ABUNDANT LIFE VISION
CLEAN HANDS Psalm 24: 3-4
3. Who has the right to go up the Lord’s hill? Who may enter his holy temple? 4. Those who are pure in acts and in thought, who do not worship idols or make false promises. GOOD NEWS.

Dear friends, happy Sunday and welcome to another teaching this morning. It is my prayer that God will reveal his word to us the more in Jesus name. This morning, we will talk about “clean hands”. What does it mean to have a clean hand? A clean hand in this context does not refer to the physical washing of our hands when they are dirty. Instead, it refers to being blameless, innocent, guiltless and free. Therefore, to have a clean hand is to live a blameless life, a life free from sin, a life with no blemish. It is important to add that pure acts refers to clean hands. Clean hands is the interpretation given in the scripture by King James Version of the bible.
Interestingly, the bible text we read in verse 3 asked two important questions; Who has the right to go up the Lord’s hill? Who may enter his holy temple? These questions centres on having a relationship with God. The bible in verse four of psalm 24 answers the question by saying only those with pure acts and thoughts can have a relationship with God. What this means is that being blameless and guiltless is what qualifies us to enjoy God and relate with him.

Let us quickly talk about pure thoughts. Pure thoughts is to have godly thoughts. Mt 15:19 “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying and slander". (NLT) Whatever unclean act our lives will showcase would have been conceived first in our hearts. There by, making our hearts the playground of the good or bad deeds that we showcase. Furthermore, there are prerequisites for having a clean hand. They are;
1. Staying away from idol worship: God as we all know does not like idol worshipping. He created us and owns everything on earth. Gen 2:7 and psalm 24:1. Thus, he hates it when we turn to idols which are made from the things that were made by him. Idolatry is such a big sin that God would allow the children of Israel go into slavery because of the act. Also, when the gentiles were preached to by Apostle Paul and Barnabas and there was a call by some set of people that they should be circumcised. The recommendation made by Peter and James in Acts 15: 19-20 is that they should abstain from eating food offered to idols among other requirements.
Therefore, in order to have a clean hand before God, we need to abstain from anything that represents idolatry. Whether worshipping and partaking in things that belongs to idols or making certain things in our lives bigger than God.

2. Do not make fake promises: The scripture in Psalm 24:4 mentioned not making fake promises as a requirement of having a clean hand. We need to understand that God wants us to be like him and one of his attributes is that he does not lie or say something he cannot and will not do. Numbers 23: 19 “ God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”. NLT. On this note, to have a relationship with him, you need to be like him in the aspect of staying true to your words. You do not mislead people and you keep to every promise you make to people. Mt 5:33 Matthew 5:33 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the lord.’ NLT.

In addition, when these are in place in our lives (being blameless, good, guiltless, innocent and free from idolatry). We can lift up our holy hands to God and enter his presence to have a relationship with him. 1 Timothy 2:8 “In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy”. NLT.

If you want God to cleanse your hands from sin and have a relationship with him, say this prayer after me; dear Lord, thank you for the word of truth you have sent to me, I pray that you wash away all of my evil deeds with your blood and bring me into your kingdom. Amen. If you have recited that prayer wholeheartedly, I congratulate you and welcome you into the fold of the children of God. Do well to join a bible believing church near you as you start this amazing journey. May God bless you abundantly.