Iniquity: Stubborn & Stiff-Necked

Iniquity: Stubborn and Stiff-Necked

The word for "iniquity" in Hebrew is "avon", which means perverse, make crooked, do amiss, do wickedly, false, unjust, to be defiant or rebel.

It is not the word for evil.

It is stubbornness.

There is another word in Hebrew for evil. Iniquity is, in one sense, evil and is also a synonym for evil.

It is stubbornness. Avon means stiff-necked and is all rooted in pride.

The root word for iniquity (avon) is aw-vah', and that means to bend, to twist, to distort, to be bent, to be bowed down, and to be twisted.

That's what the Spirit of Leviathan does. He twists the Word of God.

Religious spirits twist the Word to make it fit their iniquity because that is what is in their hearts.

It is not the truth. It may look like the truth, but it's laced with deception.

It also means perverted, to twist or distort, to do perversely, to commit iniquity, do wrong, and pervert.

The main thing to understand is that it is stubbornness, stiff-necked, to be crooked, and twisted.

Essentially, it means doing things your own way. It means not submitting to the Lord and having your own agenda, wrong motives, or your own motive.

Iniquity is Stubbornness

1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

It's all about obedience. The prophet Samuel had a revelation that it's all about submitting to the Lord and being obedient.

1 Samuel 15:23a For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

These quotations have been taken from the King James Version. Some of the newer translations have removed some of these words. The impact of that is that it has taken away from the deep revelation and understanding of what iniquity really is.

Iniquity is different from sin and transgression, and that is why they used these different words in the original transcripts.

1 Samuel 15:23b Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

You can see here how iniquity will cause you to fall from being a King.

In Christ we are all kings and priests in the Lord.

So, the devil uses the iniquity in your heart to try to dethrone you from your rightful place, which is the inheritance that you have in Christ.

1 Samuel 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Saul said he transgressed the Word of the Lord.

Really, this is betrayal. It is betrayal of God.

Fearing Man, fearing people is to betray God. It is transgression.

Transgression is betrayal. It is to betray your brothers and sisters.

Some "so-called" Christians betray their brothers and sisters in Christ. When they do this they are transgressing.

They may use all sorts of excuses, but unless there is a very good reason for it, it is transgression.

Having said that, we must understand that the Lord is in control. We must love our brothers and sisters even when they do transgress against us.

We should bless them because they don't know what they are doing. They don't have a revelation of the truth because their iniquity stands between them and the Lord.

Iniquity acts as a wall of separation.

Iniquity Will Reprobate You

Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

God will not compromise with iniquity.

More than likely, He will have a plan to bring you to repentance, and for you to recognize and see your iniquity so that you can turn away from it.

Iniquity in the heart blinds you.

There are a lot of well-meaning and religious Christians that have a zeal for God, but because of a lack of correct knowledge, they have iniquity in their heart.

That is what the devil does. He brings in leaven.

Leaven will bring corruption. It will corrupt you because a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

That is what the enemy wants to use against you.

You must make sure that what is in your heart is the truth because if it is not, then the Lord will not hear you.

The devil knows that. This is what will bring the wall of separation. It acts as a block and the devil knows this. Iniquity will separate you from Christ and you will get deceived.

Isaiah 59:1-4 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.  None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Iniquity is rooted in vanity. You can see that with Lucifer.

It's about self.

How often do you observe self-centeredness today?

Think of all the selfie pictures that people take now. People brag about themselves and their own achievements on Facebook rather than give glory to the Lord.

It's all about them. It's all about self. That is iniquity. It is having a wrong motive.

"They speak lies, speak mischief, and bring forth iniquity".

Iniquity is the fruit that is brought forth.

Isaiah 59:5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

The viper that breaks out here sounds like it could be a demon.

That's the serpent. He is all hooked in with this iniquity. It is his nest in the heart.

Isaiah 59:6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

Notice how these verses speak of the fingers and hands.

