Guarding the Temple

V-MAIL TO THE FRONTLINE

PART SEVEN

GUARDING THE TEMPLE

How in the “world” can we live protected from the powerful influences and constant distractions of this life? I am so glad you asked! Through the same discipline that is required to accomplish anything that we set our focus on! No one has you bound or is causing you to be exposed to sin against your will. You are not in prison being forced to think or do evil things – it simply comes down to the choices you make everyday. I realize this is going to hurt but, it is our responsibility to not only learn the importance of guarding the portals to our soul – but to do it! “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholds himself and goes his way and straightway forgets what manner of man he was. But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed”. (James 1:21-25) We can have long discussions about how the battle is increasing and continually ask questions about how we going to do to survive – and then actually go about our lives without changing anything. Let us all realize one thing; the word for the hour is to stay focused on God and listen to what He is telling us to do. We know the world is falling apart but the key is not to allow it to drag us down with it or discourage us to the point of giving up. We live in a dark world and its confusion is all around us but we must stand firm trusting in God’s truth. We come in contact with many things that we cannot prevent that stays on our mind’s hard-drive and wounds our spirit but we certainly do not need to intentionally drink in poison through our senses.

When we understand that God lives in us and that He is waiting for us to turn inward (toward Him) we will take larger steps in the process of transforming into His image. When we decide to allow Him to sit on the throne of our heart and be our Lord then the aura of God’s presence will affect the external atmosphere everywhere we go. God’s presence generates from the inside out! If He is not the Lord of our life then we are being deceived by our emotions that love to figure out ways to compromise and “water down” His word. Easy religion is so comforting to our flesh because it provides an escape from paying the price of sacrificing our old nature. The devil developed religion as an imposter to God’s truth to ease the human conscience so they could enjoy their carnality. He knew with man being vulnerable to pride, that it would be a great success and of course the old nature approved it with a unanimous reception. The problem is that God has never been amused or impressed with mans cleverness as He can see the sincerity of everyone’s words and the motives of their deeds. He hates religion because it impersonates truth – similar to how we feel about identity theft. The Lord does not want to see people deceived with something they “think” is real, and then face eternal separation from Him because they were not born again. The sad part is how the religious world is so blind they believe Mathew chapter seven, verses 13 and 14 applies only to those who have never made a profession of faith and cannot see they are also included. “Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there be which go in thereat: Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leads to life and few there be that find it.”

One of the most crucial aspects of spiritual warfare is being super-sensitive to what we see and hear. Like “deflecting arrows” with our shield we must pray for wisdom and live with discernment every moment. Since we are the temple of God’s Spirit, we must understand the temple has a sanctuary with Jesus sitting on the throne of our heart. “Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me”. (Revelation 3:20) But do we ever think that He might be offended at what is coming in or going out of His temple? Are we so calloused that we do not even notice the impurities? We do not own ourselves which is why we are not to be in control but we have been given the command to protect it. “What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s”. I Corinthians 6:19, 20) The closer we stay in His presence the more convicted and grieved we will be to sin. This inner chamber is within the conscience – the holy place where our thoughts and attitudes are clearly exposed before Him. We see Jesus running the moneychangers out of the temple and with natural realm thinking we apprehend that he is trying to preserve the integrity of the local church. But, if we go deeper we notice that it is a “spiritual type” and is really demonstrating the importance of keeping our heart pure from the death of sin. He is showing us that we also must be aggressive to not allow negativity, confusion, greed, envy, jealousy, lust and pride from ruining our relationship with Him and ruining our peace. He knew the devil would use the world to bring the chaos and attributes of sin into our heart and this in turn would bring lukewarmness into His Kingdom. The Lord knows the eyes and ears are the doors or gates to our sanctuary and how crucial it would be to defend and protect. We must become angry at the world that wants to defile our temple and we must become angry at ourselves for wanting to allow it. We will only change the way we live when we become sick of the way we are! When our desire to be holy becomes more precious to us than the sins we are entertaining – we will go to the next level with God. Whatever has become our highest priority now – will be our possession in eternity!

