Purifying The Heart

Chapter Four

We must face the truth found in the Word of God concerning our inability to manifest Christ in the earth. If we are not willing to guard our hearts against iniquity (lawlessness), we will not only dishonor the ministry, but we will eventually find ourselves in hell.

I John 2:9-11

9 He that saith he is in the light, and HATETH his brother, is in darkness even until now.

10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

11 But he thatHATETH HIS BROTHER IS IN DARKNESS, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

If you hate your brother the love of God is not in you. It is impossible to love one person with the love of God and hate another. To love with the love of God is to walk in the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is not a respecter of persons. He is not selective as to whom He is going to love. God loves the whole world, whether they are offensive or not.

Look with me to St. Matthew the 5th chapter:

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48Be ye therefore PERFECT, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

I was sharing with some of the leaders how I have seen the stopping point that ministers reach in trying to achieve the ministry of the Holy Ghost. They stop short in their willingness to love those who offend or despitefully use them. In addition, they are presumptuous to believe that they can save the world when they have never forgiven that wife, husband, friend or enemy who hurt or disappointed them.

There is no way God is going to sanction your ministry to the masses, when you have not forgiven or sought to deliver the one whom He placed in your life, as a point of reference, to manifest the grace that He has dispensed in your life. That person’s offense was an opportunity for you to dispense the grace of God in their life.

You have lost the opportunity to glorify God in the lives of those who offend you and now proceed into victorious ministry in the kingdom of Satan. You are deceived and blinded by your own pride. You walk in darkness and have no idea where you are going. Listen to what the Lord has to say about such a mindset.

Psalm 14:4-5

4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.

5 There were they in great fear:for God is in the generation of the righteous.

The Lord asks the question here, “Are those who work with iniquity in their hearts totally ignorant of my Word? Do not they realize that I am only found in the generation who walks in righteous obedience to my Word?”

It is a fact that those who have great knowledge of the Word and are fervent in the ministry, can and will lose sight of all that they have heard or taught when pride, lust or unforgiveness rule the heart.

God will only work ministry in those who are righteous before Him and man. To stand in righteousness before man is to reveal the love of the Father. However, to deny the Father the ability to love His creation through us is to alienate ourselves from salvation. We will be denied the working of the Holy Ghost in our ministries and more importantly, we will be denied entrance into the kingdom of Christ.

God is not divided in His emotions, neither is He black and white. HE IS LOVE ALL THE TIME. If we walk in His Spirit, then we, too, will not be divided in our emotions. We will love in spite of the situation or consequences.

To love in this manner is the only way to prove that we are the children of God. Jesus said so in St. Matthew 5:44-48. Our relationship with the Father is manifested in our love of the brethren and those of the world who know Him not.

There is no perfection outside of His love. There is no holiness and no approval of life or ministry. These are the cold facts we must finally face. We need to see one another as God sees us.

I. WORKING IN INIQUITY

Below is a parable the Lord spoke in His teachings concerning those who diligently work the ministry. It proves that we can work fervently in the Body, faithfully performing the things set before us to do, and still miss His heart and mind.

St. Matthew 20:8-16

8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

10 But when the first came,they supposed that they should have received more;and they likewise received every man a penny.

11And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

12 Saying,These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them EQUAL unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? IS THINE EYE EVIL, BECAUSE I AM GOOD?

16So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

All were called to work in the vineyard, which is a type of the world. However, those who were hired in the early part of the day resented the fact that those who came to work later received the same pay.

This is an extraordinary example of how it is possible to work diligently for the Lord in bringing others to deliverance and we become castaways.

Envy and covetousness are attributes of Satan and flesh. There is no place in the kingdom for such. Nevertheless, greed and envy will blind you to your known disposition and spiritual location relative to God.

In this case, the situation was labor in the vineyard. However, any situation that genders lust, greed, pride or wantonness of any kind will have the same affect.

LUST, GREED, PRIDE OR WANTONNESS OF ANY KIND IS INIQUITY OF THE HEART. These things stop the flow of love, both the love for God and the love for our fellowman. They cause the Sons to pursue the things of the world instead of the will of the Father. This “want” causes wars and divisions in the Body (James 4:1-2).