Isaiah 59:7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.

As far as shedding innocent blood, having hatred in your heart for your brother is murder.

This is not just about physically taking a life.

You may be thinking, "Hey, I haven't murdered anyone." But, the Bible says that if you hate people, or hate your brother or sister, then you have committed murder.

It's about the heart. The whole motive of hatred is rooted in murder.

Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.

Iniquity can permeate the whole body, just like leaven.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

It is dangerous for you to entertain it.

Isaiah 59:8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

Those with iniquity in their hearts have no judgment.

The Bible tells you to examine yourself. You must judge yourself.

You must first take the plank out of your own eye so that you will be able to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.

Some Christians believe that they should not judge others. You can judge, just be sure to take the plank out of your own eye first. Also, make sure that you do it in love and with the right motives.

The right motive is not your motive, but Christ's.

When you examine yourself to see if you are in the truth, one of the indications will be having the peace of God.

The peace of God is the fruit of the Spirit.

People with iniquity in their hearts make crooked paths.

Ezekiel 28:14-15 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Iniquity was found in Lucifer, the source of all of man's destruction and downfall.

It is important that you understand where iniquity came from. It came in through Lucifer.

Lucifer was an anointed cherub. God's Word says that he was perfect.

Ezekiel 28:16-17 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Lucifer was beautiful and that led to him having vanity. Iniquity is associated with vanity.

He became proud.

You must be very careful of that as a Christian. Do not become self-righteous. Rather, you must become Christ righteous.

It is all about Christ's glory, not your own.

Ezekiel 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

Lucifer had multiple iniquities.

Iniquity in us will bring forth a fire that will devour you.

It will bring forth sickness, destruction, and death.

The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He uses the iniquity in your heart against you.

Jesus said the Pharisees were like their father, the devil. They were sons of the devil.

Like father, like son.

What was their father full of?

Iniquity!

It is so important that you identify any iniquity in your own heart.

If you do not deal with it, then it will bring forth a fire, and it won't be the fire of the Holy

Spirit, but rather a consuming fire that will never say enough, like the Curse of the Leech.

In that curse there are three things mentioned first: the open grave, the dry earth, and the barren womb.

The fourth is a fire that never says enough. It consumes all the time. It is ravenous. It doesn't matter what it consumes, it is never satisfied.

That is what iniquity will do. It will burn you up.

It's like with the love of money. It's greed. Wanting more, more, and more. It is never satisfied.

It will consume you. It becomes covetousness and that is iniquity.

It is all in the heart.

It is a consuming fire. It is not the fire of the Holy Spirit or God's fire. It is the fire of Hades and Hell.

The Lord said that He would build His Church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it.

God wants to extinguish that fire by shutting the gates of Hades and the open grave in your life.

He wants to bring you into the perfect place of rest and peace.

Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

You must learn to identify iniquity.

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

What are your motives?

What is in your heart?

What is your agenda?

This scripture is referring to people with the wrong agenda.

Are you doing the will of the Father?

Everything Jesus did was the will of the Father. It was not His own.

He imitated the Father.

Everything He spoke was what the Father told Him to speak.

That must be the same way with you. You must be led by the Spirit.

Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

That sounds good, doesn't it? But, read the next verse.

Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

It really is important that you understand what iniquity truly is and are able to identify it.

Many people ask what this verse means.

Iniquity is the devil's nature.

It comes from you trying to do things your own way, and from eating from the Tree of the

Knowledge of Good and Evil.

It comes from you trying to obtain your own righteousness rather than the righteousness of the Lord.

That is where it is rooted. It is rooted in unrighteousness.

Righteousness is the Lord. It is God. It is Jesus. He is righteous.

It's His way.

His way is perfect and meets the righteous requirements of the Law.

God is righteousness. It's His way.

That's why the Bible says, "Be holy, for I am holy."

You must be righteous as He is righteous, and allow the Holy Spirit to root out the iniquity in your heart.

