LIVING IN HIS PRESENCE: YOU NEED A PURE HEART

Anchor Scripture: Psalms 24:3  
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?"

Focus Scripture:   
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." - Proverbs 4:23

Admonition 
Arguably, the heart is about the most important organ in the body because it actually keeps the body alive. 

One of the prescriptions of God in answering the question posed by Psalm 24: 3 in verse 4 is that we must have pure hearts if we must enter God's presence and by implication, live there. 

Jesus Christ Himself when teaching about the things that defile a man in Mark 7: 18 - 23, mentioned it that it is what comes from the heart that defiles a man, not what, such as food, that enters therein. That is why our anchor scripture this morning is warming us seriously to keep our hearts with all diligence because it is the one that determines whether we live in His Presence or not. 

Now much as what enters the heart may not defile man, what enters the heart could however bring disease to the heart and make it sick. I give you an example right from inside the Bible. The Holy Book says that hope deferred makes the heart sick (Proverbs 13: 12). How? It affects our faith and possibly could negatively change how the victim sees and thinks about God. Thus, a believer, within a twinkling of an eye, could become an unbeliever. This can only happen in a diseased heart. I said to us few days ago that I have been through very, very difficult situations that queried Who my God was, but by His very special grace, I stood my ground in Him and amidst tears, I kept telling my heart that no matter what may be happening, one thing I was sure of is that "God is good". That shows that if you could get a good hold on your heart, falling behind in this race is not very likely. 

What am I saying? In essence, what I am saying is that we must be careful with the kind of things we feed our hearts with to prevent it from bringing forth evil thoughts. That is why in keeping our hearts, the Bible admonishes that we do it with all diligence. That is because, we can't keep the heart alone by neglecting the other parts of the body as they play important roles in whether our hearts will defile us or become diseased and render us useless before God. 

Such other parts of the body that play important roles in what happens to our hearts include the eyes and the ears. While teaching on what actually constitutes adultery (and fornication), Jesus Christ said that if a man looks at a woman amorously and permit such thoughts in his heart, he has already committed the act. Likewise with respect to the ears, a very healthy heart which heard an unhealthy news could become diseased and fall sick spiritually. Thereby rendering it and it's owner worthless before God. We can see that both the eyes and ears play important roles in keeping our hearts pure before God. And the thing between these two is that they oftentimes work hand in hand with the heart. As an illustration, David first saw Bathsheba and he looked that was when the evil thought of adultery entered his mind. 

I once told a Sunday School class: believe not the lies that the moment you're born-again, your mind is renewed and no evil thoughts can come in there. No, it's not automatic! Evil thoughts will keep coming because the devil doesn't give up; rather, he will keep trying and trying. It is because the renewal of the mind at the new birth is not automatic that the book of Romans 12: 2 admonishes us to keep renewing our minds (hearts). 

As we close this morning, let's know that the job of having a pure heart before God is a continuous one. Like I always say, "holiness is a journey, not a destination" meaning that we will keep working at it till we get there (Philippians 3: 13, 2 Timothy 4: 7 - 8). However, that does not by any means mean that we can't be holy here on earth. Sure, we can and must live holy lives here on earth if we must live in His Presence which is the inalienable prerequisite if we must FINISH STRONG in Him. 

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8). A pure heart thinks no evil nor harbours evil. 

Till we meet tomorrow again on this beautiful journey of FINISHING STRONG together, please, keep keeping on in Him. 

N. B.  Please, pray that God will purge your heart with the blood of Jesus Christ and make your heart His Home. 

For questions and inquiries, please call 07064694037 or send a mail to bwgospelministries@yahoo.com.



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