“Empowering the Inner Man”

An Image-Conscious Society

We live in a society that is overly concerned with appearances. We are an image-conscious culture. We spend millions of dollars sprucing up the exterior man. We go on diets, we join expensive health clubs… all to change what is on the outside. We buy expensive clothing as a fashion statement. On the other hand, perhaps we dress up in an attempt to hide a physical imperfection. We want a new look… on the outside.

Some people drive expensive cars to look good on the outside. Some may buy a new Cadillac every year… yet they live in a broken-down home. They want to make people think they are better off than they really are, but you can’t judge a book by its cover. However…

• Buying new hair does not mean that you are using your head
• Buying a new car does not mean that you know where you are going
• Buying a membership to an exercise studio does not mean that you will live longer. Even professional athletes die young.
• Jumping and shouting on Sunday does not mean that you are going to heaven.

The Inside Is More Important Than The Outside

Jesus called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs… they look nice on the outside, but on the inside they are full of wickedness and hypocrisy. Have you ever seen a red shiny apple that, after you took a bite, turned out to be rotten on the inside?

Are you right with God in your heart? Christ works on us from the inside out. He starts with the heart, the soul, and the spirit… the inner person.

Be careful whom you criticize

Some people may not look "saved," but they are. Some people look "saved," but they are not. God deals with the heart of a man before He addresses the other aspects of our lives. Therefore, we need to understand the importance of the inner man.

Christ strengthens you. Whatever you need, God has it.

• If you need gifts, God has it.
• If you need a blessing, God has it.
• If you need benefits, God has it.
• If you need healing, God has it.
• If you need peace, God has it.

Last Christmas, people spent hundreds of dollars for "Furby" dolls. All of the stores were sold out. However, God’s store is never sold out. You do not have to go from store, to store, to store… just call Him up and tell Him what you want.

• He never runs out of mercy.
• He never runs out of grace.
• He never runs out of love.
• He never runs out of power.

Your cholesterol is not what matters. Your sugar level is not what matters. Your inner man matters. You cannot walk this journey alone. You cannot live this life alone. You need to have that fire shut up in your bones. You need spiritual strength. You need to be strengthened in your inner man.

There may be times when you feel week. You may feel like fainting. You may feel like giving up on the journey. It is during those moments that you need strength.

A Fresh Touch Brings Power

You cannot live on last year’s blessings. You need a fresh touch from the Lord. You need a new joy to wipe away depression. You need a new love to wipe away hate. You need a new peace to wipe away distress. You need a new strength to wipe away weakness. People may scandalize you, but just keep on keeping on. Why? It is because you have inner peace.

You may slip… you may slide… you may backslide. Just keep on keeping on in Jesus. Why? It is because you have inner power.

You can’t get this power out of a bottle. You cannot get this power from mother or father. You can’t get this power from President Clinton. You need power to sleep well. You need power to get up, look in the mirror, and like what you see. You need power to say, "I know that the Lord loves me! He picked me up out of the miry clay."

How to Get This Power

This power is available if you call on Him and say, "Come Holy Spirit with your quickening power." You can have you own personal Pentecost, all by yourself, even in the midnight hour. Tongues of fire will come and the Spirit of the Lord will go through your bedroom.

We cannot change Norristown by ourselves. We need something on the inside to stand up to the drug dealer on the corner. He may have youth… he may have muscles… but he cannot match your inner strength.

We need inner strength to say "NO."

Our culture says to do whatever you want to do. "If it feels good, do it" they say. "If it’s popular, it is alright." However, to have fulfillment in your life, you need to learn to say "NO."

Say no to drugs. What goes up must come down and coming down is a lot harder than going up.

Say no to premarital sex. In the United States, we have more unwed mothers than any other country in the world.