Living Set Apart in a Fallen World

What's going on, family? We briefly spoke about this in the last course video. Let's talk about the priesthood of purity, like what it really means in detail to live set apart in a fallen world, all right? So some people, again, think that purity is just avoiding sin, like just being sinless or sinning less or whatever. Others say grace makes purity optional. But tonight, let me tell you the truth. Purity is the priest's posture. It's not his performance. Again, it's his posture as a priest, you as a priest, not your performance. So some say as long as your heart loves God, purity isn't that deep. Others say purity is about strict rules and spiritual policing, right? But both are incomplete. Purity is not legalism, it's alignment. It's not weakness, it's spiritual strength, and it's not about restriction, it's about readiness. So again, we're gonna go deep. Priests are not just forgiven, they're set apart, and in a fallen world, purity is what keeps us usable. So the power of a priest is not just in what he carries, it's actually in what he refuses to carry. So purity is not perfection, it's preservation. Preservation, I mean, preservation, preserving. It means I protect what God placed in me, right? I filter what comes near the anointing.

I refuse anything that dulls my sensitivity. 2 Corinthians 7, one says, having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So purity is the priest's protection from contamination. So why does purity matter to the priest? Because priests represent God before the people, and people before God. So if I'm, as a man of God, as a priest, going before my friends and family members that knew me since I was little, but I'm living like I used to be, and I'm not living a pure lifestyle, it's gonna be a bad witness. And again, priests represent God before people. So people are gonna see me and think, this is how God is. I don't wanna serve this God. And also people before God, because God is also watching. So what I do amongst people, God is also watching, audience one. So if our vessel is contaminated, our hearing is distorted, our discernment is dull, and our impartation is mixed. Many people wanna hear the voice of God, but don't wanna follow his voice. So if the word of God is saying to flee from sexual immorality, flee from fornication,

your body's a temple of the Holy Spirit, stop the vaping, stop the smoking, you don't just do it because it's a checklist, you do it because you're in love with God and you don't want anything to dull the voice of God or hearing him. You don't want anything to dull discernment. You don't want anything, our impartation to be mixed. 1 Peter 1 15, but as he, that's talking about Jesus, which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. That's the priest's power. It's not just in prayer, it's in his purity. So purity versus sin management. Purity is more than avoiding sin. Sin management says, how close can I get to the line? But purity says, how close can I get to his heart? We should be wanting to stay pure because we wanna get closer to the heart of God. So when we seek him, it's even deeper communion and deeper and deeper and deeper. We're pure not because it's a checklist in religion, but because we're in love with him and wanna grow in relationship with him so Christ can be formed in us. Purity is not escaping temptation, it's embracing consecration, hallelujah somebody. Psalm 24 three, I feel like to say this again, purity is not escaping temptation, it's actually embracing consecration.

So when the temptation comes, instead of I'm trying to run away from the temptation, which if temptation comes, you should go the opposite way, but it's more of I'm embracing consecration, I'm consecrated before the Lord so no temptation can touch me. Psalm 24 three, who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Oh, or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, right? So we want more of God than we need to have clean hands and a pure heart. Not talking about washing your hands with soap and water, even though you should take a bath and wash your hands with soap and water, I'm talking about people who are not living an impure lifestyle. You live pure from not even just with deed, but even your heart. Like not just I'm not gonna fornicate, I'm not gonna watch porn, I'm not gonna smoke weed, but even in our heart, asking God to purify even our motives because we wanna see him even more. The four dimensions of purity. Let's talk about it. Priests live pure end. Number one, the mind. What we meditate on. What you meditate on matters. What are you meditating on throughout the day? Is it Jesus or worldly things?

Number two, heart. What you desire. Yeah, you might not be smoking the weed, but do you desire it internally? If you do, you need to seek the Lord and ask Him to purify your heart, purify your mind. Body. Number three, what I give access to. Again, what are you giving your body to? Are you giving your body to vape? Are you giving your body to, let's say, McDonald's and Chick-fil-A full of preservatives and bad food? Are you giving your body to fornication and pornography? As a priest, you have to live pure in that area. And spirit. What I agree with in the spirit. What you agree with matters. What opinions you agree with matters. Purity is when your thoughts, motive, actions, and spirit are moving in the same direction towards Him, Jesus. Romans 12.1. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy and do not be conformed to this world. Right? So, we want to present our bodies, our mind, our heart, again, our spirit, all four to God in purity. Purity produces principles. Purity actually will birth discipline. So, it looks like this. Protecting what feeds your secret place. So, whenever you feel that unction to go scroll on your phone, go to the gym, or do something else rather than seeking God in devoted time, you protect that and say, no. This is my fuel to my tank. I need Him. Guarding what influences your sight and sound.

As a priest, I'm not listening to worldly music anymore. Not because I'm sitting there like, oh, it's just demonic, but because I don't want it. I want Jesus. Setting boundaries so the priesthood remains pure. You need to set boundaries. You might have friends and family that are still in the world, and you preach the gospel to them and see them periodically, but you don't want to fellowship with darkness. You don't want to partake in it. If you don't set boundaries for purity, broken people will set them for you. Proverbs 4.23. Let's talk about purity in a fallen world. We live in a culture where impurity is normalized. Where compromise is celebrated. Where conviction is literally mocked. But priests don't fold. They filter. The priest doesn't escape the culture. He carries purity through it. We don't hide like wimps. We drive. We full force. We go into the culture with the light of Christ in purity. Not mixing with it, but shifting the culture in the name of Jesus. John 17.15. God doesn't want us to be out of the world. He wants us to be amongst the evil in a world bringing light. We're fighting darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. Purity is another way we fight. This is when purity becomes power. Purity is what gives you authority. Without purity you can preach, but not pierce. You can speak, but not shift.

You can lead, but not liberate. Impurity in pure hands can lift a mic, but cannot lift a burden off somebody in the spirit. He shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctify, and meet for the master's use. So important. How to maintain purity daily. I'm going to give you guys some direction. To live pure as a priest you must stay consistent in the secret place. Devoted time daily. Confess and be ready to repent quickly and honestly, in heart and in mind. Make sure it's real. That dull influence is that dull sensitivity. So worldly music, we're done with it. We fast from it. Worldly shows or worldly movies, horror movies and all these things, you fast from it. You carry the fear of the Lord. You surround yourself with priests, not just Christians. There's a lot of professing Christians who don't live a consecrated lifestyle. They don't live as priests and kings. You don't want to surround yourself with people like that. You want to actually bring the light to that people group to shift their culture. Purity is not something you achieve. It's something you guard. So family, hear this again. Purity protects power. Holiness maintains hearing and separation. Sustains sensitivity. If you preserve purity, purity will preserve you. If you can only carry his presence to the...

his presence to the degree you protect his presence. Protect the presence of God. Don't let anything influence that presence. The priest's mantle is not maintained by charisma. It's mandated by consecration. You are called to be pure in a polluted world. And because you are pure, your life becomes proof. God bless you guys and see you in the next video.