                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                      The Power of a blameless Life!

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By David Wilkerson
July 12, 1993
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          "Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly
          and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that
          believe..." (1 Thessalonians 2:10).

          That's a pretty powerful statement to make - to call on
          God as a witness to your holiness! Yet, without
          flinching, Paul boasted to the believers in
          Thessalonica:

          "I and my co-workers lived blamelessly before you and
          before God. Our conduct was righteous and pure. God is
          witness to our holy behavior - yet you also are
          witnesses. You saw that we walked holy and blameless
          before God and men!"

          Paul was an effective preacher. And he knew the secret
          of his effectiveness in moving people toward God. He
          could stand boldly before every living soul, every
          principality and testify: "I live daily under the gaze
          of a holy God. I walk always as if His holy eyes are
          upon me. And you all are witnesses to my blameless
          life!"

          The apostle desired every believer to have the same
          power he had in moving people toward God. And he prayed
          night and day that all of God's children would be
          established holy and unblamable before God: "To the end
          he may {e}stablish your hearts Unblameable in holiness
          before God... at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
          with all his saints" (3:13).

          Let me share with you Paul's description of a blameless
          life - and about the power such a life releases:

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              Paul Clearly Explains What a Blameless Life Is

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          Here is the kind of behavior required of the holy,
          just, unblamable believer, according to Paul:

          1. To be blameless is to have no deceit of any kind.
          "For our exhortation was not of deceit" (2:3). A
          blameless Christian is one without any deceit in his
          heart!

          Paul said, "I was not a fraud, preaching one thing to
          you and yet living another. My behavior was an open
          book!"

          He warned the Corinthians, however, that certain men
          were going about claiming to be apostles. He said,
          "They boast that they walk as I do, in blamelessness.
          They say, 'I'm an apostle, appointed of God... ' [But]
          such are false apostles, deceitful workers,
          transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ" (2
          Corinthians 11:13).

          Paul said, "You can't fake a blameless walk. My message
          goes right to the conscience of men - because I live
          the truth I preach!" (see 4:2).

          2. To be blameless is to touch nothing unclean. "Our
          exhortation was not... of uncleanness" (1 Thessalonians
          2:3).

          Paul's emphasis here is on sensuality, lust. He's
          saying, "Not an unclean word came out of my mouth. My
          conversation was pure, coming forth from a clean
          heart,"

          Paul had his body under control. No fleshly passion
          drove him - no spirit of lust or fornication possessed
          his mind. He was a free man!

          Show me any minister - or any believer - who tells
          dirty jokes, makes sexual innuendoes or has roving
          eyes, and I'll show you someone whose heart has not
          been cleansed!

          You may sit in church thinking you worship God from a
          pure heart. Yet if you go to your job and a stream of
          unclean talk springs out of you or if you even give ear
          to dirty jokes then you give credence to filth!

          God says, "I won't have it! If you are going to walk
          blameless before Me, you're going to have clean ears, a
          clean heart and a clean tongue!"

          3. To be blameless is to be without guile. "Our
          exhortation was not... in guile" (verse3).

          The Christian without guile is not clever, crafty or
          manipulative. He has no hidden sin or hidden agenda. He
          is totally honest and open!

          Yet the church today is filled with manipulators - in
          both pulpit and pew! These people work to have their
          own way - not through the power or leading of the Holy
          Spirit, but through the cleverness of their minds.

          Paul said, "I didn't manipulate you into the kingdom of
          God. I didn't use clever words or try to play on your
          feelings. I gave the gospel to you straight!"

          Paul never played word games; he never used psychology
          to get people to like him. Can you imagine the apostle
          Paul going around to people in the congregation,
          hugging them and putting on a forced smile, wanting to
          be admired and accepted? Never!

          Paul said, "We were gentle among you, even as a nurse
          cherisheth her children" (verse 7). But when sin came
          in, he rebuked it with thunder from out of heaven! He
          didn't desire or need the approval of any man, yet he
          loved people with all his heart.

          "Neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye
          know, nor a cloak of covetousness... Nor of men sought
          we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others" (verses
          5-6).

          Paul didn't seek personal recognition from any person.
          Rather, he was always mindful that God was watching him
          and checking his motives. So he abstained even from any
          "appearance of evil" (5:22). He lived as if Jesus were
          coming within the hour!

          Now, to be sure, there are many sinners who could meet
          all of these standards of behavior. No matter how
          wicked this generation is, there are still people who
          don't manipulate and aren't driven by sensuality. Their
          language and morals are clean; they are without guile
          and deceit. They possess a moral power, because their
          goodness creates a dignity and strength of character.
          Often these people are exalted by others.

