Matthew
15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. NKJV
Today in Asia, Africa, North America, South America,
and the other continents of the earth there will be thousands and perhaps
millions of babies born to Mothers and Fathers who will wrap them in their arms
and declare them the most precious and beautiful “little angels” ever born on
the earth. But in reality lurking within those “little angels” as declared by
their parents is a heart/inner man that contains the most vile venom and poison
known to man and it is the poison of sin. No new Parent ever sees that self-declared
“little angel” ever growing up to lead millions of men and women to brutally
murder in gas ovens, by fire, by shooting, and by starvation other human beings
as did Adolph Hitler’s Parents.
Jeremiah
17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse
{and} corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive,
understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]? QAB
Nor do any ever see their self-declared “little
angels” growing up to be prostitutes, alcoholics, porn actors, pedophiles, drug
addicts, etc. but all of those new Parents today have given birth to a little
boy or girl with that seed born in them. How the seed of sin springs forth from
the soil of the heart/inner man varies with every person, but it will surely
bring forth the fruit of sin no matter what family or circumstance the little
one is born in today. Our Lord was continually confronted by the Scribes and
Pharisees of the Jews who thought they were better than all other men because
of their strict practice and observance of their religious rules, traditions,
and Jewish rituals. They were so blinded by their religion they never
acknowledge the evil heart that resided in them. These men held up their
religious traditions alongside the moral Law of God and made them equal to God’s
Word. Does this remind you of a certain church today? Hint they just elected a
new leader.
Matthew
15:2-9 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they
do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered and said to them, “Why
do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For
God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your
father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But
you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have
received from me is a gift to God” ---then he need not honor his father
or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your
tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their
mouth, And honor Me with
their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
NKJV
All of the outward activity that might be religious
or even good to the service of other men and women can never change the unholy wants,
longings, desires, and cravings of the heart or the inner man. These religious
men would put on a very holy exterior with their long robes and their gold utensils
in the temple, and their outward acts of humility, and their long prayers in
public on the street corners and all the other Jews would say what holy men
they are, but our Lord always saw past the façade and into the heart where sin
and corruption lives. These Rabbi’s would pat each other on the back and lift
others up and receive praise from other men and speak of how holy a man was because
of what he did in the temple or in public. They would go around calling certain
men holy father and elevating a man to the place of Almighty God. This would
always bring our Lord’s Righteous Indignation to the surface and He could do
nothing but speak Divine truth and even cleansing the temple when these men
would turn it into a shopping mall.
Matthew
15:12-14 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the
Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” But He answered and said,
“Every plant which My Heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let
them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the
blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
Matthew
23:8-9 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ,
and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is
your Father, He who is in Heaven. NKJV
Matthew
23:25-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the
outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and
self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish,
that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful
outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even
so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of
hypocrisy and lawlessness.” NKJV
The inner man is where everyone is defiled. It
cannot be healed by religious activities or observances. The heart is bred in
corruption and it must be healed in order that it might bring forth words and
actions in accordance with the will of God that is found in the Word of God. A
heart filled with love, reverence, awe, and adoration for Jesus Christ will be
pleased to sit at His feet and hear His words (as Mary did in Luke 10:39) being
convinced, rebuked, exhorted, encouraged, and taught by them. However, before
one can have a heart that desires to hear, honor, and hide Christ’s words in
the heart, it must be regenerated and born again. The observances of ceremonies
over reverence to the moral Law of God are the worst possible pollutions to the
heart of men. To observe ceremonies, rules, or rituals require no transforming
work by God the Holy Spirit to the inner man, no reading and meditating upon the
Word of God, no confessing, repenting, and turning from sin in the heart, and
can be successfully practiced by any man without communion with God the Father.
It is by the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and
one repenting or turning from their sin and believing this gospel will the
inner man be cleansed and made new by Christ Blood and His Resurrection Life.
“All the great temptations appear first in the
region of the mind and can be fought and conquered there. We have been given
the power to close the door of the mind. We can lose this power through disuse
or increase it by use, by the daily discipline of the inner man in things which seem small and by reliance upon the word
of the Spirit of truth. It is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do
of His good pleasure. It is as though He said, 'Learn to live in your will, not
in your feelings.” Amy Carmichael
“In order for the inner man to
be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit, the children of God must
discharge their responsibility. They need to yield specifically to the Lord,
forsake every doubtful aspect in their life, be willing to obey fully God's
will, and believe through prayer that He will flood their spirit with His
power.” Watchman Nee
“If the child of God has come to appreciate the
wiles of his assailant, he will not surrender at any point but will instead
resist; and his emotional soul is thereby protected. Resistance in the inner man forces the enemy to go on the defensive.” Watchman Nee
“The Holy Spirit moves in our spirit, producing in
us a spiritual sense; afterwards we exercise our brain to study and to
understand the meaning of this sense. It requires the cooperation of both
spirit and mind to comprehend fully the will of God. The spirit enables our inner man to know, while the mind causes our outer man to understand.” Watchman Nee
If
you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this
from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear
Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I
believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from
the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn
from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control
of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you
Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus
Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and
Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple
I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader,
Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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