Cornerstone Bible Fellowship
20260816 Worship
      • Bible Trivia
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      • John 1:29ESV

  • Agnus Dei
  • Holy Forever

      • Malachi 3:1–3NIV2011

      • Malachi 3:6–7NIV2011

      • Malachi 3:1ESV

      • Malachi 3:2-3ESV

      • Malachi 3:6-7ESV

  • Refiner's Fire

      • Matthew 5:1-5ESV

      • Matthew 5:6-8ESV

  • This week we have been reminded that we live amidst evil, amidst brokenness, amidst suffering. Some jumped quickly to assigning blame. Instead of looking to absolve ourselves by making laws or systems or family culpable, I think we, I know I, need to reexamine the way I look at others. Am I too quick to see their flaws or is the problem on my side of the glass?
    You may have heard of the woman who complained to her husband repeatedly about her neighbors dirty laundry on the clothesline. Week after week the woman griped about how her neighbor didn’t know how to make her whites white, even the colored clothes looked dingy. Finally after 3 or 4 weeks of ripping on her neighbor, one Saturday she looked out and notice her neighbor’s laundry looked clean and fresh as it hung on the line. She commented to her husband that she wondered what the neighbor was doing different in her laundry routine.
    The husband subtly said, This morning I got up and washed OUR windows.
    As our community grieves and considers what could or should have been done differently. Our challenge from the word of God is to consider how we are looking at our neighbors and possibly if we need to clean our own windows.

    How White is White? How Pure is Pure?

    For decades teenagers have been asking about physical intimacy and wondering what is permitted for students who desire to glorify God in their bodies and relationships. In response to this question, some have promoted what some call a “purity culture”. A behavior pledge is part of this. But the intent is to promote a mindset that honors God both in behavior AND thought life regarding suitors.
    a couple of weeks ago we talked about righteousness and we compared restored whiteness to original whiteness (using laundry as an example).
    Some of us may recall an advertising campaign for soap that claimed 99.44% Pure. Which makes me ask “How pure is pure”?
    Just 10 days ago, Quality Assurance Magazine published shortcomings in purity. “In a 2020 UC-Davis study, researchers found that 82% of products sold as avacado oil in the United States were either rancid or secretly cut with less expensive seed oils. A 2026 follow-up study shows that adulteration has expanded into chips, mayonnaises and dressings”.
    A 2018 report released by the FDA list “acceptable contamination of food with insect parts”. One of my favorite snacks is peanut butter. It is best covering a Hershey’s bar, but it is also good dipped with a plain old stock of celery until one learns that “30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams” is acceptable. Pasta and Tomato sauce permit insect parts or fruit fly eggs. Canned corn permits earworm larvae and for any of you vegetarians, frozen broccoli permits 60 or more aphids, thrips or mites per 100 grams.
    TRANSITION: so what did JESUS mean by “pure in heart”?

    What – A Definition of Purity

    Part of my sermon prep is to search other Scriptures that address the same topic as the text I am preaching in order to consider other nuances. 2 Scripture caught my attention this week: One is from hundreds of years before Jesus walked on earth and one is from decades after He ascended back into Heaven Both of these address the expectation of God’s people.
    Psalm 24:3–4 ESV:2016
    Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
    1 Timothy 1:5 ESV:2016
    The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
    Let’s take a moment and review some old grammar. Some verbs are active; some are passive; and others are reflexive. Active – I wash my car or I bathe my dog. Passive – The pasture flourished from the rain. Reflexive – I washed my hands before breakfast. Some conditions require that we actively place ourselves into a passive situation. I went outdoors and received a sunburn or I stepped into the rain and my clothes got drenched.
    Purity of heart is not something that we can do to others or do to ourselves. It is a passive result of an active pursuit.
    The purity of heart that Jesus is proposing here contains at least 2 principles: 1. A heart undivided and 2. A heart made clean.