          But the fact remains - they have no power with God!

          For example, the rich young ruler who came to Jesus
          measured up to these standards. He had been good from
          his youth upward. And that won him the love and respect
          of Jesus.

          But something was lacking. And that one thing makes all
          the difference! Paul said, "All of the good qualities
          in my life - all of these godly characteristics - are
          based on one rock-solid purpose in me. It is what keeps
          me from sin, corruption and deceit."

          Beloved, if you don't have this same purpose operating
          in all you say and do, you can never be blameless
          before God and man: "That the name of our Lord Jesus
          Christ may be glorified in (me)" (2 Thessalonians
          1:12).

          Here is what motivated Paul to live a blameless life:
          He was jealous for the glory and name of Jesus! He knew
          everything had to be built on that foundation - because
          all human goodness is as filthy rags!

          Indeed, this is what distinguishes the blameless walk -
          a consuming desire to honor the name of Jesus before
          all men! Such believers would rather die than do or say
          anything that would bring reproach on the Lord. They
          are not perfect - they still battle the flesh - but now
          they are pursuing the righteousness of Christ by faith.

          Perhaps you've already said to your heavenly Father,
          "Lord, I lay down my sin - I lay down all iniquity and
          sensuality. I want only to walk blameless before You. I
          want to please You and bring glory to Your name.

          Here are three things you can expect to happen in your
          life:

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               1. The First Thing That Happens to a Blameless
                  Believer Is He Gains the Favor of God!

                    ------------------------------------

          The bride in Song of Solomon was consumed by love for
          her beloved. And because of this, she said, "I was in
          his eyes as one that found favour" (Song of Solomon
          8:10).

          Indeed, God promises wonderful favor to the blameless
          believer: "Keep my commandments...let not mercy and
          truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write
          them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find
          favour and good understanding in the sight of God and
          men" (Proverbs 3:1-4).

          God is saying, "If you set your sights to walk
          blameless before Me, you'll walk in My favor. You will
          be pleasing unto Me!"

          Oh, the greatest joy you could ever have as a Christian
          is to go through life knowing you're pleasing to God!
          The Lord won't have to hide His face from you or shed a
          tear over you - because you do not bring shame or
          reproach to His holy name. Instead, you bring glory to
          Him - and He is pleased!

          But that's not all. God's favor also includes power!
          Paul said, "For our gospel came not unto you in word
          only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in
          much assurance" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). His favor brings
          the power of the Holy Ghost to all you say and do. Your
          words will not fall to the ground - because they will
          have Holy Ghost power! (see 2:1).

          Paul said those Holy Ghost-empowered words produce
          great results: "And ye became followers of us, and of
          the Lord, having received the word in much affliction,
          with joy of the Holy Ghost" (verse 6).

          Why were Paul's words were so powerful, so effective?
          Because, he says, "(We) were [examples] to all that
          believe" (verse 7). It was not Paul's preaching nor his
          praying alone that won people to the Lord. It was his
          exemplary life! God had in Paul a clean heart - one He
          could favor with the power of the Holy Ghost!

          God's divine favor also brings high esteem among men.
          It is written of David: "David behaved himself more
          wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was
          highly esteemed" (1 Samuel 18:30, NAS). "And the fame
          of David went out into all lands; and the Lord brought
          the fear [respect] of him upon all nations" (1
          Chronicles 14:17).

          The man who protects the name of Jesus by living holy
          before others will be given a good name before them -
          by God Himself!

          I have heard some Christians say, "I don't care about
          my name. It doesn't matter what people think of me. I
          just want to be an unknown, a nobody. Let the Lord have
          all the glory."

          That may sound humble - but it is not, according to
          Scripture! The Bible says, "A good name is rather to be
          chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than
          silver and gold" (Proverbs 22:1).

          A good reputation is a coin to be spent for God's
          glory. It is to be used to impact people and nations.
          And God gives the righteous a good name so they can use
          it to glorify Him in greater measure!

                    ------------------------------------

            2. The Favor and Blessing God Pours Upon a Holy Life
                 Results in a Disturbing, Repelling Power!

                    ------------------------------------

          When you set your heart to walk blamelessly before God
          - laying down your besetting sins, living in a way
          that's pleasing to the Lord - you will be feared and
          despised by those who have lost the favor and blessing
          of God. Lukewarm or compromised Christians will be
          absolutely disturbed and repelled by your life!

          We see this illustrated vividly in 1 Samuel:

          "And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was
          with him, and was departed from Saul.... And David
          behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord
          was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved
          himself very wisely, he was afraid of him" (1 Samuel
          18:12-15).

