live our life in such a way that it makes an impact for the kingdom of God. Your life will be lived out in your children. It will. And what kind of legacy will you leave? What is being left behind? So that when you are gone, the name of Jesus Christ reigns supreme in your family.