By Francis Frangipane
The whole of the mystery of our existence is centered in perfecting the conditions of the heart. It certainly is possible to be successful on some human level, being fulfilled in all the horizontal relationships that surround us and flow in and out of our lives. But the divine reason we exist is so that God can get to our hearts. In earlier stages of this spiritual training, we have learned that the trembling heart, the humbled heart, the honest heart is the beginning of change.
But God is after something more. The heart is the seat of reality—the reality that God looks at. God doesn’t look at the outer appearance; He looks on the heart and sees things you think you’ve secretly hidden away where no one sees them. He says: “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” (Jer. 23:24, NIV). All things are laid bare before His eyes, and His word is “alive and active. Sharper than any double- edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12, NIV).
God is after your heart. Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matt. 15:19, NIV). God wants the condition of the heart to be right. The mystery of our existence is unlocked through the perfecting of our hearts through Christ’s indwelling Spirit.
Often the focus of all our efforts is on finding satisfaction in life. We want to have fulfillment and to see our earthly dreams come to pass. Yet all these things will pass away, while the condition of your heart will endure forever.
Revelation 22:4 reveals that there will be a point in time when the reward of heaven for the disciples of Christ will be “they will see His face.” But if our focus today is on seeing the fulfillment of our earthly dreams instead of being consumed with a passion and desire to see the face of God, to know God daily, then we are not exhibiting the characteristics of those who are pure in heart. Unless our passion to know Christ is urging us on in our daily endeavors spiritually, we have become too preoccupied and distracted with the things of this age. We have been dissipated, deceived, and drained of our lives’ purpose.
God desires intimacy with us. To seek His face is to behold the divine expression and hear the tone of His voice. From the vantage point of His presence, we can turn from evil. For to know His love is to know why we’ve been created.
Perfected for the Pleasure of God
Life has been given to you to perfect you for God’s pleasure. That’s the reason you exist. You don’t exist for your own ends, your own pleasure. If you think you do, you have been deceived by the enemy of your soul. What does it mean to become Christlike? It means we choose to live for one purpose: to give pleasure to God. To accomplish this, we must be intimately acquainted with that in which His soul delights. Jesus always chose to give God pleasure, even amid conflict and cruelty. Thus, when injustice wounds us, we must redeem our experiences with mercy. Let us make the Sermon on the Mount our standard of conduct. Let us discover those ways that will reveal Christ through us and thus bring pleasure to God.
As it is written:
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. —Revelation 4:11, KJV
The key to lasting happiness and true fulfillment in this world is not found in self-gratification but in bringing gratification to the heart of God. And while the Lord desires that we enjoy His many gifts, He wants us to know that we are created not only by Him but for Him as well.
So God works on the heart. He penetrates the heart and deals with our defenses. He breaks down walls, sweeps in, and does whatever is necessary to get to our heart. God is after your heart because the pure in heart will see God—not just in eternity but now!
You will begin to see God as He emerges in the church. As you begin to see Him, you will see what He wants to do in the earth. You start to rise above the fears in your heart. You rise above the competition, ambition, lusts, and self-desires. As you repent of them and get cleansed, your heart is purified and you see God.
God is adding the attribute of purity of heart to those attributes you have been acquiring. God will work that attitude into those who become the merciful, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are meek by choice, who mourn before Him and know their need. The outcome of this sequence is to see God, to perceive God.
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21, NIV). What is your treasure? What is it that you are always thinking about? What occupies your mind? Your treasure is there.
Some of our treasures are just earthly, depressing things. Our hearts often dwell on our fears, problems, or things in the past. Those things become our treasure, and that can be an idolatrous thing. Do you understand why God wants to deliver us? It is because so often we don’t even know the difference between the wonderful treasure of a pure heart and the overwhelming cares of our earthly treasures. “Blessed are the pure in heart.…They will see God.”
When Jesus worked miracles, how did He do those miracles? Was there some inherent power inside humanity that He tapped into? Not in any way. Acts 10:38 says, “God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Jesus did the miracles because He was pure in heart and saw the Father. He did only the things He saw the Father do. The people got healed because the Father was healing. The waterfall of God’s presence was about to heal someone, and Jesus, seeing what the Father was doing, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit, stepped into God’s presence and stretched forth His hands. He touched those in need, and they were healed.
Jesus tells us, “If anyone…does not doubt in their heart but believes what they say will happen, it will be done for them” (Mark 11:23, NIV). Why? How can you not doubt in your heart?
Well, if you see God doing it, you will not doubt in your heart. But if you are just doing it yourself, you will have days when you doubt. You will have times when you wonder, “Is this me or God?” But if your heart is pure and the Lord has spoken to you, con- firmed it, and burned it in you, and you know it is God, then you won’t doubt in your heart.
The way to the miracle power of God is becoming pure in heart. These people look through the creation of the world, and they see God. They are in touch with the real God. They have fellowship with God, and their eyes behold him. And because they see Him and hear Him, they do what He does. They say what He says.
Where is our treasure? Do we long to see Him? Do we think about someday coming before His throne, beholding His glory, myriads of angels, and the redeemed standing in awe of Him? And there He is, the source of life and the universe.
That passion, I believe, compelled the first-century saints. They yearned for that day when they would leave this world, where they had been persecuted and fought for survival. They weren’t invested in earthly things. Their investment was in heaven because the enemy surrounded them on earth. But we have a comfortable life, drowning in things. We are rooted and grounded here in emptiness. This world gets ahold of us, and it’s why our hearts must be purified.
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Adapted from Francis Frangipane’s book, The Heart That Sees God, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.