Have I cleansed my hands and purified my heart?

Yesterday

We LOOKED at drawing near to God.

Today

We want to continue along this truth and see what is necessary to draw near to God.

Open GODcha to the Book of James.

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Begin in Prayer

Oh Lord, we come today, wanting to be humble, and draw near to You. Bring to our hearts anything that needs to be confessed to You so we may be with You and hear Your voice. Give us clarity of mind so we will walk away willing to be obedient and live out what You teach us. Thank you!

LOOK at What God Says

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READ God’s Word

Read James 4:6-10 again.

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You might read out loud as you will not only see the Word, but saying it and hearing it helps you remember it.

 

KEEP LOOKING

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Fine Tune Your Ears!

Read verse 8 and focus.

Did you reflect on what we discovered yesterday?

Do you remember James is addressing sinners?

What does it mean to be a sinner?

 

Now we need to consider, what a sinner must do to draw near to God?

Let’s check it out!

Unlock the Key Words 

Understand: To draw near to God, who is holy, there is going to have to be a cleansing, a purification. (Psa 24:1-4)

This is key.

 

Understand God’s Words

Check out the Meaning

 Dictionary Tutorial >

What does cleanse and hands mean

Cleansekatharízō; purge, purify. To cleanse, free from filth.

The Grammar is the Aorist Imperative Active (aima) This is a command!

 

Hands, cheír“work with your own hands”; Acts 15:23; Phile. 1:19; Heb. 12:12; James 4:8;

Understand: Hands symbolize what we do, our actions and behavior.

 

We see: James is addressing sinners, those who miss the mark, whose behavior is sinful and wicked. And in order to draw near, to approach a holy God, they must be cleansed.

Let’s LOOK at Other Truths About

 Cleansed

 CR-Cross References-Word Search Tutorial >

1Why does a sinner need to be cleansed?

a. One’s iniquities, their sins, separate them from God, so much so He doesn’t hear sinners. (Isa 59:2)

Remember God gives grace to the humble. And we are learning how to be humble in order to tap into that grace, so we won’t be separated from God.

LISTEN…

 

Are my sins separating me from God?

If so, what will I do?

 

b. Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, whitewashed tombs, because they appeared clean on the outside but they were dead and unclean on the inside. (Mat 23:25-28)

Understand: sin makes us unfit and unclean to draw near to God.

LISTEN…

 

Am I a hypocrite?

Do I look clean on the outside, but am unclean on the inside?

If so, what will I do?

Respond to God…LIVE it out!

 

c. Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. (Isa 1:16)

LISTEN…

 

Do I want to be clean?

If so, do I know what God consider’s right and wrong? 

Am I washing and cleansing myself, by not doing what is wrong in God’s sight?

Respond to God…LIVE it out!

 

d. Paul called the Corinthians to cleanse themselves from all defilement, perfecting holiness (being set apart) in the fear of God. (2Co 7:1)

LISTEN…

 

Have I defiled myself in any way?

What am I doing to cleanse myself from all defilement, perfecting holiness?

Respond to God…LIVE it out!

 

2How are sinners cleansed?

a. The blood of Jesus cleanses sinners. (1Jo 1:7)

 

b. Sinners who want to approach God must recognize and confess their sin to Him, and He is faithful and righteous to forgive them their sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1Jo 1:9)

LISTEN…

 

Am I quick to recognize my sin, and confess my sin to God to be cleansed from all unrighteousness?

Respond to God…LIVE it out!

 

3. What are sinners who become the righteousness of God called?

They are called saints (holy, sanctified, set apart). (1Co 1:2)

LISTEN…

 

Am I a now a saint, set apart unto God, who is keenly aware of my sinfulness?

Respond to God…LIVE it out!

 

4How do saints remain cleansed?

Now, there is a daily cleansing by the washing of the water of the Word .(Eph 5:25-26)

THINK:

Don’t you bathe and shower daily to be clean?

Why wouldn’t we bathe daily to remain spiritually clean?

