Once we have welcomed the Hero to live in us, He immediately begins renovations. Out with the old and in with the new! The old self begins to crumble, our walls are broken down, and Holy Spirit makes everything new. His ultimate desire for us is to be like Jesus. He wants everything we do to reflect who Jesus is. That’s why we were taught to pray like this:
“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” – Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus used an interesting phrase here: “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” That one phrase sums up the entirety of God’s plan for us. He wants us saved, healed, and set free, because there is no sin, sickness, or bondage in Heaven. The ultimate, goal is for us to live with Christ-like character so that we can reflect Heaven everywhere we go.
In some cases, God can make quick and radical changes in us. But most often the changes, like renovations, are a slower process. We are a microwave generation, but we serve a crock-pot God. While I absolutely want to encourage you to seek God, obey His Word, and be changed as fast as possible, I also want to warn you of the trap, or rut of introspection.
Introspection sounds admirable and even healthy but too much of it distracts us from who we should be focusing on. Looking constantly inward leads too often to discouragement, self-obsession, and ultimately opens us up to sin. When we are focusing on our issues, we can't see Jesus.
YOU WILL ALWAYS GROW TO RESEMBLE THE THING OR PERSON UPON WHICH YOU FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION
The Gospel only requires us to look at ourselves long enough to see our complete depravity without Christ and to acknowledge our need for Him. After we surrender to Him, we should spend the rest of our days staring at Jesus.
Our task is to behold Him; His task is to change us. The Holy Spirit can bring Heaven to earth in your life easiest when you simply stare at Jesus and allow Him to do the heavy lifting. Only He can change your heart.
Our Hero Within shows us how to live like Jesus lived, think like Jesus thought, talk like Jesus talked, and walk like Jesus walked. The Holy Spirit uses Scripture to teach us the difference between sin and holy, Christ-like behavior. He awakens our conscience and helps us love holiness and hate evil. And when the devil tempts you to sin, the Holy Spirit will always show you a way out:
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
-1 Corinthians 10:13
Unfortunately, we sometimes choose not to use the escape from temptation that the Hero has given us. Sometimes we choose to say no to His help, and we sin anyway. If that happens, the Holy Spirit convicts us right away. He first shows us how we sinned; then He convicts us that we need to repent and change our thinking.
We may or may not listen to Him right away; but the sooner we obey, the sooner we will grow and become more like Jesus. This is that ongoing renovation process; tearing down and building again. And as we become more and more Christ-like, we will see more of His blessing flowing into our lives.
When you give your life to Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes to live inside you, He goes to work in your life and begins breaking Satan’s chains. His work in your heart will take you out of depression and into joy, peace, and fulfillment. He will tear down hopelessness to build hope; replace discouragement with encouragement; and bring you out of anger and violence into harmonious, loving relationships. His work in your heart will take you out of sexual sin and into purity; out of fear and into love; and out of the worship of Satan and into sold-out, obedient worship of Jesus Christ.
