The first and most important thing that must be in your heart is Jesus. He said, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Then once you are truly saved, the Bible says you must live free from sin. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:26). He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning (I John 3:8).

Next, you must keep the Word of God in your heart at all times. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalm 119:11). Then you must be a doer of the Word. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (James 1:25).

Have a Firm Foundation

Jesus talked about being a doer of the Word. He said, Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like (Luke 6:46,47).

Jesus went on to explain, He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:48,49).

The first man heard the Word and was obedient to it, so he was willing to dig deep until he hit rock because he wanted his house to be built on a solid foundation. The other man knew what to do, but he thought he could get by without building on a firm foundation. When the storm came, he found himself in trouble.

Spiritually speaking, is your soul built on the Rock, Christ Jesus? Do you spend time with the Lord? If not, you will not be able to withstand the storms of life.

Examine the Soil of Your Heart

Jesus told a parable about a sower. In it, the soil represents the condition of a person’s heart when they receive the Word of God, and the seed represents the Word. Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up (Matthew 13:3,4). The seed that fell by the wayside represents those who hear the Word, but the devil comes and snatches the Word out of their hearts.

Some [seed] fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away (Matthew 13:5,6). The people represented here hear the Word with joy; but because they are not rooted in the truth, they fail when temptations come.

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them (Matthew 13:7). That seed represents those who hear the Word; but it is choked out of their minds by the cares, riches and pleasures of this life—things that bring forth no fruit for the Kingdom.

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold (Matthew 13:8). These people have honest and good hearts. They hear the Word and keep it and bring forth good fruit. You must strive to be like that.

Do You Have Any Cracks?

Jesus said, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh (Luke 6:45). Your actions show what is in your heart. Are you doing things that are good or things that are evil? Do you speak the Lord’s love language or the language of the world?

Many people start off so well with the Lord. They receive the Word with an honest heart and do everything right, but then a little, hairline crack shows up in their foundation; and that gives the enemy an opportunity to get in and cause them to fail. You must know what causes cracks in your foundation because if your foundation becomes unstable, your soul will be at great risk.

King Solomon Failed

King Solomon is an example of one who started off with a firm foundation in the Lord. When he became king, he had a heart for the people and not one for himself; and he asked for wisdom and knowledge to judge God’s people. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing (I Kings 3:9,10).

God was so pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom instead of riches that He also gave him great wealth and honor like the world had never seen before. God even told him, There shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days (I Kings 3:13).

Solomon became the greatest king in the world, and he was in the perfect position to help souls; but over time, he let up on his devotion to God and began to do things the Lord had commanded him not to. God had told the Israelites not to mix with the heathen women, but Solomon didn’t listen. He loved and married many heathen women, and that made a crack in his spiritual foundation. Eventually, those women turned his heart away from God.

And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded (I Kings 11:9,10). King Solomon let all his fame and wealth go to his head. He did not keep the Word of God in his heart, and he failed.

God Must Come First

As a child of God, you must never take your blessings from the Lord for granted or neglect your duties to Him. God has blessed some of you with a new home, but then you miss church services to work on it. That was not God’s plan when He blessed you. Serving the Lord must always come first, and God hates it when people make excuses for their disobedience. You can’t do anything in this final hour that would cause you to neglect your fellowship with the Lord.

When you focus on your desires rather than God’s desires, you are in trouble. If King Solomon had kept the Word in his heart and obeyed God, he no doubt would have kept his spiritual foundation free from any cracks; however, most people today have self rather than Jesus on the throne of their hearts. The Bible says, Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world (I John 4:4). For most people today, that is not so.

A Rejected Invitation

In Luke, Jesus told the story of a man who made a great supper, and he sent his servant to invite people to come. In that story, the man represents the Lord; and the Lord is inviting people to attend the great Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

When the man’s servant returned, he told his master, And they all with one consent began to make excuse (Luke 14:18). Those people didn’t know if there would ever be another opportunity for them to attend such a great supper, yet they still made excuses just as people do today.

The first said unto him [the servant], I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused (Luke 14:18). That man cared more about his land than he did about spending time with the Lord at His great supper.

And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused (Luke 14:19). That man was too busy to go to the supper. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come (Luke 14:20). That man put his family first instead of the Lord.

The master was angry because his invitation and the great sacrifice he had made to prepare the supper were rejected. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind (Luke 14:21). There was still more room; so the master told his servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled (Luke 14:23).