The parable in St. Matthew 20:8-16 reveals the:

NATURE OF THE FLESH

1. It will always envy and resent those who it deems to have

an advantage it does not have. This is simple JEALOUSY.

2. It is as cruel as the grave.

3. It is known to drive men and women of the Body

into the spirit of hatred.

However, I am amazed at the fact that though jealousy can be very apparent in the life of an individual, especially a minister of the gospel, it is the hardest thing for that individual to admit. Either the god of this world or the pride of the minister will not allow him to face the brutal truth about his jealousy of another.

JEALOUSY DOES NOT REGARD THE SOURCE OF THE ABILITY, POSITION OR POWER ITS VICTIM ENJOYS. It is of no consequence that the Lord is the author of such exaltation. The focus is forever on the fact that someone else was either given or has achieved that which they did not.

Jealousy, greed or wantonness isdarkness. However, in Christ is no darkness at all. Therefore, it is impossible for Christ to be the one working the ministry when this darkness is present.

We must be honest with ourselves. Christ is not going to work through anything less than a pure heart. Darkness in the heart stops the flow of love. God is love. It is the love of God that heals, delivers and sets free.

The reality of such a situation is that in such cases one is offended with the Father for using, trusting and rewarding the other individual as it pleased Him.

Beloved, protect your ministry by guarding your heart from such tragedies. We are the Sons of God and we can love as He loves. Take your place and wait on

your reward. His grace is sufficient in your life. Do all that He has given you to do. Do not covet anyone else’s relationship with the Father. Do not have an evil eye concerning their position in the Body. Remember, it is the Lord who works all in all.

II. CONFIDENCE IN MINISTRY

The building of great cathedrals, television and other media exposure has defined “God is working with us.” When, in fact, it is good public relations and smart business sense that has built many ministries. This becomes evident when the power over the works of Satan is not present in the ministry itself.

I want you to see how iniquity was first revealed in the disciples. The 9th chapter of St. Luke is a good illustration of the deceitfulness of iniquity of the heart.

St. Luke 9:1-6

1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, andgave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.

5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

6 And they departed, and went through the towns,preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Thecalling into ministryis to be given power and authority over all the power of the enemy. It is important to note this because it is Christ in us who is going to do the work. THERE IS NO POWER OF SATAN THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER. Therefore, it is possible for the Sons of God to be confident in working the works of God. Confidence in ministry is most important. It fact, it is most necessary.

Note the order here. Jesus taught the disciples the gospel of the kingdom first. These teachings included a revelation of the spiritual nature of the kingdom, as well as the mindset of those who occupy it.

After they had spent quality time with the Master and learned the things pertaining to the kingdom, it was time for them to go forth and preach the gospel with a demonstration of the same.

To do this effectively, they needed power over all the power Satan had in the lives of the people they would minister to. This is exactly what the Lord did for them. Thus, they could go forth with confidence in their ministries.

Why did the disciples have such confidence in ministry? Was it simply because the Lord gave them power over the power of the enemy? I do not think so. We have received the same power over Satan as they received. The Holy Ghost is the only power on earth that can humble Satan. The same Holy Ghost dwells within us. What is the problem? Why are we never one hundred percent certain of the outcome of our prayers for deliverance? The following scripture gives a simple answer to these questions.

I John 3:20-23

20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

Now we will read these same verses in their Amplified version:

20 Whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For we are in God’s hands.] For He is above all and greater than our consciences (our hearts), and He knows (perceives and understands) everything [nothing is hidden from Him].

21 And, beloved, if our consciences (our hearts) do not accuse us [if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us], we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God.

22And we RECEIVE from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him.

23 And this is His order (His command, His injunction): that we should believe in (put our faith and trust in and adhere to and rely on) the name of His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and that we should love on another, just as He has commanded us.

IT IS THE COUNSEL OF OUR OWN HEART THAT CONDEMNS US. It is the hidden man of the heart that knows our motives and most secret desires. He knows how we really feel about situations, circumstances and people. He knows if we love the brethren with a pure heart or whether we have personal agendas concerning the people of God.