Many in today’s world have put too much emphasis on the church building or meeting place and not enough attention to personally living the Christian life. It is far easier to conduct a church “service” than to demonstrate Jesus. We keep saying the true church is the people but this means the true sanctuary in within our heart – not in temples made with hands. People like to put all of the attention on buildings because they can control a corporation. But if church is something we can run with our own intelligence then where do we need God? The reason why many churches are dead is because God has not been invited. It is too late to keep the sin out of the church buildings but the real danger is allowing it to pollute our conscience. In order for God’s remnant to accomplish their mission they must walk pure and holy. The latter rain is being poured out and only those who are in “position” will know, live, move and have their being in His presence. Man’s idea of normal church is a religious organization – God’s idea of a normal Christian is a Holy Ghost manifestation! Laying hands on people and seeing lives changed is God’s normal! People being super-naturally healed and delivered are God’s normal! Religion likes to see money – God wants to see miracles!

To resist the temptations of the world and open the door to Divine reality will take more than just knowing the historical accounts of bible stories. It will take more than memorizing the doctrines and by-laws of religious organizations. It will take more than a false sense of security in something that someone has said. It is going to take a concentration of seriousness far above anything we have ever been involved in or dedicated to. God’s word is only paper and ink to the ones who view Christianity as a golden ticket to heaven. Unless there is birthed a revelation that quickens the mind and heart there will be no reverential fear of a Holy God that demands obedience. Revelation is a personal spiritual enlightenment to the person of Christ and His direct communication. God’s word is only paper and ink to the ones who view Christianity as a golden ticket to the Promised Land. The religious world operates with emotion to the ceremonies and rituals of organized legalism but those who desire to reach into the divine dimension where God lives will never settle for a lifeless program. They have tasted His presence and will not go back to the dry bones of Egypt. They will not return to a phileo lifestyle of game playing politics and white washed tombs. The real disciples of Jesus are worshipping God in Spirit and truth, standing on the shores and walking in the forest, being a lighthouse of safety in the darkness, quietly without recognition. They have let go of the love for the external world and have turned to the internal sanctuary of heaven and embraced the absolute truth that lives inside of them. They know the default system is a mirage and Divine Reality is absolute, eternal truth. He is the King of Glory – Faithful and True –King of Kings – Lord of Lords – High and lifted up and they love Him with all of their strength, heart and mind. The song say’s, “I don’t have to wait to go to heaven when I die – I can go right now”. We do not need to travel thousands of miles, live in a monastery or graduate seminary – He is a heartbeat away. Close your eyes and become saturated in His love. “At that day you shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you”. (John 14:20)

Advancing in the levels of our Christian development will be a direct result of just how serious we are about knowing God. Our old nature can only remain dead if we stop hanging out at the cemetery with a shovel. Staying under the shadow of His wings is the only way we will be able to live in His peace. Follow Him, chase Him, embrace Him, hold on tight to Him, talk to Him, walk close to Him, pray, focus, eat and drink Him, breathe Him, concentrate and meditate on Him. Is it possible to become a fanatic? I can only hope so! The martyrs that were burned to a stake were fanatics! They sang worship songs as the flames burned their legs to charred bones. How could they have peace in the midst of the storm? Because they knew Him – not just about Him, but knew Him personally. Now hold on a minute brother, I will go along with this “church stuff” to a point but let’s not get crazy! I am sorry my friend, salvation is an opportunity to receive God’s grace – but to not observe His conditions is to make a mockery of His word. You can write it down; if we are going to be a fanatic and live in His presence it is not going to be in a carnal comfort zone of doing it our way. It will always be directly opposite to what the flesh loves and I guarantee the old man will scream and kick every inch of the journey! God is a consuming fire and we might as well face the reality that we are going to have to surrender something for Him to burn. We all have lots of dross left in our life and He wants “pure” gold! (Rev. 3:18) So, put locks on all of your senses and constantly stand guard at all of the entrances to your temple because sin is like a germ that brings infection and the best way to avoid germs is stay washed in the blood of Jesus and stay nourished with God’s word to build a strong immune system. “For you were sometimes darkness but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of light: For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Ephesians 5: 8-11)