The DNA of What is a Christian….Pt 4
The DNA of What is a Christian # 4
10th October 2012 – Wednesday
“Growing from Inside Out”
How does a Christian grow?
By buying a new study Bible, going to the latest conference, increasing your Christian magazine inscription.
No, these are only of benefit if the spiritual nourishment they provide gets into your system.
Unless we grow from within, we do not grow at all!
Having the biggest Bible does not mean you are going to grow more!
Spiritual Senses
The Bible speaks often about our inner person.
Peter taught that Christian wives should seek to cultivate the beauty of the inner woman 1Pe 3:4 rather [let it be] the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible [beauty] of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
The Apostle Paul taught us that as we get older in our walk with the Lord our inner man should be getting renewed – 2Cr 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward [man] is being renewed day by day.
The writer of Hebrews warns us to have our ‘spiritual senses’ fully operational so that we can discern both good and evil – Heb 5:14
Let’s look at the spiritual senses more in depth.
HEARING – Jesus said, Mat 13:9 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” When Jesus said this He was not talking about the two pieces of cartilage and skin sitting on either side of our head.
No He was referring to the ability of our inner person, to hear God’s Word and understand it!
That magnificent passage in John 10 of Jesus being the Good Shepherd, Jesus tells us, Jhn 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
But likewise Jesus also said, Therefore you do not hear because you are not of God – John 8:47.
TASTE – As Christians we also have the spiritual sense of taste – again not physical.
Psa 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD [is] good; Blessed [is] the man [who] trusts in Him!
We have tasted that the Lord is gracious – 1 Peter 2:3 and that when we read God’s Word, it is like honey to our taste – Psa 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, [Sweeter] than honey to my mouth!
SIGHT – The Bible teaches us that unbelievers are blind – Jhn 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Paul prayed that the Christians in Ephesus might have the eyes of the heart opened to spiritual truth – Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Peter in the mean time was disappointed that immature believers were shortsighted even to blindness – 2 Peter 1:9.
Each time you and I open our Bibles we should pray as the Psalmist – Psa 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.
So we have the spiritual senses of our inner man that we need to use to grow from the inside out.
Now if we are to care for the inner person, just like we care for ourselves physically, then we should pursue such inner health more so than the physical.
The Pharisees made the big mistake of many in the world today, they majored on the outer and totally neglected the inner person that only God sees.
Matthew 23: 25-28 NLT – 25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, [fn9] and then the outside will become clean, too.
27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
They were good dishwashers and whiewashers!
If you are more concerned about your reputation than you are with your character, you inner man falls into disrepair and spiritual malnutrition.
The English word HYPOCRITE comes from the Greek word used to describe an actor in a play wearing a mask to portray something or somebody else than who they really are!
Such is a person who does their best to conceal their real identity.
But for a Christian believer, life is real and life is serious.
We are Not about impressing people with our reputation but seeking rather to please our Lord by building a godly character!
This is why the Christian life is lived from the inside out – 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Prov 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
NLT – 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life
Spiritual senses, spiritual health and now we have open heart surgery!
HEART MOTIVES – When Jesus preached the greatest sermon ever record, the Sermon on the Mount, He got to the heart of the matter! That sin comes from the heart!
I may not murder my neighbour, but if I hate him, I am murdering him IN MY HEART.
Jesus went on to teach that deliberate lust in the heart is the moral equivalent of adultery!
So since sin has its origin in the heart, righteousness must come from the heart – see Matthew 6:1-18
What are the motives of our heart?
Matthew 6:1 – 1 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.
Our motive for giving – Matthew 6:1-4
Our motive for praying Matthew 6:5-15
And more….
We are only to act to please God and win His approval no matter what other people think.
It’s important to please our Father in heaven, who alone sees the hidden intents of the heart…and He will reward us openly – Matthew 6:4,6,18.
So faith is living without scheming!
In attempting to build up my reputation with others around me, to impress, I am tearing down my character within me….that is tragic!
D.L Moody defined character as “What you are in the dark.”
Philip Brooks said, “The purpose of life was the building of character through truth.” Let is add 5 words to that, “To the glory of God.”
Let us gather all this together to finish and to encapsulate.
When you live to please God – from the inside out – to keep the inner person healthy, you will discover that life becomes simpler, connected and focused!
Instead of dancing here and there trying to do everything to please and impress everybody, you calmly face the challenges of each day without feeling shredded and pulled apart.
You will find it is much easier to make decisions because your life will be centered around one Person, Jesus Christ, and one purpose, seeking first the kingdom of God. – Matthew 6:33
A simplified life is such a joy.
We live in a complex, stressed and erratic world, and things you once considered important will lose their status.
Things you thought you needed – you will be content instead with what you now have!
Thoreau said, …”that a person is rich in proportion to the number of things he or she can afford to do without.”
Jesus told Martha, one thing is needed….Luke 10:42
When you look after your inner person and live to glorify Jesus Christ, your values change, and your priorities change with them.
Result – Things that used to upset you greatly before won’t upset you as much as they used to.
Paul put it like this, I have learned in WHATEVER state I am, to be content! POWERFUL!!!!!!!!!
People who depend on circumstances, upon people for their strength to keep going, will be CONSTANTLY frustrated and worried.
Finally – 2 Cor 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 9