Brief Summary
This YouTube video titled "Purging Out and Locking In" by IUIC ARKANSAS, discusses the importance of identifying and purging evil from one's life to achieve spiritual growth and understanding. It emphasizes the need to depart from evil thoughts and actions, resist temptations, and fully commit to the word of God. The video also highlights the significance of prayer, fasting, and confessing sins to maintain a conscience void of offense and to draw closer to the Lord.
- Purging evil is essential for spiritual growth.
- Locking in requires commitment to the word of God, prayer, and fasting.
- Confessing sins and seeking guidance are crucial for maintaining a clear conscience.
Introduction: Purging Out and Locking In
The class is titled "Purging Out and Locking In," which is geared towards brothers but also applies to sisters. The aim is to remove negativity and fully commit to the truth, striving to be like Anna, who was locked in the scriptures. This commitment is essential for prospering in truth until the end.
Understanding the Departure from Evil
Job 28:28 states that fearing the Lord is wisdom, and departing from evil is understanding. Making a conscious decision to depart from evil indicates understanding that such actions hinder one's spiritual walk and prevent blessings from the Lord. These hindrances can manifest as day-to-day problems, sickness, and unnecessary afflictions. Departing from evil demonstrates an understanding that these issues may arise from slothfulness or lack of commitment to the truth, prompting a change in behavior and a renewed focus on locking in.
Identifying Evil Thoughts and Actions
Mark 7:21 lists evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness as things to depart from to show understanding and desire for growth. 1 Peter 2:1 adds malice, guile, hypocrisies, envies, and evil speakings to this list. Hypocrisy is addressed, noting that as one advances in truth, the attacks from Satan intensify, making it crucial to avoid being a hypocrite and to take the truth seriously.
The Role of Scripture and Spiritual Armor
Growth in truth requires putting away evil and desiring the sincere milk of the word. Adulteries and fornications begin in the mind as imaginations and fantasies, which must be stopped. When locked in through prayer, fasting, and studying, these thoughts diminish. Maintaining the helmet of salvation, as mentioned in Ephesians 6, is crucial to fend off evil thoughts.
The Subtleties of Wickedness and the Danger of Pride
Wickedness encompasses subtle issues like pornography, gambling, and drunkenness, which may not be explicitly forbidden but are still inappropriate. Pride is identified as a particularly challenging sin to overcome, preventing individuals from seeking help or guidance and hindering their spiritual progress. Even Christ accepted strengthening from angels, emphasizing the need to be mindful and avoid pride.
Foolishness and the Importance of Returning to the Almighty
Foolishness, such as getting caught up in trivial matters like those on "Shade Room" instead of studying scripture, must be purged. Job 22:22 advises receiving the law from God's mouth and laying up His words in the heart. Even those in truth can go astray and disconnect spiritually, necessitating a return to the Almighty to be built up. Weakness in truth can be combated by studying, praying, and applying discipline.
Putting Away Iniquity and Preparing the Heart
True commitment involves putting away iniquity. Job 11:13 states that preparing the heart and stretching out hands toward God are essential, but iniquity must be removed from one's hand. This includes various sins and wickedness that should not dwell in one's tabernacle. Social media habits, such as constantly comparing oneself to others, are identified as wickedness that must be eliminated.
The Consequences of Departing from Evil
Departing from evil leads to lifting up one's face without spot, signifying flawlessness and confidence in truth. Proverbs 3:7 advises against being wise in one's own eyes and encourages fearing the Lord and departing from evil, which brings health to the body. Ecclesiasticus 17:26 urges turning to the Most High and away from iniquity, as He leads out of darkness into the light of health.
Hating Abomination and Resisting Sin
To prevent wickedness from returning, one must hate abomination vehemently. Ecclesiasticus 37:27 advises proving one's soul and life, identifying what is evil, and not giving in to it. Resisting sin is crucial, and one must not meddle with sins forever. Identifying sin and resisting it requires not being wise to oneself but understanding what is evil and resisting it.
Acknowledging and Confessing Sins
Psalms 32:5 emphasizes acknowledging sin and not hiding iniquity, as David did. Generic prayers are insufficient; one must name and acknowledge specific sins. Romans 7:7 states that sin is known by the law, and one must study the law to see the sins within. Paul acknowledged his struggle with concupiscence and besought the Lord thrice for it to depart from him.
The Importance of a Clear Conscience and Confession
Acts 24:16 highlights the importance of exercising oneself to have a conscience void of offense toward God and men. Ecclesiasticus 4:26 advises not being ashamed to confess sins, as it is like being released from jail. James 5:16 encourages confessing faults to one another and praying for one another to be healed, emphasizing the power of fervent prayer.
Laying Aside Weights and Running the Race
Hebrews 12:1 urges laying aside every weight and sin that easily besets us, and running with patience the race set before us. 2 Esdras 14:14 advises letting go of mortal thoughts and casting away the burdens of man, including bills and work drama. Zechariah 3 illustrates Satan resisting Joshua the high priest, who was clothed with filthy garments, symbolizing the iniquity in his tabernacle.
Joshua's Filthy Garments and the Promise of Purification
Joshua's filthy garments represent his idleness and neglect, which hindered the building of God's house. Isaiah 1:18 promises that though sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow through purification. The Lord commanded the filthy garments to be taken away from Joshua, causing his iniquity to pass from him and clothing him with a change of raiment.
The Strong Tower and the Secret Place
Proverbs 18:10 states that the name of the Lord is a strong tower, and the righteous run into it and are safe. Revelation 19:13 identifies the name of the Lord as the word of God. Psalms 91:1 speaks of dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. Deuteronomy 29:29 reveals that the secret things belong to the Lord, but the revealed things belong to us and our children.
Intimate Prayer and Fasting
Matthew 6:6 advises entering into a closet to pray in secret, and Matthew 14:23 shows Christ going to a mountain apart to pray. 2 Esdras 5:13 recounts Ezra fasting for seven days to receive greater understanding. Daniel 10 details Daniel mourning and fasting for three full weeks, after which the Lord appeared to him.
Esteeming the Words of God and Thirsting for Righteousness
Job 23:12 emphasizes esteeming the words of God's mouth more than necessary food. Matthew 5:6 states, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." 2 Esdras 14:38 describes Ezra drinking from a cup that gave him understanding and wisdom. Ecclesiasticus 39:5 highlights giving one's heart to the Lord and opening one's mouth in prayer.
The Example of Caleb and the Importance of Locking In
Numbers 14:24 contrasts Caleb, who had another spirit and followed the Lord fully, with the rest of the Israelites. Caleb's commitment led to him being brought into the promised land. The key to locking in involves purging iniquity, resisting temptation, running to the strong tower of the Lord, studying, praying, fasting, and rejecting the burdens of the world.
