Inside-Out vs. Outside-In
“Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18–19 AMP).
Jesus came to earth to set the captives free, redeem the lost, and “undo and destroy the works of the devil.”
In other words, He came to change our thinking. So we could see God correctly. So we could experience Him from the “inside-out” vs. the “outside-in.”
Part of Jesus’s concern involved setting straight the religious “right”—the people who thought they had it all under control and did not stand to be corrected.
These were the people who prided themselves for following the manmade traditions of The Law. They were also the ones who went crazy when Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath, when He claimed to be the Bread of Life and the Light of the world, when He spoke of the need to forgive, when He claimed to see what the Father was doing and hear what the Father was saying, and when He claimed to have existed even before Abraham was born!
Never mind that Jesus continuously healed sick bodies and minds (largely through the casting out of demons) and taught people to love their enemies. Never mind that He passed through crowds of angry stone-throwers unscathed—and miraculously and instantaneously transported himself and his disciples to other safer locations.
“You are nothing but a demon-possessed Samaritan!” the naysayers screamed.
“He’s just a demagogue!” they insisted.
In every “case” they brought against Him, these people were more concerned about outward appearances than the things of God’s heart.
A Menacing Spirit Says “Not Good Enough”
Why was Jesus’s message to love God and love people so difficult for the religious people of His day to hear? Presumably, the message He communicated was contrary to what they had always thought to be true. In other words, their rigid and condemning mindsets prevented them from being open to the “new” things Jesus was offering them.
The same problem held true for a gal I worked with several times.
In the initial encounter I had with this young woman, I felt the Holy Spirit say that she was suffering from a “condemning spirit”—a menacing spirit causing her to perceive that she was “not good enough.”
I keenly sensed that this had come about due to her traumatic past, in combination with her “religious” upbringing. Now her suffering was made worse due to more recent experiences, including the near death of a child and the demise of her marriage.
I wanted to help her; and I thought I could. So, after the initial meeting, I worked with her over the phone a number of times. Certainly, I was hoping to get through to the underlying issues. And I thought we were making progress.
But I have found that deep healing does not come about through “quick fixes.” And oftentimes people, especially religious people (“strong” Christians included), are quite resistant to the kind of heart changes I’m talking about.
I believe this is why my efforts to help this gal broke down completely.
Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water
I had been listening to a YouTube video that proved greatly beneficial to me – so much so that I was prompted to send it to this same gal, hoping to spark another conversation about the need for inner healing.
My prompting came when I listened to a video post on her Facebook page that greatly “disturbed” me. In that video, a lady “prophetess” spent 30 minutes “bashing” The Chosen (a popular viewer-funded Christian miniseries that is drawing many unchurched people around the world to Christ for the very first time). Also, The Jesus Revolution (a new movie about the 1960s Jesus revival, produced by evangelist Greg Laurie), and the Asbury University revival (a recent Holy Spirit-led movement that started there and spread to many other colleges and universities within a few months’ time).
Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water! I couldn’t believe it.
I have seen every episode of The Chosen and followed all the commentary. As best I can tell, the people producing that show are anything but what the prophetess described.
And The Jesus Revolution is a compelling and authentic story about God’s dramatic works among imperfect people. My husband and I saw it right when it came out, and the research I did on the three main characters afterward greatly reinforced my desire to help people just like Lonnie Frisbee—an anointed preacher whose apparent unresolved childhood sexual trauma came back to haunt him in the end.
Truly, I thought the “beneficial” video I liked and sent to my friend was a perfect “foil” to the prophetess’s video—one put together by a man whose books I have read and whose ministry I have followed. I support this man’s ministry because he applies the words and principles of Jesus in a way that elevates understanding and promotes inner healing. His approach is not “quick fix.”
Not least important is the fact that he adheres to all the major tenants of our faith—including repentance, deliverance, baptism, forgiveness, resurrection, ascension, and, above all, God’s unconditional love.
“Why did you send this to me?” this gal asked. Her tone was “testy.” She pressed in: “You must think I need to overcome something.”
She had obviously gotten triggered.
She had already stated that the teaching I sent was borderline New Age, and that it made no mention of the need to be delivered from demons. And no, she would not be willing to “like” my Facebook page due to this type of influence. Her family might be put at risk if she did.
Realizing that this was not the time to have another conversation about her need inner healing, I deflected.
But she continued, “You refuse to tell me what I need to overcome. What do you think I need to overcome? Are you afraid to tell me?”
So, after much ado, I finally told her the truth. I perceived she was being oppressed by a “condemning spirit” that prohibits her from seeing herself as God sees her. Loved. Accepted. Cleansed and made pure by the blood of Jesus. She was trapped in an earthly way of thinking.
Further, this “condemning spirit” was tempting her to “condemn” others.
I sent the video because I thought it might introduce a “new” way of looking at things that would help her see the truth behind what I was saying.
Endless Possibilities in the Heavenly Realm
How ironic that the Greek word for devil (diabolos, which means "a false accuser, a slanderer") is derived from two other words that mean "to throw over or across" and "to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls."
You get the idea. Trauma-induced divisions are the weapon the devil uses to weaken and destroy our earthbound souls (minds, wills, and emotions), which causes our relations with others to become minimized, as well.
