Christmas Traditions
The Tradition of Purification
December 9, 2012
INTRO:
[VIDEO: Christmas Turkey’s Unspoken Plea]
Today, we are talking about traditions at Christmas. One of those traditions is roasting a
nice juicy, plump turkey for Christmas dinner. Well, this year, turkeys across America
are partnering with their counterparts, the Chick-fil-A cow, and they’re encouraging us
this year to “eat more ham.”
Seriously, though, Christmas is a time where we think about traditions that are
meaningful to us. Growing up at a child, our family tradition was to wait up until
midnight on Christmas Eve and open all our presents at the stroke of midnight. Then,
we would sleep in on Christmas day and enjoy a nice dinner.
When Beth and I got married, we had to develop a new tradition called “what would our
Christmas be as a new family?” The children get an option to open one gift on
Christmas Eve. Then, on Christmas day, the kids get up and go downstairs to open their
stockings. We get everyone up around 8am. The presents are sorting into pile by
names and everyone goes at it! Wrapping paper is flying and everyone is having a great
time.
One of the traditions that we teach children is the concept of Santa Claus. We even sing
about Santa Claus.
“You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you
why…Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list, checking it twice; gonna
find out who's naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you
when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been
bad or good. So be good for goodness sake.”
At Christmas, children try to be good so that Santa will bring toys instead of coal. But
did you know that behind the tradition of Santa and of being good at Christmas lies the
important idea of purity that ties into the spiritual meaning of the first Christmas.
There are two terms that we associate with Christmas: Immaculate Conception and the
Virgin Birth. Why are these important? The word “immaculate” means without spot or
blemish. Perfect. And the fact that Mary was a “virgin” meant that she was still pure
sexually. You see…not only did Jesus live a sinless life, but he was brought into a sinful
world in the most pure way possible…Being conceived through God’s perfect Spirit and
being born to a woman who was pure sexually. Purity was an important part of the first
Christmas.
But not only that – purity was an important part of every Jewish birth. Because a
woman bleeds during childbirth – she would be considered ceremonially unclean for 1
week after the birth. And so to make herself pure again – the mother would have to
offer a sacrifice (Lev. 12).
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On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the
name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
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When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been
completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is
written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"),
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and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of
doves or two young pigeons."
Luke 2:21-24 (NIV)
Purity was a big part of the first Christmas and was an important part of the Jewish faith.
But, Jesus, through his birth, his life and his death on the cross, would forever change
what it means to be pure.
No longer would purification be about following a strict set of laws, about what you eat,
about what you touch or even about being good. From this point, purity would be
about having a heart that was made pure by God.
But here’s the point I want to make and that we need to understand as we begin today.
We can’t experience or see God when our hearts are stained by sin. If we want to
experience God in a real and powerful way in our lives, if we want to feel close to God,
we have to have pure hearts.
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Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has
clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is
false.
Psalms 24:3-4 (NIV)
Jesus himself stated it this way.
Memory Verse:
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Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Matt 5:8 (NIV)
4 STEPS TO A PURE HEART THIS CHRISTMAS…
Examine My Heart for Impurities
An impurity would be anything in your heart that shouldn’t be there.
Illus: High cholesterol – check to make certain that plaque doesn’t build up and affect
my heart. We need a spiritual check-up.
There isn’t a doctor we can go to who can examine our hearts spiritually and tell us
where the spiritual impurities are – the anger, hatred, envy, lust, greed, selfishness,
worry. We have to self-examine our own hearts. Perhaps, this is the best time of the
year to do it. As we look back and reflect over the year we just lived – what areas of our
life have sin?
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Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?
Prov 20:9 (NIV)
One of the most important ways to measure the purity of your heart is to examine the
words that come out of our mouths.
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The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things
out of the evil stored up in him.
Matt 12:35 (NIV)
The words that you speak come from what is really in your heart. So, your words reveal
the condition of your heart. What do your words say about the condition of your heart?
Being pure in Jesus eyes is also about our motivations. There are many times when we
look at an area of our lives and say – I’m pure there because my actions were good. But
sometimes our motives aren’t pure in God’s eyes.
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All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.
Prov 16:2 (NIV)
God knows the motives of our heart. Other people see our actions and see us smile, but
God knows what’s really going on inside. So, what’s the condition of your heart?
Perhaps you might want to make this scripture verse your prayer today.
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Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
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See if there is any
Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV)
Keep Impure Thoughts from Entering My Mind
Illus: Diet – gained back ½ of weight I’ve lost. Why?...Because I didn’t watch what I
allowed into my body – both quantity and type of foods.
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Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But
when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.
Luke 11:34 (NIV)
This is a very powerful verse. Here Jesus says that your eye is the lamp for your body. If
your eye let’s good and Godly things into your life – then your heart will be pure
because it will be reflecting on and focusing on Godly things. But if your eye allows
garbage into your life – then that is what you will reflect on and your heart will reflect
that impurity.
What kinds of things should we guard against? Gossip, negative talk, pornography (men
on the internet and women in reading 50 Shades of Grey), lyrics of music, tv, internet,
movies, etc.
What you allow to enter your heart and mind through your eyes and ears – will
determine the spiritual condition of your heart. Make the decision today to go on a diet
– not from food – but from the negative words and the sexual images that we can be
bombarded with. If you want to have a pure heart…then commit to do what Psalmist
writes.
“I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.” – Psalm 101:3
Fill My Life with God’s Presence
While it’s important to remove from our hearts and lives everything that is impure, we
can’t stop there. Let’s see what Jesus has to say about this.
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"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.
Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean
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and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go
in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this
wicked generation."
Matt 12:43-45 (NIV)
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It’s not enough to just remove the sin and negative things from our lives, we also have
to fill our lives with the positive things that God has for us. We need to study God’s
Word and apply it to our lives.
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How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
Psalms 119:9 (NIV)
We can’t maintain a pure heart without spending time with God.
To have a pure heart this Christmas, I need to examine my heart for any impurities, I
need to keep impure thoughts from coming into my life, and I need to fill my life with
God’s presence. However, the only cure for an impure heart is to have the sin that
stands between you and God removed for good.
Receive Complete Forgiveness from Jesus
No matter how hard we try, we can’t make ourselves pure.
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Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Psalms 51:7 (NIV)
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This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Romans 3:22 (NIV)
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Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalms 51:10 (NIV)
WHAT IS KEEPING YOU FROM LIVING
A PURE LIFE BEFORE GOD?