    An undivided heart

    Matthew 6:22 (ESV:2016) “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy (KJV translates as single), your whole body will be full of light,
    In 1 Cor 7 Paul writes about marital singleness, and he says one benefit is an “undivided devotion to the Lord.”
    David prayed for himself in Psalm 86:11 “Give me an undivided mind to fear your name”.
    David’s army contained warriors from several tribes in 1 Chron 12. The men from Zebulun are described as those who “helped David with an undivided heart”.
    In 1Chron 29:19 he prayed, “Give my son Solomon an undivided heart to keep and to carry out all your commands…”

    A heart made clean

    Cleansing of our hearts does not come from penance, confession or sacrament. It doesn’t come from meditation or kind deeds. It comes as a gracious gift from God’s good hand.
    When David became repentant of his sin with Bathsheba, he prayed for restoration of joy and renewal of a right spirit. It wasn’t a resolution David made, it was a broken and humble request.
    Both Isaiah 53 and Romans 5 speak of a completed reality that is accomplished by grace through faith.
    Isaiah 53:6 ESV:2016
    All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
    Romans 5:1 ESV:2016
    Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
    God’s purification of our hearts is not only judicial, it is relational!
    Colossians 1:22 ESV:2016
    he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
    2 weeks ago we spoke about righteousness as both hunger and satisfaction at the same time. In this beatitude we come to the paradox of being both cleansed and cleansing. The completed justification does not mitigate the need for daily cleansing. In John 13 Jesus has a discussion with Peter about washing of feet. Jesus says that washing of feet is proper and necessary even if washing the whole body is not.
    Illustration: I have an old friend who is now past, who used to be the commander of our AWANA clubs in a former church. Whenever he had opportunity to do council time, he loved to talk about the “Christian bar of soap”, namely 1 John 1:9; which says that God is faithful and just to both forgive and cleanse.

    Why – A Certified Promise

    In the first beatitude we saw the present tense in that Heaven could be experienced in some ways right now as God is near to the brokenhearted.
    While the second part of that verse in Isaiah talked about the God who is near, the first part talked about the God who is exalted.
    Isaiah 57:15 ESV:2016
    For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
    3. If you ever hope to see this exalted God on His throne in Heaven it will only be if your heart has been purified and your sins have been forgiven.
    Titus 3:5 ESV:2016
    He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

    Conclusion

    We don’t only see God in Heaven. We don’t only see God at work around us. We also see God in other people. When we view our neighbors without jealousy, or self-righteousness, or condemnation, or expectation, we see them as an individual created to bear the image of God.
    Every person around us, regardless of ability, or race, or age, or capacity to recall names and facts, bears a reflection of who God is.
    When I view those around me as image bearers, I not only see God in them, I see them as God does. I see them with compassion; mercy; giving, no make that, sacrificial love. I see them in a way that prompts me to be forbearing with them and patient with them. I see them as deserving of my affection and resources.
    To view our neighbors with the same perspective as a new parent looks at their offspring asleep in their arms in a rocking chair. We then have the capacity to tolerate loud tantrums, teething cries and messy diapers.
    Yes, the world around us includes all three of these. Image bearers act out in ways that hurt others, even those closest to them. Image bearers are self absorbed, even if that means trafficking other humans and stealing what is not ours. Image bearers are finite and the end sometimes comes while parked in a convenience store parking lot.
    The image bearers around us are messy and unpleasant, but if we see them as God sees them, we hope to see them redeemed so that they will be with us when all is made right...When we All Get to Heaven.
    Response Song #467....................................................”When We All Get to Heaven”
    Benediction: 2 Thess 2:16-17
    2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 ESV:2016
    Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

      • Psalm 24:3–4ESV

      • 1 Timothy 1:5ESV

      • Isaiah 53:6ESV

      • Romans 5:1ESV

      • Colossians 1:22ESV

      • Isaiah 57:15ESV

      • Titus 3:5ESV

  • When We All Get to Heaven

      • 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17ESV

Cornerstone Bible Fellowship
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