Don’t Turn Away

Jesus paid a great price to bring salvation to this lost and dying world, and the Lord has invited all people to His salvation supper. Will you accept the Lord’s invitation without excuse?

Many people today are turning their backs on the opportunity to receive Jesus because they are not willing to give up the things they are holding on to in the world. People think God’s invitation will always be there, but they may find out one day that their opportunity has passed them by. The LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man (Genesis 6:3). Search your heart today and realize there is more to life than what the world has to offer you.

You Must Seek Souls

When you receive Jesus in your heart, you will also receive the burden for lost souls; and every child of God must know the value of a soul. In Luke 15:8-10, Jesus told about a woman with ten pieces of silver. Each piece was valuable to her just as each soul is valuable to God; so when she lost one of those pieces of silver somewhere in her house, she lit a candle and swept her whole house trying to find it.

Every child of God must be just as diligent in seeking lost souls. You must let the oil of the Holy Ghost burn the Gospel light brightly as you seek to rescue every soul who comes across your path. Because Adam and Eve sinned, we are all born full of iniquity into this world. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalm 51:5). We all need a Savior.

When that woman found her coin, Jesus said, She calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth (Luke 15:9,10). Angels in Heaven rejoice when a soul comes to the Lord. You can’t have a carefree attitude about the lost souls of this world. You must diligently seek to win every one you can and know that each soul is special to God.

Examine Your Fruit

It is time for you to inventory your heart just as a grocery store has to inventory their stock and their goods. It may be easy for you to say you have Jesus in your heart, but do you ever look to see if there is anything in there that might be displeasing to God?

Have you ever reached out for a piece of fruit at the grocery store only to find there are some spots on it, or it’s rotten underneath? A piece of fruit that has gone bad needs to be removed from the bin, or other pieces will start to go bad; and it is the same in our spiritual lives.

The Bible tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22,23). Once you are saved, you must go on to receive the baptism of the Spirit so those fruits can be produced in your life.

Jesus knew the importance of people having good fruit; and He said, Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit (Matthew 12:33). What kind of tree are you, and what kind of fruit do you produce? If you don’t have the first fruit of love in your heart, the rest won’t be there in any great way either. Your heart’s inventory of good fruit will be low or completely out of stock.

Jesus, Our Example

The Bible tells us that Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites; and He said to them, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Matthew 12:34). What is in your heart will eventually come out through your mouth, so how do you speak to people? Do you talk about things that are edifying, or is your conversation depressing? Do you rejoice in your blessings, or do you complain? Do you mind your own business, or do you gossip and criticize what others are doing?

Jesus always spoke the right things, and He is our example. Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth (I Peter 2:21,22). You must live like Jesus every day, but do you make excuses for your behavior and your actions? Do you think you’re justified because you had a horrible upbringing or someone mistreated you?

Jesus was an innocent man, yet He was beaten, ridiculed and mocked. He was stripped naked and nailed to a cross, and He died a criminal’s death; but He never fought back or said hurtful things. He patiently took all of that abuse and even prayed for His tormentors saying, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).

If the wrong things come out of your mouth, the inventory in your heart is bad; so ask the Holy Spirit to show you your contaminated fruit. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23,24).

There will be times when people will do things that aren’t right and hurt you, and you have no control over that; but you can control how you react. The devil will keep feeding you thoughts about those who have wronged you, but you have to immediately put those thoughts under the blood; or bitterness can set in and contaminate your spirit and your spiritual fruit.

Have the Fruit of Love

Jesus said, Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:20). So what kind of fruit is being produced in your heart today? Are you serving spiritual fruit to others?

The fruits of the Spirit are listed in Galatians 5:22-23, and love is the first fruit mentioned. The Bible says we are nothing without it. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing (I Corinthians 13:2).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44). You can only be like Jesus when you love, bless, do good and pray for those who do things against you.

Jesus never taught us to hold grudges or spread gossip. When He was on Earth, He prayed for and showed love to so many people; yet in the end, nearly all of them turned against Him. But even when people hated Jesus, He still showed them love.

Love Like Jesus

The Bible says, And above all things have fervent charity [meaning love] among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8). When someone wrongs you, don’t broadcast their sins or what they did to you. The Bible says, He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends (Proverbs 17:9). You should get quiet and pray for the person’s soul.

When you talk badly about someone who did you wrong, you are just as guilty as the person who wronged you; and God will hold you accountable for your actions. Just because someone hurts your feelings does not give you the right to treat them badly or cause others to shun them.

