Matthew 5:8, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’
Through all the situations we go through, we should be pure in heart and see God clearly in everything. Always listen to the Holy Spirit promptings and always see ourselves in the light that He is showing us, every day in our lives. Let us not complain in our personal situations, let us seek purity in our lives. We know about Sadhu Sundar Singh, who was having a great zeal to know who is the real God, taking a radical step, even to take his own life, if God is not revealing it to Him. He also had purity in his life, he did not sin with his eyes. Then God reveals Himself to Sadhu Sundar Singh and a ministry was opened in Tibet.
Psalms 51:6, ‘Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.’
We can act outside but God is looking at the truth in the innermost being. David knows that God desires truth in the innermost being.
Matthew 6:22-23, ‘“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!’
The eye is the lamp of the body, we need to be careful with our eyes. Closely watch where our heart is and what are we treasuring?
V21, ‘for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ V24, ‘“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’
We need to be careful about our heart also, where it is set. Is our eye, clear, to see God in all our situations? If yes, then our whole body will be full of light!
Luke 11:34-36, ‘The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”’
Watch out that the light in you, is not darkness! Other than God, if something of this world is becoming treasure in our hearts, then we are being carried away from God.
Genesis 3:6, ‘When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.’
We see the fall of man, where man was made to have fellowship with God, but man sinned by denying God’s will for Him and doing his own will. This is the same way we also fall, by denying God’s will in our lives, thinking ‘I know better’, and doing our own will in situations. Eve saw that the tree was good for food and it will make me wise; we also think sometimes, it is no harm in choosing some things and doing some things; but it will slowly lead us away from the Lord. Eve plucked the fruit which she was not allowed to do and she ate and gave it to her husband too! And they fell into sin. They were very happy in the beginning! Many times, we also fall away; from the way we started our Christian journey, very well with faithfulness and slowly fall away by allowing our light, get dimmed! We need to be always careful, by checking ourselves by the light we receive, by listening to the Holy Spirit promptings in our lives.
Ecclesiastes 7:8, ‘The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.’
We all have started our Christian walk in faithfulness and much eagerness, are we continuing in it? Patience of spirit is better than pride of spirit. We see that the Old testament Kings also, so many of them started on a good note but got drifted away from the Lord over the period of time.
King Solomon is the best example. He started very well, built the temple of the Lord, dedicated to the Lord, prayed to God, gave sacrifices, God was pleased with them and the temple was filled with smoke, when the fire fell from the heaven. But we see that over the period of time, we see that the riches and the glory he received through his wisdom and the foreign women he married, turned him away from following the Lord. Let us be careful how we are landing, are we drifting away from the Lord? Let us check ourselves beforehand!
King Hezekiah also started very well.
2 Kings 18:2-6, ‘He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.’
2 Kings 20:1-6, ‘In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”’
Every day we are getting up early in the morning. Is there anything that we want to give to the Lord? Is the light from Jesus working in us, every day?
When King Hezekiah was asking for proof that the Lord will give him 15 more years, Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him the proof!
V8-V11, ‘Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?” 9 Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?” 10 So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.” 11 Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’
This is one of the miracles in the history where the shadow on the stairway went back ten steps! This was the confirmation King Hezekiah received from the Lord. Later we see that the King opened up his riches and treasures to the Babylonian king. Prophet Isaiah warned him that the Babylon will capture them and take them to Babylon. We see how he started his life on a good note, having his faith in the Lord but slowly towards the end of his life, he became proud. Though he received a sign from the Lord, He gave no return for the benefit, he received!
When ask God for health, after receiving, are we remaining faithful to our God, are we giving to the Lord, any benefit through our lives? Are we closely watching ourselves and our hearts? Are we fully submitting to the Lord?
2 Chronicles 32:22, 23, ‘So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side. 23 And many were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and choice presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.’ V25, ‘But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore, wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.’
In his lifetime, there was peace but his son, Manasseh did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Are we able to give some benefit to the Lord when He is blessing us with health and life! Let us closely watch our lives. Let us submit ourselves to the Lord.
King David, when Shimei cursed him, we can see the way he reacted,
2 Samuel 16:11, ‘Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my son who came out from me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him’.
We see the attitude of King David, when Shimei cursed him, he says, ‘Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him’.
When King David sinned against Bathsheba, was when he was relaxing, he sinned. In the same way, when we are having a time of relaxation, knowingly or unknowingly we get carried away by the lust of the flesh, lustful eye, boastful pride of life; we can overcome these only by having faith in our God, as the world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever, as we see in, 1 John 2:17.
