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Convicted a Christian Part 2

by Duane Huffstutler  
4/14/2010 / Christian Living

Convicted a Christian Part 2

Luke 3:4 As it is written in the Book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Last time we talked about the first step Getting rid of the idols, everything that comes between you and God.

Step 2 is Cleansing the Temple of God.
2 Chronicles 29:15-16 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the King, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.

It had been many years since anyone had been in the temple to worship God. A few years before Hezekiah started the cleanup of the temple. Ahaz the prior king had gone into the temple and gathered together all the vessels of the temple and cut them up. He then built altars around the city of Jerusalem to burn incense to the false gods. This along with his other rebellious acts against God brought God's anger upon him and he died. When Hezekiah took over he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He started the first year to repair the Temple and get it cleaned up to start using it again to worship God.

Hezekiah got the priest and Levites together and commanded them to sanctify themselves according to the law and to sanctify the house of the Lord God. When they had completed the sanctification they began the cleanup of the temple. The Levites were unable to go into the innermost parts of the temple by God's law, so the priests went in and brought the garbage out so the Levites could take it and dispose of it.

Lets bring this closer to home. 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 specifically 6:19 What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.

Before the Holy Ghost will move into our temple we must clean it up. We must read the Bible and pray so the Lord can go way back deep inside of us and bring out the things that are unpleasing to him so that we can get rid of it. The problem is that the Lord will bring some things out for us to get rid of and we decide that we can't get rid of that because we like it too much. The Lord brings something else out and we can't get rid of that because it is part of who I am. The Lord only brings out what is unpleasing to him, only the things that we need to get rid of. We must realize that we can never grow in God until we get rid of the things that God shows us to get rid of. Once we repent and get it under the blood of Christ, he will never bring it up againunless we go back and get it again, bringing it back in for a treasure. What are you holding on to?

Step 3 is Returning unto the Lord
Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

When we get rid of the idols and clean out the temple we have a strong desire to get into the Word of God and live in his presence. We also get a strong desire for those around us to have what we have. We want our children and friends to know the God we know. Those around us will see a difference in our lives and want to know what happened. That is the open door to tell them about Jesus and what he has done for us, then to let them know that he is able to the same for them. The closer we get to the Lord the more boldness we will get to spread the word of God. It is our responsibility to learn God's ways and teach them to others. If we accept God's free gift of salvation and don't try to pass it on to others, are we any better than a servant in the parable of the talents that received one talent and buried it. He didn't do anything with it and he got his reward. What will we receive if we hide our salvation?

Step 4 is Personal Purification
2 Timothy 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

We must purge ourselves from things that bring dishonor. Some of the things that bring dishonor are lyingand there is no such thing as a little white lie. Nor is the just stretching the truth a little. A lie is a lie and Revelation 21:8 statesBut the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the Lake of Fire and brimstone: which is the Second Death.

A couple of other things that bring dishonor to the Lord are not spending time with the Lord and not studying his word. The other thing is not being there when your brother and sister need helpthis is selfishness.

I could go on but due to time constraints I wont. But I do want to ask you one question. Are you ready for Christ's soon return, or will you be left behind to face God's wrath and the Anti-Christ? Think about itthat will not be a good time and there is no guarantee that you will have another chance be cause the Bible says that you are only guaranteed one chance and everyone before they die get that chance. Every one before Christ comes back will have their chance. What will you do with yours?

Duane L. Huffstutler, Written 2011, Faithwriters.com
Duane L. Huffstutler is the Sunday School Director at Oak Grove Pentecostal Ministries in Bonifay Florida. All scripture is from the King James Version (1611)

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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