          David's blameless behavior struck fear in Saul's heart!
          Whenever Saul was around David, he remembered the time
          he had enjoyed the favor of God and the high esteem of
          men. But disobedience, envy, pride and self-will had
          cost Saul every bit of power with God. And it robbed
          him of all respect of the people.

          Now Saul had come face to face with a younger man - a
          less experienced, probably less articulate man - who
          exuded the power and integrity of holiness. He was pure
          in heart, full of the Holy Ghost. And Saul was afraid
          of him!

          Keep in mind, this was no idolatrous Canaanite who was
          afraid of David. No - Saul was a man who had known the
          power of the Holy Spirit! He stood head and shoulders
          above David. And he had been God's anointed. He once
          was a mighty man, chosen of God!

          Sadly, Saul represents the compromised church today -
          those Christians who have compromised and lost the
          anointing of God. He is a type of believer who once was
          full of the Holy Ghost, baptized, on fire for God. But
          disobedience, pride and lust robbed him of everything
          he once knew of God!

          Now, David was simply living a clean life - and God was
          pouring out favor upon him! "All Israel and Judah loved
          David, because he went out and came in before them"
          (verse 16) David walked before the people as a defender
          of God's holy name. They remembered his battle cry when
          he slew Goliath: "I come to thee in the name of the
          Lord!" (17:45).

          But Saul didn't want to be around David! Scripture
          says, "Therefore Saul removed him from him" (verse 13).
          He became so disturbed and envious of David's closeness
          to God, he threw a javelin at him. Saul even used his
          own backslidden daughter to try to ensnare David, He
          became consumed with a passion to destroy David and his
          good name!

          I tell you there is nothing scarier to a compromised
          Christian than a holy blameless life! And the more your
          life lines up with the Lord's will and His holiness,
          the more repelling you will become to backslidden
          believers.

          Your worst opposition will come from within the church
          of Jesus Christ - from compromised people who have
          secret sins they don't want to give up! They will call
          you legalistic, unbalanced, strange. They will attempt
          to disgrace you, to destroy your name and your
          blameless walk before God.

          These are Christians who no longer walk in God's favor.
          They have no power of the Spirit on them. Their words
          are like feathers - weightless, bearing no spiritual
          authority. Nothing they say has any impact, because
          they have lost the power and presence of Jesus. And
          your holy walk will disturb and repel them!

          You won't have to say anything to them. They'll simply
          see your blameless walk with the Lord, and it will be
          as a prophet's holy finger, pointing to their heart.
          And they will fear, envy and hate you!

          You may say, "I haven't experienced such rejection. My
          church is full of saints who highly esteem me and stand
          with me. Is it because I'm not living a blameless
          life?"

          No - it is probably because you are sitting among other
          blameless believers! But go back to your old, dead
          church - and tell them how Jesus has become real to
          you. Wait till they discover you don't sit in front of
          a TV and pollute your soul... you don't engage in
          filthy conversation... you love to go to every church
          service - you pray, worship and soak in God's Word.

          They will give you the "good-bye" hand of fellowship!
          They will be repelled by you, they will despise you.
          And when you leave, they'll look at each other
          knowingly and say, "Boy, has he gone off the deep end.
          What a fanatic! He's no fun - he's too spaced out."

          "They shall separate you from their company" (Luke
          6:22). Why? Because your life will have convicted them
          of what they once had - and what they now have lost!

          Paul experienced this kind of rejection because of his
          uncompromising walk with God. He wrote to Timothy: "All
          they which are in Asia be turned away from me" (2
          Timothy 1:15). He wrote to the Colossians from prison
          that he could name only two or three who were a comfort
          to him: "These only are my fellow workers unto the
          kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me"
          (Colossians 4:11). And in another letter to Timothy, he
          wrote, "No man stood with me, but all men forsook me"
          (2 Timothy 4:16).

          I ask you - are you willing to pay that kind of price
          to have the favor of God in your life?

          Yet, if you do choose to live a blameless life, even
          the ungodly will esteem you highly. They'll point to
          your life and say, "That's what Christianity ought to
          be.

          And likewise, the truly righteous ones in the church
          will flock to you. They'll say, "I like being around
          you. There is something comforting and refreshing about
          you. God is with you!"

                     ---------------------------------

               3. Finally, God Favors The Blameless Believer
                       With a Power of Proper Focus!

                     ---------------------------------

          Once you enter into a blameless walk with the Lord -
          living above reproach, holy and unblamable - the Holy
          Ghost bestows on you what I call "the power of proper
          focus!"

          Paul's blameless life brought him into a spiritual
          focus such as God desires for every member of His body.
          In a letter to the Thessalonians, Paul makes one of the
          most powerful statements in all his writings:

          "For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord" (1
          Thessalonians 3:8).

