creating a
clean heart
By Rick Joyner
The fear of the Lord and the pursuit of holiness in
a fallen world.
In Scripture “the flesh” is a metaphor for the carnal
nature of fallen man, which is in opposition to the Spirit of God. The
attributes of this carnal nature are listed in Galatians 5:17-21: “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 shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
It is so crucial that Christians overcome this base nature that we are told in
the last verse above that we will not inherit the Kingdom of God as long as we
practice these things. The removal of that nature is referred to as our
spiritual circumcision, which is the circumcision of our heart, as we read in
Romans 2:27-29. So we want to take the time to look at each of these works of
the flesh, and how they are to be cut out of our life so we can replace them
with the fruit of the Spirit, which is the Christ-like nature. That is our
goal, not to just rid ourselves of the evil, but to fill our hearts with God.
The first work of the flesh that is listed is “immorality.” This includes
fornication, which is having sex outside of marriage, and adultery, which is
having sex with someone other than your spouse. It also includes homosexual
sex, which the Bible calls not only a sin, but a perversion and an
abomination. These are sins; they are forbidden, and under no circumstances
are acceptable behaviors for a Christian.
Does this mean that anyone who has ever fallen to one of these cannot inherit
the Kingdom of God? No. There is grace for those who stumble and the
forgiveness of sin if we repent and seek the forgiveness of God through His
atonement. However, it is a different story for those who “practice” these
things. That implies the continual, repeated sin that is not repented of.
A second question would be whether a Christian who falls into repeated affairs
or a lengthy affair cannot be saved because they have practiced these things.
This is a good question and one that is certainly worthy of examination. It is
addressed in a number of Scriptures, but we will look at Hebrews 6:4-6: “For
in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the
heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted
the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen
away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again
crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame.”
There is obviously a line that can be crossed where it becomes impossible to
renew one again to repentance. This also implies that if someone can still
repent, they must not have crossed that line. The key is if they can still
repent. Repentance is more than just feeling sorry for having committed the
sin, and is more than asking forgiveness – it means to renounce the sin and
turn away from it, resolving not to do it again. So if someone can still
repent, they can be forgiven and they can still inherit the Kingdom of God.
Hebrews 3:13 says, “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is
still called ‘Today,’ lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of
sin.”
Sin does harden the heart toward repentance or makes it harder to repent. Sin
is also deceitful, and those who practice it often become so deceived that
they no longer see it as sin, and therefore cannot repent of it. I have
witnessed this process with far too many, even with those who had an
extraordinary anointing and have been mightily used by God. In fact, it seems
that the more anointed you are when you fall into sin, the faster the
hardening takes place and the deeper the deception is.
I know one such very anointed man of God who engaged in lengthy homosexual
relationships lasting for years. When it was exposed, the depth of his
hardness of heart and the level of deception was astonishing. Every
conceivable homosexual act was performed repeatedly, but because he was only
involved with one partner at a time he became enraged when it was even implied
that he was a homosexual! He had begun to call the sinful acts “fellowship”
and ways that he was helping his partners “to get free of their homophobia.”
Could he really believe anything that foolish? It seems that he really does.
Though this man finally admitted to everything when confronted with the
evidence, there is a difference between admitting something and repenting of
it. This was a man that was known all over the world for the powerful
spiritual gifts that operated through him, and his knowledge of the ways of
the Spirit. However, when this sin was exposed I have personally never
witnessed more irrational thinking than what came out of this man. We must
never underestimate the power of sin to deceive. The greater we think we are
in the Lord and the more pride we have in that, the more vulnerable we can be
and the further we can fall when we do.
I am convinced that the Church today has some of the greatest leaders that it
has had since the first century. There are great problems in the church today,
but there are also many more reasons for great hope. I have had to deal with
some very ugly things in the church, and in some leaders, but this has by no
means shaken my faith in their ultimately becoming a bride without spot or
wrinkle.
We must also keep in mind Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, even if a man is caught in
any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of
gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.” “Any
trespass” covers a lot. We must also have as our goal the restoration of any
one who falls into any sin. As stated above, there obviously is a line that
can be crossed when it becomes impossible for one to repent. However, it is my
opinion that only the Lord knows when this has been done. Therefore,
regardless of how deep the darkness is that one falls into, it is my resolve
to hope and pray for their repentance and do anything I can to help them as
the Lord gives me the grace. I have learned repeatedly that His grace and
mercy reaches much further than my own.
When weird practices start to manifest in a group, leave as fast as you can.
Such will almost always try to bind you to them with a control spirit, guilt,
and fears that you will miss the will of God for your life, that you are
“touching the anointed,” or other yokes of bondage. Do not listen to them, do
not fear them, and do not let them control you to try to help others. It is
very unlikely that you will be able to help anyone by staying, but will be
putting yourself and your family in jeopardy. I can understand why some would
determine to not want to be in leadership or grow in their anointing. This is
not the answer because then the devil has already won. The answer is to heed
the warning of I Corinthians 10:12: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands
take heed lest he fall.”
If we ever start to think that we are so wise and strong in the Lord that we
cannot fall, then a fall is inevitable. Pride caused the devil to fall in the
first place and it is at the root of almost every fall since. There seems to
be a pride that many who are used with a great anointing sometimes get,
thereby thinking they are somehow special and can get away with such things
because of the way God has used them. This is a terrible presumption that the
Lord Jesus Himself addressed in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My
Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name
perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
Lawlessness is the result of rationalizing away the clear Word of God. It is
the tendency to bend the rules in order to get away with something. That
tendency is also called “craftiness” in Scripture and was the very first
attribute given to describe the devil in the Garden. Once you start down the
path of bending the rules, you have opened the door very wide to Satan, and he
will come through it.
I have been told by Christian leaders that when I preach these things a great
fear comes upon them. I hope it does. I hope that it has come upon all who
read this, for your sake. We need a good, healthy dose of the fear of the
Lord. As we are told in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom.” We are told in Proverbs 8:13,“The fear of the Lord is to hate
evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way.” “The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom,” and those who stay on the path of life never lose it.
However, it is not the highest form of wisdom. We should fear the consequences
of sin, understanding that God’s judgment is going to come upon the world for
these things. However, we should hate sin even more because of what it does to
the One we love – and what sin did to Him on the cross, which He bore for our
redemption. How could anyone who has truly beheld the cross not hate that
which caused our King so much pain?
It is necessary for us to understand sin and that it is the path to death. If
you want to live, turn from sin, and to the One Who alone is Life. He will
give us His own Holy Spirit so that we can live free from the yoke of sin, and
live in righteousness, holiness, and the truth. – Excerpted from “Creating a
Clean Heart, Part I” by Rick Joyner. Used by permission.
Rick Joyner is founder, executive director and senior pastor of
MorningStar Fellowship Church, which now holds services in Charlotte,
Wilkesboro, and Winston-Salem, N.C. Rick founded MorningStar Publications and
Ministries in 1985 and has written more than 20 books as part of his
commitment to equip the saints. For more information, visit
www.morningstarministries.org.