If we take the above passages at face value, then we must agree that it is the contents of our hearts that have separated us from the power of ministry. It is also the content of our hearts that cause us to miss the mark of perfection. We will never walk in the Spirit until we want nothing from this world. It is the want or pride that condemns us.

Philippians 3:3

For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Now the Amplified version:

For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances.

First of all, those who work in the kingdom must have no confidence in the flesh. We must consider that it is the Father who works through us. The work of ministry is that of the Lord. It is not by the will or power of the flesh. Knowing these things, we should fight hard to maintain a righteous posture concerning the power of ministry.

However, there is still an area of deception in which Satan is usually able to work in the hearts of the ministers of the gospel. Why?

Why do we strive to work in the army of the Lord? Why do we really want to serve? For that matter, why do we strive to be holy and righteousness before Him? Most of us would say that it is because either the Lord has been good to us, we love Him and sincerely desire to spend eternity with Him, we do not want go to hell or His goodness toward us has created a desire to serve Him.

If we can truly say that all of the above are true and there is no iniquity in our heart, then why have we fallen short of perfection and the Jesus ministry?

Beloved, these are very good reasons, but they are not enough to satisfy the Father. They actually demonstrate selfishness and insensitivity to the plight of our fellowman. Our desire to serve the Lord must go past His goodness toward us. Israel was able to achieve that.

III. GOD IS LOVE

St. Mark 12:30-31

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this,Thou shaltlove thy neighbour as thyself.There is none other commandment greater than these.

The Father gave us two great commandments: We should love the Father with all our heart and love our fellowman as ourselves. We cannot achieve the righteousness of God because we do not love our neighbor as our self.

I hope that you really understand what I am trying to say here. This is a truth that must be made known to the entire Body of Christ, not just those called to the ministry.

Until we love our fellowman as we love ourselves, we will never be able to achieve the righteousness of God.

We say that we love the Lord, but He made a comment on that issue.

I John 4:20-21

20 If a man say,I love God, and hateth his brother, HE IS A LIAR: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

21 And this commandment have we from him,That he who loveth God love his brother also.

You must understand that we have not loved the Father until we have loved one another. It is through the love of mankind that we will love the Father.

When we truly love the brethren we have apprehended Christ. When we love our fellowman, we have achieved righteousness. Love is without dissimulation. If we

love the Father, then we will not sin against Him. The same is true of loving the brethren. However, to love both requires that we want nothing from this world.

If we truly loved man as ourselves, then we would be pitiful towards them and would not cease to seek the righteousness of God, which empowers us to reach them. We must strive for holiness for the sake of our fellowman. We must love them that much. TO TRULY LOVE MAN IS TO BE WILLING TO GIVE ONE’S LIFE FOR HIM.

Until we reach this place in the Spirit, we have not reached the heart and mind of God. Remember beloved, there is no real striving to achieve righteousness, until there is a willingness to love those for whom our Savior died. Let us go to St. Matthew 23:11:

But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

This is the mind that has escaped some ministers of the gospel. WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE. But we have only comprehended servitude to God. We have not considered that we are servants of man as well.

St. Luke 22:26-27

26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, AS HE THAT DOTH SERVE.

27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

Without this great love for the people of God and the people of the world, we will never have confidence in ministry. The mind of the servant and the love of the Father must be the heart of the Sons.

After having worked the ministry with Jesus for some period of time, the disciples became lifted up in pride. When this happens, issues arise that divide and bring the ministry to nought.

St. Luke 9:46-50

46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.

47 And Jesus,perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,

48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.

50 And Jesus said unto him,FORBID HIM NOT: for he that is not against us is for us.

We must endeavor to purify our hearts. Do not allow the grace of God, which is given to us to glorify the Father, to be trampled upon by our fleshy mind. Beloved, we must deal with our own hearts. We must search out the deep secrets of our hearts and allow the light of the knowledge of God to be shed abroad in our hearts and minds. Then and only then will we be trusted with the Jesus ministry.