THINK:

How does the sinner, who has been separated from God, operating according to the world, understand:

What God’s heart is?

What His will and ways are?

What is right and wrong in His eyes?

Understand:

God’s Word is our soap and scrub brush.

The water of God’s Word pours over us, washing  us as it exposes sinful thoughts and behavior.

Through confession, we are cleansed!

LISTEN…

 

Am I meeting with the Lord daily, to let Him speak to me and cleanse me by the washing of the water of His Word? 

Respond to God…LIVE it out!

 

Let’s scope out a few moreKey Words!

Check Out the Meaning

What does ‘purify and double-minded‘ mean?

Purify, hagnízō; to make clean, sanctify, purify.

Grammar: The Aorist Imperative Active (aima). This is a command!

 

HeartskardíaThe seat and center of human life. In the NT, used only figuratively.

(I) As the seat of the desires, feelings, affections, passions, impulses, i.e., the heart or mind.

(II) As the seat of the intellect meaning the mind, understanding.

(III) In the NT the heart represents especially the sphere of God’s influence in the human life. It is in the heart that the natural knowledge of God has its seat.

 

Double-mindeddípsuchosunstable person (James 4:8). Such a person suffers from divided loyalties; divided heart.

 

Let Truth Explain Truth About

Hearts, Purify and Double-minded

1. What comes out of the heart?

It is out of the heart that evil thoughts come(Mar 7:20-23)

 Do you remember seeing this earlier in our discovery?

The things that come out of the mouth, reflect the heart? (Mat 15:18)

 

2. How does Jeremiah describe the heart?

The heart is deceitful and wicked. (Jer 17:9)

 

3. Can a heart be double-minded?

a. Our hearts cannot be double-minded: Either our hearts are wholly devoted to the Lord God, or they are not. (1Ki 8:61; 15:3, 14)

Do you remember what you LEARNED about being double-minded back in (Jam 1:8; 3:12; 4:4)?

 

b. We have seen this, and know we cannot serve 2 masters. (Mat 6:24)

LISTEN…

Am I double-minded? Do I have a divided heart, not wholly devoted to the LORD?

 

4. What happens to a believer’s heart?

Those with genuine faith have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and received a new heart and new spirit within that cause them to walk in obedience(Eze 36:25-27)

 

5. What does this new heart cause a person to do?

a. Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart. (1Pe 1:22)

LISTEN…

 

Have I obeyed truth and by grace through faith received God’s righteousness, a new heart and the Spirit within?

Am I wholly devoted to the LORD?

Do I have a love for the brethren?

 

b. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure(1Jo 3:3)

LISTEN…

 

Because my hope, my future, is with Christ, is the habit of my life to be pure?

What am I doing to be obedient and purify myself?

Respond to God…LIVE it out!

Let’s Call it a Day!

Meditate on your relationship with God!

How has He stirred your heart about being cleansed and purified to draw near to Him?

NOTE and SAVE What God Has Taught You!

You can’t remember everything, so highlight key points and details that might otherwise slip your mind.

Then you can go back and review any time.

Besides, you never know when God will have you share these vital Truths to others!

Get them under your belt!

 

Turn What We LEARNED into a Prayer 

DEAR FATHER GOD, our Almighty Creator! We see James called sinners to humble themselves before You to receive Your grace. We see that in order to draw near to You we, who were born sinners, must be cleansed and purified. And we know that it is only the blood of Jesus that can cleanse any of us from our sin. Father, I ask that all of us on this journey either have been willing, or will do so now, that we all will acknowledge and confess our sin to You. Knowing that when we do, You are faithful to cleanse us of all unrighteousness and forgive us of our sins. Oh Father, thank you, that You can and do change sinners. That You have changed our hearts, giving us new hearts and Your Spirit, and we love You. That we long to be with You, to know Your, to hear You, to draw near to You! We are ever so grateful, and we offer You our thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen!

You all are doing fantastic! Isn’t it wonderful to hear from God, to understand His will and ways? Keep pressing forward!

Next: we will LOOK at verse 9

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