PURITY AND PERCEPTION

 

Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.  (Matthew 5:8)

It is my joy and privilege today to point people to Jesus.  But, do I know Him of whom I speak?  Can I point them to a Christ that I have seen or to someone that I have only heard about from others?  Unless I have been with Him, how can I show others the way to Him?  The man who seeks to introduce someone he does not know is a charlatan.  Too many preachers come across as trying to sell a product they do not own.  I must be sure that my life is not marked by such hypocrisy, but rather “holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb.12:14b).  Judas Iscariot was a preacher who knew about Christ, yet did not know Christ.  We must make sure of our own salvation, before we can show others the Savior.

Even if that most important matter is settled, I need to move ahead in sanctification.  There needs to be a purity of heart that makes my life a clear channel through which truth may flow.  The lens of my soul must have every smudge wiped away so people can get a clean view into eternity through my preaching.  An inconsistent life will obscure even the most accurate exposition.

Clarence Macartney put it this way:

The better the man, the better the preacher.  When he kneels by the bed of the dying or when he mounts the pulpit stairs, then every self-denial he had made, every Christian forbearance he has shown, every resistance to sin and temptation will come back to strengthen his arm and give power to his voice.  Likewise every evasion of duty, every indulgence of self, every compromise with evil, every unworthy thought, word, or deed, will be there at the head of the pulpit stairs to meet the minister on Sunday morning, to take the light from his eye, the power from his blow, the ring from his voice, and the joy from his heart.

Lord, wipe away every stain that would hinder us from effectiveness!  May there be a purity of heart that produces a perception that has clarity.  Then I can point others to the One I have seen.  I can lead men and women to the Christ I have walked with.  I can speak the message that He has spoken to me.