          Do you know what Paul is saying? He's claiming, "I get
          my joy, my life, my greatest blessing, from seeing you
          grow in Christ!"

          At one time, if I were asked about my spiritual focus,
          I would have answered, "I really live - I really get my
          joy - when I walk in victory. When I know I'm living an
          overcoming life, standing fast in the Lord, then I'm
          happy. I rejoice in knowing I'm not in sin!"

          But that isn't what Paul said. You see, he had already
          worked through all of that. He didn't live his life
          focused on some sin or problem.

          Yet most Christians today spend their entire saved
          lives focused on their own sin. Many have battled lust,
          perversion, fornication or addictions for years! They
          have victory in every area of their lives but one or
          two. And they are literally consumed by those remaining
          few!

          They are spiritual cripples - powerless, full of guilt,
          living as a slave to their sin. And they have narrowed
          their focus to one question, one concern: "How will I
          ever become free of this?"

          Such Christians derive their greatest joy and peace
          from gaining victories in their personal walk. But they
          have no vision for the church the lost or the eternal
          purposes of Jesus Christ!

          Paul said he "always labour[ed] fervently for you in
          prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all
          the will of God" (Colossians 4:12). He wasn't
          interceding for himself or his own needs. He said:
          "Night and day I labor in prayer for you. I want you to
          stand complete in the will of God!"

          Dear saint, complete victory is yours if you really
          want it! God does want you finally free - free to live
          for others, to minister to others, to help others into
          blamelessness - to rejoice over the work of the Spirit
          in the whole body of Christ, and not just in yourself!

          Paul believed that a blameless life changed a person's
          focus - from always looking inward, to looking instead
          to the needs of Christ's church and the world.

          I ask you - when you sit in church and see someone
          you've been witnessing or testifying to, can you
          rejoice because you see victory coming into that
          person's life? Is your whole joy focused on that one
          lost soul? On that suffering elderly person? On Cuba,
          China, Mongolia?

          God has fully provided for us in the sacrifice of His
          Son, so that we are able to say: "By grace, God has put
          His fear in my heart. I have forsaken all my iniquities
          - I am blameless before the Lord. God is my witness!"

          Such a thing is possible - for every believer! Paul
          could say, "Sin no longer has dominance over me - I
          have laid aside every weight, every besetting sin. I
          have died to this world, and I die daily to my flesh."

          And that is why he did not spend his time groaning over
          his sins. They were all forsaken! He could now groan
          over his lost brethren. And he groaned that Christ
          would come forth in His church!

          "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?
          Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus
          Christ at His coming? For ye are our glory and joy"
          (verses 19-20).

          God did not intend for you to spend the rest of your
          life fighting some perversion, addiction, adultery or
          secret sin. No - He wants you to fix your eyes on
          Jesus! He wants you to say, "Lord, I'm going to turn my
          eyes away from my own need and pray for others - even
          though I'm not yet where I want to be!"

          Victory will come when you start giving yourself to
          others - interceding for other believers, and reaching
          out to the lost!

                     ---------------------------------

                   A Blameless Life is Possible - But You
                  Must Desire It With All That Is In You!

                     ---------------------------------

          First, you must face the utter reality of your
          condition:

          "If I continue in my sinful ways, I'll grow
          increasingly weak and powerless. I'll no longer enjoy
          God's favor - I won't be pleasing to Him. And I'll
          never get the focus He wants to give me. I'll end up
          like Saul - dead in side, full of hate and envy. I'll
          go into eternity crying, 'God no longer is with me!'"

          You've got to get that honest before God! I cried out
          to Him, "Lord, send Your Word! Convict me and heal me.
          Show me how to walk away from all sin!" And God sent
          this word to me: "Behold, now is the day of salvation.
          Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not
          blamed" (2 Corinthians 6:2-3).

          God says, "You can be free now - you don't have to
          wait!" When He told Israel to sanctify themselves
          before going into battle, they didn't have to wait a
          week, a month or a year before they got: clean before
          Him. They had to begin now, that very day!

          "Giving no offense in anything that the ministry be not
          blamed" (verse 3). Let me ask you: Are you involved in
          anything that might bring reproach on the name of
          Jesus? Can you say with Paul, "I also do my best to
          maintain always a blameless conscience both before God
          and before men?" (Acts 24:16).

          Set your heart to be blameless now - today! Desire it
          with everything in you. Soon you will discover God's
          favor upon your life. Your words and actions will have
          an impact on others, with Holy Ghost power. And you
          will find yourself focused totally on Jesus and His
          desires.

          That is blameless living! Hallelujah!

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