PURIFYING THE HEART- “Our Motives and Will”
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Text:1 Timothy 1:5 and 2 Corinthians 13:5-8
Introduction:Our motives, the answer to the question why we do things, are always examined by the LORD. For the hypocrite, lurking in the church body, this will be terrifying news. The LORD sees and knows the secrets of our hearts. The motives of our heart need to be pure and selfless like Christ so we can love genuinely, sincerely, like Christ Jesus. Examine your motives!
Point 1: The LORD Examines the Motives of Our Heart
- Christ examines the reasons, the “Why” of our actions
- Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25-Our motives are derived from our thinking process. If our reasoning process is faulty then our motives, though seeming to be right will drive us to do things not acceptable to the LORD.
- Proverbs 16:2 and 21:2- The bible says, man looks at the outward appearance of people and their deeds but God looks at the heart and motives behind the deeds. Knowing this, we must honestly examine our motives.
- Proverbs 24:11-12- We will all stand before God and be held accountable for what we have done to help others become Christians. Excuses for not serving the LORD in this way will be revealed and judged.
- Psalm 7:9-The LORD tries the hearts of all people!
Point 2: Purifying the Motives of Our Heart
- We must examine, expose, and then purify our motives
- 2 Corinthians 13:5-8- Each Christian must take personal responsibility to test themselves to see if they are being faithful to the LORD.
- Hebrews 4:12 and Romans 10:16-17- We must use the Word of God to expose our evil intentions and then we must use it again to build right morals and motives for our words and deeds.
- Romans 2:6, 2 Corth. 5:9-10, and Acts 17:30-31
On judgment day the secrets of our heart will be revealed, so we should be make it our ambition to be pleasing to the LORD in our motives and actions. We must use the repentance process spoke of last week to change our minds and motives!
Conclusions: God examines our motives so we should also!
Practical Applications:
What were the take-aways from today’s sermon?
In your opinion, is it difficult or easy for a person to examine, expose and .purify their own motives? Explain.
What might cause a person not to want to examine their motives and then purify them?
What can we do to encourage and help motivate a brother or sister to examine their motives?
Points for Prayer:
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