It Begins On the Inside

(Message by Bro. Vijay Awale. Happy reading!)

Today, I am going to speak again on ‘change’-and that it begins on the inside. It is my desire that it will help us to focus once again on the promise of this year-about changing from glory to glory. I believe that change is the only constant here, and the year 2012 may pass on, but the process of change will continue-and it should!

If the change does not start on the inside, all your exercise of prayer and fasting (with help from brothers and sisters in Christ) will not help; remember that we are not talking about change in circumstances or some cosmetic change in us. We are really into metamorphosis change-of how the crawling caterpillar and the slumbering pupae becomes a dancing butterfly!

Carnal mind and death

Some say, “I try to change, but I can’t; Maybe I am made to be like this only.” Brothers, it is not change from the mind and fleshly effort, but a change from the heart. The Bible says, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). Paul writes in Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” And this verse is very much linked to Romans 12:2 where we see about renewal of the mind and being transformed from glory to glory.

Now ‘Carnal’ denotes something of the flesh; it is not necessarily sinful. All sin is carnal, but not all carnality is sin. For example, our day-to-day activities of work, business, eating and drinking are all carnal, but not necessarily sin. But 1 Cor. 2:14 encourages us to distance ourselves from those that are natural (carnal) and discern those things that are spiritual.

And death comprises of all misery both here and hereafter. Romans 6:23 says: The wages of sin is death. Death may be represented by sickness, loneliness, depression, separation, pain-all as a result of sin.

Combining this carnal mind and death, Paul writes in Romans 8:6: For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Mind you, the Bible does not say that carnal mind leads to death, but that carnal mind IS death. Similarly to be spiritually minded IS life and peace.

Spiritual mind and life

When I say 'spiritually minded', I am aware that many of us consider ourselves ‘spiritual’. But, do not be deceived with your own assessment of yourself: To be spiritually-minded is to fill your heart with the word of God and let your mind be dominated by truths from the word of God.

Strangely, some do have a fickle sense of spirituality; for instance they consider themselves ‘SPIRITUAL’ by speaking sentences such as: “I got up in the morning and could feel the hunger in my stomach; the SPIRIT told me to go and have break-fast”. Or look at sentences like this: “I got up to go to church but a cat crossed my path; as I was wondering if I should continue to go to church, the SPIRIT stopped me and told me to just take it easy, go back home and rest”.

Do not be deceived! Brothers, this is NOT a spiritual mind, but a carnal mind! How can we be so foolish? Remember, we are also a spiritual being; therefore there is a human spirit. So we have the evil spirit, human spirit, and the Holy Spirit, and we ought to check which ‘spirit’ is really talking to us! Spiritually minded, as meant in the Bible, is to be led by the Holy Spirit according to all that you have been filled in your mind with the truths from the word of God-this is the way to renew our mind.

Seed and Result

You have a responsibility towards your soul, towards your mind. Do not be deceived by what the world teaches you, but rather live by what the word teaches you. For example some say that either their family background, or their impoverished state, or their lack of education, or the peers they have grown up with, etc., are to be blamed for their own state of mind. But is this what the word teaches us? NO. For everyone who is in Christ is a new creation-the old is gone, the new has come.

Now, how long have you known the Lord Jesus? And now how is your life going on, and how is your mind? I do not have to physically see the SEED at the time of sowing, to know the kind of fruit it will bring forth. Imagine you have a garden and you have planted some seeds; and when I come to your home, all I see is your plants all ready to bloom. But friend, this is sufficient for me to know what SEED you had sowed earlier! Similarly, in the garden of life, the result is always due to the seeds you have allowed to be sown in your mind-soil. 

Knowledge and Peace

If you believe you have a mind, you better fill it with seeds that are life and peace. Yes, you better be spiritually minded, which is life and peace (Rom. 8:6). Many do want grace and peace in their lives, and they think it is given to them by external means. There are some who think peace is a result of success in external circumstances. But if you read 2 Peter 1:2, it says: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,…

What a wonderful way to have grace and peace! Yes, even multiplied peace-in knowing God our Father and our Lord Jesus. Peace is NOT ABSENCE of problems; it is, rather, the PRESENCE of Jesus in our heart and mind. Therefore, we can know His peace through knowledge of God, even in the midst of storm. Dwelling in our minds, the words of Jesus speaks peace to our hearts; and it eventually changes the circumstances-the storm will be gone!