Remember, this is your own agenda, stubbornness, crookedness, vanity, and everything else in the Adamic nature.

You can see the nature of Adam coming through here, which is all hooked in with Satan. He is the author of all of this wickedness. It came from Satan down through Adam.

Adam was infected and separated from God. He took on that nature of rebellion towards God and separation from Him.

The good news is that God has restored everything through the Cross!

But you really must understand iniquity.

It is one of the devil's biggest tools in destroying Mankind.

Iniquity, Transgression, and Sin

In our previous teaching series, we identified what sin is, we identified what transgression is, and now we're identifying iniquity.

You can see here a three-fold cord.

Jeremiah 33:8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

Here you can see in Jeremiah, the use of these three different words.

Unfortunately, many other translations miss this distinction.

This is why it is so important for you t understand why certain translations don't provide a thorough and concise revelation and understanding of what we are really dealing with.

Sin, transgression, and iniquity are all different. They have different qualities and attributes.

When you understand the three, then you will really get an understanding of how to avoid them and how to allow the Holy Spirit to correct us.

A three-fold cord is the tightest and strongest rope. It has been proven and Satan knows this.

He uses this because He counterfeits everything that God does.

The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are a three-fold cord. They are one.

You've been grafted into that oneness, as long as you don't regard iniquity in your heart, of course.

Sin: What Does It Mean?

Sin directly relates to iniquity.

Sin translates in the Hebrew as "Hattah" and in the Greek "hamartia". It means to sin, miss the mark, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness, to miss, to sin, to miss the goal or path of right and duty, to incur guilt, incur penalty by sin, forfeit.

It's really missing God's righteousness and His righteous requirement.

Sin is like having a bent arrow. It will always miss the mark, even though you might try to hit the mark.

This is what happens with people who get legalistic and want to try to and become righteous through their own law-keeping program.

They attempt to be righteous in their own strength. What ends up happening, because of iniquity and self-righteousness, they will miss the mark every time because they are using bent arrows.

You might want to do good. You might want to actually hit the mark.

Religious people do want to be righteous, like the nation of Israel.

As referenced in Romans 10, Israel had a zeal for God but it was not according to knowledge.

They supposedly loved God and wanted to know Him, but unfortunately they 'd fallen into self-righteousness without having knowledge.

If they had learned knowledge and had submitted and dealt with the iniquity in their heart, which was all rooted in vanity, pride, rebellion, stiff-necked, etc. (This is how God spoke about them in the wilderness), then they would not have been separated from the love of God and the truth of God.

Later in this post, we will discuss how to allow God to give you those straight arrows.

When you come to Christ, He is the end of the Law for righteousness for you.

Religious people try to meet the law's requirements through their own righteousness instead of the righteousness of God and the righteousness of Christ.

He is the end of the Law for righteousness.

When you try to do things on your own, in your own strength, by trying to keep a pile of rules and regulations, instead of submitting to God by faith and believing His promises, then you're pulling bent arrows out of your sheath.

You might intentionally want to do the right thing but you will continue to miss the mark.

In Romans 7, Paul talks about the things that he wants to do but he doesn't do them. He becomes exasperated and finally exclaims, "This wretched body of mine! Who will deliver me from it?"

We know that the Law was not able to effectively eradicate iniquity and sin.

The Bible says that it was weak in the flesh.

The only way that God could perfect that was by becoming the Son of Man and fulfilling the Law for us.

Now, our righteousness is not through Law keeping of Moses, but through the Law of Christ, which is a new Law.

It is a better Covenant, built on better promises.

It brings His righteousness and not your own.

If you try to do it any other way, you will fall.

You are going to be using bent arrows.

If you try to do things yourself, you will be pulling out bent arrows and you will continually fail.

You can certainly try to hit the mark, like Paul, saying the very thing you want to do, your body won't do. It rebels!

The Law strengthens sin.

Why?

Because of the flesh. The flesh is weak. The flesh is you trying to hit the mark with bent arrows.

