Purity of Heart: The Key to Revival - Part 2 - David Mitts

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?

And who may stand in His holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood

And has not sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD 

And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 This is the generation of those who seek Him,

Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah.

 (Psalms 24:3-6 (NASB))

Last week we began looking at and pressing in for a breakthrough in the condition of our hearts that bring us into the Presence of the Lord.

We spoke about “lifting up our soul to falsehoods”.  I want to plunge a little deeper into this topic.  The Hebrew word translated as “lifting up” is “nasah”.  This is an ancient Hebrew word root that has been translated as many things from “to bear”, “To be married”, to carry, etc.  The word picture is of a seed and a thorn.  The idea in the word picture is of a generational thorn or wound, an iniquity.  This gives the impression that we carry falsehoods in our souls that we have inherited from our seed bearers. 

There are many “family secrets” that are falsehoods that we carry in our souls.

Listen to Message

The “sworn deceitfully” is also very revealing.  To swear is to “Sheva” or to “7”.  It is a covenant or oath.  Deceitfully, refers to a high place, or a false authority.  The Hebrew word is “mirmah” which is derived from the root “ram” which means to betray or to shoot with an arrow.  So their is an oath of betrayal, a Judas factor.

These are the opposite of clean hands and a pure heart.  So, we can see a secret, hidden type of being, a whisperer of deception, one who makes secret covenants based on lies and half-truths.  This is the Judas factor that claims intimacy with the Lord, but refuses the honest self-examination that allows us to enter into the Presence of the Lord.  Judas was one of the 12.  He was a chosen vessel for the anointing.  Yet he struggled with a falsehood in his soul which caused him to betray the anointed one.  We may not be in the position to betray Yeshua's Himself but we can betray, those He gave to us to shepherd His anointing.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NASB)

[11] And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, [12] for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 

We have learned over the years that many falsehoods have come into our being with trauma.  Some of the trauma still contains a lingering pain that is kept in place by falsehoods or lies.  These in turn reinforce themselves with pride.  Pride is the need to protect myself.  “I am responsible for me” is the decision of pride.  It breeds an inner need for perfectionism and to be in control.  It also breeds an independence and an isolation spirit. 

When we get hurt, this whole mechanism clicks into place.  We feel a pull to isolate and take care of business on our own.  The problem is that our “solution” of isolation puts up a wall to others and ultimately to God.

In this place of hurt and withdrawing, we often feel misunderstood and climb into the victim’s seat easily.  The tears flow or worse, the anger takes over and resentment builds.

Why am I spending so much time on this, you ask?!?  The reason is because we are a community committed to healing.  The challenge is healing requires vision for the healed.  We have a cultural bias towards sickness.  We have trained ourselves in sickness management, NOT in healing.  Even if we get prayer for our sickness and God touches us, we just want the miracle to be the removal of the sickness.  BUT what we don't ask is what does God want??

We all know this verse:

(3Jn 2)

[2] Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 

The question or the qualifier is prosperity of soul.  Well let’s continue with the chapter and see if the scripture will interpret itself.

[3] For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. [4] I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.(3Jn 3-4)

So now we see a contrast.  Soul prosperity involves walking in the truth and soul falsehoods then must be the opposite of soul prosperity.   In other words our health is affected by what we believe to be true.  So, if we are a healing ministry then we must be vigilant about coming into agreement with lies that arise out of our pain.  Remembering that we cannot amend into God’s Presence if we lift up our soul to falsehoods or make a covenant, vows with deception.  

Now, we can understand how our tendency to protect ourselves by stuffing our hurts and remaining in self-sufficiency, code words for pride, how it literally keeps us from God and from health and well-being of soul.  Let’s look one step further in John’s writing here:

[5] Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; [6] and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. [7] For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. [8] Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.(3Jn 5-8).

When we are attacked in our soul, we will see it affecting our desire to give.  Because we are hurt we stop acting faithfully with those God has put in our charge.  Oh we might send money off to a foreign land, but what about the family of God we are connected with.  Well because we are wounded and believe lies we don't want to.  Can you feel the pull of isolation?  How ungodly it is.

You what is really at stake here is God’s image.  God is community, Father-Son-Spirit.  He is oneness.  He created us in His image as community.

[26] Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” [27] God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. [28] God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Ge 1:26-28)

So we were created for community.  When we isolate, we generate sickness in our soul.  We don't realize that our isolation, our self-protection, is actually self-destruction.  We try to numb our pain by withdrawing, but all that we really have done is cut-off life.

Now, we are going to reply open this up.  What draws man to repentance??  

[4] Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Ro 2:4)

It is God’s goodness, or His essential character, His Glory.  So, what would draw us away from repentance and humility?  Well you answer correctly “pride”.  But the Bible is specific about what anti-goodness is for man:

[18] And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Ge 2:18).

So, we see that isolation is anti-Christ.  This is why offense and self-protection is a strategy of satan.  

[23] But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”(Mt 16:23).

So there is a battle for our mindfulness, where we put our thoughts.  Peter was telling Yeshua that giving His life for the restoration of the world was not OK.  He was proclaiming self-protection!!  What did Yeshua respond after identifying self-protection as satan’s strategy:

[24] Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. [25] “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. [26] “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? [27] “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. (Mt 16:24-27)

You see, satan’s strategy is offense and self protection because forgives and healing is the way of the cross.  It is the restoration of the image of God.  It is losing the self life for the community life.

One final thought and then we will pray:

When man was created, he was create self aware.  Man, as Adam was instructed to eat or be nourished by life.  He was instructed to avoid the tree of death, which came through judgment, the “knowledge of good and evil”.  Life comes though connection and healing death comes through judgment and self protection.  Let’s repent of our judgments and be healed.

[15] And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [16] Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  (Jas 5:15-16)

The word is trespasses.  A trespass is a violation of boundaries.  Judgments violate boundaries and make us the victim and sick. God is the creator of boundaries, territories of responsibility or stewardship.  When we judge we become a god and transgress and trespass on what God has appointed. Peter thought that the cross was not for Yeshua'. Yeshua rebuked Him for evaluating actions through His own idol of self-protection, which we know he had because he denied the Lord to save himself.

Ask the Lord. What idol of self protection is causing me to judge others?  Whose destiny am I resisting because like Peter I may have to give up my pride? Where have I denied the Lord and what He is doing because it doesn't fit my ideas?