I say again that Jesus prayed for those who were putting Him to death. Do you have that same kind of love? Jesus asked, For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same (Matthew 5:46)? It’s easy to love someone who loves you. The testing times come when you have to show love to those who hate or mistreat you, so you have to get quiet and reason with the Lord.

Forgiveness Is God’s Way

If you had to walk the same steps Jesus walked when He was on Earth, would you have handled yourself the same way He did? If not, you don’t have the fruits of the Spirit working in abundance in your life, and the Lord won’t let you get by with that. Your heart must be fully stocked with the fruits of the Spirit.

How much longsuffering, kindness and rejoicing in the truth do you have? Are you happy when others are being blessed? Are you humble when the Lord blesses you, or are you lifted up in self?

Child of God, inventory your heart and make sure you have no ill will toward others. Paul said, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled (Hebrews 12:14,15). Divine love makes peace and always looks for the good in people.

You must forgive those who have done anything against you even if they haven’t asked you to. If you don’t do that, it will contaminate your heart and its inventory. Jesus said, Forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses (Mark 11:25,26). How can you expect God to forgive you if you’re not willing to forgive others? How do you expect the Holy Spirit to move through you when you don’t have forgiveness in your heart? You must forgive and forget by putting the whole situation under the blood.

Jesus said, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:35). Jesus wasn’t talking about human love; He was talking about divine love. Jesus told the disciples, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment (Matthew 22:37,38).

Jesus Knows Your Heart

At one time, Jesus accepted an invitation from a Pharisee named Simon to come to his home. While Jesus was there, a woman came to the house with an alabaster box of ointment; and without saying a word, she knelt down at Jesus’ feet weeping and wiping His feet with her hair. Then she began kissing Jesus’ feet and anointing them with the ointment she had brought.

That woman was a sinner, but she was humble and sorry for her sins. She didn’t care that she had not been invited or that everybody was watching her; she just wanted redemption for her soul.

Simon was watching the whole thing with contempt in his heart and a critical spirit toward Jesus. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner (Luke 7:39).

Jesus knew exactly what Simon was thinking; but instead of calling him out and exposing him for his lack of compassion for the woman, Jesus said, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he [Simon] saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged (Luke 7:40-43).

I’m sure Simon felt good about his answer, but Jesus went on to uncover the bad inven-tory in Simon’s heart. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little (Luke 7:44-47).

Although that woman was a sinner, she had a repentant and humble heart of humility and a heart of love for Jesus. The Lord knows how much you love Him and others. He knows what you’re thinking and when you say or do the wrong things just as He knew about Simon.

Share the Truth

Simon had a heart full of the wrong inventory, and he had no compassion for that woman’s lost soul. You must show love and compassion toward the lost of this world, and the Holy Spirit living within you will do that. The Bible says, The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:5).

The Holy Spirit will give you divine love to share with others just as He did the disciples of the Early Church. After they had received the Holy Ghost, the Bible says, They went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following (Mark 16:20).

We live in dangerous times, and many people are accepting the sins of Noah’s day and those of Sodom and Gomorrah. We have to take them the truth. There is great unrest in the world today, and tensions are running high; but the love of Jesus can bring peace if people will yield to it. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Jesus is coming soon, so you can’t afford to have any bad inventory or contaminated fruit in your heart. Examine your heart today and make sure everything in it is acceptable to God.

It’s Time for Salvation and Healing

Sinner, Backslider, you can be forgiven of your sins just like that woman was who wept at the feet of Jesus. Accept Jesus today, and He will wipe out all the bad inventory in your heart. The divine blood of Jesus has the power to make you a brand-new creature in Christ and give you a new heart. Just come to Him the way you are and let the divine blood of Jesus make you new.

Pray with me now and say, Oh, God, save my soul. Forgive me for my sins. I have come home to serve you for the rest of my life, and I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus. Come on in. Friend, if you meant that prayer, you now have Jesus Christ and the love of God in your heart.

Now it’s time to get your miracle. Expect God to move for you in a mighty way as I pray. Lord, Heavenly Father, you know what their needs are. Break their bondages and set them free in the holy, blood name of Jesus. I curse every sickness and disease in their bodies. Heal in the holy, blood name of Jesus, and let everything come to normal. Give them the perfect miracle through the blood of Jesus. Amen.

Now, Friend, look for every sign of improvement and always give God the praise, the honor and the glory. Then go on to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost so you can have all nine fruits of the Spirit working in your life and be ready when Jesus comes for His Bride.