Inside Out | Pastor Shane | Resonate Church

Proverbs 4:23 puts the challenge right on the inside: “Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The world says life works from the outside in, as if the right crowd, the shiny new thing, or the right appearance can finally create joy and peace. God says life flows from the inside out, because the heart drives the thinking, emotions, actions, and direction of a life.

Jesus brings that inside out reality right into motives. Matthew 6 shows that giving, praying, and doing righteous things can all look good on the outside while being fueled by the need to be seen and honored. Jesus connects heavenly reward not merely to what gets done, but to why it gets done. The right action with the wrong motive still misses what God is after.

Control becomes one motive that needs to be watched. Control can be healthy when it protects a person from being taken advantage of, but the flesh wants control over even the places God is meant to lead. Jesus models a different way in the garden: “Not my will,” not my control, but the Father’s will be done. Obedience becomes real when it is immediate and complete, even when the path does not make complete sense or offer an obvious personal benefit.

Self-image becomes another motive that quietly pulls the heart back toward projected image. Acts 5 shows Ananias and Sapphira giving an offering, which could have been a noble thing, while pretending that the gift was more than it really was. Their problem was not that they kept part of the money. Their problem was that they wanted to be viewed as more generous than they were. God wants the inside to line up with what gets projected on the outside, because He does not want a church that is merely good at making things look good. He wants lives where the gospel is genuinely working from the inside out.

Love becomes the motive God is calling His people into. Paul remembers work produced by faith and labor prompted by love, while Ezekiel promises a new heart and a new spirit. God does not ask people to strive their way into pure motives. God asks for the old heart, the stone heart motivated by self, control, and image, so that He can give a heart of flesh that beats with His love. Christ Himself went to the cross not because He had to protect an image or retain control, but because He loved. God’s love calls every hidden place into surrender, life, joy, peace, and real relationship with Jesus.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Motives shape eternal reward Jesus does not lower the call to righteous action, but He goes deeper than outward behavior. Giving, praying, and serving can become ways of feeding the need to be noticed. The heart must ask whether God’s glory or personal recognition is driving the action. [42:34]
• 2. Control cannot lead a surrendered life Control often feels wise because it promises safety, clarity, and self-protection. Jesus shows that surrender is not passivity, because it is active trust in the Father’s wisdom. Obedience becomes faith when it continues beyond the point of personal understanding. [47:35]
• 3. Projected image cannot replace reality Self-image tempts the heart to manage what others think rather than become what God sees. Ananias and Sapphira reveal how dangerous it is to project generosity without living in truth. God desires integrity where the actual life is stronger than the image being presented. [52:51]
• 4. Love is the motive worth living for Love is not manufactured by trying harder to look spiritual. God gives a new heart when the old heart is surrendered to Him. Christ’s love at the cross becomes both the source and pattern of a life motivated by something greater than self.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [32:41] - Church as a Calling
• [34:11] - Twenty One Days of Prayer
• [35:55] - Guard Your Heart
• [37:55] - What Motivates You?
• [39:59] - Jesus and the Motives Behind Righteousness
• [43:27] - The Motivation of Control
• [46:38] - Jesus Releases Control to the Father
• [50:53] - The Motivation of Self-Image
• [52:51] - Ananias and Sapphira
• [56:21] - Labor Prompted by Love
• [59:39] - Search Me and Know Me
• [65:27] - Leaving Striving and Indulgence
• [66:39] - An Invitation to Surrender to Jesus

Bible Reading

Proverbs 4:23
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” [00:35:55]

Matthew 6:1–5
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” [00:40:50]

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” [00:41:39]

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” [00:42:11]

Acts 5:1–11
“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.’ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.” [00:52:51]

1 Thessalonians 1:3
“remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” [00:56:21]

Observation questions

1. According to Proverbs 4:23, what flows from the heart, and what does that suggest about the importance of guarding the inner life? [00:36:04]
2. In Matthew 6, what good actions does Jesus name, and what repeated motive makes those actions empty of heavenly reward? [00:42:27]
3. In Acts 5, what does Peter make clear Ananias was free to do with his property and money, and what was the actual sin behind his gift? [00:52:34]
4. What three kinds of image are identified—perceived image, projected image, and actual image—and how are they different? [00:54:03]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus does not tell His followers to stop giving, praying, or practicing righteousness. Why does He place such strong attention on the reason those good things are done? [00:42:41]
2. How can a desire for control be both healthy in some situations and unhealthy in others? What might show that self-protection has become resistance to God’s leadership? [00:43:51]
3. Jesus prayed, “Not my will,” before going to the cross. What does His surrender show about obedience when God’s direction is difficult or not fully understood? [00:47:04]
4. Ananias and Sapphira wanted to appear more generous than they really were. Why is the gap between a projected spiritual image and an actual life so damaging to faith and to the church’s witness? [00:53:09]

Application questions

1. What is one area of life where the need to be noticed can quietly affect good things being done—giving, serving, prayer, parenting, work, or helping others? What would it look like to offer that area to God in secret? [00:41:33]
2. Where is control most difficult to release right now: time, money, relationships, career, future plans, or something else? What would one faithful next step of surrender look like this week? [00:48:30]
3. Is obedience usually delayed until every question is answered or every personal benefit is clear? What might immediate and complete obedience look like in one specific situation? [00:48:48]
4. Which image tends to have the strongest pull: what others think, what is hoped others will think, or what is actually true before God? What could help bring the outside life into line with what is real? [00:54:08]
5. Is there an unseen area that has been allowed to drift because no one else knows about it? What honest step could bring that area into God’s light and into safe accountability? [01:05:27]
6. Love is the motive God desires, and Christ went to the cross because He loved. How could the love of Christ change the way one approaches a difficult responsibility, a strained relationship, or an opportunity to serve this week? [00:57:47]
7. God gives a new heart rather than asking people merely to strive harder for better motives. What old motive—self, control, image, fear, or something else—needs to be surrendered so that God can form a heart motivated by love? [00:57:03]