Maintaining a Pure Heart - 3

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Maintaining a Pure Heart - 3
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Maintaining a Pure Heart

• Make up your mind!
• Sanctify the Lord God in your heart
• Choose your company carefully

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1 Cor. 1533

• Do not be deceived Evil company corrupts good
  habits.
• Bad company corrupts good morals (NAS95)
• Evil communications corrupt good manners (KJV)
• Be careful who you associate with!

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1 Cor. 1533

• With determination and sanctification, one of the
  best ways to maintain purity is by devoting
  substantial time to those people and things that
  will promote God and purity in your life.

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1 Cor. 1533

• Who we associate with will influence us
• Parents - Prov. 226, Eph. 64
• Prov. 1320, He who walks with wise men will be
  wise, But the companion of fools will be
  destroyed.
• Prov. 627, Can a man take fire to his bosom,
  and his clothes not be burned?

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1 Cor. 1533

• Corrupt good habits
• A habit is a regular pattern of behavior
• Wrong associations corrupt our good habits.
• Eph. 511, 1 Thess. 522

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Pick the right friends

• We need good friends Prov. 1824, 1717
• Solomon also concerned about the wrong friends
  Prov. 110, 15 414-15
• Prefer your brethren Heb. 1024, Rom. 1210

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Pick the right places

• A companion can be something instead of
  someone.
• Where do you go? Jas. 44, Rom. 86-7 the
  carnal mind
• We generally know what is right and wrong!

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Pick the right places

• Use your time for good works Eph. 516, Bible
  study, prayer, preferring brethren, wholesome
  activities, good works (Gal. 610)

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Pick the right places

• 1 Pet. 43, For we have spent enough of our past
  lifetime in doing the will of the Gentileswhen
  we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness,
  revelries, drinking parties, and abominable
  idolatries.

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Pick the right church

• CRUCIAL to a pure heart
• Christ died to purify the church Eph. 525-27,
  Acts 2028
• Paul dealt with impurities, cf. 1 Cor. 56Also
  the 7 churches of Asia

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Pick the right church

• The 7 churches of Asia
• Pergamos Thyatira (Rev. 214-16, 19-23)
  purity issues (polluted)Ephesus, Sardis
  Laodicea (Rev. 24-6, 31-6, 14-19) purity
  issues (diluted)ALL were in danger of losing
  their candlestick

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Pick the right church

• We need to find a church that seeks to be pure in
  His eyes.
• One that refuses to compromise doctrinally or
  morally. One striving to grow.

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Pick the right church

• Again, WHO do we associate with?
• 2 John 9-11 beware of false teachers that will
  corrupt (2 Pet. 22, 18-19)

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Pick the right church

• The church that IGNORES or avoids portions of
  Gods word is no better Hosea 46

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Pick the right church

• When a generation is raised not grounded in the
  truth, apostasy is imminent.
• Why is denominationalism wrong?
• Do we emphasize the sanctity of marriage?
• Other moral issues? Modesty, dancing, etc.
• Can we contend for the faith? (Jude 3)
• Are we easily tossed to and fro? (Eph. 414)

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Pick the right church

• Ephesians 511, And have no fellowship with the
  unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose
  them.

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Pick the right church

• Finally, a pure church requires YOU to be pure.
  The church can help purify you and you can help
  purify her (Eph. 416)

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Every day we are choosing who we associate
with Are these choices helping to purify our
hearts?