Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only 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 drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:21-23

Holiness must be our standard for all that we do.  At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the distinction He will make on that day.  Those rejected will be those practice lawlessness, who work iniquity.

If there is one thing that is for clear from Western Christianity, it is that greater resources and greater audience do not guarantee a greater Kingdom impact.

We must be clear–not all that is done in the name of Christ is the will of the Father who is heaven.  Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians 3:12-13, that each person must build with either gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble.  Each man’s work will be tested by fire on that day, and only that which remains will be rewarded.  We should take care how we build, lest we run, or have run in vain.

God created economics, not only in finances, but also with spiritual, physical, and emotional resources as well.  Consider Isaiah 40:30-31.  Everything in creation must deal with the principle of weakness, and the resources of all are purposely limited.  Man is required to work, lest he starve.  A man running a household must balance his budget, lest he cannot afford to live.  An athlete must pace himself, lest he be too wearied to run any further.  People require a Sabbath, or they will have no rest.

When we are limited in our resources in pursuing the Kingdom, we are forced to be as efficient as possible in seeing the Lord’s ends are met.  As we wait on Him, and for Him, He can multiply what we have.  But, if our ends are wrong, if what we are seeking is not a Kingdom end, we may or may not receive the help we need to complete what we envision as our goal.

We often do not know the fullness of what pleases God when we begin.  We often see only in part, and proceed on a partial vision until God reveals the rest.  In the midst of our progress, He requires that we continue to listen, to turn when He does, and to follow Him continually.

God’s heart is purity, it is purposeful, and it is sure.  His will is definate, and, if we choose not to build according to His Pattern (Exodus 25:40), we will be the ones in the wrong.

Whether we have great success in this life is irrelevant.  Whether we can reach masses with a partial message is left in God’s hands to judge the final result.  Will it stand the test of the fire?  He knows for sure, but we can be faithful to be sure we follow the instructions laid out.

So long as we build out of the mind of man, we will never succeed.  If we respond primarily to people’s needs, we will never rise above them.

The primary way of seeing whether or not we are building according to His Pattern, however, is how closely it lines up with the Word.  Even in the Sermon on the Mount, it becomes evident through reading, that you cannot in a consistent faith realm, pleasing to the Lord, and be breaking His Word.  Whether it is through unrighteous anger, adultery or murder in the heart, the human soul is incapable of indefinitely living out of the place of His Presence while still harboring any bit of self.  All unforgiveness and every other thing within the heart will eventually show up in the midst of a storm, and, when you’re walking in the heights of the Spirit, it could spell the sudden destruction of the entire house.

This is the word to the wise.  Follow well the instructions of all the scripture.  While we are justified by Faith alone, it is the constant yielding and submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit that takes us higher and higher in Him.  We have no choice.  We cannot choose to live in the low-lands of the Spirit without being in gross negligence and disobedience, and, in order to climb higher, we must shed our excess baggage.

We must be willing to have our heart exposed, and become transparent.  We must be willing to surrender our will, our minds, our bodies more and more fully.  We must perfect holiness out of reverence for God.  While there may be many examples of people who have pursued a life in the Spirit without an adamant determination to live holy, they are only the reefs at our feasts, and our they are blemishes on our gatherings.  All who are godly in Christ Jesus desire to be holy, for it is the nature of His Spirit within each of us.

In the end, there is no lighter yoke than to live with a clean heart before the Lord.  Enduring as one who sees the unseen, looking steadily on the unshakable Kingdom and His eternal provision, we need not ever look to any other source to meet our needs.  Keeping our eyes fixed upon Jesus keeps us in the center of His love, so that no matter what opposition might be about, His Spirit within proves greater every time.

Without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).  Yet, it is the free gift from above to live Holy in Christ Jesus.  Through repentance, confession, and His loving kindness and grace, we are enabled to know the truth which sets us free.  As we walk in Him, He teaches us how to trust Him, and in the end, we outshine the sun with our brightness.