Deception In The Heart

Summary Scripture:

Philippians 3:15 - Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

It is with the greatest love and humility that I write to you a second epistle concerning the disposition of the heart. Upon reading, I trust that you will examine yourself accordingly for it is the counsel of our hearts that will testify against us in the judgment

As I have said many times in other lessons, the impurity of the heart is a major issue to be considered when one cannot walk in the Spirit. God is calling us to righteousness. It is His intent to have a body of baptized believers who can manifest Christ in the earth.

I also believe that impurity of the heart is the greatest manifestation of unbelief in the sons of God. Consequently, unbelief magnifies pride and stubbornness.

UNBELIEF is to reject known and proven truth.

Is it that we do not believe what God has said, or what we have seen to be proven truth? or is it that we simply challenge that truth with our dispositions? I have counseled many saints; after which, I concluded that they just simply do not believe the Word of God. However, those saints who manifest all the evidence of unbelief would argue that they truly do believe the Word of God. Then why do they rebel? Why is it so hard for them to obey? The answer is simple. They walk in pride and stubbornness. To believe is to be fully persuaded. This persuasion goes beyond having a mental knowledge of the will of God. Belief conquers and destroys all opposition in the soul, it establishes truth in our heart, and genders a desire to obey God.

Many saints become angry when I tell them that they simply do not believe because they truly feel that they do believe God. They will tell you quickly, “I believe the Word. I know it is true.” This sincerity is because they have given mental assent to the knowledge of God that they have heard and learned. Nevertheless, the truth is they do not believe beyond their pride or their unwillingness to obey. Therefore, they remain in unbelief. You, too, may be one who confesses belief without obedience. It may be that unbelief is alienating you from God. You have not believed until all pride is destroyed. To determine if this is true, let us look a little closer at the elements of pride and stubbornness.

As we can see from the definition below the Scripture uses other adjectives to describe pride. We will go directly to the scriptures illustrating the definitions.

PRIDE

1. 1 John 2:16, boastful or vainglory.

2. Mark 7:22: haughty.

3. “lifted up” 1 Tim 3:6, “puffed up” high-minded.

I John 2:16

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

There have been many teachings on the lust of the flesh and the pride of life in which we have dealt with the obvious manifestation of such. However, let us examine this lust from within the heart. It is a fact that when we do not walk in the Spirit, we walk after the flesh. Therefore, we mind things of the flesh. I remember Jesus saying to the Pharisees, in St. John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” I also recall Satan as having been referred to as the

god of this world (II Corinthians 4:4). If lust and pride are of the world then they are of Satan. He is the author of the world’s lust and pride. Therefore, when we walk in the flesh, what we feel, want and desire is of the devil. We must see that he is the motivation for all that we want while walking in the flesh.We walk after the flesh when our hearts seek after the things the flesh wants. If these wants originate with Satan, we can be certain they will war against the purpose of God for our life.

Beloved, you must see and understand that Sin is powerful in our members when we forsake the power of the Spirit of God. Flesh is competitive, retributive, envious, mean and malicious. Therefore, when we walk in the flesh, we become all of the above. It is only circumstances that dictate which of

these attributes will be put on display. Nevertheless, they are all at our disposal when we forsake the Spirit and walk after the flesh.

Follow the Spirit here. Please consider that unforgiveness is to be judgmental. To be judgmental is to walk in pride.

The judgmental spirit can also become competitive, mean and malicious depending upon the nature of circumstances, situations and relationships. These manifestations will occur according to the will and purpose of Satan. Yes, beloved, when we walk in the flesh, we are agents of the devil. He can use us

at will to stop the flow of love in the Body of Christ and to war against the purpose of God in our lives and the lives of others. In doing so, we dishonor God and discredit the message of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. How is it that one can know this to be fact, yet remain an agent of

the Devil? The answer is simple, unbelief. You have not believed the destruction of pride and stubbornness in your heart.

I John 2:17-18

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

ANTICHRIST can mean either “against Christ” or “instead of Christ,” or perhaps, combining the two, “one who, assuming the guise of Christ, opposes Christ” The word is found only in John’s epistles, I have highlighted two elements of the definition, for here is where I want to focus.

The spirit of antichrist operates “against Christ” to the point of denying the existence of Christ. Whereas, the “false Christ” operates “instead of Christ.” When we walk in the flesh we can become “one who, assuming the guise of Christ, opposes Christ.” How does all this relate to unforgiveness and judgmentalism? To walk in unforgiveness or judgment of another is to say, “I am, or my standards are the righteousness of God. I am the righteousness which is Christ. I can judge and punish those who did not satisfy my standards.

Is this the true nature of Christ? Is this the nature of our holy judge? Is He not forgiving, loving and kind, slow to anger and without retribution? Is He not a long-suffering Savior who seeks not His own will but the will of the Father? If the above is true, then the saint who stands in judgment of another is a false Christ or an antichrist. I am sure many would argue this point. However, the Word speaks for itself. It is time for us to judge our own hearts to see whether we are in the faith or whether we oppose Christ.

I John 2:19

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. According to this scripture, sooner or later all those who oppose Christ will be revealed. The Scripture declares two cannot walk together except they agree. It is given that the mindsets that oppose the purpose of God will be made known and they will bring about a separation between those who walk in the Spirit and those who do not. This rejecting mindset is often taken to be a small thing. One reason being, those who hold such mindsets have remained among us. They have maintained responsibilities in the ministry. They have participated in all of the ministerial events, but they have never purified their hearts or accepted the truth as law for their lives. This is deception of the worst kind. It shall be manifested that they are not of Christ. The Word of God tells us in Philippians 3:15 “. . . and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”

I John 2:20-23

20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is

antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

I think it will be good for us to look at what it means to deny Christ.

To Deny is to “abrogate, forsake, or renounce a thing,” whether evil or good, not to accept, but to reject” something offered. “To deny oneself,” either in a good sense, by disregarding one’s own interests, Luke 9:23, or in a bad sense, to prove false to oneself, to act quite unlike oneself, 2 Tim 2:13; If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. He abides faithful even if we do not believe. The Lord is not going to be anything less than what He is. Neither is He going to do anything less than what He has already said He would do. He is holy, and He has declared that we must be holy. He will not accept anything less than holiness.