God wants to give you straight arrows so that you will hit the mark every time without even trying.

We discussed that with David and Goliath. Be sure to have a look at the teaching on sin, and you'll be able to see that picture clearly.

It is all about God's righteousness and not our own.

Iniquity equals crookedness, and sin is like a bent arrow.

Isaiah 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

Now, go back to Isaiah 59:6.

Isaiah 59:6-7 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.

Iniquity is rooted in your mind.

It will cause you to be a slave to sin. You will be a slave to your own thoughts.

That is why the Bible tells us to "cast down every thought and imagination that exalts itself above the knowledge of God".

It's taking out the sword.

The Sword of the Spirit is that straight arrow. It pierces and divides soul and spirit. It hits the mark every time by faith.

Iniquity will cause you to walk a crooked path.

Isaiah 59:8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

Iniquity puts you on a crooked path.

In contrast, what is the way of the Lord?

The way of the Lord is straight and narrow.

It is straight!

What did John, the Baptist do?

He came to prepare the way of the Lord and to make the paths straight.

You will be on that straight path if you truly deal with your iniquity.

Iniquity will cause you to walk a crooked path.

That path will not lead to peace but rather destruction.

Iniquity Equals Inherited DNA - The Nature of Adam

That is where iniquity is rooted. It comes down through your ancestry.

Psalm 51:1-5 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

You see all three words used here: sin, transgression and iniquity. They are all different.

David has identified the fact that his iniquity has come down through his lineage.

It really goes back to Adam.

Psalm 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

David speaks of the inward parts of man.

God deals with iniquity by changing your heart.

Psalm 51:7-9 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

This is exactly what the Lord does in the New Covenant now through the blood of Jesus.

He will blot out your iniquity if you come out of agreement with it and repent for it.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Here we have the New Covenant circumcision of the heart.

God promises us a new heart.

Circumcision, which was a sign of the Old Covenant with Israel, was of the flesh.

But now God creates in you a new heart. It is a spiritual transaction where He circumcises the heart, makes you a new creation in Christ, and causes you to be born again, and seated with Him.

Your identity is now Christ.

We can see how important deliverance is by having a right spirit inside of us.

The Holy Spirit is in you, guiding you, leading you, and transforming you.

You are already spiritually pure and righteous before Him, but your soul must be transformed.

The iniquity in your heart must be dealt with.

Psalm 51:11-13 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

That's how we change people.

We change people by being Christ, and by showing them the fruit of the Spirit.

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

That broken spirit speaks of true repentance.

If you really want to know what is about look at Matthew 5. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

To be poor in spirit means to empty oneself of self.

That's where the Cross comes in. Those who lose their lives for His sake shall find it.

It is not about your will being done, but is all about His will.

You must come out of agreement with the iniquity in your heart, your own agenda, and your own motives.

What is your motive?

Is it self or is it the love of God and the love of others?

Do you have mercy, love, compassion and truth?

Or is everything all about you, what you want, and what you stand to gain personally from your actions?

If it's about self then that it iniquity. And that is often hidden.

Iniquity is in the Heart

God must remove your heart of stone.

Your heart of stone is full of iniquity.

God cannot do anything with that. He must take it out!

That's true open-heart surgery.

Acts 8:21-23 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

When you have iniquity in your heart, you are yoked to it.

That yoke is a bond. It's being chained. It's slavery.

Iniquity will imprison you and allow the devil to have his way with you.

You will be a slave to that thing.

That doesn't necessarily mean that you are not saved, but it will cause you to do things that you don't want to do because you are in bondage to it.

Iniquity is in your heart.

Acts 8:24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

This is a picture of repentance.

Come out of agreement with it, repent, and renounce it!

Renounce iniquity. Come out of agreement with it. Break those bonds! Allow the Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus to break those bonds and set the captives free.

Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Be certain that you really understand this.

