‘PROTECTING PURITY’

Rev. Juliet Schimpf -by Rev. Juliet Schimpf    Rev. Juliet Schimpf  is the Minister of  First Baptist  Church in Perth, Ontario: http://www.perthareachurches.ca/baptist_perth_A.htm

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LINK to CFRA broadcast of Sunday, August 5^th, 2012)
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/7937/good_news_012_aug05.mp3

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Broadcast Notes:

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‘Protecting Purity’

PURITY HAS A PAY-OFF:   MATTHEW 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

The Greek word for pure is “katharos”, and it has two meanings. 

• The first meaning is “clean”.  Our English word “cathartic” comes from this Greek word.  A “cathartic” is an agent used by a doctor for the cleansing of the physical system.  A psychiatrist also uses catharsis on the emotional level, to “cleanse” the patient of hostilities and other destructive attitudes.

• But the word as it is used in our Beatitude takes the second meaning—namely, “unmixed”, unadulterated, unalloyed. WILLIAM BARCLAY says,  “Blessed is the man whose motives are always entirely unmixed, for that man shall see God.”  The basic idea is that of integrity, singleness of heart, as opposed to duplicity, a double heart, a divided heart.  SOREN KIERKEGAARD has written, “PURITY OF HEART IS TO WILL ONE THING”.

WE MUST BEWARE....

• (NIV)  Proverbs 16:2:  "All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD."
• JEREMIAH 17:9:  “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”

WISDOM IS FROM GOD:

• PROVERBS 3  "7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; 
      fear the Lord and shun evil. 
  ⁸ This will bring health to your body 
      and nourishment to your bones."

·         Proverbs 2  "6 For the Lord gives wisdom; 
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."

·         James 1:5 says:  “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

·         Proverbs 8:12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. ¹³ To fear the Lord is to hate evil"

TODAY, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THREE THINGS:

1. GODLY WOMEN
2. GODLY MEN
3. GODLY MARRIAGES

1. GODLY WOMEN

PROVERBS 12:4 "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones."

Women must:  1.  Guard their motives; 2. Guard their tongues.

1. GUARDING YOUR MOTIVES

BEAUTY IS NOT THE END-GOAL

PROVERBS 11:^22 “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”

PROVERBS 31:30 "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain [fleeting], but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." 

HOW MUCH WE OBSESS ABOUT APPEARANCE!

“Christmas Unwrapped”, National Post Staff  December 18, 2010 reports:

174, in millions of dollars, value of cosmetics and fragrances purchased at major retailers in December 2008

89, in millions of dollars, average monthly sales of cosmetics and fragrances purchased at major retailers in 2008

123, in millions of dollars, value of jewellery and watches purchased at major retailers in December 2008

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 31 that the godly woman "¹⁷ girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong. ²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing"

2.  GUARDING YOUR TONGUES

A.  QUARELLING

(NASB)  PROVERBS 21:9 AND 25:24  "It is better to live in a corner of the roof than in a house shared with a contentious [quarrelsome] woman."

PROVERBS 17:  "Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out."

PROVERBS 27:  "¹⁵ A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping 
    of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
¹⁶ restraining her is like restraining the wind
    or grasping oil with the hand."

B.  NAGGING

CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS:  "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale.  It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house.  Bring your husbands."

(NASB)  Proverbs 21:19  "Better to live in a desert than with a contentious [quarrelsome] and vexing [nagging] wife."

PROVERBS 16:24  "Gracious words are a honeycomb, 
            sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

2. GODLY MEN

Men must:  1.  Guard their ears; 2.  Guard their paths; 3. Guard their eyes.

1.  GUARDING YOUR EARS

PROVERBS 7

²¹ With persuasive words she led him astray;
   she seduced him with her smooth talk. 
²² All at once he followed her
    like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer^[a] stepping into a noose^[b] 

PROVERBS 5

³ the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil; 
⁴ but in the end she is bitter as gall, 
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
⁵ Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave. 
⁶ She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.

LIE 1:  “SECRETS ARE SEXY”    

PROVERBS 9 ¹⁷ Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”  ¹⁸ But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

LIE 2:  “THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH HAVING EXTRA-MARRITAL AFFAIRS.”

PROVERBS 30: ²⁰ This is the way of an adulterous woman:  She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wrong.”

LIE 3:  “IF IT FEELS GOOD, LET’S DO IT!”

PROVERBS 7:¹⁸ Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;     let’s enjoy ourselves with love!  ¹⁹ My husband is not at home;    he has gone on a long journey ²¹ With persuasive words she led him astray;     she seduced him with her smooth talk. 

