Message topic: Is your blackboard clean?
Scripture text: Psalm 24: 1-10.
This question may sound silly to you until you get to reflect back to the first few weeks of your pre- school and what things were like. Let me share with you what it was like for us three, who want through this under the British system, as pre school generally starts at the age of five or six, while public school starts at age seven.
The first thing we are taught in pre-school is the A, B, C, up to X, Y, Z. This was done on a piece of light board painted black and placed on a three- legged stand called an easel. As soon as the A, B, C, was learned, the blackboard was cleaned, and something else would take its place, such as SO, GO, NO, the interesting thing is each time a new subject was about to be introduced, the blackboard would be cleaned so that one topic would not be confused with the other.
At the end of the one or two years of pre school and the beginning of our first grade, we begin to learn about a man who was a farmer and the names of all his animals.
As a farmer, he had a cow whose name was cuddy, a donkey whose name was mis peg: a pig whose name was master willey, a hen who he called mother hen who had several chickens, but the favor he called Percy: the dog he named Mr. Dan, and a goat by the name of Mr. grumps.
There was one thing which fallowed us from our pre school which was the blackboard: every time our teacher had to change the subject, the blackboard had to be cleaned so as not to mixed one topic with the other.
In our real life, we also have to make some changes, so let us start with instead of asking is your blackboard clean, let’s change the word blackboard for our hearts, so we can ask, has our hearts been cleaned? We were not born with a clean-heart, so how do we get our hearts cleansed?
Why do we need clean hearts? God is pure and clean, and desires that we His sons and daughters be also pure and clean so that He can communicate with us at all times; so, He chose our hearts as His abiding place in all mankind to shield us from the influence of the evil one.
What can we do to have our hearts cleansed? We must surrender our will to God and He will do that which only He can do: and gave us this example in his words which is found in Ezekiel 36: 24-30.
For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
A new heart also will give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stoney heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgements, and do them, and you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
I will also save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you, and I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
Let me remind you of this, our God is a promise keeper, and His words stands forever, He will never leave nor forsake any who put their trust in him in following His words.
For many people, peace is the absence of conflict or trouble: while this is a definition of peace, this is not what Jesus had in mind when he offered His peace as listed in John 14: 27. The question for you and I is, am I a peaceable person? Do we have the peace of God or the peace of man abiding in us? We need God’s peace.
The attributes of this great peace includes the love for God and our fellowmen: it eradicates deceptions and falsehood: there is no better place to store this gift than in the new heart listed in John 14:27. Having this kind of peace, it should be displaced so that all who we come in contact with can see how pleasing we are.
It is sad to say for many this peace is as if it has been boxed and placed in one corner of the new heart and is really displayed. Have you ever heard or used this term, I have a change of heart? Is this a reality in our lives? Is our changed hearts in words only, or can it be seen by those around us daily?
This peace which is given to all who accepted the new heart cannot be bought with money: in many places of our operations, peace can be bought, but there is no price on this peace which comes from Christ our Savior and is only available to whosoever will accept this new heart.
How does this free heart and free peace work? This free peace eradicates anger and creates love and peace, this free peace dissolves envy, it dissolves selfish pride, it dissolves spitefulness and dissolves impatience. This peace passes all understanding as it is under the control of the Holy Spirit of God’s love.
God’s love is wide as the ocean, deep as the sea, and high as the highest mountain that is the love which God planted in the new heart which He freely gave to all who surrender our heart of disobedience and cleave to a heart of repentance through the sacrifice of Christ our redeemer.
We know that there are spiteful hearts, hateful hearts, envious hearts, self-satisfying hearts: but when God cleansed our heart, He took away our hearts of disobedience and gaves us a heart that is repentant.