Many Christians in desperate situations wonder, "Why doesn't the Lord hear me?"

There is a reason.

That is why you must earnestly seek His face. If you do that, He will hear you.

But to meet that condition, you have to come out of agreement with your iniquity.

You must allow God to circumcise your heart and give you a new heart of flesh.

The heart of flesh comes by knowing the truth.

The truth will set you free.

The Mystery of Iniquity

2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

There is a mystery of iniquity.

God is in control. The Lord is sovereign.

It is so important that you understand that.

Us trying to do things our own way will invite blindness and deception.

All of these things are going to come in when we don't fully understand that and submit to His righteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

That is the light. God is the light.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

If you regard iniquity in your heart (regard meaning to adhere, rely on, submit to, yoke yourself to, etc.), then you will become a bondservant to it.

God will allow strong delusion to come upon you. He will not hear you. He can't if you have iniquity, stubbornness, and rebellion in your heart.

It's stiff-necked and crooked. It's vanity.

He will send strong delusion and cause you to believe a lie.

God answers you to the multitude of your idols.

Ahab learned that lesson.

What happened to him?

He died by a well-placed arrow.

Perhaps it was a bent arrow that came straight from the devil.

You do not want to receive one of those.

2 Thessalonians 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Be careful about walking in your own righteousness.

Doing things your own way, being super religious, and thinking yourself to be so righteous, holy, and pious, that is unrighteousness.

That is not the Lord's righteousness. It's yours.

That's you trying to do things in your own strength under a whole pile of your own rules and rule keeping.

Instead, you need to submit to the righteousness of God by faith in the message of the Cross.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ which is our righteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

The traditions that came from the Apostles were the commandments of God.

Many teach that these traditions only applied to the Church in the times the letters were originally written in the first century.

That is not the case at all.

These were not traditions of man. They came from the Lord.

Do not try to throw things out of the Bible and discount it by claiming they were traditions "back then".

They're not.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Paul taught the commandments of the Lord under the New Covenant.

2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

This is all by grace through faith

2 Thessalonians 2:17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

You must be careful of iniquity because it is deceiving.

Many well-meaning Christians, just like the Jews, have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge.

They try to obtain it by their own righteousness.

That is what iniquity will do. It will deceive you in religion to believe that it is the truth, when it is actually iniquity in your heart. Because it is you and not Christ.

It is your own vanity, your self-righteousness, and you wanting to do things your own way instead of submitting to the righteousness of God.

These kinds of people are unteachable.

Stubborn, stiff-necked, and religious people are unteachable. They do not want to listen to the truth. If you try telling them the truth they just run away. They do not want to listen.

They've got their fingers in their ears, because they've got their own righteousness.

Iniquity: Generational In the Heart

Lamentations 5:7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.

Exodus 34:6-7 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

Do you see here the three-fold cord of iniquity, transgression, and sin?

This iniquity that we are dealing with is all generational.

It comes down through our bloodline.

We are not under the curse, so it is important for you not to agree with it.

If you are a Christian, and you've been taught that you are not under the curse. It's true, you are not under the curse.

But, if you are regarding iniquity in your heart, then guess what?

God is not going to hear you.

If you are regarding iniquity in your heart, then you have got to come out of agreement with it.

It is leaven. A little leaven will corrupt you.

That's what deliverance is all about. Deliverance is about you being delivered and cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

This is what Jesus did for us.

So when you come into the obedience of Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to transform you through the washing of His Word, and through obedience, then you will get set free.

But, if you are regarding iniquity in your heart then that is stubbornness. It's vanity. It's crooked. It's all rooted in pride and self-righteousness.

God will not hear you in that condition.

That's why many Christians do not get deliverance.

They are regarding iniquity in their heart and they have the wrong motives and a different agenda.

Your agenda has to be Christ. "It is not longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me."

It's the truth that sets you free. Jesus sets you free.

The truth is that loving the Lord and loving your neighbor as yourself fulfills the requirements of the Law.