2.  GUARD YOUR PATHS

WARREN WIERSBE:  “At some point in life, each of us must decide what is his highest joy; for the thing that delights us directs us…So, every person has an outlook on life; he is seeking his highest joy.  Outlook determines outcome.”   

PROVERBS 27:  "¹² The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty."

DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE! 

PROVERBS 6:27-28

²⁷ Can a man scoop fire into his lap
    without his clothes being burned?
²⁸ Can a man walk on hot coals
    without his feet being scorched?

PROVERBS 5

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
¹⁶ Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷ Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. 
¹⁹ A loving doe, a graceful deer —
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰ Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

3.  GUARD YOUR EYES

PROVERBS 17:^24 "A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,
    but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth."

Proverbs 27:20  NASB  "Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied."

Psalm 101:3  "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes."

Psalm 119  "Turn my eyes from worthless things."

Hebrews 12:2  "…look unto Jesus…"

Research has shown that porn revenue is larger than all combined revenues of all professional football, baseball and basketball franchises. The pornography industry, according to conservative estimates, brings in $57 billion per year, of which the United States is responsible for $12 billion. [“Internet Pornography and Loneliness: An Association?” Vincent Cyrus Yoder, Thomas B. Virden III, and Kiran Amin.  Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, Volume 12.1, 2005.]

****DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE YOUR WEAKNESS

****WE TEND TO OVERESTIMATE OUR STRENGTH IN RESISTING SIN

Proverbs 7:

1 My son, keep my words
    and store up my commands within you.
² Keep my commands and you will live; 
    guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

 

3. GODLY MARRIAGES

LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH!  PURITY IS NEEDED TOO:

            Proverbs 21:  ²¹ Whoever pursues righteousness and love
            finds life, prosperity and honor."

April 25, 2012  (CNSNews.com) – For the first time ever, the percentage of married households fell below 50 percent, according to the Census Bureau, which released a brief Wednesday about families and households from the results of the 2010 Census.  The percentage of married households fell to 48.4 in 2010, down from 55.2 percent in 1990 and 51.7 percent in 2000.

Too many couples put their best energies into the first day.  The cake, flowers, clothing, and photos have to be perfect.  But it's the last day that really counts.  Will the last day of your marriage come prematurely through divorce?  Will the last day of your marriage be filled with regrets as you stand over the coffin of your spouse?  Or by God's grace will the last day be a day to rejoice in a life lived together and remember the gift your spouse was to you while on earth?

But the Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 7:8  that "The end of a thing is better than its beginning."

The Bible weds marriage and friendship:  Song of Songs 5:16:  "This is my beloved, and this is my friend"

CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS:  "Irving Benson and Jessie Careter were married on October 24 in the church.  So ends a friendship that began in their school days."

Your husband needs you to love him, but he also needs you to like him—he’s not just a room-mate; he’s a soul-mate.

According to Mark Driscoll, there are three types of marriage:

1.  BACK-TO-BACK MARRIAGE:  one in which the couple has turned their backs on each other.  As a result, they live separately and do not work together (shoulder to shoulder) or draw each other out in friendship (fact to face).  In such marriages the partners range from strangers to enemies, but are not friends.

2.  SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER MARRIAGE:  one in which the couple works together on tasks and projects, such as keeping the home, raising the kids, growing the business, and serving the church

3.  FACT-T0-FACE MARRIAGE:  one in which, in addition to the shoulder-to-shoulder work, the couple gets a lot of face-to-face time for conversation, friendship, and intimacy.  To achieve a “face-to-face” marriage, go out on a date once a week, without the cell phone or Blackberry.

Let’s pray:

“Our gracious and Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word, which is a light unto our feet. We need you badly this day. We need you to fill our lives with your Holy Spirit, to empower us to live Godly lives.

For the women listening, help them Lord, I pray, to be Godly in their speech, to not nag their husbands, to not quarrel with their husbands, but to complement their husbands, to encourage their husbands, to support their husbands.

For the men listening, I pray that they would also pursue purity, that they would guard their eyes and guard the paths that their feet walk along.

And I pray for every listener who’s in a marriage right now. Perhaps a listener right now is in a back-to-back marriage. I pray God that you do a new thing; you bring healing to that marriage, and turn them around so that they are face-to-face. That they gaze into each others' eyes and that they love each other.

God, we just thank you that your son makes the way. We thank you Lord, that you’re making all things new. Amen.”

Rev. Juliet Schimpf

To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/7937/good_news_012_aug05.mp3