Knowledge and Power

Continue reading the next verse from Peter, and it becomes clearer still. 2 Peter 1:3 says: as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,…

His divine power has given to us all things-through the knowledge. We can know His divine power through the knowledge of Him who called us.

Some have this only expectation-that they would stand in some gospel meeting or church worship-and they would pray “Lord touch me”-and expect the power of God, out of the blue, to strike them like lightning-and everything in them and around them to be changed in an instant! This, they think, and which they can later testify, as to knowing His divine power. Beloved, the change in an instant is redemption of the spirit. All else, about us and inside of us, will change only step by painful step, as you steadfastly climb up the spiritual-mind ladder!

Change begins on the inside of us, and can continue only on the inside of us-in deepening knowledge of Him, and widening knowledge of His power and peace. This knowledge is sufficient, Peter says, for ALL things that pertain to life and godliness. (2 Pet 1:3)

Increase in Faith

Our increase in faith is a result of seeing more and more from God’s perspective; as we climb up higher in the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus. That is why we will learn not to blame the circumstances, not to blame others. The battle of life and faith mostly fought in the mind; and it is our responsibility to choose between the carnal and spiritual, that we may have victory. Eph. 6:12 says: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Satan, the father of lies, lures people to their peril by perverting the truth. The truth is change is necessary even in a believer’s life; and change begins on the inside and continues as long as we live-from degree to degree, from glory to glory. It is insane to keep doing the same things, and keep doing things the same way, and expect different results.

Do Not Fear Change

Do not be afraid to change-a change in your thinking, a change in your doing, just because there are traditions you don’t understand, and fables you have been taught in your younger days about doing things a certain way. It is the knowledge of God and what He has spoken, that will cause us to change for the better. Successful people are not those who do different things, but those who do things differently. And it all begins in your mind.

Remember the incident in the life of four lepers in the land of Samaria-in the midst of a famine made severe by a prolonged siege by the Syrian king Ben-Hadad; the famine becoming so severe that motherss were willing to eat their own children! Read about it 2 Kings 6: 24 onwards to 2 Kings 7: 20. The four lepers thought they should go and surrender to the Syrian king-their enemy, because they were anyway going to die! And when the Lord caused the Syrians to flee before them, and they gathered the spoil, they thought again differently, saying they should rather go back to Samaria to share the good news and the great food stock and spoil left in the Syrian camp. 

May God help us and fill us with all knowledge of our Lord Jesus, as we steadfastly seek Him. Amen.

Examples-For Our Admonition

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph; happy reading!)

1 Cor. 10: 6-11

Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not {lust | crave} after evil things as they also lusted.

And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;

Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;

Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Taking examples from the history of Israelites, Paul instructs us in these verses, to be wary about and to learn from the errors and wrongs of the children of Israel. A nation was born when the children of Israel journeyed from the land of slavery-Egypt, to the Promised Land.

The people of Israel saw God delivering them out of the hand of Pharaoh through the working of mighty miracles. And when they were on their way, God fed them with manna from heaven and gave waters out of the rock in the wilderness; guided them by a pillar of fire by night and with a cloud by day. But, out of the so many who crossed the Red Sea and danced for joy with Miriam, only two could finally make it into the Promised Land some 40y later-Caleb and Joshua.

 

How could they all miss it? What did they do wrong? Paul lists out 5 things that the Israelites did wrong. We can either learn from their mistakes and go on into the Promised Land, or make our own mistakes and maybe miss it all. It will be a real shame if we do not take to heart the admonition of Paul, and find ourselves all at sea, groping in the dark. You see, the Bible is full of success stories as well as failure stories. If you read the books of Moses, you will see that our God, being patient and longsuffering, gave the Israelites 10 chances to mend their ways! Paul picks out 5 of the things that they did wrong and I would like to share these with you today.