2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

There is a false doctrine out there that Christians cannot have demons. It's actually ridiculous.

It's like having a backseat driver without any experience at all. It's likely tied to a religious spirit that tries to tell everyone these lies because they've come under false leadership and were told that leaders following the traditions of men rather than the traditions of God.

In this scripture, Paul is addressing Christians. Born again, spirit-filled Christians.

The filthiness of the spirit is obviously talking about spiritual things. This is referencing demons.

That is why they are called unclean spirits.

What are unclean spirits attracted and attached to?

They are attached to iniquity and sin.

Remember God said to Cain in Genesis 4:7 "... sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire."

Sin is a demon.

Born-Again, Spirit-filled Christians are commanded here to cleanse themselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. This is not addressed to unbelievers.

When you were born again and spirit-filled, that began a process of sanctification.

It takes sanctification through God's grace, mercy, and love for you to learn obedience.

Through your obedience, the Holy Spirit will transform you.

Spiritually, you are perfect. Your spirit is perfect with God. You don't need to cleanse that.

Your spirit is seated with Christ in Heavenly places.

How could that be filthy? It's seated with Christ.

It is your soul that is being transformed.

Filthiness of the spirit is obviously talking about unclean spirits.

Think about it. Don't believe people that tell you that Christians cannot have a demon. It's a lie. It's one of Satan's biggest lies.

What that lies does is trap and enslave iniquity in your heart because you can't get delivered from it. There's a demon there constantly lying to you and using your body as a vehicle.

It is why deliverance is so important to everyone that believes.

That's why it says these signs shall follow those that believe, they will cast out demons and heal the sick in Jesus's name!

Deliverance is necessary for the healing and cleansing of iniquity in the heart.

Demons and iniquity work together.

Demons use the Curse of the Law. If you go under the curse of the Law then you've got sin.

The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law.

That is why Jesus told us to be of good cheer. He has overcome it for us. He has fulfilled the

Law for us so that we would not have to fulfill the penalty of breaking the Law.

We are no longer under the Law in Christ.

When you get that revelation and understanding, then you will be free!

Then you can come out of agreement with whatever the iniquity is by faith.

It is important to repent. Repentance is changing direction, one hundred and eighty degrees.

Sin is missing the mark.

When you repent, you are changing your aim one hundred and eighty degrees, and your aim now becomes accurate in Christ. Then, you hit the mark.

Think of the parallel story of David hitting Goliath with the rock. He Hit Goliath right between the eyes.

That's hitting the mark!

David didn't kill Goliath. Christ killed Goliath, because Christ is the rock.

That rock hit him right in the head and was guided by the Holy Spirit. It was in the power of

God because David understood Covenant.

You also need to understand your Covenant with God. You have a better Covenant with God than even David did!

Iniquity Equals Lust From the Heart

James 4:1-3 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

How do you ask amiss?

When you have wrong motives.

James is referring to the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the lust of the flesh.

James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Friendship with the world is iniquity.

This is where iniquity is. It is rooted in a love of the world.

Who is the god of this world?

Satan.

Who is the author of that?

Lucifer. The Bible tells us that iniquities were found in him.

James 4:5-6 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

If you are going to deal with iniquity then you must humble yourself.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

This means to come out of agreement with your iniquity.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

You see? Purify your heart!

That's the root. The root of sin is iniquity. It comes from the heart.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

It speaks of double-mindedness. Iniquity in the heart will cause double-mindedness.

James 4:9-10 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Humility before God is key.

Iniquities Equal Hidden Motives

What is your hidden agenda?

God will not hear you with hidden agendas in your heart.

He will answer you according to your hidden agendas, and that is not good.

He will bring correction, but it may not be the way you want it.

Look at Israel. God raised up Babylon to bring Israel into correction.

He will use Pharoah. He will use anything that He has to to get you out of agreement with evil.

Unfortunately, He will use the curse against you if you don't repent.

