“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.
This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
Titus 1:13-16 NKJ
According to the word of God, the attitude of our heart determines how we perceive everything around us. We can look for the good or we can look for the bad in people and situations. We can look for the best or we can look for the worst. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says that love is “ever ready to believe the best of every person.” God believes the best of us. Even though He sees right into our heart, He still gives us the benefit of the doubt. When He speaks to us, He speaks to our future and when He speaks over us, He speaks life. He always sees what good thing that He can make of us. Of course we must be yielded to Him and not doing our own thing and going our own way. We need to give others the same benefit of the doubt and believe the best of them as much as possible.
There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. Luke 23:32
Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43 NKJ
One criminal admitted his guilt and acknowledged the innocence of Jesus, crucified not for His own sin, but for ours. The other criminal, defiant toward God and man even as he faced death, mocked Jesus. The two completely different ways that the two men saw Jesus were colored by the attitude of their own hearts. One, with a soft heart, saw his Savior, but the other, with a hard heart, saw just a man hanging next to him. In Titus it says that to the pure all things are pure. When you have a pure heart you look for and see the good in things and people. You believe that even if people make mistakes, that they mean well. When your heart is evil, you think that everything you see is evil, too. You believe that people’s motives are as evil as your own.
This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” 2 Corinthians 13:1 NKJ
Having a pure heart has everything to do with the way we perceive the word of God. A pure heart is an honest heart. If we have a pure heart we will receive the word and believe it exactly as it is. We will not twist it, pervert it, or ignore what we don’t like. We will not make it say what we want it to say. We will believe it in its entirety and not base what we believe on selected scriptures taken out of context.
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 NKJ
The Word of God must be honored in our lives. We must not try to change it to suit ourselves, but we must change to conform to it. The word is pure water that washes us clean and makes us pure again. Adam and Eve were originally pure and innocent, but sin corrupted them and their seed. Jesus restored to us the purity that they once had. It does not matter what you have been exposed to and how hard and corrupt you became. When you are born again, you are changed. The word of God and the Holy Spirit will begin to wash and change you and restore the purity and innocence you never thought that you would see again. The world says that once you lose your innocence, it is gone forever. But by the supernatural, transforming power of the Spirit of God and the blood of Jesus, our innocence can be restored and we can be like God – having a pure heart and looking for the good in every situation and in every person!