Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

Matthew 23:25-26

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

Galatians 5:16-26

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.

Summary and Function

Summary: Unlike the religious leaders of his day, Jesus never worried about becoming unclean. As God in the flesh, he was, of course, always clean. That however, was not the only reason he never worried about becoming unclean. When Jesus touched something that was unclean, he made the unclean object clean. Whatever he touched became clean. When he touched the unclean lepers they were and healed and made clean. When the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years touched Jesus’ garment, she was healed and made clean. When Jesus shared a meal with Zacchaeus, his heart was cleansed of greed and selfishness. Jesus makes everything clean.

Jesus is still making things clean. Jesus is making things clean by way of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that cleanses our hearts of any sinful attitudes or desires. This is why Pentecost is so important. Pentecost marks the day when the Holy Spirit descended on the church and empowered the church to be the Body of Christ. As the Holy Spirit cleans us from the inside out, we produce good fruit that is characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Let’s celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit and welcome the transformation it brings us.

Function: To encourage the congregation cooperate with the Holy Spirit to remain clean of sinful desires

The Sermon

I. Introduction: I remember one particular Army Battalion (BN) Commander who was

obsessed with outside appearance. His primary concern was how everything looked.

Combat readiness took a back seat to this obsession.

A. In the motor pool, he never looked at the maintenance reports to see how many vehicles were operable. He looked at how clean the vehicles looked and whether or not they were in a straight line.

B. Each soldier had to maintain an impeccable appearance. The soldiers’ ability to perform combat related tasks was of secondary importance. As long as the soldiers remained slim and maintained sharp uniforms, they were good to go.

C. This commander was obsessed with appearances, how things looked on the outside. He didn’t care about the more intangible elements that enabled soldiers to survive and win in combat.

D. This is how the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were. The Pharisees, scribes and priest were obsessed with their appearances. They made sure they looked pious and religious. In reality, however, their hearts were not right. Their motivations and attitudes were all wrong. They appeared righteous on the outside but inwardly they were unrighteous.

E. Jesus demonstrated the unrighteous nature of the religious leaders by using the analogy of a cup.

II. The cup analogy

A. Matthew 23:25-26: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.”

B. Today, you received an ugly mug. Mark Croto has already said a few words about its symbolism and what it is supposed to remind us of. Let’s use these cups to remind us that we need to be clean on the inside. In order for the cup to be used, it can be dirty and ugly on the outside, but it must be clean on the inside. In order for us to be used by God, we need to be clean on the inside.

C. Why is this important? It’s important because we are the religious leaders in society.

· If you go to church every Sunday or attend weekly Bible study, then you are a religious leader in the eyes of non-Christians. People are looking to you to see what Christianity is all about.

· So, we must ask ourselves: Are we going through the motions and putting on a façade like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day or are we seeking to be cleansed on the inside so that we can truly love God and neighbor?

III. This brings up two questions: 1) What does it mean to be cleansed on the inside?

and 2) How will we know if we are being cleansed on the inside?

A. First question: What does it mean to be cleansed on the inside?

· It is the Holy Spirit who does the cleaning.

· As we pray, worship, study Scripture and serve others, the Holy Spirit cleanses our hearts of our sinful desires and attitudes and replaces them with God’s holy love. In this way, the Holy Spirit makes our hearts clean or pure.

· The more clean or pure our hearts become, the more like Jesus Christ we become. We become more and more motivated by an unselfish love for God and neighbor.

· This is why Pentecost is so important. Pentecost is the day we celebrate the out pouring of the Holy Spirit onto the church as a whole. Everyone who trusts in Jesus as Savior and Lord receives the Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:5)

B. Second question: How do we know when we are being cleansed on the inside?

· By the fruit we produce

· Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.”

· If a person, who is active in church, brings discord, mistrust and anger to the work place and home, then he’s not leaving behind love, joy, peace or kindness. He’s not producing the fruit of the Spirit. He’s going through the motion of religion but not allowing the Holy Spirit to change him.

· If a person, who is active in church, brings peace, love and joy to the work place and home, then he’s producing the fruit of the Spirit. He’s asking and allowing the Holy Spirit to change him as he attends worship, prays, and studies Scripture.

IV. Conclusion

A. We need to ask ourselves: Are we asking and allowing the Holy Spirit to clean us on the inside?

B. This cleansing begins with trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord. If you have not already done so, you can begin this cleansing process by going to God in prayer and declaring your trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord.