Supernatural Transformation: Change Your Heart Into God’s Heart (25 page)

3. Human Reason and Understanding

We discussed the barrier of human reason in some depth in the previous chapter. When God asks people to do a certain task or to surrender something to Him, but the purpose for doing it goes beyond their human reason and understanding, some are not willing to obey. This is a key point because many things that God asks us to do will not make sense to our human reason! If we don’t learn to overcome this limitation, we won’t move very far along in our walk of obedience.

The most powerful miracles God has done through me have taken place after I have acted in faith to do something for Him that went beyond the limits of my reason. I didn’t understand this principle until I made the decision to step out and obey God even when I didn’t understand why He wanted me to do something or how He would do it. Then, as I saw Him work, I grew in faith. One of the greatest manifestations of this principle I have ever witnessed was the manner in which our church building, which holds six thousand people, came into being. We purchased the land and built the church in just two years—without loans or debt. The whole endeavor required giant steps of faith to obey what God had spoken to us, both directly and through His prophets. And He was faithful in every stage of the building process.

Are you willing to obey God even when it doesn’t make sense to your human reason?

With each act of obedience, the heart expands;
with each act of disobedience, the heart shrinks.

4. Sacrifice

The idea of sacrifice doesn’t sit well with many people today because our generation wants everything free, quick, and easy—with instant gratification. People want success without diligence, prosperity without sowing financial “seed” into God’s kingdom, health without faith, and deliverance without a denial of self. In many churches, the biblical message of sacrifice is often replaced with an extreme view of the free grace of God. This view promotes the idea that we do not have to exercise personal responsibility or take up our cross daily to follow Jesus.

We should make sacrifices based on our love for God and our desire to advance His kingdom. As we saw in the case of Saul, any sacrifice we offer is worthless if God did not tell us to do it. (See 1 Samuel 15:22.) Believers are God’s priests. (See Revelation 1:6; 5:10.) As such, we are called to offer
“spiritual sacrifices”
(1 Peter 2:5), such as prayer, tithes and offerings, and the presentation of our physical body as a
“living sacrifice”
(Romans 12:1) to God. The only way our sacrifices will be pleasing to God is if we do them with a heart of obedience, by faith, and according to revelation of His will—either through His Word or directly by His Spirit.

Are you willing to sacrifice your personal time and resources to serve Christ? Are you willing to walk the extra mile to restore your marriage? Are you willing to offer God your business, profession, gifts, talents, and vision in order to do what He wants you to do?

Obedience as a Lifestyle

Perhaps you continually struggle to obey God, so that you ask yourself the various questions we have just discussed—and maybe some additional ones—when you are trying to decide whether to obey God’s will. For instance, you may ask, “Is there something in it for me?” “Will it bring me pleasure?” “Does it offer me security?” “Is it convenient for me?” “Will it make me comfortable? “Will I have to sacrifice anything?” “Will people laugh at me?” “Do I have to do it right now?” If you often ask yourself questions like these when you are called to obey God, then obedience is not yet a lifestyle for you.

When obedience is your lifestyle, it means that you have purposefully made a commitment to obey God, regardless of the outcome. And, when you commit to do God’s will, He commits to give you whatever you need—and often more—to fulfill what He’s called you to do. Therefore, you need to make an overarching decision of obedience in which you affirm to God, “I will obey You, regardless of the place, the time, the circumstances, or the difficulties I might face.”

God doesn’t commit until we submit.

When you have made such a commitment, you will no longer allow comfort, convenience, profitability, human reason, or personal sacrifice to prevent you from obeying God. Once you know His will on a certain matter, you obey—and that’s that! You have accepted the fact that Christ is your Lord and that He governs and controls your life; therefore, you surrender in faith to His will for you.

Do you trust the God whom you serve to guide you and keep you? Do you trust that He will direct you to make the right decision in every situation because He desires to give you what is best for your life in accordance with His glory?

A lifestyle of obedience comes from making an overarching decision to obey God, no matter what, and to leave the results up to Him.

How to Establish a Walk of Obedience

Learning to obey God is a process in which we continually step out in faith to do what God has said, while denying the sinful nature and its destructive desires. To progress to higher and higher levels on the path of obedience, we must purposely (1)
“put off…the old man”
(Ephesians 4:22), or the sinful nature, and (2)
“put on the new man”
(Ephesians 4:24), or the new nature of Christlikeness.

1. “Put Off…the Old Man”

“Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts”
(Ephesians 4:22). As we discussed previously, society tries in various ways to control corrupt human behavior. Let us examine the main ways by which our culture attempts to do this, so that we will not rely on human methods to accomplish God’s work in us.

The “Old Man” Cannot Be Defeated by Human
Psychology or Counseling

Many psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, medical doctors, teachers, and even preachers try to “cure” the sinful nature using human methods and techniques. Yet, their results are limited and temporal because they usually deal with only the symptoms rather than with the root of the problem, which is sin. Many of their treatments attempt to build up a person’s ego, thus making “self” the center of the counselee’s existence. From this approach come the terms
self-realization
and
self-help
. At first glance, these concepts might seem good; however, in practice, they often encourage human beings to seek within themselves for a solution to sin. Since they are directed at “self,” these treatments allow the rebellious nature to continue to reign within an individual.