Clearly, Jesus taught his disciples to focus on the endless possibilities of the heavenly realm experience vs. the cause-and-effect experiences of the earthly realm.
But how can we “experience” the heavenly realm? The Bible teaches that our spirit man is invited to go there through the blood of Jesus. So, through faith in the sacrifice Jesus provided, and by an act of our wills to do according to His good pleasure, we tell our spirits to “rise and go.”
Now I have learned that it is best to “go” with no agenda. We are not there to “get” a favor. Or have a prayer “answered.” We are there to simply “experience” Him.
When we do, we are suddenly aware that our spirit man is seated and resting alongside the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Anointed One, Yeshua, Jesus in His resurrected state. And we are aware that He is full of Light, Life and Love. And He is freely dispensing His Essence to us, through our spirit-to-Spirit connection with Him. We are living in “union” with Him there!
Then we have revelation of the truth about ourselves—what He has been trying to communicate to us all along. And He is giving us His thoughts. And as we receive the truth, we are being set free. Our divisions are being healed. He is manifesting His life in us!
Finally, we are living our lives from the inside-out, not the outside-in!
“And God-Enthroned spoke to me and said, ‘Consider this! I am making everything to be new and fresh. Write down at once all that I have told you, because each word is trustworthy and dependable’” (Revelation 21:5 TPT).
A New Message and a New Race of Humanity
Jesus came to earth with a new message from God:
“So I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you. For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re my true followers” (John 13:34–35 TPT).
The word “new” in the Greek is kainos, which means “of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of.” It is used 44 times in the New Testament.
Today, God is still saying and doing “new” things. But we must have “ears to hear” what He is now saying, or we will miss out on the “new” things He is now doing.
The devil's modus operandi is to keep us from seeing and hearing these new things.
This is true even among those who call themselves "Christian."
Praise God, Jesus came to dissolve Satan’s accusations and to restore our souls to good health so we would no longer be divided and no longer feel “condemned.” So we can live life to the maximum. So we can live in peace with others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ—not constantly offended and angered by them. So we can enjoy our experience with God in the heavenly realm. So we can hear Him speak!
Here’s the really exciting part: God is establishing in the earth, through the experiences of those who enter the heavenly realm, a new man, a new humanity. One not torn apart by division. One no longer affected by the constraints of this world. One that manifests peace within—and a river of life flowing out.
As more and more of us learn to live with God in that realm and be changed by Him there, the possibilities for change in the earth (otherwise restricted) become endless; because the laws of heaven, operational in and through our spirit man, supersede the laws of the earthly realm.
God wants our full participation. Does your mind play a “condemnation” recording over and over again? (One that says, “You are not loved. You are rightfully condemned.”) Does your religious mindset tell you to compensate for these love deficiencies through striving—by “proving yourself” to be good enough (and in many cases “better than” others)?
If so, stop Satan’s “voice” now! Invite Jesus to come and be with you in those broken areas of your life. He will heal those wounded "parts" and assimilate them back into the "whole" of who God intended for you to be. Any demons attached to the wounded places will be forced to leave. Then, you will be free to “rise up” and be made “new” from the “inside-out.” You will become a manifest son of God!
Related Verses:
“Then on the most important day of the feast, the last day, Jesus stood and shouted out to the crowds—‘All you thirsty ones, come to me! Come to me and drink! Believe in me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says!’” (John 7:37–38 TPT).
“Yet look at you now! Everything is new! Although you were once distant and far away from God, now you have been brought delightfully close to him through the sacred blood of Jesus—you have actually been united to Christ! Our reconciling ‘Peace’ is Jesus! He has made Jew and non-Jew one in Christ. By dying as our sacrifice, he has broken down every wall of prejudice that separated us and has now made us equal through our union with Christ. Ethnic hatred has been dissolved by the crucifixion of his precious body on the cross. The legal code that stood condemning every one of us has now been repealed by his command. His triune essence has made peace between us by starting over—forming one new race of humanity, Jews and non-Jews fused together! Two have now become one, and we live restored to God and reconciled in the body of Christ. Through his crucifixion, hatred died. For the Messiah has come to preach this sweet message of peace to you, the ones who were distant, and to those who are near. And now, because we are united to Christ, we both have equal and direct access in the realm of the Holy Spirit to come before the Father!” (Ephesians 2:13–18 TPT).
“I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters!” (Romans 8:18–19 TPT).
“And he has taught you to let go of the lifestyle of the ancient man, the old self-life, which was corrupted by sinful and deceitful desires that spring from delusions. Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that‘s been given to you. And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life and live in union with him! For God has re-created you all over again in his perfect righteousness, and you now belong to him in the realm of true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24 TPT).
Before His crucifixion, Jesus had said to them, “Then if God were really your father, you would love me, for I’ve come from his presence. I didn’t come here on my own, but God sent me to you. Why don’t you understand what I say? You don’t understand because your hearts are closed to my message!” (John 8:42–43 TPT).
“The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. And you did not receive the ‘spirit of religious duty,’ leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the ‘Spirit of full acceptance,’ enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, ‘Beloved Father!’ For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being ‘You are God’s beloved child! And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has. We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own” (Romans 8:14–17 TPT).
“Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, ‘When you continue to embrace all that I teach, you prove that you are my true followers. For if you embrace the truth, it will release true freedom into your lives’” (John 8:32 TPT).