February 21, 2007
Confession precedes purity -- Ash Wednesday Service
Jet Blue – CEO’s confession
What did you observe?
What did you not hear?
Cleaning the outside? Not the inside?
No genuine brokenness -- “we’ve been taking care of you for 7 yrs.” “This is an aberration.”
Doing best to make Jet Blue look good, look pure. But Confession precedes purity.
Pharisees did same -- Mt 23:25-27 READ Message
Max Lucado Story – Refrigerator. Rio de Janeiro -- refrigerator unplugged
How clean? Soap and water washed the outside -- good shine
Next, get frig some friends -- neighborhood appliances for a party. Pin the plug in the socket and talk about limited warranties. Blenders were hit. Mixed really well.
Social interaction would end the smell -- wrong.
Polish job -- Mercedes sticker on outside. Save the Whales bumper sticker. Cell phone on side. Told it might make cover of Popular Mechanics. Still stunk
Pleasure – Playfridge magazine. One that displays frigs with their doors open.
Tried to get it a date with the Westinghouse next door.
Opened door got sick.
We do same -- how do we do things that make us look or feel good on outside but don’t help the inside? Buy stuff. New clothes, hair cut, home, car.
David didn’t claim to be together and this was just an aberration. David didn’t try to look good to the Lord. David knew his problem was on the inside. He had a bad heart and he admitted it.
Psalm 51:3 - 5 “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. Surely, I was sinful at birth. Sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
Kid went to confession – In the last two weeks, I disobeyed my parents 3x, foul language 3x, angry 3x. For these and all my sins, I am sorry.
Anybody want to tell about a time when had to admit wrong? What like? Guys? With our wives? -- wanted the relationship to be ok.
For David
Granted Jet Blue is involved in PR but David isn’t involved in PR with God. God knows and he still wants a relationship with us.
When we confess our sins, we don’t paint a good picture for God. We don’t tell God this was an aberration. Honest with God.
David 51:6 -- “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts.” We can lie to ourselves but Lent is a time when we stop doing that.
It’s a time to stop hiding from the Lord
to stop trying to look good.
to admit where we are not following the Lord.
To run to him not away from him.
To own up to our failures.
To accept his forgiveness.
Lent is a time to examine ourselves as David does. But first he starts with confession.
Confession precedes purity.
Pharisees – don’t confess anything yet claim to be pure.
Psalm 51:1-6 --David admits, confesses that he went against God, that he rebelled.
First he confesses, then he asks for God to make him pure in verse 7
51:7 -- Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Word – pure – Taher -- free of any foreign particles or impurities. Ritual cleansing. Same idea Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Katharos -- Cathartic
Pure – cleansed – free from alloys -- singleness of purpose – sin blinds us to seeing God
Confession precedes purity. I John 1:9 -- If we confess – homologeo --- our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness.
Once David has confessed, he is ready to become a pure, single minded person who follows Christ again.
Lent a time to refocus, regroup to reestablish our priority to follow the Lord.
David – renew a steadfast spirit within me -- “put a fresh wind in my sails.”
Don’t take H.S. from me -- Old Cov’t – H.S. didn’t indwell
New Cov’t blood of Christ -- H.S. indwells. – God news –power to live – walk by means of the spirit won’t fulfill the desires of the flesh.
God can restore the joy of your salvation. Can experience forgiveness. Can reexperience that purity, that cleansing but first have to confess our sins to him because
Confession precedes purity
Do you want to cleanse your outside or inside? Which do you want tonight? As we begin Lent tonight may we remember that if we are not going to simply look good on the outside, then confession must precede purity, and only then can we pursue the Lord, only then can we become the holy people he wants us to be.
Ty sings
Lucado – pg. 136 -- Danger of forgetting who table represents
Benediction
Go forth now. Begin the journey of Lent. Go forth, following the ministry and teachings of Jesus. Go forth now, always in confidence and hope, always filled with the good news of Jesus Christ. Amen.