18 The Kingdom That Grows from the Inside Out

Human systems work outside ➞ in:

But Jesus works inside ➞ out:

The System measures behavior.

The Ecosystem measures transformation.

Inside ➞ out is the DNA of the Kingdom:

“Clean the inside of the cup…”

– Jesus

“A new heart I will give you…”

– Ezekiel

“Christ in you, the hope of glory…”

– Paul

“Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks…”

– Jesus

“The Kingdom of God is neither here nor there, it is within you…”

– Jesus

Inside ➞ out growth produces:

Outside ➞ in systems produce:

The Ecosystem is designed for inside-out metamorphosis—the kind of transformation that cannot be faked and cannot be scheduled. When God rebuilds a human from the inside out, they become dangerous to darkness.

Example: modesty. Did you know that there are modesty rules posted on the wall of the Mule Creek State Prison, a maximum-security facility in California? Rules for the length of skirts, no cleavage, no sleeveless shirts, no tight pants on ladies visiting. Why? Because they don’t want to get men riled up. And those kinds of clothes do. (Unbelievers even know, if you get right down to it.) If those are the rules (and I have a photograph), what would they say if someone came in with a bikini? Right, not a chance they are letting that happen. But if you add water and sun, then bikinis are all of a sudden “officially modest” now, and you’d better not question that. So according to the pagans at a prison system, are there “modesty rules” to be discussed about many “Sunday morning dresses” and public swimming pool and beachwear? Absolutely.

So now, back to us… In the Ecosystem “led by the Spirit of Christ Jesus” and not rules, how does that work? How about, “If you love Me and my Family, you won’t do anything to hurt anyone, for any reason, especially not to be fashionable and looked at. As I told you in Matthew 5:27-28, lust is adultery. Do you REALLY want to create adultery just so you can look at yourself in the mirror and have power over men? That’s not from Me. What’s your motive?”

“The living and active Word lays bare the motives of the heart.”

So, NOW we must be all about an actual relationship with Jesus, instead of stupid rules. It gets worked out Together, if the conversation has to go that far. But in the meantime, we are all growing and tearing off the “layers of the onion” from our crusty hearts to KNOW HIM BETTER, real time.

Religion either ignores everything, or it legislates. Where is JESUS? Only in an Ecosystem of Daily Life. Anything else is judgment or law or foolishly ignoring things that will destroy lives, little by little. And it’ll be your fault, the system’s fault, when your daughter gets pregnant or has an abortion in college and 70-90% of your teens do a face plant into the world and the devil’s playground.

And plllllease don’t try to use (misuse) the Scripture Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

First, you cannot honestly believe anymore that Sunday attendance, youth groups, small groups, annual mission trips with other youth (some only there for vacation travel and meeting girls or boys), and dinnertime family hand-holding devotionals is “training them up in the way they should go.” So, we’ve upped our game from 1.19% of their week, to 4.2% with the additional and VERY questionable additions of youth groups and such. Still a recipe for death compared to an Ecosystem, right?

Secondly, if you were applying that Scripture correctly, where are the literal MILLIONS of old people being converted in all the “churches” every year that should be “returning” now, after they shrugged off the System 20, 30, 40 years ago? They don’t exist. So, either God lied, or you misapplied the Scripture because someone told you that, at the same time they told you to ignore the bad fruit of the System with 45-75% of the youth group “sowing their wild oats” with alcohol, drugs, language, and sex.

Friends of the world are “enemies of God.” “‘Come out from among them and be separate,’” says the Lord. ‘And I will be your God, and you will be my people.’”

Gen Z is starving for this kind of authenticity. Really, aren’t we all?!

We want to see the inside—the real, raw, resurrected person.

And the Ecosystem delivers that, little by little, day by day, better and better, from glory to Glory.