Inner Truth~The Effective Messenger

Notes for the message:

1 John 2:6 is our over arching verse for this class. It says, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” To walk as Jesus walked is absolutely impossible in our flesh. Therefore we have to remember John 15:5 which says that without Him we can do nothing.

An effective messenger stands in grace. Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand...” We are saved by grace through faith. Our walk continues to be by grace through faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith. Therefore faith, which comes by hearing the word is foundational, as well as grace which is bestowed on the humble.

Jesus did nothing on His own. John 5:19 says, “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’”

Anything we do apart from Him is futile. John 6:63 says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” That is our criteria for the words we are to speak. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” All words come from the heart. Matthew 12:34 says that our mouth speaks from the abundance of our heart. What are the thoughts of your heart about yourself?

Galatians 5:14-15 says, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” We cannot love our neighbor until we love ourselves. Ephesians 5:29 says, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does His church.”

What we think about ourselves affects our health. Do your thoughts nourish you? Do they line up with God’s word about you? Let’s take Isaiah 43:4a which says, “Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you.” Is there a part of you that can’t believe that? Then that “part” has not been renewed through the truth of God’s word. It was ground you gave over to satan in your life. You are still believing the lie of the enemy which then became a stronghold. It is a house of wrong thinking that keeps you in bondage. You have not reinterpreted that experience through truth that abides forever. It is a stronghold that can only be torn down with God’s weapons. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”

Psalm 19:7 says that God’s word is perfect and able to convert our mind, will, and emotions. Therefore, when we meditate on His word and take it into our heart, it brings transformation. The old thought pattern is made new, or renewed. Verse 10 says, “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

Do you desire His word? Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” Later he tells how the word affected him on the inside. Jeremiah 20:9 says, “...His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” Is the word so deeply embedded in your heart that you cannot help but ruminate over it? The word ruminate means: think about, contemplate, consider, meditate on, muse on, mull over, ponder on/over, deliberate about/on, chew on, puzzle over.

Any negative thought against yourself defies God’s word about you. It came as a fiery dart targeted to defeat your faith. Remember that David brought down the giant Goliath because he was defying the God of Israel’s army. Here are his words. 1 Samuel 17:45 says, “...You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defiled.”

It is God’s word, the sword of the Spirit that will defeat the giants in your life. It is the only way to discern the true thoughts and intentions of your heart. It will tell you the truth that enables you to pull down the strongholds that now keep you from being an effective messenger.

He honored you when He died for you. He was despised and rejected by men so that you could be accepted in the Beloved. He honored you when He gave His life for you, so that you could have forgiveness of sins and receive His righteousness. Your thoughts should reflect the truth of that honor.