PART 3 OF THE "RAPE" OF THE CHURCH SERIES

Truth number #2: We have been raped of the purity of a holy life –

The psalmist records this truth; “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (Psalm 15: 1-5)

The product of abiding in the presence of God is purity. Not the purity achieved by the human efforts of sacrifice and self-denial, but a purity only achieved through the intimate work of the Holy Spirit. It is the level of purity required to become an effective intercessor, to operate in prophetic authority, and needed for the manifestation of the liberating power of God. Without first cultivating a life marked by the presence of God, this purity can not be obtained.

Consider the prophet Isaiah…a man who was a recipient of the inspired word of God, witness of countless prophetic visions and dreams directly referring to Jesus as our Lord and Messiah. Even Isaiah could not have moved into the ultimate call upon his life without first experiencing the awesome presence of God. Not the comfortable, warm and fuzzy presence we associate with hearing our favorite gospel hymn; but the “uncomfortable” presence of God that led Isaiah to exclaim, “Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5). It was not until a coal from the altar of God had been placed on Isaiah’s lips, and his sin purged that he had reached the purity needed to speak the anointed word with authority and power.

“For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Today’s ministers preach a gospel similar to that of the scribes and Pharisees, where, as the Pharisees, it is a gospel of “exclusion”- only allowing a chosen few measuring up to the standards they defined as holiness; or, as the scribes, a gospel of “inclusion”- where everyone is accepted without conviction or accountability.

Satan’s lie convinced us that God no longer requires this type of purity and now accepts “the best that you can do”.