“Blessed are the pure (katharos) in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Purity starts from the inside out, from the heart. Purity does not come from outward show, but from inward glow. What is lighting your lamp within? Make it the one who is brighter than the sun at midday and is the purest of all.
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:1-3.
How do you keep your life pure? By keeping it according to My Word, Psalm 119:9, and My Word became flesh and dwelt among you and you have seen His glory, grace upon grace.
You are already clean (katharos) because of the Word which I have spoken to you. John 15:3.
David prayed after he fell in sensual sin that I would create a clean heart in him and renew a steadfast spirit within him. Psalm 51:10. Above all, he asked Me not to cast him out of My presence or take My Holy Spirit away from him. Psalm 51:11. He wanted Me to purge him of sin and he knew only I could do that by My Spirit upon him. Psalm 51:1-2. And to this desire in every repentant sinner’s heart I have given the answer in your Messiah Jesus Christ. The Lamb slain since the foundation of the world taking up your sins so you could all come in to My house forever.
Purified by His blood and washed in the water of the Word you now are at a whole new level. My Spirit is not only upon you, He is in you making you holy from the inside as you work it out.
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness. Ezekiel 36:25-29.
My promise of My Spirit abiding in your midst. So your answer to a pure heart and life, which is true joy free from the burden of guilt and shame, is to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, which is by faith and not by sight.
There are three things that make you impure and if you get these under control by attaching to the vine of My Son by remaining in My Word and My Word remaining in you (remember, My Word cleanses (purges) you of all unclean matter) then you will have a happy life. And the devil has used these three since he pulled Adam and Eve out of the purity of My Word to the impurity of lies. He got them into the flesh arena and out of the spirit arena. And that is the only way he can win with you as well. So be careful how you walk.
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17.
I am talking about the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. These three line up with the areas that cause impurity: (i) uncontrolled mind, that is, thoughts of the mind (lust of the eyes), (ii) uncontrolled actions, that is, just doing whatever your motions and flesh craves (the lust of the flesh), and (iii) uncontrolled mouth, that is, your words (boastful pride of life).
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be as God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), and that it was a delight to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (boastful pride of life), she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:4-6.
Once pulled into the flesh, the truth of My Word, which is spirit and life, no longer was a deciding factor in the equation of whether to go for the forbidden fruit or not. Restraint was gone for the flesh has no reason to exercise it and curtail its lust. Once the spirit realm is removed the flesh has no controls and can destroy you. Remember the golden calf at Mt. Sinai? The people walked right out of the spirit realm of My presence into unrestrained flesh. It was that easy to cross the light line into darkness.
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18.
Without knowledge of My Word, the people perish. But it is not because the knowledge is not available. They do not pay attention to Me but only to their own thoughts. And this is a dangerous way to live and to die.
If you do not control your thoughts, words, and actions, they will control you, torment you, and ultimately destroy you.
Consider Samuel and Samson, both were judges in Israel and both had miraculous births to barren woman. Both were called on missions to save My people and each was set apart for Me with special gifts from birth. Samuel, however, was obedient to his parents and then to Eli the high priest, and from that came his obedience to Me and his close fellowship with Me in his interest in hearing what I had to say and keeping his actions in accordance with My Words. He was recognized throughout the land as a prophet in his knowledge of My Word, was much loved, and brought the people back to Me by giving them My Word and living My Word. When it came time for Samuel to depart this life, all Israel mourned his death. He was held in honor and high esteem by Me and men.
Samson on the other hand put no restraints on his flesh and used My gift of the spirit in strength to him for his own lusts and purposes. He did not honor or obey his parents but made them do his will though it was contrary to My law. His parents did not discipline him or help him in this matter, being awed that he was set aside by the message I sent his mother before his birth, but I had entrusted his upbringing in the faith to them. Consequently, instead of growing in spirit and truth, Samson quenched the spirit with his fleshly lusts and gave his heart to the enemy. It was then My Spirit departed from resting upon him and he was taken into captivity by the enemy. In the end by turning his heart back to Me he conquered the enemy and took his captives captive but asked to die in the process, cutting his life short by his own words. No one mourned his death.
What is the answer? Same as what made the difference between Samson and Samuel, the same as what made the difference between Joshua and about two million Israelites, the same as made the difference between Saul and David, the same as made the difference between Ahab and Elijah, the same as made the difference between Herod and John the Baptist, the same as made the difference between Peter and Judas, and ultimately the same that made the difference between Jesus and Adam, and what was that? How you treat My Word. Whether you will listen to and do My Word as precious and desirable to you or whether you reject it as not valuable to you. It is the rock foundation that Jesus talked about all over again.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27.
Uncontrolled thoughts and words will result in the deeds of the flesh, and these come from within a man and render him impure. The answer is to walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. The flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:16-21.
It is time you clothed yourself in Christ and made no provisions for the desires of your flesh by attaching to Him as a branch to its vine, and taking every thought captive to the obedience to Christ, which was perfectly aligned with My Word.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who [k]belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also [l]walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26.
To walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, which is to be free of binding addictions, evil behavior, and things you are later ashamed of, you must do the things of the spirit. That is why I tell you to desire earnestly the spiritual gifts and to pursue love, for I am love, so you are pursuing Me and the gifts that raise you above the flesh level of the worldly minded (for Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to the glory of My Word) to see in the Kingdom level. Born again from above by My Word you can go deeper and higher in what you see.
So what things of the Spirit can you do? The first thing that opened the Spirit realm to the one hundred twenty believers gathered in the upper room on the day Pentecost was fulfilled was speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. You who are born again from above have My Spirit in you and your spirits are alive to Me. You can all speak in tongues and I desire you to do this and thus allow the Spirit to lead you and refresh you in prayer that is beyond human or angelic understanding that can only be interpreted by My Spirit to your spirit. So when you speak in tongues your mind in the flesh is not active but only your spirit. So pray in the spirit and also pray with your understanding and this is revelation where the spirit and the flesh can meet elevating your flesh to spirit actions rather than devilish actions. Never neglect to pray in tongues. My servant Paul had great revelation in the Spirit and he writes to you that he prayed in tongues more than any of you. When you pray in tongues you build up your spirit and overcome the flesh.
I also tell you to use your words, harness you uncontrolled mouth, to prophesy. Whenever Jesus spoke it was to prophesy, that is, to speak for the edification, encouragement, and exhortation of the one hearing so as to give grace to that one. Do not speak to show people up and shame them. Speak to uplift and reframe their thinking to higher realms where Christ is seated at My right hand. That is why Jesus only spoke My Words, that is, all His Words aligned with Mine and brought Kingdom results to the earth.
If you would all but prophesy and pray in tongues with interpretation of your tongues by yourself or others you would be amazed at the level to which your life in the Spirit would increase and your flesh would become less and less of a problem. Once you have your spirit in control you life becomes sweet and a wonderful place of rest and peace to you. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Be sure that you are exercising as a member of His body making full use of them mind of Christ as your head. You are no longer trapped in the flesh by the law of sin and death, you have been released by the spirit of life in Christ Jesus to a whole new creation. You are not the same as you used to be. Begin to walk in who you are in Christ by the gifts of the spirit and you no longer be controlled by the lusts of the flesh.
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us [d]by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 1:1-11.
Ponder that and let My Spirit guide you to all truth.
I love you. To walk in the Spirit, you must pursue the things of the Spirit. It makes all the difference in your life and of all those around you to the very ends of the earth. One life to live, do not mess it up for what you do here determines your forever.