He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23

When we think of the journey towards perfection, we must be advised what Jesus intended.  Today, many have rightly understood the principles of spiritual warfare, the tactics of the enemy, and the authority of the believer.  Using our authority, we can pull down strongholds and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). But, one should consider another aspect of Jesus’ victory, that of His rest.  That is, this is a rest that it is said the children of Israel failed to enter into.  We should endeavor, therefore, not to lay hold of it. Particularly, when we speak of His rest, we all have some concept of what this rest is.  But, we are moreover instructed to strive to enter this rest (Hebrews 4:11).  This then, is what we must consider when we are walking after the way of Christ. A great deal of trouble is created by well-meaning individuals.  Consider these words of Jesus,

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23

Here, we see that Jesus indicated it was not the activity of the miraculous that set apart a believer from a non-believer, but, in fact, one whose heart was not touched at all, who even thought they were living after God, but denied Him with their works, so to say, could indeed be moving in power, claiming it was Christ.  Some of these were in fact surprised to discover this! While we certainly make the case that no sickness is from God, the understanding is that those who sin step out from the God-ordained protection of His covenant, and thus, open themselves up to disease and affliction from the enemy.  Notwithstanding, those who do do this step out of the benefits of the covenant in that regard, and incur in themselves their rewards. Now, the plain proof of this is when Paul is speaking of communion (1 Corinthians 11:30).  Paul says that it was on behalf of the reason that some did not rightly discern the Lord’s body that many were sick and fallen asleep among them.  This sickness and untimely death was not God’s plan, His will, nor His best for these individuals, nor would it necessarily be the Lord afflicting them.  But, as they ate and drank unworthily, they brought the judgment upon themselves, and so received the fruit of their labors. Now, we do pray for people in the church.  It was right to pray for these people, but Paul had a further insight.  He saw that the reason many were not receiving their healing was that they were not living right according to the Gospel.  His instruction was not a greater spiritual battle, but rather, repentance. God has rules, and when we violate rules, we not get all that He has for us.  This is “Love on God’s terms”.  He loves us unconditionally, but He expects us to grow, and to mature. So, when we come to the place of our own growth, and in the midst of personal conflicts, we must realize that, while there are outward influences and circumstances, our response belongs to us alone.  As per the first above, out of the heart flows our response. When the problem is within, we can fight at the darkness all day and night, but the end result is only more darkness.  If we break off an attack with our authority, we will only wind up with another one sooner or later.  Why?  Because the problem is us.   We’re empowering it.  It is the simple law of “sowing and reaping”, yes, but it is God that is in charge of it.  This is the way the spiritual law always worked, anyway, the law by the Spirit. It is right to engage in correct spiritual warfare, including regarding our own lives, but we must always be aware that when things aren’t changing, we must look within, to our own heart. Specifically, when we read the Sermon on the Mount, after speaking on many aspects, Jesus said that the man who heard His words and did them was like a man who dug down deep (Luke 6:48) and built His house upon a rock.  This is the man who has thoroughly looked within so that he is not building upon the sands of emotion, but is situated firmly upon Christ.  This is the man who is not moved and is not basing his life upon something unstable. They said of Jesus that they connected His miracles to His wisdom (Matthew 13:54).  Truly, walking in the power of the Spirit involves power, and the ability to move and remove forces, but in the heart of a believer, it is rest. Jesus said of himself, that it was not him doing the works, it was the Father in Him doing the works (John 14:10). Truly, Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden was light.  When we walk in His life, it is through the divine wisdom of the Sermon on the Mount, the perfection of His peace, and the establishment of His Kingdom. When we walk in love, we fulfill the command of Christ.  It is not by our own power and might that we accomplish this, but through a yielded heart that is His.