He does this for your own good. He chastens those whom He loves.

It's one of the ways that He chastens Christians.

He is sovereign. God is sovereign. He can do whatever He likes.

People try to analyze Job, but God is God. He does whatever He wants. He does things His way.

His way is the righteous way. It is the right way. You cannot question Him.

You can't work God out, so relax. Let God be God and do what He wants to do.

Trust Him.

Proverbs 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.

That's where you need to get to. Allow the Lord into your whole heart, into every area of your heart. Then your tongue will follow your heart.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.

You see, this is where the deception comes in. That is why we have so many false religions, so many denominations, and so much chaos in the body of Christ.

Deception can come in and every Christian must be careful of that.

We must be careful and humble ourselves so that we do not come under deception.

As soon as you start to get a little bit proud or self-righteous, God will not hear you and the enemy will take advantage of that and it will spawn iniquity.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Does it say commit your works to your own motives and what you want to happen?

No, it does not.

It says to commit your works unto the Lord.

When your heart is aligned with Christ, then out of your heart will flow good things.

If you've got the wrong motives, then you will not be aligned with Christ. You will be aligned with yourself.

That is when Jesus will say, "Get away from me, you workers of iniquity!"

Proverbs 16:4 The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

The Lord is sovereign. He made us.

God uses everything. He uses everything.

He can even send a lying spirit. He sends a spirit of stupor.

In the mystery of iniquity in the last days, God is going to allow people to carry on with their blindness.

The Bible says there is going to be a great falling away in preparation for the Antichrist.

Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

That's what the bond of iniquity is. That is about you forming an alliance with the enemy. It is like entering into a covenant.

It is betrayal. It's transgression.

Betraying God and betraying your brothers and sisters is transgression.

Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

What is this about?

The first and second commandments.

Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

It's about showing mercy, kindness, and love.

It's about not only being a hearer of the Word but a doer of the Word.

That means allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you to show compassion and mercy.

That is why ministry is so important. That is what we are called to do: to allow the Holy Spirit to stir up the gifts that are in us.

Then, we can do what the Lord has appointed us to do, which is to show mercy, reveal the truth, and love.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Isn't that beautiful?

Proverbs 16:8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

So, you might get lots and lots of money through covetousness and having a wrong agenda and motive (e.g. the Prosperity Gospel, calling money to come to you, or sowing a seed so that you can reap a thousand fold), but it will not please God.

Proverbs 16:9 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

In the heart, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead you.

You must recognize that old, Adamic nature, self, and the new Christ nature and that perfect man that is in Him.

Your new nature is not in Adam but in Christ.

You cannot serve two masters.

The only way that you can overcome is by truly repenting, coming to the truth, emptying yourself of self, and identifying your true motives and the iniquities in your heart.

Iniquity's roots may be hidden agendas, personal gain, or your reputation.

Ego, self, control, manipulation, greed, lust, idolatry, coveting, etc. are all rooted in the heart.

Look closely at Matthew 5 and at Jesus's sermon on the Mount.

Go over the key points and understand what it means to empty yourself of self.

Being poor in spirit is foolishness to man and to the world, but it is the way of truth and life.

Jesus showed us the way.

He emptied himself of self. He humbled himself, came down as a man.

He was obedient to the Father to the point that He sacrificed himself for us.

That was His model. That is our model and that is what you are to do.

When you come to the revelation that it is all about loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself, then that will deal with iniquity because it will allow God to purge it out.

Then your motive will no longer be tied in with your own personal gain, reputation, and hidden agenda, ego, self, lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the love of the world, but it will be rooted in your new identity in Christ.

Then you can truly say that he whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Only then can you really deal with the iniquity, whose agenda is to cause a consuming fire in your life.

Iniquity will be like a fire that will consume you.

Don't allow that fire to burn you and destroy you.

Deal it with by faith through the love of God and allow the Holy Spirit to reconcile you to His will in Jesus's name.