(i)                  THEY CRAVED [Numbers 11: 4-6]

They lusted after food! Food is considered to be good, only if it is allotted to you. If you lust after food that is not yours, it becomes an evil thing. We must learn to be content with what food God has given us. Jesus has taught us that we should not seek after food, of what to eat. In the parable of the Sower, Jesus explains that these are the ones sown among thorns…cares of this world,…and the desire for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (Mark 4: 19)

(ii)               THEY BECAME IDOLATERS [Exodus 32: 4]

A strange thing happened when Moses was in the mount receiving the commandments from God- The Israelites took off their gold ornaments and made a molded calf; then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

Beloved, do not let anything (or any person) take the place of God in your life, or do not even let them between God and yourself. John the wise, signs of his first letter with these commandment “My children, keep away from idols” (1 John 5: 21). There was a king who was wise during the Old covenant days-Solomon, and he being subject daily to pressures from his wives-many of them foreign, bowed down to idols. The wise Solomon became a fool, because he chose to walk the way of disobedience!

Do not be lovers of your self, but be lovers of God.

(iii)              THEY COMMITTED SEXUAL IMMORALITY [Numbers 25]

The king Balak employed Balaam to curse the children of Israel; but Balaam could not, because God had already blessed the children of Israel. Then Balaam gave evil counsel to Balak saying that he should send women from his (Moabite) camp into the camp of Israelites to commit lewdness and immorality. Soon, the camp of Israel was into all sorts of trouble and divided among themselves, committing harlotry and provoking God’s fierce anger upon themselves. And while writing to the church in Pergamos (the compromising church), Jesus recounts this incident again in Rev. 2: 14: But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.

This is a warning for all of God’s people-to beware of all the pitfalls on your journey to the Promised land. Because in the world, adultery and immorality are taken lightly today; it is tolerated. But we must hold the value of His commandments and remember the failures of Israel. Jesus has asked us to go a step further and be blameless in our conscience and pure in our thoughts-this is our standard, let us do it.

(iv)              THEY TEMPTED CHRIST [Numbers 21: 4-6]

Some of them, in their journey, murmured against God and Moses- and this became a snare to them. Even in our life journey, sometimes the Lord leads us by a longer route to get us to the place where He promised, He would take us. It may seem to us too roundabout and quite unnecessary-but God knows what is best for us. The children of Israel had a simple choice to follow- the pillar of fire by night, and the cloud by day (Ps. 105: 39). But some of them became impatient and murmured and tempted Christ in the wilderness; they simply did not know God’s ways (Ps. 95: 10).

The steps of the children of Israel were from the Lord; they did not choose their own way (Prov. 20: 24). In this age of instant gratification, we fail to learn patience. But my beloved, it is with faith and patience that we inherit the promises of God. We must learn to rest in Christ alone.

(v)                THEY GRUMBLED [Numbers 16: 41]

There was a man named Korah who rebelled against God, and he perished along with his family. But then the next day, a crowd gathered together in front of Moses and started grumbling… accusing them of killing the ‘people of the LORD’!

Beloved, honor those who fear the Lord. David writes in Psalm 15 “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?” and includes this list of people: In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the LORD… (Ps. 15: 4)

We may think some of these are small matters, and does not need correction; but be warned by the examples of the Israelites. We may think we know it all, and consider ourselves immune to such perversions, but Paul continues with a warning to such thinkers in 1 Cor. 10: 12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Paul also encourages those who are tempted: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Cor. 10: 13)

God Himself led the Israelites; yet a great many of them failed to enter the Promised Land. God is leading us by His Spirit, and we have the examples from the Old Covenant for our own admonition, that we may learn from the mistakes of Israelites. Faith, patience, obedience are all inter-twined with one another; one will fail without the other. Therefore, remember not to lust after anything-no not even food, not to become idolaters-allowing something or some person more prominence in our life than God Himself. Do not commit sexual immorality, and do not try the Lord in your long journey. Do not grumble and complain against God’s just ways.

May God open up our understanding that we may learn from these incidents in the history of the children of Israel. Amen.