The “Old Man” Cannot Be Defeated by Laws and Cultural Standards

Many governments and law enforcement agencies attempt to curb people’s negative behavior by threatening various fines, punishments, and/or other consequences for those who do not keep society’s laws or cultural standards. Yet laws and standards can prove ineffective. For example, not even the threat of the death penalty prevents some people from killing or raping other people or committing other horrible crimes. While laws and cultural norms are helpful for maintaining general order in society, ultimately, they cannot offer a permanent solution for the rebellious heart or change the sinful nature.

The “Old Man” Cannot Be Defeated by Religion

The practice of religion focuses primarily on people’s external behavior, often giving the follower an appearance of holiness that neither touches nor modifies his corrupt heart. Without the transformation that comes from the living Christ, the inner man continues to be a corrupt tree that produces bad fruit:
“E
very good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire
”
(Matthew 7:17–19). Religion, like laws, may help to keep human behavior in check temporarily, but it cannot change the sinful nature or transform a disobedient heart. Eventually, the “old man” will follow a path of corruption until it perishes.

The “Old Man” Can Be Defeated Only by Being
Put to Death

The remedy for the sinful nature cannot be found in psychotherapy, laws, religion, or education. But neither can it be found in merely citing Scripture, singing worship songs, taking classes on morality, or listening to motivational preaching. The remedy is to
execute
the “old man” through a work of spiritual crucifixion. The cross is the only solution for dealing with the sinful nature! As Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me
”
(Galatians 2:20).

The crucifixion of the sinful nature is a continuous, daily process of submitting to God and denying “self.” “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry
”
(Colossians 3:5 niv). It is our responsibility to
choose
to crucify the sinful nature—and God will give us the supernatural grace to do it.

“Putting off the old man” and “putting on the new man” are two sides of the same coin of God’s plan for the transformation of our heart. The old nature must be crucified. Meanwhile, the manifestation of the new nature must increase in proportion to the crucifixion of the old nature. The “new man” within us is the nature of Christ Himself. And, as John the Baptist said,
“
[Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease
”
(John 3:30).

The manifestation of the new nature must increase in proportion to the crucifixion of the old nature.

Every day, we must deny the demands of the old nature that rebels against God, in order to give place to the new nature that obeys the will of God. We know that the old nature will continue to act as if it has the right to control us, because it is addicted to doing, thinking, and acting in wrong ways; it is filled with deceitful desires and pride. But, by the Spirit of God, if we crucify the old nature, it will die. That is the only way to establish a lifestyle of obedience to God. The choice is ours! If we live according to the old nature, the fruit we bear will be sin, sickness, lack, death, and endless corruption. But if we live according to the new nature, the fruit we bear will be a manifestation of true life—a life of faith, love, obedience, health, deliverance, power, and peace. We will have the blessing of knowing that God’s kingdom is being established on earth and that Christ is being glorified—through us!

“For if we have been united together in the likeness of
[Jesus’]
death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this,
that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin
”
(Romans 6:5–6). The phrase
“
knowing this
”
indicates a fact that has already taken place. Unless we acknowledge the reality that our old nature was crucified with Jesus, we will continue to disobey God.

We must apply Christ’s completed work of crucifixion in order to defeat the rebellious sinful nature that continually tries to reassert itself in us. Here is the key: We have to receive Christ’s work personally. Many people don’t understand this principle. For most believers, the crucifixion of their old nature exists in the theoretical realm alone; they do not consider it a reality they can experience here and now. That is why, even though the sinful nature was put to death on the cross with Christ, they continue to be slaves to it—succumbing to corrupt thoughts, such as bitterness and hate; and deceitful desires, such as sexual immorality and greed. It is also why, even though Christ died for their infirmities and their poverty, they continue to be sick, depressed, and in financial need. Their lives are dominated by rebellion, stubbornness, pride, arrogance, and fear.

The good news is that the transformation of our heart is truly possible, because Christ has set us free from the corrupt sinful nature! The apostle Paul said,
“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin”
(Romans 7:24–25). There is a difference between receiving forgiveness for our sin and putting to death the rebellious sinful nature. When I was a new believer, I would commit certain sins that I knew I would commit again even after confessing them. As a result, I used to wonder whether it was worth confessing them. I was trapped in a pattern of sin, and I felt like a hypocrite and a disobedient Christian. What I had was a form of religion.

It wasn’t until I received the revelation of the cross, until I received the gospel of the kingdom with power, that I was set free from recurrent sin. The gospel of the kingdom resolves the problem of the corrupt heart; it reveals the only solution for the problem of sin—the crucifixion and death of the old nature. God’s plan of redemption involves not just forgiveness for past sins but also victory over a rebellious heart that pushes us to commit acts of disobedience. We must fully understand that when Christ died on the cross, He executed and removed the old nature—once and for all!