By Scott MacLeod & Matthew Stark
 
The first step to an authentic Pure Life Revolution is to “get real.”  We must be honest about our weaknesses, struggles, addictions, and, ultimately, our sins, and we must come into the light. If we hope to bring authentic change to society, our hearts must first change.  We must have a personal revolution. Until a man takes responsibility for himself and his own actions, he will not find lasting freedom and victory. Pure Life Revolution happens literally one life at a time, as each individual is willing to come into the light and expose the darkness that lurks and lodges in his or her very soul.
 
The only people group that Jesus seemed to have exceedingly hard words for were the religious hypocrites of His day. God did not and does not appreciate fakes and phonies who hide behind His name or some religious façade. Many times people put on masks and hide behind a smile and a “great” as they come to corporate worship. Our assemblies should be safe places for people to be encouraged and to find healing, hope and victory. They should not be a place where we feel that we have to hide our weaknesses and our realities behind religious façades.  We must be willing to get real and to come into the light if we ever want to have the endorsement of heaven and positive influence on the earth.

We have become, at times, our own worst enemy. God is the knower of hearts, only He truly knows even beyond ourselves. He sees the whole thing and knows us as we truly are. He knows the secrets, the secret motives, hidden agendas and selfish desires. He knows the heart of the matter. He knows what is at the center. It is time to get real with ourselves and take responsibility for who we are. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:21-23, NKJV).

A “heart” knowledge of the truth is the first and foremost thing that sets us free.  But this truth is not some grand, intellectual or theological achievement to which we aspire; rather, it is the truth that must be applied personally to each individual, starting with the heart.  We must “believe in our hearts.” A heart is the essence of a human being or living spirit.  It comprises who we really are... and who we really want to be.
 
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives” (1 John 1:5-10, NIV).

There is no escaping it: God requires us to confess our sins—to get real and to come into the light and be the real thing! The book of James tells us that if we would confess our faults we would be healed. The devil hides in darkness, and so do those who practice the deeds of darkness. Those who are born of God are declared "Children of Light."  When we walk in the light, darkness has to flee, it has no other option. Darkness cannot dwell where Light shines.

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you’” (Eph. 5:11-14, NIV).

In Christ Jesus we are to be childlike—wide-open, honest and trusting. He already sees everything, and we need to understand we can’t hide from Him. We are covered with His blood; therefore, we no longer have to lurk around in the darkness, trying to cover up our shameful ways.
 
“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13, NIV).
 

Someone once said, "Honesty is the best policy."  We believe this to be true, especially in the Kingdom of Heaven. Fortunately, there is a confession movement that has begun in the Body of Christ. It is time to throw off all religious façades and falsehood and become authentic. We need to be acquainted with our own hearts and minds; we need the Lord to search us, to search even the darkest, hidden, secret places so that we may be clean before Him. We don’t want to hold on to hurts, wounds, feelings or emotions of the past. Pure Life Revolution seeks to create a safe environment where people from all walks of life can come clean and get real with their struggles and sins… and be liberated!

Today - right now - I can be free in Jesus name!
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”
(John 8:32 NIV).