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.