If we are not looking at the things which are not supposed to, then we would have got one drop of grace. Let us have this attitude and grow in grace. As there is so much knowledge available out in the world and many things to look at, are we careful to grow in the knowledge of our God? It should not take us away from the light, which God had shed on our lives before. Grace should not drop. We see that David went on with his lust in Bathsheba case; but He restrained himself in Shimei case.
Matthew 5:27, ‘“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;
28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’
We need to be pure in our looks and ask God for help to overcome in this area.
V29, ‘If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.’
We need to take a radical step in following this. We lose God’s grace if we do not heed to this. Let us be careful in what we look at, what we read and the knowledge that we acquire also.
Proverbs 6:16, ‘There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers’.
These are the seven things which are an abomination to the Lord. King Solomon wrote this. But we see what happened to him at the end of his life, he turned away from the Lord. Are we also becoming like him, by giving messages of high standard, not testing our own hearts, is there purity in our hearts?
Job 31:1, ‘“I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?’
Job, being an old covenant man, had made a covenant with his eyes, not to gaze at a virgin! Are we pure in this area? We need to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. If not, God will send a deluding spirit. Let us be diligent in this area! If we are not learning the truths that the Holy Spirit is giving us every day – to save us from sin, then the Lord will send a deluding spirit on us and we will get carried away and we will not know, we will be only thinking that everything is fine with us! It is a fearful thing! There is a deceit in this lust, getting carried away easily not knowing it is a deceit. We should take our Christian walk very seriously. We need to radically follow the Lord and stay away from sin.
John 1:4-5, ‘In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.’
Jesus’ life is the light of men. This light shines in the darkness and it cannot comprehend it!
V6,’ There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.’
John the Baptist came as a witness to testify about the Light, ‘to repent from your sinful life’!
V9. ‘There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man’.
True Light, is ‘the Lord Himself and is coming into the world and it enlightens every man’. This light shows us the glory of the Lord. It enlightens every man’s heart.
When Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, he was able to see his own sin in the light. He says, ‘Woe is me, I am ruined, I am a man of unclean lips’
Isaiah 6:6, ‘Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs’.
We see that Isaiah was surrendering himself completely.
John 3:19, ‘This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.’
Men loved the darkness as their deeds were evil. There is always a fear in him, that if he comes to the light, his deeds will be exposed.
V21, ‘But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”’
There is a requirement in our lives, that we practice this truth and come into the light, then the Holy Spirit is prompting to us something from the light of Jesus; so, we can come into the light of Jesus.
Matthew 4:8, ‘Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
When Jesus was tempted, he was taken to a very high mountain and Satan showed Him, all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and Satan tells Jesus, that he will give it to Him, only if He will worship Satan! We know there are some conditions when we buy something, in the contract, there is GTC – General terms and conditions. We need to accept them when we buy them. To us, when the whole world is shown, it is up to us to accept it or not. Either click and see the videos on the whole world and enjoy or not to accept it. We can be carried away by lot of pictures and videos, whether they are informative or not. It leads us away into a compromise and by this, worldliness will slowly seep into our hearts. We should only worship the Lord and no one else. The light goes away and slowly the darkness will come inside! There will be sufferings in our lives when we take a strong stand for the Lord. Stand true to the Lord. Those who endure till the end will be saved.
1 John 1:5, ‘This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;’
We might think we are having fellowship with the Lord; I am sharing the Word, I am attending all the meetings but yet walk in the darkness, and we do not know we are walking in the darkness, then we lie and do not practice the truth! We need to practice the truth!
V7, ‘but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.’
Two brothers are walking in the light, when they are judging themselves and they are willing to come to the light and forego the areas of darkness.
V9, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Thank God for the blood of Jesus. Lord Jesus, came into the world not only to forgive us our sins but also to save us from sins. Let us look unto Him and ask Him for help in the areas in which we are struggling. Lord will deliver us from sin in those areas.
Hebrews 12:2, ‘fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith in our hearts. In the old covenant, we see that the commandments were written by the finger of God. In New covenant,
Hebrews 8:10, ‘For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people’.
The Lord Jesus will put His laws into our minds and write them on our hearts, and this is how our faith in Him grows and we are able to overcome the lust of this world.
Hebrews 11:6, ‘And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.’
We need to have this faith, that if we look at Jesus, our faith grows, that we will be able to overcome this world and its lusts.
1 Corinthians 1:4, ‘I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord’.
We, as children of God are waiting eagerly for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. There will be struggles in our lives until we have breath in our lives, but it is Him wo is giving us faith to overcome and it is Him who is confirming to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be radical towards sin and follow the Lord with all our hearts.
Thank God for His Word.
